Software Engineering Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Software Engineering - Essay Example ally, this is based on the suppositions, put through continuous discussion and upheld through enduring experience that a disciplined technique to software development brings about fewer flaws and, hence, eventually offers smaller delivery times and enhanced worth (Chapman, 2007). The Java is a widely used synchronized, class-based, robustly typed object-oriented programming language. It is usually compiled and produces the byte-code or object-code instruction set as well as binary format which have been described in the Java Virtual Machine requirement (Oracle, 2010). The object oriented technique points out the objects that refer to the theoretical or tangible things of the actual world. These items are initially described through their quality as well as their characteristics those are signified through their interior framework and their attributes (data). The actions of these items are described through techniques (functionality) (SAP, 2010). Programming is the ability of enabling a computer to perform what you desire it to perform. Programming is an artistic procedure applied by the programmers to initiate a computer on how to perform a job (Bolton, 2011). Software design is a procedure of solving a problem as well as planning for a software solution. In this phase of software development, the idea and specifications of the software are assessed. Afterward software developers employ and design to build up a plan intended for a solution. Moreover, it comprises low-level component as well as algorithm accomplishment issues and the architectural analysis (Reeves, 2005) and (Reeves, 2010). Software development which is also recognized as application development, designing a software, software design, enterprise application development, software application development, and software platform development, is the process of development of a software system. The idea of "software development" can be employed to refer to the ways of computer programming, that is

What Makes Us Different From Other Animals Philosophy Essay

What Makes Us Different From Other Animals Philosophy Essay In a world that has come so far ahead in evolutionary terms, what is it that makes us, human kind, so different from other animals. It has been said that chimps are our nearest evolutionary cousins, roughly 98 to 99 identical to humans at the genetic level. Any differences are said to come from the transmission of culture and our ability to build societies. Godelier stated that human beings, in contrast to other social animals, do not just live in society; they produce society in order to live. In this essay I will be looking to explore cultural and linguistic aspects which seek to differentiate us between other animals. Humans seem to encompass a culture which is not seen in any other animal. In Lewiss lecture (15.10.12), culture was referred to as seas of history which bind humans together. In DAndrades article of culture and language, he refers to culture as being a social heritage of learning which includes a number of things such as beliefs and techniques which are independent of biological processes. For him, there are two sides to culture, one being a physical manifestation and the other side, a mental manifestation. Both sides need to be present in order for culture to be passed on from generation to generation. For this to happen, culture needs to comprise of meaning and be symbolic, culture must be also external in the form of actions and signs (1995:223). Boesch and Tomasello (1998:602) note that human cultural traditions have had modifications over generations also known as the ratchet effect. The ratchet effect requires that humans imitate from one another. This is what sets us apart from other animals and is so unique to us. Humans have cumulative cultural evolution, the ability to accumulate over time results in complex tools and languages in modern time (Tomasello et al. 2003:121). The use of tools as technical intelligence is an evolutionary advantage which humans have. Washburn (1959) argued that selective pressure resulted in physical changes in the hand. Over generations, the uses of tools became part of our culture, as humans were required to use precision grip, the consequence of which changed the human hand. However, it cannot be said that the modifications of the human cultural artefact, such as tools, are the creation of one individual human brain. Modifications over generations were made to aid change and therefore inv entions are transmissions of accumulative knowledge, which is a characteristic of all human cultures. (Lewis 2012) In comparison, animals such as chimpanzees experience slippage, whereby chimpanzee traditions are often lost as a consequence of drift, inventing constantly and branching. (Lewis 2012). Tomasello et al. have hypothesized that chimpanzee cultural traditions and artefacts do not show the ratchet effect. This is because the ratchet effect depends of innovations and imitative learning (1993: 603). Even though chimpanzees are innovators they lack uniformity and the active teaching of such cultures, so culture is lost. Lewis states that the ratchet effect is ruined through emulative learning (2012). Therefore the transmission of chimpanzee culture can be seen to be as ineffective. However, it could be deemed that any assumptions made about chimpanzees and their lack of cumulative cultural evolution is problematic. Boesch and Tomasello argue that 30 years is not long enough to make the judgement that chimpanzee practices do not show the ratchet effect. And even if evidence suggests that chimpanzees do show this cumulative cultural evolution, it may be restricted to a small population or to certain cultural traditions (1998:602). In Tomasello and Rakoczys study into human cognition, they explain that the most fundamental cognitive skill, are those that involved the understanding of persons, also known as the theory of mind (2003:122). According to the American Psychological Association  (APA) theory of mind is the ability to imagine or make deductions about the mental states of other individuals. Humans have an innate capacity to mind-read, the capability to understand one another is necessary in order for language to progress, complex co-operation in situations such as at school or work requires this ability to mind read, which makes culture possible (Lewis 2012). If humans did not have theory of mind, it would be impossible for society to exist as it does presently, humans heavily rely on this ability everyday unknowingly. However although this mind-reading attribute is a fundamental skill in humans, Call and Tomasello in answer to Premack and Woodruff, have found that chimpanzees do in fact encompass what is known to man as theory of mind (2008:190). They argue that studies of chimpanzees showed that they were able to not only understand human goals (which was the original aim of Premack and Woodruffs study), but were able to understand human intentions. However it cannot be said that chimpanzee understanding can be compared to that of a fully fledged human. In my opinion, animals such as chimpanzees must acquire the minimum amount of theory of mind for evolutionary reasons within their own animal kingdom. Animals, on a smaller scale, most likely understand thoughts and emotions of others within their species, otherwise relationships between animals would be unheard of. Vilensky et al. (1982) state that, the human brain differs from those of other animals. This is due to humans having a greater capacity for complex language and an innate interest in speaking language. According to Nowak, in his study into the biology of language, Language is the most important evolutionary invention of the last few million years. Language allows humans to express their ideas and for the exchange of information. The evolution from animal communication to human language is an adaptation that has been necessary in order for our species to pass on culture and efficiently aids survival (2000:1615). According to Miller (1981), the ability to speak is the most complex mechanical motion the human body can perform. Speaking requires the synchronisation of various parts of the vocal chord within a few hundredths of a second. Nowak suggests that the reason that primates, our closes living relatives, do not have complex language is due to our ancestral lines. As a consequence of evolution, generations were able to build our language instinct from material that was already present in our ancestor species at that time (2000:1616). Therefore, the ability to form language has been firmly set in our genome and is part of our biology. Many anthropologists argue that language ability is selected because language increases the potential for cooperation, manipulating other creatures, or dealing with large groups. However, it could be argued that if language was selected based on these reasons, then why dont other animals have the ability to speak. Therefore it must be that the reasons for humans having the ability to speak are unexplainable (Nowak 2002). Language is therefore unique to humans and therefore distinguishes them from other animals. In conclusion, it has been shown that culture and language is what seems to differentiate humans from other animals. Although animals seem to show evidence of having theory of mind, they cannot express this understanding the way humans can. So it can also be said that humans uniquely acquire theory of mind. However, in many areas it is not possible to see any clear cut answers due to lack of information. The fact that we have not studied chimpanzees or any other animals in their natural environment for long enough, means that it is likely that any comparisons made will be lacking in validity. Looking at humans and other animals comparatively, it seems that it is difficult to clearly differentiate humans from other animals. The overlapping features that we come across shows that although humans may have evolved there are aspects of man that will link them to other animals.

Sex, Masculine Pride, and War in Henry V Essay -- Henry IV Henry V Ess

Sex, Masculine Pride, and War in Henry V      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Henry V, though reputed to be a crude, early item from Shakespeare's canon, provides many interesting and mature discussions on morality and psychology. Far from being, as it were, pre-written by being an "historical" work, it is a testament to the bard's skill that he can work so many ideas into a frame that has to take account of popular facts.    Interpretation of the play tends to revolve around issues of kingship, duplicity in Harry's self-presentation, or the consequences of war, but there is a glaring line of discussion present which has generally been missed: the relationship of war to sex and masculine pride. One critic writes, "War is a version of male lust. Hal never grows up but works out ways to aggrandize himself by owning more and more property. Geography as ego. And... he's a rapist too" (Landis 201). There are at least three significant relationships of pride, lust, and war which are brought out in the play and will be pointed to in the following. One is war as a response to insult and perceived or suggested (sexual) inadequacy. One is war as the occasion of massive rapine. The other is war itself as a sort of metaphorical rape. These themes will be brought to light most clearly by attention to the most traditionally ignored passages of Henry V.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Critics have often dismissed the comic scenes of the play as crowd-pleasing devices or filler, "only casually related to the main action" (Becker 74). The filler theory can be dismissed outright given the length the play already enjoys. The scenes involving Pistol, Nym, and Bardolph, or Fluellen and Gower actually fit the play perfectly. As far as the play's themes go, these... ... of many of this play's lines.    Works Cited Becker, George J. Shakespeare's Histories. New York: Frederick Ungar Publishing Co., 1977. Brennan, Anthony. Henry V. New York: Twayne Publishers, 1992. Landis, Hoan Hutton. "Another Penelope." Women's Re-Visions of Shakespeare. Ed. Marianne Novy. Chicago: Univeristy of Illinois Press, 1990. 196-211. Shakespeare, William. Henry V. Ed. F. Marshall and Stanley Wood. London: George Gill & Sons, (year unknown; between 1892 and 1936). Shakespeare, William. The Complete Works of William Shakespeare. Ed. John Dover Wilson. London: Cambridge University Press, 1985. Wilcox, Lance. "Katherine of France as Victim and Bride." Shakespeare Studies 27 (1985): 61-76.    1[1] i.e. the lily, the symbol of France, featured on its coat of arms. 2[2] "Flower of the bed," i.e. the maiden Katherine.

A Comparison of Special Education Philosophy, Policies an Dpractice Essay

The focus of this study is to compare the educational philosophies, policies,and practices between Malaysia and Japan, with regard to the education of children with special needs. Malaysia and Japan have some common historical experiences in that both countries were involved in the Second World War, both were colonised and given independence by Anglo-American powers. Geographically they are both in Asia. A significant difference between the two countries is the homogenous nature of Japan’s population and the pluralistic multicultural, multi lingual, multi ethnicity and religions of Malaysia. Japan is a developed and industrialised country whereas Malaysia is developing and targeting to be an industrialised one. Japan’s population of 127 million dwarfs Malaysia’s 29 million. It is needful to examine the set up of other countries, discover the root of the problems and analyse their solutions so as to better understand one’s own education system, avoid mistakes made and adopt suitable models accordingly. Hence, in this comparative study, an Asian country was chosen over an Anglo-American one, because Japan and Malaysia are both culturally group-oriented, power concentrated, inclined to be replicative and relationally holistic. As such it is probably easier to relate to contextually in matters relating to adapting globalised best practices in a culturally sensitive way. This paper seeks to look at the special educational policies and philosophies of both countries, study their practises, identify key issues and challenges faced, and to discover possibilities for mutual exchange, growth and development. There has always been a personal interest in Special education probably from parental influence and also from exposure to special people at a very young age. The increasing awareness of Special Education in Malaysia can undoubtedly be attributed to regular reporting by the media and the escalating pervasiveness of information technology available to the masses. In recent years, Special Education has given more attention to a wide range of learning difficulties, including dyslexia, autism, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder [ADHD], Asperger’s syndrome and so on, with focus somewhat moving away from visual, hearing impairment and physical, mental impairments. This is probably because in most developing and developing countries, visual and hearing impairments have already well-established special educational practices. For example, Special schools where various learning aids, such as sign language, Braille and magnified letters are used to accommodate the students’ teaching and learning needs. Some countries such as Japan and the United States of America (USA), have advanced to providing not only basic education but also pioneering tertiary education for the visually and hearing impaired. Different forms of learning difficulties have emerged over the past 25 years and are probably still emerging. In the past, these special needs (learning difficulties) were all classified under mental retardation, but as discoveries continue to be made and learning difficulties are classified differently, statistics show that mental retardation worldwide has dropped considerably. As these conditions are discovered and researched, some theories about these conditions change and some evolve due to these theories being challenged or disproved and new theories being proposed. For example there is a wide range of autism, from highly-functioning to deeply autistic. Some children who were diagnosed as autistic ten years ago, are now discovered to have Asperger’s disorder. Disorders along the Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) continuum include autism, pervasive developmental disorder, Rett Syndrome (American Psychiatric Assocciation, 1995) and Asperger’s disorder. Since ASD exists along a spectrum, intervention especially communication intervention must be highly individualized ( Schreibman, koegel, Charlop, & Egel, 1990), thus intervention-wise, a child with Asperger’s Disorder is to be regarded quite differently from an autistic child. The field of special education has seen growth that has been unprecedented and it is likely to continue with more contemporary curricula, programmes, materials and resources evolving at a rapid rate, driven by a developmental theoretical perspective. In response to the increasing number of children diagnosed with special needs and especially that of learning difficulty, it is imperative that policies, philosophies and practice of special education need to be redefined, reviewed and refined to cater for the development and nurture of these children. Common special needs include challenges with learning, communication challenges, emotional and behavioral disorders, physical disabilities, and developmental disorders. There are many famous personalities who have special needs and disabilities but have excelled in sport, fine arts, physics and in the music and movie arena. Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps made history by breaking records and winning eight gold medals. He also inspired thousands by speaking candidly about having ADHD. His mother has also been very public about telling their story. Professor Stephen Hawking, a renowned Physicist, is a well-known example of a person with multiple neurone disease who has against all odds, succeeded in life. Hawking cannot walk, talk, breathe easy, swallow and has difficulty in holding up his head. He could have well been classified as mentally retarded and severely physically handicapped and discharged to a home of the Spastics, yet he defied his doctor’s prognosis of not surviving more than 21 years. Stevie Wonder was born prematurely and as a result, he was never able to see. Wonder stands out as one of the most celebrated American musicians of all time. To his credit, he has won 26 Grammys and an Academy Award. This has earned him rightful standing in the Rock and Roll and Songwriter’s Halls of Fame. Phelps was told that he could never focus on anything, Hawking, that he wasn’t an exceptional student and Wonder, that he could never make it in life. They are an inspiration to one and all, both stakeholders and non-stakeholders alike. On this note let us look at Japan. JAPAN [pic] Figure1. 1 Map of Japan For many, the word Japan conjures up mystical Samurais, beautiful, graceful and demure kimono-clad geisha girls, sashimi (Japanese raw fish), beautiful spring apple-blossoms, ancient temples, lightning–fast bullet trains, Toyotas and Hondas, even the Iron Chef competitions and the list goes on; but education is certainly not an image that fills your mind when you hear the word Japan! Japan is an island country located in the Pacific ocean. It’s an archipelago of over six thousand islands, the largest being Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu and Shikoku accounting for 97% of Japan’s land area. Japan is often referred to as the ‘Land of the Rising Sun’ because the Japanese characters that make up Japan’s name, Nippon-koku or Nihon-koku means ‘sun origin’. Most of Japan’ s islands are mountainous and many are volcanic which is not surprising as Japan sits on the Pacific Ring of Fire. Mount Fuji is the highest mountain in Japan and an active volcano that last erupted in 1707–08. Japan has a population of 127 million people, ranks the tenth-largest populated country in the world. Tokyo is the capital of Japan with a population of 12 million. It is the Japan’s centre for culture and education and also the nation’s economic and industrial hub. The main language spoken is Japanese and most Japanese are of the Shinto-Buddhism faith. Since 1947, Japan has maintained a unitary constitutional monarchy with an emperor and an elected Prime Minister as head of government, with an elected parliament called the Diet. It is a highly industrialized, developed country and a major world economic power. Japan has the world’s second-largest economy and the third largest in purchasing power parity. It is also the world’s fourth largest exporter and fifth largest importer. It is the only Asian country in the G8 and a current non-permanent member of the United Nations (UN) security council. According to both the UN and World Health Organization (WHO) estimates, Japan has the highest life expectancy of any country in the world, and the third lowest infant mortality rate. History of Education Japan’s education maybe conveniently divided into pre-World War II(WW),post WW II, and modern Japan. On the whole, pre-WWII education was controlled centrally by the government, the education philosophy was guided by the Imperial Rescript Education (1890), Japanese values and Confucian principles were taught and stressed by society. Primary education was available to all but secondary and tertiary studies were elitist and discriminatory. This old system collapsed at the end of WWII and the United States Education Mission (1946) introduced new ideas and structures into the Japanese system such as extending free but compulsory education from six to nine years, higher education became more non-elitist, social studies was emphasized above moral studies, school boards were locally elected as opposed to being appointed under the old system, and teachers unions were formed. In 1952, Japanese sovereignty was restored and many reforms reverted back to the old system; school boards were by appointment, Japanese ideals moral studies were put back into the curricula but the 6-3-3 structure intended at democratizing education remain until today The University Control Law (1969) and other reforms emerged in the 70’s. Education in Contemporary Japan is under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (known also as the Monbukagakusho or MEXT). Three tiers of administration attend to the financial and supervisory educational services; namely the national (MEXT0, Prefectural (upper tier) and municipal (lower tier). There are five levels of schooling in Japan: Preschool which is free to all but not compulsory, Primary and Lower Secondary levels which are free and compulsory, and Upper Secondary and Higher Education which are neither free nor compulsory. The Fundamental Law of Education, the School Education Law and the Social Education Law provide the philosophies, policies and practices throughout the nation. The Japanese value educational excellence at all levels and their education system is thought to be extremely prestigious. Japan is consistently ranked at the top internationally in both Maths and science by the TIMSS (Trends in Interntional Maths and Science Study). Japanese education helps build student motivation. Their philosophy emphasizes effort over ability hence in the Japanese classroom, everyone is taught the same concepts and students are engaged in higher-order thinking skills. Correct answers are withheld and students are presented with material such as puzzles and encouraged to think of as many ways as possible to solve the problem. Fast and slow learners are not separated and advanced students help the less able, cooperation, a sense of belonging and oneness are fostered. This attitude is particularly important when it comes to special children. Special Education in Japan A brief history In 1878, the first special school for children with visual and hearing impairment was established in Kyoto. The first special class for children with intellectual disabilities was set up in 1890 in Matsumoto City, in Nagano Prefecture. To date Japan has 222 and 210 years of history respectively in the area of Special education, a figure to be proud of indeed. The number of special schools and special classes for children with various kinds of disabilities increased favorably until around 1930, but thereafter the WWII devastated special education. At the end of the WWII, the external number of special schools for children with blindness and deafness was still more than 100, but most schools were burned by air raids. In the case of special classes, all were closed except one in Tokyo, at which the children were also moved to rural areas without schools, let alone special classes. Special education had to be reconstructed after the WWII based on the philosophy of democratic education, which was introduced by the educational policy the United States who was then the occupation army. In 1947 compulsory education for primary school and lower secondary schools was introduced. Special education was rapidly rebuilt beginning with visual and hearing impairments schools and classes, followed closely by schools for intellectual disability, physical and health impairment. The development of special education since the end of WWII maybe seen as (1) Development of special schools and special classes. 1947- 1979 (2) Movement of integrated education – 2000 (3) Development of special needs education. – Present day The motto of the Special Needs Education System of Japan (SNES) – Where children with disabilities learn – is bold and apt. Looking at Figure 1.2, it is clear that special-needs children are given due consideration at all levels from pre-school right up to upper secondary school. Figure 1. 3 show that as the degree of disability goes from mild to severe, the children are correspondingly moved from regular classes with team-teaching, achievement-based teaching ,small-group classes, Special Support Service in resource rooms, to special classes and then on to Special Needs Schools. The four categories of special needs, the blind, the deaf, the intellectually disabled, the physically disabled and the health impaired in figure 1. 4, show the ratio of children with multiple disabilities in Special Schools in elementary and lower secondary levels. Due to increasing number of students with multiple disabilities, there is a move away from of schools catering only for single disabilities for example the blind or deaf. Japan has a national curriculum standards for children with disabilities called ‘the Course of Study or Gakushyu-shido-yoryo for schools serving the blind ,the deaf, children with physical and mental disabilities and health impairments. It can be amended when necessary to tailor to specific needs for these children. Parents, school board members and or medical and social personel are consulted in order to determine which curriculum suits the child best, be it one to one teaching, small group teaching, individual teaching plans or inclusive integration onto regular classes. Even when there is profound disability, the child is eligible for education according to their needs. In some cases teachers visit homes or institutitions to provide home tutoring. In major hospitals classes are available for children necessitating hospital treatment. Only 0. 001% of children in Japan are allowed postponement or exemption from school education. Teachers in Special education are required to have a license for special education in addition to their basic teaching license. The NISE provides highly specialized training courses. Local Special Education Centers in prefectures offer programmes to upgrade or learn new skills. Case conferences and Teacher’s study-meetings are conducted at school level. The NISE conducts research such as nationwide surveys to assist in making future national policies with regard to special education. At prefecture level, research and development schools and model schools are present throughout the country. Local Special Education Centers, Colleges and Universities conduct ongoing research on teaching methods to enhance Special Support Education. As part of the 2007 reform, the SNES aims to have schools for Special Needs Education where staff are competent in knowledge and understanding on more than one disability, so that students with multiple disabilties are be accepted and integrated into each local community. By mid 2010, Japan plans to launch their first graduate school for students with visual or aural impairments at the state-run Tsukuba University of Technology, their only University for the deaf. According to the university, it will be the world’s first graduate school for visually- impaired students and the third for hearing-impaired ones, following the footsteps of such schools as Gallaudet University in the United States, Master’s degrees will be offered: Industrial technology for visually challenged students and health science courses for hearing-impaired students. Academia is possible to all, those with special needs and those without, unless there is brain injury and the cognitive abilities are damaged. As the adage goes â€Å"There is no learning disability only teacher inability†. MALAYSIA [pic] Map of peninsular Malaysia and East Malaysia (Malaysian Borneo)Fig 1. 2 Malaysia, is made up of West Malaysia (peninsular Malaya) and East Malaysia (Sabah and Sarawak states) in nothern Bourneo. It is a land of beauty in its diversity, located in the heart of South East Asia, see figure 1. 2 which had for centuries attracted merchants and traders plying the ancient, lucrative spice and silk route between India and China. It is therefore no surprise that Chinese, Indian and Malays are the major contributors to Malaysia’s rich and vibrant cultural heritage, together with the indigenous people. Malaysia is a multi-ethnic, multi-cultural, multi lingual and multi-religious society, known for their warm hospitality, interesting and delicious variety of food and a delightful fusion of cultures making Malaysians attractive and unique. Bahasa Malaysia is the official language, but English is taught as a second language and many Malaysians are tri lingual: proficient in their mother tongue, in Malay and in English. Malaysia is well endowed in natural resources such as minerals,[ mainly tin and petroleum] agriculture and forestry. It is one of the world’s top exporters of natural rubber, palm oil, sawn timber, coca and pepper. Malaysia boasts of rich biodiversity and a wide habitat range, in the Gunung Mulu National Park, and in the Mount Kinabalu district of Sabah. Both have been marked as World Heritage Sites. In 2009 two interesting and historical townships, Malacca and Penang were also given World Heritage status. Today Malaysia is an independent nation state with a parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Kuala Lumpur is the largest city and the capital of Malaysia. It is also the main financial and commercial centre of the country. Malaysia is recognized as an emerging industrialized country with a GDP per capita PPP ranking at 48th in the world and second in South East Asia. For the past 20 years, Malaysia has been on a fast track development drive with measurable physical and economic success. Unfortunately, services and facilities enabling tangible inclusion of People with Disabilities (PWDs) into their communities were not developed in tandem, resulting in Malaysians with Disabilities excluded from enjoying a barrier-free environment and normal enriching independent lifestyle. There is a pressing need to firstly look at the education commitments of Malaysia to the children with disabilities so that indeed the mission of the Ministry of Education ‘To develop a world-class quality education system which will realise the full potential of the individual and fulfil the aspiration of the Malaysian nation† can achieved, and to reach their objectives stated below: – To produce loyal and united Malaysians. – To produce happy, well mannered individuals who have faith, knowledge and vision. – To prepare the nation? s human resource for its developmental needs. – To provide educational opportunities for all Malaysians. HISTORY OF EDUCATION Pre WWII, secular schools were mainly an innovation of the British colonial government, and English-Language schools were considered prestigious at that time. Post WWII, education was mainly aimed to feed the needs of the colonial government though the Malay, Chinese and Indian communities fought hard for their mother tongue to be used as a medium of instruction. Post independence (1957) in accordance to the national language policy, the government began to change English-medium primary and secondary national-type schools into Malay-medium national schools. In 1970, the language change was made gradually starting from the first year in primary school, was completed by the end of 1982. Malaysia’s belief that (NEP),New Economic Policy 1960-1970, the National Development Policy,1071-1990, The first to ninth Malaysia Plan, 1991-2010, ensure adequate funds to the Education sector for the development of the nation’s human resource and capital. It is through this course of action that the Malaysian Education system succeeds in responding to the issues of access, equity, quality and effectiveness of education for all Malaysians in a 6-3-2 structure. Education in Malaysia is overseen by two government ministries: the Ministry of Education for matters up to the secondary level, and the Ministry of Higher Education for tertiary education. Each state has an Education Department to help coordinate educational matters in their respective states, although education is the responsibility of the federal government. The Education Act of 1996 is the main legislation governing education which designates six years of primary education as compulsory. Pre-school is optional and most pre-schools are for profit and privately run. Five years of secondary schooling is not compulsory. For their pre-university studies, students have an option of doing two years of Form six or the Matriculation. Free education is provided from Primary one right up to Form six. A Brief History of Special Education Jabatan Pendidikan Khas (JPK) or the Department of Special Education, from being just a unit in the Education Department was established as a Department in its own right in 1995. It plays a major role in curricula planning and implementing the quality of special education programmes in both the primary and secondary schools in Malaysia. However the programmes for the deaf have a much longer history, the first residential school for the deaf was established in 1954. Interest towards Special Education in Malaysia began in 1920s among volunteers who were involved in the opening of schools for the hearing and visual impaired. The Cabinet Committee Report that studied the Implementation of Education Policy through the Recommendatory 169 was the beginning of a clearer focus and emphasis on the development of Special Education in Malaysia. The recommendatory says that: â€Å"With the awareness that the government should be responsible towards the  education of disabled children, it should then take over all the responsibilities from the organizations handling it currently. Moreover, the involvement of volunteers in developing the education for disabled children is encouraged. † SPECIAL EDUCATION PHILOSOPHY. The MoE Philosophy for Special Education states that ‘Education is given to develop the students physically, emotionally, spiritually and intellectually so that students can be educated to the highest possible level to enable them to obtain employment and live independently’. Programmes are based on the following policies: †¢ Education Act 1996, Chapter 8. †¢ Education Act (Amendment) Act 2002. †¢ Education Regulations (Special Education) in 1997. †¢ Policy Committee decision, the Ministry of Education [Education Planning Committee (SRC), Meeting Management Ministry of Education, Centre for Curriculum Committee (DFA) and Department of Management Meeting Special Education]. International Declarations: †¢ United Nations’ World Programme of Action concerning Disabled Persons (1983). †¢ The World’s Declaration on Education for All (1990). †¢ The United Nations’ Standard Rules on the Equalisation of Opportunities for Persons With Disabilities (1993). †¢ The Framework for Action on Special Needs Education (Salamanca Statement) in 1994. †¢ Biwako Millennium Framework for Action Towards an Inclusive Barrier-Free and Rights-Based Society for Persons with Disabilities in Asia and the Pacific (2002). Three ministries service children with disabilities. They are, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development (WFCD) and the Ministry of Education, but education for these children are only under the auspices of the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of WFCD. The Ministry of Education provides educational services for students with special needs who have visual and hearing impairment, learning difficulties, and those needing special remedial help. Learning disorders are categorized as follows: – Downs Syndrome – Mild autism – Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder – Mild Mental Impairment and – Specific learning disabilities (eg. Dyslexia). The Ministry of WFCD provides services for children with the following problems: – severe physical disability – moderate and severe mental retardation – various other defects such as and – defects that do not allow the children to learn in schools provided by the Ministry of Education. Special Education Department’s Vision and Mission JPK’s vision statement is ‘Quality Education Generates Excellence Among Students with Special Educational Needs in line with the National Education System’, with the mission to develop excellent special needs human capital based on a holistic, relevant and quality education system so that there is – Optimum development the individual’s potential – Ability to compete and be marketable. – Moral values as a responsible citizen – Smart partnerships with various parties The Special Education services provided by the Department of Education are: †¢ Special schools for pupils with visual and hearing impaired and learning (secondary). †¢ Special Education Integration Programs for students with special needs and learning disabilities, impaired hearing and sight impaired. The program is available in non-residential, normal primary and secondary schools as well as in Technical/Vocational training (secondary) schools which adopt withdrawal or semi-inclusive approach. Programmes such as the Special Education Integration Programme and the Special Rehabilitation Programmes are fully administered at state levels by the State Education Department, whereas the Integration of Special Education Programs in Technical and Vocational Education is administered by the Department of Technical Education. The Malaysian Education for All Mid-Decade Assessment Report 2000-2007 states that one of the strategies is to expand preschool places for children with special needs from 32 integration classes to 100 classrooms in order to integrate children aged 5-6 with single disability, usually the learning disabled. Expansion necessitates therefore training the necessary preschool teachers and teacher assistants and also the proviso to amend the Special Education Regulations Act 1997 to accept students with two disabilities. UNICEF, working together with the Ministry of Health’s Development Division (MHDD) devised a standardised screening tool in 2006 to improve the early detection of autism amongst toddlers so that early intervention can be instituted. Issues with Sexual and reproductive health for children with special needs are also looked into, in response and recognition of their high risk of sexual abuse and exploitation, because it directly impacts their learning and overall development. ANALYSIS Japan as a leading economic power and highly industrialised country and Malaysia as a developing and emerging industrialised one, have commonalities in that were both affected deeply by WWII, and both were dominated by a foreign power, so it is interesting to see each country recovered, rebuilt and developed post-war and how Special education has evolved since then. Looking at the philosophy with regard to Special Education mentioned earlier on, both Japan and Malaysia are very similar in that both are highly commendable, comprehensive and impressive, subscribing also to many international special-education charters such as The United Nations’ Standard Rules on the Equalisation of Opportunities for Persons With Disabilities (1993). |Mission and Vision of JPK Malaysia |Mission and Vision of the NISEJapan | | |The mission of our institute as the National Institute of | |JPK’s vision statement is ‘Quality Education Generates Excellence |Special Needs Education is to contribute to:Improving the | |Among Students with Special Educational Needs in line with |quality of education for children with disabilities and to | |the National Education System’, with the mission to develop excellent|make educational provision to meet individual educational | |special needs human capital based on a holistic, relevant and quality|needs. We aim to do this by working with the national and | |education system so that there is |government organizations. Our vision is | |- Optimum development the individual’s potential |Research Activities that contribute to National | |- Ability to compete and be marketable |Administrative Needs | |- Moral values as a responsible citizen |-To undertake research that contributes to the formulation | |- Smart partnerships with various parties |of National Policy for Children. | |- Providing education opportunities and facilities for students |Practical Research that contributes to Education | |with special educational needs. |- To undertake advanced and practical research that | |- Providing relevant education to every student with special |contributes to education | |educational needs. |Specialized Programs for Teacher Training | |- Providing opportunity for students with special educational needs |- Provide systematic and special training for the school | |to develop their talent and potential. |staff who plays the role of leadership in special needs | |- Providing sufficient and up-to-date teaching and learning |education from local public organization and support them. | |material. |Training Programs that Respond to New Challenges | |- Ensuring sufficient trained teachers in special education. |- To implement training program for the major issue of | | |National Policy and/or urgent issue at educational site | |- Planning and managing all primary and secondary special schools. |flexibly and promptly. | |- Planning and coordinating all special schools integration program. |Counseling and Consultation that Provide Activities that | |- Planning, coordinating and evaluating policies and regulations, to|Supports Local Public Organizations | |ensure education is well-balanced, to help, service and support |- To conduct consultation and provide the information for | |students with special educational needs and implement the special |counseling and consultation to the organizations. | |education vocational policy. |Provide Information for Special Needs Education | |- Planning curriculum, activities and special education affairs. |-To collect, analyze, arrange and make database of the | |- Providing special education planning, research and evaluation. |information on special needs education from domestic and | |- Providing training plan and staff development; and |overseas and provide comprehensive information to teaching | |- Coordinating Special Remedial Education Program. |site. | | |Cooperation and Partnership with Universities and | | |Organizations in Domestic and Overseas. | | |- to collaborate and cooperate with universities and | | |organizations locally and abroad through seminars, to | | |research, analyze and evaluate the issues, and to share our| | |practical research results in special needs education. | One difference in their philosophy is that when it comes to learning, the Japanese put value and emphasis in effort over that of natural ability, resulting in primary school students being taught in classes that have not been streamlined into good, average or poor students, whereas stream lining students according to their academic performance is practiced by Malaysia and many other countries. It follows then that, if effort is put into the education of a special-needs child, the child can reach its full potential given all the necessary support. This attitude has given Japan an advantage of having an over 200 year history in educating people with special needs, which began with addressing the visual and hearing impaired. The Japanese School Education Law places special education firmly within the framework of the total education system by emphasizing that it is not separate from ordinary education. Japanese special education now officially recognizes seven categories of disability: the blind and partially sighted, deaf and har.

Leadership styles and its applicability in India

   In a large organisation there motivations are likely to be as varied as human needs can be – not only for security, higher income and better working conditions but for affection, recognition, deference, esteem, and for both autonomy towards and dependence on the executive leader, for both conformity and individuality – traits that can exist in the same person. Other things being equal, the stronger the motivational base the leader taps, the greater control over that person the leader can exercise. † Thus, leaders are persons who use different methods to ensure that the right work gets done. Hence, not only do leaders need to know how to deal with persons but also must know what the right things are. Leadership is defined in a dictionary as: the position or function of a leader; the ability to lead; or an act or instance of leading. In a business environment real leadership is the act of pulling your employees forward to a desired level of performance. A distinction can be made between a leader who gets people to achieve specific goals and a leader who gets people to achieve specific goals and develops a self actualisation belief system or culture. Both are exercising leadership. However, one is dealing with â€Å"transactions† and the other is â€Å"transforming† the character of the organisation. Thus, transactional leadership is when leaders determine what subordinates need to do to achieve objectives, classify the requirements to achieve the objectives and help subordinates become confident they can reach their objectives. On the other hand transformational leadership works on the vision for the organisational as a whole and prepares the employees of the organisation to meet the challenges of the future and deal with all of them. Further, the key to understanding real leadership lies in understanding that your employees have different personalities and attitudes; each one has different job responsibilities; each one has a different view of what is important in the operations of the organisation. Therefore, a leader has to cater to all types of employees and use different styles of leadership to bind them together and achieve the objectives of the organisation. Further, there are many ways in which a leader can lead. However, certain common elements such as a vision of purpose, gaining organisational commitment to this vision of purpose and providing the wherewithall to carry it out, are some of the common elements a leader has to have, irrespective of his style of leadership. Thus, even though leadership styles are not given much importance, especially where there are successful leaders, the style adopted by a leader is an integral part to being a successful leader in the long run. As mentioned earlier persons can perform the vital functions of leadership in many different ways. The style of leadership a leader adopts depends on the situation and on his or her personality traits. The interplay between these two factors is complex. Some situations may favour one style; other situations may favour another style. Some leaders may vary their styles, whereas other leaders may not be able to vary their styles. As mentioned above, leadership styles are complex and varied as they depend on many behavioural traits. One may look at leadership styles depending on how a person influences others. Leaders may rely on charisma; leaders may use their positional authority; leaders may lead by example, etc. However, this delineation of leadership approaches or styles, is only a matter of emphasis. In practice leaders normally resort to a multiple of leadership styles. Thus, there are many classification of leadership styles and a lot of research has been undertaken on them. This article looks at the broad transitions through which leadership styles have passed. Today, leaders have moved from authoritative to benevolent to consultative and democratic. These styles also reflect the changes in attitudes of employees, earlier they were completely under the control of the employer, today they are more enlightened and demand dignity and equality. Thus, if a leader does not recognise this he/she will not be successful. Before one discuses the leadership styles in India, one needs to look at the business environment in India. India has today seen a lot of transformation from an unexciting mix of government owned companies and private family owned companies, many of which survived on government licenses to the inflow of multinational companies and lot of Indian companies being run as professional companies. Further, today there is talk of privatizing public sector companies, however, there are some public sector companies earning profits. All these changes in the business environment has led to a change in the leadership styles, in certain cases leadership styles have changed business. In the public sector the leadership style has been formal authority, wherein the employees do not have the freedom to express themselves. Under such situation the employee will not work to his/her utmost ability, but will only carry out those tasks, which are required of them. There is no scope of being innovative, as mistakes are not accepted. Further, even the leaders of public sector undertakings do have the power to be creative. In order to change the above-mentioned situation, there is a need for the leaders of the public sector companies to change their style of leadership. They should adopt more democratic and participate styles of leadership and such leadership styles should not be adopted just to show to the employees that they being included in the decision making, but should be introduced in its true spirit. The public sector leaders need to adopt â€Å"transformation† leadership, where the employees of an organisation are moved towards achieving objectives, not for the sake of keeping their jobs but because they believe in the objectives of the organisation. As mentioned earlier, in the private sector in India there is a lot of change taking place. With the coming in of foreign investment, Indian enterprises have to be competitive and change with the times. In the past, India's private sectors comprised of family owned business and the employers did not care much for their employees, as they had the power of money. The leadership style of adopted by them was authoritative. Employees were treated like servants and could be called upon do to tasks that were not part of their job description. Even though the above style of leadership still exists in many private sector companies, there has been a change in the style of leadership in many of the professional run Indian companies. It has become more democratic. However, in order to change the way India companies function, there is a lot of work still to be done. Change of leadership style is an important area in which Indian companies should invest time and energy. In a labour abundant country, people's satisfaction is an easy thing to forget, however, it is important that their needs are fulfilled, if the organisation is to be successful. People are the greatest asset an organisation has and if leaders of organisation adopt leadership styles that are democratic and transforming, then the organisation would well be on its way to achieving its objectives. As the CEO of GE, Jack Welch has said, â€Å"we cannot afford management styles that suppress and intimidate. † Leadership behaviour is moving in many directions. Transformational and charismatic leadership are gaining in importance. There is even talk of whether self-managed groups are better than having leaders. In the world over, authoritative forms of leadership have collapsed. In India we are at a stage where maybe a totally democratic style of leadership may not succeed. This is because employees at large are not use to being taken into confidence and therefore, if a leader tries to use the democratic style of leadership he may not succeed, however, an enlightened leader must realise that, if the democratic style of leadership is not eventually followed, he may only be successful for a short period. Thus, a leader will need to resort to maybe all the styles of leadership in the course of his interaction with other, however, at the end he/she should make sure that the democratic style of leadership is used most.

Free Essays on My Neighborhood

My Neighborhood. Growing up in a large, sprawling urban center like the San Fernando Valley, I was basically color blind. I was raised in a very diverse ethnic area and since elementary school I had friends from many different races. Living in California, I had more that just a binary experience with different races and cultures. (Almaguer pg. 151) The differences we all had in various skin colors, cultures and attitudes did not seem important until I reached Jr. High. It wasn’t until we all reached puberty that the multi-racial friends I knew separated into various ethnic groups and became aware of the divisions within our neighborhood. Then we all dealt with such issues as gangs, busing and interracial dating from various perspectives. Since that time, it seems the lines have blurred again, or perhaps become so familiar as not to be noticeable. Racial issues have become less relevant to me personally, but they still exist in the background and we deal with them every day living in such a mu lti-racial environment. Historically, the San Fernando Valley was viewed as predominately Anglo, middle-class. This was news to me as I remember growing up with friends from many different nationalities. We were a middle class family, and I went to a middle class school that seemed to me to be very diverse. I had a friend named Marjoram who was of Indian culture, Curtis who and Angie who were black, Ted and Becky who were both white and of course Augustine and Chan who were Mexican and Korean respectively. We all lived near each other and played together, my experiences do not reflect a predominantly â€Å"whiteâ€Å" culture. I was aware, that there were differences in our family lives as a child, and occasionally we called each other names etc, but I thought that kind of individuality was normal. In fact, as children, it seems that we respected and valued each others cultures. For example, we all thought it was cool that Marjoram’s dad had ... Free Essays on My Neighborhood Free Essays on My Neighborhood My Neighborhood. Growing up in a large, sprawling urban center like the San Fernando Valley, I was basically color blind. I was raised in a very diverse ethnic area and since elementary school I had friends from many different races. Living in California, I had more that just a binary experience with different races and cultures. (Almaguer pg. 151) The differences we all had in various skin colors, cultures and attitudes did not seem important until I reached Jr. High. It wasn’t until we all reached puberty that the multi-racial friends I knew separated into various ethnic groups and became aware of the divisions within our neighborhood. Then we all dealt with such issues as gangs, busing and interracial dating from various perspectives. Since that time, it seems the lines have blurred again, or perhaps become so familiar as not to be noticeable. Racial issues have become less relevant to me personally, but they still exist in the background and we deal with them every day living in such a mu lti-racial environment. Historically, the San Fernando Valley was viewed as predominately Anglo, middle-class. This was news to me as I remember growing up with friends from many different nationalities. We were a middle class family, and I went to a middle class school that seemed to me to be very diverse. I had a friend named Marjoram who was of Indian culture, Curtis who and Angie who were black, Ted and Becky who were both white and of course Augustine and Chan who were Mexican and Korean respectively. We all lived near each other and played together, my experiences do not reflect a predominantly â€Å"whiteâ€Å" culture. I was aware, that there were differences in our family lives as a child, and occasionally we called each other names etc, but I thought that kind of individuality was normal. In fact, as children, it seems that we respected and valued each others cultures. For example, we all thought it was cool that Marjoram’s dad had ...

ServiceSim Contribution April Essays

ServiceSim Contribution April Essays ServiceSim Contribution April Essay ServiceSim Contribution April Essay 1. Hire a Tech 1 employee at 11.60/hour. Maybe the last guy quit because Fastlane pays 11.50/hour while the market rate is 11.58/hr. 2. So that you don’t lose anymore staff, increase the following rates Tech 2 employee rate to 13.70/hr (Fastlane pays 13.10, market rate=13.63) Tech 3 employee rate to 19.20/hr (Fastlane pays 19.05, market rate=19.17) Service Advisor employee salary to 3080 (Fastlane pays 3060, market rate=3079) 3. Hire the following temporary staff Hire temporary Tech 1 employee to cover for Tech 1 employee going on vacation next month Hire temporary Driver/Shipper (2 weeks) to cover for Driver/Shipper on 2-week jury duty Hire temporary employee to cover for all planned vacations Pricing Margin Decisions These are okay as they are. Based on Performance Summary, we need to cut down on expenses. They are at 90.6%. We can reduce Advertising/Promo a bit. We need to keep some parts in stock because customers are complaining that they wait several days for parts.

Definition and Examples of Headwords in English

Definition and Examples of Headwords in English In English  grammar, a head is the key word that determines the nature of a phrase (in contrast to any modifiers or determiners). For example, in a noun phrase, the head is a noun or pronoun (a tiny sandwich). In an adjective phrase, the head is an adjective (completely inadequate). In an adverb phrase, the head is an adverb (quite clearly). A head is sometimes called a  headword, though this term shouldnt be confused with the more common use of headword to mean  a word placed at the beginning of an entry in a glossary, dictionary, or other reference work. Also Known As head word (HW), governor Examples and Observations Louis, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.(Humphrey Bogart as Rick in Casablanca, 1942)As the leader of all illegal activities in Casablanca, I am an influential and respected man.(Sydney Greenstreet as Senor Ferrari in Casablanca, 1942)The head of the noun phrase a big man is man, and it is the singular form of this item which relates to the co-occurrence of singular verb forms, such as is, walks, etc.; the head of the verb phrase has put is put, and it is this verb which accounts for the use of object and adverbial later in the sentence (e.g. put it there). In phrases such as men and women, either item could be the head.(David Crystal, A Dictionary of Linguistics and Phonetics. Wiley-Blackwell, 2003) Testing for Heads Noun phrases must contain a head. Most frequently this will be a noun or pronoun, but occasionally it can be an adjective or determiner. The heads of noun phrases can be identified by three tests: 1. They cannot be deleted. 2. They can usually be replaced by a pronoun. 3. They can usually be made plural or singular (this may not be possible with proper names). Only test 1 holds good for all heads: the results for 2 and 3 depend on the type of head. (Jonathan Hope, Shakespeares Grammar. Bloomsbury, 2003) Determiners as Heads Determiners may be used as heads, as in the following examples: Some arrived this morning. I have never seen many. He gave us two Like third person pronouns these force us to refer back in the context to see what is being referred to. Some arrived this morning makes us ask Some what?, just as He arrived this morning makes us ask Who did? But there is a difference. He stands in place of a whole noun phrase (e.g. the minister) while some is part of a noun phrase doing duty for the whole (e.g. some applications). . . . Most determiners occurring as heads are back-referring [that is, anaphoric]. The examples given above amply illustrate this point. However, they are not all so. This is especially the case with this, that, these, and those. For instance, the sentence Have you seen these before? could be spoken while the speaker is pointing to some newly built houses. He is then not referring back to something mentioned, but referring out to something outside the text [that is, exophora]. (David J. Young, Introducing English Grammar. Taylor Francis, 2003)   Narrower and Wider Definitions There are two main definitions [of head], one narrower and due largely to Bloomfield, the other wider and now more usual, following work by R.S. Jackendoff in the 1970s. 1. In the narrower definition, a phrase p has a head h if h alone can bear any syntactic function that p can bear. E.g. very cold can be replaced by cold in any construction: very cold water or cold water, I feel very cold or I feel cold. Therefore the adjective is its head and, by that token, the whole is an adjective phrase. 2. In the wider definition, a phrase p has a head h if the presence of h determines the range of syntactic functions that p can bear. E.g. the constructions into which on the table can enter are determined by the presence of a preposition, on. Therefore the preposition is its head and, by that token, it is a prepositional phrase.

HOW CAN A BUSINESS DEMONSTRATE ITS RESPONSIBILITIES TODAY Assignment

HOW CAN A BUSINESS DEMONSTRATE ITS RESPONSIBILITIES TODAY - Assignment Example The essay "HOW CAN A BUSINESS DEMONSTRATE ITS RESPONSIBILITIES TODAY " analyzes demonstrating the responsibilities of business in the fashion retailing in Europe. Firms hold a lot of authority and power in the social and national economy. They have lot of investments, assets and millions of cash for social programs. Some companies invest in corporate responsibility but most of them devote their time and wealth for environment sustainable growth, social welfare programs to benefit colleagues, customers, employees and the whole community at large. In this paper, the issues of CSR, its best practices and importance for this sector will be evaluated and necessary recommendations will be provided. Fashion retailing is a concept in which business skills and creativity is being combined to market, display and sell fashion in different areas. Its main objective is to satisfy and meet the consumer needs from time to time and accordingly increase sales. This can only be possible if awareness i s maintained throughout the time, to keep learning the new style, to launch and promote various campaigns at various places. The top fashion and clothing retailers in Europe are H&M, Arcadia, Inditex, Benetton, Marks & Spencer, Esprit, C&A, Debenhams, Primark, Next. There are more than 2150 fashion retailers in Europe. Brands like Abercrombie & Fitch, Hollister, Forever 21, Uniqlo excites European consumers mind and heart. Europe’s fashion industry is running by the brands named Inditex group, Dutch Company C&A.

DO SOCIOLOGICAL METHODS PROVIDE AN ACCURATE PORTRAYAL OF THE Essay

DO SOCIOLOGICAL METHODS PROVIDE AN ACCURATE PORTRAYAL OF THE CONTEMPORARY WORLD WHAT IS LEFT OUT BY THE SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE - Essay Example Many fundamental discoveries in sociology have been made, reviewed, established, evaluated and adjusted according to new data in the past decades. However, the current position in sociological research is looking at tools and techniques which could not have been imagined a few decades ago (Platt, 1996). The application of the scientific method of study to sociology created the first revolution and the information age can be said to bring about the second revolution for all fields of study. This is especially true in sociology since the ability to crunch numbers at light speed is only possible with the use of new and powerful computers. While the modern methods of research and analysis have had an important effect on the field, scientists are also concerned about their overuse and a lack of focus on actually performing the study and too much attention on the analysis and twisting of the results. Indiscriminate application of technology and statistical tools can only result in situations where the application of sociology is more or less meaningless (Chatterjee, 2004). Some human conditions can not be described in percentages or in terms of numbers and require more than simply pushing buttons. Sociologists apply methods and techniques which result in statistical figures used by governments and the media and we are often told that one can prove anything with statistics. While tricks may be played with statistics, there is no doubt that the scientific methods needs to be applied for it to give results that are useful. We can debate all we want about qualitative/quantitative evaluations, micro/macro assessments and inductive/deductive reasoning but unless the scientific method is applied any research can be doubted. With the correct application, statistical sources and various methods for research and analysis are invaluable tools but misuse and unethical

Girl, One of these days Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Girl, One of these days - Essay Example In order for a story to have a plot, it is imperative that events are sequenced in a sensible way. There may either be a cause and effect relationship between events, or else, the events may just coincidently occur, but in either case, the subsequent events should be linked with the preceding ones. This being the definition of plot, it can be safely said that Jamaica Kincaid’s Girl has no plot at all, because there is no link whatsoever between the various events. In fact, there is no event at all. Though Girl lacks story and plot, yet it essentially fulfills the purpose of character development. From the beginning till the end of Girl, an unknown narrator is advising something that seems to be a girl so that the latter may become a responsible and prudent woman and wife. There are traces of conflict and resolution in the text. Occasionally, the narrator tells why a girl thinks in a particular way, and what she should do to get rid of the problem. 2. There is a dentist who is busy doing his work while a Mayor approaches and sends message to the dentist via dentist’s son that he wants his tooth taken out. The dentist is reluctant to do so and tells his son to tell the Mayor that he is not there. But the Mayor knows he is there. He tells the dentist’s son to tell him that if he did not take out the Mayor’s tooth, he would shoot the dentist. The dentist calls him in, and he makes the Mayor pour in the chair. He warns the Mayor that he would be given no anesthesia because the Mayor has an abscess. The Mayor tells him to proceed. The dentist takes the lower wisdom tooth out, while the Mayor holds his breath to bear the pain. When the tooth has been taken out, the Mayor wishes him a good-bye after receiving instructions from the dentist. The Mayor tells him to send the bill, hearing which, the dentist sarcastically questions him if he would pay from the town’s budget. The Mayor says it means the same eit her way. In this story, the audience gets a

20 century China Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

20 century China - Essay Example Deng Xiaoping’s era was marked as the â€Å"decade of reform† as it effected a total revamp of the legal system,brought in more democracy at government and party levels, gave more freedom for the people for self-government and became a new era of hope for the Chinese republic.A transformation from communism to socialist democracy was visible in all spheres. This change brought about also the development of a socialist political civilization. It was a time when writers, a group of Marxist theoreticians, scientists and their disciple-students were lining up for democracy and forming a network.They had a vision that, in order to nourish democracy, a limit has to be drawn on the powers of the ruling Marxist Party.Deng era was also an era of legal reforms. There was a steady reform process going on to establish a socialist legal system. A more independent judiciary and freedom of press evolved through this. In this way, the political reform in China was coming of age by effe ctive changes in administrative and legal systems and policies. In this way, the reform era marked the establishment of a full-fledged legal system, where laws were enacted and codified and a regular network of courts started functioning.The reach and effectiveness of judiciary was considerably increased with effective monitoring and punitive provisions wherever pitfalls were seen. The reforms included, giving more self-determination powers and self rule provisions to ethnic groups and regions, more democratic election process at party-level and government-level and more centralized administration of remote regions of the nation. Multiple candidates were allowed in the elections for the people’s congresses and this was for the first time after revolution (Goldman, 13). Also secret ballot system was introduced (Goldman, 13). In 1987, the elections to the Central Committee were held in the 13th Party Congress, allowing multiple candidates (Goldman, 13). Soon after taking charge of the nation, Deng removed all intellectuals from the category that comes under the term, ‘bourgeoisie’ (Goldman, 30). Elections were allowed for deciding the administrative heads of professional and scientific establishments (Goldman, 30). All these initiated a new vigor in Chinese political scene. The proclaimed slogan of Deng-era had been â€Å"political democratization† (Goldman, 35). All these reforms have been successful when viewed from the side of democracy but they resulted in the lessening of the power of the party. If viewed from the side of the implementers of these reforms, it can be seen that the reforms did bring in more democracy but also weakened the existing domination of the party. The most important aspect of reforms has been that a well-defined system for scrutinizing and recording social situations was established and also a space was provided for public discourses and grievance-hearing onsocial issues. All these changes together saw the b irth of a new socialist China where people had more rights and more freedom. 2. What are the basic element and goals in Deng’s economic reform agenda? What are the major obstacles to successfully completion the economic reform process? Deng’s economic reform agenda looked forward to correcting the anomalies in China’s economy and helping it grow. But despite the few benefits harvested from the reforms through privatisation and new tax system, major sectors like agriculture, industry, finance and foreign trade failed to reap the promises of the reform. The focus was on a socialist economy which could only be developed through extensive industrialization. The major aspect of economic reform in Deng-era was the decentralization that was initiated (Shen, 9 of preface). The key elements of the reform were, â€Å"readjustment, restructuring, consolidation and improvement†

Homeland Security Act of 2002 Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Homeland Security Act of 2002 - Term Paper Example After discussing the security provisions, the impact of these provisions on airline revenue, profitability and reputation are also discussed. In the end the paper discusses the impact of the provision to cap airline liability in the case of a terrorist attack. It also explains the insurance provided by FAA in the face of high premium charges of private insurers after September 11 attacks Homeland Security Act of 2002 Introduction The Homeland Security Act of 2002 was passed by the US congress in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks in order to prevent further terrorist attacks on US soil. This act has created the Department of Homeland Security which has been given wide ranging powers in order to prevent terrorist strikes on US soil. The formation of this department has been termed as the largest re-organization of the federal government since the creation of Department of Defense. In the 9/11 attacks, airline security was found wanting. It was due to lax security at the airport s that terrorists were able hijack planes and ram them into the twin towers. Because of this, airline security is an integral part of the Homeland security act. After 9/11, the Aviation and Transport Security Act (ATSA) was enacted which established the Transport Security administration. Initially, the TSA worked under the Department of Transportation but with the passage of Homeland Security Act, TSA was moved to the Department of Homeland Security from 2003 (Blalock & Kadiyali, 2007). Changes in security due to Homeland Security Act TSA introduced various changes in security measures under the Homeland security act 2002. Some of the major changes introduced have been listed below. No Fly List and Identification Requirement All adult passengers are now required to show a proof if identification before they are allowed to board a plane. Apart from this, TSA also compares the passengers against a No-fly list. Those whose names appear on the no-fly list are not allowed to board. This includes the names of around 21000 people. In addition to this TSA also has a list of Selectees, passengers who are to be screened thoroughly before being allowed to board a flight (Mueller, 2004). Passenger Screening Screening of passengers before boarding flight was initially done by private security screeners. In order to improve efficiency, TSA took over the screening of passenger’s at all commercial airports from November 2002. They increased the compensation of screeners in order to reduce turnover and also increased the amount of training provided to the screeners in order to make them more efficient. Baggage Screening Prior to 9/11 attacks, only 5% of the checked in baggage was screened. TSA mandated compulsory screening of all check in baggage from 2002. They were also asked to positively match the bag checked to a passenger on board the flight. Airlines were free to adopt any of the four methods in order to screen the baggage – Explosion Detection system, Exp losion trace detection machines, bomb-sniffing dogs or manual search of the bags.

Food Quality and Safty Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Food Quality and Safty - Case Study Example Manufactures should embrace certain systems that ensure the integrity of the food in terms of health and quality. In order to do this they need to follow certain safety and quality assurance systems, which have been developed to safeguard the food quality. Some of them are obligatory while others are voluntary the obligatory ones are known as safety assurance systems. The difference between mandatory and voluntary systems is based on good Hygiene practices GHP as well as good manufacturing practices GMP (Sikora and Stranda 2005, p.85). Good hygiene practices systems will ensure the firms production process adheres to the highest standards of cleanness and food such as meat would never be exposed to contaminants or foreign particles such as plaster since it would be thoroughly examined before being released into the market. The law does not require the other quality management systems although desirable to consumers and society such as having quality assurance control points, which are put in place strategically with the view of eliminating hazard (Sikora and Stranda 2005, p.85). Quality control points allow the manufactures to check the products in stages, for instance, in bread production; the manufactures can check the dough after it has been through the oven for soot burnt parts. If this were to be done at every stage of production, the hazards would be considerably reduced as well as the margin for error in the final product. Hazard analysis and critical control points(HACCP) is considered to be the most important method of controlling safety hazards in food and drugs, its effectiveness is enhanced by the fact that, instead of inspecting the finished product, HACCP identifies the physical, chemical, and allergic hazards in the food during the production process, as such it is considered a preventive method. It can be applied in any

Homeland Security Act of 2002 Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Homeland Security Act of 2002 - Term Paper Example After discussing the security provisions, the impact of these provisions on airline revenue, profitability and reputation are also discussed. In the end the paper discusses the impact of the provision to cap airline liability in the case of a terrorist attack. It also explains the insurance provided by FAA in the face of high premium charges of private insurers after September 11 attacks Homeland Security Act of 2002 Introduction The Homeland Security Act of 2002 was passed by the US congress in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks in order to prevent further terrorist attacks on US soil. This act has created the Department of Homeland Security which has been given wide ranging powers in order to prevent terrorist strikes on US soil. The formation of this department has been termed as the largest re-organization of the federal government since the creation of Department of Defense. In the 9/11 attacks, airline security was found wanting. It was due to lax security at the airport s that terrorists were able hijack planes and ram them into the twin towers. Because of this, airline security is an integral part of the Homeland security act. After 9/11, the Aviation and Transport Security Act (ATSA) was enacted which established the Transport Security administration. Initially, the TSA worked under the Department of Transportation but with the passage of Homeland Security Act, TSA was moved to the Department of Homeland Security from 2003 (Blalock & Kadiyali, 2007). Changes in security due to Homeland Security Act TSA introduced various changes in security measures under the Homeland security act 2002. Some of the major changes introduced have been listed below. No Fly List and Identification Requirement All adult passengers are now required to show a proof if identification before they are allowed to board a plane. Apart from this, TSA also compares the passengers against a No-fly list. Those whose names appear on the no-fly list are not allowed to board. This includes the names of around 21000 people. In addition to this TSA also has a list of Selectees, passengers who are to be screened thoroughly before being allowed to board a flight (Mueller, 2004). Passenger Screening Screening of passengers before boarding flight was initially done by private security screeners. In order to improve efficiency, TSA took over the screening of passenger’s at all commercial airports from November 2002. They increased the compensation of screeners in order to reduce turnover and also increased the amount of training provided to the screeners in order to make them more efficient. Baggage Screening Prior to 9/11 attacks, only 5% of the checked in baggage was screened. TSA mandated compulsory screening of all check in baggage from 2002. They were also asked to positively match the bag checked to a passenger on board the flight. Airlines were free to adopt any of the four methods in order to screen the baggage – Explosion Detection system, Exp losion trace detection machines, bomb-sniffing dogs or manual search of the bags.

Final Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Final - Assignment Example Consumers who purchase these foods often have tight schedules that cannot allow them to be preparing food at any time. People also prefer buying frozen food due to health concerns. Some are keen to avoid being obese and thus prefer frozen foods due to their low cholesterol content. Television sets purchase is influenced by economic factors. Economic factors mainly centers on a person’s financial status. The wealthy are able to buy bigger and more advanced television than the common people. The choice of buying a television depends on the money one has available at his or her disposal (Armstrong, 2009). For a company to build and manage a brand strategy they must make decisions on the way to add value to their products. This is by use of distinct style, and design, good style makes the product to be attractive to the customers. This can decrease production cost and enhance the reputation of the product thus beating of competition. Nestle USA products have distinct designs and styles which make them stand out from the rest. With the name, they have built in the market they do not spend much on advertisements because people already know them. Choice of packaging is also an important decision to be made by the management. Good packaging means the products becomes more attractive to the customer hence promoting sales. The Nestle USA products have some of the best packaging methods for their products. This ensures their product continues to attract the required attention and the same time maintain their mark of quality. (Armstrong, 2009). Market segmentation is the division of a market in terms of its demographics geographical boundaries and political nature. This creates distinct submarkets with distinct needs and interests. Through segmentation, it is possible for one to get a target market from a division whose interest fit with ones products. The five characteristics of a substantial market segment are measurability, accessibility,

Effect of Technology on Cognition

Effect of Technology on Cognition A variety of sources have expressed the view that newer technology and the Internet is having an effect on human cognition. Discuss this notion with reference to research in this area, clearly highlighting how the technology individuals are using on a daily basis could be affecting underlying cognitive processes. Modernisation in the last twenty years has led to broader and more efficient uses within the digital technological field. Developing away from radio usage and television, technology nowadays focuses on instant at hand concepts including smartphones, GPS and the Internet, using largely online methods to provide ease for individuals to function daily (Pettinger, 2012). The Internet, primarily used as a method just to share data, is now used as a method of keeping in contact, researching information, streaming media, playing games and much more (Joinson, 2003). The collaboration between humans and computers, as Rutkowska and Crook (1987) outline, is Human-Computer Interaction, where the technology being used acts as a remedial assistant, a teacher and a cognitive facilitator to advance and aid the individual. However, these technological aids that humans are so adapted to are seen to be affecting human cognition. Human cognition is used as an umbrella term for many mental workings and a ctive information processes, for example memory, perception, thinking and learning (Ashcraft, 2005). Neisser (1967) refers to human cognition as an acquisition of knowledge using perception, recall, retention and problem solving processes. Cognition can be conceptual or intuitive and it deals with the conscious and unconscious regulations of human processes to help humans interact within their daily lifestyles. Technology can provide ease to these demanding cognitive abilities but has also been debated to cause cognitive issues. This essay is therefore going to determine to what extent daily technological interactions are having on human cognition by exploring the cognitive improvements and limitations from using modern technology. Human contact with technology and the Internet today is more significant than ever, as immediate information is constantly at hand through smartphones and computers which are commonplace in part of western culture daily living (Nasi Koivusilta, 2013). As Wertsch and Rupert (1993) suggest, the tools used, such as the Internet, to mediate human cognition are culturally valued, important and impact modern life extensively. This technological impact on human cognition can be seen to be directly influencing memory, for example Sparrow, Liu and Wegner (2011) found that the use of search engines such as Google affected memory structures in individuals. People using search engines tended to forget information they felt would be externally available to them, and only retain information that wasn’t. They had used the search engine as an external memory store, which in turn created a more symbolic and connected relationship with the Internet. Wegner (1987) said this external memory plac ement takes the form of transactive memory, by which many people can access it, creating a social memory system that people rely on. However, research by Rahwan (2014) found that using Internet search engines as an external memory store did not extend or benefit memory, but instead only helped solve cognitive problems when using the search engines by facilitating spread of correct information. Furthermore, Nicholas et al. (2011) studied working memory in the Google generation, born after 1993, and those beforehand. Working memory was significantly weaker in the Google generation participants, suggesting that the use of Internet search engines as a method of external memory storage again did not benefit actual memory because memory was consequently being underused. The use of technology and specifically search engines that are readily available and used every day can therefore instead narrowing human working memory capabilities instead of extending them. The underuse of memory due to technological availabilities can be explained by the offloading effect. Cognitive offloading refers to displacement of cognitions onto technology that would otherwise take up room in the human brain (Dror, 2013). This concept is seen to increase brain capacity in terms of learning, where items can be placed into technology for extended use which frees up cognitive resources in the brain. But in the terms of memory, delegating information to cognitive tools leads to an underused working memory. Offloading is a simple method in which cognitive technology can supplement human cognition, and these cognitive tools are becoming cognitive partners (Dror Harnad, 2008). Online cognitive partners such as Global Positioning Systems (GPS) are used daily and show a prime example of how technology has replaced the simple human cognition of reading a map. There is little effort in punching in a postcode to get to a destination, whereas much more cognitive effort was u sed in planning out a trip using a map. It seems that in today’s modern world there is a greater use and reliance on cognitive technology than ever before. The dynamic function of human cognitive ability makes loosing that ability apparent if it is not used, for example the use of search engines are so heavily replied on that memory is not used as extensively and the effectiveness of working memory could therefore decrease. However operating with technology may also allow for improvements in cognition and in turn, benefit an easier lifestyle. Technology can been used to improve cognitive skills such as information processing and perception. Online gaming is vastly popular with the average gamer playing for around 8 hours a week and the impact it is having on cognition is apparent. Green and Bavelier (2012) observed that online computer game playing led to improvements in perceptual and cognitive tasks such as faster information processing. This is suggested to be due to the quick demanding nature of online games to help improve the speed at which game players must absorb information to make a decision. This type of testing during the playing of the game makes users employ their knowledge constructively, so it also benefits cognitive retention skills (Hagman, 1980). Furthermore, Schlickum, Hedman, Enochsson, Kjellin, and Fellà ¤nder-Tsai (2009) found that playing online computer games increased cognitive performance in medical students and Drew and Waters (1986) found increases in perceptual motor skills with older adults that played computer games. These studies suggest that the interaction with game playing positively affects human cognition because the physical engagement helps promote cognitive learning and maintenance, and sets a marker in which daily use with these items may in fact lead to further improvements in cognitive skills. However some research suggests otherwise. VanRavenzwaaij, Boekel, Forstmann, Ratcliff and Wagenmakers (2014) found that online game playing does not affect information processing and learning because perceptual learning is highly context-specific and transferring this knowledge to everyday life isn’t likely. This suggests that the abilities obtained from technology may not be able to be applied to human cognition in daily situations, which suggests that some daily technologies that are used may not be very useful. Nevertheless, in Van Ravenzwaaij et al. discussion they emphasise that research method disadvantages that may have enthused these findings. Interne t use has also been linked to improvements in certain cognitive skills. Johnson (2008) findings outlined a significant difference with frequent internet users and visual reasoning, compared to non-frequent internet users and verbal reasoning. This suggests that selective use of the internet is related to an enhanced cognitive capacity to manipulate visual imagery that could in turn benefit daily lifestyle by increasing visual awareness when finding new destinations and other visual manipulations. Internet users are more equipped to observing visual stimuli and can use this advantage in everyday life. Because newer technological advances create constant active engagement for users, daily communication is changing. Computers and the Internet now enrich people’s personal life because constant communication to friends and family is available, such as instant messaging, emails and phone calls. It is even possible to visually communicate with friends and family over the Internet. However, as Kirschner and Karpinski (2010) suggest, this constant daily distraction causes poor time management skills and a lack of concentration. Social networking service consumers (SNS) use these cognitive tools for procrastination that leads to a deficit in attention offline because attention is distributed across many different internet domains, such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. Junco (2012) found that students who multitask with SNS such as instant messaging and texting in classes generally had a lower grade point average than those who did not. This may be because the cognitive tools used t o remain in contact socially are distracting and a ‘withdrawal’ mechanism from the real world, which in turn affects attention and learning processes. However, Benway (1999) observed how attention can be manipulated when the individual is still online. Benway found that the numbers of signups for employees on a training programme online were low and this was because people couldn’t find the relevant link. It was in a colourful banner at the top of the page but the employees failed to notice it. This research demonstrates that even in the confines of the Internet, attention can still be affected and particular areas of the webpage can act as a distractor. However, the use of SNS, can be used as a progressive tool for human cognition. Alloway, Horton, Alloway and Dawson (2013) investigated adolescent use of social media by comparison against tests of working memory, verbal ability and academic achievement. Findings suggests that Facebook users had in fact increased levels of cognition in areas such as verbal ability and working memory, and this suggests that SNS have a positive effect on human cognition because experience with the process of writing and reading statuses and articles and recalling what was seen on socially constructed networks promotes cognitive function. This is not to say that there may not be an overuse of SNS tools in today society, as a lot of relationships and shared information takes place online, it is hard to distinguish to what point social media reliance is too much. Nevertheless, the overlapping use of different Internet domains that individuals use daily presents a wider spread of available individual concepts that can be connected to create cognitive schemas of knowledge, and relates to the idea of transactive memory. The promotion of cognitive function by using technological tools is seen to be increasing knowledge. Young (2005) suggests that the knowledge gained from the use of tools such as the Internet results from the complex interactions between the individual, the cognitive tool and society. She suggests a model called the Internet-Mediated learning model whereby relations between the daily use of technology and the individual are explained. The Internet is socially constructed to present collected social views on SNS such as Facebook and Google that an individual can either agree with and absorb to form new knowledge, or discredit. More importantly, the technology used in schools every day is also promoting the acquisition of knowledge in students. Kinzer and Leu (1997) found that the use of technology by using multimedia presentations helped students retain a better understanding of lessons, compared to learning from books on their own. Improvements in the student’s formations of c oncepts, ideas and comprehensive writing skills suggest that operating with technological tools can reiterate and reinforce information for learning. Martinez-Lage, (1997) suggests the reasons for the increased knowledge and memory retention the students portrayed was due to the enhancing efficiency of the multimedia demonstrations creating stronger memory links. Digital technologies can also be accessed again immediately through methods such as playbacks to provide the observer with an immediate renewal of the material that can refresh working memory. This research demonstrates the effective use of technological tools for learning and supports the increase of technology within educational settings. Nonetheless, there are issues that relate to the amount of reliance placed on using technology in such fields because a lot of learning is now conveyed through online methods instead of through books, considerations about where the line shall be drawn should be taken. Overall, new technology is increasing and it is having an increasing effective on cognition. Technology is serving as a tool for the promotion of cognitive abilities such as memory, learning and information processing. New technology such as Internet search engines can influence memory by playing the part of an external memory store that subsequently frees up room for cognitive processes and allows instant reviewing, termed offloading. However the underuse of the working memory has also led to worries over deterioration and loss of such a function if technology keeps increasing and allowing for such passing off of cognitive abilities. The cognitive functions could become lazy. However, technology such as Gaming has led to faster information processing due to quick decision making on the games which provides cognitive development and maintenance. Promoting knowledge using technology in classes and in educational settings also suggests that technology is encouraging cognitive developme nt. Finally, SNS do serve to a disadvantage to attention as they act as distractors on a daily basis within many settings. Nevertheless, the future of technology is clear in that it will keep increasing and occupying daily lifestyles and therefore, human cognition.

An examination of the sonnet from Petrarch to Browning. Essay -- Engli

An examination of the sonnet from Petrarch to Browning. A sonnet is a poem, which traditionally contains the subject of love. The creator of the sonnet was a man named Francesco Petrarca who was usually referred to as Petrarch. Petrarch wrote many of his sonnets based upon himself, and his lover, Laura. The conventional format of a sonnet contains fourteen lines, and is segregated to illustrate two arguments. Every sonnet takes the conventional format of fourteen lines, although the way the arguments are split up, may be different. For example, Petrarch and Elizabeth Barrett Browning's sonnet both take the format of an octave and a sestet, whereas Shakespeare's sonnet takes the format of three quatrains and a rhyming couplet. The arguments usually comprise of love juxtaposed against its opposite. For example, love versus hate, and love versus death. I have chosen to compare three sonnets. I will compare the subject of their sonnet, the form of the sonnet, and the way that they depict their argument in their sonnet. For example, how they have set out the sonnet, and their use of language. I have chosen to compare, Petrarch's, "XLL," and Shakespeare's, "Sonnet 138," and Barrett Browning's, "XLIII." The three sonnets that I have selected all contain the subject of love, but do not compose of the same aspect of love. The subject of, "Sonnet XXL," is about a woman named Laura, with whom the author Francesco Petrarch fell deeply in love with, even though she did not return his affections. Shakespeare's, "Sonnet 138," is about the experience of being in love. He writes from a masculine perspective, describing his lover as, "Unchaste, unfaithful, and dishonest." Elizabeth Barrett Browning's, "Sonnet XLIII,"... ...ar the most exceptional sonnet out of the three that I have chosen. I think this because of his motivating subject, and the way he has used different techniques of language and imagery. I think that his sonnet depicts the subject of love very well. Petrarch's sonnet was the second best sonnet out of the three, again for its subject. I felt that it didn't compose of the same ingredients as Shakespeare's sonnet, and it didn't contain as many uses of language and imagery as Shakespeare's did. I found that Elizabeth Barrett Browning's sonnet was not as good as the other two because of the way she used very little language and imagery, and because of the way that her subject was constant throughout the sonnet. All three sonnets portrayed their subject well, and used many techniques such as imagery and rhyme, which helped the reader understand each sonnet more.