Locomotion and Movements

Locomotion Is one of the Important characteristics of all living beings as plants and animals. Mostly plants are fixed but some plants move. Plants are fixed but even then they show movements as leaves of plants, touch-me-not show remarkable movements, when touched by hand. The sunflower bends towards the sunlight. During the night time so many plants fold their leaves or close the petals but next morning the leaves and petals are opened normally. Plants like chlamydeous and Volvo changes their places.Animals move from here from there in search of food ND shelter. Animals also move from place to place to avoid unfavorable conditions, for mating. To lay eggs, to make their nests (birds). Animals also run very fast to save themselves from predators. Some animals like coral, sponge and sea-anemone do not change their places. Movements mean change the position of body parts in the relation body axis but whole body does not move. For example when limbs are moved, fingers are moved to hold the things. Neck is moved towards the sides to look and tall Is moved for different purposes.Locomotion means the position of entire odd Is changed from one place to another, this takes place due to some reasons such as to obtain food, to get shelter and avoid enemies. Grazing animals, like cow, horse, goat move from place to place, birds fly away, when they are going to be caught, frog jumps into the water when it feels danger. MOVEMENTS IN ANIMALS There are so many types of animals such as unicellular, small, medium size and very large size animals all show movements either they are aquatic, arboreal or terrestrial.Microscopic animals such as Amoeba, Paramecium and euglena show following types f movements. (A) Amoeba: Amoeba is found In water. It shows creeping movements. Locomotors movements of amoeba are brought by the formation of finger like projections called pseudopodia (false feet). Several pseudopodia may project out at in any time but one pseudopodia may be continuously projecting in a specific direction, this is called leading pseudopodia, remaining Pseudopodia are withdrawn and amoeba moves in desired direction, this type of movements also occurs in W. B. C of human blood. B) Euglena: Euglena shows flagella movement . Euglena moves tit the help of thread like structure called flagellum. Flagellum extends out through the front end of Euglena, during the movements, the flagellum beats back and forth to draw the Euglena forward in the in water with a spiral rotation on straight line (swimming movements). (C) Paramecium: The whole body is recovered by thread like cilia which help paramecium in movement, this movements is called cilia movements. The cilia beat the water backwards and the paramecium moves forward, and as their stroke Is oblique, It rotates on Its longitudinal axis.When calla beat award direction the paramecium moves backwards (swimming movements). (D) Hydra: Hydra is a fixed aquatic organism. It shows two types of bending movements- 1. Looping : Hydra moves with the help of its tentacles. Hydra bends its body and fixes the tentacles on the ground, now it frees its fixed end and draws it near the tentacles and now the body becomes straight up again. 2. Somersaulting : In this releases its base and make the body straight and upside down and again bends the body forward till it touches the ground and now it releases the tentacles to make the body straight. INSECTSSome insects lack wings and they are unable to fly like silverfish and head lice. Some insects like housefly and mosquito have one pair of wing, which are called fore wings, they fly with the help of these wings. Some insects have two pairs of wings the fore and hind wings, like butterfly and dragonfly.

Financial Crises Essay

I have literally found a solution for all Americans struggling to mitigate their personal financial crises this day. They cannot just sit back expecting the government and business to work wonders. It is time for them to take personal responsibility for the economic downturn. Orwell (1945) was correct when he wrote that â€Å"All animals are created equal but some animals are more equal than others,† actually referring to human beings whom scientists refer to as animals. Throughout the history of humanity, people have generally known that they were created equal. And yet, there have been separations, discriminations, dissimilarities, and inequalities, for the reason that God, Nature or Evolution – depending on what we choose to believe in – did not grant equal abilities, talents, and gifts to all human beings. Some men are richer and more intelligent than the others. Some are born deaf, dumb, and blind. And, some must rely on income support because they just cannot beat poverty on their own. Then there are those who neither care that others remain poor nor hold themselves back from buying things they may or may never actually use – simply because it is fashionable in our consumer society to purchase unnecessary things as these objects make the individual who purchases them appear as though he or she belongs to a high socioeconomic class (Twitchell). As though this is not ridiculous enough, our consumer society enjoys humorous advertisements about products rather than people as the source of all personal satisfaction (Kilbourne). No wonder the divorce rate is high, compounding personal misery during the current economic recession. Undoubtedly, advertising is a hallmark of capitalism. In other words, it is a representative of Mammon. We generally assume that we cannot imagine a world without advertisements because ads represent the human need to enjoy life to the fullest with the best of food, clothing, etc. But, Kilbourne’s article, â€Å"Jesus is a Brand of Jeans,† reminds us that this need does not have to exist beyond our changeable minds. Yes, it is possible to imagine a world where publicity is meaningless. In this view of the world, everybody must be satisfied, without some of the people envying others, some others enjoying chocolate cake, while the rest grieve because they did not get a piece. Most importantly, in a perfect world we would not have to hoard in order to appear rich and famous to the others. Rather, we would be content with ourselves without feeling the need to impress others with our higher incomes, statuses, etc. If we are able to change our mindsets in our consumer society, we would not even have to save up to attend classes in â€Å"happiness institutes† (Schumaker). This would definitely lighten our personal financial burdens through this economic mess confronting our nation. Moreover, regardless of what we possess at present – if we honestly long to get through our personal financial crises – what if we try to share the little that remains with us, be it our skills or funds, with those that are less fortunate? This seems like yet another scientific technique to change the mindset of the consumer society. It is all possible, after all. This is America. Let us get through our personal difficulties with the American Dream formula! It has worked. It still works. It would always work. Sincerely, Name References Kilbourne, J. Jesus is a Brand of Jeans. Chapter 11: Consumer Society. Orwell, G. (1945). Animal Farm. London: Secker and Warburg. Schumaker, J. F. The Happiness Conspiracy: What does it mean to be happy in a modern consumer society? Chapter 11: Consumer Society. Twitchell, J. B. Needing the Unnecessary. Chapter 11: Consumer Society.

Harlem Renaissance Poets Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Harlem Renaissance Poets - Essay Example At this time, the sun was setting, and he still had a long journey to cover. In the first short stanza, the poem’s speaker mentions that he has ‘known rivers which are ancient as the world as well as older than the blood flow in human veins’ (Huggins, 2007). From this point of the poem, there are images of veins taking form of canals running throughout the human body and similar images of due rivers which wind around. They take the form of veins in shape where the levels of understanding within the poem in relation to the blood or water are based on the roots and circuits. Similar to veins or rivers, the roots run deep twisting irregularly into the medium which they are planted in. The ancient rivers mentioned by speaker are similar to the blood across veins and the roots through which trees are able to provide sustenance while still giving and supporting life. This is further supported as the speaker discusses the earliest forms of civilizations which thrived wit hin the river system and hence the theme developed by ‘roots’ bears dual meaning. The poem qualifies as one of Hughes’s most famous works which was celebrated as the soul and the voice within the black community in a time of intense racial inequality, injustice, and intolerance in America (Williams, 2010). Through the poem, Hughes managed to unite and inspire the black community in times when their voice was not appreciated by the white society predominantly. In the end, he turned to be the poet laureate (unofficial) of at the time of the Harlem Renaissance. 2. Identify the elements in each of their poems in which you see evidence of the â€Å"double consciousness† being expressed by each author. Hughes is essentially identified as one of the unashamedly blacks within theme of blackness was demode. Through this literary work, Hughes stressed the aspects and the theme of ‘the beauty of being black’ as he continued to explore the conditions of t he black humans in a whole range of depths. His major concern was uplifting his people, whose humor, strengths, courage, and resiliency he wanted to put into record as one of the major American experiences as an American poet, novelist, social activist, columnist, and playwright (Hatch & Hamalian, 1996). He became one of the innovators in the early times of the new literary art approach called jazz poetry. Hughes is popular for his poems developed during the Harlem Renaissance. Famously, he wrote on issues relating to the period which ‘Harlem remained in due vogue’. The major problem which the poem is centered is prostitution and only surfaces immediately the ‘veil’ of ‘Negro Harlem’ begin to kick at nighttime. The poem’s message is delivered a number of carefully constructed sentences where the issue of prostitution is actually presented within them. In the rest of the sentence, the causative agents about the problem are given and the a uthor expresses absolute sadness for this situation as it really worries his heart. Through the use of simple language, McKay is able to effectively convey the amount of desperation and sadness of the young girls as they resort to prostitution for purposes of survival (Hatch & Hamalian, 1996). McKay also refers to these young girls within the poem as ‘timid’, ‘tired’, and ‘weary’. He also describes their behavior as ‘halting’ due to the fact that while they go ‘trudging’ and ‘prowling’

Planning and Controlling Capital Expenditures Essay

Planning and Controlling Capital Expenditures - Essay Example Thus most companies hold on capital expenditures every year, in an attempt to continuously upgrade and improve things like facilities, vehicles, buildings and equipment. A capital expenditure is considered deductible since it represents an improvement to the business and this deducted takes place over a specific life of an item, after than all at once as in the case of repair or maintenance expenditures. Sometimes it is cumbersome to determine the difference that exists in capital expenditure and a routine expense. Generally capital expenditure improves the worth of an asset while if it keeps the asset in working condition, it is referred to as routine expense. Hence, engaging in capital expenditure is a routine way of upgrading and expanding business whether done on a small scale or on a large scale (Pike and Neale, 2003). Large firms or corporations may acquire extra companies, as in the case of automotive giant which purchases another car manufacturer. Consequently, allowances are made in the budget of the company for the capital expenses, including the ones involving the replacement of items which are no longer repaired. Capital expenditures thus normally yield benefit over a long period of time resulting into fixed assets. The resource constraint is a frequent phenomenon of all the economic activities in business. In addition, when a firm is able to spend on specific items it is not willing to do so (Nice, 2002). Therefore, a systematic screening is established to accept or reject the investment proposal. Investment proposal are divided into two groups that is: Mutually exclusive proposals and independent proposals. Mutually exclusive proposals are proposals that have an alternative of doing the same thing. If one alternative is selected then the other one must be rejected for example: if in plant material facilities are required, they are grouped according to their economic benefits. The economic benefits of each of the proposal will be evaluated and the one with the contributing maximum economic benefits is chosen while the rest with less economic benefits are rejected (Pike and Neale, 2003). Ind ependent proposals are those items of capital expenditures that are always considered for different types of projects whose accomplishments are highly needed. In this case all independent proposals are independent of each other and are worthy for implementation. However, due to financial difficulties, priorities are assigned to each proposal according to the gravity of the need of the organization for example: in line with the material handling equipments, instruments such as machines for weighing, packing, stamping may be required(Cotts, 2007). Thus for mutually exclusive proposals the decision criterion is accept or reject while for independent proposals the decision criterion is mainly based in ranking. The decision taken is based on the methods of analyzing the capital budgeting decisions. The environment of capital expenditure proposals are widely grouped into: Expansion, Replacement, Diversification and Strategic proposals. Expansion proposals involve the capital expenditure t o boost the production capacity within the same line of production (Shah, 2007).The investments are basically made in the familiar areas of activity as it involves minimal business risk as compared to diversification, however, larger risk than replacement expenditure. Replacement capital expenditure implies replacement of old machinery by a new one or a modern one. This replacement only

Juvenile Delinquency in Context Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Juvenile Delinquency in Context - Research Paper Example This study does not just look at victims first in and effort to determine if they then become juvenile criminals themselves, but it also look at juvenile offenders who subsequently become victimized themselves. The authors also look at other possible causes of juvenile delinquency, such as bully and experience some form of traumatic stress. The Development Victimization survey forms that basis for much of the study, and it uncovers evidence that quite a few groups of adolescents are labeled as delinquent, but do not suffer from victimization themselves. Also, it is discovered that being a victim does not necessarily lead someone to become a juvenile delinquent himself or herself. Iravani, M. R. (2012). A social work study on juvenile delinquency. Management Science Letters, 2(4), 1403-1408. The authors of this article present the findings from an empirical study that examined the effects that different factors in society played on adolescents become labeled as a juvenile delinquent. The study design employed the distribution of a survey to 100 adolescents who are known to have committed a crime. Specifically questioned were such areas as family conditions, religion, economic situation, the impact of media, and physical and psychological characteristics. The authors wanted to see to what extent each of these factors played, if any, in the incidences of juvenile delinquency. ... Khurana, A., and Gavazzi, S. (2011). Juvenile delinquency and adolescent fatherhood. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, 55(5), 756-770. This is an interesting study that explores the prevalence of juvenile delinquency amongst teenage fathers. A good sample size of nearly 3,000 males participated in the study, and the findings are explored in the 14-page study article. It was discovered, among other things, African American youth have equal rates of fatherhood as other European races who are also offenders. This study leads to the conclusion the juvenile delinquency as a whole can lead to risky sexual behaviors contributing to teenager fatherhood, and this has little to nothing to do with race. It was also reported that European youth you commit crimes have higher rates of drug and substance abuse than others, and are more likely to engage in risky sexual behaviors. In essence, the authors of this study contradict other research, and commonly held b eliefs, that racial stereotyping has a great deal to do with the rates of certain minority groups having a higher propensity toward behavior leading to juvenile delinquency. Kirschbaum, K., Grigoleit, L., Hess, C., Madea, B., and Musshoff, F. (2013). Illegal drugs and delinquency. Forensic Science International, 226(1-3), 230. While much research has been conducted about the influence of drugs and other types of substance abuse on an individual’s behavior, not much is known about the factors involved. This study takes different types of juvenile crimes and determines if there is a correlation between a particular type of substance abuse. In the end it was discovered that there is no set tie

In a culturally diverse word, the universality of human rights remains Assignment - 1

In a culturally diverse word, the universality of human rights remains unsettled. Discuss - Assignment Example All people should not be denied their rights unless in a situation that demands legal action against them. For example, the right to liberty can be withdrawn when a person becomes guilty and gets convicted of an offence. International human rights law in the form of treaties, international law, general principles, and other international law sources are factors that determine Human rights. International law seeks to achieve the universality of human rights; however, it faces challenges resulting from the current cultural diversity. Culture is the people’s way of life and contributes much to aspects of their lives. The different cultures that exist in the world are a challenge to trying to implement human rights law. Some cultures would not allow some actions as they differ with them. This work seeks to discuss how the diverse culture in the world contributes to the efforts put towards achieving or settling universality of human rights. It will discuss how the culture relates t o human rights and how it contributes either negatively or positively towards achieving the universality of human rights. It will also focus on different organizations formed to protect and educate the public on understanding their culture and human rights, and how their progress is at present. Background Information Although there have been developments in evolution of human rights, the process is under serious challenge. From 1945, more development of international human rights standards has occurred as compared to previous years (Forsythe, 2009: xviii). However, international issues like Chinese development as a world power, and the United States’ efforts to maintain national security after the September 2001 attack challenge these developments on human rights. As much as the international community talks of human rights and rights laws, there is a violation of the rights as a result of these developments. People did not know about human rights until 1945, but the United S tates and France practiced ‘rights of man’ although no human rights treaties existed until the period of United Nations. The treaties that existed were rights of foreigners. According to Forsythe, it is D. Roosevelt and others who pushed for inclusion of human rights in the United Nations charter. They believed that human rights contributed to international security and peace and that it was human rights’ violation that led to the origin of World War II (Forsythe, 2009: xviii). The quest to adoption of human rights to the UN charter became the origin of their development. Universality of Human Rights Universality is the quality of being dominant or available. Human rights universality is thus the ability to the existence of human rights to every human being. Universality is rather the ability of a society or state to allow its citizens to enjoy the availability of human rights. The diversity in culture, in the present world, affects the universality of human righ ts in various ways. Different cultures affect how their citizens enjoy the provision of human rights. According to Osiatyn?ski, the African take on human rights was not on an individual basis; it focused on the community. This is an indication that culture has a relative impact on human rights universality. In most tribes, in Africa, for example, the decision to marry does not come from a girl, but it is a decision made by the family and clan or the community, depending on the family status (Osiatyn?ski, 2009:128). This practice

Chart the development of virtual reality from 1950 to 2050 Essay

Chart the development of virtual reality from 1950 to 2050 - Essay Example This implies that virtual reality translates to near reality. Nevertheless, technical phrases have a straightforward description since it describes virtual reality as a three-dimensional atmosphere created by the computer, which an individual can investigate and interrelate with. The individual who interrelates with this virtual sphere or gets enormous inside its setting is able to influence things or perform a sequence of deeds. This individual generally applies goggles, earphones, gloves among various devices, and in this manner, the computer manages in any case three of the five common senses. Prior to supplying sensory input to the client, these gadgets in addition supervise the client’s deeds. For example, the goggles supervise eye progress and react accordingly through forwarding new video input (Vince, 2004: 4). History background of virtual reality There existed abundant debates unto the connotation and appropriate name of what remains presently known as the virtual ar ts, even prior to the growth of these idea commenced. Therefore, describing and knowing virtual arts is a significant feature in providing a concise account of its growth. Its naming fluctuated due to the brandling of its occurrence since virtual reality bore three models namely synthetic reality, virtual atmospheres, and supplemented reality. Nevertheless, the ideal naming of virtual arts has gone through alterations as the virtual art idea advanced. However, the description coagulated to â€Å"virtual† during the 1960s when computers surfaced, giving it a tangible meaning owing to computer visuality. On the other hand, the idea of reality cropped up when theorists questioned if something else existed excluding the discernible and quantifiable reality of virtual manifestation, and the idea concludes as reality owing to the sensible positivity it showed. This implies that virtual reality turned to the common phrase that befitted the idea, and during 1989, Jaron Lanier changed it through definition that comes out by the application of the newest invention of goggles, gloves and associated technologies (Yu, 2010: 310). The account of virtual arts has been current and abrupt. This is because, whereas its constituents have grown for almost forty years, operational virtual systems simply emerged lately on the screen (Mclellan, 1992: 24). Development of Virtual Reality Nevertheless, the past of virtual arts dates back during the middle of 1950s when a futurist cinematographer known as Morton Heilig constructed a multi sensory simulator known as the Sensorama. The gadget contained a stereoscopic exhibit, dischargers moving chair and speakers. These traits enabled the client to watch television in three-dimensional modes since it pre-recorded movie in colour and stereo. More so, the simulator contained binaural sound, moving air, odour and vibration practices. Although the simulator had the total of these modified features, it was not as associative as expected (Steed, 2002: 3). Later on during 1961, another group of engineers known asPhilco Corporation developed the first HMD bearing the name headsight. The helmet contained a video screen band a tracking system that had linkage to a closed circuit camera system (Will, 2009: 4). During 1965, Ivan Sutherland, a famous computer scientist imagined a further advanced method known as the eventual system, which linked the

Reading Strategies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Reading Strategies - Essay Example As such, by employing strategies that address each phase in a specific way the reader is able to cultivate a critical skill of self-conscious reading. Also, a reader is better able to understand that a variety of reading techniques are required in order to understand and actively engage with a text. This paper will critically review a selection of reading strategies to demonstrate their benefits to teaching and learning of reading non-fictional texts. Firstly, before-reading will be discussed and reference made to the technique of using an Anticipation Guide. Secondly, during-reading will be presented with an example of the Anolighting Text method. Next, after-reading will be reviewed with reference to Organizational methods. Following, the implications of presented reading strategies for teaching practice will be outlined, and recommendations made for implication within the classroom. Finally, a conclusion shall synthesize the main points of the paper to illustrate the critical benefit of reading strategies for student understanding and conceptualization of non-fictional texts. The before-reading phase is where the reader determines within themselves the purpose of reading the text, and develops a tentative plan as to how to approach the reading endeavor (Beers, 2000). It is suggested that before a reader begins on a text that they take the time to survey the material so as to get an overall 'feel' for the material, before attempting to tackle link the details (Fairbrain, 2000). The first step suggested by Fairbrain is to understand the title of the article or text to be read. This requires careful reading to identify the key words used. For example "definition", "effect", "review", "comparison" or "analysis" (Duffy et al., 1987). A definition will aim to differentiate a concept/process from other members of the class by listing the term's distinguishing characteristics. An effect will seek to identify a cause that directly leads to a consequence (effect) that requires tracing probable or known effects of a certain cause or examining one or more effects an d discussing the reasonable or known cause(s). A review will present a series of research that discusses the findings and conclusions of previous studies by aggregating data to present the overall scope of the topic to date. Whereas a comparison will seek to detail how X differs and shares similarities with Y. An analytic paper will aim to break down a concept/process into it component parts so as to determine the actual parts that exist, their functions, structure and implications. Analysis involves breaking something down into its components and discovering the parts that make up the whole. However, it is clear that this step will only occur when the reader has a good grasp on the language of critical reading. As such, those readers who are new to a discipline could be expected to have difficulty with the above terms with regard to their academic definition. Further, students of low self-efficacy may find themselves confronted by academic terminology and 'jingoism' to

The US and middle east Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The US and middle east - Essay Example However, the Second World War was a wakeup call in all regions of the world as it fuelled nationalism, and this instigated calls for the Arab Nationalism. The Arabs felt that they had had enough of the British and the French who were colonising them. The Americans were not left out, and this is what led to the conflicts that exist to date between the United States and the Middle East. The writer of the article is addressing the Middle East by opening up some of the unseen agendas of the American - Middle East relationship. The writer explains the origin of the relationship between the Middle East and the United States of America, the factors that led to the sharp conflict, democracy in the Middle East as well as the effects of the September 11 attacks on the American Middle East relationship. The author attempts to convince the audience and actually sets forth credible points to support his arguments. The writer is also at times harsh and objective in putting his points across such a s arguing that the United States has a huge disregard for the Middle East in respect to human rights and democracy. The writer is convincing as his sources are credible and has conducted an in-depth analysis to make us understand what the relationship is all about. In addition, the writer looks at the historical relationship and where it was as well as where the relationship is headed. He also looks at who are the major beneficiaries of the relationship, which is very persuading. Nevertheless, at some instances the arguments are out of line; for instance, the claim that the United States does not care for the Middle East and for a very long time the relationship has been based on how they could acquire oil by fuelling conflict without making up for it. Ethos, Pathos and Logos are the modes of persuasion that are used in argumentative essays. The writer uses Logos, which is a persuasion technique that embraces the use of logic or logical arguments. He uses deductive and inductive rea soning, which helps make the argument credible. The writer also uses pathos, which is meant to appeal to the reader’s emotion, as well as ethos, which is meant to convince the reader that the writer is an expert in the field he is writing about. The Ethos the writer uses in the paper includes quoting credible sources such as Colin L. Powell, who is the former United States secretary of state; he also states his credentials as a scholar in the Middle East affairs, and hence the information he is presenting is credible. Reading through the essay, one is able to extract much information, e.g. the US policy on IRAQ, the US strategy on the Arab World as well as the relations between the US and Qatar, which for the a long time could be described as strained and problematic. The ethos can be defined by a quote by Powell (2004), who was defending the US policy in the Middle East: â€Å"The United States’ National Security Strategy does commit us to preemption under certain li mited circumstances† (as quoted in Shunnag, p. 833) Finally, the other instance when the author resorts to Ethos in the paper is when he provides credible evidence and information about the US policy in Iraq and relations with Qatar as well as the strategy of the United States in the Middle East. Those are among the sharp areas of focus that he uses to persuade the reader. In this case

Death Penalty Essay Example for Free

Death Penalty Essay The Death Penalty The death penalty is a form of punishment in which a person who has been convicted of a serious crime is executed under the precept of the criminal justice system. The death penalty has been in existence for thousands of years and has gained wide acceptance in the United States since early colonial times. Even those who framed the Constitution specifically the Fifth Amendment approved of it though implicitly (McCord and Latzer 9). Despite the growing acceptance of the death penalty as an appropriate punishment for certain kinds of crimes such as first degree murders, there are still some people who argue against it on certain grounds. The debate as to the justification of the death penalty has raged on for a long time. On one hand, there are those who are of the opinion that the death penalty is a cruel punishment which is morally wrong and a violation of the right to life for its victims. Others defend their opposing views by citing the wave of abolition of other types of corporal punishment such as branding and flogging and propose that imprisonment should also replace the death penalty (McCord and Latzer 9). However, the death penalty has proved to be a punishment befitting certain crimes such as horrific murders as it is the ultimate punishment. It has taken many harmful elements off the streets besides acting as a deterrent for both the convicted criminals and other potential murderers out there. In essence, it has saved many innocent lives that otherwise would have fallen prey to the evil schemes of murderers. Indeed, there is no course more worthy than saving innocent lives. This essay presents an argument in support of the death penalty by considering its numerous benefits as backed up by ample evidence from credible sources. In order to build the argument, the essay shall also consider some of the opinions of those who oppose the death penalty. Death penalty is a good form of punishment considering that it prevents future murders by acting as a deterrent. Society has always employed different kinds of punishments in an effort to prevent potential criminals from committing crimes. In other words, there is always a drive to prevent future harm by learning from the mistakes of today. In this regard, the society has a fervent interest in protecting people’s lives from murderers. The best way to prevent murder is to use the strongest form of punishment which is the death penalty (Arguments for and Against the Death Penalty). Evidence from numerous  studies has proved that the death penalty has an inherent ability to deter would-be murderers from committing heinous crimes. In fact, the incapacitative benefits of the death penalty occur in two ways. Firstly, by apprehending and executing convicted individual murderers, death penalty totally eliminates any possibility of the criminal going back to the streets and killing again (Ogloff and Honeyman). Apart from this aspect referred to as specific deterrence, the death penalty has even a wider scope of incapacitative benefits through general deterrence. This is because, by executing people convicted of committ ing horrific murders, potential murderers would be restrained from killing people since they are conscious of what will come over them (Cassell and Bedau 32). Some opponents of the death penalty are of the opinion that the concept of deterrence rests on a shaky ground since it assumes that people always think before acting, so that their actions depend on their rational evaluation of the consequences. According to them, the assumption made here is that murderers will always think rationally before committing a crime and thus will opt not to commit murder in view of the imminent outcome which is the death penalty. In this regard, opponents of the death penalty nullify this assumption by noting that not all homicides are committed under circumstances that allow rational evaluation of the consequences. They cite homicides that are committed out of passionate hatred in which murderers, overcome by hatred towards their victims, have no time to contemplate about the ultimate consequences of their destructive behavior (Dorpat 114). However, this opposing opinion can only gain support in light of the fact that the Supreme Court only approves of death penalty if a criminal is convicted of premeditated first-degree murder. Just because murders committed out of the heat of passion are treated as second-degree murders in which death penalty does not apply, it does not nullify the deterrent ef fects of the death penalty. It does not also imply that the presence of death penalty in the criminal justice system lack the capacity to prevent the so-called second degree murders (Cassell and Bedau 32). Moreover, it cannot be implied that despite having the death penalty, homicides continue to be committed in the country. The outstanding issue is not whether the death penalty prevents every murder, but rather, whether some murders are deterred by the death penalty. Logic, firsthand reports, and statistics have proved that the death penalty at least deters  some murders (Cassell and Bedau 32). For instance, an analysis conducted by Isaac Ehrlich in 1973 indicated that at least seven lives were saved for every execution of a convicted murderer. This is because prospective murderers were deterred from going down the same path. Follow-up studies have generated similar results (Arguments for and Against the Death Penalty). Apart from acting as a deterrent, the death penalty stands out as the only punishment that can be equated with the crime of murder. It is worth noting that when a life is taken by another, an imbalance in the justice system is the outcome. If the imbalance is not corrected, society is left to a rule of violence. Therefore, in conformity with the requirement that the punishment accorded should be proportional to the magnitude of the crime committed, death penalty is the right way to go (Arguments for and Against the Death Penalty). Moreover, the U.S justice system is used to the trend of escalating punishments which then qualifies that the most heinous crimes should receive the most severe punishment. Some opponents of the death penalty have argued that death penalty is cruel and denies the person the right to life. However, many forget the extent of cruelty with which the victim was subjected to by the murderer. The pain that a murderer causes to the family of the victim is immense and death penalty is the most appropriate punishment that can guarantee justice. This is not forgetting that it will still not be enough since the affected family will not get back their loved one (Siegel 513). Some opposing arguments have implied that the death penalty is a costly venture which overburdens the taxpayers. This argument does not represent the truth since more expenses are incurred by locking up killers for their entire lives. When these prisoners grow old and become vulnerable to many illnesses, the taxpayers are overburdened even further by the medical expenses. No one wants to spend his/her resources suporting killers when there is a justified means of preventing such costs and delivering justice (Guernsey 62). The death penalty is morally correct as it is even mentioned in the Bible. At the time the U.S constitution was drafted, the death penalty was widely accepted and does not qualify as unusu al. According to opponents of the death penalty, the punishment amounts to revenge and that a mature society should not respond by inflicting immediate pain to the point of death. They argue that the response to murderers should be more measured as the death penalty is too extreme,  violates respect for life, and encourages violence (Arguments for and Against the Death Penalty). However, they forget that allowing murderers to live degrades the value that the society places on lives and perpetuates imbalance in the justice system. It creates a society where the families of the victims suffer psychological torture trying to understand how they could lose their loved ones in the hands of criminals who continue to live. Therefore, death penalty is a way of bringing murder crimes to a closure (Arguments for and Against the Death Penalty). It serves to underscore that murder is one crime which when committed, amounts to the murderer forfeiting his/her right to live (Siegel 513). The debate on the legitimacy of the death penalty has also seen hot contention regarding what opponents term as discriminative application of the penalty, where the blacks seem to be targe ted than the whites. They argue that even in cases where whites have committed a similar crime for which blacks receive the ultimate punishment, they end up being given lesser punishment. Some have pointed to the findings of Baldus which alludes to these kinds of racial disparities in the 1970s particularly in Georgia (Hill 190). However, recent studies have indicated that Baldus findings cannot be used to represent the current situation where cases are scrutinized more closely to avoid partial or discriminative justice. Moreover, the argument that similar crimes should receive the same sentence is untenable if not misguided. This is because; prosecutors and juries have the right to their own discretion so that the details of similar crimes may be interpreted differently. Furthermore, the Supreme Court has asserted that it would be unconstitutional to have a death penalty that universally applies to all first-degree murders (Arguments for and Against the Death Penalty). Statistics show that contrary to previous trends where it seemed like the death penalty was racially discriminative, more whites are actually executed than black people. In addition, death sentence cannot be overturned on the basis of disproportionate representation of blacks who are on death row since this might only indicate that more murders are committed by blacks (Arguments for and Against the Death Penalty). Another argument that has dominated the corridors of justice in relation to the death penalty is the opposing opinion that there is a significant chance of an innocent person being executed by mistake. Thus, opponents regard the death penalty as an unreliable punishment by alluding to statistics that  date back to the 1970s when such incidences were notable though rare. The fact of the matter is, given the system of appeals that has been set in place through numerous federal and state courts, it is almost impossible to see such mistakes being made (Arguments for and Against the Death Penalty). Moreover, there are better methods of scrutinizing evidence such as DNA profiling in forensics which are widely used to make the justice system achieve greater efficiency. Opponents of the death penalty cannot provide a solid argument on the grounds of innocent people being executed since there is no proof to this effect. Even if such incidences occurred, they are extremely rare. In an effort to build their case, some opponents of the death penalty rely on the claims of innocence propagated by those who have been pardoned from death row after many years. However, most of these people are re leased due to legal technicalities and can never be taken to mean that they are actually innocent (Arguments for and Against the Death Penalty). From this argument, it is clear that the death penalty is a valuable tool in our criminal justice system whose legitimacy cannot be downplayed by any amount of opposing views. It is the ultimate punishment that is founded on the U.S Constitution. By acting as a deterrent, it saves many lives every time a convicted murderer is executed. It is also a punishment that restores balance in the universal justice system and underscores the high value that the society places on human lives. Opponents of the death penalty fail to present a solid argument that innocent people may be or have been executed by mistake and that the application of the death penalty is racially discriminative. It would be unnecessary to rely on statistics accumulated 4 or 5 decades ago and overlook the current improvements that have been made to refine the justice system. The death penalty remains a morally and constitutionally legitimate punishment.

Economic Mobility In A Global America Sociology Essay

Economic Mobility In A Global America Sociology Essay Economic mobility essentially describes what most people in the US would call the American dream. The ability to make it to the top as long as a person puts in the work is a dearly held American ideal. But is it true? American folklore glorifies the Lois and Clarks, the pioneers, those who forge their own way. But, does 21st century America provide the same opportunities to set out and make it if one puts in the work? Research and statistics show that the American dream, rags to riches, still happens for some but not everyone has an equal chance of bettering their economic positions and their lives. Economic mobility can be described in several different ways. One can talk about a persons economic mobility in terms of absolute dollars how much they were able to surpass or fall behind the income of the generation before them or in relative terms. Often, economists divide the population into quintiles based on income ranges. Economic mobility then is used to describe the likelihood of a child born in one quintile to move up or down into another quintile in their life. The Brookings institute explained economic mobility as, The ability of people to move up or down the economic ladder within a lifetime or from one generation to the next. A persons economic mobility is often seen as an indicator of the fairness of a society. It seems fair that people should not be determined by their economic situation at birth, the standard of living that they will have the rest of their life. Americans in very large numbers believe that a persons economic outlook is determined by the choices they make and the work the put in. When discussing economic mobility it is also important to consider economic inequality in a society. High inequality is less worrisome if people are moving in and out of these classes. However, if you have a society that has increasing inequality and limited mobility, there are reasons for concern. This would mean that the rungs of the ladder of economic success are getting farther and farther apart and people have less of a chance to move up the ladder. Statistics show that the US may be in such a position. In the US inequality has been steadily growing since the 1960s. The prizes for being successful in today s economy are larger than ever before, but the likelihood of the average American attaining these rewards is decreasing. Income is increasingly focused at the top of the economy, and fewer opportunities exist for people to get there. During this time of growing inequality a new force has transformed the US economy: globalization. Globalization is a term used to describe the interconnectedness of the world largely as a result of advancements in technology relating to telecommunications and travel. In the past 100 years, the world has changed from being a place where it takes weeks to travel overseas, to a place where even the farthest spot away on the globe could be reached within 24 hours. The world has changed from a place where communication could take weeks in the form of written letters, to a place where words can be written and words spoken and be heard or read instantaneously the world around. The world suddenly thrust into an unprecedented age of connectedness. Never before had the world and everything in it people, business, nations been so interconnected. As we progress in an age of mobile internet access, the ability to travel anywhere in the world within 24 hours, and ever-increasing economic ties between nations, the effects of globalization are everywhere. Thomas Friedman described this new era saying the world is flat. As a result of advancements in technology, everyone is on a level playing field. A business in Anderson must compete with a business in China and a student in Carmel must compete with a student in India. This new global economy is and will shape the economic mobility of people in the US. US mobility Research has shown that nearly two-thirds of Americans are economically mobile in absolute terms, meaning they make more than their parents in absolute dollars. However, half of them remain on the same rung of the income ladder. Unfortunately, this is even more often true for children at the bottom of the ladder. For children born at the bottom, 80 percent will go on to make more than their parents in real dollars, but 42 percent stay at the bottom of the income ladder. For children born at the top, 39 percent remain there. If economic mobility had nothing to do with where a person is born in society, this number would be 20%. This is twice as high as would be expected by chance, so family income does have a significant effect on a childs mobility in the US. Gender The rates of mobility are not equal across genders and races in the US Men tend to experience much higher rates of upward economic mobility than women do. For children who start out in the bottom quintile, 41 percent of women will stay there, while only 27 percent of men will. The mobility outlook for black people is also less American Dream like. Blacks in the United States experience dramatically less upward economic mobility than whites. 44 percent of blacks will remain in the bottom income quintile in adulthood compared with only 25 percent of whites who will remain stuck at the bottom. The majority of blacks in the bottom half of the income distribution will still exceed their parents place in the distribution, but their movement is much less than is typical of their white peers. Research by Mazumbder found that rates of upward economic mobility are highest for white men, followed by white women, black men and, finally, black women. Other research found that not only are black children less mobile than white children, but that the majority of black children born to middle-income parents in the late 1960s have been downwardly mobile, meaning that they have less family income than their parents did. At that same time, only 16 percent of white children fell down the economic ladder. Some might attribute the lesser economic mobility of blacks to differences in family structure. Black children are more likely to be raised in single parent homes than their white peers. However, when controlling for single and two-parent families, the gap in mobility between the races still remains. There is also a significant difference in the extent to which black and white parents pass their economic advantages onto their children. Isaacs found that white children are more likely to surpass their parents income than black children at a similar point in the income distribution, but they are also more likely to move up the ladder, while black children are more susceptible to falling down. In the 1960s almost half of black children whose parents were middle class ended up falling to the bottom of the income distribution. Only 16 percent of white children in the same situation fell to the bottom. Black children from poorer families also are more likely to stay at the bottom. 54 percent of black children born in the bottom income quintile stayed there, but only 31 percent of white children remained stuck. Factors influencing mobility Even though gender and race are strong predictors of a childs economic mobility, there are other factors that greatly impact a childs chances at moving up. Studies have found that both black and white children who score higher on academic tests are more likely to move up and out of the bottom quintile. Both black and white children at the bottom who achieve average academic test scores are two times as likely to move up and out of the bottom quintile than children who score in the bottom percentiles on academic tests. Many other studies have placed education at the top of the list in terms of what determines a persons mobility. Haskins found that attaining a college degree quadruples the likelihood that a child born to parents at the bottom of the income ladder will make it to the top. Because of this, many people point to education as the most effective tool our nation has for improving the upward mobility of those at the bottom of the economic ladder. The problem is that those who would most benefit from receiving a college degree, are the ones least likely to receive it. Only one-third of children from families at the bottom quintile of the income ladder enroll in college, and of those students, only a small portion will go on to graduate.pg2 Pg 12 Children from this background have only a 34 percent chance of enrolling in college, compared to an 80 percent chance of enrolling for children from the top quintile. Children who start out at the bottom are only 20 percent as likely to earn a colleg e degree as children from the top quintile.14 There are various reasons why children from poor families are less likely to enroll in and graduate from college. Financial reasons, obviously, are a major obstacle. Even though there are Pell grants and various opportunities for financial aid, a person who has not come from a family whose parents went to college, may not have the information they need to access these resources. Haskins argues that improving the equality of educational opportunity-a traditional American value-is one key to promoting economic mobility for disadvantaged students. The impact on education on a persons earning potential clearly demonstrate the importance of education for moving up the economic ladder. Over the last four decades, adults who have degrees from either two or four year colleges have much higher family incomes than other adults who only completed high school, or who dropped out. During this time, the income of those with degrees has been growing steadily, while the income for those without a college degree has become stagnant or declined. The impact of having a college degree on the mobility of a person at the bottom is huge. Adult children from families in the bottom fifth of the income distributionare four times as likely to reach the top fifth if they achieve a four-year college degree, increasing their likelihood of doing so from 5 to 19 percent. Pg. 3 Nearly half the adult children with parents in the bottom quintile stay in the bottom unless they get a college degree. 10 Every poor and low-income child who achieves a four-year college degree can dramatically increase her chances of moving into the middle class. This is also likely true of those who get a two-year degree, since the rates of return per year of education are roughly the same for two-year and four-year colleges Importance of finding the right fità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ finishing. 12 Regardless of a persons family background, getting a college boosts that persons prospects of being upwardly mobile. However, this does not erase the impact of the family situation a person is born into. Children from low-income families with a college education are in fact no more likely to reach the top of the income ladder than children from high income families without a college education. Education is critical to success in todays economy and an important explanation of why some groups get ahead while others are left behind, but it cannot completely erase the effects of family background on ones ultimate success. Children born to parents in the top quintile have the highest likelihood of attaining the top, and children born to parents in the bottom quintile have the highest likelihood of being in the bottom themselves. This phenomenon is referred to as stickiness at the ends of the income distribution. As shown in Figure 4, it is fairly hard for children born in the bottom fifth to escape from the bottom: 42 percent remain there and another 42 percent end up in either the lower-middle or middle fifth. Only 17 percent of those born to parents in the bottom quintile climb to one of the top two income groups. At the other end of the distribution, 39 percent of children born to parents in the top fifth attain the top themselves with an additional 23 percent landing in the fourth highest quintile. Surprisingly, American children from low-income families appear to have less relative mobility than their counterparts in five northern European countries, according to a recent international study of earnings of fathers and sons. Whereas 42 percent of American sons whose fathers had earnings in the bottom quintile had low earningsthemselves, the comparable percentages ranged from 25 to 30 percent in Denmark, Finland, Sweden, Norway, and the United Kingdom (see Chapter III, International Comparisons of Economic Mobility). One measure of stickiness is the measure intergenerational income elasticity. This figure would be 0.0 in a hypothetical society where a parents income has no effect on a childs economic prospects and 1.0 where there is a one-to-one correspondence between parental income and adult child income. Recent estimates of the intergenerational income elasticity in the United States range from about 0.4 to 0.6, meaning that about half of the difference in income between families in one generation persists into the next generation. Discussion of globalization Globalization is a very broad term, so it can be hard to discuss how it affects economic mobility in the US, because has changed our world so much in a short time. However, a globalized economy in the US has led to significant changes in the demands of our economy that will shape the USs economic mobility for years to come. The Hoosier economy has been the most heavily manufacturing based economy in the United States. The five US states that depend most on manufacturing are all in the Midwest.( Loc. 353) This statewide and even regional dependence on manufacturing has impacted the states culture and commitment to education. Richard Longworth in his book Caught in the Middle describes the way that manufacturing enriched the region, but is now hampering their ability to adapt to a global world. He states that Indiana in particular is in denial about globalization, and instead of pursuing ways to reshape the economy, is pursuing losing efforts to keep businesses from moving out of the country. Indiana held the crown as the state with the largest percent of jobs in the manufacturing sector. This led to significant growth and wealth in the past century, but it is apparent it will not have the same effects now that we are living in a globalized world. More and more manufacturing jobs are being shipped overseas, where labor can be had for a fraction of the cost. In the 20 years manufacturing output in the Midwest soared by 50 percent or more. But the number of jobs in manufacturing fell by about 20 percent. Over that same time, the unemployment rate in the state has grown from _ percent to over _ percent. Globalization is leading to a loss of jobs in Indiana, and the state has not kept up in creating jobs that are sustainable and profitable in a global economy. At least part of this is due to a mismatch in the skills employers have, and the skills possessed by Hoosiers. Indiana ranks _ in the number of adults with a bachelors degree or more. As technology and global labor comp etition continue to shape the way manufacturing is done, there will be less and less demand for unskilled, high wage labor that Indiana has a supply of and has lived off of in decades past. It is apparent that for Hoosiers to get good jobs they must have the education and skills that make them competitive. Unfortunately, for many Midwest residents, there is not a strong commitment to education. Longworth linked this to the regions past where high school drop outs could get a job in a factory and live well. This is obviously not the case now in a globalized Indiana, but many families continue to place little value on education. (loc 930) In order to move up the ladder or be more well off than someone is raised, the single biggest factor is whether or not that person gets a good education. Unemployment rates by education level in the US make clear the impact that education can have (see figure b). As expected, states that depend heavily on manufacturing (which is demanding less labor, and often does not require college education) are suffering high unemployment rates during the current recession/recovery. Unfortunately, even though education is so key to getting employed and being upwardly mobile, the current state of education has been found to reinforce family economic status more than to encourage upward movement. Figure b. http://www.bls.gov/emp/ep_chart_001.htm Globalization may be challenging Indiana to redefine its economy in order for Hoosier to be upwardly mobile, but it also allows us an opportunity to learn from other countries. Globalization has not only changed our economies, but has also changed our knowledge base. We now have the ability to look at other countries and see how they have dealt with or are dealing with similar situations that the IS is facing. Economic mobility is essentially the American Dream, so it would be reasonable to assume that the US is a world leader in that respect. But reasonable assumptions arent always true, as in this case. Even though economic mobility characterizes the American dream, other countries do better at making it a reality for their residents. Studies routinely show that the US lags behind other nations in the economic mobility of its population. Again, there are differences in relative and absolute mobility. The US has led the pack in terms of absolute mobility due to rapid economic growth this century. As the saying goes, a rising tide lifts all boats. As mentioned before, however, this tide is increasingly unevenly distributed, leading to tidal waves for some and droughts for others. In terms of relative mobility the US lags behind many European nations, and our neighbor to the North Canada. Canada in particular is an interesting comparison because of how much it and the US share in common. According to research by Corak, Curtis, and Phipps; both the US and Canada value the ideal of equality of opportunity and define it in terms of individual freedoms but also individual responsibilities. One difference, however, was that Americans were more likely to view the government an obstacle to equality of opportunity rather than helpful in promoting it. Even though Americans were more reluctant to government intervention, residents of both countries recognized the need for public policy to contribute to reaching this ideal. Somewhat counter-intuitively, this study found that Americans believe more than Canadians that a host of interventions would be effective in improving the prospects for economic mobility. The authors of this study interpreted that as a possible sign t hat this need is going unmet in the US. The study found that (4)On average Canada is up to three times more mobile than the United States. Stated another way, US citizens pass along three times as much inequality than do Canadians. They also found that not only does less mobility occur in the US, but that it is more heavily concentrated at the top and bottom of the economic ladder. Some of the reasons the authors point to as to why this may be the case are differences in health care, parental work leave laws, and tax transfer programs for poor families in Canada. The authors concluded that Mental and physical health, school readiness, and some education outcomes are all more developed in Canada, leading to better outcomes for children and increased economic mobility. Despite Americans lesser likelihood of reaching the top compared to their counterparts in Canada and some European nations, Americans are far more optimistic about their ability to control their own economic destiny. They are far more likely to believe that people get rewarded for intelligence, skill, and effort and far less likely to believe that its the governments responsibility to reduce differences in income. 4 In a comparison of mobility in the United States with mobility in several developed European nations, Miles Corak concluded that America is a low-mobility country in which about half of parental earnings advantages are passed onto sons. Canada, Norway, Finland, and Denmark are considered high-mobility countries, where less than 20 percent of income advantages are passed onto children. This would mean that in the US about half of parental earnings advantages are passed onto sons. If this trend holds steady, it would take an average of six generations for family economic advantage to disappear in the United States. While Americans seem to strongly believe that everyone has a shot to make it to the top, it is clear that peoples ability to do so is greatly shaped by the family they are born into. In the high mobility countries the effects of being born into a wealthy family would wear off in half the time three generations instead of six. Contrary to American beliefs about equality of o pportunity, a childs economic position is heavily influenced by that of his or her parents. Forty-two percent of children born to parents in the bottom fifth of the income distribution remain in the bottom, while 39 percent born to parents in the top fifth remain at the top. Children of middle-income parents have a near-equal likelihood of ending up in any other quintile, presenting equal promise and peril for those born to middle-class parents. Only 6 percent of children born to parents with family income at the very bottom move to the very top. In another study,Markus Jà ¤ntii looked at how the relationship between the earnings of parents and children varies for individuals who are on different rungs of the economic ladder. They find that starting at the bottom of the earnings ladder is more of a handicap in the United States than in other countries. Again, finding greater amounts of stickiness at the bottom of the economic ladder in America. If it is obvious that education has great potential to boost the economic mobility of the less fortunate, it is important to ask whether the nations schools do enough to promote economic mobility. An examination of preschool, K-12, and undergraduate and graduate education in the United States reveals that the average effect of education at all levels is to reinforce rather than compensate for the differences associated with family background and the many home-based advantages and disadvantages that children and adolescents bring with them into the classroom. This may be due to achievement gaps that US continues to struggle with in education. The poor and minorities on average perform less well in school and are less likely to graduate. There is a cycle at play in the US the poor and minorities are on average born to lower income families and as a result receive a poor education. These same students then are not able to move up the economic ladder, and pass the disadvantage onto thei r children who will be poor, likely receive a poor education, struggle with finding employment and repeat the cycle. Compared to other nations, the US is falling behind academically. The most recent results from the PISA test released in December of 2010 show that the US continues to trail other countries in education. Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan, said the findings show that the United States needs to urgently accelerate student learning to remain competitive in the knowledge economy of the 21st century. The education American students are receiving would have been fine a few decades ago when low-skill manufacturing jobs were abundant. Today, however, these jobs continue to disappear or move overseas. Living in a global economy means that our students now must compete with students all over the world for employment. And in a knowledge economy where education is the essential component to getting a job, the US is failing its students. The PISA results showed that US students are not among top performing OECD nations in any subject that was tested. However, US students did express the most self-confidence in their academic skills than did students in nearly all other OECD nations. Trends in US education do not bode well for the economic mobility of children growing up in a globalized world. Perhaps even more worrisome are the achievement gaps for Latinos and Blacks in the US education system. In 2008, McKinsey Company released a study on the economic costs of achievement gaps in US education, and found them to be the equivalent of a permanent national recession. To fix education, and to improve economic mobility of those who are most likely to be at the bottom, the US must make some changes. The OECD found that socioeconomic disadvantage leads more directly to poor educational performance in the United States than is the case in many other countries. The US prides itself on being the land of opportunity, but with poor educational outcomes in a globalized world, there will be very little opportunity for this and future generations. Seeing that other countries are more successful in education, we have the opportunity to learn from what they are doing that works. This opportunity seems to be ignored though. The US, Israel, and Turkey are the only OECD nations that do not devote as much or more funding for schools facing the biggest socioeconomic challenges as they do to schools with more privileged students. Directing resources towards youth who need it the most seems like a no-brainer, but due to the way schools are funded in the US, it doesnt happen. Much of the debate around education-reform in the US and Indiana has revolved around teacher accountability. Proponents say that rewarding teachers based on student performance is the best way to improve educational outcomes. However, this is not what the top performing education countries do. Outside of the US, most high-performing educational countries prioritize high teacher salaries over small class sizes, and they professionalize the teaching profession. Compa re this to the current education debate in Indiana where the Governor is essentially demonizing teachers as free-loaders. The US and Indiana dont seem to be taking advantage of the global insight available for shaping education, and this will likely have consequences for the education and mobility of the nations youth. Combatting economic immobility in the US in a globalized world Research seems to pretty clearly state that education is the key for improving economic mobility in the US. However, studies also find that education currently is not helping students become mobile adults, but rather reinforcing their family background. Poor kids are more likely to go to poor schools which are more likely to produce poor, immobile adults. Reforming education and closing achievement gaps in education will likely be the action that can have the greatest effects on Hoosier economic mobility. Conclusion Economic mobility is essentially the American Dream. The idea that someone can be born without a dime to their name, but through hard work can reach the top, being limited by nothing. Globalization is making this more of a dream and less of a reality in Indiana each day. Much has been said about the cycle of poverty, and how the lifestyle, ethics, and decay of poverty are passed on from one generation to the next. With globalization, Americans face an ever more urgent task of helping people escape this cycle. Globalization has no need for the uneducated and unskilled labor that has been the basis of American manufacturing. For every unskilled American worker there are hundreds in the developing world willing to do the same job at a fraction of the pay. The poor in the US stand ready to conceivably be some of globalizations biggest losers. The US, the most wealthy country in the world that prides itself on the rags to riches story of people rising up to reach the top, has failed to take the steps needed to close achievement gaps and give the poor the opportunities to better themselves that we as a nation misguidedly pride ourselves on so doing. Globalization will likely decrease economic mobility in the US unless the US begins to better educate the nations youth. The US would be wise to take advantage of something else globalization provides insight into other cultures and the opportunity to learn from other nations in shaping its policies on education and efforts to improve mobility.

The Link Between Dinosaurs and Birds :: Exploratory Essays Research Papers

The Link Between Dinosaurs and Birds There have been many recent discoveries pertaining to the finding of dinosaurs. However, there has never been a link between dinosaurs and birds at least not like this before. There has been a discovery in China of a remarkable dinosaur with birdlike feathers on its hind legs and tail including others places. A man by the name of Henry Gee has been researching this topic since 1996 and has come up with new discoveries. This four-winged dinosaur has fueled debate over evolution of airborne birds. This subject has re ignited debate over and over again about the origins of birds including feathers and their flights. The researchers believe that this bird has been around for about 124 to about 145 million years. Researchers also believe that these birdlike animals belong to a new species called Microraptor gui, a stem from the previous species Microraptor. The discovery of the fossil was found in the beds of Liaoning Province of the northeast China. They have seemed to measure 77cm long in diameter and lived in trees and survived by using here wing spanned to glide through branches. These birds use inter limb skin flaps to leap from branch to branch. It has been stirring up questions about which extinct reptiles do birds really belong to. â€Å"Microraptor gui: Researchers are keen to study its hip and shoulders†(Gee). Its been finally agreed upon that dinosaurs, due to recent discoveries, are closely related to birds through there common ancestry To be more specific they are related to small birds carnivores called dromaeodaurs. This group of reptiles includes such names as Tyrannosaurus and others; they are all called theropods. To make an even clearer link between the two, theropods had feathers much like the birds during their time of existence. Theropods are called bipeds; bipeds have long back legs adapted for running. This includes them trying to excape from their enemies using tactics that help them to quickly climb trees. This adds to the hypothesis that birds evolved from a two-legged runner. Also there wings added to there thrust in running and helped in the elementary flight of young birds when trying to excape from enemies. Further discovery suggests when young birds learn to fly it helps for them to just fall out of a tree and let gravity take its course.

Unforgettable Experiences in the U.S. Essay -- Essays Papers

Unforgettable Experiences in the U.S. Problems faced by international students who come to the U.S. for the first time are not always easy to overcome. As one of them, I've found it very difficult to handle most of the problems I've encountered. I've experienced a very terrible culture shock that still makes me upset. As a student, I've found that the personal and cultural problems I experience may gravely affect my grades. The three major problems I've encountered deal with independence, homesickness, and loneliness, which really shocked me. Since my culture is completely different from the U.S., I was very surprised and shocked by the U.S. way of doing things independently. For many years, I lived in a totally different culture; I was completely unprepared for American culture. For example, since I first came here in August 1990, I have had to do many kinds of work by myself which I had never done when I was in Indonesia, such as doing laundry, cleaning the bedroom, and getting up early in the morning. In Indonesia, I never had a hard time doing such things since everything w...

Economic Analysis for St Andrews New Brunswick :: essays papers

Economic Analysis for St Andrews New Brunswick Community and Economic Analysis for St. Andrews, New Brunswick St. Andrews is a small coastal town in New Brunswick, situated at the end of a peninsula jutting out into the magnificent Bay of Fundy. The Town is conveniently located 30 km from St. Stephen and the Maine border, 100 km from Saint John and 120 km from Fredericton. The Town was founded in 1783, by Loyalists escaping persecution south of the border, on government land grants provided by Governor Parr. St. Andrews grew and flourished for much of the next century and was an important harbour with a healthy shipbuilding industry. At the turn of the last century the Town still prospered. Ship building was a dying industry, but with the building of the Algonquin Hotel in 1889, the Town became an important summer resort town for the â€Å"rich†, especially after the CPR took it over at the turn of the century. The Town of St. Andrews is well preserved and many layers of history are visible starting from the late 1700s. Many of the commercial buildings on Water Street date from the 1800s. The Town has many other buildings of architectural significance including The Shiretown Inn (c.1881), The Court House (c.1840) The Greenock Church (c.1824) and The Block House (c.1812). After the original Algonquin Hotel was destroyed by fire, the existing popular resort was rebuilt in 1915. St. Andrews’ location, as well as historic and architectural attributes, continue to contribute greatly to the tourism industry’s stability and today, tourism remains one of the Town’s most important industries. The seasonal aspect of this industry is very apparent as the number of residents nearly double during the summer months. Cultural activities in the Town are fostered by several organizations that offer courses in the performing arts, fine art, fine crafts and natural history. A number of art galleries and studios in and around St. Andrews offer works from maritime, Inuit and our renowned local artists. St. Andrews has a thriving commercial and service sector. Townspeople encourage development of this type of business to contribute to the economy, while maintaining its â€Å"smokestack free† business environment. Also, there is an abundance of land for medium to heavy industry in nearby Champlain Industrial Park. There are educational and research facilities in St.

Identifying a Problem

Identifying a Problem T. L. Wilson Grand Canyon University Professional Research Project NRS-441V March 19, 2013 Identifying a Problem The clinical environment that I previously worked in was a correctional institution. During the time that I worked in corrections I encountered several inmates that had HIV. It was this environment and the experience that I received this idea and it is what gives me the inspiration to build a proposal for change.Within this system is where I discovered that staff was not receiving much prevention and education and the inmates were not receiving any prevention education at all. During the time that I worked in corrections and encountered individuals with HIV. One evening while running the medication line a 17 year old stepped to the medication window to receive his medication. His medication was a barrage of HIV antivirals. I was shocked and found the situation to be very disturbing. I assumed this bothered me because I also had a child this age.The wh ole scenario of this young man having HIV made me feel as though somehow I had dropped the ball on him and his situation and let this young men down. I often wondered if this young man had been instructed on prevention and education prior to his HIV diagnoses. As health professional and a parent that situation personally left me feeling responsible as well as driven to do all that I can to get people educated regarding HIV prevention and education. After that initial shock wore off I encountered several others that crossed my path ranging in age from 17-21 that were HIV positive also.I also discovered that the staff and well as the inmates were in disparate need of a primary prevention and education plan. As a fully staffed health care unit there was very little to no patient teaching being conducted. I feel that it is very important that a preventive and health management program be implemented for inmates as well as staff. The purpose of such a program for staff would ensure that inmate/patients gained knowledge of their status. Implementing a preventive nd education program would give inmates insight in to their diagnosis and encourage medication compliance in addition to giving the inmate/patient the opportunity to take part in the management of their own health. This would be accomplished by being compliant with their medication and avoiding at risk behavior such as sexual activity or acquiring tattoos or any other at risk behavior. As for the health care staff and security staff an in depth expanding their knowledge base with a thorough system to educate and one that promotes prevention will decrease the exposure risk for staff and inmates.

Different Types of Database management systems Essay

A Database is a collection of records. Database management systems are designed as the means of managing all the records. Database Management is a software system that uses a standard method and running queries with some of them designed for the oversight and proper control of databases. Types of Database Management Systems: There are four structural types of database management systems: * Hierarchical databases. * Network databases. * Relational databases. * Object-oriented databases Hierarchical Databases (DBMS) : In the Hierarchical Database Model we have to learn about the databases. It is very fast and simple. In a hierarchical database, records contain information about there groups of parent/child relationships, just like as a tree structure. The structure implies that a record can have also a repeating information. In this structure Data follows a series of records, It is a set of field values attached to it. It collects all records together as a record type. These record types are the equivalent of tables in the relational model, and with the individual records being the equivalent of rows. To create links between these record types, the hierarchical model uses these type Relationships. Advantage: Hierarchical database can be accessed and updated rapidly because in this model structure is like as a tree and the relationships between records are defined in advance. This feature is a two-edged. Disadvantage : This type of database structure is that each child in the tree may have only one parent, and relationships or linkages between children are not permitted, even if they make sense from a logical standpoint. Hierarchical databases are so in their design. it can adding a new field or record requires that the entire database be redefined. Network Database: A network databases are mainly used on a large digital computers. It more connections can be made between different types of data, network databases are considered more efficiency It contains limitations must be considered when we have to use this kind of database. It is Similar to the hierarchical databases, network databases .Network databases are similar to hierarchical databases by also having a hierarchical structure. A network database looks more like a cobweb or interconnected network of records. In network databases, children are called members and parents are called occupier. The difference between each child or member can have more than one parent. The Approval of the network data model similar with the esteem of the hierarchical data model. Some data were more naturally modeled with more than one parent per child. The network model authorized the modeling of many-to-many relationships in data. The network model is very similar to the hierarchical model really. Actually the hierarchical model is a subset of the network model. However, instead of using a single-parent tree hierarchy, the network model uses set theory to provide a tree-like hierarchy with the exception that child tables were allowed to have more than one parent. It supports many-to-many relationships.

McDonalds and Wal-Mart

Economics is defined as the study of incentives and the common practice of reaching these motivations. Many people have gone to immoral conducts just to reach these incentives. A lot of people, particularly in the business field also commit such acts that are morally wrong but would surely bring more profit. They sacrifice integrity in exchange of better revenues. Even big corporations are guilty of these wrongdoings, even though these companies may not admit such offenses. They have resorted to many instances acting dishonorable actions and there must be a compelling reason why they acted that way.Some of these cases that showed such responses are the public school teachers from Chicago, the sumo wrestlers, and an entrepreneur who plotted actions to attain their selfish goals. These are three different scenarios, all engaged in doing such acts that compromised their values to achieve their self-centered objectives. These public school teachers from Chicago committed cheating by prov iding their students with answers for a certain examination. On the other hand, sumo wrestlers were also found making deceitful acts by prearranging fights and winners of bouts.Although there is a limited manner to prove these misdeeds strongly, there are some noticeable situations to prove that there are abnormalities within the influential circle of sumo wrestlers. The entrepreneur also did a dishonest act by selling bagels to any person that would benefit for possessing that bagel which is considered as illegal. Both this instances, according to the author, involved cheating that was induced by the benefits of doing such acts. All of these circumstances can be said as similar in terms of doing unpleasant deeds in exchange of receiving incentives as the result of these acts.The author researched other relevant information about the theme of this manuscript. He found out that a person, for his own personal agenda, usually take advantage of any information he has for a specific agen da. One firm example is on the manner a press officer make used of his gathered information to cause the collapse of the Ku Klux Klan for his benefit. Ku Klux Klan is the name given to various secret societies in the United States, generally situated on the southern part of the country, clearly identified for its advocacy that white people are far more superior to other cultural factions.The Klan made every effort to persecute the other racial groups and terrorize African-American people. Ku Klux Klan’ downfall began when Stetson Kennedy gained access to the Klan and supplied information to media and law enforcement groups. Stetson also provided secret code words that are critical to the Klan. His effort to take advantage with the information he possesses made a big impact to the Klan’s collapse. Kennedy also penned a manuscript about his circumstances with the Klan. This development further damaged the Ku Klux Klan. †Why experts of every kind are in the perfect position to exploit you†.A phrase showing another concrete example is the way real state agents behave when they perform their selling acts. A real-state agent persuades the owner of the house to sell for less while at the same time, providing potential buyer information that he can buy the house for a discounted price. To ensure that you have your excellent choice to buy or sell a house, there are clever ways that must be learned before engaging in the actual transaction. Like in the Ku Klux Klan, there are also codes being used by the real-state agents to pass on information throughout the ads they display.Clusters of words like â€Å"well maintained†, â€Å"spacious†, â€Å"great neighborhood† and other phrases in itself, possesses a full meaning to a housing agent which are frequently unknown to a conventional buyer/owner of a house. Because of this, exploitation of these agents is evident unless the prospective buyer would have a clear understanding a bout these word-codes they use. On the next chapter, the author did make contradictions about the common idea that the financial status of those people who do illegal acts are always better compared to those who do otherwise.He rather made this discovery contributing to other factors such as the economic status of a certain individual. He found out that only those who are in the higher rank of a drug organization really prosper while those in the lower level still earns a little amount for their living. These findings were supported by citing Sudhir Venkatesh research about this topic. Sudhir Venkatesh is a sociologist whose research setting was focused on the field studies in the shelter projects in Chicago, made some exceptional discoveries, including the one related with the financial status of a drug organization.The outcome of this research provided clear evidence about the author’s claim regarding the fiscal status of those people involved drug dealership. Moreover, Sud hir’s research also found out astounding information that being a member of J. T. ’s gang, particularly those in the low-level position jobs, faces a clear danger for their life, having 25% casualty rate. It was compared to the dangers of an employee working in a timber cutting industry, and even those prisoners on the death row, and found these to be less fatal than working as a low-level drug dealer.Furthermore, this set-up was compared by Levitt to other companies, McDonalds’ burger flipper and Wal-Mart’s shelf stocker. He compared the financial status of every employee and those in the executive positions with the small drug dealers and those who lead the drug organization. These two businesses both manifested the economic imbalance occurring within their respective organization, but still better compared to being a crack dealer. Chapter 4 has brought a contentious claim by the author and it did a lot of interest to take a closer look with the manuscr ipt.Levitt claimed that the legalization of abortion made a great impact in the reduction of crimes in a certain area. This was supported by his numerous examples like what happened in some states including Alaska, California, Hawaii, New York, and Washington where crime rates fell considerably after making abortion legal on these mentioned territories. The author also presented data showing those states that has the highest cases of abortion showed the significant reduction of crimes occurring in their respective areas. In the same manner, those areas that have recorded the lowest abortion cases only displayed a small drop rate of crimes.He debunked claims that factors such as advanced policing plan, reduced drug demand, aged population, stricter firearm management, a strong economy, and others significantly affect the crime rates in the country. He also noted that should abortion was not legalized on those key states, less than 2 million babies would have been born every year, thu s, increase in the engagement of crimes would have been prevalent. This was due to the fact that most of these are unwanted pregnancy and it is highly probable that these babies will be raised in an unstable family setting or in poverty.These same reasons, according to Levitt, were also the motives why did pregnant young women sought abortions. Do parenting really matters? This is a question that was covered in Chapter 5, where parenthood was the main topic. Parenting is the course of raising and educating a person from birth or prior to, until maturity. According to the author, a parent is the steward of another’s human life, from being a new born until it reaches adulthood. In the process of parenting, protection is one thing being given by parents to their children.They provide protection because they know their children is vulnerable against any attack from individuals or other things, including themselves. They feared these might bring affliction to their child, which ma y eventually lead to death. But the problem lies in absence of knowledge about the science of parenting. Like any other, proper rearing of a child requires skills and proper information to be able to reach its very objective as a parent. This was shown by the author when he cite a scenario about parents who feared that the presence of a gun in their homes might bring hurt and compromise the security of their children.These parents transferred their child to another’s house where there is no gun but with a swimming pool in their house. Levitt stated that these parents gave less protection in their child because, according to statistics, more children died due to drowning in a swimming pool rather than playing with a gun. If these parents only knew this, they will reconsider their decision and carefully evaluate the place before they agree in sending their child in another location. Smart parenting, therefore, is greatly needed to ensure proper taking care of a child.Another re levant finding the author made is the direct relationship between the socioeconomic conditions of the parents to achieving a positive outcome with parenthood. Such factors like parents who were highly educated, high socioeconomic standing and having a child in the later age of the parents directly contribute into achieving a better outcome in standardized tests of students. For the last chapter, Levitt focused the discussion to the names given to every child by their parents and how it affects the circumstances of a person by the names given to him at birth.He stressed the importance of the parent’s act of naming their baby to the future life of this child. The author cited researches about this topic and analyzed carefully the details relating to this matter. Levitt presented researches linking the names of white and black American to their life condition including employment, salary grade, and educational attainment. He also discussed in this chapter a story about a mother that named her daughter â€Å"Temptress† and when this child grew up, she was accused unruly conduct, about having sexual affairs with different men while her mother is away form home.Another name was mentioned in this chapter that was given to a child by his parents that was based upon a shallow reasoning because that name was just the first word they saw upon reaching the hospital. Levitt expressed his concern that good parenting starts with the proper choice of names to be given to their child. He further expressed that those people who did not bother to just give any names to their child without even considering its meaning do not possess the characteristic of being a good parent. This act might greatly affect the future life of a child, either he lived by his name or the world would prejudge the person by his name.These possible dilemmas must be taken by these parents as a caution before they give names to their children. Our world has experienced a lot of hardships and adversities due to negligence by many people in exchange of accumulating more money and benefits. People should realize that the most important duty is to provide better services to their consumers. They must not forget that enterprising requires responsibility and in any way this should not be compromised. We ought to do our duties in our family effectively for us to start changing our society for the better.If all of us would keep in mind the main responsibility of every human being to love his God and his neighbor, then our society would be a better place to live including our economy and business. The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People Many people have ventured on a lot of studies and attended several trainings to augment their skills in the management area. They wanted to develop their ability in dealing with other people in various disciplines like in business, politics, and other significant areas of concern. Many businesses seek more understanding on how to deal with th e consumers effectively to boost their sales and profit.Those in the field of politics also look for better approaches they will used to convince the voters to elect them from office. These are just some of the reasons why many book were published to address the need of a manuscript that would talk about this very important topic. Stephen Covey authored the book â€Å"The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People† in the year 1989. This manuscript has been included on the list of books that was sold favorably for more than 3 years. The author also conducted seminars about this topic and many people attended these gatherings.Companies like AT & T, Ford, Xerox and other big corporations also made recommendations that this book be read by management officials. This manuscript discussed the seven habits that can be learned to improve oneself and its relationship with others effectively. Covey illustrated a habit as a mix of knowledge, skills and aspirations. This knowledge would repres ent the area where the main focus is on what must be done for every general and specific detail. The skills focuses on the process things are done and aspirations center on the things that are desired for. In order to create a habit in our lives, we must have all three.These seven habits are subdivided into three: Habits 1, 2, and 3 is on the personal success while habits 4, 5 and 6 relates to triumphs with regards to the public domain. The last habit involves restoration of oneself. Be proactive is first habit wrote by the author. The author expressed that we must use our ingenuity and inventiveness to work on the road to our personal goals. This suggests that every human being is solely responsible for his or her life. This includes the principle that our own behavior is greatly affected by the choices we make. A proactive person does not let things happen, but rather make things happen.It acts initiatively and does not wait for others actions to commence. Through this, we can say that we can be responsible enough for every thing that happens to us and to other people that surrounds us. The author pointed out a principle regarding the circle of concern which includes the entire feature that we have control over psychological or affection involvement. The author stressed the circle of influence, which lies inside the circle of concern must be given focus by the person which includes those things that he has total control. According to the author, each person has both a circle of influence and a circle of concern.Tormenting continuously about things outside of the circle of influence is not dynamic. Working within the circle of influence is productive. Moreover, the more efficient you become, the more your circle of control will start to expand. The next habit pertains to the topic â€Å"Begin with the end in mind†. This is all about formulating long-standing objectives based on a specific ideology. According to the author, it is advisable for a person to formulate â€Å"individual goal statements† that would serve as the very goal of one’s life. The author suggests good foresight planning as an important tool to develop this.It is like sculpting a figure that an individual want for one’s life and providing a frame of reference wherein all the manners and conducts can be evaluated. There must be a lucid direction where to go and when to stop. Only when all the paths are cleared that a person can suffice its objective with regards to planning long-term goals in his life. Meanwhile, in an organizational structure, Covey emphasize that the company’s vision would be more efficient if all the members of the group were involved in the formulation of these ideas and was not prearranged by only a small number of personalities.The third habit, Covey wrote, is to put first things first. Self-determination is vital in this topic of concern. It entails a lot of effort for a person or to maintain personal integrity. â€Å"Walk the talk† is one famous phrase that must always be present in one’s mind to be able to preserve his or her uprightness. Proper time management and setting up of priorities are also included in this area. Those effective people know how to prioritize things and say no to non-urgent things. Think win-win is the fourth habit. This often refers to circumstances where one benefits, not necessarily in the course of someone else's defeat.This mentality is based on collaboration rather than competition. Each side must have the boldness to state one’s convictions, but to take into concern other's belief. It allows all participants to achieve positive outcomes in their struggles. There are four step processes that illustrate more this habit. The first step is to see the problem from other point of view. This means that a person must also take into careful consideration the views and opinions of other people, particularly those in the other side of the struggle . Knowing what the main arguments of other people would bring more understanding for both sides.The next step is on identifying the key subjects and apprehensions involved in the situation. This addresses the heart of the issue and focusing on the main issues of the scenario. There must be full cooperation coming from all sides to ensure the completion of this undertaking. After this, determination of results that represents an acceptable solution to the problem comes next. Resolution to the problem must provide a clear picture for both sides to guarantee that the benefits of these outcomes will surely answer each of the problems on each side.If there would still be unresolved conflicts between, the next step will be to identify alternative options to further achieve proper arbitration of this situation. These steps can be used by companies to enhance their relations with their employees, ensuring lasting relationships between the employers and employees. The fifth habit is to †Å"seek first to understand then to be understood†. The author proposes that we establish first more information before ever beginning to communicate. That is what we must comprehend for every situation before hastening in with giving suggestions.In order to understand the heart of any topic, it is more appropriate to use the skills in communication and listening. It is a given fact that most people do not pay attention for the purpose to comprehend what they hear, instead they listen just to be able to respond to it. There are various levels of listening which includes not listening at all, pretending that you are listening, selective listening, attentive listening, and absolute listening. Only a few performs the higher level of listening but this is what matters most if you want to understand more other people’s concern.Many people do not realize that by listening to others, it is already a good start that you will also be understood in the process. It is very importan t that when you hear, it must include not just your senses but most importantly, the heart. That is where true listening begins. When all of the habits mentioned above are already realized, synergy comes next. This is the sixth habit and regarded to as the premier activity in all life. This custom occurs when minds fuels another mind and ideas call for more ideas. This produces new options that come up naturally.This synergy is a derivative and this cannot be made by mere intervention. Deliberately creating synergy actually makes it harder for it to exist. What must be provided is just to prepare the climate for synergy to occur. This includes first, the win-win attitude, next is seeking first to understand, and third is the belief in our capabilities to find a third alternative. To sum it all, synergy is built directly upon other factors preceding it. This stresses that we must value the distinction between people and how they view the world.That disparity can be used as a basis of insight. Covey stated that the seventh habit serves as the oil that greases the mechanism of all the other habits. â€Å"Sharpening the saw† is the inclination that makes all the others possible. This requires making an investment in oneself. Treating his or her body with utmost care is what needed. Renewal of one’s spirit must also be taken into consideration. This can be realized through prayers, music, reading the word of God, reflection and others. All of these can touch our inner beings and provide restoration to every individual.We can further make investments for ourselves by continuing education, thorough reading of books and manuscripts that would give more information and knowledge in many aspects of life. Another aspect would be the social and emotional regeneration that entails interaction with other people to build the one’s own sense of welfare. Another is through penning materials that would challenge our ability to think, rationalize, and compre hend more. After all of these, rest is also needed to renew our energy and to equip us again for another days work.Self-sufficient philosophy alone is not appropriate to mutually dependent actuality. Independent persons who do not have the maturity to consider and perform interdependently may become excellent individual producers, but these people would not become superior leaders or team players. All of these seven habits Covey presented give a detailed understanding on the facts that highly effective people acts and deal with their own life and their surroundings. These customs are worth to try in attaining the goal to be highly effective individuals.But the most important thing would be to maintain a clear conscience and be sensitive enough to other’s feelings and circumstances. To be highly effective depends greatly on what do most people see on person. This book is just a guideline for us to start with the objective of being effective persons in our respective fields, bu t it still depends on ourselves if we will strive to continue these principles. It all boils down to one major area; the person’s relationship with God and his neighbors. The Art of War The manuscript â€Å"The Art of War† was recorder as one of the oldest book written for military applications.This involves a lot of strategies and approaches when it comes to war planning and executions. Many famous personalities have claimed that their principles were inspired by this book. Napoleon Bonaparte was believed to be inspired by this book during his entire course of imperial campaign. Its simple but brilliant approaches are the things that made this book survived up to the present. Aside from its importance in the war strategies, â€Å"The Art of War† principles can also be applied to the business world today.Many topics of this timeless book can be seen as relevant to the corporate arena, where the competition between companies is inevitable. This set up can be seen as a war between companies and such quotes from Sun Tzu can be utilized to encourage managers and businessmen to achieve ultimate success in their respective industries. The first chapter of the book focus on â€Å"laying plans† This surveys the five key essentials that characterize competitive situation which includes mission, climate, ground, leadership, and methods.This chapter also includes the process of evaluating one self’s competitive strengths against your enemies. If the planner formulated a great strategy and executed it successfully, then that group will already have a step further of the competition when it comes to the actual battle. In the business arena, it is a must to conduct planning and surveys to evaluate the present status as a company as well as its competitors performance. By doing this, there would be a clear signal that can be used further when modifications and innovations of products and services are needed.Another thing is that sure victor ies always start with careful planning the details of a strategy. In commerce, good policies isn’t automatically employed to directly clash a competitor, instead it is a tactic that uses chances to take full advantage of your situation in the market. A corporation must look at their inner strong points and weaknesses and visually placed them for careful observation. The next step will be to look at the outer prospects and threats of the company and put these in an outline for study.After all of these, the company will come up with a detailed analysis of the company’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats and come up with a new strategy. Upon looking at the results of this analysis, decisions then must be made whether to continue with the competition or to venture to other trades. Waging war is on the next chapter wherein it clarifies the process of understanding the financial nature of the struggle and how triumphs require making the brilliant move that will serve victory, which as an aftermath, limiting the costs of competition and argument.Like in the business field, when competition is so fierce, the business manager must carefully familiarize himself with the actual competition between all the players so that he would not spend a lot of resources just to stay in the contest. He must be knowledgeable enough to handle this â€Å"war† between players in the market. The next chapter focuses on the topic â€Å"attack by stratagem†. This chapter discusses that the source of any military strength resides in unity and not in size. In this chapter, Sun Tzu also gave five factors to know who will become victorious in any battle.First is that the person who knows when to engage battle and when not to fight, will be triumphant. Knowing one’s capability is a good sign of a great strategist. Same with the business, owners of the company must know their strengths and weaknesses to be able to avoid possible collapse and defeat from its competitors. The next factor, according to the book, is that the person who knows how to use whatever the size of his forces will be victorious. Another aspect is that the one who knows how to bring unity between those in the lower and upper level for a clear intention will also be victorious.The fourth factor is that the one who is always ready will be successful compared to those who are not. The last aspect is that if commander-in-charge is competent and not meddled by anyone, including the ruler will be triumphant. All of these five factors can be applied in managing a business, particularly those who faces great competition in the market. Competition in the trades is analogous to â€Å"war† being described by Sun Tzu. The next chapter pertains to strategic outlook that is also important in war. According to this segment, an army that acquires first circumstances before going to battle will be victorious.On the other hand, an army who engage in battle first with out considering other important conditions will just be looking for defeat. An owner of a business must study first the conditions of the market before putting up his business to enable him to address important issues regarding the needs and circumstances of the consumers. Only by then he would have greater chances to survive in the market and may surpass all its competitors. Chapter five concerns the proper utilization of force of an army. It is described in this chapter that proper use of force is required to win the battle.Whatever the size of an army, it still depends on how it will use by the commander. In business, proper utilization of resources is needed to ensure efficiency in the business. It all depends on how it will be run by the manager of the business. The next chapter focuses on knowing the weakness and strengths of an enemy. Probing the enemy to know its weak spot and its strong points is a good way to defeat the adversary. In business, it is a good attitude of a bu siness manager to familiarize himself with his competitors’ flaws because this information can be used to improve his products or services.Right maneuvering is on the next chapter. It is not always appropriate to face your enemy directly. Proper positioning is good tactic to add more advantages to the army to defeat the enemy. Business also requires proper way of identifying good positions to enhance the sales of an industry. A fast food chain must be placed in a crowded area, even there are already established competitors in that locale. What is more important is the proper placing of the store that would still be accessible enough to consumers. Next topic described in chapter eight is the variation in tactics of an army.Flexibility must always be present in anyone’s mind because there might be uncontrolled circumstances that suddenly occurred that need to be address immediately. There must be rooms for changes in the plans. Contingency measures are always present whe n planning a war strategy. This is the same with business because, trends are continuously changing and the demands of people may vary in time. That is why many companies have put up research and development division and innovation section to address these concerns. Chapter nine illustrates the actual army marching toward the enemy.Like in the previous chapters, maneuvers must always be a part of the plan when marching began. It all depends on the actuation of the enemy in the battlefield. The general must be knowledgeable enough to provide his army tactics in the battle arena. In the corporate world, the same is applied. There must be enough room for sudden maneuvers and that depends wholly on who run the company. Like a general, he must be skilled enough to deal with actuations that require some changes in the plan. Ground Formation is on the next chapter. It entails a lot of insight on how to position an army in the battle.In order to win the war, it is imperative for a general t o evaluate the opponent, make situations leading to success, calculating the risks and spaces. In the business arena, it is also relevant to ensure success of the business by the managing properly of a particular company. There are conditions that need to be set in order to enhance the sales of the business. Risks in the business are inevitable; a good manager will always make accurate calculations to avoid these business threats. The eleventh chapter discusses the nine different grounds in warfare.These must carefully study because according to the book, there is a specific response for every given type of grounds. These are the following: dispersive ground, marginal ground, contentious ground, open ground, intersecting ground, critical ground, difficult ground, surrounded ground, and deadly ground. Each ground needs appropriate action by the commanding general to guarantee victory. In the market, there are variations in the settings and environments. A good businessman will carefu lly examine his ground first to be able to survive this competition, if there is any.Chapter twelve illustrates the topic on fire attacks. This gives explanation on the use of arsenals commonly and the use of the surroundings as a weapon particularly. It scrutinizes the five marks for aggression, the five types of ecological assaults, and the suitable answers to such assault. In business, we cannot avoid some competitors doing some bad tricks to destroy his rival’s business reputation. Proper responses must be applied to such attacks like these, or they might fulfill their purpose to afflict their rival’s industry. The last chapter discusses the use of spies.This focuses on the relevance of producing good data gatherers to help in their battle. According to the book, enlightened leaders and superior commanders who have acquired clever agents that are used as spies are most likely into enormous triumphs. This timeless piece of manuscript can be applied to various discip lines aside form the real warfare. It gives a lot of brilliant ideas that are far more superior to other advices provided by other books. One important thing that must not be disregarded is that God is in control of everything. It takes His help and provision to help win any adversary.This is also included in the book, pertaining to Heaven. As long as we do His will, we must not be affected by any enemy that hinders our success. The battle is the Lord’s. References Levitt, Steven D. , Dubner, Stephen J. Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything. United States: William Morrow, April 12, 2005. Covey, Stephen R. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1990. Tzu, Sun. The Art of War : The Denma Translation. United States. Shambhala Publications. 2001