Monday, September 30, 2019

Resposability for Wide Spread Illeteracy

Illiteracy is known to be wide spread in different degrees. Some people have almost no ability to read or to write, while others can read or write some but not very well. Therefore, illiteracy sometimes may not be recognized if a person can read or write a little but not very much. Not all illiterate people are completely incapable of reading and writing. While some would like to find out who to blame, there is enough blame to share among many people. Even teachers are not free of blame for the spread of illiteracy.There are three reasons that teachers should take some responsibility for wide spread illiteracy. The first reason is that teachers are responsible to teach at their school, because that is the first place that people go to learn. As part of their job, teachers need to help students to improve their skills, such as reading, writing and comprehension. In other words, teachers have responsibility to help people to improve their knowledge because that is part of their job. If the teachers don’t apply themselves in their jobs, and make constant efforts to teach, the students will not learn.Teachers should have the support necessary to make students strengthen their literacy skills, but they still have the responsibility of trying to improve their students. The second reason is students and parents expect teachers to combat illiteracy because no one else has so much time with the students in a place where they can study, away from television, games, and other distractions. Teachers play an important role in the life of the students, because teachers help them to meet various challenges.For example if a student have problem understanding complex context, parents can help them, but teachers have better strategies to help them. In short, teachers are part of everyone’s community and they are better equipped than other people to teach students to read and write. Just as police officers are relied upon to do their jobs and to help their community by enforcing laws and catching criminals, teachers are relied upon to accept responsibility for teaching children, and helping them to learn to read and write.A third reason relates to teachers’ sharing responsibility with other people. In other words, it is not only teachers who are responsible for illiteracy. Even if teachers do their jobs and truly try to improve their community by fighting illiteracy, other people must do their part. For example, the students themselves must accept responsibility if they do not learn. Many students prefer to be entertained and to do fun things rather than to learn to read and write. While they will try to blame others for their failure, they must also accept blame. Parents also take some responsibility.They should not be satisfied with a child who cannot read or write, and part of their parental responsibilities includes educating their children even if they do not want to be educated and attempt to avoid education. In conclusion, for th at reasons mentioned teacher should take some responsibility for wide spread illiteracy. Teachers help students to improve their ability to read and understand. As teachers they need to bring the support that people need to master their goal in life. Helping the students and encouraging them to become better thinkers, that is the responsibility for the teachers and parents as a community.

Sunday, September 29, 2019

Competition and Markets

United Parcel Service, Inc. is the brand name that this paper seeks to analyze using its monopolistic characteristics and the advertising trends in the company. With its headquarters in Sandy Springs, Georgia, the company is so far the world’s largest package delivery company.United Parcel Service, Inc major competitors in the US market are the United States Postal Services and FedEx which are also joined with other international operators among of them being: Royal Mail, Japan Post, LDH Express, and FCML Couriers among many other international delivery companies.It is therefore practical to state that United Parcel Service, Inc does not enjoy a purely monopolistic market although various characteristics in its operations have enabled it to enjoy a larger share of the delivery market. In a single day for instance, it delivers over 15 million packages to 6. 1 million customers in m ore than 200 countries (Heijdra and Brakman 2004). UPS gained its popular brand name originally f orm its brown trucks which are responsible for ‘The Big Brown Machine’ name that is locally used to refer to it.Advertising especially in firms characterized by monopolistic features aims at benefiting the producer to increase the sales levels (Semenik and O’Guinn 2008). On the other hand though, it is argued that advertisement serves a role in ensuring that consumers are more enlightened on market supply hence reduce the risks of making uninformed purchase decisions. Some economists though argue against advertisement stating that it leads to misallocation of resources in the economy as consumers are propelled into buying what they had not intended to initially.It is also argued that it promotes unfair market dominance as firms aim at enhancing their brand name at the expense of other players in the industry. Basing on the reasoning, put above advertising is the only way for firms in monopolistic market to ensure they maintain their edge in the market (Kapferer 2 008). References Kapferer, J, 2008, The new strategic brand management, K. P. P. , Washington D. C. Heijdra, B & Brakman, S, 2004, The monopolistic competition revolution in retrospect, C. U. P. , California. Semenik, R & O’Guinn, T, 2008, Advertising and Integrated Brand Promotion, Cengage Learning, Boston.

Saturday, September 28, 2019

Abortion: Make It Illegal

Dallas Chambers Mrs. Baker English 112 03/26/13 Abortion: Make It Illegal Some people believe that there is nothing wrong with abortion, and that it is perfectly moral. Meanwhile others believe that abortion is murder regardless of how far along the baby has developed. No matter what a person believes, abortion is not the right choice. I believe that every child has the right to live even if the mother is young or not financially secure. Abortion is the termination of an innocent child. There are many reasons why abortion should be illegal: ethically and physically.There are many reasons why women choose to have an abortion. Some are selfish and others are selfless, or to protect themselves or the child from future harm. The selfish reasons include that having a baby would interfere with school/work, that they cannot afford a baby or that they are having problems with their significant other. These are merely excuses for not wanting to accept responsibility for their actions. Some of the selfless reasons include medical problems, either with the mother or child, and because the woman was raped. These are the two main qualifiers for this argument.Some women say it is their right to choose whether or not they want to abort a baby. This is true and that right is protected in the Constitution. Also, in the Roe vs. Wade Supreme Court case in 1973, the Court ruled that abortion is a woman’s fundamental right. However, when considering an abortion a woman is not just making a choice about her own life, she is deciding whether or not to terminate another. It is fine to make a decision when it only concerns one person, but when it is a decision for that person and someone who cannot speak for themselves it is not fair.There are plenty of other options to choose from rather than aborting a baby. These women could give the baby away to a loving family who can’t conceive children or who has health problems. They could have the baby adopted, granted it is not easy to give away a child but it is better than terminating it and never giving that child a chance to grow. There are open adoptions and closed adoptions. It is very easy to find a place to arrange an adoption considering in today’s society the world is at our fingertips. If a person looks on Google they can find plenty of websites that can arrange adoptions.For example, just in North Carolina there is achildshope. com, christianadopt. org, littleangelsadoption. net and many more. A woman could also put the baby in the foster care system or take the â€Å"path less traveled† and keep the baby themselves. It is better to have a child and give them to a deserving home or couple than to terminate it before he/she even had a chance. Think about it. Any of the lives terminated could end up becoming a doctor, lawyer, or even the next Einstein. Another reason not to terminate a life is because abortion can cause health problems to the woman who receives it.These health probl ems do not only include physical but also mental. Some physical side effects of abortion are bleeding, hemorrhage, infection, inflammation of organs, and increased risk of miscarriage in the future. Some psychological side effects include anxiety, depression, use of alcohol and marijuana, and also suicide. Abortion can cause many health problems and may even kill you, not to mention it is terminating the life of an unborn child†¦ Why would a mother risk that? However, if there are risk factor brought on by a pregnancy then the subject of right or wrong gets more complicated.Either the mother or the child’s life could be in danger. If the mother could possibly die by giving birth to the child then it is not right for anyone to prevent her from terminating the pregnancy, if she chooses to do so. Also, if the child will be terminally ill from the moment of birth, than the mother should be able to determine whether she should terminate the life of that child. Another qualifi er would be if the woman was raped. A woman should not have to endure the pain of pregnancy when it was not her choice to have intercourse in the first place.However, a woman cannot just go to a clinic and say they were raped. There must be a police report on file stating that the woman was raped in order to go ahead with the abortion. Abortion has been a very controversial subject for the past few years and throughout all the debates regarding it I have heard some very interesting comments made by the Pro-Choice believers. Some of these comments included that women should be able to make their own decisions, the baby isn’t alive until it exits the womb, and it is better to kill a baby than have it suffer in a family who doesn’t want it or cannot provide for it.While all women have the right to decide what to do with their bodies, they all have to take responsibility for their actions as well. If a woman is headed to work and drinks a fifth of vodka before getting in t he car to drive there, that is her choice. However, if she ends up killing someone she can’t just say â€Å"well, I’m pro-choice† and then walk away. That woman would have to face the consequences of her actions and go to jail. Why is it any different to kill a human being outside of the mother’s womb than it is when the child is still inside of it?Either way a human being was killed. Whether they were born yet or not is irrelevant. â€Å"A baby isn’t alive until it exits the womb. † Some people do believe that a baby is not alive until it takes its first breath, which is at birth. However, whether you consider the baby alive at the moment of conception or not, the baby will grow into a human being and for someone to terminate the child’s life before it has a chance to grow and develop is wrong. The only moral termination of pregnancy is through miscarriage and nobody has control over that.As previously stated, there are other options than just keeping the â€Å"unwanted† child. There is foster care, open adoption and closed adoptions. In conclusion, abortion is morally and ethically wrong. It is the termination of an unborn child and a woman should not be allowed to terminate a pregnancy without any consequences. There are plenty of other options to choose from besides just terminating a pregnancy. This is why abortion should be illegal in the United States.

Friday, September 27, 2019

Where are you going, where are you from - Joyce Carol Oats Assignment

Where are you going, where are you from - Joyce Carol Oats - Assignment Example n the two of them, like her mother used to be the same was once and understands what she is going through, and that Connie somehow knows this and so there’s that different level of their relationship as well. Connie’s belief that her mother likes her more also suggests this. What’s more interesting though, and even a little bit disturbing, is the way that Connie reacts to Arnold Friend. Even the first time she saw him Connie was put a bit off center, and I immediately knew that he was going to play some sinister role in the story. I was not disappointed, and the scene where he comes to her house and talks to her, which is most of the story actually, gave me the chills. But at the same time Connie seems to expect things to turn out the way that they do, and there are some sentences in the story that make me wonder if that’s not actually the way she wants it to turn out. For instance, she goes out to the door and flirts with him, and even enjoys his attention, even though he has apparently been stalking her or worse and knows all sorts of things about her. His last name, â€Å"Friend,† makes him somehow seem even more evil than his speech when he talks. The way that he talks and the things that he says definitely play a big role in it, though, because he seems to be just saying things without any real understanding of what they mean beyond knowing that they are the sorts of things that a person like him should say. I almost wonder if he’s supposed to be Satan or something like that, but in the end he seems not quite as evil as that because the tone of the story doesn’t really make it sound like we’re supposed to hate him entirely. He is still a very creepy character, but the way he keeps his promises and doesn’t do anything extremely violent makes me wonder how creepy we’re supposed to find him. I think one of the main things Oates was trying for in this story is to show the confusion and the not always happy things that are involved in

Thursday, September 26, 2019

London Olympics 2012 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

London Olympics 2012 - Essay Example Similarly, there are significant health and safety problems both during and after the event because of a large number of workers that are needed for running the event. The author then talks about the documentary film on which she is working about the London 2012 Olympics. The title of film is ‘Construction in the games’ and it mainly deals with the legacy left by the construction industry in terms of employment and training for the locals. In the end, she points out there is a poor system of training in Britain as mostly the focus of training is on the traditional trades. Since the training from surrounding colleges is inadequate, according to professor, it would be extremely difficult to fulfil the legacy of the London Olympics. Even though it is generally believed that being the host for Olympics bring economic boom for the country, it is not easy to assess the economic impact of the Olympic Games (Cashman, 2002). As expected there is a great surge in the employment of the skilled labor for the construction as well as for different services (Economic and Social Research Council, 2012). However most of these labors are required only in the preparation stage of the game and the rapidly pacing economy suffers a heavy setback once the Olympic Games are over. This is because the labor and the services are no longer required and hence the host country is unable to maintain the momentum it had acquired before the start of the games (Girginov, 2005). Therefore it is not easy to analyze the overall economic impact of the Olympic Games. The Olympics is not merely a sports event but it has evolved into means of urban development and regeneration. It is imperative for the host country to have enough facilities for the participants as well as the spectators therefore a great deal of urban investment is generally required (Winch, 2012). This comes in the form of setting up

Legal Issues Surrounding Personal, Real, and Intellectual Property Research Paper

Legal Issues Surrounding Personal, Real, and Intellectual Property - Research Paper Example This has primarily been because of the changes which have taken place in the all-round development of human being. This paper focuses mainly on the implication of the technology on all legal systems which affect property at all levels i.e. definition, acquisition and conveyance. A clear definition of what personal property, real property and now the modern intellectual property is given some weight of focus. It is the stand of this paper that understanding the definitions which surround these keywords is the fundamental necessity which opens a door of understanding into the legal frameworks which govern them. Accessing the property of whatever kind in this century is defined by legal frameworks and this research aims at singling out those general principles which govern the same. There are also the common legal issues that definitely surround the personal, real and intellectual property and this research has centered on them so that the impact which the technology has brought on the same is known. When you know the law, you will know how to navigate its course. This research aims at making you know the law and be in a position to apply it without fear or doubt of any kind. Amendments are also very inevitable and this research makes a proposal of what needs to be changed so that both ethics and legalizations can be at par in serving the 21st century generations. It is noted that this generation is the most advanced in terms of technology than any other time in human history thus the new changes need incorporation in the legal frameworks. It is needless to say that the inter-relationships is also observed and all the strengths and weaknesses analyzed. Introduction Popular law makers have often quoted the words of Bentham that no property no law. This is quite very true because every conduct of human being is property oriented. It may take centuries before everybody comes into agreement that everybody engages in everyday activities with an aim of acquiring some fo rm of property. Property, since time immemorial, has been used to define most of the social human structures the major one being legal frameworks. It is even a known fact that according to the prevailing condition of a social-political and economic condition, the legal frameworks have been used into bequeathing rights of ownership of property. This has though been based on previous experiences of any community setting. A turn of things in legal circles was born when science and technology began yielding its best. The law of property had to inevitably be changed to incorporate the new definitions of property. Due to this aspect, the ideal of intellectual property was born. Since the conception of this kind of property, its protection has been of major concern mainly because of its intangible nature. New rules and regulations have been formed to protect and enforce intelligent property. This paper will explore deeply into the forms of properties known today and there legal implication s. Distinction of Real, Personal and Intellectual properties Real The distinction between these forms of properties is very interesting. Before introduction of technology, which came and complicated the legal system, a real property would simply imply anything which was attached to the ground. This basically included things which were â€Å"planted† on the ground like houses and other structures or anything

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

Chinese restaurant market and investing in the market with respect to Essay

Chinese restaurant market and investing in the market with respect to a fish and chip restaurant chain of UK - Essay Example Managerial tools like PESTEL and SWOT analysis are implemented initially for exploring the external environment of China along with the internal environment analysis of the firm. After that, the potential risks of entering the Chinese restaurant market are analyzed. Then in the analysis section detailed discussion of the competitors, cultural dimension, competitive advantages of the firm is executed. Recommendations in the short term, medium term as well as long term are also discussed. Contents Executive Summary......................................................................................................................2 Introduction ....................................................................................................................................4 Risk of entering China ....................................................................................................................................9 Analysis ............................................... .....................................................................................10 Conclusion ...................................................................................................................................15 Recommendations ....................................................................................................................................16 Reference ....................................................................................................................................19 Introduction International trade has intensified to mammoth levels with the advent of globalization and influx of free trade regime in the modern world. Different sectors of production are engaged in the global business with various goods and services and their exchange. The increasing scope of business corporations in the herald of the 21st century is involving much attention and this trend is defined as a stretch of human imagination (Okoro, 2012, p. 130).The co mpanies and organizations involved in diverse fields of production are expanding their business neglecting geographical barriers and expanding internationally for establishing robust reputation in the global business dimension and also operating in a rigorous manner taking advantage and proper use of environmental, economic, political, cultural factors and so on of these international territories. But successful expansion and proper functioning of business on a new international arena incorporates strategy implementation with dynamic foresight and policies that ensures sustainability and ethical functioning as well as hardcore business motives. Food sector is one of the pioneering domains in the global business forefront and many companies have established their business ventures in the international

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

Strategic Planning & Decision Making (SWOT Analysis) PART ONE Assignment

Strategic Planning & Decision Making (SWOT Analysis) PART ONE - Assignment Example The source to be ranked first is Kneer (2009), given that it is a book, reviewed keenly by numerous scholars before being published; thus, it has an attribute of reliability and accuracy. The second source to be preferred is MBA lecutures (2010), since it belongs to a group of lectures who are capable of offering accurate and reliable information. The third source is MarketingTeacher.com (2013) which has reliable information based on ideas gathered from different scholars. The fourth ranked source is Wendel (2012), which is written by a known author, while Quality-Assurance-Solutions.com (2013) is ranked last due to lack of a specific writer. 3. Information gathered from the SWOT analysis can be applied in making strategic decisions since the manager is able to allocate the relevant resource needed to implement the strategies without under application or over application of resources. Moreover, the manager is able to identify the weakness in order to focus on improving and strengths to utilize them for a competitive advantage. On the other hand, there is a need to identify the opportunities in the business environment, in this way the managers can utilize these opportunities at the advantage of the business. The business should also focus on the identifying the threats faced by the business in order to plan ways for dealing with shortcomings that may arise in future of the businesses. c) European Commission. (2007). SWOT (Strengths Weaknesses Opportunities and Threats) Analysis. For Learn. Retrieved on Jan 20 2012 from

Monday, September 23, 2019

Business Ethics Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Business Ethics - Case Study Example Mike, who is the loss prevention and security manager and has been working in the retail store for more than ten years, has noticed that a diamond studded watch is missing. Mike has ruled out external theft, after studying the videotapes by the closed-circuit TV on that fateful day. The relevant facts in this particular case are: The decision to fire Todd just because he failed a lie detector is not enough grounds to dismiss him, unless if there is new and substantial evidence, implicating Todd, that could be helpful in dismissing Todd. The primary stakeholders in this case are; Susan the human resources manager, Mike-the loss prevention/ security manager and Todd the salesperson. The possible alternatives in this case include forgetting the whole issue about firing Todd and retaining him and his duties just like before. The other alternative could be having a candid discussion with Todd and making him confess out of his own volition. If this happens, the human resources could then take the necessary measures that are suitable in dismissing Todd in a decent procedural manner that will not bring any legal proceedings against the retail store. The ethics of the alternative is that everything will be carried out in the right legal way instead of using information that can be challenged in a court of law. The other employees will thus feel they are not being victimized and that their employer is in sync with their situation. It will also help save the retail store face and make the employees more confident in their jobs and the retail shop in general. The practical constraint to this whole scenario is the issue of bringing Todd to confess to having stolen the watch. This could be really hard, since as any other employee, Todd wants to retain his job. The issue of also proving that Mark stole the watch is quite hard, being the fact that there are no witnesses ready to testify against Todd. The closed circuit camera footages are also not able to show

Sunday, September 22, 2019

Organizational change Essay Example for Free

Organizational change Essay Organizational change is an ongoing process with important implications for organizational effectiveness. An organization and its members must be constantly on the alert for changes from within the organization and from the outside environment, and they must learn how to adjust to change quickly and effectively. Organizational change is the movement of an organization away from its present state and toward some future state to increase its effectiveness. Forces for organizational change include competitive forces; economic, political, and global forces; demographic and social forces; and ethical forces. Organizations are often reluctant to change because resistance to change at the organization, group, and individual levels has given rise to organizational inertia. Sources of organization-level resistance to change include power and conflict, differences in functional orientation, mechanistic structure, and organizational culture. Sources of group-level resistance to change include group norms, group cohesiveness, and groupthink and escalation of commitment. Sources of individual-level resistance to change include uncertainty and insecurity, selective perception and retention, and habit. According to Lewin’s force-field theory of change, organizations are balanced between forces pushing for change and forces resistant to change. To get an organization to change, managers must find a way to increase the forces for change, reduce resistance to change, or do both simultaneously. Types of change fall into two broad categories: evolutionary and revolutionary. The main instruments of evolutionary change are sociotechnical systems theory, total quality management, and the development of flexible workers and work teams. The main instruments of revolutionary change are reengineering, restructuring, and innovation. Often, the revolutionary types of change that result from restructuring and reengineering are necessary only because an organization and its managers ignored or were unaware of changes in the environment and did not make incremental changes as needed. Action research is a strategy that managers can use to plan the change process. The main steps in action research are (a) diagnosis and analysis of the organization, (b) determining the desired future state, (c) implementing action, (d) evaluating the action, and (e) institutionalizing action research. Organizational development (OD) is a series of techniques and methods to increase the adaptability of organizations. OD techniques can be used to overcome resistance to change and to help the organization to change itself. OD techniques for dealing with resistance to change include education and communication, participation and empowerment, facilitation, bargaining and negotiation, manipulation, and coercion. OD techniques for promoting change include, at the individual level, counseling, sensitivity training, and process consultation; at the group level, team building and intergroup training; and at the organizational level, organizational confrontation meetings. CHAPTER OUTLINE 10. 1 What Is Organizational Change? Organizational change is the process by which organizations move from their current or present state to some desired future state to increase their effectiveness. An organization in decline may need to restructure its competences and resources to improve its fit with a changing environment. Even thriving, high-performing organizations such as Google, Apple, and Facebook need to continuously change the way they operate over time to meet ongoing challenges. Targets of Change Organizational change includes changes in four areas: 1. Human resources are an organization’s most important asset. Because these skills and abilities give an organization a competitive advantage, organizations must continually monitor their structures to find the most effective way of motivating and organizing human resources to acquire and use their skills. Changes made in human resources include investment in training, socializing employees, changing norms to motivate a diverse workforce, monitoring promotion and reward systems, and changing top management. 2. Each organizational function needs to develop procedures that allow it to manage the particular environment it faces. Crucial functions grow in importance while those whose usefulness is declining shrink. Thus, key functions grow in importance. Organizations can change structure, culture, and technology to improve the value created by functions. 3 Organizational change often involves changing the relationships between people and functions to increase their ability to create value. 10. 2 Forces for and Resistance to Organizational Change Forces for Change If managers are slow to respond to the forces of change, the organization will lag behind its competitors and its effectiveness will be compromised. (Refer to Figure 10. 1) Competitive forces spur change, because unless an organization matches or surpasses its competitors it will not survive. Managing change is crucial when competing for customers. To lead on the dimensions of efficiency or quality, an organization must constantly adopt the latest technology as it becomes available. To lead on the dimension of innovation and obtain a technological advantage over competitors, a company must possess skills in managing the process of innovation. Economic, political, and global forces, such as the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) or other economic unions, are significant forces of change. The European Union (EU) includes over 27 members eager to take advantage of a large protected market. Global challenges facing organizations include the need to change an organizational structure to allow expansion into foreign markets, the need to adapt to a variety of national cultures, and the need to help expatriate managers adapt to the economic, political, and cultural values of the countries in which they are located. Demographic and social forces include an increasingly diverse workforce. Changes in the demographic characteristics of the workforce require managers to change their styles of managing all employees and to learn how to understand, supervise, and motivate diverse members effectively. Many workers want to balance work and leisure. Managers need to abandon stereotypes and accept the importance of equity in the recruitment and promotion of new hires. Ethical forces such as increasing government, political, and social demands for more responsible and honest corporate behavior are compelling organizations to promote ethical behavior. Many companies have created the position of ethics officer. If organizations operate in countries that pay little attention to human rights or to the well-being of organizational members, they have to learn how to change these standards and to protect their overseas employees. Resistances to Change Resistance to change lowers an organization’s effectiveness and reduces its chances of survival. Resistances or impediments to change that cause inertia are found at the organization, group, and individual levels. (Refer to Figure 10. 1) Organization-Level Resistance to Change Power and conflict: When change causes power struggles and organizational conflict, an organization is likely to resist it. If change benefits one function at the expense of another, conflict impedes the change process. In the old IBM, for example, managers of its mainframe computer division fought off attempts to redirect IBM’s resources to produce the PCs that customers wanted in order to preserve their own power. Differences in functional orientation: This means that different functions and divisions often see the source of a problem differently because they see an issue or problem primarily from their own viewpoint. This tunnel vision increases organizational inertia. Mechanistic structure: Mechanistic structures are more resistant to change. People who work within a mechanistic structure are expected to act in certain ways and do not develop the capacity to adjust their behavior to changing conditions. A mechanistic structure typically develops as an organization grows and is a principal source of inertia, especially in large organizations. The extensive use of mutual adjustment and decentralized authority in an organic structure makes it less resistant to change. Organizational culture: Organizational culture, values, and norms cause resistance to change. If organizational change disrupts taken-for-granted values and norms and forces people to change what they do and how they do it, an organization’s culture will cause resistance to change. Group-Level Resistance to Change Many groups develop strong informal norms that specify appropriate and inappropriate behaviors and govern the interactions between group members. Often, change alters task and role relationships in a group; when it does, it disrupts group norms and the informal expectations that group members have of one another. As a result, members of a group may resist change because a new set of norms must be developed to meet the needs of the new situation. Group cohesiveness, the attractiveness of a group to its members, also affects group performance. A highly cohesive group may resist attempts by management to change what it does or even who is a member of the group. Groupthink and escalation of commitment also make changing a group’s behavior very difficult. Individual-Level Resistance to Change People tend to resist change because they feel uncertain and insecure about what its outcome will be. Selective perception and retention suggest that people perceive information consistent with their views. If change doesn’t benefit them, they do not endorse it. People’s preference for familiar actions and events is a further impediment to change. Lewin’s Force-Field Theory of Change Force-field theory is a theory of organizational change that argues that two sets of opposing forces within an organization determine how change will take place. When the forces are evenly balanced, the organization is in a state of inertia and does not change. To get an organization to change, managers must find a way to increase the forces for change, reduce resistance to change, or do both simultaneously. Any of these strategies will overcome inertia and cause an organization to change. (Refer to Figure 10. 2) Managerial Implications Managers must continuously monitor the environment to identify the forces for change. They must analyze how the change will affect the organization and determine which type of change to pursue. 10. 3 Evolutionary and Revolutionary Change in Organizations Evolutionary change refers to change that is gradual, incremental, and specifically focused. It adds small adjustments to strategy and structure to handle environmental changes. Sociotechnical systems theory, total quality management, and the creation of empowered, flexible work groups are three instruments of evolutionary change that organizations use in their attempt to make incremental improvements in the way work gets done. Revolutionary change refers to change that is sudden, drastic, and organization-wide. It has repercussions at all levels in the organization—corporate, divisional, functional, group, and individual. Three ways to implement revolutionary change are reengineering, restructuring, and innovation. Developments in Evolutionary Change: Sociotechnical Systems Theory Sociotechnical systems theory is a theory that proposes the importance of changing role and task or technical relationships to increase organizational effectiveness. It emerged from a study of changing work practices in the British coal-mining industry. The socio-technical systems theory argues that managers need to fit or jointly optimize the workings of the technical and social systems. A poor fit between an organization’s technology and social system leads to failure, but a close fit leads to success. When managers change task and role relationships, they must recognize the need to adjust the technical and social systems gradually so group norms and cohesiveness are not disrupted. By taking this gradual approach, an organization can avoid the group-level resistance to change. Researchers suggest that a team-oriented system promotes values that enhance efficiency and product quality. Total quality management uses sociotechnical systems theory. Total Quality Management Total quality management (TQM) is a technique developed by W. Edwards Deming to continuously improve the effectiveness of flexible work teams. It was embraced by Japanese companies after World War II. Changes frequently inspired by TQM include altering the design or type of machines used to assemble products and reorganizing the sequence of activities—either within or between functions—necessary to provide a service to a customer. Changing cross-functional relationships to help improve quality is important in TQM. The changes associated with TQM are changes in task, role, and group relationships. Implementing a TQM program is not always easy because it requires workers and managers to adopt new ways of viewing their roles in an organization. Managers must be willing to decentralize control of decision making, empower workers, and assume the role of facilitator rather than supervisor. The â€Å"command and control† model gives way to an â€Å"advise and support† model. Flexible Workers and Flexible Work Teams In implementing socio-technical systems theory and TQM, many organizations are finding it easier to achieve their goals by using flexible workers and teams. Flexible workers can be transferred between departments and functions as demand changes. The advantages of flexible workers include quick response to environmental changes; reduced boredom and increased incentives for quality; better understanding by learning one another’s tasks; and combining tasks to increase efficiency and reduce costs. A flexible work team is a group of workers who assume responsibility for performing all the operations necessary for completing a specified stage in the manufacturing process. A flexible work team is self-managed; members jointly assign tasks and transfer from one task to another. In a flexible work team, separate teams assemble different components and turn those components over to the final-product work team, which assembles the final product. Each team’s activities are driven by demands that have their origins in customer demands for the final product. (Refer to Figure 10. 3) Developments in Revolutionary Change: Reengineering The term â€Å"reengineering† has been used to refer to the process by which managers redesign how tasks are bundled into roles and functions to improve organizational effectiveness. It involves rethinking business processes, activities that cross functional boundaries. Instead of focusing on an organization’s functions in isolation from one another, managers make business processes the focus of attention. A business process is an activity that cuts across functional boundaries and is vital to the quick delivery of goods and services or that promotes high quality or low costs. Because reengineering focuses on business processes and not functions, an organization must rethink the way it approaches organizing its activities. A good example of how to use reengineering to increase functional integration comes from attempts to redesign the materials management function to improve its effectiveness. In the traditional functional design the three main components of materials management—purchasing, production control, and distribution—were typically in separate functions and had little to do with one another. Thus coordinating their activities is difficult. Each function has its own hierarchy, and there are problems in both vertical and horizontal communication. Today, most organizations put all three of the functional activities involved in the materials management process inside one function. Three guidelines for performing reengineering successfully are as follows: Organize around outcomes, not tasks. 2. Have those who use the output of the process perform the process. 3. Decentralize decision making to the point where the decision is made. Reengineering and TQM are highly interrelated and complementary. E-Engineering This is a term used to refer to companies’ attempts to use all kinds of information systems to improve performance. The importance of e-engineering is increasing as it changes the way a company organizes its value-creation functions and links them to improve its performance. Restructuring Restructuring is a process by which managers change task and authority relationships and redesign organizational structure and culture to improve organizational effectiveness. Downsizing is the process by which managers streamline the organizational hierarchy and lay off managers and workers to reduce bureaucratic costs. The drive to decrease bureaucratic costs results from competitive pressures. Mergers and acquisitions in many industries, such as banking, have led to downsizing because fewer managers are needed. Other companies have reduced staff to match competitors. The negative effects of downsizing include overworked managers and lost opportunities. Companies that fail to control growth must downsize to remain competitive. The terms anorexic or hollow are used to refer to organizations that downsized too much and have too few managers to help them grow when conditions change. Restructuring, like other change strategies, generates resistance to change. Often, the decision to downsize requires the establishment of new task and role relationships. Because this change may threaten the jobs of some workers, they resist the changes taking place. Innovation Innovation refers to the process by which organizations use their skills and resources to develop new goods and services or to develop new production and operating systems so they can better respond to the needs of their customers. 10. 4 Managing Change: Action Research In Lewin’s view, implementing change is a three-step process: (1) unfreezing the organization from its present state, (2) making the change, and (3) refreezing the organization in the new, desired state so its members do not revert to their previous work attitudes and role behavior. Action research is a strategy for generating and acquiring knowledge that managers can use to define an organization’s desired future state and to plan a change program that allows the organization to reach that state. Figure 10. 6 highlights the steps in action research. Diagnosis of the Organization The first step in action research requires managers to recognize the existence of a problem that needs to be solved and acknowledge that some type of change is needed to solve it. In general, recognition of the need for change arises because somebody in the organization perceives a gap between desired performance and actual performance. Determining the Desired Future State This step also involves a difficult planning process as managers work out various alternative courses of action that could move the organization to where they would like it to be and determine what type of change to implement. Implementing Action 1. First, managers identify possible impediments to change at all levels. The second step is deciding who will be responsible for actually making the changes and controlling the change process. The choices are to employ either external change agents or internal change agents or use some combination of both. 3. The third step is deciding which specific change strategy will most effectively unfreeze, change, and refreeze the organization. The types of change that these techniques give rise to fall into two categories: Top-down change is implemented by managers at a high level in the organization, knowing that the change will reverberate at all organizational levels. Bottom-up change is implemented by employees at low levels in the organization that gradually rises until it is felt throughout the organization. Evaluating the Action The fourth step in action research is evaluating the action that has been taken and assessing the degree to which the changes have accomplished the desired objectives. The best way to evaluate the change process is to develop measures or criteria that allow managers to assess whether the organization has reached its desired objectives. Institutionalizing Action Research Organizations need to institutionalize action research—that is, make it a required habit or a norm adopted by every member of an organization. The institutionalization of action research is as necessary at the top of the organization as it is on the shop floor. Managerial Implications Managers must develop criteria to evaluate whether a change is necessary, and carefully design a plan that minimizes resistance. 10. 5 Organizational Development Organizational development (OD) is a series of techniques and methods that managers can use in their action research program to increase the adaptability of their organization. The goal of OD is to improve organizational effectiveness and to help people in organizations reach their potential and realize their goals and objectives. OD Techniques to Deal with Resistance to Change Education and Communication: One impediment to change is that participants are uncertain about what is going to happen. Through education and communication, internal and external agents of change can provide organizational members with information about the change and how it will affect them. Participation and Empowerment: Inviting workers to participate in the change process is a popular method of reducing resistance to change. Participation complements empowerment, increases workers’ involvement in decision making, and gives them greater autonomy to change work procedures to improve organizational performance. These are key elements of most TQM programs. People that are involved in the change and decision-making process are more likely to embrace rather than resist. Facilitation: Both managers and workers find change stressful. There are several ways in which organizations can help their members to manage stress: providing them with training to help them learn how to perform new tasks, providing them with time off from work to recuperate from the stressful effects of change, or even giving senior members sabbaticals. Bargaining and Negotiation: Bargaining and negotiation are important tools that help managers manage conflict. Because change causes conflict, bargaining is an important tool in overcoming resistance to change. Manipulation: Sometimes senior managers need to intervene, as politics shows that powerful managers have considerable ability to resist change. Coercion: The ultimate way to eliminate resistance to change is to coerce the key players into accepting change and threaten dire consequences if they choose to resist. The disadvantage is that it can leave people angry and disenchanted and can make the refreezing process difficult. OD Techniques to Promote Change Counseling, Sensitivity Training, and Process Consultation: Recognizing that each individual is different also requires them to be treated or managed differently. Sometimes, counseling will help individuals understand that their own perceptions of a situation may be incorrect. Sensitivity training is an OD technique that consists of intense counseling in which group members, aided by a facilitator, learn how others perceive them and may learn how to deal more sensitively with others. Process consultation is an OD technique in which a facilitator works closely with a manager on the job to help the manager improve his or her interactions with other group members. Team building is an OD technique in which a facilitator first observes the interactions of group members and then helps them become aware of ways to improve their work interactions. The goal of team building is to improve group processes to achieve process gains and reduce process losses that are occurring because of shirking and freeriding. Intergroup training is an OD technique that uses team building to improve the work interactions of different functions or divisions. Its goal is to improve organizational performance by focusing on a function’s or division’s joint activities and output. Organizational mirroring is an OD technique in which a facilitator helps two interdependent groups explore their perceptions and relations in order to improve their work interactions. This technique is designed to get both interdependent groups to see the perspective of the other side. Appreciating others’ perspectives allows the groups to work together more effectively. Total Organizational Interventions: A variety of OD techniques can be used at the organization level to promote organization-wide change. Organizational confrontation meeting is an OD technique that brings together all of the managers of an organization at a meeting to confront the issue of whether the organization is meeting its goals effectively.

Saturday, September 21, 2019

Assessing Flooring Options For Hotel Environment

Assessing Flooring Options For Hotel Environment The purpose of this assignment is to explore the types of flooring available suiting to the conditions desired and the decisive factor prior to selection of any kind of flooring according to the need of the floor. At the end I would give my suggestions and opinions and legitimate reasons for his recommendations. In this essay the areas under considerations are, the Coffee Shop, Main Reception and the Employee locker room. For choosing any kind of suitable flooring some factors require high value of pre selection consideration such as the location of the hotel, weather conditions and the flow of guests. As hotel is located near by the ocean so the weather tends to be tropical as the winter stays mild but summer remains warm, so the people who wished to stay in hotel mainly like to swim or to go to bank of the ocean, as the hotel also have two swimming pools in its premises. People pass the main front desk every time in order to get in the hotel or to go out of the hotel. Most of the t ime they use bathing suits and one can expect from them the dripping water from their swimming costumes and the sand particles along their clothes or shoes. Some may use coffee shop in the same robe. As the staff is using rare door for staff entrance only so is less likely to pass through main desk but in the event of rain it is most likely that staff also carry a bit of water and sand with their clothes and shoes, even staff member change their uniform and use the locker room to put their belongings. The locker room is situated near to changing room. House keeping is the department having the main duties of keeping the hotel clean not only the work area but the guest area as well as the guest rooms. As this is the main department, generating revenue for the hotel, advocates its responsibilities and the significance of undertaking its operations within the federation. Being an executive house keeper it becomes vital to select the flooring by keeping in view the durability, beauty, attractiveness and the interiors of the hotel along with the fulfilment of the desired purpose in different areas of the hotel With the changing time and continuous unpredictability of globalization and the recent steep growth in hospitality and tourism industry resulted in often visits in hotels where expectations are high and high level of comfort is desired by the customers. It has become challenging and mandatory to satisfy customers needs and to devise strategies at every level of management. Now I will discuss the types of different floorings which can be used in commercial and non-commercial outlets and at the end I will propose the selection of the best flooring for those specific areas required. What is flooring? Flooring is the general term , covering the floor permanently or the work of installing for the floor covering. It is a term to describe any finish material work applied over a floor structure and make it for walking surface. There are different kinds of materials can use for floor covering include wood flooring, stone, ceramic tile, terrazzo and various other seamless chemical floor coatings. Flooring can make the attractive difference in the appearance on floor especially in the hotels and also contribute to the ambiance of the hotel. Flooring plays a very important role for the hotel appearance and also has to satisfy many things because it needs to be attractive, durable, and easy to maintain and also be the cost effective. In these technological days floors have been updated to address the requirements needed in hotel flooring. There are many kinds of floorings for the hotels; restaurants and homes there are some kinds of flooring style from which to choose for the floor. Types of flooring Carpet flooring Carpet is a common choice for any hotel flooring especially in the colder climate it is permeable therefore it can stain, but the luxury and warmth it provides still make and this is a popular choice. It is one of the best insulators against sound which is important factor in a hotel setting. There are so many colours, design and also the variety therefore carpets can be one of the least expensive for flooring option it depends the size and quality of the carpet. The installation of the carpet usually done in less time than other alternatives. Carpet does need change more often that the other flooring but involves high cost. Concrete flooring Concrete flooring can be used in a hotel setting; it is really durable but one of the more expensive and easily cleaned and will not be discoloured when used. The out lasts many other choices of flooring such as tile, wool and carpet. We can also add the colour tints in concrete which make the more choice in decorating schemes. Ceramic Tile flooring It is another choice which offers durability and visual value and easy to clean and retain. If broken, can easily be replaced by another. A ceramic tile adds a feeling of quality and worth of any room. A ceramic tile is one of the most expensive but it can be used longer and is also available in different colours and shapes, offer options for any type of furnishings. Vinyl flooring Vinyl is other popular choice for hotel flooring. These are easy to clean, stain resistant and durable and also serve both the purposes of practicality and aesthetics. These tiles have the huge variety in designs and colours. The imitation of natural material can offer an economical way to have appeared of a more expensive floor covering. This choice allows you to have the look of wood, slate, brick for a division of the cost of the real thing. Rubber Flooring These types of tile are naturally hygienic and water-proof. It also offers the sound proofing, cushioning and insulating properties to the rooms of a hotel. It is stain-resistant, durable and easy to clean. It is not the most deluxe looking choice but it will fir in well when going for the minimalist look that is popular in these day. It is reasonable price not to much expensive and can last longer than the other choices. Bamboo flooring Bamboo flooring is one of the new flooring in flooring industry; it is more environmentally friendly than hardwood because it is not wood it is actually the grass therefore it is very graceful, durable and flexible. The colour of bamboo flooring is naturally variations there it is unique and usually use in a honey brown colour or light tan. Laminate flooring Laminate flooring are the fastest growing in America now a days it is not too much expensive than the hardwood flooring and easy to maintain. It comes from Europe but is increasingly popular in United States. Laminate flooring is almost resistant to burn, chipping and scratches. Cork flooring Cork flooring used over a thousand years before but mostly people think that its new. It is a naturally harvested and comes from Portugal and Spain. It retrieved only from mature tress and is harvested every 9 years, therefore it is very economical. It is available in different styles, sizes and colours. It also helps to insulate against sound and is rot-resistant and non-slip, even when it wets and also soft and comfortable to walk on as well as being warm underfoot. Stone flooring Stone flooring includes many options, such as limestone, marble and slate and also has a price valve out of most peoples price range. Naturally, it is resistant to wear tear and completely waterproof. It is very cold underfoot and also hard. It is very slippery when wet and especially when polish. Flooring for hotel Flooring for hotel and all other places in hotel is of utmost important it is not only the matter of the tear and heavy foot traffic but it must also be easy clean and maintain and also stain resistant. In the past there was not the variety of flooring and therefore luxury hotel often had match the flooring such as marble and tiles but now a days there are so many types of flooring and because of it most modern and luxury hotels want more cost effective options, to choose the floor with the current trend. There are a lot of choices of floor when choosing the flooring and it is also an expensive part of decorating the floor but the decision of flooring is very important for the hotel because the right decision for flooring save the money and also the long life. It is not easy to place the flooring for twice a year because the lot of money involved in it and therefore decision making is important for make the life easier. Stone, bamboo and cork tile flooring offering the natural beauty and tough wearing surfaces but laminate, resilient vinyl flooring easy to maintain and fit for budget and ceramic tiles are hardwearing and classic. Significant criteria of selection Now days every thing is improving fast and in every thing there is a competition and especially in hotel and tourism industries this industry is moving forward day by day therefore in hotel every hotel have the plan in every department before starting the construction of hotel. flooring is one of them before that there is no main concept of flooring and every organization and hotel used just the limited type of flooring but now flooring is also the main aspect because every it involve the high volume of foot traffic and flooring make the attraction for any place and people feel very easy to walk on floor. There are so many places in the hotel where a hotel can use the different types of flooring and these flooring can be different in every area according to the situation because in the open area like main reception, where the people came first on the front office for reservation flooring can be different from the hotel guests room and also the restaurant, gym, bars, etc. On the other hand kitchen flooring and employee lockers room flooring will different for the other flooring. Locker room for the hotel staff is not very useable staff just came to change their dresses and keep their other stuff therefore kitchen and staff locker room is the behind the scenes area and hotel lobbies, swimming pools, main entrances is the good example of the front of the house. One more thing is important for flooring in the hotel is that the hotel can choose the different types of flooring in every department but it is important that every floor should be match with each other in which style, theme and colour because in my opinion if these things are not match able each other that looks not the beautiful although hotel have the many choices for flooring therefore I should be considered that each flooring appearance looks the same like the other flooring. Here I have the task for the signification criteria of selection of flooring for the coffee shop, main reception area and staff locker room. Coffee shop and the main reception there are the places where people come and go every single moment specially in the coffee shop where people not only come but also sit there for coffee and talking each other but staff locker room where staff just come to change their dresses and mostly they came there twice first when they start their job and second when they finished. Therefore the hotel considers the some basic points before selection the new flooring. Now we will see these points for each of them Main points for coffee shop Types of material which they will use Capacity of the people Nature of business Location (where the hotel is it is located in the city centre or near the sea side) Style of hotel Designed Colour (which they used is the match with design and style of hotel) Comfortable for walking Easy to clean According to the budget Warranty of flooring (flooring which will use how long it will) Maintenance after fixing If the little damage in any place easy to replace Resistant against stains If wet but not slippery Easy to dry Main points for main reception Main reception and the coffee shop as we discuss is the place where people come and go in every time the only difference is that on the main reception people will not stay more than but in the coffee shop people stay their to talk each other and also for drinking coffee therefore there is not to much different in these two area the main points for main reception is Attractive Durability Easy to maintain Cost effective Easy to clean Comfortable Stain resistant Floor does not fade Not slippery Traffic Safety Water moisture Style (formal informal) Floor material condition Significant criteria for locker room As we know that the hotel is one of the fastest industry and therefore hotel have the so many staff they came in the hotel in different time because hotel is almost 24/7 jobs and therefore well standard hotel have the many employee and hotel provide their employee locker room facilities to change clothes and contain locker for the storage of their clothes and others stuff during the shift. Locker room is just use for the hotels employee therefore it is not important to spend the extra money on the flooring therefore in this area the point can consider before selection of flooring is that Economical Comfortable Water proof Long term durability Resistant against stains Design Colour Recommendation In my opinion as the executive house keeper I will suggest that kind of flooring which really match according to the condition of the Florida weather condition and the floor should be the long term durability and also easy to clean and look more attractive for the hotels customers. It is also in the budget of the hotel and colouring should be more beautiful for every customers. The flooring is matter of a lot of money therefore I tired my best as the executive house keeper to spend the less money and get the long period benefit. Now I will recommend the different types of flooring for coffee shop, main reception and also the employee locker room. Flooring for coffee shop Ceramic tile After front office and restaurant coffee shop is the third main department in the hotel to increase the hotels revenue. Coffee shop is that place where people come with their friend, family, and children, talking each other and spending some time on there. As we know the weather condition of the Florida there fore we cannot choose the carpet or rubber flooring for the coffee shop because coffee shop is the place where lot of people come and go every time and also the people come with their wet clothes and water falling down on the floor therefore if we will use the carpet for the coffee shop it will always wet and look completely rubbish there fore ceramic tile for my opinion is the best suggestion for the coffee shop. As we discuss flooring is the matter of the lot money therefore we should to use that flooring which is also if one of the breaks it is simply to replace and coffee shop is the place where internal and external customer come and on the other hand if we will use the carpet or rubber flooring it no matter a lot of chance of damaging and if the carpet will damage of cut of any place we cannot replace it therefore in my opinion ceramic tile is the best for the coffee shop. Some advantages of ceramic tile Choice of colouring Easy to clean Easy to dry Durability Stain resistant Easy to replace one of them Available larger and smaller size Easy to maintain Use in hygienic material Smooth surface Flooring for main reception Main reception or front office is the most important place in the hotel because when the customer comes in the hotel they come straight forward on the main reception and from there they can easily guess the atmosphere of the hotel service standard and also the behaviour of the staff. Therefore in the hotel the hotel should to make the well attractive and more beautiful main reception area for the hotel, Resort hotel are that hotel where people comes to spend their holidays and want to enjoy every moment and resort hotel in Florida where the weather condition is totally different in each season the choice of floor should be given the same result for both season. As the executive house keeper I would suggest the vinyl tile for the front office because it is a little bit rough on the top of the floor and it is available in many design and colour. We cannot use the carpet or wood en type of flooring and also the marble tile because the marble tile is the slippery and people come on the front desk with wet clothes. Rubber tile is also the not good because the condition of the weather is not good for the rubbing flooring and rubber flooring tile is not good in the hot weather but the vinyl tile is better in hot condition and as well as in cold weather. It is made with the curtain type of stone that keep the maintenance of the tile in every weather. It is also available in wide range and has the lot of variety. The main advantages of that tile are that: Huge variety Lot of colouring Easy to maintain Easy to clean Not slippery Stain resistant Elegant appearance Affordable cost Comfortable under foot Flooring for locker room Locker room is the place where the hotel employees come to change their dresses when they come on the job and finish there work. As we know that the hotel is the growing fast industry in the whole world and hotel also provided the best facilities of their customers as well as they provides the facilities their staff as well therefore the hotel maintain their standard they provides the best facilities of their staff. As the hotel standard staff locker room should be the clean and tidy because if the staff locker room will clean it creates the good impact on staff performance and also the staff locker room should be the according to the government law health and safety law. As the executive house keeper I would suggest the carpet flooring for the locker room because the locker room is the place where staff not to use too much and not for the other two places where the customer comes with wet clothes but in locker room employees just come and go therefore in my opinion I will suggest the carpet flooring for the locker room. The advantages of carpet flooring are Huge variety durability Lot of colour Easy to clean Easy to cover Not to clean every day Safety and comfort Steam cleaning Easy to maintain Affordable

Friday, September 20, 2019

Lives On The Boundary Summary And Analysis English Language Essay

Lives On The Boundary Summary And Analysis English Language Essay The education system in America is broken according to Lives on the Boundary, by Mike Rose. Rose gives examples of how and why education should be equal for everyone. The first part of the book I found it very difficult to find a theory out of the things that Rose wrote because the majority of the first 67 pages were about how he grew up and the low socioeconomic world that he had the trudge through to get where he is now. But then when I look at the statistics from the beginning, I see that yes, our nation is not proficient in many subjects, but we are also growing in mass amounts with college and high school graduates when compared to other countries and even ourselves in the 1800s. In 1890, 6.7 percent of Americans fourteen to seventeen year olds were attending high school; by 1978 that number had risen to 94.1 percent. (Rose, pg 6) For a country that has a failing education system, that number seems to have grown, making me believe the opposite. Yes, I agree that our education sy stem is not perfect, but it is not as terrible as many believe it to be. For those students who have now will to learn, we as teachers can not force them and when people say lets look to the past for the answer, there was never an answer for why our schools are not working. There has never been a solution, only a problem that has been reworded and restated in so many different ways that when reading a book this about the failing of the education system seems to be redundant. When Mike Rose was growing up he had only a few books available to him so he began to buy comic books because he loved the heroes and the action. After comic books he moved to other items like the instructions to his chemistry set and science fiction novels. He wrote very little in his schooling until his last year of high school where a teacher helped him find an interest in doing so. My first enthusiasm about writing came because I wanted a teacher to like me. (Rose pg 102) Although he did become a good reader, with help from his comic books and chemistry set instructions, he did not score well on English tests. It can be assumed that Rose only liked to learn or read about the concrete things in life; basically he was only educated by what entertained him and tuned out the things he did not understand. He even states in his book that this was a method he commonly used, but it proved to be harmful for him and his education in the long run. Rose goes on to explain the struggles of immigrants in this country and their need to learn English to improve their own lifestyles. Not only are we all categorized as black, red, yellow and white, but we have to understand what those categorizations mean, especially when we are trying to understand the world of education. We all hope that racism does not exist amongst teachers and professors, but we can not say anything for the parents or siblings. The education system can not control the time a student is out of the classroom. As Rose points out, whether we like it or not, race can and sometimes does play a factor into education. Rose says a failed education is social more than intellectual in origin. We as educators must realize that a traumatizing experience may have a very negative effect on a students education. Losing a parent or a sibling can cause a student to regress or stand still in their education, unable to move forward. After such an experience, we should try to work w ith the students to help them regain the ability to learn and comprehend things, instead of just tuning out. The only solution I could really see Rose proposing is trying to keep the children engaged with each other as well as the teacher. This may have a positive effect so the child does not grow up to be the shy wall flower that is underprepared. Rose goes on to argue that great classic novels should be taught and the students should be able to learn from them by choice, not just because they have to regurgitate something later on for an exam or a paper. It would even be a good idea to revise these messages and redress past wrongs would involve more than adding some new books to the existing cannon. (Rose p. 107) In this quote, Rose is saying that education needs to be changed so that education is available to all, this can help the underprepared students to have a fair chance at advancing in their education. Also, by bring in great, classic novels, this can help students to become more cultured and well versed in literature. If teachers are trying to keep students engaged by bringing in books by Snookie and Lady Gaga, that is when I will agree that our education system is failing miserably because students need literature, not pop-culture trash. The more we try to cater to their needs with literature, the more of a decline w ill be apparent and the underprepared will then grossly outnumber the prepared. The narrative of this book offers the theory deeply buried within the authors own personal story. I think that I struggled reading a novel be such a narrative voice when I was trying to find a theory. When you as the reader get to move with him through his school experiences, being the underprepared and then into his own classrooms, you can see the growth that is possible. Many people believe it is not probable for the underprepared to succeed. That is where I believe the theory comes into plan. I began to see a theory emerge within Roses own experiences. Throughout the book, he is talking about how the underprepared are being stuck on a continued path of underachieving or even failure because no one seems to give them a real chance or the tools required to achieve success. For a good portion of the book, I felt like I was reading another article for class; the problem is brought up and addressed, in several different ways, but we never find a solid solutions. The only solution that educators have been using is to put all of the remedial or underprepared together so they dont hold anyone else back, but they also never get the opportunity to learn. Rose makes the good argument that tests or exams should not just be a regurgitation of information that the teacher gave, but failed to give more than one or two examples. To engage students, we as educators must be able to do more than just lecture for an hour and expect them to be paying attention. Teaching, I was coming to understand, was a kind of romanceà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦You wooed kids with these things, invented a relationship of sorts, the terms of connection being a narrative, the historical event.(Rose pg 102) I think this quote embodies everything that a teacher needs to do to engage students to help them want to learn. By creating a romance with learning, the students can feel excited and happy about learning. The students can feel giddy about buying a book or even solving the math equation, it all depends on how the teachers choose to engage them. All in all, Rose makes some very convincing arguments about the decline of the education system, but like many of the authors we have read, he only offers a few ideas to fix the problem. His idea of creating a kind of romance with education to engage the students is a good idea, but a lot of teachers may argue that it will meet with to much resistance. As many of us have witnessed or even experienced, standing at the front of the classroom and just lecturing does not engage many students and with todays generation, they will probably be on Facebook or Twitter while you are giving your lecture. So how do we engage the students of this generation? Do we turn to technology to help us run a classroom or do we stick with the old lecture and hope that students are paying attention? I believe there has to be a compromise between lecture, some form of group work and technology. By allowing group work, like Rose does in some of his classes, the students can learn from each other and help to e xpand their own ways of thinking. By still using some lecture, as Rose does as well, you as the teacher still get your say in, hopefully in a creative way that the students enjoy listening to and learning from. And with technology, the students in this generation get to use what they are familiar with to help them, and some students even find enjoyment when the teacher needs help with the new projector or smartboards. Rose brings up many problems and offers just a few good solutions but I believe the problem of education and the underprepared has been around for a very long time and it will take more than a book or a few ideas to fix it.

Thursday, September 19, 2019

Student Republican Party Platform Essay -- Politics Political Science

Preamble The dawn of a new millennium is upon us and we, the Republican Party, are fully prepared to meet the challenges that await us. This past century, due to the resilience and determination of the American people, our country has experienced more growth and prosperity than any other nation in recorded history. However, dark challenges threaten the moral fiber of this great nation. The past eight years, under Clinton’s leadership, the national government has lacked the fortitude to effectively battle the dangerously extremist trends that have gradually forced their way into the American culture. In order for America to be the great nation it once was, the Republican Party must be in power. The Republican Party has a vision that will lead America into the 21st Century. This vision is well grounded in the strong American traditions of family, community and faith in God. We believe that the traditional family is the foundation upon which our great nation was built, and we must strive to protect and support this institution. Our track record in Congress has shown the American people that the Republican Party is able to provide quality leadership. We have addressed important issues such as family values, jobs, education and the welfare of all Americans. We have enacted legislation such as the Defense of Marriage Act to protect the institution of the family from the destructive social forces that threaten its stability. We have also addressed the issue of welfare by requiring that all able-bodied welfare recipients work for their benefits, thereby lessening the financial burden carried by American taxpayers since welfare recipients are now forced to be more responsible for their own livelihood. Welfare is no longe... ...ly decrease after one year if they work less then 20 hours a week. By the second year he/she will be cut from the welfare system. Illegal aliens may only qualify for emergency hospital care. Low-income housing will be provided for welfare recipient for as long as they are receiving benefits; rent fees will be directly deducted from the welfare check. In order to stop the flow of poverty from one generation to another, we, the Republican Party, believe that school choice is an integral part of getting future generations off welfare. The ability to get education outside of ones’ limited world will insure the development of a responsible adult. Welfare was designed to help out Americans in need. Although we encourage this view, some recipients have over stayed their welcome and made welfare into a lifestyle. Our goal as a party is to limit those bad apples.

Wednesday, September 18, 2019

War of 1812 :: essays research papers

John Marshall was Chief Justice in many early cases that would help get the Supreme Court up to the level of power and equal amount of say as the other branches. His ruling in the first few important cases helped bring the Courts uses of Judicial Review up to balance the powers. John Q. Adams, son of John Adams and he was the leader behind the signing of the treaty of Ghent. Daniel Webster was the great spokesperson of the North as well as a warhawk. He was also very devoted to the Union. Henry Clay was known as the great compromiser and helped to put together and organize the Missouri Compromise, he was kind of the middle man who suggested compromises between the north and the south. He is also known for his American System, which improved banking systems, tariffs, roads, and canals. John C. Calhoun was the spokesman of the south and was also a warhawk. He was responsible for the writing of the "South Carolina Exposition". The McCulluh vs. Maryland was a case when Maryland wanted to be able to tax the Bank of the United States of America. Because of this privilege that they wanted they would have the power to tax this Bank out of existence. Marshall did not see this as necessary therefore did not grant Maryland power to do so. Gibbons vs. Ogden was a case when New York granted a monopoly to a private company owner of a ferry company between the two States of New York and New Jersey. The monopoly was not valid in the state of New Jersey therefore it gave the court Judicial Review over interstate commerce and was turned down. Fletcher vs. Peck was a case when the Georgia legislature was influenced by bribery and granted 35 million acres in the Yazoo River country to private speculators. The case was turned down because the state laws were not allowed to tamper with the contracts. Dartmouth College vs. Woodward was a case when a college was chartered by the King of England New Hampshire wanted to change t he contract that the King had made out. Dartmouth won the case because of private property rights as well as enhancing judicial review. Cohens vs. Virginia was a case when Cohens was selling illegal lottery tickets and was found guilty by the Virginia court and Cohen’s argument was the monopoly that was granted to the state was unconstitutional.

Tuesday, September 17, 2019

Homosexuals in the United States Military Essay

Homosexuals and U. S military service new laws and regulations which came into effect in 1993 reflected a compromise in policy. This settlement, referred to as â€Å"don’t ask, don’t tell,† states that the existence in the armed forces of persons who reveals a tendency or plan to take on homosexual acts would produce an intolerable hazard to the high standards of morale, high-quality order and discipline, and unit solidity which are the core of military capacity. Service members are not to be asked about nor allowed to talk about their homosexuality. This negotiation in spite of the matter has remained politically controversial. Previous to the 1993 compromise, the figure of individual’s releases for homosexuality was by and large declining. From the time, the number of discharges for homosexual conduct has generally amplified until recent times. In the wake of the new 1993 laws and regulations, constitutional challenges to the former and current military policies regarding homosexuals followed. In the case of Bowers vs. Hardwick, the U. S Supreme Court Ruling said that there is no right to engage in consensual homosexual sodomy. In this case, the courts generally said that military men may be lawfully discharge for explicit homosexual conduct. Nevertheless, the legal picture was convoluted by the Court’s 2003 decision in Lawrence v. Texas which ruled against Bowers by declaring unconstitutional a Texas law that prohibited sexual acts between same sex couples. Moreover, disturbed legal questions lingered as to whether a release based exclusively on a statement that a service member is homosexual disobeys constitutional limits. For the time being, efforts to allow individuals of the same sex to marry legally materialize implausible to affect the Department of Defense (DOD) policy close to term, because such individuals are barred from serving in the military, even though court challenges are possible. For the duration of the 1992 presidential campaign, Bill Clinton promised to remove the ban on homosexuals in the U.  S armed services. Once in office, he met with massive resistance from the U. S military and its congressional allies, and by summer of 1993, the original policy proposal was dead. Instead, Congress enacted the â€Å"Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, Don’t Pursue† policy: gays and lesbians can now serve in the military, but they are obliged to keep their sexual preference private. Challengers of the open integration of gays and lesbians have discarded many of standard justifications for excluding homosexuals from military service. For example, the Pentagon and its cronies no longer disagree that gays and lesbians are security risks because of the threat of blackmail. As a case in point, even though both the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Colin Powell and the famous military sociologist Charles Moskos contest the open integration of homosexuals in the military, they recognize that gays and lesbians are valuable soldiers. Discharge measures against homosexuals are packed with statements of many of these individuals’ excellent records, reliability, and commitment to their jobs. The matter is not whether gays and lesbians are good quality soldiers as individuals, but instead, the consequence of these individuals on the group. Opponents of removing all restrictions on homosexuals’ service argue that open incorporation of gays and lesbians would obstruct the development of primary group cohesion, which they say is significant to military efficiency. During the 1993 congressional trials on homosexuality in the military, both Senate and House testimony paid attention on the issue of unit cohesion. For instance, then Senator Sam Nuun, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee in July 1993 asked each of the 6 Joint Chiefs of Staff to discuss unit cohesion and its importance in developing combat capability. Army Chief of Staff General Gordon Sullivan answered him by saying that cohesion is developed by uniformity, by devotion to a common sense of values and behavior. The introduction into many small units of person whose open orientation and self-definition is completely opposed to the rest of the group will cause tension and disruption (Herek 1987). Senior US military officers concerned that the open integration of homosexuals would get in the way of the development of cohesion within small groups are not trusted or respected as expressed by Powell and Admiral David Jeremiah, and they added that in atmosphere of doubts, orders may not be carried out and everyday friendly gestures that encourage companionship- everyday childlike horseplay and rough-housing, a pat on the back or arm around the shoulder- become suspect, provoke fear or loathing, and annihilate group cohesion (Nowak, 1993)). Powell added that in order to win wars and battles the army needs to make cohesive groups of warriors who will bond so strongly that they are ready to go into battle and give their lives if indispensable and it is intolerable to allow anything to upset that feeling of cohesion inside the force. The disagreement about unit cohesion is based on two propositions: the first one is that primary group cohesion increases military effectiveness and second, open gay and lesbian personnel would disturb cohesion and thus military performance. According to Kier (1998) these propositions are wrong and she said that such statements do not reflect what social science research and experience have demonstrated about the relationship between cohesion and performance and the consequence of putting together previously excluded groups on primary group cohesion. Investigations of Homosexual Conduct Even if broad investigations of homosexual behavior are the exemption rather than the rule, there are noteworthy numbers of cases in which such investigations have been conducted. Based on the cases reviewed by Gosling (1993), he concluded that the immense majority of investigations that have happened have been correctly instigated, that is, an investigation has been made only after the commander had determined that there was convincing information that the member had engaged in homosexual conduct. Also, based on his findings, he was able to find out that a lot of the criticisms made about inappropriate initiation of investigations mirror a misinterpretation of the Department’s policy. In practice, plausible information has sometimes been provided to commanders in ways that service members might not have been anticipated to occur, or has been based on communications or performance that the partners, roommates, or unconnected third parties have sometimes come forward on their own to account information or proof of homosexual conduct to commanders next to the wishes of the service member in question (Nowak 1993). Photographs or in black and white communications that verifies homosexual conduct has sometimes been showed to civilians who then brought this proof to the attention of a commander, with no question having been conducted by the commander. Plausible information has also been incidentally discovered in the course of proper, entirely unrelated criminal or disciplinary investigations for a commander to initiate an investigation when information has been reported in any of these circumstances, granted that the information received is credible (Suraci, 1992). Indeed, because federal law requires that those who take on in homosexual conduct must be discharged from the military; commanders are compelled to investigate whenever they receive credible evidence of homosexual conduct. In addition, many academic institutions have ratified rules that defended homosexuals from prejudice on campus. Accordingly, colleges, universities, and even high schools have required barring military recruiters from their campuses or otherwise eliminating Reserve Officer Training Corps Programs on campus because of the DOD rule on homosexuals in the military. Simultaneously, legislation has been ratified that bars giving federal funds to campuses that obstruct entrance for military recruiters (Suraci 1992). On March 6, 2006, the Supreme Court upturned a federal appeals court verdict in Rumsfeld v. Forum for Academic and Institutional Rights (FAIR), and endorsed the constitutionality of the Solomon Amendment, which forbids certain federal funding to higher educational institutions that refute admittance by military recruiters to their students equal to that provided to other employers. Deviance Present among sociological conceptions of deviance is an approach that concerns itself not as much of with the characteristics of the person or persons said to have despoiled a social rule than with the character of the responses of other persons to these characteristics and events. This approach, occasionally called the â€Å"labeling† approach to deviance, observes the deviant as a social creation, the result of contact sequences between labelers and labeled (Becker, 1964). The questions that are lifted by this approach thus concern the behaviors that are tagged as deviant, what the methods are by which the labels are effectively applied or avoided, and what the results of such procedures are for both labelers and labeled. Nevertheless, regardless of the highlight laid on deviance as a creation of interaction, in practice most consideration has been paid to the labeler’s role in this process (Simon 1987). The method of developing deviance appears all collective response and no deviant stimulus. This is possibly an overreaction to an overreaction. For example, one theory is spelled out as to why some people break rules and some do not in terms of what is called as commitment and for other labeling theorists, characteristics of the deviant himself are not completely unrelated (Simon 1987). The point is well taken, but for example, in some of Goffman’s writings (1961) on mental patients his employment of the concept career contingencies materializes to treat the mental patient as a pawn, subject to the vagaries of all sorts of contextual demands. As a result of the above, labeling theory also has been seen as taking the side of the underdog- that the deviant is seen as a victim of the fairly subjective measures of control agencies. He is more sinned against than sinning, as it is a matter of chance, or racial or socioeconomic factors, rather than any behavior on his part, that chooses whether he is cast as deviant. Homosexuals in the Army in Other Countries Homosexuals in the military is not just an issue faced by the United States, there are many more countries out there that have the same situation as the US. The number of countries that permit gay and lesbian soldiers to serve in the armed forces is growing and it is increasingly becoming more important to know whether official decisions with regards to the inclusion of homosexual service members in the military lead t changes in organizational performance (West 1965). Even though most members of NATO plus some nations has already permitted gay and lesbian soldiers to serve, there has still a very few empirical analysis of whether the decision to remove gay ban influences the ability of armed forces to pursue their missions. This topic has been addressed by some theoretical studies but there has been no in-depth empirical analysis on the consequences of removing gay bans (Sudnow 1965). In Canada for example, there were a handful of careful studies immediately after Canada’s 1992 decision of abolishing restrictions on gay and lesbian soldiers (Belkin, 2001). Although that was the case, long term impact of the new policy could not be known in those early studies and even the best qualitative research is only based on a few sources (West 1965). American officer, Lt Gen Calvin Waller, affirmed in 1993 that since Canada had not been caught up in armed conflict since the ban was lifted, he explained that Canada’s justification for considering the proof that has mounted up for up to eight years since the ban was removed is that senior Canadian officials foresee that altering the policy might compromise military effectiveness (Millet 1999). For this reason, the Canadian incident gives an opportunity to assess the effect of the policy change in opposition to early forecasts by senior military leaders. After discussing the historical development of homosexual personnel policy in Canada, the authors examined whether Canada’s decision to eliminate restrictions on gay and lesbian soldiers influences military efficiency (Brumett, 1981). The paper’s findings, based on a review of primary and secondary sources, as well as interviews with 29 military personnel and experts from the academic, non-governmental, and policy communities, is that Canada’s decision to lift its gay ban had no effect on military performance, eagerness, unity, or morale (Millet 1999).

Monday, September 16, 2019

Final Project 1960 Time Capsule Essay

After receiving a very intriguing call from my colleagues, about a great time capsule find, I made my immediate departure for a little place we call the Red Zone previously known as Colorado. As I arrive I help my colleagues to unearth a time capsule from the period of the 1960s. We carefully opened the capsule that had intrigued us all so much to find five articles inside that told a great story of our past and of the decade beginning in 1960. The following is a summary of my findings within the capsule. The first of the five articles contained within the capsule was The Berlin Wall of 1961, also known as â€Å"The Iron Curtain†. This wall once more than 30 miles of barbed wire was a barrier between the Communist East Germany and the Democratic West Germany, became a series of concrete walls up to fifteen feet high, 96 miles long and guarded by towers armed with guards. After WWII Germany was split into four zones, three controlled by France, Britain, and The United States, and the other one by The Soviet Union; the Berlin Wall was constructed to separate the zone (East Germany) that was controlled by the Soviet Union from the zones (West Germany) controlled by France, Britain and the United States. It was here at the Berlin Wall that John F. Kennedy gave one of his memorable speeches, â€Å"There are many people in the world who really don’t understand, or say they don’t, what is the great issue between the free world and the Communist world. Let them come to B erlin. There are some who say that communism is the wave of the future. Let them come to Berlin. And there are some who say in Europe and elsewhere we can work with the Communists. Let them come to Berlin. And there are even a few who say that it is true that communism is an evil system, but it permits us to make economic progress. Lass’sie nach Berlin kommen. Let them come to Berlin.† The construction and demolition of the Berlin Wall(1989-90) are important milestones of the Cold War. The second item found in the capsule was the March on Washington of 1963. Attended by some 250,000 people, it was the largest demonstration ever seen in the nation’s capital, and one of the first to have extensive television coverage (Ross, 2007). The stated demands of the march were the passage of meaningful civil rights legislation; the elimination of racial segregation in public schools; protection for demonstrators against police brutality; a major public-works program to provide jobs; the passage of a law prohibiting racial discrimination in public and private hiring; a $2 an hour minimum wage; and self-government for the District of Columbia, which had a black majority (Ross,2007). Demanding jobs and freedom from the nation’s capital this march successfully pressured the Kennedy administration to initiate a civil rights bill in Congress. This is also when Martin Luther King gave his â€Å"I Have a Dream† speech. Although it wasn’t until the Civil Rights Act of 1964 that the demands of the march were met, it was a major point in the peaceful war for civil and equal rights for all Americans. Without this peaceful demonstration the civil rights movement could have been pushed even further back in its effort for an equal nation. The effects of this event can still be seen today as we are now seen as American rather than white and black or rich or poor. The third item discovered in the capsule was the assassination of President John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963. On this day President Kennedy accompanied by his wife, John Connelly and his wife Nellie rode in a motorcade through the streets of Dallas, TX. It was during this ride that President Kennedy was shot around 12:30 pm the driver then rushed the President to Memorial Hospital where he was pronounced dead at 1:00pm. This horrible travesty shook America for years to come. News of the assassination changed the source of news from then on. Until this point newspapers had been the main source of news, until the assassination which brought on the longest uninterrupted television broadcast to date. The assassination also stuck fear in the African-Americans that the assassination would put a halt to the progress for civil rights. However, the assassination seemed to spur the civil rights movement which resulted in the Civil Rights Act of 1964 signed by President Lyndon Johnson. The assassination also changed the way the secret service operates today. Although during those times the President  was freer to move around openly, now secret service agents keep the president more secure and his availability limited. It is also thought that had the president not been assassinated the Vietnam War would have ended and many of our troops would not have died. The assassination opens up the possibility of â€Å"what if?†, and fueled conspiracy theorist for many, many years to come. This showed the weakness of American by its own hand. The fourth item in the capsule was the moon landing in 1969. July 16, 9:32am three astronauts (Neil Armstong, Buzz Aldridge, and Michael Collins) sit waiting for launch permission. By 9:44am they are in Earth orbit, July 20 at 10:56pm Neil Armstrong takes his first step on the moon. With more than half a billion people watching on television, he climbs down the ladder and proclaims: â€Å"That’s one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.† (htt5). This was proof of great technological advancement and completion of the challenge set forth by President Kennedy over nine years ago. Project Apollo took on a life of its own over the years and left an important legacy to both the nation and the proponents of space exploration. Its success was enormously significant, coming at a time when American society was in crisis (htt6). This event showed the world and Americans everywhere that The United States was still the ultimate power by demonstrating to the world what the United States could achieve. The moon landing changed the way we viewed the Earth as they pointed a small portable camera toward Earth, showing just how small and fragile the planet really is in the scheme of the universe. The samples taken and brought back from the moon landing opened up knew scientific testing and led the way to multiple other moon landings and advancing our knowledge of space itself. The last item in the intriguing capsule was the Woodstock Music Festival of 1969. This was a three day concert at Max Yasgur’s dairy farm in the town of Bethel. More than half a million people came together – united in a message of peace, openness and cultural expression – and demonstrated how a generation could be heard (htt7) Woodstock is committed to living by its principles – we believe in universal human rights, ethical business practices, unfettered creative expression, free trade, the loving care of our planet, the power of the individual to make a difference, and the  overwhelming impact of communities to act as agents of peaceful change (htt7). However, the festival involved music (rock ‘n roll), drugs, sex and nudity. This festival came at a time when American had been through hard times. With the Civil Rights Movement, the Vietnam War, and the assassination of Martin Luther King the United States was tired and weary. The peaceful concert changed the way music was marketed from then on, now knowing that fans were willing to give up popular amenities to have sight of the musicians they loved. The change on music and pop culture of the time was historic. In 1969, rock critic Ellen Sander appraised the immediate impact of the Festival this way: â€Å"No longer can the magical multicolored phenomenon of pop culture be overlooked or underrated. It’s happening everywhere, but now it has happened in one place at one time so hugely that it was indeed historic †¦. The audience was a much bigger story than the groups. It was major entertainment news that the line-up of talent was of such magnificence and magnitude (thirty-one acts, nineteen of which were colossal) †¦. These were, however, the least significant events of what happened over the Woodstock weekend. What happened was that the largest number of people ever assembled for any event other than a war lived together, intimately and meaningfully and with such natural good cheer that they turned on not only everyone surrounding them but the mass media, and, by extension, millions of others, young and old, particularly many elements hostile to the manifestations and ignorant of the substance of pop culture.† (htt8). This change in pop culture has left an undying footprint on the history of the world with its new found music, art and literary styles. It is clear after examining and researching the incredible articles within the time capsule that the 1960 era was an extreme time of change for the American people. This decade in our history so full of such life changing events not only in the United States but also in other countries that rely on support from the United States. Its story shows our ability to adapt to ever changing situations around us and the resilience of the American people. Whether it is fighting Communism, the loss of a great leader, fighting for our rights, landing on the moon, or expressing or freedom in culture we are a strong nation and when faced with a great challenge we answer that challenge with a great success. Although many have been lost  along the way as a whole we stand one nation, united. References (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.tenfactsabout.co.uk/0003berlinwall.htm (n.d.). Retrieved from http://mlk-kpp01.stanford.edu/index.php/encyclopedia/encyclopedia/enc_march_on_washington_for_jobs_and_freedom/ (n.d.). Retrieved from â€Å"Civil Rights March on Washington (History, Facts, Martin Luther King Jr.) | Infoplease.com.† Infoplease. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/nov/19/john-f-kennedy-assassination-racial-equality-jfk (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/apollo/apollo11_40th.html (n.d.). Retrieved from http://history.nasa.gov/ap11-35ann/legacy.html (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.woodstock.com/ (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.woodstockpreservation.org/SignificanceStatement.htm http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h1867.html. (n.d.).