Gender: an Ambiguous Factor

Referencing the role that gender played in early twentieth century rural life made for an interesting character dynamic in this play. Susan Glaspell’s Trifles presents a murder mystery with a slightly twisted plot. The play itself, at first glance, seems simple enough. A man is murdered, his wife thought to be the murderer. An investigation is forged in their quaint farmhouse. However, the men are unable to find anything that leads to a motive. But then the twist! The women are able to solve the murder and choose not to share the findings with their husbands.What exactly hinders the investigation set forth by the men? A case can be made in gender differences. The mental approach of each sex determines everything. The dynamic between the women, their husbands, and the county attorney creates a mental divide that cannot be bridged. Inevitably, what appears to be a simple plot, seemingly filled with mere trifles, the end of the play quickly develops into something that is almost surreal. Within a casual conversation the women, Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters, manage to recreate Minnie Wright’s state of mind – seemingly putting themselves through her last day in the farmhouse.In an article analyzing the play, Suzy Clarkson Holstein remarks that, â€Å"the play represents a profound conflict between two models of perception and behavior† (Holstein 282). On the whole, the men and women involved observed the identical information – with the exception of the canary. However, minus the canary, the women were already reconstructing Minnie’s life with John Wright. In their reconstruction they are able to uncover and comprehend evidence that would seem like useless information to the formal investigation the men were conducting. The county attorney searching the Wrights’ home cannot detect the significance in a loaf of bread left out of the breadbox, a kitchen table half wiped, a quilt in progress, and a missing pet canary† (Marsh 201-02). These simple details prove to be the key to ending the mystery. Holstein’s analysis goes on to mention the â€Å"ultimate moral choice† as presented to the women. Here she references, â€Å"their way of knowing leads them not simply to knowledge; it also leads to the decision about how to act on that knowledge† (Holstein 282). On the notion of morality alone, the reader must analyze several debates.What exactly is at stake here for these women? And, if they withhold information from the investigation, are they harming themselves? The men have been neglecting the observations of the women, even teasing them for their observations. Mr. Hale comments, â€Å" Well, women are used to worrying over trifles† (Glaspell 938) and later, overhearing a conversation between the women, Sheriff Peters comments, â€Å"They wonder if she was going to quilt it or just knot it† (Glaspell 941). Immediately after his remark the stage directions state, à ¢â‚¬Å"The men laugh, the women look abashed† (Glaspell 941).There isn’t even the slightest hint of spousal respect here! The men dismiss the thoughts of the women because they are merely women. They do not believe that they could be of any aid to the investigation at hand. Have the women compromised their morality when evading the truth with their husbands? The men’s perspective is completely regimented. Their tunnel vision approach seems to be a hindrance in the investigation. They are unable to come to any conclusions about Mrs. Wright’s motive to kill her husband. In the final moments of dialogue, Mr.Henderson can be heard saying, â€Å"No, Peters, it’s all perfectly clear except a reason for doing it†¦ If there was some definite thing†¦ a thing that would connect up with this strange way of doing it – â€Å" (Glaspell 945). Holstein’s article in â€Å"The Midwest Quarterly† makes an interesting statement comparin g biological and cultural issues in regards to the way both parties observe the facts. â€Å"Certainly, during the early part of the twentieth century, the duties and structures of women’s lives would have predisposed them to approach a problem from a different angle than that of the men† (Holstein 288).This is evident in her mention of sex vs. gender and its implications. Sex, referring strictly to the biological, and gender, referring strictly to the cultural implications of gender roles in society. â€Å"The men, Mann argues†¦ strove to be first with a quick, firm answer. Women on the other hand valued cooperation and worked to interconnect, taking time to make up their minds† (qtd. in Holstein 289). The juxtaposition of these two terms most always sparks an interesting debate. Some see them as one in the same, while others see them as two completely separate entities.The debate between sex and gender comes up often in the debate on transgender issues. à ¢â‚¬Å"Just as Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters understand well the hardships of the rural lifestyle they share with the accused Mrs. Wright, so Elle finds that the accused Mrs. Windham is a ‘peer’† (Marsh 201). This statement draws parallels between Trifles and the 2001 film, Legally Blonde. In a 2005 article for â€Å"Literature Film Quarterly,† Kelly A. Marsh paired the message of sisterhood in the pages of Trifles with similar messages in a 21st century blockbuster hit.The similarities in these two works are uncanny and whether the parallels are intentional is unclear. Marsh explains, â€Å" the key evidence in both cases is precisely the evidence that the men overlook† (Marsh 201). Parallels at many levels can be drawn from Glaspell’s text. The women’s ability to uncover key points of evidence and solve this murder mystery speaks volumes to their characters, and, their husbands’ inability to see things for what they really are. â₠¬Å"The women in this play develop a highly differentiated and reflective moral schema† (Holstein 288).They make conscious decisions to hide the evidence that solves the murder from the men. In the closing stage directions, Glaspell writes, â€Å"Suddenly Mrs. Peters throws back quilt pieces and tries to put the box in the bag she is wearing. It is too big. Sound of a doorknob turning in the other room. Mrs. Hale snatches the box and puts it in the pocket of her big coat† (Glaspell 945). In this moment the women have overcome their husbands and shown that their mere trifles can indeed come in handy.

Consequences of Indecision’s Essay

Consequences of Indecision’s The characters are affected by their mistakes in Feed by M.T. Anderson because these characters are all caught up in their indecision to choose what they want to do with their lives. Violet’s father is all caught up in protecting his daughter, Violet the main character, from the negative affects of the feed and how people take advantage of it in a poor manner. He didn’t want that to happen to Violet. The Feed is a device that people in the novel use in their everyday lives. The Feed is a computer chip that gets installed into the brain allowing internet access where ever they are, exposing people to unlimited knowledge. This chip also allows them to have the internet as a part of them so it becomes a part of the brain thus making them all in some since, part robot. He never wanted to get Violet the Feed because he thought it would be terrible for her. He then realized that she needed it in order to have a productive future and live a decent life. The outcome of his delayed decision of installing the Feed caused negative affects on Violet. Violet has similar to her father’s thinking when it comes to the Feed. She can’t decide if she does or doesn’t want to be a part of society. She claims that she loves the Feed because of the knowledge that it has to offer. Violet wants the feed because she also yearns to be accepted into society. She then turns around and says that the Feed is a horrible thing because it separates people from the real world causing them to become unaware of what’s really happening in the world. She also malfunctions in result of being hacked. This is the major issue that Violet and her father come across. Since these characters can’t choose what they actually want with society and the Feed only ends up leading them to their destruction. Violets father’s distraction with his thoughts is caused by his indecision on society with how people act. Many people would think that Violets father was doing the right thing by limiting his daughter to the technology, and they are wrong. If he was so against society then he should have left with Violets mother or just leave in general to get away. If they moved away and he never got her the Feed and she would have never gone to the moon. Apparently those thoughts never occurred to him. So he is living in a society that he strongly dislikes and refuses to become fully part of. His  problem with picking what he wants influenced him to get the Feed installed into her daughter’s brain late, because he realized that she would need it in order to live there and have a successful life. He realized this after he went to a job interview and he still didn’t have the Feed so he couldn’t get the job. This hesitation that he had was because he wanted his daughter to have real knowledge that you actually had in your head from memory and education. Not lazy artificial knowledge that she didn’t need to think to know something. He was being stubborn and thought he was doing something good for her. Many people would say that he just wanted to protect her. Well if he really wanted to protect her then why didn’t he just take her and leave that place? At the same time he wants to be around this great technology with its unlimited opportunities. Since he couldn’t choose a side that he wanted to be on he ran into issues because he cou ldn’t choose one or the other. Sadly Violet acts similar to her father. when it comes to Violet , it’s obvious that she is different from everyone else. She knows more then other people do because she had time to think and learn before she got the Feed, along with homeschooling. She has a larger vocabulary then the people that she lives around. Violet also doesn’t have as wide of a vocabulary as her father. She isn’t as intelligent as her father either. She is lonely to the point that she makes announcements into a trash can just to hear the echo of her own voice. She has no real close friends because of homeschooling, making her less exposed to other people in the world. Violet has similar indecision’s as her father, being against the society and with it at the same time just doesn’t work. it has to be one or the other. If not then they will have plenty of issues, because when they go against the way how things function and try to change it only caused them problems that they have to pay for all on there own. Violets i ndividuality and intelligence made her get into problems because she wanted to see if she could trick the Feed to prove that technology can’t over power humans. As Violet goes to the mall to create another profile on her Feed it only backfires. She called this her project. Her project was to create an account that the Feed could not give options to for items that she may like. She tried creating this account by looking at random and odd things at the mall  that had nothing to do with each other, pretending to like them so that the Feed would think she takes an interest in them. This makes the Feed think that she would consider purchasing these items. Violets project backfired because she never bought anything that she made the Feed think she liked. The Feed was offering her these items, expecting her to buy some of them. When she never did apply to purchasing anything, Violet got hacked everything started to malfunction and her father couldn’t pay for the care and FeedTech had no interest in helping her because she wasn’t a good investment to society. No one from FeedTech or the inverters of FeedTech wanted to sponsor for her health needs because of her poor shopping records. These records stated, that she had looked up information on items and she didn’t purchase any of them. Violets project was a horrible idea because her father couldn’t afford to pay for all the tests that she needed. The warranty had also expired years ago. There is nothing that they can do for her now but wait as her father regrets not getting Violets Feed late. When Violet got hacked, it somehow damaged her Feed and no one was sure why. While she was in the hospital she was told by the doctors that her Feed should stabilize over time, it never did. Her Feed only progressed to worsen as time went on. Even when she was working on her project in the mall Violet didn’t consider how her actions would affect her . She knew that attempting to mess with the Feed wasn’t supposed to be done and that didn’t stop her . She went and did it anyway, her indecision to go against the Feed failed because she only got worse in the end. Her body slowly stopped working over time. In the beginning she was losing all feeling in her foot. Similar to having a foot fall asleep. Of course this turned into her whole limbs losing feeling. This resulted in her losing all feeling in both of her legs causing her to fall down the stairs when she was home alone. FeedTech didn’t want to help her because she made a record that stated how she doesnà ¢â‚¬â„¢t buy anything that she takes interest in. All because she couldn’t make up her mind on what she wanted to do. She attempted to trick the Feed. Then she changed her mind when she was weak and tried getting help from FeedTech after she attempted to mess up the whole system. Since these characters can’t choose what they actually want with society. The Feed only ends up leading them to destruction. Violet and her father made so many mistakes that it came to the point where they couldn’t save her. They refused to cooperate with FeedTech so FeedTech wouldn’t pay for her repairs. When it came to her malfunctioning. They also refused to cover the cost because she messed up her Feed during her project at the mall when she was trying to trick the Feed so that it couldn’t predict or tell her what she would like. Since Violets father was so caught up in protecting his daughter he was protecting her to the point where his choices killed his daughter, destroying everything he has ever worked for because Violet is his life. Violet is all he has left because Violets mother ran away to Africa to escape the society that they claim to hate. When it turned out that them staying is a place that they dislike was all a mistake on it’s own. If they where going to stay they should have accepted the way things are. Violet and her father should have just given into the way of the Feed if they wanted to stay.

A brief history of shia muslims

It is a fact that Muslims all over the world are divided in two large groups -Shias and Sunnis. They have strong differences in political and religious views.Though they share the same Quran and Hadith but their interpretation of Islam has very few things in common (Lucas, 2008). That is why they have been at logger-heads throughout Islamic History. Both claim to be the righteous one and regard another one as strayed away from the right path.Shia literally means group or comrade. And Shias were originally those people who were with Hazrat Ali and were normally called as Shia-e-Ali, i.e., comrades of Ali or his companions. Later on ‘Ali’ was dropped and they are now only called Shias.It is interesting to know their history. How they came to existence is a good point to start from. When the Prophet (pbuh) passed away the question of his successor rose and each group among Muslims claimed his right to form the government.Ansars (Muslims of Medina) and Mohajireen (Muslims of Mecca who had migrated to Medina) were strong claimers but the matter was sorted out amicably when somebody from the righteous companions narrated one Hadith in favor of Mohajireen (Lucas, 2008). As a result Hazrat Abu-Bakr was made the Caliph.When he was on his death bed, he appointed Hazrat Umar as his successor and he ruled for ten years without any dissent. When he was fatally wounded and people lost their hope of his recovery, they asked him to appoint his successor following the toe of his predecessor. Initially, he declined but when they insisted too much he suggested six names including the names of Hazrat Usman and Hazrat Ali.Majority of Muslims preferred Hazrat Usman to Hazrat Ali and ultimately he was made the Caliph. He ruled for twelve years but in the last phase of his tenure, he was accused of nepotism.Actually, there was a Jew named Abdullah Ben Saba. He had a long grudge against Muslims due to several reasons. He could not tolerate it that Muslims prospered and dev eloped in such a short span of time. It was beyond his patience that Islam had been spreading so rapidly.But he was shrewd enough to realize the fact that he was incapable of fighting Muslims who were the most powerful in the world then. So he put upon himself the guise of a Muslim and came to Iraq among Muslims who had just converted to Islam and were quite unaware of the fact that Islam abolishes every claim on the ground of birth, caste, race and kinship. It doesn’t buy the argument that a ruler’s son should be made the ruler when his father dies though he may be bereft of the qualities of a ruler.These ideas were not known to these new comers in the fold of Islam. They were familiar with the ways of their old monarchs who followed the general rule of hierarchy in which the son automatically occupied the throne of his father when he passed away. In the absence of a son the close relative was crowned.Therefore when Abdullah Ben Saba came to them and said that very gr ave injustice has been done to Hazrat Ali as his caliphate has been usurped by others, they were easily convinced. They thought it their bound duty to stand for Hazrat Ali and provide him with his due right.Abdullah Ben Saba had hatched a very dangerous conspiracy. He never touched the Muslims of Mecca or Medina as he was fully aware that they will easily find out him as a bloody conspirator and will reject his wrong ideas. So he chose the soil of Egypt and Iraq for the propagation of his hierarchal ideas. Muslims of these places were new converts and were therefore easily deceived.In a nutshell, Abdullah Ben Saba spread his snare with too much care. He managed to spread rumors against Hazrat Usman. He got people write letters from Iraq to Egypt and Egypt to Iraq and from different parts of the Islamic Empire to Medina spreading the rumors that the Muslims of those places were suffering from different problems due to the inefficient rule of Hazrat Usman.People were aghast with these news. They strongly suspected that Hazrat Usman was not dealing with problems properly. A committee was formed which looked into the alleged problems. It found all the charges baseless and pointed that there were a few mischievous people in those province who wrote all these letters aiming at disrupting the rule and order of the Islamic Empire.But being very lenient Hazrat Usman let all these miscreants scot free and did nothing against them. Ultimately, they felt encouraged and came marching to Medina with the sole intention to assassinate Hazrat Usman.Hazrat Usman tried to clear their doubts with arguments and they lost their ground logically and were forced to return as they had no legitimate cause to rebel against Hazrat Usman.But they assembled again outside Medina and produced a fake letter of Usman in which it was stated that they should be punished by the governors of their provinces after their returning. Claiming this false charge they surrounded Hazrat Usman’s hou se and slain him brutally. After the assassination of Hazrat Usman, people were at the mercy of these rebels.The entire empire felt itself in the grip of anarchy. Hazrat Ali saw all these and was too much worried about the affairs of the community. He was approached by the same rebels to take the rein of the caliphate. He hesitated as he was fully aware that though those people insisted on their allegiance to him but they were basically against the very soul of Islam.They were introducing such a version of Islam which had nothing to do with the Islam he knew. But he was also requested by those sincere and age-old companions of the Holy Prophet who had selected his three predecessors. Therefore keeping the welfare of Islam above any consideration he accepted the responsibility of caliphate and was made the fourth rightful Caliph.Events which unfolded afterwards paved the way for the tow major division of Muslims which seems destined to remain unbridgeable till the last Day of Judgmen t. So it is clear that this difference of views was political in nature.But the early Muslims were so much religious that nothing could claim their attention except that which had some religious ground (Esposito, 2005). They were so much religiously charged that only religion could satisfy them. In this manner they were easily cheated by conspirators like Abdullah Ben Saba and his companions.It is noteworthy that there were a few sincere Muslims too who were of the opinion that Hazrat Ali had been the most deserving candidate of Islamic caliphate after the death of the Holy Prophet due to his relation and station in Islam.He was an important member of the household of the Prophet and was one of those few people who had embraced Islam in the very beginning. There were other grounds also which are not accepted by all sects of Islam such as his being protected from the possibility of committing any mistake, etc.Thus Shias came into existence and flourished. Later on they developed thei r ideology systematically. Now their ideas are very sophisticated and particularly their notions of ‘imamat’ are very complex. They hold the view that only those people who are completely protected from any potential sin deserve to be made Caliphs or Imams.Thus they believe that there are twelve Imams such as Hazrat Ali, Hazrat Hassan, Hazrat Hussein, etc. It is also noteworthy that all the Shias are not of the same view nor they follow only one ideology.   There are fissures and cleavages among them too and they are ripped apart in their ideology. But as a matter of fact they did not undergo any divisions during the imamate of the first three Imams: Ali, Hassan, and Hussein.But after the martyrdom of Hussein, the majority of the Shias accepted the imamate of Ali Ben Hussein al-Sajjad, while a minority known as the Kisaniyah believed that the third son of Ali, Muhammad bin Hanafiyah, was the fourth Imam as well as the promised Mehdi, and that he had gone into occultat ion in the Radwa mountains and one day would reappear.After the death of Imam al-Sajjad the majority of the Shias accepted his son, Muhammad al-Baqir as Imam while a minority followed Zayd al-Shahid, another son of Imam al-Sajjad, and became known as Zaydis.Following Imam Muhammad al-Baqir, the Shias accepted his son Ja'far al-Sadiq as Imam and after the death of Imam Ja'far the majority followed his son Imam Musa al-Kazim as the seventh Imam. However, one group followed the older son of the sixth Imam, Ismail, who had died while his father was still alive, and when this latter group separated from the majority of Shias it became known as Ismailia.Others accepted either ‘Abdullah al-Fatah or Muhammad, both sons of the sixth Imam.Finally, another party stopped with the sixth Imam himself and considered him as the last Imam. In the same way, after the martyrdom of Imam Musa al-Kazim the majority followed his son, Ali al-Rida, as the eighth Imam. However, some stopped with the se venth Imam and became known as the Waqifiyah.

You Suck: A Love Story Chapter 4~5

Chapter Four Red and White and Dead all Over Rapoc stuffing and chicken feathers lay in great, fluffy drifts across the room, along with the shreds of their clothing, the futon cover, pieces of a fuzzy, Muppet-skin rug, and the crushed remains of a couple of cheap-ass Pier 1 paper lanterns. Sparks crackled from the bare wires over the breakfast bar, where the pendulum light fixtures used to hang. The loft looked as if someone had thrown a hand grenade into the middle of a teddy-bear orgy and the only survivors had had their fur blown off. â€Å"Well, that was different,† Jody said, still a little breathless. She was lying across the coffee table, looking out the window at a streetlight from an upside-down angle, naked except for one sleeve of her red leather jacket. She was smeared with blood from head to toe, and even as Tommy watched, the scratches and fang marks on her skin were healing over. â€Å"If I'd known,† Tommy said, panting, â€Å"I'd have grown a foreskin a long time ago.† He lay across the room where she had thrown him, sprawled on a pile of books and kindling that had once been a bookshelf, also smeared with blood and covered in scratches – wearing only a sock. As he pulled a pencil-sized splinter of bookcase out of his thigh, Tommy thought that he might have been a little hasty about yelling at Jody for turning him into a vampire. Although he couldn't really remember much of it, he was pretty sure he'd just had the most amazing sex ever. Apparently what he had read about vampire sex being all about drinking the blood and nothing else – it was just another myth like the changing into a bat and the inability to cross running water. â€Å"Did you know that was going to happen?† Tommy asked. â€Å"I had no idea,† Jody said, still on the coffee table, and looking more to Tommy every minute like a murder victim, except that she was talking, and smiling. â€Å"I was going to make you buy me dinner and take me to a movie first.† Tommy chucked the bloody bookcase splinter at her. â€Å"I don't mean did you know we were going to do it, I mean did you know that it was going to be like that?† â€Å"How would I know that?† â€Å"I thought maybe the night you spent with the old vampire†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Jody sat up. â€Å"I didn't do him, Tommy, I just spent the night with him trying to find out about how to be a vampire. And his name is Elijah.† â€Å"Oh, so now you're on a first-name basis.† â€Å"Oh, for the love of God, Tommy, would you stop thinking? You're taking what was an amazing experience and sucking all the life out of it.† Tommy fidgeted on his pile of rubble and started to pout, but winced when he tried to push out his lower lip and it caught on his fangs. She was right. He'd always been like that, always overthinking, overanalyzing. â€Å"Sorry,† he said. â€Å"You have to just be part of the world now,† Jody said softly. â€Å"You can't put everything into categories, separate yourself from experience by putting words on it. Like the song says, let it be.† â€Å"Sorry,† Tommy said again. He tried to push the thoughts out of his head, closed his eyes, and listened to his heartbeat, and Jody's heartbeat coming from across the room. â€Å"It's okay,† Jody said. â€Å"Sex like that does sort of beg for a postmortem.† Tommy smiled, his eyes still closed. â€Å"So to speak.† Jody stood up and crossed the room to where he was sitting. She offered him her hand to help him up. â€Å"Careful, the back of your head is kind of stuck in the dry wall.† Tommy turned his head and heard plaster cracking. â€Å"I'm still starving.† She pulled him to his feet. â€Å"I'm feeling a little drained myself.† â€Å"My bad,† Tommy said. He could remember now, her blood pulsing into him, at the same time that his was pulsing into her. He rubbed a place on his shoulder where the punctures from her fangs hadn't quite healed yet. She kissed the spot he was rubbing. â€Å"You'll heal faster when you've had fresh blood.† Tommy felt an ache, like a sudden cramp in his stomach. â€Å"I really need to eat.† Jody led him into the bedroom, where Chet the huge cat was cowering in the corner, hiding unsuccessfully behind the wicker hamper. â€Å"Wait,† Jody said. She padded back out into the great room and came back a few seconds later wearing what was left of her red leather jacket (really more of a vest now) and her panties, which she had to hold together on one side where they'd been torn off. â€Å"Sorry,† she said, â€Å"I'm not comfortable being naked in front of strangers.† Tommy nodded. â€Å"He's not a stranger, Jody. He's dinner.† â€Å"Uh-huh,† Jody said, nodding and shaking her head at the same time, making her appear like a bloodstained, bobble-head doll. â€Å"You go. You're new.† â€Å"Me? Don't you know some superanimal hypnotism to call him to you?† â€Å"Nope. Go get him. I'll wait.† Tommy looked at her. On top of the blood that streaked and smeared her pale skin, there were gobs of futon stuffing stuck to her here and there, as well as white chicken feathers in her hair from one of the exploded cushions. He had feathers and cat hair stuck to his chest and legs. â€Å"We're going to have to shave him first, you know?† Jody nodded, not looking away from the huge cat. â€Å"Maybe a shower first.† â€Å"Good idea.† Tommy put his arm around her. â€Å"But just washing. No sex!† â€Å"Why, we already lost the cleaning deposit?† â€Å"Those shower doors are glass.† â€Å"Okay. But can I wash your – â€Å" â€Å"No,† she said. She took his hand and dragged him into the bathroom. It turned out that superhuman vampire strength came in handy when shaving a thirty-five-pound cat. After a couple of false starts, which had them chasing Chet the huge shaving-cream-covered cat around the loft, they discovered the value of duct tape as a grooming tool. Because of the tape, they weren't able to shave his feet. When they were finished, Chet looked like a big-eyed, potbellied, protohuman in fur-lined, duct-tape space boots – the feline love child of Golem and Doddy the house elf. â€Å"I'm not sure we needed to shave all of him,† Tommy said, sitting on the bed next to Jody as they considered the bound and shaven Chet on the floor before them. â€Å"He looks creepy.† â€Å"Pretty creepy,† Jody said. â€Å"You'd better drink. Your wounds aren't healing.† All her scratches, bruises, and love bites were completely healed, and except for a fleck of shaving cream here and there in her hair, she was as good as new. â€Å"How?† Tommy asked. â€Å"How do I know where to bite him?† â€Å"Try the neck,† Jody said. â€Å"But sort of feel around for a vein with your tongue before you bite, and don't bite hard.† She was trying to sound confident in her instructions, but she was in unexplored territory as much as he was. She was enjoying teaching Tommy about the particulars of vampirism, just as she enjoyed teaching him how to do grown-up human things like how to get the power and phone turned on in the loft – it made her feel sophisticated and in charge, and after a series of boyfriends for whom she had been little more than an accoutrement, whose lifestyles she had affected, from heavy-metal anarchists to financial-district yuppies, she liked being the pacesetter for a change. Still, when it came to teaching him about feeding on animals, she couldn't have been winging it more if she really could turn into a bat. The only time she'd ever considered drinking animal blood was when Tommy had brought her two large, live snapping turtles from Chinat own. She hadn't been able to bring herself to even try biting into the armored reptiles. Tommy had named them Scott and Zelda, which hadn't helped. Now Zelda was functioning as a lawn ornament in Pacific Heights and Scott was encased in bronze and standing next to the old vampire in the great room. The biker sculptors downstairs had bronzed them, which is what had given Tommy the idea to bronze Jody and the old vampire in the first place. â€Å"Are you sure this is okay?† Tommy said, bending over Chet the huge shaved cat. â€Å"I mean, you said that we were only supposed to hunt the sick and the weak – the black auras. Chet's aura is shiny and pink.† â€Å"It's different with animals.† She had no idea if it was different with animals. She'd eaten a moth once, whole – snatched it out of the air and downed it before she could think about it. She realized now that there were a lot more questions she should have asked Elijah when she had had the chance. â€Å"Besides, you're not going to kill him.† â€Å"Right,† Tommy said. He put his mouth on Chet's kitty neck. â€Å"Like thith?† Jody had to turn away to keep from laughing. â€Å"Yeah, that looks good.† â€Å"He tathes like thaving cream.† â€Å"Just go,† Jody said. † ‘Kay.† Tommy bit and started to moan almost immediately. Not a moan of pleasure, but the moan of someone who has his tongue stuck on the ice-cube tray in the freezer. Chet seemed strangely calm, not even struggling against his kitty bonds. Maybe there was something to the vampire's power over his victims, Jody thought. â€Å"Okay, that's enough,† Jody said. Tommy shook his head while still feeding on the huge shaved cat. â€Å"Tommy, let off. You need to leave some.† â€Å"Nu-ih,† Tommy said. â€Å"Stop sucking the huge cat, Tommy,† Jody said sternly. â€Å"I'm not kidding.† She was kidding, a little bit. Tommy was breathing hard now, and a little color had come into his skin. Jody looked around for something to get his attention. She spotted a vase of flowers on the night-stand. She pulled out the flowers and tossed the water on Tommy and the huge cat. He kept feeding. The cat shuddered but otherwise remained immobile. â€Å"Okay, then,† Jody said. It was a heavy, stoneware vase, something Tommy had picked up to hold some apology flowers he'd brought her from the grocery store where he worked. He'd been good that way, sometimes bringing home apology flowers before he'd even done anything to apologize for. Really, you couldn't ask for more than that from a guy – which is why Jody slowed to half speed as she brought the vase around in a wide arc that ended with it smacking Tommy in the forehead and knocking him back about six feet. Chet the huge shaved cat yowled. Miraculously, the vase did not break. â€Å"Thanks,† Tommy said, wiping the blood from his mouth. There was a crescent-moon-shaped dent in his forehead that was rapidly filling in, healing. â€Å"Sure,† Jody said, staring at the vase. Great vase, she thought. Elegant, fragile porcelain was all well and good for the collector's case or the tea party, but for the girl who finds herself in need of a vessel that can deliver a wallop, Jody was suddenly sold on the sturdy value of stoneware. â€Å"Tastes like cat breath,† Tommy said, pointing to Chet. The punctures from Tommy's fangs had already healed. â€Å"Is it supposed to?† Jody shrugged. â€Å"What's cat breath taste like?† â€Å"Like tuna casserole left out in the sun for a week.† Being from the Midwest, Tommy thought everyone knew what tuna casserole tasted like. Having been born and raised in Carmel, California, Jody knew it only as something eaten by the extinct people on Nick at Nite. â€Å"I think I'm going to pass,† Jody said. She was hungry, but not cat-breath hungry. She wasn't sure what she was going to do about feeding. She couldn't very well try to live off Tommy anymore, and regardless of the rush and the sense that she was serving nature's cause by taking only the weak and the sick, she didn't like the idea of preying on humans – strangers anyway. She needed time to think, to figure out what their new life was going to be like. Things had been happening too quickly since Tommy and his friends had taken down the old vampire. She said, â€Å"We should get Chet back to his owner tonight if we can. You don't want to lose your driver's license – we may need a valid ID to rent a new place.† â€Å"A new place?† â€Å"We have to move, Tommy. I told Inspectors Rivera and Cavuto that I would leave town. You don't think they'll check?† There had been two homicide detectives who had followed the trail of bodies to the old vampire, and ultimately the discovery of Jody's delicate condition. She'd promised them that she'd take the old vampire and leave town if they'd let her go. â€Å"Oh yeah,† Tommy said. â€Å"That means I can't go back to work at the Safeway either?† He wasn't stupid, she knew he wasn't stupid, so why was he so slow to see the obvious? â€Å"No, I don't think that would be a good idea,† Jody said. â€Å"Since you're going to pass out cold at sunrise, just the way I do.† â€Å"Yeah, that'd be embarrassing,† Tommy said. â€Å"Especially when sunlight hits you and you burst into flames.† â€Å"Yeah, there's got to be company policy against that.† Jody screamed in frustration. â€Å"Jeez, kidding,† Tommy said, cringing. She sighed, realizing that he'd been goofing on her. â€Å"Get dressed, cat breath, we don't want to run out of dark. We're going to need some help.† Out in the great room, the vampire Elijah Ben Sapir was trying to figure out exactly what was going on around him. He knew he had been constrained – bound inside a vessel, and whatever held him was immovable. He'd even turned to mist, which relieved his anxiety somewhat – there was an ethereal mind-set that accompanied the form, it took concentration to not let yourself just float off in a daze – but the bronze shell was airtight. He could hear them talking, but their comments told him little except that his fledgling had betrayed him. He smiled to himself. What a foolishly human mistake to let hope triumph over reason. He should have known better. It would be days before the hunger was on him again, and even then, without any movement, he could last indefinitely without blood. He could live a very, very long time constrained like this, he realized – it was his sanity that would suffer. He decided to stay in mist form – drift as in a dream at night, sleep like the dead during the day. This way, he would wait, and when the time came, and it would come (if nothing else, living for eight hundred years had taught him patience), he would make his move. Chapter Five The Emperor of San Francisco Two in the morning. Normally, the Emperor of San Francisco would have been tucked in behind a Dumpster with the royal guard snuggled around him for warmth, snoring like a congested bulldozer, but tonight he had been undone by the generosity of a Starbucks froth slave in Union Square who had donated a bucket-sized Holiday Spice Mochaccino to the cause of royal comfort, thus leaving the Emperor and his two companions jangled, wandering the wee hours on a nearly deserted Market Street, waiting for breakfast time to roll around. â€Å"Like crack with cinnamon,† said the Emperor. He was a great, boiler tank of a man, an ambling meat locomotive in a wool overcoat, his face a firebox of intensity, framed with a gray tempest of hair and beard such as are found only on gods and lunatics. Bummer, the smaller of the troops, a Boston terrier, snorted and tossed his head. He'd lapped up some of the rich coffee broth himself, and felt ready to tear ass out of any rodent or pastrami sandwich that might cross his path. Lazarus, normally the calmer of the two, a golden retriever, pranced and leapt at the Emperor's side as if it might start raining ducks any minute – a recurring nightmare among retrievers. â€Å"Steady, gents,† the Emperor chided. â€Å"Lets us use this inopportune alertness to inspect a less frantic city than we find in the day, and determine where we might be of service.† The Emperor believed that the first duty of any leader was to serve the weakest of his people, and he made an effort to pay attention to the city around him, lest someone fall through the cracks and be lost. Clearly he was a loon. â€Å"Calm, good fellows,† he said. But calm was not coming. The smell of cat was tall in the air and the men were jacked on Java. Lazarus barked once and bolted down the sidewalk, followed closely by his bug-eyed brother-in-arms, the two descending on a dark figure that lay curled up around a cardboard sign on the traffic island at Battery Street, beneath a massive bronze statue that depicted four muscular men working a metal press. It had always looked to the Emperor like four guys molesting a stapler. Bummer and Lazarus sniffed the man beneath the statue, sure that he had to have a cat concealed among his rags somewhere. When a cold nose hit a hand, the Emperor saw the man move, and breathed a sigh of relief. With a closer look, the Emperor recognized him as William with the Huge Cat. They knew each other to nod hello, but because of racial tensions between their respective canine and feline companions, the two had never become friends. The Emperor knelt on the man's cardboard sign and jostled him. â€Å"William, wake up.† William groaned and an empty Johnny Walker Black bottle slid out of his overcoat. â€Å"Dead drunk, perhaps,† said the Emperor, â€Å"but fortunately, not dead.† Bummer whimpered. Where was the cat? The Emperor propped William up against the concrete base of the statue. William groaned. â€Å"He's gone. Gone. Gone. Gone.† The Emperor picked up the empty scotch bottle and sniffed it. Yes, it had recently held scotch. â€Å"William, was this full?† William grabbed the cardboard sign off the sidewalk and propped it in his lap. â€Å"Gone,† he said. The sign read I AM POOR AND SOMEONE STOLE MY HUGE CAT. â€Å"My deepest sympathies,† said the Emperor. He was about to ask William how he had managed to procure a fifth of top-shelf scotch, when he heard a long, feline yowl echo down the street, and looked up to see a huge shaved cat, in a red sweater, heading their way. He managed to catch hold of Bummer and Lazarus's collars before they darted after the cat, and dragged them away from William. The huge cat leapt into William's lap and the two commenced a drunken reunion embrace that involved quantities of purring, baby talk, and drool, enough that the Emperor had to fight down a little nausea at the sight of it. Even the royal hounds had to look away, the two realizing instinctively that a maudlin and shaved, thirty-five-pound cat in a red sweater was clearly above their pay grade. There was just no doggy protocol for it, and presently they began to turn in circles on the sidewalk, as if looking for a good place to feign a nap. â€Å"William, I believe someone has shaved your cat,† said the Emperor. â€Å"That would be me,† said Tommy Flood as he came around the side of the traffic island, scaring the bejeezus out of everyone there. A pale and delicate hand reached out from behind the island, grabbed the collar of Tommy's coat, and snatched him back around the corner as if he were a rag doll. â€Å"Tommy?† called the Emperor. The big man stalked around the concrete art bunker. Bummer and Lazarus had headed back down the street toward the waterfront, as if they had just seen a particularly fetching porterhouse steak hopping around down there that needed to be investigated. The Emperor found his friend C. Thomas Flood, held tight in the clutches of his girlfriend, Jody Stroud, the vampire, who had her hand pressed tightly over Tommy's mouth and was furiously giving him noogies with the knuckle of her other hand. There was a hollow popping each time she connected, and muted cries from Tommy. â€Å"Jody, I must insist that you unhand the young man,† insisted the Emperor. And she did. Tommy twisted out of her grasp. â€Å"Ow!† Tommy said, rubbing his head. â€Å"Sorry,† Jody said. â€Å"Couldn't be helped.† â€Å"I thought you were going to leave the city with that fiend,† said the Emperor. He had been there, with the royal hounds and Tommy's crew from the Safeway, when they'd done battle with the old vampire at the St. Francis Yacht Club. â€Å"Well, yes, of course. He left already and I'm going to join him,† Jody said. â€Å"Just like I promised Inspector Rivera. But I wanted to make sure that Tommy was going to be all right before I left.† The Emperor liked Jody, and had been a little disappointed when he found that she was a bloodsucking fiend, but she was a pleasant girl nonetheless, and had always been generous with treats for the men, despite Bummer's dropping into yapping fits in her presence. â€Å"Well then, I suppose that will have to do,† said the Emperor. â€Å"It appears that our young writer does require some adult supervision before being set loose on the City.† â€Å"Hey, I do okay,† Tommy said. â€Å"You shaved the cat,† said the Emperor, raising a wild eyebrow that looked like a gray squirrel with a Mohawk. â€Å"I – uh, we were testing him out, to see if I should get a cat to keep me company after Jody leaves.† He looked at Jody, who nodded enthusiastically while trying to look wide-eyed and sincere. â€Å"And†¦ and,† Tommy continued, â€Å"I was chewing some bubble gum, you know, the kind that you can blow really big bubbles with – well, long story short, before I knew it, Chet had lunged at one of my bubbles and was completely covered with bubble gum.† Jody quit nodding and just stared at him. â€Å"So you shaved him,† the Emperor added. Now it was Tommy's turn to nod and look sincere. â€Å"Regrettably.† Jody was nodding again, too. â€Å"Regrettably,† she echoed. â€Å"I see,† said the Emperor. They certainly seemed sincere. â€Å"Well, the sweater was considerate.† â€Å"My idea,† Jody said. â€Å"You know so he doesn't get chilled. It's actually my sweater. Tommy washed it and put it in the dryer, so it's a little too small for me.† â€Å"And don't think it was easy getting a cat that size into a sweater,† Tommy said. â€Å"It was like trying to dress a ball of razor wire. I'm cut to ribbons.† He pushed his sleeves up to expose his forearms, which were distinctly not cut to ribbons. They were, in fact, unmarked, if a little pale. â€Å"Well, good show, then,† the Emperor said, backing away. â€Å"The men and I will be on our way, then.† â€Å"Do you guys need anything, Your Majesty?† Jody asked. â€Å"No, no, we have been most fortunate this evening. Most fortunate indeed.† â€Å"Well, take care, then,† Jody said, even as the Emperor backed around the corner and headed up the street. She can be deceptively pleasant for a blood-drinking agent of evil, the Emperor thought. Bummer and Lazarus were almost out of sight, four blocks ahead. They had known, the rascals. The Emperor was disgusted with himself, leaving William there like that, at the mercy of the fiends. There was no telling what they might do, the two of them, but he felt fear chilling his spine and he couldn't make himself turn around. Perhaps they wouldn't hurt poor William. After all, they had been sweet children in life, both of them. And even in her current state, Jody had shown a certain quality of mercy by waiting until now to turn Tommy. Still, he had a city he was responsible for, and he could not shirk that responsibility. It was a long walk to the Marina Safeway, but he had to reach it before the night crew left. As knavish as they might be, they were the only people in his city who actually had experience hunting vampires. â€Å"Bite him,† Tommy said. He was standing over the huge cat guy, who had passed out again under the statue. Jody shook her head and shuddered. â€Å"He's filthy. Don't tell me you can't smell that.† Since she'd become a vampire, she'd only experienced nausea when she tried to eat real food, but she was nauseated now, despite the hunger grating in her core. â€Å"Here, I'll clean off a spot.† Tommy fished a tissue out of his coat pocket, licked it, and cleaned a spot on William's neck. â€Å"There. Go for it.† â€Å"Yuck.† â€Å"I bit the cat,† Tommy said. â€Å"You said yourself that you were starving.† â€Å"But he's hammered.† Jody said. She was taking little steps in place like a little kid who has to pee. â€Å"Bite him.† â€Å"Quit saying ‘bite him. I don't think of it like that.† â€Å"How do you think of it?† â€Å"I don't really think of it. It's sort of an animal thing.† â€Å"Oh, I see,† Tommy said. â€Å"Bite him before some cops come along and take him away and you miss your chance.† â€Å"Ewww,† Jody said, kneeling beside William. Chet the huge cat looked up at her from William's lap, then put his head down and closed his eyes. (Blood loss had mellowed him.) Jody pushed William's head aside and reared back with her mouth open wide as her fangs extended. She closed her eyes and bit. â€Å"See how easy that was,† Tommy said. Jody glared at him without letting go, her breath rasping through her nose as she fed. She thought, I should have hit him harder when I had the chance. Finally, when she felt she'd taken enough to sustain her, but not enough to hurt the huge cat guy, she pulled away, sat down, and looked up at Tommy. â€Å"You've got a little – † Tommy gestured to the corner of her mouth. She wiped her mouth with her hand, came away with a little lipstick and a little blood. She looked at William's neck. It's was sort of a dirt-gray color, with a white spot rimmed in lipstick. The punctures from her fangs had already healed, but the lipstick sort of stood out like a target. She reached over and wiped the lipstick off with her palm, then wiped her palm off on the huge cat's sweater. Chet purred. William snored. Jody climbed to her feet. â€Å"How was it?† Tommy asked. â€Å"How do you think it was? It was necessary.† â€Å"Well, I mean, when you used to bite me it was kind of a sexual thing.† â€Å"Oh, right,† Jody snapped. â€Å"I planned all this because I wanted to fuck the huge cat guy.† She was feeling a little light-headed for some reason. â€Å"Sorry. We should get him off of Market Street,† Tommy said, â€Å"before he gets robbed or arrested. He's got to have some of the money left. That much alcohol would have killed him.† â€Å"The hell do you care, writer boy? You shaved and ate his cat. Or was that a sexual thing?† She was definitely feeling light-headed. â€Å"That was a mutual – â€Å" â€Å"Oh, bullshit. Bite him. See how sexual it is. Get a taste of that down-home human hemoglobin goodness, Tommy. Don't be a wuss,† Jody said. Well, he was being a wuss. Tommy stepped back. â€Å"You're drunk.† â€Å"And you're being a wuss,† Jody said. â€Å"Wuss, wuss, wuss.† â€Å"Help me. Take his feet. There's a sheltered alcove over by the Federal Reserve building across the street. He can sleep it off there.† Jody bent to take the guy's feet, but they seemed to move as she reached for them, and when she corrected, she missed, and fell forward, catching herself so that she was on all fours with her ass in the air. â€Å"Yeah, that worked,† Tommy said. â€Å"How about you take Chet and I'll carry the huge cat guy?† â€Å"Whadever, Mr. Wussyman,† Jody said. Maybe she was a little tipsy. In the old days, prevampire days, she'd tried to stay away from alcohol, because it turned out that she was sort of an obnoxious drunk. Or that's what her ex-friends had told her. Tommy picked up Chet the huge cat, who squirmed as he held him out to Jody. â€Å"Take him.† â€Å"You are not the head vampire here,† Jody said. â€Å"Fine,† Tommy said. He slung Chet under his arm and, in a single movement, scooped up the huge cat guy and threw him over his shoulder with the other arm. â€Å"Careful crossing the street,† Tommy called back to her as he crossed. â€Å"Ha!† Jody said. â€Å"I am a finely tuned predator. I am a superbeing. I – † And at that point she bounced her forehead off a light pole with a dull twang and was suddenly lying on her back looking at the streetlights above her, which kept going out of focus, the bastards. â€Å"I'll be back to get you,† Tommy called. He's so sweet, Jody thought.

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PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN - Coursework Example In various departments, I have supported nurses to upgrade and improve services. Record your statements of philosophy of Nursing and of personal philosophy. Explain how these are reflected the values, vision, and personal interests that you recorded in your â€Å"My Vision and Interests† tool. I am committed to accept and respect the unique way in which patients’ view themselves and their world. I have taken nursing as a lifelong learning process guided by ethical values congruent with nursing practice (Wright, Flis & Gupta (2008). I am accountable for practice and participate fully in interdisciplinary activities as part of professional-practice. I am mindful and stop regularly to ascertain my mental state to stay connected to my thoughts and actions as a nurse. I consider my relatively small effort to be of essence and thus I look for opportunities to collaborate with teams to make a large impact.  I get practical experience when facilitating patient care and always try new things to improve the community I work for and with (Risjord, 2011). Clearly utilize information from the Assessment Tools as the basis for formulating your goals. Develop a list of prioritized goals based on your assessments. Goals must be stated in measurable terms, i.e., how can you tell you have accomplished that goal? Identify dates for accomplishing each goal. Apply knowledge and skills from learnt theory, research and practice within the first 3 to 6 months of working. By the fifth year, I need to be competent by collecting the most important data from patients and advocating for patients’ rights, services and treatment regimes. I plan to take further courses that will provide me with specialized skills in neonatal nursing care to offer training to fellow nurses and communities by the next 10 years (Floodet al., 2010). I intend to make use of collaborative

The Financial Statement With the Continental Model Emphasizing Research Paper

The Financial Statement With the Continental Model Emphasizing Creditors Protection - Research Paper Example One practical difference that comes immediately to mind as a result of the above factors, is the different method of depreciation followed in the United Kingdom and Germany, which are at the opposite ends of the spectrum. Whereas in the United Kingdom depreciation is determined according to custom with, â€Å"convention and pragmatism, rather than exact rules†¦[determining] the method of depreciation, estimates of the scrap value and the expected length of life† (Ferrari L 2005). In Germany on the other hand, tax regulations lay down all these aspects in detail, leaving no room for subjectivity or manipulation. Needless to say, the financial statements of the same company prepared using different accounting practices would have different degrees of transparency. The more transparent the financial statement, the higher the quality and the more its value to investors and shareholders. Another difference lies in the realm of public disclosure. On the Continent, shareholdings are likely to be concentrated in the hands of a few institutional investors like banks and contacts between the company and the bank are likely to be kept confidential. Whereas, when there are more diverse shareholders, public disclosure is more common, allowing a greater number of people to asses the financial viability of a company and its future prospects and potential for growth. These differences in accounting practices, however, are a handicap in the increasingly globalized marketplace. Differences between accounting systems make it difficult to compare the relative worth of a company from an investor’s point of view, especially when the investor could well be from yet another country.

Texting While Driving Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Texting While Driving - Essay Example The familiar text tone emitted from my mobile phone that was holstered in its holder clip in front of my air-conditioning vent. I glanced down at it and saw the information â€Å"1 new text: Mother†. Having driven down this road many times before, and often times answering text messages as I did that, I thought nothing of grabbing my phone from its holder and opening the message to read it, glancing up at the road once in a while to make sure I did not crash into a tree or something. She was worried that I had left without having any breakfast and I had forgotten to tell her that I was leaving early. She just wanted to know where I was headed out to. As I began answering the message, another message came in from my best friend, which I also felt an immediate need to respond to. Pretty soon, I was driving with one hand and texting with the other while my eyes darted back and forth between the two activities that divided my brain concentration. Then I suddenly heard a bump and m y car thudded over whatever it was that was lying on the road that I had not seen. I got down from the car and checked under neath. I had hit an obviously family owned dog whose master was currently running towards me, shouting in anger. Although I had taken the animal to the vet and paid for the medical expenses, a police officer still came over to investigate what happened.

To what degree is Evolutionary Psychology successful in providing Essay

To what degree is Evolutionary Psychology successful in providing reductive explanations of human behaviour - Essay Example Jealous rages, for instance can easily be justified as a means to protect reproductive access and ensure that your own resources only go to your own offspring; protecting your own investment. (Buss, 2000), (Downes, 2001) Many anti-social behaviors can be justified in the interest of mere individial prosperity in a world of nature 'red in tooth and claw' as it were. Base survival for one organism is not sufficient for long-term evolutionary success. Those that most influence future generations genetically would then exhibit behavioral mechanisms that encourage efficient transmission of their genes, and maximize survival of offspring; which often means, in a context of limited resources hostility against one's own kind.Extremes of this behavior can be found in species ranging from polar bears to mice, where death of newborns at the hands of competing males is instinctual, so that one's own offspring have priority access to the resources of survival. (Derocher, et al. 1999) But in contr ast, any discussion of evolutionary psychology and its reductionary behavioral 2 implications would of course be incomplete without a discussion concerning altruism. Altruistic behaviors can find many justifications for communal species, including herd/flock animals and social insects. Assisting in the survival of the group will help one's fellows to survive; should that trait become established in the population it will foster a social structure that permits the survival of more members. Should multiple instances of a social-altruist trait become extant in the population, each instance should create a compounded likelihood of preserving itself. But that is the difficulty; getting multiple instances of that trait at the same time. In the long-run, the premise of advantage via co-survival appears supportable. But one must ask the question, if a wildebeast evolves with a strong instinct to protect others of its herd, that trait might not become extant in the population because such an organism would logically protect other members regardless of whether they share his altrusitic feelings; thereby a gene that triggers that behavior could also be beneficial to organisms which lack that gene. Which would seem to work against its own self-perpetuation. In large populations that lack altruism that outcome seems much more probable, that the lonely, good-samaritan organism must help his uncaring fellows, while at the same time still competing with them for food and mates. It may benefit the herd, but will be a detriment to that individual. It is easy then, to understand herd-animals that do not necessarily respond with any altrusitic tendencies that would put themselves at risk. Yes, swimming in a school makes it more difficult for a shark to focus on a single fish; but no member of that school will put itself at risk to try and coax a fellow out of a hazard, or confront a predator. When the lion approaches, all gazelles will run, although, if they were each to attack i n mass, it is probable they could kill a single lion; yet there would be no individual advantage for the gazelle that first manifests genes encouraging that trait. He would most likely become the one that was eaten before he could reproductively spread his valor to the rest of the population. What is needed then, in that case is a

Strategic Issues Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Strategic Issues Paper - Essay Example The Aerospace and Defense Industry is also reeling under the pressure of rising fuel prices. This is evident from the fact that the Boeing Aircrafts manufacturing company’s response to the said problem, which pointed at the rise in demand for fuel efficient planes owing to the constant upsurge in global oil prices. Rising fuel consumption and an equally simultaneous rise in fuel prices are a matter of grave concern for the organizations in almost all the sectors of the economy, which are increasingly finding it difficult to cope with such external threats and have been trying to battle these external environmental forces with innovative strategies. The company is over booked with demand for such fuel efficient planes which has far exceeded the supply (Boeing Comments, 2008). Faced by the problem of growing customer concerns about the environmental hazards caused by some of the poisonous substances used in the manufacture of PCs and other similar electronic devises, Dell Computer Electronics, developed and launched its Sustainable Business Development Program, that dealt with such problems, with a promise to contribute towards the cause of greener and cleaner environment and at the same time achieving its overall organizational goals of steady economic development (Dell, 2008) . Several manufacturing companies across the globe, today, are increasingly facing problems from the high rate of penetration of low cost manufacturers from emerging countries especially from India and China. The fact that the cost of production cycle depends largely on the availability of raw materials, as well as, the availability of low cost and cheap labor. These two countries have a talented pool of human resource in abundance which they use to their advantage by producing cost effective and good quality products. The saturation in the Western markets as well as the high cost of labor, is further making things difficult for the western

3 essay about Jay Greenberg, Philip Glass, and Tan Dun

3 about Jay Greenberg, Philip Glass, and Tan Dun - Essay Example I am talking about the likes of Mozart, and Mendelssohn, and Saent-Saens.† (Schorn, â€Å"Bluejay Spreads his Wings†). Greenberg felt attached to music since the earliest years of his life having started to play the cello at the age of three or two. Interestingly, Jay’s mother does not have any musical education and his father is a professor at Yale University teaching Slavic Languages. His next instrument was the piano and his first composition was created when he was just six. The subsequent year he started taking lessons from Anthony Johnson, and in three years Jay entered the Julliard School of Music having won a scholarship to study composition (â€Å"Jay Greenberg†). Having received considerable training in music theory, piano and ear training, Jay took classes at Yale University. He is known to currently study at Cambridge in the UK. Similarly to some other composers, Jay says he hears some music that is being performed inside his head. Moreover, he is able to hear a few pieces at once. He then notates the music he has just heard. This is how he writes his music. By the way, Jay composes his pieces with the help of the computer through the music notation program. The directions of his work include solo, chamber and orchestral music, with his unique talent being spotted by Sony Classical and IMG Artists which signed exclusive contracts with him. Jay’s music has been described as â€Å"accomplished† (Los Angeles Times), having â€Å"21st century tonality, excitement, and lyricism† (The Washington Post), having â€Å"verve of the rhythms and invention in harmonies† (The New York Times). His most important works include â€Å"Quintet for Strings†, â€Å"Symphony No. 5†, â€Å"Violin Concerto†, â€Å"Four Scenes†, â€Å"Concerto for Piano Trio and Orchestra† (â€Å"Jay Greenberg†). One of his latest works is a song called â€Å"I still keep mute† which was set to the Nabokov’s poem. Philip

Reply to this student post Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Reply to this student post - Coursework Example cked by the current healthcares systems considering the efforts she made in trying to make healthcare accessible and affordable to all without biasness. I agree with this statement. The current healthcare system is wanting and only takes care of the interests of financially capable in the society. That notwithstanding, not many can afford health insurance and therefore resort to seeking services at hospital in the event that they need medical assistance. As indicated in the post, Wald managed to create a relationship between public heath care nursing and healthcares insurance. I particularly agree with the fact that this move led to reduced hospital visits and if the same scheme would be implemented today, hospital visits would certainly be reduced as well. This initiative would go a long way in transforming the current healthcare system that is marred with prejudices. However, I fail to agree with the fact that patients need to be educated to ensure their compliance with their care plans. Mush more needs to be done apart from education alone. It would be needless to educate the patients if the healthcare system itself does not have the goodwill to give the patients a chance to be compliant with their care plans and meet their healthcare

Managing Human Resource in Health and Social Care Essay

Managing Human Resource in Health and Social Care - Essay Example Current approaches in human resources suggest a number of weaknesses: a hasty, stop-gap attitude towards problems of human resources; dispersion of accountability within human resources management (HRM); a limited notion of personnel administration that fails to include all aspects of HRM; and finally the short-term outlook of HRM (Dussault & Dubois, 2004, p.iii). Performance monitoring and promoting Performance should be monitored in the health and social care system, as they are instrumental in stimulating, creating and maintaining health and social care improvement. Around the world, rapidly changing landscape between acute and chronic diseases is placing various demands on the health and social care workforce. To provide effective health and social care for chronic conditions, the skills of the health care professional have to be extended along with the existing ones, to fulfill the new complicated situations. First, the workforce must adopt a patient-centric approach. Second, se rvice providers need the necessary communication expertise, which should enable them to cooperate with other providers and patients. Third, the workforce must equip with expertise to ensure that the security and quality of patient care is continuously improved. Fourth, the workforce needs expertises that assist them in checking patients across time and using and sharing information through available technology. Finally, the workforce must develop broadest perspective to consider patient’s care and provider’s role (WHO, 2005, pp.11-12). Methods of Monitoring Performance Management by walking around: Getting out of your office and being physically present on a regular basis is an important place to start. One will gain a great sense of â€Å"what’s going on†Ã¢â‚¬â€as well as a first-hand feel for what is not understood or what needs to better communicate. Managers of a health and social care unit should take ad-hoc approach in this case. They can visit and revisit same premises during change of shifts of nursing staffs with special emphasis on the ICU after a critical surgery to check the activities of nursing and other staffs. Visits or walking around monitoring without any prior notice is very important in a health care set up where work division is very important. Visiting the reception at least thrice a day by the management personnel is very important because that is where the patients get the first impression about the care they would get within the unit. 360-degree assessment: It involves polling various people who have contact with a particular employee, to get an idea about the employee’s performance. The employee also is polled regarding his or her own performance, with those results then compared to the feedback collected from others. People involved respond to speci?c questions on a feedback form. One can either make up your own form or purchase a generic one developed for use within your business area (Dorio and S helly, 2011, pp.61-64). The required staff should to be evaluated occasionally (in six months or annually) by many evaluators including his boss, direct subordinates, equals, internal clientele and external clientele. In a hospital doctors can provide feedback about nurses and vice versa. And it is quite possible about feedback among intra-nurses or intra-doctors can be used for performance monitoring purposes. Identifying training and development needs- Assessment for

V8 engine block assambley Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

V8 engine block assambley - Research Paper Example The first thing to go onto the block is the cam shaft. It is important to keep very clean while installing all engine components. It is important to lube the cam while installing. Second, the crank shaft must be installed and checked. After the crank shaft is installed it is necessary to install the rear main seal with gaskets if needed. Third, the timing gear and chains need to be properly installed. After the timing is accurate, the oil wrist pins, rod bearing and the rings need to be properly installed on the pistons. Next, it is important to properly oil all cylinders, bearing, rings and crankshaft. Then it is very important to install the pistons. The pistons need to be at a certain compression to prevent damage. After the pistons are installed, make sure all rods and pistons are in the correct spot. This can be achieved by proper torque of all rod nuts. Then it is important to install the timing cover and oil pump, followed by head gaskets, head, and bolts. At this time the valves need to be set. Finally, the valve covers can be installed and the engine is

Black world study reflection paper, based on reading and viewing Essay - 1

Black world study reflection paper, based on reading and viewing materials - Essay Example In the early 60s, stereotyping was rife in United States whereby people from certain races were subjected to discrimination. In a bid to oppose the treatment, many resorted to art using music and other forms. With time, the Americans recognized very race courtesy of art demonstrated by many artists. For this reason, it is appropriate to agree that â€Å"dance, poetry, music can bring difference in this country and in this world† (Brown, p.2). To cement this point, various movies have been released where the oppression in many Islamic countries happen. As a result, some countries like Qatar have lately been viewed as civilized due to its approach to various issues. Additional, singer Elton John, a renowned gay activist has transformed the way same-sex marriages are viewed through music. As a result, same-sex marriages have been legalized and the couples are treated the same as heterosexuals. From the case materials, the story of Primus proves beyond reasonable doubt the power of art. Even though stereotypes still exists in today’s society, it is appropriate to state that much of the change that has been witness is due to art. For instance, in the case of Primus, the owner at the Cafà © society judged her as per her appearance. However, upon insisting for a chance, Primus, â€Å"danced with such skill and enthusiasm at her audition that she earned a coveted slot as a Cafà © Society entertainer† (p.13). From the above explanation, it is clear that afterwards, the perception towards Primus change thanks to art. It is for this reasons that emphasis is made on the power of art. Indeed, it has the capability to change the society but only when given a chance. Racism issues in United States were rampant but one of the people who actively participated in its end was primus. Interestingly, to do this, ‘she waged her artistic and political fight for

Government Leader Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Government Leader - Essay Example Government, with the authority to make laws, to adjudicate disputes, and to issue administrative decisions, and with a monopoly of authorized force where it fails to persuade, is an indispensable means, proximately, to the peace of communal life." (Government, Wikipedia.org) Running a country is not an easy task, it involves several roles and duties, and above all, it requires trying to maintain the audience satisfied. A good government leader and his/her should execute these tasks and skills to produce a decent outcome. With that in mind, I believe it is appropriate to compare some of the tasks of a government leader with the tasks of a Project Manager. According to Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia, a "Project Manager is required to plan, organize, and control", the same as a government leader in most aspects. (Project Management, Wikipedia.org) The Government leader should define specific objectives and generate a series of plans in order to reach his/her specific goals. He/she should not be limited to a single goal, since the needs of a country or a region are several, and the hopes are also high. Moreover, in some well established governments, the overall goals have been set previously and there is no need to reformulate them, just to continue working on them. On the other hand, there are countries that are constantly redefining its goals and any new leader recently sworn in, needs to start from zero. An example of the first statement is the hard work produced by the founding fathers of America. Mainly they needed to create a free country, ready to develop and grow as they continued moving west. During those days, the tasks were not as complicated as they are today; however, they managed to set goals that are still good during our current time: Life, liberty and pursuit of happiness. (Magna Carta and its American Legacy, www.fa-ir.org) An example of the contrasting situation would be Bolivia, a country that has been experiencing a series of radical changes, ranging from the creation of a new constitution to the nationalization of industries that have privatized during

Educational psychology Essay Example for Free

Educational psychology Essay Education in its general sense is a form of learning in which the knowledge, skills, and habits of a group of people are transferred from one generation to the next through teaching, training, or research. Education frequently takes place under the guidance of others, but may also be autodidactic. [1] Any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts may be considered educational. Education is commonly divided into stages such as preschool, primary school, secondary school and then college, university or apprenticeship. A right to education has been recognized by some governments. At the global level, Article 13 of the United Nations 1966 International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights recognizes the right of everyone to an education. [2] Although education is compulsory in most places up to a certain age, attendance at school often isnt, and a minority of parents choose home-schooling, e-learning or similar for their children. Contents [hide] 1 Etymology 2 History 3 Formal education 3. 1 Preschool 3. 2 Primary 3. 3 Secondary 3. 4 Tertiary (higher) 3. 5 Vocational 3. 6 Special 4 Other educational forms 4. 1 Alternative 4. 2 Indigenous 4. 3 Informal learning 4. 4 Self-directed learning 4. 5 Open education and e-learning 5 Development goals 5. 1 Internationalization 5. 2 Education and technology in developing countries 5. 3 Private v public funding in developing countries 6 Educational theory 6. 1 Purpose of schools 6. 2 Educational psychology 6. 3 Learning modalities 6. 4 Philosophy 6. 5 Curriculum 6. 6 Instruction 7 Economics 8 See also 9 References 10 External links Etymology[edit] Etymologically, the word education is derived from the Latin educatio (A breeding, a bringing up, a rearing) from educo (I educate, I train) which is related to the homonym educo (I lead forth, I take out; I raise up, I erect) from e- (from, out of) and duco (I lead, I conduct). [3] Education can take place in formal or informal educational settings. History[edit] Main article: History of education Nalanda, ancient center for higher learning Platos academy, mosaic from Pompeii Education began in the earliest prehistory, as adults trained the young of their society in the knowledge and skills they would need to master and eventually pass on. In pre-literate societies this was achieved orally and through imitation. Story-telling continued from one generation to the next. As cultures began to extend their knowledge beyond skills that could be readily learned through imitation, formal education developed. Schools existed in Egypt at the time of the Middle Kingdom. [4] A depiction of the University of Bologna, Italy, founded in 1088 Matteo Ricci (left) and Xu Guangqi (right) in the Chinese edition of Euclids Elements published in 1607 Plato founded the Academy in Athens, the first institution of higher learning in Europe. [5] The city of Alexandria in Egypt, founded in 330 BCE, became the successor to Athens as the intellectual cradle of Ancient Greece. There mathematician Euclid and anatomist Herophilus; constructed the great Library of Alexandria and translated the Hebrew Bible into Greek. European civilizations suffered a collapse of literacy and organization following the fall of Rome in AD 476. [6] In China, Confucius (551-479 BCE), of the State of Lu, was Chinas most influential ancient philosopher, whose educational outlook continues to influence the societies of China and neighbours like Korea, Japan and Vietnam. He gathered disciples and searched in vain for a ruler who would adopt his ideals for good governance, but his Analects were written down by followers and have continued to influence education in East Asia into the modern era. [citation needed] After the Fall of Rome, the Catholic Church became the sole preserver of literate scholarship in Western Europe. The church established cathedral schools in the Early Middle Ages as centers of advanced education. Some of these ultimately evolved into medieval universities and forebears of many of Europes modern universities. [6] During the High Middle Ages, Chartres Cathedral operated the famous and influential Chartres Cathedral School. The medieval universities of Western Christendom were well-integrated across all of Western Europe, encouraged freedom of enquiry and produced a great variety of fine scholars and natural philosophers, including Thomas Aquinas of the University of Naples, Robert Grosseteste of the University of Oxford, an early expositor of a systematic method of scientific experimentation;[7] and Saint Albert the Great, a pioneer of biological field research. [8] The University of Bologne is considered the oldest continually operating university. Elsewhere during the Middle Ages, Islamic science and mathematics flourished under the Islamic caliphate established across the Middle East, extending from the Iberian Peninsula in the west to the Indus in the east and to the Almoravid Dynasty and Mali Empire in the south. The Renaissance in Europe ushered in a new age of scientific and intellectual inquiry and appreciation of ancient Greek and Roman civilizations. Around 1450, Johannes Gutenberg developed a printing press, which allowed works of literature to spread more quickly. The European Age of Empires saw European ideas of education in philosophy, religion, arts and sciences spread out across the globe. Missionaries and scholars also brought back new ideas from other civilisations — as with the Jesuit China missions who played a significant role in the transmission of knowledge, science, and culture between China and Europe, translating works from Europe like Euclids Elements for Chinese scholars and the thoughts of Confucius for European audiences. The Enlightenment saw the emergence of a more secular educational outlook in Europe. In most countries today, education is compulsory for all children up to a certain age. Due to this the proliferation of compulsory education, combined with population growth, UNESCO has calculated that in the next 30 years more people will receive formal education than in all of human history thus far. [9] Formal education[edit] Systems of schooling involve institutionalized teaching and learning in relation to a curriculum, which itself is established according to a predetermined purpose of the schools in the system. School systems are sometimes also based on religions, giving them different curricula. Preschool[edit] Young children in a kindergarten in Japan Main article: Early childhood education Preschools provide education up to the age of between 4 and 8 when children enter primary education. Also known as nursery schools and as kindergarten, except in the USA, where kindergarten is a term used for primary education. Preschool education is important because it can give a child the edge in a competitive world and education climate. [citation needed] While children who do not receive the fundamentals during their preschool years will be taught the alphabet, counting, shapes and colors and designs when they begin their formal education they will be behind the children who already possess that knowledge. The true purpose behind kindergarten is to provide a child-centered, preschool curriculum for three to seven year old children that aimed at unfolding the childs physical, intellectual, and moral nature with balanced emphasis on each of them. [10] This period of education is very important in the formative years of the child. Teachers with special skills and training are needed at this time to nurture the children to develop their potentials. [citation needed] Primary[edit] School children line, in Kerala, India Main article: Primary education Primary (or elementary) education consists of the first 5–7 years of formal, structured education. In general, primary education consists of six or eight years of schooling starting at the age of five or six, although this varies between, and sometimes within, countries. Globally, around 89% of primary-age children are enrolled in primary education, and this proportion is rising. [11] Under the Education For All programs driven by UNESCO, most countries have committed to achieving universal enrollment in primary education by 2015, and in many countries, it is compulsory for children to receive primary education. The division between primary and secondary education is somewhat arbitrary, but it generally occurs at about eleven or twelve years of age. Some education systems have separate middle schools, with the transition to the final stage of secondary education taking place at around the age of fourteen. Schools that provide primary education, are mostly referred to as primary schools. Primary schools in these countries are often subdivided into infant schools and junior school. In India, compulsory education spans over twelve years, out of which children receive elementary education for 8 years. Elementary schooling consists of five years of primary schooling and 3 years of upper primary schooling. Various states in the republic of India provide 12 years of compulsory school education based on a national curriculum framework designed by the National Council of Educational Research and Training. Secondary[edit] Students working with a teacher at Albany Senior High School, New Zealand Main article: Secondary education In most contemporary educational systems of the world, secondary education comprises the formal education that occurs during adolescence. It is characterized by transition from the typically compulsory, comprehensive primary education for minors, to the optional, selective tertiary, post-secondary, or higher education (e. g. university, vocational school) for adults. Depending on the system, schools for this period, or a part of it, may be called secondary or high schools, gymnasiums, lyceums, middle schools, colleges, or vocational schools. The exact meaning of any of these terms varies from one system to another. The exact boundary between primary and secondary education also varies from country to country and even within them, but is generally around the seventh to the tenth year of schooling. Secondary education occurs mainly during the teenage years. In the United States, Canada and Australia primary and secondary education together are sometimes referred to as K-12 education, and in New Zealand Year 1–13 is used. The purpose of secondary education can be to give common knowledge, to prepare for higher education or to train directly in a profession. The emergence of secondary education in the United States did not happen until 1910, caused by the rise in big businesses and technological advances in factories (for instance, the emergence of electrification), that required skilled workers. In order to meet this new job demand, high schools were created, with a curriculum focused on practical job skills that would better prepare students for white collar or skilled blue collar work. This proved  to be beneficial for both employers and employees, for the improvement in human capital caused employees to become more efficient, which lowered costs for the employer, and skilled employees received a higher wage than employees with just primary educational attainment. In Europe, grammar schools or academies date from as early as the 16th century, in the form of public schools, fee-paying schools, or charitable educational foundations, which themselves have an even longer history. Community colleges offer nonresidential junior college offering courses to people living in a particular area. Tertiary (higher)[edit] Students in a laboratory, Saint Petersburg State Polytechnical University See also: Higher education and Adult education Higher education, also called tertiary, third stage, or post secondary education, is the non-compulsory educational level that follows the completion of a school providing a secondary education, such as a high school or secondary school. Tertiary education is normally taken to include undergraduate and postgraduate education, as well as vocational education and training. Colleges and universities are the main institutions that provide tertiary education. Collectively, these are sometimes known as tertiary institutions. Tertiary education generally results in the receipt of certificates, diplomas, or academic degrees. Higher education generally involves work towards a degree-level or foundation degree qualification. In most developed countries a high proportion of the population (up to 50%) now enter higher education at some time in their lives. Higher education is therefore very important to national economies, both as a significant industry in its own right, and as a source of trained and educated personnel for the rest of the economy. University education includes teaching, research, and social services activities, and it includes both the undergraduate level (sometimes referred to as tertiary education) and the graduate (or postgraduate) level (sometimes referred to as graduate school). Universities are generally composed of several colleges. In the United States, universities can be private and independent like Yale University; public and state-governed like the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education; or independent but state-funded like the University of Virginia. A number of career specific courses are now available to students through the Internet. A liberal arts institution can be defined as a college or university curriculum aimed at imparting broad general knowledge and developing general intellectual capacities, in contrast to a professional, vocational, or technical curriculum. [12] Although what is known today as the liberal arts college began in Europe,[13] the term is more commonly associated with universities in the United States. [citation needed] Vocational[edit]. Carpentry is normally learned through apprenticeship. Main article: Vocational education Vocational education is a form of education focused on direct and practical training for a specific trade or craft. Vocational education may come in the form of an apprenticeship or internship as well as institutions teaching courses such as carpentry, agriculture, engineering, medicine, architecture and the arts. Special[edit] Main article: Special education In the past, those who were disabled were often not eligible for public education. Children with disabilities were often educated by physicians or special tutors. These early physicians (people like Itard, Seguin, Howe, Gallaudet) set the foundation for special education today. They focused on individualized instruction and functional skills. Special education was only provided to people with severe disabilities in its early years, but more recently it has been opened to anyone who has experienced difficulty learning. [14] Other educational forms[edit] Alternative[edit] Main article: Alternative education While considered alternative today, most alternative systems have existed since ancient times. After the public school system was widely developed beginning in the 19th century, some parents found reasons to be discontented with the new system. Alternative education developed in part as a reaction to perceived limitations and failings of traditional education. A broad range of educational approaches emerged, including alternative schools, self learning, homeschooling and unschooling. Example alternative schools include Montessori schools, Waldorf schools (or Steiner schools), Friends schools, Sands School, Summerhill School, The Peepal Grove School, Sudbury Valley School, Krishnamurti schools, and open classroom schools. To a greater or lesser degree, ideas from these experiments and challenges to the system may in time be adopted by the mainstream, as to a large degree has happened with kindergarten, an experimental approach to early childhood education developed by Friedrich Frobel in 19th century Germany. Other influential writers and thinkers have included the Swiss humanitarian Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi; the American transcendentalists Amos Bronson Alcott, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Henry David Thoreau; the founders of progressive education, John Dewey and Francis Parker; and educational pioneers such as Maria Montessori and Rudolf Steiner, and more recently John Caldwell Holt, Paul Goodman, Frederick Mayer, George Dennison and Ivan Illich. Indigenous[edit] Na Schoolyard. Teaching indigenous knowledge, models, methods in Yanyuan County, Sichuan in China Main article: Indigenous education Indigenous education refers to the inclusion of indigenous knowledge, models, methods and content within formal and non-formal educational systems. Often in a post-colonial context, the growing recognition and use of indigenous education methods can be a response to the erosion and loss of indigenous knowledge and language through the processes of colonialism. Furthermore, it can enable indigenous communities to reclaim and revalue their languages and cultures, and in so doing, improve the educational success of indigenous students. [15] Informal learning[edit]. Main article: informal learning Informal learning is one of three forms of learning defined by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Informal learning occurs in a variety of places, such as at home, work, and through daily interactions and shared relationships among members of society. For many learners this includes language acquisition, cultural norms and manners. Informal learning for young people is an ongoing process that also occurs in a variety of places, such as out of school time, in youth programs at community centers and media labs. Informal learning usually takes place outside educational establishments, does not follow a specified curriculum and may originate accidentally, sporadically, in association with certain occasions, from changing practical requirements. It is not necessarily planned to be pedagogically conscious, systematic and according to subjects, but rather unconsciously incidental, holistically problem-related, and related to situation management and fitness for life. It is experienced directly in its natural function of everyday life and is often spontaneous. The concept of education through recreation was applied to childhood development in the 19th century. [16] In the early 20th century, the concept was broadened to include young adults but the emphasis was on physical activities. [17] L. P. Jacks, also an early proponent of lifelong learning, described education through recreation: A master in the art of living draws no sharp distinction between his work and his play, his labour and his leisure, his mind and his body, his education and his recreation. He hardly knows which is which. He simply pursues his vision of excellence through whatever he is doing and leaves others to determine whether he is working or playing. To himself he always seems to be doing both. Enough for him that he does it well. [18] Education through recreation is the opportunity to learn in a seamless fashion through all of lifes activities. [19] The concept has been revived by the University of Western Ontario to teach anatomy to medical students. [19] Self-directed learning[edit]. Main article: Autodidacticism Autodidacticism (also autodidactism) is a contemplative, absorbing process, of learning on your own or by yourself, or as a self-teacher. Some autodidacts spend a great deal of time reviewing the resources of libraries and educational websites. One may become an autodidact at nearly any point in ones life. While some may have been informed in a conventional manner in a particular field, they may choose to inform themselves in other, often unrelated areas. Notable autodidacts include Abraham Lincoln (U. S. president), Srinivasa Ramanujan (mathematician), Michael Faraday (chemist and physicist), Charles Darwin (naturalist), Thomas Alva Edison (inventor), Tadao Ando (architect), George Bernard Shaw (playwright), Frank Zappa (composer, recording engineer, film director), and Leonardo da Vinci (engineer, scientist, mathematician). Open education and e-learning[edit] Main articles: Open education and E-learning In 2012, e-learning had grown at 14 times the rate of traditional learning. [clarification needed][20] Open education is fast growing to become the dominant form of education, for many reasons such as its efficiency and results compared to traditional methods. [21] Cost of education has been an issue throughout history, and a major political issue in most countries today. Open education is generally significantly cheaper than traditional campus based learning and in many cases even free. Many large university institutions are now starting to offer free or almost free full courses such as Harvard, MIT and Berkeley teaming up to form edX. Other universities offering open education are Stanford, Princeton, Duke, Johns Hopkins, Edinburgh, U. Penn, U. Michigan, U. Virginia, U. Washington, and Caltech. It has been called the biggest change in the way we learn since the printing press. [22] Many people despite favorable studies on effectiveness may still desire to choose traditional campus education for social and cultural reasons. [23] The conventional merit-system degree is currently not as common in open education as it is in campus universities, although some open universities do already offer conventional degrees such as the Open University in the United Kingdom. Presently, many of the major open education sources offer their own form of certificate. Due to the popularity of open education, these new kind of academic certificates are gaining more respect and equal academic value to traditional degrees. [24] Many open universities are working to have the ability to offer students standardized testing and traditional degrees and credentials. [citation needed] There has been a culture forming around distance learning for people who are looking to enjoy the shared social aspects that many people value in traditional on-campus education, which is not often directly offered from open education. [citation needed] Examples of this are people in open education forming study groups, meetups and movements such as UnCollege. Development goals[edit] World map indicating Education Index (according to 2007/2008 Human Development Report) Russia has more academic graduates than any other country in Europe. [when? ] (Chart does not include population statistics. ) Since 1909, the ratio of children in the developing world going to school has increased. Before then, a small minority of boys attended school. By the start of the 21st century, the majority of all children in most regions of the world attended school. There are 73 million children,[clarification needed] mostly female children in poor families, who did not start elementary school. There are more than 200 million children, mostly females from poor families, who did not go to secondary school. [25] Universal Primary Education is one of the eight international Millennium Development Goals, towards which progress has been made in the past decade, though barriers still remain. [26] Securing charitable funding from prospective donors is one particularly persistent problem. Researchers at the Overseas Development Institute have indicated that the main obstacles to receiving more funding for education include conflicting donor priorities, an immature aid architecture, and a lack of evidence and advocacy for the issue. [26] Additionally, Transparency International has identified corruption in the education sector as a major stumbling block to achieving Universal Primary Education in Africa. [27] Furthermore, demand in the developing world for improved educational access is not as high as foreigners have expected. Indigenous governments are reluctant to take on the recurrent costs involved. There is economic pressure from those parents who prefer their children to earn money in the short term rather than work towards the long-term benefits of education. [citation needed] A study conducted by the UNESCO International Institute for Educational Planning indicates that stronger capacities in educational planning and management may have an important spill-over effect on the system as a whole. [28] Sustainable capacity development requires complex interventions at the institutional, organizational and individual levels that could be based on some foundational principles: national leadership and ownership should be the touchstone of any intervention; strategies must be context relevant and context specific;[clarification needed] they should embrace an integrated set of complementary interventions, though implementation may need to proceed in steps;[clarification needed] partners should commit to a long-term investment in capacity development, while working towards some short-term achievements; outside intervention should be conditional on an impact assessment of national capacities at various levels; a certain percentage of students should be removed for improvisation of academics (usually practiced in schools, after 10th grade). Internationalization[edit]. Nearly every country now has Universal Primary Education. Similarities — in systems or even in ideas — that schools share internationally have led to an increase in international student exchanges. The European Socrates-Erasmus Program[29] facilitates exchanges across European universities. The Soros Foundation[30] provides many opportunities for students from central Asia and eastern Europe. Programs such as the International Baccalaureate have contributed to the internationalization of education. The global campus online, led by American universities, allows free access to class materials and lecture files recorded during the actual classes. Education and technology in developing countries[edit]. The OLPC laptop being introduced to children in Haiti Technology plays an increasingly significant role in improving access to education for people living in impoverished areas and developing countries. There are charities dedicated to providing infrastructures through which the disadvantaged may access educational materials, for example, the One Laptop per Child project. The OLPC foundation, a group out of MIT Media Lab and supported by several major corporations, has a stated mission to develop a $100 laptop for delivering educational software. The laptops were widely available as of 2008. They are sold at cost or given away based on donations. In Africa, the New Partnership for Africas Development (NEPAD) has launched an e-school program to provide all 600,000 primary and high schools with computer equipment, learning materials and internet access within 10 years. [31] An International Development Agency project called nabuur. com,[32] started with the support of former American President Bill Clinton, uses the Internet to allow co-operation by individuals on issues of social development. India is developing technologies that will bypass land-based telephone and Internet infrastructure to deliver distance learning directly to its students. In 2004, the Indian Space Research Organization launched EDUSAT, a  communications satellite providing access to educational materials that can reach more of the countrys population at a greatly reduced cost. [33] Private v public funding in developing countries[edit] Research into low cost private schools found that over 5 years to July 2013, debate around low-cost private schools to achieving Education for All (EFA) objectives was polarised and finding growing coverage in international policy. [34] The polarisation was due to disputes around whether the schools are affordable for the poor, reaching disadvantaged groups, provide quality education, supporting or undermining equality, and are financially sustainable. The report examined the main challenges that development organisations which support LCPSs have encountered. [34] Surveys suggest these types of schools are expanding across Africa and Asia and is attributed to excess demand. These surveys also found concern for: Equity, widely found in the literature, as the growth in low-cost private schooling may be exacerbating or perpetuating already existing inequalities in developing countries, between urban and rural populations, lower- and higher-income families, and between girls and boys. The report says findings are that LCPSs see evidence girls are underrepresented and that they are reaching some low-income families, often in small numbers compared with higher-income families. Quality of provision and educational outcomes: You cannot generalise about the quality of private schools. While most achieve better results than government counterparts, even after their social background is taken into account, some studies find the opposite. Quality in terms of levels of teacher absence, teaching activity and pupil to teacher ratios in some countries are better in LCPSs than in government schools. Choice and affordability for the poor: parents can choose private schools because of perceptions of better-quality teaching and facilities, and an English language instruction preference. Nevertheless, the concept of ‘choice’ does not apply in all contexts, or to all groups in society, partly because of limited affordability (which excludes most of the poorest) and other forms of exclusion, related to caste or social status. Cost-effectiveness and financial sustainability: Evidence is that private schools operate at low cost by keeping teacher salaries low, but their financial situation may be precarious where they are reliant on fees from low-income households. The report said there were some cases of successful voucher and subsidy programmes; evaluations of international support to the sector are not widespread. [34] Addressing regulatory ineffectiveness is a key challenge. Emerging approaches stress the importance of understanding the political economy of the market for LCPSs, specifically how relationships of power and accountability between users, government and private providers can produce better education outcomes for the poor. A class size experiment in the United States found that attending small classes for 3 or more years in the early grades increased high school graduation rates of students from low income families. [35] Main article: Educational theory Purpose of schools[edit] Individual purposes for pursuing education can vary. The understanding of the goals and means of educational socialization processes may also differ according to the sociological paradigm used. In the early years of schooling, the focus is generally around developing basic interpersonal communication and literacy skills in order to further ability to learn more complex skills and subjects. After acquiring these basic abilities, education is commonly focused towards individuals gaining necessary knowledge and skills to improve ability to create value and a livelihood for themselves. [36] Satisfying personal curiosities (education for the sake of itself) and desire for personal development, to better oneself without career based reasons for doing so are also common reasons why people pursue education and use schools. [37] Education is often understood to be a means of overcoming handicaps, achieving greater equality and acquiring wealth and status for all (Sargent 1994). Learners can also be motivated by their interest in the subject area or specific skill they are trying to learn. Learner-responsibility education models are driven by the interest of the learner in the topic to be studied. [38] Education is often perceived as a place where children can develop according to their unique needs and potentialities[39] with the purpose of developing every individual to their full potential. Educational psychology[edit] Main article: Educational psychology Educational psychology is the study of how humans learn in educational settings, the effectiveness of educational interventions, the psychology of teaching, and the social psychology of schools as organizations. Although the terms educational psychology and school psychology are often used interchangeably, researchers and theorists are likely to be identified as educational psychologists, whereas practitioners in schools or school-related settings are identified as school psychologists.