Insurance Research Paper about the Real Estate Development Industry

Insurance about the Real Estate Development Industry - Research Paper Example emand pool for real estate industry has increased due to various reasons of zero tax rules for foreign investor, strong international and domestic marketing campaigns, high rental on residential property, residence visa facility by property developer and speculation on short term market gain (Kumar, Agarwal, & Khullar). 2.0 Topic 1. Insurance in Real Estate Industry Real estate property dealers or common residents need to submit various documents like Police Report of burglary or any kind of criminal activity caused property loss, report about estimated damage or loss, surveyor report about property condition and relevant papers required by insurance company to get insurance cover. 2.1 Quotation Dhs.1, 500/- is deducted by insurance company from the claim amount on every loss while quotation value depends on the location and building condition of property. Insurance company and real estate property developers decide quotation amount after mutual agreement. In accordance with Dubai Is lamic Insurance & Reinsurance Co, proposal for real estate industry following insurance covers can be used to answer the question. 2.2 Perils Covered Under Insurance Building and all inside fixtures are protected by insurance cover, Loss of Rent due to fire accident, Sign Board of the company or any kind of hoarding, fixed metal plate work and glass work inside the building. Standards perils like Fire, Malicious Damage, Storm, Flood, Impact, Earthquake, Riots, Strikes, Lightning Explosion and Bursting of Pipes are also covered by insurance scheme. 2.3 Additional Benefit Additional benefits like Debris Removal, low Architect and Surveyors fees and reimbursing Fire Extinguishing expenses are also offered by some insurer to property developers. 2.4 Perils Not Covered Under Insurance Perils... This paper stresses that the present financial crisis may be regarded as a banking crisis, but there are hardly any possibilities of the solvency of the insurance industry. However to a certain extant the insurance industry on a whole has been affected by the ongoing financial crisis. To be more specific the insurance companies which are mainly involved in the real estate insurance also got hugely impacted. Mostly there have been adverse effects were adverse for the companies. The financial crisis had a visible impact on the insurance companies, principally due to their investment portfolio. Meanwhile as the crisis further spread, the valuations of the financial market worsened drastically. Apart from that a number of strenuous exposures were also reveled in the form of market and credit risks. This report makes a conclusion that the real estate insurance companies, during the midst of the crisis period were finding it difficult to sustain, due to extreme downward pressure. The real estate insurance companies are generally large investors and they highly depend upon the long term investment prospect, unlike banks and other financial institutions. Owing to the fact that declining household income reduces the demand of various products, similarly the demand of real estate insurance has greatly reduced due to the crisis. Furthermore, the financial crisis has also abridged activities pertaining to real estate. This has automatically minimized the need of the real estate insurances. Thus it can be concluded that the ongoing financial crisis did impacted the insurance companies which insured real estate to a large extant.

The Evolution of Industrialization, from the Putting Out System to the Essay

The Evolution of Industrialization, from the Putting Out System to the Factory System - Essay Example Through this method of working, the owner of the industry would assign a particular contractor and make him chief. After hiring the chief contractor, the new contractor would in turn focus on the group and pick out several other junior contractors each with a particular task that they would later on combine to see to the completion of the project (Meyer, 2012). Through this method, the junior contractors and their team members were free to hold their meetings anywhere even if it meant leaving the site. This is why this system was referred to as â€Å"putting out† because the rich employers would just putting out commodities to the workers who worked in their homes and these would putting out to other junior workers. Through this system, the customer had a very large role to play as the chief contractor would not commence work without ensuring that he had everything he needed from the customer. It was the customer’s duty to purchase some of the important stuff for the contractor to engage his men and come up with a desirable product. The putting out system was very effective during the beginning of the industrial revolution. Through this putting out system, British soldiers got their firearms by contacting various contractors in the London area. These contractors would consequently seek people that new internal areas in the city where they would get firearms. Through this, every person in the chain got some commission. However, there are cases that the contractors sent showed greed and could even attempt escaping with the money. The soldiers were bright and they would eventually catch up to them. The cottage industry is another one that prevailed effectively during this period. This was a less complicated section of the industry in that the customers knew the exact residence of the spinners. With this information, they would go, leave details and then visit after several weeks or days depending on the

Case study of the Management and Organisation of ADIDAS

Case study of the Management and Organisation of ADIDAS Adidas is a Germany shoe, clothing and apparel company that also owns Reebok, Taylor Made and Rockport. Adidas is the largest sportswear company in Europe and is the second only to Nike as the largest sportswear company in the world. The company sports the recognizable logo of three slanted parallel bars of ascending height. Adidas was founded in 1924 by Adolf Dassler, but it did not become a fully registered company until 1940. Its headquarters are located in Herzogenaurach, Germany, the hometown of its founder. Although many believe that Adidas stands for All day I dream about soccer the true origin of the name comes from the amalgamation of Adolfs nickname, Adi, and the first three letter of his last name. Adidas specializes in the design and manufacturing of footwear, sportswear, sports equipment and, yes, even toiletries, most notably, deodorant. However, the company first gained international recognition in 1936 at the Summer Olympic in Berlin, where it outfitted U.S. track star Jesse Owens with its track shoes. Owens won four gold medals in the games. With a specifically stated Corporate Strategy, the company needs to ensure that their organizational structure will allow for and be flexible to this strategy being sought after. Their objectives outlined in the corporate strategy ensure the mission statement will translate into action, while also guiding and coordinating decisions. There is no purpose in having well thought out strategic objectives, but no structure and cohesion to attain these objectives. The Adidas Group comprises of a four person executive board, including one Chief Executive Officer and three board members representing the shareholders and six members representing the staff. The Supervisory Board advices and supervises the executive board in matter concerning the management of the company. It is the role of the supervisory board to ensure that the pathway and vision determine by the executive board is forthrightly followed by the rest of the organization from the top, all the way down to those entrusted with man ufacturing their products. The strengths of ADIDAS are strong management team and good corporate strategy in North American and overseas markets, brand recognition and reputation, diversity and variety in productions offered on the web (footwear, apparel, sporting, equipment, etc.), strong control over its own distribution channel, strong customer base, and strong financial position with minimal long term debts. Weakness of ADIDAS is negative image portrayed by poor working condition in its overseas factories, and E-commerce is limited to USA. Planning Planning is one of the most important project management and techniques. A plan is like a map, when following a plan, you can always see how much you have progressed towards your project goal and how far you are from your destination. Knowing where you are is essential for making good decisions on where to go or what to do next. The most important is to ensure that everyone is clear of what to accomplish. Planning meaning is how setting goals and defining the actions necessary to achieve the goals, in light of the situation. That is situation must be analyses or understood and the appropriate goals and actions must be determined in order to take advantage of opportunities and how to solve problems. Basic management function involving formulation more than one detailed plans to achieve optimum balance of needs or demands with available resources. First, the planning process is identifies the goals or objectives to be achieved and formulates strategies to achieve them. The Managers throughout the organization must develop goals, strategy, and operational plans for their work groups that contribute to the success of the organizations as a whole. Planning is also crucial for meeting your needs during each action with your time, money, or other resources. With careful planning you often can see if at some point you are likely to face a problem. It is much easier to adjust your plan to avoid overcome crisis, rather than to deal with the crisis when it comes unexpected time. Example Adidas plans to expand their operations in Europe, so they need consultation to the Government of Germany. They have been granted landing rights in Paris and are awaiting further details from authorities. In addition, planning has a different meaning depending on the political or economic context in which it is used. Two attitudes to planning need to be held in tension on the one hand we need to be prepare for what may lie ahead, which may mean contingencies and flexible processes. There is one thing on which every manager can expect to be appraised, the extent to which he or she archives his or her units goals or objectives. Whether its a work team or a giant enterprise, the manager in charge is expected to move the unit ahead, and this means visualizing where the unit must go and helping het there. Organization exits to achieve some purpose, and if they fail to move forward and achieve their aims, to that extent they have failed. On the other hand, our future is shaped by consequences of our own planning and actions. Planning in organization and public policy is both the organizational process of creating and maintaining a program. In the psychological process of thinking about the activities required to set a desired target or goal on some scale. Business planning is like water to a thirsty plant. It keeps our business vital and thriving. Without business planning, business will never improve as it could may even loses or bankrupt. Many small business or stall owners dont have the business planning so they cant earn so much profit when their doing business. Their business unable further progress and stagnant it is, eventually as to close to close shop or behind other competitors. The rapid of change in todays business world and globalization is making it increasingly necessary that mangers keep their plans current. Strategic management is the application of the basic planning process at the highest levels of the organization. Through the strategic management process, top management determines the long-run direction and performance of the organization by ensuring careful formulation and strategies. For example, top management may ask middle and lower-level managers for inputs when formulation top-level plans. Once top-level plans have been finalized, different organizational units may be asked to formulate plans for their respective areas. A proper strategic management process helps ensure that plans throughout the different levels of the organization are coordinated and mutually supportive. The slogan of Adidas is Impossible is Nothing. The mission of Adidas is to be Best Sport Brand in the world. They had achieved the mission but in this strong competitive era, too many company like Nike and Reebok also want to be globally recognized brand, but they will work hard to achieve their goals. Adidas is passionate about all sports. So Adidas Company will try their best for planning new product or equipment for athletes. As part of their End-to-End Planning initiative they have been focusing on implementing an optimized demand planning process and system more than 20 countries in Europe. They standardized or partially automated certain planning functions to increase forecast accuracy. Following the first wave of implementations in 2008, they continued the roll-out to the remaining European countries throughout 2009. Hereafter, they expect to continue the roll-out to other key Adidas Group markets such as Japan. They set up a dedicated Profitability Management department to monitor macroeconomics trends, forecast the impact on product and supplier cost and devise their supply chain profitability strategy. In addition, their development teams also contribute significantly to this initiative by engineering their products with a stronger focus on price. Throughout 2009, they also engaged their supplier with the aim to increase transparency and predictability in costing. Such as, they closely tracked raw material costs and leveraged this information to consolidate volumes. This allowed them to negotiate more effectively and offset cost increase. In addition, their sourcing teams improved their products allocation process to better utilize suppliers capabilities and take into account of total supply chain cost. Moreover, by leveraging consolidated volumes, their Transport and Customs team success negotiated reduced transportation cost and optimized shipment routes with their service providers. In conclusion, planning is very important for the organization to achieve their goals and objectives. Especially, current globalization every organization is using latest technology to do the market analyses and compressive planning. In order for them to survive and growth, for example, in year 2008, financial crisis, many banks in US will decline bankrupt. This is because of their poor planning. Organizing Organizing (also spelled organising) is the act of rearranging elements following one or more rules. For a company organization is means to an end to achieve its goals, which are to create value for its stakeholders (stockholders, employees, customers, suppliers, community). The Study of organisations includes a focus on optimizing organisation structure. According to management science, most human organizations fall roughly into four types. They are pyramids or hierarchies, committees juries, Matrix organisations and Ecologies. Organising is the managerial function of making sure there are available the resources to carry out the plan. Organising involves the assignment of tasks, the grouping of tasks into department, and the allocation of resources to department Organising is the managerial function of arranging people and resources to work toward a goal. The purposes of organizing include but are not limited to determining the tasks to be performed in order to achieve objectives, dividing tasks into specific jobs, grouping job into department specifying reporting and authority relationship, delegating the authority necessary for task accomplishment, and allocating and deploying resources in a coordinated fashion. Managers must bring together individuals and tasks to make effective use of people and resources. Three elements are essential to organizing to develop the structure of the organisation. Organising are also acquiring and training human resources. In addition, organising are establishing communication patterns and networks. Determining the method of grouping these activities and resources is the organizing process. Organising is the process of defining and grouping activities and establishing authority relationships among them to attain organisation objectives. Organisation is the process of identifying and grouping of the works to be performed, defining and delegating responsibility and authority and establishing relationships for the purpose of ena bling people to work most efficiently. Organising can be viewed as the activities to collect and configure resources in order to implement plans in a highly effective and efficient fashion. Organising is a broad set of activities, and often considered one of major functions of management. Therefore, there are a wide variety of topics in organising. The following are some of major types of organising required in a business organisation. Organising is the structural frameworks within the various efforts are co-ordinated and related to each other. Organising is one of the basic functions of management. Organising is referred to a creating a structure of relationship for the efficient management of the enterprise. In other words organisation means a group of persons working together to achieve some common objectives. It is related with building up of a framework or structure of various inter related parts.This is the process of allocating and arranging human and non human resources so t o achieve organizational goals. Issues of organisational culture and human resource management are also related to this function. Furthermore, organising also includes the activity of acquiring the resources that the organisation needs to achieve its aims. In many organizations, staffing and sourcing of funds and raw materials take up much time and effort. Anything is commonly considered organized when it looks like everything has a correct order or placement. But its only ultimately organized if any element has no difference on time taken to find it. In that sense, organizing can also be defined as to place different objects in logical arrangement for better searching. Organizations are groups of people frequently trying to organize some specific subject, such as political issues. So, even while organizing can be viewed as a simple definition, it can get as complex as organizing the worlds information. Organising also means creating an organisation structure that is suitable for th e achievement of the agreed objectives. Work has to be allocated, lines of authority and responsibility defined, and a system of rules and procedures that guide the conduct of employees laid down. The structure should not be regarded as permanent but as constantly changing to suit the organisations needs. The organisation is where resources come together. Organisations use different resources to accomplish goals. The major resources used by organisation are often described as follow : Human resources financial resources, physical resources, and information resources. Managers are responsible for acquiring and managing the resources to accomplish goals. Organising will work towards maximum efficiency and minimum waste. Organising helps organisation to reap the benefit of specialization. Organising provides for optimum utilization of resources. Organising helps in Effective administration. Organising channels for expansion and growth. Organising achieves co-ordination among different departments. Organising creates scope for new change. The advantages of this include easy communication due to shared specialization, better performance evaluation within the team, and quicker decision making as they are all on the same perspective. The main disadvantage is that coordination between different departments become more difficult. Divisional, which is based on product, market or geography has the advantage of functions being able to focus on a specific good, service or customer. This promotes high quality products and customer service. The risk is in conflict arising between division if they begin to compete for organisational resources or pursue individual objectives. Other than that, organising plays a central role in management process. Once plans are created the managers task is to see that they are carried out. Given a clear mission, core values, objectives, and strategy, the relationship. It identifies who is to do what, who is in charge of whom, and how different people and parts of the organisation relate to and work with one another. All of this, of course, can be done in different ways. The strategic leadership challenge is to choose the best organisational form to fit the strategy and other situational demands. When organising, managers must take decision about the division of labour and work specialization, departmentalization, chain of command, span of management, centralization, and formalization. Collectively, these decisions are often called organisational design. There is no standard formula for the best way to organise an enterprise. Several factors have been shown to influence organising decision. Among the most important of these factors are strategy, size, environmental conditions, and technology. Managers organise in order to achieve the objectives for the enterprise for which they work. Thus, the strategy of the enterprise affects organising decision. Change in strategy frequently necessitates changes in the way the enterpri se is organised. Small enterprise tend exhibit less formalization, centralization, and complexity in their organisational structure. Nevertheless, enterprises of the same size may be organised quite differently because of differences in strategy, environmental conditions, and technology. The key factor in the external environment that is relevant to organising is uncertainty. Some enterprises face competitive environments that change rapidly and quite complex, while others face relatively stable conditions. Generally, turbulent environments call for organising decisions that lead to less formalization and centralization in the organisational structure. The processes by which an enterprise transforms inputs into outputs may also affect organising decisions. Some research suggests that organising decisions that lead to high degrees of formalization, centralization, and work specialization are more appropriate for routine technologies and that the converse is true for non-routine techn ologies. Competition is tough but is steady and manageable, the handling of cost leadership is reasonable and such differentiation follows an organized pattern is such focused activities and events of the company. Adidas will be sustaining capital investment and access to capital and apply process engineering skills in such ideal supervision of labour in giving good brand value to such products being designed for manufacturing purposes as they have applied a structured organisation and responsibility driven business ways that narrow. Adidas ability to maintain enough of price differential to offset competitors brand image for differentiation. The need for strong coordination among functions in R D, product development and marketing and focus on company policies as directed in such strategic target. Leading Leading is organizing a group of people to achieve a common goal. The leader may or may not have any formal authority. Students of leadership have produced theories involving traits, situational interaction, function, behavior, power, vision and values, charisma, and intelligence among others. Leading has been described as the process of social influence in which one person can enlist the aid and support of others in the accomplishment of a common task. Definitions more inclusive of followers have also emerged. Leading is ultimately about creating a way for people to contribute to making something extraordinary happen. Leading needs to be distinguished from posturing .The following sections discuss several important aspects of leading including a description of what leading is and a description of several popular theories and styles of leading. This article also discusses topics such as the role of emotions and vision, as well as leading effectiveness and performance, leading in diff erent contexts, how it may differ from related concepts of management, and some critiques of leadership as generally conceived .Leading as one of four functions of management, leading can be both extremely important and challenging. Along with planning, organizing and controlling, all managers will execute these four functions of management. From managing a local store to managing a large corporation, every manager will perform each of the functions at some point in their jobs. Ideally all managers should be good leaders; it is a way of establishing a cohesive group which moves towards organizational goals and objectives with spirit and vigor. While handling people a good leader will not only manage his own resources well, he or she also can motivation the worker, employee to complete their work that been given. A leader should strive to become an inspiration to the rest of the employees. Employees will follow a leader because the leader have the authority that given by boss to lead ing the employee. However, a leader that is an inspiration means that employees follow that person because they believe in what the leader is doing and they are trying to help the company achieve its goals. Finding ways to inspire employees means coaching them and motivating them to succeed as integral parts of the company. Significant relationships exist between leading and such individual traits as intelligence, adjustment, extraversion, conscientiousness, openness to experience, and general self-efficacy. Considering the criticisms of the trait theory outlined above, several researchers have begun to adopt a different perspective of leader individual differences the leader attribute pattern approach .In contrast to the traditional approach, the leader attribute pattern approach is based on theorists arguments that the influence of individual characteristics on outcomes is best understood by considering the person as an integrated totality rather than a summation of individual va riables. In other words, the leader attribute pattern approach argues that integrated constellations or combinations of individual differences may explain substantial variance in both leader emergence and leader effectiveness beyond that explained by single attributes, or by additive combinations of multiple attributes. In response to the early criticisms of the trait approach, theorists began to research leading as a set of behaviors, evaluating the behavior of successful leaders, determining a behavior taxonomy and identifying broad leading styles. For example, Leading takes a strong personality with a well developed positive ego. Not so much as a pattern of motives, but a set of traits is crucial. To lead self-confidence and a high self-esteem is useful, perhaps even essential. The researchers evaluated the performance of groups of eleven-year-old boys under different types of work climate. In each, the leader exercised his influence regarding the type of group decision making, p raise, criticism and feedback , and the management of the group tasks project management according to three styles is : authoritarian, democratic and laissez-faire. Authoritarian climates were characterized by leaders who make decisions alone, demand strict compliance to his orders, and dictate each step taken; future steps were uncertain to a large degree. The leader is not necessarily hostile but is aloof from participation in work and commonly offers personal praise and criticism for the work done. Democratic climates were characterized by collective decision processes, assisted by the leader. Before accomplishing tasks, perspectives are gained from group discussion and technical advice from a leader. Members are given choices and collectively decide the division of labor. Praise and criticism in such an environment are objective, fact minded and given by a group member without necessarily having participated extensively in the actual work. Laissez faire climates gave freedom to the group for policy determination without any participation from the leader. The leader remains uninvolved in work decisions unless asked, does not participate in the division of labor, and very infrequently gives praise. Positive reinforcement occurs when a positive stimulus is presented in response to a behavior, increasing the likelihood of that behavior in the future. The following is an example of how positive reinforcement can be used in a business setting. Assume praise is a positive reinforcement for a particular employee. This employee does not show up to work on time every day. The manager of this employee decides to praise the employee for showing up on time every day the employee actually shows up to work on time. As a result, the employee comes to work on time more often because the employee likes to be praised. In this example, praise is a positive reinforcement for this employee because the employee arrives to work on time more frequently after being praised for show ing up to work on time. The use of positive reinforcement is a successful and growing technique used by leaders to motivate and attain desired behaviors from subordinates. Used reinforcement to increase productivity and also increase in performance. Additionally, many reinforcement techniques such as the use of praise are inexpensive, providing higher performance for lower costs.

Pros Of Green Revolution :: essays research papers

With the rapid growth of our global population pouring into the next millennium, we will witness an ever-growing hunger rate around the world. That is unless we call for a revolution on the global scale. The Green Revolution which already sprouted in the early part of the century only need to add a bit more momentum and we will see a bright future for the human race, a future without hunger and starvation  ¡V hopefully.It is becoming increasingly difficult for the planet to support its overwhelming population. And since the amount of arable land available is becoming scarce, we must seek ways to dramatically improve crop yields of existing cropland. By implementing new farming techniques provided with the new technological advances in machines we can see abundant harvest in even the poorest third world countries. For example, the Green Revolution has already showed admirable progress in the northern part of India ever since it took start in 1950. By 1997, northern India increased its grain production by 37 percent. This has proven that traditional farming methods are being rendered obsolete. And because by the year 2000, there will be half the land per person in developing countries as there was in 1970, we need to apply ultra-efficient methods to sustain the growing need. Not only does the Green Revolution enhances food output, it also preserves the environment. Traditional agriculture requires massive forest and grassland removal to obtain land necessary to farm on. Deforestation and overgrazing has caused erosion flooding, and enabled the expansion of deserts. But with drainage systems, leveling, and irrigation provided by the Green Rev, all this terra deforming will unlikely happen again. We can retain clean air and lessen the global warming effect caused by deforestation.Many people argue that a revamp in agriculture will be way too expensive and unrealistic especially for those poor farmers in third world countries. However many times, they exaggerate the price. In reality, farmers who take the first step in the revolution will most likely succeed and will have more money to invest in further development such as irrigation systems and wells and machineries.

Do Young People Today Make Good Use of Their Leisure Time? Essay

Leisure time can be well spent in many different ways. One popular option among the young is playing video games and watching television. While other activities like sports,social gathering and reading are available to them,many people feel that they spend too much time on these indoor games and screens and prefer them to be more active. In this essay,I will discuss my view on the issue to get positive results out of free time. Nowadays, younger generation has greater choices of leisure facilities than previous one. Among such facilities are television and video games. Some social experts and families are concerned about health of teenage overindulge on these activities. This is supported by some reports that sitting too long in front of television could lead to problems of eyes and back. On the other hand, some medical experts believe that some video games can improve the dexterity of the player and this could help his or her future career like operating doctor or pilot. In addition, watching television keeps young audience inform about what happens around locally as well as globally. That would enhance teenagers’ inquisitive mind and encourage them to keep eyes on challenging local and international issues. While such benefit is welcomed, there also are dangers of exposing them to violence, crimes and explicit scenes on some television series which can have negative impact on younger personalities. Alternatively, there are many activities which have positive results in term of social, physical and educational values. For example, walking, jogging and trekking in a recreational park improve their physical strength and give an opportunity to observe nature and environment. Furthermore, spending time with family, relatives and friends outdoor enriches their social lives. As a result, they would be more interactive and responsible socially. Finally, one could simply be entertained by reading at home or playing some music. In conclusion, how much time should we spend on each activity during extra time is debatable. Each has its own merit so long as individual does not involve excessively. In my opinion, young and adult alike should choose sensibly on type of activity and time spent to get most benefits out of their free time.

American Jewry Order nov 3

In the United States around 1992, American Jewry came into a process of reformation directing toward a consolidation of the Council of Jewish Federations, the United Jewish Appeal, and the United Israel Appeal into the new broad-based organization that could speak in the name of American Jewry in new ways ( Elazar, http://www. jcpa. org/dje/articles3/rwjintro. htm). Travel and communications advances facilitated the increasing solidity of the Jewish race across the world.With the progress noted, more and more of its people have connections throughout the Jewish world, or at least across long distances within in it. Gradually more individual Jews, their families and communities relied upon resources in other communities, in the form of religious guidance from Israel or whether it is just for encouragement from the American Jewish experience as measures of intensifying Jewish identity. Even with the overabundance of organizations and organizational activities, a majority of the Jewry s eem to be oblivious of them.For most Jews, familiarity of their area community involvements is all they know about structured Jewish life, if that. Nevertheless, an institutional structure has developed and a network of connection more or less involving most of the existing organizations and institutions has been progressing. The Jewish people now have a superior prospect to uphold unity than it has had since the destruction of the First Temple in 586 BCE. Up to this day, American Jewry remains the primary pioneer in the advancement of world polity.They are committed to nation-building, the development of Israel, relief and rescue of Jewish communities in need, fighting anti-semitism, representing collective Jewish interests in world affairs, mobilization of leadership and activists to undertake these and other functions, governance functions in the world Jewish polity, assuring that there are appropriate bodies for the carrying on of the functions, raising funds to cover the costs of these functions, oversight of the organizations and institutions handling the functions, developing appropriate inter-organizational relations both among the authorities that comprise the world Jewish polity and the local, countrywide, regional, and worldwide arenas (Bubis). The National Jewish Population Survey (NJPS) 2000-01, a $6 million study carried out by The United Jewish Communities, is said to provide the most all-inclusive, trustworthy picture of American Jewry to date. Records show that there are 5. 2 million American Jews. This is 5 percent less than the 5. 5 million counted in the 1990 population study. There 4. 3 million American Jews attend Passover seders and light Chanukah candles.This figure also takes account of those more Jewishly devoted — families who maintain kosher homes, regularly join synagogue meetings, enrolled Jewish schools and go to at least one Jewish society. The percentage of intermarriage is growing, but at a stable rate, with 47 percent of today's Jewish newlyweds marrying non-Jews. The mean Jewish age is 42, in contrast to 35 for Americans in general, and the birthrate was 1. 8, lower than the 1. 9 rate for American women generally. The picture of American Jewry highlighted by the study is multifaceted. On the one hand, the American Jewish population is aging and shrinking, as the birthrate is falling and intermarriage is rising, and most Jews do not take on communal or religious pursuits.On the other hand, a vast majority of American Jews attend a Passover seder and celebrate Chanukah and Jewish education is booming. Jews are more affluent than Americans generally. More 33 percent of Jewish households report an annual income of $75,000 or higher, compared to just 18 percent of U. S. households. The median Jewish household income is $54,000, compared to $42,000 for Americans generally. Speaking about affluence, the world’s richest Jew is Steve Ballmer, a Detroit-born son of a Jewish mother, 43 years old, wh ose worth is an estimated $25 billion. Steve Ballmer was selected president and chief executive officer of Microsoft Corp.on January 13, 2000. In his position as president and CEO, Ballmer is oversees the entire management of Microsoft. It has been said that the outside terrorization, such as pogroms, coped with by Jews over the centuries act as unifying power. Jews needed each other in order to survive in a Jew-hating world. In line with this idea, the elimination of those external threats has become a factor to assimilation. The more accepting the non-Jewish world has become of Jews, the less Jews have felt they need other Jews and the Jewish community for support and the more Jews have become open to giving up their Jewish ways in an effort to blend with the world around them.Thus, the cost of Jewish living exceeded the value of Jewish living for many 20th century American Jews. While Jewish community efforts to lower costs and increase value have attempted to tip the scales in t he other direction, combating the integration of Jews in America, the â€Å"Land of Opportunty†, has been a harsh struggle to win. In an effort to assimilate and minimize threat, the American Jewry of late has developed a system of beliefs wherein it has become a community characterized with an exclusive and normalized behavior that is attributable to a specific people and that is expressed through certain images, symbols, rituals, myths, and other kinds of stories.There developed a sense of pluralism which is defined in their context: having the conviction that more than one religion can instruct truths. To put it strongly, religious pluralism maintains that no specific religion can assert total certainty to teach absolute truth. Within the Jewish population, there is a collective history, a shared expression of prayer and study, a shared Bible and a shared set of rabbinic literature, consequently often providing for Jews of considerably diverse worldviews to nevertheless id entify some level of common ideals and purposes. Reference: 1. Bubis,Gerald B. The Costs of Jewish Involvements and barriers. http. //Judaism. about. com. 2. Elazar, Daniel E. Jerusalem Center for Public AffairsI. http://www. jcpa. org/dje/articles2/futureamerjewry. htm.

The theme of Beowulf

The theme of Beowulf The epic poem Beowulf was written by an unknown Anglo-Saxon author in the 8th century. The theme of the epic poem, Beowulf, was the conflict between good and evil. This is conflict is demonstrated in three ways, through the expression of the fear of the dark, the nature and purpose of heroism, and the statement of the Anglo-Saxon outlook and imagination.A fear of the dark, or things that are un-Godly, is very present in the poem Beowulf. When things get frightening, there is a tendency to over exaggerate them in order to maintain a sense of dignity. The spawn of Cain conceived Grendel. This reference showed that the Anglo-Saxon's were God worshiping people who were well educated about the Bible. The story of Beowulf was not written down until it had been passed down for many generations. It is possible that out of fear people over exaggerated Grendel's countenance.English: An illustration of Beowulf fighting the d...Grendel was immune to all sorts of weapons and could only be killed with strength. The Anglo-Saxon people we afraid of Grendel and the story made Grendel sound more hideous every time it was told.Beowulf was a predestined hero. This nature and purpose of heroism is shown throughout the poem. A hero to the Anglo-Saxon people was one who did something unselfishly and for the good of others. Beowulf was a traveling "good guy". He traveled around the country fighting for the good of the people. Beowulf was the only one strong enough to overpower the grasp of Grendel. Beowulf was not fearful of Grendel. This gave Beowulf an advantage over all the rest who tried to conquer Grendel.The Anglo-Saxon's were very imaginative people. The idea of creating a story where good conquers evil is not so imaginative but creating...

Memories of the Civil War essays

Memories of the Civil War essays My name is Henry Campbell, and I have just enlisted in the Union Army! But first, let me tell you a little bit about myself. I was born in Muncle, Indiana, June 20th, 1842. Right now I am 19 years of age and have been assigned as Corporal of the Indiana Light Battery, because of my good leadership, courage, and a strong lust for war. My parents are Harvey and Janet Campbell, and before the war had started, we ran a successful dry goods store. Our economic standing is pretty good I would say, and we can afford to buy what we like. My job used to be as a dry goods clerk for my father, and I had made a decent amount of money, but I felt that I needed more than just money to live a good life. My parents did have some disagreements with me joining the Union Army, but I had finally convinced them to let me go. I had nothing to do with my life, just like many of my friends who had done the same thing, join the war and fight for whats right; freedom, equality, and to be given a true name in history that would be heard from sea to shining sea. I had one sibling, a brother, whose name was Gregory, who died at the Battle of Bull Run at the age of 21, trying to defend the industrious Union lands. Because of this I have gone off to fight against the dirty Southerners, to avenge my brothers death, to free the thousands if not millions of slaves, and to reunite this beautiful land. As you can see, my stand on slavery is that I want all of the innocent slaves to be free, to have them regain their freedom, to stop having them fear whites, and to let them live freely and equally with white men. My education is good since I have gone to the Perdue University, one of the finest universities in all of Indiana. In fact, I had just finished Perdue about four months ago, time sure does fly fast here. And my religion is Christian. I support the Union because they understand how life should be. What I mean is that everyday in the Union ...

English Words Borrowed From the Chinese Language

English Words Borrowed From the Chinese Language Words taken completely or in part from another language are known as loanwords. In the English language, there are many loanwords that have been borrowed from Chinese languages and dialects. A loanword is not the same as calque, which is an expression from one language that has been introduced into another language as a direct translation. Many English-language calques also have origins in Chinese. Loanwords and calques are useful to linguists in examining when and how one culture processed its interaction with another. 10 English Words That Are Borrowed From Chinese 1. Coolie: While some claim that this term has its origins in Hindi, it’s been argued that it could also have origins in the Chinese term for hard work or è‹ ¦Ã¥Å â€º (kÇ” là ¬) which is literally translated as â€Å"bitter labor.† 2. Gung Ho: The term has its origins in the Chinese word Ã¥ · ¥Ã¥ Ë† (gÃ… ng hà ©) that can either mean to work together  or as an adjective to describe someone that is overly excited or too enthusiastic. The term gong he is a shortened word for industrial cooperatives which were created in China in the 1930s. During that time U.S. Marines adopted the term to mean someone with a can-do attitude. 3. Kowtow: From the Chinese Ã¥  ©Ã¥ ¤ ´ (kà ²u tà ³u) describing the ancient practice performed when anyone greeted a superior – such as an elder, leader, or emperor. The person had to kneel and bow down to the superior, making sure that their foreheads hit the ground. â€Å"Kou tou† is literally translated as â€Å"knock your head.† 4. Tycoon: The origins of this word comes from the Japanese term taikun, which was what foreigners called the shogun of Japan. A shogun was known to be someone who took over the throne and is not related to the emperor. Thus the meaning is typically used for someone who obtained power through might or hard work, rather than inheriting it. In Chinese, the Japanese term â€Å"​taikun† is Ã¥ ¤ §Ã§Å½â€¹ (d wng) which means â€Å"big prince.† There are other words in Chinese that also describe a tycoon including è ´ ¢Ã©Ëœâ‚¬ (ci f) and Ã¥ · ¨Ã¥ ¤ ´ (jà ¹ tà ³u). 5. Yen: This term comes from the Chinese word æ„ ¿ (yun) which means a hope, desire, or wish. Someone who has a strong urge for oily fast food can be said to have a yen for pizza. 6. Ketchup: The origins of this word are debated. But many believe that its origins are from either the Fujianese dialect for the fish sauce é ® ­Ã¦ ±  (guÄ « zhÄ « ) or the Chinese word for eggplant sauce èÅ'„æ ±  (qià © zhÄ «). 7. Chop Chop: This term is said to originate from the Cantonese dialect for the word Ã¥ ¿ «Ã¥ ¿ « (kui kui) which is said to urge someone to hurry up. Kuai means hurry in Chinese. â€Å"Chop Chop† appeared in English-language newspapers printed in China by foreign settlers as early as the 1800s. 8. Typhoon: This is probably the most direct loanword. In Chinese, a hurricane or typhoon is called Ã¥  °Ã© £Å½ (ti fÄ“ng). 9. Chow:  While chow is a breed of dog, it should be clarified that the term did not come to mean food because the Chinese hold the stereotype of being dog-eaters. More likely, chow as a term for food comes from the word è Å" (ci) which can mean food, a dish (to eat), or vegetables. 10. Koan: Originating in Zen Buddhism, a koan is a riddle without a solution, which is supposed to highlight the inadequacy of logic reasoning. A common one is â€Å"What is the sound of one hand clapping.† (If you were Bart Simpson, you would just fold one hand until you made a clapping noise.) Koan comes from the Japanese which comes from the Chinese for å… ¬Ã¦ ¡Ë† (gÃ… ng n). Literally translated it means common case.

Learning Styles and Career Preference Coursework

Learning Styles and Career Preference - Coursework Example There are many factors which researchers believe to have some effect on the learning process in the lifecycle of an individual hence affecting career choice (Reid, p.27). Some of these factors are negative while others are positive in nature. The purpose of this research study is to determine whether the different learning styles have an impact on the career choice of an individual. The term learning style has had many definitions and one of them is the process of organizing facts and coming into touch with the reality. Career preference, on the other hand, may be defined as the choice of occupation necessary for one to make a living. The learning style, in this case, is the independent variable whereas the career preference is the dependent variable. The problem under investigation, in this case, is the effect of inadequate knowledge in learning styles on career preference. The purpose or objective of the study is important in that it gives a sense of direction to the researcher. The purpose of this study will be to determine whether there is a correlation between learning styles and the choice of occupation or career an individual selects. A hypothesis is important in any form of research and assists the researcher in sticking to the topic under investigation. The hypothesis of the study, in this case, is: there is a correlation between the learning styles and career choice of an individual. The significance of this study would be to assist tutors in different academic institutions to come up with the best strategies in assisting students in learning. It would also assist in assisting tutors to determine the best learning styles to be adopted for students on different career paths. This would enhance the education system and assist in ensuring that students acquire education in the most effective and efficient way possible. On the other hand, the research would ensure that the needs of the students are fully catered for in that they would feel comfortable learning through.

Baby Boomer Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Baby Boomer - Essay Example During the 1960s and 1970s, those in leadership were mainly the GI and silent generation. These generations derive their ideologies and values from the events of 1930s and 1940s, which are the Second World War and the great depression (Chapman 212). These were hard times and they are the events that shaped the ideologies of the GI and the silent generation. During these times, people normally obeyed commands and were not supposed to question. The young had no say in the society. They learned how to compromise, work hard, persevere, and sacrifice for the country. However, they were slow in bringing in changes in the society as they were conservative. The baby boomers are those born during the post war period this is a group that was influenced by the era of grand visions. This was a time when people were fighting for freedom, there was concerted effort to take man to the moon, and politicians were trying to put forward their ideologies. This generation was associated with sex, drugs, and rock and roll music. Since they were born in relatively calm period, they also attained good education. What then brought about great generational gap or ideological crisis in the 1960s and 1970s? As it can be seen, this is the period when the baby boomers were in higher education institutions while the GI and the Silent generation were in leadership. My interviewee Mr. Tayung Wong came from Taiwan to come and pursue his undergraduate degree in America. This is a clear indication of how education was being valued in America. When Mr. Wong arrived in America there were several civil rights activities taking place as he says that he watched several civil rights activities on the television. This civil rights were mainly being influenced and led by scholars in America who wanted social transformation. They were mainly the baby boomers. When Mr. Wong arrived from Asia to America he found that there were a lot of racial discrimination towards African Americans and other races by the whites. In fact he says that some form of discrimination was perpetuated against him. The GI and the silent generation had passed through the great depression and the Second World War. These were hard times. During this time there was great racial discrimination. One such example was the discrimination of the Jews by Germans leading to their extermination by Adolf Hitler. They had witnessed the worst form of discrimination in the world. The discrimination that was being witnessed in America, to them, was not something of great concern. They did not address this issue as a priority. On the other hand, the baby boomers that were born in an era of grand vision saw this as a matter of urgency that needed to be addressed by the leadership. They had the education and they could advocate their visions freely. Mr. Wong confesses that he found the American teenagers bolder in expressing their views. Mr. Wong says that he supported the movements of Dr. Martin Luther King junior that advocated for the rights of black Americans and citizens of color and he also says that he supported other African American activists. This shows that there were a lot movements advocating for equality of all residents of America. The rallies of these activists were mainly attended by the young as we see Mr. Wong, by then a university student. These are the baby boomers that were born in the era of freedom and they felt agitated when their rights were infringed. The GI and

Environmental impact Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Environmental impact - Essay Example The sector of property is now aware that there is need to reduce exposure of any kind to environment risks in all constructions although many developments-related to risks overtime have been linked to pollution activities or sometimes the failure on the part of the specialists when dealing with particular environment hazards. The construction industry may experience serious impact in future related to environment if certain measures are not taken soon enough (Anderson & Shiers, 2007). The environmental impacts are categorized in different forms, since is clear without doubt that there is continues mounting of carbon dioxide (CO2) accumulations in the atmosphere and other harmful â€Å"greenhouse† gases, for example, methane. The result of this will be leading the world into serious global warming as well as climate change. Since the main source behind greenhouse gases is a result of burning fossil fuels to extract energy. The Green Guide intention is to use all building assessment tools like the BREEAM, this stands for the code to identify sustainable homes or rather EcoHomes instead of standalone tool. The choice of materials taken together with specification has some impact on the total environmental, social and economic outcome on the building that Green Guide may not be able to account, therefore, BRE Global cannot recommend possible targets based on the specifications by Green Guide rating that is set separately (Kocsis, 2010). Low carbon technology structure is encouraged for many home owners especially wooden structures, and at the same time ensures that the structure/house has sufficient renewable energy is very important, proper guideline on the issue of managing design, constructions as well as operation towards carbon building technology. There are gaps that sometimes exeunt between the design and the performance despite genuine intentions of developing relatively low carbon buildings although it does not

To What Extent Might the Current Approach to International Carbon Essay

To What Extent Might the Current Approach to International Carbon Reduction be Described as Neo-liberal - Essay Example The present carbon reduction approaches cannot be regarded as purely neo-liberalism since it mostly runs under market mechanisms, but is also impacted by political aspects. â€Å"Neo-liberal† is political-economic restructuring and often is called â€Å"structural adjustment programs† (Russ, 1999). Russ (1999) mentioned that â€Å"neo-liberalism has the features that include privatization, free-market, austerity, and comparative advantage.† Specific to carbon trading aspects, the features of a neo-liberal market should be as follows. First, the transaction of carbon and its related facilities, in addition to resources, should be owned by the private sector or multinational enterprises. Secondly, neo-liberalism means that the price of all factors that are related to carbon transactions should be set by the global market. These factors include market price, salaries of employments, shipping fees, etc. Last but not least, it includes the decreasing of public spendin g. This means that all services related to carbon trading shall be under market conditions and without government â€Å"interference.† The Kyoto Protocol was created for the purpose of carbon reduction emission obligations for industrial countries (Sander, 2010, P7). All the current methods are largely based on the Kyoto Protocol. Annex I countries have a goal to control carbon emissions by a certain amount at the end of the Kyoto Protocol. Thus, it gives these Annex I countries the opportunity to engage in the market of global carbon emissions. In this case, they are able to do transactions with flexible mechanisms through the Kyoto Protocol. These mechanisms include International Emissions Trading (IET), Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), and Joint Implementation (JL) (Sander,... This essay declares that the present carbon reduction approaches cannot be regarded as purely neo-liberalism since it mostly runs under market mechanisms, but is also impacted by political aspects. â€Å"Neo-liberal† is political-economic restructuring and often is called â€Å"structural adjustment programs†. Russ mentioned that â€Å"neo-liberalism has the features that include privatization, free-market, austerity, and comparative advantage.† This paper makes a conclusion that specific to carbon trading aspects, the features of a neo-liberal market should be as follows. First, the transaction of carbon and its related facilities, in addition to resources, should be owned by the private sector or multinational enterprises. Secondly, neo-liberalism means that the price of all factors that are related to carbon transactions should be set by the global market. These factors include market price, salaries of employments, shipping fees, etc. Last but not least, it includes the decreasing of public spending. This means that all services related to carbon trading shall be under market conditions and without government â€Å"interference.† Trading among these countries is worth over $100 billion each year. The free market, private sectors, and international trading play essential roles in the global emissions trading scheme. The market of carbon trading effectively helps reduce carbon levels. Meanwhile, there were not any t argets set for developing countries. Fast growing economies in the developing world, such as China, India, Thailand, Egypt, and Iran, have increased their need for emissions trading.

Social Norms vs. Nature Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Social Norms vs. Nature - Essay Example Their inner self connects and they find what they were looking for, in each other’s souls. Annie Proulx implies in Brokeback Mountain that when Jack and Ennis shy away from their natural urges they perish. Suppressing what is natural to them causes them pain and suffering that leads to the demise of their love, on the other hand, Anton Chekhov portrays how a man (Dmitri) pursues what is natural to him and embraces his natural urges with open arms, and in the end finds his true love. In the story The Lady with the Lapdog, Chekhov creates the setting for romantic spark between the two characters Dmitri and the lady. Dmitri’s romantic yearnings are simply unquenchable. He is bored with his wife and constantly seeks the love and affection of other women but never sticks with one. He constantly hunts down â€Å"fresh romance† as the old ones get on his nerves. This might sound unromantic but this is what Dmitri feels deep down inside. He doesn’t love his wife; to Dmitri she is too stiff and boring. This is the context as intelligent readers can guess that either Dmitri will start an affair with the lady, Anna, or at least the desire to have one will burn in his heart. The nature of Dmitri and the way he has transformed into a womanizer predicts that he will look for more chances of betraying his wife. Similarly, in the story Brokeback Mountain, the romance takes place between two men, Ennis Del Mar and Jack Twist, a homosexual romance which has absolutely no place in their society. It is obvious that what these two men feel, they will try to get it and in turn betray the social norms. That is how the setting of both these short stories builds a perfect setting for infidelity. However in The Lady with the Lapdog, the author plays with the pre-defined roles of characters, as when Dmitri and Anna hookup, they both fear the same thing, is the other person really interested or he is in it for the time being? This is the part where the readers predict that knowing Dmitri’s nature, he is in it for the game, he is bored as always and seeks new romance but as the story progresses things get more complicated than Dmitri’s simple urge to stay away from home and cheat on her wife, an aging seducer. In the book, The Lady with the Lapdog, the motivation for infidelity is not something that the society would look up to. Dmitri is on the verge of breaking up with his wife. He is simply frustrated by his wife’s cold nature and feels betrayed himself. He doesn’t consider it to be unjust to wander around and have flings with other women; he thinks he is taking revenge on his wife. Although there is not one motive for Dmitri’s disloyalty, however one factor that stands out is that Dmitri was not that much into his marriage from the beginning. He just stood in awe of her when they wedded but the wife’s imposing nature lingered on. She considered herself a â€Å"thinker† and used to call h er husband not by his real name but called him â€Å"Dimitri†. Dmitri probably felt emasculated by her actions, and that is why he preferred staying away from home. But the motive for infidelity in the Brokeback Mountain is in drastic contrast to Dmitri’s situation. Ennis and Jack are portrayed as characters struggling with their affectionate feeling toward each other but on the other hand, feeling afraid of being called homosexual.

English Class Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

English Class - Essay Example The plot displays the equipments to reduce the strength and intellectual power as well as thinking abilities. It is unfair to torture any individual for the capabilities and talents. It is an act that is based on equality at the cost of humane. Courage was shown by Harrison to defy the regulations of equality, he emerged as a hero who could manage to run away from prison to challenge the government and removed all the obstructions and declared himself to be an emperor. This heroic deed is worth appreciating as it represents the right of human survival and existence. Every individual has right to lead a life the way he/ she wants and this is displayed by Harrison. The plot has some correlation with the current world, the state of affairs of Libya. The ruler is inhumane and there is no place for emotions and sacrifice in front of the dictatorship. The plot very well tried to depict the victory of courage but with a sacrifice and soon people forgot what had happened and they have to abi de by the rules and obey as commanded. In the present world where disparities exists in almost every field of human endeavor, people are becoming ruthless to be competent enough and to reach high in life.

Social Norms vs. Nature Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Social Norms vs. Nature - Essay Example Their inner self connects and they find what they were looking for, in each other’s souls. Annie Proulx implies in Brokeback Mountain that when Jack and Ennis shy away from their natural urges they perish. Suppressing what is natural to them causes them pain and suffering that leads to the demise of their love, on the other hand, Anton Chekhov portrays how a man (Dmitri) pursues what is natural to him and embraces his natural urges with open arms, and in the end finds his true love. In the story The Lady with the Lapdog, Chekhov creates the setting for romantic spark between the two characters Dmitri and the lady. Dmitri’s romantic yearnings are simply unquenchable. He is bored with his wife and constantly seeks the love and affection of other women but never sticks with one. He constantly hunts down â€Å"fresh romance† as the old ones get on his nerves. This might sound unromantic but this is what Dmitri feels deep down inside. He doesn’t love his wife; to Dmitri she is too stiff and boring. This is the context as intelligent readers can guess that either Dmitri will start an affair with the lady, Anna, or at least the desire to have one will burn in his heart. The nature of Dmitri and the way he has transformed into a womanizer predicts that he will look for more chances of betraying his wife. Similarly, in the story Brokeback Mountain, the romance takes place between two men, Ennis Del Mar and Jack Twist, a homosexual romance which has absolutely no place in their society. It is obvious that what these two men feel, they will try to get it and in turn betray the social norms. That is how the setting of both these short stories builds a perfect setting for infidelity. However in The Lady with the Lapdog, the author plays with the pre-defined roles of characters, as when Dmitri and Anna hookup, they both fear the same thing, is the other person really interested or he is in it for the time being? This is the part where the readers predict that knowing Dmitri’s nature, he is in it for the game, he is bored as always and seeks new romance but as the story progresses things get more complicated than Dmitri’s simple urge to stay away from home and cheat on her wife, an aging seducer. In the book, The Lady with the Lapdog, the motivation for infidelity is not something that the society would look up to. Dmitri is on the verge of breaking up with his wife. He is simply frustrated by his wife’s cold nature and feels betrayed himself. He doesn’t consider it to be unjust to wander around and have flings with other women; he thinks he is taking revenge on his wife. Although there is not one motive for Dmitri’s disloyalty, however one factor that stands out is that Dmitri was not that much into his marriage from the beginning. He just stood in awe of her when they wedded but the wife’s imposing nature lingered on. She considered herself a â€Å"thinker† and used to call h er husband not by his real name but called him â€Å"Dimitri†. Dmitri probably felt emasculated by her actions, and that is why he preferred staying away from home. But the motive for infidelity in the Brokeback Mountain is in drastic contrast to Dmitri’s situation. Ennis and Jack are portrayed as characters struggling with their affectionate feeling toward each other but on the other hand, feeling afraid of being called homosexual.

Plagiarism Excuse Essay Example for Free

Plagiarism Excuse Essay This letter is regarding the charge on violation of the University’s Student Code of Conduct. I comprehend that plagiarism is a crime, it is wrongful to copy some one else’s work or even idea without giving the author credit for his work. But, my assignments, term reports and coursework are never plagiarized not even a single bit, I always make it a point to cite my entire work appropriately. The reference list I have at the end of my coursework clearly reflects where I have taken my work from. However, my mistake this time was that I forgot to properly do in-text citation of the things I took directly from the author’s text; I should have put those lines that I copied directly from the author’s document in quotes and then should have cited it both internally and at the end of the paper. I comprehend that I made a mistake by forgetting to put the author’s words in quotes, but my intention was not to cheat or commit a crime. All of this happened completely unintentionally. The work pressure I was going through at the time of submission and continuous distraction by of clients and employees just made me feel sick and I completely forgot the basic requirements I had to fulfill in completing the paper. Sir, I am aware that the university is very strict regarding the rules it has towards plagiarism. I am not irrational and foolish enough to submit a plagiarized paper in college and ruin my future. I realize that it is better to shed tears for some time because of getting a bad grade in a course rather than weeping my entire life by submitting plagiarized work. I am a student who cares about his academic career and wants to achieve a lot of goals in life. I can be a motivated contributor to the university; I am even capable to become much more than that if I am provided with the opportunity. Please don’t take this away from me because of my one silly mistake which I committed by coincidence, this university has taught me how to be a better person and has changed me. I feel a part of it and the thought of being separated from it is so painful. I hope for your maximum cooperation as my future is in your hands! My life, my education, my respect in the eyes of my friends and colleagues is at stake and I may not able to digest any charge due to my silly mistake. I also fear that any action or charge against me will have a very negative effect on my health and business. Sir, Please consider my statement that I had no intention to plagiarize in any circumstances before taking any step against me as it is a matter of my whole life . All my life I have studied very hard , was a brilliant student in class and a good person with everyone . I assure to the disciplinary committee with full confidence that my future paper will not be affected by any personal and business issues and I will pay full attention to all the university’s disciplinary requirements. I also hope that the reasons I gave to proof myself innocent will be taken into consideration. Reference: Gilmore, B. (2008). Plagiarism: Why It Happens and How to Prevent It. Heinemann

Human Rights In A Democratic South Africa

Human Rights In A Democratic South Africa In the South African Constitution, citizens are given many different rights. The right to education is specifically important because it builds and largely determines the future of the next generation. Since I am in a privileged position regarding education, attending a private school, I have decided to research the right to education of all South Africans. My aim is to find whether the right to education which are guaranteed in our constitution to both children and adults are realised in the daily lives of all South Africans. My research is focused on high school education (i.e. Grade 8 to Grade 12). This is the phase which forms the foundation for Matric results. Analysing the Grade 12 results across all sectors of our population along with other primary and secondary sources will give a good indication of whether the right to Education is realised in South Africa. I predict that the rights to education are not fulfilled across all races and income groups in South Africa. Review of Literature The research done on existing information regarding the right to Education in South Africa has been studied and is discussed below. The following secondary sources include a combination of angles ranging from the Bill of Rights, the Popular Media (focusing on the recent Limpopo textbook crisis) and Education Statistics of the last few years. There are many different viewpoints regarding Education in South Africa, some highlighting the corruption and inefficiency, some focusing on the transitional phase we seem to be in, and others looking only at the successes. Education is perceived in such different ways because different audiences look at different aspects of the whole, i.e. the teachers, the pass rates or governmental management. Looking holistically at the entire situation will produce a clearer and more objective result. Source 1: The Constitution of South Africa, 4 February 1997, Chapter 2 Bill of rights, Section 29 Education When a careful study is made of the rights to education as stipulated by the South African Constitution, one finds that every child and adult has the right to basic education as well as further education. The state is primarily responsible to provide the infra-structure in which its citizens could be educated. This implies that the state should provide sufficient school buildings, enough capable teaching staff to ensure a healthy teacher-learner ratio, textbooks and other educational materials. The education system should be free from discrimination on the basis of race, gender and language. Education should be made available in all the official languages where at all practically possible. The education system should also make room for independent institutions which are registered with the state and provide standards comparable to that of public educational institutions. Source 2: Articles by Greg Nicolson from the Daily Maverick 2.1 Limpopos education crisis: The price of incompetence and corruption It is vitally important to have an education system which can be trusted. This article deals with explaining the politics behind the Limpopo textbook crisis. During a tender process advertised by the Limpopo education department there were 23 possible tenders of which 22 were immediately disqualified on the basis of technicalities. From this there was later found that the one which was accepted, EduSolutions, had been pocketing money from the government throughout the process and has left the Limpopo schools without the necessary textbooks and learning materials. 2.2 SAs education crisis: Limpopo STILL without books A recent discrepancy in the Limpopo education department has exposed the education system as corrupt and incompetent. However while the issue is being investigated and addressed a large amount of Limpopo students were left without textbooks and were unable to continue any learning. The seriousness of this situation lies not only in the fraud but the inadequacy of the manner in which students were left without any means to education until the middle of the school year. While the whole event has become a political issue there is still no answer to the problems which the students face in their battle for proper education. Source 3: Is South Africa fulfilling right to free education for all right? April 10, 2011  · by Akanyang Merementsi  · in Media, Society This article discusses education in the world and in South Africa and compares the standard of education between South Africa and the world. Not only is focus put on the importance of education as a human right but it also makes the reader aware of the large high school dropout rates and the negative effects thereof. The article discusses A4 as a model of assessment which the education department needs to adopt in order to function effectively. A4 is Availability, Accessibility, Acceptability and Adaptability. These four traits are vital in the department of education in South Africa. Source 4: The South African Department of Education Action plan 14 June 2003 and Strategic Plan 9 March 2011 In 2003 the South African education department confessed to a failing education system and set up a plan of action in order to rectify and improve the education system. It set guidelines in order to help in areas which through community debate and school statistics had been found wanting. However, it is now almost 10 years later and this Action Plan is still needed. Similarly a Strategic Plan has recently been drawn up for education in 2011 to 2014 (published on 9 March 2011). The need for both of these plans highlights the shortcomings in the South African education system; fortunately there is a plan to fix them. For this plan to be effectively deployed, the basic education system needs more than paperwork. What ultimately happens to the children in South African schools is that they are left without means to further education while administrative issues are being addressed. The plans are there, but they are simply not being carried through. Source 5: Reinvent local education now by Jon Tullett, Editor: News analysis, 11 Jul 2012 This source uses several points ranging from the Limpopo textbook crisis to our educational world rankings to discuss the importance of a reinvented education system and the current lack of basic education in South Africa. Certain issues are addressed and possible solutions mentioned in order to move South Africa forward in education using its resources and technology. Recently South Africa was ranked out of 142 countries In the World Economic Forums Global Competitiveness 2011-2012 report. South Africa is in position133 regarding the quality of the education system and in position138 for the quality of maths and science education. These are not good statistics and clearly show a fault in the education system. As we are behind countries such as Zimbabwe this quote from the article relates to many South Africans: When you think of some of the poverty-stricken, war-ravaged, desolate countries in the world, it is sobering to think they are all better than us. Source 6: Education statistics 2010 Published by the Department of Basic Education February 2012 6.1 Ratios, indicators, page 6 Statistics can be used to deduce several facts; in this case ratios are presented to show the effectiveness in numbers of the education department in South Africa. Specifically the ratios are the learner-educator ratio (LER), learner-school ratio (LSR) and educator-school ratio (ESR). The LER in 2010 was 29.3:1 and unfortunately increased to 32.2:1 in 2011. In 2010 the LSR was 474:1 which then also increased to a ratio of 484.5:1 in 2011. In 2011 the ESR had decreased to 16:1 from 2010s 16.2:1. These ratios (The LER, LSR and ESR) are that of the Public and Independent schools throughout South Africa. 6.2 National Senior Certificate (NSC) pass rates When considering whether the right to education is fulfilled in South African high schools it is vitally important to look at the level of education provided from the beginning and throughout the course of Grade 8 to Grade 12. Nonetheless, the level of education can only really be clearly seen through studying the Grade 12 National Senior Certificate pass rates and related statistics. The overall national pass rate in 2010 in the NSC examination was 67.8%. Although throughout the country more females than males wrote the NSC examination, the pass rate for males was higher than that for females. There has been an increase from 62.5% (2008) to 70.2% (2011) in Grade 12 final results in the last 4 years which is a good statistic but considering the level of education it is debatable that pass rates are higher due to a lowering in education standards as will be discussed below. Source 7: Rippling effect of the lowering of standards of basic education 18 July 2012, Varsity SA The main purpose of the South African education department should not be merely educating students but to equip learners with that which is necessary to not only pass Grade 12 but also to be educated enough for further studies. This is important because it is these students who will be responsible for carrying the country and taking over the South African economy thus students need further education and they need to be well enough equipped for further education. This article from Varsity SA raises concerns about the lowered NSC standards which have led to an increase in pass rates. It is currently required that a student only receive 30% (thus knowing only 30% of the syllabus) in order to pass the NSC. Universities have become very unhappy with the large gap in standard between Grade 12 and first year of University studies. This has a large impact on the country as a whole. According to Statistics South Africa there are 4.24 million unemployed people in South Africa. If the standard of basic education continues decreasing it will result in unemployment increasing and not decreasing as expected by government. Unless the education standards are raised the target set by government will not be achieved. Methodology When referring to the topic of Basic Education as a human right in South Africa at high school level, it is clear that research should range across all provinces and schools. Results obtained from a few questionnaires would not clearly and honestly propose a result to the hypothesis of education as a Human Right. Therefore, other means of information, specifically secondary sources, needed to be collected and analysed. The secondary sources collected provide a wide range of ideas and opinions about the education system as well as facts and statistics from a variety of sources. The secondary research conducted was from newspaper articles and internet research. South African education has been the focus of many newspapers, magazines and of the community as a whole, especially with the Limpopo textbook crisis and statistics which were released this year. Gathering research thus became a daily job of listening to news reports, social debates and community discussions. Most of the research ideas come from discussing the topic with people, be it teachers, students, parents or any other South African citizen. Education touches every single South African in one way or another thus it is vitally important to hear what South Africa has to say about education and how it impacts their lives. Articles seen online and in newspapers were recorded and every time a new issue about education was raised the topic was recorded. Then internet research was done on the list of information and the articles found. More online research was done in order to gather other sources and specifically statistics from done surveys and from Statistics South Africa. Both quantitive and qualitive data is used; quantitive data such as statistics and ratios and the qualitive data include reports, articles, opinions, interviews and other literature. Considering the large gap between high school education and university education it was important to have first hand research of the level of students entering university. A senior accounting lecturer of the University of Witwatersrand, Mrs. Belinda Breytenbach, was contacted and an interview set up. Here further insight into the shortcomings of the education system was revealed. Interview questions: Do you believe that the right to education in South Africa for high school students is being fulfilled? Why or why not? Is it true that there is a growing concern regarding the cognitive abilities of first year students who have completed the NSC? Could you describe the academic level of the first year accounting students in general? What would you say is the single biggest need among students academically? How high are the university dropout rates and do you believe that they are increased due to the education students receive in high school? Is there cause for concern about the lowered standards which increase the pass rates of learners writing the NSC? With English being the medium of instruction how would you rate the proficiency of the average first year student? What do you believe are the main areas of concern in the basic education system of South Africa? Do you encounter difficulties in your field of work which is due to the lack of proper education for high school student? Do you believe that education in South Africa is viewed more negatively due to stereotypes? Are there enough opportunities for students who do not receive university acceptance? Do you think that the large amounts of students who after receiving the NSC do not receive university acceptance directly increase the unemployment rate and affect the South African economy? If so, why? What would you suggest the South African Department of Education do to further the education system? Processing of findings The majority of research material is secondary sources. Therefore conclusions and results need to be taken from the literature, graphs and ratios used. From this graph it is clear that by far the majority of learners in South Africa attend Public Schools. For this reason it is vitally important that the South African Education System is successfully fulfilling the basic right to Education as set out in the Bill of Rights. Below all the sources from the Literature Review are analyzed and interpreted in order to determine whether this right is fulfilled throughout the country. Studying the Limpopo textbook crisis, it is quite clear that corruption and a lack of integrity caused learners to suffer great loss in terms of learning materials and eventually in terms of time wasted. There is still no clear plan of action for the successful delivery of learning materials for 2014. Ultimately both articles prove the point that government officials are more concerned about playing politics than about the actual education of learners, who in turn become the victims of dishonesty. The Education Department should have a careful look at their priorities and put the learners first. When comparing South African Education to the rest of the World, South Africa has the fifth worst education system of all the countries reviewed. This puts us behind a country such as Zimbabwe, which in itself should raise grave concern. The current education system disappoints in terms of delivery of results as well as in terms of development. It is quite clear that the academic discussion of the problem has been done and the answers are on the table, however, the implementation of the Strategic Plan calls for responsible individuals to be monitored by the system. The SA Education Department has the tights ideas but has not succeeded in bringing them into action. This in itself might be a result of inferior teacher training procedures and highlights the need for proper education on a secondary and a tertiary level. Too much time is spent on the administration and discussion of the problem, and too little on the actual implementation and monitoring of the system. When analyzing the current education situation it is important to interpret ratios and statistics. Between 2009 and 2010 the Learner Educator ratio increased which means that teachers had bigger classes and more learners had less individual attention from the teacher. The Learner School ratio also increased, highlighting the need for more school buildings. The Educator School ratio decreased, showing that although learner numbers increased, the amount of teachers decreased. These ratios are an indication of the negative development of the entire system, adding unnecessary stress and workload to teachers. The Grade 12 results of 2009 and 2010 are displayed below. At first glance the increase in pass rate looks positive. However, the actual number of students who performed better did not increase, but the requirement to pass decreased to a lower standard and therefore the pass rate increased. In an interview with a senior accounting lecturer from the University of the Witwatersrand, Mrs. Belinda Breytenbach, the following information emerged: High School education is not adequate and many learners are taught by unqualified teachers. Lecturers sit with the problem of students not having the necessary language or mathematical skills to understand the work content. This makes teaching very difficult and emphasizes the need for better education on a higher standard. One of the biggest problems is a lack of English proficiency. When looking at the university dropout rate and the level of comprehension of these students, it is certainly cause for concern. Dropout rates are high and pass rates are low among first year students. When looking at Mrs Breytenbachs answers to the questionnaire, the deduction is made that Education on a tertiary level is severely hampered by inferior teaching on a secondary level. Interview Response: Do you believe that the right to education in South Africa for high school students is being fulfilled? No. Why or why not? Several factors contribute but among them is the inadequacy of education, the need for schools and qualified educators. The textbook crisis is another example. Is it true that there is a growing concern regarding the cognitive abilities of first year students who have completed the NSC? Yes, First year accounting pass rates are low. The mathematic and english skills of the students are below the required standard. Could you describe the academic level of the first year accounting students in general? It is definitely below the expected level at University. We find that most students are on about a Grade 10 and 11 standard and this makes teaching more difficult. What would you say is the single biggest need among students academically? English reading and writing skills. Students struggle with writing and have extreme difficulty with their comprehension skills. How high are the university dropout rates and do you believe that they are increased due to the education students receive in high school? Yes I do, the dropout rate is relatively high for university (+ 30 40%). Is there cause for concern about the lowered standards which increase the pass rates of learners writing the NSC? Yes, people are less equipped to pass at University. With English being the medium of instruction how would you rate the proficiency of the average first year student? English is poor. The majority of students are not first language English speakers. What do you believe are the main areas of concern in the basic education system of South Africa? The education and qualifications of the teachers themselves along with the fact that many learners are passing to the next grade/level without actually having the required knowledge. Do you encounter difficulties in your field of work which is due to the lack of proper education for high school student? Yes, they cannot grasp the accounting concepts due to a lack of English skills along with basic mathematical and accounting knowledge which although required is not actually present. Do you believe that education in South Africa is viewed more negatively due to stereotypes? Yes, but it is not only due to stereotypes. The lack of proper education is a problem I deal with on a daily basis at the University. Are there enough opportunities for students who do not receive university acceptance? Yes, the opportunities exist but students are not equipped well enough and simply do not always use the chances they are given. Do you think that the large amounts of students who after receiving the NSC do not receive university acceptance directly increase the unemployment rate and affect the South African economy? Yes If so why? Many students have passed grade 12 and have received the NSC but the level is too low and thus students cant get university acceptance and are not well enough prepared to be able to work as part of a growing economy. What would you suggest the South African Department of Education do to further the education system? Ensure that teachers are properly qualified. Try to focus on separating politics and education in all aspects. Provide more schools and opportunities. One way of doing this is by joining in on projects similar to one we run at the University of Witwatersrand, it is called the Wits Soweto schools project and it is where university lecturers go to help tutor school children in rural or underprivileged areas. Conclusion Having studied the education system in South Africa over a period of month and with the help of primary and secondary sources, a conclusion has been reached. As predicted in the hypothesis the human right to basic education in South Africa is not fulfilled on a satisfactory level nationally. There are not enough school buildings, there are not enough qualified teachers, learning materials do not always reach the learners and ultimately the level of education is too low to prepare learners for tertiary studies. There are many different reasons for the current problems within the Education System, and one of the biggest reasons is that unqualified teachers teach, which perpetuates the problem. This national problem needs to be addressed with a long term view, creating opportunities for staff development, improved teacher training and careful administration of resources and programs. The strategic plan should be actively enforced and the priority of the South African Education Department should be the learners. The system needs to be constantly reviewed and adjusted in the light of international standards. It is imperative that weak learners should be supported and helped to achieve, rather than to lower standards in an effort to increase pass rates. The biggest limitation of the above discussion is that there is no reference to children who are not even part of any schooling system and not accounted for in any statistics. Several of the secondary sources could be biased as it is written from an individuals perspective although facts and statistics were used. Doing this research project has opened my eyes to the complexity of the South African situation with particular reference to the education system. It does not have a simple solution; neither does it have a single contributing factor. There are numerous problems interlinking causing even bigger problems and one would need great wisdom, huge resources and a lot of determination to even begin addressing these problems. Great leadership is needed in this regard. Reference List Newspaper articles: Nicolson, Greg. 2012. Limpopos education crisis: The price of incompetence and corruption. The Daily Maverick. 18 July 2012 Nicolson, Greg. 2012. SAs education crisis: Limpopo STILL without books. The Daily Maverick. 17 July 2012 Websites: Merementsi, Akanyang. 10 April 2011. Is South Africa fulfilling right to free education for all right?. Media Society. http://akanyangafrica.wordpress.com/2011/04/10/is-south-africa-fulfilling-right-to-free-education-for-all-right/. 6 July 2012. Nicolson, Greg.17 July 2012.SAs education crisis: Limpopo STILL without books. The Daily Maverick.http://dailymaverick.co.za/article/2012-07-17-sas-education-crisis-limpopo-still-without-books. 1 September 2012. Nicolson, Greg. 18 July 2012. Limpopos education crisis: The price of incompetence and corruption. The Daily Maverick. http://dailymaverick.co.za/article/2012-07-18-limpopos-education-crisis-the-price-of-incompetence-and-corruption. 1 September 2012 Right to education project © 2008. The Constitution of South Africa. Right to education project.http://www.right-to-education.org/country-node/522/country-constitutional. 22 June 2012 The South African Department of Education. 14 June 2003. Action plan. The South African Department of Education. http://www.education.gov.za/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket =IBMz%2FjGelkc%3Dtabid=390mid=1124. 4 September 2012. The South African Department of Education. 9 March 2011. Strategic Plan. The South African Department of Education.http://www.education.gov.za/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket= %2F%2BBILaBJ7ak%3Dtabid=80mid=585. 4 September 2012. The South African Department of Education. Feb 2012. Education statistics 2010. The South African Department of Education. http://www.education.gov.za/EMISSTATISTICS /StatisticalPublications/tabid/462/Default.aspx. 22 June 2012. Tullett, Jon. 11 Jul 2012. Reinvent local education now. It web. http://www.itweb.co.za/index.php?option =com_contentview =articleid=56651. 13 August 2012. 18 July 2012.Rippling effect of the lowering of standards of basic education. Varsity SA. http://varsitysa.co.za/fun-stuff/articles/rippling-effect-of-the-lowering-of-standards-of-basic-education/.7 September 2012. Interview: Senior lecturer of Accounting from the University of the Witwatersrand Belinda Breytenbach. Tel:0832934350

Star Dreck: Paranoia & Patriotism in Alien Invasion Films :: essays papers

Star Dreck: Paranoia & Patriotism in Alien Invasion Films My premise is really quite simple: aliens are among us.And they're bad.But they're not the aliens you think they are, and they're not bad for the reasons you might imagine.In order to understand who these aliens are and why they're bad I want to begin by reaching back into the dark heart of the McCarthy era, when American paranoia in its most popular incarnation as American patriotism was at its peak.The year is 1951 and the film is Howard Hawkes' The Thing: From Another World. For those of you who have somehow come this far in your otherwise admirable education without once seeing this influencial film, a brief synopsis: a group of scientists at the North Pole discover a flying saucer buried in the ice, and with it the body of a man from Mars.Unintentionally, they blow up the saucer and melt the Martian.The thawed Martian, or Thing, proceeds to run amok, killing scientists and draining their blood in order to nourish its progeny.Importantly, a group of visiting air force men have taken over in this moment of crisis, a coup which the film seems to believe requires no justification.Thus the major conflict is defined; not, that is, between man and Martian, but between soldier and scientist.The leader of the scientists, Dr. Carrington--who is referred to earlier in the film as both a genius and, more significantly, the "man who was at Bikini," thus aligning him with the H-bomb--is portrayed as arrogant, cold, precise, unemotional, i.e., everything we've come t o expect from a card-carrying 1950s egghead.In the four short scenes I'm about to show you, Dr. Carrington demonstrates just what we have to fear. Thus the film has given us an intellectual whose chief characteristic is that he admires things more than people, aliens more than Americans.Carrington suggests that the Thing is in every way superior to the humans with which he is surrounded, and he is entirely willing to sacrifice himself and the others in order to add the alien's superior knowledge to the "brain," as he calls it, of his own culture.We might see in Carrington an enthusiasm for other ways of thinking and being taken to suicidal extremes, a sort of multicultural mania. The soldiers, on the other hand, understand the mortal threat the Thing represents from the very beginning; in fact, they can't even stand to look at it--a deep-seated aversion which sets the plot in motion, as it causes a soldier to put a blanket over the block of ice which contains the Thing, thus melting the ice and setting it free. Star Dreck: Paranoia & Patriotism in Alien Invasion Films :: essays papers Star Dreck: Paranoia & Patriotism in Alien Invasion Films My premise is really quite simple: aliens are among us.And they're bad.But they're not the aliens you think they are, and they're not bad for the reasons you might imagine.In order to understand who these aliens are and why they're bad I want to begin by reaching back into the dark heart of the McCarthy era, when American paranoia in its most popular incarnation as American patriotism was at its peak.The year is 1951 and the film is Howard Hawkes' The Thing: From Another World. For those of you who have somehow come this far in your otherwise admirable education without once seeing this influencial film, a brief synopsis: a group of scientists at the North Pole discover a flying saucer buried in the ice, and with it the body of a man from Mars.Unintentionally, they blow up the saucer and melt the Martian.The thawed Martian, or Thing, proceeds to run amok, killing scientists and draining their blood in order to nourish its progeny.Importantly, a group of visiting air force men have taken over in this moment of crisis, a coup which the film seems to believe requires no justification.Thus the major conflict is defined; not, that is, between man and Martian, but between soldier and scientist.The leader of the scientists, Dr. Carrington--who is referred to earlier in the film as both a genius and, more significantly, the "man who was at Bikini," thus aligning him with the H-bomb--is portrayed as arrogant, cold, precise, unemotional, i.e., everything we've come t o expect from a card-carrying 1950s egghead.In the four short scenes I'm about to show you, Dr. Carrington demonstrates just what we have to fear. Thus the film has given us an intellectual whose chief characteristic is that he admires things more than people, aliens more than Americans.Carrington suggests that the Thing is in every way superior to the humans with which he is surrounded, and he is entirely willing to sacrifice himself and the others in order to add the alien's superior knowledge to the "brain," as he calls it, of his own culture.We might see in Carrington an enthusiasm for other ways of thinking and being taken to suicidal extremes, a sort of multicultural mania. The soldiers, on the other hand, understand the mortal threat the Thing represents from the very beginning; in fact, they can't even stand to look at it--a deep-seated aversion which sets the plot in motion, as it causes a soldier to put a blanket over the block of ice which contains the Thing, thus melting the ice and setting it free.