Particular aspect Essay

Another group of wiccan practitioners whose sexual orientations deviate from the standard healthy and loving issue are the gays, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people who are most welcome in the covens, study groups, and circles. Chris is a hairdresser who is a self-confessed Wiccan believer and practitioner. According to him, he feels comfortable with the teachings of the liberal Wiccan religion that do not shun gay relationships and their sexuality. For him, the equal acceptance of the Neo-pagan practice of individuals with differing sexual orientation attracted him to the Wiccan religion. Similarly Carol, a paralegal for a law firm who joined Chris as new members of the wiccan community were graciously welcomed as a perspective approach to feminism and empowerment of women within a predominantly male culture in Salomonsen (2002). Although they both believe that they belong to a traditional group, they are well aware that their group does not incorporate traditional spiritual practice. According to Carol, their religious framework descends from the Gardnerian wicca and was founded in 2004. Like most traditional groups, they reject the prejudice of modern culture and religions that teach intolerance and hate. For Chris and Carol, the interpretation that wicca is a religion incorporating witchcraft is a falsity. My Findings Clearly the wiccan religious movement that existed in different countries after the repeal of the Witchcraft act originated from the pre-christian paganism practice. Guided by their own principles and standards under a non-formal doctrine they have created solidarity among themselves. But without a centralized organization, they have suffered religious denominational separation as conflicts arise regarding their beliefs and ethics. Commonly, as constant arguments evolved, other practitioners tend to separate and convene with other groups who are agreeable to their norms and standards. The agreement on the particular aspect of wiccan practice however upholds against the wrongful persecution and notion that the wiccans practice witchcraft, sorcery and other demonic acts. Wiccans also believe that there is a tremendous need to create a balance between masculine and feminine gender. They worship God, and other Christian teachings and integrate this with the elements of Wicca which includes respect for nature, caring about the environment, celebrating at solstices, equinoxes and harvest festivals. The conflicting beliefs about deity found in the two religions might be difficult as most Christians regard themselves as monotheists and believe in the Holy Trinity, composed of the Father God, the Son Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. The Wiccan belief though is under a duo theistic deity structure of a Goddess and a God according to Rountree (2002). There is no actual variance with each other as long as the Wiccan beliefs is not equated and compared with the conservative Christianity.

Intergovernmental Organisations Essay

a) Explain how membership of intergovernmental organisations gives some countries political and economic power. (10) Being a member of intergovernmental organisations does give some countries political and economic power. Like figure 4 shows, the USA is part of many intergovernmental organisations and they have the status of a superpower showing there are clear benefits of being a part of IGOs. However, some may argue that countries such as China and India are rising in both political and economic power yet like figure 4 shows, they are barely part of the leading IGOs. Therefore, membership of intergovernmental organisations does give some countries political and economic benefits but there is evidence to show that not being apart of an IGO still allows for development in a countries wealth and political stance. Economically, being a part of the World Trade Organisation like many leading superpowers are (for example, the UK and the USA) does allow for these leading countries to have influence in trade decisions. This means that they can benefit economic decisions to suit themselves. For example, the USA can exploit LDC’s such as Bangladesh by taking more imports for a less expensive price. Furthermore, being a member of the International Monetary Fund means that countries have the voting power to influence the economic policies of other countries. Thus these countries can create friendly policies towards TNCs that are based in their own country, greatly benefiting their own wealth. Additionally, being apart of the EU and NATO in which many of the countries that are part of many IGOs are part of have trade blocs which can cater for the protection of key markets and still help intraregional trade. Therefore it does seem that economic power of a country does improve with the help of being a part of IGOs such as the World Trade Organisation.

Evidence That Rita’s Open University Course

Using the evidence it could be said that Rita’s Open University course has had a broadly positive effect as the knowledge and experiences she has had are turning her into the type of person she wants to be. *Quotes not in chronological order 1. â€Å"Denny found out I was on the pill again; it was my fault, I left my prescription out. He burnt all me books. † Although this can be argued to have a negative effect I think it can be said to be positive as it has shown Rita what Denys is really like and as a result of this they break up so Rita is free to continue to grow and to learn like she wants too. . â€Å"This tutor came up to me†¦ an' he said, â€Å"Are you fond of Ferlinghetti? † It was right on the tip of me tongue, to say, â€Å"Only when it's served with parmesan cheese†, but, Frank, I didn't! † This demonstrates to the audience that Rita has come a long way from the person she once was. The fact that she says Ferlinghetti ; only his su rname shows how she now has some of the same familiarity as Frank does and that she can call poets by the surname only, as she is at that level of education now.The fact that she didn’t need to make a sarcastic jokey comment about the it being a type of pasta shows that she no longer feels like she has to hide her lack of intelligence as she has now reach a level of education where she feels comfortable discussing poets. 3. â€Å"(She goes and perches on the book shelf)†. This shows that after her time at summer school Rita is now comfortable around books and that sort of environment.She does feel awkward around them and feels at home, at home enough to sit on the bookshelf. This its self is an achievement as when she first came to lessons with Frank she only ever walked over to them but never interacted with the book and bookshelf, as she felt she wasn’t at the right level of education and didn’t feel comfortable doing it. 4. â€Å"(She tosses the book on the desk and perches on the bookshelf)†. When Rita â€Å"tosses the book† we as an audience can clearly see how much Rita has changed. hen Rita first went to Frank for lessons she used to sit and methodically empty out her bag and place her belongings on the desk showing a great care for her educationally belongings and her books as if to her knowledge is a really precious thing to her and that she has to treat it with respect and care as it doesn’t really belong to her. However when she â€Å"tosses the book† it shows that Rita no longer things it doesn’t belong to her as she has embraced education now and has a confidence about it as she just nonchalantly tosses the book on the desk as if it’s not important to her as it used to be.Almost as if she’s ‘been there done that’. 5. â€Å"(She takes off her shawl and gives it to Frank who hangs it on the hook by the door)†. The fact that she is wearing a shawl shows h ow much her life has changed. In the eighties when this was set it was seen to be upper class to wear a shawl and here Rita is wearing one and getting a gentlemen to hang it up instead of slinging it over her chair like she used too with her coat. This is all due to her education so has had a positive impact clearly on the way she now dresses. 6. â€Å"†¦ I asked her why. I said. Why are y’ cryin’, Mother? ’ She said, ‘Because – because we could sing better songs than those. † –Rita has begun to look at her life as an out sider now and she wants to change it she wants more from it. This is partly due to her education, partly due to Frank and partly due to her own desires. She is not happy with her life and is now more motivated than ever to change it and to â€Å"Know everything†. She believes that education is her way out and that it can change her life for the better. 7. â€Å"Come on, let’s go an’ have the tutorial down there. The fact that Rita wants to go â€Å"down there† with all the proper university students shows that she no longer thinks she isn’t good enough and that she can actually fit in there and that it is perfectly plausible for her to have her tutorial down there. 8. â€Å"(Rita burst through the door. She is dressed in new second hand clothes)† & â€Å"(She twirls on the spot to show off her new clothes)†. When Rita returns from summer school in London it’s not the old Rita that returns, it is a whole new Rita with a whole new wardrobe.This shows how much education has had an impact on her life and she is far away from the girl she once was which is exactly what Rita wanted. Education has changed her life. She also has a new air of confidence about her and feels she is now on the same level as Frank as she twirls to show her new clothes because he will be interested. However the fact that they are â€Å"new second hand clothes† shows that no matter how hard she tries she will never fully get rid of her past.

Week 5 Discuss 2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Week 5 Discuss 2 - Essay Example Violence is defined as doing harm to an individual, whether mental or physical. Thus, from this definition, bullying is regarded as a form of violence (Bullying Statistics, 2009). Violence is against the law, and bullying is not considered as a form of violence unless it involves an attack. Majority of people see bullying as an unacceptable form of behavior while bullying is seen as a normal part of life (Boyle, 2011). The Second Amendment gives the right to bear arms, and it is completely binding on the states. Therefore, it limits their capability to create solutions to social issues that suit local values and needs (Stohr, 2010). The basis for the Supreme Court’s decision is on the Fourteenth Amendment, which transforms the meaning of the Second Amendment. They argue that the Framers of the Reconstruction Amendment â€Å"intended the phrase â€Å"privileges and immunities of citizens of the United States† to include the right to keep and bear arms, which was thus explicitly placed beyond â€Å"abridgement† by the states† (Merkel and Uviller, 2002, p14). Thus, the Second Amendment is binding on the states. The Amendment has influenced gun control and gun ownership concerning who has the right to bear and keep arms. The topic has brought intense debate with some opposing and others supporting the decision made by the Supreme Court. Stohr, G. (2010, June 29). States must honor gun rights, U.S. High Court says. Bloomberg. Retrieved from

Regional human rights instruments Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Regional human rights instruments - Essay Example They can, however, have an ethical consequence and offer guidance to States about their responsibilities2. In Asia, the association of the 10 states of South-east Asian Nations (ASEAN) has acknowledged a regional human rights system for South-East Asia. In 2007, State leaders signed an ASEAN agreement, come into power in 2008 following endorsement by all 10 member states. The Charter offers ASEAN a bureaucratic basis that ascertains an institutional arrangement and forbids policy of course. In 2009, the ASEAN inter legislative Commission on Human Rights occurred in the 15th ASEAN meeting. The ASEAN Commission in 2010 for the protection and Promotion of the Rights of Women as well as Children (ACWC) was also acknowledged3. In Europe, the local preparations for protecting human rights are extensive. They involve the European Union, the Council of Europe, and the Organization for Cooperation and security in Europe4. All these intergovernmental organizations have their own regional human rights instruments and mechanisms. ... all over the world have built up domestic law and constitutions that mirror elementary human rights values though there is major discrepancy among States in their advances6. The federal government in Peru goes into international treaties devoid of parliamentary consent. While it cannot necessitate the provinces to apply international human rights agreements in region falling in /territorial control, provincial, federal, and territorial governments usually share their human rights schedules and the federal government gets into treaties with provincial approval1. In Peru, a dualist approach is followed. This means that global human rights treaties must be included into local legislation to have impact in domestic courts. In general, global human rights agreements are not included into local legislation, posing a challenge to their implementation within the territories and provinces. Assessing Peru’s conformity with its treaty requirements and associated jurisprudence can be hard as there are two parts to consider: jurisprudence for normal legislation and jurisprudence for the constitution of Peru and the Peru Charter of Rights and basic Freedoms7. In the ordinary legislation, the courts have argued that judges should endeavor to interpret such laws according to relevant international requirements. If the express requirements of a domestic decree are dissimilar to or conflicting with Peru’s international requirements, the former overcomes. The judiciary is therefore not bound to apply the international human rights treaty requirements of Peru, even though they will be a pertinent and important factor in the courts' explanation of the Charter8. There can be vagueness among lawyers and judges about the connection between the international human rights treaties and the

Acting Out Culture by James S. Miller Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Acting Out Culture by James S. Miller - Essay Example People choose what to believe, what to where, where to work, and even the kind of children they would like to have, if they had the authority! This materialism is rated as bad by some academic critiques who believe that the ideal world should be a world where people have few choices, and therefore ‘happy’ lives! But would the economy allow for that? And would the acquisition nature of man and the absolute power of bills set people upon the same path of diversity as we understand? The very fact that nature places want upon a person, reflects the materialistic nature that is man. Without needs, there is no innovation, no commerce, basically no need to live. It is consumers who drive a market that is controlled by products prepared in the industry. And as such, economy slowly turns on its hinges. Humans are capable of creating their own societies and placing their wants and needs around that society, we can see, in David Brooks assertion, that the society, is getting more a nd more focused on the individual needs and wants, so much so that the collective thought of diversity in America, is but a dream. Indeed, in own words, "†¦human beings are capable of drawing amazingly subtle social distinctions and then shaping their lives around them". It is indeed possible, that individualism is the reason industry thrives, but at what cost? In this essay, we shall see the effects of materialism on the diversity of America. The question is; does this materialistic nature bring people together, or drives them further apart? Quoting Thorstein Veblen (1857-1929), James Twitchell in â€Å"Two Cheers for Materialism, attempts to solidify the fact that people in the society are growing further apart as a result of these needs; He asserts says, â€Å"If we had fewer choices, we would be happier, there would be less waste and we would accept each other as equals" Though needs provide security in attainment, they are not a source of permanent happiness, and such th ey incur the creation of classes and clusters, and the need to be at comfort. Reality is materialism brings with it 'me' that person who so desires to satisfy his own and protect his turf. That person who believes that there is no one better than 'ME!' the individual, created to find solace in no one but himself. In this very belief, it is imputable that the requirement that some society would feel 'Me' better, has effectively led to segregation of the races, professions, and ultimately classes. The crux of the staple is that the desire by people to be around places they fit in has created that vacuum of consideration for other people who hold different professions, skin color, and even opinions. As such the estates, the cities and the communities in ‘human nature’ have ended up forming, or rather conforming to the desire of ages; to be like someone your own. The hierarchy of needs propelled by Abraham Maslow, puts self-actualization as the highest in satisfaction of ma n’s desires and needs, and states that if indeed in a lifetime these needs are met, then there is the tendency of creating new needs, to satisfy the arousal of new desires. Man being so consumed by desire has become so\elf centered and choosy with friends and acquaintances, the lack of which render a man useless. In this sense and with the help of the Bell curve, it is concluded that we, live in absurdly unlikely groupings because we have organized our lives that way. So even though we feel that it is wrong for our children to go to Harvard and yet other children though bright can’t go to college, it is also very important to us to note the presence of such opportunities and bask in their glory, if we can afford it. It follows that the

Article review Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 3

Article review - Essay Example Students with different forms of disabilities present similar characteristics on the factors explored. According to the findings of the article, children with special needs have lesser and poorer social relations as compared to those with no special needs. The option of regular education for students with special needs is in this case beneficial. In essence, these students can interrelate with those without special needs to enhance positive social interrelations. However, it does not automatically mean a fruitful social interaction, since it always depends on how naturally social a person is, and the way they settle into their class setting. The information from the article is applicable in a class setting. From the article, I learned that it is necessary to instruct students with special needs in an inclusive classroom and provide opportunities for social interactions. They should not be secluded and taught or treated differently. There are increased social opportunities for special needs students in an inclusive class setting, but there is always a need to understand the individual characteristics of each student so that negative outcomes from introverts, such as loneliness, do not

The Arguments for and Against the Right to Have an Abortion Assignment

The Arguments for and Against the Right to Have an Abortion - Assignment Example Roe v Wade was both seen as a victory and defeat. As the Texas law prohibiting abortion was put under debate and ended with women having the right to choose for themselves (Lively & Weaver, 2006). Because the debate over this controversial legislation has been the foundation of many platforms for politicians, the public has continued to be depressed by this conflict of ideas. There are a number of different reasons why people will come down on the side of making abortion illegal. In Texas, where the Roe v Wade controversy began, the state was justifying the restriction of abortions based on the idea that a fetus is a person and therefore the life interests had to be protected under the due process clause, which is in the 14th amendment. Justice Harry Blackmun, who wrote for the majority did not accept this promise. Although a fetus may be a life under some religious and moral codes, the majority decided that it could not be considered a fetus in a constitutional framework. Blackmun believed that the rights given under due process of the 14th amendment should be extended to women as well. And therefore this conflict came down on the side of women rather than the fetus (Hall & Clark, 2002). In 2005, the number of abortions in the United States was approximately 19.4 per 1000 women. Of that percentage, 3.2 per 1000 were given to women under the age of 15. The right to have an abortion has had a significant effect on the plight of women is not well supported in the United States in terms of providing for and giving care to children when they are left without a partner. The welfare system is not set up to help women raise children, but rather to try and get them out working in conflict with the act of raising children. One strong argument for the legalization of abortion is that the state does not provide enough support, and society has a negative attitude towards women were trying to raise children but do not have the economic  means to do so on their own.

Critical perspectives on Management (this is not the topic of essay) Essay

Critical perspectives on Management (this is not the topic of ) - Essay Example Though management has improved over a period, most things have remained the same. Management theory and practice have been touted as the most important as one of the important strategies however the scientific management and theories and practice differs a lot. In that the scientific theories that we learned from Fall to what really is on the ground brings out its main difference. Whether it’s because of its objectivity, cost or even expertise if fails in achieving its core objective. The focus of this study will be the critical issues about the assumptions in business and also why a lot of careful consideration has to be done and why management theory and practice is not after all the most effective management tool. The practice employed might be realistic it is not enough to administer the same theories over and over. It is easy to describe though some theories have been very important to the world of business they have brought about negative examples to the business industry and it is therefore important to analyze what does not work for the firm and management. The assumption of scientific theories help in managing business not forgetting that they are expensive to incur and set up for any firm and sometimes they are not tailor made for the organization. The critics of this ponder just because a feature like a decentralization worked in company X that is a multinational does not make it a must to work in company Y. Thus, it will not be realistic to assign one organization on the mere fact it worked in another (Schweiger(1991). Though the scientific management theory focused more on employee it failed to realize that sometimes the challenges may not be an employee but the resources and expertise accorded to him/her. It also focused on the human behavior only in the workplace and not everywhere the employee would visit (Schein, E.H. (1980). The other theory is the, general administrative theory which

Developing Customer Relations Essay Example for Free

Developing Customer Relations Essay 1.0 Introduction Customer service is the provision of service to customer before during and after a purchase also its the ability of an organisation to recognise and consistently meet its customers need Employees may find them self in a situation that they sold a product and the customer is been arrogant saying it is faulty they need to stay calm 2.0 Providing Customer Service A new employee can provide good customer service by been well presented on their first day and wearing their uniform appropriately greeting the customer politely. 3.0 Presentation Skills In this section I am going to say why presentation skills are important to customer service Skill Why it is important As this is merit grade work, I need to expand each box. You need at least three points for each on why this is important Examples from business You need a couple of examples from businesses in each box Personal presentation e.g. personal hygiene, uniform/ dress, hair, makeup jewellery The way an employee presents himself identifies who they are. It is important because your presentation of your self and the business is the customer first opinion if they business is dirty then the customer wouldnt come there again Customers in Tesco Sainsburys wear uniform to make them look smart and they have to wear the uniform properly for example an employee might wear his uniform but not wear it smartly like not tucking in his shirt in companies like B Q the employees dress to stand out by wearing bright orange Also in the police force it is required to wear uniform Body language e.g. posture, facial expression, smiling, gestures, eye contact Body language has an impact on the customers perception of how friendly the staffs are. The body language of an employee is important because it shows how the employee feels about the customer and how approachable they are If a customer ask a staff in a company like Primark where is the T shirts and they are frowning it means the staff there is unfriendly In JD Sports if it is empty and there are no customers in there and the employees have a conversation then a customer comes in and has a query, the employee might frown when he comes in because he is interrupting his conversation Presentation of work area and equipment The presentation of the work area shows how prepared the staff are and how good the environment, it is important because it shows how prepared they are to start business and also the presentation shows how hygienic they are If in McDonalds the tables are dirty it will put off customers and they wouldnt eat in there Greeting Customers, Courtesy, Confidence, Interest, Thoughtfulness It is important because it shows that the employee cares that a customer is there and it makes the customer feel welcome If you greet a customer every time they come in to your business they would attract more customers to your business by telling them how polite employees in the business are Responding to different customer behaviour, Tact, Efficiency It is important to adapt to different customers and situation because all customers arent the same and they will have different attitude towards the employee/ business If a customer complains about how bad service is and you respond to them quickly it would show that youre sorry Of voice, pitch, language e.g. technical language, use of slang How you communicate to customer is important because all customers are usually different e.g. you talk to old people different from teenagers When you talk to an old lady you talk slowly so they can hear you properly but when you are talking to teenager you can use some slangs Also in a company like Pc World if someone was about to buy a computer you would speak to them in technical language e.g. the computer has 512mb ram e.t.c and if the customer doesnt understand it you explain to them Listening, body language, appropriateness to customer situation Your listening skills to a customer is important because if you dont listen to them while you are talking to feels rude and employee should be able to adapt to different situations because there are different kinds of customers If a customer asks a question like where is the toilet and you keep on telling them to repeat it. They wouldnt come back again to the business. Also there might be 4.0 Interpersonal Skills In this section I am going to say why interpersonal skills are important to customer service. Interpersonal Skills relate to the way you behave when you are dealing with other people and they are important because it makes communication clear. Attitudes, Behaviour, First impression are aspects of interpersonal skills The attitude of a staff to customer the first time they come in matter because that is their first impression and thats what they will tell other people about the business In a Supermarket if a customer asks where an item and the employee replies go away is to the customer it will put them off and they wouldnt come back Behaviour this is closely linked to attitude because this influences what you do and why you do it. A friendly person will normally behave in a cheerful way also if u enjoys working with people you will normally behave in a courteous and thoughtful way 5.0 Communication Skills In this section I am going to talk about communication skills Communication Skills are important to customer service. It is crucial that information is clear and accurate. In customer service employees must be able to explain companys policies to customers and answer question about product and service. Tone, Pace, Pitch of voice, Slang and Listening are aspects of communication skills Tone is difference between the way you talk to a supervisor and your friend. Tone is how informal or formal you are and the tone of your voice Slang includes word used informally such as waste of space, chill. None should be used in business when talking to an external customer. Pace relates to the speed at which you speak and should be varied depending on your audience. Listening skills are invaluable in business particularly in the following situations e.g. when a customer is telling you about his or her needs or preferences, when you are been given information to give to someone. Pitch of voice relates to how you sound. A low pitched voice is deep and gruff, a high pitched voice easily sound shrill. Varying your pitch makes you sound more interesting and enables you to hold people attention better if you speak in a monotone 6.0 Customer Service Situations I am going to explain which skills are important in the following situation face to face, on the telephone, email, urgent situations, and difficult situations; either it is Interpersonal Skills, Presentation Skills, Communication Skills. Face to Face: I assume communication skills are the most essential skills when an employee is facing a problem face to face because although your presentation and interpersonal skills is important the employee is facing them and the way he communicates matter. The most important communication skills is their listening skills because it will show how effective they are to deal with the problem Telephone: I assume communication skills are the most essential skills when an employee if dealing with a problem on the phone because

Political Recruitment Procedure in Nigeria

Political Recruitment Procedure in Nigeria THE RELEVANCE OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP EDUCATION TO POLITICAL RECRUITMENT IN NIGERIA BY Franklins A. SANUBI, PhD Department of Political Science, Delta State University, Abraka, Nigeria KEYWORDS: Entrepreneurship Education, Political Recruitment, Entrepreneurship, Intrapreneuring. ABSTRACT: The continuing influx of non professionals into party politics in Nigeria has created the challenges of good governance and many hove asked the question of how to rid the political space of neophytes. One explanation for this phenomenon is provided in the prevailing political recruitment procedure in Nigeria. Entrepreneurship education has provided some philosophical tool for establishing a reliable political recruitment process. This paper examines the relationship and provides some recommendations on the process of ensuring good recruitments into our party politics spectrum. A. INTRODUCTION Perhaps the only vocation in Nigeria today where the free entry and free exit principle of a perfect market system is operational is the vocation of party politics as people from all known professional backgrounds have found it a treasure ground of resort. It is in fact needless to ask an average politician where he or she got training in party politics. Regrettably, political recruitment process in Nigeria is very simple and without any major technical requirements, people can enroll at any point in time into party politics. The only requirement, if anything else, is your availability the amount of readiness demonstrated by the aspiring individual to attend party meetings and caucuses. Just write down your name and attend one or two political party meetings and you are on your way to becoming a big time politician in Nigeria. This is the point where we come to explain the prevalence of political neophytes at the various levels of public policy making in Nigeria as all manner of people both with questionable and unquestionable backgrounds in the management of public resources find themselves in the realm of leadership simply because of a faulty recruitment process into the vocation of party politics in Nigeria. Thus, you find medical doctors, teachers, motor drivers, auto mechanics, pastors or other religious leaders, retail shop owners and jobless individuals all involved in party politics as practitioners of a profession that relies much on number of people as its major asset. â€Å"Leave politics for the politicians† is often the advice given by those who do not find any need to become one. Yet there is hardly a clear definition of who is or (should be) a politician in Nigeria since it has become an all-corners affair. With such a seemingly irreversible phenomenon of political recruitment, the chal1eng to policymakers therefore is to create entrepreneurship educational portfolios where recruits into party politics in Nigeria would develop skills of the, vocation to take opportunities offered by the prevailing political (business) environments. B. ENTREPRENEURSHIP EDUCATION: A CONCEPTUAL CLARIFICATION Experts in the subject matter of history of education have credited ancient Greek civilization with its emphasis placed not only on citizenship but also on entrepreneurship education. With massive curricular contents favouring the child’s ability to use available materials through practical skills to create innovative learning outcomes, an average Athenian schoolboy knows that he has to imbibe a strong culture of entrepreneurship education. Entrepreneurship education seeks to provide students with the knowledge, skills and motivation to encourage entrepreneurial success in a variety of settings. (Block Stumpf, 1992) The classic picture of entrepreneurship education (also known as intrapreneurship education) as given by its major proponent Gifford Pinchot, is its distinctive focus on the â€Å"realization of opportunity† under any given setting (Pinchot, 1985). The ability of the individual to see the opportunity and utilize it for a successful outcome marks the significance of entrepreneurship education (Pinchot Pellman, 1985). Although closely related to management education which focuses on the best way to operate within existing hierarchy and structures, entrepreneurship education like the former targets â€Å"profit making†. Profit making, in this circumstance does not necessarily imply increased monetary benefits, but may also be (especially in non-profit organizations or governments) in terms of en hanced social services or decreased costs. It could also be explained in terms of increased responsiveness to the customer/citizen/client on such services being provided. Realizing business opportunity can be achieved, by orienting entrepreneurship education towards several directions including; Entrepreneurship (the ownership) of a new business, such as opening a new shop or small scale industry; interpreneurship (which involves the promotion of innovation or the introduction of new products or services or markets within existing environments or organization without having to start a separate (new) business unit (Pinchot, 2000). This may be made possible through research and innovative initiative among entrepreneurs. Consider for example, a food vendor who sells within a given business environment and suddenly discovers that the target clientele is expanding due to some expansionary activities of the neighboring companies resulting in their employment of new staffers. Intrapreneurship requires that the food vendor can no longer operate within his existing budget if he is to maximize profits. He does not need to be educated on the desirability of budg etary expansion to enable him create an absolute capacity for his new client’s demand. A third orientation relates to what experts call social entrepreneur which involves creating charitable organizations (or portions of existing charities) designed to be self-supporting in addition to doing their good works. Intrapreneurship may lead to a phenomenon described as clustering. Clustering occurs when a group of employers breaks from a parent company to form a new company but continues to do business with the parent organization as in the popular Silicon Valley clusters. This phenomenon is common among lawyers who while working under existing legal chambers do break out often to undertake some business ventures without having to quit their existing chambers entirely. Pinchot believes that entrepreneurship releases the energy’ in the direction of deep personal values while also it is a tool for releasing the creativity, values and entrepreneurial spirit of people who work in large corporations. â€Å"When you free people from fear and bureaucratic restraint, they are likely to choose innovation projects that serve their deeper values (Pinchot 1985) Intrapreneurs have a great zeal to be innovative and a drive to ownership. The entrepreneurial sence of independence is so high among intrapreneurs that Pinchot in his ten commandments of Intrapreneuring describes their attitude in work organizations as people who â€Å"come to work daily willing to be fired†. For a productive and profit-oriented business success, intrapreneurship education is very useful. What relevance therefore, can there be, of entrepreneurship education to political recruitment in the Nigerian policy and how may we define the line of congruence between these variables. C. ASSESSING THE RELEVANCE OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP EDUCATION TO POLITICAL RECRUITMENT IN NIGERIA Porter (1994) has established a relationship between entrepreneurship education and business education. We can extend this discourse by establishing some relationship between entrepreneurship education and political recruitment in Nigeria. Political recruitment is a process by which citizens are selected for involvement in politics. Party system is the most important mechanism of political recruitment, The process of political recruitment involves two levels namely: recruitment of power elite, that is, party and government cadres and the recruitment of grassroots membership who provide political support for party programmes and policies. The recruitment of grassroots may involve a historical process whereby certain cadres of the society are targeted for recruitment e.g. peasant workers and revolutionary youths, and this is then followed by the recruitment of workers, students and rebellion youths and then the recruitment of professional and educated youths. The recruitment provides a stage of political screening such as the examination of class origin, political attitude, political participation or clientelism. Clientelism in the view of Protsyk Matichescu (2009) involves contingent direct exchanges between political actors and both vote-rich and resource-rich constituencies. At the initial point, the role of educational credentials in political recruitment may be irrelevant, but with time, become positive or negative and finally very important. The relevance of entrepreneurship education to political recruitment in Nigeria can be established in several ways. Firstly, entrepreneurship education provides the individual with the strong initiative to succeed in his political career. There is a strong imperative to see party politics as not merely a game being played by two or more persons, but more importantly as a field where excellence in service is required. The individual will take ownership of his actions with a strong sense of judgment that being a politician can be onerous and requires a lot of responsibility and expectations from the society in terms of excellent service to the people. Entrepreneurship education can help promote the spirit of innovativeness among people who chose to enlist in party politics. The individual utilizes every new opportunity in his political environment to create new political images of success. For instance, a politician who observes that there is a growing school enrolment among children in his community and or neighbouring communities would devise new creative political slogans or even manifestoes that will appeal to the immediate passions of his proposed electorate. It is needless for an aspiring politician targeting upland dwellers to propose programmes designed or suitable for riverine areas such as riverine transport system. Entrepreneurship education would facilitate political education especially in rural or unenlightened communities as individual aspirant would localize training techniques or apply local technologies to provide the relevant learning materials to his subjects. This will also help in reducing costs to the ultimate advantage of the subsisting party to which the individual belongs. Entrepreneurship education should be a suitable tool for sensitizing the right type of party membership at all cadres or recruitment. Subjects should therefore choose to belong to a political party with a genuine sense of awareness about his expectations not merely joining a band wagon. Subjects should have their energy released towards a vocation where their deep personnel values reside. The present phenomenon where party politics is seen as a residue to retire to where all other endeavours have failed or a place where quick wealth and fame can be realized can no longer prevail. D. Conclusion and Recommendations An entrepreneur is an owner of a business. Entrepreneurs are driven by the myths of greed, high risk taking, intuitive thinking and even sometimes dishonesty ( Pinchot, 2000) The business may be tangible for it to be observed by others. However, the sense of entrepreneurship may be presently dialectical and reside within the individual who only waits for any physical opportunity to realize his ownership dream. Entrepreneurship education should be a relevant tool to facilitate the ownership drives among people in various vocations including party politics. In particular reference to political recruitment entrepreneurship education should help stimulate the right type of practitioners and hence secure the right quality of leaders needed especially for a developing polity like Nigeria. Existing educational programmes should be philosophically tailored to meet the needs of subjects who are the future entrepreneurs in Nigeria. This would lead to the redirection of subjects’ perception of schooling as not merely a means of securing paid jobs. In a society with dwindling employment options, entrepreneurship education should be a suitable tool for fostering the self-employment initiatives among the school leaving class and those enlisting in other entrepreneurial vocations. The strong Connections between entrepreneurship education and good governance in Nigeria can therefore no longer be imaginary under this discourse but realistic. REFERENCES Block, Z. Stumpf, S. A. (1992) Entrepreneurship education research: Experience and challenge. In D. L. Sexton and J. D. Kasarda, (Eds.) The state of the art of entrepreneurship, Boston, MA: PWS-Kent Publishing, pp. 17-45. Protsyk, O. Matichescu, M.L. (2009) Clientelism and political recruitment in democratic transition. Evidence from Romania, retrieved from the net onO4/ 22/2011 @http://www.policy.hu/protsyk /Publications/Articles/CPRomClient 11 .pdf. Pinchot, III G. (1985). Intrapreneuring; Why you do not have to leave the organization. New York, NY:,-. Harper Row. Pinchot, G. Pellman, R. (2000) Intrapreneurship in action: A handbook for business innovation, San-Francisco, California : Berrett-Kohler. Porter, L. W. (1994). The relation of entrepreneurship education to business education. Simulation gaming 25(3): 416-419.

Regulations and Policies of Online and Social Media

Regulations and Policies of Online and Social Media Introduction The sole goal of the media is to reach mass audiences with the transmitted message. Earlier the main sources of information would include the traditional media like Newspapers, Magazines, Radio, Television etc., Now people have started depending on the contemporary media for information .Subsequently, the online and the social media are gaining prominence. What are the principles governing the Online and the Social Media? What would be the standards of Online and the Social Media? Does the Media law regulate the content to the stipulated extent? Is ethics followed in Online and Social Media? While practicing ethics in Online and social media what are the issues faced , the constraints confronted and the opportunities that we come across? Considering the Online and the Social media that have become an inevitable part of life of any individual today, a thorough study will reveal the opportunities and the threats. Online and Social media Definition The Online media and Social media refer to the digital media in which information is made available in the forms of music, photos, videos etc., which are distributed in the internet. These media entertain socialinteraction among people in which they create, share or exchange information, photos, video and ideas in virtual communities andnetworks. (Wikipedia) The mobile phone and the internet have transformed to an integral part of the human schedule or in other words, life itself. The usage of mobile phones is increasing vastly not only in the urban but also rural areas with innumerable mobile operators entering the market day in and day out. The slashing down of the internet charges and the internet services being made available in the mobile phones have drastically increased the prominence of the online and the social media. Principles The Online and Social Media can transmit the message instantaneously. This media is also a more personalized version of all the other media or in other words we have the complete authority to edit the content. Certain principles govern the social media and these principles decide the success of communication in the media. The information that is shared in the social media ought to be authentic. This authenticity of information be it personal, or of the company helps in building trust. The length of the post determines the number of views. Minimize on the length – Be crisp and clear. Social media is being used as a marketing tool to earn likes for the specific products or for the company. Creating a community determines the success in SMM and it happens in a slower pace. Sharing some useful or interesting piece of information that would interest the group as well as sharing and showing interest in the information shared by the peers would help in nurturing a larger group. The interaction plays an important role as well in the social media. As a company, a response is a must, be it for a compliment from the customer or for a complaint. (Jon Reed, 2013, 7 principles of Social Media Marketing) (Five Basic Principles of Social Media, 2014) Standards The Association of Fundraising Professionals ( AFP) has defined the standards for the Organization leaders and the staff, affiliates, consultants etc., to follow certain these set standards. Industry laws and guidelines are also applicable in social media. The information should be updated at all times and people should be open to criticisms/ appreciations While opposing, maintain a polite language. Take responsibility for all the content . Respond to queries/ comments . Be responsible for the content and think before you post. Adhere to moral principles, honesty and be open . Know to differentiate the personal and the professional boundaries. Be authorized and official. Avoid violations of standards . The Association of Fundraising Professionals ( AFP) has defined the standards for the Organization leaders and the staff, affiliates, consultants etc., not to do certain activities . Do not share or disclose material that the organization or affiliate organization considers is forbidding, harassing, illegal, obscene, defamatory, libelous, or hostile towards any individual or entity. Do not share or disclose phone numbers or email addresses of yourself or any other individual or entity Do not display material that violates on the rights of the organization or any individual or entity, including privacy, intellectual property or publication rights. This includes the unauthorized use of (but is not limited to) images, logos, videos, content, documents, white papers, etc. Do not publish material that promotes or advertises a commercial product or solicits business / membership or financial or other support in any business, group or organization. Do not post chain letters, post the same comment multiple times as this would be termed as spam. Do not permit any other individual or entity to use your identity for posting in or viewing social medias. Do not use multiple identities or the identity of others. (AFP’s Social media guidelines,2013) Ethics Social Media is a form of media in which the information intended reaches instantaneously as well as globally and fetches response due to the inherent quality of interaction. Balancing ethics in social media is a difficult task as access to social media is available to all and there is no control over the content. Like any other media, Accuracy and authenticity are two main points of ethical importance. The information shared in the social media is available to a community when shared and when it gets shared repeatedly there is no control over the content. The professionals, journalists, public figures etc., are expected to possess the quality of Impartiality to be ethical. The social media networking with political parties, organizations would create notions of â€Å"biasing† which is unethical. Avoid defaming statements against individuals/ organizations in the social media. Subsequently ,avoid commenting on the customs, culture, beliefs of different religions, countries etc., Recommending publicly in a social media is also considered unethical. (NPR Ethics handbook, 2012) Regulations The protection of privacy of the customers is ensured using the regulatory laws. The employer’s level of inspecting the social media updates of the current and future employees is governed by the regulatory law. Marketing of products using social media, revealing financial reports of companies etc., are governed by a guidance law. Defining of procedures for the employees‘ business use of social media, the inspection and the control is also covered by a law. Guidelines that clearly explain on what situations the company can obtain and use it for legal investigations are also available. (Five Common Legal Regulatory Challenges With Social Media, 2013) Ethical Practices on Online and Social Media Issues The employees of a company when communicating on behalf of a company have to be ethical in terms of complimenting their own company as well as avoid criticizing the competition in a social media. The access to social media in business hours for personal reasons is an unethical practice. Professionals like lawyers, judges involved in the same case could be friends and their interactions in social media could cause negative references for the case. Social networking with the political parties or with the important leaders of the political parties could create negative remarks in the professional profile. (Ethical Challenges of Social Media, 2011) Constraints Updating business profiles by the professionals like the doctors, lawyers are legal advertisements even when they are not intended to and could cause ethical problems in their profession. Sharing of confidential information both professional and personal have to be avoided to be ethical. The security factors whilst using a social media are to be dealt with paramount importance. Neglecting or ignoring such factors could push us to unnecessary complications. The recruiting companies demand social media personal account details for monitoring the emlpoyees’ activities. The borderline between the personal and the professional activities becomes indistinct. (10 Tips for Avoiding Ethical Lapses When Using Social Media, 2014) Opportunities Being present in most of the social media with the same identity also helps in building brand image and trust. Social media does not stop with sharing information but it extends till the peer group responds either positively or negatively. The secret of success lies in the unique posts in social media to reach the maximum audience. Knowledge Sharing : This is a very significant opportunity of the Social Media. People in the same professional line can share information on specific cases and the success stories which could be of great use to the others and sometimes the others in the cimmunity could come out with different ideas. Life Sharing : Social media is a powerful tool to share photos, videos using Youtube, Flickr etc., to get the actual feel of events. Social Networking : This networking helps in sharing the status, photos , video etc., with the friends, relatives living in different places. One post updates the whole set of friends/ relatives in the group. Business Networking : Business networking using social media like Linkedin helps in procuring information on job opportunities and freelancing from the community. Community Building : Social networking communities like Collaborate, Collect etc., is a common platform for messaging, document sharing etc., with a mobile apps used in an i-phone. (Social Media Constraints and Opportunities Project,2011) Conclusion The online and the social media also has to be treated as important as the traditional media and one has to understand that the media laws govern these media as well. The access to online and the social media is available to all unlike the other media and so it is important for us to know the regulations and the restrictions failing which legal actions are also feasible. Sharnig persona or confidential information can also lead to cyber crimes.

The Educational Philosophy I Will Incorporate in My Classroom Essay

The Educational Philosophy I Will Incorporate in My Classroom Education serves as the foundation to a lifetime of learning. Since every child is unique, I believe that it is important for them to learn in an environment that is both secure and stimulating. By creating this type of atmosphere, the students will be able to realize their intelligence and use it constructively. As a future educator, it will be my goal to establish a classroom that is, 1) non-authoritarian, 2) student-centered, and 3) focused around student experience. These three elements are part of Progressivism, the educational philosophy I plan to incorporate in my classroom. In a classroom that is non-authoritarian, the teacher serves as a facilitator, or supervisor of learning. By assuming this role, the teacher provides access to information rather than being the primary source of information. In this aspect, the students will be able to discover knowledge through problem-solving, cooperative learning activities, and decision making. I believe it is important for a teacher to provide students a sense of freedom so that they may choose what they want to learn according to their interests. By making a child feel as though they have a choice, rather than an obligation to learn information, it will help them constructively build their knowledge. I believe it is equally important to have a classroom that is student-centered. I do not imagine my classroom arranged with rows of seated desks all facing the front of the classroom. Instead, I think that students should have the opportunity to work amongst their peers in small groups, studying a wide array of topics. Students will not be required to focus their attention on on... ...my education at Concord University studying Elementary Education. After graduating with my Bachelors of Science in Education, I plan to get a job as a teacher in an elementary school. I believe that there is a need for compassionate and caring teachers in elementary schools. At such a young age, I believe that it is important for elementary students to have positive role models in their lives. I am very interested in pursuing my Masters Degree at some point, but my main goal is to get out into the school system as a teacher. The most important thing that I have learned in my life is the importance of education. Living in a world bursting with advantages and opportunities for those in education, I find it both a priority and privilege to share the gift of knowledge with the future of society. Even more, I find it an honor to be able to have the chance.

Avon Case Analysis Essay -- Avon Cosmetics Make Up Essays

Avon As of November 1999, Avon was experiencing economic troubles. Avon’s growth rate of annual sales was less than 1.5 percent during the greatest economic boom in history. This prompted a transfer in leadership which appointed Andrea Jung as CEO. Since that time, Avon has experienced remarkable growth. Under the direction of the new CEO, a new strategy was developed to reinvent Avon’s image, improve customer satisfaction, and to increase profit margins and market share. Avon has gained an outstanding reputation as the best direct seller of beauty products. Through the continued efforts and achievements of its sales representatives, Avon is now known worldwide. Avon’s core competence has mainly been its direct selling busniess model. This led Jung and the management team to implement a Sales Leadership program that provided incentives to acquire, train, motivate, and retain the number of active sales representatives it needs to sustain significant growth. Avon also has a representative development program that focuses on the professional training of representatives. This enables the representatives to provide valuable information on Avon brand products. Avon also keeps its superior customer service in other ways of distribution such as the Internet and in the departmen t store sales by having a timely and correct order delivery, one on one information exchange and personalized professional advice. Forces of Competition Rivalry among competing sellers in the CFT industry is strong. The creation of innovative products is crucial to success. This industry focuses on continually developing cutting edge products using the latest science and technology. Rivalry is stronger when customer’s costs to switch brands are low. Switching costs in the CFT industry are very low, due to the large amount of different brands of similar products. This cost is due to the higher number of competitors in the CFT industry and their tendency to copy new products in order to stay competitive. Another Avon objective that aims to alleviate pressures coming from competing sellers includes consists of reinventing their antiquated image. The organization had been a major player in the CFT industry for decades. However, Avon’s management took a reactive approach and failed to evolve with the changing times. Because the CFT industry centers on mage conscious consumers, Jung d... ...na. Also, because the only sales in China are generated through retail outlets, Avon should further develop their Beauty Advisors training. Europe should also be a continued focus for Avon. Industry leader, L’Oreal’s attributes 50% of their total sales to the European market. Avon has had a successful growth rate in Europe but only 23% of the total 2003 sales came from Europe. There is still room to expand in this market. Based on one of the industry’s key success factors, product innovation, Avon should focus even more resources on R&D especially in the areas of anti-aging products and teen products. Because 23 million teenagers have an average weekly disposable income of $85, Avon should continue with innovative teen marketing such as the current â€Å"mark† brand but also work on products for problem teen skin. Being ahead of the industry in introducing new products combined with the company’s already strong market position could further improve Avon’s brand equity and therefore revenues. In particular, Avon should continue to integrate sales representative into all aspects of sales. This is Avon’s own key success factor and what sets them apart from their competitors.

Information to commit a crime Essay

The article from The Mail on Sunday spreads over 2/3s of a page. It is at first glance more interesting than the previous article because it contains a large color picture of Lord Archer and his wife, and a smaller picture of the book he has recently published. Articles with pictures beside them seize the reader’s attention. The caption under the picture of Archer and his wife reads ‘inside job:’ which suggests a crime has been committed from inside prison. ‘Inside job’ is a word used to refer to those who use their access to privileged information to commit a crime. It is an exaggerated and dramatic term to use, which will catch the reader’s interest. ‘Archer could pocket a fortune from his prison diary, left, which could ease his and wife Mary’s cash flow problems’ This sentence is intended to be humorous because it is sarcastic. The lord and lady are not expected to have any money troubles or ‘cash flow problems’. Humor is a method used by journalists to incite their readers. Also, here is introduced a motive for releasing the book that was not mentioned in the other article. However the article does not hold substantial evidence that this is true, and not just a conclusion drawn by the reporter for the purpose of obtaining public interest. The article says that this had been said by ‘sources close to the family’. Nevertheless it does go on to say that Archer recently paid out 2. 7 million to Express Newspapers. The Mail on Sunday article is similarly set out in columns. Unlike The Sunday Telegraph this article contains larger font for the first two paragraphs of the article. This is done because it contains the basis of the story and larger font stands out more. There is one enlarged quote, which reads ‘He simply put his memoirs in the post’. The reporter chose to enlarge this because it will surprise the readers. It is a controversial point: should Archer really have just been allowed to post his memoirs. The article uses language such as ‘far from smuggling the manuscript out ‘ which suggests this is what would have been expected. The article goes on to explain that prison authorities can check prisoners outgoing post and that they could have censored Archer’s book. This leaves the reader wondering why they allowed Archer’s book to get out. Could it be because he is a Lord and has high social status than the average prisoner? I think that is what the article is suggesting throughout. It does this because it wants to raise a point, make the readers think and get their attention. The language in this article uses more adjectives than the Sunday Telegraph article, examples of this are: Calls were made for Archer to be dealt with ‘harshly’. A spokesman ‘criticized’ the prison service. This has the effect of persuading to the reader to agree with the reporter’s point of view. Unlike the Sunday Telegraph article it refuses to sit on the fence. Both the articles are similar to each other in some of the ways they were written. For instance it is written like a story with intervening quotes and opinions from different people. Frances Crook says ‘anyone should have the right to free speech and free expression’. The article also stops to explain facts to the reader such as ‘letters or phone calls to or from the prison can be read’. The Mail on Sunday talks about many more different aspects relating to the story than the Sunday telegraph which chooses to stick to the main story. The Mail on Sunday article speaks of the ‘cash flow problem’. It explains what else has happened to Archer whilst he has been in prison, ‘used a weekend home leave to attend a champagne party’ and ‘lavish lunches with prison staff ‘. The word ‘lavish’ suggests to the reader that Archer is having an easy time, living the life of a high society, rich man. It is said because the reporter feels that Archer should not be treated as well as he is, because he is a criminal. It goes on to explain that these ‘breaches of prison rules’ has meant he has been transferred. The first paragraph of this article says Archer is ‘expected to escape any severe punishment’ for publishing his Prison Diaries. It also states that the diary is likely to net him at least 300,000. The word ‘escape’ suggests to the reader that Archer deserves a punishment and is getting out of it. The 300,000 is also a lot less than the 500,000 the Sunday Telegraph said Archer had gained. The effect of money written of in the first paragraph is also make the reader interested and angry that Archer has received so much money but will not be punished for his crime. The title stating that the punishment for Archer’s crime is to have his TV removed is not completely accurate. A prison service insider as one of a number of possible punishments mentioned it. The article picked up on this and enlarged its importance to capture reader’s attention because it sounds like a stupid and unfair punishment. The article also mentions that ‘under Prison Rule 55, Archer could have seven weeks added to his sentence’. However this is still a lot less than the ‘extra year’ mentioned in the other article. The two Newspaper articles were very similar in many ways because they were of the same type of media. I found the main differences between them were the main facts of their stories, the punishments disagreed with each other. They both used different techniques for get the readers attention. The purpose of this was to capture and maintain an interest in the article. The overall purpose is to sell newspapers, and make money. The Sunday Telegraph is known to be a more trustworthy newspaper than tabloids such as the Mail on Sunday. The article in the Sunday Telegraph was a straightforward news event and it had no signs of being biased. All the facts were presented The Mail on Sunday appealed more to people’s need for gossip and scandal, it tried to make the reader feel annoyed and shocked. This article was better at catching the reader’s eye because of the layout and bright pictures. I think the Mail on Sunday also did a better job of maintaining the reader’s interest because most people like to read about the more scandalous side of stories and it is more interesting when an article sways your emotions. The Sunday Telegraph, can be trusted to give a relatively non-biased true account but it is less interesting to read. The language in both articles was very similar; both used simple, factual writing backed up with quotes.

Economic Analysis Essay

The enthusiasm, as well as the anxieties that is generated by the working of the economy of the United States is not just US economy generates is not just obvious but also easy to understand. The United States, with a GDP of 13. 2 trillion USD, and a population of 300 million (with an average yearly per capita income of more than 44,000 USD), is the largest economy of the world (CIA Factbook, 2008). Its currency, the US dollar, even in the throes of its greatest financial crisis, is the world’s preferred currency, and its markets the world’s biggest. In diversity and amount, the natural resources of the country are greater than those of most other countries. Many US industries are global leaders, and it remains the favorite marketing target for companies from across the world. With the US being the largest trading partner for numerous north and south countries, a large portion of the global economy relies upon US consumption for survival; significant changes in its pattern can lead to global euphoria or gloom. The performance of the US economy is influenced by an assortment of local and international factors. Distinguished by particularly low government control, a guiding principle that was first chosen by the founding fathers and followed painstakingly ever since (Oppenheimer, & Reddaway, 1989). Although the government stipulates regulations and ensures inviolability of contracts, most microeconomic decisions are taken by private firms and corporations. (Rowe & Silverstein, 1999) Governmental and Federal Reserve activities occur mainly through the modification of tax policies, changes in interest rates, and control of money supply; their endeavor being to push the economy in chosen directions rather than to compel it to take up preferred paths. (Oppenheimer, & Reddaway, 1989) The last two decades have been particularly turbulent for the economy, marked by sharp expansion, occasional slowdowns, and the occurrence, in 2008, of a slump of dimensions sharp enough to affect the economic fortunes of numerous nations and millions of people. This assignment aims to assess and analyze the performance of the economy from 1990 until the present day, taking up various economic developments, the reasons behind the same, and their local and global impact. Commentary Overview of 1990 to 2001 The economic performance of an extremely intricate and influential economy like that of the US relies upon various local and global developments like investments, agricultural, manufacturing and service activity, exports and imports, global and local commodity prices, currency strength, disposable incomes, and consumption patterns. It is also influenced by fiscal and monetary measures like changes in tax policies, interest rates on loans, and reserves of banks, as well as by ongoing developments like price rises, job levels, and induction of fresh participants into the work force. Whilst the United States is one of the leading exporters of coal, wheat, corn, and soybeans, its continuous and strong economic growth has increased its dependence upon other countries for oil and many other raw materials. In fact the country had become a leading consumer of practically every sort of raw material by the 1960s and growth continued to rise thereafter. The 1970s and the 1980s, the decades that preceded the 1990s, were difficult ones and were distinguished by slow economic growth and inflation. While the period was marked by the entry of Japanese industry onto the global stage, the oil price shocks, and the forced bailout of Chrysler, it also witnessed the emergence of the service industry and the numerous small businesses in the United States. Whilst the 1980s saw a reduction in inflation rates and the creation of millions of jobs, such developments were accompanied by drastic increases in military expenditure, Medicaid and Medicare costs, corporate debt and household borrowing (Julius, 2005). Thousands of banks failed because of a combination of reasons that included high inflation and interest rates, bad loans to developing nations and speculative real estate ventures. The total national debt reached a figure of 290 billion US dollars, the highest till then. The US economic recovery commenced in 1991 and continued for the rest of the decade; it was distinguished by a long period of constant growth and by strong performance in key economic indicators like growth, inflation, unemployment and interest rates. Real growth in GDP stayed at around 3 % for the whole period with a low of 2. 5 % and a high of 3. 9 % in 1998. Unemployment fell from a peak of 7. 5 % to 5. 6 % by the middle of the decade and to less than 5 % after 1997. â€Å"America’s labor force changed markedly during the 1990s. Continuing a long-term trend, the number of farmers declined. A small portion of workers had jobs in industry, while a much greater share worked in the service sector, in jobs ranging from store clerks to financial planners. If steel and shoes were no longer American manufacturing mainstays, computers and the software that make them run were. † (The 1990s and beyond, 2008) Inflation, which had reached dangerously high levels in the 1980s also moderated significantly and remained below 3 % for most of the decade. The only area that witnessed volatility was the stock market, with stock prices rising by more than 60 % in the closing years of the decade on the back of low unemployment and good growth figures. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, which had stood at around 1,000 in the late 1970s, went up to as much as 11,000 in 1999, adding substantially to the wealth of many Americans (Julius, 2005). Whilst Clinton, who occupied the Presidency from 1993 to 2000, declared the era of big business to be over in the United States, he worked to strengthen market forces in areas like long distance telephony, reduced the size of the federal work force and ensured the continuance of most of the New Deal innovations (The 1990s and beyond, 2008). The economy was also helped greatly by the collapse of the Soviet Union and the consequent enlargement of trading opportunities. Technological advances led to the introduction of a wide assortment of sophisticated new electronic products. Numerous innovations in telecommunications and computer networking led to the development of a vast IT industry and revolutionized the operating methods and ways of numerous industries. â€Å"After peaking at $290,000 million in 1992, the federal budget steadily shrank as economic growth increased tax revenues. In 1998, the government posted its first surplus in 30 years, although a huge debt — mainly in the form of promised future Social Security payments to the baby boomers – remained† (The 1990s and beyond, 2008) The Economy in the 21st Century Whilst such developments led a number of economists to believe that the United States was entering a period of sustained economic growth, economic growth came to a halt in the early 2000s. Much of this was due to the slowing down of the investment boom and the economy went into recession in the second half of 2001, cutting a ten year period of economic growth. Along with slowdowns in investment and the widespread crashing of dotcom organizations the economy was terribly hurt by the World Trade Center attacks worsened the economic situation. The recession was short lived and lasted for a period of 8 months and whilst the labor force continued to grow, its rate moderated significantly. Whilst the actual recession was short lived the following years were ones of slow growth. Growth in GDP, which was estimated at 2. 5 % in 2002 continued to be slow in 2003 and unemployment rose significantly in 2003 (Julius, 2005). Huge corporate scams, like the ones at Enron and WorldCom led to erosion of domestic confidence and the recovery process remained slow and sluggish. The downturn in the US economy, which had spurred global economic growth during the 1990s led to a worldwide economic downturn, not just in Europe but also in Japan, Latin America and Southeast Asia (Julius, 2005). Consumer spending increased only after the commencement of the war in Iraq and was accompanied by the improvement of most economic indicators. The movement of the economy in the 2000s can be broken up in three distinct sections, the recession of 2001 followed by sluggish growth in 2002 and 2003, sharp economic growth from 2004 to 2007 and financial crisis that enveloped the economy after the housing crash and the mortgage disaster of 2007 (The 1990s and beyond, 2008). The years following 2003 witnessed a recovery powered by consumer spending as the Federal Reserve lowered interest rates and the government reduced taxes. The economy grew at an average annual rate of 3. 1 % during this period, a rate not much lower than that achieved during the growth phase of the 1990s. The economy was also bolstered by a USD 500 billion spending on homeland security and the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, a jump of 4 trillion USD in household debt and a 50 % increase in prices of real estate (The 1990s and beyond, 2008). With the Fed engineering finance at low interest rates, consumer debt, credit card, and vehicle loans went up from 7. 9 trillion USD to 12. 2 trillion USD, and US consumers went on a spending spree that had no precedent. Inflation was fuelled not just by increasing demand but by sharp increases in oil prices, which went up from 28 dollars a barrel in 2001 to the mid 60s in 2006 and finally to USD 148 a barrel in 2007 before the current crisis brought it crashing down. â€Å"The rise in GDP in 2004-07 was undergirded by substantial gains in labor productivity. Hurricane Katrina caused extensive damage in the Gulf Coast region in August 2005, but had a small impact on overall GDP growth for the year. Soaring oil prices in 2005-2007 threatened inflation and unemployment, yet the economy continued to grow through year-end 2007. † (CIA Fact Book, 2008) Tragedy struck the US and global economy in 2007 in the form of the mortgage crisis when economists were predicting a boom the likes of which the world had never seen before. The majority of the problems impacting the US economy have come about because of the development of housing crisis. Whilst housing and construction activities had grown sharply since 2004, they slackened significantly in 2006 after successive interest rate increases by the Federal Reserve made monthly housing loan repayments substantially more costly for home mortgage holders. With loans having become far more expensive to service, the housing industry went into a slump in 2006 with far lesser home sales on a Year on Year basis. The continuation of this phenomenon into 2007 led to a sharp economic slowdown and was in many ways responsible for the precipitation of the mortgage crisis. The sub prime mortgage financial crisis in the USA first evidenced itself in 2006, and assumed global proportions in mid 2007. With a combination of a number of economic causes like increased monthly repayment figures and declining home values restricting the inability of mortgage holders to meet their repayment terms, mortgage lenders, who until the had ridden the wave of real estate expansion, were hit with huge cash deficits and the inadequate securities to make good their losses (Bernanke, 2007). The emergence of the sub prime crisis led to the opening of a virtual Pandora’s Box of wrong and risky banking practices, and the financial bankruptcy and mortgage foreclosures of thousands of borrowers. It also led to the bankruptcy of huge financial institutions like Lehman Brothers, the virtual collapse of a monolith like Citibank, the collapse of stock markets, the extinction of stock market fortunes of thousands of Americans and finally to a tremendous crunch in availability of funds and credit. Apart from creating havoc among financial institutions the crisis has also led to tremendous slowing down of economic activity, the loss of thousands of jobs, increasing unemployment, contraction of GDP and enormous economic uncertainty. The sub-prime crisis has put a huge doubt over broader economic functioning by choking spending and by impacting the progress of the building sector. Whilst most impartial observers are likely to attribute the sub prime crisis to the greed of borrowers and lenders, the lax policies of regulatory authorities is seen by many to be a major contributory factor for the development of this crisis. Laxity in the activity of the Federal reserve, which reduced interest rates in 2001 and kept them low for five years, is considered to be a major reason for the reckless borrowing and lending practices that finally led to the sub prime crisis. The collapse of major banks and financial institutions has led to the development of an enormous credit crunch, with banks unable to lend money to businesses and to individuals. â€Å"So far this year, 15 banks have failed, compared with three last year. And Wall Street’s five biggest investment firms were swallowed by other companies, filed bankruptcy or converted themselves into commercial banks to weather the financial storm† (Bush: Bailout Plan †¦, 2008). With losses not being confined just to mortgage lenders, many banks lost billions of dollars in the bad mortgage debts that they had bought from mortgage companies. This in turn led to sharp reduction in the money available with them and made them unable to engage in any further lending activity. Businesses across a wide spectrum of industry and service sectors find it difficult to obtain funds for operations and growth, a phenomenon that is seriously affecting their regular working, and leading to contraction of business activity, reduction in production and sales, and to reduction of workforce. Thousands of people have been laid off in the banking sector and job losses are now increasing across the spectrum of business companies, not just in the United States but across the world. Reduced employment figures, accompanied by lesser money availability with people who are fortunate enough to hold their jobs, is also leading to sharp drops in demand for a range of products, including automobiles and household goods, and leading to crisis conditions in various sectors of the economy. The US automobile industry, which has been going through a bad patch for the last few years, has been particularly badly hit, with mostly all companies announcing production cuts and job terminations. Conclusion The duration and severity of the current financial crisis has led many analysts to compare it with the events of the Great Depression, when 9,000 banks failed. Others however feel that while the current crisis is undoubtedly severe it is far away from reaching the levels of economic grief that characterized the depression of the 1930s. Contracting money supply, tax increases, and protectionist tariffs, factors that were associated with the Great Depression are not present today. Unemployment levels, while rising today are also far below the levels of 25 % that were breached in the 1930s. Today’s problem remains associated with the crisis of banking solvency, as is evident from the bankruptcies, forced takeovers and virtual nationalization of large private sector banks. Banks are desperate to first balance their banks and are looking for funds to stay afloat and manage their existing obligations rather than in providing fresh credit. The government of the United States has come out with a bailout plan that was first estimated at 700 billion US dollars and has now come up to nearly a trillion dollars, a figure equal to the GDP of many prosperous West European economies. The bailout plan envisages the provisioning of hundreds of billions of dollars that the treasury can use to for the purchase of distressed assets, particularly mortgage backed securities and for making capital injections into banks. The purpose of the bailout plan is to protect banks, stabilize the economy, improve liquidity, restore confidence in financial markets, and encourage consumption. The Federal Reserve has in recent weeks joined with other major central banks to reduce interest rates and the world’s top economic powers are getting together to take concerted action. Such efforts are yet to show significant results and stock markets continue to remain depressed. â€Å"Slowing consumer demand, labor productivity and, potentially, trade growth worsens the prospects of a mild recession. If the bailout does not soon restore financial stability-and many economists doubt that it will-bailing out the broader economy will require additional public funds and increase burdens on future taxpayers† (Gokhale, 2008) Economists also estimate unemployment to increase to hit 7. 5 % by next year and most are in agreement that while the current crisis may not prove to be as severe as the great depression, economic recovery does not appear to be immediately visible and that the economy will remain difficult even if financial markets were to stabilize. In the meanwhile Americans will most probably have to live with shrinking salaries and reducing net worth at least for 2009.

Charles Dickens’ Satire of Victorian Culture in Oliver Twist

In the novel Oliver Twist, Charles Dickens ridicules Victorian society; he focuses on the Poor Law system, orphans, workhouses, and the characterization of Oliver and Nancy, using sarcasm, and the comparison between the real world and the world of Oliver. When Dickens was just a child, a lot of traumatic things happened to him. At twelve, his father went to prison. He then had to work in a shoe blacking factory. He knew poverty and that’s why he was aware of social problems and had deep feeling of social commitment. Dickens was one of the most important social writers of history.He criticized moral, social, and economic problems in the Victorian era through his fiction works (â€Å"Charles† 1. ) The emotional and symbolizing power that Oliver Twist has is he value in Dickens life (Linsay 172. ) While writing the book, Victorian themes like poverty, injustice, mean characters, and punishment were all live issues in the world. Dickens didn’t like the 1834 New Poor Act, which criminalized the poor. He didn’t like the harsh utilitarian ethics of it. The Poor Law Board thought that people that could do work didn’t get anything better than the poorest worker.Due to the emergence of trade unions, the Poor Law system fell into decline. There were liberal welfare reforms during the twentieth century; it wasn’t until 1948 when it was officially abolished. Illustrated in Olive Twist, Dickens showed the reading society the harsh symbol of realities in the Victorian era. In the novel, there are a lot of orphans. Dickens depicts them as poor, underfed, oppressed, and severely punished (â€Å"Charles† 1. ) The fear of destitution and poverty was always present in the minds of adults, and children alike in Victorian society.There were many orphans, and one in fourteen of many towns population of children were classified as paupers in 1863. Most of the needy population relied on the parish system through the Poor Law. A Board of Directors was elected, and in many occurrences, Dickens doesn’t put them across as the â€Å"best fit†, even though the goal in the Acts was to help these paupers. Dickens uses sarcasm to write about the Board. It was once a Poor Law system that encouraged work ethic (â€Å"Poverty† 1. ) He describes them in the novel as â€Å"very sage, deep philosophical men† (Dickens 11.)Dickens talks how two orphans, Oliver and Rose, are tried with adversity which teaches them the virtues for others and love. It’s the life of pain and alienation that help them become pure characters, contrasting the fact of the stealing, wild paupers of the Victorian era (Baldridge. ) In the novel, Charles based the character of Oliver on eighteenth century characteristics. Charles’s daydreams of childhood were at bay, and it gave him an emotionally true picture of the exploited children of his own time (Linsay 179. ) In the workhouses that orphans were sent to, there wa s strict discipline.They were given just barely enough food to survive, and were punished harshly if they didn’t follow strict rules. In the novel, Dickens explains what happens to Oliver when he asks for more food. ‘Please, sir, I want some more. ’ The master was a fat, healthy man; but he turned very pale. He gazed in stupefied astonishment on the small rebel for some seconds, and then clung for support to the copper. The assistants were paralyzed with wonder; the boys with fear. Dickens shows the reader through Oliver’s hunger how bad it was for him.Everyone around the food master thought surely Oliver was to be hung for asking such an explicit question. Instead, Oliver is sent to immediate confinement, awaiting a new master. Laborers had tasks like stone breaking, oakum-picking, sack-making, and corn-grinding. Work conditions were tough, even though they were required to be moderately clean. Patricia Pulham and Brad Beaven explain in their article enti tled â€Å"Poverty and the Poor† how in his journal, Workhouse Words, Dickens investigates the conditions of the workhouse conditions.When he went to the workhouse debate in the 1850s, he witnessed poverty, misery, starvation, and all around death these defined the lack of the workhouse system. Dickens achieves the simplicity of the characters because the way he presents them and describes them doesn’t contain any indistinctness. To some, Oliver might seem sentimental, and Nancy a prostitute with unsure feelings, but these depictions are conventional, and are the marks and representations of a tragedy. Oliver is looked at as an â€Å"item of mortality† who will be a new responsibility for the parish and is only worth selling to the general public when he misbehaves for 5 pounds.Society views Oliver, with its money ethic, as a liability, for he really doesn’t portray a soul or spirit in the Board’s eyes. Oliver’s characteristic development mi ght seem pompous, because he doesn’t really act or talks like the other children. Dickens removes him from the natural speech of all other characters, and gives him the emblem of susceptible innocence and exposure. Oliver is managed by anyone who comes in contact with him. He’s like a puppet, influenced beyond his view. Actually, through most of the novel, Oliver often doesn’t know where he is or who he is.Social order is shown through the rough unimportance of Oliver’s concealed humanity (Duffy 5. ) Oliver never learns how to juxtapose the alabaster and pitch social vocabularies in his story in any way that he might earn about the realities of Victorian culture (Baldridge. ) Dickens depicts Nancy as forced into prostitution by poverty, her peers, and her corrupt environment. Dickens knew of the victimization of Victorian women and wanted to show that Nancy’s sweet character was corrupted by this and that she didn’t deserve her fate (Charles 1.)Even at the cost of her life, Nancy feels change in her heart. She is loyal to her friends, and she goes to save Oliver and Rose. Dickens isn’t emotionalizing iniquity and crime. The truth of life is being represented (Al- Mahdi 3-4. ) Charles Dickens successfully takes the harsh realities of the Victorian era and employs them into the novel Oliver Twist. Through his satire and characterization, he creates a negative image of the cruel things that happened to people in workhouses, orphans, and children. Charles Dickens will always be remembered as one of the best social commentators in history.

Should There Be Private Universities

rivate universities in India – why? how? Why do we need private universities? Higher education in India has largely been the preserve of the Government till recently in terms of both funding and provision of education. But for this to continue, the Government should continue to be in a position to pour in large sums of money to fund higher education. Today, the Government is unable to find the funds even to keep up its own commitment of spending 6% of GDP on education.There is also a clamour to spend more of what little funding the Government has allocated for education, on primary education than on higher education, and quite rightly so, given that many children don't even get a basic primary and secondary education today. Thus the Government spending on higher education as a percentage of overall government spending on education is only likely to decrease further in the coming years. But the demand for higher education is continuing to increase with more and more students wa nting a higher education today than ever before.How can we bridge the gap between increasing demand and decreasing government funding for higher education? The only option is to tap the private sector to participate in the funding and provision of higher education. The process of increasing private participation in higher education has already begun with a few states like Chhattisgarh and Uttaranchal having passed legislation to permit the setting up of private universities in their states.Indeed the private sector has been funding higher education in India for a long time, albeit on a very limited scale. The Birla Institute of Technology and Science at Pilani in Rajasthan, which is funded and run by the Birla Group Trust, became an officially recognised university as far back as 1964. Other institutions like the Manipal Group in Manipal in Karnataka have been running private colleges since 1953 and the Manipal Academy of Higher Education became a deemed university in 1993.Many othe r self-financing colleges were set up in the early 1990s and a few of them have now become deemed universities. Problems arising out of poor regulation of private universities After the passing of legislation in Chhattisgarh in 2002 (and subsequently in other states like Uttaranchal), to facilitate the establishment of private Universities with a view to creating supplementary resources to assist the State Government in providing quality higher education, there was a spate of private universities that were set up under the Chhattisgarh Act.The Chhattisgarh legislation was passed in a hurry without much care, leaving many loopholes in the Act, which were quickly exploited by many organisations that set up private universities, without a serious commitment to higher education. Many of the private universities set up under the Chhattisgarh Act did not have either the infrastructure, or a campus, or the funds to provide quality higher education, and functioned out of one-room tenements. The Chhattisgarh Act did not provide for proper regulation and maintenance of standards by these universities and moreover, the Chhattisgarh Government did little to ensure that the private universities did what they were expected to do according to the legislation. Students who signed up for courses offered by private universities set up under the Chhattisgarh Act were being taken for a ride by many private universities who had no capability to offer quality courses.Prof. Yashpal, former chairman of the University Grants Commission, petitioned the Supreme Court in 2004 to declare the Chhattisgarh legislation unconstitutional and the Supreme Court after due deliberation concurred and declared in February 2005 that all the private universities set up under the Chhattisgarh Act were illegal, putting the careers of all the students who enrolled in the institutions set up by the private universities in jeopardy.But to protect the interests of the students, the Supreme Court directed the Chhattisgarh Government to take appropriate steps to have such institutions affiliated to the already existing State Universities in Chhattisgarh. It is important to note that the Supreme Court did not state that all private universities are illegal – it has only stated that the manner in which the Chhattisgarh legislation allowed the setting up of private universities was illegal. The problem is not with private participation in higher education, but with the poorly drafted Chhattisgarh legislation and the lack of proper egulation. Given the Government's lack of funds for higher education and the increasing demand for higher education, we simply cannot do without private universities. We have no option but to tap private funding for higher education. The task before us now is to come up with ways and means to ensure that private universities are properly regulated, yet autonomous and independent enough to flourish, and held to high standards to provide quality higher educat ion. How can we ensure private universities are held to high standards? We can borrow the model from the corporate sector.Just as all companies are required by law to publish annual reports providing details of their assets, liabilities, profits and losses, the profiles of the board of directors and the management and various other financial information, every educational institution (whether public or private) should publish an annual report with details of the infrastructure and facilities available, profiles of the trustees and the administrators, the academic qualifications and experience of the staff, the courses offered, the number of students, the results of the examinations, the amount of funds available to the university and the sources of funding etc.In addition, every educational institution must get itself rated by an independent rating agency like CRISIL, ICRA or CARE and publicly announce its rating to prospective students to enable the students to choose the instituti on they want to enroll in. At one stroke, this will bring in transparency and ensure that every educational institution, whether public or private, is accountable not only to those students who are studying in the institution, but to prospective students and the public at large as well.Public announcements of the financial and educational records of the institutions as well as their ratings by independent rating agencies will generate healthy competition between the various private institutions and will also put pressure on the Government funded institutions to work towards all-round improvement. Such a system is already in place for maritime education in India. In 2004, the Directorate General of Shipping (DGS), which regulates maritime education in India, introduced a system of rating maritime training institutions in India.In 1996, maritime education was opened to private sector participation and over 130 private institutions are in operation today. To ensure that all institution s provide high quality education, the DGS has asked all maritime educational institutions to get themselves rated by one of the three reputed independent rating agencies in India – CRISIL, CARE or ICRA. The publicly announced ratings will benefit he students, in deciding which institution to enroll in, the institutes, in differentiating themselves based on their quality, the employers, in assessing the quality of students graduating from the institutes and the DGS as well, to non-intrusively regulate the maritime education sector and ensure high quality of education. Maritime education institutes, both public and private, are now getting themselves rated by independent rating agencies and the DGS lists the ratings on its web site. Introducing a similar model across all other sectors of higher education including engineering, medicine, arts, sciences etc. ill ensure that only those institutions with better facilities, staff and infrastructure and reputations will thrive. This will go a long way in ensuring the provision of quality higher education not only in the private sector, but in the public sector as well. The Centre and the States should pass legislation to make it mandatory for all higher education institutions to publish a detailed annual report of their financial and educational status and also be rated by independent rating agencies and publicly announce their ratings.