A Comparative Study on Family Education

Abstract: In a lifetime , family is the first school , in which parents are the first teachers for the children . Children are the hopes of a nation , and family education is the elementary education for children . There are many types of family education in the world and each of them shows distinctive features and is closely responsive to its culture . And American family education is the most famous one among them . There are great differences in the concepts of education , aim of education , methods of education and contents of education between American family education and Chinese family education . This thesis will complete the comparative study from the differences , the reasons and the results of family education between America and China . The author hopes to find a satisfied family education method through comparing the differences between American family education and Chinese family education . At the same time , the author hopes this thesis can provide some helpful suggestions for family education in order to make children grow more healthily and roundly . Keywords: family education childeren differences education for all-around development Main Body: . The differences of family education between America and China: 1. The concepts of family education are different . The different education concepts between America and China lead children to receive differert education . In China , many parents only care about whether the children have a promising future , a good job , a good life or not . Based on these expectations , the majority of parents feel that their responsibility for their children is to create as good conditions as possible they can so that the children will not worry about anything in the future . Chinese parents would like to provide everything what they can for their children in the process of children’s growth . In short , they would like to sacrifice anything if their children can live better with their help . Therefore, in the process of children’s growth, the most important thing the parents concerning is to develop their children’s intellect , except for caring children’s daily life . In order to make their children have a good performance in study , become outstanding , or even become a famous person n the future , they would not let children do anything except studying . Contrastively , American parents generally believe that the growth of childeren must rely on their own strength and experiences. Based on this concept , most American parents emphasize more to train their children’s ability of independence once they are born because they think that children should form a self-supporting will and the capacity to live independently sin ce their childhood . And the capacity comes from the training in the early age . In the film ?Gua Sha Treatment? , there is a scene that Datong orderded his son to apologize to his boss’s son when his saw his son was fighting with his boss’s son . What’s more , he slapped his son in the face when his son refused to apologize , which gave his boss aquite a shock . His boss became confused why the father would show the regret by striking his son . This scene and the boss’s confusion reflect the different concepts between the two countries . Traditonal Chinese family education emphasize kindheartedness and bedience , so we can say that Chinese parents like Datong in the film always want to model their children . On the contrary , America children have more rights of autonomy because their parents emphasis on justice and freedom in the process of family education . 2. The aim of family education are different . The aim of family education is to foster the childeren to grow in some direction by family education . It is the restrictive factor for the direction of family education , deciding the general effect of it . So the aim of family education is the core of family education and the fundamental reason for the differences between the two countries on family education . There is an essential difference between two countrys’ aim of family education , with to expect the child to become an outstanding personage and to hope the child to be an comprehensive and independent person giving expressions to the difference . To most Chinese parents , the aim is expecting their child to be a â€Å" dragon † , which is â€Å" wang zi cheng long † in Chinese . But American parents take hoping the child to be a man of ability which is â€Å" wang zi cheng ren † in Chinese as their aim . For Chinese parents, their aim is to do anyting to support their children to get high marks . What forms apparent contrast to it is , America parents give their children more training about improving abilities . They try to train their children to have the ability of adapting to environmental variety and the ability of living independently . 3. The methods are different between America and China . The differences of concepts and aim cause the childen to be taught by different ways and methods . In Chinese family , affected by Chinese traditional culture , parents educate children by â€Å" control † and â€Å" seal † type . There are three tips for it : (1)Chinese parents prepare all things for their children in daily life . In Chinese family , children don’t have to do any housework . (2)Chinese parents protect the children to excess in social activities . Many children are prevented from exposure to the outer world because their parents worry about children’s being affected by bad things . (3)Chinese parents have a rather strict attitude toward children’s study . Parents regard the grades as the only standard for future success . â€Å" Tasks Sea † strategy is often used in study . Chinese children are tired of doing many extra exercises . So Chinese children spend more time in studying than doing other things . What about America children ? Let’s talk about the famous film ?The Pacifier? . In the film , it may be unconcious , but Shane Wolfe had let the kids master many skills by training them during the time when he cared them . So American parents bring up their children by the method of â€Å" letting go † but â€Å" not indulging † to exercise children’s abilities of independent living . 4. The different contents of family education between America and China . The differences of family education between the two countries are also reflected in the contents of family education . Although the contents of Chinese family education can also devided into moral education , intellectual education , physical education and artistic education , but intellectual education has been the most important one since they go to school . However , the contents of American family education is abundant , which pay more attention to the harmonious development of language , emotion , knowledge and so on . It is so-called â€Å" education for all-around development † .

African Americans Essay

In the beginning of 20-th century African Americans were already free from slavery, but their rights differed significantly with the rights of â€Å"white† people. Politics of segregation was still in place, and African Americans, especially in Southern states, were forced to live in separate parts of cities. Special institutions like schools, churches, cemeteries, even special transport units existed for the African American part of the population to separate â€Å"blacks† and â€Å"whites†. Needless to say, these special organizations and units for the African Americans were of low quality. African Americans lacked good education and though were forced to work as unqualified personnel. Political activity for the African American was a dream. But between the African American people some activists appeared that called upon peaceful improvement of their status and establishment of equality of the races. A number of public organizations appeared that were objected to attain the equal rights for the African Americans, among them were even educational organizations like the institute of Booker Washington. 2. USA entered the conflict in the Korean peninsula with the intention to lead the UN forces and to give support to the South Korea armies in confrontation with the Northern aggressors. United States could not let the communists in Korea win shortly after the communists’ victory in China, and tried to keep this sphere of influence on the events in the Far East. In the third phase of the war, general Douglas MacArthur strived for the complete destruction of North Korea troops and insisted on the â€Å"total war† with the communists of China and Korea even to the extents of nuclear bombing. These ideas weren’t welcomed by the President Truman and were the cause of MacArthur’s resignation. After the Korean War the â€Å"cold war† had spread from the Far East into the other regions. USA had expanded their military presence in Europe and in the Middle East; also the politics of neutrality in the Indo-China became obsolete. Military-industrial complex of the United States rapidly recovered from the recession that followed the World War II 3. Eighteenth century was the time of revolutionary changes in almost every aspect of life. Ideas of the Age of Enlightenment claimed the universal equality, and women started to understand that they may possess an active position in social life. This tendency reached the point of culmination at the end of the century, when the Declaration of the Rights of Women was created in 1791 by Olympe De Gouges during the times of the Great French Revolution. This declaration demanded for women equal rights in the family, the rights of active and passive voting, right of possession, right for education and right to take up any posts. Declaration was the embodiment of ideas of feminism that were born in the beginning of 18-th century, and appeared to be the starting point for the active movements for the equal rights of women in the future. 4. Philadelphia System was based on the idea that the prisoner, left alone with his thoughts, with God and the Holy Bible as the only book for reading, would aspire to his inner perfection and inevitably reaches remorse for his deeds. â€Å"Philadelphian† prisoners were kept in solitude and silence. They had to wear masks while leaving their cells, no entertainments and relations with other prisoners were allowed, and work was a reward for the good behavior of the prisoner. This type of keeping the prisoners was very expensive; moreover, silence, solitude and forced idleness often caused insanity, flatness of mind or suicidal tendencies among the imprisoned. So the Auburn System was developed to change the situation. According to this system, criminal should be reformed by regular obligatory work, accuracy and discipline. During the day prisoners work in general workrooms with the only short breaks for the rest and walk, and for the night they are separately locked in one-man cells. Several hours in a week are for education. In an early Auburn System prisoners were prohibited to speak on the penalty of corporal punishment, but later on they were allowed to socialize during the rest. This system is more psychologically comfortablew for the prisoners, and is not such a heavy financial load for the government, as the Philadelphia System is.

Discussion Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 3

Discussion - Assignment Example He also introduced the idea of equality by showing the value of each person irrespective of his rank (Zola, 2003). The two artists use the same technique to communicate to the public and present their ideas. Manet used a large canvas, which was past the standard canvases sold during his time. Tucker (1998) indicates that the painting was done on a large canvas, of almost a similar size to those used by historians to document noble events. It was done on a 208 X 264 cm canvas. He may have been passing on information to the public about his might as a painter, or may have been showing the authorities that they are all the same irrespective of status. He painted a stark naked model in a canvas of the same size as those used by the authorities; this could have been a way of telling the authorities that even the stark naked deserve to be in such canvases. During his time, stark naked pictures were not respected and were considered inappropriate. Manet may have been saying that, whatever people think is inappropriate, could be appropriate in some other way; they were all the same. A similar technique is used by Courbet in his Burial at Ornans. In this painting, there is a group of people; the mayor, the priest, and different other people, prominent and not, with their respective outfits. They are depicted with their own personal worries. Within the picture, at the edge of the grave, there is a gravedigger sitting on his knees. He sits on his knees, but is the only one with the head held high. Buchon (1977) notes that, â€Å"he alone commands† (p. 3). This picture shows that even if one is a gravedigger, there is an area where he will outwit the rest. It also shows that even if one is a priest, king, or highly ranked official, when it comes to the time of burial, they will all look up to the gravedigger. The gravedigger, therefore, has a

Annotated Bibliographies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Annotated Bibliographies - Essay Example They argue that the decline of American students in STEM threatens the country’s competitive edge in the world economy. In response, they recommend the D2D Model to increase the number of students in STEM. Onjira and Gilbert (2009) illustrate the affordances of machine-processable competency modeling. They argue that machine processing is invaluable in e-learning and assessment. They emphasize its effectiveness in e-learning. In addition, Onjira and Gilbert (2009) present the competency model’s affordances in generating questions, distractors, and adaptive query sequences. In the article, they conclude that using machine-processable competency overcomes many limitations in interoperability, reusability, and portability. They demonstrate the ease of automatically generating questions using templates. The system enables them to generate many questions from one template. They further argue that the presence of plausible distractors poses a challenge in generating multiple-choice questions. They conclude the article by looking forward to a future with an automated feedback system. Ricardo et al. (2009) explains the role of mathematics and statistics in the expression of scientific ideas. They conclude that mathematics and statistics are the languages of science. Because of the effect of the internet on learning approach of students, Ricardo et al. (2009) explored innovative ways of learning and teaching methodologies. They advocated acquisition of core competencies by students, development of relevant software and better methods of assessment emphasizing on higher-level abilities. In addition, the researchers propose student-centered learning that students employ Information Technology in acquiring knowledge and self-assessment. Ricardo et al. (2009) present the R-QUEST as a new programming language that solves many statistical problems, thereby

Last Hope Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Last Hope - Essay Example The poem also displays the importance of a mother in one’s life and how the loss of such an important figure can lead to a lot of grief and sorrow. Aracelis Girmay writes the poem The Dream  to express her feelings about death and the contradictions that exist within it. It is a poem which shows the irony of living as a human being, some being happy with their lot in life while others remain sad due to their the tragic events, such as death, that happen in their lives. Girmay uses this poem to display the true nature of human life, that nothing is ever permanent and death is ever present to take away the people that we value the most, and leaving behind individuals who are full of grief, sorrow, and mourning. The use of imagery is very extensive in this poem especially when making contrasts between the beauty of life and the abruptness through which it comes to an end. Girmay states that â€Å"below the window, my mother/young, playing with me/at a rock, in some sunlight/falling over us†. This statement can be employed to show what the persona in the poem thought of their mother. That the mother was alive, she was a jovial person who played with her children and was happy with them. However, it seems that death came abruptly since the tone from the poem is one of sadness. The image of night or darkness is used to refer to death as well as the feelings of grief and sorrow that are experienced by the children who are bereaved after the loss of their mother. It can be said that the image of darkness, when contrasted to the beauty of the world before the mother’s death may be Girmay’s way of stating that the world is beautiful just the way it is but it is death which mak es it not to be a pleasant place to live in due to its corrupting influence over it. This image may also be used to show the price which individuals have to pay when they lose their loved ones to death because nothing

JURISPRUDENCE LAW Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

JURISPRUDENCE LAW - Essay Example It’s in here where he also points to this thoughtful philosophy of â€Å"where there is no common power, there is no law: where no law, no injustice.† Generally speaking this statement is a conclusion that can be drawn from the analysis of his two theory â€Å"state of nature† and â€Å"social contract†. This statement means that individuals are equal in all respect. The nature has made them this way that one cannot overpower the other, thus none of them is mighty enough to stand tall out of the mass and declare a certain code of conduct or â€Å"law†. Since there is nothing called law and there is nothing to distinguish right from wrong, everything which men did was right from his subjective opinion and hence no injustice could be done while a man does what he knows not be wrong. Thus in this situation of equality, a mutual consenting common power has to be established to make up law determining a common definition of right and wrong and thus estab lishing a system of justice and injustice. However such concepts of justice, injustice, redressal, damage, right and wrong have no meaning unless there is a proper machinery to define them and implement them. Now in the mass where no one is mightier enough to impose its might, such an institution has to be made by mutual consent of equal forces. Therefore a common power is needed to make law. This statement determines perfectly Hobbes idea on what the state of nature. According to Hobbes, in the state of nature there is no common power and men are at constant war with each other.  In the absence of any common power to awe them all they are in a state of isolation. There is no force, no obligation and no rule to bind them together to follow some discipline and thus there is absolutely no concept of the idea of society and most importantly there is no law. Law is something that is imposed upon people by a government and in the state of

Can Politics be Removed from Redistricting Essay

Can Politics be Removed from Redistricting - Essay Example The act of redistricting is a process that requires adequate planning by the legislation body before they come up with a complete and fair form of new districts. Though the legislation body has the right and privilege to plan for the redistricting process, they are not competent enough of guaranteeing that the plan will be successful. Thus my stand concerning the matter is that politics can and should be removed from redistricting. Iowa is the single state that is capable of giving any of the nonpartisan community the right of setting up laws that governs the procedures that apply in the redistricting process. This is because in many of the known states, the procedure of the redistricting is solely carried out by the government body and also the political alone. This is in inclusion of the republicans as well as the democrats of the states. Consequently, this action is often for the benefit of the republicans and moreover for the advantage of the democrats. This is because; they use this idea to their benefit of the political interests. Subsequently, the republicans and the democrats do this to obtain a large section of their states to enlarge the district area. Moreover, this action is chiefly for them to gain sole security in the job sector. Thus in Iowa, this procedure is solely performed by a group of selection of three parties. These parties include lawyers, the governor, the secretary, and the auditor. Additionally, there are also the two main individuals who are from the popular political parties (Vork 1). This is chiefly to avoid any form of corruption and manipulation of the process that governs the redistricting procedures (Vork 1). Consequently, for the redistricting process to be in order, there are asset of states laws that the body ought to follow. There are a variety of redistricting methods that a state can employ in the process of redistricting. There is the independent body system, which involves the employment of individuals from the independ ent section with a few representatives from the politicians and the government. The costs and benefits of different redistricting systems Thus the benefit of this body system is that there will be no interference during the redistricting processes by the political parties (Ansolabehere, Gerber & Snyder 768). Second, there is the legislators system. This system utilizes the legislative body of the government. The chief cost that this body brings is the implications during the redistricting procedure. This is because the legislative body utilizes the laws set by the government body. Therefore it becomes hard for the legislators not to favor the government as well as the political parties. Although the two types of the redistricting are different, the chief goal of the process is to attain balanced and equal forms of districts without favor (Ansolabehere, Gerber & Snyder 770). Thus the chief benefit of the redistricting process is that the state gets the opportunity of being in the lis t of the government for the development process. For instance, the minority group gets to obtain the financial support from the government with ease. This further allows an equal and uniform amount of expenditure by the government for the districts from the minorities (Ansolabehere, Gerber & Snyder 768). Considering or not considering how certain factors may change the sort of districts drawn

Fashion Waves in Information System Research Article

Fashion Waves in Information System Research - Article Example However, there are many that state that the information research is not based on the newest innovations and ideas as most expect. Instead, it is a fashion wave, or fad, that continues to emerge in society and among institutes. This is based on needing to manage and continuously create new ideas, information and components without providing newer innovations to the audience. The examination of information research theories shows that fashion waves and fads are stronger elements than the expected elements of innovation. The challenge then becomes based on questioning the management of information research as well as the processes which are used to create and alter the available information research. This research paper will examine the theories based on fashion waves and information research. It will also examine a magazine which provides IS and determine if there are fashion waves, specifically in areas such as decision making, end user computing, management of IS, innovation and impl ementation. When looking at these aspects, there is an indication that fashion waves emerge dependent on the decade, interest in theories and topics which create a response from culture, as opposed to providing new information and segmented research that is required for a given time. Keywords: information research, IS, management of information, research management 1.0 Introduction ... This research paper will examine whether there are fashion trends as well as what impact these have in emerging information research. These will be furthered with an understanding of how this is impacting information research and what this means in terms of growth and development for information services. From empirical evidence and various theories, it is found that fashion waves are based on cultural affiliations and trends, as opposed to true innovation and research. Various areas of interest continue to emerge while creating interest not based on the information research but instead through trends that are popular and of interest toward each time frame. 2.0 Background The concept of fashion waves and fads in information services is one which has been examined and redefined by a variety of theorists. This literature review will look at the definitions and examination of fashion and fads as well as how this is affected by literature. This will be combined with an understanding of t he different theories which have expanded on this idea and how this relates to the different concepts of information services. The background will look at the theories which continue to affect the idea of fashion and the trends which are a part of the IS areas, specifically with justifications of this particular area of study as well as how the different fashion trends in IS continue to prevail with the trends that are continuing to lead the information services area. 2.1 Fashion in Research’s Definition The concept of information services and research is one which is traditionally looked at with opportunities, innovation and building into new ideologies

Motivation Case study Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Motivation Case study - Essay Example A job that possesses higher levels of these core characteristics is higher in motivating potential. This relationship between job characteristics and employee motivation is moderated by the employee's growth-need strength. The relation between the presence of high levels of the core job characteristics and motivation on the job is stronger for individuals who have strong growth needs. The job characteristics model provides a conceptual frame work for improving the amount of motivating potential inherent in the design of the job through increasing skill variety, task identity, task significance, autonomy, and feedback from the task itself. Changing elements of the job's design to strengthen these core motivating characteristics is known as job enrichment (McKenna n.d, 199). At Disney under Iger's leadership, the employees have been given a relatively relaxed hand to perform the tasks they are good at with the top management not getting into micro-management. This allows employees to make decision based on their own judgments and requires a more complex level of skills. Hence the skill variety of the employees has been increased under Iger. The increased level of delegation that the employees enjoy along with the autonomy to perform tasks as they see fit has been one of the prime reasons for the higher motivation levels at Disney under Iger. Employees feel that their contribution to the work they perform is greater now and they are able to take their job to completion and therefore can enjoy a certain sense of ownership about it. The greater level of skill variety, task significance and task identity has led the Disney employees to experience a greater level of meaningfulness in the work they perform, as is shown by the JCM requirements in the diagram in the appendix. This was in sharp contrast to Eisner's strategy of increasing his own influence and squashing the confidence of the employees to make own decisions and hence, decreasing their perception about the contribution they make to the work. This has led to higher internal work motivation and higher quality performance as employees have been able to concentrate on the creative aspect and do what they are good at. This has ensured that even if the top management is not creative, the steady influx of creativity from the employees and people good at their work has kept the star of Disney burgeoning. 2- How can equity theory explain the difference in motivation of employees working under Eisner, as compared to having Iger as CEO Discuss. The Theory Equity Theory attempts to explain relational satisfaction in terms of perceptions of fair or unfair distributions of resources within interpersonal relationships. It asserts that employees seek to maintain equity between the inputs that they bring to a job and the outcomes that they receive from it against the perceived inputs and outcomes of others. The belief is that people value fair treatment which causes them to be motivated to keep the fairness maintained within the relationships of their co-workers

Australias Economic Objective of Resource Allocation Essay Example for Free

Australias Economic Objective of Resource Allocation Essay The objective of efficient resource allocation refers to an economys ability to meet its obligations in ensuring that all social and economic objectives are met without waste, for example to allocate resources so that they are distributed efficiently to improve the standard or living. This is the only way that we can ensure that we will be able to maximize the number of goods and services that we are able to provide. In addition, we will also be more likely to guarantee the long term availability of the resources that are currently available to us. The current target for efficiency target concerning labor is 1.5-2% per year or more. Thus, the economic objective of efficiency in resource allocation exists when our productive inputs are used to create the highest possible value of national output (ie GDP is at its highest level). In turn, having more GS available helps to ensure the maximum satisfaction of our societys needs and wants. In Economics, we distinguish between four different types of efficiency:1.Productive (or Technical) efficiency: Is about firms producing GS using the least-cost method and by minimizing the quantity of resources used. This is perhaps the easiest type of efficiency to understand. In this instance, we are interested in ensuring that any time we produce a good or service we are able to do so by using the smallest number of resources. If I use a tree to make four cricket bats, and you can produce five cricket bats from a tree of the same size, then your productive efficiency is better than mine. Another example is also sometimes a higher level of investment spending by firms on new equipment rather than simply employing more staff is the cheapest way to lift output per worker. 2.Allocative efficiency: ensures that resources are only used to make those particular types of GS that best satisfy societys needs and wants. That is, we want to produce those things most desired by the community first. This is a problem experienced by many of the worlds poorer countries,  especially those which suffer from poor governance. Corrupt leaders will often use a countries scarce resources to provide elaborate palaces, rather than ensuring that their people have access to clean drinking water. This is very poor allocative efficiency. 3.Dynamic efficiency: entails that firms are able to respond quickly to changing economic circumstances. To be dynamically efficient means that firms are aware of the changing circumstances, and they are able to adapt to meet those new needs and tastes of customers. For example, as technology has improved, many businesses have elected to adopt computers. This has involved buying the hardware, choosing the correct software and training the staff. In going through this process, the firm is demonstrating their dynamic efficiency. 4.Inter-temporal efficiency: means that there is a suitable balance between resources being allocated towards current consumption and saving that becomes available to finance future investment. Causes of efficiency of resource allocation:Cyclical changes in domestic economic activity resulting from changes in demand side conditions that affect efficiency in resource allocation. Supply side structural causes of changes in labor in lobular and capital productivity. Demand Side CYCLICAL FactorsIf levels of AD and EA slow leading to a recession (due to weak demand-side conditions like drops in business confidence/consumer), labor efficiency can suffer for at least 4 reasons. 1.Firms are reluctant to sack experienced staff during a slowdown of sales, as they hope that recovery is not far away and thus save them the cost of hiring and training new staff. This leads to over staffing which lowers the level of output per hour worked. 2.Prolonged or severe cyclical recessions in EA causes higher cyclical  unemployment as staff are cut in numbers, slowing down efficiency rates because more of labor resources are idle. 3.Business confidence about sales and profits, once down, can partly cause recession. This causes the firm to cut investment on new PE with new technology, consequently productivity slows. 4.Cyclical slowdown in domestic productivity sometimes follows trends in the level of EA and productivity overseas. Productivity also slows when there is an inflationary boom following cyclical rises in the level of domestic economic activity. This is true when the growth in AD exceeds the economoys productive capacity. Productivity may slow down in this situation. 1. Workers may not work as hard as they feel secure in the jobs when the economy is stretched to its capacity. Abseentisms can rise, along with strikes and industrial unrest, cutting efficiency. 2. When the economy is at its full capacity, there can be diminishing returns resulting from equipment breakdowns, labor shortages, leading to less efficient natural, labor and capital resources. 3. Rapid inflation can undermine business confidence, leading to reduced investment in new technology and equipment, slowing efficiency. 4. Investment used for expanding the business through plant equipment can be pumped into less productive or more speculative areas (eg real estate and stock market activities.) This is a mis allocation of resources that slows down productivity. So, when EA is weak due to reduced level of AD, productivity falls due to pessimism, reduced investment, unemployed resources, and labor hoarding. However, at the opposite extreme, excessively strong spending and EA means that productivity suffers from the above reasons. Productivity is likely to be maximized when AD and domestic EA are at ideal levels and demand side conditions are positive but are neither too weak nor too strong. Business Confidence Optimism of business (eg ^ consumer confidence, ^ household disposable incomes) has a cyclical impact on efficiency. This results in the business investing in new equipment with latest technology, leading to the worker having a greater value/amount of machinery to use in the production process than previously (capital deepening), thus raises theh level of GDP per hour worked. Interest Rates Higher business overdraft means that firms are more reluctant to borrow in order to purchase new, more efficient plant equipment due to increased repayments. Investment thus is reduced and productivity slows. Company Tax Rates Impacts the level of the firms investment spending. Reduced tax rates increased investment spending and better productivity. Supply Side Structural FactorsSupply factors are far more significant than demand factors when we are considering the impact that certain events will have on our ability to allocate our resources efficiently. If you think about this for a moment it is logical supply factors are those things that affect the ability and willingness of producers to supply a good or service at a given price. When the US economy experiences an increase in AG, we should see an increase in output without any pressure on productive capacity that may result in inflation. This is a sign that resources are being allocated more efficiently. As a result, we can conclude that any factor that will lead to an increase in aggregate supply will also lead to a more efficient allocation of resources. For example during the 1990s the Australian economy saw the introduction of technology on a larger scale. This improvement in capital assets, combined with the necessary support in the form of training for the workforce, resulted in significant improvements in productivity, showing that resources were allocated more efficiently. Climatic conditions Drought and below average rainfall (2002-03 06-07), floods, cyclones (coastal Northern QLD 2006) impacted efficiency in resource allocation because national output is reduced far more than the volume of inputs of labor or capital resources. Drought also had an impact in the efficiency in water, gas and electricity sectors that is, the same labor inputs have been used but less output has been produced. Sporting events (Before and After) Events like the Sydney Olympics (2000) and Melbs Commonwealth Games (06) may have helped in slowing productivity. Studies show during these events that worker efficiency fell perhaps due to distractions and telecasts and worker fatigue from watching TV replays at night. Changing rates of investment in new technology Investment spending on new PE like ICT and robotics occurs in waves or cycles, that is, speeds up or slows down. After the flurry of robotics, electronics and computer and internet based technologies in the mid-late 1990s, many recent innovations have been far less significant, tending to slow efficiency. However fairly recent spending on RD as a proportion of GDP from 1.51 to 1.78% b/w 200-1 and 2004-05 is a sign that US productivity will rise again. BIBLIOGRAPHY www.abs.gov.auMorris, Economics Down Under 2nd Edition

Leadership And Communication: Law Enforcement Agencies

Leadership And Communication: Law Enforcement Agencies Beginning with the studies and writings of Aristotle and Plato, communication has been dated back to the receiving of different means (talk, signals, writing, gestures, etc.). This is when it was determined that communication can be verbal or non-verbal. When communication is broken down to its main components, it is comprised of the source, transmitter, channel, receiver, and destination with noise occurring in the transmitter and receiver points. Noise is the interference of accurately sending information through the communication flow chart. How often does someone think about these components of communication? Once these components are studied and understood, the sender and/or receiver can see where the problem is in the order and find a resolution. Communication is essential when it comes to large organizations when there are a large number of employees to be reached. Interpersonal communication skills are critical when it comes to training and teaching others new skills. Basic c ommunication can function as a method to influence the actions, behaviors, even beliefs of people. As noted before, communication can be non-verbal. Use of body gestures, posture, visual aids, and using someone elses personal space can also be used to communication the message effectively. In verbal and non-verbal communication, different messages with the same method of sending it can be misinterpreted (Interpersonal Communication, 2004). For example, a pat on the shoulder from a boss may mean that person is in trouble or they are doing a good job. The basics of communication are crucial to understand in order to effectively send messages and receive the correct message. Going further in depth on the concept of communication, the sender and receiver both have roles they need to fulfill in order to successfully relay the correct message. In this context, organizations have a role in compiling the correct message and choosing the appropriate channel through which to send it, and the employee has the responsibility of receiving and properly decoding that message. Each organization must explore their means of communication and see which ones are most effective. The occurring problem with this is what can be called the active sender and the passive receiver in the communication process. When the receiver is passive in their receiving the message, they either do not want to hear what is being communicated or just listening to the message, not decoding it. This is when it is critical that the organization find out what methods will be most effective in sending a message. Once the organization finds the right means of communication that works for them, then the employees will be able to receive and decode the message correctly-thus, producing the desired outcome of the employee and better service from their organization. Once the correct means of communication is established, negotiating is the next step in the communication process. Through a well-established communication system, the organization and its employees can resolve conflicts or problems more effectively. For law enforcement agencies that are looking to share information with the public, this method of communication can also be utilized. With technology becoming more advanced and prevalent, there are much more options to be used when communicating with the public. Law enforcement organizations can accomplish much through both of these types of communication (Woerkum Aarts, 2008). The previously mentioned types and methods of communication can apply not only to law enforcement agencies, but to daily communication between strangers. Even on a horizontal chain of communication, these communication techniques can be utilized to more effectively receive and send a message. Think about the last time someone gave the wrong change for a transaction at the store. Was the message communicated? If so, how was it communicated? How was it received? The situation can take many different, unnecessary, turns if right means of communication are not used. There are many aspects to taking into account when analyzing the communication process. Leadership Leadership relies on communication in order to be effective. There are many ways and methods communication can be integrated to become a better leader. It is essential to differentiate managers and leaders. Influence and power are important when assessing the characteristics of a manager versus a leader. While acknowledging power and authority have roles in leadership, it is also important to note that ethics and morals more strongly define a better leader (Walker, 2004). One of the most important roles of a leader is to teach. To begin with the basics of leadership, a leader must teach their learners how to test their mental reality and discover how to change it. Next, the most crucial part of leadership and learning is for the teacher (leader) to ask the learners questions that help them explore their thoughts and ideas. This will help the learners develop better reasoning skills and more accurately convey their thoughts. A successful method of developing deeper and more critical t hought is simply asking the question, Why? When why is asked to answer an open-ended answer, there is a deeper level of thinking and even cognitive dissonance that will cause the learner to better critique their thought process. Other methods such as telling stories help engage the learner, we well as engaging reciprocating dialogue. The more important of these two, engaging in dialogue, is given guidelines in order to keep the leader/learner relationship healthy: 1. Suspend assumptions and certainties, 2. Observe the listener, 3. Listen to your listening, 4. Be aware of thought, and 5. Befriend polarization (of opinions) (Karathanos, 1998). Observing the listener is critical for the leader in order for them to be sure that the learner is accurately receiving the correct message. This can be detected by body language, facial expressions, and any speech/thought given. Listen to your listening means paying attention to what you are hearing and processing it correctly. Some people mere ly listen to others. Leaders need to ensure they are listening, not just hearing. Being aware of the learners thought and feedback is the most crucial part of the leadership/learner process. When the learner expresses thought or any other communication, the leader needs to be very aware, listening, and ready to help expound on the learners thoughts. Lastly, everyone has opinions. It is important for the leader to embrace these opinions so further discussion can possibly bring about other thoughts. When the basics of communication in the leader/learner relationship regard are taken into account, it can be applied to many concepts, especially organizations and hierarchy. One of the aspects of the previous passage that strikes most interest is asking the question why? That simple word can bring about a huge discussion of many things. It also allows for more complex thought and further discussion and exploration of a certain topic. Listening versus hearing is also pertinent to leadership and communication. Children always hear their parents say that it is time for them to get up. How many of those children are really listening to their parents when they say it is time to get up? Not many because most children remain in the bed to squeeze out a few extra minutes of shut-eye. When it comes to a law enforcement agency, it is imperative for the higher levels on the hierarchy to listen to the lower hierarchy, not just hear them. In order for any organization to meet their goals and needs, everyone must work together. This means that goals, concerns, and ideas must be communicated effectively, and listened to attentively, rather than just heard in passing. Different Types of Leadership The organizational hierarchy of an organization is an essential part of the organizations successfulness. Every organization has some type of matrix organizational hierarchy-meaning that there is a type of chain of command. Within this structure, there are teams and groups that have leaders, whether appointed or naturally emerging. One of the most important aspects of a team is that each member feels needed, feels like they belong, and feels like they are contributing to the team. The three key points of an organizational team are accountability, authority, and responsibility. Authority is power over others to coerce them into doing certain tasks. Responsibility is the fact that one person knows they must answer to another regarding certain tasks. Accountability is taking on the responsibility of getting a task done due to the responsibility that person has. There are also different types of leaders: the explorer, the coordinator, the driver, and the administrator. The explorer is th e type in which the person is very confident and adventurous and tends to assign daily problems to others rather than taking them upon themselves. The coordinator tends to be very conscientious of team members thoughts and opinions and is good in resolving team discourse and developing compromise. The driver type of leader is realistic, good at doing what they can with what little they have, and are very resourceful. Lastly, the administrator is very organized and is meticulous in the way their work is done. Everything must be done methodically and in a reasonable fashion according to the administrator (Organizational Design, 2004). Communication and Leadership in Law Enforcement Law enforcement agencies include all types of individuals, including the ones listed in the previous paragraph. There are many various types of hierarchy, chains of command, and leadership in law enforcement agencies. Let us first discuss how communication has been improved in law enforcement agencies. When people are asked to think about communication, most think of just speech and their verbal actions. It goes much deeper than that. One law enforcement agency saw it as so important to bring in a 40-hour class for its employees. The class aim was to help police officers better understand and handle those with special needs. This training class educated the officers on how to be more aware of others behavior, actions, and especially what they are saying. This, in turn, would help the officer better pick up on the small things that would help the situation on a whole (detecting drunkenness, mental illness, miscommunications, etc.) (Shafa, 2009). Training law enforcement employees on the differences of people and their disabilities, cultures, mental state, etc. is extremely important. Police officers very often have to make a split-second decision on the scene as to who is the hostile one, who is the victim, who is a danger, who is in danger, etc. This type of training discussed in the previous paragraph can definitely help law enforcement become more aware of their surroundings. More specifically, it will help them learn how to become more understanding and patient when it comes to communicating with different types of people. There are many different traits that build a good leader. Argumentativeness versus argumentative behavior is found to be traits in leaders. Argumentativeness is harmful to a group when it comes to communication. An argumentative person is just that by nature. Rarely is a decision unanimously voted upon when presented by an argumentative person. When a person is argumentative, they are verbally aggressive and destructive to productivity and the group. Yet, this verbal aggressiveness can be changed into something else to be productive. When it comes to argumentative behavior, this has shown to be very productive in leaders. The argumentative behavior can help bring about certain points that would not be brought up normally by a non-aggressive, assertive, or argumentative person. Once that point is brought up, the group can discuss it. But it takes someone with a certain trait, such as argumentative behavior, to bring about these points (Limon France, 2005). Argumentativeness versus argumentative behavior is a fine line to discuss. Someone with argumentativeness is more likely to be verbally aggressive, overpowering, and very opinionated, not accepting of the views of others. A person with argumentative behavior can actually benefit a group. When the argumentative behavior occurs, certain points are brought up that normally would not have been brought up. Once this window is opened, the group can discuss the issue. But the argumentative behavior has to be present in order to bring about this point. Let us consider that there is no one in the group with argumentative behavior. How will issues arise in order to be discussed? There may be the possibility that one person may speak up. Everyone has different traits. There is likely to be at least one person in the group that will disagree with someone elses view point and voice that. Although they may try to be very nice about it, the conflicting view is still brought up. Some officers who are new to the force feel they have an image to fulfill. They will often abuse their authority and act differently than they normally would in a different role. Attitude is everything when it comes to communication. When trying to improve upon ones communication skills, individually or as a group, much offense can be taken. They may see that they are being attacked because they are not communication well enough or they are just doing something wrong. Law enforcement has been given a bad label when it comes to bad cops, even regular cops, due to their communication skills. Awareness and training classes have been implemented in order to help officers better communicate with the public. These classes focus on paralanguage, hearing versus listening, kinesics, proxemics, and cultural considerations. Paralanguage is basically all other voice characteristics that accompanies the spoken language. Tone, volume, rate, and pitch all can convey different messages. If someone i s speaking in a fast, high-pitched tone, very loudly and fast, it can be easily concluded that they are excited, upset, or anxious. If they are quiet, speaking slowly at a low volume, things such as sadness, depression, shock, and other emotions can be detected. As spoken of before, hearing versus listening is a key factor in communication. Listening is the art of decoding what a person is saying rather than just merely letting their words in one ear and out the other (hearing). Kinesics is any communication that is nonverbal. Communication can be completely nonverbal. Gestures, facial expressions, posture, etc. can give a better clue as to what the person is feeling or what they are trying to communicate. Proxemics is the defining area around a person that would be considered as their comfort zone. A person will become much more alert to the other party once their comfort zone is impeded upon and they are made uncomfortable. When taking into account cultural differences, the most i mportant thing that we can remember is physical touching. Some cultures do not allow it, other encourage it, and what one action means to us may not mean the same thing to a person in a different culture (Pritchett, 1993). These five aspects of communication are crucial when encountering others, especially in law enforcement. Paralanguage is very often used in law enforcement. When an officer asks if a person has anything on them that they should know about, when that person says no, there is a lot of paralanguage happening that clues the officer in that the person is really saying yes. In law enforcement, hearing versus listening is somewhat hit-and-miss. If a police officer is dealing with a drunk man that is about to be locked up for the night anyway, how much listening is the officer going to practice? On the other hand, if the officer pulls up to a murder scene, how much listening is the officer going to practice? He will definitely be practicing a lot in order to gather as much evidence as he can, as opposed to the drunken guy. Kinesics is also a good tool for police officers to use when trying to get down to the real story. Kinesics is basically body language accompanied by speech. One can easil y say that they do not have any marijuana on them, but while they are saying they do not, they are fidgeting, putting their hands in their pockets and walking around. Proxemics is a good tool to use to get someone to talk. Each person has their personal space (usually around one foot from their body). Once that personal space is invaded, their self-confidence and security decreases. When the person sees that the police officer has invaded their personal space, they know they are probably going to search them anyway. Cultural considerations are a difficult concept to keep up-to-date on. Law enforcement and police officers would have to do research if they find themselves encountering many different cultural positions. For example, in the American culture, waving hello or good-bye is a good thing. In other countries, waving is seen as a serious insult. The same goes for the things we say. Therefore, we must be careful in what we say, do, and the way we act around those of a different culture. Inter-Organizational Communication When it comes to inter-organizational communication, a study shows that smaller agencies have the tendency to communicate better with larger agencies. The population and size of an organization depends on the type of communication and with whom to communicate. The studies presented in this case show that organizations tend to communicate with the same type and size of organizations as themselves (Roberts J. Jr., 2007). When speaking of law enforcement agencies today, this seems to ring true. Why would the Federal Bureau of Investigation communicate with the city police of a city with a population of 2,000 people for help, information, or ideas? Let us also look at it this way-why would the city police department of a city of 2,000 people contact the Federal Bureau of Investigation for help, information, or ideas? Placing these studies in the real world today seems to be accurate. We see many organizations of the same size and on the same level communicating and working together, but they rarely go outside of their comfort zone in this regard. For example, after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, how often did people see the local city police sitting with the state police and military guard to block off roads? How many local organizations were seen getting their feet dirty along with the National Guard? There were more volunteers than this case. It can be guaranteed that it was not seen too often, if any. The success of an organizations communication system depends on effective means of communication, relaying the message, and considering the receiving party of the message. When it comes to productivity and communication within law enforcement agencies, there is little face-to-face contact with those who are sending a message and those who are receiving the message. Let us focus on the managing powers of the organization and communications in that regard. If higher management was to become lax, what would happen to the lower hierarchy? If higher management tightens up and significantly increases communication with the lower hierarchy, what would happen? One study suggests that managers or administrators who monitor progress and work-productivity run the risk of having those being studied turn to more malfeasance in their position. Therefore, the study concludes that trust is imperative when it comes to the managing relationship-in both horizontal and vertical lines of communication. Horizontal communication is two street patrol officers (on the same level of the hierarchy) communicating. Vertical communication would be a street patrol officer bringing c oncerns to the Chief of Police (the Chief being higher on the hierarchy). Being that police work is somewhat discretionary for the police officer, trust is definitely vital in both vertical and horizontal lines of communication. The Chief of Police is rarely able to be in a patrol car, seeing exactly what his officers are doing. Therefore, the Chief of Police must have a certain amount of trust in his officers, as well as the officers for their Chief, trusting him to do what he says he will do. Let us take a look on the other side of things. As stated before, officers have a certain amount of discretion over how to conduct their job. Everyone knows that a police officer will get a free drink from the local gas station or a free meal from the local breakfast restaurant. What would happen if communication and trust all of the sudden became tightened up and enforced? Not only would these little acts be affected, the productivity of the police officer would also be affected. If a police officer is, so to speak, micro-managed, there is more likely to be more backlash than welcoming of the communication. This can cause the officer to become insecure or frustrated at the focus being more on them and cause less productivity in his work (Langbein Jorstad, 2004). Women as Leaders While focusing on what characteristics comprise a good leader, let us also discuss how women emerged in their positions throughout the law enforcement organization to become effective leaders. Women were first introduced to the criminal justice system basically to handle female inmates due to abuse and mistreatment by male employees. Women were eventually moved to mainly work social work and had separate work environments, pay scales, dress code, and duties. Once the economy struggled through the 1930s and 1940s, women were battling for employment positions, or bread winners for the family and were eventually demoted back to being housewives. Despite stereotypical roles, struggles, and sexism, women have proved successful in rising to leadership positions in law enforcement among other types of organizations. Most of this can be contributed to the Fourteenth Amendment and the Civil Rights Act of 1964, both of which grant rights and equal protection to minorities. The factual stories of most successful women in leadership positions mainly include their past of lawsuits of discrimination, struggles with promotions, etc. Yet, these women have proved themselves worthy to be promoted to a high leadership position. While women have not yet met their goal in being treated equally as others, there has been a huge improvement over the years and many women successfully fulfilling leadership positions (Rienerth, 2001). Women have naturally integrated into the law enforcement scene. They have risen to leadership positions just as men have. Our country has made a lot of progress since the 1930s when women were suppressed from working and having household titles other than housewife or homemaker along with many other improvements in other regards. Today, there are many laws that protect the rights of not only women, but other minorities that have face hardships in gaining employment throughout our history. Nevertheless, something throughout all of this has proven successful due to our currently thriving and successful law enforcement agencies we have today. Groups and communication are a critical contribution when it comes to what comprises a healthy, successful, and thriving organization. Continually coaching, involving others, motivating, rewarding, and promoting teamwork can universally help organizations achieve their goals on the small scale and the large scale. In law enforcement agencies, there are many different departments that help the organization function on a daily basis. It is believed that authority or leadership is the reason for the failure or success of the agency. In this regard, leadership is believed to be the solution that can help stop unethical behavior. When a law enforcement agency has much more unethical behavior than others, management and higher leadership in the organization are usually to blame. When management is not consistent in carrying out their duties, communicating concerns, and especially when other employees see that they are not handling unethical employees the way they should, employee performan ce and productivity goes down and risk for unethical behavior rises. The whole organization suffers-tension mounts, low morale, lack of strife to achieve the same goal, and fragmentation of the organization can all occur (Wright, 1999). Suggested Further Research Further research should be conducted regarding the effectiveness of current practices by law enforcement agencies. We can only improve upon what we know we are already doing wrong. First, studies should be conducted on the current practices by different types of law enforcement agencies. These results should be studied then compared to the practices of successful agencies. Once these studies results are gathered, it should be further researched and calculated as to what the agency can do differently or more accurately pinpoint their weak points. Without duplicating the other agencys practices, further action should be taken in order to help what the agency is doing wrong. This can be done through policy and procedure, training, employee performance evaluations, and even staff meetings. Conclusion Established organizations and law enforcement agencies have policy and procedure in place. There should be more in place for each agency that outlines the chain of command and communication procedures. This should start from the bottom with training of new officers. Communication should be emphasized through a well-taught course during training. There should also be refresher courses at least yearly for those who have been with the agency for more than one year. Communication training should also be given to those who normally do not come in to contact with the public also. This training would be for administrative personnel, dispatchers, and office workers. This would be effective because even though these people do not interact with the public on a daily basis, communication still needs to be enforced and improved across the board in order for the organization to run smoothly. With the discussion given on leadership, training could help, but not in the same way communication traini ng would. In order to improve leadership skills and communication in that regard, ethical and equal treatment training would be beneficial. It is very unlikely that a 65-year-old Chief of Police veteran is going to change much just by watching a video. But the training would be very beneficial to those who are just coming into the agency. The same goes for this training also-it should be re-iterated every year to ensure all employees, new and old are staying fully trained in all regards. In summary, communication is the root of all beginnings of any organization. First, the organization must be established. Then the hierarchy must be constructed. From there, communications among leadership and those on the lower part of the hierarchy must be effective in order to achieve the organizations goals. If they are not being met, the solutions or methods discussed in this paper should be applied. Remembering there is a sender, receiver, and a channel through which a message is sent is essen tial to remember. The channel is they pivotal point in which the message can be effectively sent or effectively lost. The passive receiver concept must also be taken into account. When this is detected, either the channel for the message needs to be changed or the receiver needs to be addressed. Listening versus hearing impedes much progress due to party not fully understanding the message of the other. When leading a group of people, it is important for the teacher to effectively utilize their methods. One of the most important methods of ensuring the message is effectively conveyed is asking the question why? This opens up the listener to much more broad thinking to come to other, possibly alternative, ideas. A law enforcement officer dealing with a mentally handicapped person would communicate with that person differently than a sober, belligerent, 250 pound man. Understanding the other partys situation is very important when dealing with law enforcement. Leadership plays a role in everything that is discussed in this paragraph. Whether it is training, on the job work, or providing awareness, leaders are responsible for their employees performance regarding communication. This is where trust is fundamental for law enforcement agencies-vertically and horizontally in the hierarchy. If there is no trust between police officers and their Chief of Police, work-productivity will suffer due to low morale. This low morale will come from the officers thinking, If the Chief doesnt care, then why should we? Thus, leadership and communication go hand-in-hand when it comes to managing an organization and keeping that organization thriving and successful.

Analysis of Blade Runner by Ridley Scott Essay -- Papers

Analysis of Blade Runner by Ridley Scott Blade Runner, directed by Ridley Scott and based on Philip K. Dick's novel, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, is a Sci-fi slash Noir film about a policeman named Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford) in a decrepit 2019 Los Angeles whose job it is to "retire" four genetically engineered cyborgs, known as "Replicants". The four fugitives, Pris (Daryl Hannah), Zhora (Joanna Cassidy), Leon (Brian James), and their leader, Roy Batty (Rutger Hauer), have escaped from an off-world colony in order to find their creator and bully him into expanding their pre-determined four-year life span. This film originally flopped when it came out in 1982, but since has become a widely acclaimed cult classic with a director's cut to boot. A large part of the success that this movie has received can be attributed to its ability to operate on many different levels. Blade Runner focuses around the adventures of Rick Deckard, a bounty hunter, whose prey are the replicants, androids who are virtually indistinguishable from humans. The story is set in downtown Los Angeles, in the year 2019. This is a post nuclear holocaust world, where the sun is darkened by the fallout and acid rain continually falls. Six replicants of the Nexus 6 generation, the most advanced, have escaped from their off-world colony, where they were being used as slave labor. The leader of the replicants, Roy Batty, is on a mission to find more life for himself and the others, for they only have a four year life span and are on the verge of death. Roy is a military style replicant, so he has killed many people in inter-galactic wars and continues to ki... ...s out. "Should the replicants kill to gain moral life? Should Harrison Ford be killing them simply because they want to exist? These questions begin to tangle up Deckard's thinkingà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦especially when he becomes involved with a female replicant himself." The ultimate relevance of Blade Runner lies in its challenge of what it must mean to be human. It raises the eternal gnawing doubt as to our own humanity or lack of it. These are the same issues raised by the great religions and philosophies of the past. And it goes to how we respond to the pain of those around us. Do we reach for the one downed by the crushing perplexity of modernity or do we merely pass by, forgetting about that grizzled human lying on the sidewalk who is drowning in the gutter created by the disintegrating and dehumanising post-modern existence?

Job Description Analysis Essay -- Human Resource Resources

Job Description Analysis Introduction With the changing responsibilities of today’s human resource Personnel, one of the main functions that needs redress is the accuracy of the documentation pertaining to Job Descriptions, Performance Standards, and performance Evaluations or appraisals. In many organizations these documents are either outdated or non-existent. With the adoption of recent regulatory provisions, compliance to these regulations has becomes a major concern to HR departments everywhere. The availability and accuracy of these documents has become more critical to most organizations and their legal departments. Our group decided to analyze the aptness of these documents for one of our group member’s organizations as it pertains to his job responsibilities. The documentation pertaining to the Project Analyst position within this company was found to be outdated, cumbersome and incomplete with relation to the modern HR requirements. Much of the original documentation requirements were never used, did not exist, or did not pertain to this specific job. The following pages will document our objectives and solutions to these issues. Job Description A job description is simply a lis of responsibilities and functions that are required in a particular position. The original job description for te analyst positions was lenghthy but incomplete. As we discussed the form, we discovered it was possible to shorten the document and include pertinent information...

Contemporary Taiwan :: essays research papers

The process of liberalization and democratization increased in Taiwan throughout the 1980s. The government’s new openness included the recognition of some of its past actions, such as the Nationalist government’s massacre of thousands of native Taiwanese in 1947. Although friction has lessened between the island Chinese, who make up about 85% of the population, and those who came from the mainland, it has remained a problem. Martial law, in effect since 1949, was lifted in 1987 and many jailed political dissidents were released. Opposition parties were legalized in Jan., 1989. Relations with mainland China were eased somewhat during the 1980s so that Taiwanese were allowed to visit after 1987, but the crackdown at Tiananmen Square in 1989 fanned Taiwanese mistrust of the mainland. 15 Chiang Ching-kuo died in 1988 and was replaced by Lee Teng-hui, a Taiwan native, who was reelected by the national assembly in 1990. In 1991, Lee ended emergency rule, and all the members of the national assembly, many of whom were mainland delegates originally elected in 1947, stepped down. In elections for a new national assembly, the ruling Kuomintang (KMT), which continued to promise unification with the mainland, held on to a majority, but the Democratic Progressive party, strongly advocating an independent â€Å"Republic of Taiwan,† won nearly a third of the seats; the KMT retained its hold on the legislature throughout the 1990s. 16 In 1995 and 1996, Beijing conducted missile tests and ultimately military exercises near Taiwan in an effort to inhibit Taiwanese moves toward democracy and independence. In 1996, President Lee, who was opposed by the Beijing government, won a landslide victory in Taiwan’s first-ever direct elections for president. A major earthquake hit central Taiwan in Sept., 1999, killing more than 2,000 people and causing massive infrastructure damage. 17 In the 2000 Taiwanese presidential election, a KMT split resulted in the election of the opposition candidate, Chen Shui-bian of the Democratic Progressive party; the KMT retained control of the legislature.

Is Now the Time for Reparations for African Americans

The idea of reparations stems from the argument that African Americans should receive compensation for their unpaid labor, captivity, and the ongoing discriminations. Slavery did provide the means for whites to build wealth, income, and status while African Americans have continued to struggle. The oppression of segregation and the lack of rights made it impossible for African Americans to have any political and economic power to change their position.African Americans were unable to vote and use the power government to better their situation, like the Irish immigrants did in New York, until the Voting Rights Act was passed in 1965 and that only allowed free black men to vote. The reparations for African Americans debate has caused more disagreements than affirmative action has. On one side people believe that reparations are not relevant because it is so strenuous to identify the victims of slavery or punish those who committed the crime especially when they may be no longer around. They also think that reparations would have a negative effect on future racial grievances and the U. S. treasury. On the other side it has been argued that reparations are necessary to reach an economically equal society and reparations is the correct way of dealing with past wrong doings and the current racial inequalities in the United States. Robert L. Allen is in favor of reparations for African Americans. He believes that the problems that African Americans currently face are acquiring property, income and accumulating wealth and that these are a direct result of slavery and segregation.Allen says that reparations can be the start of redistribution of wealth in America so the economic equality between blacks and whites can be less dramatic. African Americans have been fighting for reparations as early as 1854. The reparations were asking for â€Å"redress of our grievances for the unparalleled wrongs, undisguised impositions, and unmitigated oppression which blacks have suffer ed at the hands of American people. † An anti-slave activist, Sojourner Truth, campaigned to receive free public land for former slaves after the Civil War. In the 1890s, Callie House filed a lawsuit for reparations.A pastor of Third Baptist Church in San Francisco, named Reverend Amos Brown, asked for reparations by way of tax credits and tuition for higher education. In its program for establishing a separate state the Nation of Islam demanded reparations stating that â€Å"former slave masters are obligated to provide minerally rich and fertile land. † Reparations were also desired by the Black Panther Party in tier Ten Point Program. Pointing out in Point Number Three that forty acres and two mules was promised one hundred years ago and would like to receive payment in cash to distribute among the community.In 1969, in New York City, former SNCC leader James Forman presented a Black Manifesto to Riverside Church requesting five hundred million dollars in reparations from white Christian Churches and Jewish synagogues. Forman wrote in The Making of Black Revolutionaries that reparations that were being asked were not only monetary but were also for revolutionary action toward the attitude of white America towards Blacks. The money would be used to help black farmers, businesses, community organization and research on black economic development.In 1968 the Republic of New Africa was founded to establish an independent Black Republic in the southern states with the largest African American population. In 1972 the Republic of New Africa developed an Anti-Depression Program that asked for three hundred billion dollars in reparations to establish self-sustaining communities as a part of an independent black nation. The Republic of New Africa stated that with reparations it is common that one nation pay another to compensate for damage caused by unjust acts of war and that is what has happened to the African nation in America.The programs did make mu ch progress but drew attention in good and bad ways. I believe that African Americans should get reparations but the attitudes of the ones that oppressed them have been to dismiss or undermined them and not show any blame. The National Black Political Convention supported reparations, stating that the poverty of black communities is traceable to slavery and the discrimination that blacks have faced in America. That wealth, power, and capitalism of America was built off of the exploitation of black people. A white law professor names Boris Bitker wrote a booked called The Case for Black Reparations in 1973.Instead of demanding reparations based on the injustice of slavery, Bitker argued to seek reparations for â€Å"injuries caused by a system of legally imposed segregation that violated the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. † That segregation and the Jim Crow laws founded in 1954 were unconstitutional and therefore subject to redress. Economists, following the lead of Robert S. Browne, produced work on the economics of slavery, the present value of past labor performed by slaves, the value of black labor since emancipation and racial disparities in distribution of wealth.From a political economic standpoint Robert Allen believes the process of underdevelopment of the African American community and the role of the state are vital in understanding the quest for reparations. The author of How Capitalism Underdeveloped Black America, Manning Marable, argued that capitalism is the root cause of the underdevelopment of black America, while the wealth from slave labor has increased the development of North America economically and politically.He wrote in his book that capitalist development has occurred because of black exploitation and African Americans have never been equal in the American Social Contract because the system exists to under develop Black people. This is true but that is are more opportunities for African Americans to pull t hemselves out of poverty but that doesn’t mean that it is correct to leave large communities in that situation.The underdeveloped African American community was established by the restriction of black labor in slavery and underclass work, the restriction and twisted development of African American business and home ownership, the regressive political leadership, destruction of black education, racist violence, and the incarceration of black youth. As Marable also stated in his book and had support from many others, that the role of the state played an important part in the black communities’ underdevelopment. The state was directly involved in taking the value from black workers and blocked the capital accumulation by Black people.Laws establishing that black labor could be abused without compensation or punishment have been passed since the earliest colonial period. Slavery existed in the Virginia colonies in the 1640s and it because institutionalized by 1660s. P401 E dward Fagan, a New York Lawyer, started a campaign against companies that have he thinks have profited from slavery. He is targeting at least 60 companies some which are Lehman Brothers, New York Life, Aetna, Liggett, and Norfolk Southern. He is filling suits on behalf of all descendants of slaves in America and the defendants are the legal successors of entities that existed and profited during slavery.Economists plead ill gotten gain in the trillions that is asked for but Fagan expects the settlement to be in the tens of billions. Along with a black activist by the name of Deadria Farmer-Paellmann, Mr. Fagan bases is plan on two main things, lobbying the government to pay its share and for a few companies to grow tired of the lawsuits and pays off. Congress made payouts in the sum of one point six billion dollars to eighty thousand Japanese-Americans were placed in camps during the Second World War. The German government also made reparations to Israel for its role in the Holocaus t. Mr.Fagan and other lawyers sued German companies on behalf of former slave laborers. Two of the suits were dismissed as a matter of foreign policy but New York regulators along with hundreds of local authorities threatened Deutsche Bank and other businesses to regulatory sanctions. The firms and the German government created a fund of five point two billion dollars which is being disbursed. The case may be undermined by the money because every dollar that should have been paid to slaves one hundred and fifty years ago can be worth anywhere from six thousand dollars to four hundred thousand dollars.It is also hard to assess the profits that the banks and insurers received from slavery. To overtake these obstacles Mr. Fagan thinks that public opinion can play in his favor, if there are boycotts, shareholder lawsuits, and local politicians willing to hold hearings and study the impact of slavery in their jurisdiction. The challengers of reparations for African Americans typically do not accept the connection between America’s racist past and the underdeveloped black communities.They also think that the current generation of African Americans doesn’t hold them accountable. There has been so much time that has passed since slavery and there is still so much animosity on both sides that I don't believe that the conflict will never go away. The opponents of reparations actually think that the overall view of white Americans is that they no longer identify themselves the racist past of the United States. Reparation in the United States for African American slavery is a controversy that is surrounded by resistance. Word Count: 1527

Henry David Thoreau, Less is More, and Fenway Park Essay

Henry David Thoreau, one of America’s most well-known New Englanders, would most probably be disappointed with recent proposals to dismantle Fenway Park in order to construct a more profitable baseball park. The past two decades have witnessed a pervasive sports trend in which professional sports franchises have sought to maximize revenues by abandoning or tearing down old stadiums in order to construct modern stadiums that incorporate a variety of other income-generating facilities into the larger sports stadium design. In Toronto, for instance, hotels and department stores have been attached to the baseball stadium in order for the owners of the Toronto Blue Jays to generate more profits through the creation of hotel and shopping markets. In the Bronx, to take another example, the venerable Yankees of New York made a decision to abandon the mythical park known as Yankees stadium in order to construct a larger and more extravagant baseball stadium right next to the old stadium. Many times, the pursuit of greater profits in this respect involves the use of essentially extortionary methods by greedy owners of sports franchises in order to force municipalities to allocate scare tax dollars toward the renovation or construction of sports facilities under a threat that the sports franchise will move to a new city willing to spend tax dollars on their behalf. The role that greed plays in this trend cannot be denied; indeed, with respect to the Red Sox, they have recently broken the curse of the Bambino by finally prevailing in the World Series and consistently sell the majority of their tickets in addition to substantial amounts of merchandise. It is unquestionable, for instance, that â€Å"The ballpark was packed with avid fans, as it always is† (Dreier 18) and that the Red Sox are one of America’s most recognizable brand names. Nonetheless, despite an extraordinarily loyal fan base and a baseball park considered one of the most aesthetically pleasing in all of sport, the Red Sox ownership is determined to raze Fenway Park in order to construct a completely new stadium. The ownership’s primary rationale is that â€Å"the current park, with 33,871 seats (the smallest in the major leagues), is â€Å"economically obsolete† and that they need the additional revenue from luxury boxes, stadium seats, and the other frills of newfangled stadiums in order to â€Å"compete† with teams that have them† (Dreier 18). Proposals for renovations have been rejected by Red Sox ownership on the grounds that a new stadium is cheaper than renovations. What emerges from proposals to destroy Fenway Park in order to construct a new stadium is fundamentally a portrait of greed. Ownership is not satisfied with current profits, even though they have proven more than adequate to compete, and one is left to wonder how much is too much and whether the smaller park might be a critical reason underlying the Red Sox mystique. Thoreau would likely be highly critical of such proposals and the proffered rational. Thoreau: Personal Style, Less is More, and Simplicity Henry David Thoreau’s mystique is intimately connected to his highly personalized writing style and his philosophical orientation. In terms of his writing style, for instance, Thoreau prefers to speak directly to his readers rather than to rely on third person narrative techniques. To this end, Thoreau rather consistently writes in the first person in a way that creates a type of conversational dialogue between the writer and the reader. In creating the context of his work Life in the Woods, Thoreau employs this first person conversation style by writing â€Å"When I wrote the following pages†¦I lived alone, in the woods, a mile from my neighbor, in a house which I had built myself† and further that â€Å"I earned my labor by the work of my hands alone. I lived there for two years and two months† (n. p. ). In addition to employing a heavily dependent first person type of narrative, Thoreau also relies on personal observations and experiences in order to test and to support his theories and his conclusions. His is a uniquely hands-on type of narrative in which he derives his insights from personal experiences rather than from hearsay taken from the observations and experiences of other people. To be sure, Thoreau does at times reference the theories and the works of other people. He is obviously a well-read writer and he cites proverbs and theories from people as diverse as famous Buddhists, Hindus, and Western writers. All of these outside references, however, are structurally subordinate to his own observations, theoretical premises, and proffered conclusions. This type of first person narrative gives rise to what is extraordinarily analogous to a type of personal and philosophical quest in which Thoreau appears to be challenging conventional wisdom in several respects. Thus, in addition to a writing style that is deeply personal, Thoreau also succeeds in allowing the reader to share in his journey or quest. This is because his writing is richly descriptive in a way that makes it nearly impossible to sever the descriptions of New England’s natural environment from the philosophical and economic assumptions and conclusions that he is simultaneously addressing, considering, and commenting upon. At the same that he discusses the economics of constructing his house he also describes in excruciating detail the type of natural materials used for the construction and the benefits of understanding the qualities of these raw materials in order to most effectively construct his new home. Nature, in effect, represents both a source of intellectual illumination and a liberty to live life in a manner than obviates destructive human characteristics such as greed and desperation in the face of perceived deprivations. He remarks in this respect that I go and come with a strange liberty in Nature, a part of herself (n.  p. ). Thoreau’s writing style, in sum, is deeply personal and it invites the reader to join his search for meaning in a world in which human existence cannot be severed from nature. Although he is most well-known as a literary philosopher, a careful review of Thoreau’s writing also demonstrates that he comments to a great extant on economics as well. He basically argues that human beings have made daily life too complicated. It has become too complicated because people desire things such as fame, money, and extravagance in ways that have no limitation. There is no final stage of happiness, people always want more, and as a result people are destined to be unhappy because there is no comfortable or moderate level of accomplishment. He states in this respect that â€Å"Most men†¦through mere ignorance or mistake, are so occupied with the facetious cares and superfluously coarse labours of life that its finer fruits cannot be plucked by them† (n. p. ). People therefore need to set modest goals consistent with nature in ways that will result in contentment and moderation. He characterizes this as a simple approach to life in which happiness is best achieved by avoiding extreme desires. Desperation, whether in terms of fame or profit, is therefore a destructive and should be avoided. In addition to being well-known as a philosopher, there is much economic discussion and wisdom in Thoreau’s writings. The fundamental economic theme advocated by Thoreau is that â€Å"When it comes to economic consumption, less is more† (Cafaro 26). A desperate desire for public acclaim and wealth wastes natural resources and is unnecessary to the attainment of a successful and happy life. In short, Thoreau’s personalized writing style functions as a type of personal appeal for human beings to become happier and more self-sufficient by using resources wisely and by being content with reasonable limits in daily life rather than pursuing ever higher levels of artificial accumulation. Fenway Park through Thoreau’s Eyes Upon learning of the proposed demolition of Fenway Park, I decided to pack up my backpack with some clothes and camped in the visitor’s bullpen. It was my desire to learn whether the players and the fans were happy with the stadium. I spent afternoons in the parking lot, attending tailgate parties with fans, and evenings in my perch in the bullpen chatting with home and visiting players. I did not have to purchase tickets, the owners of the Red Sox having invited me to live in the bullpen for a month hoping that I would lend their proposals a vote of confidence after personally witnessing the ostensibly decrepit state of the famed stadium, and I crafted a tent from practice uniforms and baseball bats in the evening to shield me from the chilly climate of Boston’s evenings and early mornings. Shelter and access secure, I turned my attentions to warming my body and found that the natural confines of Boston were more than adequate for purposes of sustenance. The fans offered hot dogs during games, hamburgers during tailgate parties, and vendors were always kind enough to provide me with care packages on days that the Red Sox played away or had open dates. I was, in sum, housed and fed and free to engage in my observations of the fans and players in Fenway Park. Most players and fans seemed genuinely happy and content, subject of course to the scores of individual games, and as I sat in the bullpen I thought I began to understand. It is true that Fenway Park is an extraordinarily old baseball stadium, that it is not as shiny or polished as other stadiums in the league, and yet there was a natural and pristine quality that seemed in many ways to transcend contemporary baseball. The morning dew clung to the outfield grasses of green and contributed to the firm natural turf in a way that allowed the outfielders to maintain a firm footing rather than sliding or slipping in pursuit of line drives slapped by hitters into the gaps. The grass dried in the afternoons and was soft enough to cushion a player’s fall if diving for a pop-up became necessary. The grasses of Fenway were both aesthetically pleasing, a part of Boston’s natural environment, and friend rather than for players tumbling to the ground. It occurred to me one early morning that other stadiums had torn up their natural grass and replaced it with Astroturf and other forms of artificial grass. The motives were fundamentally economic in nature, premised in an accountant’s calculation that maintenance fees would be cheaper so that profits could be maximized, and the results were disappointing. These artificial turfs faded in color and peeled. Fans and players complained. The sun glared off the turf and blinded fans who had paid good money for tickets. The smell of the grass was gone and the fields became plastic stages rather than natural turfs. More, the comforting textures of grass fields torn up, players began to suffer more injuries and more serious types of injuries on artificial turf. Under the turf, another cost-saving measure, was a concrete and hard-rubber base. Players suffered ligament tears previously uncommon on grass fields and bones were more frequently broken when players have fallen on the grass. The turf is unnatural, it is unforgiving, and it does not interact naturally with the human body. This illustrates the danger of change premised on profit without a due regard being given to other salient factors. The artificial turf denigrated the visual aesthetic of watching a baseball game in person and led to decreased ticket sales; in the same way, increased injuries led to more expensive medical bills and lost playing time that imposed costs far in excess of the initial savings envisioned when the grass was torn out and the artificial turf was installed. Alterations have consequences and it is difficult to imagine fixing something that is not broken. The grass in Fenway represents the purity of the game and is firmly etched in the minds of all that have visited as fans or played as players at Fenway Park. Fans and players are satisfied, the quality of the game is intact, and the ownership’s preoccupation with profit must be analyzed in light of the downfalls experienced in the case of artificial turf. There is more to baseball, both as a sport and as entertainment, that size and glamour. The beauty is in the finer details and the owners would be well-advised to consider the risks of destroying a beautiful thing for profit alone. It would also be wise to consider the consequences of replacing the lovingly certain with the uncertain. A peek into the stands demonstrates fans who are committed, loyal, and knowledgeable. There is a sea of Red Sox colors, families cheering and grimacing, and a uniformity of aspiration that seems difficult if not impossible to attain in outside settings. These fans are possessed with a common cause, the success of their beloved Red Sox, and this singularness of purpose transcends differences in their individual lives and diverse backgrounds and personalities. Fenway is a unifying force, it has since its inception been a unifying force for the people of New England generally and Bostonians more specifically, and this unity has been cultivated and reinforced by human fascination by such structures as the Green Monster in left field and such Red Sox heroes as Ted Williams. One might copy the Green Monster, a short but towering fence in left field, but it would never be the same in a new field. More, given ownership’s perverse fascination with profit, it is plausible that the new left field fence would be lowered to accommodate more seats capable of selling more tickets. A new park would become standard rather than distinctive and one of the park’s major draws would be eliminated. The same is true with the way in which memories of past heroes would be dished; ted Williams batted over . 400 while walking and running within the confine of Fenway Park; his memory would fade with the demolished park. Heroes and physical attractions are attached to Fenway park and cannot be duplicated. Finally, there are questions pertaining to audience; as a writer, I am well aware of the fact that audiences are truer indicators of fame and reception than profits. What quality of fan, for instance, shall be attracted to a modern stadium with modern and non-baseball related amenities? Will the common man be priced out of attending Red Sox games in a sport cathedral dedicated to profit rather than community and sport? These are questions worth considering; they are worth considering because, in truth, the fame of the Red Sox is dependent on its natural environment. This natural environment, in turn, includes the history of the franchise, the intimacy that Fenway Park cultivates between fan and franchise, and an audience that is fervently dedicated to the team. Removing Fenway Park may very well destroy these symbiotic relations and taint the brand value of the Boston Red Sox. Tearing down Fenway Park for a new stadium is like tearing down the forests for a new housing development. Nothing will ever be the same.

History 20th Century Essay

The historical past of a particular country is essential in understanding its present situation as well as in planning the future. Past events served as a basis as to why particular situations happen in the present. In relation to this, lesson learned in the past also becomes a guide in order to avoid previous mistakes. Being the case, analyzing a country’s history is indeed important. These ideas also holds true in the case of the 20th century African American leadership. The era of slavery in the United States of America holds a very important part in their history. It was during the time wherein the southern region of the country capitalizes in the exportation of cotton that this slavery of African American took place. As such, maltreatment of these people happened that is characterized by the discrimination and segregation of the African Americans from the whites. This is also the reason why many African American leaders started to go against this inhumane treatment and asked for changes. Their efforts might have taken a long time before it made a difference but it was worth it. It is also essential that primary resources are use in studying and analyzing the history of African American leadership because it should be taken into consideration that majority of the people who are in power during those times as well as at the present are whites. As such, some of them are capable of manipulating the information about the African American history. Studying the leadership of these African Americans is important because they epitomize how people struggle in order to fight for their rights. They also embody a turning point in the United States history because it was due to their leadership that the country reassesses their idea of freedom and democracy. Furthermore, it plays an important role for the country to understand the present state of African Americans as well as the development and areas for improvement of the situation of these people. Moreover, the lesson learned from this experience would aid the people to make things better so that the mistakes done in the past would not happen again.