The Potato Dance free essay sample

Ive been interested in Native Americans and their culture since I was a little girl. I can track my enthusiasm back to kindergarten, when I had a coloring book featuring the Blackfoot tribe (and the Europeans they were eventually forced to make treaties with). I was fascinated by everything from their feather headdresses to the way that their horses were tethered. I colored every single person in the book bright, scarlet red. My knowledge and awareness of the culture and history of Native American tribes have, thankfully, grown more sophisticated since I was small. In my middle school religion class, I wrote not about Christianity or Buddhism, but about the creation stories of the Algonquin tribes of the Northeast. As a sophomore in high school, I wrote a thirty-page paper about the history and religious traditions of Native American tribes in the Southwest. I did an independent study on contemporary religious practices of the Navajo. We will write a custom essay sample on The Potato Dance or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page This year, Im taking a class at Dartmouth College that surveys modern issues facing Native Americans. One aspect of my interest in Native American culture has remained constant throughout my life. Every year, in early May, I spend three days at the Dartmouth Pow-Wow. Its an event hosted by the college since 1971, where drum groups and dancers from many tribes are invited to compete and celebrate their heritage. When I was little I went to watch the elaborate and colorful costumes spin around during the mens traditional dance. My friends would come and look over the hand-made silver jewelry that was sold during the intermissions, and wed all wish for the intricately beaded necklaces many of the older women wore. Since Ive started high school, the lure of silver rings and cheap burgers no longer draws my friends to the Pow-Wow, but I keep going back. Ill sit by myself for hours on the side of the arena, watching the dancers and listening to the drumming circles. The more Ive learned about Native culture the more I grow to admire it. The resiliency that the people of Native nations has shown in the past few hundred years greatly surpasses that of many people; they resisted genocide, forced assimilation, and, eventually, the termination process to emerge stronger. Last spring, I participated more in the Pow-Wow than I ever had before. It all began when I offered to watch a dancers little brother while he competed. He was about my age, maybe a little older, and had on a costume for the mens traditional dance. Its a dynamic and sometimes quick-paced dance, so his costume had dozens of feathers dangling off his arms and legs to enhance his movements. I said sure, after all, I was only watching. The little boy had a wonderful costume, too; he had rows and rows of yarn fringe in fantastic colors all over his shirt and pants. I guessed that he was dressed for the grass dance competition. As the song finished, the announcer called for the start of the potato dance. Its traditionally a dance for couples, where they hold a potato between their foreheads while attempting to dance with the beat. The last couple remaining with the potato still between their foreheads wins, and some say this is a good omen for their relationship. When the dancer came back to pick up his brother, he noticed me eying the couples lining up to the potato dance. He put his brother down and asked me, â€Å"Do you want to dance?† I had never, ever, been more excited to say yes in my life. We lined up, me in my red cowboy boots and my high school varsity jacket and him still in his costume, with all the other couples. Luckily we got a very large, flat potato, so it wouldnt be a great difficulty to keep it between our foreheads. As the music began, I realized that I knew the steps more than I thought I would. It was music I was familiar with, even though I didnt yet understand the language of the singers. I had seen countless dancers move their feet to this rhythm, and suddenly I was, too! I looked up at him and he was smiling too, probably grateful that I didnt have two left feet. Through some fantastic twist of fate, for my dancing skills were definitely not the best in the arena, we made it through to the final four until we were eliminated. As my partner and I walked back to the bleachers, I thought of the hours spent reading the journals of missionary priests living on reservations and the countless talks with my history, English, and art teachers about the cultures of Native tribes. And then, I realized something. While my family is Irish, through and through, a part of the culture of the Pow-Wow and of the Native Americans has become my own. It wasnt because of my research or my knowledge of important court cases. It was because of the simple act of being asked to dance that I was, if even for a moment, a living and breathing part of the Native community.

Using Photographs and Illustrations to Support Reading Comprehension

Using Photographs and Illustrations to Support Reading Comprehension Whether they are the cave drawings in the south of France, the cartoons of Hogarth or Satellite pictures, illustrations and photos are powerful ways for students with disabilities, especially difficulty with text, to find and retain information from textbooks and non-fiction. That, after all, is what reading comprehension  is about: understanding and retaining information, and having the ability to retell that information, not performance on multiple choice tests.   Often students with reading difficulties are so stuck I find, when working with struggling readers, that they get so stuck on the code - decoding unfamiliar multi-syllabic words, that they dont get as far as the meaning. More often than not, they actually miss the meaning. Focusing students on text features, such as the illustrations and the captions help students focus on the meaning and authors intent before they actually have to read any text.   Illustrations will help students Understand what the author believes is important in the text.Visualize the context of the non-fiction text (especially history or geography) or content of the chapter/article.  For students who struggle with text, the visual representation of content will help them see the important content.  Learn text specific vocabulary.  An illustration of an insect in a biology text or a plant in a botany text will be accompanied by captions or labels.  Be sure that students note that information in the text.   Using Pictures and Illustrations in Conjunction with Other Text Features An essential part of SQ3R  (Scan, Question, Read, Review, Reread) a long term strategy for developmental reading is to Scan the text.  Scanning basically includes looking over the text and identifying important information. Titles and Subtitles are the first stop on a text walk.  Titles will also help introduce the important topic spedific vocabulary.  Expect a chapter about the Civil War to have specific vocabulary in the subtitles. Be sure to have a list of focus words for flash cards before you start your text walk: Give (or have available) 3 by 5 cards available for students to write down the text specific vocabulary as your do the text walk together.   Captions and Labels accompany most pictures, and should be read as you do the text walk.  Be sure students record all of the important vocabulary, even if they can read them.  Depending on your students sophistication, a picture or a written definition should go on the back.  The purpose should be for your students to be able to define the vocabulary using their own words. The Reading Strategy - The Text Walk The first time you teach the strategy, you will want to walk the child through the whole process.  Later it will be better if you can fade some of your support and have students take more responsibility for the text walk.  This would be a great activity to do in partners across abilities, especially if you have students who benefit from the structure but have stronger reading skills. After reviewing the titles and pictures, have students make predictions:  What will you read about?  What do you want to know more about as you read?  Did you see a picture that surprised you?   Then scan together for vocabulary they should have on their flashcards.  Make a list on the board or using a document on the digital projector in your classroom.

Integrated Marketing Communications Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Integrated Marketing Communications - Essay Example This piece of research paper reviews a brief literature on Integrated Marketing Communication and presents a strategic integrated marketing communication plan for Bodyfit Studio, which is a local gym and health-fitness centre in London. This paper addresses the relevance of IMC in today’s business and analyzes various steps involved in implementing the IMC plan. Integrated Marketing Communication Lamb, hair and McDaniel (2008, P. 413) described that IMC is an effective management program that coordinates and integrates among various promotional tools like advertising, sales promotion, public relation, personal selling, event marketing and interactive selling etc in order to ensure consistency in the messages to be communicated to the customers. As Schultz and Schultz (2004, p. 3) noticed, IMC enables a business accelerate its returns on investment mainly by linking its organizational goals and communication programs. As shown in the diagram, IMC is closely related to the promo tion mix elements of the 4Ps of marketing, they are Product, Price, Promotion and Place. IMC has been found to be an effective marketing strategy that helped firms improve operational efficiency, maintain stronger market share, create brand image, maintain better relationship with customers and thus to achieve sustainable competitive advantages. Planning, designing and developing of brand communication program play vital roles in the success of IMC program. IMC is widely used as a marketing technique that designs and develops systematic and measurable brand communication program with stakeholders of a business including customers, employees, suppliers etc. (Belch and Belch 2007, p. 11). For any business, the brand, mission and vision statements and proposition messages are very critical elements and these are to be communicated to its customers. IMC ensures effective communication, keeping consistency in messages, of the relevant messages to the potential customers. Factors to be co nsidered in setting up an IMC plan Basically, IMC is a marketing program that involves planning, coordination, integration, and implementation of various types of advertising and promotional activities (Shimp, 2008, p. 10). The major factors and features to be considered for planning and designing the IMC for the Bodyfit Studio are: Starting with studying, analyzing and evaluating the requirements and attitudes of targeted customers, Design and develop brand communication program, Identify the appropriate tools that can be used for the task Consider to maintain consistency in messages, Emphasizing on relationship building rather than focusing on engaging in flings’ Maintaining long-term focus on the ultimate objectives (Shimp, 2008, p. 11- 18). IMC plan for Bodyfit Studio Bodyfit Studio, that offers gym, Yoga and body fitness classes and healthcare services, wishes to retain its customers and attract more through an effective communication program. Though there are competitio ns between Bodyfit and quite a few numbers of other gym-centers like Virgin Active, Squash Class in its surroundings. Below is an IMC plan for the Bodyfit company to communicate effectively to its customers with an intention of retaining them and attracting more as well. As Belch and Belch (2007, p. 24) stressed, an effective

Evolution of Purchasing in Supply Chain Research Paper

Evolution of Purchasing in Supply Chain - Research Paper Example This technique gave many business organizations the motive to venture into diverse money-oriented activities that aim at simplifying arbitrage, reducing agency cost, improving the price-to-value relationship, leveraging the money spent in an organization and implementing contracts that homogenize terms and condition across the company or organization. As a result of strategic sourcing, customers could get their products at the right time, at right quantity, at the right quality, at the right price, in the right place from the right supplier. Although strategic sourcing provided almost everything that an organization requires for quick and higher profit gain, other values were not obtained, and supplier relationship management (SRM) become the succeeding evolution in purchasing. This concept involved the supplier and the customer establishing an interpersonal relationship with middle persons. The companies would then use the relationship or any organization involved to maximize their benefit from that interaction. It requires careful collaboration with the primary suppliers to realize and uncover new benefits while reducing all the risk involved in the operation. With all these concept being embraced in business strategies, the current activities is being supplied with integrated innovation and business intelligence capabilities that aim at addressing the changing continues customer demands. In conclusion, purchasing in the supply chain has evolved even more to a greater level.

Should the Government Subsidize Higher Education Essay

Should the Government Subsidize Higher Education - Essay Example This paper approve that people who have higher education are able to distribute their time and resources more rationally, thus the effectiveness of their labor is increased. It is also that they are taught to use the variety of methods for solving this or that problem instead of concentrating on one method. Higher education gives its recipients the basic knowledge in different spheres of social and cultural science, thus presenting them a massive of additional information that is often helpful in their future job. It is also that government subsidizing of higher education gives opportunities to obtain financial and social status to those who wouldn't have managed to earn it otherwise. It's a proven fact that people with a degree earn more than those who don't have it, thus higher education is the only way to wealthy life for most of the American citizens. This esay makes a conclusion that the system of subsidizing of the higher education in the U.S should be changed for to open the access to education to those who are really unable to finance by themselves, instead of lowering the college expenditures for those who can already allow paying for it. The amount of merit-based aid should be decreased for to increase the expenditures for the need-based aid. It is also that the financial aid should be rather given in the form of grants instead of making students take the loans they later have great difficulties repaying.

Pro-Natal Policies Analysis

Pro-Natal Policies Analysis Pro-Natal Policies in Norway Background Norway’s average fertility rate over the past 10 years is about 1.9, compared to Singapore’s average of 1.25 over the same period (The World Bank, 2014). Furthermore, 5 out of 6 women between the ages of 30-39 still remain employed (BBC News, 2006). Norway is Scadinavia’s richest country, enjoying an oil boom which started 40 years ago (Mohsin, 2014). Most of its revenues are channelled into a wealth fund that has accumulated to $890 billion, or about $170,000 per person. These oil revenues allow for large budget surpluses, protect government schemes from recessions, and provide resources for the future (Rindfuss et al.). The Nordic welfare states have a long-running tradition of implementing policies directed at the family (Rà ¸nsen, 2004). However, these policies are not for pro-natalist reasons, but rather based on their ideas of gender equality and a general concern for the well-being of families and their children. Also, Norwegian society holds the philosophy that children are an essential part of society (Andersen, 2012). Policies Child Benefit The child benefit is paid to all families with children below the age of 18 to cover their costs of having children (Ministry of Children, Equality and Social Inclusion). It is paid per child from the month after the child’s birth till the month before the child turns 18. In 2012, the child benefit was â‚ ¬ 119 per month. A single provider is entitled to an additional child benefit. Parental Leave Benefit Families receive the parental leave benefit upon the birth of a child, a scheme that was started way back in 1956 (BBC, 2014; Ministry of Children, Equality and Social Inclusion, 2014). For most families, this continues until the child is about a year old. The goal of the parental leave benefit is to make it financially feasible for one parent to care for the child at home during its first year, as well as to facilitate equality in parenting. A period of 47 weeks with parental leave benefits, or 57 weeks with reduced benefits (80% of pay) is shared between the parents to provide income for the first year of the child (Anderson, 2012; Ministry of Children, Equality and Social Inclusion, 2014). After the first year, the child is entitled to a place in a day-care centre and/or a cash benefit. Mothers have the right to parental leave benefits if they have worked for at least 6 out of the last 10 months (Ministry of Children, Equality and Social Inclusion). Mothers who do not fulfill this requirement have entitlement to a lump sum maternity grant. In 2011, this grant was â‚ ¬ 4310 per child. The three weeks before and six weeks after birth have to be taken by the mother as part of the parental leave benefit period. The father also has to fulfil a minimum quota of leave (Ministry of Children, Equality and Social Inclusion, 2014; BBC News, 2014), with the Norwegian government has planning to lengthen this by one more week. The rest of the leave period can be freely shared between both parents. When the father takes any leave outside of his quota, he has to take up primary care of the child. A goal of this is to allow for fathers to spend more time alone with the child during the toddler stage. Since the paid leave is financed by taxes, employers do not lose out when employees use their parental leave (BBC News, 2014). Funding for the parental leave benefits and lump sum maternity grants amount to about â‚ ¬ 1.83 billion (2011) (Ministry of Children, Equality and Social Inclusion). More than 80% of mothers and 70% of fathers are entitled to parental leave benefits. Cash Benefit For one and two year olds, parents can choose between a place in a day-care centre or receive a cash benefit (Ministry of Children, Equality and Social Inclusion). They can also choose to combine a reduced rate cash benefit with reduced time in a day-care centre. Only children who are one year of age can receive the cash benefit and are entitled to a maximum benefit period of 11 months. For cash benefits, only full or half cash-benefits can be chosen. The cash benefit is approximately â‚ ¬ 404 per month (2011), is non-taxable, and is paid without income or means-testing. Day-care A child is entitled to a place at a day-care centre as soon as the child turns one-year old (Andersen, 2012). Both public and private day-care centres are heavily subsidised by the state, and parents are means-tested and are charged accordingly at different rates. Fees are capped at â‚ ¬308 per month. This is in contrast to an average of â‚ ¬144 a week in Ireland. Furthermore, the childcare system in Norway is highly regulated and the standard of care is known to be of very high quality. Effectiveness A study by Lappegà ¥rd (2010) found that policies which promote involvement of fathers in childcare and gender equality such as paternal leave are positively associated with second births, while policies which grant general support for the family such as childcare cash benefits are positively related with third births. Another study conducted by Zuvander, Lappegà ¥rd and Andersson (2010) found a positive association between fathers’ parental leave use and continued childbearing in Norway for one-child and two-child couples. For families with two children, an extended period of leave for the mother was positively associated with the birth of a third-child. Furthermore, using data from Norway, Rindfuss et al. (2007) showed that the greater availability of child-care centers leads to a younger age for the first birth, and that high quality and affordable child-care leads to increased child-bearing. However, Rà ¸nsen, a Norwegian statistician, claimed that implementing generous family policies do not guarantee high fertility (BBC News, 2014). Sweden is cited as an example, whereby birth rates have not improved even though family policies were as generous as in Norway. Sweden went through a sharp increase in unemployment, after which the fertility rate fell from 2.1 in 1992 to 1.5 in 1997. It is believed that it is Norway’s combination of steady economic growth and family policies that has kept birth rates high, since people have a tendency to postpone having children during periods of economic insecurity. Pro-Natal Policies in France Background France has the second highest fertility rate in Europe, ranked after Ireland (France Diplomatie, 2013). In 2012, the fertility rate was 2.01, close to the replacement rate of 2.1. The birth rate has been increasing since 1995, and this trend has often been linked with many family policies during that period (Laroque and Salanià ©, 2008). In addition, France still maintains a high rate of female employment: 85% of women are employed (France Diplomatie, 2013). In France, fulfilment comes about from a rewarding family and social life (France Diplomatie, 2013). A 2011 study found that close to 60% of young French people were keen to start a family and have children. This figure was the highest rate in Europe. Policies Generous Monetary Benefits Women under maternity leave can receive full salary for 16 weeks, and are eligible to 26 weeks if the child is their third, and up to 34 weeks in the case of multiple births (European Union, 2014). Fathers are granted 11 consecutive days of paternity leave with full salary. Furthermore, families are entitled to monthly parental allowance if one of the two parents stops working or reduces his/her working hours to care for a child under three years of age. In addition, parents receive a family allowance after their second dependent child under 20 years of age (European Union, 2014). This monthly amount depends on the number of dependent children. After the third child, if the other two children are under 21 years, families are entitled to further family support amounting to â‚ ¬ 167.34. This is subject to means-testing Families can also receive assistance for their first child (European Union, 2014). For example, they can be paid a premium of â‚ ¬923.08 for a birth or â‚ ¬1846.15 for an adoption; a monthly allowance to assist parents with raising and education costs for three years (â‚ ¬ 184.62); family support allowance to help raise a child in the absence of help from one or both parents (ranging from â‚ ¬ 90.40 to â‚ ¬ 120.54), and a back-to-school allowance that is means-tested to help families with their children’s schooling costs (â‚ ¬ 360.47 for 6 to 10 year olds, â‚ ¬ 380.36 for 11 to 14 year olds, â‚ ¬ 393.54 for 15 to 18 year olds) Tax concessions for big families Large benefits stand to enjoy substantial tax concessions, whereby families with at least three children benefit the most (European Union, 2014). The French tax system is such that tax units are households, not individuals. Each household amounts to a number of shares determined by marital status and the number of children. Married couples are entitled to two shares, a further half-share for the first two children, and an additional one share per child after the third child. Given that taxable income is calculated as the total household income divided by the number of shares in a household, large families get to enjoy a significant reduction in taxes. Wide range of childcare services France has a comprehensive childcare and pre-school system that allows parents to continue working (European Union, 2014). Nurseries are run by businesses, the local government, or parent associations. The fees for most nurseries are means-tested. Parents can also choose to hire a licensed childminder who can look after up to 4 children at his/her home. Also, pre-school in France is free. In addition, parents with children under the age of six can make use of after-school centres, which are usually subsidised by the Familiy Allowance Fund. Effectiveness Laroque and Salanià © (2008) found a notable impact of financial incentives on fertility especially for the first and third child. Also, according to Letablier (2008), the main cause for France’s impressive fertility rate is likely due to the of support provided to parents to reduce the costs of children and in reconciling work and family life for mothers so that they can work and care for their children. The latter supports findings from a recent OECD report which found that the most effective policies to boost birth rates are the ones that help women to reconcile career and family. According to the report, government expenditure to provide childcare to help families improve work-life balance is more effective in raising fertility rates than giving money to families to subsidise births (Silverman, 2011). What Can We Learn? How Do They Suit Their Respective Economies (welfare/open economy?) France Financial incentives, though helpful in increasing fertility to a certain extent, are not as effective as helping women to reconcile work and family through the availability of childcare services and parental leave programs. Concessions on taxation, nonetheless, may be a useful tool in raising birth rates. To boost fertility, government policy should utilise a wide variety of instruments and measures to create a conducive environment for child-bearing. McDonald (2007) lends support to this by advocating for comprehensive policies over piecemeal policies, as the real importance of a single policy lies not in its econometric impact, but in how it adds to the way young people perceive their society’s support for those who have children. It is the symbolic meanings of the policies that count most. Norway Funding effective pro-natal policies may require substantial government spending, which may only be affordable to well-endowed and wealthy countries without the possibility of a deficit. Economic stability may also be a pre-condition for high and steady birth rates. Policies that advocate gender equality in parenting may be effective in raising birth rate. Granting more paternal leave to fathers can be helpful, as well as setting a minimum quota of leave to encourage fathers to spend more time caring for the child. Also, the availability of good quality and affordable child-care services can help boost fertility.

The Controversy of Standardized Testing Essays -- Standardized Testing

The Controversy of Standardized Testing â€Å"No issue in the U.S. Education is more controversial than (standardized) testing. Some people view it as the linchpin of serious reform and improvement, others as a menace to quality teaching and learning† (Phelps). A tool that educators use to learn about students and their learning capabilities is the standardized test. Standardized tests are designed to give a common measure of a student’s performance. Popular tests include the SAT, IQ tests, Regents Exams, and the ACT. â€Å"Three kinds of standardized tests are used frequently in schools: achievement, diagnostic, and aptitude† (Woolfolk 550). Achievement tests can be used to help a teacher assess a student’s strengths and weaknesses in a particular subject. Diagnostic tests are typically given to elementary school students when learning problems are suspected. Aptitude tests are designed to predict how a student will perform in the future. For example, the SAT predicts performance in the fi rst year of college. Standardized tests give educators a standard measure or â€Å"yardstick† because such a large number of students across the country take the same test. These tests are used to tell how well school programs are doing or to give a picture of the skills and abilities of students. Standardized tests; however, are problematic at all ages and levels of schooling. Standardized aptitude tests measure students’ abilities to learn in school, how well they are likely to succeed in future education. Rather than measuring knowledge of subjects taught in school, these tests measure a broad range of abilities or skills that are considered important to succeed in school. The classroom setting and teacher are the key to assessment. â€Å"Pressure to produce higher scores leads teachers to focus on material that will be covered by the tests and to exclude everything else. The curriculum is thereby narrowed, which means that some subjects are ignored. Within those that are taught, lower order thinking skills are emphasized. As a result, test scores get inflated while real learning suffers† (Phelps). Performance based assessment guarantees an increased understanding of the growth of individual child. Such understanding reduces the need for currently used standardized tests. Standards for Education and Psychological Testing (American Psychological Association) states the ... ... tests are counterproductive. Meaning that instead of leading to stronger academic achievement, it is said to interfere with teaching and learning. Teachers should use test results to improve their instruction, not to justify lower expectations or to stereotype students. Bibliography: Works Cited American Psychological Association. Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing. Washington, D.C.: American Psychological Association, 1985 Goodwin, W.L., and Driscoll, L.A. Handbook for Measurement and Evaluation in Education. San Fransisco: Jossey-Bass, 1980 Phelps, R.P. â€Å"Why Testing Experts Hate Testing.† Fordham Report, Jan. 1999: Available online: http://www.ed.excellence.net/library/phelps.htm Sacks, P. Standardized Minds: The High Price of America’s Testing Culture and What we Can do to Change it. Cambridge, Mass.: Perseus Books, Feb. 2000: Available online: http://www.fairtest.org.k12/psacks.html Wiseman, D.L., Cooner, D.D., and Knight, S.L. Becoming a Teacher in a Field-Based Setting: an Introduction to Education and Classrooms. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishing Company, 1999 Woolfolk, A. Educational Psychology. Needham

Tgif Case

TGIF Case Problems: Macro – Quantum Software is experiencing problems in regard to their liabilities due to their TGIF beer bust parties. Quantum is also facing the issue of continuing success in sales. Micro – Quantum over works their employees and is using the beer bust parties to keep morale high. Some employees however are taking advantage of the free beer every Friday and are consuming too much. Causes: {draw:frame} Quantum has had much success in the past three years of its existence. While that is a huge positive it comes with some responsibilities. One is keeping up on staffing issues. Quantum seems to be highly under staffed and is asking employees to work 16 hour days 6 days a week. The over worked employee gave Erin, one of the owners an idea as these individuals need to blow off some steam after these horribly long weeks Quantum is asking them to work. Another cause for their current situation concerning the beer bust Friday is Erin was its convincer. She now has a vested and seems to be bias interest in keeping beer bust Fridays despite the risk it lends to the organization. It seems that the problem would not have even come to pass if the first issue of under-staffing would have been addressed. Instead now a chain reaction of causes has taken place: Alternatives: Quantum has several options to mitigate the issue of too much liability which could affect their profits. First Quantum could ask every employee to do a breathalyzer test and sign a waiver before driving home, leaving no liability to Quantum. Another alternative to their current state is hiring more people. Obviously the work to employee ratio is too high. Quantum could move beer bash Fridays to a bar, giving the liability of when to stop serving the employees beer to the bar and its owners. The last alternative to discuss in this forum is instead of having beer bashes to just give the employees every Friday afternoon off to do with what they please. Recommendations: First, Quantum owners, Erin and Stan need to sit down with the attorney Bill and review exactly their liabilities and the kinds of suites they would be up against if something went wrong. Instead of beer bash Friday, Quantum should have a monthly happy hour at a local bar, and reassess the work load they have and hire the appropriate amount of people so that the employees have normal working hours of 40 hours a week. Also, take the opportunity with the current employees and create a psychological contract to bring out any underlying expectations both the employees have about Quantum and what Quantum has towards the employees. Both changes still provide Quantum the corporate climate they seem to be trying to attain with beer bash Fridays, however they mitigate the need for employees to ‘blow off steam’ and helps boost moral through comfortable workloads and social happy hours monthly. Lastly, by putting into place a planned change control process for future issues as Quantum grows they will be able to mitigate these types of liabilities in the future. OD Practioner Behavior Profile One â€Å"Self-Assessment Exercises† will help you gain insight into yourself and your preferences. This understanding is directly applicable to your development as an O. D. practitioner. You are expected to share the results and to discuss their implications for practitioner effectiveness with the instructor. You are encouraged to share them with your classmates online. Weekly reflection Recently at DST Systems, DST has experienced changes in the business environment. DST saw these changes when the organization started utilizing strategies such as restructuring, de-layering, downsizing, merging and acquiring. This has left the organization faced with great challenges in managing associates retention. While reading this week’s chapters I saw DST in several of the key terms, specifically during the NOGO case and describing their management style as Sluggish. DST is a great example of a Sluggish management organization. Seniority and hangers (people who just hung around and grabbed a paycheck) were the individuals rewarded. Three weeks ago I left DST after 5 years of service. I did so because of that mentality. They have operated for the last 30 months in the red. Change is upon them now as it is a cost concern. Instead of going about change in a positive and forward way, DST instead is laying off people without doing a re-organization to utilize their untapped human potential. I stayed during the layoffs and fortunately did not lose my job from it being cut. When I saw however their lack in communication about the layoffs and there was no change process communicated as no additional changes were going to be made, I decided that this corporation wasn’t moving in a direction that was positive and got out. My fear is one day DST Systems, who was once quite an innovative and inspiring corporation with a phenomenal background, will be a case in a text book for another MBA student to learn what not to do and asses where they stepped incorrectly.

Critical Analysis Essay on The Yellow Wallpaper

Critical Analysis Essay on The Yellow Wallpaper The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman is a popular literary piece for critical analysis, especially in women’s gender studies. It focuses on several inequalities in the relation between John and his wife. It was published for the first time in 1892 in a New England magazine and is considered to be one of the earliest and essential feminist literary pieces in America. The story illustrates the physical as well as the mental deterioration of women during the 19 century due to a medically prescribed treatment of being allowed to do nothing. Gilman created a very effective fictional narrative based on her personal experience with depression, and this had a strong impact on other women. This story was written to condemn the sexual politics which make the medical treatment prescribed possible. The story is critically acclaimed because it brings into focus the unequal relationship the males and females in the society. The male gender is perceived to dominate society while the female gender is not given the space to make decisions independently of men. This is seen in the instances when John belittles his wife’s creative endeavors. John does not respect his wife, and so he treats her like one of his children by calling her a little girl. This makes the wife dislike her house. To her, the environment seems too isolated, making her unhappy. The story portrays women in Western society as deprived of their rights. Instead, they are treated like objects or men’s possessions. They have nowhere to exercise their personal freedoms, and they feel belittled by the male counterparts. For instance, John keeps on dismissing his wife’s thoughts and opinions. He believes that his wife should depend solely on him for almost everything. This is why this story has enjoyed such popularity, mostly by women who feel that they deserve a better place in the society, that they need space to exercise their creativity and productivity. Women feel they have strong potential and the ability to do anything, just like men do, and they should not depend on men for everything. Rather, they should depend on men as much as men depend on women. Women should have their decisions respected, and no one should dismiss their ideas. Instead, ideas should be shared and debated, regardless of gender. Moreover, men should support women as equals rather than belittle them. In Gilman’s story â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper,† John acts as the mirror through which women are viewed negatively in the society, a society in which women are not perceived to be full citizens. They are not supposed to be anywhere near the political arena or in the public eye. Instead, they should remain in their homes. This view has led to women fighting for their rights through creating women movements to fight for their place in the society. Tips on Writing a Critical Essay over a Literary Piece First, it is important to understand that a critical essay is not a criticism of the literary piece or of its author. It is your reaction or response to the piece. Begin by reading the piece several times, if possible. Highlight and make notes on anything that captures your attention. That could be a phrase, a character’s thought or action, or an event. Then analyze why that interests you. What is the significance? What is the writer trying to achieve? Knowing the writer’s background and the social or historical time period in which a story takes place is helpful in understanding the significance of characters or story events. Then, create a thesis statement that reflects your opinion about some aspect of the literary piece. Next, utilize evidence from the piece to support your opinion. Finally, organize your writing in a logical fashion. Do not retell the story or present details in chronological order. Assume your reader knows the literary piece being discussed and is interested in your opinion and how you support it. Our custom essay writing service is ready to provide you with high-quality custom written essays. All you need is to contact our writing company and to fill in the order form.

The Fiscal Initiative of Proposition 13 essays

The Fiscal Initiative of Proposition 13 essays The popular initiative process has played a role in the evolution of a stronger state presence in local affairs. At the beginning of the twentieth century, the California Constitution was modified with a series of measures approved by the voters that reflected the "progressive" mood of the times, including the initiative, referendum, and recall system. These provisions have significantly influenced the state's fiscal health. State fiscal policymakers find themselves setting policy in response to major policy changes approved by the voters and brought to them by a parallel policy-making process often sponsored by narrow interests that have failed to accomplish the same objective in the legislative process. Perhaps the most famous fiscal initiative was Proposition 13, "The People's Initiative to Limit Property Taxation," proposed by anti-tax activists Howard Jarvis and Paul Gann. This 1978 initiative capped the local property tax rate at 1 percent of full cash value, originally set at 1975 market value, and provided that the assessed value of a property could only be increased to reflect the sale or new construction of the property. Overall annual increases in assessed value for individual properties are capped at 2 percent or inflation, whichever is less. To prevent the legislature from increasing state taxes to cover the loss in local property taxes, Proposition 13 raised the vote threshold to increase a state tax from a majority vote to two-thirds of the legislature. This threshold remains in place today. Proposition 13 severely limited local services financed by the property tax, particularly for schools, and transferred much of school funding to the state. In 1988, California vo ters approved another initiative, Proposition 98, which guarantees a minimum level of state revenues and property taxes to be provided to K-14 education. Some analysts contend that Proposition 98 is a ceiling rather than a floor for education spending. A...

Animal rights Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Animal rights - Essay Example Using animals for this purpose has its advantages and limitations. The intensive research carried out in any medical lab is with an intention of making human life better in terms of good health. There are several medical breakthroughs that have saved mankind a great deal that has originated from performing experiments on animals. Examples of this include organ transplant, open heart surgery, and insulin administration to regulate blood sugar. In addition, it is an accurate way of understanding the human response to a certain medical technique without endangering the life of a human being. Necessary changes can be made if the desired response is not achieved. Both human and animal lives are saved due to the rights of the animals used in the lab. Humans only receive drugs that have undergone thorough scrutiny and are sure to deliver intended results. Another crucial benefit that arise with the use animals in the lab is the increased precision and assurance of the results compared to the use of computer models in prediction of the outcome. Despite hav ing different philology to humans animal testing turns out to be the best method of assuring human safety after administration of a certain type of drug (Murnaghan 1). A particular research is carried out with the betterment of human life on the forefront of researchers. The rights of the animals used in the lab have made it possible for the achievement of human safety without harming the animals. Numerous medical procedures and drugs used to date are as a result of testing that was carried out on lab animals. The animals aid in improving human well-being and comfortable existence. Despite the benefits achieved from the animals, various disadvantages from the use of animals in the lab. The increased cost of research is the first disadvantage. The animals that are used for research purpose need to be housed, fed and live under controlled environment for the achievement of

Application and Technology Architectures Assignment

Application and Technology Architectures - Assignment Example Various research and anecdotal evidence is directed to software aging as a common element, in which the software state system degrades over time. Data corruption, exhaustion of system resources, and numerical error are the main signs of degradation of software performance, hang failure, or other effects. Software rejuvenation is a proactive method intended to lower the probability of unplanned outages because of aging. When the implementation plan for RPS materializes for the next a half decade it can reach new levels in business and survive in the market. RPS application architecture The Reliable Pharmaceutical Service has many existing systems and documents that undergo reviews. The company’s team will come up with the model of the entire organization. The application architecture for Reliable Pharmaceutical Service will help the company to map the business and operation functions that it performs. Additionally, the architecture shows the data type the entire company uses an d creates. The application architecture examines each and every location where the function of the business is carried out. Therefore, the plan puts together various integrated information system for the company. In addition, the architecture outlines the series required to implement the needed systems. For instance, the architecture has development and supply chain management (CSM). This is because knowledge management is one of the crucial factors in a pharmaceutical company. Real-time, customer integration, online, external service, and suppliers providers helps the company to have good customer connection with the suppliers, service providers, and customers (Fowler, 2003). The crucial components of CSM, especially the inventory management components, need further scrutiny before the support system for the customers project can begin. Other features captured in the application architecture include the accounting and finance (payroll, accounts payable, and billing), and marketing (investor relations, customer acquisition, and customer relations). The customer support system will implement the fulfillment system and order-processing that integrates the supply chain management to support web-based ordering, phone, and development of custom in-house. The retail store system is to replace the present retail store system that can be integrated with the customer support system. The human resources in the plan are to buy the package solution, to maximize the access of employees to benefits information, human resource procedures, and human resource forms. The accounting/ finance in the plan are to buy a package solution to maximize the access of the employee to financial record for control and planning (â€Å"Application architecture guide†, 2009). The figure below is an application architecture plan for RPS for the next five years. RPS technology architecture Reliable Pharmaceutical Service defines the technology architecture plan based on their information systems required. The plan includes the communication network, software and hardware needed to implement all the planned systems. The company looked at the technology trends and made commitment to technology vendors and other specific technologies. Creating the technology plan creates a comprehensive information for planning projects that would solve all the problems that the managers of