Wednesday, October 30, 2019

The argument for the institution of a world currency Assignment

The argument for the institution of a world currency - Assignment Example What this will essentially do is to make sure that any impediments that remain within the midst of currency discussions are resolved in an amicable way. It will also touch upon the essential aspects related with the dealing of financial litigations that take place every now and then. What is even more interesting is the ideology that a single world currency would do away with the exchange mechanism which is present in different countries of the world. There would be fewer financial lapses and the world will become a much better and economically safer place. However, for now what is really required is a vision to have a world currency that can resurrect the structures of these markets. It would mean that this world currency takes into perspective the ideology that no currency is bigger than the other and all individuals within this world have uniform status. When this happens, the people will understand the dictum of change that is coming about within their ranks and that too for all the right reasons. Hence what remains now to be seen is the fact that the institution of a single currency would bring benefits for the sake of the people, and if the same happens, what are the negative repercussions in the aftermath of the adoption of one such currency. The first and foremost problem that could come about in the wake of having a single currency would be to properly demarcate the basis of the wealthy and poor economies in this day and age (Semmler, 2011). This would mean that the dominant superpower nations of the world which have renowned currencies of their own would have to let go their respective ones. This world currency would have the power to turn heads and have a singular belief that all types of people are catered to, without any discriminations whatsoever. It would also make sure that any predicaments that do arise within the wake of adoption of this world currency are taken care of at the earliest because apprehensions regarding the same cannot be deemed as affordable at all. This is so said because the world currency would present a singular vision of the world and keep the rich and the poor on the same platform. It would tell them how they have to conduct their own selves for the global good, which is of a collective nature nonetheless. This is important because in the current times, there is a great deal of anarchy that one can see when it comes to the financial regimes. The adoption of a world currency would mean that there are fewer issues that surround the currency domains and more collective harmony for the people at large. However, some people might have different views altogether because they think distinctively and thus have a viewpoint which is not in line with the same. But then again, there are some people who would believe in the dictum of having a world currency for the wellness of the human beings on this planet earth. The institution of a world economy would guarantee that the divide between the rich and the poor is resolved in an amicable way. This would mean that the currencies that are rampant in the world are given a relief because much has been credited upon their shoulders, and not entirely for all the right reasons. There are immense negatives that have come about in the wake of understanding the dictum of too many currencies spoiling the world image (LeRoy, 2011). The people have realized these anomalies as well and are doing their utmost to resolve the ambiguities which are widespread in the lengths and breadths of the different nations of the world. Now is the time to bring about a change and this change can only happen when there are more good points than bad. The adoption of a world currency is one such positive that can be cashed upon. It will make this world a better economic

Monday, October 28, 2019

Database Needs for Early Learning Programs Essay Example for Free

Database Needs for Early Learning Programs Essay The Outcomes and Targets for the recently passed Families and Education Levy are very high. At the heart of the levy is accountability and using data in timely ways to improve annual outcomes. In the realm of Early Learning the dollars will double and the number of children and professional staff served will increase dramatically. The need for reliable, accessible data is great. An HSD IT web based data system (ELNIS) was created in 2006 for the previous levy. It was deployed in the summer of 2007 and began to be used in the 2007-2008 school year. Hosted by the state of Washington, it is accessible to each agency under contract with the city through a city purchased computer and digital certificate. Help desk support and training are also provided by the city. In 2009 the state ECEAP program substantially changed its enrollment form. ELNIS no longer matches the data elements required by the state. It was decided, because the change came so late in the year, that it was not feasible to make the changes in ELNIS. For the 2009-10 and 2010-11 school years the data has been out of sync with enrollment forms for ECEAP. ELNIS was designed in 2005 with the hope of having a single early learning data base for ECEAP, Step Ahead, and Child Care Subsidy. This proved to be unfeasible given the time constraints and limited resources available to accomplish the task. Children are entered into multiple data bases that do not connect with each other, but all ECEAP children are also in ELNIS. In 2010 Creative Curriculum substantially change the child assessment tool, such that in the final year of the levy 2010-2011 the child assessment data is no longer uploaded into ELNIS. Again it was decided not to reconfigure ELNIS to match the changes in the assessments because of time and cost, until the new levy passed. The OFE monthly report drives the immediate need for data. Each month OFE requires a data set of demographics, attendance and assessment data be delivered on the last day month following the month reported. In the MOA each year between OFE and HSD the data elements are negotiated. The data reporting required for early learning in 2010-2011 is on pages 5 8 of this report. These will still form a substantial part of the required data, but there will be additional items and number of records will increase substantially. Further, each year an analysis is completed by the data and evaluation strategic advisor in August/September for the previous school year. The data is used to help managers and education specialists to improve the performance of the agencies in the next school year. This process begins by creating a large data set of assessments matched to each child who has been served. The early vision was that the data would be stored in ELNIS and download for use in evaluations ready to be reported or analyzed. ELNIS is capable of containing the demographic data (although it no longer matches the data collected for ECEAP families) for each child, the agency, site and classroom data, and the ECERS assessment. It can no longer upload the Embedded Child Profile Assessment data, the PPVT- 4 child data, nor any data about professional development. All of this data must be managed separately in Excel spreadsheets and appended to the download from ELNIS. Increased needs for data and new data elements The new levy includes six components of which are three are new and three are expanded: †¢Professional Development †¢Family Engagement and Outreach †¢Preschool †¢Kindergarten Transition †¢Home Visiting Program †¢Health and Mental Health Support for Children The new required elements for reporting are expected to include the following indicators of progress toward the outcomes: †¢Parent-Child Home Program (PCHP) Caregivers/Adults will demonstrate increased positive behavior on the Parent and Child Together tool (PACT). †¢PCHP Children will meet standard on the Child Behavior Traits (CBT) and the Teacher Rating of Oral Language and Literacy (TROLL). †¢Family Friend and Neighbor’s (FFN†S) Care Providers Caregivers/Adults will demonstrate increased positive behavior on the Parent and Child Together tool (PACT). †¢Step Ahead Preschool Programs Children enrolled will meet the Standard Score and/or make gains on the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-4 (PPVT-4) of Receptive English by the end of the preschool year. †¢Step Ahead Preschool serving children who are English Language Learners: Children will make statistically significant gains in English Language Acquisition at the end of the preschool year on the PPVT-4. †¢Step Ahead Preschool Children will meet age level expectations at the end of the preschool year on Teaching Strategies Gold Child (TSG) assessment. †¢Children served by Step Ahead and SEEC and enrolled in full-day kindergarten Children will meet the age-level expectations on Washington Kindergarten Inventory of Developing Skills (WaKIDS) . †¢SEEC Pre-K Classrooms will meet the Environmental Rating Scale (ERS) standard at the end of the program year. †¢SEEC Pre-K Teachers will meet standard on the Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS) at the end of the program year. †¢Children enrolled in Step Ahead pre-K program will have fewer than 5 absences per semester. †¢Children served by a Step Ahead Preschool will be assessed at level 2 or higher on the district English assessment test at the beginning of Kindergarten. †¢Number of early learning and child care settings receiving targeted consultation or training. †¢% of children who enroll in kindergarten on time. †¢% of children enrolled in full day kindergarten. †¢% of children who attend 90% of school days. †¢% of children who meet the birth to 3-year indicator for health (TBD). †¢% of 4 year olds who meet standard on the curriculum embedded assessment in preschool. Early Learning Health †¢Number of early learning and child care settings and providers receiving targeted consultation or training. †¢Number of children in early learning and child care settings receiving developmental assessments. †¢Number of children in early learning and child care referred for mental health therapy and/or medical follow-up. †¢Number of low-income families linked to a health care home, Medicaid coverage, and/or other health care resources. Assessment Tools used to provide outcome and indicator data Formative Assessments †¢Child: Teaching Strategies Gold (administered fall, winter and spring of the pre-k year) †¢Classroom: Curriculum-embedded classroom checklist (administered annually) †¢CLASS: Annual voluntary observation of pre-k and kindergarten- 3rd grade teachers to measure teacher effectiveness. Summative Assessments †¢Child – PPVT-4 (administered fall and spring of pre-k ) †¢Child – WaKIDS ( administered fall and spring of kindergarten) †¢Classroom ECERS ( administered annually) Performance Payment with OFE will likely include these Outcomes (indicators) 2010-11 Indicator BaselinesNumber of Students Meeting IndicatorPercent of Students Meeting Indicator Families demonstrating increased positive behavior on the PACT and the CBT 35/4283. 3% Children making gains in the Standard Score from the fall pre-PPVT to the spring post-PPVT 657/93570. 3% Children with a minimum of two assessments meeting age-level expectations on Teaching Strategies Gold397/546 73. 0% Children are in classrooms meeting an ECERS standard of 5 in each subscale or an average of 6 in all subscales. 397/636 62. 4% Indicator Targets2010-20112012-132013-142014-152015-162016-172017-182018-19 Families demonstrating increased positive behavior on the PACT and the CBT 83. 3% 84% 85% 86% 87% 88% 89% 90% Children making gains in the Standard Score from the fall pre-PPVT to the spring post-PPVT 70. 3% 73% 76% 80% 83% 86% 89% 90%. Children with a minimum of two assessments meeting age-level expectations on Teaching Strategies Gold 73. 0% 75% 78% 81% 84% 87% 89% 90% Children are in classrooms meeting an ECERS standard of 4 in each subscale or an average of 6 in all subscales. 62. 4% 67% 71% 76% 80% 85% 89% 90% Conclusions: ELNIS as currently configured will not meet the needs of the Early Learning System to report data to the funder, to use data for improving outcomes, or to manage data for contract payment purposes and monitoring. Either work needs to begin ASAP on reconfiguring ELNIS or a new data system needs to be created or purchased. Options include an HSD IT build or a purchase of a configurable off the shelf software system, such as Adsystech or ETO. Data will need to begin being reported to OFE in the fall of 2012, eight months from now. What options exist for meeting this need? What resources are available? What planning team should be assembled? Data Set currently required to be reported by OFE (2010-2011) SEEC Early Learning – Pre-K Source: HSD (monthly) Data ElementData TypeNotes YearNumericThe year of the period that the data is reported for. e. g. 2006 for reporting period December 2006. MonthNumericThe month of the period that the data is reported for. e. g. 12 for reporting period December 2006 Child HSD IDNumeric1 = English 2 = Other than English 3 = English and another language 4 = not reported Student IDNumericEnter SPS Student ID after child is enrolled in Kindergarten Ethnicity CodeChar 25 categories from SPS Child’s Home LanguageNumeric Gender CodeChar 1 SEEC Agency CodeChar 4Corresponds with Agency name look-up table SEEC Site CodeChar 4Corresponds with classroom site look-up table SEEC Classroom Code Char 7Corresponds with classroom look-up table. SEEC StatusNumeric1 = Step-Ahead Pre-K 2 = Step Ahead Match SEEC TierNumericTier I – Step Ahead, Tiny Tots, Refugee Women’s Alliance, and Jose Marti Tier II – Denise Louie Education Center/Head Start Tier III – Non-Step Ahead Early Childhood Education and Assistance Programs (ECEAP) , Neighborhood House Head Start Tier IV – Comprehensive Child Care Program (CCCP), other Head Start Programs in the City of Seattle Days in Pre-K ProgramNumeric/NullTotal number of days the student has participated in the Pre-K program during the month. ECERS Average Subscale Scores and average totalNumericRange 1-7 ECERS – Met StandardYes/No/Null ECERS average score of 4 across all 7 elements Classroom Quality StandardYes/No/NullClassroom met quality standards Classroom LevelNumeric/NullClassroom score based on years of experience and training 1st Child Assessment – Social/Emotional DevelopmentNumeric/NullStudent’s level from the 1st Creative Curriculum child assessment or High/Scope COR 1st Child Assessment – Physical DevelopmentNumeric/NullStudent’s level from the 1st Creative Curriculum child assessment or High/Scope COR. 1st Child Assessment – Cognitive DevelopmentNumeric/NullStudent’s level from the 1st Creative Curriculum child assessment or High/Scope COR 1st Child Assessment – Language DevelopmentNumeric/NullStudent’s level from the 1st Creative Curriculum child assessment or High/Scope COR 2nd Child Assessment – Social/Emotional DevelopmentNumeric/NullStudent’s level from the 2nd Creative Curriculum child assessment or High/Scope COR 2nd Child Assessment – Physical DevelopmentNumeric/NullStudent’s level from the 2nd Creative Curriculum child assessment. or High/Scope COR 2nd Child Assessment. Cognitive DevelopmentNumeric/NullStudent’s level from the 2nd Creative Curriculum child assessment or High/Scope COR. 2nd Child Assessment – Language DevelopmentNumeric/NullStudent’s level from the 2nd Creative Curriculum child assessment or High/Scope COR. 3rd Child Assessment – Social/Emotional DevelopmentNumeric/NullStudent’s level from the 3rd Creative Curriculum child assessment or High/Scope COR. 3rd Child Assessment – Physical DevelopmentNumeric/NullStudent’s level from the 3rd Creative Curriculum child assessment or High/Scope COR. 3rd Child Assessment. Cognitive DevelopmentNumeric/NullStudent’s level from the 3rd Creative Curriculum child assessment. 3rd Child Assessment – Language DevelopmentNumeric/NullStudent’s level from the 3rd Creative Curriculum child assessment or High/Scope COR. Formative Assessment ChildYes/No/NullChild met the standard in the final embedded assessment as adopted by the SEEC assessment workgroup. PCHPYes/No/NullParticipated in Parent-Child Home Program. SEEC Early Learning – Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test, Fourth Edition PPVT Source: HSD (twice yearly) Data ElementData TypeNotes Child HSD IDNumeric. Child AgeXX-XXChild’s age at time of test in years and months 1st assessment – standard scoreNumeric/NullStudent’s standard score from the 1st Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test. 1st assessment – raw scoreNumeric/NullStudent’s raw score from the 1st Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test 1st assessment – grade equivalent scoreNumeric/NullStudent’s grade equivalent score from the 1st Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test 1st assessment – age equivalent scoreNumeric/NullStudent’s age equivalent score from the 1st Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test 1st assessment – growth scale valueNumeric/NullStudent’s growth scale value from the 1st Peabody Picture. Vocabulary Test 1st assessment – percentile scoreNumeric/NullStudent’s percentile score from the 1st Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test 2nd assessment – standard scoreNumeric/NullStudent’s standard score from the 2nd Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test. 2nd assessment – raw scoreNumeric/NullStudent’s raw score from the 2nd Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test 2nd assessment – grade equivalent scoreNumeric/NullStudent’s grade equivalent score from the 2nd Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test 2nd assessment – age equivalent scoreNumeric/NullStudent’s age equivalent score from the 2nd Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test 2nd assessment – growth scale valueNumeric/NullStudent’s growth scale value from the 2nd Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test 2nd assessment – percentile scoreNumeric/NullStudent’s percentile score from the 2nd Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test. SEEC Early Learning – ECERS Source: HSD (twice yearly) Data ElementData TypeNotes SEEC Classroom Code Char 7Corresponds with classroom look-up table. 1st ECERS score – Space and FurnishingsNumeric/NullAverage score for subscale 1st ECERS score – Personal Care RoutinesNumeric/NullAverage score for subscale 1st ECERS score – Language and Reasoning Numeric/NullAverage score for subscale 1st ECERS score – Activities Numeric/NullAverage score for subscale 1st ECERS score – Interaction Numeric/NullAverage score for subscale 1st ECERS score – Program StructureNumeric/NullAverage score for subscale 1st ECERS score – Parents and StaffNumeric/NullAverage score for subscale 1st ECERS cumulative classroom scoreNumeric/ NullAverage score across all subscales 2nd ECERS Score – Space and FurnishingsNumeric/NullAverage score for subscale 2nd ECERS Score – Personal Care RoutinesNumeric/NullAverage score for subscale 2nd ECERS Score – Language and Reasoning Numeric/NullAverage score for subscale 2nd ECERS Score – ActivitiesNumeric/NullAverage score for subscale 2nd ECERS Score – InteractionNumeric/NullAverage score for subscale 2nd ECERS Score – Program StructureNumeric/NullAverage score for subscale 2nd ECERS Score – Parents and StaffNumeric/NullAverage score for subscale 2nd ECERS cumulative classroom scoreNumeric/NullAverage score across all subscales. Early Learning – Parent-Child Home Program Source: HSD (twice yearly) Data ElementData TypeNotes YearNumericThe year of the period that the data is reported for, e. g. , 2006 for reporting period December 2006. MonthNumericThe month of the period that the data is reported for, e. g. , 12 for reporting period December 2006. Child HSD IDNumeric Student IDNumericEnter SPS Student ID after child is enrolled in Kindergarten Ethnicity CodeChar 25 categories from SPS, Other, Bi-Racial/Multi Racial Gender CodeChar 1 AgeNumeric In Parent-Child Home Visitor ProgramYes/NoStudent has participated in the Parent-Child Home Visitor Program during the month. Parent-Child Home Visitor Program Provider CodeNumeric292 = Atlantic Street Center 304 = Neighborhood House at Rainier Vista 305 = Neighborhood House at New Holly 310 = Southwest Youth and Family Services Parent-Child Home Visitor Program – Total Number of VisitsNumeric/NullCumulative number of visits during the month. 1st Child Behavior Traits (CBT) Assessment Cooperation with Adults Domain Numeric/NullScore ranges 1-4: average score for items that make up the domain shown at left 1. Does not exhibit this behavior 2. Sometimes exhibits this behavior 3. Most of the time exhibits this behavior 4. Always exhibits this behavior 1st CBT Assessment Attention to Task Domain. Numeric/NullScore ranges 1-4: average score for items that make up the domain shown at left 1. Does not exhibit this behavior 2. Sometimes exhibits this behavior 3. Most of the time exhibits this behavior 4. Always exhibits this behavior 1st CBT Assessment Engagement in Developmentally Appropriate Tasks Domain Numeric/NullScore ranges 1-4: average score for items that make up the domain shown at left 1. Does not exhibit this behavior 2. Sometimes exhibits this behavior 3. Most of the time exhibits this behavior 4. Always exhibits this behavior 2nd CBT Assessment Cooperation with Adults DomainNumeric/NullScore ranges 1-4 2nd CBT Assessment Attention to Task DomainNumeric/NullScore ranges 1-4. 2nd CBT Assessment Engagement in Developmentally Appropriate Tasks DomainNumeric/NullScore ranges 1-4 3rd CBT Assessment Cooperation with Adults DomainNumeric/NullScore ranges 1-4 3rd CBT Assessment Attention to Task DomainNumeric/NullScore ranges 1-4 3rd CBT Assessment Engagement in Developmentally Appropriate Tasks DomainNumeric/NullScore ranges 1-4 1st Parent and Child Together (PACT) Assessment Parent-Child Interactions Domain Numeric/NullScore ranges 1-4 average score for items that make up the domain shown at left 1. Does not exhibit this behavior 2. Sometimes exhibits this behavior 3. Most of the time exhibits this behavior 4. Always exhibits this behavior 1st PACT Assessment -Positive Parenting Behavior Domain Numeric/NullScore ranges 1-4: average score for items that make up the domain shown at left 1. Does not exhibit this behavior 2. Sometimes exhibits this behavior 3. Most of the time exhibits this behavior 4. Always exhibits this behavior 2nd PACT Assessment Parent-Child Interactions Domain Numeric/NullScore ranges 1-4 2nd PACT Assessment Positive Parenting Behavior Domain Numeric/NullScore ranges 1-4 3rd PACT Assessment Parent-Child Interactions Domain Numeric/NullScore ranges 1-4 3rd PACT Assessment Positive Parenting Behavior Domain Numeric/NullScore ranges 1-4. 1st Teacher Rating of Oral Language and Literacy (TROLL) Assessment – Language ScoreNumeric/NullScore ranges 0-20 (5 items with maximum of 4 points for each item) 1st TROLL Assessment – Reading ScoreNumeric/NullScore ranges 0-20 (5 items with maximum of 4 points for each item) 1st TROLL Assessment – Print Concept ScoreNumeric/NullScore ranges 0-12 (3 items with maximum of 4 points for each item) 2nd TROLL Assessment – Language ScoreNumeric/NullScore ranges 0-20 (5 items with maximum of 4 points for each item) 2nd TROLL Assessment – Reading ScoreNumeric/NullScore ranges 0-33 (8 items with maximum of 4 points for each item; one Yes/No item scored 1/0 ) 2nd TROLL Assessment – Print Concept ScoreNumeric/NullScore ranges 0-28 (7 items with maximum of 4 points for each item).

Saturday, October 26, 2019

The Effects of the Atomic Bomb :: essays research papers

The Atomic Bomb: Effects on Hiroshima and Mankind   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The nuclear bomb was the most devastating weapon ever created by man. It was developed between 1942 and 1945 during the second World War. The project to build the worlds first atomic weapon was called The Manhattan Project. The nuclear bomb was based on the idea of splitting an atom to create energy, this is called fission. Three bombs were created, â€Å"Trinity†, â€Å"Little Boy†, and â€Å"Fat Man†. â€Å"Trinity† was dropped on a test site in New Mexico on July 16, 1945, proving the theories, engineering and mathematics of the bomb to be correct. Shortly after that, not more than 2 months, the U.S. performed the first actual nuclear attack in the history of war. The bomb â€Å"Little Boy† was dropped on the town of Hiroshima, instantly killing thousands. â€Å"Fat Man† was dropped shortly after on the town of Nagasaki. After the bombing almost all scientist involved with the creation of the bomb regretted its construc tion and spoke out against the abolishment of nuclear weapons.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Manhattan Project was led by American physicists J. Robert Oppenheimer and directed by General Leslie Graves. The project employed over 130,000 people and the total cost by the end of production was nearly 2 billion dollars, 20 billion dollars in today’s currency. Oppenheimer’s early education was at the Ethnical Culture School in New York. He took classes in math and science and many languages such as Greek, Latin, French, and German. He learned Dutch in only six weeks to give a speech in the Netherlands. He was also interested in classic and eastern philosophy.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In 1939 rumor came to the U.S. that Germans had split the atom. The threat of the Nazis developing a nuclear weapon prompted President Roosevelt to establish The Manhattan Project. Oppenheimer set up a research lab in Los Alamos, New Mexico and brought the best minds in physics to work on the problem of creating a nuclear weapon. Although most the research and development was done in Los Alamos, there were over 30 other research locations throughout the project. After watching the first nuclear bomb test Oppenheimer was quoted as saying simply â€Å"It works.†.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Now that the atomic bomb was proven to work the next question was where to drop it. Specialists in many fields were called on by the U.S. Army to help them decide on the best target for the atomic bomb. They considered many things while selecting the target such as the range the aircraft had to carry the bomb, the morale effect on the enemy, military importance of the target, and the geography of the target.

Thursday, October 24, 2019

P1 Unit 4 Health and Social Level 3

Childhood The childhood development of the individual followed the normal development patterns that are expected. In the childhood stage the individual development changed rapidly and their ability to be active and learn new skills improves on a daily basis. During childhood a child will grow steadier compared to an infant. A child’s body and organs size grows at a steady pace. By the age of 6 a child’s head will be 90% of a full adult size even though the rest of a child’s body has a lot more to grow and to develop. Related essay: Unit 4 M1: Health and Social Care, Level 3 Child Care Level 2 AssignmentsUntil a child reaches late childhood, and entering adolescence, an individual’s reproductive organs are still not fully developed. Infants and children can suffer from delayed development. This could cause potential effects and risks on a person’s development. This can happen in the first 5 years of a child’s life and this can be cause by brain damage, poor or no interaction with care givers, diseases, learning or behavioural disabilities, visual or hearing disabilities. The factors mentioned can cause a child to suffer from delayed development.Emotional and social development in a child will change a huge amount due to their change in their daily routine when they going into education and they aren’t around their family as they are used to within infancy. From age 4-9 years old is the first social learning of social development in a child. From a young age, young child ren are emotionally attached and dependent on their care givers. The change within the introduction of school and social environments can be a struggle for some children to understand.For emotional development the key skills within childhood are understanding self and other, and is a focus within development in schools to ensure that children are aware of who they are the differences within society and other people. Imagination is used a lot in children they use it to begin to understand social situations and roles within life. Relationships within the family become more important and the child begin to have a greater understanding of feelings and emotions and are now able to talk about these feelings and have an understanding of what they mean.My client Dylan followed the normal development patterns that are expected in the childhood stage. He continued to grow and he became the tallest in his class at school. His motor skills come a lot more complex, he was learning to ride a with out stabilizers and by the age of four was able to ride his bike without stabilizers without falling off. He enjoyed playing football with friends and also really enjoyed going swimming. Dylan didn’t suffer from any delayed development and continued to grow at a normal rate through to adolescence.Dylan really enjoys going to school and his favourite subjects are science and music. He doesn’t have problems at school with learning new thing. He is really good at science and when at home Dylan also has an app that he is able to use to help with his science a little bit more. Dylan has 6 friends at school and 2 of them are his best friends. He is also really close to his dad. At school Dylan never falls out with his friends. He loves spending time with his dad and also is quite close with his sister there all enjoy going out for bike rides. Dylan doesn’t attend any after school clubs or any clubs in school time.Dylan shows his emotions so that his parents can tell w hat is wrong with him. He is now also beginning to learn to cope with their emotions so he can tell people how he is really feeling. Adolescence In the adolescence stage, individuals begin to start puberty, for an average girl this is ages 11 to 13 years old, but it varies and some may begin earlier and some may be developing late. Generally girls start puberty before boys who often start between 13 to 15 year olds. Puberty is a developmental stage which prepares the body for sexual reproduction.It is triggered by hormones and causes different changes for both girls and boys. Girl’s sexual development involves the starting of periods and the increase of emotions occurring. The formal operational stage of Piaget’s theory applies to an adolescences intellectual development which states that ‘The child begins to behave like an adult within this stage. They are going through transitions in intellectual development and the process and transition of primary to secondar y education. ’ There are various intellectual skills that an adolescent will learn within this life stage.When in the adolescent life stage, the emotional development norms for an individual is to learn their personal identity and they must leant about who they are about how to control their emotions within the change of puberty. Low self-esteem and confidence issue is often something most teenagers struggle with. With adolescence secondary learning occurs, a person’s self-worth can change within this life-stage due to the social situations that an individual had to be within, also their use of clothing, language and religion etc. The introduction of hormones can often change how teenagers see themselves.Adolescent’s independence that they go through can affect their social and emotional development. My client Stacey had her first period when she was 13. She didn’t suffer any physical or mental problems when she first started her periods. Stacey had to mo ve to a new secondary school because of her old school closing down. She enjoyed doing maths and health and social care; she was also really good at health and social care. Stacey gained lots of good qualifications to leave school with. She didn’t have any problems with the teachers or pupils but she had a problem doing science because she couldn’t get the hang off it.She planned her future while she was at school so she could get an idea of the qualification that she would require. Stacey also knew what she wanted to be when she left school, she said that she would like to become a midwife. She left school 2 years ago and went back to do another 2 years of sixth form to do health and social care and English to try and get some more qualifications. Stacey didn’t have any conflict at home with her parents. All of her family relationships are good but they have had their ups and downs. Stacey is very popular at sixth form and she had got some best friends which sh e can trust with all of her problems.She had a few groups of different friends which she can be herself around. She doesn’t have any peer influences. Adults You adults are often at peak of physical performance between the ages f 18-30. Older adults tend to lose stamina and strength as they get older, but these changes are not normally noticeable. There are a huge number of changes that are related to age and they slowly become clearer as and adult gets older. Some people cannot hear a high pitched sound as they reach there later adulthood, along with changes in mobility and hair loss.With older adults, women go through menopause and a change that occurs around the ages of 45-55 year olds is a stop in the menstrual cycle, and a large reduction of eggs within the ovaries. A decrease in progesterone and oestrogen that is produced by the ovaries, which can cause a lack of sexual interest compared to early adulthood. Older adults often gain weight due to many adults still eating t he same size portions as what they did within early adulthood but due to less physical activity taking place there is less need to take in as many calories; this can cause a risk such as diabetes and heart disease.By adulthood an individual has reached their higher training and education and will understand many life skills which will be important to their development within social situations. There are different changes for adults with their emotional development. It is a key task of early adulthood that learning to cope with emotional attachments such as a partner. The social development of an adult remains to keep a strong friendship network, for most people changed in job roles and other critical development issues, adults friendship groups can change however there are strong relationships with family members in many cases.Adults have to adapt their behaviour to arrange their time and commitments between work roles and social groups. My client Sarah told me that she was healthy and fit as a young adult and that she didn’t have any physical problems while in the young stage of her adulthood life. Sarah needs glasses and her hair is now starting to go grey. She didn’t have any physical problems whilst she as in the middle aged stage of her adulthood. When Sarah left school she went to get a job in caring for the elderly. When she got in a job the company sent her for NVQ2 training.She didn’t have any problems with learning new skills for her job. While she was working within the company she was made a senior in the years that she was working for them. Sarah has family and friends relationships. She also went to work parties with her work friends. Her hobbies are reading and swimming. She settled down when she was 17 years of age and also had her first child at 17. Sarah thought that having a child at 17 was a bit difficult but she had family who was supporting her throughout her pregnant and labour and so she coped with it.Sarah doesnâ⠂¬â„¢t have much of a social life due to a child who is 1 year old. She said that some emotional effects are things such as getting old and that 2 of her children have now left home. She also has great relationships with her grandchildren and she also gets along with on her of her eldest children who have left home. Sarah doesn’t have much of a social life now but when it is possible and she has someone to look after her younger children, she goes out and visits older family member, family friends and also old work friends. Piaget – Sensorimotor stage – birth to 1 and half / 2 years old.A child will learn to use senses and muscles without learning language. * Babies are born without the ability to sense objects. * Babies are born with a range of primitive reflexes such as the sucking reflex allowing a baby to feed. * These reflexes lead to motor actions. * The sensorimotor stage is when thinking is limited to sensing objects and performing motor actions. * Piage t believed that a baby would not have a working system for remembering words and phrases until they were about 18 months old. | The pre-operational stage- 2-7 years old.A child will thinking in language without understanding meaning of lexis. * Pre-operational means pre-logical, during this stage Piaget believed children do not understand the lexis that they use. There is no reason to speak words as there is no understanding. * Children can communicate but not with a wide understanding of words and meanings. | The concrete operational stage- 7-11 years old. The child is within school age now and logical thinking is starting to be used within practical situations. * Children can understand logical terms and phrases to gain understanding of social situations. Use of language and social behaviour skills is varied due to the range of social situations the child is within on a daily basis. | The formal operational stage- 11+ years- thinking and using logic and abstract thought processes. * The child begins to behave like an adult within this stage. They are going through transitions in intellectual development and the process and transition of primary to secondary education. * With formal logical reasoning an adult can solve complex situations within their mind. Abstract thinking allows us to think within a sufficient manner to overcome barriers. |

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Beer Game Analysis Essay

* Introduction: The beer game is a simulation first developed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Sloan School of Management in the 1960s. This game was made in other to experiment how real organisations functions, where the consequences of every decisions play out as clearly as possible in the game as they would in a real organisation (Senge, 1990). Narayanan Arunachalam (2006) described the game as a popular classroom exercise for business schools conceived at MIT with the primary purpose of demonstrating industrial dynamics. The beer game is a â€Å"laboratory replica† of a real organisational setting, helps to highlight the possible disabilities and their causes of an organisation. The beer game however in this case was created to fail and highlight possible problems which an organisation may face in its supply chain which is the bullwhip effect. The game includes four players which include the retailer, the wholesaler, the distributor and the factory which is in an upli nk setting. After playing the game, below we will be giving a detailed report of the events that took place at the course of the game. * Data analysis: The objective of the beer game is to minimize the total cost for everyone in the supply chain by maintaining low stocks and managing to deliver all orders (http://supplychain.mit.edu/games/beer-game, 2011). However, the game was created to fail and below is a summary of events that took place during the game. Figure 1: Inventory/Backorder of the supply chain During the course of playing the game, we followed the zero strategy which stated that â€Å"place zero orders upstream when your individual inventory is higher than demand†. This rule was largely what shaped the game and influenced the results in terms of inventory and backorders. The retailer had a considerable good start in the game with a good record in inventories of 12 units till week 5 when demand rose from customers and this caused the inventory rate to fall. In week 6, due to no shipments and the bullwhip effect, the retailer started having back orders from the customers. Although the demand stayed the same from week 6, the retailer continued to experience  backorders till week 21 when the wholesaler sent a lot of supplies at once; this made the inventories to rise to a peak of 113 units in week 24. The wholesaler started with an inventory of 12 units which remained the same in week 2. However, due to incoming shipments from the distributor and a lack of demand from the retailer, the inventory rose to 16 units in week three and 20 units in week 4 and remained the same till week 6. Due to an increase in demand from the retailer and a lack of shipments from the distributor, the inventories fell to 6 units and in week 7 and at week 8, the wholesaler was having back orders. Backorders keep reoccurring and fluctuating until week 21 when it rose to 16 units of inventory and reached a peak of 136 units in week 25. The distributor during the game had the same inventory rate for the first two weeks. The distributor maintained similar inventory rates till week 9 when the distributor started recording backorders this was due to the inability of the distributor to meet the orders of the wholesaler. The distributor continued to experience fluctuations in backorders until week 25 when it got a lot of supplies from the factory the inventories at the end of this week was at 40. The factory had started the game with an inventory of 12 units which remained the same till week 10. This was largely due to a lack of huge demands from the distributor. The factory however started experiencing backorders at week11. Backorder rates kept fluctuating during the weeks due to the inability of the factory to meet the needs of the factory on time. At week 25, the factory got a huge sum of supplies from the brewery which made its inventory to reach a peak of units. The high rate of back orders was caused by long lead times, the bullwhip effect and the effects of the zero strategy. This made backorders to be on the rise for all the supply chain operators. Increase in demand also played a great role in causing the high number of backorders which in turn made the total cost to rise at a higher pace th an it should. Figure 2: Order chart Above is a chart showing the order levels of the Retailer, wholesaler, distributor, factory and customer. At the course of the game, due to the zero strategy, all supply chain operators had to make zero orders from week one to week 4, because demand was less than the inventory. The customer  demand remained the same at 4 units until week 5. In week 5, demand from the retailer’s order rate had increased from zero to 16 while demand rose to 8 units compared to previous weeks. The orders of the wholesaler, distributor and factory remained zero in this week because they had high inventories. The decrease in inventories of the retailer resulted in the increase in order rates which was caused by a decrease in shipment which is a bullwhip effect. By week 11, all the supply chain operators had increased their order rate because their inventory levels were down. And back orders followed alongside changes in order changes which are all caused by the bullwhip effect. In week 21, the bullwhip effect were decreased which resulted to increased inventories and the zero rule coming in. * Issues that you encountered using the zero strategy: * Increase in Backorders: The biggest challenge we faced during the beer game was the challenge of constantly increasing backorders which can be seen in figure1. The retailer had a peak backorder rate of 49, the wholesaler 90, the distributor 85 and the factory 72 backorders. Backorder means a distribution term that refers to the status of items on a purchase order in the event that some or the entire inventory required to fulfill the order is insufficient to satisfy demand leading to a waiting period for the organisation to meet this demand (Donovan, 2010). After using the zero strategy for a few weeks, we found the backorder like a chain reaction star from retailer up to the factory. * Zero inventory and Safety stock: We know that in the real business, zero inventories and stock means that the company’s ability of resisting the risk of backorders and shortage of supply is reduced. But this is the case in the beer game where we went on with zero inventory and safety stock for weeks. This showed that the company was incompetent in meeting its own standards. * High rise of cost: Cost control is very important for a company, high cost operation is unacceptable. During the beer game, due to the high cost of back orders, we were running on an outrageous cost per week. This was either due to enormous  inventory or massive backorders. The cost of the backorders $1.00 and inventory cost $0.60. After we finish this game, we found that the cost of each supply chain operator was high and a total cost of $2, 862. At the initial stage, the increase in cost was little and similar when back orders rose, the cost became tremendous. * Delay in shipment (Long lead time): During the game, it took two weeks for the retailer to get supplies from the wholesaler and twice as long if the wholesaler has not enough resources for the retailer. That means that it took two weeks to receive from the wholesaler, when the wholesaler is out of stock, it takes four weeks, and when the distributor is out of stock it takes six weeks for the distributor to get stock from the factory and finally, when the factory is out of stock, it takes seven weeks for the retailer to receive supplies. This shipment delay makes it difficult to meet customer demands and causes high cost due to backorders. * Lack of communication: During the beer game there was no communication of any sort between the supply chain operators and this led to so many misjudgements. The lack of communication led to the bullwhip effect which cost us a lot by resulting in back orders, and high costs. * Challenges encountered in beer game: * Bullwhip Effect: The â€Å"bullwhip† effect was coined in by Proctor and Gamble (P&G) when the company experienced extensive demand amplification for their diaper products (Lee et .al, 1997). The bullwhip effect is a phenomenon in the supply chain whereby unpredictable elements introduced by human behaviour in the lower part of the chain becomes more pronounced the higher up the chain they move (Baugher, 2012). By synchronizing the supply chain the bullwhip effect can be eliminated. The bullwhip effect describes how inaccurate information, and a disconnection between production and real-time supply chain information result in loss of revenue bad customer service, high inventory levels and unrealised profits (Agarwal, 2009). With reference to figure 1 above, we can observe that the bullwhip effect did occur during the beer game  simulation. An example of such a situation is in week 5 when the consumer demand increased from 4 units to 8 units. The retailer then made an order of 16 units upstream in week 5, when the wholesaler got the figures the wholesaler then made an order of 20 units in week 7. This continued with the distributor, who ordered 25 units upstream in week 9, the reaction of the factory was similar with an order of 26 units in week 11. This shows a spike in demand upstream as illustrated in figure 3. The major cause of the bullwhip effect was the increase in consumer demand in week 5 and 6. Which later came to a normal state in week 7 at 8 units as illustrated in figure 2? The individual demand forecasts from the supply chain operators also caused the bullwhip effect. Lack of communication is also very common when the supply chain operators may not provide sufficient or accurate information up the supply chain on the subject of current market conditions causing improper levels of inventory (Coyle et.al, 2003). This was the case during the beer game which can be seen that with time, the demand was interpreted differently as it went upstream. This the entire supply chain faced backorders due to the bullwhip effect from week 6 onwards even though the demand remained the same from week 8 onwards. The implications of the bullwhip effect includes excess inventories which was the case at the closing weeks of the game, problems with quality, increased raw materials costs, overtime expenses, increased inventory costs, increased backorder costs and increased shipping costs (Bowersox, D.J, 2007). * Long lead time: Lead time delay occurs when the time it takes to obtain, make and deliver the finished goods to a customer takes longer than the time the customer is prepared to wait for it to reach them (Fawcett et.al, 1992). During the beer game, it takes 2weeks for the wholesaler to get information from the retailer and vice versa. It takes the distributor two weeks to get information from the wholesaler and it takes two weeks for the wholesaler to get information from the distributor. It also takes two weeks for the factory to get information from the distributor and two weeks for the distributor to get supplies from the factory. It takes the brewery one week to get information from the factory and one week for the factory to get information from the brewery. So like it was experienced in the beer game,  when all the supply chain operators are dried out, doing the math, it takes seven weeks for supplies to go from the brewery down to the consumer, and six weeks for information to go from the retailer to the factory. The longer the lead time, it creates negative impact on the firm as it reduces the customer’s responsiveness and reactions (Stock, J.R and Lambert, D.S, 2001). * Zero strategy: The zero strategy which is a rule for playing the game clearly states that we as the operators place zero orders uplink if demand is less than inventory. This went along way to cause a lot of delays in shipments because of long lead times. This is because when the inventory of the retailer as seen in figure 1 becomes less than demand, it took 5 weeks for the factory to have such an effect. This made the lead time even longer and caused the bullwhip effect as well as enormous back orders. * Neglect orders to reduce inventory: During the course of the game, we had to neglect backorders in order to reduce inventory and save costs. This can be seen in figure 3 below where the retailer did not dramatically increase demand to meet back orders but did this on a gradual basis in order to reduce inventory and holding cost. However when the supplies finally came, the effects were just as bad with inventory rates skyrocketing overnight. Figure 3: Inventory and Demand of retailer * Ways to improve the zero strategy: * Improve communication: By improving communication levels among the supply chain operators will help to solve the problem of assumptions, inappropriate decisions and reduce the bullwhip effect. In both actual supply chains and supply chain simulation, we can cut supply chain fluctuations by 80% by cutting order-to-delivery time by half (Simchi et.al, 2003). Improvement in communication will help to improve the efficiency of the system by eliminating assumptions and stimulating a synchronized supply chain which will help in getting all the partners to operate in a way that is mutually supportive, corporative and transparent (Gà ©rard P. Cacho et al.) * Point of Sale (POS) system: Point of Sale system is a means or can be referred to as a system which is meant to deal with the sales of goods. Point of sale system is software that works with hardware in order to inspect and monitor sales in order to give accurate demand and sales information (http://www.gofrugal.com/pos/ point-of-sale.html?gclid=CPyHobrW-q4CFQ8b6wodkDXwwg,2004). By implementing this system, the company can be able to get accurate demand which will help the company in eliminating sudden demand spikes like seen in the beer game. An example of a company which uses such a system is Wal-Mart and the system works well for the company helping to monitor all sales and demand, reduce the risk of inventory shrinkage, manage special demands, maintain control, improve efficiency and help the company make timely and accurate reports (http://www.carolinabarcode. com/run-my-store-a-36.html, 2012). * Just in time inventory system: Just in time (JIT) also known as just in time inventory system manages the inventory and lessens the costs of inventory control and the cost of maintaining the inventory of a business. This helps the company to reduce a substantial amount of its inventories, reduce ordering and save warehousing costs (Bowersox, D.J, 2007). A real life example of a company using the Just in time inventory system is Dell computer corporation which uses the just –in –time system so that an order for a customized personal computer that comes in over the internet at 9am can be delivered by truck to the customer by 9pm. This system allows dell to save costs and with this, the company under prices its products compared to its rivals by about 10% to 15% (McWilliams, 1997)(Source: Gray McWilliams, â€Å"Whirlwind on the web, â€Å"Business Week, April 7, 1997.). This system would lead to more efficiency of the bear game eliminating backorders and keeping just enough stock for the company to produce when needed. This strategy will by many supply chain operators such as the distributor and the wholesaler leaving just the factory and the retailer making products available quickly and almost eliminating the bullwhip effect. * Push and Pull Boundary: The push boundary process is a forecast and execution driven in anticipation for demand, while the pull process is demand driven and is initiated in response to real demand (Chopra and Meindl, 2001). The present trend around the world is a swing from a push system to a pull system this is because the pull system helps in reducing inventory levels. Push and pull boundary occurs when the demand intersects expectation of future demand. Pull systems are based on real demands and production and manufacturing of goods done in relationship with the demands of the consumers (Bowersox, D.J, 2007). Figure 3: Push/pull boundary in Dell’s supply chain The above diagram shows the push and pull boundary of Dell’s supply chain. The company combines both push and pulls boundary systems in running its operations. The company by-passes a lot of areas in the supply chain by manufacturing and selling directly to its customers. The process starts with consumer ordering and then the manufacturing cycle which are known as pull boundary systems. The inventory of the company will be stocked up following the demand of customers in order for the product to be made. All the processes included in the procurement of a product is implemented by Dell and this is regarded as a push approach primarily because it reacts to future demands effectively making products available in time and keeping low inventories. This system will be of great help to the beer game helping in making raw materials readily available for production and keeping inventories and costs low. * Eliminate gaming in shortage situations: During the beer game, the gaming shortage situation was experienced when there was a shortage in raw materials and inventories for the manufacturing of these products. When shortages occur, instead of allocating products based on orders, it is allocated in a proportion to past sales record. This will make customers have no need to exaggerate their demands because it will cause them negative results. General motors’ has used this method for a long time in the allocation of its supply. This will help to make the beer game have more reliable demand data. * Continuous system (fixed –order-quantity): In the beer game, order time is the same which is once a week. This makes it easier for the retailers to make quick orders for products required. However, the quantity of the product differs and it would be easier if the demand rate was fixed with adjustments made to make the order rate cater for inventory, buffer stock and demand. This will go a long way in making things easier and decreasing the bullwhip effect which can be seen to be predominant in the game. * Adopt the Vendor Managed Inventory Strategy: The vendor managed inventory strategy is a strategy which manages the quantity of goods produced by a manufacturer allowing the manufacturer to decide the quantity to keep and how much to ship to the retailer. This is a strategic move for manufacturers in order for them to be able to increase profitability by eliminating stock while improving on sales and overall performance. * Avoid multiple demand forecast updates: As can be noted in the beer game, the bullwhip effect causes the demand forecast to be multiplied as it goes uplink. Instead, making same orders from downstream been the retailer to the supplier to be the same will make things much easier eliminating high inventories and the bullwhip effect. * Reasons for Changes made to the Zero Strategy: The zero strategy is considered as a bad strategy due to its failure during the simulation test. While we obeyed the zero rule of the zero strategy while playing the game, we noticed that the game started to fail with a dramatic fall in inventory rate, lack of buffer stock, increase in backorders and a rise in the total operations cost. This led to the total failure of the game because the zero strategy did not allow us to meet the needs of consumers because of too many uplinks in the supply chain and long lead time. The bullwhip effect also posed a great disadvantage to the strategy because it contributed greatly to the failure of the game. * Impact on the outcome of the game: * Decrease in cost as a result of little inventories and no backorders. * Elimination of some supply chain operators which will reduce lead time and results in quick flow of information and supplies. * Decrease or eliminate the bullwhip effect. * Decrease lead times and make delivery quicker. * Have safety stock for risky situations. * Conclusion: Having conducted the above analysis on the zero strategy, it is important that I stress that the bullwhip effect can take a high toll on a company with reference to the game. The game however was a tremendous failure with poor results which includes increase in backorder rates, lack of inventories, rise in cost and long lead time. These issues can however be overcome by using the POS system, just in time inventory system (JIT), improve communication among supply chain operators and the push and pull boundary system. With example of success from companies that have tried these systems and its success in the beer game, I think these changes will go a long way in making the beer game simulation a success.

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

Themes Of Full Metal Jacket essays

Themes Of Full Metal Jacket essays Film Review: Full Metal Jacket -Warner Bros. 1987 Based on the novel by Gustav Hasford The hardships of boot camp and the vigour of the battlefield, "Full Metal Jacket" follows one man through basic training and into the jungles of Vietnam to fight a war against the very people that they must also protect. The title is part of the technical description of a bullet, underlining the films focus on dehumanisation. "Full Metal Jacket" opens on a group of military trainees who've either volunteered or been drafted into serving in the United States Army. There we meet a parade of characters that range from an anti-establishment rebel, Private 'Joker' (Matthew Modine), and an overweight slob, Private 'Gomer' (Vincent D'Onofrio), to a wisecracking adrenaline junkie, Private 'Cowboy' (Arliss Howard). This part of the film is breakdown of personalities and shows the indoctrination in the ideology of the US Marine Corps. This shows to be a brutal and depressing experience inflicted by the sadistic drill sergeant, Gunnery Sergeant Hartman (Lee Ermey), who was a real drill sergeant for the Marine Corps, drafted in by Kubrick. This gives the visual experience a real sense of fear and tension. One recruit is not suited psychologically or physically for the rigorous Marine training and is driven crazy. Here, Stanley Kubrick is outlining and attacking the pointlessness and the dehumanisation of military discipline. Kubrick, who has a great reputation for authenticity, claimed that there was no distortion of the truth in what he showed, and that even the abominable bad language was genuine, much of it ad-libbed by Ermey himself. Two scenes were eliminated which would have made the drill instructor a monster: one where he nearly drowns Pyle in a bowl of urine, and one where he orders a recruit who has cut his wrists to clean up the mess hes made before reporting to the doctor. Instead, due in no small part to Lee Ermeys mesme ...

Monday, October 21, 2019

Teen Violence essays

Teen Violence essays Teen Violence has become an appalling problem in the US today. Statistics show that teen homicides have gone up 300% in the last 30 years. Suicide rate for 15 to 19 year olds has tripled to 10 per 100,000 in the past 30 years. Firearm death rate for 15 to 19 year olds has gone up 43% between 1984 to 1988. What seems to be our problem? Volcanic anger due to kids constantly picking on each other. Maybe teens just dont have any skills to vent the anger. Could it be that there are no trusted adults to turn to? Possibly, the easy access to firearms. The results of these issues are dead and wounded students, faculty, and staff at schools in all parts of our nation. In school violence is just one of the many branches of teen violence, but it is one of the most important and most prevalent at this time. At any rate, it is unwarranted, intolerable, and needs to be stopped. If present trends continue, American schools, colleges, and universities will be increasingly unsafe. More resources will have to be allocated to campus security and crime prevention. (The editors 6) Contrary to what many people may think the most extreme forms of violence are rare. The most important issue here is that students need a safe place to learn, and teachers and staff need a safe working environment. Personal security may become a major factor when students, especially women students, select their college. Minor issues or daily pressures are what causes kids to snap. This violence may eventually cause kids to be scared away from school programs like after school activities, and may also cause students to leave in fear every day. Who exactly is to blame for this out-lashing? Some say teachers are the problem. They say that teachers put to much pressure on students, and some times even pick on students. Could this be? Are teachers too hard on kids? Do they single certain students out and pick on them? Others will say that a...

Sunday, October 20, 2019

Ban the bull - Emphasis

Ban the bull Ban the bull They say money talks. But why does financial language so often leave the poor reader in need of subtitles? Since the credit crunch, the thorny issue of finance has dominated the media. If only we all had a euro for every story wed read on the subject, wed all have far fewer financial concerns. And the less pain the financial experts add to the topic, the better. So why do they sometimes trouble the average reader with inaccessible language that adds up to whole lot of nothing? Take this quote from Andrew Balls, head of European portfolio management at investment multinational Pimco, and brother of Shadow Chancellor, Ed. Here, he muses on the prospects for the eurozone: We think it is prudent to remain underweight European sovereign risk and to wait for evidence that countries with stressed debt dynamics can deliver on fiscal consolidation without undermining growth in their economies. This example cloaked as it is in dense financial jargon is a tough nut to crack. Granted, it initially came from a research report, where one might expect the readers to be familiar with this kind of technical language. But the quote has been increasingly exposed to less specialised readers. First, business news website Bloomberg used it, and then in June the Telegraph shoehorned it into its Emergency Budget blog. At this point, perhaps the Telegraph could have broken it down getting the gist across by using reported speech. Something like: Mr Balls took a cautious view, and suggested investors should wait for evidence of long-term economic stability in vulnerable eurozone countries before taking any action there. Or, time allowing, you could even call on someone in the know to put it into laymans terms. Whatever you do, its always important to consider the reader and their needs, interest and level of knowledge even when quoting. This could involve using everyday alternatives for some jargon terms. Or, if technical terms are unavoidable, explain them afterwards as you would to a friend who worked in a completely different field. Its important, too, to think about what readers dont need to know, so they dont get overwhelmed by the sheer quantity of information. If in doubt, cut it out. And while we cant do anything about the financial situation, we can help you get your message across effectively with our article The language of money. Help us ban the bull If you stumble across any bewildering business gobbledegook, then please send the offending text to us and well do our best to translate it.

Saturday, October 19, 2019

Gender Considerations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 52

Gender Considerations - Essay Example In any environment that you find students, liking the teacher then it is evident that the class is a combination of both male and female students. The art of completion is present. Students in sick class encourage maximum much participation because they know that one-step mistake he will be among the last (Evans 15). There are completions that in most instances favor the female student involvement. For example food technology, boys find themselves lacking behind because what is being taught suits the opposite gender. The response to text-based learning in a variety of learning scenarios depends on the instrumental situations. The binding of these students together is characterized by the equal participation both in class and field activities while in school (Evans 23). In the pursuit of the concern of this topic, it is important to avoid colliding with some deception that one gender is smarter than the other is. Towards different subjects, the difference in performance is brought about the attitude of the student. Gender is not a limiting factor to the student; instead, they need to be given equal opportunities.

Friday, October 18, 2019

Writing assessment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Writing assessment - Essay Example The positives associated with this function include customers’ satisfaction, welfare on social level. Financial administration and other administrative processes. The negatives associated with it may include too much decentralization and distribution of funds. Remunerations are paid in form of financial level to individuals, plus security of job is the gift that comes in return for commitment to public sector. Public service can prove to be thankless at times, since the fulfillment of requirements is considered to be a duty rather than excellence performed. Full time scrutiny of the work is part of public service. This may come via internal assessment or through the external source of customers and public who directly review and assess the performance of public office bearers. Ensuring transparency and making sure that the budgets and other funds are not being used for private purposes must also be ensured, since temptation may creep in with the presence of perks and privileges that are granted to the public office bearers. Hence public service is a mix of privileges and pre requisites (Boyne,

The Case Against Helping the Poor Research Paper

The Case Against Helping the Poor - Research Paper Example Others claim that developing nations like those in Africa have serious problems with democracy, and should not be supported, but those who support foreign aid say that supporting these countries provides many benefits to the whole world. Ultimately, Hardin’s view of Earth as a lifeboat is as unrealistic as the view of Spaceship Earth he dislikes. Since assisting developing countries now will lead to their being able to support the rest of the planet later, there is a greater benefit to supporting foreign aid than trying to destroy it. According to Darren Weeks and others, one of the most damaging forms of foreign aid is the globalization of America’s economy as seen in free trade agreements which cost America jobs. Weeks claims that this kind of agreement has been directly responsible for leading America into the recession, and that export agreements that benefit â€Å"impoverished Central American countries† where people can’t buy things can not possibly be â€Å"in the best interest of American citizens and workers† (Weeks). In fact, Weeks makes an impassioned argument that this kind of trade agreement is ruining the country entirely, and that it will soon result in â€Å"unemployment in America, the loss of our jobs, the shrinking of the American way of life, the eradication of our freedom to travel, the elimination of the middle class† (Weeks). According to this view, foreign aid is not limited to just donations and charity, but to trade agreements which benefit poorer count ries at the expense of richer ones. These trade agreements, according to this argument, are dangerous to prosperous countries because they destroy the jobs of those countries’ citizens. However, not everybody agrees that trade agreements with poorer countries are really this bad for domestic job figures. William Overholt, for instance, argues that the

Thursday, October 17, 2019

Employment Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words - 1

Employment Law - Essay Example Conformity may demand changing the equipment, circumstances, or workplace, such as hiring a sign language interpreter for deaf and mute workers, balanced with cost, feasibility, and whether modifications can be initiated to eliminate the burden to the disabled employee (Barnes et al. 1998). However, the theoretical outcome of legislation against discrimination is unclear. By providing them supplementary privileges, disabled individuals are more apt to work or provide labour. Yet greater expected expenditures may discourage employers from employing disabled workers (Oliver 1995). Without successful implementation strategies, employers will attempt to evade such additional costs. Such implementation can either be informal, such as ‘name and shame’, or formal, such as through ‘tribunals and courts’ (Massie 1994, 92). The Disability Discrimination Act 1995 created guidelines to deter discrimination against disabled individuals. It characterises a disabled individuals as an individual with mental or physical impairment which has a considerable and permanent damaging impact on his/her capacity to perform normal daily life activities (Great Britain 1995). Part II of the Act which was enforced in 1996 is grounded on the philosophy that disabled individuals should not be discriminated against in the workplace or employment or when looking for employment (Barnes et al. 1998). DDA 1995 stipulates that, as abovementioned, employers may have to undergo practical changes if their employment guidelines or workplaces situate disabled individuals at a considerable disadvantage in relation to physically able individuals (Great Britain 1995). This comprises the provision of supporting services or assistances. Nonetheless, there has been no preventative obligation to instigate these changes under the legislation. DDA 1995 initially enveloped employers with at least 15 workers (Barnes et al. 1998). Since 2004 this immunity has been

Policy Making Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Policy Making - Essay Example This essay examines Miller major arguments, and then implements Miller’s perspective on policymaking in the implementation of educational reform throughout the United States. Miller’s perspective on the current state of the country is that it is largely divided by partisan politics. Miller begins by considering that only 2 cents on the dollar, if implemented in the right way, could solve many of the nation’s pressing issues (Miller). The essay goes on the consider that with the Baby Boomer generation gradually inching towards retirement, the nation must proactively confront many of its most pressing challenges or face political stagnation (Miller). As Miller’s argument advances he considers the various levels of federal spending that Republican and Democratic administrations since Ronald Reagan have implemented (Miller). The consideration is an important one as the central crux of Miller’s approach to policy implementation is one that draws from bot h conservative and liberal viewpoints (Miller). While the nation faces a number of pressing challenges, policymakers have failed to make any serious progress in solving this issues because they are operating in a dysfunctional paradigm (Miller). The current paradigm currently is restrictive as policymakers are beholden to special interests groups and entrenched partisan ideologies. While Miller argues that the current political policy paradigm is ineffective, he proposes a number of solutions (Miller). As noted, the most central element of Miller’s argument is the achieving significant political change requires policymakers to transcend the liberal and conservative divide (Miller). The essay indicates that society must advance by first focusing on a number of issues that the vast majority of Americans agree must be solved. The next step is for policymakers to approach the solution of these issues by seeking the most pragmatic method possible. This is contrasted with the curre nt practice of simply aligning oneself with entrenched ideological solutions, which have currently caused the country to be gridlocked. Miller believes that the process of seeking the most pragmatic solution necessitates that policymakers draw from both conservative and liberal perspectives (Miller). Ultimately, this will allow for significant policy change to occur. There are a number of ways that Miller’s approach could be applied to contemporary social change. One of the most pressing issues facing America is educational reform. This issue is particularly apt for Miller’s approach as both conservative and liberal groups recognize that a strong educational system is essential to a functional democracy and economic progress. Still, it appears that progress hasn’t been stagnated because of entrenched ideological beliefs. In these regards, conservative groups favor less federal involvement and more local control, while liberal perspectives embrace a strong federa l government led program. Following Miller’s approach involves a number of inputs. The current system seems to find liberals embracing higher taxation, as a means of achieving a more equitable society. Conversely, conservatives would like to see more individual control over educational options. In either instance, most people can agree that the nation needs stronger public education in order to remain globally competitive. Solving this issue using Miller’s approach would involve borrowing the conservative emphasis on financial efficiency. It seems to a great extent liberal perspectives neglect cost efficiency for an emphasis on equality and innovation. One of the pervasive understandings of improvements in education is that in the long run the country will benefit economically through improved

Wednesday, October 16, 2019

Employment Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words - 1

Employment Law - Essay Example Conformity may demand changing the equipment, circumstances, or workplace, such as hiring a sign language interpreter for deaf and mute workers, balanced with cost, feasibility, and whether modifications can be initiated to eliminate the burden to the disabled employee (Barnes et al. 1998). However, the theoretical outcome of legislation against discrimination is unclear. By providing them supplementary privileges, disabled individuals are more apt to work or provide labour. Yet greater expected expenditures may discourage employers from employing disabled workers (Oliver 1995). Without successful implementation strategies, employers will attempt to evade such additional costs. Such implementation can either be informal, such as ‘name and shame’, or formal, such as through ‘tribunals and courts’ (Massie 1994, 92). The Disability Discrimination Act 1995 created guidelines to deter discrimination against disabled individuals. It characterises a disabled individuals as an individual with mental or physical impairment which has a considerable and permanent damaging impact on his/her capacity to perform normal daily life activities (Great Britain 1995). Part II of the Act which was enforced in 1996 is grounded on the philosophy that disabled individuals should not be discriminated against in the workplace or employment or when looking for employment (Barnes et al. 1998). DDA 1995 stipulates that, as abovementioned, employers may have to undergo practical changes if their employment guidelines or workplaces situate disabled individuals at a considerable disadvantage in relation to physically able individuals (Great Britain 1995). This comprises the provision of supporting services or assistances. Nonetheless, there has been no preventative obligation to instigate these changes under the legislation. DDA 1995 initially enveloped employers with at least 15 workers (Barnes et al. 1998). Since 2004 this immunity has been

Tuesday, October 15, 2019

Using Technology to Create Strategic Options Essay

Using Technology to Create Strategic Options - Essay Example e human resource of the company, the company survives the competition it is presented with because it gets people who can rightly produce or create computer hardware and software that matches the experiences of users, connect users to the company, and trade out products to consumers. It is important to mention that assessing a company’s competitiveness on the technology market from a demand side should give much attention to user specification. It is for this reason that in the selection of its human resource base, Apple Inc. ensures that it is only the best employees who can predict and forecast the market from a user-based perspective and create technology based hardware and software that meet the demands of users. Another important resource that Apple Inc. has for years used in gaining competitiveness and remains important in competing is financial resources. The computer hardware and software industry has been described as one of the most capital intensive industries in th e world. This is because of the fast changing nature of the industry, where on a rapid basis, the trend of user demands change. As these demand changes happen, companies in the industry have been obliged to also change their marketing mix and manufacturing strategies to ensuring that they become the preferred destination for consumers seeking change (Hannah and Peter, 2013). In such a situation, competition becomes almost impossible in the absence of sufficient funds to compete. For Apple Inc. there remains the need for rapid capital injection so as to compete because most of its competitors continue to become financially viable and strong on the competitive market. In the creation of strategic options for its financial needs, it is strongly recommended that the company undertakes key financial...This is because out of the numerous strategic options, the companies become equipped with the selection of the most preferred and suitable choices that best respond to the dictates of the m arket in which they find themselves. In today’s competitive market, specifically for the computer hardware industry, the need and use of technology in the creation of strategic options has become necessary and relevant than ever before. This is because the computer hardware industry is by nature a technology based industry that has so much responsiveness in the demand side of the technology market. This paper shall therefore explore how Apple Inc. as a player in the computer hardware and software industry has used technology to alter the competitive dynamics of its market space. Resources needed to compete Sampler (2013) identifies three major dimensions of IT progress, out of which is the reach dimension. As far as reach is concerned, three other dimensions can be found, which are user experience, connectivity and commerce. The selection of various options has however been done with particular focus and attention to what prevails with competitors. This is because consumers of products and services offered by the company keep becoming inclined with the choices of products and services they want.

Monday, October 14, 2019

Nick Carraway Essay Example for Free

Nick Carraway Essay What kind of a person is Nick Carraway? How might Nick’s narration color the way readers view other characters? Provide examples. Is Nick a reliable character? Provide examples from the novel to support your responses. Nick Carraway narrates The Great Gatsby. He values knowledge and is very observant making him a good narrator. In The Great Gatsby, all the characters tend to like him and trust him with their secrets. In the beginning, Daisy talks to Nick in private and tells him of when she had her baby girl. She said, â€Å"I’m glad it’s a girl. And I hope she’ll be a fool-that’s the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool† (17). Daisy thinks that the best way to easily get through life as a girl is to be stupid and pretty so she can marry a rich man and not have a worry in the world, which is what Daisy is doing. However, when Tom asks Nick if Daisy told him something, she lies and says they talked about horses. She was open to Nick to tell him her thoughts, but wanted it to be a secret from Tom. Nick understands the eastern way of living; with the partying, alcohol, and money. He shows the good sides of characters and the bad sides. He is a reliable character because although he adds in his biased opinions, he also tells the readers of the characters true personality and their actions. A. Through Nick, how does Fitzgerald describe each of your characters? What is Fitzgerald saying about each of your characters? Through Nick, Fitzgerald describes Tom Buchanan as a â€Å"sturdy straw-haired man of thirty with a rather hard mouth and a supercilious manner† (7). Through Fitzgerald’s diction, you can tell that Tom is arrogant and aggressive. Physically, he is described as big with muscles, a â€Å"cruel body† (7). To add to his big, arrogant figure, his voice is a â€Å"gruff husky tenor added to the impression of fractiousness he conveyed† (7). He has a personality and look that strikes fear in people and he moves around with aggressiveness. Myers Wolfsheim is described as â€Å"a small, falt-nosed Jew† (69) with a large head. He is cautious and conservative; possibly suspicious and paranoid because of the business he deals with. In The Great Gatsby, his nose is repeatedly addressed. B. Do your characters change—do they change or remain the same throughout chapters 1-5? If the character changes, how so? Do your characters mature? Grow? Regress? Please explain Myers Wolfsheim does not change much in chapters 1-5. He is not mentioned very often. Tom Buchanan does change and show more of his personality to Nick from the beginning towards chapter 3. You are really allowed to see Tom when he takes Nick to meet his mistress, Myrtle. In the hotel room, he portrays his aggression when he hit Myrtle in the face, causing her to bleed. His character does not mature, but however regresses from the first 5 chapters. In the beginning, he seems sophisticated when he was talking about books and long words. Then he regressed when he went to the apartment building with Myrtle, Nick, and the rest of the party. He drank himself silly and cheated on his wife. C. What do these characters teach Nick about himself? What do these characters say about Nick? These characters teach Nick that he is different from the urban, fast-paced life of the East. Compared to Tom and Myers, Nick seems like a boring bond man coming fresh out of the West into this new world of liquor, parties, and money. D. What do we learn about Gatsby through the characters? In chapter 4, Myer’s tells Nick about Gatsby’s â€Å"life†. He tells him about Gatsby’s time at Oxford and builds Gatsby up to be a really good, perfect man, ‘†the kind of man you’d like to take home and introduce to your mother and sister†Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ (72). You are unable to learn much about Gatsby through Tom. Tom doesn’t know Gatsby that well and has never been to one of his parties until Nick takes them.

Sunday, October 13, 2019

The Social Problem: Class Inequality

The Social Problem: Class Inequality Class inequality refers to the inequality of incomes between individuals, families, or between different groups, areas, or countries (Black, 2002). These inequalities occur as a result of differences in the ability to earn incomes as well as differences in property ownership. Some individuals usually have lower incomes than others, especially those who are economically inactive. This is usually as a result of age, poor health, or inability to find employment. Class inequality is a major social problem in the US and other parts of the world. For example, several studies have demonstrated that a childs future may be determined by the social status. One study found that although children may have similarities in their ability, differences in the circumstances to which they were born could make the difference on who will be successful in future, and who will not. By considering two children Bobby (the son of a lawyer) and Jimmy (son of a custodial assistant) who both do well in class, the study found that it makes it 27 times more likely that Bobby will get a high profile job, while Jimmy had one chance in eight of earning a median income. It is projected that currently, social inequality is greater in the US than in any other industrialized nation (Wolff, 1995). In 2007, a study conducted by the Congressional Office Bureau revealed that the wealth held by the richest 1 percent of the total American population totaled US$16.8 trillion, which makes up USD$2 trillion more than the combined wealth of the lower 90 percent of the American population. Another study conducted by the Center for American Progress (2007) showed that between 1979 and 2007, the average income of the bottom 50 percent of American households grew by only 6%, while the top 1% incomes increased by a massive 229 percent. This reveals that the gap between the rich and the poor in the US is widening, and may affect the future of children who come from economically disadvantaged families. This may lead to accelerated rates of crime, violence and drug abuse amongst poor communities. High advances in technology have led to the globalization phenomenon, whereby people in different parts of the world can interact faster and less expensively than before. Some activists consider globalization a social problem. For example, Stiglitz (2002) argues that globalization forced developing nations to liberalize their economies before they were ready, which pushed their citizens to poverty, a major social problem. Further, religious groups, especially Muslims and Christians, are opposed to globalization because it may erode some of their values. With globalization come cultural clashes, which are leading to erosion of cultures. These conflicts may not be easy to resolve because with globalization, there are difficulties in the issues related to justice, identity and equity. For example, previously, when disputes arose between people, they could be resolved by the government or the local council. The process of conflict resolution was faster. However, with globalization, socia l disputes go beyond local, regional and international boundaries. The process of conflict resolution is slower, and this makes people feel victimized, angry and powerless. As a result, there is a tendency for people to turn to violence when they feel they have no alternative. According to Stiglitz, globalization has its advantages, but also disadvantages. He states that it has a high potential to bring benefits to the world. So far, globalization has not brought comparable benefits in many parts of the world, and it is viewed by many as a disaster. However, since globalization is now a reality which affects everyone, it is essential that we strategize on how to benefit from it, and how to mitigate its negative impacts. In order to reap the benefits of globalization, the world will have to make rational decisions for people on both sides of the divide. A number of Sociological Theories attempt to explain why people commit crimes. These include the Strain Theory, the Social Learning Theory, the Control Theory, the Labeling Theory and the social Disorganization Theory. According to Agnew (1992), all crime theories attempt to explain crime as a component of the social environment. Social environment includes the family, school, peer group, workplace, community as well as the society. The structural strain theory, for example, states that social structures in a society could encourage its citizens to commit crimes. The structural strain theory was advanced by several sociologists. These were Merton (1938), Cohen (1955), Cloward and Ohlin (1960), Agnew (1992), as well as Messner and Rosenfeld (1994). According to the authors, strain can either be structural, which depicts the processes at the societal level which filter down and affect how an individual perceives his or her needs. That is, if particular social structures are inherently inadequate, the individuals perceptions may change to view them as opportunities. On the other hand, strain can be at the individual level, where it refers to the pain experienced by an individual when he seeks ways to satisfy his needs. At this level, if the goals of a society become significant to an individual, actually achieving them may become more important than the means adopted. The labeling theory, also known as social reaction theory, was developed by Howard Becker (1963), a sociologist. This theory states that deviance is not a quality of the act, since results from personality factors associated with committing deviance. Its main focus is on the linguistic tendency of majorities to negatively label minorities, mainly those perceived as deviant from the norms. According to this theory, self-identity and behavior of individuals can be influenced by the terms used to describe them. This theory is sometimes used to explain why people take drugs. An individual, for example, may escape to drugs due to low self esteem resulting from being constantly stereotyped. Blade Runner 1982 Ridley Scott | Analysis of Postmodernism Blade Runner 1982 Ridley Scott | Analysis of Postmodernism Research Proposal Commentary ‘Blade Runner 1982 Ridley Scott Postmodernism, after the modernist movement, is a term now almost as ‘ubiquitous, disliked and misunderstood as its parent, the modern (Jencks, C, p.14). It is a reaction to modernism, an aesthetic, to try and describe changes to conditions and institutions by the drawing of ‘attention to conventions (Oxford, 2009). Throughout this commentary I will explain how my chosen film of discussion ‘Blade Runner 1982, directed by Ridley Scott, is relevant to the postmodern era. I have chosen Blade Runner as the object for study as it is one of my favourite films; I feel it engages artistically and complexly with the issue of postmodernism. It is around the theme of identity I consider the film best represents not only its understanding of postmodernity but also its connection with postmodernism, ‘as the structure of feeling of late capitalism (McGuigan, 1992, p.221). The city of Blade Runner is relevant to the postmodern era, as it highlights the representation of post-industrial decay; it is not the ultra-modern but rather the postmodern city. The city represents an aesthetic of decay, revealing the process of ‘disintegration what could be seen as the ‘dark side of technology (Giuliana, B). Recycling, erosion and the explosion of boundaries help reinforce this postmodern aesthetic in Blade Runner. ‘Post-industrialism, ‘spatial relations, ‘urban decay, ‘pastiche consumption and ‘time consumption are five recognised postmodern issues I find to be represented within Blade Runner. Post-industrialism is clearly embodied in Blade Runners Tyrell Corporation (the main business company within the film). The film references changes in the dominant mode of production and the organisation of business, which could be called ‘advanced corporate capitalism (Davis, 1992). 1.Harvey 1989 states how ‘flexible accumulation creates the postmodern economic actuality of ‘overwhelming corporate power: Blade Runner is inundated with advanced technology, from hover cars, large electronic advertisements on blimps to videophones, the driving force behind the post-industrial society creating this power. In terms of spatial relations, postmodernity is characterised by class polarisation, with the wealthy and the poor becoming progressively more socially isolated from each other. This relationship makes itself evident in the ‘concrete spatial relations of postmodern cities, like Los Angeles (2.Harvey, 1989). This is made apparent with the architectural mise-en-scene in Blade Runner, particularly with the monolithic ivory tower of Tyrell, dominating the urban landscape of the poor, portraying a hierarchical class division. One of the most clearly presented conditions of postmodernity in Blade Runner is time compression, the outcome of increased consumption and exchange on the experience of time. Bringing with it an emphasis of unpredictability and ‘volatility (2.Harvey, 1989), the postmodern society is required to become accustomed to the demands of flexible accumulation. This is relevant with the replicant characters in Blade Runner, who are forced to live in ‘disconnected temporality (Bruno, G 1990). It is this lack of safe ‘temporal continuity represented within Blade Runner (Jameson, 1985) from neurotic preoccupation of its characters with individual pasts to ageing diseases that makes the film postmodern. Another issue represented within Blade Runner, which is considered another postmodern concern, is urban decay. Bruno states the speed and growth of development brings its own rapid ineluctable death and decay. Blade Runner portrays a post-industrial decaying future of Los Angeles, opposed to the familiar perception of ultra-modernity (shown within sci-fi films in the 1950s). It emphasises the effect of de-concentration with the result of immigration known as ‘geographical displacements and condensations (Bruno, 1990). As the upper class individuals vacate vast areas of the city, the poor and immigrants then can use these areas. Blade Runners ‘Off World colonies could be a symbolic extension in the trend to vacate a city in support of the commuter land of home-based work, as a blimp advertises â€Å"A chance to begin again!† As well as the issue of urban decay being a postmodern issue within Blade Runner, there is also pastiche consumption. This is where the postmodernist culture and postmodern socio-economics links start to be revealed as ‘difficult and uneven (Connor, 1989). In the film, the use of pastiche images and past/present styles is portrayed particularly in the mixture of architectural designs within the urban landscape, as Bruno states it is a ‘pastiche city. An example of this pastiche in Blade Runner is where Rachael played by actress Sean Young is dressed in 1940s utility clothing blending the space age of the 1960s. An architectural example is the style of the ‘retro bar where Deckard (Harrison Ford) finds Zhora (Joanna Cassidy). These points I have outlined reveal how Blade Runner is considered to be relevant to the postmodern era, using postmodern theoretical references. However, they are not the only reference points between Blade Runner and postmodernism. The Film also portrays elements of ‘hyperreality and ‘simulacra, which I will discuss within the essay. Bibliography: Jencks, C. (1996). â€Å"What is Postmodernism?†. Published by Academy Press; 4 edition (June 13, 1996) Oxford Dictionary. (2009). â€Å"Postmodernism†. Available at: http://www.askoxford.com/concise_oed/postmodernism?view=uk [Accessed 28/10/09] McGuigan, J. (1992). ‘Anomie of the people. In Cultural Populism. London: Routledge. Giuliana, B. (1987). ‘Ramble City: Postmodernism and Blade Runner. Available at: http://www.stanford.edu/dept/HPS/Bruno/bladerunner.html [Accessed 28/10/09] Davis, M. (1992). ‘City of Quartz: Excavating the Future in Los Angeles. London: Vintage. Harvey, D. (1989). ‘Flexible accumulation through urbanization: reflections on â€Å"Post-Modernism† in the American city. In The Urban Experience. Oxford: Basil Blackwell. Harvey, D. (1989a). ‘Time-space compression and the postmodern condition. In The Condition of Postmodernity: An Enquiry into the Origins of Cultural Change. Oxford: Basil Blackwell. Bruno, G. (1990). ‘Ramble city: postmodernism and Blade Runner. In A. Kuhn (ed.), Alien Zone: Cultural Theory and Contemporary Science Fiction Cinema. London: Verso. Jameson, F. (1985). ‘Postmodernism and consumer society. In H. Foster (ed.), Postmodern Culture. London: Pluto Press. Connor, S. (1989). ‘Postmodernities. In Postmodernist Culture: An Introduction to Theories of the Contemporary. Oxford: Blackwell.

Saturday, October 12, 2019

Essay on the Theme of Escape in The Glass Menagerie -- Glass Menagerie

The Theme of Escape in The Glass Menagerie    The Glass Menagerie, a play by Tennessee Williams, is set in the apartment of the Wingfield family, housing Amanda Wingfield and her two children Tom and Laura. The father left many years ago, and is only represented by a picture on the living-room wall. The small, dingy apartment creates a desperate, monotonous feeling in the reader. None of the Wingfields has any desire to stay in the apartment, but their lack of finances makes it impossible to move. Escape from this monotonous and desperate life is the main theme throughout the play. The different characters in 'The Glass Menagerie' have their own individual ways of escaping from their realities. Tom Wingfield, the main character and narrator, probably has the one that most clearly relates to what we usually call escaping. His dream is to get away from the entire place in which he is currently living. He is tired of supplying his mother and sister without getting anything but remorse in return. Early in the play we can see this urge to get away through his frequent visits to the movie theatre. To him the movies serve as windows into another world, an exiting world filled with fun and challenges. Another thing that it is worth mentioning when speaking about this is Amanda's attitude towards the movies. She thinks that he spends too much time on the movies, and she keeps haunting him for it. I believe that this is supposed to tell the reader that Amanda has some kind of feeling that Tom sometime will follow in his fathers footsteps, and that she is trying to preven t this from happening. For Amanda this is a very natural reaction; with Tom out of the apartment there would be nothing left for her and her daughter to feed from.... ...ot a way of solving your problems, and that true freedom only can be found through confronting your problems, not by running away from them. Works Cited and Consulted: Bloom, Harold. Introduction. Tennessee Williams. Ed. Harold Bloom. New York: Chelsea House, 1987. 1-8. King, Thomas L. "Irony and Distance in The Glass Menagerie." In Tennessee Williams. Ed. Harold Bloom. New York: Chelsea House, 1987. 85-94. Levy, Eric P. "'Through Soundproof Glass': The Prison of Self Consciousness in The Glass Menagerie." Modern Drama, 36. December 1993. 529-537. Thompson, Judith J. Tennessee Williams' Plays: Memory, Myth, and Symbol. New York: Peter Lang, 1989. Williams, Tennessee. The Glass Menagerie. In Literature: An Introduction to Reading and Writing, 4th ed. Ed. Edgar V. Roberts and Henry E. Jacobs. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1995. 1519-1568.