No Child Left Behind

The government’s legislative body has made a number of programs aimed to deal with education problems without knowing the impact of these programs to the local needs. Every child and parent is greatly affected with the quality of education being given in public schools. The No Child Left Behind Act (2001), generally acknowledged as NCLB, is a United States federal law signed by President Bush on January 8, 2002 reauthorizing several federal programs endeavoring to advance the performance of American primary and secondary schools through escalating principles of accountability for school districts and states as well as offering parents supplementary flexibility in preferring which schools their children will go to (U.S. Department of Education, 2003). Its main objective is improving the standard of education for all schools in America. The three key provisions of the act are: annual reading and math assessment of students in grades 3 to 8; awareness of parents, teachers, administrators and students regarding the test results, including the quality of the education provided by the school and the qualifications of teachers; and putting or assigning students according to categories such as economic status, sex, and learning ability to determine the school capacity to cope with the needs of learners. (The White House, 2007). NCLB has four important goals: †¢Ã‚   Increase accountability for student performance Each state must have standards in math, reading, and science, annual testing for all students in grades 3-8, and adequate yearly progress (AYP) objectives for all student subgroups. Successful schools will be rewarded; continually failing schools will eventually be restructured. †¢Ã‚   More choices for parents and students Students attending schools identified for improvement, corrective action, or restructuring must be offered a transfer to a better public school and/or supplemental academic services. †¢Ã‚   Greater flexibility for states, school districts, and schools This pertains mostly to streamlining federal funding, including grants. †¢Ã‚   Putting reading first More money will be available for scientifically based reading instruction programs (phonics) so that all children will read by third grade. Competitive grants are available through the Reading First Initiative and Early Reading First program. Overview and Purpose The USCO or Unsafe School Choice Option (Elementary and Secondary Education Act, section 9532) of 1965, as improved by the 2001 No Child Left Behind Act, states that each State getting finances under the ESEA should employ and create a state-wide rule obliging that students who are enrolled in a continually unsafe public elementary or secondary school, or learners who happen to be victims of a violent illegal offense while in or on the public school premises that they attend, be permitted to attend a safe public school (Department of Education United States of America, 2004).   Each State in America should write a letter to the Secretary confirming that the State has complied with the requirements, as a condition of obtaining funds from ESEA. Local and school board policy/rules Policy is a very important role of the school board in our education system. Like the city coucils, state legislatures and Congress, school boards created the structure and direction of their schools by implementing policies through the power granted by the state representatives. The Board of Education is dedicated in upholding a secure and drug-free location in all school districts. Policies of school boards have the same power as decrees and ordinances. They set objective, assign authorities and create rules that make school management and authority possible (Canal Winchester Local School District Bylaws & Policies, 2007). Policies and Guidelines of School Boards are checked as it deals with the 2001 No Child Left behind Policy. School Board Policies should include: safety measures at school and while learners are on the way to and from school, suitable and effective school regulations that forbid the illegal custody of weapons, unruly behavior and the illegal distribution, use and possession, and trade of drugs, tobacco and alcohol by students; prevention actions designed to keep the environment safe and drug-free; and a system policy for all students that affirms the tasks of administrators, instructors and students in preserving a safe classroom environment (Canal Winchester Local School District Bylaws & Policies, 2007). NCLB is the most recent federal legislation ratifying theories of standards-based schooling restructuring, previously acknowledged as outcome-based education that is derived from the principle that high prospect and setting of objectives will bring about achievement for students (U.S. Department of Education, 2003). The act requires that schools allocate the name, address and home phone number of all students enrolled to armed forces recruiters. The district will use the school choice option as one response to incidents of victimization.   Additionally, the district will develop and implement appropriate strategies for addressing the circumstances that contribute to or support victimization, as well as consistently and proactively manage individuals who have victimized pupils.   The district will promote the importance of school safety and respond to the needs of pupils and staff.   Pursuant to the law, the district will provide an opportunity for pupils, parents and school district and law enforcement personnel to discuss methods for keeping schools safe from violence; to create school safety plans; and to recognize pupils in need of help. The district will organize activities to prevent school violence, including, but not limited to, age-appropriate opportunities for pupil discussion on conflict resolution, issues of pupil diversity and tolerance.   Law enforcement personnel will be invited to join members of the teaching staff in the discussions.   Programs shall also be provided for school district employees that are designated to help school district employees recognize warning signs of school violence and to instruct school district employees on recommended conduct during an incident of school violence. Each State Educational Agency or SEA must increase objective standards to apply in classifying persistently dangerous schools, which are merely not influenced by assumption, emotion, and impartiality.   Such standards should include areas that parents would consider in deciding on a level of safety for the school, and the number of violent offenses. Objective information that could be used as objective criteria consist of records that detail the number of recommendation to law enforcement group for carrying a firearm to school, physical fights or presence of gang on school premises. On the contrary, subjective data might consist of information gathered in a focus faction concerning community-wide view of safety. The gathered objective data that aid each State to identify persistently dangerous schools will have to be attributable to individual school locations and must be both reliable and convincing (Department of Education United States of America, 2004). The objective of the statute is to avoid unnecessary hindrance to student’s learning and to promote a better safety and security for the children. Elementary teachers have to pass state tests indicative of their subject familiarity and teaching proficiency in writing, reading/language arts, mathematics and further subjects of basic elementary school syllabus.   The teachers of middle grades and high school have to pass state examinations in all academic subject categories they teach, along with an undergraduate major, graduate degree, coursework corresponding to undergraduate major or higher qualifications. Teachers are not new to the occupation must have a bachelor’s degree and should pass state test indicating teaching skills and subject knowledge. These credentials have caused some dispute and complexity in implementation particularly for the special education teachers and teachers in rural schools who are commonly requested to instruct various subjects and grade levels (U.S. Department of Education, 2003). Schools acknowledged as needing enhancement are requisite to give students with possibility to make use of public school selection no later than the start of school year following their credentials for school enhancement. NCLB sanctioned (and Congress has consequently appropriated) a considerable boost in financial support for Title I aid, to give subsidy for school districts to put the law’s parental option requirements into practice. Advocates of the Act state the legislation offers parents better educational options for their children, supports accountability within public schools, and helps close the accomplishment gap between white students as well as the minority. The NCLB aims to demonstrate achievement en route for these goals through federally directive standardized assessment therefore, this Act should extend to levels of learning (The White House, 2007). Opinios and Views In summary, I support No Child Left Behind because it gives importance on methods and instruction that have been confirmed to work. Making billion-dollar investments yearly, this policy ensures children on their third grade, learn how to read. Since the law’s reaction if the school fails to make sufficient development is not simply to offer further aid for students, but to entail as well disciplinary measures on the school, the encouragements are to place expectations lesser than higher and to augment separation by race and class and thrust low-performing learners out of school in general. References Canal Winchester Local School District Bylaws & Policies (2007). School Safety. Retrieved August 31, 2007, from http://www.neola.com/canalwinchester-oh/search/policies/po8400.htm Department of Education United States of America (2004). Unsafe School Choice Option. Retrieved July 18, 2007, from http://www.ed.gov/policy/elsec/guid/unsafeschoolchoice.doc NCELA (2006). Montana and No Child Left Behind. Retrieved July 18, 2007, from http://www.ncela.gwu.edu/policy/states/montana/04_nclb.htm The White House (2007).  Ã‚  Ã‚   Foreword by President George W. Bush. Retrieved July 18, 2007, From http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/reports/1 U.S. Department of Education (2003). No Child Left Behind A Parent’s Guide. Retrieved July 18 2007, from http://www.ed.gov/parents/academic/involve/nclbguide/parentsguide.pdf    No Child Left Behind The school has failed the â€Å"No Child Left Behind† requirements for the past 2 years. In order to change the situation, the strategy of appreciative inquiry was implemented. Owing to this step, all of the school’s employees got a new vision of what cultural activities children really need. The concentration of past successful experiences instead of problems was very useful to achieve present success. Since the school has failed the â€Å"No Child Left Behind† requirements for the past 2 years, it requires an efficient change strategy in order to achieve positive results in future. The strategy of the appreciative inquiry is the most efficient in culture change in the public school. The strategy consists in making investigations of all the cultural activities which have been successful in this school during the last couple of years, identifying their positive influence on children, and looking for ways to repeat the previous success through the series of new cultural activities. The strategy of appreciative inquiry is the only strategy which would be efficient in such a case. Traditional change management activities are not going to help because they focus on the problem. In order to make a radical culture change in this school, it’s necessary not to focus on the problem but to investigate pervious positive experience in order to inspire the members of the team. The strategy of appreciative inquiry is applicable in this case because it â€Å"takes a different approach by focusing on what works in an organization and creating a series of statements that describe where the organization wants to be, based on the high points of where they have been. Because these statements are grounded in real experience, people know how to repeat the success and thus have a greater energy to make more moments of success than when presented with a nebulous vision of the future.† (Geof Cox, 1998, p.1) In order to achieve maximum success, the team has include school teachers of all levels, school’s principal. The project has to begin with making all of the teachers in the team remember all kinds of cultural events which took place at school and were enjoyed by students. During this meeting, all of the children’s needs have to be identified through the prism of the results of previous activities which they were engaged in. In the research process the following activities would be identified as the most interesting for children: acting in plays, participating in poetry and music contests, taking part in sports competitions. All of these activities had a great success among kids in the previous years, therefore the success of them in future can be predicted easily. f) The intervention of the new vision would have to last for about 2 months during which all of the mentioned activities had to take place. Many teachers were involved in the process of preparing the activities for children, and their current vision would adapt to the new one in the period of around 2 months. g) The results of appreciative inquiry strategy could be seen in the next half a year because all the teachers got a new vision of their role in the school- not only as people who have to bring knowledge to kids about different subjects, but also as leaders of different cultural activities in which kids could apply all of their talents and abilities. The chosen strategy has turned out very successful, and brought positive results. The strategy of appreciative inquiry is very efficient in such a case because â€Å"by focusing on the successful examples in the past and present, we build a picture of the themes and ideas that we know we can do, and that work. We develop an individual and collective mindset of what we are capable of that is grounded in reality.† (Geof Cox, 1998, p.2) The main implications which could occur in the strategy implementation consist in some teachers’ resistance to change and their little desire to participate in the change process. However, by making them realize the positive influence of the strategy on the cultural life at school, this resistance could be brought to the minimum. The strategy of appreciative inquiry has turned out very efficient in making the school fit into the requirements of the â€Å"No Child Left Behind† vision because owing to it, all of the school’s employees got a new vision of what cultural activities children really need. The concentration of past successful experiences instead of problems was very useful to achieve present success.                                              Bibliography. Geof Cox. Appreciative inquiry. Edinburgh, Scotland., 1998. www.aradford.co.uk      

Transcendental Themes within The Scarlet Letter

In 1 850 Is a story of adulterated love and revenge, set in sass's Boston, in a small Puritan community. Nathaniel Hawthorne evokes transcendentalism and romanticism in a variety of ways throughout the novel, focusing on youthful innocence, truths of the human hearts, the pureness of the natural world, worth and freedom of the individual, and the ubiquitous Idea that the artificial nature of society corrupts. Because of the time in which Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote The Scarlet Letter, he was greatly Influenced by the Ideas of transcendentalism, and romanticism.A huge Inspiration that led Hawthorne to incorporate these ideas into his writing were the people in which he was involved with on a personal level. At the age of 33, Hawthorne had just published his first book titled, â€Å"Twice- Told Tales† and luckily for him it was very popular with a woman named Elizabeth Peabody. Elizabeth Peabody was one of three daughters from an old New England family who was a distant descendent from the family whom the renowned Peabody Museums at Harvard and Yale were named after.Through her lifetime, Elizabeth managed to acquaint herself with many leading thinkers of her mime, such as Ralph Wald Emerson and Broncos Alcott. This led her to publish her own book in French and German that was considered the â€Å"first book-length exposition of transcendentalist ideas†. Later in time, however, Hawthorne married Elizabethan younger sister, Sophia, but still had a great reverence for Elizabethan ideas, works, and person.Due to Hawthorn's association with the entire Peabody family he was compelled to write The Scarlet Letter with much Influence from them, their connections with transcendental and romantic supporters, and society as a whole. Throughout the entire plot, nature and everything that goes along with it is portrayed as a pure and happy source of bliss, guidance, and sympathy. At the beginning of the book it is given in the first chapter an example of nature wor king to be kind while also being surrounded by a far less pure and virtuous environment.Hawthorn's narrator In this example, Is describing a rosebush enveloped within the depraved atmosphere of the village prison: â€Å"But, on one side of the portal, and rooted almost at the threshold, was a wild rose-bush, covered, in this month of June, with its delicate mess, which might be imagined to offer their fragrance and fragile beauty to the prisoner as he went in, and to the condemned criminal as he came forth to his doom, in token that the deep heart of Nature could pity and be kind to him,† (46).This description epitomizes the sympathetic propensity of nature to be kind, empathetic, and It's ability to brighten an otherwise corrupt environment. Another example of Hawthorne including the purity and joy of nature into his writing is when Hester and Dimmest are in the woods, Hester tosses the scarlet letter that had lay upon her erase off to the side, and seemingly by chance it la nds stone's throw away from a babbling brook.Upon removing the scarlet letter imposed by society, â€Å"All at once, as with a sudden smile of heaven, forth burst the sunshine, pouring a very flood into the gold, and gleaming down the solemn trunks of the gray trees,† (183). The purity of nature allows the natural world to cast light upon things that were once in despair turning them into things of elation and transforming them into things of beauty and joy, â€Å"Such was the sympathy of Nature- that wild, heathen Nature of the forest, never objurgated by human law, nor illumined by higher truth- with the bliss of these two spirits,† (183).This description, however, touches less upon the purity and Joyous temperament of nature and more upon Nature's immunity from being corrupted by the societal norms and laws This quotations shows this by stating that the pureness of nature will never be illumined or subjugated by human law or higher truth signifying that nature is a incorruptible and individual source if kindness, forgiving means, and elated contentment. Another element of this story that is based off the runners of nature is when Hester is deciding where she and her child will reside.She chooses an abandoned cottage, on the outskirts of town, surrounded by the forest. Transcendentalism teaches, that the purity of nature should be embraced and that nature was a far more beneficial environment because of the fact that the artificial nature of civilization horribly corrupted society. The corruption of society as a whole is the most influential element of transcendental ideas Hawthorne incorporated in The Scarlet Letter.Puritans believed in a strict form of government, elisions customs, and laws that-if broken-were often responded to with harsh punishments and an overall feeling of displacement in society. An instance of this would be when Hester is forced to wear the scarlet letter pinned to her clothing and stand upon the scaffold with her infan t child for hours. In this case not only is she punished by the tangible letter and stated consequence, but also by the perception by which others in the community view not only herself, but little Pearl as well.Hawthorn's narrator describes the aftermath of Hester punishment and how the irrupt laws in society have led to her feeling of being ostracizes and euthanized: â€Å"In all her intercourse with society, however, there was nothing that made her feel as if she belonged to it. Every gesture, every word, and even the silence with those in whom she came in contact, implied and often expressed, that she was banished, and as much alone as if she inhibited another sphere, or communicated with the common nature by other organs and senses than the rest of human kind,† (78).This narration speaks to the severity of the punishment not necessarily thought about reliability, but how it affects a person psychologically and emotionally over time. This quote also refers back to how cor rupt society is because society will not only treat her as an outsider but also not acknowledge her existence as a quintessential piece of society. Another example of Hawthorne creating corrupt society is when the powerful people in the village decide that Hester is a bad example for her child.Because they believe she cannot possibly be a good role model they come to the conclusion that taking Pearl away from her mother would be the best thing to do. The belief among many in the village was that, â€Å"If the child, on the other hand, were really capable of moral and religious growth, and possessed the elements of ultimate salvation, then, surely, it would enjoy all the fairer prospects of these advantages by being transferred to a wiser and better guardianship than Hester Prune's,† (91).This was, of course greatly supported by Governor Bellingham, one of the most influential place in society, she develops an opinion about the leaders in society and the human foundations that seemed corrupt. The reason that Hester is able to develop a seasonable and minimal appreciation for the society of which she is marginally a part, is solely because of the fact that she is detached from it.Upon Hester realizing her self-worth and purpose in life Hawthorne compares her view point of society to that of an Indian's appreciation for societal convention: â€Å"For years past she looked from this estranged point of view at human institutions, and whatever priests or legislators have established; criticizing all with hardly more reverence than the Indian would feel for the clerical band, the Judicial robe, the pillory, the gallows, the reside, or the church,† (180).Another example of Hawthorne incorporating transcendental themes into his writing is when he describes Damselfly's return to town from the meeting with Hester and Pearl in the woods. The reader is informed that, â€Å"the same minister returned not from the forest† because his demeanor and everyth ing about him has changed due to the affair and the way society has handled the act and the inevitable punishment. The sordidness of society in this village does not only create corrupt the laws, assign harsh punishments, and corrupt adults, but also negatively influences children.Children growing up in this society are led by the examples by those around them. They are taught to treat Hester and Pearl in a certain way because of her sin and how the rest of society treats them. While walking through the village with Pearl Hester overhears some children, â€Å"Behold, verily, there is the woman of the scarlet letter; and, of truth, moreover, there is the likeness of the scarlet letter running at her side! Come, therefore, and let us fling mud at them! † (93). This statement, spoken by a young schoolboy, signifies the effect corrupt society has on children who know no different from how they were raised.It also speaks to the cruelness that Hester and Pearl were forced to endure because of corrupt society punishments, and contradicts the transcendental ideals of youthful purity and innocence. Youthful innocence was an ideal in transcendentalism that Hawthorne emphasized in The Scarlet Letter. Throughout the novel Hawthorn's presents his ideal of society. He stresses the importance of youthful innocence to such an extreme that being virtuous, innocent, and pure was more natural than being educated. An example of youthful innocence having precedence over education is whenDimmest is walking through town and see a young woman, who possesses the innocence and religious purity that are the most valuable qualities for a young lady to possesses. He compares her purity and fairness to that of paradise: â€Å"She was fair and pure as a lily that bloomed in Paradise. The minister knew well that he was himself enshrined with the stainless sanctity of her heart, which hung it's snowy curtains about his image, imparting to religion the warmth of love, and to love a rel igious purity,† (197).This illustrates the especially large impact that youthful innocence has over things while also tying in religion and purity. Another way that Hawthorne evokes the theme of youthful innocence over education is the fact that Dimmest is a very educated, eloquent man, but is still a sinner. While talking to Hester, Chlorinating reflects upon himself, â€Å"But all my life had been made up of earnest, studious, thoughtful, quiet years, bestowed faithfully for the increase of the other,- faithfully for the advance of human welfare,† (156).This quotation proves Hawthorn's transcendental belief that youthful innocence does surpass education. Chlorinating did not seem to comprehend the fact that education means nothing unless you are a pure and innocent soul. The reason why this matters is because Chlorinating thought that his education should make him inept to the bad things that he's done, but he was not due to his hidden infamy and forbidden sin. In The Scarlet Letter the feeling of youthful innocence over education is often evident after an appearance of a young mother or young woman.In the beginning of the book, on the first morning of Hester punishment, through the mesh of voices a young mother mess intent on opposing the corrupt, cruel and harsh views of society with a lighter more virtuous and sympathetic opinion. The wives and women of this town are confused by Hester punishment concluding that her punishment for this sin should be more severe, such as branding an â€Å"A† on her forehead or even killing her. Upon hearing this a young woman interposes with â€Å"Ah, but, let her cover the mark as she will, the pang of it will always be in her heart,† (49).This piece if dialogue really illustrates the regard that Hawthorne has for youthful innocence and the pure outlook it gives to not only the problems in life, but also the solutions. Lingering pain is something Hawthorne also talks about when touching upon tru ths of the human heart. Throughout The Scarlet Letter there are many descriptions pertaining to the foundations of human heartache, love, sin, and life. Hawthorne expertly places these statements throughout his work to make each lesson learned distinct and specific to the situation in which it was found.Hawthorne believed that the lingering pain on feels was always there, but because of our natural inclination to make it through cost anything our hearts and minds ignore the pain we feel until it is at level of manageability; until we can process and really feel the consequence of our sadness or, in this case, sin. â€Å"In our nature, however, there is a provision alike marvelous and merciful, that the sufferer should never know the intensity of what he endures by its present torture, but chiefly by the pang that rankles after it,† (52).Hawthorne believed that in one's the nature there is an adoption that makes our hearts capable of dealing with torture and misery or sadness without knowing to what degree it affects s. This quotation expresses the pain that Hester doesn't feel the full effects of now, but will in the future. Another truth of the human heart that was revealed examines the dishonesty between Damselfly's and the public and the outcome of that dishonesty.Hawthorne informs the reader that one cannot portray a different side of oneself the public and a different one to one's own without being unsure of which is not only the real one but also as to which was trying to be denied in the first place. Dimmest was the person whom Hawthorne focused on while describing this truth f not only him but also of the human heart, â€Å"No man, for any considerable period, can wear one face to himself, and another to the multitude, without finally getting bewildered as to which one may be the true,† (194).This quotation, in context, expresses the torture Dimmest goes through in figuring out how to deal with the sin he committed and also how he contend s with his imminent confession. It also describes the change in Damselfly's character. How he is portraying himself as a feeble, reverend to the public, and a horrible sinner to himself eventually confuses During the course of The Scarlet Letter there is a focus on the dilapidating effects that guilt has one's self.The feeling of guilt is one of the more constant themes in this novel because everything seems to relate back to it affecting the characters' lives, inner psychology, and the actual plot of this infamous novel. â€Å"And be the stern and sad truth spoken, that the breach which guilt has once made into the human soul is never, in this mortal state, repaired,† this quote speaks to the severe impact that guilt has on the human soul and heart and how impossible this can be to fix. ThroughoutThe Scarlet Letter Hawthorne incorporates elements of transcendentalism and romanticism through his narrator. His portrayal of the pureness of the natural world, the pervasive idea that society corrupts, youthful innocence, and the truths of the human heart are all found within each plot twist, every chapter, and in all of the ideas explicitly and implicitly revealed in this timeless novel. Hawthorne not only used these elements to write a novel that was widely regarded as a literary success in 1850, but also managed to write a novel that would still be a seminal work of American Fiction.

Global communication Essay

The explosion of the internet has improved global communication and created a significant impact in our lives. With the advent of broadband wireless internet access in Singapore, our adolescents are spending intensive hours in cyberspace everyday and everywhere to meet their educational, entertainment, social and emotional needs. While they are going through this transitional stage of their life in seeking the ‘Who am I’ answers, this article reviews and seeks to understand what they do on the internet. It was discovered that both U.S. and Singapore adolescents enjoy interactive cyber communication with their peers and sharing common interest such as on-line games and audio/video downloading. An action research on a group of 35 adolescents in Singapore has revealed some interesting patterns in their internet engagement. This emerging engagement cannot be ignored by parents and teachers as we discuss our roles in protecting and nurturing our adolescents. Literature Review Introduction The Singapore Government is systematically and strongly promoting the use of information technology. One of its strategies is to make it compulsory that 30% of the school curriculum to have an information technology component and to be computer-based by 2002 (Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore, 2000). Naturally, the advocacy of Internet use is part of this omnipresent attempt. Young Singaporeans are placed right in the midst of all these changes and soon Internet use will be commonplace given the Government’s ubiquitous promotion. As an academic staff in the Polytechnic, my objective is to study what our adolescent students do on the internet. By having a better understanding of their engagement on the internet, it would help us as facilitators to identify their interests, needs and to understand what motivates them. This literature review covers some surveys on adolescents conducted in the United States, studies on the impact of the internet on adolescents’ be haviour and a regional governmental conference on cyber endangerment. United States Adolescents’ Engagement on the Internet As the U.S. adolescent internet usage grew exponentially in the last decade, a number of correspondent expectations have emerged (Gross, 2000). Gross performed a research to identify the activities that adolescents in suburban California engaged in on the internet and why they perform them. She discovered the following: (1) that gender predicts usage, i.e., boys spend more time online, surfing the web and playing violent games, while girls chat or shop online; (2) that internet use causes social isolation and depression, especially for teens; and (3) that adolescents use the internet for anonymous identity experimentation. By means of highly detailed daily reports of adolescents’ home internet usage and peer-related adjustment, the present research sought to compare these expectations with the actual experiences of early and mid-adolescents in 2000 and 2001. For the most part, adolescent boys’ and girls’ online activities have become more similar than different. On average, boys and girls alike described their online social interaction as (1) occurring in private settings such as e-mail and instant messages, (2) with friends who are also part of their daily, offline lives, and (3) devoted to fairly ordinary yet intimate topics such as gossiping with friends (Gross, 2000). This is an interesting article that relates the conflicts faced by adolescents. According to Erikson, adolescents are experiencing a transitional stage of their life between childhood and adulthood where they need to deal with the conflict between identity attainment and identity diffusion (Berk, 2002). Gross(2000) discovered that adolescents need to explore their identity through identity play and role experimentation. Apparently, the internet serves as an ideal platform for them to play an anonymous role in their email and instant messaging (IM) communications. They tend to take on a role of an older character in attempt to explore their future self and identity (Gross, 2000). Another of their interest at this stage is to relate to their peers more than their parents or teachers. They could engage in intimate and private relationship with their peers on the internet interactively and instantly. Escober-Chaves, Tortolero, Markham, Low, Eitel and Thickstun (2005) attempted to study the effects of the internet on adolescent sexual behaviours. It was triggered by the fact that adolescents in the United States were engaging in sexual activity at early ages and with multiple partners. The mass media have been shown to affect a broad range of adolescent health-related attitudes and behaviours including violence, eating disorders, and tobacco and alcohol use. The authors wanted to explore the factors that contribute to adolescents’ sexual activity. It was found that the mass media plays a very influential role in shaping adolescents’ attitudes and behaviour towards violence, eating disorders, tobacco, alcohol and sex. Based on their survey, the internet is a significant media that the U.S. adolescents engage in (Escober-Chaves, Tortolero, Markham, Low, Eitel & Thickstun, 2005). In 2003, 60.8% of the U.S. household have at least one desktop computer at home. The adolescents spend 2 hours online each time for 4 days per week. Of the contact time on the internet, 61% of it is spent on surfing the internet. It is interesting to note that the adolescents consider 14% of what they do in the internet as activities they would not want their parents to know. The authors have summarised some pre-studies of the effects of media on adolescents. They have collected some useful statistics that describe the breakdown of adolescents’ exposure to the media, from radio, television, internet to magazines. The statistics in adolescents’ sexual behaviours have supported their linkages to adolescents’ exposure to sexuality in the media. Regardless of the measure of the correlation, one thing that is apparent is that the media does pose a significant impact on adolescents’ attitude and behaviour in various areas, including violence, eating disorder, tobacco, alcohol and sex (Escober-Chaves, Tortolero, Markham, Low, Eitel & Thickstun, 2005). How the adolescents were influenced by the media were also analysed in this article. Adolescents learn their behaviour through imitating a character they aspire to be (Bandura’s social learning theory). Other supporting theories include arousal, motivation and super-peer theory. In the latter, adolescents have a tendency to model people older than themselves. This resonates with the earlier findings by Gross (2000) that adolescents like to explore their self and future identity. Singapore Adolescents’ Engagement on the Internet The above studies have surfaced couple of gaps that I could address in my research. Firstly, we need to do a study in Singapore’s context. Secondly, I can learn from the challenges that the authors have shared. It would be an upstream task to measure the specific effects of the media on adolescents. Hence, the key objective of my research would be focusing on finding out and understanding adolescents’ usage of the internet. Moving closer to this region, Singapore’s Senior Minister of State and chairman of the Inter-Ministry Committee on Youth Crime, Associate Professor Ho Peng Kee talked about the internet and its impact on Asia (Ho, 2005). He suggested that as nations and governments become increasingly ‘wired’, its youths naturally become more in tune with the cyber world and its hosts of activities. Our youths surf the Internet for information and resources for their schoolwork. They play online games with faceless opponents for their leisure; or to enhance their social life, they may enter chat rooms and journal their thoughts in blogs and make new friends in cyberspace. These are creative and healthy online activities – if done with the right motivations and values, and in moderation. But, as our youths become increasingly cyber-savvy, they are also becoming increasingly cyber-endangered. Hence we need to be cautious of the dark side of internet (Ho, 2005). Besides cyber addiction, we need to be aware that exposure to unhealthy materials on the internet such as violence imageries may lead to increasing violence and anti-social behaviour amongst youths. Apart from preparing our youths to be cyber-savvy and protecting them from becoming victims, we should also be mindful that they are susceptible to the temptations of cyber vices and may end up committing cyber crimes themselves. Once online, a whole new cyber world greets them. Therefore, proper education and programmes need to be in place in society in order to help our youths cope with making informed online decisions, and learning to surf the internet safely and moderately. Professor Ho has started a discussion on the double-edged impact of the internet on our youths. While the internet is a valuable resource basin for their learning and development, it could also pose a threat to their safety, social, emotional and moral developments. There is a need to protect and educate our youth on how they could use the internet safely and responsibly. He shared an important statistic in our youths’ usage of internet. 68% of Singapore youths have frequent access to the internet; that is 18% higher than the regional average of 50% (Ho, 2005). Hence it is critical that we take the leadership role in understanding our youths’ engagement in the internet and taking proactive measures to promote cyber wellness. Research Question The Research Question: What do Singapore adolescents do on the internet? Purpose Why do I want to understand adolescent usage on the internet? Firstly, it is the desire of adults including parents, teachers and mentors, to improve our communication with adolescents. By understanding what they do on the internet, we would be able to identify their interest and needs. According to Ho (2005), it is important that we understand the potential threat based on the activities they engage on the internet. Besides promoting their cyber wellness, it is also our desire as adults to determine effective channels to influence them positively and to support their development. Benefits The results of this survey would be useful for me as an academic staff whose primary role is to facilitate their learning and development in the polytechnic. By understanding their interest and internet activities, it would help me to improve my communications with them and strengthen facilitator-student bonding. I believe that this would in turn increase my effectiveness in preparing them for the industry as they graduate from the polytechnic. The second group of adults that would benefit much from this research are their parents. In the same way, by understanding the paradigm that their children live in, parents could better connect with them and improve family bond. Methodology Research Paradigm Our nation has arrived at this era where youths are playing a more critical role in leading our country. That is why our Ministry of Community Development has added in Youth as an additional portfolio that deserves increased focus and attention. In the recent general election in 2006, the incumbent People’s Action Party has recruited significant number of young leaders who were born after our independence in 1965 (Balakrishnan, 2004). The key reason is to equip the party with leaders who are closer to our youths and adolescents in communication and understanding of their needs and ideology. This group of citizens plays a pivotal role in shaping our future nation as they would be exercising their voting power in future elections, getting involved in national policies and ultimately replacing our current aging population in the long term. With the emergence of information technology and the internet, the learning curve of our adolescents has risen exponentially. As far as communication and information exchange is concerned, the size of our globe has shrunk and distances between countries have become irrelevant with the click of the computer mouse. The internet has emerged to be a major channel of media, especially among the adolescents. The researches done in the U.S. as discussed above have shown that internet pose a significant impact on adolescents. Considering the higher internet penetration in Singapore compared to the U.S. per household, we would not expect the impact of the internet on our adolescent to be any lower. Scope As discussed in the review of Article, it is important that I set a realistic scope of study considering the limited time and resources. As this is the first research, I would be focusing on finding out the activities that adolescents engage in on the internet. I have designed a survey that captures what adolescents use the internet for, the activities they engage in, how much time they spend on them. There were some qualitative question to understand their preferences, interest and reasons for engaging in the internet activities. Subjects and Materials The stakeholders were adolescents. I managed to survey 35 adolescents in my network, of which most of them are polytechnic students between 18 to 19 years old. The materials required for this survey were basically printed copies of the survey questionnaires. They spent about ten minutes each to complete the survey forms. Procedures As this is my first research on the adolescents, it would be practical for me capture a broad span of their activities as a foundation for future or follow-up focused activities. The model of action research used must support continuous improvement and leverage on past findings with an interpretive approach. Hence, the model which I choose to adopt is the Zuber-Skerritt’s spiral model. The steps of Zuber-Skerritt’s spiral model are: (1) develop a plan of critically informed action to improve current practice. The plan must be flexible to allow adaptation for unforeseen effects or constraints; (2) the group members act to implement the plan which must be deliberate and controlled; (3) this action is observed to collect evidence which allows thorough evaluation. The observation must be planned and the action process and its effects within the context of the situation should be observed individually or collectively; (4) reflection of the action recorded during observation is usually aided by collaborative discussion among the group members. Group reflection can lead to a reconstruction of the meaning of the social situation and provides a basis for further planning of critically informed action, thereby continuing the cycle. I designed a survey questionnaire and printed out multiple copies to the adolescents. Participation was purely based on voluntary basis and their identities were all anonymous. I explained the objectives of my survey clearly to them through both direct verbal communication and highlighting them on the survey form in print. Results and Discussions The Survey forms were given to adolescents in my network as planned. They responded positively and completed the survey with ease. The feedback was that the questions were clear. There were total 35 adolescents who participated in the survey. The gender groups were well represented with 16 males and 19 females. There were some triangulations of the reflection stage of this research as I spent some time after the survey to talk to some of the adolescents to clarify certain information pertaining to some websites or online games which I was not familiar with. It was a meaningful session as they were very open to share with me their interest such as why the males like to play challenging online games like Dota and Warcraft. I then compiled that information gathered into a spreadsheet and studied the pattern of their engagement in the internet. Activities on the Internet It is interesting to note that the adolescents spend more than one-third (an average of 9 hours per day) of their time on the internet. This is supported by the fact that internet access is highly available both at school and at home. First of all, the Polytechnic provides the infrastructure to support the use of Information Technology (IT) in learning. Every student is required to own a notebook computer for administration, curriculum-related communication, research, performing on-line tutorials and submissions of assignments. The entire campus is enabled to provide wireless broadband access. In line with the national adoption of internet access, all the students here have internet access at home. Internet access and cost of IT equipment have become so affordable that most of them (26 out of 35) have wireless broadband access in their homes. [pic] Note: IM : Internet Messaging Games: On-line games on the internet Blog : blogging on the internet Surf : Internet search for information Music : Downloading of audio files Video : Downloading of video files and watching video on-line Chart 1 : Adolescent Internet Usage It is apparent that the adolescents spend most of their time on the internet messaging and chatting. Comparing with the adolescents in the U.S. (Gross, 2000) who spend about 40 minutes in IM per day, Singapore adolescents spend 4.75 hours per day. That is an astounding seven times more. Next in line would be surfing the internet, followed by entertainment such as video and music downloads. Why do they spend almost 5 hours per day internet messaging? Based on the survey, the adolescent revealed that IM is the most convenient and fastest way for them to communicate with their classmates and friends. Besides, it is interactive and free. This is in line with Gross’s analyses of the rationale for adolescents’ affinity to IM (Gross, 2002). Adolescents like to move fast and do not have much patience to wait for response especially when they want to relate to their peers. IM is real-time. They could instantly chat with their peers online and express their emotions immediately. Similar to adolescents in the U.S. as studied by Gross (2000), I also discovered that the adolescent here do not use their real names in their IM image. They like to use emotive roles such as â€Å"I am so scared†¦test is coming†. This also reflects Erikson’s theory on adolescent anonymous identity which teenagers enjoy relating their emotions to their peers in role exper imentation (Suler, 2005). The second most common activity the adolescents engage in is in surfing the internet for information. This is not surprising as they are required to research for information as part of the requirement in projects and assignment in class. [pic] Chart 2 : Favourite Website With reference to Chart 2, it is not difficult to explain the frequent usage of Google and Yahoo as search engines for their studies. However, it is unanimous that Friendster is the most popular website that the adolescent visit. The reasons quoted for visiting this website are to connect with their friends and to update each other of their latest profile. This is in line with Suler’s findings on peer intimacy (Suler, 2005). During adolescence, humans experiment intensely with new intimate relationships, especially opposite sex relationships. They look for comrades and new groups where they can feel a sense of belonging. All these relationships become a big part of exploring one’s own identity. Through communication website like Friendster and Livejournal, there is an almost limitless array of people and groups to interact with – all kinds of people and groups with all kinds of personalities, backgrounds, values, and interests. The adolescents here are curious in discovering both their identity and that of their peers. To reinforce adolescents’ interest, Blogspot and Blogger take up 13.4% of the total favourite websites count. Of the 35 adolescents surveyed, 7 of them have their own blog site and 10 of them are active blogger. They enjoy expressing their emotions and sharing their social life with their peers. One popular site they like to visit, especially among the females is that of a flamboyant 21-year old female XiaXue. The girls like to her blog because it is funny and she shares her social life openly. This confirms that adolescents prefer to interact with people they can identify with (Berk, 2002). Another interest that is significant is that of video watching on the Youtube website. The adolescents’ favourite videos are humorous and entertaining like those of XiaXue and Mr. Brown who is famous for his local political jokes. Gender Comparison [pic] Chart 3: Gender Comparison of Internet Usage Chart 3 above is essentially a breakdown of Chart 1 by gender. It is interesting to note that males spend more time than females in IM. This is also related to their indulgence in on-line games and video downloading. Because of these common interests among their peers, the males derive a sense of achievement as they share information of the latest on-line games and videos using IM. In fact, the more knowledgeable or competent males would co-teach their peers on how they could excel in the on-line game. This phenomenon was highlighted by Suler(2005) in his study. He suggested that adolescents love the sense of mastery and accomplishment as they engage in peer teaching. While females prefer fantasy on-line games like Maple Story and Audition, males indulge in war, strategy and shooting games like Warcraft and Dota. The key reasons are that the males enjoy challenge and like to take risk. Besides, they are also intrigued in connecting with and challenging people in other parts of the world. Males spend substantial time in downloading video over the internet. Their favourites are comedy movies. For females, their favourite are MTVs of their idols. This resonates with the study done by Gross (2000) on adolescents’ tendency in pretending to be someone else. By idolising an older person such as a superstar, they are exploring their future identity (Gross, 2000). Recommendation First of all, as part of the Zuber-Skerritt’s spiral model in action research, I would recommend a follow-up to the above research. We have achieved our objective of gaining a general understanding of what adolescent do on the internet. Of the various activities they engage on the internet, the most significant is in IM. Hence, I would propose to do a further action research on why and how they use IM. In doing so, adults could understand them better and even use IM in improving adult-adolescent relationship. Secondly, I would recommend to adults including parents and teachers of our adolescents to be aware of the above findings and take proactive actions to build strong bonding with our adolescents and to protect them from the potential cyber danger. As is true of all adolescent activities, they need at least some supervision to stay on track and avoid trouble (Suler, 2005). Getting involved doesn’t just mean supervising in order to avert trouble. The world of computers also can become an excellent way for parents and adolescents to have fun together, to get to know each other better. There will be a part of the adolescent – maybe even a part that they try to hide – that will love this. Suler suggested a few anecdotes which I think could be applied in Singapore. First, adults could get knowledgeable of the internet and join in with the adolescents. To be most effective in supervising the adolescent’s cyberspace activities, the parent needs to know something about the topic. Parents could talk to their kids about cyberspace and join them in some of their online activities. They could even communicate occasionally with their adolescents through IM to keep in touch with them. It is encouraging to note that our government is supporting the formation of cyber wellness centre such as the PlanetCRuSH which was launched by TOUCH Community Services in August 2006 (Seow, 2006). During the official launch of the centre by Associate Professor Ho Peng Kee, some parents and their adolescents were playing on-line games together in the E-sports Carnival competition to promote family ties (Seow, 2006). Secondly, adults need to acknowledge the merits and threats of the internet. We should not vilify cyberspace – that will only alienate the adolescent. Instead, we could talk to them openly about both the pros and cons. We should show an acceptance of their cyber life, but discuss some of the dangers and what steps they should take if they encounter unsavoury situations or people. Thirdly, adults should advocate and encourage a balance in cyberspace time and other activities. If there’s something they really enjoy on the Internet, find a way to expand that activity into their in-person life. The idea is to integrate cyberspace into the rest of their life, and encourage them to develop non-Internet activities too. Conclusion Through the above article review and action research, I see Erikson’s psychosocial theory of adolescents’ behaviour in action. What adolescents do on the internet are manifestation of their identity experimentation and exploration, peer intimacy and belongings, separation from parents and venting frustrations. The common activities that both U.S. and Singapore adolescents engage in are IM, emails, audio/video downloads and online games. However, in terms of the length of engagement, Singapore adolescents spend 7 times more than their counterparts, especially in IM. This could be due to the higher broadband internet access rate and availability in Singapore. A further study on how adolescent use the IM is recommended to understand this intense engagement of activity. As parents and teachers, we need to be aware of the intensity of adolescent engagement in the internet and take proactive measures to protect them from cyber danger and be jointly involved in some of their internet activities such as IM and on-line games. By expressing our interest in their lives and communicating with them via their preferred platform, not only could we create a positive impact in their internet experience, we could also foster strong adult-adolescent bonding. Reference List Balakrishnan, V. (2004). Youth Mentoring Convention: Speech by Dr. Vivian Balakrishnan, Ag Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports. In MCYS [on-line]. Available WWW: http://app.mcys.gov.sg/web/corp_speech_story.asp?szMod=corp&szSubMod=speech&qid=863 [2006 November 15]. Berk, L. E. (2002). Infants, Children, and Adolescents (4th ed.). Boston: Allyn and Bacon. Escobar-Chaves, S. L., Tortolero, S. R., Markham, C. M., Low, B. J., Eitel, P., & Thickstun, P. (2005). Impact of the Media on Adolescent Sexual Attitudes and Behaviors. In Pediatrics [on-line]. Available WWW: http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/content/full/116/1/S1/303#F1 [2006 Sep 29]. Gross, E. F. (2000). Adolescent Internet use : what we expect, what teens report. In UCLA Digital Media Centre [on-line]. Available WWW: http://www.cdmc.ucla.edu/downloads/Adolescent%20Internet%20usepdf.pdf [2006 Sep 29]. Gross, E. F., Juvonen, J., & Gable, S. L. (2002). Internet use and well-being in adolescence. Journal of Social Issues, 58, 75–90 Ho, P. K. (2005). The Youth.Net: Developing Cyber Wellness In Conjunction With Asean + 3 Seminar On Urban Youth Work III at Orchard Hotel – Speech by Associate Professor Ho Peng Kee, Senior Minister of State (Law And Home Affairs) And Chairman of the Inter-Ministry Committee on Youth Crime (IMYC), 26 July 2005. In News@Home [on-line]. Available WWW: http://www2.mha.gov.sg/mha/detailed.jsp?artid=1614&type=4&root=0&parent=0&cat=0 [2006 Sep 29]. Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (2000). Broad-based approach to make Singapore the location for infocomm manpower and savvy workforce. In IDA [on-line]. Available WWW:http://www.ida.gov.sg/Website/IDAContent.nsf/dd1521f1e79ecf3bc825682f0045a340/7f1eda7f3c633fd1c825689800580dc9?OpenDocument Seow, E. (2006, September 30). Safe Fun and Games at New Cyber Wellness Centre. Keeping in Touch, p. 5.

International Management of Knowledge and Technology Essay

International Management of Knowledge and Technology - Essay Example Hitachi has also embedded its research laboratory with the Cambridge University. These collaborations have taken the state of modern microelectronic technology to a more advanced level (J. G. Thursby and M. C. Thursby, 2002). The operations of multinational companies require a varied skill set. If the company human resource base does not contain all these specific skills, it might search for the skill in external sources. A single university is not likely to possess the complete skill set that a company might require (Ponomariov, 2007). In such cases, cross-institutional research would be needed to satisfy the firm’s needs within a particular area. Hence, companies look forward to other sources of innovation and have termed this act as ‘open innovation’ (Perkman and Walsh, 2007). University students can gain practical knowledge by taking part in the research activities or simply by updating themselves with the processes of innovation that is taking place through t he collaboration of their own university or a joint venture of many universities. They can benefit from this knowledge and be further encouraged to become innovative in their personal and professional lives. These research opportunities are also beneficial for students during their educational phase; they would be able to make various educational experiments to enhance their knowledge and improve their capacity (Lillywhite, Hawkes and Libbin, 2005). Recent research studies highlight that a significantly large number of academic institutions engage themselves with the corporate organizations through different channels simultaneously. This is visible most often in particularly R&D activities in applied... From this essay it is clear that  university students can gain practical knowledge by taking part in the research activities or simply by updating themselves with the processes of innovation that is taking place through the collaboration of their own university or a joint venture of many universities. They can benefit from this knowledge and be further encouraged to become innovative in their personal and professional lives. These research opportunities are also beneficial for students during their educational phase; they would be able to make various educational experiments to enhance their knowledge and improve their capacity.This paper discusses that a significantly large number of academic institutions engage themselves with the corporate organizations through different channels simultaneously. This is visible most often in particularly R&D activities in applied sciences. Companies interact more with universities to gain their support in these research activities. The age and e xperience of academicians and their professorial status indulge companies to enter into contracts with them. Various university patents and copyrights also increase the propensity of organizations to increase their interaction with the industry. Lower-ranked departments in various universities set up greater levels of interaction with the university than the high rankings departments.  There are various kinds of benefits that might be generated from the collaborative efforts between the universities and the industries.

Gross National Income of different countries Statistics Project

Gross National Income of different countries - Statistics Project Example Data was collected by the World Bank Organisation about the Gross National Income, expressed in purchasing power parity dollars to adjust for price level differences across countries. The data is not adjusted for inflation. There are values for each year from 2001 -2009 for each country. The numbers are measured in millions of dollars. Analysis is conducted taking the 2008 values only. The data has been acquired from the World Bank Organisation. The analysis is conducted on the data for the year 2008. The data is a sample of Gross National Income of selected 173 countries. The methods employed are analysis of summary statistics, analysis of frequency table and histogram and the analysis of line graph of Gross National Income. Results In accordance with the descriptive statistics demonstrated in Table 1, the following relation can be ascertained: Mean > Median > Mode = 12668 > 7270 > 4860 . This relationship shows that the data is positively skewed. This in turn means that the number of countries with low Gross National Income is higher as compared to those higher Gross National Income. Mean is a measure of the central tendency that is outlier biased. The statistical Median represents centre value of the data. Mode actually represents the majority values in the data. In this case the Median seems more appropriate to be focused as the central tendency as Mean seems to deliver an impression that the GNI of all countries is good whereas the Mode value paints an opposite picture. The Line Graph of Gross National Income asserts the selection of Median as a central tendency as the majority of spikes are almost at same level i.e. around 40,000. The exceptions are quiet evident in the above mentioned graph due to which the Mean cannot be selected as the central tendency. The value of Standard deviation is also high due to these exceptions. The Histogram (Figure 1) of the frequency table (Table 2) shows an asymptotic decay in the frequencies. As a result of which it can be claimed that the data is following Exponential Distribution. Conclusion It is concluded that as the rat e of Gross National Income is proceeding towards higher degree, the number of countries on the scale is diminishing. The frequency table (Table 2) highlights the lower Gross National Income recorded for the majority of countries. Part 2 Correlation and Regression: Data was

Development in Crisis Today Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Development in Crisis Today - Essay Example The worldwide aspiration for development is more than just the desire for economic progress; it is a quest for status, prestige, recognition and social and political modernization. Making the situation more complex is the reality that never before in the history of mankind has people had access to so much information. The knowledge, understandings, and experiences from every sector of society and every human culture (past and present) can now contribute their part in solving the dynamic puzzle of developmental existence. At the same time, never before in history have we faced such complicated and pressing social, environmental, and economic challenges. Now, more than ever, we need action based upon the deepest possible understanding of our global situation, the stakeholders involved, and ourselves (Brown, 2005). The study on the phenomenon of development has led to various theorizing about the concept. Likewise, theories or perspective on the study of society and social realities have been used to analyze the various facets of development. These theories describe society as a system at a particular time or society in its dynamic aspect. They seek to explain the consequences of the development and the cost of development or conditions that can bring about development. Dev Development can be viewed as a goal and an end or a process. But there is no single theory that can explain all the above aspects. Each theory explains only part of the highly complex process of development. Among the approaches to development are (Muhi, 1999): (a) the Evolutionary Theories which include Durkheim's Theory of Social Change, Redfield's Folk-Urban Continuum, Structural Functionalism, and Parson's theory among others; These theories held that society underwent a progressive development or unilinear evolution towards progress. (b) the Economic Theories that are found in the works of Myrdal and Rostow; The economic point-of-view of development maintains that economic progress is a very essential component of development although non-economic factors such as values, attitudes, institutions, and policies are just as important. (c) the Ecological theories such as Hawley's and Odum's; Ecology which is the study of organisms or groups of organisms to their environment has been extended to the study of man's relation to the environment. (d) the Conflict Theories to include Marx and Lenin as well as the Theory of Dependency This class of theories focuses on change as a permanent and inseparable aspect of society with conflict as an accompaniment of the change. In a more recent example of an economic crisis, i.e. the economic crisis that gripped East Asia in 1997, Burkett and Hart (2000) cited the East Asian development process as "highly exploitative and unstable" and "only a Marxist approach" can provide insights into the reality of growth in the area. The authors conclude that Japan's "crisis of human development" will not be solved "as long as they remain within a capitalist framework." They urge the Japanese working class

What Changes and what Stays the Same in America Taking a look at epic Essay

What Changes and what Stays the Same in America Taking a look at epic western films - Essay Example By this I mean to say that American society has undergone a vast amount of change since times immemorial and comparing one time period to another, especially through films set in that time, can help to give us a proper picture of the social status that different kinds of people had, and also help us understand their roles in society with respect to politics; the acceptance of their historical background, as well as their personal gender and identity and how they perceive the same. In this paper, we will be focusing on the Native American Indians and their diminishing face in contemporary American society. The objective of this paper is to understand the changes that American society has undergone over the last couple of decades by taking a look at epic western films and answering questions that are crucial to the existence of society such as the topics of politics, race, gender and sexuality, as well as the historical identity of Native Americans. The idea of race is a very harping issue, especially in the western society in the western world – the western genre of films, movies like Brokeback Mountain and Dances with Wolves for example, do not talk about the inclusion people belonging to different races. These films only address the â€Å"fantasies of the master race: the white hero's Indianness evokes the figure and fantasy not of the human and humane Indian but of the American Adam† (Pratts, Armando Jose) this statement merely encompasses the fact that most western American films only focus on the light skinned Americans, forgetting that there could be westerners belonging to a different racial background. This leads to a sort of lack of diversity among the community and also gives a very unclear picture to the rest of the world regarding the kind of people that live in west native Indian community. The idea of class on the other hand is portrayed wonderfully. In the film Dances With Wolves too, the hero is portrayed as a white Indian and thus gives the audience an image of the ‘perfect American’ hero rather than what the actual situation in the western Indian community is like. (Horner, Joy) Renowned Native American author Sherman Alexie makes an attempt to ans wer questions regarding Native Americans and race as is not easily portrayed in contemporary film and music today. He talks about the Buffalo Soldiers, or the all African-American regiment that fought during the American Civil war – also hailing from a western American Indian society. Such communities are given little or no representation at all today in art despite being a part of the community and that is the fundamental issue in the portrayal of western society and how it is incorrect for the rest of the world that looks at a cowboy as a young white man, with a southern accent. In Dances With Wolves, the idea of race is portrayed excellently as Colonel Dunbar manages to adapt himself to the life of a Buffalo Soldier, and even fall in love with one of their kin – thus the name ‘Dances With Wolves’ as he manages to adopt the lifestyle of a black western man. Next, we touch upon the aspect of gender and sexuality as seen in the two films and understood in terms of western society. Sexuality is a very daunting issue world over today; it is very difficult for people to understand the social construct of gender as opposed to sexuality because of the fact that they have been created by society. The director talks about â€Å"a story that had never been told before, of two aging men who bear up under their drab, empty, unbearably lonely lives as long as they can just escape a time or two a year to Brokeback Mountain, where, as teenaged boys herding sheep, they

International Human Resource Management Coursework

International Human Resource Management - Coursework Example The new authority is emerging and organizations are member led, officer driven, customer focused; a team environment where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts; a flat management structure where employees and managers are learning rather than blame; a clear since of direction and purpose. A firm commitment to delivering high quality public services through a combination of direct-provision and effective partnerships. International companies operate in an environment shaped by a vast range of economic, political, legal, cultural, market, trade, monetary, governmental, and institutional forces. These forces make up the environment of international business. These forces represent the system outside the international firm's boundaries that influence the actions of its expatriate managers. Expatriate managers help their companies compete more effectively in international businesses. Managing people in international setting s requires human resource to address a broader range of functional areas. If requires more involvement in the employee's personal life. The firm should establish different human resource management systems for different geographic locations. It must closely watch the moves made by external constituencies including foreign governments, political and religious groups. A host of other issues relating to employee compensation, health safety, welfare etc, need to be monitored carefully. Employees on international assignments represent valuable assets and hence need to the managed systematically and strategically so that they can easily adapt survive and flourish in diverse culture and environments. The Expatriate manager must be open-minded and ready to accept changes. He must be well oriented and trained on the new technologies, good communicator and good negotiator, too. All of that makes him more efficient, competitive and globally opened without distinguishing between religions, colors, genders and roots. Human resource Management in Global context Human resource Management is, perhaps, the oldest and most widely researched subject in management. Yet, as technologies change, cultural diversities occur and people's expectations undergo fundamental shifts towards newer and newer dimensions. For instance, professionals are gaining more say in the running of organizations. Even where governance is by people who own the majority stakes, their own positions and the respect they command are contingent upon their competence rather than ownership. "Management is the art of getting things done through other people. Management is the dynamic, life-giving element in every business. Without it the resources of production remain resources and never become production." (Prasad, 2006, p.260) This definition emphasizes that the expatriate managers achieve organizational objectives getting things done through the employees. Human resource Management is very essential for successful running of an enterprise. It ensures proper use of physical and human resources by deriving the

Strategic management analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Strategic management analysis - Essay Example The Paper will also suggest several recommendations that will be deemed as helpful in improving the Coffee house’s operations within the United States market. A Brief History of Starbucks. Starbucks is an American global corporation that specializes in selling coffee in its various coffee houses situated all over the world. Its main base of operations is currently at Seattle, Washington. The first Starbucks coffee shop opened its doors in the Seattle Springs area of Washington in 1971 and the company has grown to become the largest coffee house company in the world. It boasts of having about 19,972 stores which are spread out in 60 countries across the globe. Most of the company’s branches are currently located in the United States with an approximately 12,937 branches. ... Starbucks has also expanded its current investments into the entertainment industry and through its Starbucks Entertainment division as well as its hear Music brand, it also markets films, books and music. Most of the company’s product offerings are found to be not only seasonal but also specifically tailored particularly to satisfy the requirements of customers in the locality that the branch is located. Some of its branded products such as coffee and ice cream are sold in grocery stores all over the United States (Starbucks 2012). The United States Coffee House Market The Coffee Shop business and the entire coffee industry have had a significant boom over the recent years. This is especially so in the case of the specialty coffees offered by the industry. The market for these coffees has registered significant growth that has been spurred by the growing trend of the consumers becoming increasingly educated about the industry’s espresso-based drinks as well as how they are made (Starbucks 2012). According to research data conducted by First Research, the United States is host to about 20,000 coffee shop businesses whose total combined revenue has been estimated to stand at $10 billion as of 2011. More than 50% of these sales have been seen to be generated by the country’s top 50 coffee shop operators. Most of the county’s coffee shop operators have increasingly been spreading their business into the international market with Starbucks reporting to having set up shop in over 5,500 licensed locations outside the United States in 2010 (Green and Keegan 2012). The average gross margin for a single coffee shop in the country is

My First Car Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

My First Car - Essay Example It came to the point where I became very exhausted having to ask someone to take me to all the places that I want to go. Luckily, I have a great friend that does not mind doing anything for me. He once told me, â€Å"Emmanuel, just let me know if you need me to do anything for you.† One day, I decided to take my friend up on his offer. I called him at 5:30 pm on a Monday. I said, â€Å"Can I speak to James?† The person on the other line said to me, â€Å"This is James, who is this?† â€Å"This is Emmanuel,† I said. â€Å"Ok, Emmanuel, what can I do for you? I hope it’s not going out because I have to go to work.† I then replied, â€Å"Well, since you’re about to go to work, what time are you going to be available?† He told me that it depended on what I wanted to do. â€Å"I just want to drive around, James.† He said, â€Å"Well, I really don’t have the time to do that right now as I am busy.† I told him this was fine and that perhaps we could make plans for another time to which he agreed. On Tuesday, I was thinking very deeply about what I was going to do about James and the fact that he did not have the time to drive around with me. It was a difficult situation, to say the least. The next morning I called James to ask him for a favor. He sounded wary at first as he asked me what the favor was. I then told him that I wanted to learn how to drive. He sounded surprised by my request since I had previously told him that I was scared to learn. I swallowed the fear in my throat and said, â€Å"If I want to go places, I need to learn how to drive myself. It’s too hard having to ask someone for help all the time.† He paused for a long moment before agreeing to help; however, he did have one stipulation: I had to buy my own car first. Purchasing a new car was an interesting experience for me. I had absolutely no idea how to go about it. I knew that I would need James’ hel p. The next thing I know, I called him and said: â€Å"James, I have something for you.† He asked, â€Å"What is it that you have for me?† I replied, â€Å"I have some gas money for you if you will take me to buy my first car.† Fortunately, James was very happy to do this. We drove to numerous car lots that day, but we could not find a car that was good enough for me to crash and just when we were about to give up, we saw a nice little Honda Accord, 1987, driving by with a â€Å"for sale† tag on it. Instantly, I said to James, â€Å"Look! There’s a car for sale! We need to go after it.† We hurried and made a u-turn. We finally caught up with the Honda Accord and asked the driver to stop. When he stopped, we told him that we were interested in purchasing his car. The name of the owner of the Honda Accord was Broke and we asked him how much he was selling the car for. He said he was selling it for $850.00. I said, â€Å"How about $500.00?â₠¬  He agreed to my price offer. I asked Broke, â€Å"Does this vehicle come with any warranty at all?† Broke looked at me and said, â€Å"No, you buy it as it is.† I replied, â€Å"Well since I am buying it as it is, I need to make you a lower offer.† Broke then asked me how much. I offered $375.00 and Broke said, â€Å"That’s the too low man, you need to go a little higher.† I said okay and offered about $400.00 and Broke again said no, that the price I offered was still too low. So James and I turned around and pretended we were about to leave.  Ã‚  

There are five questions with different marks so question with 15 Essay

There are five questions with different marks so question with 15 marks have more word count ...even the answers should be suppo - Essay Example The world trade organisation (WTO) is one such body which is a contract enforcing governments to maintain their trade policies within the agreed upon rules. The core objectives are to set and enforce rules for global trade, to offer a forum for negotiating and scrutinizing further trade liberalization and to settle trade disputes. In addition, WTO seeks to enhance transparency in decision making process, assist developing nations gain fully from global trading system and cooperate with other global economic organisations. These objectives are similar to those of GATT, but WTO pursues these goals more comprehensively.1 The new Australian government is taking severe steps in its bid to uphold the Absolute Protection for Wild Whales Act 2013. In addition, the government of Australia seeks to ban entirely the importation, distribution and sale of whale and whale products within its borders. The government gives reasons that Japan and other governments have been weak in upholding the laws stipulated in the international whaling commission. The international whaling commission was set to introduce zero catching limits for profitable whaling as well as keeping whale catch limits under scrutiny. All this was in a bid to enhance and foster the recovery of depleted whale populations. The ban applies to the vending of domestic products and products from foreign countries. This includes goods that Australian travellers bring into the country from abroad. Article I: 1 Article I: 1 of the GATT 1947 prohibits discrimination among like products coming from or destined for different countries. In the Canada-autos case, the measure at issue was Canada’s duty exemption for imports by certain manufacturers in partnership with Canadian value added. Automobile imports and imported automobiles materials were the product at issue. The appellate body/ key panel upheld that duty exemption was inconsistent to the article I:1 on the grounds that the article covers de jure and de fa cto unfairness. Moreover, the duty exemption at issue in verity was given only to imports from a smaller number of countries in which the exporter was associated with suitable Canadian manufacturers. Canada’s defence was abandoned on grounds that duty exemption was given to certain countries other than all manufacturers from all countries. In relation to Australian current issue, the country has not violated article I: 1 since the ban is not discriminatory in nature. The ban covers all aspects of whale products from foreign countries. Further, Australia is not discriminatory since it also bans whale products that Australian travellers bring into the country. One may argue that products brought by tourists do not constitute trade goods and thus this is discrimination. However, the country seals this loophole as people may exploit it to continue the usage and sale of whale products. Article III: 4 Article III: 4 were set in the case of Korea –various measures on beef; th e appellate body established three components that have to be fulfilled for the violation to arise. One, the traded in and national products at issue are â€Å"like products† that the determination is the issue at â€Å"law, directive, or obligation affecting their domestic sale, offering for sale, purchase, transport, delivery or sale†. The final component is that imported goods are given â€Å"less favourable† dealing than that given to like domestic products. In relations to article

Currency War Between China and Usa Essay Example for Free

Currency War Between China and Usa Essay Currency War: Currency war, also known as competitive devaluation, is a condition in international affairs where countries compete against each other to achieve a relatively low exchange rate for their own currency. As the price to buy a particular currency falls so too does the real price of exports from the country. Imports become more expensive too, so domestic industry, and thus employment, receives a boost in demand both at home and abroad. However, the price increase in imports can harm citizens purchasing power. The policy can also trigger retaliatory action by other countries which in turn can lead to a general decline in international trade, harming all countries. Reasons of Currency War Between USA and China: Competitive devaluation has been rare through most of history as countries have generally preferred to maintain a high value for their currency,but it happens when devaluation occur. China keeps its dollar artificially low so that countries like the US will buy its goods. China is the USs largest trading partner and if they didnt sell their goods for super cheap, markets like India would be able to under cut the Chinese and then the US would buy goods from Indian instead of China. There is so much trade between China and the US that China profits immensely without needing its Yuan to appreciate. This of course hurts the average Chinese person in that their labour is devalued but it beneficial for the country as a whole as it has quickly become a super power economicaly. In 2008, a trader paid one Ghana Cedi for one U.S. dollar, but at the beginning of April 2012, the same trader travelling to Dubai paid GH ¢1.74 for one U.S. dollar. This means that year-on-year decline in the value of cedi against the US dollar was 74 per cent over a three-year period. A point to note is that during the global economic crises of 2008-2009, the cedi depreciated by 25 per cent against the dollar. Between 2010 and 2011, the cedi again depreciated 18.5 per cent against the US dollar. For last month, the cedi exchange rate depreciated 4.29 percent against the US dollar. So is the current downward slide in the cedi value as a result of the slowdown in the global economy or due to internal structural weaknesses? This question requires a detailed research work beyond the scope of this article but it is a very relevant question to ask at this time. In economics, depreciation is basically the symptoms of an underlying problem, specifically imbalances in the Balance of Payment (BOP), emanating from excess demand for dollars. So instead of discussing the depreciating cedi, I will rather focus my attention on the causes or factors that cause currency to depreciate and what the government can do to arrest this problem in special cases. Before then, I must let readers know the difference between currency fluctuation and depreciation. Fluctuations in currency value are a common event and are usually no cause for concern. The minor daily increases and decreases in value are generally due to â€Å"random walk† and not due to an economic event or fundamental problems. However, changes in currency value become significant when the decline in value of the currency is an ongoing trend. Technically, when currency depreciates, it loses value and purchasing power, with impact on the real sectors of the economy. Although, the economic effects of a lower cedi take time to happen, there are time lags between a change in the exchange rate and changes in commodity prices. Factors that determine the value of a currency include the current state of the overall economy, inflation, trade balance (the difference between the value of export and import), level of political stability, etc. Occasionally, external factors like currency speculations on the foreign exchange market can also contribute to depreciation of the local currency. Such being the case, a government can intervene into the foreign exchange market to support its national currency and suppress the process of depreciation. Currency depreciation can positively impact the overall economic development, though. It boosts competitiveness through lower export costs and secures more income from exported goods in a similar way devaluation does. On the contrary, depreciation makes imports more expensive and discourages purchases of imported goods stimulating demand for domestically manufactured goods. Globally, governments intentionally influence the value of their currency utilising the powerful tool of the base interest rates, which are usually set by the countrys central bank and this tool is often used to intentionally depreciate the currency rates to encourage exports. Factors that can cause a currency to depreciate are: Supply and Demand †¢ Just as with goods and services, the principles of supply and demand apply to the appreciation and depreciation of currency values. If a country injects new currency into its economy, it increases the money supply. When there is more money circulating in an economy, there is less demand. This depreciates the value of the currency. On the other hand, when there is a high domestic or foreign demand for a countrys currency, the currency appreciates in value. Inflation †¢ Inflation occurs when the general prices of goods and services in a country increase. Inflation causes the value of the cedi to depreciate, reducing purchasing power. If there is rampant inflation, then a currency will depreciate in value. What causes inflation? †¢ Printing Money. Note printing money does not always cause inflation. It will occur when the money supply is increased faster than the growth of real output. †¢ Note: the link between printing money and causing inflation is not straightforward. The money supply does not just depend on the amount the government prints. †¢ Large National Debt. To finance large national debts, governments often print money and this can cause inflation. Economic Outlook If a countrys economy is in a slow growth or recessionary phase, the value of their currency depreciates. The value of a countrys currency also depreciates if its major economic indicators like retail sales and Gross Domestic Product, or GDP, are declining. A high and/or rising unemployment rate can also depreciate currency value because it indicates an economic slowdown. If a countrys economy is in a strong growth period, the value of their currency appreciates. Trade Deficit A trade deficit occurs when the value of goods a country imports is more than the value of goods it exports. When the trade deficit of a country increases, the value of the domestic currency depreciates against the value of the currency of its trading partners. The demand for imports should fall as imports become more expensive. However, some imports are essential for production or cannot be made in the country and have an inelastic demand—we end up spending more on these when the exchange rate falls in value. This can cause the balance of payments to worsen in the short run (a process known as the J curve effect) Collapse of Confidence If there is a collapse of confidence in an economy or financial sector, this will lead to an outflow of currency as people do not want to risk losing their currency. Therefore, this causes an outflow of capital and depreciation in the exchange rate. Collapse in confidence can be due to political or economic factors. Price of Commodities if an economy depends on exports of raw materials, a fall in the price of this raw material can cause a fall in export revenue and depreciation in the exchange rate. For example, in 2011, a ton of cocoa sold for US4,000 per ton. Currently, it is going for US$2,300 per ton, translating into fewer inflows of dollars. Interest rate Differential I will use the International Fischer Effect to explain the relationship between the expected change in the current exchange rate between the cedi and the dollar, which is approximately equivalent to the difference between Ghana and US’ nominal interest rates for that time. For example, if the average interest rate in Ghana for 2011 was 24 per cent and for US was three per cent, then the dollar should appreciate roughly 21 per cent or the cedi must depreciate 21 per cent compared to the dollar to restore parity. The rationale for the IFE is that a country with a higher interest rate will also tend to have a higher inflation rate. This increased amount of inflation should cause the currency in the country with the high interest rate to depreciate against a country with lower interest rates. Market Speculations Market speculations can contribute to a process of spiraling depreciation after smaller market players decide to follow the example of the leading dealers, the so-called market makers, and after they lost confidence in a particular currency start to sell it in bulk amounts. Then only a quick reaction of the countrys central bank can restore the confidence of investors and stop the currency rates of the nations currency from continuous decline. When the currency depreciation is based on market speculations, in other words, not backed by fundamental economic factors, then the central bank comes to the rescue- intervene. A sterilised intervention against depreciation can only be effective in the medium term if the underlying cause behind the currencys loss of value can be addressed. If the cause was a speculative attack based on political uncertainty this can potentially be resolved. Because after a sterilised intervention the money supply remains unchanged at its high level, the locally available interest rates can still be relatively low, so the carry trade continues and if it still wants to prevent depreciation the central bank has to intervene again. This can only go on so long before the bank runs out of foreign currency reserves. In conclusion, currency depreciation is the result of fundamental deficiencies with the domestic economy which must be corrected over a period of time to restore balance. However, where the depreciation is out of speculative attacks on the currency, then the central bank can intervene to correct the temporary anomalies, which, often is short term in nature. Lastly, intervention in the foreign exchange market by the central bank to correct fundamental weaknesses, just like the Ghanaian situation will not work, because, very soon, the central bank will run out of international reserves; hence, the cedi must therefore seek its equilibrium level. The writer is an economic consultant and former Assistant Professor of Finance and Economics at Alabama State University. Montgomery, Alabama. Currency War in the Great Depression During the Great Depression of the 1930s, most countries abandoned the gold standard, resulting in currencies that no longer had intrinsic value. With widespread high unemployment, devaluations became common. Effectively, nations were competing to export unemployment, a policy that has frequently been described as beggar thy neighbour.[30] However, because the effects of a devaluation would soon be counteracted by a corresponding devaluation by trading partners, few nations would gain an enduring advantage. On the other hand, the fluctuations in exchange rates were often harmful for international traders, and global trade declined sharply as a result, hurting all economies. The exact starting date of the 1930s currency war is open to debate.[23] The three principal parties were Great Britain, France, and the United States. For most of the 1920s the three generally had coinciding interests, both the US and France supported Britains efforts to raise Sterlings value against market forces. Collaboration was aided by strong personal friendships among the nations central bankers, especially between Britains Montagu Norman and Americas Benjamin Strong until the latters early death in 1928. Soon after the Wall Street Crash of 1929, France lost faith in Sterling as a source of value and begun selling it heavily on the markets. From Britains perspective both France and the US were no longer playing by the rules of the gold standard. Instead of allowing gold inflows to increase their money supplies (which would have expanded those economies but reduced their trade surpluses) France and the US began sterilising the inflows, building up hoards of gold. These factors contributed to the Sterling crises of 1931; in September of that year Great Britain substantially devalued and took the pound off the gold standard. For several years after this global trade was disrupted by competitive devaluation. The currency war of the 1930s is generally considered to have ended with the Tripartite monetary agreement of 1936.

Poems About The Father-Child Relationship

Poems About The Father-Child Relationship A father-child relationship can be a beautiful thing for some, and complicated for others. There are different kinds of fathers. There are fathers who are always around for their children, who provide guidance and unconditional love. Then there are impossible-to-please fathers who burden their children with high expectations, leading to a strained relationship. And there are those fathers who, unable to handle the responsibilities of fatherhood, just walk out on their family. Some people may see their father in one way as a child, and grow up to see them in a completely new light. Its like when you argue about your curfew and your father tells you, Youll understand when you have a child. The complexity and richness of the father-child relationship explains why so many poets write poems about fathers and fatherhood. In this lesson, youll read poems about the father-child relationship. Youll also find out about the relationship between these poems themes and the form and devices used to express them. The poet Gregory Orr wrote a touching poem about how fathers learn as much from their children as they teach their children. Read Gregory Orrs poem, Fathers Song. What kind of relationship do the father and child in this poem share? What poetic devices does the poet use to depict the nuances of this relationship? This simple 14-line poem is about the relationship between a protective, caring father and a carefree, playful child. The use of free verse and lack of rhyme helps convey the simplicity and spontaneity of how the father feels about his child. Which lines in the poem make you almost see what is happening? Look at the lines my daughter balanced on the couch back, fell and cut her mouth. and the blood so red that it stops a fathers heart. These lines tell you how the speaker feels about his child. The poem reflects how the speakers experience and caution is balanced by his childs willingness to experience life freely and take risks, and the circle continues, round and round. The last two lines of this poem are the essence of a healthy father-child relationship, I try to teach her caution,/ she tried to teach me risk. The speaker tries to protect his child from harm, while the child shows him how to be open to adventure and new experiences. Poems About Fathers Analyzed While Gregory Orrs Fathers Song was inspired by fatherhood, other poets have been inspired by their fathers, like the poet Dylan Thomas. Read or listen to Thomass Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night, which is a sons plea to his dying father to not give in to death. This poems central theme is the speakers inability to accept his fathers old age and mortality. Now lets see how the poems form and structure add to this theme. This poem is a villanelle, which is a 19-line poem with five tercets, or three-line stanzas, that ends with a quatrain, or four-line stanza. A villanelle was traditionally used to write simple, pastoral poems. So, why do you think Thomas chose to write this poem as a villanelle? The villanelle form of Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night adds to the irony of commanding a weak, dying person to rage against death. Just as this poem is nothing like the typical lyrical, pastoral poem, a weak dying man is not likely to rage against anything. - Only two rhymes are used across the poem with words like, night, light, sight, and day, way, pray. These two recurring rhymes help build on the speakers intensity as he convinces his father to stay alive. The first and third rhymes of the first stanza are repeated alternately in an interlocking rhyme scheme in the succeeding stanzas. The rhyme scheme is aba/aba/aba/aba/aba/abaa, where the first rhyme is joined in the last two lines of the quatrain. The last two lines also bring together the poems two refrains: Do not go gentle into that good night, and Rage, rage against the dying of the light. Did you notice that these lines recur all across the poem? They depict the urgency of the speakers pleas as he consistently and forcefully urges his father to hang on to life. Lesson Activity-Self-Checked What effect do the two refrains in Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night, have? Do you interpret these refrains differently as the poem progresses? Write your answer in 175-200 words. - Besides the urgent refrains, several other poetic devices in the poem Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night help take forward the theme of a sons unwillingness to let his father succumb to death. Metaphors such as good night, dying of the light, and close of day, are used to refer to death. The words day and light represent life. Thats why the speakers father is urged to rage against the dying of the light. The simile, Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay, implies that although his father may be going blind, his wisdom and greatness will enable him to see clearly with his minds eye. Did you notice the alliteration across the poem? Read the line Do not go gentle into that good night. Dont the alliterative sounds seem to add to the poems urgent passion? - Across the poem there are images of bright, illuminating things like lightning and meteors. Why do you think this bright imagery is used in a poem about dying? The speaker tries to persuade his father that a great man like him should not easily give in to death. He should overcome the darkness of death and continue to burn bright, as summed up in the lines, Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright/Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,/Rage, rage against the dying of the light. At the end of the poem, theres a paradox in the line, Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray. The juxtaposition of curse and bless indicates the sons desire to take his fathers pain unto himself. Its as if by cursing his son, the father can share his pain and fierce tears with his son who doesnt want to lose him. Dylan Thomas wrote Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night when his father, David John Thomas who had always been a strong man, was going blind and was on his deathbed. Thats why many read it as an autobiographical poem. The poet and his father had a great relationship and both shared a love for literature. The poet was very disturbed to see his father ravaged by age and wrote this poem to express how he felt. While Dylan Thomass poem is a sons plea to his dying father, the American poet E. E. Cummingss my father moved through dooms of love is an elegy. Read Cummingss my father moved through dooms of love. Whats the first thing that hits you about this poem? Did you notice that the poem is full of paradoxes? Look at phrases like dooms of love, griefs of joy, and theys of we. These and all the other paradoxes used take forward the poems theme, lamenting death while still celebrating the life lived. In this poem, the speaker says his father had lived a full life. Look at the lines joy was his song and joy so pure, his anger was as right as rain/ his pity was as green as grain and his sorrow was as true as bread. These lines tell you that whether the speakers father was happy, angry, or sad, he experienced each emotion completely. He inspired others to be the best they could be, his april touch/ drove sleeping selves to swarm their fates/ woke dreamers to their ghostly roots. The speaker takes readers across seasons, april touch, septembering arms, octobering flame, that seem to mirror his fathers full life with varied experiences and emotions. The last two lines, because my father lived his soul/love is the whole and more than all, convey how the father lived a life filled with love for and from his family. What do lines like joy was his song and joy so pure, no hungry man but wished him food;/no cripple wouldnt creep one mile/uphill to only see him smile, no liar looked him in the head, tell you about the speakers fathers personality? It sounds like the speakers father was liked and revered universally. He lived a pure and full life, which is brought out by the line, because my Father lived his soul. Cummings wrote my father moved through dooms of love in his typical style, with no spaces or adherence to structural rules, to ensure that his creativity and feelings flow freely. Like Dylan Thomass Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night, this poem is also considered autobiographical. Cummings wrote this poem as an elegy to his father Edward Cummings, a professor at Harvard University, who died suddenly in a car accident. His fathers sudden death sobered Cummings into writing about more serious aspects of life. Poems About Fathers Compared While poems like Cummingss my father moved through dooms of love create a picture of a loved and loving father, others present dark, complicated pictures of fathers, such as the American poet Sylvia Plath. Read Plaths poem Daddy. You can also watch Plath recite her poem, Daddy. Whats this poem about? Daddy examines a daughters unresolved feelings for her father, who passed away. The speakers father died when she was so young that she was in awe of him, but never really understood him. The speakers awe for her father is reflected in the way she compares him to a bag full of God. She also expresses how she cannot escape from her fathers looming presence, with his one gray toe/ Big as a Frisco seal, reaching out across continents. Her conflicted feelings come to the fore later in the poem, when despite efforts she cant find her father. She then compares him to a devil, with A cleft in your chin instead of your foot, a brute, and a vampire. The speaker portrays herself as a vampire killer, her fathers killer, If Ive killed one man, Ive killed two. The speakers frustration climaxes in the last stanza, where she gets defensive and calls her father names, and exclaims she is through with him. - Plaths poem, Daddy is made up of 16 five-line stanzas. The one rhyme that appears in the poem is inconsistent, You do not do, you do not do, with some consecutive lines that end with words that rhyme with do, like shoe and Achoo, in the first stanza, and then you, blue, Jew, and so on in the other stanzas. Whats the relationship between the inconsistent rhyme scheme and the poems theme of a daughters unresolved feelings? The inconsistent, sporadic rhyme scheme seems to reflect the speakers emotional turmoil and the conflicting feelings she has for her father. The rhythm created by the sporadically recurring rhyme coupled with the use of symbolism and imagery reflects the speakers attempts to try to take control of the emotional turmoil caused by her fathers disturbing memories. Daddy is about a father, and so the imagery, language, and symbolism used are shocking. Look at the poems opening lines, You do not do, you do not do/ Any more, black shoe/ In which I have lived like a foot. These lines provide a glimpse into the speakers contradictory emotions. To show the protective and suffocating side of her father, the speaker uses a shoe as a symbol of her father and the foot inside the shoe as herself. Shoes protect the feet, but also constrict them, thereby symbolizing her conflicted feelings. Are you wondering what references to fascism, Nazis, and the Holocaust are doing in this poem? These images and references depict the speakers confusion about her father. The speaker compares her father to a fascist who puts his boot in the face. She calls her father an Aryan and herself a Jew, to convey that her father tortured her, like the Nazis tortured Jewish people in German death camps. There are constant references to black in the poem to reflect the speakers dark, confused feelings about her father. First, there is the black shoe and then the reference to The black telephones off at the root,/the voices just cant worm through. to convey that the speaker has permanently severed her connection with her father. Now look at the last stanza of Daddy? The lines, And the villagers never liked you./They are dancing and stamping on you. reflect the despicable picture that the speaker creates of her father, in her attempts to free herself of the hold that her fathers memory has on her, So daddy, Im finally through. The strongly worded last line, Daddy, daddy, you bastard, Im through. serves as the speakers final rant against the memories that cause her turmoil. Did you wonder about the speakers obsession with her father in this poem? Some critics have tried to explain this obsession by identifying elements of the Electra complex in the poem. The Electra complex refers to a daughters unresolved, unconscious desire for her father. Critics believe that this conflict is reflected in the speakers desperate and contradictory efforts to go to her father by committing suicide, At twenty I tried to die/And get back, back, back to you, and conversely to end her unhealthy, traumatizing relationship with her fathers memories wanting to kill him even though hes already dead, Daddy, I have had to kill you./You died before I had time The speakers confused feelings are again reflected when she used to pray to recover [him]. If you know anything about Sylvia Plaths life, youre probably wondering if Daddy is an autobiographical poem? The references, imagery, and symbolism used in Plaths Daddy do resonate with whats known about her life, like the complex feelings and unresolved issues she had toward her father, a Biology professor at Boston University, who died when she was just eight; her inability to deal with her fathers untimely death; her unsuccessful marriage. When read autobiographically, the line At twenty I tried to die, refers to Plaths attempted suicide at the age of 20 when she overdosed on sleeping pills. The line, The vampire who said he was you/And drank my blood for a year./Seven years, if you want to know. possibly refer to her unsuccessful marriage to poet Ted Hughes, which lasted for seven years. Plath, burdened with complexities, committed suicide when she was 31, leaving behind two children and her estranged husband, the poet Ted Hughes. This fact probably explains the use of brutal an d violent imagery, which could only be conjured by a disturbed mind as Plaths was.This autobiographical account would explain the brutal, violent imagery used in the poem, which reflect the poets disturbed state of mind and her confusion as a daughter, who feels abandoned and let-down. - While Sylvia Plaths poem deals with the smothering effect the fathers memories had on the speaker, Robert Haydens Those Winter Sundays contrasts the speakers ideas about his father as a child with how he feels about his father as a grown-up looking back. Read Robert Haydens poem Those Winter Sundays or watch the poem being recited. In this poem, which is a grown mans reflections on his father, the speaker describes the entire father-son dynamic with one winter memory. He thinks back to his childhood and sees his father differently than he did as a child. Those Winter Sundays is an American sonnet, with the traditional 14-lines, and has three stanzas. The first and third stanzas are five lines long, and the second stanza has four lines. How does the form carry the poems theme forward? Using the sonnet form, , the poem presents a problem in the first two stanzas, where the speaker describes how his father went about his chores for his family and was never appreciated. The resolution to this problem is presented in the final stanza-the speaker realizes his fathers value and feels guilty for how he never thanked him. Focus on the lines, No one ever thanked him, speaking indifferently to him, and What did I know, what did I know of loves austere and lonely offices? These lines convey the speakers guilt and regret for never appreciating everything his father did for him. Look at the way the poem uses repetition, What did I know, what did I know of loves austere and lonely offices? This line expresses how bad the speaker feels about being so obtuse about his father as a child. And what does offices in this line mean? The word offices brings to mind the responsibilities and duties that come with an authoritative position, in this case fatherhood. The austere and lonely offices describe how the speakers father displayed love by silently and dedicatedly fulfilling his duties to his family. Though an unrhymed poem, a rhythm is created using poetic devices like consonance, repetition, and alliteration. The use of consonance, with the repetition of the hard c and k sounds in lines like cracked hands that ached, and then in weekday weather made banked fires blaze. No one ever thanked him, conveys the pain that the father endured, and how his efforts went unappreciated. The alliteration where the w sound is repeated, in the weekday weather made banked fires blaze, reflects the repetition in the way the father spent his Sunday mornings. Those Winter Sundays is also rich in symbolism and imagery. What comes to mind when you read about the banked fires blazed and the cold splintering, breaking? This visual imagery makes readers imagine how cold it was through this description of how the logs in the fire would burn and crackle and warm up their home, driving out the cold. The cracked hands symbolize how hard the father worked, and the blueblack cold depicts the harsh cold that the father endured for his familys comfort. What comes to mind when you read about the banked fires blazed and the cold splintering, breaking? The visual imagery makes readers imagine how cold it was through this description of how the logs in the fire would burn and crackle and warm up their home, driving out the cold. Did you notice the transference in the line, fearing the chronic angers of that house? The inanimate house isnt angry. Its the speakers father who is angry and impatient with his children who were lazy about doing their Sunday morning chores. This line is interesting when you look at the poem autobiographically. Hayden, who it is believed was subjected to beatings by his foster parents Sue Ellen and William Hayden, only cursorily refers to the chronic angers of that house, and instead concentrates on the banked fires blazed to highlight how his foster father would keep the household warm. In that sense, this poem is not a criticism of his fathers beating, but a delayed tribute to the man who took pains to care for him. Lesson Activity-Self-Checked Answer this question in 125-150 words: What is the significance of the words Sundays too in Haydens Those Winter Sundays? Why do you think the poet used these words, instead of just, On Sundays? Support your answer with examples from the poem. Another poet, who explored the theme of the father-son relationship, is Theodore Roethke. Read his poem, My Papas Waltz and watch the poem being recited. What do you think this poem is about? At the outset, especially considering the title of the poem and the quick rhythm as you read, it seems to be about the speakers fond recollection of playfully dancing around with his father after hed come home from work in the evening. Lets see what elements of the poem support this interpretation. The structure which is made up of four quatrains and has a tight rhyme scheme of abab/cdcd/efef/ghgh, gives the poem the cadence of a waltz to mirror the ordered steps of the father and son dancing around. However, the waltzing here is rough and energetic, not smooth and graceful like waltzing is supposed to be. Similarly, alliteration is used in lines like, such waltzing was not easy, My mothers countenance, Could not unfrown itself, and the hand that held my wrist to add to poems easy rhythm. - Now lets examine the imagery in Roethkes My Papas Waltz. The line, The whiskey on your breath evokes olfactory imagery and the readers can almost smell the whiskey. Similarly, the lines, We romped until the pans, Slid from the kitchen shelf, create an image of how boisterous the father and son were as they danced around. Is it surprising then that the mothers countenance/Could not unfrown itself, possibly because she has to tidy up after them? The images of the battered hands and the palm caked hard by dirt, indicate that the father worked hard all day, probably at manual labor. Finally, the son Still clinging to your shirt conveys his unwillingness to let go of father, not wanting their fun to end. When interpreted in terms of the father and son bonding, this could be an autobiographical poem. The battered hand and a palm caked hard by dirt relate to the fact that Roethkes father ran a greenhouse and it involved gardening and manual labor. It is known that Roethke had a happy childhood and was devastated his father died when he was just 14. The battered hand and a palm caked hard by dirt relate to the fact that Roethkes father ran a greenhouse and it involved gardening and manual labor. But is this all theres to the poem? Some critics have interpreted the poem in a dark, ominous way. Is Roethkes My Papas Waltz a poem about a sons happy recollections of playing with his father or is this about alcoholism and child abuse? Youve just seen how this can be construed in the light, happy way, not lets see how this poem can take a dark turn. The image that the father beat time on the childs head with a battered hand, and of the whiskey on [his] breath is believed by some to indicate that the father would come home drunk and be physically abusive. This is used to explain why, the son is dizzy and hung on like death. The line, My right ear scraped a buckle, is also interpreted as a sign of violence. When interpreted like this the mothers frowning countenance, is believed to convey her helplessness as she couldnt save her child from her alcoholic husband. Which of these two interpretations holds true? Its interesting that when the poem was published in 1948, it was viewed only as a happy, loud, and strenuous dancing around of the father and son. More recently, this poem has been interpreted as a depiction of child abuse. Lesson Activity-Self-Checked Answer this question in 200-225 words: Which interpretation of Theodore Roethkes My Papas Waltz do you agree with? Support your answer with examples from the poem. Written in the first person, both Haydens Those Winter Sundays and Roethkes My Papas Waltz are about childhood memories about fathers. Interestingly, though Hayden is known to have suffered beatings at the hands of his foster parents, most critics, ignore his background and the powerful image of the chronic angers of that house, and view Those Winter Sundays as a poem about a sons regret for being unappreciative of his father. On the other hand, critics view My Papas Waltz differently; some see it as a poem about child abuse and alcoholism, while some interpret it as a poem about a happy father-son relationship. These interpretations show just how important diction is in interpreting a poem. The use of words such as blueblack cold and lines like, What did I know, what did I know/of loves austere and lonely offices? and Sundays too my father got up early depict the father in Haydens poem as an affectionate, caring man. While the use of dizzy, hung on like death, battered, scraped, and battered on one knuckle creates an image of an abusive father in Roethkes My Papas Waltz. Lets look at how these two poems compare structurally. Those Winter Sundays is an American sonnet with three stanzas, the first and third stanzas are five-lines long, and the second stanza has four lines. This poem does not follow any rhyme scheme. On the other hand My Papas Waltz is made up of four quatrains and has a tight rhyme scheme of abab/cdcd/efef/ghgh that makes the poem sound like a waltz. Both Hayden and Roethke use powerful imagery in their poems. The lines, and put his clothes on in the blueblack cold,/ then with cracked hands that ached and banked fires blaze. from Those Winter Sundays are examples of imagery and alliteration used to describe the fathers hard work. In My Papas Waltz, Roethke also uses alliteration and imagery in lines such as But I hung on like death,/ Such waltzing was not easy, The hand that held my wrist,/ Was battered on one knuckle, and With a palm caked hard by dirt, to help readers visualize how the father and son romped around. - Summary Over the years, poets have explored the father-child relationship in their poems. Sometimes the poem may be from a fathers perspective, sometimes from a childs, and sometimes from the perspective of a grown adult looking back at childhood memories. And depending on the poems theme, poets use different forms and poetic devices to put across their ideas about fathers. While Orr writes about what a father teaches and learns from his children, Cummingss my father moved through dooms of love is reverential and written in his unique style so he can freely express himself. Haydens Those Winter Days is written in the American sonnet form, and expresses a sons guilt at being indifferent towards his father. Roethkes tightly structured My Papas Waltz describes the rhythmic and spirited dance of a father-son relationship. Thomass Do Not Go Gentle In To The Good Night is about a son who cant deal with the thought of his father dying. And Plaths confessional Daddy is about the speakers inability t o deal with her feelings of abandonment at her fathers death.