Raising The Age - 1517 Words

CRJ 242 Avinash Ramkumar â€Å"Raise the Age† Going back to the early days of American history, there were very little made to distinguish criminal responsibility of children versus that of adults. During this time, juveniles, some young as seven years old could be tried and prosecuted within an adult criminal court. Children would have to stand for trial in court based on the offenses they committed, and could then be sentenced to prison and sometimes possibly even capital punishment. Is this form of justice beneficial to minors, or does it just obstruct their futures? Children, as young as the age of seven faced many challenges while they were held with adult criminals. Some of these challenges involved: exploitation, overpopulation within†¦show more content†¦Due to this, there were a number of changes that were made within the 1960s in an effort to put a foot down on juvenile crime. There were several decisions made by the Supreme Court that formalized courts for juveniles, making them more like criminal courts. Formal hearings were required, juveniles who faced confinement were given the right to receive a notice of the charges being held against them, and also came along the right to be represented by an attorney. In the 1980’s the public noticed that juvenile crimes were rising and that the system was not effective. Soon states began implementing disciplinary laws, some which included a mandatory sentencing and automatically being sent to adult court for certain crimes committed. Whether or not we should try juveniles as adults has always been a controversial issue. First of all, â€Å"juveniles† are children who fall under the age of 18. However, the legal age varies within certain states across the USA. Despite the age difference, some juveniles are still tried as adults. Does convicting a juvenile as an adult, turn out to be a better problem-solver, and how is this affecting the deterrence of crime? One side argues that regardless of the age, crimes are still crimes. Just because a child commits the crime doesn’t mean that the victim didn t indeed suffer from it. Juveniles should be tried as adults because it will not only make

Parental Attachment and the Development of Self-Compassion Free Essays

Parental Attachment and the Development of Self-Compassion The Positive Psychology movement focuses on identifying protective factors that promote wellbeing and protect people from the negative psychological effects related to life’s everyday challenges. Research increasingly supports self-compassion as a key component in positive mental health outcomes. However, very few studies have examined factors that lead to the development of self-compassion. We will write a custom essay sample on Parental Attachment and the Development of Self-Compassion or any similar topic only for you Order Now Attachment is known to contribute to the development of healthy social and emotional development (Sroufe, Egeland, Carlson, Collins, 2005). Theoretically, parental attachment should promote the development of self-compassion. Attachment is described as the socio-emotional bond between individuals (Wicks-Nelson Isreal, 2009). Healthy parental attachment develops in the first year of life through consistent, sensitive, and responsive parenting from a stable caregiver (Ainsworth, 1979; Barnas Cummings, 1994; Sroufe, 2005). The attachment relationship with a caregiver is an essential component in helping to form the foundation for healthy personality and functioning in society. For example, attachment is known to influence cognitive ability, development of conscience, coping skills, relationship skills, and the ability to handle perceived threats and negative emotions (Sroufe et al. , 2005; Wicks-Nelson Isreal, 2009). In a review of the Minnesota study, Sroufe (2005) highlights the importance of early attachment in the developmental course. The Minnesota study was a 30-year longitudinal developmental study, commencing in the 1970’s, which followed individuals from before birth until adulthood. The main purpose of the study was to evaluate the â€Å"major propositions of attachment theory† (Sroufe, 2005, p. 49). The primary goal of the study was to test Bowlby’s hypotheses that (1) quality of caregiver-infant attachment is influenced by the interaction history with the caregiver, (2) individual differences in personality can be explained by variations in the quality of early attachment, and (3) secure attachment is related to the develo pment of self-reliance, emotion regulation, and social competence. The quality of infant-caregiver attachment was assessed through observation at 12 and 18 months, using Ainsworth’s Strange Situation procedure. Many outcome variables, or patterns of behaviour, were extensively measured using various methods (questionnaires, observation, standardized testing, parental and teacher reports) at several ages including infancy, preschool years, childhood, adolescence, and emerging adulthood. During the preschool years outcomes such as self-regulation, curiosity, and effective entry into peer group were measured. In middle school, measures of real-world competence, loyal friendships, coordination of friendship, and group functioning were examined. During adolescence identity, intimacy, and self-reflection were assessed. The findings from the Minnesota study provided support for Bowlby’s hypotheses (Sroufe, 2005). First, it was demonstrated that secure attachment is directly related to a history of sensitive, emotionally engaged, and cooperative interaction with a caregiver. Also as Bowlby suggested, secure attachment predicted the development of self-reliance such that individuals who used their caregiver as a secure base to explore during infancy, were later more independent. Moreover, secure attachment predicted adaptive emotion regulation as demonstrated by securely attached individuals having more self-confidence, higher self-esteem, more ego-resiliency (ability to adjust), persistent and flexible coping strategies, and displaying affect appropriate to situations. Finally, strong links were found between secure attachment and measures of social competence from early childhood through adulthood. Individuals with secure attachment were assessed as significantly better on measures such as expectation of relationships, engagement with others, skill in interaction, empathy, and leadership qualities. Sroufe (2005) suggests these findings indicate the critical importance of attachment because it plays an initiating role in the pathways of development and is related to crucial developmental functions. Thus, attachment is associated with adaptive psychological development. One construct associated with positive mental health outcomes, and in consequence is likely to be engendered by attachment, is self-compassion. Self-compassion is a self-attitude that originates from Buddhist philosophy and has recently begun to appear in Western psychology research. Neff (2003a) has proposed that self-compassion plays an important role in psychological health and describes self-compassion as extending kindness and caring towards one’s self. As the term itself insinuates, self-compassion involves treating oneself with compassion, especially when experiencing negative feelings and events. Being compassionate towards oneself entails being able to forgive one’s perceived failures and shortcomings, accepting oneself as human and therefore as limited and not perfect, and also desiring wellbeing for oneself. Neff (2003a) conceptualized self-compassion as comprising three components: self-kindness, common humanity, and mindfulness. Self-kindness refers to extending kindness and understanding to oneself rather than being harshly self-critical and judgmental. Being less judgmental of oneself should also minimize judgment of others. Common humanity is the ability to view negative experiences and limitations as a shared aspect of the larger human experience, instead of seeing experiences as separating and isolating. Consequentially, common humanity also involves recognizing one’s equality with others, which prevents one from being self-centered. Finally, mindfulness requires clearly seeing and accepting one’s emotions as opposed to the tendency to exaggerate or become absorbed with one’s painful thoughts and feelings. These three elements are linked such that they each promote one another. Research has established and continues to support the benefits of self-compassion. Indeed, there is evidence that self-compassion is associated with emotional intelligence, intrinsic motivation, emotion focused coping strategies, and life satisfaction (Neff, 2003b; Neff, Hsieh, Dejitterat, 2005). Additionally, self-compassion protects persons from self-criticism, anxiety, and depression (Neff, 2003b; Neff, Kirkpatrick, Rude, 2007). Self-compassion also involves taking responsibility for one’s mistakes, and in turn being motivated to change maladaptive thoughts and behaviors (Neff, 2003a; Leary, Tate, Adams, Allen, Hancock, 2007). Furthermore, self-compassion, not self-esteem, accounts for the attenuation of people’s reactions to negative events (Leary et al. , 2007). Together these findings indicate the importance of self-compassion as it promotes adaptive psychological functioning while preventing negative outcomes. Self-compassion is also perceived to be distinct from and more beneficial than self-esteem (Leary et al. , 2007). Self-esteem refers to our overall attitude about ourselves (Baron et al, 2008), and has recently been criticized for inconsistently predicting positive outcomes. Although having high self-esteem is known to be related to such factors as positive self-feelings and motivation (Baumeister, Campbell, Krueger, Vohs, 2003), it has also been linked to narcissism, distortions in self-knowledge, increased prejudice and aggression (Baumeister et al. , 2003; Sinha Krueger, 1999). Self-compassion may be a better alternative to promote because it does not involve judgments about oneself or comparison with others as self-esteem does (Neff Vonk, 2009). Self-compassion leads to positive outcomes without the negative drawbacks associated with self-esteem (Neff, 2009). To date, only one study has demonstrated that maternal support and secure attachment predict higher levels of self-compassion (Neff McGeehee, in press). Neff and McGeehee (in press) examined the relationships between self-compassion and psychological wellbeing, cognitive, and family factors in a sample of high school and college students. Because adolescence is known to be a difficult emotional period involving the formation of one’s identity or sense of self (Arnett, 2007), the first goal of Neff and McGeehee’s study was to determine whether self-compassion promotes the same positive mental health outcomes in adolescence as those found in adulthood. Self-compassion was expected to be related to reports of higher levels of social connectedness and lower levels of anxiety and depression. As expected, the results demonstrated that self-compassion was strongly associated with low depression, low anxiety, and high feelings of connectedness. The second goal of Neff and McGeehee’s (in press) study was to explore factors that may contribute to adolescents’ development, or lack of development, of self-compassion. Self-compassion was hypothesized to be associated with maternal support, functional families, and secure internal working models of attachment. Self-report measures were used to assess self-compassion (Self-Compassion Scale), maternal support (maternal subscale of the Family Messages Measure), family functioning (Index of Family Relations), and attachment (The Relationship Questionnaire). The results show that adolescent’s self-compassion partially mediated the relationship between their reports of mental health and maternal support, family functioning, attachment style, and adolescent egocentrism, indicating that family factors can impact wellbeing through self-compassion. Additionally, individual differences in self-compassion were predicted by family factors. In particular, maternal support and secure attachment were positively correlated with self-compassion, whereas maternal criticism and insecure preoccupied and disorganized attachment styles were negatively associated with self-compassion. Unexpectedly, there was no relation found between the insecure dismissing attachment style and self-compassion. The results regarding attachment styles were interpreted using Bartholomew’s model of attachment styles (Bartholomew Horowitz, 1991). Bartholomew’s model (Bartholomew Horowitz, 1991) characterizes four different prototypic attachment styles of adolescence and adulthood, according to one’s views of the self (dependence dimension) and others (avoidance dimension) as either negative or positive. Secure attachment, corresponding with low dependency, low avoidance, and a positive view of both self and other, involves being trusting and comfortable with intimacy and autonomy. Having a secure sense of self-worth and trusting others to be supportive may have facilitated the development of self-compassion among adolescents in Neff and McGeehee’s (in press) study. Insecure preoccupied attachment corresponds with low avoidance, high dependence, a positive view of others, but a negative self-image, and is characterized by clinginess, jealousy, and being preoccupied with relationships. Insecure dismissing attachment is distinguished by low dependence, high avoidance, a positive view of the self, a negative view of others, and involves inflating self-worth, being counter dependent, and being dismissing of intimacy and the importance of relationships. Disorganized or fearful attachment involves distrust of others, social withdrawal, feelings of inadequacy, fear of intimacy, and corresponds with high avoidance, high dependency, and a negative view of both the self and others. The anxiousness about deserving care or not expecting support from others in relationships may hinder individuals with insecure attachment styles from developing self-compassion. Given the findings from Neff and McGeehee’s (in press) research, the characteristics of secure attachment should promote the development of self-compassion. Namely, a positive self-image may help form a sense of self-worth that should in turn lead to self-kindness. In addition, being able to trust others helps form a connection with others that may foster common humanity. Conversely, the characteristics of insecure attachment may impede the development of self-compassion. Doubting one’s worth and lacking trust in others suggest a lack of an emotional foundation necessary for self-compassionate thinking (Neff McGeehee, in press). Similarly, dependency on others to feel good about oneself may prevent the ability to accept oneself, which is a necessary feature of self-compassion (Neff McGeehee, in press). Futhermore, considering the relation of early attachment to positive developmental outcomes (Sroufe, 2005; Scroufe et al, 005), attachment conceivably contributes to the development of self-compassion. Attachment is important in initiating the development of adaptive psychological functioning (Sroufe, 2005; Scroufe et al, 2005). Self-compassion is a healthy self-attitude, which promotes positive mental health outcomes (Neff, 2009). Therefore, the development of a self-compassionate mindset should emanate from early attachment. Neff and McGeehee ’s (in press) findings are the first to establish a relationship between attachment and self-compassion. However, Neff and McGeehee’s (in press) study is limited in that it they did not examine how attachment promotes self-compassion, due to its cross-sectional and correlational design. The study was restricted to adolescents and young adults, and used self-report data rather than observational measures. As a result, only the status of the attachment relationship and level of self-compassion present in adolescence were assessed. Further research is necessary to investigate the role of parental attachment in the development of self-compassion. It is of crucial importance to identify the early factors and processes associated with attachment formation which could promote the development of self-compassion among children. Following this, there is also a need to create a measure for self-compassionate thinking and behaviour among children. Being self-compassionate may involve different thoughts and behaviours according to ones age or stage of development. In order investigate the development of self-compassion, it is essential to be able to recognize and measure self-compassion among children. Findings from such prospective research can be used to help encourage healthy attachment, perhaps through parent sensitivity training, and educate parents how to foster self-compassionate thinking and attitudes in their children. References Ainsworth, M. S. (1979). Infant-mother attachment. American Psychologist, 34, 932-937. Arnett, J. J. (2007). Adolescence and emerging adulthood: A cultural approach. Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Prentice Hall. Bartholomew, K. , Horowitz, L. M. (1991). Attachment styles among young adults: A test of a four-category model. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 61, 226-244. Baumeister, R. F. , Campbell, J. D. , Krueger, J. I. , Vohs, K. D. (2003). Does high self-esteem cause better performance, interpersonal success, happiness, or healthier lifestyles? Psychological Science In The Public Interest, 4, 1-44. Barnas, M. V. , Cummings, E. M. (1994). Caregiver stability and toddler’s attachment-related behaviour towards caregivers in day care. Infant Behaviour Development, 17, 141-147. Baron R. A. , Branscombe, N. R. , Byrne, D. R. (2008). Social Psychology. Boston, MA: Pearson/Allyn and Bacon. Leary, M. R. , Tate, E. B. , Adams, C. E. , Allen, A. B. Hancock, J. (2007). Self-compassion and reactions to unpleasant self-relevant events: The implications of treating oneself kindly. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 92, 887-904. Neff, K. D. (2003a). Self-compassion: An alternative conceptualization of a healthy attitude toward. Self and Identity, 2, 85-101. Neff, K. D. (2003b). The development and validation of a scale to measure self-com passion. Self and Identity, 2, 223-250. Neff, K. D. (2009). The role of self-compassion in development: A healthier way to relate to oneself. Human Development, 52, 211-214. Neff, K. D. Hsieh, Y. , Dejitterat, K. (2005). Self-compassion, achievement goals, and coping with academic failure. Self and Identity, 4, 263-287. Neff, K. D. , Kirkpatrick, K. L. , Rude, S. S. (2007). Self-compassion and adaptive psychological functioning. Journal of Research in Personality, 41, 139 – 154. Neff, K. D. , McGeehee, P. (in press). Self-compassion and psychological resilience among adolescents and young adults. Self and Identity. Neff, K. D. , Vonk, R. (2009). Self-compassion versus global self-esteem: Two different ways of relating to oneself. Journal of Personality, 77, 23 – 50. Sinha, R. R. , Krueger, J. (1998). Ideographic self-evaluation and bias. Journal of Research in Personality, 32, 131-155. Sroufe, L. A. (2005). Attachment and development: A prospective, longitudinal study from birth to adulthood. Attachment Human Development, 7, 349 – 367. Sroufe, L. A. , Egeland, B. , Carlson, E. A. , Collins, W. A. (2005). The development of the person: The Minnesota study of risk and adaptation from birth to adulthood. New York: Guildord Press. Wicks-Nelson, R. , Isreal, A. C. (2009). Abnormal Child and Adolescent Psychology. Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Prentice Hall. 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My Dream Came True free essay sample

â€Å"Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.† –Thomas Edison For the most part, I’m a pretty average girl. I have a closet full of shoes, enjoy the occasional shopping spree, and grew up watching the annual Miss America and Miss USA pageants. I was always in awe of their elegance. Poise, beauty, and self-confidence radiated from their presence, and deep down inside I hoped to capture those same attributes one day. As I grew, so did my fondness of pageants, yet I doubted my ability to compete. So, year after year, I hid my dreams of wearing my own crown and sash. I buried my insecurities behind a tomboyish front. I wore baggy jeans and placed a baseball hat where I wished was a tiara. My longing for a title wasn’t for just selfish reasons. We will write a custom essay sample on My Dream Came True or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page I wanted to represent more than myself, yet the fear of failure held me back from accomplishing my dream. Every once in a while I would acquire information about pageants. Quickly glancing at my chance of being a pageant girl, but like times before, I would tuck away the hope that I held so dear. Until, one crisp spring day, I was flipping through the local observer browsing for an article, when my eyes landed on an ad for the Miss Westland 2010 pageant. Instantly, my mind was overwhelmed. Doubt attempted to cloud my thinking, but my heart was too excited with the possibility of me, Janell Evans, being in a pageant. It was as if God, simply, placed hope back into my life. I carried the ad around in my purse for at least a week, before I had the courage to submit the application. When I received the acceptance letter in the mail, it was like I had unwrapped a Willy Wonka bar and found the golden ticket. For the next two months, I diligently prepared. I shopped for the perfect dress, rehearsed my speech, practiced walking in four inch heels, and daily reminded myself that I could do this. As the days grew closer to the pageant, the doubt which I had caged for so long broke loose. Before I could stop it, all my insecurities rushed back. I wondered how a simple girl like me could ever be a pageant queen. Once again, I was in back in the same place where I had lived most of my life. Even though my mind was overwhelmed with fear, something inside me whispered, â€Å"Don’t give up yet.† I lived off that voice for the next few days. Constantly reiterating to myself, â€Å"You don’t know until you try.† Somehow, I managed to maintain my composure†¦that is until the day of the pageant. My palms sweated, my knees shook, and my nerves were through the roof as I anticipated walking out in front of the crowd. With a deep breath, I took my first step and gracefully glided across the stage. I waited my turn then gave my speech, and before I knew it, it was time for my onstage question. My mind went blank as she read my question, yet through divine intervention the perfect answer danced off my lips. Time flew by so fast, and with the blink of an eye the scores were tabulated and it was time for the results. The other contestants and I stood in a row, all hoping to hear our name. My heart pounded and my head rushed, as I heard the second and first runner up being announced. I knew there was no possible way I had won, so I bowed my head in defeat. They began to announce the winner, â€Å"Miss Westland 2010 is†¦contestant #2†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Time stopped. I forget my number. As looked at my hip and saw the number two, tears filled my eyes. The dream I had wished for all my life was accomplished. As they placed the tiara on my head and sash on my shoulder, I thought to myself, â€Å"This moment of success would have been lost, if I had not overcome my doubt.†

Velez Module free essay sample

You need the monitor to be able to see what you are doing. If you didnt have a monitor it would be the same as working in the dark, or even trying to do what you need to do blind. You would need the keyboard to be able to input instructions/demands. Without a keyboard you may not be able to input instructions for the computer to do. The keyboard is a necessity for day to day use.Speakers are critical in the sense that you need to hear. Sometimes if you cant listen to what is going on around you then you may not be able to do some of the important things that need to be done. The reason a mouse is critical is because, if you dont have a notebook, that comes with a built in touch pad as the mouse then you need the mouse to be able to navigate from page to page, or click on items that are important. We will write a custom essay sample on Velez Module or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Without a mol_SSE it would be the same as writing without a pencil or pen.Un-necessary 1/0 devices that I would consider urn-necessary would be a printer and a WebMD. The reason that say that a printer is UN-necessary is because although it is an essential l/ O device it is not something that you would need for an everyday use because of the fact that you would not need to print something every day. Due to this reason it is not considered necessary. Another UN-necessary device would have to be a WebMD. A web-cam is not considered necessary because it is tot what is needed for an everyday use.For example would you need to see someones face every day? Why would you need to see someones face every day? For that reason it is considered UN-necessary. A modem is considered an 1/0 device because of the fact that it connects to a port on the computer. The modem after connection sends out information to the computer saying hey I am a device and then telling the computer that it is connected to internet. This being that it sends and collects data basically at the same time.

Elwyn Palmerton Essays - Nineteen Eighty-Four, Mass Surveillance

Elwyn Palmerton Essays - Nineteen Eighty-Four, Mass Surveillance Elwyn Palmerton 1984/ One Flew Over the Cuckoo?s Nest How can one compare a novel about a mental ward with a novel which paints a bleak picture of an futuristic dystopia? In the case of Ken Kesey?s One Flew Over the Cuckoo?s Nest and George Orwell?s 1984 the similarities are startling . Although they take place in vastly different times and settings, Ken Kesey and George Orwell were trying to express almost exactly the same theme. One Flew over the Cuckoo?s Nest uses a mental ward as a microcosm of the world and how he was afraid the world was becoming. 1984 uses the future a device to show what society could become. Both novels show how those in power can manipulate and enslave the masses. Nurse Ratched and Big Brother are very similar in the ways they present themselves and manipulate people. Nurse Ratched control her image so that she seems more powerful. She always wears the same neat smile which does not seem to crack under any kind of pressure. Even when Randle McMurphy is trying his best, he can hardly get her to flinch from that perfect, unmoving expression. She would also stand in her office behind the big glass window for hours at a time, emphasizing the fact that she is watching them. . Nurse Ratched leaves a book out and rewards the patients if they can get compromising information about someone else and write it down. Big Brother also is presented as an unmoving face which watches the people. Big Brother himself is never seen by the people who live in Oceania, but his presence is everywhere in the form of giant posters which are plastered everywhere with the caption "Big Brother is Watching". The picture on the poster is drawn so that the eye! s seem to follow anyone who is looking at the picture. Big Brother used the Youth League to get kids to spy on their parents to see if they were going against the Party. By turning their people against themselves it makes it very difficult for them to join together in any collective effort against the hospital or government policy. In both novels there is a place that no one wants to be sent to. It is a place they have heard about, but have not seen. In One Flew Over the Cuckoo?s Nest there is also a room, it is called Electro-Shock Therapy or abbreviated as EST, but it is commonly known as the "Shock Shop." Randle McMurphy and Chief Bromden are both taken here and put on the table. Two electrodes are touched to the sides of their heads. One shock sends the "patient" into unconsciousness, only to awaken up a day or two later and to be in a semi-conscious stupor for several days. Thought criminals are punished in a way very similar to the mental patients. In 1984 this room is called Room 101. It lies deep within the Ministry of Justice. Winston Smith was brought to this room and strapped to a table. O?Brien turned a dial to a number between one and one hundred. The higher the pain, the higher degree of pain that Winston would experience. For more severe thought-crimes, or infractions of hospi! tal policy multiple sessions are prescribed. The societies presented are also run in very similar ways. The best example of this in One Flew Over the Cuckoo?s Nest is when the patients want to switch the work time with the television watching time so that they can watch the World Series. The nurse prevents them from doing this even though there is no good reason for it. The patients are awakened by the lights being turned on every morning at the same time. Nurse Ratched plays the same music over and over in the day room where the patients spend their leisure time. She allowed her them to watch the six o? clock news as their only outlet for receiving news from the outside world. The Mental Ward and Oceania both have same rules. Winston Smith also can?t miss work or else he could be arrested by the Thought Police. Party members are awakened each day by the telescreens. The telescreens constantly play music, and the

A Friend of Jims

A Friend of Jims A Friend of Jims A Friend of Jims By Maeve Maddox Theo Smith writes: I am often frustrated by what I call a double possessive. We seem to say and write friends of Jims not friends of Jim when the item possessed   is stated before that which possesses it. But when the possessor is identified first, we say, for example, Jims friends. Whats up with this? The double possessive appears in that of indicates possession and so does the apostrophe s (s) appended to the possessor. What can you tell me about this?    This double genitive construction includes both a friend of Jims and a friend of his. Its one of those English idioms that tries the souls of logic lovers, but it has been in the language for a very long time because it works. The double genitive makes it possible to distinguish between definiteness and indefiniteness. It also eliminates ambiguity. For example, theres a distinct difference of meaning between the following phrases: a photo of Daniel a photo of Daniels Although in use since Chaucers time or before, the double genitive attracted the attention of 18th century grammarians; their disapproval did nothing to stamp it out. Modern style manuals offer guidelines. According to the Chicago Manual of Style, The possessive form may be preceded by of where one of several is implied. â€Å"A friend of Dick’s† and â€Å"a friend of his† are equally acceptable. 7.29 The AP Style Book goes into more detail: DOUBLE POSSESSIVE: Two conditions must apply for a double possessivea phrase such as a friend of Johnsto occur: The word after of must refer to an animate object, and The word before of must involve only a portion of the animate objects possessions. Otherwise, do not use the possessive form of the word after of: The friends of John Adams mourned his death. (All the friends were involved.) He is a friend of the college. (Not colleges because college is inanimate). For a linguists take on the double genitive, read Mark Libermans Genitive Anxiety. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Grammar category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:75 Contronyms (Words with Contradictory Meanings)"Confused With" and "Confused About"7 Sound Techniques for Effective Writing

Character Analysis on EDNA from the novel The Awakening by Kate Essay

Character Analysis on EDNA from the novel The Awakening by Kate Choplin - Essay Example Bloom posits that women of this time were barred from agitating for their independence and self-actualization (51). In contrast, Edna rediscovers her self -worth and acknowledges her emotional urges. This makes her abandon her former, domineering husband. She later marries Robert. In all the maneuvers, Edna, in a bid to break free from the societal norms and expectation, finds that her independence will attract isolation from the society. This owes to the general belief of many women in the society during that time. According to Bloom, Edna’s husband also objects her clamor for independence given that he strongly believes in the doctrines of society pertaining to the position of a woman in society (39). In her pursuit of painting, Edna is able to realize the beauty of individual creation and architecture. This makes her seek self-independence, regardless of the inevitable hurdles of society. Her quest for independence is emotionally driven and events happen in a sequential manner with regard to her quest for autonomy. Robert’s passion for Edna’s love is not strong enough to overcome his sense of morality. In fact, the note that Robert leaves behind is evident to Edna that she was alone despite the fact that she has obtained the hard-earned independence and self-achievement. The note articulated the fact that Robert was not ready to contravene the societal norms pertaining to women. This confirms that loneliness presents room for the independence Edna desires. The discovery of self-expression by Edna informs her of her long overdue independence. In fact, the awakening of Edna makes her learn three new concepts, including the mode of expression for the Creole women. The Creole women express themselves in a free manner and share their feelings regardless of their chastity. In addition, Edna is challenged by their faithfulness and liberty. In this regard, Edna learns that she is the architect of her

Logistics of Alexander the Great compared to modern day logistics Essay

Logistics of Alexander the Great compared to modern day logistics - Essay Example The meaning of logistics is that reaching right quantity of product or service at the right time for the right price. Its goals are to manage the fruition of project life cycles, supply chains and resultant efficiencies. Military logistics is the science of planning and carrying out the movement and maintenance of forces. Design and development, acquisition, storage, movement, distribution, maintenance, evacuation, and disposition of materiel are one aspect of the military logistics. It also includes movement, evacuation, and hospitalization of personnel. For an effective logistics, acquisition or construction, maintenance, operation, disposition of facilities and acquisition or furnishing of services should also given more concentration. Planning, implementation, controlling, efficiency, effective flow and storage of goods and services from point of production to ultimate destination is part of an effective logistic management. Supply chain management is a major thing in the logistics today. It includes logistical flows, customer order management, production process and the informational flows necessary to monitor all the activities at the supply chain nodes. Logistics is not at all a recent term. During ancient periods, there were logistics officers in military to manage logistics when army moves from one base to another. It means that logistics is an important factor in business, military and commercial production sectors. The proper management of logistics will help in reducing the cost and improve efficiency. ... For an effective logistics, acquisition or construction, maintenance, operation, disposition of facilities and acquisition or furnishing of services should also given more concentration. Planning, implementation, controlling, efficiency, effective flow and storage of goods and services from point of production to ultimate destination is part of an effective logistic management. Supply chain management is a major thing in the logistics today. It includes logistical flows, customer order management, production process and the informational flows necessary to monitor all the activities at the supply chain nodes. (Lummus RR Krumwiede DW, Vokurka, R.J. (2001)) Logistics is not at all a recent term. During ancient periods, there were logistics officers in military to manage logistics when army moves from one base to another. It means that logistics is an important factor in business, military and commercial production sectors. The proper management of logistics will help in reducing the cost, improve efficiency and confidence level of forces and increase the synchronisation of activities through out the supply chain. It works as a management support for cost bench marking. (http://logisticsworld.com/logistics.htm) Alexander the great, the empire who had a great success in war, had used logistics as a major tool for his military movements. His army was renowned for its efficiency, speed and lethality. His expedition through Asia is considered as the longest military operation ever witnessed. During these conquering and movements there need better and efficient movement rather supply for the large number of military people with Alexander. It is said that Alexander's success was in the efficient management of logistics. During that period carrying a large

Self-healing Operating Systems Essay Example for Free

Self-healing Operating Systems Essay The dependability of computer systems is one of the key issues in the technological era. Our daily lives are currently governed by complex computer systems (Haugk, Lax, Royer and Williams, 1985). Operating systems capable of managing key application on computer systems should be in a position to cope with the increasing rate of software problems, malicious attacks and hardware flaws (Parhami, 2005 and Lohr, 2001). One of the most significant requirements for operating systems is resilience to errors. Most of the operating systems stop operating once they encounter a problem with the hardware or software. This results to loss of applications and data running in the system. Some common examples of such issues are Windows blue screen errors and kernel panics in UNIX (David and Campbell, n. d). This is unfortunate since the main concern of the users is with the applications and data. They are afraid of losing data out of a fault that it not of their making. Even after a fault is encountered in the software or hardware, the users would want to have their data intact and recoverable. This problem has been taken care of by the invention of Self-healing operating systems. Self-healing operating systems refer to systems that automatically detect, diagnose and repair software and hardware problems that are localized. There are various techniques that are used by the operating system in recovery, once an error has been detected (Andrzejak, Geihs, Shehory and Wilkes, 2009). Code reloading Temporary memory errors or memory corruption as a result of an erroneous code can lead to errors like illogical instructions to the software code. Despite the fact that the ECC memory is capable of detecting and fixing some temporary memory faults, it is not capable of handling corruption faults that result from invalid instructions. The simplest most effective technique to handle such a problem is code reloading. This recovery technique reloads the flawed memory work from permanent memory. In case the fault is permanent, a case that can be identified through testing, there is a possibility of recovering through remapping of the faulty hardware page utilizing virtual memory support. In case the processing unit points to an undefined command exception, the command is reloaded by the handler from a copy of the system code in memory-mapped permanent memory and the command that is reloaded is executed. This recovery procedure is the simplest in implementation. However; the procedure is not capable of detecting memory corruption resulting from an opcode transforming into another legal opcode (David and Campbell, n. d). Regular checking of the operating system code is important to better detection of flaws in the memory. Hashing and checksums are simple methods of verifying of running system code. If a fault is detected a reload is triggered very fast. This is a preventive strategy that is capable of detecting flaws before they cause errors. The preventive strategy is also capable of detecting faults that make an opcode to result to another legitimate opcode (Demsky, and Rinard, 2002). CRC-32 checksum of critical kernel code is computed periodically by choices. This is makes sure that the memory where the instruction is stored has not been corrupted. In case the checksum changes as a result of corrupted memory, the block of the memory that is corrupted is reloaded from the permanent memory. Flushing of the instruction cache is carried out to ensure that all the affected commands are disposed of. The checksum can also be computed as soon as an operating system error is detected. This is done to make sure that the system and recovery code is not affected (Liedtke, 1995). Modern ARM-based processor designs consist of Run Time Integrity Checker (RTIC) hardware. This hardware is capable of being configured by the operating system for computation and verification of SHA-1 hashes of specific code areas. Once an error is identified, a communication is made to the processor via an interrupt. The same kind of checksum verification can be utilized in checking the integrity of fixed data. Checking the integrity of changing data is hard. One weakness of this recovery procedure is that it cannot be clearly used for codes that are created at run-time or for self-modifying code. This means that care must be taken to make sure that a replica of the created code is stored in a permanent memory (Shapiro, 2004). Component micro-rebooting This technique has been proven to be effective for application programs. Application of this technique to OS is also practicable (Voas and McGraw, 1998). The technique can help in recovery from temporary hardware flaws and some system bugs. For the Nooks project, this technique as extension restarts was utilized for recovery of the Linux Kernel. The technique involves reinitialising the corrupted part or destroying and recreating it and then re-requesting the component. While in code reloading errors are fixed only in processor commands, in this technique errors are fixed in kernel data structures. The technique works in collaboration with isolated components. The wrapper elements that offer isolation of the components are also utilised in the management of the recovery. The fault model that is addressed in micro-reboot is component-level flaw repression. This can be partly implemented by component isolation (Tanenbaum, Herder and Bos, 2006). Automatic service restarts In case crucial operating system service, like the paging daemon, stops working, it brings the entire system to a stop. Once the failure of such a crucial process is realised, a restart of the process can solve the problem and continue the operation of the operating system. The flaw model that is handled by automatic service restart is single-process failure. In this case there is usually no external state corruption. In micro-kernel OS, this basically involves detection and restarting of the affected system services that are run as application processes (David, Carlyle and Campbell, 2007). For instance, in Minix3, this operation is carried out by reincarnation server. A system process could be developed such that it is mechanically restarted once it encounters an exception. There is a particular system process that loops constantly awaiting a prepared process and acquiesces to the new process. This special system process is the process dispatcher. The system becomes completely useless once the process dispatcher crashes. This is the reason why in some systems the system dispatcher is executed as a restartable process that can be recovered once it crashes (Demsky and Rinard, n. d). Process restarts may fail to work where the process utilizes locks for accessing shared data structures. Such cases are common where the process dies while holding a single or more locks. Even in case the shared data structures are not affected or they can be corrected, recovery will not happen unless there is releasing of all the locks held by processes. This is why the system should be such that it can track all the locks help by processes and forcefully release any that is help once a process is halted. It is possible to implement lock tracking and force unlocking to ensure that the process runs once a fault has been identified and fixed (Tanenbaum, Herder and Bos, 2006). Watch-dog based recovery This technique utilises external hardware watchdog timers. They are utilised in error detection where the operating system is not doing any useful work. This is such a case where the OS is in an infinite loop. There is need for regular resetting of the timer by the operating systems. A signal is sent to the processor once the timer expires. The processor has a reset pin where the timers are usually cabled. They lead to a complete reboot of the system in case of failure. This process has a weakness for a complete reboot results to the loss of user data and applications that are currently in the volatile memory. However, since the memory is conserved after a process reset, reconstruction of both the operating systems and user state is possible. This makes it possible to continue operating after the reset. This way the user data is recovered resulting to higher reliability (Andrzejak, Geihs, Shehory and Wilkes, 2009). This technique has been successfully implemented in Linux and Choices. Once there is resetting of the memory management unit (MMU), interrupt subsystem, watchdog bites, and the processor, the system continues to operate effectively. To be able to avoid loosing the user data, the reset handler passes the usual boot procedure when the reset is instigated by the timer. The reset handler turns the memory management unit back on, there is deactivation of the running processes, reinitialising of the interrupts and skips to the OS’s process dispatch loop. After this the system runs the next ready process (Shapiro, 2004). All that is lost is the process state of the one that was running during the resetting of the processor. The process whose state is lost cannot be scheduled once more. As a result, it is eliminated from the process queue. A solution to the lock-up state is delivering of exception to the thread that is locked up. In this case, the thread is free to try local recovery rather than being forced to terminate. Watch-dog based recovery uses single process crash as a fault model without external state corruption. The technique utilises the lock tracking code in the release of pooled resources that are in a process that is terminated. Another kind of lockup that can initiate a watchdog timeout is a deadlock. Recovery in this case can be tried by restarting some parts so as to break cycles (Andrzejak, Geihs, Shehory and Wilkes, 2009). Transactional roll-back Once an error results to an exception during an operation, there could be a roll back of the state of the part. This can be achieved through the abortion of the operation. After abortion, the operation is then retried. In Choices, management of a transaction is carried out by the same wrapper elements that offer isolation. The transaction is aborted by the wrapper. Where there is unhandled exception, the state of the part is rolled back. It is also possible to use multi-threaded and non-blocking execution offered by RSTM for better performance (Brown and Patterson, 2001). Support of transactional model on parts results to expenses in terms of space and time. Expenses in terms of space are as a result of storage of backup copies of states prior to transactions. In terms of time, it is due to performance of memory copies and management of the memory during the set up and committing of a transaction (Marathe et al. 2006). Transactional roll-back differ from component micro-booting since the roll back is only on the current process, while the latter re-initialises the entire internal state of the process. Based on the kind of the component, either of the two techniques can be employed. Particularly, in case the component has crucial state information that can be lost if component micro-booting is used, then transactional roll-back can be utilised to retain the state. Component micro-booting is useful when the component can withstand state reinitialisation and has few overheads (Demsky and Rinard, n. d). Process-level recovery Where clear recovery cannot work, or in case the recovery process becomes erroneous, specific process states can be stored to permanent memory. This is carried out as the last option is all the others cannot work. Once the user states are stored, the system can attempt full reboot. The state of the processes can then be saved selectively into the computer. Every operating system state is reinitialised after the reboot probably removing fleeting errors. Process-level recovery ensures that user applications are not lost when the fault affects only a few system applications or immaterial operating system state. The technique can be used in collaboration with file system snapshots to make sure that the file integrity is not affected after the recovery process by going on to run erroneous processes. This procedure needs minimal support from the operating system. All it requires is an operational permanent memory drive and user process state management code. The stored processes can be restored selectively after the healing process (Ghosha, Sharman, Rao and Upadhyaya, 2007). Conclusion The reliability of computer systems is one of the key issues in the modern society. This is because computers have become central to our lives and we depend on them for many of our operations. A reliable computer system is one that can recover from a fault or an error effectively and without loss of either user applications or data. This is the reason why operating systems have been developed such that they are self-healing. This means that they can automatically detect, diagnose and repair software and hardware problems that are localized. The recovery techniques discussed on the paper include: Code reloading; Component micro-rebooting; Automatic service restarts; Watch-dog based recovery; Transactional roll-back; and Process-level recovery. Annotated Bibliography: Andrzejak, A. , Geihs, K. , Shehory, O. Wilkes, J. (2009). Self-Healing and Self-Adaptive Systems, Dagstuhl Seminar 09201, May 10-15, 2009. This paper presented in Dagstuhl Seminar tackles various aspects of self-healing and self-adaptive systems. Among the issues discussed in the paper include fault detection and diagnosis, recovery and repair techniques, frameworks and architectures for self-adaptive systems, self-healing solutions in IT infrastructures, and fault management for application systems. The discussion on recovery and repair techniques makes the paper an important resource for the project. Brown, A. , and Patterson, D. (2001). Embracing failure: A case for recovery-oriented computing (ROC). High Performance Transaction Processing Symposium, Asilomar, CA (October 2001). This paper is generally on recovery-oriented technology. Brown and Patterson discus various aspects related to recovery from faults and errors in computing. In their work, they have not left out the role of operating systems in recovery, which is the focus of this research. As a result, this paper provides very important information for the project. The authors are experts in data recovery and therefore the information provided is reliable in understanding recovery in computing. David, F. Campbell, R. (n. d). Building a Self-Healing Operating System, Urbana, IL: University of Illinois. This paper by David, F. Campbell, R. discusses the rationale behind development of Self-healing Operating Systems. They go further to discus the recovery techniques that ensure user applications and data in temporary storage are not lost when an operating system crashes. The techniques discussed include: Code reloading; Component micro-rebooting; Automatic service restarts; Watch-dog based recovery; Transactional roll-back; and Process-level recovery. This makes the paper an important resource for this project. David, F. Carlyle, J. Campbell, R. (2007). Exploring Recovery from Operating System Lockups. In USENIX Annual Technical Conference, Santa Clara, CA. In the recovery process, process restarts may be impossible where the process has locks. This mostly happens where the process terminates while holding a single or more locks. This resource provides crucial information on how to deal with these lock-ups for recovery to be effective. The paper introduces what lock-ups and how to handle them when using different recovery methods. This is what makes it important as an information source for this paper. Demsky, B. and Rinard, M. (2002). Automatic detection and repair of errors in data structures. Technical Report MIT-LCS-TR-875, MIT, Massachusetts Institute of Technology. This paper is on mechanical detection and repair of errors in computer systems. The idea of automatic detection and repair reveals the fact that the operation system is involved in the detection and recovery. The paper provides details on how the self-healing operating system detects and repairs errors in data structures. These are the techniques that are used for detection and recovery which are the main focus of the essay. Demsky, B. Rinard, M. (n. d). Automatic Data Structure Repair for SelfHealing Systems. Retrieved on August 3, 2010 from http://people. csail. mit. edu/rinard/paper/sms03. pdf The authors of this paper, Demsky, B. Rinard, M. talk about a system that they came up with that that accepts specifications of key data structure constraints, detects and repairs breaches of these constraints, making it possible for the program to recover from errors and continue working effectively. The paper offers the procedures that the authors use in detection and recovery of their system from the errors. This is what makes the paper significant for the research. Ghosha, D. , Sharman, R. , Rao, R. Upadhyaya, S. (2007). Self-healing systems: survey and synthesis, Decision Support Systems Volume 42, Issue 4. Ghosha, Sharman, Rao and Upadhyaya give a detailed analysis of Self-healing systems. Theirs is a contemporary software-based systems and applications analysis in a world where this has gained significance importance. They discus the ability of Self-healing systems in to manage conflicting resources and service different user needs. They go ahead to discus the need and how to discover and rectify system faults and recovery from errors. They have argued that these systems attempt to â€Å"heal† themselves by recovering from faults and regaining normal performance rates. Haugk, G. , Lax, F. , Royer, R. and Williams, J. (1985). The 5ESS(TM) switching system: Maintenance capabilities. ATT Technical Journal, 64(6 part2). This paper discusses maintenance capabilities of operating systems. It is a useful recourse for the essay that discusses self-healing of operating systems from an historic point of view. Computer systems have been affected by software bugs and hardware faults since the beginning. This article discusses how these bugs and faults that result to errors have been handled since the invention of computer hardware and software. Liedtke, J. (1995). On micro-kernel construction. In SOSP ’95: Proceedings of the fifteenth ACM symposium on Operating systems principles, New York: ACM Press. This book includes the proceedings of ACM symposium on Operating systems principles in 1995. The book contains a discussion of the component micro-rebooting that has been proven to be effective for application programs. The author also argues that the application of this technique to operating system is also practicable. For the Nooks project, this technique as extension restarts was utilized for recovery of the Linux Kernel. This book contains important information on component micro-rebooting as recovery technique for self-healing operating systems. Lohr, S. (2001). Go to: The Story of the Math Majors, Bridge Players, Engineers, Chess Wizards, Maverick Scientists, and Iconoclasts, the Programmers Who Created the Software Revolution. New York: Basic Books. This book provides important information on the evolution and working of software. The book offers reliable information on software management. Software bugs are some of the problems that cause errors on processes. The book offers a clear understanding of these bugs and ways of dealing with them. Marathe, V. et al. (2006). Lowering the Overhead of Software Transactional Memory. Technical Report TR 893, Computer Science Department, University of Rochester, Mar 2006. According to this paper, support of transactional model on parts results to overheads in terms of space and time. Expenses in terms of space are as a result of storage of backup copies of states prior to transactions. In terms of time, it is due to performance of memory copies and management of the memory during the set up and committing of a transaction. After providing this fact, the authors goes on to discuss ways of eliminating these overheads. Parhami, B. (2005). Computer Architecture: From Microprocessors to Supercomputers, New York: Oxford University Press. As the technology has been advancing, so are the changes and needs to have systems that are more reliable. This book has a section that discusses computer operations and it is the section that has significant information for the paper. Faults in computer hardware are as crucial in error detection and recovery as software. This makes the book important for the research. The research would not be complete without the understanding of computer hardware. Shapiro, M. ( 2004). Self-Healing in Modern Operating Systems. Retrieved on August 3, 2010 http://queue. acm. org/detail. cfm? id=1039537 Shapiro gives an introduction to the topic of self-healing operating systems by first discussing the role played by the operating system in a computer system. It is not possible to understand the concept of self-healing operating systems, without understanding operating systems in general. This is the strength of this article for this research. He goes on to discuss the self-healing system model, which leads to the self-healing operating systems, which is the center of this research. Tanenbaum, A. S. , Herder, J. N. and Bos, H. (2006). Can We Make Operating Systems Reliable and Secure? Computer, 39(5):44–51, The reliability of computer systems is one of the key issues in the modern society. This article provides the reasons why computer systems need to be made reliable and dependable. The authors go on to explain ways by which operating systems can be made more reliable in a computing environment prone to hardware faults and software bugs. This book is an important resource for the essay since it provides the solutions to the problem. Voas J. M. and McGraw G. (1998). Software Fault Injection. New York: Wiley, 1998. Software Fault Injection is a book that identifies the fact that software bugs can result to unreliability in computer systems. The book discusses ways in which these bugs and errors in computer systems can be identified and what should be done. The solution suggested by Voas J. M. and McGraw G. is related to the operating systems, leading us to what is referred to as self-healing Operating Systems. This section on how the system can solve the problems with the software is the one that offers important information for the research.

Free Essays - Tales of Simple in Langston Hughes Black Voices :: Black Voices Essays

Free Essays - Tales of Simple in Langston Hughes' Black Voices Langston Hughes is represented in Black Voices by the Tales of Simple. Hughes first presents his character Jessie B. Semple in the Forward: Who is Simple? In this tale the reader is given its first look at the character Jessie B. Semple who is a black man that represents almost the "anybody or everybody" of black society. Semple is a man who needs to drink, to num the pain of living life. "Usually over a glass of beer, he tells me his tales... with a pain in his soul... sometimes as the old blues says... Simple might be laughing to keep from crying" ( 98, 99 ). Jessie B. Semple, also known as Simple, has just the right combination of qualities to be Black America's new spokesman and unsung hero. Semple seems to possess just enough urban humor and cynicism, down- home simplicity, naivete, and "boy-next-door innocence" that Semple easily becomes a character that hard-working, average, everyday people can relate to. He quickly becomes this sort of Black Everyman whose bunions hurt all the time and whose thoughts are relatively quite simple, yet he is a man who rises above these facts and has a perception that shows the man to have great wisdom and incredible insight. And although he maintains a seriousness for all his wisdom to come through; his presentation of the facts is given in a humorous manner. In Bop, "That's why so many white folks do not get their heads beat just for being white. But me --- a cop is liable to grab me almost anytime and beat my head- just for being colored " (105). This side to Semple is an example of Hughes attempt to give simple facts or actual truth but instead of telling these things harshly and angrily he tries to sweeten them with a little sarcastic humor. At times, Simple is full of pain. "I have had so many hardships in this life," said Simple, "that it is a wonder I'll live until I die" (105). This comment by Semple is one of many that help portray him as a simple man who has been both mentally and physically broken-down by society but

Three Essays

Equal pay and rights for women Women constitute about 50% of global population. Without equal pay and rights for women, they lag behind and that means entire human kind is losing about 50% growth potential. Bring child mortality rate to near zero Mortality rate for under 5-year old children in some under developed countries could run as high as 162 per 1000 according to World Bank data. This rate is quite alarming and shocking in twenty first century. UN should work with NAGS, WHO, UNESCO, respective governments to bring down this rate.UN should take strict measures against countries that discourages proper immunization such as Afghanistan, Pakistan and Nigeria. Sadly, all here of these countries recently reported outbreak of polio. Ensure proper access to and preservation of Every living human being needs to drink safe pure drinking water and pure drinking water. There is no doubt among experts that water would become priciest mineral 20 to 30 years down the road. According to LINE reports, 783 million people don't have access to safe drinking water. Also, there are reports that indicate drinking water storage is shrinking due to climate change.UN should work with all member states, Nags to educate the importance of pure drinking water to general public and take proper measures to ensure everyone's access to pure drinking water. Stop wars and genocide One of the founding charters of GIN is to stop wars. Unfortunately, UN has very limited success here. Recent annexation of Crimea to Russia is a stellar example of how UN failed to do its job in this regard. Genocides in CAR and Syria also remind us how complicated today's political world is, and limited authority GIN has over its member states.UN should be working harder to stop wars and genocides. Ensure democratic free and fair elections in all There are plenty of examples when many member states dictators win over 99% of votes in national elections. Those elections are never held in free and fair manner and w ithout any international election monitoring. These dictators repress against its own citizens, violate basic human rights, and engage wars with neighbors. UN should be strengthening its election monitoring capabilities and sections against states that don't hold free and fair elections.Conclusion: As a global citizen, I think each of the six demands have profound impact on today's world, and world population. UN has some level of successes in many sectors, however, there is more needs to be done for this planet earth and its residents. C. Describe a time when you took a great risk. What was the outcome? Time to take a great risk: I strongly believe life is all about taking calculated risks, insightful planning, smart execution and reaping benefits at the end. Many of my family members have settled in various western countries in pursuit of higher post graduate studies.There is no way I could wait that long to go overseas for higher studies. Since I was 4 or 5 year old, I used to li sten to BBC Bengali service which intrigued me about other cultures, different life styles, languages, and politics. It wasn't matter of if but when. When I was in 9th grade, I decided it was the time to this take this risk and start proper planning. Knew it would be a big sacrifice -living without parents, siblings, relatives, living in an unknown territory and not to mention forking over large sum of tuition fees.Per plan, I applied and got admitted into Notre Dame College (for 10 through 1 2 grade studies), attended few courses at a private university modeled after US colleges etc. It was August 1 998 when I finally got university acceptance letter and visa to go abroad. Sweet outcome: Outcome has been great In a nutshell, to get here had to work hard. I knew how to adapt to a country and culture as I was born and bought up in a Hindu family but Muslim majority county Bangladesh.I have consistently taken double fulfillment course load to lower tuition fee/course, have taken inter nships, on/off campus jobs to earn extra $ to provide for schooling and living expenses. Now I have over ten years of professional experience now in US and have been dealing with world renowned clients like Microsoft, Amazon, Google, and Apple, British telecoms, Swiss railways in my daily routine, and working and selling solutions access the globe. Most of the mimes, can do all these things from my home office. Sometimes, I feel like I have gained more than I bargained for!And theses when I tend to raise the bar and work smarter to reach new goals. Conclusion: In summary, when risky decisions are taken, we would need to make sure we have proper plans [plan A, plan B, even plan C] in place, we need to be flexible and pour our heart and soul to be successful. Have already made my mind to take next risk- to set up boutique IT consulting firms' across the globe in socially and financially challenged parts of the world. I strongly believe entrepreneurial spirit of II global program, vent ure lube and classmates would be extremely helpful in achieving my next big goal!F. You have just participated in an important meeting with your superior. How will you ensure that every part of the instructions you received will properly reach all subordinates, suppliers and clients, located in different parts of the world? During my meeting with my supervisor Mr. â€Å"X†, he informed me that our product license reinitialize rate year over year has gone down by 10% during last fiscal year. He instructed me following: ; Work with account managers to identify clients where license renewal could be at risk

Advantages and Disadvantages of Democracy Essay

The term ‘democracy’, like many other political terms, was first discovered in Ancient Greece. It consists of two short words: ‘demos’ which means either ‘a citizen in a particular city-state’ or ‘the lower orders’, and ‘kratos’ which means either ‘rule’ or ‘power’ – but these two are not of the same meaning. The original meaning of democracy is the rule by the poor or by the rabble. Aristotle had a clear argument stating that a rich majority would not be able to govern fairly (Arblater, 2002). This essay aims to identify advantages of modern democracy-based governments, such as equality for men and women, free press and media and totalitarianism as well as provide criticism in terms of the two systems. Democracy has become the subject of various debates, with the supporters claiming that it is the most appropriate form of government nowadays because it guarantees constitutional rights for people. Moreover, democracy can create a positive structure for economic development as it provides free trade relationships between countries. The main purposes of democracy are presented in the way of core constitutional rights, such as a right to vote, equality of rights for men and women, freedom of speech and expression and, last but not least, personal sovereignty. All these elements are required for the modern society. For this reason, a democratic government aims to meet these requirements in order to satisfy its people. A governmental structure based on the principles of democracy, which is established well enough in the Western countries and Europe, has been developing for more than four centuries and has been absorbing and leaving essential requirements, for instance constitutional rights for all citizens, for further evolution of democracy. Today, democratic countries, for example Great Britain, provide sovereignty to all citizens regardless of their religion, race or social status. The main way of providing population with the elements required for a democracy is a straight dialogue between the government and people and apprehending the latter’s needs and desires. (Arblaster, 2002) Furthermore, press and media is one of the most important aspects of the modern democracy. However, there are still some countries with a democratic status but with issues in this particular field. These areas are partly or totally controlled by governmental agencies and authorities. The leading position in the non-democratic behavior is held by the Arab countries. The information released by Freedom House in October 2010 demonstrates that the closure of the Nichane newspaper, one of the most open-minded Arabic language weeklies, was another strong blow to the freedom of press in Morocco. The main reason for the closure was a systematic multi-year boycott as a result of controversial reports about the company run by the Moroccan Royal family, Omnium Nord-African Group. The Freedom of Expression Officer at Freedom House, has emphasized the issue in this area by saying that: â€Å"Authorities are increasingly using economic manipulation to punish and intimidate independent or critical media†. Currently, the impacts of democracy play an integral role in active economy. Aspects such as private property, competition, and fair market – which are guaranteed to the society in democratic countries today – create stable economic markets. Additionally, democracy makes trade and market relationships between countries easier in comparison to communistic countries, for example China, where regulations on export and import are still much stricter (Zuzovski, 1998). After the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, the way Czech Republic managed to recreate from the situation in a quick and positive manner is a great example of economical benefits in democracy-based states. The principal changes, like privatization of businesses, liquidation of monopolized external trade and regulation of the market prices took place in Czech Republic between 1989 and 1992. Moreover, willingness to open the door to investments from abroad in Czech Republic led to redevelopment of industries and infrastructures in just 20 years. Thus, for example, United States have been investing in to Czech Republic economy since 2008 and in 2011 a contribution worth $5. 41 billion was made. These investments have hepled in support of infrastructure and industry within the country, and allowed the Czech Republic to become one of the strongest economics in Western Europe (U. S. Departament of State, 2012). An example like this could make a nation more faithful in democracy-based government structures. However, opponents argue that total democracy can face issues like fascism and discrimination purely because some people might think that it is in their right to divide people by race, nationality or religion. In addition, the opponents claim that an alternative political structure for democracy can be totalitarianism, which establishes a society with paper-based democracy but no dignity of an individual rights in practice. Totalitarianism has been cited as totally opposite system to democracy. The supporters claim that totalitarianism creates an ideally structured government and society. The philosophy of totalitarianism simply rejects the independence of an individual and instead substitutes it with the notion of collectivity. It only targets needs and interests of the society as a whole. However, the totalitarian regime controls private lives of people, which includes belief, tastes, and many other parts of the life. In the times of the Soviet Union, private life of all citizens was totally controlled by the governmental agencies. The rights of the people were complied, but only on paper and not in practice. However, in reality, citizens’ dignity was hijacked. Salient features of Soviet Union society was illusory and fictitious nature of the represented world. Members of some social groups had privileges, but members of other groups did not have a right to a passport, to walk on particular streets, or to use holiday resorts (Todorov, 2003). In addition, Todorov (2003) argues that the totalitarianism in post-communist Commonwealth of Independant States republics led to corrupt political institutions, and it had ravaged the economy, the environment and human souls. To demonstrate corruption rate in one of post-communist countries, Holmes (2009) claims that in the first decade after collapse of the Soviet Union, the corruption rate in Russian reached 2. 7 per cent. Moreover, there have been widespread concerns that democracy might have influenced people’s behavior towards each other. This might be based on difference and unequal treatment in terms of race, gender or ethnicity. U. S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (n. d. ) reported statistics, which claims that in the beginning of 21st century race discrimination was 36. %, however in 2011 this figure decreased for almost one per cent and became 34. 5%. Furthermore, the fact Benhabib (1996) suggests that the discrimination rate in the United States has decreased in the past ten years, and it works because of the positive treatment of people regardless of their gender, race, background or ethnic identity within the country. However, the core definition of democracy, which was mentioned above, sometimes cannot be used as a plain and uncompleted term. One of the problems is the relation between the idea and reality. The contemporary reality sometimes does not correspond with the idea of the classic notions of democracy. For instance, does the fact that the government is elected by the people mean that the system is a democratic one? Thus, when Hitler became the Chancellor of Germany, he did it through a constitutional process, as the leader of the Nazi party, who gained 43. 9% at Reichstag. Few people could complain about legitimacy of the German elections in 1933 but yet not many would be able to describe the Third Reich as a democratic governor. Arblaster (2002) argues that the best remedy for this might be to revise the concept of democracy itself to suit it to real modern society. In addition, Arblaster (2002) suggests that society should not follow these mistakes, committed in the past. Moreover, Modern democracy is, in fact, capitalistic. It is rule of the capitalists. Electioneering is carried out with money. The rich candidates purchase votes. Might of economic power rules over the whole process. The net result is that we get plutocracy under the garb of democracy-democracy in name and form, plutocracy in reality. It cares a fig for the common man. The rich hold the media and use it for their own benefit. Big business houses influence dailies and use these dailies for creating public opinion to their favour. Influence of moneyed people over politics is probably clear in England, America and India. Consequently, communists don’t accept it democracy at all. Socialist democracy is democracy in the right sense of the term because the welfare of the labour class and farming community can be safeguarded properly only under socialist democracy. (Tusha Jupta, 2012) In conclusion, for reasons identified and described above, democracy should be viewed as a prosperous and useful way of governing a country because it is also relatively peaceful for co-existence of individuals, society as a whole, and the government. In comparison to totalitarianism, democracy has significant positive factors, such as economic structure, easier trade relationships, constitutional rights, which in totalitarian countries are stricter and more limited. Nonetheless, it should be pointed out that democracy still has problems that need to be addressed, especially the ones in press and media sector.

Strategies Essays

Strategies Essays Strategies Essay Strategies Essay Strategies Name: Institution: Lecturer: Course: Date: Strategies Introduction In order for any serious business to cut a niche in a competitive market, the business entity needs to employ a definite business strategy that is both aimed at attracting new customers and retaining them. In order to put into practice the theoretical knowledge pertaining to product leadership strategy and at the same time developing the relevant market skills, the team was taken through a simulation of a realistic corporate situation. Simulation is a very important learning aspect as it provides both a positive learning experience and a chance to correct possible errors unlike the real corporate environment, which is mainly unforgiving. In deliberating on the various decisions and issues facing the business entity, the top-level managers have to employ various leadership strategies. These deliberations have a direct impact on the performance of the company. This simulation was mainly focused on the product leadership strategies and its various aspects such as the design of new products and the restructuring of the organization’s structure. During the simulation, the team comprised of members of five individuals. This team comprised of A who acted as the director of operations, B the chief financial officer, C the director of sales and marketing, D the director of administration and E the director of administration. The simulation process took place in Virtual Technologies Incorporated a leading developer and producer in mobotics. Product leadership strategy comprises of three main strategies. These are customer intimacy, operational excellence and product leadership. Customer intimacy refers to various processes that enhance the relationship between the company and the customers. This works a lot in creating strong bonds and loyalty within the market. Operational excellence mainly focuses on the infrastructure management process. It defines how the managerial structure is defined within the organization. This works a lot in determining how efficient the entire team is executing the various processes. Product leadership refers to the various product design and innovation processes. This works a lot in attracting new customers and retaining them. In the initial stage of the session, formal introductions were done and the various positions and responsibilities held by the different members identified. The ssimula5tion was initiated by gong through the various issues bedeviling the company and the relevant strategies to take in meeting the objectives. After agreeing on the most suitable strategy of accomplishing the set out goals the team deliberated on the most efficient and effective means of communicating this to the rest of the staff. The best communication strategy agreed upon by the team was to convene a company wide meeting where the message would be addressed to the entire staff. In this way, all the members of staff will get to be informed at the same time. The benefit of this communication strategy is that the message is not distorted as it is being relayed by different personnel. However, this strategy had the disadvantage of time wastage since various processes had to be halted for everyone to attend the meeting. A follow up to this strategy would be to convene interdepartmental meetings where the information would be tailored to suit each of the departments. The various roles played by the members comprising the group worked a lot in helping the team in its decision-making processes. After going through the simulation, it is evident that all the ideas were being contributed by the various members of the team and deliberated upon. This shows that outside of the boardroom meetings, the members were busy doing their homework and looking for new ways of meeting the objectives. Some members like the chief financial officer going out of his way to researching on technology and bringing in technology experts. Although not every member concurred with the decisions being arrived at, each of them was supportive of everyone and none attempted to jeopardize any of the strategies. In any natural instance, it is not possible for every member to agree with the various deliberations, but it is imperative for each to be supportive of every decision that is arrived at. This works a lot in ensuring efficiency and making the team accomplish its goals. Member B, the chief financial officer failed to indicate any leadership qualities since he could not be relied upon and never stood on his word. For instance, in the case regarding the selection of the priority of the three suggested imperatives, it was difficult to identify the members stand. At first, according to his statement, the member seemed to object the idea of having to cut down the prices of the mobots. He was of the thought of never considering cutting down the prices of the products. In the beginning, the member also exhibited failure to believe in the deliberated strategies through his comments. He commented that all that was being done was all talk and would only believe on seeing the numbers of the income statement. Such talk ought to not be tolerated by the leader since it tends to discourage some of the weak members and thereby affecting the morale of the group. If unchecked, the price would be costly since it would affect on how the team meets the various goals. However, after hearing my opinion and the fact that one customer accounts for thirty percent of the company’s sales, he immediately concurred with cutting down the prices for them. He further refuted as to having objected to the idea of cutting down the prices for any customer. Although anyone is allowed to change ones mind, it is unethical to deny or refute a stand that one originally stood for. Grace also exhibits some vices since she fails to believe in some of the members. She is pessimistic on most of the actions and opinions held by the financial director. This is a very costly vice for any leader. Every leader should exhibit confidence in the various members comprising the team. In case of any disagreement, the leader ought not to share the thoughts with other team members. The various assumptions taken by the team as they made the assumptions include the company was that the financial position of the business was above par since this the running costs of the strategies were not taken into account during the deliberation process. Another assumption was that the company was a relatively small company thus the ability to hold a single meeting with the entire staff in one venue. Simulation Experience I would consider the entire simulation process as highly informative and imparting. The simulation enabled me to through the simulation, I was able to learn various managerial processes and acquire the relevant skills on how to approach and tackle different conflicts that affect a company. I have learnt that conflicts bedevilling a company not only comprise of external factors such as competition and market dynamics but also a rise from internal conflicts within the team members. Solving the internal conflicts is as much imperative as dealing with the external conflicts. Solving the internal conflicts within the team works a lot in enabling the administration work efficiently in achieving the goals of the organization. When working as a team, every personnel is qualified in their own field and thus each of the members will come with their own ideas. The leader ought to provide each of the members with their right to express themselves. However, the entire team should deliberate on each idea and agree on the most plausible idea or opinion. Although some of the members may not concur with some of the decisions reached upon by the rest of the team, the leader is to resolve the conflict immediately and convince such on the importance of harmony within the team in achieving the expected results. With further persistence, the leader ought not to shy away from taking drastic actions such as expulsion of members from the group since the unity of the team is paramount in achieving the set out goals.

How to Study for an Open Book Test

How to Study for an Open Book Test Open book tests teach you how to find information when you need it, and under a significant amount of pressure.   Even more importantly, the questions are designed to teach you how to use your brain. And contrary to popular belief, you do not get off the hook when it comes to studying for an open book exam. You just need to study a little differently. Open Book Test Questions Most often, the questions on an open book test will ask you to explain, evaluate, or compare information from your textbook. For instance: Compare and contrast the different views of Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton as they pertained to the role and size of the government. When you see a question of this nature, dont bother scanning your book to find a statement that summarizes the topic for you. Most likely, the answer to this question will not appear in a single paragraph in your text- or even on a single page. The question requires you to have an understanding of two philosophical views that you could only comprehend by reading the entire chapter. During your exam, you will not have time to find enough information to answer this question well. Instead, you should know the basic answer to the question and, during the test, look for information from your book that will support your answer. How to Prepare for an Open Book Test If you have an upcoming open book test, take the following steps to prepare. Read the chapters ahead of time. Dont expect to find quick answers during the test.Know where to find everything. Observe headings and sub-headings and make your own outline. This reinforces the structure of the text in your mind.Mark all important terms with sticky notes and flags. If the teacher allows it, mark your texts with these removable tags wherever you notice important concepts and terms. Be sure to ask first!Review lecture notes for themes. Your teachers lectures usually provide an overview of the themes and concepts that appear on tests. You wont always get this by reviewing the book alone.Make your own notes if allowed, and write down important formulas or concepts that you’ve covered in class. What to Do During the Open Book Test First, evaluate each question. Ask yourself if each question requires facts or interpretation. The questions that require facts may be easier and faster to answer. Fact-based questions will begin with expressions like: List five reasons . . . What events led up to. . .? Some students like to answer the fact-based questions first, then move on to the interpretation questions, which require more thought and concentration. As you answer each question, you will need to quote the book when appropriate to back up your thoughts. Be sure to quote only three to five words at a time- otherwise, you may find yourself copying answers from the book, which will result in a loss of points.

U.K. GCSE Coursework- 19th Ghost Stories Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

U.K. GCSE Coursework- 19th Ghost Stories - Essay Example In The Judge’s House the reader is introduced to the character of Malcolm Malcolmson through an omniscient third person narrator. Malcolmson â€Å"feared the attractions of the seaside, and also he feared completely rural isolation.†1 So the dominant feature of this character, at least at first, is â€Å"fear†. He would thus seem to be not very well suited to dealing well with an encounter with a ghost. Malcolmson is deliberately removing himself from everyone and everything he knows in order to study for exams. He is obviously of middle or upper class origins and determined to do well in his academic work. Soon the reader discovers that he is a mathematician, and possesses the self-confidence (some might say arrogance) of a man of science who thinks that only things that can be measured in a scientific sense are worth considering. Thus when he is warned about the terrors of the judge’s house, he replies casually, â€Å" . . . but my dear Mrs. Witham, indeed you need not be concerned about me! A man who is reading for the Mathematical Tripos has too much to think of to be disturbed by any of these mysterious somethings . . . â€Å"2 He thus rejects the supernatural in a good-humored but essentially dismissive manner. He has the confidence of youth, of education and of science. The rest of the story reveals how this confidence is demolished piece by piece. On his initial encounter with the rats that swarm through the house, on his first night of study, Malcomson ends up feeling remarkably at home with the vermin: â€Å"for a little while the rats disturbed him somewhat with their perpetual scampering, but he got accustomed to the noise as one does to the ticking of the clock or the roar of moving water. . . â€Å"3. The rats, at least these non-supernatural rats, are part of the physical world that Malcolmson is studying and feels comfortable with, at least to a point. The fact that â€Å"his problem was still unsolved† at the

Using Economic Theories to Analysis Apple Inc Essay

Using Economic Theories to Analysis Apple Inc - Essay Example The behavioural process of consumers, suppliers and other business stakeholders of a firm can be thoroughly assessed with the help of appropriate economic theories (Heracleous, 2013). This report aims to interpret commercial success and failure of the famous multinational company of Apple Inc. For making the analysis, the researcher will use theories of economics such as, that of demand and supply, consumer behaviour, absolute advantage, rational choice and market structure (Hutt and Speh, 2013). It is highly rational to conduct this type of a research because the researcher will finally provide specific recommendations based on the analysis, that will help the company rectify few of the business problems. Apple Inc. is a publicly traded company founded in 1976, situated in California. The company engages in providing computer hardware and software products. Popular products of the company comprise iMac, iPhone, iPad, iOperating system and iTunes. At present, the company headquarters is located at Cupertino, California in the United States. The company conducts operations in almost all world economies. The organization was founded by three proficient business leaders, namely Steve Jobs, Ronald Wayne and Steve Woznaik (Apple Inc., 2012). It was estimated that in 2010, the organization owned over 425 retail stores across different marketplaces. The company provides services through both online and offline selling means. In 2012, the net income of Apple Inc. was estimated as US $ 41.733 billion, but in 2013, it was astonishing to note that income of the company had declined to US $ 37.037 billion (Hutt and Speh, 2013). However, the organization experiences huge scale and scope of trade a nd recruits over 80000 skilled workforce around the world. Though the net income or profit is falling, yet the company appears to experience increasing revenue. The revenue of Apple Inc. in 2012 was US$ 156.508 billion, which had increased to US $ 179.91 billion in 2013 (Apple

History of architecture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 2

History of architecture - Essay Example The plans did not contain all the elements in the actual buildings, which were requisite of the architectural drawings. The separation between technology and architecture was achieved by the gross structure and physical plants of the sectional drawings. This implies that architecture focused on the structure of a construction while technology handled the rest of the physical plant. The modern practice combines all the technological and structural requirements of buildings by including every aspect in the plans (Banham 14). I think ancient architectural designs were just concentrated on the complete finishing of buildings. This gave the engineers the freedom to add new concepts pertaining to the preference of the home owners. The article indicates that some of the olden features of a building were not included in the plans, but revealed the skills of the builders. This implies that the principles guiding modernists did not apply then and this was risky to the welfare of the home owners. It is evident that the article highlights the milestones that architectural works have surpassed to give modern designs and inspirations (Banham 16). The article also gives examples of ancient architects who inspired designs and plans that contributed to the developments in the

Criticism of Action Research

Criticism of Action Research The use of action research in higher education is growing (Mertler, 2006). Action research involves a systematic inquiry wherein educators can utilize their knowledge as practitioners to change and improve educational practices (Kemmis, 2009; Craig, 2009). By systematically and intentionally studying problems within the educational community, they not only contribute to knowledge production but to meaningful reforms as well. Action research is defined as a reflective process of progressive problem solving led by individuals working with others in teams or as part of a community of practice to improve the way they address issues and solve problems (Riel, 2010). The aim of action research is to understand practice and to articulate a philosophy of practice which improves practice (McCutcheon Jung, as cited in Herr, Anderson, Herr, 2005). As a research design, action research is relatively new. Despite its recent popular application, there is still debate on where action research real ly falls as to its nature of inquiry (Ary, Jacobs, Razavieh Sorensen, 2009). Some research experts associate it more with the qualitative tradition, while others assert that its concrete application in research has showed that it relies more on quantitative inquiry (Burns, 2007). However, literature would suggest that action research possesses certain overall characteristics that are different from other research approaches. These are: Problem-solving is highlighted in the scientific study (Pine, 2008; Koshy, 2005; Methodological tools are not rigid and can be modified to suit the demands of the research situation (Cooke Cox, 2005); The research is process is cyclical (Schmuck, 2006; Riel, 2010); There is leaning toward practitioners as researchers (Mertler, 2006; Walter, 2009); No great attempts at objectivity are intended (Kock, 2005); The inquiry has a social dimension (Walter, 2009, IISD, 2010). What sets action research apart from other research approaches is its cyclical nature. This means that as a research method, it proceeds through a chain of steps repeatedly. Unlike traditional research, action research does not end upon the determination of findings and the formulation of conclusions on the contrary, this sparks a renewal of the research process. Hence, action research follows what Riel (2010) calls progressive problem solving (see Figure 1). In the entire research process, there could be multiple cycles and multiple foci of the study. In one research cycle, an action research proceeds in five general steps: 1. identifying an area of focus; 2. Developing an action plan; 3. collecting data; 4. analyzing and interpreting data; 5. reflecting (Herr, Anderson, Herr, 2005, p. 15). Beginning with the identification of the problem, the researcher/s come up with research questions and identifies the type of data needed. Types of data involved in action research can be quantitative or numerical, qualitative or descriptive, but usually both (Creswell, 2005). After data collection, the researcher/s interpret and analyze data. Conclusions are the drawn followed by a period of reflection which researchers engage in to be able come up with another plan of action to improve practice. This goes on until the problem identified is solved or objectives are met (Koshy, 2005). Another important characteristic of action research is that it is value-laden. It rejects neutrality and instead, situates its inquiry in a setting where there are conflicting values or power differentials. It challenges traditional notions of power and values and investigates a problem by analyzing day-to-day realities of the people or community involved. Still another important characteristic of action research is its reflexivity. Reflexivity is essential to action research because it aims to interrogate and examine received proposals for change or improvement by analyzing who benefits of actions implemented in the end (Craig, 2009). Since the foundation of action research by acknowledged pioneer Kurt Lewin, several approaches have emerged and albeit similar in purpose, differ in method and steps toward inquiry (Craig, 2009). Reviewed are three action research methodologies that have been used by researchers in higher education and other disciplines to come up with solutions to pressing problems: practical, participatory, and teacher action research. A discussion of advantages and disadvantages of action research is also discussed. Practical action research Practical action research focuses on a specific research question with the aim of improving practice (Schmuck, 2006). This is sometimes referred to as practical-deliberative action where the researcher (an outsider) collaborates with practitioners in identifying research problems, its causes, and possible forms of intervention. Kemmis (2009) defines it as action research which sharpens individual practical reasoning (p 76). Problem identification is done after dialogue between research and practitioner until consensus is reached. In this sense, the end of practical action research is to improve practice through the application of the personal wisdom of the participants (Grundy, as cited in Pine, 2008, p. 76). Practical action research was influenced by Lewins research within organizations which relied heavily on group dynamics, field theory, and T-groups. While practical action research works toward the improvement of practice, it takes a conservative stance and works in reforming the status quo without addressing power structures or differentials. Practical action research is also a vehicle toward generating practical knowledge (Manfra, 2009). Supporters of practical action research believe that practical knowledge is the most important form of knowledge in teaching (Koshy, 2005) and that the focus of action research must be on teachers issues and problems because they produce knowledge helpful to them in redefining their profession. Practical action research is more concerned with examining real classrooms and real schools (Manfra, 2009, p. 2). In the context of higher education, practical action research aims to help teachers become better practitioners. Because Conducting research has helped teachers we know to consolidate new knowledge, learn about new issues, and develop new teaching methods and strategies (p. 176). Proponents of practical action research emphasize the practicality of action research for teachers as they strive to become better practitioners. Since practical inquiry is more likely to respond to the immediacy of the knowledge needs teachers confront in everyday practice and to be foundational for formal research by providing new questions and concerns, (Cochran-Smith Lytle, as cited in Mertler, 2006, p. 43) practical action research is deemed to be the more authentic methodology for education practitioners. There are criticisms on the authenticity of practical action research (Kemmis, 2009). Some have accused practical action research as straying from the unique spirit of action research because it was influenced by techniques and inputs of outsiders (Pine, 2008). In effect, it ran the risk of research questions being externally formulated and issues which were not reflective of real sentiments and problems of practitioners (Kemmis, 2009). Practical action research is often associated with testing the effectiveness of practices or the applicability of findings conducted elsewhere to local settings. While in general, these studies may contribute to the improvement of practice, practical action research becomes vulnerable to being exploited to legitimize reputations of outsiders reputations than being applied meaningfully in practice (Ary et al., 2009). Participatory action research (PAR) While practical action research is deliberative in purpose, participatory action research takes on a more emancipator role. Traditional research seeks only in the investigation of phenomenon whereas the critical analysis is entrenched in PAR. While practical action research only describes classrooms and schools, PAR is more concerned with how to change structures and in the transformation of society. PAR promotes emancipatory praxis in the participating practitioners; that is, it promotes a critical consciousness which exhibits itself in political as well as practical action to promote change (Grundy, as cited in Manfra, 2009, p. 4). A primary aim of PAR is to transforming educational theory and practice toward emancipatory ends and thus raising fundamental questions about curriculum, teachers roles, and the ends as well as the means of schooling (Cochran-Smith Lytle, as cited in Manfra, 2009, p. 5). As a result, PAR has two overarching objectives (Cooke Cox, 2005): Knowledge production and action for the benefit of a group of people through study, research, education, and sociopolitical action. Empowerment of people by enabling them to construct and use their own knowledge. The key elements in PAR are participation and action (IISD, 2009). These elements are the foundation of the PAR method. With action, research entails beyond merely seeking information but having that action factor that enables positive change. With participation, research should be a participatory process with equal and collaborative involvement groups or communities of interest. Hence, unlike practical action research, PAR does away with process consultancy or the use of outsider experts going into communities and examining, theorizing, and proposing solutions for problems (Kemmis, 2009). The research topic, questions, and solutions must emerge from the communities themselves. Practical action research is not intended to be participatory because the aim is generally extractive; meaning, researchers retain power over process. PAR on the other hand, seeks at empowering the community of interest by opening up the entire research process to their participation. Practical action research is collaborative and is not shy on taking outside partners in planning, data gathering, and data analysis phase. PARs research goals are politicized and aims to illuminate on how social, economic, and political constraints affect the marginalized and powerless sectors in society (GDRC, 2009). Teacher action research Teacher action research is research that is done by teachers for themselves (Johnson, as cited in Mertler, 2006, p. 72). This type of action research enables teachers to make their own classrooms, their methods of instruction and assessments the focus of the study in order to inform and improve practice. Teacher action research benefits teachers by allowing them to understand their work better and from there, come up with ways to improve their effectiveness in the classroom. As a teacher-centered approach to action research, teacher-action research acknowledges first and foremost that the teacher is the most knowledgeable person when it comes to conditions on the ground and recognizes their expertise in carrying out research for the improvement of educational processes and outcomes. There are several motivations for adopting teacher action research: This approach respects and gives significant to the position of the teacher about the problems and issues at the classroom level. Simply put, it acknowledges the teacher as a local expert who has more knowledge about classroom issues than outside experts or consultants (Mertler, 2006). By acquiring data about their own classrooms and practices, teachers are better situated to reflect upon them and are in a better position to implement policies or measures that will enhance their effectiveness. Teacher action research is a feasible way in improving instructional practice and enhancing the intellectual environment among educators. Educators are uniquely positioned to evaluate the classroom situation, implement plans of action, and evaluate them afterwards (Creswell, 2005). Methods, data collection, and analysis The three forms of action research do not differ in their methodology but in the assumptions made and participants worldviews that influence the choice of methodology to be used in implementing the action research (Grundy, as cited in Manfra, 2009). The method of action research involves four general stages of collectively 1) planning, 2) acting, 3) observing and 4) reflecting. This phase leads to another cycle of action, in which the plan is revised, and further acting, observing and reflecting undertaken systematically to work towards solutions to problems whether of a practical or emancipatory nature. Action research accommodates all types of data collected through various techniques. Action research even considers it important to collect multiple measures on the variables of interest in a given study. It allows and in fact, encourages the researcher to triangulate the collected data for greater research credibility. There are four main categories of data collection in action research (Craig, 2009; Mertler, 2006; Cooke Cox, 2005): Observations recorded through fieldnotes or journals to describe in detail what is seen and heard. Interview data through interviews or surveys. Existing documents or records such as lesson plans, student portfolios, school newspapers, minutes of meetings, attendance records, etc. Quantitative measures such as ratings, checklists, tests, or scoring rubrics. Data analysis in action research occurs beginning data collection and afterwards. Most quantitative researchers begin analyzing data after all data is gathered. Qualitative researchers begin analyzing data at the start of the data collection process. Action research combines both processes. Johnson (as cited in Mertler, 2006) suggests that as you collect your data, analyze them by looking for themes, categories or patterns that emerge (p. 87). Analyzing data allows other foci to emerge and influences the research on what other data to look for. Data analysis is not really as exhaustive or as complex in action research as it is with traditional research. However, action research lately has been influenced to adopt more quantitative analysis in order to establish integrity and credibility in the findings. Coding, content analysis, and other qualitative forms of analysis are sometimes buffered with inferential statistics to boost credibility (Sagor, 2005). Critique of action research Action research is applied, empowering, collaborative, democratic and emancipatory. Unlike other research methods, it offers practical solutions toward positive change in practice and in society. It also has its flaws. Its disadvantages include: Subjectivity. One of the main criticisms of action research is that when left unchecked, results are laden with subjectivity (Kock, 2005). There is a tendency for the researcher to be over-involved to the extent that personal biases come into play in the analysis of the findings. Vulnerability to pressure. Another risk factor in doing action research is that the researchers are often subordinates in an organizational setting. When the researcher is an insider in an organization, power relations and differentials may complicate the conduct. Researchers might be pressure or coerced to alter the findings to suit organizational objectives (Noffke Somekh, 2005. Time consuming. The cyclical research process in action research is aimed at understanding and action. The initial research question is rough and may be refined thereafter depending on initial findings. Critics of action research question the fuzzy methodology in action research and the equally fuzzy answers that it gets (Walter, 2009). The redefinition of the research question and the refining of methodology takes time, making the entire research process time-exhaustive and complex. In particular, PAR is inherent undefined in terms of end date. There is no clear timeline when the research is stopped because technically, it stops only upon the resolution of the problem. In terms of knowledge production, PAR is unpredictable and is unlikely to be included in referred journals or get competitive funding (GDRC, 2009). Proposed action research process Despite acknowledged weaknesses, action research is still a viable tool among education leaders in influencing change within the organization. I propose a collaborative teacher action research to enhance professional identity of mid-career faculty leaders through mentoring activities. Enhancing the professional identity of teachers is important especially as they transition into later leadership roles. Like any organization, teachers need to be part of an active and supportive community to guide them in the process of transition. Some teachers in my local setting are ill-prepared to take on leadership roles. Mentoring has been found to improve self-awareness, skills in collaboration, leadership skills, sense of community and commitment to the teaching profession. Since this is a collaborative teacher action research, I will find other teacher-researchers willing to work with me to address the problem of leadership preparation among mid-career educators. We will need to establish understanding about action research as a way to improve leadership capabilities among teachers. Since this is a collaborative research, workload and responsibilities will be divided through consensus and everyone will be a co-researcher to the project. The research action process will proceed in eight steps (Mertler, 2006): Identify the problem (lack of leadership preparation among mid-career teachers) Gather information (done through informal interviews) Review related literature (research on possible solutions) Develop a research plan (meet with co-researchers and come up with a plan) Implement the plan and collect the data (through questionnaires, interviews) Analyze the data (content analysis, descriptive statistics) Develop an action plan (plan a mentoring strategy to solve the problem) Share and communicate results