Family and brotherhood Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Family and brotherhood - Essay Example But these words have become encompassing terms that it can connote a whole new different perspective that points toward unswerving loyalty, camaraderie and unity. â€Å"Infernal Affairs† has taken brotherhood toward a realm which yields multiple perspectives that all the notions of being one in a common goal and purpose in life makes a brotherhood, in crime and in justice, possible. Simultaneously, the film has taken a new look in outlining the existing perception of what a Chinese family is and how it should be then molds it in such a way that relationships may not be of blood but it remains to be thicker than water. This is not a new concept in terms of movie themes but the lack of family relationships in the Hong Kong blockbuster and the focus on alternative relations put a different strain on traditional relationships as commonly seen in Chinese culture and gears towards a modern conceptualization of family. The modification of a western genre involving the battle of good versus evil is something taken to new heights with this movie. The film has garnered international and local awards as proof of its success, critically and financially. â€Å"Many commentators have also raised questions about the export success story of recent Chinese cinema. They worry that Chinese filmmakers pander to Western audiences and that Western audiences and scholars appropriate and distort Chinese films for Orientalist and neo-imperialist ends† (Berry and Farquhar 204). ... Conversely, Ming has been perfecting his role as an ambitious cop by keeping his records immaculate when all along he has been a protege of triad kingpin Sam and his well thought-out scheme to penetrate the police force by enlisting young men to the Police Academy. Both Yan and Ming were tasked to find out who the infiltrator is within their respective groups. Whoever finds out first the other’s counterpart could mean the destructive end to one’s life and another’s career. Triad boss Sam takes the necessity of finding out who the mole is seriously. He executes a routine one-on-one conversation with each member of the group, asking them how many years they have worked for him and complimenting them for their contributions. He tells Yan that of all the brothers he trusts him the most. But some doubt had been cast on him earlier when Sam smashes Yan’s arm cask looking for a bugging device as their transaction with the Thais was tipped off to the OCTB, prompti ng them to throw the drugs into the water. The goose chase starts as both sides realized the other knew their every move to the very detail. Yan survived his boss’ suspicions narrowly and continued earning his respect. Keung, another triad member, later on confides that Sam talked to him in the same manner and asked if he would be willing to shoot any of his brothers if he finds out he is a mole and to which he answered yes to without hesitation. Later on as Keung was in the troughs of death, his final words endured to be an advice to Yan as his brother, â€Å"Remember this, if you see someone doing something but at the same time watching you... then he is a cop† (Infernal Affairs).

Sociol Cultural Homogenisation And The Role Of Media Media Essay

Sociol Cultural Homogenisation And The Role Of Media Media Essay There is a huge amount of debate on whether media actually leads to homogenisation process and thereby the subsequent creation of Global culture and whether there is such thing as global culture. Is the widening and deepening of international flows of culture through media in a single integrated market leading to the emergence of a global culture? If so, what are the factors which facilitate the creation of this homogenisation? These are some of the issues that the paper seeks to focus; the paper will also deal with the role of the local in responding or not responding to the impact of media. In short, the dynamic relationship between the local and the global is analysed in the paper. Introduction: Globalisation and media are closely inter-connected. The growth of globalisation has accelerated to a large extent with the growth and development of media technology especially in areas of TV, films, internet, videos, music, news etc. Media acts as an agent of globalisation in generating homogenisation by spreading cultural symbols, ideas and practices across socio cultural settings of the world. The impact of media is instant, it moves quicker than any material goods or people. It has a tremendous impact on both sustaining and weakening or eroding the fabric of social life. The more efficient the media is in communicating, the more effective it is in stabilising or destabilising existing social, political, religious etc scenario. Media actively constructs peoples identity across the dimensions of nations, race, class, gender, ethnicity etc in a number of ways, which often lead to homogenisation process. The media imposes their powerful images, sounds and advertisements on a vast ra nge of peoples of the world who most often succumb to their messages which are mostly designed to increase the profits of capitalist firms. Globalisation involves expanding worldwide flows of material objects and symbols and the proliferation of organisations and institutions within global reach that structure those flows. The process of globalisation is also characterised by relationships that are mediated through symbols of values, preferences and tastes etc through the powerful impact of media. The impact of media globalisation is manifold: it can lead to hybridisation of cultures, assertion of cultural autonomy and identity, cultural conflict, localisation, creolisation and homogenisation. However in my paper the focus is mainly on the homogenising effect of media globalisation on the socio cultural settings of the world and the factors which facilitates the creation of this homogenisation. Hannerz distinguishes between three dimensions of culture, which indicates that cultures are susceptible to global dynamics: Ideas and modes of thoughts: The entire array of concepts, propositions, values and mental operations that people within some social unit carry together. Forms of externalisation: The different ways in which ideas and modes of thought are made public and made accessible to the senses eg, forms of art, food habits etc. Social distribution: The ways in which people`s ideas and modes of thoughts and external forms are spread over a population and its social relationships. Thus, understanding structures of shared knowledge, values, beliefs, experience and meanings in all their complexities remain the core concern of cultural analysis. Media technology plays a major part in transmission of the second and third dimension of Hannerz definition of culture. According to Hannerz, media in particular are machineries of meanings: they enable communication without being in one other`s immediate presence  [1]  . In contemporary complex cultures, people increasingly make use of the media to externalise and distribute their ideas and thoughts throughout the world. This is how cultures as a system of meanings, symbols and actions get expressed in different form and media plays a major role in their transmission across the rest of the globe. Therefore culture is also about sharedness. The concept of de territorialisation as also referred by Appadurai, explains the inter connectivity of cultures across nations. These cultures are in contact with media in one way or the other and constantly influence each other in terms of tastes, styles, value systems, ideas, meanings and practices. According to Ritzer, the theory of socialisation and social interaction teach that human transcend in their social group through a process of acquiring culture and other gestures from parents and other social group members and social facts that happen in the environment in which the person lives. Here the environment in which each individual lives also includes media mediation and translation of social reality and thus culture is transmitted and diffused across cultures through the workings of the media. Media also play a major role in the continual re shaping of cultural identity. Benedict Anderson, points out that nation as imagined communities often started out as media audience. Media articulate the meanings and experiences associated with particular social identities in a globalised context and export them to different distant places. Arjun Appadurai makes clear that people around the world are increasingly living a fictional lives based on media narratives and imagery. People around the world can now connect with like- minded others which binds people together irrespective of language, home background and socio economic circumstances eg:- allegiance to Real Madrid or Manchester United as global football club. Internet connections enable fans scattered across the globe to remain in touch and meet up regularly. Popular culture leads to formation of distinctive organisational forms and practices which are hybrid in nature. They are neither local nor global but a distinctive hybrid culture of transnational where fan clubs of a particular sport like football, cricket etc or iconic figures like Michael Jackson come together and form a unique transnational group where hybrid names, emblems and material products emerge. This trend emerges with the formation of internet communities and networks. They allow intensive contact with other cultures without actual bodily or localized contact and have an impact on the minds and practices of the people. However the intensity of impact depends on the way in which information are processes and digested in the receiving cultures. New channels of intensified social connectivity are permitted by contemporary electronic media Eg:- social networking sites like facebook, orkut etc. Live global television covering a single event carried through the satellite news carriers covers varied and diverse locations and geographical areas. This brings together people across great distances and social relations become radically freed from l ocal contexts, and spatial distances become less important, and a greater consciousness of a world outside the local context come into picture. It produces a sense of globalised reality eg:- the recent FIFA World 2010, Cricket World Cup 2011 etc. This live global television is experienced by large numbers of people worldwide and creates an extension of social connections across time and space. Increased oneness of the world is accelerated by such forces. There is international corporate ownership of media enterprises which ensures that there is an increasing consumption of material goods and sharing of cultural icons across large numbers of people. These processes construct a shared experience of time and a collective memory for different groups of people. Thus Mass culture is created which is a product of modern communications. There is a huge amount of debate on whether media leads to homogenisation process and thereby the subsequent creation of Global culture and whether there is such thing as global culture. Is the widening and deepening of international flows of culture through media in a single integrated market leading to the emergence of a global culture? The term global cultural flow according to Arjun Appadurai, is used to indicate the simultaneous fluid movement and changing meaning of ideas as well as their location and passage through specific historical, linguistic and political contexts. Global culture is used to denote the growing uniformity and homogenisation of the world`s cultures which serves as a magnet attracting people to particular ideas regarding economic opportunities and consumption. Consumer culture: Global culture is often held to be a media driven construct dependent upon the profit seeking production of mass mediated signs and symbols. The emergence of global culture is often taken as the direct outcome of the capitalist market institution restructuring to get desires, create needs and thereby open up a new arena for capital accumulation leading to commoditisation, commercialisation and consumerism made possible by media ads and communication industries in their drive to maximise profits. Global consumerism thrives on the promotion of brand names like rolex, addidas, reebok, coca cola, Mc Donalds etc based on what people would like rather than what they are and need. This consumer culture is filled with new community signs which form the popular culture allied to global media translated through the market. There is a growing similarity which transcends frontiers and similar trend of styles of dressing, consumption of sports, music preferences, eating habits etc has emerged. Th e term MC world has been coined to describe the standardisation of an American consumer culture, a combination of fast food, fast music and fast computers that bring people together through a common consumption of commodified cultural production. According to Hermans and Kempen in their article Moving Cultures, referred to Glocalisation in economic usage where they introduced the term micromarketing i`e is the tailoring and advertisements of goods and services globally to increasingly local and diverse cultures. Thus, they talked about the creation of differentiated consumers and the emergence of consumer culture of the same global goods and services. They further problematises the relationship between the local and the global where cultures constantly interpenetrates with each other and become a part of the interconnectedness of the world system. Therefore the distinction between what it global and what is local becomes blurred and the presumed homogeneity of the local or internal and the distinctiveness of the global or external becomes problematic. Thus globalisation also involves the blurring of clear cut distinction between the local and global. What is local becomes global and what is global becomes local and sometimes they may become indistinguishable and homogenised. Media globalisation increasingly involved the creation and incorporation of locality. These processes is largely seen through the TV enterprise like CNN and MTV which seeks global markets and focussed on culturally diverse and differentiated groups. Dominance of west: Many have argued that global culture is more of western culture domination and enforcement of western culture on the rest of the world which is referred to as westernisation. The imposition of American culture in the form of TV, Videos, Pop music, Films and Ads on vulnerable communities unable to protect them from the sheer volume and intensity of exposition to media is widely under attacked. In recent years US has enjoyed a growing surplus for audio visual products (TV, Video, and Cinema) with the EU. Globally, the US accounts for about 75% of all TV programme exports. American Time Warner organisation claims to be the largest media company in the world. During the last decade there is a struggle for the formation of a new Information order from the Third World countries with a determination not to remain passive recipient to the west active centre. Countries like France, Italy, China, Canada, North Korea etc has imposed a check on US media imports for different reasons. Hence questions are being raised regarding prior consent for Transborder home reception, the production of communication technology on definition of privacy and also attempt to develop their own regional media. Fears of US media domination lead to Mc Bride Report 1980, which lead UNESCO to call for a restructuring of global media along more egalitarian lines. The WTO and International Tele communications Satellite Organisation (INTELSAT) are among the prestigious international bodies that have attempted to establish guidelines for the regulation of global cultural flow. However for some writers globalization is not westernization. According to them, outwardly analysis may appeared that the world is oriented towards westernisation rather than globalisation especially when one could see the popularity of the western music, movies, and McDonalds etc where more and more countries are seen playing the top chart of the pop list of USA and Hollywood movies and US-made television serials (like Friends and the Simpsons) are becoming widespread processes of cultural transmission. However, a closer examination indicates that the impact of the flow of these cultural goods have different meanings in different societal and cultural contexts with uneven impact on classes and age groups. Some of the products are consumed without any modification; others are modified and indigenized to suit the local contexts. Nevertheless, westernisation can be seen as a part of Globalisation. Media Imperialism: There is a construction of media order through the entrepreneurial devices of a comparatively small number of global players eg Time Warner, Sony, Rupert Murdoch News Corporation and Walt Disney Company. News globalisation was dominated by press wire services in the 19th century, however in the 1970`s and 1980`s electronic media globalisation increased. Aggressive media companies like Rupert Murdoch`s News Corporation yielded a massive conglomerates of other global media industries. Cable News Network (CNN) has struggled to become a 24 hour news provider, watched religiously by global business and political elites of the world. The result was an undeniable increase in the degree to which people`s everyday lives are experienced through the media. Several large media companies like Viacom, Disney, Time Warner etc over the last decade have evolved from being a local industry to large global conglomerates based on new forms of vertical and horizontal integration. These media conglomerati on was made possible by media deregulation in major western economies. These conglomerates not only have access to enormous quantities of investment capital but also the ability to minimise financial risks by managing their media products across different world markets in their areas of influence. For instance, News Corporation began as a print enterprise in Australia, spread into TV in UK in the 1970`s. This is now targeting the huge Chinese and Indian markets with its Star TV system which currently broadcasts in over 20 Asian languages. There is a popular concern about the growing concentration of ownership of global media production and transmission in the hands of a small number of corporations. For example, the past two decades have experience a huge expansion of the pop music industry, MTV has now become 24 hour music channels in America, Europe and Asia. But 70% of all pop music is produced and distributed by a handful of multinational corporations that integrate production, transmission and promotion ensuring that certain iconic faces like Madonna, Michael Jackson etc are everywhere, on TV, video, films, CD`s, magazines, newspapers, advertisements, radio and even designed on T shirts and many other things. The flow of information was dominated by multinational entities based in the most powerful nations leading to what is known as medial imperialism. Global and the local: The widespread claim of homogenisation of world cultures; the global as pro active and the local as reactive to global culture have been found to be unlikely by many scholars. They have argued that the local do not remain a passive recipient of global cultures transmitted to them through the media but the local have its own way of interpreting global influences according to its relativity. One such defender of this view is Robertson, who maintained that diffusion and transfer of ideas and values across socio cultural formations adapt to a particular local culture, which he termed as Glocalization. He talked about ambivalence and ambiguity of human culture in globalised world. Globalisation itself has no meaning unless it is connected in the context of the local. For him, globalisation is able to link locales together both materially and ideationally. Hence the local and global are inter connected and influence each other simultaneously and the media acts as an agent in increasing thi s process of glocalization and globalisation. This results in not only homogenisation but also hybridisation of cultures as the global gets localised according to the suitability and necessity of that particular contexts. To quote Robertson, An international TV enterprise like CNN produces and reproduces a particular pattern of relations between localities, a pattern which depends on a kind of recipe of locality  [2]  . He further illustrates how certain religions like Hinduism, Buddhism, and Taoism etc involved a long process of Glocalization after its dissemination throughout the globe. Following form this and relating it to the present context of information technologically advanced world, we see that religions are being widely promoted through the media. Religious channels are available 24/7 on TV, internet etc. These channels reach out to different regions of the world and are either absorbed and assimilated into the existing settings and become glocalised or they are rejec ted completely as a threat to their existing values and beliefs system. From here we can induce how the media play an important role in localising the global. Thus, the relation between the local and the global remain complex and negotiable terrain. Basically the politics of the glocal refers to globalisation from below which means that the impact of the global to a certain extent is in the hands of the local. This is because the local is not just a passive recipient of whatever globalisation through media brings at their doorstep influencing their lifestyles, ideas, values etc but the local is something active which constantly accommodates, assimilate and transforms different cultures that are brought to them, interpreting them according to its convenience and adaptability. Another reaction of the local to the global is the rejectionist attitude. There are many local movements who vehemently attempts to reject or resist the globalisation process and the impact of media consumerist culture claiming to protect their cultural identity or the purity of their culture. Some remain hostile to globalisation impact due to its ability to erode the traditional value system and the adverse affect on their socio cultural moral system. Contemporary indigenous movements are becoming increasingly global Eg:- Native people`s Movement increasingly use the media to defend or promote their rejection of globalisation process. In a globalised world, people constantly used the media to mobilise people as a local assertions against globalisation influence. In the present context, promotion of locality through the media has become a common trend. There is an attempt to globally organise the rights and identities of natives or indigenous people`s movement. The emergence of popul ar culture and the growing commodification of the consumer`s experience popularised and sensationalised by media is seen by many as posing a threat to the richness and diversity of cultural practices, resulting in the description of mass consumerism as a monolithic force with one dimensional causal effects on the traditional cultures. There are certain closed group which remain suspicious about the impact of media globalisation and attempts to curb and regulate the free expression of media itself. Such kind of group would be countries like China, Japan, Muslim fundamentalist etc however in the context of contemporary advancement of media technology it becomes difficult to remain intact by the homogenising influence of media. Nevertheless, the idea of uniformity of culture should not undermine the pervasive impact of counter currents that emerges from the local reception of the global. Wilkinson (1995) has developed the thesis that today, Conclusion: However claims of Global culture and its impact on cultures without uninterrupted reception by age, class, gender and geography etc is naive. Thus a deeper probing of the complex relationship between the global and local is necessary because human beings are not without rational analysis or do not have any personal choice but they are thinking individuals with a mind of their own capable of deciding what is best for themselves and hence they do not succumb to the global consumer culture unmindfully but translates the impact of media according to their own reality. Tomlinson made a distinction between culture as lived experience and culture as represented in media. He had argued that the realities in peoples lives are much more powerful than mere representation in global televisions and people do not get manipulated easily by the reception of media. He furthers argues that the cultural critics have overlooked the capacity of the audience to negotiate the possible contradictions in the reception of media. To him the power of the media should not be exaggerated by looking at media as mediating cultural experience rather than the determining force. Ang also refers to interpersonal drama to mean that media products are interpreted differently in different cultural contexts. Avijit Pathak is another who also talks about the politics of culture where cultures constantly negotiate in its interaction and influences. For him, even though there is a dominant global culture emanating, the process of reception becomes contextualised and gain a hermeneutic form, this he calls the art of resistance. For Wilkinson only one global civilisation exists which is a direct descendent of 1500 BC civilisation in the near East when Mesopotamian and Egyptian civilisation collided and fused. This entity spread all over the globe and engulf all others previously independent civilisation like Chinese, Japanese and western into one global civilisation. His idea was of connectedness of the world into one system rather than uniformity. People who interact with each other continuously belong to the same civilisation even if their cultures might be very dissimilar and hostile to each other  [3]  . Expansion of media communication increases connectivity of cultures, thus a chain of cultural networks are created no matter however they are connected either hostile or differently but they are still interacting with each other and hence influences each other in one way or the other and results in the emergence of certain similar trends. Therefore, what is undeniable is that media globalisation in o ne form or the other has an impact on the lives and consciousness of almost every one cutting across transnational borders, cultures, ethnicity, gender, class, age etc. Thus, global media is rendering almost everyone with something of a cosmopolitan culture. What was once local has become global and the line between the division of global and local is thinning and becoming blurred day by day.

The Tragedy of Eugene O’Neill’s Play, The Hairy Ape Essay -- Hairy Ape

The Tragedy of Eugene O’Neill’s Play, The Hairy Ape Eugene O’Neill’s The Hairy Ape is the story of an alienated, low-class stoker named Yank. Yank’s life becomes a whirlwind when Mildred, the daughter of a wealthy steel owner, looks at Yank like he is a hairy ape. This action creates the withdrawal Yank exhibits. The remainder of the play is Yank’s journey to find his place in society’s realms. He searches for his place in a stokehole, at Fifth Avenue, and in jail. Ultimately Yank’s trek ends as a gorilla squeezes the life out of Yank—O’Neill’s suggestion that Yank can only belong in death (O’Neill 57). Eugene Gladstone O’Neill was born on October 16, 1888, in New York City. His father, James O’Neill, was a popular actor, and introduced Eugene O’Neill to the theater at an early age. After being expelled from Princeton in 1906, O’Neill worked as a gold prospector in Honduras and later as a seaman in the New York area. Soon O’Neill became a regular at bars and clubs in New York City. In 1912, O’Neill contracted tuberculosis. It was during his recovery that O’Neill began to write plays. He wrote many plays and is one of the greatest American dramatists. O’Neill won four Pulitzer Prizes—Beyond the Horizon (1920), Anna Christie (1922), Strange Interlude (1928), and Long Day’s Journey into Night (1957). Eugene O’Neill also received the 1936 Nobel Prize for Literature. O’Neill was given the Nobel Prize, â€Å"for the power, honesty and deep-felt emotions of his dramatic works, which embody an orig inal concept of tragedy† (<http://nobelprizes.com/nobel/literature/1936a.html>). Some critics point to The Hairy Ape as a satirical play. These critics suggest that "clearly O’Neill is a critic of American society and ... ...mploys a chorus, and has an evident tragic flaw—hubris. Works Cited: Alexander, Doris. â€Å"Eugene O’Neill as Social Critic† in O’Neill and His Plays. Oscar Cargill et. al. eds. NY: New York University Press, 1963. Colley, Bryan. Eugene O’Neill. <http://www.kc.net/~bryanc/apebackground.htm>. O’Neill, Eugene. â€Å"Memorandum on Masks† in O’Neill and His Plays. Oscar Cargill et. al. eds. NY: New York University Press, 1963. O’Neill, Eugene. â€Å"The Hairy Ape† in Four Plays by Eugene O’Neill. New York: Signet Classic, 1998. Rollyson, Carl E. â€Å"Eugene O’Neill: The Drama of Self-transcendence† in Critical Essays on Eugene O’Neill. James Martine, ed. Boston: G.K. Hall and Co, 1984. The Nobel Prize Internet Archive. Almaz Enterprises. <http://nobelprizes.com/nobel/literature/1936a.html>. Turner, Ron. Ron’s Place. <http://www.connect.net/ron/oneill.html>.

Cons of Merit Pay

What is merit based pay and does it improve education? Merit base pay is based on your performance, it provides bonuses for workers who perform their jobs effectively, according to measurable criteria. In merit pay an effective way to bolster student achievement and create more effective teachers? While the federal push fur teachers merit pay has only just now found its footing, Louisiana schools started implanting merit pay programs as early as 2003, under TAP, the Teacher Advancement Program.TAP falls under the umbrella of the National Institute for Excellence in Teachers (NIET), which is committed to ensuring that highly skilled, strongly motivated teachers are competitively in American’s classroom (Mick NP). Merit pays should not be the system of use in schools. The purpose of this paper is to persuade the State Superintendent not to have this merit pay. I will be listing some of the Cons to this topic and discussing them. Some points I will be touching on are , teachers c an’t control students lives, and they cant give out grades to students they don’t earn, and the fact that all students learn at a different pace.Although popular in public opinion polls, merit pay- also called performance pay- faces stiff opposition from teacher organizations when linked to student test scores (Wiley NP). While outside of school teachers can’t control their students lives. Teachers are in the school to teach the students, and to make sure they have them ready to advance to the next level. A teacher is not the only influences on students achievement, family background, home life, prior teachers, and students mobility also are influences on students studies. Student performance is influenced by a lot of things out of teacher’s control.There is a strong connection between poverty and low test scores among students. Teachers cannot control many of these external factors that would lower a students performance. So how can they be properly eval uated when so many things are out of their hands? The results of unpleasant, and non cooperation with the students, is why there is lower grades and more students not passing the classes. Teachers cannot force a student to work, a lot of students that go to school, are there to learn, which causes distractions to the students who are there to learn.If a student isn’t there to learn, this makes it very difficult for the teacher to teach them, which is totally unfair to the teacher. Students that come from broken up families sometime have a hard time adjusting to living with one parent for a period, and then staying with the other parent for awhile. Families today are so much busier with both parents working that they do not care like they should about their child’s education. More kids are left alone, due to parents being gone which leaves them unsupervised, allowing the kids more freedom and keeping them from doing their studies.Parents are to tired by the time they ge t home that they neglect to make sure the studies are completed. In today’s society, it takes two parents incomes to make a living, which is making homework a problem in the households. So much is crammed into one days studies, teachers send a lot of extra work home with students, which some kids don’t have the help they need to get this work done. Some studies today that kids are doing, need the help of a teacher, and when sent home, on one is able to help.It isn’t fair for a teacher to have to try and make a student learn that doesn’t want to be there. Grades are mandatory at school. Teachers have to give out grades because it helps to see what level a student is at, so they can see what they need help on and if they are ready for advancement. If grades weren’t given out, many students wouldn’t do their studies, or focus on learning, , and it would make it difficult to know if a student is ready for advancement. Teachers should use the sam e grading scale so all students are graded equally.Rewards shouldn’t be given out for high scores, or for schools with the best improvement. This would favor teachers in wealthy neighborhoods whose students came to school with excellent skills. Some schools scores are already to high to show any improvement. Grades are sometimes given out to students that have been dishonest and cheated to get a better grade. Some students think that some kids get a better grade because they are teachers pet, or because he or she plays sports and they need them on the team, so they get a grade they don’t deserve.Grades really help the students and organize teachers to realize what the individuals have completed and not completed. Money that is giving for test results, will worsen the problems of teachers cheating, erasing answers on tests. It will also avoid consequences of The NO Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). Giving grades out, make sure the teachers are teaching all of the lessons, a nd not skipping through, so all students are getting the whole lesson. Individual students all have to work at different paces, but sometimes this doesn’t happen. No one will want to teach challenging kids.When you reward teachers for student achievement nobody will want to teach who live in challenging communities and have a hard time succeeding (Solomon NP). Teachers of honor students have a much easier time teaching their classes, these students work at their own pace and don’t need much assistant from a teacher making this teachers job a lot easier. Test score would be a lot higher. A teacher in a class that may have special educational students, or students that are just a little slower, or have problems learning, make this teachers job a lot harder.These students all need extra help from their teachers, which takes a lot away from a teacher trying to teach their studies each day. This can sometimes cause a teacher to fall behind. When students are struggling, tea chers shouldn’t get penalized for wanting to take the extra time needed in helping this student understand the studies they are doing, the teachers should have helpers that can cone in and help take some of the stress of the teachers. These students are more than likely nit going to pass the necessary test required for them to take.Many people believe that merit pay will motivate teachers and give the incentive to work harder and teach better. Others think it will cause competition among teachers rather than fostering the cooperative needed for school improvement. Sharing is an important part of the teaching profession. Teachers mentor each other, discuss teaching strategies, share lesson plans, collaborate on how to deal with difficult students and parents, and provide a support system for each other. Teachers competing for merit pay could negatively influence that sense of sharing and collaboration. (Kaplin NP).In a merit pay system, it wouldn’t be fair if two teache r are both doing what they should be doing and one class scores really high and the other cores much lower and both teachers did everything they could to make sure the students were ready for tests. As you can see, I have talked about several cons such as, why teachers can’t control their students, why teachers give out grades, and also how all individual students work at a different pace. As we went through and noticed the cons, a big factor that comes up and is part of all of them is some students do not care, and if they don’t care, they are not going to try.Students that don’t care can cause distraction in the class which can keep other students from learning. Students have to try their best and care about their education, or it’s not going to get them anywhere in life. Parents need to make their children really understand the importance of a good education and how they need this to make their life a lot better. If a student neglects to get the studie s they need, they will realize somebody how important it was to stay in school, and do their best. Sometimes it’s too late to do anything about it.Merit Pay for teachers have it’s pro’s and con’s. It says it is questionable whether Merit pay has anything to do with students success, but it is always a positive thing when teachers are receiving more pay and in a society that does not value teachers as professionals. Opponents to Merit Pay argue that a better solution to the current educational crisis is to pay all teachers more. Rather than design and regulate a messy Merit Pay program, why not pay teachers what they are already worth (Lewis NP)?

Politics in Nigeria Essay

Is there any lesson to be learnt in the war on terror where the proponents vowed never to dialogue or negotiate with terrorists, only to now realize, after the demise of thousands and loss of billions of dollars, that dialogue is the only option left for a lasting peace in Iraq and Afghanistan? Do we see such favour and sensationalism by the press on these botched attempts as we witness when the culprits happen to be Muslims? What would have happened if those Christians had succeeded in carrying out the blast? In a nation where the press in mainly in the hands of people of a particular faith, it is hard to be neutral in their reportage of these kinds of events; especially if it reinforces a stereotype and serves a hot selling item of news. John Akpava was caught with weapons at a Ministerial Press Briefing held at Radio House, Abuja. What would the press have done with this story if John Akpava were a Muslim? A ‘suicide’ bomber was allowed into the premises of the Church of Christ in Nigeria (COCIN), Jos, by a fellow member of the church, who detonated explosives that led to the death of 8 persons; 38 others were seriously injured. The Sun Newspaper of Tuesday, March 6th, 2012 reported that the said Boko Haram suicide bomber was identified by The Defence Headquarters (DHQ), as Mr. Adams Joseph Ashaba, ‘who allegedly masterminded the bombing of the Church of Christ in Nigeria (COCIN) in Jos, the Plateau State capital on February 26, disclosing, that he was actually a member of the Church.’ In another report on Daily Trust of Monday, February 27th, 2012, 8 members of the same (COCIN) were arrested this time in Bauchi with explosive devices desiring to set ablaze the church. Their arrest was almost thwarted by some Christians, but for the timely intervention of the Police. The above examples and that of the arrest of Augustine Effiong of Akwa Ibon origin who was reported by Thisday of May 21st, 2012, to have confessed his involvement in the BUK bombings, should make Muslim and Christian leaders realise that we are all in this together, and that we should work in harmony to bring about workable solution to the problem of insecurity in Nigeria. We have to do this. The problems of this country could only be solved by Nigerians. Yes, we can listen to good advice from abroad, and learn from other people’s experiences on similar matters. The ambivalence of the sacred is not to be seen as a bad thing. A polarised world is the one which should be strange. What we hold dear are not the same; our understanding of who God is and what His Laws are is also varied and diverse. The only thing we can firmly attest to as people is that we are brothers in humanity. The multiplicity of religions is a manifestation of our diverse backgrounds and reasoning. While some are content to worship the air and trees; others worship a fellow being as god. Look at Christianity and Islam for example: In either faith, we have hundreds of sects and variants. Each sect or variant in turn has its own idiosyncrasies and modes of worship and body of beliefs. The realisation that every time you are looking at the number 6 on a table, another sees the number 9 across that table helps to devise means to study and tolerate conflicting ideologies. While Muslims have been stereotypically dubbed as violent, Christians have had their share of stereotypes too. A typical uninformed Muslim thinks all Christians are Crusaders, trying to snuff out the light of Islam. He detests the Christians in his surroundings and distrusts them. When he meets the right Christian, he is confused and disorientated. He asks more and learns; he deepens his understanding and the shallowness of undue hate goes away. We also have stories of Christians referring to Muslims as idolaters and heathens who slaughter a ram every year to their god. One of such ignoramuses even wrote a book he titled â€Å"Who is This Allah?† He used that rare opportunity to show just how ignorant he is. The average uninformed Christian distrusts and despises the Muslims. The irresponsible journalism tactics employed by some media houses have also helped fuel the problem. The annual holidays connected to the Christian faith given by the Federal Government and most state governments are the Christian New Year, Good Friday, Easter Monday, Christmas and Boxing Day. We also have the weekly holidays of Saturday and Sunday to enable them go and worship. On the Muslim side we have the yearly holidays of Eidul Adha, Eidul Fitr and Mawlidun Nabiyy. The Osun state governor decided to give the Muslims their right by making 15th November, which corresponds to 1st Muharram a public holiday. Objectively, no one should have any issues with that; after all, are citizens are equal and what is sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander; but alas! That was not to be! The Christain owned Punch newspaper wrote an editorial condemning it and saying Nigeria is secular. How convenient! Muslims say he was sent by God as a messenger, bearer of glad tidings and warner against the impending doom of the end of time. They revere him and truly believe in him. They do not elevate him to a rank above prophethood. Any attack on his personality is an affront on their faith. The Muslims believe that Jesus (or ‘Eesa) the son of the Virgin Mary is alive, never died or resurrected, ascended to the heavens until his return, is a great prophet who was born in one of the four ways God perpetuates life. Any insult on him is an affront on the Muslim faith and any who disbelieves in him is not a Muslim. The Christians have two main beliefs about him. One says he is in fact God, Lord and Saviour; a part of a triune while the other contends that he was sent by God but lesser than God. These are clearly opposing views about the same people! Do we go out and persecute those who do not share the same sets of beliefs with us? Only a fool will answer in the affirmative! This madness must stop, and to stop it, we must know ourselves and what we hold dear better; that is no fool’s calling. We know and believe that if more of us know what you and I know today and if more are willing to practise our faiths to the letter, there will be little or no bloodshed. Over centuries Muslims and Christians and Jews have been murdered for the simple reason that they belong to a different faith; we can and must stop it.

Discovering a Whole New World of Education Essays

Discovering a Whole New World of Education Essays Discovering a Whole New World of Education Essay Discovering a Whole New World of Education Essay It used to be that going to college was a committed physical experience; you, at the very least, traveled to a campus everyday where you sat amongst your peers in a lecture hall or classroom and worked through your chosen degree program. And in most cases, you were typically a resident as well as a student, living in an on-campus apartment or in a dormitory with people your age. The world of college is a very different experience these days as people in all stages of their lives made the decision to return to school and bring with it their own particular circumstances. A family man with a job and children would be hard pressed to go back to that campus commute anymore; and luckily he doesn’t have to. Today, online learning has completely transformed the world of education. There is no longer the physical commitment necessary to attend school – presence in a classroom or lecture hall simply not required. From an online IT degree for someone looking to enter the world of computer technology to an online MBA for someone wanting to earn their masters in a particular sector of business, the online degree programs have something for everyone in terms of subject matter and schedule. A teacher going after her Master’s in Education can work during the day and do her work for school at night; an online business degree can be earned on the weekends or during other off hours; and a degree in nonprofit management can propel someone to the front of the pack in terms of the interview process. Whatever the desire in school the online degree program has something for everyone and can be a way for people to do it all in this day and age when doing it all has become the standard instead of the exception.

It Outsourcing Essays - Outsourcing, Offshoring, Free Essays

It Outsourcing Essays - Outsourcing, Offshoring, Free Essays It Outsourcing INTRODUCTION Companies are increasingly outsourcing the management of information technology (IT) for reasons that include concern for cost and quality, lagging IT performance, supplier pressure, access to special technical and application skills, and other financial factors. The outsourcing solution is acceptable to large and small firms alike because strategic alliances are now more common and the IT environment is changing rapidly. REASON TO OUTSOURCE Although the mix of factors raising the possibility of outsourcing varies widely from one company to another, there are a series of themes that explain most of the pressures to outsource. First of all, general managers concerns about cost and quality drive outsourcing. The same issues such as getting existing services for a reduced price at acceptable quality standard came up repeatedly. Second, failure to meet service standards can force management to find other ways of achieving reliability. It is not atypical to find a company in which cumulative IT management neglect eventually culminated in an out-of-control situation the current IT department could not recover from. Management can see outsourcing as a way to fix a broken department. Third, a firm under intense cost or competitive pressures, which does not see IT as its core competence, may find outsourcing a way to delegate time-consuming, messy problems so it can focus scarce management time and energy on other differentiators. Next, several financial issues can make outsourcing appealing. One is the opportunity to liquidate the firms intangible IT asset, thus strengthening the balance sheet and avoiding a stream of sporadic capital investments in the future. Also, outsourcing can turn a largely fixed-cost business into one with variable costs. This is particularly important for firms whose activities vary widely in volume from one year to another or which face significant downsizing. THE BENEFITS FROM OUTSOURCING Outsourcing has identified numerous potential benefits. Financial benefits from outsourcing included rapid funding of new systems development and economies of scale and scope. As consolidate infrastructure through IT outsourcing, a firm can experience cost reductions in hardware and software licensing, facilities, and support headcount. Outsourcing, also, can capitalize on an outside vendors extensive IT problem solving knowledge. An outside vendor had the ability to get more of the technology that came out. They could spend money on investments that a company couldnt afford internally. That opens up a lot more avenues to future technologies. An outside vendor would manage the IT function more efficiently. A vendors main competency is managing computer systems. Through their skills, leverage, and economies of scale, they could provide a level of efficiency that could not be achieved at the outsourcer. Finally, Perhaps most important, outsourcing allow internal IT managers to focus on the development of a new IT infrastructure. Underlying the outsourcing effort is a fundamental strategy to offload legacy applications and operations so a firm could focus on developing new strategic application to support the global business processes, which were being reengineered. THE PROCESS OF OUTSOURCING There are many ways to manage IT outsourcing since every company has different culture, strategy, structure, people, and process. Also, many important issues such as structure, Information management operating processes, management processes, human

Massospondylus - Facts and Figures

Massospondylus - Facts and Figures Name: Massospondylus (Greek for large vertebrae); pronounced MASS-oh-SPON-dill-us Habitat: Woodlands of South Africa Historical Period: Early Jurassic (208-190 million years ago) Size and Weight: About 13 feet long and 300 pounds Diet: Plants Distinguishing Characteristics: Large, five-fingered hands; long neck and tail About Massospondylus Massospondylus is a good example of the class of dinosaurs known as prosauropodssmall-to-medium sized, small-brained herbivores of the early Jurassic period whose relatives later evolved into towering sauropods like Barosaurus and Brachiosaurus. In early 2012, Massospondylus made headlines thanks to the discovery in South Africa of preserved nesting grounds, containing fossilized eggs and embryos, dating to the early Jurassic period (about 190 million years ago) This plant-eaterwhich paleontologists believe stomped in stampede-sized numbers across the plains of early Jurassic South Africais also a case study in changing views of dinosaur behavior. For decades, it was widely believed that Massospondylus walked on all fours, only occasionally rearing up on its hind legs to reach vegetation. In the last few years, though, convincing evidence has come to light that Massospondylus was primarily bipedal, and faster (and more agile) than was previously believed. Because it was discovered so early in paleontological historyin 1854, by the famous naturalist Sir Richard OwenMassospondylus has generated its share of confusion, as various fossil remains have been incorrectly assigned to this genus. For instance, this dinosaur has been identified (at one time or another) with such dubious and now-discarded names as Aristosaurus, Dromicosaurus, Gryponyx, Hortalotarsus, Leptospondylus, and Pachyspondylus.

Business Management concepts Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Business Management concepts - Assignment Example This guarantees high returns for the corporate or organization because there is no manual work force required besides machines are much faster than a person’s memory. This technique reduces time spent during manufacturing process besides increasing output speed hence resulting to increased production. In this way, when the jobs are well scheduled their execution is at almost the same time besides being mapped to the processing unit after they are done. Moreover, some factors such as absenteeism alter productivity in case they are common besides if the company has a flat rate output of sixty-two computers in a day it simply means that it is not an effect of workers not being present. Besides, quality problems may not have much impact on production, as they are capable of making sixty-four repairs in a day. Cheating on size or content of some goods or products is among the common unethical business acts practiced by many corporates (Mandal, 2010). This refers to deception in advertisement whereby a product is made to appear much better or bigger that its exact quality size. By doing this, the corporate proofs not to be adhering to the ethical principle of being honesty (Ferrell, Fraedrich & Ferrell, 2010). Honesty entails maintaining morality in all actions and communications. This principle calls for the business owners not to deceive or else mislead their clients by either providing them with partial truths and overstatements among other vices about their goods or services. This is because upon realizing the clients may lose trust on the company’s products, hence cease buying from them. As the CEO, I will ensure honesty is paramount by briefing my staffs who draft advertisements that they should be taking the actual pictures of the item intended to be advertised and include it s mass as well as dimensions. Through this act, my clients will have a clear picture of my products besides which will make them build some trust on the corporates products. Copying

Securing America and Protecting Civil Liberties Essay - 3

Securing America and Protecting Civil Liberties - Essay Example Almost since its passage, The Patriot Act has come under fire as violating a number of civil liberties that all persons in the United States acquired with the passage of the Bill of Rights, specifically the First Amendment as well as the Fourth Amendment. It is my position that the passage of the Patriot Act, in fact, sought to ‘amend the amendments’, and take away basic freedoms and civil liberties, along with giving the government more power and control than was needed. Over 200 years ago, the Constitution was drafted in response to freedom from a different kind of terrorist – the King of England and the Parliament of England. Determined never again to live in fear and oppression, the Constitution along with its ensuing amendments were drafted in order to give the American people basic rights and freedoms, and to ensure that they were never again taken away arbitrarily. First and foremost was the freedom to express an opinion without fear of reprisal. Closely fo llowing this was the freedom to protect private property and personal effects from unreasonable search and seizure. Since the passage of the Patriot Act, these amendments have both suffered. ... Since the passage of the Patriot Act, no longer can one expect privacy when writing an e-mail, or having a phone conversation – and what is worse, the FBI or law enforcement does not have to show that there is ‘probable cause’ to break down anyone’s door with a search warrant. Though there are supporters of the Patriot Act that have argued that the restrictions on civil liberties and freedoms are necessary in order to protect the country, others disagree, as do I. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has posted statements on their website that The Patriot Act violates the First and Fourth Amendments. Specifically cited is Section 215 of the Patriot Act, which gives the government the ability to look at the records of individuals that had previously deemed sacred. The First Amendment had guaranteed the ‘right of the press’. Section 215, according to the ACLU, allows the government to request records from libraries, bookstores, and publisher s, without probable cause. Thinking about reading The Anarchist’s Cookbook? Think again – the government may soon legally, thanks to the Patriot Act, be bursting through your door to ask why – or worse, throw you in jail. Agreeing with the ACLU is the Freedom to Read Committee of the Association of American Publishers, who issued a statement that read, in part, that â€Å"Section 215 presents a significant threat to investigative journalists who write about subjects that may be related to terrorism.† Though the committee recognized and actually agreed that there was an â€Å"urgency† in providing federal and state law enforcement officials with information that could potentially lead to

Policy discussion paper (social work course) Essay

Policy discussion paper (social work course) - Essay Example those with disabilities, and their guardians, or helpers in assisting them to continue living independently at home, and ensuring their daily basic needs have been met (Government of Western Australia, 2012). Therefore, HACC support services include assistance with daily household activities, assistance in ensuring nutrition independence, strength and safety of these individuals, support to participate in either one-to one or group activities, assistance and support to ensure independent self care such as dressing, and assistance in carrying out essential activities such as banking, shopping, and maintaining in their social contacts (Government of Western Australia, 2012). The Home and Community Care (HACC) program is the main funded of home based care services in Australia. The program provides several services to the old people, the disabled people, and their guardians (Municipal Association of Victoria 2010, 15). HACC program was initiated in 1984 through an agreement with Commonwealth , State and Territories, and the Home and Community Care Act of 1985, in response to a report by the House of Representatives Standing Committee and Expenditure in 1982 (MAV 2010, 15). This program consolidated a number of separately funded State and Commonwealth programs, which include the Home Nursing Subsidy Act of 1957, the State Grants (Home care) Act of 1969, the Delivered Meals Subsidy Act of 1970, and the States Grants (paramedical Service) Act of 1969 (MAV 2010, 15). The program, however, started back in 1885 as the Royal District Nursing Services (RDNS) with a single nurse pertaining visits to homes of the sick poor, providing care to mothers with new born babies, and the frail aged,. Though HACC has a long history, there are two important aspects defining the program. Though HACC is a national program, each state is obligated to have a scope in building and developing their own programs to meet the needs of the state. For example, the Victorian government

The breakdown of American family Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The breakdown of American family - Essay Example This paper discusses some of the most important problems of Americans today and discusses their cause-and-effect relationship with the breakdown of family. Problems discussed are drug addiction among teenagers, teenage pregnancy, abortion, and suicide among Americans. Drug addiction is on a rise in America today. A lot of teenagers fall prey to this habit and end up ruining their academic and professional career and in the long run, their life. Teenagers adopt this habit because of lack of parental supervision. This is the reason why drug addiction among teenagers is far lesser in the more reserved and family-oriented nations as compared to America. Teenage pregnancy is another outcome of breakdown of the family in America. Teenagers have no one to keep a check over them taking benefit of which, they indulge in physical relationships with their fellows before the appropriate age. This causes increase of pregnancy among teenagers and also abortion. Rather than accepting the responsibi lity, teenage girls tend to come out of it as soon as they realize that they are pregnant and thus, go for the abortion. The increasing suicide rate is the outcome of depression caused by the feeling of guilt and trauma because of such wrong decisions in life as drug addiction and physical relationships. ... This has promoted the culture of cohabitation in America which is one of the biggest threats to the sacred institution of marriage. People tend to cohabit as it relieves them from the financial and legal implications of the marriage. On the other hand, people that do marry have large tendency to have their marriage failed, because the partners have not learnt to compromise from their parents. Thus, breakdown of the family system in America is both a cause and effect of the increasing divorce rate among the Americans. The family system promotes a healthy culture wherein people can relate to one another psychologically and emotionally. Members of a family assume certain roles and responsibilities that they are obliged to perform in the capacity of the family-member. Rights come with responsibilities. Parents can only have a right over their children and their lives when they have grown up if they have been fulfilling their responsibilities as parents when the children were young and re ally needed their attention. Love of a mother and a father is essential to the development of confidence, self-esteem and most importantly, the identity of a child. It is the very lack of identity caused by the breakdown of the family that inculcates carelessness, irresponsibility and self-centeredness in people and they indulge in such behaviors that cause them to repent in the long run. â€Å"[T]he importance of the family in binding generation to generation, inspiring love and intimacy in the home, and fostering industry and lawfulness within the broader community† cannot be overemphasized (Carlson). Concluding, sustenance of a strong family system is fundamental to the solution of

Critical evalluation of the extent to which institutional factors Essay

Critical evalluation of the extent to which institutional factors influence inward and outward FDI - Essay Example However, it is difficult to measure the various institutional factors and therefore the extent to which it influences inward and outward FDI is a subjective issue. The issue of â€Å"institutional distance† has been found to have an influence on both the inward and the outward FDI. Institutional distance is the difference in the quality of institutions between two or more countries. Quere et al. (2007) studied the determinants of FDI and concluded that â€Å"raising the quality of institutions and making them converge towards those of source countries may help developing countries to receive more FDI, hence help them to catch up, independently of the indirect impact of higher GDP per capita†. It is widely known that good quality institutions have a positive impact on the inflow and outflow of FDI. Some scholars suggest that institutional differences may be a source of comparative advantages, some sectors being more ‘institution-intensive’ than others, and t hat this could be a source of more trade flows. To the extent that trade and FDI are complements, this could raise FDI too. Good governance is one of the institutional qualities which are thought to positively affect the flow of FDI. Globerman and Shapiro (2002) studied the impact of the main components of the governance indicators on both inflows and outflows of a country’s FDI. They concluded that good governance encouraged both FDI inflows and outflows; although the impact of good governance on the outflow of FDI only applies to relatively large and developed countries. However, measuring governance is a subjective task which varies from one research to another. Some studies concentrates on one country yet trade flow involves at least two countries. Since FDI flows can move on either direction, governance of all the countries involved should be scrutinized in order to determine the actual impact of governance on both in-flows and out-flows of FDI. The tax system of a host country is another determinant of FDI. If a tax system of a country is set in a manner that the products and services of foreign firms are more taxed than those of the local firms, the inward flow of FDI is likely to be reduced. This is because the foreign firms would have a challenge in setting the prices of their goods and services; in order to make profits, they might be forced to set their prices above those of the local firms thus leading to lower than expected sales. On the other hand, imposing heavy taxes on the products and services of the local firms may hamper their growth. For this reason, the local firms may not grow to become MNEs and thus affecting the outward FDI. However, heavy taxes on the local firms may lead to investment in other countries where the tax rates of taxation is relatively lower. This will lead to increased out-flow of FDI. Corruption is also another institutional factor which is known to determine the flow of FDI. Many researchers have found that cor ruption increases the cost of investment and lead to reduced expected revenues. Taking corruption to mean â€Å"paying certain individuals in order to get an investment opportunity in the host country†, it would negatively affect the inward flow of FDI. In addition, the misuse of public funds and resources by

TLMT312 WEEK 4 FORUM Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

TLMT312 WEEK 4 FORUM - Assignment Example There is a distinction between rates and rating. Rate is the price per hundred weights to move an individual product between two locations. It is listed on pricing sheets or tariffs. Various products in different classes are charged different rates. Rate is determined by weight and size of the product. Rating involves determining the appropriate, legal, economical rates and routes for the transportation of foreign and domestic freight through any or all modes of transportation. These determinations are made according to published classification, tariff, and tariff routings. Rating also includes development of narratives and exhibit materials and similar information to be used by others to negotiate and requested rates. In addition, it may also include preparation of materials concerning rate matters in cases to be presented to representatives of the carriers, regulatory bodies, and the courts. The goal of the assessment is to establish the appropriateness of classification, routes, rates and carriers’ actions (Gianpaolo & Laporte, 2004). Classification and rate depend on the grade. Rating determines the appropriateness of classification and rates. Once products are shipped they must be classified for various reasons. Classification helps to determine the rates for each

Critical evalluation of the extent to which institutional factors Essay

Critical evalluation of the extent to which institutional factors influence inward and outward FDI - Essay Example However, it is difficult to measure the various institutional factors and therefore the extent to which it influences inward and outward FDI is a subjective issue. The issue of â€Å"institutional distance† has been found to have an influence on both the inward and the outward FDI. Institutional distance is the difference in the quality of institutions between two or more countries. Quere et al. (2007) studied the determinants of FDI and concluded that â€Å"raising the quality of institutions and making them converge towards those of source countries may help developing countries to receive more FDI, hence help them to catch up, independently of the indirect impact of higher GDP per capita†. It is widely known that good quality institutions have a positive impact on the inflow and outflow of FDI. Some scholars suggest that institutional differences may be a source of comparative advantages, some sectors being more ‘institution-intensive’ than others, and t hat this could be a source of more trade flows. To the extent that trade and FDI are complements, this could raise FDI too. Good governance is one of the institutional qualities which are thought to positively affect the flow of FDI. Globerman and Shapiro (2002) studied the impact of the main components of the governance indicators on both inflows and outflows of a country’s FDI. They concluded that good governance encouraged both FDI inflows and outflows; although the impact of good governance on the outflow of FDI only applies to relatively large and developed countries. However, measuring governance is a subjective task which varies from one research to another. Some studies concentrates on one country yet trade flow involves at least two countries. Since FDI flows can move on either direction, governance of all the countries involved should be scrutinized in order to determine the actual impact of governance on both in-flows and out-flows of FDI. The tax system of a host country is another determinant of FDI. If a tax system of a country is set in a manner that the products and services of foreign firms are more taxed than those of the local firms, the inward flow of FDI is likely to be reduced. This is because the foreign firms would have a challenge in setting the prices of their goods and services; in order to make profits, they might be forced to set their prices above those of the local firms thus leading to lower than expected sales. On the other hand, imposing heavy taxes on the products and services of the local firms may hamper their growth. For this reason, the local firms may not grow to become MNEs and thus affecting the outward FDI. However, heavy taxes on the local firms may lead to investment in other countries where the tax rates of taxation is relatively lower. This will lead to increased out-flow of FDI. Corruption is also another institutional factor which is known to determine the flow of FDI. Many researchers have found that cor ruption increases the cost of investment and lead to reduced expected revenues. Taking corruption to mean â€Å"paying certain individuals in order to get an investment opportunity in the host country†, it would negatively affect the inward flow of FDI. In addition, the misuse of public funds and resources by

Uniforms in school Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Uniforms in school - Essay Example There are three main reasons for this. The first is that it makes students more equal, the second is convenience, and the third is school pride. The simple fact is that if children wear uniforms, they are a lot less likely to notice differences between children from rich and from poor families. One of the main purposes of school is acclimatize students to the different types of people they will meet in their life. This is best done by allowing them to focus on the personality and identitiy of different people, what really counts, rather than be distracted by the surface, by the clothes that people wear. Students can easily be bullied if them come from poor families and have ragged clothes, likewise students who are rich and wear the latest designer duds might well become excessively popular. Uniforms tend to diminish or mask this unpleasant class distinctions. They promote equality, fraternity, and fellowship. They make people feel less alienated and more part of a community. Money after all is an artificial distinction. Shouldn’t people focus more on what really counts? Another useful argument is convenience. A lot of parents argue that because of school uniforms, they don’t have to buy clothes for their children, and this saves them time and money. But most children will have a few ordinary clothes next to their school uniform, but not many especially if they are in school five days a week. This also makes it easier for students to choose what they are going to wear at school. No matter that the choice is not so much made easy by virtue of uniformity, but because the students don’t really have much choice—the result is the same. Children are too young and inexperienced to be spending all their time thinking about self-presentation and the fickleness of fashion. Obsessing about these things can create a huge amount of psychological problems later in life, reducing the opportunity to get good work,

The Identifying Factor Of Azotobacter

The Identifying Factor Of Azotobacter It is all too easy to forget about the soil microorganisms that are so crucial to the health of the flora and fauna of an ecosystem. When speaking of soil microorganisms, this classification can be further broken down into three subcategories: fungi, protista and bacteria, with bacteria making up the largest portion of the microorganisms (Boyle et al., 2007, Pelczar et al. 1993). These soil microorganisms play a central role to the biogeochemical cycling of nutrients such as, Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Sulphur; elements which are detrimental for the growth and life of organisms (Bastida et al., 2007). In addition to their role in nutrient cycling, soil microorganisms largely contribute to soil structures by breaking down and decomposing organic matters, and are also an important food source for other organisms such as earth worms and amoebae (Bastida et al., 2007). Considering the impact of soil microorganisms on the environment and ecosystem, it is easy to see how soil microorganisms also impact human lifestyle and economy. In recent times, a flood of research has been conducted on the importance of microorganisms on agriculture, with interests in the ability of nitrogen fixing bacteria to substitute for nitrogenous fertilizers (Cakmacki et al. 2006). This lab focused on the bacterial portion of soil microorganisms, specifically, the isolation and identification of a single bacterium from a local soil sample using a number of aseptic laboratory techniques and Bergeys Manual of Systemic Bacteriology (1984). Materials and Methods The following methods were taken from the Biology 203 Lab Manual (Robertson 2008). Two soil samples were taken, the first from forest soil and the second, a coarse woody debris, from compost. These two samples were serially diluted to make solutions from 10E-2 to 10E-7, and from each sample pour plates, slants, streak plates and broths were inoculated using aseptic technique. The colony morphologies were observed and recorded and each plate was enumerated. From these samples 4 bacteria were chosen and subcultured onto streak plates and slants. After preparing and Gram Staining the slides the cell morphologies of the bacteria were observed and noted. The colonies were again subcultured onto streak plates and tested for the ability to hydrolyze starch by adding Iodine. The colonies were also cultured into Sulfide, Indole and Motility (SIM) deeps to test for the presences of the Sulfur cycle and motility. In addition Peptone broths were inoculated and the cultures were tested for ammoni fication. Ammonium sulfate broths and nitrite broths were inoculated and nitrification was tested for as well denitrification was tested for by inoculating nitrate broths. Aerobic respiration was confirmed when catalase tests were carried out by adding H2O2 to a sample of bacterium. Finally cultures were individually exposed to each of several different temperatures, salinities and levels of pH in order to determine their optimal environmental conditions. A single colony of bacteria was chosen to be identified: bacteria 1 from soil sample 2. Results The colony morphology can be described as a glistening opaque white color with a flat and irregular shape. The growth was smooth and soft. The diameter of the colony approximated 15mm. Under 1000x magnification it was revealed that the cells were bacilli, singlet and had a diameter of approximately 2ÃŽ ¼m. The cells stained Gram negative. Table 1: Summary of Results for Unidentified Bacterium 1 of Soil Sample 2 Test Result Starch Hydrolysis Positive H2S reduction Negative Motility Negative Aerobic or Anaerobic Aerobic Ammonification Positive Denitrification (NO3- to NO2-) Negative Nitrification (NH3/NH4+ to NO2-) Positive Nitrification (NH3/NH4+ to NO3-) Positive Catalase Positive Optimal temperature 22Â °C Optimal pH 5 Optimal salt concentration 0% The results of the remainder of the tests biochemical and environmental are summarized by Table 1. It was concluded based on the Iodine and starch reaction that this bacterium hydrolyzed starch as a source of Carbon. The Sulfur cycle did not occur as there was no black precipitate from the combination of Iron and hydrogen sulfide found in the SIM deeps. The SIM deeps did reveal that these bacteria were non-motile, growing only on the stab line. The proteins in the peptone broth were degraded to ammonia signifying that this bacterium is an ammonifer. Nitrification was also confirmed with the bacteria oxidizing the NH3 and NH4+ in the broths to NO2- and NO3. Denitrification however, did not occur; NO3 was not reduced. The addition of H2O2 led to bubbling as it reacted with catalase present in the cells. Optimal environmental conditions were found to be 22Â °C, pH of 5 and 0% salinity. Between the temperatures of 4, 15, 22 and 54Â °C, growth was strongest at 22Â °C, then 15 and wea kest at 37 and 4Â °C . Growth at pH was only slightly stronger than at pH 7 but substantially stronger than at pH 3 and 9 (refer to table 2). Growth in salinity was best at 0% and decreased with .05%, 2% and 5% respectively. Table 2: Growth of bacterium 1 at various pH based on absorbance levels at 580nm pH Bacterial Growth 3 .227 5 .692 7 .510 9 .147 Discussion Each of these steps aided in the possible identification of the bacterium as Azobacteraceae Azotobacter a genera of bacteria found in soil, water and roots (Bergeys Manual, 1984). Due to the thinner layer of peptidoglycan surrounded by a phospholipid outer membrane as opposed to a thick external layer of peptidoglycan this bacterium stained Gram negative (Prescot, Harley and Klein 2005). Of vital importance for identification was the presence of catalase, an enzyme present in aerobic bacteria that breaks down the toxic byproduct of electron transport: H2O2 (Wang et al. 2008). The search to identify Bacterium 1 began with these two broad criteria: Gram negative and aerobic respiration. This particular bacterium was non-motile, the bacterium grew only along the stab line in the SIM deep rather than spreading throughout the medium. This turned out to be an important factor while identifying as it as Azotobacter which contains both motile and non-motile bacteria (Bergeys Manual, 1984). T hese three qualities alone pointed in the direction of Azotobacter; the biochemical and environmental tests served to confirm that Bacterium 1 was indeed Azotobacter by matching the characteristics of this particular genera to the bacterium. Nitrification was a common characteristic between the two and was confirmed to occur in Bacterium 1 when the ammonia broth was oxidized to nitrite and nitrite was oxidized to nitrate (Bergeys Manual, 1984). Denitrification however, did not occur the nitrate was left intact and un-reduced. Ammonification, the breakdown of nitrogen containing compounds to ammonia, was also a common characteristic of Bacterium 1 and Azotobacter (Bergeys Manual, 1984, Roberts, 2008). Although the test for motility in the SIM deep was positive, the sulfur cycle test in the SIM had a negative result. The sulfur containing compounds were not reduced by the bacterium to produce H2S and, this result even as a negative, was an important factor in identification because Azotobacter also does not reduce sulfur (Bergeys Manual, 1984, Roberts, 2008). Bergeys Manual (1984) classifies Azotobacter as a heterotroph and, similarly Bacterium 1 was identified as a heterotroph when Iodine was added to the streak plate con taining starch and no color change occurred in the area under and around the colony. This was an indication of the bacterium breaking down and metabolizing the starch. Finally, the optimal environmental conditions of both Bacterium 1 and Azotobactera were found to be very similar. The optimal conditions were stated as: pH of 4.8 8.5, temperature of 15 37ËÅ ¡C and low salinity (Bergeys Manual, 1984). Bacterium 1 had very similar environmental conditions of: pH of 5, 22ËÅ ¡C and salinity of 0% NaCl. Considering the nitrifying and ammonifiying qualities of the Azotobacter, this bacterium plays an important role in the nitrogen cycle by breaking down proteins and converting the nitrogen into a form that can then be used by other organisms (Butenschoen, Marhan and Scheu, 2007, Cakmakci et al. 2006). Azotobacter, as one of the more common nitrifying soil microbes, is known to produce a great amount of usable Nitrogen, and therefore is closely linked to plant growth and health (Cakmakci et al. 2006, Prescot, Harley and Klein 2005). Interestingly, although many nitrifying organisms hold a symbiotic relationship with plant roots, providing Nitrogen in exchange for nutrients, Azotobacter, in particular, does not (Prescot, Harley and Klein 2005). Azotobacter also carries out starch hydrolysis, and therefore aids in the decomposition of organic matter in soil and the mineralization process (Smith and Smith, 2001). The identification of Bacterium 1 as Azobacteraceae Azotobacter is not definite and several other tests would have required in order to prove this statement as true. One test which would have been very helpful would have been a test for cyst formation; a key characteristic of the Azotobacter (Bergeys Manual, 1984, Prescot, Harley and Klein 2005). The Azotobacter are not rhizobacteria and therefore it would have been appropriate if there were some way of observing the bacteria in their natural habitat. In addition, the tests that were carried out had limitations to the amount of information that could have been gleaned from the results. The nitrification, ammonification, and denitrification tests were based on a simple color change, and there was no way of telling the process by which these functions, if present, occurred, nor were the tests specific to the concentration of the compounds present. All of these tests and techniques could also have been subjected to error, for example, m easurement errors under the microscope, errors in serial dilutions and even, contamination of cultures. From a simple compost soil sample it was possible to isolate and subculture a single bacterium species. Using various biochemical tests such as, tests for nitrification, ammonification, denitrification and the sulfur cycle, it was possible to determine the characteristic metabolic functions of the organism. These results, in addition to observation of cell and colony morphology, especially Gram staining, enabled the identification of the bacterium as Azobacteraceae Azotobacter.

The Importance of Ideas in The Tempest Essay -- Tempest essays

The Importance of Ideas in The Tempest      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Shakespeare's play, The Tempest, is constructed on a framework of ideas rather than on any dramatic principle. It is "ideas" that are presented throughout, and the play is built around the presentation of these themes -- themes such as the argument over whether nature is superior to nurture or vice versa (as in the case of Caliban and Antonio, the first being one on whom all efforts at nurture "can never stick" due to the inherent baseness of his nature, the second being one whom neither nature nor nurture has availed to deter him from consciously choosing evil), the moral duties of the sovereign (in the case of Prospero and Alonso, both of whom have to go through physical or emotional distress because of their negligence, in one way or another, or these duties), the transitoriness of all material things (as in Prospero's speech following the masque), the rights of the colonialist and whether he is exploiting or educating the natives (in the case of Prospero and Cali ban), the argument over whether "enlightened" civilization is superior to the "natural man" or otherwise, and the importance of retaining social hierarchy.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   It is also, to a certain extent, not inaccurate to suggest that the characters, or at least the important ones, have a symbolic function. Prospero does symbolize "Art" and enlightened civilization, Caliban "Nature" and the primitive, uncontrolled succumbing to instinctual, sometimes base, urges that results from the lack of "civilization", Ferdinand and Miranda the purity and virtue of noble birth, most of the court party (Antonio, Alonso, Sebastian; on a different level, Stephano and Trinculo) the imperfection of civilization in the form of ... ...nd Political Thought." A Companion to Shakespeare. Ed.   David Scott Kastan. Massachusetts: Blackwell Publishers Ltd., 1999. 100-116. Gervinus, G.G. "A review of The Tempest." Shakespeare Commentaries. (1877):787-800. Rpt.   Scott. 304-307. More, Sir Thomas. "Utopia." The Longman Anthology of British Literature. Vol 1. Ed. David   Damrosch. New York: Addison-Wesley Educational Publishers Inc., 1999. 637-706. Platt, Peter. "Shakespeare and Rhetorical Culture." A Companion to Shakespeare. Ed. David   Scott Kastan. Massachusetts: Blackwell Publishers Ltd., 1999.   277-296. Sacks, David Harris. "Political Culture." A Companion to Shakespeare. Ed. David Scott   Kastan. Massachusetts: Blackwell Publishers Ltd., 1999. 100-116. Snider, Denton J. "A review of The Tempest." The Shakespearian Drama a Commentary: The Comedies. (1890). Rpt. Scott. 320-324.   

The main differences I am going to look at are the management styles :: Business and Management Studies

The main differences I am going to look at are the management styles related to each of the companies. Introduction This report is looking at the key differences between the two companies that I have been independently researching. The main differences I am going to look at are the management styles related to each of the companies. It also looks at the different structures within the company such as the hierarchy of the company and the range of managers. Ethics is also going to be a key difference between the following companies as they have very separate ideas of what are good/bad behaviors for a business. Both companies are worldwide and well-recognized businesses with thousands of employees and multimillion-dollar profits. Company X In 1975, two teenage friends formed a company. It sold a form of computer language for a self-assembly kit computer based upon Intel processors. The friends were Bill Gates and Paul Allen, they named the company Microsoft. Revenues and profits rose dramatically in the early years. Windows 95 was what really put Microsoft on the map as they started to make billions of dollars in profit each year. Now Microsoft is one of the most profitable companies in the world and Bill Gates is the wealthiest man in the world! Microsoft is now installed in nearly all computers around the world; personally I have never been on a computer that isn’t being run by Windows. That gives you an idea about how big Microsoft really is. Another big issue that concerns Microsoft is the fact that on your average high street there will not be a Microsoft shop. There are not many Microsoft shops in the whole of the U.K. but it is used in nearly every large companies and shops in the world. The Microsoft headquarters are found in the USA but also have separate smaller headquarters around the world. Company Y McDonalds is the world leading food services in the world today; it has 30,000 restaurants in 119 countries and serves 47 million customers each day of the week. It is also one of the most well recognized companies such as Microsoft. It all started in 1955 a good 20 years before the likes of Microsoft. McDonalds is a franchised company meaning a different person owns each restaurant but all have to pay McDonalds main company at one time or another. They’re about 2,800 employees under the McDonalds name. The headquarters for this company is just outside Chicago, in Oak Brook. Each country has its own individual headquarters but all report back to the one in Oak Brook. Even though these two companies seem the same they are very

Gender Issues and Roles Essay

Gender refers to the socially constructed roles, behavior, activities and attributes that a particular society considers appropriate for men and women. It is a basic organizing principle of society that shapes how we think about ourselves and guides how we interact with others. The distinct roles and behavior may give rise to gender inequalities, i. e. differences between men and women that systematically favor one group. There are differences between the sexes in that men weigh more than women and have more muscle. Women outperform men in some test of long term endurance and life expectancy. However, biologically, the sexes differ in limited ways with neither one naturally superior. Origin of Gender roles The root of all gender issues which presently exist in society may be traced back to The Creation Story in Genesis. This crucial chapter of the Bible provides evidence supporting that God intended for man and woman to exist as equals, yet he assigned gender roles once Adam and Eve disobeyed him by eating the fruit from the forbidden tree of good and evil. Thus, men have been characterized as the â€Å"breadwinners† and women as â€Å"child bearers and housekeepers† since the beginning of humanity. Men and women have been trapped in certain roles since the beginning of time, and have always had a power struggle between them. Gender issues have not evolved over time; they have always existed. Partriarchy and Sexism Partriarchy literally means â€Å"rule of fathers†. Conceptions of gender vary everywhere in the world and we find some degree partriarchy. Sexism is the belief that one sex is innately superior to the other and is built into the institutions of society. Sexism stunts the talents and limits the ambitions of the human population who are women. Masculinity comes with a high price as it calls for men to engage in many high-risk behaviors, including using tobacco and alcohol, participating in physically dangerous sports, and driving recklessly. It is also closely linked not only to accidents but to suicide, violence and stress-related diseases. As men seek control over others, they opportunities for intimacy and trust. In general men have more social resources than women. Martriarchy is a form of social organization in which females dominate males. Although there is no clear case of matriarchy, women’s power can rival that of men. Many societies count among their historical heroes at least one brave woman warrior or leader, but few are as reviled as the Kikuyu Wangu wa Makeri. Appointed as the head of Weithaga, in Muranga district, by the colonialists, Makeri’s legacy is as a woman who made hell for the men of her tribe, wreaking revenge and sewing humiliation for the gender roles she had broken out of. Born in 1856, according to Nairobi University historian Mary W Wanyoike, Makeri’s rise to fame came relatively late in her life, when, in 1901 she was appointed as the head of her district. The elevation of a woman to such a position of power was unheard of in those days. Wangu, however, embraced the position with vigour. Tales abound of her demeaning men, riding on their backs on all fours, taking multiple lovers – among them one Karuri Gakure – and being very far from an â€Å"attractive’ woman. Certainly, such behaviour was anathema in early 20th Century Kikuyu culture. In those days, once men had paid the dowry on the women they were to marry, the women were considered their property. Women might be disgruntled, but they were expected to be silent victims. Thus when Wangu â€Å"superwoman† Makeri got power, she felt it her personal mission to avenge for the exploited women. Her zeal, however, quickly made her a hate figure for men, as did her tendency to overstep the boundary of leadership. Yet she held on to power for a remarkable 35 years. In the end, what lead to her downfall and death, was the brewing conflict between the Kikuyu and British colonialists. From around 1910, colonial resentment was budding. The Kikuyus who later formed the Mau Mau saw Wangu Wa Makeri as a proxy for colonialists. They instigated a rebellion against oth the colonialists and her. With her support thinning, her back-riding tenure ended unceremoniously. Yet her reputation for multiple lovers and a passion to domineer the masculine species, is still used as a weapon today in the gender war, driving accusations that any women who loves power and money is of her line, and setting up a horror figure that no good Kikuyu women would wish to be associated with. In time, it seems, hers is one story that may yet be retold. In preindustrial societies, women have little control over pregnancy and childbirth, which limits the scope of their lives. Similarly, men’s greater height and physical height and physical strength are highly valued resources. But industrialization gives people choices about how to live. Today, then, in societies like our own, biological differences provide little justification for partriachy. Legitimate or not, male dominance still holds. Some sociologists claim that biological factors â€Å"wire† the sexes with different motivations and behaviours, specifically more aggressiveness in males. Most sociologists, however, believe that gender is primarily a social construction that can be changed. Gender Socialization From birth until death, human feelings, thoughts and actions reflect the social as different kinds of human beings. By age tree, they incorporate gender into their identities by applying society’s standards to themselves. Just as gender affects how we think of ourselves, so it teaches us to act in normative ways. Gender roles are attitudes and activities that society links to each sex. Male – female differences Most of the differences between men and women turn out to be socially created. However there are some differences in physical ability between the sexes such as, on average, males are 10 percent taller, 20 percent heavier and 30 percent stronger, especially in their upper bodies. On the other hand, women outperform men in life expectancy. In adolescence, males show greater mathematical ability, whereas adolescent females excel in verbal skills a difference that reflects both biology and socialization. Research points no overall differences in intelligence between males and females. Biologically then, men and women differ in limited ways, neither one being naturally superior. Sex and the body At birth, females and males are distinguished by primary sex characteristics, namely the genital organs used to reproduce the human species. At puberty, humans exhibit secondary sex characteristics, whereby bodily development, apart from the genitals, that distinguishes biologically mature females and males. To accommodate pregnancy, giving birth, and nurturing infants, adolescent females develop wider hips, breasts and soft fatty tissue, thereby providing a reserve supply of nutrition for pregnancy and breast-feeding. Adolescent males, usually slightly taller and heavier than females from birth, typically develop more muscle in the upper body, more extensive body hair and deeper voices. Sexual orientation Sexual orientation refers to an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions to men, women, or both sexes. Sexual orientation also refers to a person’s sense of identity based on those attractions, related behaviors, and membership in a community of others who share those attractions. Research over several decades has demonstrated that sexual orientation ranges along a continuum, from exclusive attraction to the other sex to exclusive attraction to the same sex. However, sexual orientation is usually discussed in terms of three categories: heterosexual (having emotional, romantic, or sexual attractions to members of the other sex), gay/lesbian (having emotional, romantic, or sexual attractions to members of one’s own sex), and bisexual (having emotional, romantic, or sexual attractions to both men and women). This range of behaviors and attractions has been described in various cultures and nations throughout the world. Many cultures use identity labels to describe people who express these attractions. The most frequent labels are lesbians (women attracted to women), gay men (men attracted to men), and bisexual people (men or women attracted to both sexes).. Sexual orientation is distinct from other components of sex and gender, including biological sex (the anatomical, physiological, and genetic characteristics associated with being male or female), gender identity (the psychological sense of being male or female) and social gender role (the cultural norms that define feminine and masculine behavior). Sexual orientation is commonly discussed as if it were solely a characteristic of an individual, like biological sex, gender identity, or age. This perspective is incomplete because sexual orientation is defined in terms of relationships with others. People express their sexual orientation through behaviors with others, including such simple actions as holding hands or kissing. Thus, sexual orientation is closely tied to the intimate personal relationships that meet deeply felt needs for love, attachment, and intimacy. In addition to sexual behaviors, these bonds include nonsexual physical affection between partners, shared goals and values, mutual support, and ongoing commitment. Therefore, sexual orientation is not merely a personal characteristic within an individual. Rather, one’s sexual orientation defines the group of people in which one is likely to find the satisfying and fulfilling romantic relationships that are an essential component of personal identity for many people. How people know their Sexual orientation? According to current scientific and professional understanding, the core attractions that form the basis for adult sexual orientation typically emerge between middle childhood and early adolescence. These patterns of emotional, romantic, and sexual attraction may arise without any prior sexual experience. People can be celibate and still know their sexual orientation-–be it lesbian, gay, bisexual, or heterosexual. Different lesbian, gay, and bisexual people have very different experiences regarding their sexual orientation. Some people know that they are lesbian, gay, or bisexual for a long time before they actually pursue relationships with other people. Some people engage in sexual activity (with same-sex and/or other-sex partners) before assigning a clear label to their sexual orientation. Prejudice and discrimination make it difficult for many people to come to terms with their sexual orientation identities, so claiming a lesbian, gay, or bisexual identity may be a slow process. What role do prejudice and discrimination play in the lives of lesbian, gay, and bisexual people? Lesbian, gay, and bisexual people encounter extensive prejudice, discrimination, and violence because of their sexual orientation. Intense prejudice against lesbians, gay men, and bisexual people was widespread throughout much of the 20th century. Public opinion studies over the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s routinely showed that, among large segments of the public, lesbian, gay, and bisexual people were the target of strongly held negative attitudes. More recently, public opinion has increasingly opposed sexual orientation discrimination, but expressions of hostility toward lesbians and gay men remain common in contemporary American society. Prejudice against bisexuals appears to exist at comparable levels. In fact, bisexual individuals may face discrimination from some lesbian and gay people as well as from heterosexual people. Sexual orientation discrimination takes many formsSevere antigay prejudice is reflected in the high rate of harassment and violence directed toward lesbian, gay. Numerous surveys indicate that verbal harassment and abuse are nearly universal experiences among lesbian, gay, and bisexual people. Also, discrimination against lesbian, gay, and bisexual people in employment and housing appears to remain widespread. The HIV/AIDS pandemic is another area in which prejudice and discrimination against lesbian, gay, and bisexual people have had negative effects. Early in the pandemic, the assumption that HIV/AIDS was a â€Å"gay disease† contributed to the delay in addressing the massive social upheaval that AIDS would generate. Gay and bisexual men have been disproportionately affected by this disease. The association of HIV/AIDS with gay and bisexual men and the inaccurate belief that some people held that all gay and bisexual men were infected served to further stigmatize lesbian, gay, and bisexual people. What is the psychological impact of prejudice and discrimination? On the social level, prejudice and discrimination against lesbian, gay, and bisexual people are reflected in theeveryday stereotypes of members of these groups. These stereotypes persist even though they are not supported by evidence, and they are often used to excuse unequal treatment of lesbian, gay, and bisexual people. For example, limitations on job opportunities, parenting, and relationship recognition are often justified by stereotypic assumptions about lesbian, gay, and bisexual people. On an individual level, such prejudice and discrimination may also have negative consequences, especially if lesbian, gay, and bisexual people attempt to conceal or deny their sexual orientation. Although many lesbians and gay men learn to cope with the social stigma against homosexuality, this pattern of prejudice can have serious negative effects on health and well-being. Individuals and groups may have the impact of stigma reduced or worsened by other characteristics, such as race, ethnicity, religion, or disability. Some lesbian, gay, and bisexual people may face less of a stigma. For others, race, sex, religion, disability, or other characteristics may exacerbate the negative impact of The widespread prejudice, discrimination, and violence to which lesbians and gay men are often subjected are significant mental health concerns. Sexual prejudice, sexual orientation discrimination, and antigay violence are major sources of stress for lesbian, gay, and bisexual people. Although social support is crucial in coping with stress, antigay attitudes and discrimination may make it difficult for lesbian, gay, and bisexual people to find such support No, lesbian, gay, and bisexual orientations are not disorders. Research has found no inherent association between any of these sexual orientations and psychopathology. Both heterosexual behavior and homosexual behavior are normal aspects of human sexuality. Both have been documented in many different cultures and historical eras. Despite the persistence of stereotypes that portray lesbian, gay, and bisexual people as disturbed, several decades of research and clinical experience have led all mainstream medical and mental health organizations in this country to conclude that these orientations represent normal forms of human experience. Lesbian, gay, and bisexual relationships are normal forms of human bonding. Therefore, these mainstream organizations long ago abandoned classifications of homosexuality as a mental disorder. What is â€Å"coming out† and why is it important? The phrase â€Å"coming out† is used to refer to several aspects of lesbian, gay, and bisexual persons’ experiences: self-awareness of same-sex attractions; the telling of one or a few people about these attractions; widespread disclosure of same-sex attractions; and identification with the lesbian, gay, and bisexual community. Many people hesitate to come out because of the risks of meeting prejudice and discrimination. Some choose to keep their identity a secret; some choose to come out in limited circumstances; some decide to come out in very public ways. Coming out is often an important psychological step for lesbian, gay, and bisexual people. Research has shown that feeling positively about one’s sexual orientation and integrating it into one’s life fosters greater well-being and mental health. This integration often involves disclosing one’s identity to others; it may also entail participating in the gay community. Being able to discuss one’s sexual orientation with others also increases the availability of social support, which is crucial to mental health and psychological well-being. Like heterosexuals, lesbians, gay men, and bisexual people benefit from being able to share their lives with and receive support from family, friends, and acquaintances. Thus, it is not surprising that lesbians and gay men who feel they must conceal their sexual orientation report more frequent mental health concerns than do lesbians and gay men who are more open; they may even have more physical health problems. What about sexual orientation and coming out during adolescence? Adolescence is a period when people separate from their parents and families and begin to develop autonomy. Adolescence can be a period of experimentation, and many youths may question their sexual feelings. Becoming aware of sexual feelings is a normal developmental task of adolescence. Sometimes adolescents have same-sex feelings or experiences that cause confusion about their sexual orientation. This confusion appears to decline over time, with different outcomes for different individuals. Some adolescents desire and engage in same-sex behavior but do not identify as lesbian, gay, or bisexual, sometimes because of the stigma associated with a nonheterosexual orientation. Some adolescents experience continuing feelings of same-sex attraction but do not engage in any sexual activity or may engage in heterosexual behavior for varying lengths of time. Because of the stigma associated with same-sex attractions, many youths experience same-sex attraction for many years before becoming sexually active with partners of the same sex or disclosing their attractions to others. For some young people, this process of exploring same-sex attractions leads to a lesbian, gay, or bisexual identity. For some, acknowledging this identity can bring an end to confusion. When these young people receive the support of parents and others, they are often able to live satisfying and healthy lives and move through the usual process of adolescent development. The younger a person is when she or he acknowledges a nonheterosexual identity, the fewer internal and external resources she or he is likely to have. Therefore, youths who come out early are particularly in need of support from parents and others. Young people who identify as lesbian, gay, or bisexual may be more likely to face certain problems, including being bullied and having negative experiences in school. These experiences are associated with negative outcomes, such as suicidal thoughts, and high-risk activities, such as unprotected sex and alcohol and drug use. On the other hand, many lesbian, gay, and bisexual youths appear to experience no greater level of health or mental health risks. Where problems occur, they are closely associated with experiences of bias and discrimination in their environments. Support from important people in the teen’s life can provide a very helpful counterpart to bias and discrimination. Support in the family, at school, and in the broader society helps to reduce risk and encourage healthy development. Youth need caring and support, appropriately high expectations, and the encouragement to participate actively with peers. Lesbian, gay, and bisexual youth who do well despite stress—like all adolescents who do well despite stress—tend to be those who are socially competent, who have good problem-solving skills, who have a sense of autonomy and purpose, and who look forward to the future. In a related vein, some young people are presumed to be lesbian, gay, or bisexual because they don’t abide by traditional gender roles (i. e. , the cultural beliefs about what is appropriate â€Å"masculine† and â€Å"feminine† appearance and behavior). Whether these youths identify as heterosexual or as lesbian, gay, or bisexual, they encounter prejudice and discrimination based on the presumption that they are lesbian, gay, or bisexual. The best support for these young people is school and social climates that do not tolerate discriminatory language and behavior. What can people do to diminish prejudice and discrimination against lesbian,gay,and bisexual people? Lesbian, gay, and bisexual people who want to help reduce prejudice and discrimination can be open about their sexual orientation, even as they take necessary precautions to be as safe as possible. They can examine their own belief systems for the presence of antigay stereotypes. They can make use of the lesbian, gay, and bisexual community—as well as supportive heterosexual people—for support. Heterosexual people who wish to help reduce prejudice and discrimination can examine their own response to antigay stereotypes and prejudice. They can make a point of coming to know lesbian, gay, and bisexual people, and they can work with lesbian, gay, and bisexual individuals and communities to combat prejudice and discrimination. Heterosexual individuals are often in a good position to ask other heterosexual people to consider the prejudicial or discriminatory nature of their beliefs and actions. Heterosexual allies can encourage nondiscrimination policies that include sexual orientation. They can work to make coming out safe. When lesbians, gay men, and bisexual people feel free to make public their sexual orientation, heterosexuals are given an opportunity to have personal contact with openly gay people and to perceive them as individuals. Studies of prejudice, including prejudice against gay people, consistently show that prejudice declines when members of the majority group interact with members of a minority group. In keeping with this general pattern, one of the most powerful influences on heterosexuals’ acceptance of gay people is having personal contact with an openly gay person. Antigay attitudes are far less common among members of the population who have a close friend or family member who is lesbian or gay, especially if the gay person has directly come out to the heterosexual person.