Thursday, October 31, 2019

Valuation of Securities and Cost of Capital Assignment

Valuation of Securities and Cost of Capital - Assignment Example These book values are unreliable because they might be significantly different from the current value of these assets. The values of assets and liabilities are based on past transactions that demonstrate no account of the future prospects. A company's assets can be evaluated on the basis of their market values. Market value of shares can be determined when they are traded on a recognised stock exchange. The share values estimated from the current market price are actual values, however this procedure becomes difficult when the company is unquoted. The market value of shares, which is also known as market capitalisation, is obtained by multiplying a company's total shares in issue with the current market price per share. The current market price of Tesco plc is 384.50p per share and Sainsbury plc is 395.00p per share. Hence, the market capitalisation of Tesco and Sainsbury is 3,007m and 663m respectively (see appendix I). P/E ratio is obtained when current market price per share is divided by earning per share. When the same ratio is inversed and earning per share is dividend by market price per share we get Earnings Yield. ... Earning per share is based on accounting profits and is derived form company's financial statements. Tesco plc and Sainsbury plc's EPS is 20.07p and 3.8p respectively. The P/E ratio for Tesco plc is 19.15 and Sainsbury plc is 103.94 (see appendix II), whereas the Earnings Yield of both these companies is 0.052 and 0.009 respectively (see appendix III). Although Sainsbury plc's P/E ratio 103.94 is much higher than that of the Tesco plc i.e., 19.15, yet the earnings yield of Sainsbury plc is much lower than the Tesco plc. The reason is that Sainsbury's EPS is considerably lower than the Tesco. Sainsbury plc is not more valuable than Tesco plc but shareholders perceive Sainsbury to be more valuable than Tesco, as reflected by the market prices of both the company's shares. Bonus shares are provided to shareholders without any cost as a form of dividend in lieu of cash dividends. The issue of bonus shares to the shareholders does not cause shareholders' ownership to diminish, but it leads to the reduction of EPS and increase in P/E ratio. Tesco plc's EPS before dilutive share options was 20.07p per share and after dilution it decreased to 19.79p per share (annual report 2006, p60). Sainsbury plc's basic and diluted earnings are the same i.e., 3.8p per share because the company has closed all the share-options and share-plans (annual report 2006, p42). In the case of Right issues, companies issue shares at a price less than the one prevailing in the market also known as deep discounting. Such issues involve terms such as 1 for 4 etc. Right issues are used to raise long-term finances for a company for its investment decisions. This sort of share issuance also does not lead to a diminution in shareholder ownership, unless rights options are not

Tuesday, October 29, 2019

Amazon.com - transfer pricing, taxation and the role of corporate Research Paper

Amazon.com - transfer pricing, taxation and the role of corporate social responsibility - Research Paper Example tion of these issues are described below Transfer Pricing and taxation Issues for Amazon.com Simply the transfer pricing is the price that is set for the intercompany transactions. Transfer pricing is used when the divisions of an organization need to charge other divisions of the same organizations for the goods and services provide to them. For example as in the case of Amazon.com, it is mentioned earlier that Amazon is operating the variety of departments and websites in many countries. Transfer pricing in this might possible, as a department of Amazon in United Kingdom deals in a component in United Kingdom. The same component is also required by a costumer in China. The transfer of this component form the department in US to department in china will be valued at internal price and will be referred as transfer price. In the context of transfer pricing these some factors can effect on the operations of Amazon.com. Transfer prices are particularly appropriate for profit centers bec ause if one profit center work for another, the size of the transfer price will affect the costs of one profit center and revenue to other. In the case of Amazon, each department has its own products and activities and every department in different counties is responsible to maintain its profit level. So in relation to the prospective of transfer pricing each department can try to work in their own interested segments to increase their profits. Decisions might be taken by a department manager in the best interest of his own part of business, and it may possible that this decision may affect against the interests of other departments. The profit center managers for Amazon tend to put their own profit performance above everything else. Since the profit center performance is measured according... The intention of this study is Amazon.com as a largest cyber selling company in modern cyber environment. Amazon.com started their business by selling their first book in 1995. At that time the main aim of amazon is based on a dream to develop a new trend in e-commerce. After the great success of this business Amazon now have selling every kind of products and have many sites those are serving efficiently in seven countries. The working of Amazon is an art not a science. They are dealing in lots of products. The main art of capturing the cyber market is multi-level e-commerce strategy. Due to this strategy, anyone sell almost anything using the platform of Amazon.com. The another main key factor for the success of Amazon.com is their efficient data based system which has also ranked in the top three world largest Linux data base system in 2005. The purpose of this report is to clear these mentioned issues can affect the Amazon’s performance in material manner. On the other han d, in current modern environment the value of cyber markets is increasing day by day. So it is much necessary for Amazon.com to control the all negative aspects of mentioned factors to win the race. There is also a strong need to control the problems that is stated is the Amazon’s Annual report. In short, by taking account of all these issues Amazon.com can perform in more efficient manner and easily capture the cyber market share in near future.

Sunday, October 27, 2019

Importance Of Story And Drama For Teaching

Importance Of Story And Drama For Teaching The purpose of this study was to determine the importance of story and drama as a teaching element in children literature. How do teachers scaffold childrens learning through story and drama in Turkey? Also what is the effect of using creative drama method on attitudes and reading strategies in Turkish lessons? In the study literature review and interview was used to investigate how much literature teachers apply story and drama techniques in their literature classes and how they are practical or useful on Turkish childrens learning who are studying in middle schools. Population of this research is Turkish secondary school teachers who have experience in story and drama teaching. As a sample, it was interviewed 4 middle school Turkish literature teachers to learn their teaching experiences and attitudes to research topic. Collected data was analyzed and consequently findings indicated that story telling and creative drama methods had significant effect on make and begin and carry on a relationship, self control social skills and learning well by experiencing in Turkish lessons. INTRODUCTION Childrens literature is for readers and listeners who are about 2-14 years old. Childrens literature is a resource no literature teacher can do without. This study investigates a sample of pieces that are middle schools Turkish children literature according to scaffolding childrens learning through story and drama. Scaffolding is a well-known metaphor widely used in education and language teaching to describe the guidance, collaboration and support provided by teachers to lead children to new learning (Read, 2006). Stories and drama share a number of features, which make it natural to integrate and combine them in scaffolding learning during language lessons with children (Read, 2007). When working with children, storytelling and drama techniques can be integrated and combined in multiple ways to provide robust and flexible scaffolding. This underpins and props up childrens learning in initial stages. It also provides appropriate support as they gain in confidence, and opens the way to new learning and the internalization of language and skills in enjoyable and creative ways (Read, 2006). Then what is literature? Literature is thought, experiences and imagination shaped into oral or written language that may include visual images. Children learn best in social situations, when content is meaningful and is interrelated. And literature is so available for these applications. Research Questions are; What are the importance of story and drama as a teaching element in Children Literature in middle schools especially based on life experiences of Turkish Language and Literature (TLL) teachers? How do you scaffold as a teacher to childrens learning through story and drama in secondary schools? How children literature scaffolds their effective learning by using drama and story in Turkish lessons. It could be analyzed effects of drama technique examining by how the effect of the creative drama method on the attitude and reading strategies in Turkish teaching, effects of creative drama method on the reception of some social skills, and evaluation of the attitudes of the Turkish teacher candidates towards creative drama. On the other hand, it could be analyzed effects of storytelling technique examining by evaluation of the attitudes of the Turkish teacher candidates towards children literature and children literature course, the function and importance of tale in language acquisition cultural worth instruction process, evaluation of the attitudes of parents who have 4-10 Years old children towards children literature and children books in Turkey. It was considered to analysis and combine effects of story and drama based on these topics. LITERATURE REVIEW In this study literature review and interview was used to investigate how often literature teachers apply story and drama techniques in their literature classes and the researches that have already been done about the topic how they are practical or useful on Turkish childrens learning who are studying in middle schools. On this research project topic, there was no specific thesis or research that points out directly this study which includes both story and drama features. For this reason, it is preferred that to classify and analysis each researches that have already been done about the topic. By this way, it was considered to analysis and combine effects of story and drama, attitudes of Turkish teachers, Turkish teacher candidates, and parents to story and drama. Thats why; it was analyzed that 6 of studies are on the effects of children literature that 3 of them are directly related with drama and 3 of them are related with story during Turkish Language lessons with children. Thes e studies contains well studied on research methodology, sample or population, and evaluation etc. After analyzing of collected data consequently findings were combined and indicated that story telling and creative drama methods had significant effect on make and execute a work with a group, begin and carry on a relationship, self control social skills and learning well by experiencing in Turkish lessons. Examined research studies are chosen from especially from Turkish educators intentionally to analyze how often they use and how are practical or useful on Turkish childrens learning who are studying in middle schools. Because of there was no specific thesis or research that points out directly this study it is chosen to inform two most closest researches to this research project topic in drama and story head topics. The first one is done by Fatma KÄ ±rmÄ ±zÄ ± Susar, Pamukkale University in Denizli Turkey, in 2008. This article was efficient to identify the effects of using creative drama method on attitude and reading strategy in Turkish lesson. Drama has a language all of its own and draws on various forms of literacy. Students develop literacy skills in many ways through the range of activities they participate in during the drama class. In the study experimental design with pre and post test control group was used. There were 75 fourth grade students (female=37, male=38) in Turkish classes. The study was conducted in a primary school Ä °zmir, Buca, during 2005-2006 education year and lasted seven weeks in data collection, reading comprehension attitude was reading scale and reading strategies scales was used. In the experimental group creative drama technique, in the control group Turkish course teaching program was applied. In data analysis Mann Whitney U-test were u sed. This test can be used for very small samples. It can also be used when the variable being recorded is measured using an arbitrary scale which cannot be measured accurately (e.g. a color scale measured by eye or a behavioral trait such as aggression), (Billiet 2003). As a result, creative drama method was more effective on using reading comprehension strategies than Turkish Lesson teaching program group. The second research study is done by Hasan BaÄÅ ¸cÄ ± in 2007. This study had take place in National Education Journal which is published by Turkish Ministry of Education in Ankara. This study gave a direction to this research project because it was the closest study to this research. And also it helped to this study to examine attitudes of the Turkish teacher candidates towards children literature and children literature course based on story books and storytelling on lessons. The purpose of the study was to investigate the attitudes of the Turkish teacher candidates towards children literature and children literature course. A 35 item children literature attitude scale prepared to find out attitudes of the Turkish teacher candidates towards children literature and children literature course was given 180 third year students at the Turkish Teacher Department of the Faculty of Gazi Education, Gazi University in 2004-2005 academic years. It was found out that attitudes of the Turkish teacher candidates towards children literature and children literature course are generally positive. The findings were evaluated on three dimensions according to the gender, teaching program and lesson success marks towards the results of the research. There were no significant gender differences found between male and female candidates and the type of teaching program (primary program or secondary program) attitudes towards children literature. Nevertheless, there is a significant difference in attitudes of the Turkish teacher candidates towards children literature and children literature course with respect to children liter ature lesson success based on grades. As a result, it was seen that using story and drama techniques in literature lessons are effective if it is done by systematically. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY Research Design: In this study interview was used to know how much literature teachers apply story and drama techniques in their literature classes. Four middle school Turkish Language and Literature teachers were interviewed to learn their life experiences, case problems like learning difficulties, comprehension skills and effects of using story and drama on childrens learning in middle school. It was determined that how were the teachers attitude towards using story and drama in their lessons. There were some Turkish lesson researches that have already been done about this research beside these studies and it was found that if teachers use them effectively in classes they were so practical or useful on Turkish childrens learning who are studying in middle schools. The advantage of interview was that the researcher could adapt the questions as necessary, clarify doubt and ensure that the responses are properly understood, by repeating or rephrasing the questions. Especially in my research project the literature teachers attitude to the importance of story and drama as a teaching element in Children Literature was so essential because the research project would both study on literature review and teachers life experiences. Sampling: The research project was related to the Turkish Language and Literature teachers who have experiences about teaching in middle school classes. Thats why; 4 following TLL teachers were interviewed about the topic. Population of this research was Turkish secondary school teachers who have experience in story and drama teaching. As a sample it was chosen to interview 4 middle school Turkish literature teachers to learn their teaching experiences and attitudes to research topic. The limitation of this study was having limited sample to interview. Yet, to recover this limitation the teachers are tried to chosen variously cities, schools, genders, teaching experiences. The interviewed teachers and interview questions are shown below: A Female, 30 years Turkish Teacher in TED Ankara College, Ankara. B Female, 8 years Turkish Teacher in BLIS College, Ankara. C Female, 3 year Turkish Teacher in Private Istanbul College, Istanbul. D Male, 15 years Turkish Teacher in Iskenderun Public School, Hatay. Interview Questions: Do you use story and drama to catch childrens attention to literature class in middle schools? And how often do you use them? What are the beneficial activities do you use in childrens literature in middle school? What are the limitations about using these activities in class environment? According to your experiences, in which ways this age group of children do learn best? Could you give a specific example on this topic according to your teaching memories? DATA ANALYSIS In this study, for data analysis it is preferred so separate questions and answers topic by topic that according to the teachers who are interviewed on storytelling and drama techniques to scaffold childrens learning. 3 teachers answered about using story and drama to catch childrens attention usually at the beginning of the lesson to catch students attention, interest, and curiosity. Just 1 teacher said that he uses rarely based on students motivation and amount of the class but he informs that he was working in a public school and amount of the classes were so high. Yet he added also using this activities sometimes help students social and communal. Using beneficial activities teachers answered this question in groups of shown below: Memory nails (1) Novel rooms (2) Empathy model (1) Hot seat play (3) Role playing (4) One teacher answered she uses Memory Nail activity which is efficient when analyzing story or novel in class. The activity aims creativity and subjectivity. Teachers want from students to produce a scene from story or novel using significant objects, characters, images which are take place in story. It could be done in a shoe box in 3 dimensions or if opportunities are limited students could prepare a poster too. Two teachers, who are working in a private school, informed that they were using Novel Rooms to make students engage with the lesson. Each student brings an object that take place in the novel and they produce a room then students talk about why they choose this object and its importance for the novel. One teacher said that we usually use Empathy Model when we are analyzing the characters of novels or stories. Hot seat play was the one of the popular activity that teachers informed. It was building an empathy with the character of novel. Four all teachers informed them all u se role playing especially in drama texts to encourage students to be social and communal. It was realized that like each activity was up to teachers creativity. Teachers could change or add something to activity according to students learning needs. Almost all teachers agree that these techniques if they are well-applied arouse interest; attention and curiosity of students and that make vocabulary memorable more easily. Most of teachers said that they made pupils think from within the story and explore significant issues. By using guided questioning techniques, children think about the implications of the characters actions and analyze their behavior. They all referred to that is a kind of transferring action that gives children an opportunity to relate and apply their understandings from the story to their own lives. Although there are so much positive effects of story and drama, it is referred that there are also limitations about using it. First of all, three teachers agreed that if the class is crowded, it is hard to control the class according to class management. Four all teachers agreed that keeping students on task is also difficult when they are using these activities. Yet in contritely teachers agreed that children learn easily because of these techniques are playful and so engage with their real life. Thats why; they suggests about arranging the class atmosphere by using preparatory work before using these techniques. These preparatory works could be small games and activities connected with story and drama. As another point, it is said that, public schools are so willing about using these techniques but they are less trained about this issue. By this way, they wanted to improve themselves and investigate. They found 2 different and interesting events about this issue. At that time, I as a researcher learned a different thing almost at the end of this study. One of them is a research center in Ankara University called Child and Young Literature Application and Research Center. (Ankara ÃÅ"niversitesi, Çocuk ve Genà §lik EdebiyatÄ ± Uygulama ve AraÃ…Å ¸tÄ ±rma Merkezi (ÇOGEM)) and the other is an International Storytelling Conference which was April, 9th 2011 in Istanbul. It is hoped that this kind of works helps teachers and students. There are the web site addresses of these events at the end of references section to look at in detailed. CONCLUSIONS In this study, it was realized that stories and drama share a number of features (Read, 2007), which make it natural to integrate and combine them in scaffolding learning during language lessons with children. As research topic scaffolding describes the guidance, collaboration and support provided by teachers to lead children to new learning, it is preferred to show conclusion part, synthesis of data analysis and literature review, could be shown below point by point like a ladder. Using storytelling and drama techniques help; Attention, interest, curiosity at the beginning of the lesson. Using storytelling and drama techniques help catch students attention, interest, and curiosity at the beginning of the lesson. Increase students motivation Motivating students can be a challenging in sometimes, for example there are so many technologies and distractions that adolescents have. Make students engage with the lesson Children are encouraged to engage with the lesson through prediction, hypothesizing and using their imaginations. Make students social and communal Both stories and drama are take place in classes. They makes students increase their social skills such as cooperation, collaboration, listening. Multiple intelligences Stories and drama provide opportunities for students to use different combinations of their Multiple Intelligences. Connection with daily life It was oblivious that students learn best when they make connection with their daily life because they are concreting the abstract information. Transfer previous information This stage gives children an opportunity to recall and transfer their previous information. Internalize The final stage and desired outcome is that children internalize information from story and drama.

Friday, October 25, 2019

Emerson’s Models of Nature Essay example -- Writing Literature Papers

Emerson’s Models of Nature The main concept which permeates the writing of Ralph Waldo Emerson is that â€Å"the fundamental context of our lives is nature† (Richardson, Jr., Emerson and Nature 97). Emerson presents his theory of nature and its relation to man in three essays spanning almost a decade: Nature (1836), â€Å"The Method of Nature† (1841) and â€Å"Nature† (1844). There are many common threads connecting these works. One of the most notable is Emerson’s belief in the interconnection between all things – between all natural phenomena as well as between nature and the soul. Also, there exists behind and beyond Nature a Spirit from which all things originate. It is the invisible which gives rise to the visible and embodies truth and beauty. Bringing these two ideas together, Emerson shows how it is possible for man to access this unseen world through nature by using the faculties Nature has bestowed upon him. However, during the years spanning the production of these works, Emerson’s conception of nature changes. The result is three distinctive theories of nature which shift in tone from Nature’s idealism, to the disillusionment of â€Å"The Method of Nature†, to the pragmatism of â€Å"Nature†. With each piece, Emerson is asking different questions which illustrate the fundamental ways in which his characterizations of nature have been altered. In Nature, his most thorough and concise treatise on the subject, he asks, â€Å"To what end is nature?† (1) In the very asking of the question, Emerson is stating his belief that Nature is ultimately knowable and its ends are many – it supplies humanity with what he calls commodity (â€Å"all those advantages which our senses owe to nature† (3)), beauty, language, discipline, spirit and prosp... ...do Emerson, Vol. I: Nature, Addresses, and Lectures. Alfred R. Ferguson and Robert E. Spiller, eds. Cambridge: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1971. 117-137. Richardson, Jr., Robert D. â€Å"Emerson and Nature†. The Cambridge Companion to Ralph Waldo Emerson. Joel Porte and Saundra Morris, eds. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999. 97-105. Richardson, Jr., Robert D. Emerson: The Mind on Fire. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1995. Tanner, Tony. â€Å"Emerson: The Unconquered Eye and the Enchanted Circle†. Critical Essays on Ralph Waldo Emerson. Robert E. Burkholder and Joel Myerson, eds. Boston: G.K. Hall & Co, 1983. 310-326. Yoder, R. A. â€Å"Emerson’s Dialectic†. Critical Essays on Ralph Waldo Emerson. Robert E. Burkholder and Joel Myerson, eds. Boston: G.K. Hall & Co, 1983. 354-367.

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Professional Teachers Essay

â€Å"The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires† (William Arthur War). Teaching is more than a profession; it is about being full time parents to the students. Students spend most of their hours with teachers, thus when you are a teacher, you don’t just teach the basics; teachers are expected to go the extra mile for their students and ensure all the necessary requirements are met. On the other hand, learning can be defined as gaining knowledge or skills that can be useful or beneficial (www. cidde. pit. edu). Beliefs about teaching and learning strategies do not always help one to become a good teacher. Beliefs can be defined as â€Å" the mental act, condition or habit of placing trust or confidence in something or someone† (www. thefreedictionary. com), therefore as you can see if a teacher believe in using a wrong strategy for learning or teaching is the correct application this may cause devastating results for students. Good teaching is an act of generosity, a whim of the wanton muse, a craft that may grow with practice, and always risky business (www. couragerenewal. org). I believe that teaching, if done wholeheartedly and effectively can make a profound impact on students. The impact would not just be restricted to the transfer of knowledge but understanding and guidance. Teachers should develop a bond with their students and a relationship so that students can feel safe and protected by teachers. They should be able to have the same sense of feeling they have towards their parents or guardians. They can serve as effective caregivers — loving and respecting their students, helping them succeed at the work of school, building their self-esteem by treating each student as having worth and dignity, and enabling students to gain a first-hand appreciation of the meaning of morality by being treated in a moral way (www2. cortland. edu). After participating in this course I understood that these small factors make up the bigger picture. I learned that by having these qualities would make you a memorable teacher and would impact on the children in a positive way. Being a patient teacher is also an essential factor that leads to good teaching. As a teacher, you encounter a variety of situations and it is your responsibility to be patient and understanding in all events. A good teacher must remain patient with his or her students at all times. However, that doesn’t mean the teacher should let the students get away with whatever they want to. Discipline and fairness must be used as well. A teacher with these qualities is able to understand his or her students and know how to help them succeed. A teacher with little or no patience can easily give up on a troublesome student as a way to avoid the problem (sithpenguin. hubpages. com). My in class session showed me that some teachers are not patient because of troublesome children and they give up on the students to make their lives easier, but this should not be so. Meanwhile I also learnt that as teachers we should try our best with the students to help them become better people. If their home is not stable, we should help them as much as possible in school and do not turn them down. We should give them the guidance and comfort they are not getting at home. It is our job to be affectionate with students because teachers are like the second parents/guardians for students. Different children adapt to different learning methods, therefore learning can be universal and can be accessed via multiple avenues to facilitate all learners. I believe that learning should be an engaging and rewarding experience. When children attempt to do something instead of criticizing them, I think they should be applaud when they are right and corrected if they are wrong. When they achieve something, they should be rewarded and motivated to do better. If they do not understand something, teachers should correct them in a positive way and make it an engaging and interactive experience. According to Professor Michele Clarke of the School of Geography, learning should be fun; an engaging, challenging and rewarding experience both for student and teacher. Of course, making complex ideas fun for all participants is a far from easy task but if you can enable students to use their own imagination and creativity in an interactive manner which develops critical thought and deep understanding, the academic achievements can be impressive, the task memorable and the benefits for the individual long-lasting (www. nottingham. ac. uk). My Practicum course showed me that learning is supposed to be an engaging and rewarding experience for students. It must be this way in order for learning to take place, especially in primary schools because they consist of small chidden at a tender age who works well when learning is fun, rewarding, engaging and motivating. During our in class group discussions I also understood that when learning is rewarding, it actually makes the children want to come to school and be enthusiastic about doing the work. Children learn best in a secure and supportive environment where provision is made for discovery, challenge and choice. Inviting surroundings enhance children’s positive disposition towards learning and a sense of belonging. Creating environments for learning is more than just a simple classroom arrangement (www. education. gov. sk. ca)The indoor environment receives the most attention from educators, children and other adults, therefore as teachers we should create an environment where colours, graphs, charts, pictures and arts and crafts are seen in abundance. This way the children would be excited about learning and they would find themselves enjoying their class sessions while, using graphs, pictures and charts as references when the teacher is teaching. Apart from the indoor environment, the outdoor environment is important. The indoor environment communicates the values and beliefs that underpin the living and learning that takes place in that space (www. education. gov. sk. ca). Learning should felicitate guide play, exploration and discovery also. Outdoor activities also lead to effective learning. Doing this course, I got a further understanding of how the environment impacts on a child’s learning. I understood as a teacher it is my job to ensure that I develop a proper learning environment for my students. During our Practicum Seminar when one of our speakers; a teacher from San Fernando Boys RC school came and introduced us to her classroom, I was amazed with the environment she provided for her students. Her classroom was like a resource centre with millions of materials to enhance learning in the classroom. My beliefs on teaching changed in that the traditional method of teaching by role does not do the job anymore and guarantees that any teacher using methods of lecture, copy what’s on the board and memorization will lose the student’s attention and kill the desire of students to learn (www. themommydaddy. com). Teachers must now evaluate themselves and move forward from these â€Å"old school† ways and norms and bring new and innovative ways of bringing across the lecturers/ lessons across to the class in a more interesting and interacting way. They should develop new and innovative learning strategies for the students. Groups are composed of individuals who may share some of the same knowledge and skills, however, oftentimes, members come from different educational backgrounds and have different work and volunteer experiences, which uncovers strengths that one group member may have, while others are lacking. (ehow. com) During my form three days at school, my Technology Education teacher would often divide us into groups of four to five to do projects. These projects would not be just any plain portfolio hand up. Mr Awesome would instruct us to actually brainstorm, think critically and creative and build innovative objects and/or create our own piece of work. By doing this our teacher encouraged us to exchange ideas and know how creative our peers could be. Group work along with brain storming also taught me to look at a problem from different angles and understand that it could be solved via a wide range of solutions by my peers. This would encourage effective learning by students. During the Practicum course, I even further understood the importance of group work among students, because as a student myself, I do not like group work. My teacher went on to explain that group work also helps students look at how their friends look at problems and how it encourages the child to feel comfortable if he/she does not understand something, so they can ask for help as a group and not individually. Working in a group can help individuals build long-lasting relationships based on trust and loyalty. As group members, people learn about the commonalities they share and differences, which lead them to seek group members they can build relationships with even outside of the group (ehow. com; Esquith, R. 2007). As a teacher, you should do your homework also. I learned this from my lower six teacher who was always prepared for a class. She would never reach to class and question the class where in the syllabus she are supposed to teach or she would never come to class and start organizing her lesson for the day, she would always come prepared and she would always make the extra time to go the extra mile for the class. For effective teaching to take place teachers should always be organized and their class must always be well planned. Lesson plans is always the best method to be organized. When using lesson plans, teachers do not have to think on their feet, they are clear on the procedure to follow and they build on previous teaching and prepare for coming lessons (myenglishpages. com). I always admire my teacher for always including activities in her lesson plan rather than just reading and writing. Including activities in your lesson plan develop strategies to obtain feedback on student learning. A successful lesson plan addresses and integrates these three key components: Objectives for student learning, teaching/learning activities, strategies to check student understanding(www. crlt. umich. edu) With the Practicum course, ,my views on lesson planning did not change , because during class, I would often remember my teacher stressing on doing a lesson plans accurately and do it for all areas of teaching. She also explained the importance and benefits of lesson planning so I held my beliefs on lesson planning to a high standard. Without students teaching is nothing and without teachers learning is nothing. All students have had hundreds of teachers in their lifetimes. A very few of these teachers they remember as being exceptionally good. Good teaching is as much about passion as it is about reason. It’s about motivating students not only to learn, but teaching them how to learn, and doing so in a manner that is relevant, meaningful and memorable. It’s about caring for your craft, having a passion for it and conveying that passion to everyone, but mostly importantly to your students (www. facultyfocus. com) â€Å"Demonstrating that you know it. Teaching is reminding others that they know just as well as you. You are all learners, doers and teachers†-Richard Bach.

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Elections in India Essay

The process, which is the essence of every democracy, would have been wrapped up and done with, by the Republic of India, by the time this edition of the Pioneer reaches your hands. Of course, I refer to the General Elections, the time, perhaps the only time, for the population to have their say- the say which would decide the future of their nation and may be their own! Change is the only constant, they say, and elections are no exception to this. The vogue of elections has changed considerably post-independence. Gone are the days when the politicians would travel long distances by foot to promote themselves and their party; the latest in fashion are the helicopters. Not only do the aspirants have their own websites, but also their very own blogs and jingles. The IT teams of various political parties have indeed come out with flying colours in making their chap look like the man next door. The Arvind Kejriwal’s video, in which he advocates for his brainchild- the AAP, has bee n viral on WhatsApp. Not only this, but many have received not only texts but also voice messages from the candidates from their constituency, requesting them for a vote in their favour. Over 70 million voters will cast their precious vote to choose their representative. More than one thousand political parties are taking part in this jumbo fair of democracy. To choose 543 members of the 16th Lok Sabha, it is estimated that the political parties will spend ten thousand crores of rupees. This amount includes the expenditure borne out of ticket buying, advertisements, campaigning (that includes the buying of liquor and giving out cash to the voters), booth capturing, party funds, buying weapons, travelling, and other accessories like flex boards, banners, flags, bags, pens, pins, posters, stickers, masks, photos etc., which practically, has no count. Ironically enough, the Election Commission grants only â‚ ¹70, 00000 for campaigning purposes to every candidate. To be able to make people believe that they are the favourites of the voters of their constituencies, boosts up their chance of winning, is a common belief of the Indian politicians. And the best of all the means to do that, are- rallies and road shows. A large chunk of the funds is granted to the party workers to bring large number of people and vehicles, to prove to the voting class, the colossal support the â€Å"leader† enjoys. In Punjab various artists are called upon, to sing the famous peppy numbers or perform Bhangra. In the south the Tamil and Telegu  film stars are called upon to gather the masses. The bollywood actors are all time favourites in the entire nation. We don’t need all this. With time, the society has given rise to a thinking class and this thinking class doesn’t find any sense in bringing a celebrity to campaign for you. If a candidate needs some celebs to come in and ask their fans to prove their loyalty to them by voting for Mr. X, then does that person really deserve even to be named as an aspirant for the post of a MP? If one really is a politician, with a connect with the masses, then they don’t require these pens and badges and what not, with their party symbol and stuff like that printed on it, to remind people of their existence. The least we expect, from our may-be legislators, is some sensibility. Gathering huge paid or threatened crowd at rallies is no big thing and definitely doesn’t make you credible. The money you indulge in fulfilling all your fancies and following the trend of the classic Indian elections, could have been used in a lot more productive way. And neta ji, its only for once after five years that you are reminded of your constituency, so why waste such a lot unproductively at once, it’s better that you don’t even do that for us.(In some way doing nothing with the money is better that throwing it in the bin.) Kudos to the Election Commission for the level of awareness it has created among the people about the importance of their vote. The most unfashionable thing you can do today is- not to vote, credits the ECI. Keeping all this in mind, it is sad to see even in cities like Mumbai, 50.7% voter turnout is all we reach, and that too is the maximum in 25 years. Remember, it is your own right you are despising. If you want to raise a finger at your government, you need to have it stained with that ink, or else you are not eligible even to criticise. And you know it is always better to vote for somebody than to vote against someone. The sad part is that we are still indifferent to whole of this process and unknown to the power our Constitution has prearranged for us. This concern for the nation is limited for party discussions and writing essays, but the fact remains, to quote Imelda Marcos. â€Å"Whoever wins or loses, we still go shopping after the elections.†

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

Traditional vs. Computerized Instructions essays

Traditional vs. Computerized Instructions essays Traditional vs. Computerized Instructions Times have really change a lot, and one of the things that have change with time is the way teaching is done. The only way that teaching was done in the old days was by a teacher standing in front of a class and instructing them on what to do. Now, with technology all over the place, instructions are given through the computer. The question is which one of the methods is better. To me, each one is better than the other in a different way. By giving instruction the traditional way, the student will be able to ask question if he or she doesnt understand the lesson. The pupil will also learn by seeing the instructor actually do the work right in front of him or her. He will know what steps to take since the teacher will be explaining the process of the work step by step. The bad thing about giving instructions the traditional way is that there is always a dead line. The instructor ways says when the work is due. Also, the person instructing the lesson goes under their own pace. If the student is following behind because he or she didnt understand, they have to wait until the lesson is over. By the time the lesson is over, the pupil would have already fallen behind in many things because he was thinking about the first thing he fell behind in. By giving instructions the new way, by computerized instructions, the pupil will be able to learn at his own pace. There wont be any one to tell the pupil when the work has to be turned in. If the student happens to not understand something, he will be able to stop and go back to what they were reviewing. By computerize instruction, the learner will be able to stop at whatever time they wish and return back to the same place they left off the following day. The bad thing about computerized instructions is that you can not ask questions to the computer. You will have to ask yourself the question and try to look fo...

Monday, October 21, 2019

Geology and Topography of Antarctica

Geology and Topography of Antarctica Antarctica is not an ideal place for a geologist to work - it is widely considered one of the coldest, driest, windiest and, during winter, darkest places on Earth. The kilometers-thick ice sheet sitting on top of 98 percent of the continent makes geologic study even more difficult. Despite these uninviting conditions, geologists are slowly gaining a better understanding of the fifth-largest continent through the use of gravity meters, ice-penetrating radar, magnetometers, and seismic instruments. Geodynamic Setting and History Continental Antarctica makes up just a portion of the much larger Antarctic Plate, which is surrounded by mostly mid-ocean ridge boundaries with six other major plates. The continent has an interesting geologic history - it was part of the supercontinent Gondwana as recently as 170 million years ago and made a final split from South America 29 million years ago. Antarctica has not always been covered in ice. At numerous times in its geologic history, the continent was warmer due to a more equatorial location and differing paleoclimates. It is not rare to find fossil evidence of vegetation and  dinosaurs  on the now-desolate continent. The most recent large-scale glaciation is thought to have begun around 35 million years ago. Antarctica has traditionally been thought of as sitting on a stable, continental shield with little geologic activity. Recently, scientists installed 13 weather-resistant seismic stations on the continent that measured the speed of earthquake waves through underlying bedrock and mantle. These waves change speed and direction whenever they encounter a different temperature or pressure in the mantle or a different composition in the bedrock, allowing geologists to create a virtual image of the underlying geology. The evidence revealed deep trenches, dormant volcanoes, and warm anomalies, suggesting that the area may be more geologically active than once thought. From space, Antarcticas geographic features seem, for lack of a better word, nonexistent. Underneath all of that snow and ice, however, lie several mountain ranges. The most prominent of these, the  Transantarctic  Mountains, are over 2,200 miles long and split the continent into two distinct halves: East Antarctica and West Antarctica. East Antarctica sits on top of a Precambrian craton, made up of mostly metamorphic rocks like gneiss and schist.  Sedimentary deposits from the Paleozoic to Early Cenozoic age lie above it.  Western Antarctica, on the other hand, is made up of orogenic belts from the past 500 million years. The summits and high valleys of the Transantarctic Mountains are some of the only places on the entire continent not covered in ice.  The other areas that are free from ice can be found on the  warmer Antarctic Peninsula, which extends 250 miles northward from West Antarctica  towards South America. Another mountain range, the  Gamburtsev Subglacial Mountains, rises almost 9,000 feet above sea level over a 750-mile expanse in East Antarctica. These mountains, however, are covered by several thousand feet of ice. Radar imaging reveals sharp peaks and low valleys with topography comparable to the European Alps. The East Antarctic Ice Sheet has encased the mountains and protected them from erosion rather than smoothing them into glacial valleys. Glacial Activity Glaciers affect not only the topography of Antarctica but also its underlying geology. The weight of ice in West Antarctica literally pushes the bedrock down, depressing low-lying areas below sea level. Seawater near the edge of the ice sheet creeps between the rock and glacier, causing the ice to move much faster towards the sea. Antarctica is completely surrounded by an ocean, allowing sea ice to greatly expand in winter. Ice normally covers around 18 million square miles at the September maximum (its winter) and decreases to 3 million square miles during the February minimum (its summer).  NASAs Earth Observatory has a nice side-by-side graphic comparing the maximum and minimum sea ice cover of the past 15 years. Antarctica is almost a geographic opposite of the Arctic, which is an ocean semi-enclosed by landmasses. These surrounding landmasses inhibit sea ice mobility, causing it to pile up into high and thick ridges during the winter. Come summer, these thick ridges stay frozen longer. The Arctic retains around 47 percent (2.7 of 5.8 million square miles) of its ice during warmer months. The extent of Antarcticas sea ice has increased by approximately one percent per decade since 1979 and reached record-breaking levels in 2012 to 2014. These gains do not make up for diminishing sea ice in the Arctic, however, and global sea ice continues to disappear at a rate of 13,500 square miles (larger than the state of Maryland) per year.

Sunday, October 20, 2019

Black Boy Essay Research Paper Black BoyWhen

Black Boy Essay, Research Paper Black Boy When a individual thinks about hungriness, nutrient comes to mind. We neer think of hungriness as anything else. In Richard Wright # 8217 ; s book Blackboy, a immature male child faces many different types of hungriness. He refers to the phrase # 8220 ; American Hunger # 8221 ; throughout his book. I feel that the # 8220 ; American Hunger # 8221 ; which he is mentioning to is the hungriness to be considered an American and be treated as an equal. Throughout his life he was treated as if he were from another planet. He was ever considered to be different, an castaway and a also-ran. He felt the demand to be a portion of the alleged American Culture. He wanted to be able to make what the white kids did. He wanted to be able to travel to school, to larn, to read, hold friends, have a occupation ; but because he was an African American he could non. This is what I will be discoursing, his hungriness. Hunger is non the merely hungriness he felt. He felt many other types of hungriness throughout his life. His hungriness came about when his male parent left his household hungering which led to Richards physical hungriness. He feels as though it is his occupation to back up and assist his household since his pa left. By reading and larning through colleagues he learned how to cover with others, whether they are black or white. He learns the secret of how to last in his society by watching how others act and react to one another. An illustration of this is when Richard is in the lift and the black get says # 8220 ; Watch this. I will acquire a one-fourth # 8230 ; # 8221 ; So the child lets a white adult male kick him in the buttocks every bit hard as he can merely for a one-fourth. This secret is what keeps him alive, places him in society where he belongs, and lets him populate out is dream of going a author. Richard was so eager to larn that he kept invariably inquiring inquiries, and if his inquiries were left unreciprocated he would allow his imaginativeness take over.. He would seek to happen work in which he would be able to read some of the B ooks. His household and relations refused to allow him larn. There is one incident in which his school teacher read to him. His grandma got angry and said that reading was devils work. Through out his childhood he heard many footings and phrases. He neer understood what they meant but one time they were said he knew if they were good or bad. For illustration, when Richard was taking a bath and his grandma came in to scour his rear, Richard replied with, â€Å"When you get through, snog back there.† This is merely one of the many phrases he said in which he did non cognize the significance. Richard’s grandma flipped and wanted to crush Richard for what he had said. Richard had learned that phrase from school and didn’t know the significance. Through his avidity to larn he began to understand himself, other inkinesss, and Whites better. He continues to larn and to play dumb for his ain endurance. His self instruction began when a colleague Lent Richard his library card to read Mencken # 8217 ; s essays. He eventually got a interruption from a white adult male who trusts Richard and is willing to allow him read what he wants to read. He lets Richard # 8220 ; feed his hungriness, # 8221 ; He feels that his dreams and his narratives in which he reads are an flight for him. He wants to suit in with others and be able to be apart of America. He feels the demand to travel to school because it is his aspiration to go a author. His reading puzzled his Aunt Maggie for she could non understand why person would be reading merely for merriment because they liked it. Through out the book Richard tries to feed all his hungriness so that he isn # 8217 ; t hungry any longer. Not in the sense of nutrient but the sense of cognition. Back so it was difficult to be the colour black and survive and learn. Race was a large thing and could hold gotten him killed at any clip. But Richard learned organize his errors and other peoples errors and overcame many obstructions. He is a nationalist a hero a MAN. I feel that Richard had # 8220 ; kept himself full! # 8221 ;

Friday, October 18, 2019

History Discussion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

History Discussion - Essay Example He made the decision to travel to the USA because he knew he could get some kind of job be it small or daily wages type. This kind of attitude from the immigrants endangered the natives of the country. Immigrants had determination and fire in their bellies to establish themselves anyhow. For that, they were willing to even sleep on streets, but they wanted to improve their economic situation. This attitude made them a more willing labor. This also created issues for the natives of USA as they could not get higher wages and in most cases, they also lost jobs. The reason being the immigrants were willing to work in much lesser wages and at the same time, they were okay with whatever facilities were being provided to them and had no whims and fancies. I myself asked for a raise in salary and was told that if I wanted I could easily leave the job because the company could hire two immigrant accountants in my place. Immigrants were making the job situation worse and were also creating the unhygienic environment as can be read in the book by Madison Grant, in which he talks about racial hygiene. It was important that such a law by the government be passed so that the natives could get their rights. The law will help us in establishing better economic situation. The people who were involved in the passing of the law felt that if immigration was not curtailed then Americans will lose their superiority as well as individuality. Their culture will be merged and will lose the uniqueness.

Managerial Decision in Economics Research Paper

Managerial Decision in Economics - Research Paper Example The study tries to unearth some of the aspects of managerial economics towards the decision of hiring by evaluating the various micro economic factors relevant to the case so as to formulate a set of plausible recommendation on this crucial aspect of managerial decision making. Definition Hiring of workers largely depends on the dynamics of the demand and supply aspects of the economy and the market. In a perfectly competitive market the hiring of labor is largely determined by the intersection point of the demand and supply curve of labor. The wages of these employees are also determined by the intersection of demand and supply for labor in a market. The demand for labor is numerically equal to the marginal revenue labor product. The marginal revenue product refers to the total increase in the firm’s revenues that occurs due to the aspects of hiring a new labor or other resource that is largely variable in nature. The demand for labor is largely determined by the consumer dem and for gods and services for a firm. This constitutes the derived aspects of determinant of the demand for labor. The labor supply curve shows the number of laborers that are willing towards working at specified rates. A firm operating in perfect market conditions hires workers until a point when the wage rate of laborers becomes equal to the marginal revenue product (Tucker, 2008, p.191). In order to tide over situations of increase in demand in the market firms normally resort to hiring of temporary workers to tide over the need for increased supply of workers to meet the equilibrium. However this does not appear be a formidable solution as the demand of products is likely to stabilize and that the company would need extra laborers to satisfy the customers. Hence it would be better to hire new permanent workers that would be beneficial in the long run. Factors or Costs Costs form the most important aspect for companies while undertaking a hiring decision. Most often business orga nizations take up a cost benefit analysis of the marginal cost of hiring a labor with the marginal benefits being offered by the hiring of a new additional worker. The main aim of a business organization is to make profits to satisfy its shareholders. Hence analyzing cost becomes important while undertaking a decision to hire a new worker. Firms undertake a hiring decision when the marginal benefit becomes greater than the marginal cost. Employing an additional resource in the organization would lead to the generation of an additional unit of output. However firms must realize that profit comes from marginal revenue and not marginal output. This calls for a delicate balance between marginal benefit and marginal cost. Only under conditions of the marginal revenue increasing a firm takes a decision to hire a new worker. In other words the marginal revenue product must be equal to the value marginal product (Gwartney, Sobel & Macpherson, 2006, p.537-539). Figure 1: Demand Curve for New Resource (Source: Gwartney, Sobel & Macpherson, 2006, p.539) The figure above shows the labor demand curve as a function of the cost of hiring a resource. The curve provides an idea about the marginal revenue product of a particular resource employed by an organization. The graph takes a downward movement as the marginal product would fall as the resource is used

Propaganda during World War 1 and World War 2 Research Paper

Propaganda during World War 1 and World War 2 - Research Paper Example In 1914 the War Propaganda Bureau were created in Great Britain. Bureau implemented propaganda among the soldiers and the population of the foreign countries.   In August 1915 the propaganda service was created in France. The activity was held by means of leaflets spreading. In 1917 the United States Committee on Public Information ruled by George Creel was created. The main task of the committee was to mobilize the public opinion inside of the country to support both the participation of America in War and the peacemaking efforts of Wilson due to the public opinion split straight after the war was declared. Creel’s committee started working not having any tested tools of mass media. Thus, it was necessary to improvise. As that time there was no developed radio and television for the fast spreading of information, the committee formed the mobile groups of volunteers. The main goal of such organizations was to make people think that the opponents wanted to destroy the country and they were not going to stop (Lasswell, 1972:40). The activity of the created organizations, which dealt with propaganda were successful and brought good results. For example, more people started entering such organizations as Red Cross. Less people tended to join those who propagated the end of the war and peace establishment (McQuail, 1969:5). Germany became the victim of the informational and psychological operations of the opponents. Under the informational pressure the revolution started in Germany and led to its failure.

Thursday, October 17, 2019

Creating Your Dream Job Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Creating Your Dream Job - Essay Example The essay includes a description of the step by step guide of the hiring process. XYZ Company hires a Regional Human Resources Manager to be assigned to monitor and control workforce of all its branches within the ABC area. This is a great opportunity for applicants who have experienced in dealing major management activities which is challenged with cultural diversities. Regional HR Managers are often confronted with problems regarding cultural differences in the workplace – it is his major battle to face. The position summary of the regional Human Resources is given in the essay. This job is designed to help unified the process of all the branches within a specific region (ABC area) in terms of recruiting, hiring, training, promoting or terminating employees. The Regional HR Manager should be equipped with the necessary skills in dealing employees and training them to play the roles as defined in their specific duties and assignments. He will ensure the productivity of the wo rkforce by reuniting them in spite of cultural diversities such as conducting training and different seminars in creating a smooth workflow of tasks and responsibilities. Then the essay goes through the job requirements and qualifications, supervisory responsibilities, fiscal responsibilities, internal/external contacts, working conditions and environment, physical demands, job duties/responsibilities, compensations, and other factors of productivity at this position.

CANTERBURY v SPENCE Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

CANTERBURY v SPENCE - Essay Example After the fall another surgery was done on him so that he could recuperate and at this time his condition improved. Canterbury sued the defendant for lack of disclosure and the hospital for negligence for lacking to place the bedrail to avoid the fall. The question that arose in this case was whether the doctor has a right to inform or disclose information to the patients about their medical condition for purpose of their treatment. It was held that the any patient has a right to know the physician’s diagnosis because of the risks that attaches to the surgery, also to ensure the patient understands the proposed surgery. Although it was decided that the doctor has a right of disclosure there are circumstance that these rule is exempted for instance; if a patient is unconscious and a greater harm would occur to the patient if the surgery was not carried out. Secondly, if disclosing the patients illness would cause a threat to his or her well

Wednesday, October 16, 2019

Childrens products Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Childrens products - Essay Example It is for this reason that 8% teenagers of the United States have some portion of their money invested in futures and stocks (Lindstorm, 2004). Almost 20% have their personal checking accounts and 70% love using a credit card if the parents allow it (Lindstorm, 2004). It is hard to argue that global kids segment does not exist when this generation spends over $150 billion a year. And that is not it, they also control another $150 billion through influencing what their parents are buying for them. Martin Lindstorm writes in Brainchild that the money which the new generation is spending is unprecedented, which is why every marketing director needs to allot money for this niche (Sudworth, Cray and Russel, 2007). The 21st century is full of information overload. The new generation is being fed a steady diet of information 24 seven. This information is changing the way they perceive the world and shaping their behavior. The global kids segment is the product of technological advancements. They use mouse, computer screens, smart phones, tablets and other gadgets to see the world. Toddlers now understand icons before they can even start to read. Smart phone manufacturers and app developers specifically target their marketing strategies to toddlers. They can play with the smart phone, listen to the funny sounds but they do not know that the icons and marketing tactics are targeting their subconscious and effecting their decision-making behaviors. The new generation thinks in terms of megabytes and screen resolutions the same way the previous generation used to think in terms of memorizing football scores and doing wheelies on bicycles (Lindstorm, 2004). If the marketing directors need to target global kids’ segment they need to think the way this generation thinks. They need to understand that the new generation is very different from the older generation because they have no hindrances in fully embracing the digital media. Electronic media has

CANTERBURY v SPENCE Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

CANTERBURY v SPENCE - Essay Example After the fall another surgery was done on him so that he could recuperate and at this time his condition improved. Canterbury sued the defendant for lack of disclosure and the hospital for negligence for lacking to place the bedrail to avoid the fall. The question that arose in this case was whether the doctor has a right to inform or disclose information to the patients about their medical condition for purpose of their treatment. It was held that the any patient has a right to know the physician’s diagnosis because of the risks that attaches to the surgery, also to ensure the patient understands the proposed surgery. Although it was decided that the doctor has a right of disclosure there are circumstance that these rule is exempted for instance; if a patient is unconscious and a greater harm would occur to the patient if the surgery was not carried out. Secondly, if disclosing the patients illness would cause a threat to his or her well

Tuesday, October 15, 2019

Further Financial Analysis Of Easton Town, Massachusetts Essay Example for Free

Further Financial Analysis Of Easton Town, Massachusetts Essay 1. Financial Analysis of Easton Town, Massachusetts In this assignment we will further examine the financial health of Easton Town, Massachusetts by computing a number of accounting rations on the financial figures portrayed in the annual report of 2006.   A horizontal analysis will also be conducted on certain key financial variables of the town, by considering the increase or decrease occurring from 2005 to 2006.   This financial analysis will be classified on three main factors, being profitability, liquidity and stability. 1.1 Financial Performance of Easton Town, Massachusetts A weak financial performance of Easton Town Massachusetts is noted from the profitability ratios performed in latter section of this assignment.    The interperiod equity figure of 0.98 times reveals that the total revenue of the town is not capable to cover by one time the operating expenses incurred.   In this respect, a deficiency of revenue over expenditure is taking place.   This point is further substantiated by the net income margin of –2.16%.   This implies that a loss of $2.16 is made up from every $100 of sales.   This is a substantially high loss for Easton Town. A loss is normally either the result of lack of revenue or excessive costs incurred in the day-to-day operations of the town.   The revenue dispersion ratio performed in section 1.4 shows that the two main revenue-generating activities of the town are Property Taxes and Intergovernmental State Revenue.   Both of them account for 84.99% of the total revenue of Easton Town.   If one considers the property taxes per capita, as we did in the latter section of this assignment, a ratio of 136.64% is attained.   This high ratio implies that substantial revenue is generated from property taxes in line with the population of Easton Town.   In this respect, the preposition of lack of revenue leading to losses diminishes on such facet. Expenditure is considerably high for Easton Town.   Cutting down costs is not an easy task especially for a non-profit making entity like Easton Town.   Personnel reductions could be performed in order to limit costs.   However, severe disadvantages would be derived from such policy, such as increased crime, deteriorating infrastructure of roads and decline in the standard of living.   Such factors would infringe the main objective of the Town, which entails providing a good overall service to the town and enhance their standard of living.   In this respect concessions should be placed on such profitability aspect. A solution that could be adopted for this expenditure issue is to try to improve the efficiency of the utilization of the town’s resources.   Presently such efficiency stands at 29.76%.   Through the adoption of scientific management, such efficiency can be improved by optimally changing the present operational procedures. 1.2 Financial Position of Easton Town, Massachusetts A sound liquidity position is noted for Easton Town from the ratios determined.   The ability of the current assets of the town to cover its outstanding short-term debts is by one and a half.   This is a good working capital feature.   Further more, the capability of cash and cash equivalents to handle the current liabilities is significantly material standing at 70.87%.   This further sheds light on a good management of working. In spite of such positive factors, through the horizontal analysis conducted, a decrease in cash and cash equivalents of $124,336 was noted.   This particularly stems from a reduction in trust funds and scholarship funds.   For instance, the high conservative funds payments, which are drastically exceeding the annual receipts is contributing to such decrease in trust funds.   Attention should be thus placed on such facet to ensure that cash flow problems are prevented. 1.3 Financial Stability of Easton Town, Massachusetts The gearing ratio computed in the proceeding section reveals that Easton Town is a high-geared company.   High gearing means that debt is in a higher proportion than equity capital.   The greater the debt, the more the financial commitments necessary to meet such debt obligations, like interest payments.   The horizontal analysis conducted revealed that the long-term debt diminished from 2005 to 2006 by $2,128,480 and thus further reduced such financial commitments.   The payments of long-term debts are another factor that contributed to the decline in cash and cash equivalents.   However, the short-term debt increased by $2,411,000, which is higher than the decrease in long-term debt.   Such movement also corresponds with the significant debt to total assets determined.   This increasing figure is yet mitigated by the good current ratio noted in the previous section. 1.4 Concluding Remark – Financial Health of Easton Town, Massachusetts Even though there is a deteriorating profitability, the sound liquidity is mitigating such factor.   The increasing total debt portion is also being stabilized by decreasing long-term debts and increasing short-term debts.   As already noted, the good financial position can sustain an increase in current liabilities. We can therefore conclude that a good financial health is portrayed for Easton Town, Massachusetts for the financial year ended 2006.

Monday, October 14, 2019

Normal And Inferior Goods And Examples Economics Essay

Normal And Inferior Goods And Examples Economics Essay A microeconomic law that states that, all other factors being equal, as the price of a good or service increases, consumer demand for the good or service will decrease and vice versa.   Law Of Demand This law summarizes the effect price changes have on consumer behavior. For example, a consumer will purchase more pizzas if the price of pizza falls. The opposite is true if the price of pizza increases.   people generally buy more of a good when the price is low and less of it when the price is high. This is a general rule that applies to most goods called normal goods. As the price of a normal good increases, people buy less of it because they are usually able to switch to cheaper goods. Normal and Inferior Goods and Its Examples Normal goods can be defined as those goods for which demand increases when the income of the consumer increases and falls when income of the consumer decreases, price of the goods remaining constant. Examples of normal goods are demand of LCD and plasma television, demand for more expensive cars, branded clothes, expensive houses, diamonds etc†¦ increases when the income of the consumers increases. To the opposite side of normal goods are the inferior goods. It is defined as those goods the demand for which decreases when the income of the consumer increases. Examples of inferior goods are consumption of breads or cereals and since the income of the consumer increases he moved towards consumption of more nutritious foods and hence demand for low priced product like bread or cereal decreases. Another example can be of use of public transportation, when income is low people use more of public transportation which is not the case when their income increases. Hence from the above one can see that other things remaining constant as the income of consumer increases demand for normal goods will increase and demand for inferior goods decrease and vice versa. GIFFEN GOODS In economics, a giffen good is an inferior good with the unique characteristic that an increase in price actually increases the quantity of the good that is demanded.   This provides the unusual result of an upward sloping demand curve. This phenomenon is notable because it violates the law of demand, whereby demand should increase as price falls and decrease as price rises. For example-consumption of bread increased as its price increased.as bread is a staple food for low income consumers.A rise in its price would not stop people from buying as much as before.But poor people would now have so little extra money to spend on meat or other luxury foods that they would abandon on their demand for these and instead buy more bread to fill up their stomachs.the result was that a rise in the price of bread led to a rise in the demand for bread. This happens because of the interactions of the income and substitution effects.   SUBSTITUTION EFFECT : if the price of a good rises, consumers will buy less of that good and more of others because it is now relatively more expensive than other goods. If the price of good falls, consumers will buy more of that good and less of others. These changes in quantity demanded due to the relative change in prices are known as substitution effectof a price change. INCOME EFFECT : If the price of a good rise, the real income of consumers will fall. They will not be able to buy the same basket of goods and services as before.Consumers can react to this fall in real income in one of the two ways.if the good is a normal good,they will buy less of the good. If the good is an inferior good, they will buy more good.these changes in quantity demanded caused by a change in real income is known as income effect. For an inferior good, the substitution effect and income effect work in opposite directions.A rise in price leads to a fall in quantity demanded because the relative price of the good has risen.but it leads to a rise in quantity demanded because consumers real income have fallen. However, the substitution effect outweighs the income effect because overall it is still true for an inferior good that a rise in price leads to an overall fall in quantity demanded. A Giffen Good is a special type of inferior good. A rise in price leads to a fall in quantity demanded because of the substitution effect but a rise in quantity demanded because of the income effect.However, the income effect outweighs the substitution effect, leading to rises in quantity demanded. Depending on whether the good is inferior or normal, the income effect can be positive or negative as the price of a good increases. .The interesting thing about a giffen good, is that when the price of a giffen good rises, the income effect is greater than the substitution effect.   So if a good is inferior, the income effect will be positive and larger than the negative value from the substitution effect.   A giffen good faces an upward sloping demand curve because the income effect dominates the substitution effect, meaning that quantity demanded increases as price rises C:UsersadminDesktopassignmentWhat is a giffen good, an example with graphs_filesgiffen+good.png Type Of Good Substitution Effect Income Effect Total Effect Normal good Fall Fall Fall Inferior Good Fall Rise Fall because substitution effect > income effect Giffen Good Fall Rise Rise because substitution effect MR, then P > MC is also true.  Ã‚  A monopolist charges a higher price than would competitive producers selling in the same market.   Profit Maximization Under Monopoly Q MC ATC MR P Profit Clearly, the price elasticity of demand plays a crucial role in monopoly price setting. As long as demand is elastic, total revenue will rise when the monopoly lowers its price, but this will not be true when demand becomes inelastic. Therefore, the monopolist will expand output only in the elastic portion of its demand curve. As monopoly is a form of imperfect market organization, there is no difference between firm and industry. A monopoly firm is said to be an industry. Thus monopoly means the absence of competition. There are strong barriers to entry into the industry. As a result, seller has full control over the supply of the commodity. Features of Monopoly: 1. One seller and large number of buyers: Monopoly is a form of imperfect market structure where there is only one seller of a product. A monopoly firm may be owned by a person, a few numbers of partners or a joint stock company. The characteristic feature of single seller eliminates the distinction between the firm and the industry. A monopolist firm is itself the industry. Under monopoly there are large numbers of buyers although the seller is one. No buyers reaction can influence the price. 2. No close substitute: Under monopoly a single producer produces single commodities which have no close substitute. As the commodity in question has no close substitute, the monopolist is at liberty to change a price according to his own whimsy. Monopoly can not exist when there is competition. A firm is said, to be monopolist only when it is the single producer and supplier of the product which have no close substitute. Under monopoly the cross elasticity of demand is zero. Cross elasticity of demand shows a change in the demand for a good as a result of change in the price of another good. 3. Strong barriers to the entry into the industry exist: In a monopoly market there is strong barrier on the entry of new firms. Monopolist faces no competition. As there is one firm no other rival producers can enter the market of the same product. Since the monopolist has absolute control over the production and sale of the commodity certain economic barriers are imposed on the entry of potential rivals. 4. Nature of demand curve: In case of monopoly one firm constitutes the whole industry. The entire demand of the consumers for a product goes to the monopolist. Since the demand curve of the individual consumers lopes downward, the monopolist faces a downward sloping demand curve. A monopolist can sell more of his output only at a lower price and can reduce the sale at a high price. The downward sloping demand curve expresses that the price (AR) goes on falling ns sales are increased. In monopoly AR curve slopes downward mid MR curve lies below AR curve. Demand curve under monopoly la otherwise known as average revenue curve. 5. Homogeneous Product A monopoly firm manufactures a commodity that has no close substitute and is a homogeneous product. With the absence of availability of a substitute, the buyer is bound to purchase what is available at the tagged price. For instance: there is no substitute for railways as the bulk carrier. Thus, to be the sole seller, in the monopolistic setup, a unique product must be produced 6. Price Discrimination Price discrimination can be defined as the practice by a seller of charging different prices from different buyers for the same good or service. A monopolist has the leverage to carry out price discrimination as he is the market and acts as per his suitability. 7. Price Elasticity With regards to the demand of the product or service offered by the monopolizing company or individual, the price elasticity to absolute value ratio is dictated by price increase and market demand. It is not uncommon to see surplus and/or a loss categorized as deadweight within a monopoly. The latter refers to gain that evades both, the consumer and the monopolist. Advantages of monopoly Monopoly avoids duplication and hence wastage of resources. A monopoly enjoys economics of scale as it is the only supplier of product or service in the market. The benefits can be passed on to the consumers. Due to the fact that monopolies make lot of profits, it can be used for research and development and to maintain their status as a monopoly. Monopolies may use price discrimination which benefits the economically weaker sections of the society. For example, Indian railways provide discounts to students travelling through its network. Monopolies can afford to invest in latest technology and machinery in order to be efficient and to avoid competition. Disadvantages of monopoly   Poor level of service. No consumer sovereignty. Consumers may be charged high prices for low quality of goods and services. Lack of competition may lead to low quality and out dated goods and services. MONOPOLIST EQUILIBRIUM WITH ZERO MARGINAL COST   Under certain exceptional cases, the cost of additional units of output, i.e., marginal cost (MC) may be equal to zero. With constant value zero of marginal cost, the value of average cost is also constant and is equal to zero. With zero cost of production, the monopolist has only to decide at which output, the total revenue will be maximum. And total revenue is maximum, at the output level at which marginal revenue is equal to zero. Further, with zero marginal cost, the condition of profit maximization, i.e., the equality of marginal cost (MC) and marginal revenue (MR) can be achieved, where the latter is also equal to zero.   Fig.   shows the equilibrium of the monopolist, where marginal cost is equal to zero. E is the point of monopolist equilibrium, where MC cuts MR from below. The equilibrium price and the equilibrium quantity at this equilibrium are OP and OQ respectively. Here, total revenue and hence total profits (area OPBE in   fig. ) of the monopolist are maximum. Beyond OQ level of output, MR becomes negative and total revenue starts declining. As explained in Chapter 16 on Market Structure, under heading Relation among AR, MR and Price Elasticity of Demand, Page 485 elasticity of demand on the AR curve corresponding to zero marginal revenue is equal to one. Therefore, with zero cost of production, monopolist equilibrium will be established at a level, where elasticity of demand is unitary. Description: Zero Cost of Production.JPG  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Fig. : Monopolist Equilibrium with Zero Cost of Production It is important to note that the monopolist will never produce the output at any level, where MR is negative. If he does so, his total revenue will fall as output increases. He can increase total revenue by reducing the output. In other words, the monopolist can earn larger profits by restricting the output. Further, since MC cannot be negative, equality of MC and MR (equilibrium condition) cannot be achieved, where MR is negative. We know from the relationship among average revenue (AR), marginal revenue (MR) and elasticity of demand7 that when marginal revenue is negative, elasticity of demand is less than one. Therefore, no rational monopolist will produce on that portion of the demand curve, where MR is negative, i.e., the elasticity of demand is less than one? That is why; no monopolist ever operates on the inelastic portion of the average revenue curve or the demand curve. With the positive marginal costs (which is most usually the case), the monopolist fixes his level of output for which MR is also positive, i.e., total revenue rises with increase in the level of output. In other words, the equilibrium will always lie, where elasticity of demand is greater than one. In   fig. , if the price is fixed at point B (middle point of the demand curve), where the elasticity of demand is equal to one, the MC (whether straight line or U-shaped) curve will pass through the MR curve at zero point. Here, both the MC and the MR are zero. It is a rare possibility. Further, below the middle point B of the demand curve, elasticity of demand is less than one. If the price is fixed in this inelastic portion of the demand curve, both the MC and the MR assume negative values, as the point of intersection between them is below point E on the MR curve in   fig. . However, MC can never be negative. Given positive costs, MC curve must cut the MR curve from below at a point, where both the MC and the MR are positive. The equilibrium in this case will be established at a point above E on the MR curve in the figure and the price will be fixed in the elastic portion of the demand curve, i.e., above the middle point of the AR curve in   fig. (source: transtutors.com) Q3)World Economic Outlook The global recovery is threatened by intensifying strains in the euro area and fragilities elsewhere. Financial conditions have deteriorated, growth prospects have dimmed, and downside risks have escalated. Global output is projected to expand by 3 ¼ percent in 2012 (Table 1  and  Figure 1)-a downward revision of about  ¾ percentage point relative to the  September 2011 World Economic Outlook (WEO). This is largely because the euro area economy is now expected to go into a mild recession in 2012 as a result of the rise in sovereign yields, the effects of bank deleveraging on the real economy, and the impact of additional fiscal consolidation. Growth in emerging and developing economies is also expected to slow because of the worsening external environment and a weakening of internal demand. The most immediate policy challenge is to restore confidence and put an end to the crisis in the euro area by supporting growth, while sustaining adjustment, containing deleveraging, and providing more liquidity and monetary accommodation. In other major advanced economies, the key policy requirements are to address medium-term fiscal imbalances and to repair and reform financial systems, while sustaining the recovery. In emerging and developing economies, near-term policy should focus on responding to moderating domestic growth and to slowing external demand from advanced economies. Financial risks escalate, global growth decelerates Global growth prospects dimmed and risks sharply escalated during the fourth quarter of 2011, as the euro area crisis entered a perilous new phase. Activity remained relatively robust throughout the third quarter, with global GDP expanding at an annualized rate of 3 ½ percent-only slightly worse than forecast in the  September 2011 WEO. Growth in the advanced economies surprised on the upside, as consumers in the United States unexpectedly lowered their saving rates and business fixed investment stayed strong. The bounce back from the supply-chain disruptions caused by the March 2011 Japanese earthquake was also stronger than anticipated. Additionally, stabilizing oil prices helped support consumption. These developments, however, are not expected to sustain significant momentum going forward. By contrast, growth in emerging and developing economies slowed more than forecast, possibly due to a greater-than-expected effect of macroeconomic policy tightening or weaker underlying growth. Description: Figure 1 Table 1. Overview of the  World Economic Outlook  Projections (Percent change unless noted otherwise) Year over Year Projections Difference fromSeptember 2011 WEOProjections Q4 over Q4 Estimates Projections 2010 2011 2012 2013 2012 2013 2011 2012 2013 World Output  1 5.2 3.8 3.3 3.9 -0.7 -0.6 3.3 3.4 4.0 Advanced Economies 3.2 1.6 1.2 1.9 -0.7 -0.5 1.3 1.3 2.1 United States 3.0 1.8 1.8 2.2 0.0 -0.3 1.8 1.5 2.4 Euro Area 1.9 1.6 -0.5 0.8 -1.6 -0.7 0.8 -0.2 1.2   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Germany 3.6 3.0 0.3 1.5 -1.0 0.0 1.8 0.7 1.6   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  France 1.4 1.6 0.2 1.0 -1.2 -0.9 0.9 0.5 1.3   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Italy 1.5 0.4 -2.2 -0.6 -2.5 -1.1 -0.1 -2.7 0.9   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Spain -0.1 0.7 -1.7 -0.3 -2.8 -2.1 0.2 -2.1 0.6 Japan 4.4 -0.9 1.7 1.6 -0.6 -0.4 -0.9 1.9 1.5 United Kingdom 2.1 0.9 0.6 2.0 -1.0 -0.4 0.8 1.0 2.4 Canada 3.2 2.3 1.7 2.0 -0.2 -0.5 2.1 1.7 2.0 Other Advanced Economies  2 5.8 3.3 2.6 3.4 -1.1 -0.3 2.9 3.2 3.5   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Newly Industrialized Asian Economies 8.4 4.2 3.3 4.1 -1.2 -0.3 3.8 4.3 3.8 Emerging and Developing Economies  3 7.3 6.2 5.4 5.9 -0.7 -0.6 5.9 6.0 6.3 Central and Eastern Europe 4.5 5.1 1.1 2.4 -1.6 -1.1 3.4 1.4 3.0 Commonwealth of Independent States 4.6 4.5 3.7 3.8 -0.7 -0.6 3.2 3.5 3.7   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Russia 4.0 4.1 3.3 3.5 -0.8 -0.5 3.5 2.8 4.0   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Excluding Russia 6.0 5.5 4.4 4.7 -0.7 -0.4 . . . . . . . . . Developing Asia 9.5 7.9 7.3 7.8 -0.7 -0.6 7.4 7.9 7.6   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  China 10.4 9.2 8.2 8.8 -0.8 -0.7 8.7 8.5 8.4   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  India 9.9 7.4 7.0 7.3 -0.5 -0.8 6.7 6.9 7.2   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  ASEAN-5  4 6.9 4.8 5.2 5.6 -0.4 -0.2 3.7 7.4 5.0 Latin America and the Caribbean 6.1 4.6 3.6 3.9 -0.4 -0.2 3.9 3.3 5.0   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Brazil 7.5 2.9 3.0 4.0 -0.6 -0.2 2.1 3.8 4.1   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Mexico 5.4 4.1 3.5 3.5 -0.1 -0.2 4.1 3.1 3.6 Middle East and North Africa (MENA)  5 4.3 3.1 3.2 3.6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sub-Saharan Africa 5.3 4.9 5.5 5.3 -0.3 -0.2 . . . . . . . . .   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  South Africa 2.9 3.1 2.5 3.4 -1.1 -0.6 2.4 3.0 3.7 Memorandum European Union 2.0 1.6 -0.1 1.2 -1.5 -0.7 0.8 0.3 1.7 World Growth Based on Market Exchange Rates 4.1 2.8 2.5 3.2 -0.7 -0.4 . . . . . . . . . World Trade Volume (goods and services) 12.7 6.9 3.8 5.4 -2.0 -1.0 . . . . . . . . . Imports   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Advanced Economies 11.5 4.8 2.0 3.9 -2.0 -0.8 . . . . . . . . .   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Emerging and Developing Economies 15.0 11.3 7.1 7.7 -1.0 -1.0 . . . . . . . . . Exports   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Advanced Economies 12.2 5.5 2.4 4.7 -2.8 -0.8 . . . . . . . . .   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Emerging and Developing Economies 13.8 9.0 6.1 7.0 -1.7 -1.6 . . . . . . . . . Commodity Prices (U.S. dollars) Oil  6 27.9 31.9 -4.9 -3.6 -1.8 -3.1 . . . . . . . . . Nonfuel (average based on world commodity export weights) 26.3 17.7 -14.0 -1.7 -9.3 2.2 . . . . . . . . . Consumer Prices Advanced Economies 1.6 2.7 1.6 1.3 0.2 -0.1 2.9 1.2 1.3 Emerging and Developing Economies  3 6.1 7.2 6.2 5.5 0.3 0.4 6.5 5.6 4.8 London Interbank Offered Rate (percent)  7 On U.S. Dollar Deposits 0.5 0.5 0.9 0.9 0.4 0.3 . . . . . . . . . On Euro Deposits 0.8 1.4 1.1 1.2 -0.1 -0.4 . . . . . . . . . On Japanese Yen Deposits 0.4 0.4 0.5 0.2 0.2 0.0 . . . . . . . .   (Source www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2012/update/01/

Sunday, October 13, 2019

Racism in Childrens Literature Essay -- Race in America

For my research project I chose the topic of Racism in Children's Literature. I chose this area of study because it is something that bothers me and I know as a child in school I was very uncomfortable with assignments that dealt with racism. One day I would like to make a difference to all the people who are affected by racism. My hypothesis states that if educators are better trained to deal with the delicate subject of racism in children's literature, books would not be banned, yet actually teach the lesson the authors of these books intended for all of us to learn. During an International Board on Books for Young People conference in New Delhi, India, Spyros Kyprianou stated, "Books for young people are the main cultural nourishment for our youth. For this reason they must send messages and teachings of humanism and altruism, love for the lofty principles of freedom, justice, and democracy, respect for moral values and longing for universal fraternization and peace in the world is conducive to the creation of a better future for mankind." Writing has been an important part of every culture from the beginning of time. The illustrations of cavemen have evolved immensely. Today, there are millions of published books. In fact, there are over four hundred books published every month. What happens when these books turn into something more? Is there racism in our children's literature? Ironically, the renowned great works of our past is full of racism. The question that remains, how do we teach our children the great lesson that these brave authors intended? According to Roget's Super Thesaurus, racism is defined as prejudice, discrimination, bigotry, bias, segregation, apartheid, intolerance, and white supremacy, (463). Throug... ...ur Literature." The Teachers Lounge. Dec. 2010 65-68. Print. Lee, Harper. To Kill A Mockingbird. New York: Harper Collins, 1993. Print. McCutcheon, Marc. Roget's Super Thesaurus Second Edition. Ohio: Writers Digest Books, 1998. Print. Munin, Art. "Empathy" About Campus. May/June 2007. 30-32. Print Rogers, Rebecca, June Christian. "What Could I Say? A Critical Discourse Analysis of the Construction of Race in Children's Literature. "Race and Ethnicity and Education. Vol. 10.1 March 2007. 21-46. Print Steinbeck, John. Of Mice and Men. New York:.Random House, 1952. Print Stowe, Harriet Beecher. Uncle Tom's Cabin. New York: Dodd, Mead, and Company, 1952. Print. Twain, Mark. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. New York: Random House, 1993. Print. Wolk, Steven. "Teaching for Critical Literacy in Social Studies." The Social Studies. May/June 2003. Print.

Saturday, October 12, 2019

The Battle Over Same-Sex Marriage Essay -- Gay Marriage

Same-sex marriage has grown into to a national issue. In 2003, the Massachusetts Supreme Court ruled that same-sex couples had the right to marry which provoked a firestorm of debate. The discussion extends from private livings rooms and local watering holes; all the way to the floor of the U.S. Congress and the White House. The debate about same-sex marriage has become a hot button issue, which pits secular-progressives who support gay-rights against religious and social traditionalists fighting for the sanctity of marriage. When La Shawn Barber, Anna Quindlen, Andrew Sullivan and the editors at National Review wrote their opinion pieces regarding the topic of same-sex marriage the debate had already been raging for many years and it still is today. Freelance writer La Shawn Barber and the editors of National Review oppose same-sex marriage and argue that legalizing same-sex marriage would fundamentally redefine marriage and weaken it as a social institution. Conversely, contributing editor of Newsweek magazine, Anna Quindlen, and â€Å"The Daily Dish† blogger Andrew Sullivan support same-sex marriage and stress that same-sex couples should be treated no different than heterosexual couples, including when it comes to the right to marry. In â€Å"The Loving Decision,† Quindlen uses the example of the historic court case Loving v. Virginia, which legalized interracial marriage, to argue that homosexuals should be allowed to marry whomever they want. Quindlen maintains that the Loving v. Virginia case is applicable to the modern-day fight for same-sex marriage because this is an issue of civil rights violations, much like the original case from 1968. In contrast, Barber, counters in â€Å"Interracial Marriage: Slippery Slo... ...Department of Public Health. Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court. 18 Nov. 2003. Print. Quindlen, Anna. "The Loving Decision." The Daily Beast. Newsweek/Daily Beast, 14 Nov. 2008. Web. 28 March 2015. . Sullivan, Andrew. "The Right's Contempt For Gay Lives." The Atlantic. 8 Apr. 2009. Web. 28 March 2015. . Vamburkar, Meenal. "Coulter To Hannity: Liberals Use Judicial Activism To Invent Rightsâ„ ¢ Like Abortion, Gay Marriage." Coulter To Hannity: Liberals Use Judicial Activism To Invent Rightsâ„ ¢ Like Abortion, Gay Marriage. 5 Apr. 2012. Web. 28 March 2015. .

Friday, October 11, 2019

Family issues becoming social problems Essay

Family, as what sociologists address, is a social institution. Families are shaped by the family members’ personality. Individual members affect their relationship that is greatly influenced by experience. Families are also affected with the other social institution in the society like law, religion and education. Thus, families are subject to changes whether these changes gave advantages and disadvantages, the family has to cope up and make adjustments. Failure to do so will affect society and social problems might arise. This twist and turns have been quite evident as the time passes by. Single parents, careerist mothers, absent fathers, and live-in partners are blamed as the root cause of many of society’s problems that could lead to persistent poverty, drug abuse, academic failure or out-of-school youths, and juvenile crime. This can be traced back to the early society that calls for historical perspective(Steven Mintz, 2003). History of the American Family In 1920, majority of American families are the traditional type; the father is the breadwinner, the wife is the home-maker and the children attend the school. Unwanted pregnancies happened between 1940 and 1958. Families of the 1950s are characterized by increase in birth rate, a stable divorce rate, and the age of marriage decline. During the early and at the middle of the nineteenth century, divorce rate began to rise because of its legislative order to be legalized. Spousal and child abuse gave rise and this can be reflected with the increase in assaults and murders committed against relatives and family members. Highest divorce cases happened at the beginning of the twentieth century. Single parenting, children in orphanage, infant mortality and early widowhood are the other changes happened in the past years(Steven Mintz, 2003). Family issues becoming social problem Divorce and single parenting From the point of view of some, divorce is an indication of failure of American family. But for others, it is viewed as a sign of freedom from men that women do enjoy. After World War II, it is documented that the rate of divorce increased and these may be an indication of the changing views and role of women in the society and their need to be free from social and financial dependence upon men. However, the dramatic increase of divorce rate has greatly affect the economical and social stability experienced by most of the divorced women that caused social problem for the economic well-being of the divorced women and the children are highly compromised. On average, women earn less income than men, households that headed by the divorced women are further disadvantaged, also, the lack of adequate and consistent child support added to the economic dilemma of divorced women (Dennis L. Peck). Spousal Abuse  Among the cause of violence between couples are: incompatibility between them which they discovered after the marriage and such difference arises when there is great disagreement and animosity between them, the couple is under stress and frustration therefore burst it out to one another and lastly, if the wife is a masochist or very awkward or very provocative(Rudi Dallos). Child abuse and neglect A child that is not properly taken cared of, not properly fed, deprived of basic necessities, proper medical care and treatment, and too much physical abuse is a violation to the child’s welfare and is considered as a criminal behavior. Juvenile Delinquency According to a study, broken homes are associated with juvenile delinquency. Levels of juvenile delinquency were much higher in teenagers living with single fathers and lowest among teenagers living with both parents and one of the suggestive reasons for this is due to inadequate parental involvement in the life of the child. The lack of guidance and the absence of close relationships between the child and parents contributed to the causes of the delinquency(Crystal L. Murry). Financial stress Financial stress can directly and indirectly affect children because it increases parental mental and emotional distress, which limits a parent’s capability to respond sensitively and consistently to their children’s needs. More specifically, parents that are more commonly observed among low-income populations have behaviors of parental harshness, non-responsiveness, and inconsistency and are assumed to arise in part from the high levels of parental stress that accompany poverty. Parents having low income have the tendency to fail to express their affection and fail to respond to their child’s needs. (H. Abigail Raikes). Gay and Lesbian Families Sigmund Freud viewed homosexuality as a disturbed psychosexual development wherein the social orientation of the child is due to its relationship with his or her parents. Psychologists, as well as other professionals form other disciplines such as endocrinology and genetics have studied and discovered other possible causes of homosexuality (Dennis L. Peck). Before, same-sex families were inconceivable. However, in 1980s, the situation began to change and have changed the views of family life for gays and lesbians. Due to socioeconomic independence of women of lesbian families, the medical advances of in-vitro fertilization and sex transplant, acceptance of gays and lesbians by adoption agencies and courts, planned gay and lesbian parenting had increased tremendously but during the late 1980s and early 1990s, there was argument about same-sex families, particularly child-rearing by gays and lesbians. Solutions to Problems Having time for the family will be helpful in strengthening the family and businesses providing flexible working schedule will be of great help. The power of media has great influence on the youth; therefore, they should make effort on portraying positive views on marriage and valuing education. The parents should be attentive to their child’s learning in and out of school. No-fault divorce legislation establishes conjugal property that should be divided by both parties, assigning the child’s custody, and awarding alimony. Open communication is important so that problems and conflicts can be addressed within the members of the family. Nowadays, it is acceptable that both parents are working to support the financial needs of the family but make sure that there is still time for relaxation and bonding of the family members especially during special occasions. There are also government agencies, insurance company, law firms and consultants that provide legal and financial support for the child, spouse and elder that are victims of domestic violence.