From Teacher To Facilitator Education Essay

As clip base on balls by many definitions have changed. In the educational scene a major function alteration has occurred. A instructor has been changed to facilitator. As our immature coevals is really smart there is no demand to learn them. Our major function is to ‘facilitate ‘ them to sail swimmingly around the universe, to acquire along with the people and understand the constructs. As the instructor preparation establishments are dawdling in transfiguring the instructor into facilitator the duties are with the schools to develop their instructors and to alter the instructors as to effectual instructors or facilitators. ‘The instructor is non an teacher or undertaking – Masterss ; he/she is a assistant and a usher. His/ her concern is to propose and non to enforce. He does non really develop the students head, he merely shows him how to hone his instruments of cognition and aid and encourages him in the procedure ‘ . Sri Aurobindo.EXPECTED QUALITIES OF A TEACHER:A instructor should play a dynamic function in cultivating a sense of International apprehension. It is extremely possible in schools as it is said that the immature bamboo can easy be dead set. For which a instructor must hold the undermentioned professional ethical values to go an effectual instructor. Preparation and professional growing ; A instructor must keep an unfastened head towards educational theories and methods of learning etc. He / she must seek to polish and better his/her method of instruction, rating and interaction etc. This can be attained by take parting sporadically in In service programmes. Relationship with students ; An ethical instructor must hold a just relationship with the pupils. He/she should cover the students in a spirit of kindness and democracy. Any spiritual, political or other private beliefs should non be imposed on students. The instructors should protect the rights of students. Relationship with parents and community ; Teachers should keep a affable relationship with the parents and community. Apart from go toing school responsibilities a instructor can take portion in any activity which is for the betterment of the community. They should non go to any of the activities which would harm their instruction efficiency. Relationship between instructors and school functionaries ; It should be really co secret agent, non to take any unjust or undue advantages of one ‘s public place. They should non go through any unfavorable remarks on any of their co-workers particularly in their absence.CODE OF CONDUCT:Every profession has its ain codification of behavior to be followed by the practicians. They are monitored by several professional organisations to safeguard the self-respect of the profession, like Bar council for Lawyers and Medical council for physicians. But there is no such professional organic structure to supervise the codification of behavior of instructors. Equally good as now a yearss there are some issues exposed by the Medias in such a manner that the full field of this profession becomes anti societal. This creates an unbarred feeling among the instructors which affects their efficiency a batch. So, this is the responsibility of the school directions to take attention of this and to supply comfort and religious support to the instructors to obtain maximal teaching efficiency.ROLE Model:‘Be the alteration what you want ‘ as the words of Mahatma the instructor 1 who wants to construct the values in the immature heads of his/her pupils must possess their ain personal values like ; Simplicity, Punctuality, Acting without prejudice, Being responsibility witting, Maintaining linguistic communication and frock codification, Helping the hapless and destitute etc. Harmonizing to Hawkins, ‘the psyche is non contained within the organic structure but outside, in the theater of committednesss. It is the relationships that one forms with those around them, determine the personality and character of an person ‘ . So, the instructor instruction institutes must take up the duty to instill the above values added to their course of study. When a facilitator is sort, emphathetic and gives importance to human values. He himself becomes a function theoretical account. There is no demand to ‘preach ‘ or ‘teach ‘ . He becomes the ‘pied piper ‘ who lures off pupils with his enchanted cognition.Class ROOM MANAGEMENT:‘Education is non make fulling a pail but illuming a fire ‘ W.B.Yeats. Research has shown us that instructors ‘ actions in their category suites have twice the impact on their pupils ‘ accomplishments as do school policies sing course of study, appraisal, staff congenialness and community engagement. The instructors should be able to sympathize with pupils, understand their universe and listen to them. They should be certain, decided and clear in the manner they communicate with pupils.Principles OF Teaching:Harmonizing to Sri Aurobindo the rules of learning are, ‘The first rule of true instruction is that nil can be taught. The 2nd rule is that the head has to be consulted in its growing. The 3rd rule is to work from the close to the far ; from that which is, to that which shall be ‘ . Any instructor who follows these rules can be an effectual instructor.BEST PRACTICES FOR TEACHING, LEARNING IMPROVEMENT:Each kid is alone. Educating the whole kid is the demand of the hr. Effective instructor will do a life altering difference for pupils, conform to effectual pattern and indispensable criterions. In USA, it was ab initio focused on the employment of ‘highly qualified ‘ instructors, and newer thought has upgraded to ‘highly effectual ‘ instructors as no kid should be left behind. The National Development Council of India in 2001 added this as one of the criterions for the professional development which will better the acquisition of pupils that every Teacher Training Institution should Concentrate on quality learning including content cognition and teaching method for staff development. A instructor may possess all the appropriate content and pedagogical background and be to the full licensed or certified to learn, but in world, may non be one whose makings make a difference in the schoolroom. In other words, being extremely qualified does non needfully intend that a instructor is extremely effectual in easing pupil larning. An effectual instructor is the 1 who is able to do kids understand the construct, larn it and put to death it. An effectual facilitator does non perplex on the pupils encephalon with excessively much information like an adept cook adds merely the indispensable sum of salt ( information ) to do the soup ( surveies ) tasty. In fact, recent research asserts that the instructor is the most of import factor impacting acquisition. The instructor is more of import than household background or environment, and, schoolroom resources or engineering.Teachers AS Facilitator:The Research Report at 7 major US Universities presented by Seymons and Hewitt ( 197 7 ) describes the undermentioned as necessities for learning effectivity. All the schools can follow them for the school betterment and therefore the national development. A method of measuring effectual instruction by supervising the pupils whether they are actively engaged, concentrating and interacting, express joying, finishing undertakings and expecting what comes following. The instructor should be knowing, enthusiastic, accessible and lovingness. The instructor should give constructive feedback and supports less able pupils, utilizing a broad assortment of learning methods. The instructor should be responsible hazard taker and willing to introduce. The instructor should appreciate the creativeness of the pupils and promote their thought ‘outside the box ‘ . The instructor should promote the oppugning attitude of the pupils. The focal point in the schoolroom is on how to larn instead than what to larn. The accomplishments of critical thought should be consciously thought instead than inquiring the pupils to compare and contrast. Finally, the instructor should assist the pupils to pattern the accomplishments.Sri Seshaas Teachers as Facilitators:We about follow all the stairss. In our school we provide a fear free schooling and the exact CCE ( uninterrupted and comprehensive rating ) is carried out. There is no fixed day of the month of test and tenseness to the pupils and so they enjoy their stay and acquisition in the school. The most indispensable standards for the assignment of instructors of our school is their attitude towards the kids and their profession and non their figure of grades they have. We have 10 % reserve in admittance for the particular kids. We do n't name them as less able but particular. A squad of our instructors under the leading of our adviser psychologist works difficult as responsible hazard takers. We name it ‘Punyabhadra ‘ . The pupils are encouraged in making their ain thoughts instead than feeding them with ours. Whenever they take portion in the outside competitions like scientific discipline exhibition etc. We do n't trouble oneself about the consequence but the pupils ‘ ain thoughts and active engagement are given importance. This freedom made them even at NASA Space School Learning Centre to win with their illumination theoretical accounts of Rocket and Rover. We adopt idiscoveri methodological analysis in which learning – acquisition is child centered. Our instructors ‘ occupation is to reply the pupils ‘ inquiries and non merely to complete the figure of subjects. Every twenty-four hours forenoon assembly is taken charge by the pupils. Almost every pupil is given a opportunity to take portion in it. It gives them a pride, encourages them to take duties. As they give the idea for the twenty-four hours etc. and address the assembly they get rid of their phase fright. It is practical that the of import incident of the twenty-four hours is let out for unfastened treatment and helps the kids to develop their critical thought. School is a fantastic platform to convey out the pupils knowledge, accomplishment and desire. In order to do our school kids rational and to carry through their aim we have 9 nines like literary nine, cooking nine etc. operation in our school. These nines facilitate each kid to happen, to pattern and to execute their accomplishments. It helps them in bettering their ego assurance. We have a programme called ‘Fancy Fete ‘ on every Republic twenty-four hours ( 26th Jan. ) . It ‘s a show semen gross revenues of trade plants made by our kids particularly with waste stuffs, for a baronial cause. Every twelvemonth they donate the full returns of this programme to a charitable place.Decision:An effectual instructor can hold a profound influence on larning so as to increase the pupil acquisition additions. School is an sphere where a pupil learns everything. This is a topographic point where a pupil learns everything. This is a topographic point where a kid is made to set his whole potency to raise his/her concealed thoughts. All our patterns are aimed at making good human existences and non any peculiar professionals. It might be a little measure for us but it ‘ll be a elephantine spring for the advanced instruction – learning field. If our motivation is good it ‘s certain that we can make admirations.RecognitionI, V.Minnalkodi, Principal of Sri Seshaas International Public School, Salem, Tamil Nadu, thank whole heartedly, the God Almighty for His approvals and for being ever with me. I unfeignedly thank my direction for their support and counsel particularly for my letter writer, Mrs.B.Amarjothi for her friendly attack. I wish to thank my co-workers and pupils who are the existent platform of my acquisition. I besides wish to thank my household members who are my moral protagonists.

Merger between EnviroTech an InterClean Essay

First of all, I would like to take the time to say â€Å"thank you† to each one of you for your outstanding efforts, it has been very enjoyable to work alongside with each of you in contributing to the success of InterClean. You are all well aware of the strategic movement as announced by David Spencer is very near on the horizon. As this merger between InterClean and EnviroTech begins to unfurl I foresee that each of you will have a key role to play in making the transition as smooth as possible. As managers it is our duty to show our fellow co-workers and new team members why we have been successful. It is important to welcome the employees joining us from EnviroTech. The incoming employees from EnviroTech bring vast experience and proven track record that will help to move us in the direction we want to go. Combining two companies together is no easy task and this new endeavor will be challenging. Each individual will need to present his or herself in a positive manner. The main objective is to be positive about the changes that will take place. Also everyone shall commit to learning the new concept of â€Å"full-service solutions packages† (University of Phoenix, Week One Supplement, 2010). I urge each of you to be open to share your ideas as well as receive ideas from all of your team members, old and new. Keep in mind that this new concept will not be immediately rock-solid it will take, several tries an adjusting to create the best package to suit each of our clients. I am sure that some of you are not feeling comfortable with the upcoming transition and that is understandable. However, I again urge you to see the potential this acquisition can bring. The growth potential globally is enormous and you can each have a part to make it happen. Each of you will have an impact on your workers, and how each of you decide to carry yourself can either promote or bring down morale. I  inspire each of you to press forward and lead your teams. You are all more than capable to produce results, so mentor your teams to produce even better results. I would also like to go over a few other important matters. These involve human resource issues because of the diverse work force we will gain by this merger. Obviously each of you will have several if not numerous new members joining your teams. It is very important and I cannot stress it enough just how important it is that you treat every employee the same. You cannot favor or give preference to the current InterClean employees over the incoming EnviroTech employees. Please exercise good judgment when addressing each newly acquired employee. Also when making selections for your teams an initially assigning tasks I suggest you seek input from myself, Carol our internal consultant, and the HR department. If you have any concerns please bring it to my attention immediately as well as to Carol and human resources. Be certain that the issue or concern is cleared up before moving forward. It is in the best interest of the company and for each of you to create an atmosphere that is warm, thriving yet peaceful, non-hostile, and safe. We all need t o value diversity and as Cascio put it â€Å"to manage diversity, there is no room for inflexibility and intolerance-displace them with adaptability and acceptance† (Cascio 2006, p. 125). Furthermore we will all be attending a full-day seminar on reengineering at Leeward Community College, please mark your calendars for Wednesday, December 1. I will send out a reminder along with the pertinent seminar information. If you are unable to make it on Wednesday, you will need to attend the Tuesday session, so let me know as soon as possible so I can make the change for you. I know you are all thinking, â€Å"What is reengineering?† â€Å"Reengineering is the fundamental rethinking and radical redesign of business processes to achieve dramatic improvements in cost, quality, and speed† (Cascio 2006, p. 18). I also strongly recommend that each of you sign up for the management training sessions that HR is setting up. Immediately share and talk with your workers about attending the new product and sales training sessions. Go ahead and schedule your teams with HR to ensure everyone can be properly accommodated as quickly as possible. You should also encourage participation in the ongoing HR seminars that cover topics such as developing skill in conflict resolution and effective communication. As always you are free to come and discuss any issue or  concern that you may have with me. I am more than willing to sit down with each of you and listen to what you have to say. So please do not hesitate I am here for each of you and want to continue working alongside with each you and your teams. I am hopeful that going forward we will all embrace the upcoming changes and challenges facing us. Together we can achieve the desired results to move InterClean closer to our strategic direction of global expansion. References Cascio, W. F. (2006). Managing Human Resources: Productivity, quality of work life, profits. Retrieved from the University of Phoenix eBook Collection database University of Phoenix (2010) Week One Supplement: InterClean-EnviroTech Merger Scenario Retrieved from University of Phoenix HRM/531-Course Website

Ishmael Beah’s Experience in A long way Gone

The book A long way gone is a literary work that narrates the ordeals of a child-soldier in the hands of fate. The writer, Isheal Beah became a soldier at thirteen. As the enthralling story enfolds, he recounts his experience during and after the war. At twelve he had fled for the attacking rebels in his country, Sierra Leone into the streets turned insane by the violence of war. A year later he was converted to a soldier by the government’s army. This is where the heart-wrenching tale, a first class experience of a transformation from a young boy, with a tender heart to a killer boy begins. He was exposed to all the undiluted vices of war. From drugs that they were given to strengthen them and the ammunitions they were given to kill themselves with. He was given an AK-47 much heavier then his hands could carry. One moment an innocent boy, the next moment a â€Å"killerboy†, capable of intense violence and terrible acts. Ishmeal tells his story with an unparallel truth bearing in mind other people’s feelings. Now twenty-six he looks back, down the memory lane at all he had been through, how he survived the war and how he survived his rehabilitation after the war. For three years he fought in the war until he was removed by UNICEF. With the help of the organization, he received rehabilitation, a re-transitional process to his former self before the war. Haunted by the war’s experience, the war was over truly, but the war within Ishmeal’ heart continues. The rehabilitation experience was a story of self-war in itself, involving a self-forgiving process and a requisition of humanity long lost till eventually the final healing began to come. Ishmeal’s experience reminds us of all the wars across the globe and how children have become the easy choice for these wars. With more than fifty wars going on, over 300,000 children have been converted to soldiers. All going through the trauma and hell that Ishmeal went through. The story fits into the trend of history in the twentieth century that was so full of African genocide, Gulf war and other wars around the world. The story also reminds us of the consequences of war, the unchecked genocide perpetrated by human to fellow humans and the effects of all these on several thousands of children and others, whose lives have been altered miserably by war. Ishmeal’s story does this an alarming genuity and explicit emotional force. His experience is quite unique because he was not only a witness but also a victim. He saw and conquered. The story was written like a memoir which has not only added colour to the story but made it more unique, for he narrates them in first person that made it more gripping. His honesty is exacting, and a proof to the ability of children to outlive their sorrows and suffering, if given a chance. From his recounts of the burning villages and total destruction to all, the story raises the question in all rationale minds†¦ what do human gain from war? â€Å"My high school friends have begun to suspect I haven’t told them the full story of my life. † â€Å"Why did you leave Sierra Leone? † â€Å"Because there is a war. † â€Å"Did you witness some of the fighting? † â€Å"Everyone in the country did. † â€Å"You mean you saw people running around with guns and shooting each other? † â€Å"You should tell us about it sometime. † â€Å"Yes, sometime. †

Introduction to the Humanities Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Introduction to the Humanities - Essay Example ulation of human emotion as well as the emphasis on the unnatural aspect of religious center figures such as the Virgin Mary shows Byzantine influence. In addition, realism began to be noticed in the paintings of the artists. Many paintings before had merely schemed through the outlines of works of art thus rendering them as crude works of art. The use of color and lines was applied to lend volume to works of art. Even though their was noticeable improvement, some characteristics of medieval theology such as the inclusion of radiance lingered. The painter Giotto di Bondone created works that made a study of human emotion and individuality that had not been experimented with before. Artists tended to give their divinely inspired paintings uncoordinated shapes such as extended necks to add onto their supernatural appearances. Long hands with extraordinarily long and extended fingers and grim expressions were also used to signify the importance of the subject being painted. Fresco painting where water supported dyes and tints were placed on recently applied plaster on wall planes. In order to bring about the production of the most durable quality, successive coats of plaster would be applied on the walls and then allowed to set and dry. The artist would trace the design of the figures that he intended to create on the drying wall after which a final smooth coating of plaster was then put on the wall, in a method where the outlines of the artist’s designs were clearly visible and could be worked upon. When the artist finally applied the paint, the tints would fuse with the sand particles giving them permanence and resistance to aging since they were transformed to being a part of the wall and not just its outer layer (Bishop, 2010). To avoid making mistakes with his outline, the painter had to work quickly while the wall was still wet. What especially set apart the artists like Giotto from their contemporaries was the freedom of expression that they portrayed in

Journalism - Media Literacies Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Journalism - Media Literacies - Assignment Example In the recent, various forms of media including newspapers and magazines have covered various issues that arise from moral laxity. In the same way, televisions have been in the forefront in presenting documentaries that creates moral panic within the society. According to Baer and William (1997) the activities undertaken by the youth as well as the level of crimes have greatly contributed to the immorality and threats that are faced by members of the society. Contemporary moral panics are different from the earlier ones (Victor, 1993). For example, in the past the effects of the young people on the family values were seen as a major moral panic that undermined family values. In the contemporary world, Cohen (1980) noted that moral panics can be caused by an occurrence of any event. In the same way, he stipulates that there has been rapid succession of moral panics. This essay will argue that media has played a fundamental role in representing moral panic associated with climate chang e. Climate change has recently been represented by media with an aim of exposing the public on its role of contributing to the global warming and high temperatures that have been experienced in various parts of the world. One of the main duties of media is to mediate between the scientific approach on the climate change and the temperatures that have been recorded in various regions. Human activities that include production of electricity and combustion of fuel within the factories production facilities greatly contribute to the destruction of ozone layer thus leading to unsafe environment. In United States, English-speaking media has spearheaded the coverage of climate change as compared to media channels in other countries. Through the studies done on tabloid press in UK and US, 1995 and 2001 establishments of IPCC as far as the role of scientific consensus on climate is concerned, was not effectively covered by media. However, extensive media coverage was adopted in 2007 and in 2 009. In 2007, wide media coverage was evident from An Inconvenient Truth, a documentary that was initiated by Al-Gore as well as the fourth assessment reports that was prepared by IPCC. In 2009, wide media coverage of climate change was catapulted by the UN climate change conference and the email controversy that engulfed the Climatic Research Unit (Mike, 2009). Media and journalists have been poorly informed about climate change. As a result, members of the public have little know how about the global warming despite the fact that it is a major challenge facing the contemporary world. Due to poor reporting of scientific issues that relate to climate changes, media scholars and reporters argue that three key distortions may arise. First, instead of journalists allocating more of their time to cover scientific aspects that relate to global warming and changes in climate, they specialize in writing stories that have human-interest. Secondly, journalists fail to provide balance between reporting of climatic changes and other stories. Thirdly, lack of adequate understanding of climate changes results to making of scientific errors. It is worth to note that in order to make policies that are effective in curbing global warming and nuclear power, it is vital to make the public more informed about climate changes. This can only be achieved if media and journalis

Gender Discrimination in Hotel Industry Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4500 words

Gender Discrimination in Hotel Industry - Essay Example A hotel provides a carefree atmosphere for its customers. It is a very sociable industry; its employees have a very high exposure to the customers. Looking at its contribution to the economy we can say that it is one of the most fast growing and biggest industries of the world.. Almost 10% of the gross national product is due to this hotel industry. In 2005, it gave revenue of almost 27 billion. After 2000 there was an increase of almost 4.5% in the hotel sector. In 2004, it gave almost 11.5 billion revenue. This huge increase shows that it is one of the fastest growing industries. In 2002, there were almost 280 000 employees in almost 40 000 establishments. London is the hub of hotel establishments in United Kingdom (Data Monitor, n.p, 2005; Hotel Research, n.p. 2006). In recent years we can notice that the hotel sector has been growing very fast. The main reasons for this are mergers and acquisitions. Sheraton Park Tower Hotel, Marriott London Park Lane, The London Hilton on Park Lane, Intercontinental etc are all five star hotels in the UK. Though we can see that there are many big names in this sector of the hospitality industry, but there is almost nothing being done in case of human resource management. Employment opportunities in the hospitality profession abound all over the world. In the majority of West European countries women predominate in the hotel staff but unfortunately, only a small number of women are in management positions. Though it might provide employment to many individuals but certainly does not provide equal opportunities to the women. A research was done by Purcell which revealed that women in the five star hotel sector of United Kingdom are horizontally segregated into particular jobs while being vertically segregated (Purcell, 18, 1996). Many researches have investigated the problem of equality rights and gender prejudices in the workplace. Many claim that because of the established dominance of males in the vast number of areas of public life, women are often placed in a disadvantaged position from the very beginning; Recruitment is considered to be one of the major issues in equal opportunities for women. However, statistical data shows a considerable increase in the percentage of women who are engaged in some kind of professional work. This increase has been in the lower level of the hierarchy, but as we go up we will notice lesser and lesser number of females. The Five star hotel sector of the hotel industry has conventional employment model. It has a linear path of progression (Boaxall & Purcell, 47-70, 2003). The top four positions in a five star hotel are General Manager (GM), Financial Director, Director of Sales and marketing (DSM) and Food and Beverages Manager (FBM). The general manager has the top most positions and other positions are mere steps of getting to the top. Other positions like house keeping and human resource are usually confined to women. These positions are less attractive to men as they usually have lesser pay. So, women are confined to these low paying jobs. It has also been investigated whether the level of education has any effect on this discrimination. It was found that female hospitality graduates were at least three

Child pschyology Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Child pschyology - Research Paper Example d psychology mainly studies the mental and cognitive processes and other factors that combine to give meaning to how a child reacts and use that information to improve parenting, health, education, mental hygiene and other areas devoted to child benefits. Child psychology thus enables us to understand the behavior of children. To understand the child behavior we, therefore, need to consider the child and his or her environment as an arrangement of correlating variables. Viewing behavior, or in fact any set of data in its entirety, in context has been labeled by many analysts as a field (Einstein, 1933; Kohler, 1925; Lewin, 1954). Context is generally defined as the circumstances that surround a particular situation. A child’s growth and development depends on the environmental as well as personal variables that make up the context. For example, the personal variables for a class of kindergarten children may include their genders, age, nature and upbringing; whereas the environmental variables may include the aspects of the surrounding in which the adult and children interact, such as the physical characteristics of the classroom (Parke & Gauvain, 2009; Fishbein, 1984). At later stages in a child’s life these environmental factors have a much larger scope and include factors such as social interactions, gatherings and the culture in which (s)he lives. All these factors eventually have a great influence on how a child grows. The culture in which a child lives shapes up the values and beliefs which give a special meaning to the observable elements of behavior, customs and artifacts. Beneath these values and beliefs lie the foundational idea that are called shared assumptions. These assumptions influence the behavior of children and play a great role in developing their perception. The socioeconomic level of people is influenced by many factors including their family background, education, job status, and their nationality. Children rose in families with a high

The importance of time management in organizations Essay

The importance of time management in organizations - Essay Example Major, Klein and Ehrhart (2002); Jackson and Martin (1996); Teuchmann, Totterdell and Parker (1999) have studied in detail the stress borne by managers and employees of an organisation to deliver on time in the midst of an acute time-crisis. Adding on to these, Palmer and Schoorman (1999) have identified that the shortage of time in organisations result in employees performing multiple activities simultaneously. A number of studies on this subject have stated that time is an important factor to consider while formulating organisational behaviour models as it greatly affects an organisation’s business, operations and human resource (Wright, 2002; Ancona, Goodman, Lawrence and Tushman, 2001; George and Jones, 2000). As a corollary to their research, Macan (1994) studied the means employees of a company resort to for time management and also recommended several ways in which such initiatives can be bettered and integrated into a holistic effort. The shortage of time As per data c ollected from 557 managers of various companies as part of a recent survey by McKinsey & Company, only 124 respondents stated that they are content with the way their time is assigned to different tasks; against a contrasting 433 respondents who stated that they were discontent. These 500 respondents were categorised into 4 groups: 1. Managers who spend most of their time at their desk and cannot find time to provide support and motivation to their subordinates on a personal basis. 2. Managers who mostly spend most of their time away from their desk and cannot find time to attend important meetings or sit down and formulate corporate strategies. 3. Managers who spent most of their time with their subordinates and cannot find time to interact with the stakeholders of the company. 4. Managers who are actively involved in responding to sudden challenges and crises within the organisation, and cannot find time to take part in long-term strategy formulations. The study indicates that man agers are increasingly feeling the heat of performing too many tasks in too little time. Most of them feel that their work hours are not sufficient to cater to all their responsibilities. Some of the reasons for lack of time may be identified as the constant need to communicate with multiple stakeholders on every little work progress; the added burdens of globalisation such as, different time zones and more complex organisational hierarchies; and the over-aggressiveness of companies in the midst of a global financial crisis. The consequences of such shortage of time also flow down to the end employees who are led by the managers. This often leads to unorganised, non-synchronous activities within an organisation. Although companies consider lack of time as a personal problem of employees and not of their concern, its impacts are far-reaching and are directly associated with a company’s working principles and performance. The study clearly shows that time is not considered duri ng formulating corporate strategies and assigning roles and responsibilities. Most companies perceive time as an infinite resource that constantly flows in, but the fact is that just like money, the time-related capabilities of a company are also limited. Time is essential to plan, track and manage

Death Penalty Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 5

Death Penalty - Essay Example in agreement with people of similar opinion, death penalty cannot be deemed to deter crimes’ occurrences and therefore ought to be abolished, which forms a valid argument as supported below. Some of the criminals under this sentence mostly commit the crimes from a heated passion under influence of alcohol or drugs or under an illness and therefore represents a faction who can rarely make futuristic decisions in fear of consequences for their crimes. A nation’s murder rate and criminal behavior can be trimmed through addressing the social and environmental factors contributing to violent crimes that call for this form of punishment. The socioeconomic wellness of a nation must be watched. The highly blighted parts in the United States produce the highest number of persons on death row, poverty and impoverishing cases with a huge number declared to have mental disorders. Most offenders fool themselves of chances to commit crime and escape preset forms of punishment (Cromie, 2013). Therefore, death sentence should not be considered as an option in punishing even the heinous

Module 4 Student-Centered Assessment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Module 4 Student-Centered Assessment - Essay Example 2-3). Currently, students have standardized method or structured tutoring and only depend on incidental peer tutoring. With incidental tutoring, it is not possible to identify and fix potential student’s learning needs and it is crucial to implement structured peer tutoring to track and assess learning needs and resolve those needs by making students active learners through transformative learning. The school performance evaluation revealed three main factors as responsible for the situation (Lannen, 2013, p. 8). First, teachers are not familiar with grouping techniques. Consequently, they have not applied any mixed capability grouping in their classrooms. Secondly, teachers do not inspire peer tutoring, hence do not prepare tutors or perform any decent groundwork of tutoring structure whether in terms of time or material. Finally, teachers do not appoint an informal and precise way of tutoring hence lack appropriate guidance to the incidental tutors. First, incidental peer tutoring has to be replaced with structured form. This will mean that the teacher works together with the peer tutors in identifying mixed ability groupings within classroom settings, preparing them in advance, issuing appropriate guidance, and supervising them as they tutor (Lannen, 2013, p. 10). This way, tutors will serve as role models, encourage and inspire students’ learning, and assist teachers and students. To the students, the peer tutor becomes an extra-teacher offering more one-on-one attention; assists them to learn by identifying learning difficulties and explaining things differently; encourages good rapport since they are age mates; and inspires them to become teachers. The study will also seek to identify the effect of structured peer tutoring on teachers and teaching. The focus will be on teacher identification of student needs, ability

What is Innovation and can businesses encourage it Essay Example for Free

What is Innovation and can businesses encourage it Essay Innovation in business is the application of new ideas in any business process. This includes the products produced and the firm’s processes. It is therefore important for business to encourage innovation to enable them to be sustainable in the market in the long run CITATION Mar98 l 1033 (Mark, 1998). Marketing Research One of the key themes of marketing is for an organization to efficient, timely and customer-centered care and allows customers to easily make the right decisions. Marketing places emphasis on organizations sharing information with each other and working together in secure areas. It also provides updated information on highly specialized matters that are to be delivered immediately to the right place. Marketing is the source for all information for step-change in service delivery. Fairness is a key theme of the legal and ethical frame works of marketing. It proposes that consumers will likely compare their situations with other customers to ensure fairness. Fairness enables marketers to predict the responses of consumers to marketing actions. Marketers should able to differentiate between procedural and distributive justice to understand how consumers perceive fairness. Making fair decisions requires marketers to have forethought and intelligence to make a sale. It is wise to develop the moral fibers of fairness, because ethical problems often bite into profits CITATION She07 l 1033 (Shelton, Epstein, Davila, 2007). For example it is unethical to sell a product or service to consumers at different prices, with an aim of gaining financial advantage. When conducting a marketing transaction, it is unethical to charge an unreasonable price to a consumer. Every consumer expects to be treated fairly as this reflects on the overall corporate image of an organization. Ethical marketing efforts and decisions should suit and meet the needs of consumers, business partners and suppliers. Competitive analysis is essential in marketing as it helps a company to access any competitive threats to its development and penetration of the walk-in market. The organization is bound to enjoy a significant competitive advantage over any competitor who would try to penetrate the walk-in market. This assessment which is based upon  the company’s source of competitive edge stems from extensive customer list, qualified management personnel, in-depth knowledge and expertise of the marketing industry. An example of t his is the marketing research conducted by Apple Inc. before the rolling out of their products into the global market. They conduct thorough research on the consumers and come up with innovative products for the customers CITATION Jas09 l 1033 (Jason, Kenneth, Greg, 2009). Research and Development Marketing mix-promotional strategies also contribute to successful implementation with the right marketing delivered to the right consumers at the right time. Marketing has to be on-going to strengthen interest and promotional and multi-level to draw attention to progress of the company. Success of a company will depend on the support and contributions the partner organizations that are involved. The contribution and support succeeds if the individual partner companies feel they have benefits from the collaboration. Target Market is a key deliverable in marketing that can be used by Apple Inc. to establish an appropriate market for each segment. For maximum effectiveness, marketing to their clients should be targeted carefully to suit each of them comfortably. It must also be a frequent, consistent and on-going process throughout the lifecycle of the zoo. The available information has to be up-to-date and reliable. Apple can segment its market by focusing on the demographic variables of its clients. These include social class, gender, income, age and family lifecycle. This will give them competitive advantage since there will be a wide variety of data that will make it possible to measure consumer preferences for the activities in the zoo. Segmenting the target market based on demographic variables, will have a direct impact on the interests of the clients in zoo services CITATION How10 l 1033 (How is Google innovative? , 2010). The mechanisms for target marketing should be selected from the zoo sources depending on the audience and objectives each marketing piece. This will give the marketing team at Apple Inc. a thorough understanding of how often and how their clients use their services. Apple Inc.’s target market should be based on social class. This will ensure maximum effectiveness which is important since it reinforces the value of the benefits and gaining additional support. The using social class as their target market is to effect information sharing and to develop an effective collaborative model that can be replicated across its diverse services. Target marketing will allow the marketing team to maintain the effectiveness of its services through transition and influence clients of their target market to participate through the forums and avenues provided. Staff Benefits There are several benefits of innovation to the staff of any business. Of particular importance is the freedom of expression where the staffs are allowed to be creative and offer some of their ideas to the management. In the process of doing so it makes the staff motivated as it makes them part of the process of creation of ideas in the business. Google Inc. for instance allows its employees and staff to participate in the innovative process hence the creation of some of its successful products. In conclusion this essay explore the importance of innovativeness in any business and how it propels the business to unlevelled heights of success as seen in the example of Apple Inc. and Google CITATION She07 l 1033 (Shelton, Epstein, Davila, 2007). References Forrant, R. (2011). Approaches to Sustainable Development: The Public University in the Regional Economy. Massachusetts : Univ of Massachusetts Press. How is Google innovative? . (2010). Retrieved 2014, from Netease: http://money.163.com/10/0331/10/633K6P9700253VNE.html Jason, D., Kenneth, L., Greg, L. (2009). Who captures value in a global innovation network? : the case of Apples iPod. Mark, R. (1998). The definition and measurement of innovation Report No. 10-98. Melbourne: Melbourne institute working paper. Shelton, R. D., Epstein, M. J., Davila, T. (2007). The Creative Enterprise. New York: Greenwood Publishing Group. Thomas, H. (2008). Reverse Engineering  Google’s Innovation  Machine. Source document

Pay Equity- Statistics, Legislations and Why Women Worn in Low - Paid Jobs Essay Example for Free

Pay Equity- Statistics, Legislations and Why Women Worn in Low Paid Jobs Essay Men and Women should not be called the opposite sexes, instead referred to as complimentary sexes. The sexes should be treated equally in every aspect, one of which is in the pay they receive. The sexes should receive equal wages for equal work. It should be more about ‘from each according to his ability, to each according to his need’. Statistics show that men are paid more than women for the same work. One may think if women are really paid less, why would anyone hire a man? Put another way, would not a company full of men will soon be put out of job by a company which hired only women. The truth is that the pay gap can be attributed to large scale discrimination against women. Men who earn more most often do so because of their gender. To get higher pay, men are more likely to enter higher-paying fields, perform riskier tasks and take positions with less stability which explains the fact that only 26% of all miners are women. To tackle this problem of unequal pay, various movements have risen in the recent times ensuring pay equity. In Canada, the purpose of the Pay Equity Act is to achieve equality in the workplace so that no person shall be denied employment opportunities. Though massive strides have been undertaken in the past for pay equity, the true scenario of pay equity has not been achieved as there is wage disparity in various jobs undertaken by women including unequal pay in the field of sports, and why women tend to work at low paid jobs. There is pay inequity almost in any profession undertaken by women. Men earn significantly more than women despite the existence of the Pay Equity Act. During the time when Baby Boomers were joining the workforce, women earned 59 cents to the dollar till the 1980s where the wage gap was narrowed by just 15 cents to just 74 cents to the dollar. Back then, the pay equity legislations never confirmed women equal pay as the men; they just gave the women the hope that women could raise their voice against unjust treatment by their employers. The Pay Equity Act of 1963 supported women who were employed in the public sector and thereby, offering no security to the ones employed in the private sector. In 2002, the median wages of women who worked full-time year-round were 76. 2 percent of men’s (Werschkul 13). In other words, women earned about 76 cents for every dollar earned by men. To reduce the wage disparities, pay equity legislation prohibits wage discrimination where employees are responsible for equal work. The goal of the legislation is to achieve the ideal balance between financial comfort, professional fulfillment and personal happiness for each women employee. Certain factors are a hindrance in the achievement of this dream. One reason why women earn less because women in the workforce are less likely to work a full-time schedule and are more likely to leave the labor force for longer periods of time than men. These differing work patterns lead to an even larger earnings gap between men and women suggesting that working women are penalized for their dual roles as wage earners and those who disproportionately care for home and family. Recent figures convey a better story. Working women today are paid an average of 80 cents for every dollar that men are paid, even when accounting for factors such as occupation, industry, race, marital status and job tenure. There are more than 80 fields in which women earn more than men, but some are too small to be statistically significant. Of which, there are only 40 fields in which women earn less than 5% more than their male counterparts. These positions include counter attendants in cafeterias, food preparation workers, waitresses and service station attendants to name a few. It has been argued that women earn less because they are not as qualified as their male counterparts. However women in the same positions as the men still earn less. For instance, women lawyers earn just 87% of their male counterparts (Farrell 8). In the medical field, physicians and surgeons earn just 59% of pay compared to male physicians and surgeons. Women and men employed in these fields are equally qualified as they would not be a certified physician without same qualifications. Despite similar qualifications, women still earn less. Pay inequity runs rampant in the sport world too. Professional sport continues to provide unequal pay to women. Paying men more for the same sport gives women in the sport less incentive to push themselves. As a result, it also discourages future female participation in the sport. Women athletes in the sport receive minuscule recognition and fewer rewards compared to their male counterparts. For example, for finishing in third place in the 2003 Women’s World Cup, each U. S. women’s national soccer team member was awarded $25,000. They would have received $58,000 if they had won the Cup. For reaching the quarterfinal of the World Cup in 2002, the U.  S. men’s national soccer team members received $200,000 each. To speak about Tennis, Wimbledon offered greater prize money to the male athletes till 2007. These discrepancies occur because of certain misconceptions. One misconception is that woman’s competitions are not as exciting compared to ‘masculine’ events for instance men perform riskier tricks, hit a tennis ball harder. Women should be compared to other women, not to men. There is a bias that women are not physically strong as the men but women perform to the best of their physical abilities. They would perform the same with a fluctuating pay. Athletes are driven by the passion for the sport, not for the money it offers. Another misapprehension is that women should not receive the same prize money as they are unable to bring the sponsorships and viewership compared to men. Women’s events are not publicized or advertised as much as compared to men’s events. Therefore it will be unfair to say they are unable to draw attention from the public. If the womens events are not included in the telecast, it is misleading to argue that mens events receive higher ratings. Another delusion is that men’s competitions go on for a longer time, include more games and thus men should receive more income. This assumption is flawed as length of the competition should not matter. Star athletes are the ones who draw the crowd. Women have the same capability like the men to draw crowds. The issue of pay inequity goes beyond the issue of money. This issue extends beyond the playing field. When girls grow up seeing celebrated women athletes receiving less than their male counterparts, they are forced to believe it is okay for them to compromise. This acceptable value is not an accepted one. Majority of women tend to be employed in low-paid jobs. In large corporate companies, there is a bias that women are better in the human resource field than in any other field. It is a stereotypical image of women being more cooperative, collaborative and intuitive than men. The CEOs of any company come from the manufacturing, marketing and operations department, not from the human resource department. The talented women are working in the human resources.

Antibiotics Before Cultures in Septic Suspected Patients

Antibiotics Before Cultures in Septic Suspected Patients No More Waiting Antibiotics Before Cultures in Septic Suspected Patients Shannin Pierce Introduction Identifying the Issue September, 21 2013 was an abnormally busy day at Northeast Clark Hospital. At 6:45 AM, 63 year old Mr. Davis Jones, present to the emergency department with a fever of 102.6, heart rate of 110 beats per minute, and a respiratory rate of 22. His blood pressure is 91/63. He is weak and lethargic. His wife tells staff that during the past week he has been sleeping more than usual and not eating or drinking much. She suspects he has come down with the flu that has been going around. Mr. Jones is sent to a room and asked to put on a gown and informed that the doctor will be right in to see him. At 7:00, the night shift nurse reports off the dayshift nurse of all of her patients, but fails to inform the dayshift nurse that Mr. Jones has yet to have cultures collected. At 7:15, the dayshift nurse checks on Mr. Jones who is comfortably sleeping in the hospital bed with his wife by his side. Vital have not changed since admission. She continues to the next patient. At 7:30 AM she rechecks on Mr. Jones and realizes that he has yet to have cultures drawn and collects the supplies. Cultures are collected at 7:45 AM and sent to the lab. At 8:00 lab results show WBC 16,000. The nurse reports the findings immediately to the attending physician, who orders intravenous (IV) antibiotics and fluids. Pharmacy sends up the antibiotics at 8:30 AM and the nurse begins infusion at 8:45 AM. At 9:00 AM, Mr. Joness blood pressure drops to 58/42, heart rate soars to 160 beats per minute, and he is unconscious and unresponsive. The staff frantically rushes to infuse IV fluid into Mr. Jones but he goes into cardiac arrest. All resuscitation attempts are made, but at 9:45, Mr. Jones is pronounced dead. Sepsis and bloodstream infections have become a major cause of hospitalization and death in the United States. In these situations it is a standard protocol to collect blood cultures before administration of antibiotic, however, this can often delay the treatment needed to reduce the chance of death of patients with septicemia. With new advances in culture collection technology, blood culture collection containers now contain antimicrobial removal media, which makes it no longer necessary to delay treatment of antibiotics in order to wait for untreated blood specimens to be collected. By using the antimicrobial removal media enriched blood collection containers for all patients with suspected sepsis, antibiotic treatment can be initiated faster, hospital stays will be shorter, cost of care will be decreased, and fewer people will die due to septicemia. Analysis of the Current Situation Currently, standard protocol for septic suspected patients is for blood cultures to be collected from two different ventipuncture sites before the initiation of any antibiotic therapy using aseptic technique. It is also recommended that antibiotic therapy be initiated within one hour of onset of septicemia. According to a research study by Anand Kumar (2006), every hour of delay in antimicrobial therapy result in an increase in mortality of 7.6%. While the majority of hospital facilities strive to achieve the goal of cultures and antimicrobial therapy within the one hour time frame, the reality is that very few are actually successful. It is estimated that only about 12% of patients actually receive the antimicrobial therapy within the first hour (Daniels, 2011). To make matters worse, emergency departments struggle with overcrowding. According to hospitalstats.org, the median emergency department wait time in the Clark County Valley is 3 hours 25 minutes (Hospital Stats, 2014). Identifying the signs and symptoms of sepsis is a huge barrier to providing timely treatment. Another huge problem with the standard protocol for cultures before antibiotic therapy is that 50% to 82% of patients presenting to the emergency or intensive care facilities with suspected septicemia have already been given an antibiotic before admission and culture collection (Zadroga et al., 2013). However, with the initiation of facilities using antimicrobial removal resin blood culture containers, such as BACTEC PLUS, many of the barriers to providing timely care to septic suspected patients can be overcome. BACTEC PLUS has been proven to recover 95.1% of bacterial pathogens in blood culture samples with therapeutic levels of antimicrobial agents present, and 100% of strains in control bottles (Flayhart, Borek, Wakefield, Dick, Carroll, 2007). Leading Change It is estimated that 20,000 people die worldwide every day from sepsis (Daniels, 2011). While the use of blood culture analysis is and always will be one of the most important evidence-based microbial testing procedures for determining diagnosis of septicemia, the need to wait for cultures to be drawn before administering life saving antimicrobial therapy is unnecessary. Patients with suspected septicemia need to be receiving antimicrobial therapy within the one hour time frame, whether or not cultures have been drawn. It needs to become standard protocol that the antimicrobial therapy be initiated in that one hour time frame, and move away from the standard being cultures first. To initiate this change, it is proposed that implementation of antimicrobial therapy be initiated immediately in septic suspected patients. The Process of Change Change will being in the emergency department. All medical staff, including physicians, nurses, LPNs, CNAs, and technicians will be informed of the change to take place by having multiple conferences and training sessions over a period of time, no less than four weeks, with a minimum of three different time slots occurring near shift change to accommodate all shifts for all employees to be able to attend. All attending staff will sign an agreement contract, including the understanding of the new policy to be implemented. Once they have been fully informed and have had the opportunity to express all misunderstanding and concerns with the new policy, implementation of the policy in the department will ensue. The emergency department will be fully stocked with BACTEC blood collection containers. Quality control agents will monitor compliance of the policy to record all valid data associated, including time frames of initiation of the antimicrobial agent and blood culture analysis using the antimicrobial removal media. Most importantly, infection control will assess the outcome of patients with confirmed septicemia and will closely evaluate the new treatment plan to verify if the policy is proving to be helpful in improving the outcome of patient survival rates. Impact of Change If outcomes are positive, the facility can being to implement the policy, following the same steps already stated, to more departments and continue to evaluate the effectiveness of the policy on each department until the entire facility is using the policy. In order to initiate the change it will take a team effort. All staff will need to comply in ensuring that all septic patients are receiving the antimicrobial therapy within the one hour time frame, regardless if cultures have been drawn first or not. This will be imperative for analysis as to if the new policy is effective in reducing the mortality rate of septic patients. Conclusion Sepsis infections are going to continue to be a major cause of hospitalization, but with new protocols including ensuring administration of antibiotics in septic suspected patients within the one hour time frame of onset regardless if cultures have been collected first, we can reduce the chance of death for these patients. As medical staff, we need to use the advances in culture collection containers like BACTEC to initiate faster treatment, which will make hospital stays shorter, decrease cost of care, and most importantly, save more lives. References Daniels, R. (2011). Surviving the first hours in sepsis: getting the basics right an intensivist’s perspective. Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy, 66(2), ii11-ii23. Retrieved from http://jac.oxfordjournals.org/content/66/suppl_2/ii11.full#ref-36 Flayhart, D., Borek, A., Wakefield, T., Dick, J., Carroll, K. (2007). Comparison of BACTEC PLUS blood culture media to BacT/Alert FA blood culture media for detection of bacterial pathogens in samples containing therapeutic levels of antibiotics. Journal of Clinical Micrbiology, 45(3), 816-821. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1829095/?report=reader Hospital Stats (2014). ER wait times in Clark County hospitals. hospitalstats.org. Retrieved from http://www.hospitalstats.org/ER-Wait-Time/Clark-County-NV.htm Kumar, A., Roberts, D., Wood, K., Light, B., Parrillo, J., Sharma, S. (2006, June). Duration of hypotension before initiation of effective antimicrobial therapy is the critical determinant of survival in human septic shock. Critical Care Medicine, 34(6), 1589-1596. Retrieved from http://cel.webofknowledge.com/InboundService.do?product=CELSID=2DqQrrN9uYLqpUXhgpgUT=000237884300001SrcApp=Highwireaction=retrieveInit=YesSrcAuth=HighwirecustomersID=HighwireFunc=FrameIsProductCode=Yesmode=FullRecord Uzodimma, C., Njokanma, F., Ojo, O., Falase, M., Ojo, T. (2013, ). Bacterial isolates from blood cultures of children with suspected sepsis in an urban hospital in Lagos: a prospective study using BACTEC blood culture system. The Internet Journal of Pediatrics and Neonatology, 16(1). Retrieved from http://ispub.com/IJPN/16/1/1623 Zadroga, R., Williams, D., Gottschall, R., Hanson, K., Norberg, V., Deike, M., Hansen, G. (2013). Comparison of 2 blood culture media shows significant differences in bacterial recovery for patients on antimicrobial therapy. Oxford Journals Clinical Infectious Diseases, 56(6), 790-797. Retrieved from http://cid.oxfordjournals.org/content/56/6/790.full

Plagiarism and the Internet :: Cheating Education Essays

Plagiarism and the Internet The Internet’s popularity has continued to grow since it first emerged, shocking the world with its never before seen technological capacities. It allowed for the communication of ideas and provided people with a wealth of information only a click away. More widely used now then ever before, the Internet supplies users with easy access to various kinds of information. With the unlimited availability of information on the web today, plagiarism has become a growing problem. The abundance of information available makes it easier and increases the temptation to steal other’s ideas. Plagiarism, which is taking credit for someone else’s ideas, is sometimes committed intentionally and other times accidentally. Often, copyrights are violated. In order to prevent this crime form being committed it is necessary that society is educated about copyright law and understands how to properly cite source material. If people understand what plagiarism is and the consequen ces they will face if detected, perhaps it is less likely that they will plagiarize. Today, 49% of people use the Internet as a reference source (â€Å"How† 1). It contains a plethora of information, and documents found on the web can be of great use when doing research. However, if ideas, concepts, or words are taken from another author’s work, they must be properly cited. If they are not properly cited this is plagiarism, which is considered to be unethical act by society; it also violates copyright law, and thus is punishable by law. Often people do not realize that even if they are only paraphrasing or summarizing someone else’s work, idea, or concept and not directly quoting it they are still plagiarizing. Borrowing another person’s idea is permissible if credit is given to whom it is due. However, stealing someone else’s work or idea and acting as if it were your own is not. Thus, it is pertinent that proper citation is always used. If one fails to use proper citation, one is guilty of plagiarism, and may face legal c harges for copyright violations. Plagiarism is not always committed intentionally, but the people who purposely attempt to deceive others by stealing someone else’s ideas should take into account the seriousness of their actions and the consequences they may face if caught. For those people who are guilty of plagiarism, but did so unintentionally and were simply unaware of what they were doing should also take into consideration their actions to try to prevent this act from occurring again in the future.

Music Piracy Essay examples -- mp3 music

Music Piracy: From the Pirates Perspective I don't wear a black patch over my eye. I don't have any missing limbs, replaced by a hook or a wooden leg that clicks when I walk. I have never owned a parrot; I don't have a cool name like Black Beard or Calico Jack; I don't even have a big, black hat. Though I lack all the defining characteristics, I am a pirate. My ship is a laptop computer and my booty is not measured by dollars and cents, but by precious kilobytes. With the aide of my spy glass, the KaZaa Media Desktop, I discern my next target. Wielding my trusty mouse, I make a few clicks, issue commands, board ship, and hijack the music recording industry, claiming yet another copyrighted song as my own. My zealous desire for music began in the early nineties. I got a little CD player when I was ten, but I didn't realize its true potential until a year later, in '92, when I purchased Nirvana’s Nevermind. Even though I was too young to understand lyrics like, â€Å"travel through a tube and end up in your infection,† I was forever changed by the power chords and distortion. Enlightened, I embarked on a journey to claim more of this newfound music for myself. Scratching together loose change, along with my meager allowance, I sought out CDs by Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, and Stone Temple Pilots, giving up everything I saved for these musical gems. As I grew older, my CD collection expanded along with my musical taste. My CD cases grew in capacity, from 12, to 36, to 75, finally reaching 200. By the time I graduated high school, I had amassed well over 300 CDs, ranging from classic rock to bluegrass to rap. At an average price of $15 apiece, that is over $4,500; more money than I spent on my last car. This collection devoured a majo... ...be forced to pay for the 13 other unlistenable tracks? Some bands are acknowledging this problem by making their songs available on their websites and releasing enhanced CDs with video clips and interactive elements. The recording industry is finally lowering CD prices after years of declining sales, but they are not addressing new technology. By providing legal means of music downloading, the industry could profit from website advertising and from the exposure their artists would receive; not to mention the money they would save in production costs. But they can't expect to attract consumers while they are suing their target audience. The recording industry needs to rethink its methods and many artists need to reconsider their attitudes concerning their music and their fans. Until then, like many others, I will continue to sail the wide open seas of music piracy.

Islamic Religion :: essays research papers

Todays Muslims are branded as terrorists or fudamentalist. But their religion is a gentle religion. On the Arabian Penninsula, home of the Arabs, was isolated and they were able to develop their civilization without outside influences. It is about 1 million miles square, that is located between the Red sea and the Persian Gulf. There are two distinctive regions. The first has well-watered valleys between mountains and the second is arid plains and desert. Grass grows quickly during the showes of the rainy season. In ancient times the Arabs were bedouin (nomads that hersed sheep, goats, and camels. and lived in tents made made of felt from camel or goat hair.) They ate fresh or dried dates and drank milk from their herds. On special occasions they ate mutlon. their tribes were made of related families. They valued family ties becuase because they ensured they ensured protection and survival. They had a chief (sheikh). The sheikh ruled as long as the tribe allowed him. They had a counsil of elders. There was warfare over waterholes and pastures. Their way of punishment is an eye for sn eye and a tooth for a tooth. To improve warrior skills they had camel and horse. They had story telling in frount of the campfire. They had poetry about battles, desert, camels, horses, and love. In 500 A.D. they started a town called Makkah, which was fifty miles inland of the Red sea. Trade was mostly of animal producys for weopeans dates grains, spices, jewels ivory, silk, and perfumes. They had caravans travel there from as for china. Arabs had and worshipped many ditied business ties were replaceing family ties, and old tribal laws were not adequat Byzantine and the Persin armies were threatining to conquer them. The tribes had the some language but they had no central goverment, or sense of unity, The Arabs searched for new beliefs. The prohet of Islam was muhammad. He was born in Makkah in 570 A. D. . He was orphaned at an early age and was adopted by his uncle. He worked as a carovan leader on a trade route. He was know to be honest and able. His employer khadij'a ,a weakthy window if age 40, put him in charge of this business and proposed marriage to him. He went to a cave outside the city in 610 A.D. to pray and fast reveloution (vision) there. He was told to recite. "Recite in the name of your lord, the creator who created man from clots of blood. Rwcite! Your lord os the most bountiful one who by the pen has taught mankind things they didn't know.

Functions of Mass Communication

Wright (1960) characterizes seven functions of mass communication that offer insight into its role in our lives. * Surveillance. The first function of mass communication is to serve as the eyes and ears for those of us seeking information about our world. When we want to find out the latest news about what’s happening, we can turn on the television, surf the internet, or read a newspaper or magazine. We rely on mass communication for news and information about our daily lives such as the weather, stock reports, or the start time for a game. What was one of the first things you did after you heard about the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center? More than likely, you were glued to the Internet or your television waiting for details about the disaster. In fact, your authors’ campus closed down to allow people to stay at home to collect information and be with loved ones, even though our campus is located on the other side of the country. * Correlation. Correlation addresses how the media present facts that we use to move through the world. The information we get through mass communication is not objective and without bias. The grandmother of a friend of your authors stated that the information she heard on the radio, â€Å"had to be true† because it was on the radio. This statement begs the question, how credible are the media? Can we consume media without questioning motive and agenda? Someone selects, arranges, interprets, edits, and critiques the information we see. A friend of your authors’ has a brother who edits for a major reality TV show. When asked if what we see if a fair representation of what really happens, the person who does the editing simply laughed and said â€Å"no. † * Sensationalization. There is an old saying in the news industry-â€Å"if it bleeds, it leads† that highlights the idea of sensationalization. Sensationalization is when the media puts forward the most sensational messages to titillate consumers. Elliot poses some interesting food for thought: â€Å"Media managers think in terms of consumers rather than citizens. Good journalism sells, but unfortunately, bad journalism sells as well. And, bad journalism-stories that simply repeat government claims or that reinforce what the public wants to hear instead of offering independent reporting -is cheaper and easier to produce† (2004, . 35). * Entertainment. Mass media provide us with an escape from daily routines and problems by entertaining us (Zillmann & Bryant, 1986, p. 303). Media like People Magazine and E-TV keep us up to date on the doings of our favorite celebrities. We watch sports on television, go to the movies, play video games, and listen to our ipods and radios. Most mass communication simultaneously entertains and informs. We often turn to media in our leisure time to provide an escape from our boredom and relief from the predictability of our everyday lives. We rely on media to take us places we could not afford to go or imagine, acquaint us with bits of culture, and make us laugh or cry. Entertainment can have the secondary effect of providing companionship and/or catharsis through the media we consume. * Transmission. Mass media is a vehicle to transmit cultural norms, values, rules, and habits. Consider how you learned about what is fashionable to wear or what music to listen to. Mass media plays a significant role in the socialization process. We look for role models to display appropriate cultural norms, but all too often, we do not recognize inappropriate or stereotypical behavior. We start shopping, dressing, smelling, walking, and talking like the person in the music video, commercial, or movies. Why would soft drink companies pay Christina Aguilera or Mariah Carey millions of dollars to sell their products? Have you ever bought a pair of shoes or changed your hairstyle because of something you encountered in the media? Obviously, culture, age, type of media, and other cultural variables factor into how mass communication influences how we learn and perceive our culture. * Mobilization. Mass communication functions to mobilize people during times of crisis (McQuail, 1994). Think back to 9/11. Regardless of your political preferences, we mourned as a nation and rallied around national pride and patriotism during this time of crisis. Using our earlier example, your authors’ campus decided to suspend classes to allow the campus community time to mourn the loss of fellow citizens. With instant access to media and information, we can collectively witness the same events taking place in real time somewhere else, thus mobilizing a large population of people around a particular event. The rising popularity of political websites such as moveon. rg is another key example of the use of mass communication to mobilize people for political action. * Validation. Mass communication functions to validate the status and norms of particular individuals, movements, organizations, or products. The validation of particular people or groups serves to enforce social norms (Lazarsfeld & Merton, 1971). If you think about most television dramas and sitcoms, who are the primary characters? What gender and ethnicity are the majority of the stars? What gender and ethnicity are those that play criminals or those considered abnormal? The media validates particular cultural norms while diminishing differences and variations from those norms. A great deal of criticism focuses on how certain groups are promoted, and others marginalized by how they are portrayed in mass media. Given the power of the various functions of mass communication, we need to be reflective about its presence in our lives (McLuhan & Fiore, 1967). We will now turn our attention to the study of mass communication by looking at what mass communication scholars study, and how they study it.

African American Identity in Media

The print ad was about drug abuse and risky teenage behavior. We have to be realistic and see that many of the victims continue to be African American teenagers, especially the ones coming from poorer families.Although any young person would be attracted to an ad like this one, it seems to reach out to African Americans more because it speaks of struggles and pressure, both of which they are most acquainted compared to other people in this country.What shared values or norms are promoted in the media or marketing piece you selected?The print ad highlights the values of identity and freedom. What the ad is saying is that you don’t have to give in to peer-pressure. You can do what your own thing and be your own person without destroying your life. You can be free from drugs and you do not have to fit into the stereotype of a â€Å"teenage junkie†. It’s not worth it. Be your own person. Own yourself.How do these values contribute to the cultural identity of African- Americans?It should bring about feelings of liberation and pride. African Americans have fought so hard in the past to have the same rights, walk the same streets and work in the same jobs as white people. This is what these ads are reminding them of. That they must continue to fight whatever it is that keeps them from being free.They must resist the stereotypes and transcend these daily temptations to join the deteriorating masses. These values create a sense of connection between them because it reminds them that freedom does not come easy but the sweetness of freedom makes it worth fighting for. Today many African Americans are leaders in business, media, sports, entertainment and all other possible fields — all because they transcended the stereotypes.   

The Question of Female Citizenship

The Question of Female Citizenship Catherine Tupper In the early 1800’s a young man by the name of James Martin was denied by the lower court when he claimed that his deceased mother’s property in the United States was confiscated from his family. After being denied for an appeal in the lower court, James appealed his decision to the Supreme Judicial Court. The problem at conflict in this case was whether or not James mother, Anna, was defined as a feme-covert or as a citizen of The United States. This court case was called Martin v. Massachusetts.According to the Source, in eighteenth-century Anglo-America a married women, by law, was known as a feme-covert. A woman considered a feme-covert was completely covered by her husband and had no recognized legal identity. She had no right to buy, sell or own property independently of her husband. In the case of Martin v. Massachusetts, the plaintiff James Martin presented the fact that his late mother left the United States b ecause his father did. In other words, Anna had no choice due to the feme-covert law which states that the man speaks and acts for the wife.The argument made by the ter-tenants was that Anna had the right to stay and claim citizenship due to the fact that all of the land owned by her husband was indeed hers because it was passed down by her father. In the end, the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts ruled that Anna Martin was bound by her marriage vows and had to follow her husband to England. The court reversed the confiscation and the land was returned to the Martin family. Due to the fact that the confiscation of Anna Martin’s property was reversed, the justices stated that women could not act independently of her husband in political or economic matters.

Project Management and Virtual Teams Essay

Athabasca University Abstract Due to advanced communication technologies, globalization and outsourcing most of the project management teams are based on groups of individuals called virtual teams who work across time and space using communication technologies. Members of virtual teams may be employees of same company from same country, or they can be contractors, suppliers and company employees around the globe. Managing projects using virtual teams have some advantages and disadvantages. Also several studies have been done to try to determine the factors that are positively co-related to the effectiveness of virtual teams (Schwalbe, 2011). To manage virtual teams successfully in project management, the project manager must manage these factors successfully and also minimize the impact of disadvantages. This paper discusses the advantages and disadvantages of the virtual teams in project management and outlines the factors that are positively correlated to the success of projects based on virtual teams. The paper also outlines some of the recommendations to successfully manage the virtual team in information technology projects. Keywords Globalization, outsourcing, virtual teams, video conferencing, telecommuting, Project Management, Trust and relationship, Advantages of Virtual teams, Disadvantages of virtual team. Introduction Imagine that you are a project manager in a multinational organization and managing a project to upgrade the server operating system and your team members are from different countries with different cultures and working in different time zones. To complete the project successfully that is based on virtual teams, project manager must understand the advantages and disadvantages of managing virtual teams and factors that positively affect the team members. Today most of the project management teams are based on virtual teams whose members work across time and space using communication technologies and project managers cannot rely on previous methods of project team management where they were able to build trust between team member by social interaction, face-to-face meetings, and direct observations of fellow team member commitment. Literature Review Virtual teams do have some advantages and disadvantages. Some of the advantages outlined by Kathy Schwalbe are: 24/7 availability of workers increasing competiveness and responsiveness, lowering the cost of project as many virtual team members do not need office space and support, providing more flexibility and expertise as project managers have access to the talent around the globe and increasing the work/life balance for team members by eliminating fixed office hours and the need to travel to work. (Schwalbe, 2011). Communication and trust are the most important factors that influence the virtual team performance. Saonee Sarker and others discussed the â€Å"theoretical linkages among trust, communication, and team member performance in virtual teams†. (Sarker1, Ajuja, Sarker, & Kirkeby, 2001). To prove their argument the researchers identified and tested three proposed models (additive, interaction, and mediation) describing the role of trust in its relationship. The results of the study indicated that the â€Å"mediating† model best explains how communication and trust work together to influence the performance of virtual team members. In simple words them study proves that â€Å"a communicative individual will be more likely to be trusted and will therefore be more likely to be a high performer†. (Sarker1, Ajuja, Sarker, & Kirkeby, 2001) Radostina K. Purvanova reviewed experimental literature and emerging field research on virtual teams. Author compared the â€Å"results from both type of literature and found that experimental literature has largely reported negative results for virtual teams, whereas ? eld investigations and case studies of real virtual teams employed by business organizations report positive outcomes for virtual teams. According to the article although results reported by experimental versus field studies are quite different, author concludes that both literatures have revealed negative attitudes toward virtual communication media. Advantages of Virtual Teams The main advantages of virtual teams include: The biggest advantage of virtual team enjoyed by an organization is the associated cost savings. The organization can save huge expenses on real estate, office spaces, utility bills such as gas, electricity, water etc. and executive’s travel. Team members can work from anywhere and anytime of the day. They can choose the place they work based on the mood and the comfort. You can recruit people for their skills and suitability to the job. The location does not matter. There is no time and money wasted for commuting and clothing. Physical handicaps are not an issue. Another advantage is the labour laws, some organizations prefer to have virtual teams because of strict local labour laws. Since the members span the time zones, there could be different team working on the same project 24/7, so when one member sleeps there will be another one somewhere else who would start work where the former had left. This shortens the product development time as well as faster response time to demands in both global and local markets. Disadvantages of Virtual Teams Disadvantages of virtual teams include: Since team members do not frequently meet or do not meet at all, the teamwork spirit may not be present. Some people prefer to be in a physical office when working. These people will be less productive in virtual environments. To work for virtual teams, individuals need to have a lot of self-discipline. If the individual is not disciplined, he or she may be less productive. The cultural difference between the members of virtual teams gives rise to number of conflicts. For example, while an employee from one part of the world would write a straightforward email describing a bad situation; this would be perceived as impolite by a member of the team from other part of the world. This would lead to conflicts, mistrust and difficulties in fruitful collaboration which is so vital for the success of virtual team functioning. These challenges are also precipitated by the absence of non-verbal cues so intrinsic to face-to-face interactions. Many members of virtual teams are adversely affected by the lack of physical interactions. Most of the communications in virtual environment is task-oriented. In today’s society where job is an important social force for most of us because many of our workplace colleagues also constitute our close friends, this gives a not-so-good feeling of social isolation. This in turn counter-effects productivity as well as leads to stress. In the virtual environment, it is better to communicate, clarify, and confirm everything to make sure that all members have the same understanding about the task at hand. This produces of ton of paperwork and files that could quickly fill your archives. Factors that positively affect virtual teams Succession planning and promotions involving virtual team members are important factors and if managed properly, virtual team members will feel that they are receiving recognition and credit and as a result they will be satisfied and their productivity will be increased. (Leonard, 2011) Since team members are not communicating face to face, constructive team and individual feedback early and often becomes more important and if managed properly can avoid many problems before hand. Trust between team members and project leader is an important factor that can affect the performance of team members. One important way to build trust between team members is effective communication. The more they communicate with each other and with project more they build the trust. Well defined and documented team process also important which saves a lot of time for especially new team members to find answers to their questions related to policies and procedures. A team member selection and role preference is also important factor to successfully manage the virtual teams. â€Å"Dr. Meredith Belbin defined a team role as a tendency to behave, contribute and interrelate with others in a particular way. 15 It is important to select team members carefully and to form a team where all roles are covered. Each virtual team member must also understand his or her role(s) on the team. † (Schwalbe, 2011) Discussion and Conclusions Organizations such as IBM, Microsoft, Whirlpool as well as SMEs are reaping the benefits of virtual teams for some time now. It has been a well-recognized fact that virtual team is not a passing tide but it is here to stay. Virtual teams are rising in numbers nowadays and even small technology companies are now adapting virtual team practice for recruiting the best people from all over the globe and reduce the cost. As outlined in previous sections, virtual teams do have advantaged and some disadvantages as well. To benefit from advantages and to minimize the impact of disadvantages a project manager can focus on factors that positively affect the virtual team’s performance. As indicated by previous researchers, increase in trust, comfort level and communication effectiveness leads to better project success. All of the above discussed disadvantages can be overcome by following a different leadership approach, trainings, greater role clarity and effective communication strategies. Also earlier discussed factors that affect virtual teams, if managed properly can result in a successful project. In addition, the companies using virtual teams can minimize their operating costs and maximize the profit margins. Additionally, the employees working in virtual teams are at advantages when it comes to working in their own home, own time, and reduction of commuting costs. Therefore, organizations should look into setting up virtual teams for different tasks whenever possible. To reap the benefits of virtual teams in projects and minimize the impact of disadvantages virtual team managers should manage the outlined factors properly and should also follow best practices outlined in next section. Best Practices When running virtual teams, some of the best practices include: An instant messaging program can be used to create a sense of presence amongst members of the team. Chat is a good way to have side conversations during meetings to gain consensus, confirm understanding or ask questions. Quick questions can be asked through instant messenger as a substitute for popping into someone’s cubicle. Services for syncing files, bug tracking, project management, source control, web conferencing, conference calls, screen recording, usability testing and so on. A virtual phone system allows mapping of phone extensions to any phone number. Advance features allow callers to dial by name, get placed into a phone queue or get recorded answers back from a phone tree. In-person meetings are also a good option; it helps build team cohesion and trust and can help people get to know each other on a deeper level. But they are by no means critical. Bringing everyone together once a year may cost a little, but it’s still often cheaper than paying local salaries and rent, and increases the efficiency of team.

Analysis of Dubai’s Economy

Analysis of Dubais Economy Dubai’s Financial Crisis: Dubai is usually characterized by sky piercing towers, rotating buildings, spectacular architectural designs, flow of petro-dollars which refers to the income coming from exporting oil and its products to other countries, broad and clean road networks, etc. It represents a face of modernization and advancement and has earned a place amongst one of the most technically advanced countries in the world. This rapid development of the country was a result of the focus of the government on tourism thus promoting the real estate sector with the help of revenues coming from export of oil and natural gas. With the largest real estate company of Dubai Emaar properties becoming bankrupt in the United States and vaDubai proposal to delay the repayment of all its debt’s for a period of 6 months on November 26, 2009 the financial crisis in Dubai was exposed in front of the world which had bad effects on countries around the world. The debts were as large as $59 billion causing a stop to the investment cycle of Dubai for 6 months. The Dubai’s real estate industry was based on huge loans which they expected to pay through the revenues they earn from them but with recession hitting the industry badly their plans failed. Thus the Dubai’s financial crisis to a large extent can be said to be a consequence of real estate bubble burst in Dubai. Dubai’s Economy: Before getting to the financial crisis it is important to know the structure of the Dubai’s economy which is one of the most unique and unusual in the world. It is divided into free zones setup by the government of Dubai. The zones are industry specific with Jebel Ali free zone being the fastest growing in the world. The Jebel Ali free zone offers a set of products and services such as: ready to use offices, Business centers, factories, Warehouses, infrastructure ready plots etc. Jebel Ali free zone commonly referred to as Jafza is a part of Dubai based; a s tate owned Economic Zones World. It is one of the world’s biggest developers of Economic Zones, Logistics and Research and development driven Industrial Parks. The main free zones of Dubai are Jebel Ali free zone, Dubai Internet City, Dubai Media City, and Dubai Maritime City which are based on the industries they are related with. People have false misconception about Dubai’s economy they believe that it’s mainly driven by oil and gas although the oil sector comprises of less than 6% economy of Dubai that was primarily dependent on oil as a main source of revenue in the past. Dubai being a part of the United Arab Emirates is expected to be great producer of oil, petroleum and natural gas although it is a good producer but compared to other countries of the United Arab Emirates it produces relatively lesser quantities of oil. Dubai produces 240,000 barrels of oil per day and its revenues from natural gas constitute only 2% of the total revenue that United Arab E mirates gets from natural gas. Although it is true that Dubai’s economy was initially build on the revenues generated by its reserves of oil and natural gas but with time it’s oil reserves have reduced significantly as a result of a large increase in the demand for oil and oil products around the world and over the years and Dubai exporting a great amount of oil to other countries it is expected that Dubai’s reserves of oil will get exhausted in the next 20 years and so it has concentrated on the tourism industry to generate good revenues at that time. (Dubai hit hard)

The Power of Green Party Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

The Power of Green Party - Essay Example On a greater level, many political parties have been linked with chaos in the country, breakdown in systems that are of benefit to the ordinary citizens, as well as inadequate provision of social services to the citizens. Tracing its roots in 1990s, the party has indeed developed, despite the wrangles and conflicts of interests that might have entangled the process of development of the party. This party is keen on the traditions of the ‘Green politics’ and strongly adheres to social progressivism. In an attempt to understand the place of the Green party in UK, it is vital to note that the party is the largest party in UK, comprising of a number of divisions all over the country. Through the party, Caroline Lucas has emerged as a Member of Parliament, representing Bright Pavilion. Caroline is also the leader of the refined party, who leads the 147 groups of councils, both in England and Wales. Conversely, an understanding of the party’s prominence cannot be unders tood without putting into consideration the fact that, the party has managed to establish good relations with other parties and states, inclusive of Scotland and Ireland. It is almost obvious that it is only through good relations with other parties that a party thrives. ... By 1999, the party had gained momentum in an attempt to ‘sell’ its policies to the common citizens. In this case, the party saw election of two MPs, at that particular year. In the year 2000, the party managed to grab a seat in the House of Commons after the general election. This is an indication of how the party, not only gained popularity, but also was beginning to acquire a huge follow up and prominence in the country. In the contemporary setting the Green party enjoys great prominence in the country (Beetham & Weir, 1999, pp.53). This essay shall aim at evaluating the power of the Green party in Britain by highlighting its policies, and the willingness by its members to push for reforms in the country. 2.0. Body The principles of the Green Party have contributed greatly in the party’s ability to gain prominence in the Britain’s politics. Carter (2007, pp.99) indicates that the core values of Britain‘s Green Party, has led to the party being label ed as a novel and radical party, that is fit in the contemporary politics of the country. From an analysis of the party’s principles, it is obvious that the party is bound to attract a huge follow up on its side. On one angle, the Green Party considers the natural world being the major reason behind existence of the party, and that the human existence cannot exist independently of the natural existence. This is an interpretation of the fact that, the physical resources of a country must at all times be maintained and sustained, so as to survive in the future. In relation to the principle on maintaining sustainability of the environment, as some analysts would put it, the Green Party has claimed its power in the country

Congress Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Congress - Essay Example The second factor at play is a congressman’s political party. Particularly in an age of polarized politics, party lines are becoming far more rigid than in previous decades. So-called â€Å"party-line votes† are common, especially with issues that tend to divide Democrats and Republicans such as budgets (Hook & Bendavid, 2011). Accordingly, a congressperson’s vote is more likely to correspond to the wants and desires of the party. The third factor to be considered is a congressman’s relationship to other members of Congress, beyond party affiliations. Knowing that Congress is a large community, it is conceivable that cooperative back-scratching and returning of favors might lead some legislators to favor some bills over others if there is something to be gained from it in terms of support from other congressmen. The fourth and final factor at play is the likely position of the president. Since the passage of a bill depends on the president’s support , the votes of legislators may change if the general perception is that the president may approve. This may not be the case, of course, in cases of â€Å"symbolic votes†: votes taken with the expectation that the president will veto (Lightman, Douglas, & Clark, 2011). 4. ... ocracy that has existed since Ancient Greece is that it amounts to a â€Å"tyranny of the majority† or â€Å"mob rule.† The Founding Fathers of the United States were notoriously critical of true democracy. For instance, Benjamin Franklin once defined the term by saying, â€Å"Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch† (Moyers, 2009, p. 314). For that reason, the framers of the Constitution put in numerous safeguards to protect the rights of the minority from the abuse of a mob rule. One important concept of protecting minorities is the separation of powers as given in the Constitution, which decentralizes power through a system of checks and balances. A President, for example, is in command of the nation’s armed forces, but he cannot officially declare war on behalf of the United States. The Congress protects the rights of the minority by serving as a voice for those opponents and by officially deciding whether to declare war or not. In addition, with the actual structure of the Congress, two senators are elected from each state, no matter its size. Rather than having a small majority of legislators from any given state, the power of the large state majority is tempered by the representatives from smaller states. However, the Congress does still promote majority rule by operating on the principle that what is moral is the greatest good for the greatest number. Accordingly, decisions are made when a majority of those in favor or opposed is established. But even a minority has the chance to speak and make its voice heard in Congress, which is its right. References Hook, J., & Bendavid, N. (2011, April 16). GOP passes budget cut. Retrieved November 1, 2011, from The Wall Street Journal: