CompStat Management in the NYPD

No, it surely does not. Compstat s a system obsessed with numbers, and while in some areas it is a great tactic for kicking the workforce into shape, it can become tyrannical in the pursuit of those numerically motivated results. Was â€Å"Stop and Frisk† the major contributor to crime drop from 1993 to 2003? In Henrys The COMPSTAT Paradigm there is not one instance of â€Å"Stop and Frisk† throughout the entire book.It seems today that a majority of the controversy in the NYPD is revolving around a practice that isn't necessarily engrained in the very structure that defines the crime stopping law enforcement gency, it is simply one of the tactics that has taken a step too far in the public's eye. As someone who studies criminal Justice and believes in the system I do see the importance of procedures like stop and frisk but, it is easy to see in a city that is so liberal in almost every respect that this type of conduct can be controversial.In studying Compstat I have l earned that the entire purpose of it is to be flexible to the system's needs and that if a certain strategy does not have the desired effect it should be revised or removed if need be. The attitude that has been given off by the NYPD and Commissioner Kelly is not the one that supports that type of ethic; it has been one of impedance where those who speak out against it are discredited by whatever means necessary.Commissioner Kelly, through his thick headedness on this issue has alienated a large portion of NY's inhabitants because they believe they are always under persecution because of the unjust ways that stop, question, and frisk violates their personal privacy and pride. To say that stop, question, and frisk is n impartial tactic is a farce, 85% of all people stopped were of black or Hispanic ethnicities but only make up around nalt tn population. â€Å"Last year, the N made more stops of young black men than there are young black men in the citys population. 58,406 young blac k men live in New York City and the NYPD made 168,126 stops. † (Stop and Frisk By the Numbers, Forbes) For a system so caught up in the numbers I don't see why it is so difficult for them to interpret these numbers and do something constructive about it instead of stone walling any attempt at criticism. Compstat over the past couple decades has been an incredibly positive practice for the NYPD and other law enforcement agencies alike but over the past couple years we have seen more and more opposition to it.It is time that they revisit the drawing board and get back to the roots of what was the most flexible and responsive law enforcement management policy the world has ever seen. On a more personal note, as someone who does believe in the system I do say with great confidence that stop, question, and frisk is something that needs work before I can accept it as an ethical ractice. Works Cited â€Å"Capital New York. † Ray Kelly and the momentum of current stop-and-frisk policy.

Procurement and Supply Chain Management Essay

Executive Summary Boeing Australia Limited (BAL) is relatively new company and a global extension of the US firm, the Boeing Company. The BAL developed capabilities in the areas of space and communication, site management and the upgrade and maintenance of military aircraft and equipment. As BAL grew, it had developed various systems to support the procurement operations at four key divisions and 12 sites that made up the organization. However there is no interface of these systems and they operated autonomously, resulting in a lot of administrative redundancies, low productivity, and high processing time for the procurement processes. The dilemma exists in whether to continue to sit on the fence and seek a long-term improvement tools for integration with the current systems, or to invest in a new system that would simplify the procurement processes across the different divisions and support complex interfaces with suppliers? As Russell Menere, National Procurement Manager, I recommend to pursue a cost effective e-Procurement system, which would integrate with the various legacy information technology systems currently in place. The e-Procurement tool should simplify the  processes across the different divisions and support the multiple suppliers. Issue Identification: Immediate Issue: The immediate issue BAL facing is the necessity to find an e-Procurement system that would link the BAL, the Australian Defense Force (ADF) and the major suppliers. Following are the requirements to the e-Procurement system: High process efficiency (to help reduce the manual processes, which create errors); Decreased lead times; Cost savings; Compliance with ADF standards for procurement, which support the provision of services for the ADF. Systemic Issues: 1. Central administration with decentralized procurement processes BAL had made a strategic move to establish in the organization’s head office the following departments: Central Administration Finance Purchasing Engineering Logistics Technical Publishing Management Information Systems Project Management These departments supported 4 key divisions: 1. The Military Aerospace 2. The Commercial Aviation 3. The Knowledge System 4. The Space and Communications By relocating 4 divisions under one roof BAL achieved synergies through more centralized and standardized operations. Although, the 4 divisions were still autonomous – they executed their own work, reported the same measuring  criteria in financial dollars, project performance and product quality terms, as well as range of other measures for the BAL balanced scorecard. 2. Systems Architecture Issues The information systems architecture encompassed 12 different BAL sites, which were strategically located close to major BAL customers. And at multiple sites the numerous programs and application were used by employees to meet their operational objectives. The following applications were used: 1. ProPricer – bidding for projects; 2. OPP – project scheduling, planning and labour hours; 3. COBRA – cost performance; 4. eMatrix – data management The work packages form the above systems were fed into the ERP system, and then became KPI’s for the balanced scorecard. The main problem associated with the above systems architecture was that these were buy-in off-the –shelf applications, and were not developed in –house to meet the specific needs of the BAL various sites, and did not always interfaced with the other applications. Environmental and Root Cause Analysis Qualitative Analysis: 1. BAL is relatively new company with multiple divisions and sites that do not use one integrated procurement system; 2. Redundancy in processes for staff through using multiple system applications; 3. Slow manual processes for data management (manually entering data); 4. Deficient operations due to strict requirements to suppliers; 5. High cost of systems available on the market, which would provide systems integration solution; 6. Unknowns: not enough analysis done to guarantee that the new purchased system would meet all the functional requirements for the integration of system application already in place; 7. Staff resistance to change in case new procurement system will be implemented. Key Assumptions: Budget available for the setup, implementation, and training and interface and service of e-Procurement system and BAL legacy system. BAL suppliers are flexible with changing their existing procurement processes. E-Procurement system of choice is compliant with the ADF standards. Alternatives and Options: A1. BAL implements a sophisticated e-Procurement system, which integrates all parts of the current BAL legacy system already in place. Pros: There are average expenses associated with purchasing e-Procurement solution. Future lower costs, and cost savings long-term. Integrates with current legacy system. Based on the integration of current systems, which staff is already using – no steep learning curve and less resistance to change. Cons: Adding another system to the legacy system provides temporary problem fix until more budget available to purchase an ERP system. Major suppliers may not all meet the requirements of the new e-Procurement system. A2. Upgrading and redeveloping the existing ERP platform, and building new ERP system, which would include e-Procurement system to serve the needs of suppliers and end-users. Pros: Provides visibility and transparency of all the steps of the full cycle procurement process. Cons: High cost, long implementation time. A3. Continue with the existing system, and wait until affordable e-Procurement system is available to be purchased off-shelf (should be compatible with the BAL legacy system). Pros: This will save money short term. Cons: the risk of waiting for the low- cost solution will involve losing current suppliers and not having correct data available for current state analysis and reporting. The low-cost e-procurement tool may not be sophisticated enough to provide the necessary technical advantage and solve the current issues. Recommendations: 1. Gap analysis on what will be needed to implement the e-Procurement system  organization wide. 2. Identify mandatory, technical and functional requirements for the e-Procurement system. 3. Research of e-Procurement systems on the market.  4. E-Procurement system purchase and implementation.  5. Develop Processes internally (staff/end-users) and externally (suppliers) to sustain e-Procurement system. Implementation: Implementation Plan Recommendation: Activity: Who – Primary BAL Admin, Finance, Purchasing, Engineering, IS, Logistics, ADF, major suppliers Who – Support and Input BAL Admin, Finance, Purchasing, Engineering IS, Logistics, ADF, major suppliers When Immediate (I) Short run (S) Medium (M) Long run (L) Duration/weeks Monitor and Control There are two aspects to the monitor and control functions of the above recommended BAL procurement process improvements. The first aspect is the successful implementation of recommendations listed above. This process can be completed by continuous monitoring of what had been completed, developing project plan with all the dependencies and timelines indicated, assigning resources to tasks, and verifying the project deliverables. The second aspect is the controlling process, which measures and monitors progress after all the recommendations are implemented. This process identifies variances from plan and highlights when corrective action is required.  Following is the list of inclusions that may be used to measure the performance e-Procurement system: 1. Operational staff efficiency manual entry /error decrease 2. Cost Savings 3. Decreased lead time 4. Increase in suppliers cooperation Conclusion: The alternative solution for BAL is to purchase the cost efficient new e-Procurement system, with would be ADF compliant and will have the technical capacity to interface with the existing legacy system. The anticipated results of implementing new e-Procurement system will be cost savings, decreased lead times, operational efficiency and enhanced relationship with major suppliers and main customer (ADF). References: 1. Boeing Australia Limited: Assessing the Merits of Implementing a Sophisticated e-Procurement System Case. #HKU271. Centre for Asian Business Cases.

Microevolution and Macroevolution in Teaching and Learning Essay - 1

Microevolution and Macroevolution in Teaching and Learning - Essay Example Generally, macroevolution is the total of microevolution over extended time periods and occurs above the level of the species. On the other hand, microevolution denotes changes in allele frequencies that lead to smaller evolutionary changes in the population (Rosengren 30). Microevolution, therefore, can be considered as the normal evolutionary mode. These two processes of evolution are linked by speciation or isolated populations, which can be considered to fall in either process’ scope. In microevolution, new species are not formed, and if the changes are not maladaptive, it is possible for these changes to persist in the species, as well as the population. If a new opportunity is presented, a select group of individuals could adapt to a different environment or source of food. Where the adaptations lead to the parental species and the adapted individuals having offspring that is maladaptive, reproduction isolation is the result (Rosengren 31). Macroevolution and microevolution basically address the same process, which is gene frequency changes, meaning that both use the same mechanisms. Small-scale allele frequency changes within the population that occurs in microevolution could be as the outcome of natural selection, gene flow, genetic drift, or genetic drift (Rosengren 33). Natural selection entails a progression in which individuals that adapt best produce the most number of offspring, which also transfer their parents’ genes to their offspring, giving them a survival edge. Genetic drift, on the other hand, would involve a random process where chance has a key role in determining the alleles or gene variants that survive.  

Strategic Leadership for Non-Profit Organizations Research Paper

Strategic Leadership for Non-Profit Organizations - Research Paper Example The present research has identified that there is evidence pointing to the fact that strategic leadership is different for non-profit organizations, with Bobbi also pointing out that the nature of problems faced by non-profits are antithetical to those that for-profit organizations face. For example, for-profit organizations seek out â€Å"easy† business that almost runs itself and has minimal problems, while non-profit organizations seek out the toughest problems that need solving. This paper will set out to investigate the potential benefits and needs for strategic leadership in the non-profit organization, conducting a review of literature into the topic and applying it to the non-profit organization. A number of theoretical articles and studies have been published concerning the influence and role of non-profit organization managers generally, of which a number focus on the feasibility of applying strategic leadership theories in for-profit organizations to non-profit orga nizations. Stubbs concludes that the role of the private manager significantly differs from that of the business manager, contending that these differences included different decisional, interpersonal, and informational roles. More recently, Dym & Hutson offered their take on the existing differences between the roles played by corporate and non-corporate managers and, although they fail to offer adequate information concerning their methodology for determination of the study’s rigor, they identify five areas that the non-profit strategic leader must adopt practices used by strategic leaders in for-profit organizations.

Answer questions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 10

Answer questions - Essay Example Managers of Corporation have decided to play a mind game to the investors in manipulating the earnings of the income to lure investors. According to (Palepu, & Healy, 2000), income smoothing refers to the minimization of fluctuations in the earnings of a corporation. He further expounds by claiming that it can be of good course and at the same time be a fraudulent act. A firm can decide to defer revenue for a successful fiscal year to the following that is anticipated to be challenging. This will stabilize the income and prove consistency. Other firms can postpone expenses in a difficult financial year and recognize it in the next financial that is prosperous. Working capital measures the liquidity of a firm by deducting the current liabilities from current assets. Liquidity is the ability of a firm to pay its short term due without interfering with its normal operations (Palyi, 1984). Including inventory, prepaid expenses and deferrals in the current assets to determine working capital will not give a realistic state of the firm. Inventories are not easily convertible to cash to run operations of the firm during that financial year. Even if they are auctioned, they will consume much time before cash is earned. Prepaid expenses cannot be reversed easily under normal condition, and, therefore, the cash paid will not be available at the moment to run other business operations. According to (Chattopadhyay, 1982), deferral specifically revenue represents transactions that occurred, but payment will be in the next financial year. He emphasizes that it does not mean the other party will honor and pay the dues. So for these items to be included in determining the liquidity of a firm will result in a false interpretation. The principle of relevance and faithfulness representation of the state of the company under U.S. GAAP is beneficial to stockholders. Stockholders need

U06d2 Legal Reporting Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

U06d2 Legal Reporting - Essay Example There are several issues that are covered by the law and these include abuses like sexual abuse, child abuse or any form of misconduct with the elderly (Pozgar G. D., 2006). Also, any form of misconduct or irresponsibility shown in regards to communicable diseases can also be reported and filed against. To ensure the best for all within the society and also at the healthcare centers, the doctors and the healthcare centers are required to participate in reporting any form of suspected child abuse or elderly abuse (Syrett, 2008). The government is very strict in these matters and is working towards the well being of all within the society. The health care workers are also liable to report any rapes, harassment, and all birth and deaths are also expected to be kept up – to – date to ensure an accurate census. The government has allowed for the health care personnel to participate and help the society by reporting any kind of suspicious behavior, however if this right and responsibility is dishonored and misused to falsely report, then the individual can also be faced with serious consequences like civil and even criminal obligations (Pozgar, Santucci, & Pinnella, 2009). There have also been a number of processes and reporting systems that have been implemented to ensure that all healthcare organizations report the incidents and any form of any communicable disease is curbed at the starting point itself. The states also have laws to curb the possibility of any new disease to spread and to create an epidemic (Pozgar G. D., 2006). To be able to curb this, the government requires the state to report any and all irregular or unexpected similar symptoms in numerous patients. To also ensure higher safety and security of the patients and the processes being accurate in the healthcare industry th ere is a requirement to also report any errors from the health care end (Nathanson, 1995). Along with the safety of

The Police and Criminal Evidence Act (PACE) 1984 provide sufficient Essay

The Police and Criminal Evidence Act (PACE) 1984 provide sufficient safeguards to prevent miscarriages of justice. Critically discuss whether this statement is true in relation to eyewitness testimony - Essay Example What this code does is to therefore try and safeguard the law and prevent any miscarriages of the law (Ozin, Norton and Spivey, 2006, pg. 125). A miscarriage of justice in this case refers to any punishment or even conviction of an individual for a crime that he or she did not commit (Samuels, 2014, pg. 1790). Eyewitness evidence is a very helpful source of evidence in determination of any case. However it is also a very fragile form of evidence as it is subjected to psychological evaluation by both the prosecution and defence team and this may test the credibility. The eyewitnesses are usually shaken by the different approaches taken by the two legal teams some of which are unexpected and this leads to them making mistakes or omitting important facts that lead to many juries discounting the eyewitness testimonies (Bromby, MacMillan and McKellar, 2007, pg. 340). The testimony of eyewitnesses is first of all collected by police officers once the crime is committed and recorded according to Code D of PACE. The code provides specific methods of collecting the testimony and identifying suspects which must be followed to the letter. This however is not exactly the case (Samuels, 2007, pg. 3). There are rogue police officers and others who are not so keen to follow to the letter the code according to the Act. Lack of following these specified methods and procedures is what leads to miscarriages of justice as the wrong suspects are identified and convicted of a crime they did not commit (Garrett, 2011, pg. 287). What usually happens is that the police officers lead the eye witness to a suspect by providing several descriptions which confuses the eyewitness and him or she agrees. This especially happens in cased where there is no suspect in custody already where facial identification can be made by the eye witness or even in cases

Norman Conquest of England Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Norman Conquest of England - Research Paper Example Cnut had become the King of England in 1016 thereby returning Emma to her previous position. Emma’s Children however remained in Normandy where they awaited their return to England. They made several unsuccessful attempts to enter the nation with one attempt leading to the death of one of them, Alfred, in 1036. The last remaining son of Aethelred was recalled to England by his half brother Harthacnut, son of Cnut and Emma. However, Harthacnut died within a year and Edward took the throne becoming King of all England. Edward took Edith, daughter of the prominent Earl Godwin, as his wife bringing her family into a more dominant position. Earl Godwin had risen to power during King Cnut’s reign mainly due to his extensive wealth and his marriage to the King’s sister in law. The Earl had so much wealth that he became the most powerful earl of England. King Edward took several Norman advisers into his court and eventually named one of them, Bishop Robert, the Archbisho p of Canterbury against the wishes of his citizens who wanted one of Godwin’s kinsmen to take the position. Due to this act, Earl Godwin and his sons, Tostig and Harold, went into exile due to their fierce opposition of the King’s choices. The King faced a strong Godwinian alliance and due to this, he banished his wife from the court into a nunnery. Earl Godwin eventually returned to England and together with Flemish support, he was able to convince the King to get rid of the Norman influence and to take back his wife. King Edward and his wife were unable to bear children and thus he had no heir. He was thus required to find a successor in which the King made promises to several candidates including Edward, grandson of King Aethelred. The grandson... The paper tells that the Norman Invasion and the Battle of Hastings were very important events in English history. The Norman invasion brought with it many changes that acted as a turning point of English politics and Culture. King William attempts to maintain control on England forced several changes to the country that shaped the way it operated for a very long time. William attained control over the country by systematically confiscating land belonging to English landowners and giving it to his supporters or keeping it to himself. He confiscated all land and used his armies to ensure that all Englishmen were aware that he had complete dominion over all the lands. Williams also forced English women to marry Normans in order to control inheritance of land. The Norman invasion also led to English emigration. Many people fled the country due to the war and oppression and took refuge in neighboring countries such as Scotland and Ireland. This outflow of people led to the spread of Engl ish customs to other parts of Europe. The Invasion also led to the mixing of Norman and English cultures in Europe. Old English was displaced by the introduction of Anglo-Norman, a dialect of French. French words and names began being used in the country and soon were part of the English language. English grammatical structures were also heavily influences by the Norman influences leading to the development of a new dialect that eventually led to Middle English which eventually formed the modern language.

Work and Society People Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Work and Society People - Assignment Example It is evidently clear from the discussion that the participation of women in paid market work is increasing day by day. This situation is also experiencing various issues and challenges. These challenges are resulting in the reformation of different policies such as taxation, benefits and health policies. Though the number of women professionals is increasing in the job market, the undeniable responsibilities towards childcare and household works are restricting their contribution towards organizations and career growth. A huge number of women with these kinds of responsibilities are scaling down their employment potency by choosing less challenging works and part-time jobs. The involvement of men in domestic works is increasing day by day. Now a day’s men are providing their share of contribution in the domestic works and they are also spending adequate time with their children than before. There are several reasons behind these role changes such as economic pressure, increas ed time pressure on working women and attitude changes in terms of gender role. On the other hand, different researches conducted in the UK and US have demonstrated that women are still handling most of the household responsibilities in comparison to men. More involvement of the male partner in domestic works indicates improvement in the job performance of women. It also ensures the increase in women’s capability to accept more job responsibility. Further discussion of the study has also demonstrated the changing scenario of labor distribution between men and women. Gender division in terms of paid market work and domestic labor is a very common site in the developing countries. A statistical report has shown that women are more inclined towards the less paid part-time job while men are focused towards higher paid full-time jobs. The governmental data has represented that near about 27% of part-time workers in the UK are female employees.

Existentialism 7a.4 Themes Essay Example for Free

Existentialism 7a.4 Themes Essay After reading this unit you will be able to : Understand the concept of existentialism. Explain features of existentialism. Identify the exponents of existentialism their views. Deliberate on some themes in existentialism. Describe the educational philosophy of existentialism. 7A. 1INTRODUCTION Existentialism is a way of philosophizing that may lead those who adopt it to a different conviction about the world and man’s life in it. Existentialism is mainly a European philosophy that originated before the turn of the twentieth century, but became popular after World War II (1939 – 45). The seeds of existentialism may be traced back to an earlier period of the history of philosophy. During the 18th century reason and nature were given more importance, objectivity was very much emphasized, leading to industrial and technological developments and science was given utmost importance. From the scientific viewpoint, man was also regarded as an object. Man became a slave to machines in developing industrial society. Against this situation existentialism emerged as a protest against the society and asserted the supremacy of individuality of man. The existentialist philosophy is not a creation of any single philosopher. The existentialist writings scattered in the works of many philosophers, the important ones of which are : Friedrich Nietzsche, Soren Kierkegaard, Gabriel Marcel, Martin Heidegger, Jean Paul Sartre, Karl Jaspers, Abbagnamo, Bardyaev and Albert Camus etc. In American education, such people as Maxine Greene, George Kneeler, and Van Cleve Morris, are well-known existentialists who stress individualism and personal self-fulfillment. 7A. 2FUNDAMENTAL RESEARCH 1. Existence precedes Essence: This philosophy begins from man, but from man as existent (CURRENT, Present, existing) rather than man as a thinking subject, having a definite nature or essence. A man first exists, encounters himself, and defines himself afterwards. Existence comes before man is set with value or essence. It is because to begin with man is nothing, has no essence, he will be what he makes of himself. Man defines himself in his own subjectivity (Bias, Partiality), and wanders (Walks) between choice, freedom, and existential angst (Sorrow, Trouble). Existentialism often is associated with anxiety, dread, awareness of death, and freedom. 2. Importance of Subjectivity: The Danish philosopher S Kierkegaard has said that truth is subjective (Personal, Individual), truth is subjectivity: objectivity and abstraction (Concept, generalization, idea) are hallucinations. (Vision). Existentialism is the philosophy of subject rather than of the object. Each individual by probing into the depths of one’s subjectivity can discover the truth of one’s being and discover his authentic role in life. This is a creative process which gives rise to fresh insights. 3. Man’s Freedom: The basic feature of human person is his freedom – unfettered and unrestrained. Society and social institutions are for the sake of man and not vice versa, as believed by idealists and others. There is no â€Å"general will† to which the â€Å"individual will† is subject. 4. Criticism of Idealism : Existentialism has emerged and developed as a reaction against idealism. Existentialist philosophers are highly critical of idealism and conceptualism. They criticize idealist’s contention about universal element and man’s good being subject to general good. They regard the search for essence a mistaken pursuit and according to them it is not the essence but existence which is real. 5. Criticism of Naturalism : The existentialist philosophers are also critical of the philosophy of Naturalism. According to naturalists, life is subject to physico – bio – chemical laws, which in turn, are subject to the universal law of causation. Human acts are mechanical as the actions of an animal. This, however, is anathema to the existentialists and they stoutly defend the freedom of man. As a matter of fact, man is so free, according to J.P. Sartre, that he is fearful of his freedom. 6. Criticism of Scientific Culture : With tremendous progress in science and technology, rapid industrialization and urbanization have taken place. This has given rise to crowded towns in which individual is lost. Everything is done or happens on a large – scale and all personal values, individual likes and dislikes are altogether lost sight of. Today, it is not the individual who chooses his end; rather all decisions are made by computer or statistical laws and data. Thus, science has made the value of man negligible. This is why the existentialists are opposed to scientific philosophy and culture. 7. Attention on Human Weakness and Security : In this scientific life of today, the individual is leading a life of tension, worries, frustrations, fear and sense of guilt. His individuality is getting continually blundered, therefore for security of individuality the individual should be given an environment free of worries, anxieties and tension. Thus, existentialism is a philosophical movement that is generally considered a study that pursues meaning in existence and seeks value for the existing individual. It, unlike other fields of philosophy, does not treat the individual as a concept, and values individual subjectivity over objectivity. As a result, questions regarding the meaning of life and subjective experience are seen as being of paramount importance, above all other scientific and philosophical pursuits. Check your progress – 1 : 1. What is meant by existentialism? 2. What were the consequences of industrial developments? 3. Bring out existentialist’s criticism against idealism and naturalism. 4. Discuss importance of subjectivity and human freedom in terms of existentialism. 5. Existence precedes essence. Do you agree? Justify your answer. 7A. 3CHIEF EXPONENTS OF EXISTENTIALISM Soren Kierkegaard (1813 – 1855) is regarded as the father of modern existentialism and is the first European Philosopher who bears the existentialist label. In his view, subjectivity and intensity should be priced as the criteria of truth and genuineness. We touch reality in intense moments of existence especially moments of painful decision. These moments are characterized by deep anxiety, and life is known in such moments and cannot be reduced to just system of ideas. Friedrich Nietzsche (1844 – 1900) is regarded as a key figure in the rise of existentialism. According to him Christianity is to be overcome by putting in its place the doctrine of Superman, that is, man surpassing himself. Martin Heidegger (1889 – 1976) in his book Being and Time, gave a very impressive analysis of human existence, the prominence of the important themes of existentialism like care, anxiety, guilt and above all death is brought out here. Jean – Paul Sarte stressed that man’s existence precedes his essence. â€Å"Man is nothing else but what he purposes, he exists only in so far as he realizes himself, he is therefore nothing else but the sum of his actions, nothing else but what his life is. † 7A. 4SOME RECURRING THEMES IN EXISTENTIALISM : Themes such as freedom, decision, and responsibility are prominent in all existentialist philosophers. These matters constitute the core of personal being. It is the exercise of freedom and the ability to shape the future that distinguishes man from all other beings that we know on earth. It is through free and responsible decisions that man becomes authentically himself. Another group of recurring existentialist themes includes such topics as finitude, guilt, alienation, despair, moods, changing feelings, emotional life of man and death. Discussions of these have not been prominent in traditional philosophy, yet they are discussed at length in existentialism. For the existentialist man is never just part of the cosmos but always stands to it in a relationship of tension with possibilities for tragic conflict. Check your progress – 2 : 1. Name some of the existentialists. 2. Bring out the views of Sartre and Nietzsche. 3. Which are the most frequently repeated themes in existentialism. 4. Write 10 sentences about the philosophy of existentialism in your words. 7A. 5EDUCATIIONAL PHILOSOPHY OF EXISTENTIALISM : The object of education is to give man the unity of truth†¦ In the field of education the contribution of existentialism is as follows : The aim of Education : Existentialists believe that the most important kind of knowledge is about the human condition and the choices that each person has to make, and that education is a process of developing consciousness about the freedom to choose and the meaning of responsibility for one’s choices. Hence, the notion of group norms, authority, and established order – social, political, philosophical, religious, and so on – are rejected. The existentialists recognize few standards, customs to traditions, or eternal truths; in this respect, existentialism is at odds with the ideas of idealism and realism. Total Development : The existentialists have aimed at total development of personality through education. Education should aim at the whole man. It should aim at character formation and self – realization. In the existentialist classroom, subject matter takes second place to helping the students understand and appreciate themselves as unique individuals who accept complete responsibility for their thoughts, feelings, and actions. Since feeling is not divorced from reason in decision making, the existentialist demands the education of the whole person, not just the mind. Subjective Knowledge : The present age of science has made too much of objective knowledge, so much so, that the term has come to mean unreal, non-sense, ignorant and irrelevant. The existentialists rightly, point out that subjective knowledge is even more important than objective knowledge. They rightly hold that truth is subjectivity. It is a human value and values are not facts. Reduction of values to facts has led to widespread loss of faith in values. Therefore, along with the teaching of science and mathematics, the humanities, art, literature should be also be given suitable place in curriculum at every stage of education. Most of the ills of the modern man are due to over – objective attitude. This requires a subjectivist correction in the light of existentialist ideas. Importance of Environment : The present industrial, economic, political and social environment is valueless. Therefore, it helps confusion and corruption, tensions and conflicts. The existentialists seek to provide an environment proper to self – development and self – consciousness. This environment in the school requires contribution from humanities, arts and literature. These will help in the development of individuality in the educand so that he may cease to become a cog in the social wheel. Rather he should develop to a self – conscious and sensitive individual. Child – Centred Education : Existentialist education is child – centred. It gives full freedom to the child. The teacher should help the child to know himself and recognize his being. Freedom is required for natural development. Education should convert imperfection into perfection. Education should be according to the individual’s needs and abilities of the child. The relation of the child to himself should be strengthened by education. Curriculum : Existentialists prefer to free learners to choose what to study and also determine what is true and by what criteria to determine these truths. The curriculum would avoid systematic knowledge or structured disciplines, and the students would be free to select from many available learning situations. The learners would choose the knowledge they wish to possess. The humanities are commonly given tremendous emphasis. They are explored as a means of providing students with vicarious experiences that will help unleash their own creativity and self – expression. For example, rather than emphasizing historical events, existentialists focus upon the actions of historical individuals, each of whom provides possible models for the students’ own behaviour. Existentialist’s approach to education is almost an inversion of the realist approach. In the field of curriculum while the realists exclusively emphasize science, the existentialists find out that science and objective education severs our relation with ourselves. Science cannot help in inner realization and achievement of peace. This, however, does not mean that science education should be ignored. It only means besides science the curriculum must include humanities, ethics and religion. In keeping with this viewpoint contemporary engineering colleges have included some philosophy, ethics and social studies, in their curriculum. Without this synthetic approach to curriculum the aim of character formation and personality development will be defeated. Learning Experiences : An existentialist curriculum would consist of experiences and subjects that lend themselves to philosophical dialogue and acts of choice making. Because the choice is personal and subjective, subjects that are emotional, aesthetic and philosophical are appropriate. Literature, drama, film – making, art, and so on, are important, because, they portray the human condition and choice – making conditions. The curriculum would stress self – expressive activities, experimentation, and media that illustrate emotions, feelings and insights. The classroom would be rich in materials that lend themselves to self – expression, and the school would be a place in which the teacher and students could pursue dialogue and discussion about their lives and choices. The Teacher : According to the existentialists the teacher creates an educational situation in which the student may establish contact with himself, become conscious of it and achieve self – realization. This requires existential approach in the teacher himself. He should also have an experience of self – realization so that he may be capable of guiding the students in this process. The teacher’s role is to help students define their own essence by exposing them to various paths they may take in life and creating an environment in which they may freely choose their own preferred way. Existentialist methods focus on the individual. Learning is self-paced, self directed, and includes a great deal of individual contact with the teacher, who relates to each student openly and honestly. The student : The student should feel completely free for realizing his ‘self’. Under the guidance of the teacher, the student should try to realize his ‘self’ through introversion. The student accepts the discipline prescribed by the teacher and does not become irresponsible. The purpose of freedom given to him should be to enable him to effect the full development of his individuality. Religious and Moral Education : The existentialists particularly lay emphasis upon religion and moral education. Religion allows a person to develop himself. Religious education gives him an understanding of his existence in the cosmos. It shows the religious path of self – realization. It also makes him capable of utilizing faith in self – development. Moral education is closely related to religious education. Both develop the inner self and help in the realization of the infinite within the finite. 7A. 6CRITICAL EVLAUATION Some critics (mainly traditionalists or Conservatives) claim that existentialism as philosophy for the schools has limited application because education in our society, and in most other modern societies, involves institutionalized learning and socialization, which require group instruction, restriction on individual behaviour and bureaucratic organization. Schooling is a process that limits students’ freedom and that is based on adult authority and on the norms and beliefs of the mass or common culture. The individual existentialist, exerting his or her will and choice will encounter difficulty in school – and in other large, formal organizations. Check your progress – 3 : 1. What is the role of teacher and the student according to the existentialist? 2. Bring out the importance of learning experiences in teaching – learning process. 3. What is the aim of education according to the existentialist? 4. What kind of curriculum do the existentialist recommend? 5. Bring out the importance of existentialism in today’s education system. Illustrate your answer. 6. Critically evaluate existentialist general and educational philosophy. 7A. 7SUMMARY : Philosophy and education are two sides of the same coin, and thus different philosophies bring out a different facet of education and as education can change the philosophy of man and his life. Existentialism as a philosophical idea was revolutionary, dynamic and passionate, it changed the way of thinking and brought to forefront the cause of individualism. Moreover its views on education may seem dramatic but taken in right sense and moderation is necessary in today’s materialistic society. In this unit, we have seen the philosophy of existentialism, the criticism of them prevailing traditional rigid systems. The philosophy of existentialism brought man, his existence, his emotions and his subjectivity into forefront, they were forerunners of individualism and uniqueness of each man. The views of various exponents of existentialism and the themes they brought out makes their philosophy better understood. The philosophy of education of existentialism speaks about aims, curriculum, the role of teacher, method of teaching, learning experiences and religious and moral education. References : Macquarrie, J. (1968) : Existenatialism, Pelican Book. Chaube S. P. Chaube A. (1996) : Foundations of Education, Publishing House, New Delhi. Chandra S. S. Sharma R. K. (2004) : Philosophy of Education, Atlantic Publishers.

Human Activities and Global Warming

Human Activities and Global Warming Global Is Warming Caused by Human Activities The major issue that is discussed today is global warming, which is considered a threat to the earth in coming future. Global warming is the raise in the average temperature of the Earths surface, atmosphere and oceans. There are always two sides to every story and when it comes to the discussion of global warming there are two very different points-of-view. The world seems to be divided between global warming caused by humans and it caused due to natural reasons. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) stated that the noticed temperature increase was caused by increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases produced due to human activity such as fossil fuel burning and deforestation. The IPCC also concludes that changes in natural phenomena such as solar radiation and volcanoes produced most of the warming and had a small cooling effect afterward. I strongly believe that global warming is a phenomenon caused by human activities, which results in a raise in greenhouse gase s in the atmosphere. The scientific panel studying climate change stated that the proof of a warming is clear and the human activity has been the major reason for the change. Global warming is the result of warming of earth and sea due to the increased concentration of greenhouse gases. The main cause of global warming is the human activities which emit greenhouse gas which is known as the greenhouse effect. When sunlight reaches the earth it is absorbed by the earth and warms it. Some of the heat is radiated back to the atmosphere. The absorption of this radiant heat energy warms the atmosphere. The greenhouse effect is the process by which absorption and discharge of infrared radiation by gases in the atmosphere warm the earths atmosphere and surface. The major greenhouse gases are water vapor, carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), and ozone (O3), Clouds also affect the radiation balance, but they are composed of liquid water or ice and so are considered separately from water vapor and other gases. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on climate change, in 2001, the human activity had played an important role in global warming. The main reason of warming due to human activities is due to the burning of fossils fuels and rapid industrialization. Since the Industrial era the amount of greenhouse gases has increased in the atmosphere, leading to increased radioactive radiations produced from carbon dioxide, methane. The concentrations of carbon dioxide and methane have increased rapidly. Fossil fuel burning has produced a noticeable increase in carbon dioxide from human activity over the past years. And the other major reason for increase in global warming is due to land-use change, particularly deforestation. However, because of the increasing demand of raw materials for houses and other uses for example wood and paper pulp, industries tend to cut down more trees. Therefore, the enormous change in the rate of temperature is due to the industrial revolution. Some researchers and scientists disagree to the statement that human activities are reason behind the observable fact of global warming, According to William M. Gray, â€Å"natural variations are the cause of periodic global temperature increases and human kind has nothing to do with the temperature changed†. Some researchers believe that main cause of global warming is natural phenomena such as volcanic eruptions, solar cycles and water vapors. But I insist that these natural phenomenas have existed since from the existence of the earth and havent showed any ill-effects from past many decades. These natural phenomenas are affected by human activities which resulted in causing global warming. If human activities had not played contributed the warming would not have been to the extent of harmful results. However considering natural phenomena a cause for global warming will not be true. According to Karl and Trenberth, â€Å"Over the past 50 years, human influences have been the dominant detectable influence on climate change.† (Billy A.).The activities of humans that put in to global warming are the use of fossil fuels for example coal, oil, and natural gas and the clearing of land. Most of the consumption of fossils fuels occurs in industries, in vehicles and in power plants that supply energy for houses and offices. The burning of fossil fuels produces carbon dioxide; carbon dioxide is a delays the discharge of heat into atmosphere. Deforestation results in more concentration of carbon dioxide, as it reduces the rate of removal of gas from the atmosphere. Trees and other plants inhale carbon dioxide from the air during photosynthesis. Land-use changes by humans for example clearing land for logging, and agriculture, which also results in carbon dioxide emissions. The decomposition of dead vegetation is also a reason for global warming because vegetation contains carbon which on decomposition or burning is released as carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide has been rising from the time of James Watt, creator of the auto- steam engine that significantly helped in the industrial revolution. Since then, coal and natural gas have major contribution to industrial revolution. Hydro-power and nuclear power are contributing less to the needs of energy to human in comparison to coal, oil and gas. Today the amount of carbon degraded into the atmosphere shows, on average, to one ton per individual on the earth, each year. In the United States, carbon energy is especially important. The standard American per capita release is 5 tons of carbon per annum. The report from the climate panel predicted that if the carbon dioxide concentration in the atmosphere will continuously rise than the temperature is also expected to rise in the future. (IPCC Report) Major climate changes have been noticeable since many past years. The world has gone through ruinous weather events such as the dreadful tsunami in Indonesia and Hurricane Katrina. All over the world, the existence of some diseases and other fears to human health depend mainly on the local climate. Tremendous changes in temperature can lead to the loss of humans. According to the Union of Concerned scientist â€Å"In 1999, a heat wave killed more than 250 people in Chicago. Though, scientists advise that the global temperature has increased in the past years. There has been increase in surface temperature, 1 ° F, since the 19th century†. Global warming has harsh effect on the earth and had put it on the verge of harmful conditions. One of the major effects seen due to global warming is the extinction of polar bear. â€Å"Due to the warming temperature the arctic ice is melting at an alarming rate, depriving the polar bear of their habitat. Reduced food availability due to global warming has also resulted in extinction of polar bear† (West). As I discussed, the major cause of global warming is the human activities as the activities done by the humans have increased the level and impact of global warming which from past many decades was not a matter of concern as the emission of carbon dioxide was not to the extent of being a threat and whatever amount of gas was emitted was absorbed by forests. But due to deforestation the amount of carbon dioxide discharged from the atmosphere was less resulting in more warming of the atmosphere. Nowadays due to carelessness of human beings the issue of global warming is at it s peak. Because if human beings would have been taken care of their activities the global warming would not have been that existed. However, the sarcasm of the circumstances is that the humans, who are responsible for this sudden rise in global warming, are the ones who will be mainly affected by its devastating effects. â€Å"Many experts predict that the increase in extreme weather events, including floods, storms and heat waves, will result in more deaths, injuries and diseases† (Spence). Rising temperatures and changes in rainfall affect crop production and food, aiding and breeding of animals are upsetting crops. Changes in temperature could be devastating to people in poor countries. Global warmings major cause has been the activities of humans and the effects of which are very much seen as the melting of arctic ice, extinction of polar bear, rise in temperature as these effects were not present earlier when only natural phenomenas were warming the earth to some extent. Humans by their activities raised the level of warming leading to global warming. Therefore, I strongly believe that the major cause behind global warming is human activities and the information provided is witnessing the presence of global warming due to human activities. Though, natural phenomenas do contribute to some extent but they cannot be said to be the reason of high temperature. Emission of greenhouses gases are effecting the climate to a great extent due to which numerous disasters have been faced and if these emissions or greenhouse is not reduced or controlled more harmful results can be seen in the coming future. Global warming is a serious issue and is of great concern as its effects can result in harmful circumstances. Works Cited Historical Overview of Climate Change Science (PDF). IPCC WG1 AR4 Report. IPCC. pp. p97 (PDF page 5 of 36). 21 April 2009. WEB. 8th Oct 2009. Summary for Policymakers (PDF). Climate Change 2001: The Scientific Basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Third Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. 21 April 2009. Web. 8th Oct 2009. Spence, Christopher. Global Warming: personal solutions for a healthy planet. New York; Palgrave Macmillan, 2005. Print. Climatic Research Unit. Jones, Phil. 1999. Web. 8th Oct 2009. Bily, Cynthia A. Global Warming (Opposing Viewpoints). Green haven Press, February 2006 .Print. Union of Concerned Scientists. Global Warming. n.d. Web. 8th Oct 2009. Environmental Issues. Larry West, n.d. Web. 02 Dec. 2009

Explorations of Childhood and Duty in “The Chimney Sweeper” and “Casab

Although Blake wrote â€Å"The Chimney Sweeper† featured in Songs of Innocence before Felicia Hemans was ever born, issues relevant to first-generation Romantic authors still pervaded the literary scene when second-generation authors like Hemans finally took the stage. â€Å"Casabianca,† published in 1826, and â€Å"The Chimney Sweeper,† published in 1789, both address a central question: What does it mean to be a child? Both poems examine the duties that children have to society as a whole. While there is an overriding sense of an allegiance to duty in both poems, the poems’ situational irony complicates the relationship between children and responsibility. The final line of â€Å"The Chimney Sweeper† best demonstrates this complicated relationship. The speaker of â€Å"The Chimney Sweeper† concludes by saying, â€Å"So if all do their duty they need not fear harm† (24). However, we as readers have reason to question the validit y of the speaker’s promise since the poem seems to suggest that relief from hardship only comes through death. Through their language, choice of perspective, situational irony, and other features, â€Å"The Chimney Sweeper† and â€Å"Casabianca† grapple with the notion of childhood in order to clarify the complicated relationship between children and duty in society. The poems’ structures appeal to the youth around whom they centered. Each poem has end-rhyming quatrains, which create a nursery rhymesque feel. Both poems have a more or less regular rhythm, which adds to the happy feeling created by the rhyme. However, it is a common occurrence for the heavy content to contrast with the poems’ structure. In order to better understand both poems, it is important to examine why the authors would have chosen to use a structure that contr... ... fair to say that both poems are proponents of both duty and childhood because of their youthful structure and irony. However, each poem is more heavily weighted towards one allegiance or another. Hemans does show remorse for Casabianca’s untimely death, but her choice to present the story from the third person perspective proves that her allegiance is more towards the fulfillment of duty to family and country than the fulfillment of childhood. On the contrary, Blake’s choice to give his child character a first person voice empowers his protagonist and supports the idea that Blake was a bigger proponent of childhood than of duty. Both poems reveal the complicated nature of this issue during the Romantic period, and each poem counters the other to give them both a more multidimensional perspective on the consequences and benefits of preserving childhood and duty.

Marvin Gaye Author Of Soul Music :: essays research papers fc

Marvin Gaye; Author of Love Music Bibliography Bayles, Martha. Hole In Our Soul. New York: The Free Press, 1994 Coleman, Nick. â€Å"Lost Soul.† New Statesman 4 Sept. 1998: 127. EBSCO Host. Centennial High School Lib., Franklin, TN. 14 Feb. 2001 <http://www.epnet.com/ehost/login.html>. Editor’s of Time-Life Books. Turbulent Years: The 60s. Our American Century. Alexandria, Virginia: Time-Life Books, 1998. â€Å"Gaye, Marvin (Pentz Jr.).† Biography.com: 4. Online. World Wide Web. 12 Feb. 2001. Available http//www.biography.com. Gracyk, Theodore. An Aesthetics Of Rock. Duke University: Duke University Press Durham and London 1996 Haa, Erikka. Soul. New York: Friedman\Fairfax, 1994. â€Å"Marvin Gaye (1939-1984).† Discovering Biography. Windows Version. CD-ROM. Detroit: Gale Research, 1997. Outline I. Intro II. Music A. Sex B. Feelings C. Life III. Life A. Early Life B. Addictions C. Death IV. Conclusion Harrington 1 Kci & Jojo, R. Kelly, and Blackstreet are all musicians who have modernized the music of Soul; the music invented by Marvin Gaye. Marvin Gaye used his feelings of himself, surroundings, and life to write his one-of-a-kind music. Soul music, often referred to as "love man music", was not about drugs or winning a championship it was about sex, romance, and passion, Marvin Gaye was about it all and more. Marvin Gaye, the Prince of Motown, revolutionized his music into one of America's most controversial musical forms, "love man music", which would later become Soul Music. Marvin Gaye's music became so popular with the public because it was so risquà ©; the music was about sex. Gaye adored the respect and attention he received from his fans. Songs like "Lets get it on" and "Sexual Healing" became so popular because they were so deeply involved in lovemaking. A loyal fan on Gaye, David Ritz, explains the love expressed in Gaye's music: [Gaye] loved fully orchestrated, wildly romantic music... By now he had mastered multi-track vocalizing, the art of playing with his voices. The use of moaning women in the background sounded childish, but sexual noise was an integral part of the little boy fantasy which lay at the heart of what seems to me a work of rare beauty. (Bayles 271) His music was new, something people have experienced, but were ready for it and excited to hear it. "Love music" also appeared so sudden because the people were tired of the Rock and Roll scene that swarmed America. An unknown fan of the love Harrington 2 music that was coming about, explains why it took the place of Rock at the top of the charts. "The assumption was that every woman in her right mind would prefer the love men's smooth talking satin-sheets-on-the-waterbed approach to the ear blistering screeching of white boys with road kill hair (Bayles 271).

Analysis of Greasy Lake by Tom Coraghessan Essay -- Greasy Lake Tom Co

Analysis of Greasy Lake by Tom Coraghessan â€Å"Greasy Lake" by Tom Coraghessan Boyle, is the story of a group of adolescents, searching for the one situation that will proclaim them as bad boys and how their minds change. As the story begins, the narrator gives the impression that he feels he and the others boys should have taken notice of some obvious clues about themselves. These clues would have led them to the conclusion that they were far from the bad guys they wished to be. However, the oblivious teenagers ignore these obvious signs and continue in search of their goal. In this story, Boyle uses many symbols to create the theme. The individual vehicles are each symbols in the portion of the story that they appear. For example, early in the story, the narrator describes the car they drive to Greasy Lake as an old station wagon, obviously not the â€Å"ride† of a true tough-guy. When the boys arrive at Greasy Lake, a â€Å"chopper† is parked on the shore, and next to it is a 57 Chevy (Boyle 113). Both of the vehicles are hotrods that imply a â€Å"greasy† image. The Chevy owner is a tough muscular character who beats the stuff out of the narrator and his friends. The biker, whom is regarded as a bad older character, is dangerous by stereotype alone. Consequently, the vehicles are representative of the individuals who drove them. Another symbol of the danger the young men face is Greasy Lake itself. Dark, murky cold and disquieting, every aspect of it spells danger. Its glass-strewn sho...

Learning and Teaching Styles Essay

Wk. 2 Learning and Teaching Styles â€Å"In almost every actual well-designed study, Mr. Pashler and his colleagues write in their paper, ‘Learning Styles: Concepts and Evidence,’ the pattern is similar: For a given lesson, one instructional technique turns out to be optimal for all groups of students, even though students with certain learning styles may not love that technique. † (2009) I wanted to start this paper with this quote since it did involve some sort of evidence that teaching in one style still works. Students can and do succeed and have received equal scores as their peers whose learning styles matched the teachers methods of teaching. I do believe however that students may not catch on as fast and lose interest easier when being taught material. This is why I would still use different methods of teaching versus just one. As a visual learner, I understand how difficult it can be to orally receive directions for an assignment or other activity. I thrive on written directions and learning materials that need to be read or are graphed. I often had to ask the teacher numerous times to repeat the directions because I wasn’t sure what I was supposed to do. This put me behind and my grades occasionally suffered as a result. As a past teacher who worked in a school that believed in teaching using the multiple intelligences method, I found great joy in seeing my students succeed. As teachers, we were required to hand in our lesson plans weekly to the principal. Our lesson plans had to involve each of the intelligences. This was my first real job as a teacher and I did not completely understand why we were required to do this and not use our own personal methods. Looking back, I am so grateful that I learned and saw first hand the consequences of teaching using the multiple intelligences. I enjoyed seeing my student’s motivation rise as their type of learning was focused on for a particular lesson. When I go back to teaching, I will with no doubt in my mind, use this method again. It completely fits with my style of teaching most likely because it was my first real experience and works even for those students who have a completely different learning style than I do. In an ESL classroom, â€Å"dividing a lesson into phases† (Palmberg) to make sure I use each of the intelligences is ideal. I firmly believe that this method works no matter how different a student’s learning style is from the teacher. In a sample lesson for example, I would explain the topic (i. e. vocabulary words on food items) and give the students an overview of what they will need to do and what they are expected to learn. I would read them a story relating to food or going shopping. Next I would have them write down their own list of items that their families normally buy often for a real-life experience. The next phase is to divide the class into groups and share each other’s lists. They would also discuss what their ideal list and store layout would be like if they could buy any type of food that they wanted from their ideal grocery store. They would then move on to thinking about a song or songs that is about food. We would play that song the following day. For the students who feel comfortable, creating their own body expressions describing food would be next and sharing these movements with the rest of the class. This exercise could be turned into a fun lesson where the rest of the class would have to guess which food item is being emphasized (like charades). We would next come up with a class list of favorite food items. There would more than likely be some disagreement so I would divide them up in half asking them to have a debate based on reasonable food limits and favorites to come up with an ideal list. We would do the same thing for the ideal store layout. For the sake of repetition, each original group would compare with the class their original lists and new â€Å"reasonable† list and layout. I believe this lesson would take a few days but involves most if not all intelligences. Being a visual learner, I can benefit from the students who are different from me as much as they benefit from me and the lessons I teach them using the different intelligences. For example, as I try and improve my weaknesses in some forms of learning, I can benefit from the students who learn better in a completely different way (say kinesthetic). They will get much benefit from the part of the lesson that involves movement and I will get the same benefit seeing how they react and learn to this part of the lesson. To make things fun for the students (and me) those willing could come up with their own way of teaching each other about a certain topic. I would of course give them the general rules and guidelines and they would do the rest. I think each student could benefit from this because they would more than likely use their favorite way of learning to â€Å"teach† a lesson. For those who do not want to do this, they could also benefit from this since it is an exercise that is not ordinarily done and will hold interest longer. I am not a teacher and never have been one who forces students to do something that makes them feel uncomfortable (i. e. standing up and doing a charade). I think that this will do more harm than good. The student may back off and not participate or be eager to learn for fear that they may be picked on by their peers or even the teacher. I had this experience in middle school and know how it feels. I began to pull myself away from the class and especially the teacher. As a result, I did poorly in the class. For these types of students, a more gentle approach is necessary. The teacher may ask this type of student to write an explanation of what they would do or simply tell the teacher what they would do for an assignment. This is why I am such a believer of the multiple intelligences method. It involves all students and doesn’t single out particular ones. Everyone benefits and everyone learns based on their own learning strengths. Another less popular/obvious benefit of this teaching method is related to the impact that the students learning has on their own family and home life. I think that because a student is more eager to learn as a result of the multiple intelligences method, they will carry their positive attitude into their home life and be more compliant towards their family and of course themselves. As we all know, a student’s home life reflects their attitudes and success in school. References: chronicle. com/article/Matching-Teaching-Style-to/49497/ www. sube. com/†¦ /integrating_learning_styles_and_skills_in_e†¦ www. tecweb. org/styles/gardner. html www. tefl. net/esl-lesson-plans/multiple-intelligences. htm Gardner, Howard. 1993. Multiple intelligences. The theory in practice. New York: Basic Books.

Drafting & Process Analysis

According to the ‘Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English’ a ‘Process’ is defined as a ‘continued set of actions performed intentionally in order to reach some result’ If making anything constitutes a process then I decided one fine day to indulge myself in some kind of activity the fruits of whose labour I can thoroughly enjoy later on. I decided to brew beer at my home. Other than the obvious highs that it gives you even the csting is very less, so it wont be a burden on the pocket too. It was taught to me by one of my closest chums and involves a number of steps before embarking on the real process.The right kind of equipment is a must for the successful completion of this kind of task. The quality of beer depends a lot upon the kind of equipment that you are using and the ingredients. Lets first start with lining up the equipment. The basic equipment you need is readily available on any of the hardware stores and includes One 10 Gallon fe rmenter with lid, Brew Pot, Spoon, Siphon Hose, Vinyl Tubing, Hose Clamp for siphon, some plastic pop bottles with lid, Hydrometer, Thermometer and a measuring cup.The main ingredients that one will need are the Malt Extract in size according to the quantity of beer you wish to make. It can be taken in a flavour of your liking i. e. light or dark. Yeast is a important ingredient in the process of brewing beer, so you will need around 50gms of Yeast also. Other than that you will require around 5-6 cups of white sugar. After getting ready with your things the all the equipments needed in the beer making process should be cleaned thoroughly for hygienic reasons. In the large pot boil around 10 litres of water.Also pour about the same quantity of cold water in to the fermenter. Add around 1 – 1. 5 kg of malt in the boiling water and let it cook on low to medium flame for about 30 minutes. Cooking on medium to low flame helps cooking in a better manner. Add some sugar to the boil ing mixture. The moment the sugar dissolves in the hot mixture, pour all the contents inside the fermenter with yeast. Add some cold water to bring down the temperature to room level. After that cover the lid and let the beer brew. Normally it will take around a week for the beer to brew completely at room temperature.After a week test the quality of beer with the help of an hydrometer or otherwise seasoned beer makers can tell its quality just by tasting it manually. After that comes the stage of taking the beer if its ready out of the fermenter and poring it inside the bottles. Do it carefully without spilling the precious liquid on the floor. Pour the beer from the fermenter inside the bottles with the help of a funnel. Frothing should also be avoided while filling and the bottles should also not be filled completely.Store the bottles in a warm dark area for few days and then make them cool. The beer is ready to drink but if you want to improve the quality then they should be sto red for a bit longer period. Though it cannot be said that this kind of product and process is only for tipplers. Anybody can make and then enjoy a homemade beer in just a few simple steps as explained above. The biggest advantage of making beer at home is that it is sans any kind of preservatives and chemicals and is very pure. So, pals go ahead and make your first lot of Home made Beer and Enjoy. Cheers†¦.

The Meiji Restoration

university of georgia| The Meiji Period made Japan big! | Midterm Question 2| | christian driver| 10/23/2012| | The Meiji restoration in Japan is known as the end of Japan’s isolationism, and its entrance into the world as a global player. However, the Meiji restoration is chiefly responsible for the development and advancement of Japan as an eastern world power. Japan’s economy was greatly bolstered and new philosophies and ideals from the west flooded in. These ideas opened minds to different ways of thought.The reason the Meiji restoration took place is due to the western powers and cultural and political turmoil. When the â€Å"black ships† arrived in Japan, the Tokugawa shogun realized that they were technologically outclassed by the western nations, he agreed to treaties that put the west at an advantage, and Japan at a disadvantage. Many leaders were angered by these treaties and feared that Japan would share the same fate as many other Asian countries. Th us, the Meiji emperor was â€Å"restored† to power, but he did not rule directly.He was expected to accept the advice of the daimyo that had overthrown the shogun, and it was from this group that a small number of ambitious, able and patriotic young men from the lower ranks of the samurai emerged, to take control and establish the new political system. At first, their only strength was that the emperor accepted their advice. In addition several powerful feudal domains provided military support. They moved quickly, however to build their own military and economic control.By July 1869, the feudal lord had been requested to give up their domains, and in 1871 these domains were abolished and transformed into prefectures of a unified central state. The abolition of feudalism made tremendous social and political changes possible. Because of the Meiji reforms millions of people were suddenly free to choose their occupation and move about without restrictions. By providing a new envi ronment of political and financial security, the government made investments in new industries and technologies possible.The government led the way by building railways and shipping lines, telegraph and telephone systems; three shipyards, ten mines, five munitions works, and fifty three consumer industries (making sugar, glass, textiles. cement. chemicals, and other important products)[Taira,85]. This was very expensive, however and strained government finances, so that in 1880 the government decided to sell most of these industries to private investors, encouraging such activity though subsidies and other incentives.Some of the daimyo and merchants who built these industries established major corporate conglomerates called zaibatsu, which controlled much of japans modern industrial sector. The government also introduced national educational systems and a constitution creating an elected parliament called the diet. They did this to provide a good environment for national growth, win the respect of the westerners, and build support for the modern state.In the Tokugawa period, popular education had spread rapidly, and by 1872 the government established a national system to educate the entire population. By the end of the Meiji period, almost everyone attended the free public schools for at least six years. The government closely controlled the schools; making sure that in addition to the skills like mathematics and reading all students studied â€Å"moral training†, which stressed the importance of their duty to the emperor, the country and their families [Fridell, 823].Catching up on the military sector was a high priority for Japan in the era of European and American imperialism. To win the recognition of the western powers and convince them to change the unequal treaties that Japan had been forced to sign in the 1850’s, Japan changed its entire legal system, adopting a new criminal and civil code modeled after those of France and Germany. The we stern nations finally agreed to revise the treaties in 1894, acknowledging Japan as a equal in principle, although not as an international power.Universal conscription was introduced, a new modeled army after the Prussian force, and a navy modeled after the British was established which led to new conflicts of interest in Korea and Manchuria. This time between Russia and Japan , led to the Russo-Japanese war in 1904-05. The Japanese army won this war, gaining territory and finally some international respect. Japan further increased its influence on Korea and annexed it completely in 1910 [parsons,23]. In Japan, the success in war caused nationalism to increase ven more, and other Asian nations also started to develop national self confidence. The relatively quick success of the Japanese was not to be attributed mainly to external factors, such as the impact of the west on Japan, because other countries of comparable experience or size reacted quite differently to external variants a nd pressures. The reasons should rather be sought in internal changes, such as the great homogeneity of the Japanese people and their strong self-identity. Their awareness of the possibilities of learning abroad was also a distinct advantage.Even the social tensions of the late Tokugawa times were an asset to a country facing great changes. And it should be remembered that, though Japan was preindustrial in economy and feudal in political pattern, its economic and political institutions were highly complex and sophisticated. The country had standards of bureaucratic rule that did not suffer by comparison with the west in honesty or efficiency. With perhaps 45 percent of its men and 15 percent of its women literate, Japan also was not far behind the leading countries of the West in literacy levels.Another important factor was that the change could be justified by Japanese minds, not through newly learned foreign concepts, such as democracy or, later, communism, but by Japan’s own ancient system of imperial rule. The utilization of a native ideology undoubtedly smoothed an otherwise wrenching change and made it somewhat less traumatic. Japan became a very robust nation with as much potential as any western country. The Meiji reforms helped create an industrial, capitalist state with a powerful economy and military.The government also introduced a constitution by creating an elected parliament called the diet to win the respect of westerns and to generate a good environment for national growth. Japan gained recognition by the West and stayed an independent country. The Meiji restoration was very significant and fundamental for Japanese economy and the recognition of the rest of the world. Millions of people were suddenly free to choose their occupation and move without trouble.The main effect of the Meiji restoration was that it formed a strong, unified and centralized government which regulated all the aspects of society and in addition the government set up new universities and new school to teach people the modern technology. Work sited Cite your info here, this is an example of how to do it! Straight copied and pasted from the jstor: The Abdominal Skeleton of Tropidurid Lizards (Squamata: Tropiduridae) Omar Torres-Carvajal Herpetologica , Vol. 60, No. 1 (Mar. , 2004), pp. 75-83 Published by: Herpetologists' League Article Stable URL: http://www. jstor. org. proxy-remote. galib. uga. du/stable/3893573 This is how you edit it ! Omar Torres-Carvajal,The Abdominal Skeleton of Tropidurid Lizards (Squamata: Tropiduridae), Herpetologica , Vol. 60, No. 1 (Mar. , 2004), pp. 75-83,Herpetologists' League, http://www. jstor. org. proxy-remote. galib. uga. edu/stable/3893573 Remember to catalogue multiple citations in alphabetical order and to indent every line after the first one. Take out extra words such as â€Å"Published by†, etc. and try to remove the hyperlinks! Everything else is edited, but since I did not receive the citation s you have to edit this yourself! Good luck and see you tomorrow in class!

Maeketing Plan for Batik Products

Understand the role and function of marketing in a variety of market and organizational contexts. ? Critically evaluate and utilize marketing research data and methods to a given market situation. ? Understand and apply the principles of organizational and environmental audits to inform marketing strategies, decisions and objectives. ? Develop and justify a marketing plan and mix for a given target market. You have been just appointed as International Marketing Manager by a local Sri Lankan firm that is aspiring to take the Company to the international market to take advantage of growth opportunities.Your Managing Director is also concerned about the limited growth potential of your market (Sri Lanka). Your main task, as defined by your Managing Director, is to propose an International marketing plan to enter the most potential market i. e. that offers the greatest growth potential in the next two years. Your key task Propose an International Marketing Plan to take your Company to an overseas market of your choice.Critically justify your recommendations by providing clear justification for selection of markets to enter on a priority basis. 1. You will need to conduct a critical market analysis using relevant facts and figures. You will need to quantify the market potential or potential of the overseas marketing opportunity using facts and figures. (20 marks) 2. Use Segmenting, targeting and positioning elaborate how you intend to provide competitive advantage for your brand in the overseas market of entry. (40 marks) 3.Critically elaborate how changes in the marketing environment in your chosen market of entry (relative to your home country) will affect your Company and how you recommend changing or adopting your marketing mix to take advantage of the opportunities in the selected market? (20 marks) 4. Critically provide a profitability forecast for your marketing plan. Clearly indicate implementation dates, and budget requirement to deliver on the marketing ob jectives you will set as part of your marketing plan for the next two years. (20 marks)

Hospitality Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Hospitality Law - Essay Example The law is found under the section of Federal social Security, Unemployment Insurance, and Workers Compensation (FUTA) (Boella and Alan 34-49). The FUTA has a subsection where, Meals and Lodging benefits are extended to the workers. It is under particular state laws, for example, in New York (Boella and Alan 54-56). All 50 states enacted workers’ compensation law, which outlines statutory framework for every employer to compensate workers for injuries at work. It insures the employees against occupational risks and hazards. In case of an incident (injuries or sickness), the medical care and benefits are catered for by the employer, while if death ensues, payments are given to the spouse and dependents as the law defines. The compensation act outlines that in the event of negligence, the worker has the right to sue his or her employer according to the common law. Therefore, the occupier has to obtain insurance from private companies or state agencies that cover claims of work-related injuries. In New York, an occupier is not allowed to charge any cost of insurance compensation to the employee. Workers must be advised about their right and the procedure of filing a claim by use of accessible and strategically placed posters. The posters postulate that the premise complies with the Workers’ Compensation Law (Form C-105 in New York). In case of noncompliance, the employer is fined $100 after every 10 days for assessment and may be prosecuted for a misdemeanor in a criminal court (Boella and Alan 71-78). The compensation depends on defined amounts or formulas that in turn depend on four classifications of disabilities that result from injuries. The disability classes include temporary total, permanent total, temporary partial, and permanent partial disabilities. The act also provides for â€Å"scheduled injuries† (amputations of limbs or eyesight loss). The payments that the workers

Women, Sex, Role and culture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Women, Sex, Role and culture - Essay Example Among the dedicated writers include Brettell and Sargent, who are inclining their work towards modern topics in anthropology. Most of their works are designed in a manner that deems appropriate for scholars at various levels of their studies. In this essay, we will appraise one significant topic within the field of anthropology, and subsequently relate Brettell and Sargent’s work to ideologies contained within the underlying topics. Fortunately, the writers’ work takes an accessible and open-ended approach in covering a subject matter. Therefore, we will have to establish an objective link between theses contained in the primary readings and that of selected essay from the two writers mentioned above. Primary Reading: Cultural Solidarity of Maasai Women In the first primary ethnographic reading, we will explore the role of gender among Maasai women in Kenya. Within the reading, the writer Llewlyn Melissa analyses two contexts of cultural solidarity observed among women in the Maasai community. The underlying thesis statement within this reading is that Maasai women have over the past decades stood in solidarity to defend their gender roles within their societies. Despite infiltration of western ideologies into Kenyan tribes, Maasai have managed to preserve their traditions to date. They are nomadic pastoralists which mean that they move from one place to another in search of water and pasture for their domestic animals, especially cattle. Fortunately, their unique culture and proximity to wildlife reserves attracts tourists and anthropologists. Currently, a small number of Maasai men and moderate women have been absorbed into white collar jobs in the tourism sector (Llewlyn 209). However, majority of Maasai women and men are still subscribing to conventional roles as contained in their cultural norms. At this juncture, it is worth acknowledging the fact that Maasai culture is a patriarchal community dominated by men. Women within the Maasai tribe enjoy minimum opportunities, and faces numerous challenges form decisions made by their communities. As a show of solidarity to their patriarchal cultures, Maasai women still believes in early and forced marriages (Llewlyn 212). Parents show little interest in education of their girl child because these girls will be married immediately after elementary school. In fact older women in the Maasai community participate joyfully in preparing their daughters for forced marriages. This shows that women in this community are in solidarity with the cultural norm of early and forced marriages of their girls. As if forced marriage was not enough, Maasai women still demonstrate cultural solidarity through female genital mutilation. This context relates to women sexuality in the society. In an effort to curb free expression of woman’s sexual desires, the Maasai community chooses to perform this primitive act of mutilating their girls. Unfortunately, older women are the ones at the forefr ont in organizing for these initiation ceremonies as a show of love for their culture (Llewlyn 230). In this regard, one can appreciate the fact that culture plays a significant role in influencing norms of men and women in different social settings. In this case, a strict solidarity to their culture influences Maasai women into perpetrating primitive and harmful cultural practices. Brettell and Sargent: Culture, Sexuality and the Body The excerpt on Maasai women fits with Brettell and Sargent’s essay on culture, sexuality and the body in inter-cultural perspective. Based on the primary reading, we acknowledged the fact that Maasai community controls sexuality of women in their societies. The aspect of early and forc

CAPITAL BUDGETING Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

CAPITAL BUDGETING - Research Paper Example Moreover, it is a decision process that focuses on long-term investment for revenue and expenditure. My paper will be based on discussion of United State budgeting as a reference but the framework is applicable to the most part to any budgeting system whether national, state, or local, or whether it is in Europe or any other continent. Budgeting is done as a way of setting objectives and goals, for allocation of the resources essential to attain the objectives, for determining progress toward objectives, identifying inadequacies, and for controlling and integrating the diverse activities carried out by many sub-units within large bureaucracies both public and private (Rubin, 2004). Debt capacity refers to the ability of the government to make required debt service payments and to be able to pay back debt incurred without ruining its reputation either to other states or individuals. Therefore,this section will deal with the speculative issues affecting state debt management and accounts on a state debt financing policies and debt limits. State debt management processes and practices are important factors in the preparation of capital budgeting in order to ensure that the government is able to equalize the level of debt and/or debt services relative to current revenue that an providing entity can support and undue budgetary constraints that can affect the ability of the government to repay the debt on time does not arise. Therefore, when coming up with a capital budget, current expenditures are financed by current revenues while capital expenditures can be financed by borrowed funds. Debt financing is refunded by the cost of using public investments by the taxpa yers on the â€Å"benefit received† principle. The government uses a portion of taxes paid by the taxpayers as a way to ensure future taxpayers bear their â€Å"fair share† as a way to pay the debt incurred to provide public facilities. Secondly, debt capacity is determined

Can global governance avert economic crises Term Paper

Can global governance avert economic crises - Term Paper Example terized by prolonged periods of increased unemployment and inflation, reduced international trade and investment, a loss of foreign reserves and recession. Various types of crises can arise in the global economy. An example of the crises is the financial crisis that is usually observed globally. A Financial crisis according to Portes (1998) is a situation where the financial markets are disturbed in such a manner that the markets fail to allocate the capital. As a result, the investment and the financial intermediation are gravely affected. A ‘financial crisis is’ a term that is usually broadly used for many types of crises. According to Portes (1998) a financial crisis is used to refer to exchange rate problems, bankruptcy, and debt defaults. Some of the examples of the financial crises are explained below. According to Jahjah (2000), defaults refer to a situation where any individual or a country fails to comply with the terms and conditions of an agreement and also is not able to pay the required debts at the already proposed time. An example of a default crisis would be the sub prime crisis that occurred in the US in 2008 where the borrowers were provided with the loans that could not be sold in the prime market according to Whalen (2008). The term ‘sub prime’ was used for the ‘sub prime’ crisis because it actually defines the status of the borrower. This means that during the crises that borrowers who had poor credit history were granted loans. As mentioned above, these loans could not be sold out to anyone in the prime markets. There was a sub prime crisis because the borrowers and lenders both were at risk. The reasons were that the sub prime lending according to Whalen (2008) meant that the borrowers and the lenders had to face markets with higher interest rates, a high rate of default and poor credit history. In the US according to Shankar (2008), the sub prime lending increased from 9% in 1996 to 21% in 2004. Some analysts argue that the

Film reaserch paper Research Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Film reaserch - Research Paper Example The film portrays intense corruption, mass killings, and the results of civil war within the country. Ideally, the Rwandan genocide drew influence from the fact that the majority Hutus wanted to do away with the minority tribe of the Tutsis. During the 1994, genocide at least a million Tutsis lost of their innocent lives due to the hatred developed by a fraction of the Hutu tribe (Anonymous 52). In this regard, history refers to the socio-cultural relations that exist within the society that may include race, ethnicity, gender, and nationality. It involves the firsthand account of philosophical issues such as power and perceived justice. Objectively, this paper will dwell on the historical factor of the film Hotel Rwanda. The bunch killing of the Tutsis started when Tutsi militiamen struck a plane carrying a Hutu tribe president. It became of a revenge-targeted mission, where the Hutus felt that they no longer needed the Tutsi presence in their country. The Hutus referred to the Tuts is as cockroaches where their presence became prejudicial and insignificant. Impunity became the driving force behind the genocide in which Paul tried to save at least one thousand three hundred of the so-called cockroaches (Olsen 66). According to the film, Paul sort to ensure the safety of his wife mainly because it was against the Hutu decree for a Hutu to marry a Tutsi woman. This meant that his wife’s life was at risk. The anthropological factor is that ethnicity contributed to the fall of the central African in its ability to unite the ethnic social culture and use it a complementary aspect of the nation. Ideally, the Tutsis were a dishonest lot who could not have any duty bestowed upon them. Clearly, the minority tribe did not have a place in the Rwandan society as the militiamen implied (Anonymous 52). However, Paul went contrary to the primitive commandments as he was a Hutu who housed a sizeable number of the Tutsi tribe. This portrayed his remarkable ability to sho w that not all the Hutus supported the atrocious genocide (Pearson, Keir, and Terry 120). The dead bodies characterized the town of Kigali that was once peaceful and serene. In essence, the dead bodies depicted the negativity of ethnicity, which made compatriots turn against fellow states men. Essentially, it is the right of human beings to live without having to buy their life at any price. Subsequently, the Hutu soldiers had put a senseless value on the lives of fellow human beings that made them a disgrace to the human race (Adams 77). On the contrary, tolerance and acceptance of the different ethnic origins would have down played the onset of the civil war that erupted in Rwanda at the time. Moreover, the genocide of Rwanda as portrayed in the film marked the darkest time in African and mostly in world history. This was because it went down as an era in which humanity experienced the wiping out of many lives at the same time (Rusesabagina, Paul, and Tom 78). Overly, the movie de picted racism within the same nation. The hundred dark days to which the film revolves around formulated, the base to which same skin racism drew roots. In essence, the Hutus killed the Tutsis whom they had cohabitated with for as long as history could recount (Pearson, Keir, and Terry 120). Conversely, the UN also only attempted to evacuate other nationals to safety rather than saving the whole lot. As per the

Analysis of the Contract Law Cases Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Analysis of the Contract Law Cases - Assignment Example The organizer or the person who got the contract from the company can express disclaim for all the liability and damage to persons or goods including the exhibits or furnishings in the premises. This exclusion of the liability generally will be irrespective of cause or responsibility. The exclusion of the liability cause will be complete if the damage is a result of the organizer’s buildings or furnishings. In this contract, this exclusion is not included. The damage due to the external causes can be excluded and the remaining damages can be excluded from the liability of the contractor to whom the retail sales contract has been awarded. The liability cause is limited to the internal cause in case of damage and the external causes cannot make contractor bind over for the damage. In the third express term, the price variation clause of raw material can be considered. This is because the company is awarding a retail sales contract. This should include the wage variation that cau ses price variation. In the case of industrial tenders, the raw material supplied can be considered for the price variation. In the case of retail sales, the goods supplied by the company to the retail contractor can be considered as the raw material and the price variation clause can be applied. The supplier has to mention the base price of the material supplied to the retail contractor. According to unfair contract terms act 1977, the references to liability are needed to be considered. The liability of an occupier of the premises for breach of an obligation or duty towards a person obtaining access has to be mentioned in that context. This access is restricted because the company awarding the contract can claim that the equity regarding the premises and the business is owned by it. Here this clause can be termed as unfair because the contractor who got permission for retail sales from the company is paying an amount to the company and the amount includes the value of the material supplied. If the company wants to own the equity, it can take the money as deposit regarding the material supplied only.        Ã‚  

Student Support in Open and Distance Learning Essay

Student Support in Open and Distance Learning - Essay Example Quoting Nonyongo (2002), Tait (2003) said the UNISA was not successful due to low success in terms of completion and throughput rates, the correspondence nature of programmes in comparison with well-functioning distance education, and inadequate learner support which is exacerbated by the lack of a co-ordinated regional network of learning centers. From here, Tait (2003) emphasizes the dangers of developing distance education without learner support. In contrast to UNISA, Tait (2003) describes the Open University UK established in 1969 with modern distance education endowed with a range of teaching and learning media and forming an integrated student support system. The characteristics of the systems included a personal tutor for each student (one tutor for every 25 students), tutor feedback, computer-mediated tutorials, 260 study center networks, residential school experience at a minimum of one week, and career advice. Tait (2003) then explains the main reasons for having student support integrated in an ODL system. First, the students want support. Second, drop-out rate can be reduced; and third, the nature of learning is such that the use of the Web has expanded the potential for learning outside or independently of teaching materials provided. He then summarizes the rationale for student support as being cognitive, affective, and systemic altogether. In other words, learning is both supported and developed; it relates to emotions supporting learning and its success; and the students themselves help manage the rules supporting their persistence (Tait, 2000). In particular, Tait (2003) espouses Michael Moore's (1993) theory of transactional distance as a framework that may be used to understand student needs in a web-based learning environment. Accordingly, Moore believes that the space between the learner and the structure of teaching must be mediated by dialogue, giving the chance to the learner to participate actively in his learning. Tait (2003), however says, the theory needs to be challenged as all theories do by the application of new cases. As the article opened up, I get the feeling that Tait (2003) is plugging for the Open University of UK because he worked there as faculty. As the article progressed, however, he presented many points valid from experience, and he became more credible. Words like, "power of mere asynchronous text to create and sustain interpersonal engagement" is true to the experience of many in this cyber-age. This now highlights the truism that face-to-face interaction may also suffer from various "distance" like psychological, interpersonal, cultural, linguistic, environmental, and the like. Tait (2003) is well-versed with his topic on student support in web-based learning environments. Prior to this writing, he had already written scholarly publications on student support and distance learning from 1996 to 2000 to 2002. By the time he wrote this reflective item, Tait (2003) had already sharpened his arguments over much. In fact, although he was espousing Moore's (1993) theory of transactional distance, he was laying it down for examination and possible criticism. It appears that Tait (2003) is ready for new developments. I would rate the article a 4 because of his readiness