Islamic or State schools

How Moslem parents make their determination of directing their kids to Islamic schools or to State schools.The survey of how Moslem parents decide to direct their kids to either Islamic Schools or public has now been studied for some clip and it has provided different replies for different inquiries. This survey has chiefly been carried out because of the now increasing grounds if the cultural and political differences being seen as a consequence of the diverse civilizations and faith in being amongst people of different ethnicities in the universe. For one to understand the strong differences that occur in people ‘s civilizations and beliefs, it is critical to look at the beginning of the procedure of socialization in a peculiar community or society. Socialization is the procedure whereby there is exchange of certain facets of a civilization between two different cultural societies. The socialization procedure normally begins at childhood. This is because kids are easy socialized in the norms that are involved in their civilization and this affects their societal mentality as they grow up. Education on the other manus is the transmittal of information and cognition from one coevals to the following. Education is a basic of every individual today to derive instruction. The Muslim civilization encourages its members to seek cognition. This is viewed to be one of the most cherished things that one can get in life because it enhances rational growing. Education is an single plus which no 1 can take away from another and which is necessary in traveling through life. In life and in Islam the greatest value of instruction is to enable one to supply good leading largely amongst the young person. The major aim of Islam is to enable the development of one ‘s character and besides one ‘s Islamic personality and this is what is emphasized in many Islamic schools . Parents play a major function in educating their kids. The initial instruction provided to kids under the counsel of their parents is really of import and shows the parents function. As kids grow the society they grow about has a great impact in act uponing the character of every single kid. However, the bad intelligence is that Moslems have been evidenced to be the most illiterate in the universe in a survey conducted in all Muslim states. This has led to many parents who value more limitless instruction for their kids to direct them to schools abroad to the western states. This has proved to be advantageous to their kids but has besides led to the debut of unobserved challenges to both the parents and the kids. For illustration In Britain, the Muslims send their kids to authorities schools and so they teach them at place or in the mosques. Consequently, like any other normal school in the universe, in province schools kids would frequently confront jobs like know aparting or strong-arming based upon their spiritual orientation. The harm whether it is psychological or physical can impact the behaviour and can act upon the Muslim pupil ‘s public presentation in the schoolroom. From the Muslim parents ‘ position, the cognition that their kids would have is traveling to be through a secular position and this frequently will be unfastened and indifferent towards any peculiar faith. As a consequence, there emerged two picks for Islamic parents to take in educating their kids. This is whether to direct them to Islamic schools or to province schools. This job started in the coming of the 20th century and due to chiefly Western influence and sometimes colonialism, Muslim parents sometimes preferable leaving merely secular cognition to their kids. The weak pupils were chiefly sent to spiritual schools known as Madrasas within their states. However those who migrated to the West chose to take their kids to both public and spiritual schools for a figure of grounds. These grounds applied both to those in the West and those in the middle-east. One of the best and most popular grounds among Muslim parents for the ground as to why they send their kids to Islamic schools is that it provides the perfect environing to larn the Muslim civilization because of an Islamic surrounding and environment. For illustration, kids in Muslim schools socialize with other kids of the Islamic followers and pray together in the Islamic manner. They are more significantly exposed to modern frailties that exist in urban and westernized schools such as fornication, intoxicant and drugs. Furthermore, Muslim schools are ideal centres to supply individuality in the society for kids. To turn out this, some interviewed Muslim kids attest that their parents would most likely send them to an Islamic school if there is the presence of one in their vicinity. This shows the penchant of many Muslim parents. Harmonizing to one Islamic based teacher in New York by the name of Yahiya Emerick states that Islamic Schools provide the kids with the chance to be able to place themselves with the Islamic community and its values and therefore it provides a sense of belonging to the kids and they feel that they belong to a certain community and proud to be identified with it. To back up this position, the president of the Muslim Education Council in Virginia points out that these Islamic schools provide a sense of dignity, pride and cultural individuality that the kids can non get in a populace or State school. His organisation Teachs largely decision makers and pedagogues about Islam and the Middle Eastern civilization. He besides adds that the sense of individuality comes from non merely socialising with other Muslim kids and praying together but besides from memories of praying and declaiming Islamic Bibles, listening to the Adhan and speaking about the jobs confronting the Islamic society and this proved to be invaluable for an Islamic person in the hereafter. However, there are many other grounds why parents sometimes prefer taking their kids to Islamic school. For illustration is that for illustration if a parent realizes that his kid is turning into being ill-mannered and boisterous, the parent may ensue in looking for a speedy solution to the state of affairs at manus and decide to direct his kid to an Islamic school and this is estimated to be the instance that has led about one tierce of the kids in Islamic schools to be admitted at that place. This nevertheless has proved to be extremely disadvantageous to Islamic schools because some of the kids expelled from public schools because of gross misconduct are being dumped in Muslim schools. This is said to be the consequence of the attitude of most Muslim parents that the Muslim establishments are effectual rectification centres for their kids alternatively of public schools which they see as holding a higher chance of being a accelerator for their kids ‘s bad behaviour. This has sometimes led to some parents kicking sometimes that Islamic schools are being a bad influence on their kids ‘s behaviour at times but Islamic establishments have been speedy to indicate out that the kids did n't all come a being of good behavior in the society and some had come from public school. Another good ground why Muslim parent take their kids to Muslim school is because they are more open to Islamic cognition in Muslim schools. The former president of the immature Muslims of Canada which is an organisation based in Ontario, Taha Ghayyur says that a batch of Canadian born Muslim kids have a batch of trouble in analyzing Arabic Hagiographas and the Quran and because of their interaction with other civilizations, they tend to hold a small difference in their position to Islam in comparing to their Middle-Eastern brothers and sisters. However, there are a figure of Islamic followings who besides believe that the information chiefly acquired in Islamic schools is much more limited as compared to that gained in Public schools. One of the people who support this position is Shabbir Mansuri who is the establishing manager if the institute of Fountain Valley which is a Council on Islamic Education based in California. Taking his illustration, he has three girls of which merely the youngest attends an Muslim school because Islamic schools were non available before when his two other girls were turning up. He points out that in the instance of his younger girl, she has been able to declaim the Surahs and Bibles from the Quran but he besides sees that the Islamic schools have non made a difference in the apprehension of the Quranic Bibles. This is considered to be one advantage of State schools because they help the kids understand what they are analyzing, This and many other grounds give cause to the determination of inscribing their kids in province schools. One ground for illustration is that in most public schools largely in the West, province school instruction is normally provided free by the authorities. This is an economic consideration by most parents in the universe. for illustration in the state of affairs of Islamic parents populating in the West, it is merely when they grew in Numberss and acquired more resources that they opened more Muslim schools get downing from kindergarten to high school. As a consequence, it is estimated that in topographic points like in Northern America entirely, there are soon about three hundred Islamic schools which provide integrated instruction. In instances of where there were lower resources, the kids were taken to province schools during the weekdays and to Islamic schools during the weekends. Another factor is that due to the high registration rates to public schools, there are a higher figure of persons from different societal and economic backgrounds and this is non ever a bad factor as and enables kids to encompass people of different backgrounds. This is a point supported by many broad Islamic households populating in the West. Other factors which give an advantage to province schools over Islamic schools are that have sometimes better qualified and trained and certified instructors who provide standard instruction to the kids. The instructors are chiefly nonsubjective in impacting the needed cognition on the pupils and supervising the pupils ‘ advancement. This is the chief ground that many Islamic parents sometimes send their kids from the middle-east to the western schools. This can be evidenced by the kids of the sovereign of Saudi Arabia and Dubai. In decision, it can be observed that the boundaries of cognition are spread outing on a day-to-day footing and in the western universe ; Muslim parents are confronting an ever-increasing challenge of make up one's minding the right school for their kids. It overall clear that the every parent would wish to inscribe his or her kid in a school that provides academic excellence and religious growing but it is largely the function of the parents to weigh the better option between Islamic schools and public schools. This is by seting their disadvantages and disadvantages together and sing what is best for their kids.MentionsLawrence D. , ( 2005 ) . A Concise History of the Middle East. London ; Westview PressLevy, Reuben ( 1969 ) . The Social Structure of Islam. United kingdom: Cambridge University Press.Ridgeon, L ( 2003 ) . Major World Religions ( 1st ed. ) . London. Routledge Curzon publishing houses.Shahid A. ( 1998 ) . Sex Education: An Islamic Perspective.London. Oxford University P ress.Hamsa Y. ( 2002 ) . Understanding Muslim Education and Elementss of Success. Cairo: Alhambra Productions

A risk that paid off

The greatest and most accomplished men in any age are those who launch out boldly into the unknown, not fearing what the untried paths ahead held in store for them, but believing, even beyond belief, that there was a great prize awaiting them at the end of their endeavors.The journey of life itself is about taking risks and I have never been afraid to press towards my own uncertainties in the hope that the result, though undefined, would either make or break me. There was one considerable risk that I took in my life that turned out to be quite profitable and which has contributed significantly to my development.Some years ago I took on the challenge to invest in some real estate in the hopes that I could reap some financial benefits in either the short or medium run. It was a bit difficult for me deciding to invest my personal resources into purchasing a house that was in need of significant amounts of repairs.When the opportunity presented itself I at first considered that I was not in a very secure financial position at the time that would allow me to recover if I encountered losses as a result of the investment I was contemplating. I weighed the odds and had considerable input from my closest of friends and family in helping me to arrive at a decision.The situation was going to be a challenge to me and I have not been known to back down from a challenge. However, launching out into real estate investment was an uncharted path for me and I therefore feared that things wouldn’t go as well as I desired.In situations like these, when contemplating whether or not to take on risk, Wee and Morse (2007) advise that the equation between the possible successes and failures be weighed carefully. Whatever option I examined in making my decision was a great challenge for me. I feared that if I purchased the property and did the improvements I   would end up losing considerably at the end of the day.On the other hand I also feared that this project was the breakt hrough that I have been begging for for so many years and that I would miss out on a wonderful opportunity. It was Collin Powell who had said â€Å"You never know what you can get away with until you try† (as cited in McGowan, 2007, p. 105) and I wasn’t about to miss out on potentially my only chance by shying away from the challenge. Therefore, my reservations aside, I decided to purchase the property.McGowan (2007) suggests that once prudence is exercised in critical risk-taking situations and once proper planning is in place then the prospect of failure, in any endeavor, is significantly minimized. My attack plan with the real estate investment, was therefore to undertake the improvements to the property I purchased at as minimal a cost as possible so that if the returns on sale were not favorable I would not have lost too considerably.In order to ensure that the improvements remained within budget I had to undertake all of the work on my own. The property needed si gnificant amount of work in terms of tiling, painting and landscaping and I undertook these tasks independently. Of course it was taxing on my energy, time and resources to undertake this on my own. However, each day when I saw the improvements I was comforted that my efforts were not being wasted.Gradually I was able to accomplish all the repairs and produced my own work of art. I was really impressed with the way I was able to face up and kept focus on the task during this critical stage of my investment. My motivation was the prospect that the returns I obtained would be considerable and my efforts would not have all been in vain.The long and short of the story is that I was able to double my investment on the property. When I placed the property on the market it was not long before I got calls from eager customers willing to pay me way above what I had initially invested in the project. The improvements I had undertaken really made a significant difference to the point where I w as able to double the money I spent on the property. Indeed the success of my venture proved to me that, according to Wee and Morse (2007), those who are wiling to launch out and try something new, are the ones that achieve in life.Had it not been for this risk-taking activity my life would have been significantly different to date. For me, aside from the financial gains from the investment, the most important benefit of that single venture is being able to take some time off from work and return to college.For some time I had been considering going back to college but given my work situation I knew I would not have been able to afford the tuition and additional costs any time soon. I am where I am today because of the opportunity afforded me by that single venture.

Basic Skills Test

While growing up we have ideas about what we want to do with our life when we graduate from high school. These decisions include: going to college, picking a major, and figuring out where you want to go after college. I wanted to go to Western Illinois University and declare a major in the elementary education program because Western Illinois has a good teacher education program. I always wanted to become a teacher since I was a little girl, because my first grade teacher has inspired me to become a wonderful educator. One of the requirements for education majors is to take the Illinois certification test, which is the Basic Skills test. The Basic Skills test is a certified test that is composed in variety of subjects that an educator needs to know before getting a teacher’s certificate. In order to be approved for teaching in the state of Illinois, you must pass this test. Furthermore, should the Basic Skills be considered a requirement into the education program? According to the Chicago Sun-Times, in 2010 Linda Tomlinson, Assistant Superintendent at the State Board of Education, said, â€Å"some would-be teachers have failed the current test at least 20 times†. However, recent changes now give teaching candidates only five chances to pass (Rossi Rosalind, Chicago Sun Times). I know now that I was not the only one who did not pass the Basic Skills test the first time. Whenever I hear how important this test is from my advisor and even from other education majors around me, I get nervous. Testing is required of candidates seeking an Illinois teaching license since 1988. The only way I can continue in education next semester is to pass the test. After reading this article, I am afraid I won’t be able to major in education anymore because of lack of test-taking skills. I’m not a good test taker because of test anxiety which includes time, forgetting the information, and getting nervous before the big test. If I fail the Basic Skills test a third time, I might have to consider changing my major. I do not want to change my major, because I know I would enjoy teaching very much. If you do not pass the test after five times, you are not allowed to teach in the state of Illinois. According to the Chicago Tribune, in 2011 an unknown â€Å"reporter† said; â€Å"No, we're not rooting for aspiring educators to fail. But we are rooting to see only the best candidates become teachers† (Chicago Tribune). As a future educator, I am opposed to this idea that college students are not becoming teachers because they are failing the Basic Skills. The statistics that updated each year from different universities are losing students who want to become future educators. Taking the Basic Skills test for future educators is harder than you think it would be; because you need to have the knowledge of a future educator when taking this type of state assessment. Most college students have to make a decision about backup plans after realizing that they didn’t pass the test. It would be disappointment knowing that you worked hard, you are halfway through college, and now you can’t continue with your major. I think that the state board of education should rethink the testing procedures because there is more to teaching than just being able to pass the test. For example, future educators can get observed by their work of teaching, have an interview process about the literacy of teaching, and many other kinds of processes that could be established in a college setting to prepare students to become excellent educators. The Basic Skills is one of the most important tests that future educators have seen, taken, or studied for. As a first time test-taker, our job is to research what the test is all about, what is the Basic Skills? More importantly, what is a test? Some people can say that a test is a series of questions that tests our knowledge; or a test can be defined, â€Å"as a particular process or method for trying or assessing (â€Å"Oxford English Dictionary†). † The Basic Skills is a test where you get certification to teach in the state of Illinois. The test considers four different sub sections reading, language arts, mathematics, and writing (Illinois Leisure Testing System). The results I’ve heard from my advisor, and researching some statistics from other Illinois school; there are many future educators who have failed the Basic Skills. Because of that, they are out of the teacher education program. The teacher education program is based on a series of tasks that are required to be pass before moving onto the next level (Jeanne Gage, Advisor). Some of the tasks to be considered are: passing major course classes in college, writing a reflective paper, and aving test taking skills. Returning to the certification process, I ask myself what is certification? Is there a certification just like the Basic Skills? Certification means â€Å"an official document attesting a certain fact, in particular† (Oxford English Dictionary). There are many different types of certification from ownership, achievement, and marriages. For the Basic Skills it’s considered an achievement certification. Teacher certification is known as â€Å"document of proof† that a teacher can use to become a teacher in a school setting. Anyone can take this test and get a teaching certification. You may think that a certification can be easy, as it seems; but not a certification that requires testing abilities and some college classwork. Just like taking your driver’s test to get your license to drive, the teaching certification requires a series of test questions relating to a common course setting and some basic skill methods you learned in school. You may wonder if any other profession has a similar test like the educators do. Lets take a future college student who wants to become a lawyer and what kind of test that he or she would have to take. In research, if a student wants to become a lawyer in the state of his or her choice. The student must take the Bar examination to become a certified lawyer. What is a Bar examination? The Bar examination is a rigid test of knowledge in all fields of law (Illinois State Bar Association). Just like the Basic Skills for educators, the future lawyers have to prepare in a similar fashion to future educators. The difference is the educator is tested in reading, language arts, math, and writing; while the lawyer has to know the different aspects of law that exist today. Another example is a college student who wants to get into the nursing program. All students who want to become a nurse have to take the HESI exam in order to be certified as a nurse. What is the HESI exam? The Health Education Systems Inc. is a timed, computerized test that consists of six academic exams: reading comprehension, vocabulary and general knowledge, grammar, basic math skills, biology and anatomy, and physiology (TMCC). This test is similar to the Basic Skills, but has only two extra subjects that need to be taken. No matter if you’re an educator, a lawyer, or a nursing major there is a test for every type of career that is required to be passed. In the beginning of my research, I have found that many future educators have not passed the Basic Skills. When I thought about how these future educators have not completed the Basic Skills; there should be an alternative process and still become an educator. What would be the opposite of a certificate? I have found no answer to this question: but, in my opinion an optional choice for certification for educators should be this. They should be able to pass all major college courses with a B or above. If a student can be able to get all of their classes passed with this requirement, they can be able to teach after college. Why is the Basic Skills the best way to certify our future educators? Is the state board making the best choice for every future educator? The Basic Skills is the best way to certify our future educators so that each individual should be able to understand the concepts when put into a classroom full of students. Without taking this test, the future educators won’t know what is supposed to be taught when it comes to teaching. For example, if a future educator hasn’t looked at the test, they wouldn’t be able to understand the concepts that are being tested. The state board is making the best choice to have future educators take this test; they need to know if they are the best educators. If we had poor educators, then how would our future students be able to learn their basic skills the correct way? How does the Basic Skills test accomplish its goals? According to the Oxford English Dictionary the definitions of accomplish is known â€Å"as achieve or complete successfully. Oxford English Dictionary)† The purpose of this test is to have future educators be able to accomplish the main standards in Illinois. As of October-December of 2012 only 31 percent out of 3,153 test takers have passed the Basic Skills (Illinois State Board of Education). It is a disappointment that we can’t get more than 31 percent to pass this test. In more depth, from September 2008-August 2011 at Western Illinois University 1,823 students have attempted the test; with having 1,777 students passed the test. But, at Eastern Illinois University 3,910 students have attempted; 3,773 have passed the test (Illinois State Board of Education). Since we don’t want any future educators to fail the Basic Skills, we don’t want to bring down the teacher rate in the near future. The question that we should think about is, should we keep the Basic Skills test or have another option into getting a certification in the State of Illinois? People may wonder if this Basic Skills test has a cost. There is a fee that requires to be paid in order to take the Basic Skills. For example, the Basic Skills test costs about $120 and each different sub section costs about $99. If one future educator has not passed any of the sub sections, they are required to repay $120. If another future educator only passed three of the sub sections, they only have to pay $99 (Illinois Leisure Testing System). I think that it’s ridiculous because we future educators can’t afford these prices, and we cannot afford to buy another examination test. With the economy being a problem in our society, how are we supposed to take a test that costs too much money? This is considered one issue about the Basic Skills and should be reconsidered for future educators. Throughout many generations, a future educator has been through many different processes of becoming a teacher. Recently, to get into the education program, future educators have to take the Basic Skills test to be determined if they are considered an educator. My question I like to consider, how did past future educators become certify as educators? Did they have to take the Basic Skills many years ago? Did they have a whole different certification process compare to what we have today? From my research, I’ve found out many interesting facts on how future educators were certify in past. New Jersey examinees had to take a written examination and receive a high rating in order to get certified in 1983. New Jersey educators would have to write a long essay on what they would be considered for the teaching job; skills, ability, lesson planning, etc. Other than taking the written portion they also accept the state examination that is considered the basic skills; the only difference compared to 1983 is they only had a writing portion instead of multiple assessments and know that they are willing to take the step up in the classroom management developmental process. It’s considered as a student’s choice in New Jersey whether these future educators want to take a huge writing portion and also decide to take the Basic Skills as an optional choice. Another state that I found interesting in the same period is known as the sunny state of Florida. In this journal a debate was in progress on whether the basic skills should be determined as a minimum competency scoring level or have a more higher education and pass a type of GED test that can be require for a certification. Since testing was huge in Florida, college students had the option to become educators but they were the ones to determine their future. This journal has been dated back in 1983 when there was a debate on whether future educators should have an option of choosing a simple exam compare to more of a challenging exam (Florida’s Minimum Competency Program: A Survey of Teacher’s Options). In this journal there are some evaluations charts that show the results of what the future educators consider as a new requirement. For example, â€Å"the Minimum Competency approach will probably result in minimum skills becoming maximum skills†; voters of education majors have marked this type of debate as 37. % agreement, 16% neither, and 46. 3% disagreement. (Florida's Minimum Competency Program: A Survey of Teachers' Opinions) The vote and other ballots have determined efficiency on how teaching requirements could be changed in 1983 (Florida Minimum Competency Program). These ratings/charts can be found on this journal if you need more information on how the voting process has worked and an explanation on each de bate. California, a state providing a large portion of the nations educators, recently had a survey attempting to better understand how educators are assessed. Most of these cases came from interviews, standardized tests, and most importantly how they contributed in a classroom setting (Teacher’s Perspective on Competency-Based Testing). With the different types of observations that were made among the future educators and their observers; the information that was given by the observer, are put into a chart to determined the typical requirements for a California teaching license. Some of the information presented in these charts are what scores each observer have, the percentage of determination, and lastly if they are qualified for the teaching certificate. There is also more information on how the certification process and even some recommendations that can be used for future educators in 1991 (Teacher’s Perspective on Competency-Based Testing). In the state of Illinois there are requirements for a teacher certification from 1919. If you were to become an educator, you had to follow a credit system that is given to you at the beginning of your application fee. A credit system is the based amount of points that you will receive after completing each task. Indeed, back in 1919 you were supposed to fill out an application and pay a small fee in order to begin your application into the field of education. There are also certain sub-sections that are require to be accomplished in order to receive a certification. For example, 35 points for successful teaching, 30 points for attending at the annual institute, 8 points for attending eight one-hour at the superintendent board of education meetings, and there is also many other requirements that are needed to receive the points towards a teacher certificate (Certification of Teachers in Illinois). In my opinion, getting a teacher certification seems pretty easy when you lived back in 1919; because you only have to follow a credit system and not take any kind of assessments that is presented in Illinois today. Most importantly I wish that this could be a permanent option instead of taking the basic skills test for the state of Illinois. No matter what state you’re determined to live in, there is a certain way that there will be a certification test for any future educator. As of today, all fifty states including the state of Illinois are required to take the Basic Skills test in order to become certified as an Illinois teacher. A question to be considered should it be easy to become a teacher? Or would many college students have to rethink of a new major before coming into college? The Basic Skills test is a required test taken by students wanting to become educators. The Basic Skills test is an examination that consists of reading, language arts, math, and writing. These future educators would have to take this examination before moving on into their method courses. In most research, students have failed the Basic Skills test the first time they took it (JSTOR, Google, ERIC). For example, only 31 percent of all test takers have passed while the other 69 percent are still struggling in the state of Illinois (Illinois State Board of Education). There are many resources online including: Illinois Leisure Testing, Test Prep Review, and also some other University websites that can help students to prepare for the Basic Skills. I’ve used all of these websites to help me get some preparations done for the big test date and they are very helpful. There are also preparation classes that are offered in selected universities taught by professors involved in education. Some classes includes: introduction to the Basic Skills, classes for each of the sub section of the test, and just some classes that have tutors who already passed the Basic Skills to help other students. Western Illinois University offers these classes each semester along with Eastern Illinois University, University of Illinois Champaign, and University Illinois Chicago. Recently, the Illinois state board of education allows you to take the ACT instead of the Basic Skills. There are also preparation classes that are offered around the community and online just for the ACT. Taking down some evaluations of future educators, they say that these prep classes work because they have passed the test with the extra help. Many of these resources can help students become more familiar with the test and also have a refresher on many of the subjects that being tested in each of the examinations. Many future educators have failed the Basic Skills and have to decide what to do to not make the same mistakes. Recently, there are many different types of online preparation including study guides, helpful hints, and a practice test to help future educators can get more practice with the test format, or even on a single sub section that he or she needs more help on. These preparation courses are huge among students who want to become educators after graduation. Many of these programs include: Pearson and Stanford Excellence. These companies have come up with completed study guides and some helpful tips when it comes to test day. Google is also another source to look up preparation materials for the test; and it’s very helpful for those who are in danger to pass the test. Cost is considered another reason why many future educators are frustrated over the examination. Do you remember when I mentioned how much a test cost for potential new educator; it costs more than buying a week worth of groceries if you think of it. Many institutions are working on making free preparation classes for students who are in need of practice for the Basic Skills. This semester at Western Illinois University, the education department has taken time to ask many professors to coordinate free preparation classes for students in need of math, reading, and language arts. Not only Western Illinois University has to offer these preparation classes, but many other institutions including: Eastern Illinois University, Illinois State University, and University of Illinois in Champaign. These universities have taken their time to offer classes that can help future educators pass the Basic Skills before moving on into the next step of the career. Besides all of the preparation courses that are offered at institutions, I have taken some time to look at some of the other states in our country regarding about the Basic Skills. California has a policy that students can take an alternative procedure of the Basic Skills and still get into the teacher education program. This policy is considered of having an early alternative admission plan; where students can still take most of their classes and get a low score on their examination (Coping with the CBEST: Alternative and Inclusive Approaches). Unfortunately, as of today this process has been removed from the California State Board of Education; because the State Board has decided to become familiar with a Basic Skills test just like all of the states are doing for their teacher requirements. In my opinion I wish that this process would take over the new requirements for becoming an educator; because if students would like to take classes early and remove their scores from the system. They will be able to get their teacher certification within a breeze of time. Recently in the state of Illinois, the State Board of Education has approved n alternative test arrangement for students who do not want to take the Basic Skills. Every student should know when applying for colleges during their senior year of high school, they have to take the ACT. But, educators can retake their ACT and pass it with a 22 to bypass the Basic Skills. Another option includes the SAT and educators would have to get a score of 1030. Both of these examin ations are required to be less than ten years old from the test date and must include the writing portion of the examination (Illinois Administrative Rule Change). This portion of the certification process can help students who had a hard time with the Basic Skills and be able to take the examinations for less than half the cost of the Basic Skills. The Basic Skills test is a require examination that students have to take before they are educators. In this essay alone, I have found many interesting facts regarding to the Basic Skills within the state of Illinois and even a few other states. Including some of the history, facts, and solutions about this examination. I also hope that this work will help not only myself, but for future educators that are willing to go into the teacher education program. The only way to be able to succeed in the teacher education program is to be able to prepare future educators with this examination. Especially with the solutions I provided in this essay, it should be very helpful to many college students not only around the state of Illinois; but the other 49 states that are involved in this process. The Basic Skills is a required examination, and it’s one of the most important steps in the teaching career.

Purdue Academic Integrity Seminar Questions Research Paper

Purdue Academic Integrity Seminar Questions - Research Paper Example [d] Some core values are broadly shared among people in diverse cultures, whether it is Chinese people in 3rd century BC, because human relationships bordered on same linearity, irrespective of people and time. 2. Alan Greenspan is being realistic about the possibility of "business ethics", that too in the current business environment, because ethics in business can protect the organization from external negative influences or criticisms. If an organization indulges in unethical practices in its functioning, it can be picked by external players like its customers, government agencies, watchdogs, media, etc., and that can result in failure of its products, deterioration of its brand or ethical image, thereby leading to its eventual fall. Greenspan validates this perspective by pointing out how economic transactions of organizations are bound by codes and laws, and how all the involved parties follow it to avoid dangerous repercussions. 3. To strengthen one’s self-control, individuals can take number of constructive steps. The first one is, clearly instilling in the individual’s mind, that their mind is totally in their â€Å"control†, and no external person or aspect could physically control it. That is, in line with the perspective of Roberto Assagioli, an individual should realize that although external persons could impact his/her mind through words and actions, they cannot physically ‘inject’ their words into the individual’s mind, and so it is in the control of the individual to allow only the thoughts that are favourable for him/her. The second strategy is, even if negative and unfavourable thoughts enter an individual’s mind, he/she should minimize the time those thoughts oscillate in the mind, and should eventually eliminate. The final strategy to strengthen self-control is, the individual should move on with their life by focusing on constructive and positiv e things, instead of allowing those negative aspects to

How Far were the Parlements Responsible for Bringing About the End of Essay

How Far were the Parlements Responsible for Bringing About the End of the Ancien Regime - Essay Example This essay declares that the rage of Parlements against the government, the economic collapse and the financial downturn of Frenchmen paved way for the commencement of revolution. All these events took rise during the regime of King Louis XVI, debilitating the extent of his influence on the masses. Amongst all these factors, the parlements owing to their contravention against the King, are considered to have prominently led to the initiation of this revolution. This paper sheds light on the extent to which the parlements could be held responsible for bringing about the end of the Ancien regime. It also illuminates the motivation that made the parlements to take this stance against the government particularly in the era of the King Louis XVI. This paper stresses that the magistrates of court having prominent authority during the Ancien regime were referred to as the Parlement. Doyle elaborates, â€Å"the parlement of Paris was the highest court of appeal in a vast jurisdiction covering approximately one-third of the kingdom† . Parlements were the magistrates assigned by the government to register any law passed by the ruler and also, generally, to provide judgments on the cases that were brought before them. This is not to be implicated that parlements were merely unauthorized people working under the king’s dominance. Rather, these happened to be noble and prominent figures of those times, highly respected by the society as well as the government.

New York Times Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

New York Times - Research Paper Example The New York Times sold content portal About Group in late 2012. Chairman Arthur Sulzberger and his family control the company through a trust. The company has vowed to develop content from existing and emerging platforms like the wireless communication, in-house digital media, broadband technologies and the internet (Drexler, 2007). In an effort to acknowledge, the tremendous performance The New York Times has had through its segments since inception, the paper seeks to perform a business and corporate level strategy analysis of the firm and predict its future in the communication sector. The New York Times Media Group: The New York Times Media Group comprises of the New comprises of the New York Times which is a daily and Sunday newspaper media house; the New York Times index which is a print publication and in addition producing and licensing the New York Times Index; the International Herald Tribune which is a daily Newspaper; NYTimes.com; Digital Archive Distribution business that is responsible for licensing electronic archive database to resellers of that information in the professional, business, and library markets (Drexler, 2007). The New York Times Media Group is also responsible and management of the New York Times News Services Division. This main function New York Times News Services Division is the transmission of articles, graphics and photographs from the globe, the Times and several other publications to magazines, newspapers and web sites (New York Times (Firm), & In Claiborne 1966). New York Times News Services Division also performs the function o f distributing content online in addition to other digital platforms including e-reader and mobile applications, and social networking sites. The New England Media Group: This segment of New York Times comprises BostonGlobe.com which is a paid subscription Web site; the Boston Globe which is a daily and Sunday newspaper. Boston.com is also

Evaluate the Self Control Theory of Crime Essay

Evaluate the Self Control Theory of Crime - Essay Example Negative feelings such as guilt, shame, inferiority, depression, self-pity, anger, fear, revenge, unforgiveness, resentment, jealousy, envy, etc., are just to name a few that emotionally affects self-control. Man is a rational creature - is the notion assumed at first by self-control theory. A person usually balances sound judgment before making a sensible decision. According to Gottfredson and Hirschi, crimes are restraints or deception that a person continues to do since he gains maximum benefits with little effort. Illegal act or violation of laws pledges great compensation with little harm present. Because of these findings, Gottfredson and Hirschi regarded a person's tendency to perpetrate crimes with their level of self-control. People with low self-control usually can't suppress themselves from the tempting instant gratification. The two authors discussed the root of low self-control prosper at a young age because of futile or defective environment. There are several studies that established on the basis that a man's development is conditioned by his past experiences, specifically the formative years. A healthy, pleasant experience during childhood may be considered as most conduc ive to the development of an emotionally stable and mature individual. Conversely, the growth of a child in a traumatic, unpleasant atmosphere particularly with parents, guardians, siblings and peers conditions the development of personality disorder. Low self-control is a behavioral problem that may be seen among people with childhood hang-ups and traumas. Frail or deficient relation, guidance, and cultivation from parents before the child is eight years old are possible reason of unsuccessful personality. Gottfredson and Hirschi's reports gain support from empirical literature in regards to the connection of low self-control to crime or deviance. Low self-control was considered at least a moderate predictor of crime and deviance, according to Pratt and Cullen's (2000) meta-analysis that was shown in more than twenty studies (Higgins and Ricketts, 2004; Gottfredson and Hirschi, 1990). The following are characteristics of an individual who has weak self-control: adventurous, troublemaker, lack perseverance, involved in prohibited sexual activities, not interested in long-term work and educational goals and has difficulty in keeping a stable work and enduring personal relationships. With respect to crime, people deprived of needed satisfaction and demands when growing are those who resort to violence and commit petty crimes. They engage in such unlawful act to win attention or recognition or just to exercise freedom. Gottfredson and Hirschi also asserted that people who enter into a pseudo-abnormal manner such as smoking or drinking have low self-control. A noted comment or criticism of self-control theory is that it reduces the importance of the outcome of race and economics status instead it was concentrated on parenting as the resort of having low self-control in the early stage of life ("MicroCase exercise

Make up your own topic Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Make up your own topic - Essay Example In this regard, the article would be critiqued focusing on logical presentation of contentions in the most balanced and objective way. The essay hereby aims to proffer the effectiveness of the author’s discourse using appropriate critical analysis techniques, as required. To analyze the essay in a logical form, one needs to clearly set the meaning of a critical analysis. One’s academic background and learning from various modules on critical thinking recognizes the involvement of rational and logical thinking skills in closely evaluating the effectiveness of a discourse to determine if the specified objective is achieved. Using these explanations, the article initially started with an introductory paragraph that provided some background information on the author’s rationale for pursuing music as an academic major. However, introductory paragraphs need to establish the general overview of the discourse and stipulate the author’s aim and thesis statement as well. In this article, the introductory paragraph did not contain the author’s purpose nor the thesis statement, as required; thereby failing to comply with the general requirement of an academic essay. The author proceeded with a narrative discourse of how people wrongly perceived music courses, in general. While indicating that the perceptions are false, the author did not support the statement but instead, diverted the discussion to presenting some approach to seek respite from the demands of the course. Further, the structure and arguments that are supposed to prove that music is not an easier path was not effectively and logically presented. For example, the paragraph that is supposed to discuss that long hours of practice cut homework time in core and other courses did not support this contention in any way; but instead, opted to discuss the challenges posed by taking a diction course for vocal performance majors. The general arguments that

Learning Theories Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Learning Theories - Research Paper Example Because of that, different types of learning methods are prevailing among people. Different scholars and psychologists have formulated different learning theories after comprehensive researches and studies. â€Å"Although there is no acceptable definition of learning, a generally accepted definition of learning is any relatively permanent change in behavior that occurs as a result of experience† (Chowdhury, 2006, p.1). Learning is a process and a product at the same time. Many of the psychologists defined learning as a change in behavior. It is a fact that all the people behave in a particular way based on their knowledge level. For example, a person who has completed college education may behave more diplomatically than a person who has not completed college education. In other words, learning makes lot of behavioral changes in a person’s life. ... Customization of these learning theories is necessary for a student to learn the topics properly. In other words, every student should have a customized learning strategy or theory in order to learn the topics properly. This paper describes my ideas of â€Å"the best learning environment† and supports it using the theoretical perspectives of what defines the "best of" in education. Learning Theory and its importance â€Å"Learning is a personal act. We each place our own personal stamp on how we learn, what we learn and when we learn. How we learn is a question that begs the answer--based on learning theory† (Chowdhury, 2006, p.2). As mentioned earlier, no two individuals are alike in their learning methods. Different people use different methods for learning a particular topic. The awareness about different learning theories will definitely help the educators in providing customized learning environments for each student. For example, brighter students may require more complex assignments whereas average or below average students may require simple assignments in order to help them in their learning process. â€Å"Learning theories are the basic raw materials, which are applied in training activities. It is, therefore, essential that the trainer understand the learning theories so that he or she can design the effective training program† (Chowdhury, 2006, p.6). It is important for the educator to know how a particular subject can be taught well in a class. For that purpose different learning theories may help. For example, many learning theories suggest that motivation is required for the students to learn a particular topic well. In order

Management Research Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

Management Research Paper - Essay Example Organizations are found to be successful even with large scale change initiatives and have also failed to undertake even small changes. It is the complexity of the change process which results in failures in managing the change initiatives (Yaeger, â€Å"The Complexities of Large-Scale Change†). Successful change organisations have realized the importance of inter-relationship between components and how changes in one component can impact on another. Strong rigor and methodology is identified as the prerequisite for a process which leads to well aligned decisions and possesses the required flexibility to meet the changing market needs (Yaeger, â€Å"The Complexities of Large-Scale Change†). The last decade has demonstrated an increasing flow in the extent of research on organizational change. This essay is a search for the general commonalities and differences on change management efforts in different organizations focusing on the extent of failure of such attempts and the reasons for the same. Apart from concentrating on the different sets of changes such as barriers and common mistakes while implementing certain types of changes, the main interest of the essay is focusing on the inhibitors and enablers of change, drivers of decisions for undertaking large scale change management programs and evaluation of the same. The study aims to find a link between the enablers and inhibitors causing the success or failures of change initiatives in organizations (CEP, â€Å"Why Change Fails or Succeeds†). The study provides a crucial literature on the subject highlighting on the arguments and views presented by researchers and authors. The analysis is done in the light of various organizational behavioural theories and their applications in real life organizational settings. Rate of failure of change in organizations As mentioned, given the numerous criteria for successful changes in organizations, all changes are not found to be successful. The rate of failure of change programs can be very high. According to Maurer (1997), technological changes demonstrate a failure rate of 20%, while 29% of all mergers and acquisitions fail. 30% of the attempts of business process re-engineering are found to fail while 50% of the initiatives to improve quality end in failures (Cook, Macaulay & Coldicott, â€Å"The rate of failure of change†). Kotter has identified some of the pitfalls in change management, such as lack of compelling reasons or issues for the change, unclear objectives or goals for the change, inadequate planning, unrealistic time scales, inadequate participation etc. Too much allowance for complacency, lack of short term whims, insufficient guidelines or instructions for the change have been identified as some of the other pitfalls in the management of changes in organizations (Cook, Macaulay & Coldicott, â€Å"The rate of failure of change†). Critical analysis of why some change programs are more effective than others Previous research reveals that much of the change initiatives

State and Local Milestone 1 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

State and Local Milestone 1 - Essay Example Mendis (2006) argues that this balance of police power by the community, the states, and the Federal Government hampers the ability of the states to exercise their full police powers. This affects the states’ ability and contemporary efforts in reforming the welfare of their territories. The sharing of police power by individuals also complicates the states’ efforts in fighting terrorism and allows certain individuals to go unpunished with certain crimes. According to Murphy & Lutze (2009), in exercising police powers, adherence and obedience to the set laws may be coerced using a variety of methods that may include but not limited to physical means and legal sanctions. The use of physical means has continually generated controversies when it is applied by the Federal Government, as this conflicts the rights of powers bestowed upon the states. Controversies also arise when the physical means of coercion is used by the federal or states governments on individuals as this conflicts with the rights and freedoms of individuals. Thus, the states appear even more powerless with the availability of the police powers. The court is another organ of the state and federal government that is inevitably affected by the contentious nature of the police power (Revell, 2006). Every state in the US has its different form of constitution as far as the police power is concerned. The federal courts do not have the jurisdiction to interpret state constitutions and considers all the states to be having general police powers and laws. This also raises conflicts between the states and the federal courts, as far as the police power is concerned. In order to realize the full potential and benefit of the police power, it would be prudent to make the police power policy an exclusive function of the states. This would see radical changes in the states’ ability to regulate, control and

Life and Margaret Atwood Essay Example for Free

Life and Margaret Atwood Essay This quotation was taken from Margaret Atwoods story, Homelanding. This story recounts many aspects of human existence from an outside view, as if it was being told to an alien race. This story tells about human appearance, sex (both difference and the act of), sunbathing, sleeping, death, and many other human functions in a scientific way. This story takes a step away from the normal way of describing these objects. For example, Margaret Atwood talks about eating and describes it by saying I destroy and assimilate certain parts of my surroundings and change them into myself. Most people who have had human contact their whole life consider eating putting food in their mouths, chewing, and swallowing. This quotation at the beginning of the story shows that the author knows that she is writing this for a human audience. She starts this off with the line, Where should I begin? This is more of a conversational style that draws the reader into this as if she was talking directly to the reader. The human reader is supposed to take the role of the alien race. The reader has to take a duality of being both a human and from an alien race who has no knowledge of anything human. The next line restates this with, After all you have never been there; or if you have you may not have understood the significance of what you say or thought you saw. An alien race would never have been to earth, yet the human reader has spent his whole life on earth if never stopping to think of the significance of what he is seeing. The next line is: A window is a window, but there is looking out and looking in. This can be seen in all the number of times that someone sees something in someone else that the person does not see in himself. For example, often a teacher is responsible for helping a student develop a talent that was there but the student did not know that he had it. This story is attempting to do the same and show the reader characteristics that mankind has but do not know it has. In the next line, this is reiterated with the statement, The native you glimpsed, disappearing behind the curtain, or into the bushes, or down the manhole in the mainstreetmy people are shymay have only been your own reflection in the glass. This shows the reader is the reflection in the glass and is seeing a portrait of himself in the story. Storytelling is often used to teach a lesson to the reader or listener. One of the most read examples of this is the Bible. Jesus often spoke in parables to help teach lessons to his listeners. This story attempts to make us take a step away from  ourselves and see ourselves in a different light so we could possibly understand ourselves better.

Disruptive Technologies And The Innovation Dilemma

Disruptive Technologies And The Innovation Dilemma Disruptive technology was first introduced in Clayton Christensen article Disruptive Technologies: Catching the Wave (1995) which was co-wrote with Joseph Bower. [1] In view of business and technology fields, as discussed by Clayton Christensen, disruptive technology is a technology initially in a form of simple application, then improves and dominates dramatically in the markets, where the markets do not expect. Disruptive technology typically improves in a way that by being lower priced and designed for various disciplines of consumers. [2] Instead of allowing consumers with lots of money or lots of skills to use it, disruptive technology is designed in which allow whole new population of consumers to use it, access its services. [3] For leaders of the existing markets, disruptive technology makes potential threats on them. It is because it competes with the existing leaders of the market in such an unexpected trend. Leaders of the existing markets sometimes fail to compete with disruptive technology since they do not expect disruptive technology can improve and dominate dramatically in the markets. Generally, disruptive technology dominates the existing markets by moving into a new market where the older technology fails to follow. In additional, it enhances and makes improvements in its performance until finally displace the market incumbents. [2] There are lots of examples of disruptive technology such as personal computers, digital memory cards, digital photography, and Liquid Crystal Displays (LCD). Personal computers displaced the original mainframes computers. The dominant of digital memory cards has displaced the floppy disks which were widely used in the past. [4] Endnotes: [1] Bower, Joseph L. Christensen, Clayton M. (1995). Disruptive Technologies: Catching the Wave Harvard Business Review, January-February 1995 [2] http://en.wikipedia.org/, Wikipedia, Disruptive Technology (accessed on 6 January 2010) [3] http://www.claytonchristensen.com (accessed on 6 January 2010) [4] http://en.wikipedia.org/, Wikipedia, Examples of disruptive innovations (accessed on 6 January 2010) What is sustainable technology? How does it differ from disruptive technology? (1/2 to one page) Sustainable technology improves established products performance without replacing them. Sustainable technology is usually developed by well-established company which usually holds a leadership position in the corresponding industries. Generally, most of the new technologies and innovations improve the performance of products. The term sustainable technology was introduced by Clayton Christensen in 2003: What all sustaining technologies have in common is that they improve the performance that mainstream customers in major markets have historically valued. [1] In general, sustainable technology does not create side effect on the existing markets. Sustainable technology can be classified into two categories: Revolutionary or Evolutionary. For Revolutionary technology, customers are allowed to deal with a problem in a radically mean while for Evolutionary technology, products in an existing market are improved in such ways that customers are expecting. [2] Sustainable technology aims to sustain the organizations focus, and sustainable technology usually satisfies current customers needs, while disruptive technology does not initially improve the focus of an organization. They sometimes do not have a market when they are created. In view of the difference between incumbents and entrants in terms of technology adoption, since sustainable technologies are well established together with the domination of strong players in their markets, an entrant may choose to begin with alternative technologies. Besides, disruptive technologies have lower gross margins, smaller size of target markets and simpler products, which allow them to carry out by either firm. [3] Nevertheless, when compared to disruptive technology, products of sustainable technology are usually regarded as too expensive to be adopted and preferred instead of too cheap that no one want to adopt and prefer. [4] Endnotes: [1] Christensen C. 2003. The Innovators Dilemma, Harper Collins Press [2] http://en.wikipedia.org/, Wikipedia (accessed on 7 January 2010) [3] http://www.claytonchristensen.com (accessed on 6 January 2010) [4] Xiao Huang Greys Sosic 2008. Sustaining vs. Disruptive Technology: Industry Equilibrium under Technology Evolution, Marshall School of Business, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089 Managers in successful, on-going business are more comfortable with which type of technology disruptive or sustainable? Explain your answer. Illustrate it with examples. (One page) Instead of disruptive technology, sustainable technology which serves the present customers and puts emphasis on incremental improvements is more comfortable to develop and maintain from the point of views of managers who are doing on-going and successful business. Since the majority of advances are sustainable technologies, with the established technologies, developed good reputation of the organizations and relationship with the customers in the mainstream markets, it is no doubt that managers in on-going business will feel more comfortable in those sustainable technologies. [1] In the mainstream markets, there are enough suppliers willing to develop and support the new technology and customers to buy it. In the computer industry, as a manager of Intel Corporation, it is more comfortable for them to perform continuous advancement on the processing power of Intels integrated chips as a sustainable technology since there are enough suppliers such as Tenco Electronics Co. and IT Market Web to support their development and large groups of mainstream customers to buy them. [2] As a manager in an organization, a stable and sustainable market is preferred. In the healthcare industry, applications which are used to manage the assets and traditional supply chain are usually considered as sustainable applications. It is nothing but the improvements and enhancements in the existing processes for the mainstream customers such as the large hospitals. Suppliers of these applications include the large hospital suppliers and Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) consultants. [3] With the large supports behind, managers are much used to prefer sustainable technology. Sometimes, if an organization chooses to adopt disruptive technologies instead of sustainable technologies, rapid technology improvements may overshoot the mainstream markets. This is a significant perplexing problem for a manager in an organization. Taking the producer of graphics cards Nvidia as an example, the development of technologies and products were good initially. [4] However, a large difference to their customers requirement was finally reached when the number of polygons rendered per second was increased rapidly every successive improvement. From the perspective of managers in an on-going, successful business, sustainable technology is more preferred in general. Endnotes: [1] http://www.hartnall.com (accessed on 9 January 2010) [2] http://www.alibaba.com/suppliers/Intel (accessed on 9 January 2010) [3] Karen Crooker, Dirk Baldwin, Suresh Chalasani, RFID Technology: Applications in the Healthcare Industry, European Journal of Scientific Research, 2009 [4] http://en.wikipedia.org/, Wikipedia, Nvidia (accessed on 9 January 2010) What does Christensen mean when he asserts that many great companies went out of business because they were too focused on satisfying their customers stated needs? How can the example of Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) be used to illustrate this point? Explain your answer. Illustrate with additional examples. (1 2 Pages) Many great companies were too focused on satisfying their customers stated needs, actually, they do not have much difficulties on succeeding this objective in order to develop their sustainable technology. It is hardly for managers in a good business to pursue in worse margins. But this is the problem, they were too focused on their high-end markets and the low-end disruptive technologies markets sometimes do not make sense to them. Thats why DECs leaders and engineers viewed PCs as underpowered toys. However, DEC finally went out of business. [1] DECs PDP and VAX products were considered the most popular minicomputers for both scientific and engineering industries during the 1970s and 1980s. [2] Their management team was considered as the best team in the industry. However, the emergence of microcomputers had destroyed DEC finally. This was the problem of their business model. The mainstream market for DEC was customers who brought high-end minicomputers at high margins. These computers were wealth to buy powerful computers. In contrast of DECs minicomputers, microcomputers were mass produced to customers who were expected to use low-cost computers with little help from the manufacturers at low margins. Initially, microcomputers could not meet the high-end markets but over a successive improvement, they met the most demanding markets. The reason of the collapse of DEC rather than the microcomputers corporations such as Apple, Dell was that DEC was too focused on their high-end markets and could not develop new markets for their products. DEC was forced by those microcomputers corporations to concentrate on their high-ends markets and customers in which the margins were considered as better and more profitable. However, after improvement of microcomputers performance, most of the microcomputers could do the most jobs as well as the minicomputers did. The dream of DEC was finally over and the most-demanding market was low cost microcomputers ultimately. [3] The other example was Eastman Kodak which missed out the digital photography revolution. In the past, Kodak dominated the chemically based photographic process markets. Their only competitor was the Japanese company, Fuji, but actually did not make too much threat to Kodak at that moment. In the past, Kodak had put hundreds millions of dollars into a chemically based system which focused on satisfying their mainstream customers needs. Nevertheless, an emergence of a disruptive technology digital photography revolution had made a huge punch to Kodak chemically based photographic process business. Digital photography technology was created in Japan. When the first Japanese VHS and Betamax camera systems were available in the markets, Kodaks Polaroid chemically based system no longer made sense when compared to digital photography. Nevertheless, Kodaks did nothing and tried to ignore this tidal wave approaching on them. Finally, they missed the chance of digital photography revolution and lost hundreds millions of dollars of investment which was equivalent to billions dollars today. [4] Although digital photography was developed finally in Kodak nowadays, Kodak had to pay a huge price for their delay in digital photography revolution. The digital transformation required a series of layoffs and facilities closure, cutting 12,000-15,000 jobs around the world. A 20%-25% reduction in its workforce was happened since 2000. [5] In conclusion, refer to Christensen and the examples of DEC and Kodak illustrated in the previous paragraphs it is not a good practice for successful, on-going companies too focused on satisfying their existing customers stated needs. They should develop their wider field of views into a new market and make significant preparation to resist the tidal wave from others disruptive technologies. Endnotes: [1] http://www.alumni.hbs.edu/bulletin/1999/april/qanda.html (accessed on 10 January 2010) [2] http://en.wikipedia.org/, Wikipedia, Digital Equipment Corporation (accessed on 10 January 2010) [3] http://www.datasentinel.com/files/dataSentinel (accessed on 10 January 2010) [4] http://www.articlesbase.com/, Stock Research Eastman Kodak And The Power Of Disruptive Technologies (accessed on 10 January 2010) [5] http://en.wikipedia.org/, Wikipedia, Eastman Kodak (accessed on 10 January 2010) Explain how lowly disruptive technologies can ultimately surpass successful existing dominant technologies in sales, technical capability, and profitability. Illustrate your answer, using either the example of computer disk technology, power shovel technology, or steel production technology. (1 2 pages) In low-end disruptive technologies, at the beginning, disrupters aim to serve the least profitable customers who are satisfactory with good enough products. These types of customers do not intend to pay lots in improving the functionality of the products. Later, the disrupters try to improve their profit margin by seeking customers who are going to pay little more for better quality of the products. Therefore, the disrupters are required to innovate. It is common for incumbents try to be away from not so profitable margin and move to serve more attractive customers. After successive encounters, the incumbents are pressed out into a smaller market. Finally, the disrupters reach the most profitable markets and expel the established organizations out of the markets. [1] Taking computer disk drives technology as an example, NAND Flash is a typical low-end disruptive technology. [2] NAND Flash has a great impact on computer storage business in view of technical and economic aspects. For the purpose of low storage application, FAND Flash is actually cheaper than the hard disk drives. In terms of random I/O operations, FAND Flash has a higher performance than hard disk drives. A single NAND SSD can have a 10-30K random I/O operations per second (IOPS), while a single hard disk drive can only have 250 IOPS. At the markets where customers interest in low storage capacity rather than high storage capacity, FAND Flash is much more cost effective than hard disk drives. In order words, FAND Flash has squeezed hard disk drives out of the low-storage business market. The cost of mechanical components of a hard disk is around $20, while the disk controller costs around $3. [2] The smallest capacity of a hard disk is a single platter and additional platters provide incremental capacity. Say, the smallest capacity platter of a modern 2.5 hard disk drive is 160GB and capacity will increase over time when technical capabilities improve. The cost of a single NAND Flash chip is generally between $1 and $8, depending on performance and density. Currently, a 4GB NAND chip using multi-level cells (MLC) costs around $7 while the controller is the same of that in hard disk drives. [2] For certain capacities, say lower storage capacity, NAND Flash actually costs less than the minimum cost of a hard disk drive. This is the reason behind why USB storage drives usually adopt the use of NAND Flash. Now, it can be explained that below the cross-over point, FAND Flash is much more cost effective while above the cross-over point, hard disk drives are much more cost effective. However, it is of great importance that we should be noticed that the shifting of the cross-over point towards a higher storage capacities. Moores law has a long history in the application of computer hardware. The capabilities of many electronic devices are strongly related to Moores law, such as the storage capacity. [3] NAND Flash which is made of semiconductor is benefited from Moores law. With the improvement of performance of semiconductor, the storage capacity of FAND Flash has exponentially increased, and so the hard disk drives do. Therefore, FAND Flash will not squeezed hard disk drives out of high-storage capacity. Nevertheless, the cross-over point is moving towards a higher storage capacity, say today it is around 16GB but four years later, it is around 64GB, and eight years later, the cross-over point might even reach to around 400GB. [2] As a result, the low-end market of FAND Flash is expanding continuously. The markets below the cross-over point of FAND Flash are expanding while putting the markets of hard disk drives below cross-over point into pressure and diminished. It gives us an implication that wh en the cross-over point exceeds the amount of storage capacity needed, people will move to buy the cheaper one computer memory storage disk, that is the FAND Flash. Therefore, hard disk drives will finally be out of business. In conclusion, taking the example of FAND Flash and hard disk drives in computer disk technology, low-end disruptive technologies can ultimately surpass successful existing dominant technologies. Endnotes: [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/, Wikipedia, Disruptive Technology (accessed on 12 January 2010) [2] http://www.realworldtech.com/, NAND Flash: A Classic Disruptive Technology by David Kanter, 30th December 2009 (accessed on 12 January 2010) [3] http://en.wikipedia.org/, Wikipedia, Moores law (accessed on 12 January 2010) For each of the following categories of employees in a successful company, explain why individuals in these categories are reluctant to champion disruptive technologies in their organization: Senior executive (1/2 to one page) Middle managers (1/2 to one page) Sales people (1/2 to one page) Senior executive From the point of views of senior executives, the change of the developed mature organizational structures is irrelevant and they found difficult in changing their mature organizational structures. A director in a global grocery business said that: One of the most difficult challenges I face is going into the board room and asking for changes in our operations and structures, since the original manuals were written by three main board members about 15 years ago. [1] In additional, when consider the investment of new technology, senior executives have to ensure that the investment in new technology is appropriate. This technology should keep track with the current technological systems. It is a difficult task for senior executives to write off previous investment and invest into a new technology. However, it is the most important decision they have to make. Middle managers In a maturing organization, middle managers usually tend to become too comfortable on their normal works. They are not willing to champion disruptive technologies since it is not worth for them to taking risks outside their comfort zone. They are not willing to champion disruptive technologies since it is not worth for them to take risks outside their comfort zone. Most of the middle managers are too focused within their disciplines to give their work assignments. They are not willing to take risks to identify ideas or technologies outside their disciplines. In additional, they find that it is of a great challenge to manage and lead an interdisciplinary team. [1] In a maturing organization, since the knowledge has been accumulated for many years, this knowledge developed from past experiences is the routines and behaviors for middle managers to follow. From the point of views of middle managers, it does not make any sense to discard this knowledge. Middle managers are usually unwilling to get rid of their routines and behaviors. Sales people Similarly, sales people in a maturing organization are reluctant to champion disruptive technologies in their organization. As they are used to sell their products and technologies based on their major disciplines, it is not comfortable and does not make sense to sell new technologies to customers who are out of their current disciplines. [2] A well and stable relationship between sales people and clients is developed and established in a maturing organization, it is difficult for them to sell new technologies or the unexpected disruptive technologies to their long-term customers without support indeed. From the point of views of sales people, disruptive technologies are new technologies which are required to explore a new market of customers. As a sales people, they are reluctant to develop relationship with an unexpected group of customers, sometimes, it is difficult for them to find new customers if the disruptive technologies are not successful. They do not want to take risk to explore into those unexpected region. Endnotes: [1] http://www.allbusiness.com (accessed on 15 January 2010) [2] Albert Harold Rubenstein, Eliezer Geisler, Installing and managing workable knowledge management systems, Greenwood Publishing Group 2003 What can organizations do to encourage the fostering of disruptive technologies? (One page) From the management point of views, there are several managerial recommendations for organizations to encourage the fostering of disruptive technologies. These recommendations for organizations are discussed in the following paragraphs. First, it is of great importance for organizations to know that options are not limited. Organizations should not be fixed in the ground, where just fulfill their current customers needs. They should keep searching for options, although taking the chances randomly is a little bit risky. However, taking the opposite point of views, it is worth to keep discover options to defend the threats from other disruptive technologies. [1] Second, a knowledge-based organization must be developed continually in nowadays markets. Organizations should look further, be proactive and have a wider sight of views. The internal and external environments in an organization should be closely monitored. Once there is a sudden change or threat come from, the organization can respond to the change appropriately for both internal and external environments. Executive management should be dynamic, keep track with the change of business ecosystem such that they can set up the proper and latest organizational strategies to guide the organizations. [1] The third focus is the organizations structure which has a great impact on how the firm can respond to change appropriately. Actually, organization structure is the most important factor to determine the operation of a business. A well executive leadership and management plans can hardly succeed if there is no flexible organization structure which responds and adopts effectively and efficiently to the changes. [1] Leaders at the executive level should have a clear mind on the organization structures and the implications of that structure in order to develop and foster a disruptive technology successfully, enhance the competitiveness of the organization in the markets. In additional, it is important to analyze the relationship between radical research and the established business units. Establishing some distance between these two is critical. Organizations should aware that there is a potential risk of creating a sustainable product instead of a disruptive product, if the business units are allowed to affect the end product too much. [1] Eventually, according to Bower and Christensens article, Disruptive Technologies: Catching the Wave, a potential disruptive technology is sometimes considered as unpleasant by traditional project management systems. [2] Therefore, the systems should encourage employees to have a wider sight of view. Employees at all levels of the organizations should be interested about advance technologies for both inside and outside their industries. In order to be successful, goals and values should be incorporated into the organizations guiding principles. Endnotes: [1] Dr. LEE, TERADYNE CASE, BUSA 541. The JKF Group, 12th October 2002 [2] Bower, Joseph L. Christensen, Clayton M. (1995). Disruptive Technologies: Catching the Wave Harvard Business Review, January-February 1995 Essay Lets say you have been asked to write a book review of The Innovators Dilemma by a leading scholarly business journal. This should be an in-depth review of roughly five pages length (single space). In the review, you should do the following: Highlight key points raised by Christensen Discuss how Christensens views are revolutionary, in the sense that they go against much of what we have been taught by business schools (e.g., Do all you can to satisfy the customer) Discuss how Christensens insights reveal a major reason that organizations resist change Discuss possible weaknesses of Christensens approach for example, are there technologies and/or areas of business and government where his viewpoints dont make sense? (Hint: The answer is yes.) Use the book review as an opportunity to showcase your personal views (the best book reviews always do this) A book review on Clayton Christensens book, The Innovators Dilemma In this book, Christensen has highlighted some key points regarding the term disruptive technologies. Sometimes, it could be called disruptive innovations. Disruptive technologies or innovations were considered as technologies or innovations overturning the existing order in an industry. Initially, customers who were not served by the current market were the main target of disruptive technologies and innovations. Under successive capacity or performance improvements, the low-end innovations squeezed out the incumbents in the mainstream markets. Christensen criticized incumbents were not sensitive to the disruptive technologies and incumbents usually focused on satisfying the needs of their mainstream customers. In general, incumbents did not respond sensitively to resist the threat brought from others disruptive technologies until it were too late to do anything, say an organization finally went out of business. Sometimes, managers were not comfortable and not interested in those low margins. They were not willing to develop disruptive technologies or innovations as they considered exploring a new market was taking a risk. Christensen have explained the reason behind why organizations collapsed and failed in their business in spite of being the top position in the markets, having the ability to develop the best and capable sustainable innovations and technologies in their industries. This is a problem of their business model. Sustainable technologies improvement was not the reason for the leaders went out of business in an industry. At the time being, they developed their ability and capability to compete in their high-end market. Nevertheless, it was mentioned by Christensen that these were sustainable technologies and innovations which were already utilized by the best organizations in the industries. Following an s-curve, improving performance was already expected by their customers. With the well established relationships with clients, well developed reputation, sufficient money and more advance technological power in the market, leaders usually did not fail. Until the emergence of disruptive technologies, the story had changed. Disruptive technologies were even a nightmare of managers. In the contrary, disruptive technologies are so much cheaper, where they explored and opened a new market in which the mainstream incumbents did not consider to explore. But at the moment the rate of improvement of performance of the disruptive technologies and innovations exceeds the users demands, they surpassed the high-end and mainstream technologies and innovations ultimately. Christensens views were revolutionary in view of technological and innovative business. He mentioned that great firms succeeded because they listened to their customers needs and invested aggressively in the technologies and innovations. Nevertheless, at the mean time, great firms failed with the same reason, listened to their customers and put their great effort to satisfy their customers. It was revolutionary compared to the traditional concept of business schools, which sold the concept of doing all the best to satisfy your customers. Christensen did research on the history of disk drive industry. He showed the reasons behind why the leading established drive markers were unable to reach the 8-inch drive market. It is because of the delay of strategic commitment to enter into the emerging market. Christensens insights had revealed a major reason why great established firms in the markets resist to changes. Christensen had mentioned that since established organizations structure and groups working together were facilitating the design of its dominant technologies and innovations, the organizations structure and the groups learning to work together could be affected and could not design new products. Organizations required very different technological capabilities called radical change. Actually, established firms were sensitive, aggressive and innovative in terms of their sustainable technologies and innovations. But the reasons why they resisted changes were the problem of downward vision and mobility in terms of Christensens trajectory map. Finding changes and new technologies markets for each of the firms seemed to appear once when they were first established and then apparently lost finally. This resistance to changes kept going continuously. Despite there were much supportive commentaries on Christensens approach regarding the issue on disruptive technologies and innovations, but nothing is perfect. There were some weaknesses of his approach. It seemed that Christensens view did not consider the overall socio-political environment and human factors in reality. In this book, the large integrated steel mills industries displaced by those mini-mills steel industries was taken as an example by Christensen. Christensen put emphasis on how mini-mill first entering into the low margin markets and then squeezed out the integrated mills when mini-mill technology, performance and quality improved. Nevertheless, the relieving effects of labor-management relationships were not considered in this case by Christensen. He did not consider if the unions want to accept new labor rules requiring more flexible job descriptions. Whether management willing to adjust pay scales with workers who were trained in and able to perform jobs was not considered. However, obviously, Christensen did not consider the effects of labor-management relationships. Moreover, for the example of replacement of steam shoves by hydraulically operated equipment, one question should be asked, Were labor unions, and management, averse to retraining equipment operators who had many yea rs invested in becoming adept in operation and use of, a particular technology? In general, in view of human nature, people approached to keep away from changes, especially unexpected changes from disruptive technologies. However, disruptive technologies required people to accept and adopt the changes. It did not a must for people being reluctant to disruptive technology. There were small portions of people who chasing the latest technologies and placed cost into lower level of consideration. These were the first groups of people to accept disruptive technologies. Taking personal computers as an example, actually, they were expensive and did not have too many functions when they were first introduced in 1970s. (Wikipedia, 2010) Most people did not recognize the use of personal computers at home. But with those groups of people who like chasing the latest technologies, eventually, prices went down and performance of personal computers climbed up. Ultimately, people began to use personal computers in home and workplaces. Christensen in his book mentioned that disruptive technologies came from a low cost margin and displaced the high-end margin. However, Christensens disruptive technologies or innovations did n

The Full Monty Movie Analysis

The Full Monty Movie Analysis The Full Monty is a movie based on a group of men who have been made redundant due to effects of economic change and political misfortune. This leads to a shift in social organisation, when taking into consideration in conventional social order men are anticipated to be the primary breadwinners. As a final way out, the group decide to put on an amateur strip production for the ladies in the local workingmens club as a way to make money. For the purposes of this sociological analysis of the film, The Full Monty, two sociological theories will be consulted namely from Raewyn Connell regarding hegemonic masculinities and social order and Émile Durkheim concerning egoistic and anomic suicide. 2. Key Theorists Raewyn Connell, is an Australian sociologist acknowledged for her work in the fields of sociology, education, gender studies, political science and history (University of Sydney, 2010) She is currently a Professor at the University of Sydneys Faculty of Education and Social Work .Connells work deals critically with social structures, inequalities and social justice, gender relations and gender identity politics in the context of hegemony, especially hegemonic masculinity. She is for the most part recognised for her widely-cited book, Masculinities (University of Sydney, 2010). David Émile Durkheim (April 15, 1858 November 15, 1917) was a French positivist sociologist. Durkheim developed the sociological positivism of Auguste Comte in greater detail, hence developing a rigorous methodology combining sociological theory with empirical social research.[2] Also influential in anthropology, Durkheim was a structural functionalist and an early proponent of solidarism.[3]HYPERLINK #cite_note-3[4] During his lifetime, Durkheim gave many lectures, and published numerous sociological studies on subjects such as education, crime, religion, suicide, and many other aspects of society. 3. Hegemonic Masculinity and Social Order The Full Monty is set in Sheffield, North England after Thatchers era (1979-1990) (Tamba, 2002). After the fall of the steel industry in Sheffield, mens roles in society were compromised, they were no longer able to be the breadwinners of the household and as such the women became the providers and started impeding on the hegemonic masculinity of these men. Official figures show that the number of men of working age with jobs has fallen from 92 per cent in 1971 to 75 per cent. The number of women who are employed has risen from 56 per cent to 69 per cent, narrowing the gap between women and men to 6 per cent (Watt, 2010). This gives women more financial independence and often leads to them wearing the trousers in a relationship, further contributing to the mans loss of masculinity. The men in the film feel inadequate and hopeless with being unemployed. With women increasingly becoming the breadwinners and traditionally roles being reversed by their newfound economic independence, men were forced to re-examine their relationships and deeply held beliefs about gender roles (Tamba, 2002) The group in this film come up with this strip act which is directed at getting money as they are all struggling financially. However, a number of social issues and perceptions arise on the lead up to the act. Social order is challenged when certain traits are defined as either being specifically feminine or masculine. When the men are together in Geralds house taking off their clothes, they start comparing themselves to the Chippendales, who were the strip group that gave Gaz the idea to do it themselves. They show their insecurities about their bodies and as such their masculinity. Dave, one of the members of the group, finds himself dealing with a weight complex. He views himself as overweight, unappealing and repulsive. As he discusses this with the rest of the men, one of them, Gerald states that fat David is a feminist issue. This perception is generalised, meaning that it is only women who should have to conform to the models of attractiveness that are set by men. However, Dav e challenges this notion with this concern about his weight and appearance. In the beginning of the movie whilst they were taking auditions for the group, the presence of Horse, a black man, sets about a succession of wild whispers and accusations about how black men have good bodies and bigger sexual organs. The film yet again contradicts this theory as Horse, upon hearing they were going to do the full Monty is seen buying a penis enlargement product. 5. Durkheims Suicide Durkheim (1897) stated that there are four types of suicide, these are based on the degrees of imbalance of two social forces: social integration and moral regulation. In the film, a young man, Lomper, was a security guard at Harrisons, the steel mill where Dave and Gaz once worked. After Lomper finally loses his job long after the mill shut down, he tries to commit suicide by asphyxiating himself in his car by carbon monoxide poisoning. By coincidence Dave and Gaz are out jogging and pass Lomper trying to start his car. Dave, who stops to help, tries to have a conversation with Lomper however cuts off the contact after getting no response. After a few seconds, whilst walking away, Dave realises that Lomper was trying to asphyxiate himself and runs back to save Lompers life. The subsequent scene shows Dave, Gaz and Lomper sitting on a hill, talking about different ways of committing suicide. Dave suggests getting a mate to run you down right fast (with a car), to which Lomper says he hasnt got any mates. Gaz rebuts telling him they just saved his life, so dont tell us were not your mates. Lompers inclusion in the group gave him a newly-optimistic attitude on life. Lompers attempted suicide can be attributed to two of Durkheims types of suicide. The first is Egoistic suicide. This form of suicide is the result of a weakening of the bonds that normally integrate individual into the collectivity. Durkheim refers to this type of suicide as the result of excessive individualisation, meaning that the individual becomes increasingly dethatched from other members of the community. He went on to discover that particularly males who were unmarried, with less to bind and connect them to stable social norms and goals, committed suicide at higher rates. Lomper who says he has no friends is an example of this type of suicide. He is not sufficiently bound to a social group and left with little social support or guidance, therefore his attempted suicide into this category of an Egoistic suicide. The second type of Durkheims suicide that Lompers attempt subscribes to is Anomic suicide. Durkheim says that anomic suicide occurs in times of social upheaval and moral disorder in which people do not know where they fit in within their societies (Germov Poole, 2008: 28). The male characters in the film were once proud workers in the heavy steel industry who suddenly found themselves without a job, without hope and without a proper role in society. During the economic downturn of the industrial business in Sheffield a lot of the men lost their jobs, including Lomper. According to the British Medical Journal (1999) between 1980 to 1991 the suicide rates for males aged between 25-65 was double compared to the under 25 age group. This could show that these higher age groups were more greatly affected by the social defragmentation as they were the ones most likely in the now devastated steel industry. Consequently Lomper was not sure where he fit into society once he lost his job and h e had no friends to converse with, making him a person with an increased risk of suicide according to Durkheim (1897).

Big Fun in BookWorld: Jasper Fforde’s The Well of Lost Plots :: Essays Papers

Big Fun in BookWorld: Jasper Fforde’s The Well of Lost Plots The Well of Lost Plots is a highly entertaining romp through the strange, yet mostly familiar world from the imagination (and extensive reading list) of Jasper Fforde. This is the third book in a series that continues to grow. In the first two books, The Eyre Affair and Lost in a Good Book, our heroine Thursday Next is a literary detective for the Special Operations Network (or SpecOps) of the British Police Force. She verifies the authenticity of rare books and manuscripts, investigates thefts and other criminal behavior, and looks into anything out of the ordinary related to the literary world. Thursday Next’s world is our world – with a few twists. Due to the invention of time travel, and subsequent disruptions of the time line, things have turned out a little different in Thursday’s mid-1980’s England. For instance, when the series begins England is still fighting the Crimean War. This world is a strange mixture of high-tech and no-tech. The airplane was never invented, nor apparently needed. But mega-corporations such as the sinister and omnipresent Goliath Corporation engage in genetic experiments that, among other things, reintroduce from extinction both the Dodo bird and Neanderthal man. In The Eyre Affair Thursday discovers that she has an unexpected talent – she can read herself into books. She discovers BookWorld, the world behind the world of fiction, where characters from literature have lives beyond the pages of their books. In Lost in a Good Book Thursday becomes an agent for Jurisfiction, the agency that keeps order in BookWorld. She is recruited by Miss Havisham (yes, from Dickens’ Great Expectations) and, in addition to retrieving a former enemy from Poe’s The Raven, she manages to save all life on earth from turning into a gooey pink sludge. In The Well of Lost Plots, the third book of the series, Thursday is living in BookWorld hiding out from the Goliath Corporation and hoping to find some peace and quiet. What she finds instead is bureaucracy, politics, intrigue, and a messy underworld; all of which fuel the creative process of fiction writing. When Jurisfiction agents start dying in freak accidents, Thursday begins an investigation that leads her to uncover corruption at the highest levels in BookWorld. This series is the embodiment of metafiction, which The American Heritage Dictionary, 4th Edition (http://www.dictionary.com) defines as â€Å"fiction that deals, often playfully and self-referentially, with the writing of fiction or its conventions.