Absolute control on government in the provinces Essay

How successful was Louis of imposing absolute control on government in the provinces? Louis throughout his reign was believed by his predecessors to be an absolute monarch but was this really true when put into practice. To achieve absolute power Louis needed more or less total control over everything that went on in the provinces. For example he needed to make sure the taxes which he imposed were being successfully collected and corruption was to a minimal. To some extent Louis was successful in imposing absolute power on the government in the provinces. He passed laws which they didn’t like and they weren’t allowed to remonstrate until the law was passed meaning no chance for real negotiation. Although to another extent his successes could have been limited as yes they weren’t allowed to remonstrate until the law was passed but the parlements would still be informed about the policy and Louis would discuss it with them first hand showing the parlements still had some control. Furthermore some may say that Louis didn’t mean or intend to enforce absolute control in the provinces. He saw the need for compromise and realised it was in his best interest to do so. To a certain degree Louis successfully imposed more control on the government in the provinces using his absolute powers. The government in France in the seventeenth century had many government bodies. Examples of these are the provincial governors and the parlements. Traditional historian’s believed Louis tried to reduce the powers of these government bodies to show he was gaining the absolute power he needed to be an absolute monarch. To begin with Louis took various measures to lessen the power of the parlements. There were many steps which he took to do this. He firstly decided to cut their judicial wages by a third. Louis wanted to show the parlements he was the main leader in France and no one can question him. The wage cuts could also mean more money for Louis himself, to spend on his own interests. Being wealthy can show a person’s power in society even today, so by gaining more money it would be showing Louis absolute power over France is coming into effect. It would also come clear to the parlements that Louis is gaining absolute power over them and stopping him from doing so would lead to no good. Next Louis created a law that parlements could not remonstrate until a law which was to be put in place was passed. If an act of remonstration was to arise before the law was actually passed than in Louis words they â€Å"must be executed quickly and only once.† Again Louis is imposing his absolute control over the parlements. Louis made all the final decisions, were the parlements had really no say in the matter, if he was to pass a particular law. Louis was the main leader and everyone had to come to him first to pass any type of law. He was the main man. This shows his absolute control over the provinces and the whole of France was successfully being put in place. Louis could do anything without the consultation of others. He could control France in his own way if he wanted to as he made the final decisions over anything which was to be passed by government or even the clergy. Laws would also be passed by Louis that the parlements did not like. An example of this was when in 1714 Louis insisted a law was to be passed that allowed his bastards sons to take the throne if his legitimate family line ended. Many parlements did not like this law but were obliged to pass it as Louis would pass it any way as he is the final decision maker. Liberal historian’s believed Louis successfully imposed absolute control in the provinces. He was seen as an absolutist to them and his absolute powers were not always for good but in short term showed he was powerful. Louis made all final decisions and the government seemed to not have as much of a say as they may have liked too. The policies which he put in place to reduce the power of the parlements successfully showed him to be an absolute power over the government in the provinces. Louis did not just try to reduce power of parlement but he tried to control the provincial governors too. He wanted not just one group of the government to be changed but the whole government to be controlled in his way. Louis wanted to show his absolute control was in place to everyone in the provinces. The provincial governors were usually part of the nobility of sword with ancient land holding rights, privileges and held important status in the particular province they worked in. They traditionally were responsible for raising money through tax collection in the provinces and day to day decision making. Louis tried imposing his absolute control over them too. He made sure taxes were collected properly and to his standards. He needed the right amount of money for him to spend and if they didn’t collect it to a satisfactory standard he would have words and they may be punished in some way. This shows if you cross Louis you will be punished and you needed to keep on the right side of him. The provincial governors were nobility of the sword and were much easier to control. They had not bought their offices like the nobility of the robe. They needed to stay on his right side as they could be easily sacked. His absolute powers were shown through his banishment of Fouquet, who he thought was getting to big for his boots. He tried to disagree with Louis and was banished far away from the king in a rural area. Louis was showing his absolute control of his close companions too and his absolutism was coming through after this event. In some way he was successful in imposing his power over the provincial governors as they were less likely to disagree with him as they were allocated places in the government. The king was the ruler over everyone and to question his authority would be bad idea. One group of people in the provinces who could have helped him to gain absolute control were known as the intendants. They gathered information for the king and supervised the enforcement of his decisions. The intendants were given reports on their progress from the king. If they weren’t doing their job properly then the king would lay down what he wanted of them or else they may be gotten rid of. Louis shows here that he has control over the intendants as if they cross him they will not be part of his governing bodies which most people wanted to be part of. Furthermore the Intendants were only allowed to serve in a particular province for up to three years. Louis made sure they had no family or financial connection with these generalities. This helped Louis to gain absolute control over them. Making them only stay in a province for up to three years would allow Louis to stop the intendants from becoming attached to the province they are in. If the intendants were to stay in a province for too long they may become more lenient towards friends they may have made financial opportunities which could sway them from being loyal to the king. This allowed Louis to gain what he wanted out of the intendants such as they could spy on people in the provinces and see if they were being corrupt in any way. This allowed the king to control other people to as he would find out if a person is not obeying him first hand. Louis could then either punish them or give them are warning. Louis would issue the punishment showing his absolute power over the people and the government. The intendants would be more reliable if not in one place for too long allowing Louis to control them and the people in the provinces. No one would question Louis in the provinces and he made all decisions overall. This showed his absolute power over government in the provinces was successfully being imposed. On the other hand however to another degree Louis power was limited by certain factors. In many areas he compromised and negotiated with government in the provinces rather than imposing absolute control. Even though Louis may have tried to gain absolute control there was still a lot of corruption among the government bodies especially by the provincial governors. The provincial governors collected the taxes for the king from people in the provinces. This may have help Louis build up his empire but the provincial governors would pocket some of the money for themselves meaning not all the money went to Louis. This shows Louis was not successful in imposing absolute power over the provincial governors. If he had absolute control all the money which the provincial governors collected would go to him. Louis did not always keep an eye on the government bodies in the provinces as he would be occupied with doing his own thing. The provincial governors would also employ lesser nobles to collect the taxes for them to give to the king. Some were busy enjoying their own perfect lives using their position as part of government and friend to king. Nobles who were employed in the provinces would too pocket money from the taxes. The king would then receive less and less money. Louis absolutism was limited here as he would not always punish them for being corrupt but just let it go over his head. In his own mind Louis found it better to negotiate with the provincial governors of how much taxes he should receive. The provincial governors were not that much threat to Louis in terms of uprising but he needed to keep them on side in order to ensure continued revenue from provinces. Again it shows Louis did not successfully have absolute control over the provinces. He had to negotiate terms with the provincial governors and did not have full control over what they did in their own lives as part of the government. Louis could not just change what they did as there could be potential for rebellion. Even though it was unlikely it was possible. Consequently Louis powers over the parlements were not as absolutist as people may have thought. Yes he would not let the parlements remonstrate before the law was passed but more often than not he would discuss the law with the parlements first before he actually passed it. This shows he doesn’t have absolute power over the parlements. He did want other people’s opinions before he put a law out there meaning they could sway his decisions on the particular law. He did consult them on the law but he didn’t usually pass it without any discussions. His absolutism was limited as he shows he wants people to be on his side. If he was an absolutist he would not care about other people’s opinions on him. He did have the final say on laws but this was nothing new as forerunners took this on before him. Kings always have the right to formulate and pass laws. He was only doing what he was rightfully allowed. Next Louis was also limited in imposing his absolute power on the parlements as they could either be his biggest supporter or biggest threat. They were not located at Versailles but lived by themselves away from the king. This limited Louis from keeping an eye on them as each member of the parlement was scattered around France. Louis could not control what they did as much as he would have liked as they were far away from him. Also Louis wanted to stay on their good side and didn’t want to try and control them too much. There were still memories of the Fronde in Louis mind, when the parlements turned on his father and Mazarin. He did not want this to happen again as this would disrupt French society. Although Louis may have wanted to impose absolute power on the government in the provinces he could not go too far with his policies. He didn’t want any rebellions to happen among the parlements. He tried lessening the power so this would not happen during his reign. 2oth century historians say the extent to which Louis did have absolute power has anyway been exaggerated. Roger Mettam studied the provinces and it showed Louis ruled through cooperation. He didn’t take powers of parlements but made deals with them. The government bodies in the provinces may have been the main part of Louis limited absolutism but there were other factors which may have limited him. The geography of France was one of these. France was and still is a large country, communication can be very hard. This would have limited Louis from keeping an eye on the government powers in the provinces. He could not be in each province at any one time and during this time the provincial assemblies could have made decisions without his say so. Versailles was located on the other side of France to some provinces and government. This limited Louis from imposing his absolute control over the government in provinces as he was not in the middle of the discussions they may have as they are not located at Versailles with him. Communication between Louis and the government could limit him from knowing everything that that the government and the people in the provinces are doing. To be an absolutist Louis would have to know everything what was going on, so he can lay down the law to them. Similarly his economic position limited him from being successful in imposing his absolutism on the government. He didn’t have the money to do what he wanted. Therefore he needed to keep the church and the government on side. Louis needed money to be raised for him for his own pleasure and for France to run smoothly. Provincial governors raised money for him, do he needed to keep him on side to ensure his taxes were being collected to a good standard. If Louis had the money to be an absolutist he could have been but his financial difficulties limited him. The church needed to be kept on side as they were a big influence on his tax and money income. The divine right of kings could have influenced Louis to try to be an absolute monarch but this could have limited him too. It meant he needed to put the interest of the people of France before his own. Divine right of kings for Louis could mean cooperation with god so shouldn’t he cooperate with the people and government. On the contrary one might argue that it wasn’t Louis intention to impose absolute control in the provinces. He recognised the need for compromise and conciliation and realised it was not in his best interest to simply dictate his will. Louis saw the need to discuss decisions with the government bodies for the country to run in the way he wanted. Trust between him and the government bodies would be a high. He liked being friends with some of the parlements and provincial government. Dictating to them rules and regulations and being overbearing would not allow this.

Manchurian Candidate – Film Theory Paper

The Manchurian Candidate, adapted from Richard Condon’s novel of the same title, was released in 1962, and directed by John Frankenheimer. Brief Plot Summary The central concept of the film is that the son of a prominent, right-wing political family has been brainwashed as an unwitting assassin for an international Communist conspiracy Thesis Statement The Manchurian Candidate was noted for its breakthrough in cinematography, as the scenes were shot in a creative manner that was new and different in that era.It also made use of different editing techniques to seamlessly piece the story together, along with the use of certain recurring Motifs to effectively deliver the story to the audience. This paper would examine how the groundbreaking use of cinematography, editing help to bring across the theme of surrealism, and delivers a thrilling effect while the motifs help bridge the Theme of The Manchurian Candidate with the use of visual elements. Cinematography The Manchurian Cand idate made use of several different brilliant cinematography aspects to bring forward the theme of surrealism and thrill to the audience.According to the Dictionary, the term â€Å"surrealism† refers to â€Å"an avant-garde movement in art and literature that sought to release the creative potential of the unconscious mind, characterized by the evocative juxtaposition of incongruous images in order to include unconscious and dream elements. † This theme was highlighted in several scenes in the film. Particularly in a scene where Major Marco was having a nightmare, the camera tracked from the end of Marco’s bedroom towards Marco, who was lying on the bed sleeping.The tracking shot ended with a close up of Marco’s face, with his brows furrowed as he began to experience his recurring nightmare. The close up shot of Marco’s troubled face was then superimposed onto his nightmare shot. From the tracking to close up shot, it creates a sense of mystery and suspense, which intrigues the audience and builds up the anticipation. After which it would lead up to the film’s most noted scene- the Ladies in Garden Club scene.In this scene, the director made use of a 360 degrees panning shot to showcase three different points of view- the â€Å"Reality†, the â€Å"brainwashed white man’s imagination† and the â€Å"brainwashed black man’s imagination†. These three different points of view in a dream add up to one big surrealistic nightmare scene. It is also important to note that this scene was considered to be â€Å"notorious† (Chung, 2006, p. 129) during that era, for its unconventional use of camera work. During and after the 1950s, there is an â€Å"increase in the number of dark, provocative and original films. (Mann, 2008, p. 12) and The Manchurian Candidate was one of them. It was â€Å"stylistically ambitious† (Mann, 2008, p. 12) and can be considered a breakthrough in cinematogr aphy during that era. This scene alone had to be shot 3 different times, as each individual point of view comprised of different elements and actors. The platoon was captured and brainwashed into thinking they were attending a ladies horticulture club meeting, when in fact they were present and sitting in a Communist meeting. The camera then does a 360 degrees slow panning shot from the lady speaking, Mrs.Whittaker, to everyone present in the scene, listening to the talk. However, as the camera makes a full round and returns to the start, gone was Mrs. Whittaker, and in her place stood an East Asian doctor giving the Russian and Chinese generals a speech about the brainwashed American soldiers. This panning shot builds up suspense, as the camera slowly pans around the venue, showing that there were only ladies present. It delivered a shock to the audience, who expected to see Mrs. Whittaker after the camera makes a full round, to find out that the lady was gone and replaced by a man instead.This slow panning movement also gave the scene a dream-like quality, which is a characteristic often associated with the theme of surrealism. The scene with the doctor and Communist generals reflected the â€Å"reality† of which the soldiers are unaware of, as they were brainwashed. The camera used a low-angle shot to reveal the amphitheatre filled with Communists. It was positioned behind the soldiers, as if they were looking up to those seated. This is to show that the American soldiers caught were at the mercy of those Generals present, to show authority from those seated above and around the amphitheatre.Even though they are under the mercy of the Communists, the soldiers showed no sign of fear as they were brainwashed into thinking they were facing a group of women instead. Hence the use of camera angle here provides a sort of contradiction to reality, it showed Communist authority even though the soldiers displayed no fear. Another groundbreaking use of cinemat ography can be found in the scene where Johnny Iselin was confronting the Secretary about the â€Å"number of Communists in the Defense department† with Eleanor Iselin manipulating her husband.In this scene, the Secretary was giving a press conference and Johnny Iselin stood up, and demanded to know why are there communists present in the Defense department. The scene was constructed such that the Secretary was at one end of the room, while Johnny was the other end. Yet they were able to appear in one frame, with the use of juxtaposition. As the press conference was broadcasted live, the confrontation between both parties were filmed and showed on television screen.Whenever the Secretary is in frame, Johnny Iselin would appear on the screen of a small television at the corner of the frame, thus making both parties visible onscreen even though technically, they are at different ends of the room. This use of framing and juxtapose imagery echo them theme of â€Å"surrealismâ₠¬ . Surrealism often uses incongruous juxtapositions to highlight conflicts (Strom, 2003). In one particular scene, the mastermind of this confrontation, Eleanor Iselin, appeared in the foreground, with Johnny in the background, and the Secretary reacting angrily on the small little television screen at the corner of the frame.Every action was combined in one frame capturing the whole shot, filled with conflict and movement. This framing brought the tension of the film up a few notches and audiences were able to feel the impending explosion of anger between the characters. The unconventional use of cinematography aspects in this film successfully brings forward the theme of Surrealism, with its â€Å"unusual framings and camera movements† (Strom, 2003, p. 8), which are styles indebted to Surrealism. Editing The different use of editing was also one of the most noted aspects of The Manchurian Candidate.According to Carroll (2003), â€Å"editing, or montage, was generally cel ebrated as the most important, essential characteristic of cinema† (p. 153). Hence the right choice of editing technique would set the pace and coherency of the film. This would bring us to the editing pace of the film- the long takes versus the accelerated montage. The scene that showcased a long take, happened when in Major Marco’s train ride from Washington to New York. Marco was feeling jittery and nervous, thus he decided to leave his train seat and go to the back of the train for some fresh air.He arrived at the last carriage, and stood with his back leaning against the wall. A woman followed Marco and entered the same carriage. She had observed Marco from before, and decided to follow him into the back. Marco and the woman began to strike up a conversation, with random small talks that made no sense. This whole scene involved no cuts at all, all shot at one go and thus showcasing the aspect of a â€Å"long take†. The long take builds on the tension between the meeting of two strangers, showing the entire conversation between Marco and the woman, despite it being nonsensical and weird.The audience took in the scene at one go, after which it leaves them wondering â€Å"what lies underneath this exchange of words between the Major and this woman? † The long take establishes a fact that this scene is important, as it â€Å"intensifies† a shot (Goldberg, n. d), contradictory to the fact that the content of the scene is random and consist of small talks only. As opposed to a long take, which consists of virtually no cuts, an accelerated montage consists of shots with increasingly shorter lengths.With regards to The Manchurian Candidate, the accelerated montage editing aspect occurs during the â€Å"Convention† scene, where Raymond Shaw was sent on a mission to assassinate the President. In this particular scene, Sergeant Raymond Shaw was instructed by his mother to shoot the newly elected President at the Madison Squar e Garden, with Major Marco scrambling to stop Shaw from accomplishing his mission. The establishing shot of Madison Square Garden showed Raymond walking through rows and rows of empty tiered seats, arriving at a small room high above the arena.He positioned his rifle as he prepares for his mission to assassinate the elected President while he was giving his speech. As crowds filled the arena, Major Marco struggles to locate Shaw in hopes of stopping him. The whole sequence was edited with the cross-cutting technique. Through cross-cutting, it helps to create tension and delivers the sense of thrill when the audience sees Shaw preparing to fire his rifle, as Marco runs frantically to stop him. From the first few shots of Shaw preparing his rifle and locating his target to Marco searching frantically for Shaw, was edited with shots and cuts that got shorter and shorter.It adopted the technique of Accelerated Montage, which serves to create tension and keep the audience at the edge of their seats. As this is the climax of the film, by using cross-cutting and accelerated montage, the film manages to capture the audience’s attention and builds a highly thrilling and exciting sequence. Motifs The Manchurian Candidate makes use of several motifs in this film to drive home its message and to develop its theme. One of the most glaring motifs used in this film would be the Red Queen, or the Queen of Diamonds.The Queen of Diamonds card had appeared several times in the film, particularly during scenes that involved Raymond Shaw being brainwashed. In this film, the Communists had conditioned Shaw’s brain into receiving commands and fulfilling them like a robot would. However, this brainwash condition can only be activated when Shaw hears the line â€Å"Why don’t you pass the time by playing a little game of solitaire? † After which, Shaw would proceed to take out a stack of cards robotically and began playing.As he plays the game, he would even tually draw out the Queen of Diamonds card, and upon seeing the card it would fully activate Shaw’s brainwashed condition. At first glance, it may seem that the Queen of Diamonds motif is played out to trigger Shaw’s mental condition. However, as the film progresses, the intent of using the Queen of Diamonds began to clear up- that the Queen of Diamonds was linked to Shaw’s mother, Eleanor Iselin and later in the film, his soon-to-be wife, Jocie (Blakesly, 2007).According to Blakesly (2007), the Queen of Diamonds card represented â€Å"an adamant woman, his mother, someone Raymond would rather not see†. During the first few scenes, Shaw admitted that he â€Å"despised and loathed his mother†. It was eventually revealed that Shaw’s mother was also part of the Communist conspiracy, and a woman hungry for political power. Hence, the card that would trigger Shaw’s mental condition was picked out to be the Queen of Diamonds, which signifie s his mother and hinted that his mother had a connection with the Communists. As mentioned above, the Queen of Diamonds is also known as the Red Queen.In this case, it represented Communism as this film was shot and based on the Cold War, which was ongoing during that time. Blakesly’s analysis surmises that: Another triggering device for Raymond’s conditioning is when he looks upon the Queen of Diamonds, the Red Queen, with the concomitant relationship of â€Å"red† to the â€Å"Red scare†, the communism from which the left in North America, with rare exceptions, still recoils. (p. 218) Besides being a figure representation of Shaw’s mother, the Queen of Diamonds also took on the representation of Communism.Hence it would make sense to why Shaw would fall into a state of â€Å"brainwashed condition† upon seeing the Queen of Diamonds card- he was being controlled by the Communists, with the card serving as a reminder that Communism took over his mind. Other than the Queen of Diamonds motif, the film also adopted Abraham Lincoln as a motif. The use of Abraham Lincoln ranges from obvious pictures of Lincoln himself, hanging in the Iselin house to a more subtle form, where Johnny Iselin dresses up at Abraham Lincoln in a masquerade party.The Iselins were from the Right-Wing, or Republican party. The use of Lincoln signifies the stand that the Iselins take within political context and also to serve as a kind of contradiction between right and wrong. Abraham Lincoln was a prominent leader of the Republican Party. According to Redding (2008), the film was â€Å"mediating symbolically on the political heritage of Lincoln’s republic among a corrupted public sphere†. Lincoln was used a symbol to represent America, and the director’s portrayal of the Iselins served as a satire of the America politics during that time.Johnny Iselin, the Senator, was portrayed as a drunk, impulsive and rash person. He often con fronted the government with issues concerning the communist, when in fact; he is also part of the communist conspiracy to take over the American government. This is a parody of â€Å"McCarthy†, who was a rash and impulsive Senator from the Republican Party. During the time he acted as a Senator, he often appeared drunk and caused a lot of controversy. Thus the portrayal of Johnny Iselin based on McCarthy, and the images of Lincoln all served to fuel the director’s satire on the political situation.During the masquerade party scene, Johnny Iselin dressed up as Abraham Lincoln, a contradiction as he is working with the communists whereas Lincoln was regarded as a righteous politician in the past. To further highlight the contradiction, Johnny’s wife, Eleanor Iselin dressed up as Bo Peep, a character which symbolizes innocence and naivety. However, as mentioned previously, Eleanor was anything but innocent. She worked hand in hand with the communists in order to ga in political foothold. Thus, this portrayal also serves to show a contradiction between right and wrong, righteous and evil.Portraits of Abraham Lincoln decorated the Iselin house, and in a particular scene, where Eleanor was confronting Raymond about his love interest with the daughter of a Senator from an opposition party, Lincoln was â€Å"staring† down at the confrontation. This is yet another example of contradiction between right and wrong, the mother being an evil influence was threatening Raymond to give up his love and Lincoln’s portrait in the background serves to remind us light will prevail, as the portrait was hung above of Eleanor as she speaks.The different motifs of this film helped shaped the entire plot and provided audience with clues; when they see the Queen of Diamonds they immediately would know that Raymond Shaw would be brainwashed. It also helped to bridge certain morals or theme of the story with visual elements, like the battle of right and e vil was shown through the portayal of the Iselins versus Abraham Lincoln iconography. Conclusion This paper discussed how use of cinematography, editing helped bring across the theme of surrealism, and delivered a thrilling effect while the motifs helped bridge the Theme of The Manchurian Candidate with the use of visual elements.In conclusion, The Manchurian Candidate made use of highly unconventional cinematography and editing aspects that successfully showcased the theme of â€Å"surrealism† and effectively created tension and thrill, for the audience. Not forgetting the effective use of motifs, which helped developed the main theme with the use of visual elements and provoked thought from the audience as they watch the film, while trying to piece the puzzles together.Bibliography * Blakesly, David (2007) The Terministic Screen: Rhetorical Perspectives on Film. Illinois: SIU Press * Carroll, Noel (2003) Engaging the Moving Image. USA: Yale University Press * Chung, H. S. ( 2006) Hollywood Asian: Philip Ahn and the Politics of Cross-Ethnic Performance. USA: Temple University Press * Goldberg, * Mann, Denise (2008) Hollywood Independents: The Postwar Talent Takeover. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press * Redding, A. F. (2008) Turncoats, traitors, and fellow travelers: culture and politics of the early Cold War. USA: University Press of Mississippi * Strom, Kristen (2003) Resurrecting the Stylite Simon: Bunuel’s Surrealist Film. P. 8

MBA Marketing - Report 3 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

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The impacts of the recent recession on consumer behaviour with airline Dissertation

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BUSCOM wk1 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

BUSCOM wk1 - Essay Example Workplaces are not the only places that such type of communication can occur. They can also occur in schools, at home with family or even with the most trusted of friends. What communication all comes down to is how it is being done at that particular moment. In the above chart, the sender of the message was ME, while the receiver of the message was the MANAGER. The channel that was used to send the message was verbal communication and it was done while the two were physically present at a given location; which in this case is the office. The misunderstanding that occurred was due to the fact that a firm employee, who happens to be ME, made the mistake of trying to reason with the MANAGER about how his current behavior might lead to the bankruptcy of the firm. This misunderstanding would have been avoided had I not confronted the MANAGER (Ellis, 2009).   From the result of the above conversation, it is safe to say that communication is a key process and a very important aspect in the everyday life of people. Without communication, then there would be the existence of a world where people know nothing about each other. From the above communication, I would say that the message did not get through in the same way that it should have. The main causes of misunderstanding when it comes to communication results from; the type of message that is being passed along: the sender depending on how they are doing the passing on of the message and thirdly the receiver, depending on how they take the message (Ellis,

Youth Violence In Schools Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Youth Violence In Schools - Essay Example en all the basic necessities in their lives including good foundation for their social and emotional needs (Haapasalo & Pokela, 1999; Goldhagen & Lansdown, 2008). It is also important to consider that without this proper care, there is a great absence of providing other needs that children can use when they grow as young adults. The young adults face different situations in their lives including different problems. One of these is youth violence in school. Youth violence is a prevalent issue in the world. However, this issue is highly integrated not just within school premises, but inside home. Thus, youth violence in school is a problem in the society that starts from home. Youth violence in school is a problem in the society that starts from home because it is a place that has become an integral part of one’s life where values, characters and personalities are formed (Harden & Whittaker, 2011). In there, there are parents who always have the chance to influence their children. It is their obligations to show to their children the good values, characters and personalities to live by. Failure of these parents to show these will usually result to undesirable expectations. In most of the time, children are always blamed about their being foolish or hard headed when in fact; the bottom line of it all is the failure of parents to show good influence at home. In the same way, young adults usually find themselves blamed about their own actions when in fact, the very foundation of the problem starts from the kind of influence they receive at home from their parents. Youth violence is a problem that starts from home because it depends on the level of communication parents invest in their children’s lives. Aside from setting a good influence of parents for their children, it is tested and proven that a good communication between them would also work out. Children who receive constant communication with their parents have many things to learn (Tates & Meeuwesen, 2000).

Social media and it's affects on teens Research Paper

Social media and it's affects on teens - Research Paper Example The study seeks to register myriad problems spawned by excessive social media use like body image complex, poor performance in schools, limited interaction with family etc. in hopes to solve them. These problems will be solved by analyzing how limited exposure to social media benefits teenagers in context of psychological and emotional development and academic performance. Local teenagers will be included in the study as research participants. In addition to that, past and contemporary research studies on the subject of relationship between social media and teenagers will also be scrutinized to find out what they have to say regarding the scope of this problem. The research study aims to accentuate the reality of this growing problem that social media use urges teenagers to fit themselves into an ever narrowing ideal of physical beauty. Our society is quite merciless when it comes to the subject of physical appearance and growing social media use has only served to aggravate this problem for teenagers. It is no hidden reality that this impossible kind of social ideal is impressed upon our teenage population by social media. People have developed a habit of posting self-promoting selfies on their social media webpages to show others how well they are doing physically (Briggs, 2014). This kind of trend generated by social media affects teenagers the most because they have highly impressionable minds. By going online, these teenagers find â€Å"an endless supply of people to whom they can compare themselves† (Steiner-Adair, cited in Johnson, 2014). This is why social media has a potential to cast a shattering effect on teenagersâ€℠¢ body image. Resulting emotional turmoil can be enough to distract them from their studies and other social obligations. Research also confirms that the US social media environment is sexually charged. Females suffer even more than males in this regard as social media works to objectify girls’ appearance (Steyer, 2012,

Police Corruption Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4250 words

Police Corruption - Research Paper Example There is a wide range of police jurisdictions and considerable costs are paid by the society in general as well as the police services as a result of such misconduct. Herman Goldstein defines it as â€Å"acts involving the misuse of authority by a police officer in a manner designed to produce personal gain for himself or others.† It is a larger systematic problem which is due to the lack of overall transparency, no check and balances, weak rule of law and insubstantial institutions. Police Corruption generally occurs at two levels: In the office i.e. behind the scenes or on the streets such as bribery or involvement with criminals. The backroom corruption activities involve irregular practices such as negligence in enforcing internal discipline, stopping of investigations, payments for transfers or appointments and contracting. All these unethical and mischievous acts involve very large transactions and are committed by officers having command authority (mid or senior-level o fficials) and access to the privileged information. Officers avail such opportunities in pairs or alone in the absence of supervisors or any higher authorities. The extent may vary from petty corruption to large scale criminal acts which are endowed by the extra ordinary powers given to the police officials. In the 1980s and 1990s, corruption cases occurred on a very large scale involving and later charging police officers for drug dealings, robberies, batteries and even murders etc. It can be observed that there are two major elements of police corruption namely misuse of authority/power and misuse of personal attainment. At each level, these elements are misused in one way or the other posing a great hindrance in the efficient and effective working of the police department. It can be said that police officials have been a part of encouraging and creating crime rather than deterring it. In this report the causes of police corruption will be discussed and ways such as increased sala ries, training, education incentives, health and insurance benefits and policies that focus on such issues will be identified to eliminate or reduce corruption. Types of Police Corruption: Some major forms of police corruption are discussed below: Gratuity: This refers to the illegal or inappropriate use of power by police officers in order to arrest, coerce, harass, intimidate or assault people. It is a serious crime because the society in general relies on police to safeguard their social security and rights. They are given power to use it for the right purpose and intention but wrongful use of this authority has resulted in many unjust incidents. Police brutality, sexual harassment, illicit use of weapons, fake encounters are the most common ways of misusing the authority. Brutality is a form of physical abuse which occurs when officers want to teach a lesson to any citizen or unnecessary force them for the intended action. Police officers also engage in crimes that has nothing t o do with their professional duty such as insurance of fraudulent activities. It is very difficult to get the accurate statistics of police misconduct and abusive behaviour as they normally don’t release any detailed information on disciplinary issues. Kickbacks: It is a secret payment made to the police officers in the form of contracts or transactions in order to change the course of action and support a wrongdoing/ illegal action. They are considered as fringe benefits of the job by the officers. The

Evaluate Rival Views On the Cultural Implications of Globalization Essay

Evaluate Rival Views On the Cultural Implications of Globalization - Essay Example This paper stresses that globalization has intensified the economic competition among the developed nations of the world and to increase this competitiveness, they have come to adopt policies aimed at influencing other countries to adopt their cultures so that they can be able to find markets for their products. Advertisements promoting the western way of life have come up all over the world, and many educated youths have been influenced by them. Nowadays, it has become a trend for the youth to adopt aspects of the west culture stating that their own cultures are either backward or archaic. This report makes a conclusion that globalization has come to have a profound influence on the cultures of many people in the world, and this influence has been both positive and negative. In certain regions, it can be said to be a blessing to those cultures which it has come to influence, because it has not only enriched these cultures, but it has also ensured that some of their characteristics have been spread all over the world. However, it has also been noted that globalization has led to the erosion and near extinction of some cultures and these have come to be replaced with the dominant western culture, which is the driving force behind globalization. One would even go as far as to suggest that globalization is a force which is inevitably going to destroy other cultures, and if not, it will change these cultures beyond recognition. It is an irresistible force of cultural change which cannot be stopped without the isolation of other cultures from the globalised, western one.

Fashion Retail Management - Personal Statement Essay

Fashion Retail Management - Personal Statement - Essay Example The paper "Fashion Retail Management - Personal Statement" is fashion retail management personal statement. In my teens, I would design my own cloths and oversee the tailoring. Soon after, I realized that I was becoming ‘an advisor’ to my friends and colleagues on matters of fashion. This led to my designing and selling of gowns and participation in the management of a few local fashion shows and events where some of my pieces were displayed. My first job was with Zara, a leading fashion retail outlet.Working in the sales department, I learnt how to interact with customers andhow to position and place stocks. Moreover, I learnt about the management of supply chain. My second job was as an intern at Azadea, a leading fashion retail company operating throughout the Middle East and Africa. I worked in the fashion department, mentored by the Brand Manager. During my internship, there were plans on extending Gymboree into an online virtual store. I attended meetings where I u sed my knowledge on online shopping to participate in decision-making. I also assisted the senior brand manager with the monthly reports and strategic decisions. We also attended meetings for new locations and potential brands possible to acquire under AZADEA, investigating competitors and traffic areas. Currently I am interning for a team that previously worked with the luxury designer Zuhair Murad. This experience has allowed me to gain multi-channel retail knowledge, supervisory skills and to work effectively .

Colonial Differences from North to South Essay Example for Free

Colonial Differences from North to South Essay During the 1700’s, many colonies began to show their true differences with one another. Although the colonies were settled by English origin only, the regions became two distinct societies within years. Of the colonies, the Chesapeake and the New England region were strongly diverse. The Chesapeake and the New England regions differed in the 1700’s because of religious debates that had occurred, different motives that were placed when going to the New World, and the different economies that had developed within the colonies. First, religious debates became a huge distinguishing factor in the two regions. During the 1700’s, Maryland was considered to be a Catholic Haven in the Chesapeake region. Founded by Lord Baltimore in 1634, Maryland quickly became the rescue place for Catholic-English men and women whom faced execution from Protestant England. Faced with death, the Catholics of Maryland stood behind the Act of Toleration that was passed in 1649. In John Winthrop’s document, â€Å"A model of Christian Charity†, he describes how each man needs to come together for religion. God Almighty in his most holy and wise providence hath so disposed of the condition of mankind†¦ we must knot together in this work as one man. †(Document A). In Maryland’s Act of Toleration, the statute guaranteed all toleration to Christians. With the act, Maryland could be Catholic without a word being said. Unlike Maryland, The New England region had nothing to hide with religion. New England was mainly Puritan, spanning out of Calvinism. Predestination and â€Å"visible saints† were just two of many popular phrases used in the Puritan religion. Puritans believed in being predestined for heaven or hell when a said person was born. Also, Puritans had the decision to be Separatists and Non-Separatists. Many Puritans were Non-Separatists, meaning they wanted to reform the Church of England but not completely break away from it. Along with Non-Separatists, Separatists were also common. Separatists were groups of people that wanted to completely break away from the Church of England. One of the most famous groups of Separatists was the Pilgrims. In the end, the colonies were very different religion and the differences in religion molded America’s freedom of religion. Next, another factor that made the two regions different, were the motives that were placed going to the olonies. In the Chesapeake region, the Virginia Company was immediately put in place when they had arrived in Virginia. The Virginia Company was a joint stock company that had one motive in America; gold. After the defeat of the Spanish Armada, England was craving for outside profit and America was the answer. In John Smith’s document about Virginia, he describes what life was like revolving around gold. â€Å"There was no talk, but dig gold, wash gold, refine gold, load gold. † (Document F). Although the gold process was almost a complete disaster within Jamestown, the colony became the first permanent settlement. But, in the New England region, the English men and women were migrating to the New World for completely different reasons. First, the Separatists of England that were living in Holland to avoid royal English rule, departed to America. The Separatists, later known as Pilgrims, set off on the Mayflower. The original plan was to land off of the coast of Virginia. However, the Mayflower eventually made land fall in the New England region. Living off the land and poor, the Pilgrims became friends with local Native Americans and later, made their own government and set the foundation for the New England colony. After the Massachusetts Bay colony was formed, the main motive of the colony was to build it full of life and families. As quoted in the â€Å"Articles of Agreement†, â€Å"2. We intend that our town shall be composed of forty families, rich and poor. † (Document D). Known as the â€Å"Great Migration†, around twenty thousand Puritans migrated to the New England region from England. John Porter created a large list of Emigrants that were bound for New England. A family decided to migrate and John Porter recorded it: â€Å"1. Joseph Hull, of Somerset, a minister, aged 40 years old. 2. Agnes Hull, his wife, aged 25 years. . Joan Hull, his daughter, aged 15 years old. Etc. † (Document B). Many young families migrated from England to receive freedom of religion and break away from the clutches of royal England. Between gold, religious freedom and the â€Å"Great Migration†, the New England and Chesapeake had many different reasons for migrating to the New World. Lastly, the two regions became two separate worlds when economies began to develop. The Chesapeake region was known for one thing, and that was tobacco. Tobacco was vital to the colony’s economic foundations. A rich man’s crop, tobacco was very labor-demanding. When indentured servants rebelled, African slaves were put to use and the Chesapeake became home to slaves. As well as labor, tobacco sparked plantations and the need for land. When slaves were imported, this became the splitting factor between the north and south. However, New England, with its’ cooler falls and winters, could never plant tobacco, especially with the historic New England â€Å"stony† soil. The â€Å"stony† soil prevented any farmers from successfully planting a lot of plants. New England’s economy thrived on shipbuilding, fishing, commerce and trading. The region also contained dense forests, helping the shipbuilding industry skyrocket. Also, the economy was very organized and everything affected it. In the document of â€Å"Wage and Price Regulations in Connecticut†, they discuss the prices and wages being regulated so that the people of the colony can understand their religious callings. â€Å".. in the interim recommends that all tradesmen and laborers consider the religious end of their callings which is that receiving such moderate profit as may enable them to serve God and their neighbors with their arts and trades comfortably.. †. (Document E). In the New England colony, everything was interconnected, including religion, economy and politics. The Chesapeake’s hot, humid weather enabled the farms to grow tobacco to form their economy. But, New England’s cooler weather enabled their workers to focus on shipbuilding, trading, and even religion. In conclusion, the two regions faced many differences within their cultures when compared. Their religions, motives, and economies were a few of the distinguishing factors. As the colonies prospered in their own individual ways, the differences grew larger and became two different societies.

Internet As An Information Source Information Technology Essay

Internet As An Information Source Information Technology Essay The Internet is a network of networks that consists of millions of smaller domestic, academic, business, and government networks. Internet is also described as the worldwide publicly accessible network of interconnected computer networks that transmit data by packet switching using the standard Internet Protocol (IP). Internet is the transport vehicle for the information stored in files or documents on another computer. It carries together various information and services, such as electronic mail, online chat, file transfer, and the interlinked Web pages and other documents of the World Wide Web. The Internet itself does not contain information, it is a slight misstatement to say a document was found on the Internet. It would be more correct to say it was found through or using the Internet. What it was found in (or on) is one of the computers linked to the Internet. Every aspect of our day to day life is affected by the internet. Whether it is shopping, business, banking, communication, paying your bills, social gathering, party, learning, education etc. Internet is everywhere, knocking at our door, making our life easier and smooth. Moreover, when it comes to education and research internet is paving way for a great leap and sure library and information centers has no exception. The internet made the information on our finger tips. The libraries of the developed world has adopted the internet facilities to provide the fast and better library services to its patron but this is not the case with many developing nations and third world countries. The libraries of the third world countries still do not have the basic internet access facilities in many cases because of the poor funding and budget crisis, while we are talking about web 2.0 in countries like United States, Europe and other developed nations. This paper has also tried to explore broadl y the importance of internet with regard to access of information sources and its utilities for library patrons in academic organizations and institutions. Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) is a residential academic institution located in the city of Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, India. Originally it was Mohammedan Anglo-Oriental College, which was founded by a great Muslim social reformer Sir Syed Ahmed Khan in 1875 and in 1920 it was granted a status of Central University by an Act of Indian Parliament. Modelled on the University of Cambridge, it was among the first institutions of higher learning set up during the British Raj. Aligarh Muslim University offers more than 250 courses in traditional and modern branch of education. The University is open to all irrespective of caste, creed, religion or gender. For more information please logon to university website: www.amu.ac.in. Literature Review Pangannaya, N.B. (2000) conducted a study i.e. Use of Internet by the Academic Community: a Case Study. This paper is an attempt to investigate the use of internet resources by the academic community of Mysore University, using survey as the research tool. The paper has investigated the faculty wise frequency and length of use of the internet. Moreover, it describes the emergence of internet, has revolutionized the academic world. Darries, Fatima (2004) has discussed various issues related to internet based reference services under the given title Internet access and use in reference services in higher education institutions in South Africa. An electronic survey was conducted using the web and e-mail to distribute the questionnaire. The target population was the heads of reference services at large libraries and the directors at smaller libraries of the 36 higher education institutions in South Africa. The response rate to the questionnaire was 28 (30.4 %); two returned questionnaires were spoilt. These results showed that all libraries surveyed have Internet access, and all but one provided access to their users. Librarians had access to the Internet for a longer period than their users. User internet training tended to be on a one-to-one basis at the point-of-use. Jay, Margaret and Webber, Sheila (2005) conducted a research study under the title Impact of the internet on delivery of reference services in English public libraries The study aims to investigate the impact of the internet on reference services in public libraries in England. A questionnaire was administered in 2003 to a sample of the public library authorities in England, investigating the use of the internet for receiving or answering reference enquiries, the use of electronic reference sources, and the nature of public library web sites. The paper concludes by identifying the need for public library managers to assess the changing role of professionals and Para-professionals in delivering reference services, and to provide appropriate training. It also notes that despite the discussion of real-time reference, asynchronous digital reference is still more common in England. The above table 4.7 clearly shows the results about the users satisfaction level with internet based information services when compare to print medium. The above table shows that 41 i.e. (45.05%) users are highly satisfied with the internet based information services in comparison to print sources. On the other hand 36 i.e. (39.65%) users have given the average rating to the internet as a source of information access compare to printed sources, while 14 i.e. (15.38%) users are very highly satisfied with internet based information services. The investigators have tried to find out problems pertaining to internet access among the research scholars PG students of the Science faculty in AMU. The investigators find out the major problems and hindrance in this regard shown in the table No. 4.8. The great response in this section is about the slow internet speed. 72 i.e. (47.68%) users complained about the slow internet speed, 28 i.e. (18.54%) users feel that there are lack of sufficient internet connected terminals in the department / library, which hinders them to properly utilize their time at the optimum level. Moreover 19 i.e. (12.58%) users face the problem of too many hits or information overload, 17 i.e. (11.25%) reported about the problem of the missing link / broken link. In addition to that, 12 i.e. (7.94%) users feels that the staff in the computer section of department / library are not technically very sound and therefore needs training and sound technical knowledge. 3 i.e. (1.98%) users complained about the ir relevant retrieval or lack of precision while trying to find out relevant information on the Internet. The investigators clearly find that the most of the research Scholars PG students have the internet access facility in their departments. They also find out that the users from science faculty access the internet on various locations, most of the users are using internet in the departments and in the university central library. They are also browsing the internet in the university computer centre. They are going least to cyber cafes for using internet. The present study also says that the most of the research scholars PG students of the science faculty are exploiting the internet services for their research work. Apart from that they are using internet for keeping themselves abreast with the latest development in the world, for communication purposes, and to search the career development information. Most of the research scholars PG students are using the J-gateway to access the various online journals either from the respective departments, central library browsing section, or fr om the university computer centre. Moreover, the present study states that the print information sources have been affected due to the use of internet based information services in the science faculty and the users satisfaction is quite high vis-Ã  -vis print sources of information. In addition to that, research scholars PG students find Internet based information services easy to use. It is clear from the present study that most of the users utilize the internet for searching the subject oriented information. Apart from that, majority of the users are satisfied with the accuracy of the internet based information sources.

Developing An Inclusive Education System Education Essay

Developing An Inclusive Education System Education Essay For the last few decades, there has been an increase in the number of countries which aimed at making their education systems more inclusive. This aim has been in the agenda of both developed and developing countries with variations in their definitions of inclusion, policy making strategies and school practices. In addition, experiences of these countries in their effort to develop inclusive education systems have faced particular challenges (Ainscow, 2005), with the case being more severe for developing countries where it has been unlikely to observe a significant achievement in their trial to develop inclusive education (Eleweke and Rodda 2002; Mittler 2000). Turkey, as a developing country, has committed to developing inclusion in schools for almost two decades (Eleweke and Rodda 2002; UNESCO 1994). Since then, however, transformation of The Turkish Education System to an inclusive one has been experiencing serious challenges although there have been several positive steps taken towards improving inclusive policy and practice. This review is concerned with the process of Turkey in developing inclusive education while aiming to contribute to the limited literature which critically reviews Turkeys position in this process. After the conduct of search is discussed, the process towards inclusive education will be reviewed under three broad terms: Definition of inclusion as reflected on policy and practice, the transition process from education in special schools to inclusion, and the current barriers against inclusive education. Conduct of Search This literature review is broadly concerned with the field of inclusive education and specifically explores Turkeys position in developing inclusive education. Therefore, the search for this review was started with the scholarship of leading people in the field of inclusive education and was limited to literature about Turkey. The criterion for using the literature was convenience with the purpose of review. In planning this piece of literature review, several types of documents were searched for through some key terms and in some databases and websites. Appendix 1 presents a detailed table of the search terms used, websites and databases searched, the number of documents reached in any year and the number of documents used. Definition of Inclusion Recently, an inclusive education system has been a common goal in the agenda of many countries. However, there have been variations in the way inclusion was defined by these countries (Ainscow et al. 2006a). In many of the definitions, a frequently varying aspect has been the target population identified as subject to inclusion which brought about the question of who is inclusion for? Based on this question, it has been possible to trace policies and practices which have focused on students from the most vulnerable groups to all potential learners (Ainscow et al. 2006a). In 1994, ninety two governments from different parts of the world endorsed that schools would act in a framework which would fully include every learner, no matter what characteristics the student possessed (UNESCO, 1994). These characteristics could be diverse physical, intellectual, social, emotional and linguistic properties. Despite this framework, however, it has been difficult to trace a common understanding and unified practices based on the statement (Ferguson, 2008). For example, while the trend in developed countries, such as the UK and the USA is towards an understanding of inclusion for all learners, many developing countries have based their policies and practices on inclusion of disabled students (Gaad 2010; Slee 2010; Ferguson 2008). Turkey, like many other developing countries, has identified disabled students as the most vulnerable groups in education and adopted an understanding of inclusion which places disabled students in mainstream schools (Gaad 2010; Rakap and Kaczmarek 2009; Turkish Prime Ministry 2008). As the first typology of conceptualization of inclusion by Ainscow et al. (2006b) illustrates, Turkeys definition of inclusion is similar with governments and schools which have based their policies and practices on the inclusion of disabled children. In 1997, the Special Education Regulation (No. 573) which was considered as the first regulation towards inclusive education was enacted. Since then, all regulations and laws in Turkey have referred to inclusion of disabled children into mainstream schools. As for the disability categories identified, the groups subject to inclusion were defined as visual, hearing and health impairments, physical, mental, speech and language, learning and emotional and behavioural disabilities (Turkish Prime Ministry, 2008). In the Special Education Regulation of 1997, as well as other regulations such as The Special Education Services Regulation in 2006, several definitions were made by the ministry which founded the basis for the inclusion of disabled children (Melekoglu et al. 2009). One of the most revolutionary statements was the consideration of special education as part of the regular education. With this in mind, regular education classes were defined as least restrictive environments where education of disabled children should be encouraged. As a result of this, referral of disabled children as well as assignment of special education teachers to regular education schools accelerated in the last ten years (Turkish Ministry of National Education, 2012). Another point emphasized by the regulations was the obligation assigned to mainstream schools to plan and provide educational and support services to disabled children (Melekoglu et al. 2009). Each school was required to prepare and implement an individualized education plan for each child. However, this section which emphasized uniqueness of students was followed by another part in the regulation, which defined special education services to be provided for separate categories of disabled students, rather than emphasizing students with individual and unique needs. This nature of the regulation, therefore, has created education plans which overlooked individual needs and included standard objectives and services for particular disability groups. As a conclusion, analysis of policies in Turkey reveals the reality that inclusion only refers to the placement of disabled children in mainstream schools (Gaad 2010; Turkish Ministry of National Education 2010; Turkish Prime Ministry 2008). Slee (2010) claims that considering inclusion as the integration of only disabled children weakens the inclusive schooling progress in the broader sense. However, although it seems to be a limitation to overlook the need to include other children from vulnerable groups (e.g. learners not necessarily diagnosed with a disability), the process can still be perceived as a step taken to make schools more inclusive by leaving behind the idea of categorizing and placing disabled children in special schools where they were previously seen as others (Gaad, 2010). In addition, the developmental level of the educational systems and the reality of disabled students as one of the most segregated groups in poor and developing countries might lead countries to focus more on inclusive practices for disabled students. In this context, there is a need for more policies, resources and improvement of powerful support systems to go beyond the point of including only the disabled requires. In addition, this process might require more time in countries where inclusive education is still immature (Gaad, 2010). Transition from Education in Special Schools to Inclusion The field of education, in the twentieth century, underwent a substantive trial to legitimize the rationale for special education (Armstrong, 2010) until new legislations and practices started to take an issue with previous special educational theories and practices (Thomas and Loxley 2001). For the last few decades, there has been a cessation in the expansion of special education schools not only in wealthy but also in poor and developing countries as many administrators have started to address inclusion in government policies and school practices (Ainscow et al. 2006a). Turkey, as a developing country, has been in the process of the transition from education in special schools to inclusion since its endorsement of the Salamanca Statement (UNESCO, 1994). Until a few years ago, the dominant trend towards education of disabled children was based on segregating them in special schools according to a classification based on their disabilities and providing them with special educational services. However, the Ministry of National Education has started to emphasize and support the education of disabled children with their peers in regular schools. For a decade, the emphasis and support for inclusion has constantly been told to schools and parents in order to include them into a system where the inclusive education and its fundamental principles are adopted and supported (Melekoglu et al. 2009). In Turkey, reflections of the changing attitude towards inclusive education have been observable on the policy of the Ministry of National Education. For example, the 37th article of The Special Education Services Regulation (2006, p.3) states that The Ministry of National Education is responsible for opening special schools for disabled students. However, the priority should be given to the mainstream education of disabled students together with their normally developing peers in regular schools. This statement obviously underlines the changing attitude of the government favouring inclusion on policy documents. There were two other signs of the changing perspective of the Ministry towards a more inclusive system. First, The Special Education Services Regulation (2006) included a part which explained the inclusion process to schools in detail. The other sign was the book published by the Ministry and gave detailed information about inclusion to attract attention of the stakeholders; namely parents, teachers and administrators (Turkish Ministry of National Education, 2010). Official statistics by the Ministry show that the number of disabled students in mainstream schools has significantly increased for the last ten years (Turkish Ministry of National Education, 2012). This increase in quantity is significant compared to the number a few years ago (see Figure 1). Despite this, almost half of the disabled children are still placed in either special education schools or special education classrooms within mainstream schools (Turkish Ministry of National Education, 2012). Furthermore, the first alternative for placement of students with some type of disabilities, such as visual and hearing impairments, is the special education school, usually due to the lack of related staff in inclusive schools. Such a situation creates an unconscious preference for the inclusion of some type of disabilities, such as mental retardation, and ignorance of other disability groups. Figure 1. Number of disabled students in mainstream classrooms between the years 2000-2012 (Source: Turkish Ministry of National Education, 2012). Another point worth inquiry is the level in which inclusion of disabled students is taking place. In Turkey, there are three levels for inclusion among which there is a dramatic difference in terms of the number of disabled students (see Table 1). According to recent statistics by the Ministry (2011), increase at primary level is promising whereas inclusion of disabled students at preschool and high school levels is still not satisfactory with respect to quantity. One of the reasons for this situation was the compulsory educational period which was 8 years and did not include the preschool and high school periods. However, the most recent legislation by The Grand National Assembly of Turkey (2012) increased the compulsory education period in a way that it will include the preschool (3 to 5.5 years of age) and high school. This is expected to decrease the dropout rate of the disabled students and increase the number of disabled students in pre and high schools. Educational Level Number of Classrooms Number of Students Preschool (3 to six 6 years age) 288 588 Primary (Grades 1 to 8) 40810 84637 High School (Grades 9 to 12) 4573 7775 Total 45671 93000 Table 1. Number of disabled students in mainstream classrooms according to educational levels in 2011 (Source: Turkish Ministry of National Education, 2011). To conclude, reflections of the transition to inclusive education in Turkey have been somewhat observable on the policy level. However, promising advances at the policy level have rarely been accompanied by satisfactory implementation (Rakap and Kaczmarek 2010) in schools. Research findings have been consistently showing that there have been problems experienced in areas such as service provision, curriculum, inclusive school community and staff quantity and competency. These problems are discussed in the following chapter. Barriers against Inclusion in Turkey The reality of inclusive education has been dominating the world, with many countries aiming to develop their systems to a more inclusive structure and implement more inclusive practices in schools (Lindsay, 2007). However, this reality is not without its challenges and responsibilities both for developed and developing countries (Ainscow, 2005) with the problems being more serious for the latter (Mittler, 2000). In Turkey, like many other developing countries, challenges and responsibilities have been constantly experienced during the trial to foster inclusion in schools. In this trial, three barriers have been identified and discussed in this chapter. These are negative attitudes towards inclusive education, problems experienced in planning and providing support services and lack of human resources (Kuyumcu 2011; Polat 2010; Rakap and Kaczmarek 2010). Negative Attitudes For a few decades, research findings have shown that inclusive education produces positive results not only for disabled students who are placed in inclusive settings but also for their peers without disabilities (Lindsay 2007; Balderrama 1997; Staub and Peck 1994). However, a considerable amount of this research also underlines that it is unlikely for educational systems to improve their inclusiveness unless there are positive attitudes in professionals in schools (Polat 2010; Antonak and Larrivee 1995). Because professionals assume a crucial role in providing educational services both for disabled and non-disabled students. In a school, a welcoming inclusive climate in which professionals have positive attitudes towards diversity and inclusion is necessary (Booth and Ainscow 2002). In Turkish schools, findings of research have shown that school professionals do not have sufficiently positive attitudes towards inclusion of disables students. For example, Rakap and Kaczmarek (2010) investigated attitudes of general education teachers who work in public elementary schools in Turkey and found significant negative attitudes held by them. Similarly, school counsellors in Turkey, according to Polat (2010), have not still had stable positive attitudes towards the inclusion of disabled students. Such research findings show that the current stance of Turkish schools in terms of positive inclusive attitudes has not created a satisfactory impression. Insufficient Support Services and Non-Inclusive Curriculum The literature on inclusive education in Turkey displays the difficulties experienced by students, teachers, parents and administrators. According to the Educational Reform Initiative in Turkey (2011), a basic problem underlying these difficulties is the lack of inclusive curricula and support services for disabled students. In an environment where the number of disabled students entering inclusive settings is constantly increasing, schools have rarely been able to accommodate this increase in terms of their existing curricula. It is expected from a school to arrange a curriculum in which individual needs of disabled students are represented and met. However, the strictly centralized and standard nature of the curriculum in Turkey has made it difficult to represent the needs of disabled students within the content of the curriculum (Sucuoglu and Kargin 2008). In the Turkish Education System, the policy expects that an individual education plan (IEP) must be planned and implemented for each disabled child who is placed in a mainstream school (Turkish Ministry of National Education, 1997). In addition, support services (e.g. counselling, speech therapy etc.) should direct student needs. However, studies show a contrary situation with these expectations. For example, a recent study has shown that the process of service planning was carried out in only 37 % percent of the inclusive primary schools and only five per cent of the schools had an IEP team (Kuyumcu, 2011). In another study conducted by the Educational Reform Initiative (2011), 23 percent of the teachers reported that they did not prepare an IEP for the disabled students in their classes whereas only 44 percent of the parents stated that an IEP was implemented for their disabled children. As a result, it is likely to observe students and parents who perceive education as obsolete an d to find disabled students who dropout mainstream schools after a while. Lack of Human Resources Among the success factors of inclusive practice, sufficient human resource in terms of quantity and quality is an important element. According to a recent study (Educational Reform Initiative, 2011); the progress made by Turkish Educational System in terms of human resources in inclusive education is not satisfactory. To improve progress, it is inevitable to employ more professionals, such as general education teachers, special education teachers and school counsellors, who can contribute to the implementation of inclusive practice in schools (Sucuoglu and Kargin 2008). For example, it can be seen that the average numbers of students in primary and high schools served by a counsellor are 1225 and 554, respectively (Turkish Ministry of National Education, 2012). As far as such statistics are taken into account, lack of professional staff might be considered as an important problem. Teachers play a key role in inclusion because they are the organisers of individual needs and providers of educational and support services. Therefore, difficulties experienced by teachers within classrooms exacerbate the success of inclusive practices (Sucuoglu, 2004). For example, a problem reported by teachers is the difficulty in classroom management. In Turkish mainstream schools, only one general education teacher serves all students within one classroom and it might get more difficult to manage when disabled students are placed in this class because it is reported that (Educational Reform Initiative, 2011) student teachers at university do not receive appropriate training to such conditions. In an inclusive education system in which all students are full members of a school, each student is assessed with respect to his or her individual performance. However, teachers in Turkish schools have reported that they have difficulties in measuring and evaluating success of disabled students in their classrooms (Sucuoglu, 2004). As far as unrealistic objective writing and performance determination are taken into account, it might get more difficult for teachers to assess performance against unrealistic criteria. Conclusion Inclusive education is a process which includes several variables and stakeholders (Idol, 2006) which constantly influence the inclusive education process because each of them carries out a critical role in shaping the success of inclusion. Therefore, decreasing the gap between the inclusive policy and its implementation, as well as enhancing the progress made by schools in their inclusive practice, requires a holistic perspective towards inclusion and its elements (Educational Reform Initiative, 2011). Especially in developing countries which are at the beginning of their inclusion journey, setting inclusive systems is possible by focusing on each element of the system and their interrelations. As an important element of an education system, attitudes of school staff towards inclusion are of crucial importance for creating an inclusive environment at school. It is known that these attitudes towards inclusive education and inclusion of disabled children might positively change when stakeholders receive training at any level of their professional life (Sucuoglu, 2004) because professionals who feel incompetent about their skills in terms of working in an inclusive setting might be reluctant in working with disabled students (Aydin and Sahin 2002). Finally, the need for a variation in the provision of support services and an inclusive curriculum in mainstream schools of Turkey is high because more students with diverse backgrounds are entering mainstream schools with individual needs and diverse backgrounds. Both in the classroom and outside, students require support, specific to their individual needs. In providing this support, cooperation with families and consultation with colleagues and other professionals is known to contribute to the development of more inclusive schools (Booth and Ainscow 2002). As for the curriculum, the progress made on the policy level might be extended to the development of more inclusive curricula by The Ministry which develops centralized curricula and has schools follow them. Reflections Carrying out this literature review has made me face two realities. The first one was the range of necessary skills which must be recruited during the process. Acquiring these skills entails advanced academic training as well as engagement in permanent reading and writing which are challenging. The second reality was the influence of the review process on my assumptions and learning. As it requires permanent reading, some of the assumptions which I had before starting, needed either revision or complete change. As a result of this, I encountered new knowledge, new authors, new books and new styles of writing. Combined with the tips I gained during the course training, the process contributed to my confidence in critically analyzing a piece of writing and developing an argument about it. Word count excluding the figure and table: 3296

The Perfect Age :: Exploratory Essays Research Papers

The Perfect Age Many of us can't wait to be the perfect age; but what exactly is that age? Is it the age when we will finally find the right one and get married, or when we can legally drink alcohol, or is it when we are settled with families of our own later in life? For every individual, it is a different age and a different dream waiting to be fulfilled. However, once this age finally arrives, it quickly disappears and we revert back to being unhappy. Have you ever noticed how when you are young, you cannot wait to be old, but once you are old, you yearn to be young again? Why are we never fully content with the "now" in our lives? I remember when I was younger playing with my older cousin. It was in the late eighties, which meant the Madonna craze was in full force. She and I would dress up in our parents clothes and pretend to be twenty-something-year-old Madonna. Similarly, my brother used to dress in my dad's suits and pretend to be a businessman going to an important meeting. At such young ages we could not wait to be older, like our parents. Another common childhood game is "house." Girls must remember having a fight with other girls as to who will be the father. No girly girl wanted to be the guy. They want to be the mommy and wife, pretending to cook and take care of the kids. At such a young age, kids look up to their parents and desire to imitate them. This is a classic example of not being happy with the "now." Yet another stage in life where kids want to be older is in the middle school age. Many people hate middle school because it's such a difficult time. People are maturing and trying to figure out who they really are, while in the meantime they make some dumb friendships and some good ones. I know at my school, during seventh and eighth grade is when a lot of kids try cigarettes, drinking, and other drugs. Smoking cigarettes is legal at eighteen, and drinking at twenty-one. Drugs are not legal at any age, but supposedly it is something that an older person would try.

Shockwave Rider :: essays research papers

There are numerous books on the science fiction market, that deal with the myriad of possibilities involving the technology of the future. John Brunner's book, 'Shockwave Rider,'; is one of the most popular, as well as one of the most famous, books dealing with this issue. Brunner presents many different realities to the reader, and they are all potentially very realistic in terms of the current state of technology. For the most part, Brunner seems to illustrate that technology, as it relates to the world wide datanet, is a good thing. This is not to say that he does not illustrate it as a very negative reality in the world he presents to the reader, but he does indicate that the world wide datanet and technology has great potential to make the world a better place for all concerned. In Brunner's book we have a reality that is incredibly tense, and almost plausible today. The space that the author deals with is filled with endless bits of information (information overload to be more precise), corporate domination, and it appears, just like many science fiction books that deal with the planet earth in the future, everything is known about everyone. there are no secrets from the system. Brunner illustrates this as a reality that is not necessarily very desirable. He plants a character, Nickie Haflinger, onto the scene. As with many books we can look at this character and see the author within. Haflinger is a prodigy whose talents allow him to switch identities with a simple phone call. By the advanced technology and the ingenuity that is completely Haflinger's, we see that the author is not one to be content with the realities that may be a possibility in the future of technology. Brunner clearly illustrates, by the previous description of Haflinger, that technology and the advances within that field, are incredibly beneficial, or they can be. but he is clearly unhappy with the way things have turned out due to the controlling nature of the governments. This is further illustrated in the fact that Brunner's hero is a young man who is bent on changing the world. He struggles to evade the officials and uses all skills available to him, whether inherent skills or technological ones, to the best of his ability, to put an end to the misuse of power that is so much a part of his world which involves the entity of the world wide datanet. Perhaps, one of the most insightful parts of the book comes in the first half, when Haflinger is experiencing flashbacks due to interrogations. It is in these sections that we see the inner mind of Brunner as he deflty

Animal Testing Essay -- essays research papers

Biology and Behavior Animal testing is not a problem in today’s society because it is beneficial to humans. It seems unethical to put animals through such pain and torture, but if we stopped it completely there would be a large amount of human lives lost. How could this be? The further advancements in medical and technological science is inevitable. Therefore, if the testing must be done to learn more about the brain and body, which species (animals or man) seems expendable for such testing. The real question is which species is more ethical to test on. For example, a rat is given an injection with a drug and watched regularly for the period of a month. At the end of the month the rat is injected with a lethal toxin and dissected for scientific reasons. The purpose of the experiment is to determine whether or not the regular use of the drug would have any type of an effect on the brain of the rat. In contrast there is a man age 23 that has consented to be used for the same experiment. It not only would be unethical but against the law to try an experiment of this nature on a man. The end result would be the death of a perfectly healthy human. Which circumstance now seems unethical? One could also take in to consideration that the human’s death could have an impact on his family as well as the people that knew him. Above all the question of whether or not animal testing is ethical or not, really boils down to the purpose of the testing and whether or not it is a legitimate cause. Every man and woman has benefited from animal testing in one form or another. Most of what we know about the brain and body is a direct result of animal testing. Only in recent history have there been advancements in technology in both the fields of medicine, and science that have made it possible to see in side the human body. Unfortunately this still is not enough. The testing must be done on a living organism. Depending on the type and purpose of the test, the organism (man or animal) must be observed carefully and monitored for changes in behavior, health, and in some cases life or death. There are unpredictable reactions that occur in the body of living organisms when an alienable substance enters the blood stream. That is why animal testing is necessary. For instance, a computer can not determine whether or not a certain prototype vaccine will have a beneficial or cata... ...ake and convulse on the floor, the last thing left to do is throw his body in a burning fire, and go pick the next runner up for the experiment. Obviously, no matter how this is viewed it is murder. Even though animal testing is said to be beneficial to humans, many times the animals are used for other purposes. According to an online article posted by a company known as the Nature of Wellness, "Horrifying chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons, possessed by an ever-increasing number of countries are tested on animals the same way a drug, detergent, or toothpaste is tested on animals. Conventional weapons of all sorts are also tested in vivisectionist laboratories, where animals are routinely used as surrogates for man in warlike situations" ("Animal Experimentation: No Lie Can Live Forever." 1996). With such a misuse of the terrible act of animal testing, just goes to show that something must be done. There is no way to guarantee the safety and proper test ing of the animals in a way that only is beneficial to mankind. There will always be someone out there trying to scheme up a crazy invention or harmful agent, and the only thing that suffers is the animals

Alibaba: Competing in China and Beyond Essay

1. Introduction In this paper, we will talk about the most successful and famous e-commerce company in China: Alibaba Group about its competition strategies and its future moving. Alibaba Group was founded by Ma Yun (Jack) and the other 17 people in 1999 in Hangzhou. Jack wants to make the Internet become a universal, safe and reliable tool that would benefit the public. Alibaba Group now is holding by private, it has more than 70 offices in Greater China, Singapore, India, the United Kingdom and the United States, with more than 20,400 employees. 2. History and Development of Alibaba In 1999, Alibaba was formally established in Hangzhou and it financed from Softbank, Goldman Sachs, Fidelity Investments and other U.S. investment agencies for about 25 million dollars. Three years later, Alibaba’s B2B become profitable. In 2003, China’s first personal e-commerce site Taobao was established by Alibaba, in the same time, it also published the online payment system-Alipay to support their B2B and C2C business. In 2005, Alibaba established a strategic partnership with Yahoo USA; meanwhile, it was in charge of Yahoo China. In 2007, Alibaba founded the business management software company: Ali Software, and Alibaba.com Limited IPO in  Hong Kong Stock Exchange. In 2009, Alibaba Cloud Computing established, later in 2010, Taobao Mall started an independent domain name Tmall.com and it became Alibaba’s B2C service website which is focus on quality goods sales. In 2012, Alibaba Group has completed the initial share buyback and restructure the relationsh ip with Yahoo, while, Alibaba.com Limited officially delisted from the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Chart 2.1 Overview of Alibaba Group 3. Alibaba’s competition advantages 3.1 Biggest market share of E-commerce in China We can see from the charts, till the end of 2013, Alibaba has owned the biggest market share in B2B, B2C, C2C and online-payment service. It has already became the top one e-commerce company in China. Chart 3.1.1 China B2B Market in 2013 Chart 3.1.2 China B2C Market in 2013 Source: http://www.chinainternetwatch.com/ Chart 3.1.3 China C2C Market Share Chart 3.1.4 China Online Payment Market Share Source: www.NBweekly.com & http://www.chinainternetwatch.com/ 3.2 The largest B2B, B2C and C2C website Alibaba is the world’s largest provider of online trading, and the world’s largest business forum. To December 31, 2012, the platform had around 500 million registered users and more than 2.8 million supplier storefronts, and  its websites are available in English, Simplified Chinese, Korean and other languages. It provides professional services for the global business. 3.3 The visibility is very strong Depends on its Propaganda efforts, almost all over the world have their ads now. 3.4 Better function Alibaba’s site speed, reasonable softwares, and good service attracted entrepreneurs of all ages around the world. 3.5. Others Also Alibaba had a high reputation in the Asia Pacific region and it always keep innovation, for example, in 2013 it officially published its online chat App called â€Å"LaiWang†. 4. The Movement of IPO (Initial Public Offering) 4.1 Background On March, 2014, Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. announced the company will do IPO in New York Stock Exchange; the estimated time will be in quarter three of 2014. The IPO scale is considered to be between $150~200 billion (USD) (Chen, 2014). If the plan is actually executed, it will be one of the biggest IPO scales in the history. To do IPO, from the obvious perspective, it is for arranging the global market. However, it has been 15 years since Alibaba was founded in 1999, why the company decided to do IPO now? What is the reason behind and trigger this movement? It is worth to look into the meanings behind and analyze the reasons. There are two major reasons behind this huge action. One is keeping the control right inside the partnership; the other is competing with the main and biggest competitor Tencent in China. 4.2 Maintaining the control right The first reason is to maintain the control right inside the partnership. For the founder of Alibaba, the core idea of managing the firm is to keep the company culture and the innovation power. Based on this idea, he developed the special partnership structure for the firm. The special partnership structure is meaning CEO needs to be chosen from Alibaba’s partners. And, to  become the partner, the staff needs to be the core manager in the department and work in Alibaba group at least five years. The meeting of choosing partners will run one time per year, the nominee needs to get at least 75% votes from the existing partners, then he/she can become the partner. Now the boards of directors are formed by 2 seats of Alibaba, 1 seat of Softback and 2 seats of Yahoo. It is dangerous for the founder and managers that they can be replaced or take away the control right suddenly. The shareholding structure of Alibaba now is around Yahoo has 23%, Softbank has 31.9%, the founder has 7.4% and managers/other shareholders have 37.7%. According to the agreement between Yahoo  and Alibaba in 2012, if Alibaba can do IPO before in the end of 2015, then Alibaba can repurchase the half of holding shares which Yahoo takes now, also Yahoo will give up one seat in board of directors. Therefore, doing IPO is not just a simple global strategy, more with the implicit intention behind. 4.3 Rising competition The second reason is to compete with Tencent in China. Alibaba is the biggest B2B and B2C e-commerce company in China; it has leading position for past years. However, the situation has changed in recent 3~4 years, more and more users access the internet including buying goods and services via cell phones. It is the benefit access for the competitor Tencent to grab the market from Alibaba. Especially, Tencent just bought a large stake of JD.com (Gittleson, 2014). JD.com is the second biggest e-commerce site in China and in B2C market; it is also the second place right behind Alibaba. The competition intention with Alibaba is obvious. The recent competitions between two parties can refer the below Table 4.3.1. Both companies also start to make acquisitions in small areas and ready for a head-to-head competition (Gittleson, 2014). Tencent doesn’t need to worry about the money since the company did IPO right early in 2004 in Hong Kong Stock Exchange; the stock price is HK$578 on 18th, March, 2014 which is 156 times more compared to 10 years ago (Yu, 2014). Hence, Alibaba needs to find the money  support and start this† one of the most expensive competitions in online history.† said by Kim Gittleson from BBC news. Main business E-commerce platforms in B2B, B2C and C2C markets. (Taobao, TMall, Alipay) Instant message platform. (QQ, WeChat) Recent Competitions 1. During Chinese New Year, Tencent launched a mobile payment service that users can send or receive the money of red packet on line; it gave a warning to Alibaba’s Alipay (Gittleson, 2014). 2. The competition in mobile app for calling taxis (Alibaba’s Kuaidi v.s. Tencent’s Didi). The app not only can call cabs but also can tip for the ride. It is estimated that both parties pay more than $3 billion to subsidize it (Tong, 2014). 3. In the end of 2013, Alibaba launched one messaging application called â€Å"LaiWang† and tried to compete with Tencent’s â€Å"WeChat† 5. Conclusion As we can find out from the previous chapters, Alibaba is a market leader and dominance Chinese e-commerce markets over ten years. Due to its large market share, innovation power and strong website function, no one is able to challenge its leading positions. However, in recent years, internet users start to change their using ways via the booming mobile phones. It benefits another giant company Tencent to penetrate Alibaba’s existing markets. Even though Alibaba has the first-mover advantages in the market, the competition from Tencent doesn’t stop even getting aggressive. From the IPO movement of Alibaba, it can see Alibaba take this competition serious and doesn’t want to lose. Two giants battle for the leading place. The tough and expensive competition with Tencent just started. But, now Alibaba not only need to concern about the domestic competition but also need to make careful actions in global markets due to the IPO. The future of Alibaba is becoming more uncertain since the global markets are adding into the plan and the sever competition keeps going on. 6. References 1. Bidwai, S.V. (2010) Case Analysis Alibaba: Competing in China and Beyond. 2. Chen, Copper (2014) Super IPO, what’s the meaning for Alibaba (translated). Business Next. Retrieved from: http://www.bnext.com.tw/article/view/id/31942. 3. China Internet Watch 2013. For Charts 3.1.1, 3.1.2 & 3.1.4. Retrieved from: http://www.chinainternetwatch.com/. 4. Gittleson, Kim (2014) Tencent and Alibaba Battle for Internet Dominance in China. BBC News. Retrieved from: http://www.bbc.com/news/business-26540666. 5. Southern Weekly. For Charts 3.1.3. Retrieved from: http://www.NBweekly.com. 6. Tong, Frank (2014) Alibaba’s Founder Talks about Its IPO and Competition. Internet Retailer. Retrieved from: http://www.internetretailer.com/2014/03/18/alibabas-founder-talks-about-its-ipo-a nd-competition. 7. Walraven, Piet (2009) A Brief History (and Future) of Alibaba.com. TechNode. Retrieved from: http://technode.com/2009/01/22/a-brief-history-and-future-of-alibabacom/. 8. Wang, Guo-An & Lim, Yong-Taek (n.g) Research in China’s Alibaba’s Development. 9. Yu, Sophie (2014) A Tale of Two Internet Leaders: Tencent vs Alibaba. China Business. Retrieved from: http://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/1452041/tale-two-internet-l eaders-tencent-vs-alibaba.