Relationships in Margaret Laurence’s “The Stone Angel” Essay

In Margaret Laurence’s novel, The Stone Angel, Hagar Shipley experiences many different relationships. The key relationships in her life are all with men; her respectful but cold relationship with her father, her impersonal relationship with her husband Bram Shipley, her one-sided, protective relationship with John, and her distant but ultimately redeemed relationship with Marvin are each important aspects of her life. Hagar’s first key relationship is with her father, Jason Currie. This relationship has its basis in mutual respect. Hagar has tremendous respect for her father as a child; she admires his ability to make his own life as a successful storeowner by rising above his initial state of poverty and going from nothing to something. She admires this ability because it shows a sense of perseverance and determination that she herself values. Additionally, it is crucial to her respect that he achieves his standing in life through his strong-will; he made it in life by being strong and forceful rather than by putting his emphasis on emotions. This strong-willed personality and unwillingness to show a form of weakness through emotions – forms of pride – become cornerstones of Hagar’s own character. Indeed, the key factor in the relationship between Hagar and her father is that they have a similar personality. Both insist on proving their strength and pride, stopping eit her of them from being able to connect to the other on an emotional level. This pride is evident in her father’s punishment of her when she tells a customer that there are bugs in his store as a child; he clearly takes great pride in his work. Hagar too is proud, to the point of resisting her need to cry when her father hits her. She gains his resolve to put forth the image of strength at all times and to mask her vulnerability with pride. This form of strength leads Jason to carry respect for Hagar as well. She wants to please him, yet this similarity in their personalities is the very thing that destroys their relationship. They are constantly at odds with one another because she has in many ways turned herself into him, and the character trait of stubbornness is one that can be particularly hindering when neither side is willing to give in to the other. He wishes to control Hagar’s life, and as both are stubborn and independent, he cannot possibly succeed and ultimately does not. His attempts to control her life by determining whom she will date only strengthen Hagar’s need to rebel and to  prove herself, which leads to the final crack in their relationship: her choice to marry Bram – the person her father least approves of. This act of rebellion shows her need to prove her independence to her father, and her reaction to his insistence that she will not marry Bram only strengthens her belief that she must do so. When she does leave with him, the relationship between father and daughter effectively ends, as neither side contacts the other. When Jason dies, he does not even leave the store to her. Despite their lack of communication, Hagar still respects her father. This respect is evident in that she is deeply offended when Bram urinates on the steps to her father’s store. It is perhaps most apparent in her narration; years after losing contact with him, she still holds him in esteem and sees him as a model for her own life. Nevertheless, the relationship is a failure because neither Jason nor Hagar is willing to allow his emotions to take precedence over his pride. Clearly, their similarities are such that their relationship is unable to succeed unless one is willing to give in to the other â€⠀œ an art that neither Hagar nor Jason is particularly proficient in. After Hagar leaves her childhood behind she goes to finishing school and her return to Manawaka allows her to meet Brampton Shipley. Her impersonal, bickering and sexual relationship with Bram, although ultimately a failure, is a key one in her life. At first, Hagar is attracted to Bram’s physical appearance as well as his personality – which sharply contrasts her own. Hagar is also initially attracted to his lack of expression of true emotion. Bram is tall, dark and handsome, but also reveals a gruff and wild personality, which allows him to do and say what he wants without being mindful how society judges him. However, Hagar is quite mindful of social status, which makes her more conservative and more polite than Bram. Although these opposing personalities ultimately attract them to each other, they become the main part of the wedge that drives them apart. Another part of this wedge between Hagar and Bram is Hagar’s refusal to open up to him and display her lov e of him or even of their sex life. Some of Hagar’s refusal to open up stems from her fear of being hurt if she does, and some of it stems from the circumstances under which she and Bram were married. Like Hagar, her father was also a socially conscience man and he refused to let his daughter marry a common farmer. Part of Hagar agreed to marry Bram  simply to spite her father. All of these circumstances lead to a change in Hagar’s relationship with Bram. Hagar grows tired of the uncouth family dinners, of watching Bram blow his nose with his fingers, and of watching him subject their children to the same wild manner. When their opposing personalities stop being attractive to one another and it becomes clear that it is an emotionless and unhappy relationship, she takes her son John and leaves him. He does not even try to stop her. Such an impersonal parting indicates that the relationship ended in failure and Hagar is ultimately responsible for this failure. She is the one that refuses to share emotion with him, she is the one who is overly critical of him, and she is the one who leaves him. Bram’s only responsibility in the failure of their relationship is that he does not change and eventually gives up. Hagar’s s one-sided relationship with John is the only one in which she shows love. Hagar unquestionably loves John, and offers herself emotionally to him alone. She pours everything into John, leaving little love for anyone else in her life. John does not appreciate his mother’s love as much as he perhaps should, and he is frustrated by her nagging more than he is appreciative of her love. Despite this lack of appreciation, Hagar continues to direct all of her energy into raising John. She is quite controlling, and attempts to run every part of his life – a remnant of her own relationship with her father. Hagar’s constant badgering and nagging drive John away from her as her father’s own domineering nature drove her away. Although at first John appreciates her love, the relationship changes as he wishes to grow independent of her and begins to resent her. She still cannot let go – trying to control his relationship with Arlene to no avail. The ultimate fate of this relationship is a failure. In spite of his mother, John goes drinking and takes up a dare to cross an old train bridge in his truck. An unexpected freight train crashed into his truck and he dies shortly after with his mother by his side in the hospital. John’s death marks the abrupt end of their relationship; nothing can be done on Hagar’s part to reconcile with him. John’s rejection of his mother’s love changes her more than he knows. Since she has put everything into her love of him and he has died a vain death in spite of her, Hagar becomes the stone angel herself – emotionally blind and unfeeling, and unwilling to subject herself to the  pain that love brings again. The blame for the failure of this relationship can be placed on both parties: Hagar for placing unreasonably high expectations on John and overly controlling him, and John for rejecting that love and betraying the care she has placed in him in order to es cape her love and be an individual. Hagar’s relationship with Marvin is both greatly in contrast to her relationship with John and largely the result of its failure. Where her relationship with John was intimate, her relationship with Marvin is distant. Where she was openly loving and nurturing to John, she is closed off and sharply critical of Marvin. Like her relationship with John, Hagar’s relationship with Marvin is one-sided for the most part, but Marvin shows emotion for Hagar in this case, and not vice versa. This different treatment of Marvin can be partly attributed to the circumstances surrounding her relationship with John. Hagar has always favored John because he reminds her more of her father – whom she respects – than Marvin did. Indeed, Marvin’s wit, perceived by her to be slow was more like that of Bram. Hagar places so much of her emotions and love into John that it is unsurprising that Marvin is always found wanting in her eyes by comparison. When he tries to impress her by cleaning the house, she criticizes him rather than appreciating him as she might have if it were John. When he prepares to go off to war, Hagar misses another key moment to connect with Marvin. She might not see him again and wants to warn him, to comfort him and to express her feelings toward him, but she cannot; she is afraid to reveal her emotions. He wishes to express his feelings, but is also unable to do so because of his timidity. Indeed, the path their relationship takes is determined as much, if not more, by personalities than it is by circumstances. Hagar’s personality is such that she takes great pride in strength and resourcefulness – qualities she finds Marvin to lack. Her inability to express herself emotionally is both a key part of her personality and the driving force behind her many wasted opportunities with Marvin – who needs the very level of acceptance from Hagar that she cannot provide. Despite this failure in the relationship early on, however, Hagar’s epiphany before dying changes the course of it and determines its ultimate success or failure. Realizing that she has never simply rejoiced and accepted the love  she has been surrounded with, she gives Marvin the acceptance he has always needed by telling him that he has been a better son to her than John has. The early failure of their relationship can be attributed exclusively to Hagar; she has the wrong expectations of him and sinks so much love into her ultimately failed relationship with John that she neglects Marvin. In the end though, Hagar is also responsible for the relative success or at least redemption of their relationship. Her choice to make their last moments together worthwhile rather than another wasted opportunity make her relationship with Marvin the most ultimately successful one in her life. In the end, Hagar’s key relationships vary greatly; some are defined by respect and others are defined by a lack of emotion of any kind. Others still find their basis in too much or too little love. Ultimately, Hagar’s achievement of self-realization before her death leads her to redeem at least one of the key relationships in her life – redeeming herself in the process.

Education system of the United States of America Essay

The education system of the United States of America is divided into four major categories; the children join primary school at the age of five years. Upon completion of the primary education the Americans join secondary school which consists of seven years. The students who are through with the secondary level are then enrolled in the undergraduate schools. Students in these schools are offered either with an associate degree which takes two years or a bachelor’s degree which normally takes four years. Finally for the students who have successfully completed their bachelor’s degree and wish to continue enroll in the graduate schools where they can either pursue either a master’s degree which normally takes a period of two years or a doctorate degree for those students who wish to advance their education. Depending on the course the student opts to take the doctorate degree can take as little as three years or as many as six years to complete (Bobo, pp 84). Inequality in the education system of US Inequality in education is said to occur when the education quality that is provided to students is highly related to their class or status. The education system in the United States of America have instead of reducing inequalities existing in the society, the schools together with other educational establishments have to some extent enhanced the perpetuation of race and class boundaries. The allocation of resources in an unfair and unequal manner, to students with diverse socio economic backgrounds, has largely contributed to lowering of test scores and low enrollments rates in colleges. In the United States of America, resources availability and quality is determined by the quantity of funding received by the schools. This funding is determined largely by the amount of taxes that the home owners pay; almost half of taxes collected from home owners are used in the funding of the schools at the district level (Ferguson, pp 77). Neighborhoods that are more affluent collect more property taxes which imply that the schools in these areas receive more funding. Despite the fact that this seems to be quite favorable a serious problem comes up when the circumstances are reversed. The neighborhoods that are predominantly inhabited by poor population, the properties are cheaper and thus the property taxes obtained from such neighborhoods are also less. This therefore means that the schools in these regions are poorly funded and yet they are the ones which the students from the poor families attend. This clearly shows a lot of inequality since the students from the rich families who will in most cases will be living in wealthy neighborhoods will attend school which are well funded by the taxes collected from home owners, whereas their colleagues from the poor families residing in poor neighborhoods will attend poorly funded schools and thus both categories of students will not receive the same quality of education. The above situation reality is that the resources distribution among the schools depends on the socio economic status of both the students and the parents. Therefore, the education system of the United States of America enhances in the widening the existing gap between the poor and the rich. Over the past few years as a result of falling short of social mobility this gap has increased further (Bobo, pp 168). The social mobility is quite rigid in US; this mobility refers to the movement of people in a certain class status from one generation to another. The socio mobility is highly related to the rich tags, they create a notion that anyone with determination and works hard is able progress upward regardless to their back grounds. On contrary to this notion, the economists and sociologists have concluded that social mobility has stagnated or even decreased in the past three decades, some of the declines in the social mobility can only be attributed to the US education system which is stratified. The education system in the country forces the students from the low income families into schools that are not ideal; these students are in turn not offered with equal education motivation and schooling opportunities as those students from rich families. This repeated pattern of intergenerational school choices for child and parent results in social mobility stagnation (Kozol, pp 105). The models showing the attainment of social status have always assumed that social mobility is a contest which is open and that it is based on value as calculated over several years of technical ability and schooling. The open contest made the assumption that there was an equal opportunity to basic education. The Supreme Court made a ruling that schools that were separate but equal were unconstitutional; those opposed to integration had to find new means and ways of denying the basic education. If the schools being attended by the blacks and whites could not be segregated then the classes too could not and thus both the whites and the blacks should attend the same schools and classrooms failure to which will amount to denying equality in education to all students (Kozol, pp 98). Social immobility is more to the children who follow their parents’ footsteps and fail to obtain higher education. Such choices finally make the children from the poor families fail to access higher education. The reasons for the children from poor back grounds opting not to continue with higher education have a lot of explanations. The government on its part does not create enough awareness among the children equally and hence the children from lower class status grow up with fewer expectations in life, because such has not been properly instilled in them early in life by the education system that exists in the country. The education system of the United States of America lets down the students from the low income bracket since it does not offer them equal access to opportunities and resources as it does to those students from wealthy families. Studies have also shown that such programs such as the tracking education and gifted education are further used to manage the separation of those with lower skill levels from the ones with higher skills, which in most cases ends up separating the poor from the rich. In fact, most of the students in the program of the gifted students are from middle class families. This does not mean that it is only the rich students that are smart and the poor ones are not, but it simply implies that the program is used to enhance education inequality among the students on the basis of their back grounds it also shows that the students from the poor back grounds are not offered equal opportunities as the rich ones in their childhood development to enable them build up certain skills. The upper and middle class students grow up in an environment that foster their educational and intellectual development simply because their parents can afford to take their children to the museums, engage them in extra curricular activities, and pay private teachers to attend to their children. The poor children do not have access to such an integrated learning approach and the same is not provided in the education system of the US (Greenhouse, 124). The evidence of the fruits of inequality of the education system in the United States of America and especially in Chicago can be shown by the demographics and enrollment rates in colleges. It is highly influenced by the socio economic status of the students, in a study that was carried out in Chicago which examined the top colleges it found out that the following student representation. Seventy five percent of the students were from very rich socio economic backgrounds while the rest came from the poor back grounds. This is a good example of how much inequality exists in the education system of the United States of America and particularly Chicago (Lui, pp 220). The gap in the education system of US just like the chasm of wealth is growing wider and wider each year. An equal opportunity of accessing quality education has become a perennial dream for most of the progressive people and the working class. This dream has been undermined by forces of neo conservative. Despite the fact that there was the adoption of free education in the public schools by the US government in the past, an equal opportunity for quality education is yet to be achieved. Education in the public schools has always been provided for free, although in the past it was not free to the Native Americans, slaves, migrants, student with special needs, pregnant girls and other groups of people which were neglected (Bobo, pp 180). Although slavery came to an end, inequality in the education system still persists, despite the fact that it was one of the major rights the former slaves fought for. The former black slaves thought that by getting access to quality education they would be in a position to integrate socially with other Americans, but this remains a dream that is yet to be realized even though more than a century has elapsed since slavery was abolished. Black children have to date been denied a chance to access quality education since a vast majority of them come from poor families and the education structure in the united states of America is such that it offers a more favorable environment to rich students and denies the poor ones a chance to attend good schools which are well funded with ample resources to enable the students acquire quality education. As a result the black children have for a long time been prevented from succeeding academically and finally succeeding financially after school which applies to the whites (Kozol, pp 112). In Chicago as it is in most parts of the United States the blacks cannot afford to live in rich neighborhoods and since the schools receive much of their funding from the collection of property taxes from home owners, very little is collected in areas inhabited by the black population which in turn implies that their children will attend poorly funded schools which will in most cases lack proper facilities to enhance a smooth learning process. When students are educated in facilities lacking enough facilities they will end up performing poorly and thus have limited chances of excelling academically and in very rare cases will they be in a position to join credible institutions of higher learning. Such students will therefore, in future not be able to secure good white collar jobs and thus they are likely to earn much less in future as compared to those students who were in a position of attending schools that had enough facilities. Therefore, poor students will in future not be able to take their students to good schools since they cannot afford and hence their children will follow in their foot steps and the poverty chain will continue (Ferguson, pp 152). The education system in the United States aids in the maintenance of the existing class structure. Ever since slavery was abolished, the education system has been used by the racist whites as an instrument of enabling them maintains their throne by maintaining a poor black population. The ideas that the minority are inferior have been spread all over the country for decades and the less informed people have always fallen into the trap, as they are made to believe that intelligence and superiority is determined by one’s race. Skewed data has been used to assert such claims and to spread the ill intended ideas (Kozol, pp 144). Conclusion The education system of the United Sates of America is amounts to inequality as students are not given an equal opportunity of accessing quality education. This is mainly as result of the funding system which has been adopted which denies poor students a chance to attend schools that are well funded and thus have ample facilities to enable the to excel academically. The students from rich socio economic back grounds are in a position to attend well funded schools since such students will in most cases live in rich neighborhoods and since school funding originates from property taxes their schools will be well funded as more taxes will be collected in their neighborhoods. The fruits of this inequality are very evident in the enrollment rates of students in institutions of higher learning as statistics reveal that majority of students in these institutions are from the rich back grounds. The education system of the United States thus leads to inequality and denies the poor students an equal chance as the rich ones. Work cited: Bobo, Kimberley A. ; Wage Theft in America: Why Millions of Working Americans Are Not Getting Paid – and What We Can Do about It (2009): New Press, ISBN 1595584455. Ferguson, Ann Arnett; Bad boys: public schools in the making of black Masculinity (2001): University of Michigan Press, ISBN 0472088491. Greenhouse, Steven; The Big Squeeze: Tough Times for the American Worker (2008): Random House Inc, ISBN 1400044898. Kozol, Jonathan; The Shame of the Nation: The Restoration of Apartheid Schooling in America (2005): Crown Publishing Group, ISBN 0307339416. Lui, Meizhu; The Color of Wealth: The Story Behind the U. S. Racial Wealth Divide (2006): W. W. Norton, ISBN 1595580042.

Personal and Professional Development Essay

1-Abstract In essence, this report will comprise three parts: first we shall be making an evaluation of current approaches to self- managed learning, second we shall be detailing in which ways lifelong learning both personal and professional might be promoted and encouraged and finally we shall be making an evaluation of the potential benefits of self-managed learning to organisations and their members but for this case with specific reference to Teagasc. 2- Introduction Every single person had one day some experience about self-managed learning in their life, or many people are having this experience at the moment in somewhere learning something by themselves. Stop for a moment and back to the past and try to remember if you have learned something that you had initiative by yourself. Did you remember something? I am sure you did, do you know why? It`s because there`s so many reasons which push ourselves to learn something and that`s why the term self-managed learning is more popular when compared with the traditional way to learn, for example going to the school every day. 3-Approaches to self managed learning Individual could learn through the research which they will be doing that could be either been issued by the university or college even at work place, people could learn different techniques used in doing the research. Formal education and schooling remain highly valued in most societies, and many educators, employers, policy-makers, and average citizens find it difficult to place high value on what is learned on your own or outside the formal system. However, some adult educators have shown how non-traditional programs, distance education, and self-directed learning efforts can meet many challenges associated with keeping current on constantly changing knowledge. Several things are known about self-managed learning and also others terms as S-DL (Self-direct learning), S-PL, LS-D, S-RL, Autonomy, learning projects, open learning etc. However there are some differences between these terms: * Knowles, (1975) describe Self- directed learning- is a process in which individuals take the initiatives, with or without the help of others * Autonomous learning – autonomy often is associated with independence of thought, individualized decision-making, and critical intelligence. Gibbs (1979) * Self-planned learning and learning projects – Tough’s (1979) research on people engaged in learning projects involved obtaining information on â€Å"a series of related episodes, adding up to at least seven hours† where â€Å"more than half of the person’s total motivation is to gain and retain certain fairly clear knowledge and skill, or to produce some other lasting change† . * Open learning – individualized study often is associated with external degree, open learning, or non traditional programs where most learning takes place outside formal classrooms- Ruvinsky (1986) * Self-regulated learning is a process that assists students in manag ing their thoughts, behaviours, and emotions in order to successfully navigate their learning experiences (Pintrich & Zusho, 2002) * Learner self-direction- is taking primary responsibility for personal learning (Brockett & Hiemstra, 1991) . But in general all this terms are related to Self-managed learning what is a way which people or individual find different ways in learning things, which could be in the society where they are living or at work that is a diversified environment, Candy(1991). In other words is about individual managing their own learning. This included people taking responsibility for decisions about: * What they learn * How they learn * When they learn * Where they lean * Why they learn (the most fundamentally ) Self-managed learning also is about setting out the goals for the learning by evaluating the purpose for learning and ways to achieve such goals -Brookfield (1981).People learn new things for example the culture of different people, behaviour, personality, perceptions etc. 4-Advantages and disadvantages of Self- managed learning Some advantages and disadvantages of self-managed learning: 4.1-Advantages: * Improved the attitudes toward learning * The learners become more confident * Also they are taking greater responsibility for their own learning than during more traditional classroom activities * Create a repertoire of skills * Learn to tolerate ambiguity in expectation of themselves * Development of higher order thinking, problem solving, collaborating skills * Exploring a variety of learning styles or approaches to learning 4.2-Disadvantages: * The learner my find difficult to evaluate one`s own progress * The learner may not identify the learning needs according to his/her academic level * Some learners may not find appropriate resources for learning * Unable to get peer feedback 5-Ways in which lifelong learning in both personal and professional contexts could be encouraged The idea of lifelong education was first fully articulated in this century by Basil Yeaxlee (1929). He along with Eduard Lindeman (1926) provided an intellectual basis for a comprehensive understanding of education as a continuing aspect of everyday life. However to encourage lifelong learning is necessary Motivation, determination, managing time which is extremely important to self-managed learning. Lifelong learning is all about continuous learning personally that could contribute to the professional context. Individual could have personal assessment as means of lifelong learning by evaluating their strengths, weaknesses, opportunity and threats. For example, in the workplace employees with busy schedules can learn necessary skills at their own convenience through self-study. Some technical staff in organizations who must constantly upgrade their knowledge can access new information through an individualized resource centre. For example learning by Self-reflective learning could help employees learn new skills at work place also developing their personal skills through having work task and responsibility assigned to them. While self-reflective learning reviews things, continuing professional development, combines approaches, ideas and techniques that help to develop the personal learning. Self-reflective learning is about trying to review some opinions, judgements, personal understanding and actions that you are willing to take in a proper way and be honest about it. another example for a organization to encourage the employee taking initiative of learning something new could be giving to them a opportunity for a presentation skills where the individuals learn how to make a presentation which gives the chance to express the knowledge of what they have learnt from particular topic also give them confidence to talk in front of others, which become an advantage to the organisation when been given a task to do that need to be presented to the manager and other directors from the same company of different company. 6- Evaluation the benefits of self-managed learning to the organizations and their members In a world where there is growing pressure for increased results from fewer people, Organisations have no option but to invest heavily in learning and development. The problem is that there is not always a correlation between expenditure on training and development and pay-off for individuals and Organisations. Also individual learning may not integrate with organisational needs. Yet it is essential that individual should be helped to take on greater responsibility for their own development and growth. The key requirement, then, seems to be to create a situation where learning: * Is owned by the individual * Is properly supported And at the same time * Is closely integrated with organisations needs This what self- managed learning provides Knowles, (1975) Self-managed learning is about people taking their own initiatives in managing their learning, but the benefits of self-managing learning to the individual as well as the organisation are positive. For Teagasc and their members will be extremely important the benefits of self-managed learning. The employees will approach their learning in a way that is most compatible with their own learning style and strategy. In approaching pre-designed, structured training modules, employees can seek out those most congruent with their learning styles. Where the employee designs his/her own learning experience, they would opt for those with which they are most comfortable. There others several distinct benefits of SDL for the organization and their members: * SDL can help identify an â€Å"Organization`s â€Å"A† players- SDL requires initiative. Individuals who show initiative in undertaking their own SDL program are motivated, confident self-starters. Certainly they would evidence motivation, interest and behaviours in their jobs similar to â€Å"A† players. * SDL can be implemented with minimal expense – Many learning projects will cost nothing. Relatively speaking, project costs will be minimal. * SDL minimizes the issue of transfer of learning. 7- Conclusion After done this research in self-managed learning I could say that people are taking more responsibility when they are learning by their own initiative. Self-managed learning is not something easy, though some people tend to passive that managing their own learning through self-managing learning is an old fashion way of learning. The fact is that it’s not true, the basic requirement needed to set out the goals and meeting them is hard approach to learning. Individuals need to understand the stages for the professional development plan for the purpose of having a clear objective of what they would like to achieve from self-managing learning.

Torts; CyberTorts; Strict Liability; Products Liability; Consumer Essay - 1

Torts; CyberTorts; Strict Liability; Products Liability; Consumer Protection Law 3 - Essay Example This is in light with the mandates developed over a timeframe and these levels against the substantive compositions of the developed agreements. As such, the mandates developed as per the required rights exponentially give these coordinates the required protection. In view of the developing individual agreements, the global network itself has reinforced the required attributes by creating a virtual impression that summarily enriches the objectivity of the trademarks. The principle establishment of the required trade laws has independently enriched the efforts aimed at provided national based agreements. (ECT, 2009) Research works of WTO2 and the mergers that transform the entire system created uniformity in the system and this clearly ensured that better review mechanism remained in place to support enforceable laws and create the required impression as per the ideal rule of law. In view of the created laws, better management systems were evaluated and coordinated at all court based levels in order to ensure that proper projections remain tangible. The establishment of remotely controlled trademarks helped to manage the ideal list as per the correlated measures. The global network ensured that replacements within the national platform3 would clearly develop independent evaluation as required in all principled applications. This enacted situation also created total reliance on trademarks as well as interactive laws on active developmental conditions4. This further showed that actions based on continuous analysis of the aided quality initiatives equally allowed information to be shared through t he required levels. The coverage as per the amended factors would flexible give the research initiatives new formation which is naturally developed basing on the domestication of the trademark laws. The certainty of the law has gained more popularity over a period of time and this according to

Describe the political warfare between the federalist and their Essay

Describe the political warfare between the federalist and their opponents,the Jeffersonians ,during the 1790s, - Essay Example His objective was to rally national support for Hamiltons economic programs and creation of a strong national government. He formed acquaintances with like-minded supporters of independence or nationalists on realizing the need for vocal political support in the states. He used his network of treasury agents to bond friends of the government, especially bankers and merchants in the dozen major cities of the new nation. The Federalists Party became popular with businesspersons, mostly people from New England. Its distinguished representatives included Alexander Hamilton, John Adams, John Jay and author Noah Webster. The Jeffersonian Republicans on the other hand emerged within three years of the Constitution inauguration. Americans.net records that no longer able to agree to the various policies that President Washington advocated, Thomas Jefferson left the Cabinet in 1793. Together with James Madison and lesser figures in the infant federal government, they formed a coalition that took to the leadership of popular opposition to economic and financial programs of Alexander Hamilton. They feared the intense threat to the American experiment in popular self-governance by the broad interpretation of the Constitution advanced on their behalf, the policies of the first secretary of the Treasury, and the anti-populist reactions that some of Hamiltons supporters expressed. The opposition deepened after 1793 when Britain and revolutionary France entered into twenty years of war. It extended into foreign policy and marshaled a large enough portion of the population such that historians describe Jeffersonian Republicans as the first American political party. By 1792, newspapers started referring to Hamilton supporters as Federalists while they referred to Jefferson’s supporters as Democrats, Republicans, Jeffersonians or Democratic-Republicans. They were generally farmers and opposed a strong central government. The state networks of both Federalist and

Give an example of false imprisonment. How does false imprisonment Essay

Give an example of false imprisonment. How does false imprisonment differ from kidnapping How does it differ from false arrest - Essay Example The detective later learns that the person is innocent, but still go ahead to lock the person up. It could then be said that the detective has falsely imprisoned the individual and this is a clear case of false imprisonment. It should be noted that false imprisonment differs from kidnapping in so many ways. While false imprisonment is usually done by officers of the law, kidnapping is not in any way done by officers of the law. Kidnapping is the criminally act of abducting somebody forcefully against their will and it is usually done for ransom. False imprisonment is usually carried out with the officers that made the false imprisonment giving the impression that they are working according to the statutes of the law, while kidnapping is in every way against the law. Thus, to a certain extent false imprisonment has the support of the law at least up to the extent that it has been established that it is false imprisonment. While kidnapping on the other hand does not have the support of the law in any way (Friedman, 2002). False imprisonment differs from false arrest in the sense that while false imprisonment generally involves the imprisonment of an individual by a detective or an officer of the law, false arrest does not necessarily ends in imprisonment.

British Campaign of 1812 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

British Campaign of 1812 - Essay Example The war of 1812 between the U.S. and British Empire (Great Britain, Upper Canada- Ontario, Lower Canada-Quebec, Nova Scotia, Newfound land, and Bermuda) has started in June 18, 1812 and ended in December 24, 1814 officially though the unofficial records shown that the war ended only in March 23, 1815. On 19 August, a British force landed at the mouth of the Patuxent River. By 24 August they had marched north and captured Washington, almost without a fight. The British sat down at a captured White House banquet and, after a pleasant dinner, set fire to the White House and much of the city in retaliation for the American burning of a number of small villages in Upper Canada, contrary to an earlier agreement. On the morning of 13 September, British warships began the bombardment of Fort McHenry. The Bombardment failed to shake the defenders of Fort McHenry. The British completed their withdrawal on 15 September1. Baltimore was next on the schedule, but that city had been given time to prepare its defenses. A rather formidable line of redoubts covered the land approach; the harbor was guarded by Fort McHenry and blocked by a line of sunken gunboats. On September 13 a spirited engagement fought by Maryland militia, many of whom had run at Bladensburg just two weeks before, delayed the invaders and caused considerable loss, including General Ross, who was killed. When the fleet failed to reduce Fort McHenry, the assault on the city was called off. The burning of Washington marked a turning point in the war. The image of their capital in flames had the effect of rallying Americans to a spirited defense of their country, and the British were soon turned back in their attempts to capture the city of Baltimore. America won a great victory in their defense of Fort McHenry–the battle which was the inspiration to onlooker Francis Scott Keys poem, "The Star Spangled Banner," which would become t he lyrics to Americas National Anthem. The British attacks in

Do media images of family or marriage help us or hurt us Essay - 1

Do media images of family or marriage help us or hurt us - Essay Example The first point that supports my view is that what media most of the time provides is an altruistic picture that rarely comes true. For instance, it is rather impossible for most males to become the so-called Mills and Boon hero with a highly masculine body, high cheekbones that indicate intelligence, and a repertoire full of romance. In addition, he is supposed to possess unlimited wealth and influence, that is, the minimum standard set is a James Bond. In the case of female, the picture the media provides is that of an alluring goddess who always smells nothing less than rose, and who is always eager to have her ‘right man’ holding her hand and leading her gently to the most expensive restaurant. As people are fed this picture, they get unsatisfied in their marital life when they come to realize that their partners fall short of their expectations. Thus, for many ladies, a husband who does not look like Tom Cruise is a matter of inferiority complex that they have to su ffer due to bad luck. Thus, evidently, the beautiful picture provided by media on family and marriage is most of the time far from reality and hence highly destructive when taken to heart. Now, a look into the works of various scholars will confirm this opinion as truth. For example, studies have proved that heavy viewers of television tend to perceive being single as negative and believe that families in real life show support and concern for each other. However, the ones who are addicted to soap operas believe that the number of illegitimate children, divorces, extra marital affairs and happy marriages are all higher in number than they really are. Yet another point that goes strongly against media is that it promotes the stereotyping of male and female roles in families and marriages. For example, the general notion that media is interested in promoting is that females are the happiest at home raising

The University's Code of Conduct Lab Report Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

The University's Code of Conduct - Lab Report Example But CQU guarantees the environment that is free from bullied, unlawful discrimination or sexually harassment. Supervisors are not only responsible for this code of conduct but staff members are also responsible to maintain an environment free from bullied, unlawful discrimination or sexually harassment. To avoid harassment and unlawful discrimination in the institution, supervisor is aware of workplace culture, staff attitude, rate of absenteeism of the staff and staff turnover. Staff members have right to make a complaint if they are suffering from workplace harassment, sexual harassment and unlawful discrimination. There are different options for the resolution of complaints, such as: (i) Expressing mistakes, responsible for workplace harassment, to a person who is conducting them (ii) Making complaint to the relevant person who is dealing with lodging of formal complaints (iii) Seeking advice from cultural director (iv) Getting fruitful advice from Employee Assistance Program (EAP ) (v) Bringing the issue in the notice of Anti-discrimination Commission or Human Rights Commission. Ethically it is required that the issue of harassment or unlawful discrimination is kept confidential and the issue should be resolved at best lowest possible level to win the trust of the staff members. The purpose of the avoiding such type of harassment and discrimination, which is an undesirable situation, is that to provide employees an opportunity to work in safe and respectable environment, that is free from bullying, sexual harassment, and any kind of discrimination. University Staff members, Visitors, Council members and Contractors head this policy. The policy does not cover the grievances related to the classification level, workload and condition of employment. It is necessary that resolution must be addressed in accordance with the resolution mechanism. Two major parties are involved in this procedure: first is the complainant; who identifies the staff member who witnesse d the bullying, sexual harassment, or unlawful discrimination. The other party is respondent; is a person whom complaint has been made regarding bullying, sexual harassment, or unlawful discrimination. Responsibility for implementation puts on Vice Chancellor, President and Immediate Boss to comply with the policy and no to tolerate any unacceptable behavior in the institution. The policy implementation is monitored by the people and cultural director of the institution. Complaint Resolution Overview CQ University ensures the working environment that is free from bullying, sexual harassment, or unlawful discrimination and Central Queensland University Enterprise Agreement (2009) ensures solid procedure that will not tolerate these behaviors that cause this situation. To resolve the harassment and discrimination, university uses different procedures that will be discussed later on. Complaint Resolution Procedures One-on-One Resolution In the first instance, complainant may seek to ad dress the issue to the respondent if he/she feels comfortable and safe for doing so. Otherwise complainant may seek assistance from the supervisor or cultural director who deals with this procedure. The issue can be resolved by apologizing, providing training or counseling or stopping the alleged behavior. Other way is to seek policy advice, support or guidance on how to address the is

Issues Of Abusing Study Drugs Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Issues Of Abusing Study Drugs - Essay Example Any student abusing the study drugs respective authorities ought to arrest him or her because these drugs end up doing more harm than good in the end. These study drugs have very many side effects. They include increased blood pressure, irregular heartbeats and changes in sex drive or impotence, in the long term. In the short term, the drugs may cause restlessness, anxiety, headaches, insomnia, dizziness, mouth dryness, paranoia, suppressed appetite, diarrhea or constipation (â€Å"The University of Texas†). In addition to these drugs having mild to severe side effects, the drugs have a potential overreliance (â€Å"The University of Texas†). These study drugs should be banned and every student abusing them to be arrested since they have many side effects that could have long-lasting effects on the user in addition to causing dependence. The fact that study drugs are abused more than marijuana and are easier to get is a worrying fact. Research shows that over 30 percent of students in the university have illegally taken the drugs, with the number being more for the upperclassmen. This is quite worrying since the federal government lists the Adderall as a schedule II drug. The schedule II drugs have the highest potential for abuse and a dependence profile (Cooper). Moreover, according to Dr. Kotwicki, these drug produce euphoria, they may temporarily work but in the end cause problems with functionality. Students abuse drugs such as Ritalin to enhance their alertness and attention leading to better performance. However, according to CBC news, evidence suggests that the drugs do not increase cognition (â€Å"CBC news†). It is so sad that students abuse these drugs thinking that it helps them but they end up harming them.

Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) Essay Example for Free

Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) Essay The Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) is an international comparative assessment about mathematics and science education that is organized by the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA). The survey has been administered periodically in cycles of 4 years since 1995. Initially TIMSS was an acronym for the Third International Mathematics and Science Study, which identified its position as the third study following the First and Second International Mathematics and Science Studies (FIMS SIMS) in 1964 and 1982 respectively. A similar study to the 1995 TIMSS (using the same technical framework) was carried out in 1999, and was referred to as the Third International Mathematics and Science Study Repeat (TIMSS-R). The 2003 study was the third cycle of studies based on the 1995 assessment framework, and the acronym TIMSS was redefined to mean Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (http://nces.ed.gov/timss). With funding from the U.S. National Science Foundation, the TIMSS assessment was to be offered more timely in intervals of 4 years. Table 1 gives an overview on the TIMSS assessment, target populations, and the number of countries that participated in each administration. Table 1. TIMSS assessments and participating countries at the 8th grade level Study Name Acronym Year Number of Countries Target population Grades tested Third International Mathematics and Science Study TIMSS 1994/5 42 3rd /4th, 7th/8th , 12th Third International Mathematics and Science Study Repeat. TIMSS-R 1998/9 40 8th Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study TIMSS 2002/3 46 4th 8th Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study TIMSS 2006/7 Over 60 4th, 8th, (12th rescheduled 2008) TIMSS is considered the largest, most comprehensive, rigorous, and extensive international comparative educational study ever conducted (Alejandro, 2000). It touches on almost every facet of the learning of science and mathematics. The 2003 TIMSS project was comprised of over 360 000 students, over 38 000 teachers, and over 12 000 school principals, and as many as 1 500 contextual variables were included in addition to variables on student achievement scores (Nelson, 2002; TIMSS‟ User guide 2003). TIMSS aims at providing policy makers and educational practitioners with information and indicators about their national educational systems from an international perspective. Alejandro argues that TIMSS serves a â€Å"mirror† function to participating countries to reflect comparatively on their education systems. Martin and Kelly (2004) suggest that TIMSS tests go beyond measuring achievement to including a thorough investigation of curriculum and how it is delivered in classrooms around the world. In a nutshell, the assessment is perceived to be valid and reliable as a measure of student achievement. However, the TIMSS assessments are not without critics. Among the critical voices is that of Wolf (2002) who questions the validity issues of the TIMSS studies. His contention is that TIMSS, being an international assessment, may have testing procedures that are not appropriate for some countries‟ usual testing practices. Related to that, Zuzovsky (2000) specifically questions the reliability of these tests. He argues that the heavily elaborated coding systems inherent in the TIMSS scoring procedures yield lower inter-rater consistency and also that translation of achievement tests into different languages brings the reliability of the assessments into question. The downside of cross-sectional assessments such as the TIMSS projects did not escape the attention of de Lange (2007) who questions the assumption behind international studies that a single test can give comparable measures of curriculum effects across countries. In spite of these criticisms, Alejandro, the chairman of IEA, sees the worth in countries participating in the TIMSS surveys. He argues that â€Å"More than just league tables, the TIMSS data place achievement in an international context where it can be considered from multiple perspectives† (Alejandro, 2000, p. 2). A similar statement was expressed more than 35 years ago by Bock (1970). He perceived the world as shrinking through technology. In support of international studies, he argued that through participation in international studies and by sharing educational reports, countries get a glimpse of each other‟s cultural practices. The TIMSS international reports give an overall impression of the impact that different education factors have on students‟ performance in different countries. It is by further engaging in secondary analysis of the TIMSS data and by conducting further studies related to the findings of TIMSS assessments that countries better understand their schooling system. In particular, it is important to identify areas of concern and address those systematically rather than attempt to replicate another country`s curriculum system simply because the schooling system there seems to be effective. Education indicators are numerous and vary in their effect from country to country. It is possible that each of the 1,500 contextual variables administered in the TIMSS surveys were included because of some supporting literature on their influence on students‟ learning. TIMSS as model of Educational Achievement The literature on models of educational indicators and their performance as a system together with research studies that model student learning achievement as a function of the characteristics of their schools and their family background is extensive (Oakes, 2006; Kaplan Elliott, 2007; Kaplan Kreisman, 2000; Koller, Baumert, Clausen, Hosenfeld, 2001). However, in spite of the extensive literature on the subject of modeling of educational data, no single model of educational performance has gained widespread acceptance (Oakes, 2006; Nelson, 2002). This lack of a global model was noted by Nelson in relation to the TIMSS projects, that, although rigorously executed, and with all its popularity (with more participants than any other IEA study), TIMSS has not attempted to come up with a prescriptive model that relates educational factors to student achievement that can be applicable across nations. Nelson is adamant that any attempt to provide a universal model would not be wise because countries differ in their educational policies and instructional practices so that a one-size fits- all model would not be realistic. That said, though models of educational performance seem diverse as suggested by the literature, in Haertel, Walberg, and Weinstein‟s (2003) view, they have more commonalities than differences. Haertel et al. conducted a meta-analysis of studies that modeled school performance data and found that the presented models had a common structure. Though the models differed in their specifications, their structures were comprised of three categories of pre-existing conditions (cognitive/affective attributes and resources), instructional processes (opportunity to learn, quality of instruction), and outcome measures (achievement, affective behaviors). These models presented student performance as a function of student, teacher, and/or school background variables. Studies of interest to my research are those that modeled students‟ performance as a function of their background variables; the model of interest that informed my variable selection is the Input-Process-Output (IPO) model by Oakes (2006), or Rand Model (Shavelson, McDonnell, Oakes, 2006). The IPO model has similar structural components as the models that were reviewed by Haertel et al. (2003) and models student achievement as a function of some resources. I selected this model for my conceptual framework because of its scope of coverage of educational indicators. The model presents a holistic conception of student learning in a classroom setting and it appears frequently in literature that analyzes large scale data (e.g. Kaplan and Kreisman, 2000; Koller, Baumert, Clausen, Hosenfeld, 2001 analyzing TIMSS data). Additionally, it has been used extensively to guide education researchers in the selection, specification, and analysis of educational variables that correlate with student learning outcomes (Kaplan Elliott, 2007; Kaplan Kreisman, 2000; Koller, Baumert, Clausen, Hosenfeld, 2001). It is taken as one of the influential models in shaping public opinion and policy on how to foster school improvement. TIMSS Input-Process-Output Model The input-process-output (IPO) model by TIMSS is one of the improved versions of the traditional input-output (IO) models of school organizational data (Glasman, Biniaminov, 2001). Glasman and Biniaminov reported that the input-output traditional model employed research strategies that measured changes in the systems‟ outputs brought about by changes in the systems‟ inputs. The IO model was criticized for not taking the academic environment into account and for oversimplifying the schooling process by portraying it as linear. According to Glasman and Biniaminov, â€Å"the input-output analyses [did] not deal with characteristics of the dynamic and ongoing interrelationships between students and teachers or those among students themselves† (p. 509). To overcome the problem, Oakes‟ model added a third component (processes) that mediated the input variables into the output variables and that also provided an educational context for the model. The process component focuses on classroom characteristics such as instructional quality issues (explained in the next section under measures for the model). Oakes‟ model is therefore comprised of three components of an educational system: inputs, processes, and outputs (IPO) (Figure1). Figure 1. A comprehensive Model of an Educational System INPUTS PROCESSES OUTPUTS Fiscal and Curriculum Achievement other quality resources School quality Instructional Participation Quality Dropouts Teacher Characteristics Teaching quality Student Attitudes Background Aspirations Note. The arrows indicate the direction of effect Briefly stated, according to Shavelson, McDonnell, and Oakes, (2001) â€Å"the TIMSS model‟s inputs are the human and financial resources available to education† (p. 13): This includes teacher quality (e.g. certification and experience), student background (e.g. parents‟ education and home possessions), and school quality (e.g. school climate). â€Å"Its processes are what is taught and how it is taught† (p. 13): This includes classroom characteristics such as curriculum quality (e.g. pace and coverage of materials), teaching quality (e.g. integration between teacher, pupil, and materials), and instructional quality (e.g. instructional tasks, teaching methods, and classroom climate) and â€Å"its outputs are the consequences of schooling for students from different backgrounds† (p. 13) such as academic achievement, participation (what percentage graduate versus drop out), and attitudes (e.g. any desires to continue studying math or career goals that are math related). The TIMSS model is complex and provides insight into how the various components of the education system relate to one another. As noted earlier, one of the shortcomings of the traditional input output model was its structure in which nested data was treated as though linear, and the TIMSS model addressed that problem. This was noted by Kaplan and Elliott that â€Å"the TIMSS‟ model, is one instantiation of the organizational structure of schooling that captures its hierarchical nature† (Kaplan, Elliott, 2007; p. 221). The two suggested that the model was multilevel in form and was testable through statistical methodologies that take the multilevel nature of educational data into consideration. Kaplan and Elliot used the model for their framework to propose a model-based approach for validating educational indicators that explicitly took into account the organizational features of schooling. The two contended from their model that it was not necessary for every indicator that has ever been suggested for collection to actually appear in the model. To them, it is the research questions and the goals for the investigations that should determine which indicators to include in a statistical model. Nevertheless, Oakes (2006) advised that a single indicator of each component of the educational system was inadequate. What was needed, in his view, was for each component to have indicators of all its most critical dimensions, and, â€Å"without a series of indicators that assesses all important facets of the schooling processes (the 3 components of the model), we can neither understand the system`s overall health nor determine the conditions under which a particular goal is met† (Oakes, 2006, p. 8). Oakes further observed that each of the three components appeared to be necessary but insufficient by itself to convey full information about school effects. That is, although a system of indicators measures distinct components of the education model, it also provides information about how the individual components work together to produce the overall effect. What can be deduced from Oake`s remarks is that studies that model only one component of the educational system may not be doing an adequate job of conveying the necessary information about the school effects. Conclusions What I considered informative from TIMSS and through the deliberations by Kaplan and Elliott (2007) about TIMSS`s model in general, and its use in particular, was how to utilize its structure to reach the different components of an education system holistically. It was of interest that the TIMSS model has flexible attributes in those variables could be rearranged to reflect the hierarchical nature of classroom data as evidenced in the current study in subsequent chapters. In one study, Kaplan and Kreisman (2000) used the TIMSS` model to validate indicators of mathematics education using its data. Rather than group their variables into the three distinct categories of Input-Process-Output as outlined in the model structure, they contended that since TIMSS` model was inherently multilevel, a subset of the inputs and processes occurred at higher levels of the education system. As a result, they grouped their indicators into three organizational levels: student, teacher, and school. That is to say, although TIMMS` model (Figure 1) groups school resources, teacher quality, and student background as one category of input (or prerequisite) variables, these indicators occur at different hierarchical levels of the school organization. Some of the variables included in the Kaplan and Kreisman model were: †¢Ã¯â‚¬  At student level: mathematics achievement, attitude toward mathematics, utility of mathematics, parents’ education, and mother’s expectations. †¢Ã¯â‚¬  At teacher level: method of instruction, teacher collaboration with colleagues, teacher’s level of education, and teaching experience. †¢Ã¯â‚¬  At school level: opportunities for continuing professional development, good facilities, school climate, level of discipline, and outstanding teacher recognition. Needless to say, Kaplan and Kreisman`s (2000) variables were representative of the three components of the IPO model even though the variables were grouped differently. Some of the variables they used were composite indicators. These were variables such as attitudes and methods of instruction. The two authors ran factor analyses to help group related items into the composite indicators and they had mathematics achievement as their outcome measure. In summary, TIMMS` model is more of a conceptual framework than a prescriptive one. That is, it does not prescribe what variables one should include in a statistical model for testing educational performance, but offers guidance about the components from which to draw the variables. Directions for Future Research TIMSS data have opened extensive avenues for further research work. In conclusion, this paper has evidenced the complexities involved in TIMSS data. It is hoped that this study and other studies that continue to model TIMSS data and pilot TIMSS instruments will help to illuminate the factors that explain student achievement in the us and in many other countries and to direct policy interventions.

Price Elascity of Demand Essay Example for Free

Price Elascity of Demand Essay Price Elascity of Demand BY vtc901ee The price elasticity of demand (PED) is a measure of how much the quantity demanded of a good responds to a change in price of the good (Mankiw 2007, p. 90). It is a form of measure to determine how willing consumers are to move away from the good as the price of the good rises. Most of the time, there are factors that determines the PED, such as availability of close substitutes, necessities versus luxuries, definition of the market and time horizon. In order to calculate the PED, a formula is calculated using the percentage change in the quantity demanded divided y the percentage change in the price. Elastic demand that has the coefficient of greater than 1 suggests that there would be a significant change in quantity demanded when there is a little change in price while inelastic demand has a coefficient of less than one, which has a little change in quantity demanded even when there is a significant change in price. Unitary demand occurs when there is a coefficient of exactly one and there is an exact change in quantity demanded in proportion to the change in price (Bolotta et al. 2002). There are two ways to calculate the PED. Firstly, it is called the point method or also nown as geometrical method (DEISU 2008). Under this method, we measure the elasticity of demand at any point of a demand curve using the formula, Elasticity at any point on the straight line can be calculated using the point method provided that the demand line is linear. The better way to calculate the PED is by using the midpoint method, which is to calculate the PED between two points on a demand curve by averaging the 2 initial and final points chosen. The midpoint approach averages the prices and quantities demanded, thus arriving at an average elasticity estimate for the range of values covered on the demand curve. The formula is, The product that is chosen to explain the theory of PED is rice. Rice is one of the perfect examples of inelastic demand applied in todays world, especially in Malaysia. There was an interesting finding made by Nik Mustapha and other researchers, where they find that rice tends to be inelastic, showing that rice has already occupied a special position in Malaysian diet as it is a staple food among the population (FEMI-JPM 2008). Other countries in Asia are also affected by the demand for rice. In Thailand, the export price elasticity of demand for rice is ranged -1. 2 and -1. 9, which shows that it is an inelastic demand (FEMI-JPM 2008). The graph would be similar to Figure 3, whereby it has a steeper slope. This indicates that the consumer would pay at almost any price set in the market for the good as it is a necessity in food for them. The PED of the rice is important in terms of their pricing decisions as the total revenue can change along the demand curve, and this in return depends on the PED. In this case, rice is considered to be inelastic, and for all inelastic demands, an increase in price will have an increase in total revenue (Mankiw 2007, p. 95). However, this is also crucial in determining the maximum profit that can be made using the PED. If all the farmers have good harvest, a large drop in price is necessary to encourage consumers to use the additional grain (Ingrimayne. com) this will cause the farmers income to decrease, thus it is important to know the PED of the rice. For instance, if the quantity of rice increases by 20%, it means that there could be a decrease of price by 40%. In explaining on how the tax being imposed by the government can affects the production of rice, a fully labelled market diagram for rice (inelastic demand) is illustrated. Consumer surplus is the extra amount consumers are willing to pay from the ctual price whereas producer surplus is the amount sellers are paid for a good minus the sellers cost of providing it (Mankiw 2007, pp. 139-144). Before the government impose tax on rice, consumer surplus and producer surplus are determined by equilibrium of price in the market. By imposing the tax on rice, the quantity of rice sold falls and there is a wedge between the price that buyers pay and the price that sellers receive. Both surpluses are reduced because there is tax revenue imposed by the government, resulting in a deadweight loss, a condition where a fall in surplus exceeds tax revenue, a form of market distortion (Mankiw 007, p. 162). These tax revenues are classified as government revenue. Government revenue may differ depending on the size of the tax, as different tax size generates different tax revenue. Since an inelastic demand decreases the quantity produced by a little, it can be assumed that the deadweight loss is also smaller, causing the tax revenue to increase slightly, as shown in Figure 10. Next, we will discuss the tax burden of the production of rice. Tax incidence is the distribution of tax burden among the participants in the market. In the rice market, taxes imposed on the buyers and the sellers are the same no matter whether the tax s charged on buyers or sellers, but the only difference is that who will send the money to the government (Mankiw 2007, pp. 24-127). To prove that, the following are the examples when a tax is charged on either buyers or sellers: The overall social welfare will be clearly shown once the effects of tax have on the quantity and price of the product, as the change in the total welfare decreases the consumer surplus and producer surplus, and usually exceeds the tax revenue raised maximised as there is deadweight loss incurred in the process of taxation, causing the quantity of goods decrease

Negative Impacts of an Ageing Population

Negative Impacts of an Ageing Population What problems might governments face with an ageing population? Discuss what can be done to alleviate these problems? Nowadays, the issue of ageing population is a subject of much attention in all over the world. Population ageing is a shift in the distribution of a countrys population towards older ages. This is usually reflected in an increase in the populations mean and median ages, a decline in the proportion of the population composed of children, and a rise in the proportion of the population that is elderly. It is predicted that the trend for an older population will continue during the first half of this century at least. What this means is that we now have more elderly people than ever. The ageing of the population presents a major fiscal challenge for the government. Currently, it is a serious problem for governments in terms of what the effects will be on healthcare, care services, pensions and future labor supply. One of the major worries about the growing number of elderly people in our society is how the system can afford to support them all. Ageing populations are likely to put significant pressure on public spending programs, such as health care and pensions. Health care is the area that is particularly affected by the changing age structure of the population in favor of older age groups. The health care system through out the world is already overly stretched and the rise in this sector of population can make the health system go further haywire. Cost of health insurance is on hike and if this is the case many people will not be able to afford the costly insurance after a certain point in their lifetime. The pattern of health-care costs at different stages in the average life-cycle has been established in a number of researches, and it implies that as the numbers of elderly increase, total health-care costs are also likely to rise, although the effect of increased life expectancy on per c apita health-care costs is more difficult to establish because it depends, in part, on the physical dimensions of the ageing process. In order to isolate and examine the effects of demographics on health-care spending, per capita real public health-care spending on people under 65 year-olds and on those 65-years and older is assumed to grow in line with productivity growth. The per capita expenditures were then applied to the population projections for their corresponding age groups. The scenarios of health-care costs indicate that in the United States and Canada, whose populations are growing as well as ageing, public spending on health care as a per cent of GDP (Gross Domestic Product) would rise significantly. In the United States, the effects of ageing are exacerbated by the particularly high share of public health spending which is spent on those over 65 compared with the under 65 year-olds. Moreover, The Government has given a lot consideration to adapting the design of new builds to ensure they are suitable for the ageing population. Its national strategy, called Lifetime Homes; Lifetime Neighborhoods sets out the challenge and the governmental plan of response. The plan sets out sixteen design features that should be incorporated into all new homes, such as level access, wide corridors and doorways, ground floor bathroom facilities, and sockets and light switches at a convenient height.   Besides, ageing population also affect on the demand for these social services, especially for pensions. The underlying reason is that medical advances over the last few decades have greatly prolonged our life span, forcing the pensions industry to support a greater number of pensioners for longer periods. But the problem has been exacerbated in recent years by dwindling stock market returns. Pension funds depend on steady stock market returns to pay policyholders. And when share prices fall as they have been doing for the last two years it becomes harder for funds to meet their obligations. Lower returns have forced most of the big company-run pension funds to suspend generous schemes which guarantee employees a fixed proportion of their final salaries on retirement. A large proportion of firms have now set up defined contribution or money purchase schemes, which do not guarantee the final pension sum and are therefore less risky for companies. An additional gripe, as far as employers are concerned, is the 10% tax on dividends earned by pension schemes, which was imposed by the chancellor shortly after the present government was elected in 1997. Dividends play an important part in the long-term health of pension schemes. Any tax on them increases the possibility that the scheme will not have sufficient assets to meet liabilities. Another problem is that ageing population means fewer youth who is the main labors in almost factories and companies; the decreasing in number of young people may lead to the shortage of labor in near future. In many countries, expected demographic developments will lead to significant declines in the growth of the labor force and aggregate participation rates over the next decades. The overall participation rate could fall by some 4-5 percentages on average between 2000 and 2025. This will be accompanied by an increasing share of older workers in the labor force and a significant increase in old-age dependency ratios. The ageing also will have a serious affect on the industry, as essential skills will be lost when employees retire (given that there are fewer young professionals coming into the industry to replace those retiring). This is exacerbated by the fact that the number of new recruits is declining and there will be nobody available to replace those retiring. This would also mean that the industry is losing a valuable teaching resource, as older workers often use their expertise and experience to help develop new entrants. This issue is closely related to the industrys dilemma of skills shortages and its problems in recruiting enough new employees. While the industrys older members are acknowledged for their significant expertise and experience, it was suggested that a fresher perspective from younger employees is important to drive innovation in the industry. These respondents believe that developing new ideas and innovative ways of working will help to strengthen the industrys future. Cur rently, theres no balance between these different aspects of the industry workforce, causing important skills to be lost and innovation to be constrained. In order to solve these problems above, the governments should have some solutions to prevent the economy getting worse and improve the living standard for all people. Some of main policy options which are governments should do for adjusting pension systems to future challenges are delaying retirement, lowering pension payments (including replacement rates) and undertaking welfare reform. The combined effects of the falling the numbers of working people and the rising numbers of pensioners mean that even quite major increases in contribution rates or reductions in pension payments would be insufficient to balance those projects that face the greatest problems. Increasing contribution rates can be seen as simply a means of raising overall tax revenues and would need to be assessed against other revenue-raising options but it does focus directly on the problem. Increasing the retirement ages (delaying retirement) to the extent that it does actually lead to people working for longer, al so helps to avoid one rather awkward aspect of many of the other changes suggested. Raising retirement ages also provides the decreasing in the number of pensioners. In order to delay retirement, government should ensure all state workplaces are conducive to older workers remaining in employment or encourages retirees to return to the labor force. Besides, government should relax the process for obtaining exemptions under the act for those employers who wish to target specific disadvantaged groups for recruitment. Those countries with the lowest retirement ages, after current reforms are implemented, France and Italy, also face the largest pension pressures and raising retirement ages significantly would seem to offer the most scope for easing the pressure, especially as experience elsewhere indicates that raising retirement ages is a practical and feasible policy option. Another solution which the government should do to balance the ratio between the number of old people and young people are reducing the cost of raising children, even the education cost. On the other hand, these days many parents can not be able to pay for raising children. For example, in UK there are two sets of people paying the costs of raising children: their parents and taxpayers. The costs of raising a family are high for parents, even those who send their children to state schools. According to a December 2007 survey by the Liverpool Victoria Friendly Society, parents can expect to spend about  £186,000 (up from  £180,000 from a year before) on bringing up a child from birth to the age of 21. A typical family spends  £50,538 on childcare and  £47,310 on education, even assuming a state education through primary and secondary school. The costs for taxpayers are high too. With state education paid for by the taxpayer, those under 18 incur costs to the public sector as w ell as the older people who receive state pensions and people of all ages who receive other state benefits. Young dependants funded by the taxpayer receive state-supported childcare or nursery education from ages 0-5; primary school education from 5-11; and secondary education from schools from 11-16. Many go on to receive further education from 16-18; with some 43% of those aged 18-21 continuing in full-time higher education at universities and colleges and the government aiming to raise participation to 50%. In 2004-2005 state education cost taxpayers  £63.7 billion, of which  £4.2 billion was spent on under-fives,  £36.5 billion on schools,  £7.4 billion on further education and  £7.8 billion on higher education. With 9.3 million pupils in 34,600 schools, the average school place cost the taxpayer  £3,924 a year. Therefore, there are a lot of people do not want to have children because they can not afford to bring up them. In order to increase the number of young chil dren government should have policies to help young people. Furthermore, immigration should be another cure for failing birth rates and ageing population. Because, immigrant can get employed to simulate economic growth. However, the proportion of low-skilled immigrants in the total number of immigrants should not be higher than the proportion among natives to prevent unemployment from rising. Thus to stimulate investments and economic growth it is of utmost importance that immigration policy as a means to mitigate the ageing problem should not only focus on the number of immigrants, but also on their employability by keeping the skill structure in line with the skill distribution of domestic labor market entrants. Overall, older people are a significant and growing part of local communities. This inexorable trend presents both daunting challenges and real opportunities for local government. Older people offer rich life experience, well honed skills, knowledge and wisdom, qualities that significantly contribute to the social fabric of local communities. But our ageing population will also impact on planning and service delivery due to the slowdown in the growth of workforce and the increase in spending on caring old people.

Republican Plan Should be Vetoed :: Economy Economics Papers

Republican Plan Should be Vetoed I believe that the Republican plan should be vetoed. I am against the resolution for the following reasons. One, the debt is too high as is, and cuts in smaller programs will not dent this tremendous debt. Also, I believe that it is a concern to the economy. In the following paragraphs, I will elaborate. The national debt was 4.9 trillion dollars. This is definitely an unimaginable number for anyone to fathom. To add to this, it was recently passed to raise the limit of the debt to 4.967 trillion dollars, just so the government would have enough to stay in operation. This country is not in constant threat of wars anymore, therefore, I don't see the reason why the national defense should remain high. To my recollection, the U.S. spends more on defense, than anything else. This should be the program to get cut, and not a program beneficial to society such as Medicare or welfare. We need to turn away from funding the nuclear missile to save this country some money One last point on this section, education does NOT need to be touchedby federal cuts, unless the republicans enjoy being the least educated developed country in the world. The reason I believe that the debt is an issue to the economy is as follows. It's the word called inflation. As the debt increses, inflation increases as well. Plus, with the raise on the debt limit, I fear there will be yet another increase in inflation. Cutting the small programs would decrease inflation, but it would happen at a slow rate. At the beginning after all the cuts take place, people would fear spending and would increase savings. All, this would do is to stop the program of decreasing the debt. If, on the other hand. defense was cut, and money programs for Medicare, welfare and education were left alone, I believe that people would increase their spending to a point of slightly decreasing inflation as well, thus stimulating the

Westward Expansion Essay -- essays research papers

WESTWARD EXPANSION The movement of people that has resulted in the settlement of America is one of the most fascinating and significant topics in the history of the United States. Nowhere else has an area of equal size been settled as a result of the initiative of small groups and individuals. Westward expansion helped stimulate the American economy. The first organized migration to California originated in Platte County, on the far western frontier of Missouri. Reports described California as "a perfect paradise, a perpetual spring." The people of Platte County formed the Western Emigration Society, which sent out information about California throughout the Mississippi Valley (Wexler,139). Several merchant and landowners were concerned about the number of prospective emigrants that they launched a campaign disparaging California. This act proved to be effective, in 1842 and 1843 relatively few emigrants followed the first migration to California. The first wagon train was led by John Bidwell, the organizer of the Western Emigration Society. Bidwell let the pioneers across the Rockies, a party of 69 adults and children who divided into two groups after crossing. One group headed north into Oregon, while the other, led by Bidwell continued west to California. By 1842, the currency system of the Republic of Texas was in such dire straits that even the government would not accept redbacks for payment of taxes. Other plans were attempted to get the republic fiscal house in order, but these plans achieved only slightly better results. However, as the economy in the United States improved and the Texas annexation movement gained momentum, currency in Texas slowly recovered some of its values before Texas was annexed in 1845(thewest@pbs.org). Slavery was a big issue, many anti-slavery leaders came out strong against adding another potential slave state to the Union. The basic concerns were - war with Mexico and the division over slavery(Remini). Clay argued against incorporating Texas into the Union when he was almost assured of the Whig Party's nomination for president. In the election Clay, who hedged on his annexation position, was narrowly defeated by James Polk, a former Tennessee senator who ran on a strong expansionist platform( Bender212). The Senate rejected the Texas annexation treaty submitted by John Tyler in 1844. Tyler resubmitted... ...overed gold on the American River at Coloma while building a lumber mill for John Sutter, in the lower Sacramento Valley. A brief report of the discovery appeared in a San Francisco newspaper in mid-March, where it went mostly unnoticed (thewest@pbs.org). By signing the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, on February 2, 1848, ending the Mexican- American War. The United States acquired an immense western territory stretching from Texas to the Pacific and north to Oregon, which included Upper California, Utah. The United States gained 1.2 million square miles, virtually doubling its territory. The human cost for the United States was 13,238 killed and 4,152 wounded. (6) The United States agreed to pay $13 million for land and assume payment of $3.25 million in claims that American had brought against Mexico (Wexler,210). The United States from the days of independence has adopted the project of extending its dominions, and since then, that line of policy has not deviated in the slightest degree. There is still considerable movement of people westward. In most respects the movement lost its typical characteristics when there could no longer be said to be a frontier line.

Eduard Munch :: essays research papers

Eduard Munch (1863-1944) was a Norwegian painter, engraver, and printer. He is often reputed to have been a loner and a misogynist. Many of his works revolve around a motif concerning women and their obscene vulgarity. The two works that will be described here are Vampire (1893) and Jealousy (1896). These two depict women as creatures of temptation, petty provokers of pain, and selfish enslavers of vulnerable men. To just marginally understand Munch’s hatred of women, one must read upon his tragic past. Tuberculosis killed his mother when he was only five years old; it killed his sister, Sophie (whom Munch felt closest to), nine years later. In addition to these tragic events were his unsuccessful love affairs which all together bludgeoned his faith in women. In Vampire, Munch displays a scene in which a woman seems to be embracing a man. She appears to be kissing him on the neck, but the title of the work diminishes that meaning. Although Munch intended the action of the work as just a kiss, he later changed the name to â€Å"Vampire,† possibly to capitalize on the 19th century literary obsession with vampires. The intense switch in meaning plays on the mind of the viewer very curiously. It turns from compassion for the two lovers to sympathy and sorrow for the victimized man. The woman’s red hair becomes almost demonic and the background’s darkness transforms from a sorrow-filled unity between the two figures to a desolate ambiance of confusion. The dark green in the background is tranquil, but the viewer’s knowledge of the situation happening to the vulnerable man leaves the viewer in a state of ambiguity. A peaceful image is portrayed, but the woman is literally sucking the life out of the man. The red hair can be seen as a rainfall of blood emasculating the victim. The man has been deceived into finding love where there is unhappiness. He has found the tortures of being in love. The distorted and tangled strokes in the wh ole work represent the man’s faith in love being distorted and tangled. The strokes can also portray the woman’s deception, which is so fabricated by her â€Å"loving† embrace. Jealousy also carries the tormented-man motif. In this scene, a woman is chatting with and exposing her body to a man as her husband stands by, swallowing his painful jealousy. The husband’s face is close-up and facing the viewer, demonstrating his quiet enragement.

What is inflammation?

This is term that is used to describe a reaction of localized tissues that is irritated, or can be cause because of an injury, infection, redness and swelling. There are several types of disease that cause severe inflammation, one disease that is very bad is Encephalitis this is an inflammation of the brain. This particular condition can happen to anyone at any age, all over the world. If encephalitis develops very rapidly, it can cause serious problems to the nervous system and the brain. If the body produces antibodies to fight the inflammation there’s a chance that they could make a mistake and attack the healthy brain tissue instead of the tissue that is inflamed. If this is not cured it could end up being life threatening. This is just one of many infections that cause by inflammation. How body reacts to inflammation are is by detecting where the exact location the inflammation is. When the body knows where it is it can send out anti bodies to eat the infection that is causing the inflammation. The symptoms of inflammation are it can be red and warm because of a large amount of blood reaching the swollen area. It can be very painful at time especially at the site of infection. There are many way to relief the pain, redness, and swelling is to put ice on it, also some inflammatory ointment can also be used to help reduce the sign of inflammation. Normally the inflammation only last till the infection has been totally healed after that there should no long be any inflammation. Sometimes during the process of the cells healing itself the cells can die of lack of nutrients known necrotic death, another way that the cells can die is from committing suicide by destroying themselves, this is known as Apoptotic death. When our body finds that there is an inflammation our body quickly reposed and kills the intruder. Then once the infection has been killed then the inflammation should go away. There are so many various things that can cause an inflammation in our body.

Week Presentation Notes

People with psych problems Like depression and anxiety have Increased likely hood of â€Å"bad trips† Hallucinogenic Properties: -Hallucinations (no rope on table, but a snake is on the table) -Illusion (rope on table is a snake) -Delusions (fixed false belief) -Interrogated Amnesia (Wake up next day, can not remember what happened) – Kinesthesia (crossing of the senses, see sounds, hear colors etc†¦ ) Hallucinogens and Brain Chemicals -Serotonin (5-HTH Receptor) -Some effect on dopamine, nor-epinephrine, acetylene's) sleep, Serotonin depleted brain afterward Physical Effects Increased Blood Pressure/Heart Rate -Inseminating -Blurred Vision -Enlarged Pupils -Sweating -Diarrhea -Muscle Cramps -Dehydration After effects of usage: -Confusion -Fatigue -Depression -Damaged Serotonin Neurons (with frequent abuse) Serotonin depletion (For next 2 weeks) Includes numbness in emotions LSI – 1938 Sand's PharmaceuticalsFBI tested as a mind control drug in sass Timothy L eary, sass way to get in touch with your feelings sass resurgence of use, with the advent of the rave (urban people in ass/ass, and homosexuals) sass much more into high school/teenage use Northern California is where most USA LSI made in alcohol type solution, put it on blotter paper 1 1 lbs of material can supply the entire country Slows reaction times and Judgment, suicide in bad trips, confusion causes suicide also. Ecstasy The most popular drug currently, mix of amphetamine and psychedelic, sass use for weight loss. SASS psychiatrist studied use in treatment of PATS, patients reported it helped them get in tough with their feelings and explore the traumas DEAD in mid sass outlawed it sass rave scene Effects; Energy, empathy, love, dance, sexual desire southwest raves, 2-3 day long dances, 2-3 people die from temp issue Not taken then sat on couch or as only drug at the same time Mostly pill form.No regulation, made in homemade lab, no idea what is in it, sometimes put ephedrine , or PC. Sometimes just pure chalk. Unpredictable, next day very depressed/suicidal, tolerance, mental ere high, physically not so much. Astatine, anesthetic, put you out of surgery, vets use it, most of the time people steal from medical. Euphoria, no pain, lots of amnesia, used as date rape drug PC also anesthetic, not usually used in medicine anymore, unpredictable, bizarre behavior, very hard to titrated the dose, from pleasant to seizures etc.. Aggression and suicide Are they addictive, generally more psychological addictive then physical, but do have some physical. Can they cause psych disorders?Thought about cause of psychotic disorders or dementia, it is possible, there is a higher risk Main danger is the increase in teenage use, 1 in 10 have used in the last month, they are cheap, easy to hide, don't realize the seriousness of the drugs. Are they treatable? No med BUT treatment centers do treat. Usually go because of another drug. Change of lifestyle is important for treatm ent, no more raves or clubs it is easier to abstain. Controversy of Astatine in psychiatry, can give for acute suicidal, immediate assistance. Can divert a lot of hospitalizing for suicidal ideation. Can be opening Pander's box, mainly because of drug seeking. Inhalants Todd Clement, MD Adolescent and Adult PsychiatristInhalant abuse, 1000 commonly used household items also laughing gas, sometimes even gasoline vapors! Active ingredient is Talking, very damaging to the brain, very cheap to obtain or have around the house. Dangerous for children How it's Done -Sniffing (directly from container) -Huffing (soaking rag and then putting in mouth, socks, gloves) -Bagging (spray in bag then breath in) -Ballooning (in Balloon similar to bagging) -Spraying (spray into mouth into the throat) -Sleeking (spray it or pour it into cuff, and can use throughout the day) 12-17 largest users, 4th most abused substance (behind alcohol, nicotine, marijuana) in 4 High School say they have used, 1 in 10 8th graders have tried What made you start?A friend or older kid talked into it Hispanic kids particular at risk, and Kids that spend a lot of time home alone Children/teens don't usually note the risk Young adults also use, low social-economic status and less educated, may be because they are a cheap high â€Å"Quick Drunk† few seconds to get to brain Mental Effects -Mood Elevation -Reduced Inhibitions -Excitement -Impulsiveness -â€Å"out of Body' experiences -Drowsiness/laryngitis -Dizziness -Slurred Speech -Balance Problems Dreamy stupor at high doses- violent or suicidal High lasts only about 30 minutes After use irritable headache tired DANGERS -Sudden Sniffing Death Syndrome (Suffocation/Asphyxiation, displace 02 in brain) – Asphyxia from vomiting -Coma -Seizures -Suicide -Brain Damage (brain uses 25% of 02 supply, cutting off even for a few minutes will kill cells) Sends signal to heart, so increase Blood flow (increased HER and BP), small capillaries will pop from surge, then 3-4 cells die since that is the only feed for them.Outline: Is the toxic substances, can destroy the mainline sheath, that helps it work eight, like electrical lines and there coverings, Brain looks like an MS patients, Can damage hearing vision and cerebellum (destroys balance) Nitrates: sometime also toxic substances 12-17 brain still develops, so can derail developments Brain damage, hearing loss, sense of smell, damage speech, heart attack, Nausea/ Vomiting, Liver damage, kidney damage, Bad pain quickly, not Just 12-17 years old getting addicted, Dental Field or Anesthesiologist abuse nitrous, Long Term Effects – Permanent Memory Problems, dementia at early age, effects hippo-campus (helps consolidate memories) Tremors Balance Problems Emotional Instability Can it be treated, yes BUT, most treatment centers don like, due to failure rate, and long term recovery needs, really a gateway for other use How can I keep my Child safe?Know what is in your house, keep it out of there reach and keep an inventory, educate your children of dangers, know what they are doing especially if they are home alone ALTO, know where they are spending their money Bottom line, know your kids and watch them Patient with problems, encourage them to get help, intensive outpatient treatment is good. How do I know if my child is using? Chemical odor on breath/clothes -Rags or empty aerosol cans -Paint Stains on clothes/body -slurred speech/poor balance, appearing drunk -change in personality -Change in Grades Prescription Drug Abuse Michael R. Eyeless, MD Eyeless and Crawford Consulting ACE Addictions and Recovery Series This is probably the one that goes to church on Sundays.