Computer Information System Case Analysis Study

Computer Information System Analysis - Case Study Example Information systems can be implemented by an organizations technology team or the organization can decide to outsource these services from a software vendor entity which subsequently charges for licensed use of the software. The information systems are intended to improve on the internal processes of the system, regardless of who actually owns the system. For instance, a banks transaction processing system is expected to operate optimally and automatically at any given time to support the core operations of the banking system. The functional features of any transaction processing system ought to provide support the everyday needs of an organization in terms of manage and execution of transactions processed by both the working staff and clients. The organization first weighs the benefits and limitations of using an information system before installing one. In the case given of the USA Cycling Group, the management recognized the essential need for an inventory system to successfully manage its growing client base. It is important to note the problem faced by an organization that leads to the need to acquire the services of an information system to propel business operations. Initially the organization has to identify the vital components that make up the traditional system of operation then use a tech savvy group to map out the system layout of the proposed information system. Additionally, the management procedures are clearly set with the authorized hardware, software and networking channels that are to be later used in governing the individuals who use the system. Furthermore, the conduction of a systems requirements analysis is important to help the software vendors or project development team in identifying the end users expectation of the end product. The security of a system, especially a transaction processing system has to be top notch to prevent the authorized access to confidential information by

Process Design Matrix Summary Essay Example for Free

Process Design Matrix Summary Essay This summary entails three process design approaches for a service providing organization (Chaparral Suits Hotel Resort) and for a small manufacturing organization (Something Sweet Bakery). Although process design varies for service and manufacturing organizations, â€Å"process design is a critical function in any operation† (Service versus Manufacturing Process Design Video). The three process design approaches that I pulled from the matrix are; design focal point, scheduling, and quality. I will explain how the same three process design approaches apply to each of these organizations in diverse industries. Process Design Approaches in a Service Organization This portion of the summary will illustrate how the three selected process design approaches are implemented in a service providing organization like Chaparral Suits Hotel Resort. Design Focal Point The first process design approach is the design focal point. With regards to Chaparral Suits Hotel Resort the design focal point is devised to meet the customers needs. For example, about 60% of the Chaparral’s customers are seeking relaxation. The other 40% are seeking a convenient place to conduct business. Chaparral’s caters to both customer needs by choosing to have the hotel in a Resort location as well as near major freeways and large business organizations. Scheduling Scheduling in a service providing industry like Chaparral Suites Hotel   Resort is essential for optimal performance. For example, during the off-season there is a higher rate of vacant rooms creating a dilemma of having excess staff. To deal with this yearly occurrence management has scheduled most of the employees paid time off during the off-season. Also, Chaparral uses websites like Expedia and Travelocity to try to sell any rooms not spoken for during the offseason. Furthermore, cross training is provided so that employees and resources can be shifted to where the higher workload is. Quality In a service providing industry quality is at the top of the list. If the company provides poor quality service they will loose their customer base to the competition. Chaparral Suits Hotel Resorts manager Tracy Milward states that they look for, â€Å"people –people when ever they are trying to hire and train folks for this industry† (Service versus Manufacturing Process Design Video). Also, staff is required comply with key performing indicators to track employees’ service quality primarily used for reception and customer service personnel. Process Design Approaches in a Manufacturing Organization This portion of the summary will illustrate how the three selected process design approaches are implemented in a manufacturing organization like Something Sweet Bakery. Design Focal Point The first process design approach is the design focal point. With regards to Something Sweet Bakery the design focal point is devised to meet the end users needs. For example, employees at Something Sweet Bakery will only bake pastry’s that are in demand at the moment. In essence, different pastry’s will be baked in different seasons. With regard to the location’s design focal point Something Sweet Bakery chose to set up shop in an upscale shopping center in Scottsdale, Arizona because of the high volume pedestrian traffic. The bakery was designed so that when the customers enter the bakery the aroma of fresh, delicious pastry’s overtakes them. This strategy will stimulate sales generating increased revenue. Scheduling The scheduling process at Something Sweet Bakery is not that complicated being that this is a small manufacturing company. Since 70% of their business is made to order there is a mandatory minimal number of staff members that need to be in the bakery. During holiday season there is a demand spike and product volume increases substantially. In order to effectively stay on pace with the production schedule a â€Å"batch process is used to offset variations in demand† (Service versus Manufacturing Process Design Video). For example, a big batch of cookie doe will be made and froze, except for the portion that will be used that day. Another way the bakery schedules to meet demand is providing employees with overtime. Quality Quality is important in any industry, especially in a bakery. If customers don’t like the quality of your product they simply will go elsewhere. At Something Sweet Bakery quality is a more subjective process. Tina, the co-owner, and bakers personally taste everything before it is available to customers. This is how they check and maintain product quality. In Retrospect, although the two industries depicted in this summary perform two very different operations they are both striving to meet the same goals. In this case company size is not a significant factor when it comes to the application of process design approaches. In order to achieve and maintain success in Chaparral’s Suits Hotel Resort and Something Sweet Bakery it is imperative that they make wise decisions with regards to the three process design approaches stated in this summary. References University of Phoenix, Service versus Manufacturing Process Design Video

Legal And Ethical Issues In Mental Health Nursing Essay

Legal And Ethical Issues In Mental Health Nursing Essay This assignment aims to critically appraise an ethical conflict in relation to the care provided to a patient. It will explore how ethical decisions are reached and how they can directly influence patient care. To achieve this aim the author will examine a case study of a patient whose care he was involved with whilst in placement. We will look at how, after an episode of self-harm, the patient refused any medical treatment for the wound and how this posed an ethical dilemma for the nursing staff involved in their care. Using the application of the Mental Capacity Act (MCA) (Great Britain (GB) 2005) and an established model for ethical decision making, we will look at how the decision of whether or not to enforce treatment for the wound was formulated and implemented. Ethics can be seen as the study of human conduct and morality (Buka 2008). It is about people reasoning, thinking and applying a process of reflection (Adshead 2010); however these people may have opposing views, values and experiences on which to base their moral judgements to define what is the right and wrong course of action (Hendrick 2009) and the principles used to decide this, not only by the individual but also within social groups and societies. (Adshead 2010). From this we can surmise that ethics is a complex system of reflective thinking, which is used in the search for a standard that can be used to judge your own actions, or the actions of others, within your own moral code. The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC 2008) stipulates that nurses must respect a patients right to confidentiality at all times and ensure that the patient is informed about how information concerning them is shared. In accordance with this the name of the patient has been changed and permission has been sought from the patient to use them in the case study. Case Study. Anitas story. Anita is a young woman with a primary diagnosis of emotionally unstable personality disorder borderline type as defined by the World Health Organisation (WHO 2010). During a one-to-one therapeutic session Anita disclosed that she was having strong urges to self-harm. As such the therapeutic session concentrated on exploring her feelings surrounding her impulses, alternative coping mechanisms to manage her thoughts of self-harm and strategies to help maintain her safety upon the ward. As she felt that the pressure of being constantly watched would unsettle her further, thus not allowing her to manage her own feelings, it was initially agreed to place Anita on intermittent observation (as opposed to constant) within the scope of the policy on safe and supportive observations of the service that was caring for her (Oxford Health 2010). This approach was agreed in collaboration with Anita and the wider team as a way of her taking responsibility for her own decisions and actions. Later in the shift Anita approached staff and stated that she had overwhelming urges to self-harm and that she had acted upon them. She was taken to the clinic room where the wound could be cleaned and assessed. Anita presented with a laceration to the inside of her thigh which was deep enough to expose the adipose tissue beneath, however was not deemed by the medical staff to be life threatening. Staff explained to Anita that the wound was deep enough to require stitching although not life threatening and advised her that she would need to attend the minor injuries unit of the local general hospital for assessment of the wound. At this time Anita, due to her mental state, could not fully appreciate the nature of the wound and felt that she needed to punish herself further by refusing treatment. The nurses on duty cleaned and bandaged the wound and allowed Anita time to consider the implications of her decision further. When Anita had calmed the nurse had a discussion surrounding the implications of not having the wound sutured such as infection, Anitas possible need to attack the wound in the future and pain relief issues, However Anita maintained her decision not to have the wound sutured. Following a wider team discussion around whether Anita understood the severity of the wound, thus having capacity to make a decision to refuse treatment, the Responsible Clinician (RC) spoke to Anita and attempted to persuade her to have the wound sutured. As Anita was still refusing to have the wound sutured the RC decided that an assessment would need to be carried out to ascertain whether Anita had the capacity to decide to refuse treatment. Upon completion of the assessment it was decided that Anita did have capacity to make decisions surrounding treatment at that time, within the framework of the Mental Capacity Act (GB 2005). This decision was reached due to Anita being able to understand the information being given to her, being able to retain the information and weigh it up to make a decision to refuse treatment. Although this appeared to be an unwise decision, which felt uncomfortable to the team, it was agreed to monitor the wound, keep it clean and dry and continue to talk to Anita about her thoughts and feelings surrounding getting medical treatment for the wound. This collaborative approach allowed Anita opportunities to explore her emotions, thoughts and feelings and promote her autonomy whilst still allowing her to decide to have the wound sutured should she change her mind. The main legal and ethical dilemmas that can be extracted from this case study are whether the Anitas capacity to make decisions about her treatment should be overridden by use of the Mental Capacity Act (GB 2005) and whether Anitas ability to make autonomous decisions surrounding her care should outweigh the nurses obligation towards beneficence. The Legal Dilemma. Mental Capacity. What legal dilemma can be hypothesised as underpinning the decision making process of the mental health professionals in this case? Anita initially made her decision to refuse treatment shortly after self-harming. Self-harm has been strongly associated with borderline personality disorder (Motz 2008) where thoughts of self-loathing and self-punishment are common precipitators; the act of self harm can be seen as a symptom of internal turmoil, an expression of internal pain or as controlling factor to maintain a level of care (Grocutt 2009). This may indicate that Anita was under a great deal of distress at the time, which could have affected her capacity to make sound decisions; however her later decision of continuing to refuse treatment was based on her own morals and values towards her body that may have included these thoughts of self-loathing and the need to be punished. Although a person, under part four of the Mental Health Act (GB 2007) can be treated for mental disorder with out their consent, it is important to note that a physical problem can only be treated without consent should the person lacks capacity or treatment is deemed to be in their best interests under the auspice of the Mental Capacity Act (GB 2007, MIND 2009). To help determine whether Anita has capacity, The Mental Capacity Act (2005) sets out a two stage functional approach. Firstly the practitioner needs to ascertain whether the person being assessed has some sort of disturbance of the mind and, if such a disturbance exists then it must affect their ability to make decisions when they need to (Department of Constitutional Affairs (DoCA) 2007:45). If this is not the case then the person cannot be seen as lacking capacity under the Act (GB 2005, DoCA 2007). In considering whether Anita needed to make the decision around treatment, we can see that, as the wound was not life threatening, it was decided to allow her time to settle and re-approach the question of treatment. The Mental Capacity Act (GB 2005) is clear in expressing that capacity is time and decision specific. In deciding that the decision could be made at a later time not only complies with the Act but also promotes Anitas autonomy. As the wound could be safely managed in the s hort term upon the ward the decision to allow Anita time to weigh up the information was the correct one to make. Conflicting ethical principles and dilemmas Lakeman (2009) points out that an ethical dilemma occurs when there are a multitude of alternative courses of action to deal with a particular situation. Conflicting moral principles may create difficult ethical dilemmas for nurses by having to contravene one moral obligation to uphold another (Beauchamp Childress 2009). Anitas ability to make autonomous decisions surrounding her care should outweigh the nurses obligation towards beneficence. However this may not feel entirely comfortable for the nurse. In mental health nursing, autonomy is sometimes overridden in the interests of promoting the principle of beneficence (Lakeman 2009). Which can make the nurses ethical dilemma difficult to manage due to balancing the two valid ethical principles of autonomy (respecting and supporting decisions making) and beneficence (relieving or minimising harm in the best interest of the patient) (Hendrick 2004, Beauchamp Childress 2009). To answer the question we need to examine how the dilemma sits within an ethical theory and the principles that apply. Beauchamp and Childress (2009) devised four basic moral principles which function as guidelines for professional ethical decision making. The principles of autonomy (freedom to act on your own belief), Nonmaleficence (obligation to avoid doing harm), Beneficence (providing benefits and help) and Justice (fair distribution of benefits, risk and cost) which are derived from a duty based theory of Emmanuel Kant (1724-1804) (Beauchamp Childress 2009). Principle 1 Autonomy. Respect for autonomy flows from the recognition that all persons have unconditional worth, each having the capacity to determine his or her own moral destiny. To violate a persons autonomy is to treat that person merely as a means: that is, in accordance with others goals without regard to the persons own goals. Beauchamp Childress (2009: 103) after Kant Autonomy is the freedom and ability to act in a self determined manner (Butts Rich 2008: 42) and the right of a rational person to achieve personal decisions without any outside interference. Therefore the principle of respecting autonomy concerns the nurses acknowledgement of, and obligation in respecting, Anitas decision over her own life. It may be that Anita is already feeling a loss of autonomy or disempowerment by the very nature of being a patient upon a secure ward and being under the Mental Health Act (GB 2007) and the restriction of her basic autonomous decisions such as when to eat, sleep or who she resides with. Therefore it may need to be considered whether Anitas is refusal of treatment is something that she feels in control of, thus a way in which she feels empowered. Principle 2 Beneficence. Morality requires not only that we treat persons autonomously and refrain from harming them, but also that we contribute to their welfareà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ and à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦[is therefore]à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ a moral obligation to act for the benefit of others. These beneficial actions fall under the heading of beneficence. Beauchamp and Childress (2009: 197) Beneficence can be seen as actions to benefit and promote the welfare of others (Butts Rich 2008). All actions that are performed by nurses can be regarded as having a moral dimension, most of which are for the benefit of the patient (Edwards 2009). The NMC Code of Professional Conduct is clear in stating that nurses have an obligation to both protect and promote the health and wellbeing of patients as their primary consideration (NMC 2008:2) and this is no different for mental health nurses working with patients who self-harm. This statement clearly incorporates the principle of beneficence and shows that the nurses in the case study are considering whether Anita should have medical treatment for the wound enforced upon her due to the principle of beneficence as described due to the worries of the wound becoming infected if not sutured. The dilemma. When nurses experience the ethical dilemma of having to enforce treatment irrespective of a patients right to autonomy, they can be seen as working in a paternalistic manner (Butts Rich 2008). In Anitas case, the nurses worry, that the consequences of the wound becoming infected, is driving their desire to treat the wound irrespective of Anitas wishes. However, although the actions on behalf of nurses is clearly driven by obligations towards beneficence, nurses need to weigh up the harms and benefits of enforcing treatment before acting in such a way as to produce the best outcome for Anita (Edwards 2009). A paternalistic approach is frequently used to infringe upon a persons right to autonomy. This infringement is supported by the principle of beneficence, which is the argument frequently used to impose treatment on patients whether they want it or not (Buka 2008: 29). Should the decision to treat Anita for her self harm regardless of her wishes have gone ahead, there may have been a risk of impacting on the nurse-patient therapeutic relationship. This relationship is built upon trust as well as purposeful and effective communication (Buka 2008) and is considered to be the cornerstone of nursing care (Lakeman 2009, Pryjmachuk 2011).Therefore the nurses would need to consider future risk as part of the ethical decision making process. Enforcing treatment on Anita may produce barriers to the therapeutic relationship such as difficulties in trusting the nurse in the future, disengagement from therapeutic communication, opposition and rejection of future treatment, increased self harming behaviours due to the trauma and hostility towards others (Kettles et al 2007, Byrt 2010), all of which may stop Anita from telling the nursing team when she self-harms in future episodes of distress. This raises the principle of Nonmaleficence (doing no harm), in this instance to the therapeutic relationship, wellbeing and care of Anita. The decision to manage the wound on the ward and allow Anita time to calm and consider her options is, in the authors opinion, the correct course of action to take. As the wound was neither life threatening or of such a degree that it could not be safety managed upon the ward enabled the staff to consider the possibility of enabling Anita to make an autonomous choice. In considering Anitas wishes and agreeing a management plan to care for the wound incorporates both principles of Anitas autonomy and the nurses obligation towards beneficence. Beneficence could be interpreted to incorporate the patients autonomous choice as the best interests of the patient are intimately linked with their preferences [from which]à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ are derived our primary duties towards them (Beauchamp Childress 2009:207). If the nurses obligation to act beneficently is informed by the patients choices and preferences, then the respect for the patients autonomy will ultimately override any paternalistic actions on the part of the nurse (Beauchamp Childress 2009). This would not only encourage a supportive nurse-patient relationship but also provides care that is holistic, develops Anitas confidence in being able to negotiate her care and allows her to take greater personal responsibility, This in turn will promote empowerment and hope which will improve the potential for recovery and discourage overly oppressive practices. The practice of paternalism is now generally discouraged in health care (Butts Rich 2008) and is considered unjustifiable in cases where the patient has capacity to make a decision (Edwards 2009, Beauchamp Childress 2009). Conclusion. Every decision that a nurse makes concerning the care of a patient needs to be considered from an ethical base. Any decision made from this ethical viewpoint has a higher probability of producing the best outcome under any given circumstance. The conflicting principles of autonomy and beneficence that have been presented within this case study would both be ethically and morally correct courses of action to take. From this we can surmise that a morally correct course of action may involve two opposing principles being applicable in any one situation. A large proportion of moral and ethical dilemmas that are faced by nurses stem from the conflicting principles of autonomy and beneficence. However, the nurses ability to critically appraise risks and benefits will help them to make decisions that are beneficial to the patient involved. In encouraging autonomy for Anita involves taking risks on the part of the nurses which may go against their principles of nonmaleficence and beneficence. However with collaborative working practices this case study has shown that solutions can be found in even the most complicated of nursing dilemmas. Word Count 2733.

Rights of Leadership: The Propaganda of Race and Class During the Aboli

Rights of Leadership: The Propaganda of Race and Class During the Abolitionist Movement Henry Highland Garnet and William Lloyd Garrison were two of the most instrumental leaders of the Abolitionist Movement. Their social backgrounds and experiences were responsible for contrasting the two leaders and influenced their approaches, beliefs and solutions to the abolishment of slavery. Their opinions and approaches were voiced in terms of the role of the political process, the role of moral persuasion and the role of violence as a means to an end. Though both Garnet and Garrison shared a common interest in the anti-slavery movement they differed greatly in their rhetoric and advocacy styles and techniques. Garrison, who was from a poor New England family was involved from an early age in the business of publishing as an apprentice to a printer, a job that laid the foundation for what would later be a career as editor of the Liberator, a paper that actively addressed controversial issues about the eradication of slavery. Although Garrison addressed issues concerning the eradication of slavery, he also focused on other causes such as temperance and women's voting rights. Due to his involvement in advocating for many other reforms, his critics accused him of being unfocused on the issue of abolition. Oppositely, Garnet focused solely on the elevation of the Black community which included a more extreme and active means to end slavery. Garnet, who escaped slavery with his family to the North, was still subject to racial violence. One incident that exemplified the racial aggression was when his house had been looted and his sister had been arrested as a "fugitive from labor." This event in the early part of his life was an introdu... ...Korngold, Ralph. Two Friends of Man: The Story of William Lloyd Garrison and Wendell Phillips and Their Relationship with Abraham Lincoln. Boston: Little, Brown and Co., 1950. Nye, Russel B. William Lloyd Garrison and the Humanitarian Reformers. Boston: Little, Brown and Co., 1955. Pillsbury, Parker. Acts of the Anti-Slavery Apostles. Concord, 1883. Rogers, William B. "We are All Together Now" : Frederick Douglass, William Lloyd Garrison, and the Prophetic Tradition. New York: Garland Publishing, 1995. Ruchames, Louis, comp. The Abolitionists: A Collection of Their Writings. New York: Capricorn Books, 1963. Schor, Joel. Henry Highland Garnet: A Voice of Black Radicalism in the Nineteenth Century. London: Greenwood Press, 1977. Walters, Ronald G. The Antislavery Appeal: American Abolitionism After 1830. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1976.

Cross Cultural Group Presentation Essay

What is important about Germany? Germany is an industry leader in areas such as automobiles and healthcare, to name a few. With globalization and reducing trade boundaries Germany has in fact become a trade partner for many Indian firms. Thus understanding business etiquettes, culture and protocol will supplement international businessmen and enhance cross cultural negotiation. The Rational German: Based on research findings, Germany’s geographical location and history have had a substantial effect on its culture and thus on the way that Germans negotiate. Some historical events helps us understand more about Germany, its people and the effects on negotiations: Pre-Unification Era: Before Charles V formed Prussia, Germany was largely comprised of small princely states (similar to India) in conflict with each other over resources. This brought upon the Germans a constant state of uncertainty and continuous battle. This however also made the Germans tough and seasoned negotiators. Unification & Prussia: This era was also responsible to developing many traits of the German culture which are insightful for deriving value out of a negotiation. With the formation of Prussia came – economic stability, growth and social structure. Germans preferred the certainty of an economically stable state and developed a keen sense of hierarchy. As the German state began to develop – so did the socio-political structure. Germans thus over the years formed very bureaucratic agencies of governance through methodical planning and reason. World Wars: Both the world wars left Germany crippled. However, Hitler’s action made certain that Germany would have to heavily rely on diplomatic relations before considering the use military force. It also made Germans develop a sense of fairness when dealing with people from other cultural backgrounds. Points to Ponder: Now that we understand where German people come from, we think it’s essential to shed some light on the salient features of the culture and how they impact a negotiation: Business Relationship: Germans traditionally believe in building trust over a period of time. This is usually an outcome of dependability, analytical thinking and intellect. Germans, unlike Indians, enter negotiations with a sense of trust. This is important from an Indian point of view as ability to generate and maximize value from a negotiation takes place over a long period of time. Interestingly enough trying to establish rapport in a hurried manner may arouse suspicion from a German counterpart. Trust one built, goes a long way in a business relationship, as Germans tend to be wary of uncertainty. Hence it is important to think strategically in long term and develop a mutually beneficial relationship from the start. One of the easiest ways to establish credibility with a German during a negotiation is to rely on a third party who has already established a level of trust and dependence on the German side. Displaying authority on the subject matter at hand, by professional qualifications will let the negotiating party earn respect in the eyes of their German counterparts, thus providing an upper hand will negotiating. Even though Germans are reserved and formal in nature, it’s possible to build long lasting relationships with them. A sure indicator of a relationship in the making is when a German decides to tell you embarrassing stories about himself. However it’s best not to repeat the stories to others as Germans tend to very proud people and can get hurt very easily. They also might expect you to be equally candid once the relationship has been built. During negotiations Germans tend to give more air time to the person who they think is technically sound in that matter. Hence it’s often a great idea to have your degrees printed out on the visiting card in order to establish a sense of authority when negotiating with them. Also Germans have a grounded belief that the workers in their country are better than the most the world and its best not to challenge this assumption. Business Communication: Although German is the official language of the country most of the business people speak British English. Most of the younger generation is well travelled and is fluent in business conversation. It is advisable to talk in short, complete sentences and in a slow firm voice to keep any negotiation without bringing in confusion. Germans tend to very direct in their communications and sometimes this can be misunderstood as being rude. Being very direct Germans dislike vague statements and diplomacy during any formal business discussions including negotiations. In fact too much diplomacy is likely to confuse a German. They will ask explanations, but is it possible that a German will walk out of a negotiation if the deal is unacceptable and/ or against company policy. It is also possible that a blunt â€Å"NO† can come your way, without substantial explanations. Germans tend to use body language very sparingly. Excessive use of body language may confuse your German counterpart. This can be an obstacle, especially during group negotiations as it will be difficult to judge the direction of the negotiation. Facial expression although limited can act as an indicator to judge if the proposal you have put forth has been liked or disliked. Maintaining eye contact is very crucial when talking to any German and is considered as a sign of trust and sincerity. This eye contact can border on staring. The American OK sign, with thumb and index finger forming a circle, is an obscene gesture in Germany, as is putting the thumb between index and middle finger in a fist. These should be strictly avoided. Initial Meeting Following are some of the points which should be noted when starting a negotiation: * â€Å"Shall we start with business† – will be used often as a conversation starter and is not considered rude in the German context. * Meetings need to be scheduled at least a week in advance and should not be cancelled at a short notice * There has to be reasonable explanation given when arriving late for a meeting and this is taken very negatively. * Planning is crucial when negotiating with Germans as it is very probable that they will be well prepared in any negotiation. Negotiating with Germans Style and Attitude of Negotiating: Unlike Indians, Germans believe in arriving at a win-win proposition. They tend to start negotiating respecting the other party and with a sense of trust, which they expect to be reciprocated. Interestingly, except for dispute resolution, any form a negotiation for a German is a joint problem solving activity rather and they expect both the parties to be involved equally in arriving at the solution. Many a times, a German would concentrate on dwelling over the technical aspects of a solution before entering the negotiation. Although co-operative in nature Germans may be unwilling to compromise completely unless this is their only option. While negotiating it is advisable to avoid open confrontation but remain calm, friendly and persistent. In case of a dispute resolution, one might try to find common ground by providing logical arguments based on data. Since many German negotiators will be thorough in their planning and data collection before the negotiation, it is sensible to have the same level of preparedness when you’re the opposite party. Many a times, during the negotiation a German might want to have additional data about certain aspects of the negotiation, which will help them analyze the solution better. Refusing to provide that data may reflect as lack of trust. Germans would prefer if data sharing was open and transparent and would not hesitate to reciprocate in the same manner. Germans are slow negotiators. The meticulous planning and data collection done before hand results in a very rigid and structured negotiation approach. Thus Germans would prefer going into sequential negotiating – debating each singular point, rather than packaging certain issues. This compartmentalized approach can be detrimental towards value maximization. Hence Germans find it difficult to negotiate with people from the south asia and middle east. At such times it is advisable to clearly state which objectives are linked and interdependent. Bargaining Traditionally Germans do not like the idea of bargaining and consider negotiation as a necessary evil. Business people do not give drastic concessions in this country so when if the bargaining stage in the negotiation is long drawn the variance in the final price would be not very far away from the original price. Even though German people may not agree, they tend to be aggressive during negotiations. These outcomes are more likely to be based on negotiation strategy developed during planning the negotiation. Threats, warnings and walkouts may be occasionally used. In this case it’s better to open with an offer which is already a part of your estimated ZOPA. Extreme offers can upset a German. Germans many a times employ defensive tactics such as blocking, asking probing or direct questions, or keeping a rigid position. Opening with written offers and introducing written terms and conditions may be effective as this will allow for proper preparation and could help shorten the b argaining process. Germans will likely find both benefits desirable. Corruption and bribery are very rare in Germany. It is strongly advisable to stay away from giving gifts of significant value or making offers that could be read as bribery. With Germans one must be careful when using pressure tactics such as applying time pressure, making expiring offers, or nibbling. Germans may consider these inappropriate unless they are strongly interested in your offer and clearly understand the logic behind the approach. Otherwise, while the negotiation is not necessarily over, it may become less constructive. Decision Making Germans tend to respect hierarchy because it helps maintain an element of control, not because they believe that bosses are better managers. So more than often when a German states that a decision during a negotiation is not within his authority, it would help to provide him with more data and information to get the approval from his immediate superiors. Decision making is a well planned and executed process in Germany and hence takes substantial amount of time. Patience is required to see the decision through and once made is very unlikely to change. Agreements and Contracts Both agreements and contracts in Germany tend to be legally binding unless stated otherwise. It is always advisable to consult a legal advisor before signing any contract to understand its process. These contracts (once signed) are usually dependable and considered binding. Once signed any amendment to the agreement or contract can be meet with serious opposition. Surprisingly German love for punctuality is often not extended towards contract drafting – as they would prefer to have everything in writing. References: * http://books.google.co.in/books?id=0b6DChPi0UUC&pg=PA60&lpg=PA60&dq=why+are+germans+logical+?&source=bl&ots=UAyhMKCScy&sig=3Nxe8sfCspiubwZel99itdZ3QxI&hl=en&sa=X&ei=OZfUUK6bHY_rrQevl4CQDg&ved=0CGcQ6AEwCTgK#v=onepage&q=why%20are%20germans%20logical%20%3F&f=false * http://www.german-business-etiquette.com/22-successful-negotiations.html

Speech: Cirque Du Soleil

It was a cold January evening in Las Vegas, Nevada. I was just fourteen with my eighteen year old brother and parents on vacation and celebrating the New Year. My father decided to surprise the family with tickets to a wonderful acrobatic show that was based around the legendary band The Beatles. The show was mesmerizing and absolutely stunning, it in captured my heart and changed me forever. This show was called Love (CHANGE SLIDE) and was run by Cirque du Soleil. Cirque du Soleil is a Canadian entertainment company, self-described as a â€Å"dramatic mix of circus arts and street entertainment. Based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, (CHANGE SLIDE) and located in the inner-city area of Saint-Michel, it was founded in Gaspe, in 1984 by two former street performers, Guy Laliberte and Gilles Ste-Croix. Initially named Les Echassiers, (CHANGE SLIDE) they toured Quebec in 1980 as a performing troupe and encountered financial hardship. Their financial troubles were relieved by a grant from t heir government as part of the 450th anniversary celebrations of Jacques Cartier's discovery of Canada. CHANGE SLIDE) â€Å"Le Grand Tour du Cirque du Soleil† was a success, and after securing a second year of funding, Laliberte hired Guy Caron from the National Circus School to re-create it as a â€Å"proper circus†. Its theatrical, character-driven approach and the absence of performing animals helped define Cirque du Soleil as the contemporary circus that it remains to be today. Cirque du Soleil traveled throughout Quebec in 1984, appearing in ten cities and playing to audiences of 800 at each performance.The following year, the troupe took its first steps outside its home province and began performing in neighboring Ontario. The audience’s feedback was so positive that it gave Cirque du Soleil even more reason to begin expanding. By 1986, the seating capacity of Cirque du Soleil’s big top tent had been expanded to 1,500, and Cirque du Soleil began to receive national and international attention. The company performed at Vancouver, British Columbia’s Children’s Festival and at Expo ’86, the World’s Fair hosted by Vancouver.Internationally, Cirque du Soleil earned nominations and awards at several competitions and festivals held By the end of 1986, Cirque du Soleil officials were convinced of the concept’s broad-based appeal. Two years after its birth in the small town of Gaspe, Cirque du Soleil’s unique expression of entertainment was ready to make it large. Cirque expanded rapidly through the 1990s and 2000s, going from one show to 19 shows in over 271 cities on every continent except Antarctica. Some of these shows include(CHANGE SLIDE) â€Å"The O† in Las Vegas, (CHANGE SLIDE) â€Å"La Nouba† in Orlando, Florida and, of course, (CHANGE SLIDE) Las Vegas’s â€Å"LOVE†. CHANGE SLIDE) Cirque du Soleil employs approximately 4,000 people from over 40 countries and receives estimated annual revenue of more than 810 million dollars. The multiple permanent Las Vegas shows alone play to more than 9,000 people a night, 5% of the city's visitors, adding to the 90 million people who have experienced Cirque worldwide. In 2000, Laliberte bought out Gauthier, and with 95% ownership, has continued to expand the brand. In 2008, Laliberte split 20% of his share equally between two investment groups in Dubai.In partnership with these two groups, Cirque planned to build a residency show in the United Arab Emirates by 2012. However, since Dubai's financial problems in 2008’s global recession, it has been stated by Laliberte it may be looking for another financial partner to continue the company's future plans. Several more shows are in development around the world, along with a television deal, women's clothing line and the possible venture into other mediums such as spas, restaurants and nightclubs. Aside from Cirque du Soleil’s a success sto ry, Cirque du Soleil is far from an easy job. CHANGE SLIDE) Although, the halls are BURSTING with art and colors that the performers create on the side, it takes a lot of time and dedication to be a performer or set technician. A day in the life of a typical Cirque du Soleil performer is a 2-hour rehearsal, 2-hours of doing make up, on your self and than 2 performances. These talented performers will do 8-12 shows 6 days a week. It gets quite repetitive but imagine how exciting it would be to perform for such a large audience every day! If you are under the age 16, you have the same schedule as the other performers but you are also privately tutored in school.The non-performers live a similarly difficult schedule. Long hours of breaking down, setting up and readjusting props six times a week. The shoes are hand crafted and due to so much wear have to constantly be remade. The wigs are designed to fit each performers head perfectly and are fit on to molds of each of them. There is a lot of behind the scenes work that makes each second of the â€Å"magic† in a Cirque du Soleil performance. (CHANGE SLIDE) I hope that I have educated you about Cirque du Soleil, thank you.

Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, Twenty Thousand Years Later Essays

Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, Twenty Thousand Years Later Essays Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, Twenty Thousand Years Later Essay Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, Twenty Thousand Years Later Essay Twenty Thousand leagues Under the Sea, Twenty Thousand Years Later â€Å"The year 1866 was signalized by a remarkable incident, a mysterious and inexplicable phenomenon, which doubtless no one has yet forgotten† (1). This is the opening sentence in Jules Verne’s Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea and as it draws you into this essay, it does so for his timeless novel right from the first line. He is believed to be one of the most skilled scientific and adventure writers of his time, and ours. Jules Verne’s novel has been around for years and years, but how has it been able to last through so many different eras? In this essay, proof will be brought to light as to how this book passed the tests of time. With amazing characterization, excitement and anticipation for any age group and his futuristic ideas, Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea easily lasted for centuries, and will for many more to come. Jules Verne’s skill of dynamic characterization keeps everyone interested in his books, and especially in Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea. His main characters of Captain Nemo, Professor Aronnax and Ned Land, each with their own personality, make for a remarkable book. Captain Nemo is the mysterious antagonist in the novel. We are first introduced to him after he has locked up Aronnax, Ned Land and Conseil in their room once aboard the Nautilus. Captain Nemo did finally reveal himself to them, but there were still many mysteries surrounding him, such as being gone for months on end with no one ever seeing him, or â€Å"Where did the captain gather this gold from? And what was he going to do with it? † (56). Not knowing where he is or what he is doing gets you to constantly turn the pages to find out more. Captain Nemo is not the only character that gets people of all sorts interested, Professor Aronnax does this as well. He is an intelligent man and readers enjoy hearing the story through his point of view â€Å"†¦I knew by the perpendicularity of the sun’s rays, which were no longer refracted. The magical colours disappeared by degrees, and the shades of emerald and sapphire were effaced. †(69). Pierre is captivated by the great submarine they have found themselves on and his character is able to describe how the ship works in great detail. Readers are able to enjoy this character because they too are fascinated by the happenings onboard the Nautilus. Ned Land is then considered a mix of Pierre and Nemo; he is also mysterious and yet is a very smart man. Ned is honest and true and although he also finds the submarine remarkable he verbally speaks of how he hates living here and plans on escaping. â€Å"We are in Europe; and before Captain Nemo’s caprices drag us once more to the bottom of the Polar Seas, or lead us into Oceania, I ask to leave the Nautilus†(145). Having all these characteristics combined on to one ship it makes for an amazing story with heads clashing, suspense and tensions running high. As mentioned, the character Ned Land is persistently attempting to break out. This makes for a great adventure and fast paced action that is not too gruesome for younger readers but is heart racing and exhilarating for older adult readers. When the captain finally lets his captives out to hunt out the island, Ned is thrilled. He thought it could be his chance to escape but the day ends with hooligans chasing them off the island. It is a classic ‘grab your stuff and go scene’ as everybody runs back to the submarine. â€Å"‘To the boat! I said, hurrying to the sea†¦We had not gone two cables’ lengths, when a hundred savages howling and gesticulating, entered the water up to their wastes. †(96). Just this one sentence of action gets your heart racing. It is no wonder this book has been read for the past century without being forgotten. That is not even the only point of action as it might be is some books. A second point of action occurs when the Na utilus gets stuck in the ice. Once again Ned wishes to take this chance to escape, but is unsuccessful as his only way to live would be to help the Nautilus be freed from the ice. The Nautilus was really imprisoned in a perfect tunnel of ice more than twenty yards in breadth, filled, with quiet water. ’ (201). In this section of the novel the anticipation of what will happen next is thrilling, and never gets old. The highest point of action occurs when Ned Land and the others actually do escape, but what keeps things interesting is that no one knows what happened to the submarine. ‘But what has become of the NUTILUS? Did it resist the pressure of the maelstrom? Does Captain Nemo still live? (244) Finally, this book was able to last through generations of people, because as the world grew up, so did this book. The ideas in it went from being far-fetched to in the realm of possibility to instruments we actually use today. Jules Verne was extravagantly ahead of his time al lowing the book to not seem ‘out of date’. Our first realization of how well thought out his writings are is when Professor Aronnax is on top of the submarine. Ships were still made of wood yet this SUBMARINE was a light and indestructible metal. â€Å"†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢Professor, that beast is made of sheet iron. ’†(30). Jules Verne was able to make it so believable to the people of his time that this submarine and how it worked was quite possible. Comparing captain Nemo’s inventions on the submarine to the inventions of the time Jules Verne was writing in is astonishing. To begin with, something as simple as the sewing machine was only invented in 1845 yet Jules Verne was writing about submarines and all the instruments associated with that. â€Å"‘There is a powerful agent, obedient, rapid, easy which conforms to every use and reigns supreme on board my vessel. Everything is done by means of it. It lights it, warms it, and is the soul of my mechanical apparatus. This agent is electricity. ’ ‘Electricity? ’ I cried in surprise. † (49). Jules makes his characters astonished by the fact that electricity is used, but the feeling is mutual with his readers. In this twenty first century it would make sense for everything to be run using electricity or battery power, but Verne was writing in the nineteenth century and was still able think it all possible. The usage of electricity and its realistic features is also seen with the ‘luminescence’ that is pointed out at the beginning of the novel. It wasn’t until 1878 that a practical and longer-lasting eclectic light bulb was invented. In Verne’s novel, â€Å"‘Never did pholades or shape produce such a powerful light. ’†(21). The Nautilus had lights in front of it so that it could see for miles ahead of itself. It is incredible that Verne’s knew that the study of electricity would develop enough that when we read his books it all seems true and realistic. It is said, in fact, that some things where invented based on, and using theories from this novel. This novel, amazingly written, will doubtless last many more years to come. It started out as a simple French novel written years ago and it became famous again after being translated to English so that more people would enjoy the read. It is interesting, although, that it is as remarkable in English, because when it was translated it lost some of its descriptive detail and idealist explanations. Imagine reading Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea in its original context, you would never set the book down, which you can barely do in this language. Verne, Jules. Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea.

Using Maps with American Literature as Informational Texts

Using Maps with American Literature as Informational Texts Teachers of American literature in middle or high school classrooms have the opportunity to select from a little over  400 years of writing by American authors. Because each author offers a different perspective on the American experience, teachers may also choose to provide the geographic context that influenced each of the authors taught in a curriculum. In American literature, geography is often central to an authors narrative.   Representing the geography of where an author was born, raised, educated, or wrote can be done on a map, and the creation of such a map involves the discipline of cartography. Cartography or Map Making The International Cartographic Association (ICA)  defines cartography: Cartography is the discipline dealing with the conception, production, dissemination and study of maps. Cartography is also about representation – the map. This means that cartography is the whole process of mapping. The  structural models  of cartography  can be used to  describe the process of mapping for an  academic discipline. Supporting the use of maps in the study of literature to better understand how geography has informed or influenced an author is made in an  argument made by  Sà ©bastien Caquard and William Cartwright in their 2014  article  Narrative Cartography: From Mapping Stories to the Narrative of Maps and Mapping  Ã‚  published in  The Cartographic Journal. The article explains how  the potential of maps to both decipher and tell stories is virtually unlimited. Teachers may use maps that help students better comprehend how the geography of America may influence authors and their literature. Their description of narrative cartography is an aim,  to shed light on some of the facets of the rich and complex relationships between maps and narratives. Influence of Geography on American Authors Studying the  geography that influenced the authors of American literature can mean using some of the lenses of social sciences such as  economics,  political science,  human  geography,  demography,   psychology  or  sociology. Teachers may spend time in class and provide the cultural geography background of the authors who penned the most traditional selections of literature in high school  such as Nathanial Hawthornes The Scarlet Letter, Mark Twains The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, John Steinbecks Of Mice and Men.   In each of  these selections, as in most American literature,  the  context of an authors  community,  culture, and relationships is  tied to specific time and location. For example, the geography of colonial settlements is seen in the  first pieces of American literature, beginning with a  1608 memoir by Captain John Smith, English explorer and  leader of Jamestown (Virginia). The explorers accounts are combined in a piece  titled  Ã‚  A True Relation of Such Occurrences and Accidents of Noate as Hath Happened in Virginia.   In this recounting, consider by many to be wildly exaggerated, Smith describes  the story of  Pocahontas saving his life from the hand of Powhatan.   More recently, the 2016 winner of the Pulitzer Prize  Ã‚  for fiction  was written by  Viet Thanh Nguyen  who  was born in Vietnam and raised in America. His story  The Sympathizer  is described as, A layered immigrant tale told in the wry, confessional voice of a man of two minds- and two countries, Vietnam and the United States. In this award-winning narrative, the contrast of these two cultural geographies is central to the story. The American Writers Museum: Digital Literary Maps There are a number of different digital  map resources available to teachers with Internet access  to use in providing students background information. Should teachers want to give  students an opportunity to research American authors, a good starting place might be the American Writers Museum,  A National Museum Celebrating American Writers. The museum already has a digital presence, with their physical offices scheduled to open in Chicago in 2017. The mission of the  American Writers Museum is to engage the public in celebrating American writers and exploring their influence on our history, our identity, our culture, and our daily lives. One featured page on the museums  website is a Literary America  map  that features  American writers from all over the country.  Visitors can  click on a states icon to see what literary landmarks are located there   such as author homes and museums, book festivals, literary archives,  or even an authors final resting places.   This Literary America  map will help students meet several of the goals of the new American Writers Museum which are to: Educate the public about American writers – past and present;Engage visitors to the Museum in exploring the many exciting worlds created by the spoken and written word;Enrich and deepen appreciation for good writing in all its forms;Inspire visitors  to discover, or rediscover, a love of reading and writing. Teachers should know that the digital Literary America map on the museums website is interactive, and there are links to multiple other websites. For example, by clicking on New York State icon, students could choose to be connected to an obituary on the New York Public Librarys website for  J.D. Salinger,  author of Catcher in the Rye. Another click on the New York State icon could  take students to  a news story about the 343 boxes  containing the  personal papers and documents of the poet  Maya Angelou  that were acquired  by the  Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. This acquisition was featured in an article in the NY Times, Schomburg Center in Harlem Acquires Maya Angelou Archive  and there are links to many of these documents. There are links on the Pennsylvania state icon to museums dedicated to authors born in the state. For example, students can choose between Edgar Allan Poe National Historical SitePearl S. Buck HouseZane Grey Museum Similarly, a click on the Texas state icon offers students an opportunity to digitally visit three museums dedicated to the American short story author, William S. Porter, who wrote under the pen name O.Henry: O. Henry HouseO. Henry MuseumWilliam Sidney Porter, O. Henry Museum The State of  California offers multiple sites for students to explore on American authors who had a presence in the state: Eugene O’Neill National Historic SiteJack London State Historic ParkJohn Muir National Historic SiteNational Steinbeck CenterRobinson Jeffers Tor House FoundationThe Beat MuseumWill Rogers Ranch Additional Literary Author Map Collections 1. At the Clark Library (University of Michigan Library) there are a number of literary maps  for students to view.  One such  literary map was drawn by  Charles Hook Heffelfinger (1956).  This map lists the last names of many American writers along with their principal works within the state in which the book takes place. The description of the map states: As with many literary maps, while many of the works included may have been commercial successes at the time of the map’s publication in 1956, not all of them are still acclaimed today. Some classics are included, however, such as  Gone With the Wind  by Margaret Mitchell and  The Last of the Mohicans  by James Fenimore Cooper. These maps can be shared as a projection in class, or students can follow the link themselves. 2. The Library of Congress  offers an online collection  of maps titled, Language of the Land: Journeys Into Literary America. According to the website:   The inspiration for this exhibition was the Library of Congresss collection of literary mapsmaps that acknowledge the contributions of authors to a specific state or region as well as those that depict the geographical locations in works of fiction or fantasy.   This exhibition includes the  1949  Booklovers Map  published by R.R. Bowker of New York which  features important points of interest across America’s historical, cultural, and literary landscape at the time. There are many different maps in this online  collection, and the promotional description for the exhibition reads: From Robert Frosts New England farms to John Steinbecks California valleys to Eudora Weltys Mississippi Delta, American authors have shaped our view of Americas regional landscapes in all their astonishing variety. They have created unforgettable characters, inseparably identified with the territory they inhabit. Author Maps AreInformational Texts Maps can be used as informational texts in the English Language Arts classroom as part of the key shifts educators can use in order to  integrate the Common Core State Standards.  These key shifts of the  Common Core  state that: Students must be immersed in information about the world around them if they are to develop the strong general knowledge and vocabulary they need to become successful readers and be prepared for college, career, and life. Informational texts play an important part in building students’ content knowledge. English teachers can use  maps as informational texts to build student background knowledge and improve comprehension. The use of maps as informational texts  could be covered under the following standards: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.8.7  Evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of using different mediums (e.g., print or digital text, video, multimedia) to present a particular topic or idea. CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.9-10.7  Analyze various accounts of a subject told in different mediums (e.g., a persons life story in both print and multimedia), determining which details are emphasized in each account. CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.11-12.7  Integrate and evaluate multiple sources of information presented in different media or formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively) as well as in words in order to address a question or solve a problem. Conclusion Letting students explore American authors in their geographic and historic context through cartography, or mapmaking, can help their comprehension of American literature. The visual representation of the geography that contributed to a work of literature is best represented by a map. The use of maps   in the English classroom  can also help students develop an appreciation of Americas literary geography while increasing their familiarity with the  visual language of maps for other content areas.

Barack Obama - Democratic National Convention Keynote Address (2004)

Barack Obama 2004 Democratic National Convention Keynote Address delivered 27 July 2004, Fleet Center, Boston Tonight is a particular honor for me because, let’s face it, my presence on this stage is pretty unlikely. My father was a foreign student, born and raised in a small village in Kenya. He grew up herding goats, went to school in a tin-roof shack. His father my grandfather was a cook, a domestic servant to the British. But my grandfather had larger dreams for his son. Through hard work and perseverance my father got a scholarship to study in a magical place, America, that shone as a beacon of freedom and opportunity to so many who had come before. While studying here, my father met my mother. She was born in a town on the other side of the world, in Kansas. Her father worked on oil rigs and farms through most of the Depression. The day after Pearl Harbor my grandfather signed up for duty; joined Patton’s army, marched across Europe. Back home, my grandmother raised a baby and went to work on a bomber assembly line. After the war, they studied on the G.I. Bill, bought a house through F.H.A., and later moved west all the way to Hawaii in search of opportunity. And they, too, had big dreams for their daughter. A common dream, born of two continents. My parents shared not only an improbable love, they shared an abiding faith in the possibilities of this nation. They would give me an African name, Barack, or †blessed,† believing that in a tolerant America your name is no barrier to success. They imagined They imagined me going to the best schools in the land, even though they weren’t rich, because in a generous America you don’t have to be rich to achieve your potential. Theyre both passed away now. And yet, I know that on this night they look down on me with great pride. They stand here, and I stand here today, grateful for the diversity of my heritage, aware that my parents’ dreams live on in my two precious daughters. I stand here knowing that my story is part of the larger American story, that I owe a debt to all of those who came before me, and that, in no other country on earth, is my story even possible. Tonight, we gather to affirm the greatness of our Nation not because of the height of our skyscrapers, or the power of our military, or the size of our economy. Our pride is based on a very simple premise, summed up in a declaration made over two hundred years ago: We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That is the true genius of America, a faith a faith in simple dreams, an insistence on small miracles; that we can tuck in our children at night and know that they are fed and clothed and safe from harm; that we can say what we think, write what we think, without hearing a sudden knock on the door; that we can have an idea and start our own business without paying a bribe; that we can participate in the political process without fear of retribution, and that our votes will be counted at least most of the time. This year, in this election we are called to reaffirm our values and our commitments, to hold them against a hard reality and see how were measuring up to the legacy of our forbearers and the promise of future generations. And fellow Americans, Democrats, Republicans, Independents, I say to you tonight: We have more work to do more work to do for the workers I met in Galesburg, Illinois, who are losing their union jobs at the Maytag plant that’s moving to Mexico, and now are having to compete with their own children for jobs that pay seven bucks an hour; more to do for the father that I met who was losing his job and choking back the tears, wondering how he would pay 4500 dollars a month for the drugs his son needs without the health benefits that he counted on; more to do for the young woman in East St. Louis, and thousands more like her, who has the grades, has the drive, has the will, but doesn’t have the money to go to college. Now, don’t get me wrong. The people I meet in small towns and big cities, in diners and office parks they don’t expect government to solve all their problems. They know they have to work hard to get ahead, and they want to. Go into the collar counties around Chicago, and people will tell you they don’t want their tax money wasted, by a welfare agency or by the Pentagon. Go in Go into any inner city neighborhood, and folks will tell you that government alone can’t teach our kids to learn; they know that parents have to teach, that children can’t achieve unless we raise their expectations and turn off the television sets and eradicate the slander that says a black youth with a book is acting white. They know those things. People don’t expect People dont expect government to solve all their problems. But they sense, deep in their bones, that with just a slight change in priorities, we can make sure that every child in America has a decent shot at life, and that the doors of opportunity remain open to all. They know we can do better. And they want that choice. In this election, we offer that choice. Our Party has chosen a man to lead us who embodies the best this country has to offer. And that man is John Kerry. John Kerry understands the ideals of community, faith, and service because they’ve defined his life. From his heroic service to Vietnam, to his years as a prosecutor and lieutenant governor, through two decades in the United States Senate, hes devoted himself to this country. Again and again, we’ve seen him make tough choices when easier ones were available. His values and his record affirm what is best in us. John Kerry believes in an America where hard work is rewarded; so instead of offering tax breaks to companies shipping jobs overseas, he offers them to companies creating jobs here at home. John Kerry believes in an America where all Americans can afford the same health coverage our politicians in Washington have for themselves. John Kerry believes in energy independence, so we aren’t held hostage to the profits of oil companies, or the sabotage of foreign oil fields. John Kerry believes in the Constitutional freedoms that have made our country the envy of the world, and he will never sacrifice our basic liberties, nor use faith as a wedge to divide us. And John Kerry believes that in a dangerous world war must be an option sometimes, but it should never be the first option. You know, a while back awhile back I met a young man named Shamus in a V.F.W. Hall in East Moline, Illinois. He was a good-looking kid six two, six three, clear eyed, with an easy smile. He told me he’d joined the Marines and was heading to Iraq the following week. And as I listened to him explain why he’d enlisted, the absolute faith he had in our country and its leaders, his devotion to duty and service, I thought this young man was all that any of us might ever hope for in a child. But then I asked myself, Are we serving Shamus as well as he is serving us? I thought of the 900 men and women sons and daughters, husbands and wives, friends and neighbors, who won’t be returning to their own hometowns. I thought of the families I’ve met who were struggling to get by without a loved one’s full income, or whose loved ones had returned with a limb missing or nerves shattered, but still lacked long-term health benefits because they were Reservists. When we send our young men and women into harm’s way, we have a solemn obligation not to fudge the numbers or shade the truth about why they’re going, to care for their families while they’re gone, to tend to the soldiers upon their return, and to never ever go to war without enough troops to win the war, secure the peace, and earn the respect of the world. Now Now let me be clear. Let me be clear. We have real enemies in the world. These enemies must be found. They must be pursued. And they must be defeated. John Kerry knows this. And just as Lieutenant Kerry did not hesitate to risk his life to protect the men who served with him in Vietnam, President Kerry will not hesitate one moment to use our military might to keep America safe and secure. John Kerry believes in America. And he knows that it’s not enough for just some of us to prosper for alongside our famous individualism, there’s another ingredient in the American saga, a belief that we’re all connected as one people. If there is a child on the south side of Chicago who can’t read, that matters to me, even if it’s not my child. If there is a senior citizen somewhere who can’t pay for their prescription drugs, and having to choose between medicine and the rent, that makes my life poorer, even if it’s not my grandparent. If there’s an Arab American family being rounded up without benefit of an attorney or due process, that threatens my civil liberties. It is that fundamental belief It is that fundamental belief: I am my brother’s keeper. I am my sister’s keeper that makes this country work. It’s what allows us to pursue our individual dreams and yet still come together as one American family. E pluribus unum: Out of many, one. Now even as we speak, there are those who are preparing to divide us the spin masters, the negative ad peddlers who embrace the politics of anything goes. Well, I say to them tonight, there is not a liberal America and a conservative America there is the United States of America. There is not a Black America and a White America and Latino America and Asian America there’s the United States of America. The pundits, the pundits like to slice-and-dice our country into red states and blue states; red states for Republicans, blue states for Democrats. But I’ve got news for them, too. We worship an awesome God in the blue states, and we don’t like federal agents poking around in our libraries in the red states. We coach Little League in the blue states and yes, we’ve got some gay friends in the red states. There are patriots who opposed the war in Iraq and there are patriots who supported the war in Iraq. We are one people, all of us pledging allegiance to the stars and stripes, all of us defending the United States of America. In the end In the end In the end, that’s what this election is about. Do we participate in a politics of cynicism or do we participate in a politics of hope? John Kerry calls on us to hope. John Edwards calls on us to hope. I’m not talking about blind optimism here the almost willful ignorance that thinks unemployment will go away if we just don’t think about it, or the health care crisis will solve itself if we just ignore it. That’s not what I’m talking about. I’m talking about something more substantial. It’s the hope of slaves sitting around a fire singing freedom songs; the hope of immigrants setting out for distant shores; the hope of a young naval lieutenant bravely patrolling the Mekong Delta; the hope of a millworker’s son who dares to defy the odds; the hope of a skinny kid with a funny name who believes that America has a place for him, too. Hope Hope in the face of difficulty. Hope in the face of uncertainty. The audacity of hope! In the end, that is God’s greatest gift to us, the bedrock of this nation. A belief in things not seen. A belief that there are better days ahead. I believe that we can give our middle class relief and provide working families with a road to opportunity. I believe we can provide jobs to the jobless, homes to the homeless, and reclaim young people in cities across America from violence and despair. I believe that we have a righteous wind at our backs and that as we stand on the crossroads of history, we can make the right choices, and meet the challenges that face us. America! Tonight, if you feel the same energy that I do, if you feel the same urgency that I do, if you feel the same passion that I do, if you feel the same hopefulness that I do if we do what we must do, then I have no doubt that all across the country, from Florida to Oregon, from Washington to Maine, the people will rise up in November, and John Kerry will be sworn in as President, and John Edwards will be sworn in as Vice President, and this country will reclaim its promise, and out of this long political darkness a brighter day will come. Thank you very much everybody. God bless you. Thank you. Also in this database: Barack Obama Announcement for the U.S. Presidency Barack Obama Victory Speech

Ethics in Criminal Justice Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Ethics in Criminal Justice - Essay Example When a convict or a person charged and accused of committing a crime approaches a criminal justice personnel; this is the main quality that the latter needs to possess. Performing one's duty, which is that of administering justice or striving to obtain justice for an innocent convict in this case, is of prime importance. When the justice personnel is dutiful towards his professions and maintains the ethics and morals of criminal justice, he automatically begets qualities like honesty and loyalty, since he is committed to performing his Duty sincerely. Discretion comes by, in the process too, as he becomes well aware in the process of differentiating right from wrong, while catering to his Duty. Thus, being dutiful is the most important quality, as it brings along with it, a multi-quality persona! The topic for my research is Ethics governing Cyber Laws. The advent of the Internet has created a revolution worldwide and has made life easy for man. However, there are numerous problems and ethical issues cropping up globally, due to the undeniable access and percolation of the Internet into almost every sphere of our activity.

Recession in Dubai 2008 Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Recession in Dubai 2008 - Research Paper Example The average economic growth rate of the UAE economy between 2000 and 2007 was 7%. The economy is heavily reliant on petroleum and property investments (World Economic Forum, par 1). In particular, Dubai of the other emirates of the UAE was hit hardest. This is because the state (emirate) of Dubai is not as much endowed with oil resources as her sister emirates (Prasadjain, par 6). For this reason the state is left to attract foreign investment, partly in banking, construction and the real estate. It is the combination of these economic-supportive structures that the turmoil was founded in Dubai. Overall, Dubai came out heavily bruised by the crisis. Saif and Chucair (pp 3) argue that the UAE was not cautious enough so as to set up a ceiling for speculative investments that would in the end throw its banking system in disarray. In their view, Saif and Choucair (pp 3) this failure to caution the economy from the aforementioned investments led to serious problems in trying to deflate the growing property bubble. The onset of this situation meant a collapse of several foreign investment companies. To further complicate the situation, the UAE government failed in guaranteeing equitable working conditions for both local and foreign workers. The working conditions for foreigners, most of who worked for foreign companies that brought in substantial capital inflow turned for the worse, deplorable in the words of Saif and Churcair (pg 4). This was a major catalyst for an across-market shrug among these companies. A major walk out was imminent at this point, but the government was clever enough to secure the interests of its citizenry by placing them ahead of the foreign investors. This left these companies, which were initially troubled by failing prospects in their home countries, very little space to further influence events in the country. While foreign investment

Portfolio Project management Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Portfolio Project management - Term Paper Example The products of Wal-Mart are differentiated according to various ranges. Wal-Mart generally applies the combination of differentiation and cost leadership that is Wal-Mart emphasizes on providing various products and services with better quality by charging a price that is less as compared to its competitors. Wal-Mart has also been able to enter into its international market by the adoption of multinational business strategy. The prime reason of success of Wal-Mart is that it believes on focusing and developing the strategy of the single business which refers to as focusing and prioritizing on 95% of revenue that is generated from the grocery business. Wal-Mart generally adopts and formulates economies of scale for gaining cost advantages over its competitors. Wal-Mart has designed its products and services in such a way that it provides the customers to save money and also to live a better and proper life. Wal-Mart mainly consist of selling the products and merchandise such as by ma il, store or through online. Wal-Mart allowed the company to achieve an efficient and large scale supply chain; it has its own low cost brands such as the great value. Wal-Mart has designed a unique cost structure which allows and facilitates Wal-Mart to charge low and fewer prices from its customers and achieving high and effective competitive advantages. Wal-Mart has adopted a strategy by charging a low price and providing a good quality of products. Wal-Mart generally uses the aggregate forecast for investigating and monitoring the trends of customer purchase for each and every store. Wal-Mart is capable of maintaining inventory at a lower level and meeting the demand of the customer. The decrease or reduction in the level of inventory will lead to the decrease in the floor plan and lowering the expense of interest and also lowering the cost of carrying and providing a wide diversity of products that is displayed on the shelves of the store that is

LensCrafters Case Study Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

LensCrafters Case Study - Essay Example These factors, together with the chain’s value chain and potential challenges are the principal focus of this paper. LensCrafters’ operations strategy and sustainability based competitive advantage LensCrafters was the first optical vendor to promise its customers quality eyeglasses within a short duration of one hour. The chain is able to attain this challenging feat by introducing autonomous onsite optometrists, fully equipped optical laboratories, as well as, a broad range of glasses’ frames at every outlet. LensCrafters’ operations strategy is guided by its mission, which explicitly states that the chain focuses on being the world’s best optical outlet. This happens through creating a loyal customer base, by promoting formation of a dynamic team of leaders and associates, who craft high quality eyewear in just one hour, and deliver superior services that meet customer’s personal needs and preferences (Collier & Vans, 2011). It is clear th at LensCrafters is a distinctive optical chain in marketplace, since it offers full laboratory analysis onsite and is also able to provide the customers with quality eyeglasses or contacts within one hour or even less. This service is coupled with a ninety day guarantee, which allows customers to return their spectacles unconditionally or exchange them, if they do not meet specifications. Additionally, the optical retailer offers an extended protection scheme and optometrists to give customers’ a comprehensive eyes’ examination, while offering them the chance to pay later. This allows them to broaden the customer base, since everyone can afford services provided (Collier & Vans, 2011). In terms of sustainability, the company has a broad range of strategies that give it competitive advantage over rivals in the optometric industry. For instance, LensCrafters has focused extensively on its philanthropic efforts in the diverse societies in which its service outlets are loc ated. An excellent example is the optical retailer’s partnership with Lions Club’s branches to facilitate recycling of used spectacles, in order to help those individuals that do not have enough money to purchase new eyeglasses. This distinctive service is provided not only in the chain’s American domicile, but also in developing countries like South America’s Puerto Rico. This philanthropic act enables the optical dealer to provide its immense expertise to needy individuals. The strategy has brought the company a lot of goodwill among customers, since they know that associating with LensCrafters allows them to reach out to the underprivileged in society. Humanitarian efforts, therefore, gives LensCrafters competitive advantage over other global optical companies. For specificity, the company has programs like â€Å"Give the sight gift†, in which the company offers vouchers to needy customers, for them to acquire free eyeglasses. There is also the â€Å"See more† program, whereby official company vans travel to public schools locally and internationally giving free eye care to kids (Collier & Vans, 2011). Another important aspect is that, LensCrafters’ staff work for longer office hours. This allows them to cater for many customers, in an economic environment characterized by extremely busy work schedules and little free time. The firm also upholds environment protection efforts, an action evident from its eyewear recycling program. All these efforts clearly depict LensCrafters’

Leaders Analysis Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Leaders Analysis - Case Study Example Henry Ford is the pioneer of the Ford, who is well known for his leadership and intelligence. He manufactured first economy automobile that a middle-class person can afford. The primary reason behind Ford’s success is the strong relationship between Henry with the employees. The increment in the salaries of employees and initiative of eight hours work inspired the labor. Hiring employees of different citizenships and selecting incapacitated workers reflects the non-discriminated attitude of Henry. His interpersonal relationship with customers and comprehending their needs gave a successful future to the Company (Peng). Alexander Trotman took charge in 1993 as a Chairman and Chief Executive of Ford. His 38 years with the Company provided effective plans that ensured the Company’s success. Shares of Ford were increased from $11.45 to $32.25 in just five years. Ford gained a worldwide reputation and became a competitor of several international automobile companies. Trotman also received an award for his leadership from Excellence in Technology Award Committee. Although some of his plans failed due to a fault in implementation, his visions lead the company to success

Portfolio Project management Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Portfolio Project management - Term Paper Example The products of Wal-Mart are differentiated according to various ranges. Wal-Mart generally applies the combination of differentiation and cost leadership that is Wal-Mart emphasizes on providing various products and services with better quality by charging a price that is less as compared to its competitors. Wal-Mart has also been able to enter into its international market by the adoption of multinational business strategy. The prime reason of success of Wal-Mart is that it believes on focusing and developing the strategy of the single business which refers to as focusing and prioritizing on 95% of revenue that is generated from the grocery business. Wal-Mart generally adopts and formulates economies of scale for gaining cost advantages over its competitors. Wal-Mart has designed its products and services in such a way that it provides the customers to save money and also to live a better and proper life. Wal-Mart mainly consist of selling the products and merchandise such as by ma il, store or through online. Wal-Mart allowed the company to achieve an efficient and large scale supply chain; it has its own low cost brands such as the great value. Wal-Mart has designed a unique cost structure which allows and facilitates Wal-Mart to charge low and fewer prices from its customers and achieving high and effective competitive advantages. Wal-Mart has adopted a strategy by charging a low price and providing a good quality of products. Wal-Mart generally uses the aggregate forecast for investigating and monitoring the trends of customer purchase for each and every store. Wal-Mart is capable of maintaining inventory at a lower level and meeting the demand of the customer. The decrease or reduction in the level of inventory will lead to the decrease in the floor plan and lowering the expense of interest and also lowering the cost of carrying and providing a wide diversity of products that is displayed on the shelves of the store that is

Leaders Analysis Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Leaders Analysis - Case Study Example Henry Ford is the pioneer of the Ford, who is well known for his leadership and intelligence. He manufactured first economy automobile that a middle-class person can afford. The primary reason behind Ford’s success is the strong relationship between Henry with the employees. The increment in the salaries of employees and initiative of eight hours work inspired the labor. Hiring employees of different citizenships and selecting incapacitated workers reflects the non-discriminated attitude of Henry. His interpersonal relationship with customers and comprehending their needs gave a successful future to the Company (Peng). Alexander Trotman took charge in 1993 as a Chairman and Chief Executive of Ford. His 38 years with the Company provided effective plans that ensured the Company’s success. Shares of Ford were increased from $11.45 to $32.25 in just five years. Ford gained a worldwide reputation and became a competitor of several international automobile companies. Trotman also received an award for his leadership from Excellence in Technology Award Committee. Although some of his plans failed due to a fault in implementation, his visions lead the company to success

Humanitarian Neutrality Essay Example for Free

Humanitarian Neutrality Essay International humanitarian work operates on the principle of inviolability (Anderson 42). Humanitarian organizations and workers can gain access to states, establish presence through a physical base and local networks, and provide aid and other humanitarian services needed by people without experiencing harm or infringement by claiming inviolability as the moral basis of humanitarian work. This principle finds support from the operation of neutral position, impartial action and independent organization. Neutral position means that humanitarian organizations and workers take an apolitical stand when providing aid or assistance in another country (Weller par. 10). Impartial action refers to the provision of assistance to populations or groups based on a set of objective criteria designed to meet this purpose. Independent organization pertains to the decision-making and operation of humanitarian organizations and the conduct of their work without any intervention by external parties. Attacks by terrorist groups on humanitarian workers (Leaning 419) and the bombing of the ICRC headquarters in Iraq shook the inviolability of international humanitarian work (Anderson 42). A justification is the emergence of neutrality issues that affects inviolability. There is need to reassess neutrality and update this concept to represent current developments in international humanitarian work. Concept of Neutrality The origin of neutrality is the Latin term neuter literally translated to mean not either. This implies the existence of two positions or sides and being neutral means not taking any of the positions or sides. When applied to politics, neutral means abstaining from taking one side or the other such as in the case war between two states. This also refers to the state of not having any feelings or views leaning towards one position relative to the other. In international humanitarian work, neutrality then means the provision of assistance without taking part in conflict or war and siding one power in political disputes. (Leaning 418) This also means the provision of assistance to the people of a foreign country without doing anything that constitutes support to the cause or position of one party in cases of political conflict or war (Weller par. 10). Another conceptualization of neutrality in international humanitarian work is pure humanitarian relief by not leaning towards any side over political issues (Anderson 42). The clarification of the concept of neutrality in international humanitarian work is not lacking in effort from the United Nations and non-government organizations. Decades of work in developing a working concept of neutrality continues. This is not an easy task. The idea of neutrality continues to evolve with developments in international humanitarian work. The most compelling development is the involvement of humanitarian organizations and workers in political sides whether this is with their conscious knowing or not. The incident of abduction of humanitarian workers is on the rise with terrorist organizations or dissident groups using humanitarian workers to strengthen their political stand (Leaning 419). Humanitarian organizations positioned in Iraq supporting the rebuilding of the state received strong criticism from anti-western groups in Iraq for being involved in the political exercise of the United States (Anderson 42). These developments are inconsistent with the existing conceptualization of humanitarian neutrality. These also support the need to reconsider the concept of neutrality and its workings in humanitarian aid. Emerging Issues on the Concept of Neutrality The issues on the concept of neutrality encompass its definition and significance or role in international humanitarian work. The confusion and uncertainty about humanitarian neutrality requires resolution to strengthen the shaky foundation of international humanitarian work. One issue is the uncertainty in the conceptualization of humanitarian neutrality in the context of conflict situations (Leaning 419). This led to different positions over what humanitarian neutrality means and over its importance to humanitarian work. One position considers humanitarian neutrality as a core value in doing humanitarian work because it provides the framework distinguishing the nature of work and motivation in providing humanitarian aid (Leaning 418). Without the operation of humanitarian neutrality, organizations and workers providing humanitarian aid lose their purpose as apolitically aiding or assisting victims of humanitarian crisis. The collapse of humanitarian neutrality would make humanitarian organizations and workers agents of state actors or advocates of dissident and terrorist groups. However, even proponents recognize problems in the concept of humanitarian neutrality. This is in conflict with impartiality. While neutrality means inaction, non-involvement, or non-participation, impartiality means action with objective guidance. Objective action has different implications from inaction. (Weller par. 9-11) This could explain the instability of the inviolability of humanitarian work in the context of conflict. The other position considers humanitarian neutrality as passe in the current context. In the present context of humanitarian work, access and work in a state in conflict with external or internal parties involve conditions that become inevitably political by the conflict. Some organizations no longer use humanitarian neutrality and replace this with non-partisan (Leaning 419) stand to reflect their intention not to participate in conflict or war. This emerged from the recognition that humanitarian neutrality does not exist in the reality of humanitarian work because the provision of assistance depends on the parties involved in the conflict or war. Another replacement for humanitarian neutrality is civilian protection with components of protection of human rights and provision of relief (Leaning 419). Protection is not neutral because this operates relative to a party or threat. Provision of relief has basis on objective standards that could mean giving more aid to a particular group involved in the conflict. Another issue is the relativity (Anderson 42; Weller par. 12) of perspectives over the humanitarian neutrality of organizations and workers. This caused and constituted an outcome of the uncertainty in the conceptualization of humanitarian neutrality. The uncertain conceptualization of humanitarian neutrality led to the varying definition and incorporation into standards of action for different non-government organizations, with some organizations limiting their work to humanitarian aid in line with neutrality while others expanded their work to civilian protection in recognition of the ineffectiveness in practicing neutrality given changes in the context of humanitarian work (Leaning 419). This in turn further led to the erosion of the concept of humanitarian neutrality. Many state and non-state actors involved in conflict carry varied views towards humanitarian organizations. The susceptibility of humanitarian organizations to political actions led to the provision of access and inviolability based on the perceived possible political leanings of organizations (Weller par. 12) such as the booting out or the forced leave of American humanitarian organizations in North Korea and Iraq respectively because of ties to the United States. Conclusion Developments in the environment of international humanitarian work support the need to reconsider the concept of humanitarian neutrality. One is the need to redevelop or even overhaul the concept of humanitarian neutrality to make it align with the current context of humanitarian work. The other is the need to develop a widely accepted and recognized standard of practice to counter relativity. These are difficult and involve the contribution of humanitarian organizations. Works Cited Anderson, Kenneth. â€Å"Humanitarian Inviolability in Crisis: The Meaning of Impartiality and Neutrality for U. N. and NGO Agencies Following the 2003–2004 Afghanistan and Iraq Conflicts. † Harvard Human Rights Journal 17(2004): 41-47. Leaning, Jennifer. â€Å"The Dilemma of Neutrality. † Prehospital and Disaster Medicine 22. 5 (2007): 418-421. Weller, Marc. â€Å"The Relativity of Humanitarian Neutrality and Impartiality. † The Journal of Humanitarian Assistance February (1998): 54 pars. 29 April 2009 http://jha. ac/1998/02/28/the-relativity-of-humanitarian-neutrality-and-impartiality/

Private Tutoring The School Performance Of Senior Students Education Essay

Private Tutoring The School Performance Of Senior Students Education Essay Private tutoring has long been a major phenomenon in parts of Asia, including Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan. In this study, we attempt to highlight the relationship between private tutoring and students school performance in Hong Kong. It seeks to account the variety of factors of changing students school performance. The study certainly considers the declining of the confidence of education in current education system as one of the key factors. Meanwhile, the study will examine possible theories to attribute to attend private tutoring and school performance. Finally, we will discuss the effect of attending private tutoring that cause the students poor school performance in their school. In the recent decade, the academia has published a boom of studies on private tutoring in different parts in the world. In the same time, the researches of Bray Mark (2005) reveal that private tutoring is growing elsewhere, especially in the Asian Societies. In countries of Japan, Taiwan and Korean, more than one third students regularly receive private tutoring; in Hong Kong the proportion is considerable higher. As Baker and LeTendre (2005: 55) state, the use of private after-school activities has become a world megatrend among families with children apart from the local education system. Simultaneously, as Baker and LeTendre(2005:61) state that one of the most certain functions of private tutoring is the enrichment strategy. It means that the demand of the private tutoring is associated to the competition for future educational opportunities and the existence of high-stake examinations (public examination). For example, there is a close connection between ones educational qualifications and labor market opportunities. However, private tutoring also provides negative effect to the students such as decreased their interest and participation in school classes. Private tutoring is attributed to a lack of interest of the students. They have kept in mind that they can pay for someone who helps them pass in the examinations and they dont need to pay attention in regularly school lessons. Private tutoring create new educational opportunities for many individual but also placed heavy burden on the states education system (Silova et al.,2006b). In HK, according to the Professor Mark Brays research, there are about 70% senior forms students attending private tutoring. The proportions are higher especially just before important examinations. Meanwhile, according to Census and Statistics Department in 2005, from primary to secondary schools, the total annual expenditure of the tuition fee has reached 3 billion HK dollars. Although there are no lack of researches studying the tutoring culture in HK, still most of them are mainly focus on studying what motivates students attending tutoring or the relationship between private tutoring and academic achievement. Whether the out of school tutoring would affect the in-school education, yet it is remains invisible in most researches or debates, let alone policy documents. 2. Objective With a specific focus on the phenomenon, the study examines private tutoring phenomenon in Hong Kong and analyses its consequences for the students school performance in the secondary school. We aim to generate pervious studies and develop another aspect of this topic, to have a more specific research towards this topic. Hence, more specifically, our objectives are: To further understand the contemporary situation of private tutoring To examine the main factors leading to the change of school performance; (such as students expectation of tutors, confidence in current education system to help students to gain qualification) To test possible theories linking the relationship between private tutoring and school performance To examine how attending cram schools can affect the performance on mainstream schooling 3. Significance Explicit significance: The mainstream education system is expected to achieve a wide range of goals. It includes the development of all-rounded students who have sport and musical talent as well as academic interests or personal development. However, the standardize curriculum emphasized by private tutoring contrasts with that in mainstream schools. Examination-oriented tutoring institutes cut off the notion of the mainstream education and infuse the focus of passing examination into students mind. We view this phenomenon as negatively distorting the development of mainstream curriculum. Private tutoring can distort the curriculum in the mainstream system, upsetting the sequence of learning planned by mainstream teachers and exacerbating diversity in classrooms. (Bray, 2007) Indeed, the over emphasize the importance of private tutoring becomes the barrier over the development of all-rounded students. In fact, the phenomenon may be an expression of the students over the current education system. The increasing in public demand of private tutoring reflects the existing fundamental problem of current education system, especially the examination institution. Hence, it is the time now for HKSAR government and educationists to review on the current education curriculum. Implicit significance: This research is mainly based on the Brays observation. In his previous study, he mentioned that students attending private tutoring potentially lead to the poor school performance (Bray, 2007). But in the study, he did not concretely point out the theories or concepts to explain the attribution among attending private tutoring and poor school performance. Hence, our research indicates two relative theories to explain the mutual relationship which is called achievement goal theory and cultural of dependence. The notion of two theories and the attribution among attending private tutoring and poor school performance will be described in detail of the latter part literature review. Therefore, our research broadens the existing context of the theoretical framework in the study of private tutoring. We hope to have implications for understanding the contemporary students expectation towards the tutoring and what is more important is that we hope our research can find something useful for the contemporary educational organizations to enable students to obtain an all-round development and acquire life-long learning skills. Literature Review As forming a deductive research, we are going to apply two theories to test our hypothesis, which are achievement goal theory (Ames, 1992) and culture of dependence (Yasmeen, 1992) . Achievement goal theory (Ames, 1992) Achievement goal theory is the label used in educational psychology to discuss research into motivation to learn. Goals of learning are thought to be a key factor influencing the level of a students intrinsic motivation. According to this theory, it integrates cognitive and affective components of goal-directed behaviors. Since achievement goal theory argues the purposes of achievement behavior, it mainly studies an the integrated pattern of beliefs, attributions, and affects that produces the intentions of behavior and that it is represented by different ways of approaching, engaging in, and responding to achievement-type activities (Ames, 1992: 261). Under achievement goal theory, Ames (1992) suggests performance goal which focuses on students ability and sense of self-worth. The ability is built up by doing better than others, by surpassing normative-based standards such as examination. More importantly, students want to achieve their goal with little effort. Therefore, students believe learning is an only way to achieve a desired goal and attention is directed toward achieving normatively defined success (Ames, 1992). Base on this theory, we can understand that why students taking tutoring is so popular in following literature review. Senior secondary students attend to mass private tutoring The demand of receiving tutoring is high in senior students (form 4 to form 7) (Lee, 1996). It is because they are presumably sitting two open examinations, which are Hong Kong Advance Level Examination and Hong Kong Certification of Examination. The main reasons for Hong Kong students having tuition are that they are not satisfied with their academic performance. Also, some of the students say they that do not understand what their teachers teach in class (Lee, 1996: 8). Furthermore, there were 8% of respondents admitted preparing for the public examinations is a reason to have tuition (Lee, 1996: 8). In short, as mainstream schools cannot help students to improve their results to take in public examinations, senior students take in tutoring. Students gain from tutoring for taking in public examination The majority of students believe that the quality of tuition class is better than schools (Nanayakkara and Ranaweer, 1994). The reason is that students believe tutoring is a short cut to prepare for public examinations. Kwok (2009) mentions that in Hong Kong, tutors usually deliver exam skills and tips, so tutees do not expend full effort in learning individual subject and feel potential loss if they do not receive tutoring. Also, they, usually represent an authoritative teaching image because of their dress code. In other to meet tutees individual need, tutors introduce CDs and lots of supplementary resources to their tutees. Furthermore, in students view, idol tutors are regarded as famous teachers because they can inspire tutees to study efficiently (Kwok, 2009). For example, idol tutors persuade their tutees to select certain areas for revision. Some past public examination questions were covered in idol tutors lecture notes. All these cause students to rely on tutors rather than school teachers (Kwok, 2009). Culture of dependence (Yasmeen,1992) Yasmeen (1992) argues that lots of students tend to rely on tutoring because of its exam tips. However, classroom attention tends to reduce creation discipline problems for school teachers. In short, students regard only receiving supplementary tutoring is more important than learning with tutoring and mainstream school. Base on the culture of dependence, there is related information that is found from literature. Dependency on school teaching for examination Most students believe the result of public examinations is vital. Kwak (2004) points out that since university admission is determined by public examinations, but not students school records, students seek to prepare efficiently to take the examinations. In mainstream education, however, schooling not only focuses on examination achievement but also all-rounded education (Bray, 2007). In contrast, the content of tutorial classes is close to the major public examinations (Bray and Kwok, 2003). Hence, students tend to undermine the publics trust in school instruction (Kwak, 2004: 4). School performance Bray (2007) argues that tutoring will cause negative impacts on school performance. As some students rely on private tutoring too much, they may be less interested in mainstream education. Also, Students believe that private tutoring can inform student how to pass their examinations; they do not need to attend school classes except when they are required to do so by school regulations (Hussein, 1987). In Japan, some students are absent in school before examination. They just study at homes and attend in tutoring classes (Sawada and Kobayashi, 1986). Since topics have been covered in tutoring classes; students do not pay attention in mainstream education and have less confidence in teachers teaching (Nanayakkara and Ranaweer, 1994). There are also other factors affecting students performance in school like social network. Friendship in school is one of the factors to determinate students performance (Yang Tang, 2003). Since friends have same background like school environment (Fehr, 1996), students are more likely to access resources that may be good for coping with academic stresses (Ibarra, 1995). So, friendship network can let students confirm their academic performance (Baldwin, Bedell, Johnson, 1997). More importantly, a student who is central in a friendship network has a grater chance of helping others and being helped: thus, he is likely to perform better in the school (Yang Tang, 2003: 96). Furthermore, advice network in school can help students perform well in school. Advice network means that individuals share information and guidance for the completion of work (Sparrowe, Liden, Kraimer, 2001). When a student finishes his task, he can increase his work by obtaining help from available advice network. It reflects an individual is capable of accumulation knowledge and experience about task-related problem. If a student is central in his advice network, he is likely to perform actively in the school (Yang Tang, 2003). Conceptual Framework After reviewing the literatures, we form the following conceptual framework. Hypothesis These are our hypotheses of the study as follow: If students participation in tutoring is high, then students would have more gain from tutoring. According to achievement goal theory (Ames, 1992), one of the reasons motivate students taking tutoring is that they seek to success in examination with playing little effort. Therefore, we believe that students can receive lots of useful materials and information from tutors like examination tips supplementary exercise when participating in tutorial lesson for a long time. Higher students gain from tutoring, less dependency on school teaching for examination. According to culture of dependence, students will more rely on tuition than school for their study. So, we want to test whether the tuition for students are important and studying in mainstream schools can fulfill students satisfactions of taking examination efficiency. The less dependency on school teaching, the more difficulty concentration on study in school. The less dependency on school teaching, the less interest in school. The less dependency on school teaching, the lower attendance in school. After reviewing the literature, usually there are negative impacts on school performances that are mentioned after students receive tutoring. These hypotheses try to link up the former variables in our conceptual framework and studies whether there is a relationship between the three variables and the poor school performance. Conceptualization In this part, there are some definitions of the key concept that help us to clarify the nature and direction of the study. 1.) Definition of Private Tutoring According to the Mark Brays book which called the shadow education system: private tutoring and its implication for planners, the definition of private tutoring can be divided into four dimension. Firstly, it is the dimension of privateness. Private tutoring primarily concerned with tutoring provided for profit-making purposes by the private enterprises and individuals. It is not concerned with the supplementary help at public expense, such as provide head-start programmes for slow learners and the unpaid work, such as voluntarily help others with homework and tasks. Secondly, it is the dimension of the subjects which private schools provide. Private tutoring mainly focuses on the academic subjects, such as English, Cantonese or Mathematics rather than some extra-curricular subjects, such as musical or artistic skills. On the one hand, teaching academic subjects help students relieve the heavy academic load of formal classroom and solve the pressure of facing public examination. On the other hand, those non-academic subjects are merely for personal interest and indirectly related to the formal education system. Thirdly, the form of the private tutoring deserves special attention. The form of private tutoring may be provided in different ways. Some tutoring is provided one-to-one in the home of either the tutor or their client. Other tutoring is provided by correspondence in the mail or over the internet. But in our research, we mainly concentrate in the area of mass private tutoring, such as the tutoring provided by Modern Education and Kings Glory Education in Hong Kong. The form of mass private tutoring is there no more than 45 tutees in each tutoring class and the tutoring run both regular class (live) and video class. Meanwhile, the tutoring classes mainly focus on public examinations with intensive notes, revision exercises and on-line follow up services (Kwok, 2009). Finally, it is related to the education level of the target students. Private tutoring exists at the post-secondary and even pre-primary levels. In the majority societies including Hong Kong, private tutoring is most evident at the senior secondary level rather than the junior secondary and upper primary levels. Hence, the senior students in the secondary school can be reflected the phenomenon of private tutoring. At the meanwhile, senior secondary students more tend to perceive private tutoring as the gateway to success in public examination. Our research is mainly focused on senior secondary school students which mean form 4 to form 7 students. 2.) Gain from tutoring According to the study of Yiu (1996), he mentioned that the reasons why students attend the private and what their gain in the tutoring class. First of all, since the EMI schools used English to teach the subjects, students may be benefited from hearing the content again in Chinese. Private tutoring used Chinese as the medium of instruction certain increases students understanding of the topic and enhances their interest in learning. Secondly, tutors provide some extra notes and exam skills for the students which school teachers do not provide. Thirdly, tutors could help consolidate the content which school teacher teach in the class. Therefore, students have a deep understanding of school curricular. Finally, the extra teaching materials of the tutors provide extra-curricula knowledge to the students which they can not learn in class room. 3.) School teaching for examination To conceptualize the school teaching for examination, we will defend it is the materials that provide to students for preparation of examination. So, exercise, text book, skills for taking examination, quiz and mock examination which are provided by school will be considered school teaching to help students prepare for examination. It is because these materials can let students conform their knowledge and practice more in order to prepare them efficiency in taking examination. 4.) Definition of School Performance According to the definition of Indicator and Professional Developing Department (2007), the school performance can be divided into four main dimensions as following: attitudes and emotions (Personal) academic results (Academic) participations in groups (Social) performance in co-curricular activities (Social) At the meanwhile, the concrete meaning of poor school performance is the students who have: (i) difficulty concentrating on study (ii) decreased academic achievement levels (iii) decreased interest in school (iv) increased absences (v) not participate in class or co-curricular activities actively (vi) not willing to participate in groups But in our research, we do not measure academic results as an indicator of ones school performance. Its because the measurement of academic results need to take a long period time to collect the examination results from the students. Currently, students will get their results in Jane to July, and hence we do not have adequate time to finish our research before April. Measurement We choose the 4 level of measurement to form operation and assigns numerical values to the variables. Here are some examples in each variable: Students attending Tutoring NominalÆ’Â   classified into 2 or more categories E.g. Attending private tutoring 1) yes 2) no Gain from the tutoring IntervalÆ’Â   rank objects such that the magnitude of the difference between two objects can be determined E.g. Satisfactory towards the exam tips provided from tutorial Totally satisfied, 2. Satisfied, 3. Dissatisfied, 4. Totally dissatisfied) Besides of the 4 level of measurement, some scales are used to measure subjective feelings of respondents. Dependence on School Teaching for Examination We adopt the Semantic Differential Scale, which is constructed by Osgood in 1950s. It is interested in attitude toward an object but not in each respondents evaluation. E.g. Overall the lessons I am taking in school are Interesting __ __ __ __ __ Boring Useful __ __ __ __ __ Useless Easy __ __ __ __ __ Difficult Poor school performance We adopt the Likert scale, which is constructed by Rensis Likert in 1930s. Subjects are asked to indicate their degree of agreement or disagreement with a series of statements which are favorable or unfavorable to the construct. E.g. Student Attitudes towards Main Schooling Strongly strongly agree agree disagree disagree Q.1 Tutors is superior than teacher ____ ____ ____ ____ Q.2 absent at school servial times is OK since I can catch up the lesson by attending tutorials ____ ____ ____ ____ Research Design Purpose of Research The research is an explanatory and descriptive research. Explanatory: In the research, we will explain the conceptual framework we construct, as the conceptual framework constructed by our group, we will explain how we construct this conceptual framework. Descriptive: In the research, we will describe the statistical data we will get in the survey by questionnaire, in order to generate a finding of the survey. Nature of Study Deductive Approach: Our research will be conducted in deductive approach. After reviewing the literatures, we find two theories, which are Achievement goal theory and Culture of dependency, to prove that how students attending tutoring classes will affect their school performance. We will base on these two theories to conduct our research about the relationship between those two variables in Hong Kong, which are students attending tutoring classes and students school performance. Quantitative: In our research, we have quantitative research method to test the hypotheses in the research. Since we have concerned the difficulties of analysing qualitative data, we choose quantitative research method to conduct the research. We will use survey to obtain the information about how students school performance be affected after the students (respondents) have attended to tutoring classes. And for the survey, we will make use of questionnaire to conduct the quantitative research. Since we want to have statistical information to explain how students attending tutoring classes will affect their school performance. Sampling Sample size: The research will seek 150 respondents in the research from form 4 to form 7 secondary school students who have attended tutoring classes in Hong Kong. Non-probability Sampling: We will select non-probability sampling in the survey, as we do not have the name list of all form 4 to form 7 secondary school students in Hong Kong, we cannot select the probability sampling in the survey. Also, non-probability sampling is less costly and time-consuming, which are important advantages for us to select non-probability, as we do not have much time and budget to conduct the research. Purposeful Sampling: Our group considers that the school performances of the secondary school students from form 4 to form 7 are more influenced by the tutoring classes. Since they have to prepare for the public examination, such as HKCEE and HKALE, they may rely on the tutoring classes which focus on the techniques of examination, and this is just what the students need to prepare for the public examination. Convenience Sampling: The research targeted respondents are the form 4 to form 7 secondary school students who have attended tutoring classes. Therefore, our group will precede the survey in Park Lane Plaza in Tuen Mun, the reason for this is we consider that arcade has many tutoring schools inside, such as Beacon college, Kingsglory Education, Modern Education and Everlearning Eduaction. Therefore, we can capture the accurate samples that can match our targeted respondents, in order to enhance the validity of the research. Ethical Concern Our group has concerned the ethical concern may induce during the research, as we do not want to harm the respondents after participating in the research. And we have concluded the possible ethical concern in three kinds. Students may feel bad about participating in the survey. Students may worry if they have answered poor performance at school in the questionnaire will result in a negative effect to themselves and even their schools. Therefore, in the questionnaire, we will not ask students personal information, and also, we will ensure the information they provide must keep confidential. Students may worry about the survey that obstructing them from attending tutoring classes promptly. Also, students may think that the survey is time-wasting for them if they think the research will take for a long time. To deal with this problem, we will conduct the survey after those tutoring classes have finished, then, students may be free to participate in the research. Also, we will tell them the exactly time the survey will take, which is just about 8 10 minutes, and then the students may be pleased to participate in the survey, as the survey is not very long. The students may have doubt about the research and even us. As they may worry if their information answered will be misused. To deal with, we will inform the respondents who we are and show them our students identity card. Also, we will tell them what the purpose of the research is and how their information will be used in the research. More importantly, we will tell respondents that the information will keep confidential. Data Collection Methods Through this research, we want to find out the relationship between senior students in mainstream schools to attend tutoring class and poor school performance. To know the situation in Hong Kong, we will design a questionnaire and use quantitative interview. It is because data become more convenient to collect and more accurate that avoids subjective perception (Division of Sociology of Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1998). We know that there are three main methods to conduct the research with questionnaire in quantitative interview. They are face to face mode, telephone mode and postal mode. Although face to face mode is slow and the cost is high, we still applied it because of the call back rate and high veracity. In the questionaire, we try to narrow down and choose suitable interviewees. Then, we will ask them how often do they attend to tutoring class. Also, we can find what they can gain from tutoring class, dependency on school teaching for examination and school performance after they have attended the tutoring class. We hope through the quantitative interview using questionaire in face to face mode to find out the information that proves our hypothesis between senior students in mainstream schools to attend tutoring class and poor school performance. Data Analysis After we have conducted the interview, we will use bivariate analysis to prove the relationship between different items. Bivariate analysis means the analysis of two variables in the mean time, for the purpose to determine the empirical relationship between them (Babbie, 2004). Firstly, we have to prove diffetrent items of relationship to form our conceptual framework. We have to prove that if students attending more in tutoring class with spending more, they will expect more from the tutoring classes. Then, if students can gain more in tutoring class, they will depend lower on school teaching meterials for examination. And then, if students depend lower on school teaching meterials, they will gain poor school performance. Secondly, after we can prove four independentrelationships, we can try to link up them with running SPSS to find out do they connect altogether. Lastly, if they can be connected, that means our conceptual framework is correct. But, if they cannot be connected, we will find out the reasons and factors that make the relationship unconnected. Budget Schedule