Effects of Social Media on Society

With social network on the rise, and the large amount of young people that take part in social networking, there is question as to whether or not social media should be part of our education system. Propenents of social media point out the benefits of social media in regards to educational tools, and increased student engagement, while critics of social networking focus on subject like privacy, time, and miscommunication. Pros of Social Networking Today’s students are increasingly using social networking as a means to communicate.According to a recent poll, 22 percent of teenagers log on to their favorite social media site more than 10 times a day, and more than half of adolescents log on to a social media site more than once a day. Seventy-five percent of teenagers own cell phones–25 percent use them for social media, 54 percent use them for texting, and 24 percent use them for instant messaging. (O’Keefe 2011) With these statistics in mind, educators looking to engage students in an already challenging curriculum, search for ways to connect a student’s learning experience to what has become a huge force in their young lives.Social networking can be yet another platform to enrich the learning experience since students and teachers can connect beyond the confine of the classroom. Although Websites such as FaceBook, Twitter, and LinkIn are popular among young people, they are not the best, or the only social network sites available to use in school since they are â€Å"open sites† where anyone outside the student’s immediate circle can access communicate, or gain information.Instead, blogs, wikis, and private social networking are tools that can make a tremendous impact on how teachers teach and students learn in a much safer arena than public sites such as FaceBook or Twitter. Blogs, Wiki Private Label and other private social networks such as Edmondo or Socialcast, provide a place for teachers to post homework, communi cate with parents and students, and interact with students beyond the classroom. Student can also use these private social networks to participate in discussions, get peer feedback, and showcase work.Blogs, wikis and private social networks that are controlled and monitored by teachers to provide a far more safe on-line social networking environment than open social networks. Just as social media resources has attracted the attention of millions of young people, these same features have the ability to capture the attention of students to the learning opportunities provided by their school. Educators could take advantage of these social and interactive features to encourage students to become actively engaged in their learning experience with their teachers.Using social media resources as learning tools would allow students to access valuable and necessary learning objects regardless of their location and time of day. Easy access to an abundance of learning resources may also help in the amount of time a student spends engaged in a lesson or an assignment. In addition, the participatory nature of many social networks could be used to re-engage previously bored students or students that are apprehensive to openly talk in live discussions is class. Cons of Social NetworkingThere are many challenges that face the use of social networking in education such as; on-line safety, time to manage networks, and miscommunication. Before a school decides to make social networking part of their curriculum the benefits of such sites need to be weighed against the drawbacks. Social-networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter are open for anyone who wants to participate. Students need to provide personal information to join these sites, and often don’t think about safeguarding it.Although a lot of the information individuals’ supply on social networking is elective, young users may progressively become more comfortable with displaying a great deal of personal in formation online, without thinking who has access to the information, and what is it used for. Since students aren’t concerned with safety issues, teachers are therefore put into a position to ensure students are exercising privacy rights, which can take up a lot of time that teachers don’t necessarily have.In addition, teachers must take the time to check that students are using the social network as a tool to enhance the learning process instead of recreational use, and in looking at each blog, wiki, Facebook comment, Tweet, etc,. to see if the student is in fact participating. Managing networks take a huge amount of time that teachers often complain they don’t even have even in the traditional educational setting. Although social networks can facilitate communication, they also can hinder it by possible miscommunications. Learning via. the Internet does ot afford students the same opportunity of explanation and clarification that occur in face-to-face interac tion. Students can face some difficulty through social networking in expressing their views and ideas in writing, as many learners may prefer to express their ideas orally which is how they have been effectively communicating for years before using social networks. While social network users need to utilize writing skills to express their ideas and opinions freely, face to face interaction allows students to perceive physical clues like tone, inflection, and body language.In an online environment, these necessary components are lacking. As social networking becomes more and more integrated in the ways students communicate, the debate over the role social networking play in the classroom continues. Proponents on both sides will struggle to find a balance between the importance social networks to ways teachers teach and students learn and the safety of students. Though there are risks associated with encouraging students to use social networking, advocates argue that the opportunity f or a student’s potential intellectual and social growth will outweigh the costs.References Mitrano, T. (2006). A Wider World – Youth, Privacy, and Social Networking Technologies. Educause Review, Nov/Dec, 16-28. O’Keefe G, Clarke-Pearson K, â€Å"Clinical Report-The Impact of Social Media on Children, Adolescents, and Families. † Pediatrics. 2011 April; 127(4): 800-805 Rutherford, C. (2010). Using Online Social Media to Support Preservice Student Engagement. Journal of online learning and teaching, Vol. 6(4).

Race Class and Gender in Learning

Race, Class, and Gender in Learning Strayer University There is no simple definition or answer when one asks the question, â€Å"What is the purpose of education in adult learning. † To justly answer or define this question one most first ask one definitive question that will provide three important variables. Ultimately, we must ask â€Å"Who is asking this question? † simply, what is this person’s background, are they a WASP or a minority? What is their social class? Are they male or female? The answers to these questions will provide a contextual framework and starting point in which can genuinely begin to answer our original question, â€Å"What is the purpose of education in adult learning? † The values and norms developed in institutions such as education are authored by the dominant culture. In American society, White Anglo Saxon Protestants (WASPS) are the authors of the dominant culture. Unfortunately, there are major disparities between White European Americans and other minorities. These inequalities are prevalent in every American institution, including education. Blacks and other people of color are underrepresented in all types of adult education (Merriam, Caffarella, & Baumgartner, 2007). Traditionally, statistics show that minorities do not participate in adult education. Some researchers cite racism as a barrier to adult education. Adult educators have examined how the invisibility/norm of Whiteness has affected adult education, curriculum, theories, evaluation criteria, and instructional practices (Manglitz, 2003). Researchers found that racism in adult education was not intentional; many adult educators were unaware of the extent to which theories and research reinforce White racist attitudes and assumptions, thus sustaining the perpetuation of inequalities ( Colin & Preciphs, 1991). Some researchers have contended that socioeconomic status not race is the major barrier in adult education. Socioeconomic status is America is highly stratified; only a very small percentage of the population owns all of the wealth, power and influence in American society. In adult education, when social class is the focus, the aim of the analysis and subsequent action is to bring about a change from a capitalist political economy to a classes socialist form of government (Merriam, Caffarella, & Baumgartner, 2007). Some researchers argue that a classless society would result in more participation in not only adult education but in education in general. Usually those categorized in classes lower than middle class tend to have limited educational experiences. When considering race and class we must examine the inequality of gender in adult education. Feminist have placed gender, and gender as it intersects with race and class (Merriam, Caffarella, & Baumgartner, 2007). Statistics have shown that women are increasingly participating in adult education, despite this women still experience inequality in the classroom. Some argue that content knowledge, theories and research encountered in the classroom is still heavily influenced by American patriarchal dominance. Along with addressing the questions of Race, Class and Gender one most also account for the theories of Critical Theory, Postmodernism and Feminist Pedagogy. These 3 theories will give us a clue into how educators can contextualize the learning experience for each variable (race, gender and class). Each theory offers its own explanation on how the adult learning process should be conducted or imporved. First we will examine critical theory and its context to education. Critical Theory’s aim is to transform and improve society through the use of criticism (Henslin, 2008) Critical Theory defines its social critique through the use of social problems often citing â€Å"systems† as part of the problem. The â€Å"system† in a critical theory analysis is an institution (such as government or education) that functions to reproduce the status quo (Merriam, Caffarella, & Baumgartner, 2007, p. 253). Social institutions exist to positively regulate, order and control members of its society ( Henslin 2008), the institution of education seeks to do the same. Although ideally the institution of education is supposed to improve society, critical theorists often cite the â€Å"status quo† of education as hindering a learner’s experience. Critical Theorist argue that in adult learning there needs to be a paradigm shift in the status quo. Should learning be centered around technology or should more attention be given to emancipatory learning? Essentially critical theorist desire critique the status quo in hopes of developing one that is appropriate and equal to all learners. Postmodernism is a term that is widely used in many fields, such as literature, art, architecture, history, and philosophy. By definition, postmodernism resists definition (Kerka 1997). Postmodernism like Critical theory questions the status quo. Technically one cannot define postmodernism as a theory. According to Kerka postmodernism is a (Kerka, 1997)â€Å"form of questioning, an attitude, or perspective. † Postmodernism never accepts the truth as absolute and sees truth as ever changing. One can make the contention that postmodernism is part of the foundation of adult learning. Concepts popular with adult learning such as transformative learning or narratives urge learners to question their own â€Å"truth† thus by definition, inviting the learner to practice postmodernism. As one would suspect, Feminist Pedagogy is derived from feminist theory. The feminist theory is based in liberation and the feminist pedagogy seeks to create a liberatory learning environment and it also focuses on the concerns of women in the teaching-learning transaction (Merriam, Caffarella, & Baumgartner, 2007). Traditionally a woman is characterized as a docile nurturing human being but rarely as an authority or as assertive. Feminist pedagogy seeks to liberate a woman from this role in the classroom and urges her to be assertive and firm as a learner and to â€Å"find acceptance for her ideas in the public world† (Belenky, Clinchy, Goldberger, & Tarule, 1986, p. 20). The liberatory classroom allows for this sort of transformation. As potential adult educators we have to consider â€Å"what is the purpose of education? † for learners and how that question should be answered individually. As we have seen, that answer varies for each learner. We must be vigilant considering each learners diverse background and constantly examine and revam p the status quo to ensure that each learner’s background is included. Works Cited Henslin, J. (2008). Sociology : A Down To Earth Approach. Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall. Kerka, S. (1997). Postmodernism and Adult Education. Trends and Issues Alerts. ERIC Clearing House on Adult, Career and Vocational Education. Manglitz, E. (2003, Feb). Challenging White Privilege in Adult Education : A Critical Review of Literature. Adult Education Quarterly , p. 119. Merriam, S. B. , Caffarella, R. S. , & Baumgartner, L. M. (2007). Learning in Adulthood : A Comprehensive Guide. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Gross Indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde Essay

Oscar Wilde and his trials, both literal and figurative, has been the subject of quite a few films and plays apart from the considerable mass of writing that exist on this subject. This is because Oscar Wilde, as a metaphorical figure has never failed to capture the public imagination as the veritable revolutionary against society’s delimiting and deterministic conventions and a crippling value system. And yet, Moises Kauffman’s latest play Gross Indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde manages to turn the relatively familiar material – the trials and indictment of the legendary Wilde on charges of sodomy and pederasty – into a riveting and powerful document against social determinism. The theme of Kauffman’s play is the ever-continuing conflict between art and morality and of course with such a theme, Wilde, the martyr to nineteenth century morality, with his assertion that there are no immoral books, only badly written ones is the perfect hero. Drawing from a huge variety of sources that includes trial transcripts, journalistic articles, contemporary autobiographies (including the one by Wilde’s lover, Lord Alfred Douglas) and later biographies, Kauffman in the play successfully brings alive the past in a way that Wilde himself would have approved of. The play breaks all generic boundaries and has the elements of a historical drama, a docudrama, a courtroom drama, a social commentary, tragedy and comedy all rolled into one. The oft-repeated tale of Wilde’s fall from fame and fortune is by no means old wine in new bottle, primarily because the playwright’s in-depth research brings in new life into the tale by documenting new perspectives and exploring newer avenues and thereby problematizing the positions of victim and victimizer, secondarily because Kauffman concentrates in showing history in its own context and does not overtly attempt to make it contemporary, and finally because by showing Wilde’s plight in his confrontation with a world that found him fundamentally subversive to the interests of the society the playwright strikes an universal chord. Wilde’s passionate attempt to live a life on his own terms is superbly dramatized in the play. Most riveting are the dramatizations of those moments that change the life of the author for once and all. Such a fateful moment comes when Wilde denies kissing a young man with a witty putdown of his looks instead of a straightforward ‘no’. In the first of the three trials and in a climactic moment Wilde is asked by the prosecuting attorney Edward Carson, if he had ever kissed one of the young working class men with whom he was known to keep company. Wilde, with his suave and polished wit replies: â€Å"Oh, dear, no, He was a peculiarly plain boy. † Carson leaps victoriously at the implication of such a comment, that Wilde would have kissed the boy if he was a little more attractive and the author’s fate is sealed. From this moment onwards the play takes on a destructive momentum as Wilde’s entire life spirals out of control betrayed by his own wit. Never again is he able to gain control of his life. Through the presentation of Wilde, with support from his extensive research, Kauffman manages to subtly problematize the positions of victimizer and victim in the play. For as we find in the play, even before he stabs himself with his own clever tongue Wilde frittered away his prodigious talents by surrounding himself â€Å"with the smaller natures and the meaner minds. As he quotes from â€Å"De Profundis† towards the end of the play â€Å" I became the spendthrift of my own genius, and to waste an eternal youth gave me a curious joy. † Still, the intrinsic irony of the fact that it is his suavity, wit and incomparable craft with words that would bring his downfall is also highly symbolic as far as the theme of the play is concerned, for the play, among other things, engages with the typical Victorian debate over morality and art. Wilde refused to side with the dominant discourse of compartmentalizing his personal erotic longings and keeping it separate from the aesthetic side of his life. And the fact that he raised his personal sense of morality to the level of an art turned out to be the ultimate source of his tragedy in an age which preferred to look at art as a mode moral dispensation for social welfare. Apart from tracing the tragic downfall of this hero with a sincerity and passion that raises Wilde’s conviction and his untimely death to the level of a crucifixion so that the protagonist becomes a patron saint for all those whose life has been crippled by the narrow moralities of a compulsively prohibitionist society, the play also successfully and subtly presents a multilevel study in public perceptions of class, art and sexuality and this is what makes Kauffman’s themes universal. The playwright uses a chorus of actors, who appear both on stage and in front of it posing as the investigators in a hearing, almost classical in its simplicity. This modern chorus continuously reads, quotes or acts out from a huge variety of sources – fruits of the playwright’s research on his subject – establishing an ever-shifting mosaic of perspectives. This chorus takes up several convincing and often hilarious figurative perspectives. The multiple roles bring to the table the likes of Queen Victoria (the author of the Gross Indecency Law), and G. B. Shaw to name a few. The chorus quotes from the memoirs of Wilde and his lover, the accounts of Sir Edward Clarke and the editor Frank Harris. A particularly inspired scene is the one when a later day academic is brought into the play to deconstruct Wilde’s performance in court with insights that are nonetheless valid for being presented satirically. However the most hilarious of all these is probably the scene where the chorus dons long white underwear to display how Wilde procured his ‘gross indecencies’. The greatest success of Kauffman’s use of the chorus lies in the fact that by means of it, very subtly but surely, he manages to communicate a rather unsettling idea to the readers of the play: that even in our age of individual freedom, we are not very far from the social Puritanism that crippled Wilde during his lifetime.

Relationship between Theory and Research Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Relationship between Theory and Research - Essay Example Descriptive theories are the most common theories. They classify or describe characteristics or dimensions of an individual, group, situation, or event by summarizing similarities found in discrete observations. Descriptive theories mostly required when remarkably little about the phenomenon under discussion (Ellis and Yair, 2008). Descriptive theory described into two categories, that is, classification and naming. A classification theory is elaborate in that it defines how the characteristics or dimensions of a given phenomenon interrelated structurally. Naming theories describe the characteristics or dimensions of some phenomenon. The dimensions may be exclusive, overlapping, mutually exclusive or sequential. A classification theory can be mostly referred to as taxonomies or typologies. A descriptive theory is tested and generated by descriptive research. This research usually referred to as explanatory research. Explanatory research specifically directed towards knowing the existing characteristics of the real world relative to the question being researching upon. A descriptive may or may not use an empirical method. Non empirical methods include historic and philosophic inquiries. Philosophic inquiries classify and describe phenomena through critical discussion. Moreover, historical research directed towards the description of phenomena that occurred at an earlier time (Harlow, 2011). A descriptive study employing the empirical method involves observation of a phenomenon in its natural setting. Data gathered by a participant or a non participant observation, as well as by structured interview schedule, questionnaires or by open ended. The raw data gathered in a descriptive study may be quantitative or qualitative. Quantitative data usually analyzed by various parametric or non parametric measures of central tendency and variability. Qualitative data may be analyzed by a means of content analysis. This technique sorts data into a priori category or into a category that emerge during the analysis (Kerlinger, & Lee, 2000). Empirical- descriptive research involves surveys, ethnographies, case studies and phenomenological studies. A case study is a systematic and intensive investigation of many factors for a group, a community or a small number of individuals. Surveys yield accurate and factual descriptions of an intact phenomenon. Surveys use structured instruments fo r collecting data although open ended questions may be included in the instrument (Harlow, 2011). The method of grounded theory yields a description of social situations and processes in those social situations. Every piece of data constantly compares with every other piece in order to discover the dominant social processes that characterize the phenomenon under study. Ethnography yields a theory of cultural behavior for a

Poster presention Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Poster presention - Essay Example On top of these physical manifestations of trauma, psychological symptoms related to possible post traumatic stress disorder (PSTD) may surface. These may be accompanied by chronic pain syndromes, chronic fatigue syndrome, eating disorders and irritable bowels (Springer et al., 2003). The case at hand is about a mother who has fled from her abusive partner because he has been found to have sexually abused her two children. Her older son, aged 9 is by another man, and the younger son, aged 5 is the abusive partner’s own son. It is logical to assume that both boys may have been traumatised by their experience of child abuse. To add insult to injury, the man is requesting for custody for both of them, and their mother is denying it due to obvious reasons. Studies have shown that most often, the abuser is somebody familiar to the child and that the abuse happens in a familiar environment, supposedly safe for the child (Administration for Children and Families, 2004). In this case, the perpetrator is the parent/ parental figure of the child victims, which further heightens the likelihood of trauma. Abused or neglected children develop painful memories of the experience and it can haunt them all their lives. The traumatic experience can even influence the way they behave with others or how they would raise their own children in the future (Anda et al., 2005). Some children may never fully recover from the trauma, resulting in lifelong depression, anxiety, and personality disorders. Shengold (1989) have termed the devastating long-term consequences of child maltreatment as â€Å"soul

Prevention and Control of Juvenile Delinquency Research Proposal

Prevention and Control of Juvenile Delinquency - Research Proposal Example According to Hepburn and Goodstein (1986), criminal justice reforms are organization initiatives to develop programs that respond and reflect sociological perspectives on the development and prevalence of crime. Though reforms have been initiated mostly through social action, the implementations of reforms entail legislative or judicial action (Lupton, 1999; Lint, 2007). There are also a number of ways and modes for the advancement of reforms programs. In the United States, for example, criminal justice reforms trace its roots in the Pennsylvania Prison Society, considered as the original society-based or lobby group for penal reform in the country (Pillsbury, 1989). While in the case of the United Kingdom, criminal justice reforms were developed in legislative assemblies and were enforced as acts of parliament considered to be more political than social actions (Stenson & Sullivan, 2000; Parks, 2007). In the studies done by Gorton and Boies (1999) and Keith (2002), penal reforms are among the most sensitive to change and have historically been the focus of criminal justice reforms. However, recent trends have shown a greater emphasis on crime prevention, social collaboration in rehabilitation and integration (Squires, 2006). Increasing cost of criminal justice proceedings, penal systems, and rehabilitation programs as well researches emphasizing the rehabilitation of offenders have all contributed to the divergence from punitive regiments (Kemshall & Maguire, 2001). Hughes (1998; 2007) points out that this level of sensitivity and responsiveness is also dependent on changing trends in social perspectives and existing state capacity to implement criminal justice programs. He notes that the changes are not changes in held values but rather changes in the approach of providing a means to pursue offenders and deliver restitution to victims.

Case study #2 Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

#2 - Case Study Example While this is so, there are those companies that show very little concern about what customers think about the services that they get and this can turn out to be very damaging to not only the reputation of the firm but also the income the firm generates. This paper will be looking at the two companies with both extremes in customer service- Amazon with the best and AT&T with the worst. The paper will also state a recommendation for each company that can help improve their customer service. Amazon has been voted the company with the best customer service the second time in a row. There are particular reasons why the company stands out in its customer satisfaction record. Those who have had to return items they had bought from Amazon agree that indeed the customer service of the company is commendable. Jeff Bezos, the founder of the company, is among the most passionate people when it comes to the satisfaction of the customer. Bezos’ is known for the use of his infamous "empty chair" in all boardroom meetings. Bezos asks that a chair be left empty as that is the spot for the customer. The use of the empty chair reminds the other panel members that the boss in the company is actually the customer and should be considered whenever developing any policies for the business. It is this culture of being customer minded that makes everyone in the firm be willing to serve the customers with high regard. Other than this, Amazon demands that every manager and other employees learn how to interact with the customer so that the entire firm is as customer-centric as possible. Bezos is quoted saying that every member of staff, including himself, has to be able to work at a call center. To make this possible, the CEO has every employee get in touch with the customers even if it is for a few days only. Amazon knows that understanding how the customers view, use, and talk about the products they sell is significant to a business and thus lets every member of

Criminology Report- The August 2011 Public Disorder-an analysis of the Essay

Criminology Report- The August 2011 Public Disorder-an analysis of the data on those bright before the courts - Essay Example The data presented in the filing fails to command authenticity and as the bulletin reports, the use of it should be under the understanding of its potential flows and is only viewed as approximations. The most observable features of the data as presented is the rounded off figures which therefore confirms the approximate nature of the data. The data presented covers factual records on court hearing data, data on ethnicity as well as age and gender and data on case classifications on area among others. Moreover, the distribution of the court proceedings between the court systems across the country is in record within the data presented. Nevertheless, it would be pointed out that the data presented fails to authoritatively quantify the number of offenders involved in each act of offence as was committed during the time. It is however acknowledged that the data presented was collected/retrieved from the administrative records as official statistics. This implies that though with the pos sible shortcomings pointed out in the discussion, the data can be used for research purposes as secondary data by the virtue of being official statistics. The report shows that the public violence involved many people who had disparities in age, gender and motives (Dodd, 2011). The report notes that on the basis of age, the public disorder involved 27% juveniles (aged between 10 and 17 years), 26% were aged 18-18 years while only an approximate of 5% of the offenders were above 40 years by age. In comparison with the age distribution of offenders previously convicted in similar offences in 2010, great disparities were observed from the 2011 statistics, majorly being on the numbers of offenders. Amongst 3103 defendants who faced initial trials in London magistrate courts, 27% were juveniles while the remaining 73% were adults. It is however to be noted that this was only 72% of the total accused persons because others

A literature review 'what are the concepts behind sustainable housing Essay

A literature review 'what are the concepts behind sustainable housing development' - Essay Example The term ‘sustainable development’ is perhaps one of the most important terms in the context of global society. World Commission on Environment and Development defined ‘sustainable development’ as â€Å"development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs† (Munier, 2005). Often people think that ‘sustainable development’ is synonymous with ‘economic development’. However the concept of sustainable development is applied to every area. Fundamentally there are three major areas that are addressed by sustainable development. These are In the present era when activities are more involved in destructions rather than constructions, it is very important to have sustainable development in both economic and social sectors. Housing development is basically a part of both social as well as economic development of the region. As a result sustainable housing development has to be considered crucial if the objectives regarding sustainable economic and social development are needed to be achieved. Housing can be seen as a basic human need and it is one of the major issues in the everyday life of people. In 1948, United Nations stated that â€Å"everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Bakar, A. H. et al, n.d.). Housing initiatives have to be socially acceptable, economically viable, environmentally compatible and technically feasible in order to achieve sustainability. Sustainable housing has been defined in several different ways by different experts and organizations. The European Union provided a definition from three different perspectives – economy and society (e.g. psychological impacts and affordability), construction (e.g. construction quality) and

Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) Essay

Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) - Essay Example Most people find this depressing and confusing. The calculation of the ability to get aid based on individuals’ financial circumstances may limit some students in getting financial aid and therefore it should be on merit and not on the size of assets owned by individuals and their families. The FAFSA form does not consider the financial challenges that most families live in and therefore most family members find it intimidating. Therefore most families and students fail to go for higher level of education like colleges, since it has over hundred questions and most of these questions are base on the financial wellbeing of parents and families. This becomes a limiting factor to students in need of financial aid. The Free Application for Federal Student Aid process faces challenges because it is ineffective in ensuring college completion by the students because of the complexities involved. Due to lack of finances enough to sponsor education sector, the organizations using the FAFSA process imposes policies that make parents to start paying immediately the students are enrolled in the loans programme. This makes poor families strain even more and hence find themselves in a bad financial situation. Proposal have been made for the Free Application for Federal Student Aid form to be narrowed down to be user friendly but instead more questions were added to the already existing ones to help asses financial situations of students seeking loans and grants in or4der to finance their education. This is a challenging factor because, even if the questions are answered, it does not put into consideration of the high costs of living in various states in the nation. The fact that the accessibility of loans and grants are based on the credit worthiness according to the financial position of the families, most poor families find it

JetBlue Airways Corporation Essay Example for Free

JetBlue Airways Corporation Essay JetBlue Airways Corporation was formed in August 1998 as a low-fare, low-cost but high service passenger airline serving select United States market. JetBlues operations strategy was designed to achieve a low cost, whilst offering customers a pleasing and differentiated flying experience. JetBlue has had a successful business model and strong financial results during that period, and performed well in comparison to other airline companies in the US during the period between 2000 and 2003. It had been the only other airline apart from Southwest airlines, to have been profitable during the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 attacks on World Trade Center, and at a time when the entire airline industry was experiencing losses. The core of JetBlues strategy was low operating cost achieved through a smaller and more productive workforce; utilizing aircraft efficiently; better use of technology to achieve lower distribution cost i.e. use of electronic ticket as against paper ticket; use of brand new single model planes that reduced maintenance costs and training costs at the same time. However, moving into the growth phase, JetBlue was contemplating expansion with the introduction of a new model of planes, i.e. Embraer E190, that are smaller than the A320s that they were using. These planes were to be utilized for penetrating mid-size cities and also during off-peak times on existing routes. The company defined these markets as destination with 100 to 600 local passengers per day each way, compared to the much larger markets that the company was serving with its A320s. This had potential implications for its low-cost strategy. Jetblues expansion required investments in areas other than just new aircraft. Owen needed to decide how to raise additional capital to fund the  companys growth. Investment bankers had presented two financing proposals; a new public equity offering and a private placement of convertible debentures. Own needed to decide which proposal, if any, to recommend to the board. QUESTION 1 PART A In early 2003, JetBlue continue to see opportunity to grow by adding both new market and new flight to existing destination. One of such new market where the company believed there was attractive opportunity was the mid-sized market segment which comprised of destinations with 100 600 local passengers per day each way. To accommodate this growth, the company is seeking to purchase 65 new Airbus A320, with an option to buy additional 50 new aircraft, and also committed to purchase 100 Embraer E190 aircraft, with the option to purchase 100 additional ones. Jetblue had embarked on a $6.8 billion plane acquisition program that would increase its aircraft fleet from 45 to 252, including existing aircraft purchase commitment. The company needs thus to think about a way to finance those acquisitions, as well as other needed investments such as spare parts, new engines, additional hangars and a flight training centre JOHN OWEN THE CFO OF JETBLUE IS TRYING TO DECIDE WHICH OF TWO FINANCING PROPOSALS (NEW PUBLIC EQUITY OFFERING AND A PRIVATE PLACEMENT OF CONVERTIBLE DEBENTURE) TO PURSUE. A straight equity issue will dilute his principal shareholders ownership, but favored a conservative capital structure that would help to ensure JetBlues financial flexibility, access to capital and a favorable lending rate. On the other hand, a convertible debt alternative seems less dilutive, and cheaper, but brings with it an increased risk of default and financial problems. PART B The financing decision taken by the CFO is important because of the positive impact it is expected to have on the current and future performance of the JetBlue. The considerations as regards impact of the financing decision are discussed; IMPACT ON CURRENT PERFORMANCE OF THE COMPANY It is expected that the new capital would ease Jetblues ability to finance its short term obligations as JetBlue does not have a line of credit, or short-term borrowing facility. Therefore, the company depends on its operating cash flow to finance its short-term obligations The new capital will be required to finance working capital requirement of Jetblue, Working capital is the short term resources that are used to manage the business on a daily basis. This is otherwise referred to as current asset. The financing decision which is aimed at securing the purchase of the new 100-seat Embraer E190 aircraft would allow JetBlue to enter smaller markets while maintaining low operating costs, and increase flight frequency on existing routes. The low fares offered by JetBlue would allow it to attract new passengers who might otherwise not fly. Earnings from this market segment is expected to contribute to the profitability and positive financial performance of the company IMPACT ON FUTURE PERFORMANCE OF THE COMPANY The additional capital is expected to strengthen the companys balance sheet at a time when JetBlue will be shouldering a significant amount of debt related to new aircraft deliveries. The decision on financing method would result in a strong capital structure for Jetblue which would ensure that the company would continue to grow while avoiding financial problems. The new cash inflow which is directed at ensuring JetBlue achieves its expansion activities. It is expected that the company will be in a position to purchase larger volumes of jet fuel and would thus have more leverage in procuring fuel than today. The company will thus suffer relatively less from fuel shortages and the negative impact a rise in fuel has an operating income QUESTION 2 PART A John Owen the CFO of JetBlue generally favored a conservative capital structure. A conservative funding strategy is when a firm finances both its seasonal and permanent requirement with long term debt. The criteria which John Owen used to evaluate his decision on the appropriate capital structure and mode of financing to support the expansion drive of the business are; FINANCIAL FLEXIBILITY: This refers to the firms ability to take advantage of unforeseen opportunities or their ability to deal with expected events depending on the firms financial policies and financial structure. A firm with a high debt obligation and weak solvency and liquidity is not financially flexible. FAVORABLE LENDING RATE: The lending rate to a business varies directly with the risk associated with any given financial structure which can be accessed by leverage analysis. It is expected that a higher leverage (as a result of accepting debt offering) tends to amplify a firms predictable business swings i.e. associated risk. This inclines to increase lending rate to the firm and ultimately result in an unfavorable lending rate. CONTROL: The financing scheme of a company can imply changes in control constrains on the firm, this can be indicated by percentage distribution of share ownership and structure of debt covenant. There is a high chance that the board of directors will not favor the equity offering as they were  sensitive about the dilution (i.e. control dilution) that an equity offering would cause to existing shareholders. INCOME: This compares financing tactics on the basis of their effect on value creation and distribution i.e. the impact on Earnings per share (EPS) and Return on equity (ROE). The debt option limited the ability of Jetblue to manage one of the airlines principal risk; rising fuel prices. As discussed above, the debt offering afforded Jetblue less financial flexibility. If fuel prices rose unexpectedly, operating income will decline thus hurting JetBlues ability to meet the additional debt service payments. PART B Other criteria John Owen could use to evaluate his decision on the appropriate capital structure and mode of financing are; Timing: This considers whether the current capital market environment is the right time to implement any alternative financial structure and what the implication for future financing will be if the proposed structure is adopted. Financial market condition often favour one or another kind of financing. Others: This is the consideration of the impact of the alternative financing choice on other issues and vice versa. An example is the ability to use collateral to reduce the costs and risk of debt financing and the effect of various financing tactics on the liquidity of investment. REASONS WHY JOHN OWEN SHOULD PROPOSE THE EQUITY FINANCING OPTION From the above analysis, it can be deduced that using equity financing option minimizes the companys weighted average cost of capital, thus maximizes the overall stock price of the company and the shareholders wealth. The NPV of the company is higher under the equity financing option JetBlue, as any airline company has a debt to equity ratio of 61.21% and incurs very high fixed costs as a result of high value operating property and equipment. An equity offering would increase the financial flexibility of the company. The company has a very high operating leverage as a result of variability in fuel price. This exposes the company to the risk of cash flow projections errors in case it does not meet the projected revenues figures. Any variation in the estimated revenues, might lead the company to a position where it could not meet its financial obligations related to debt. From this point of view, JetBlue needs to secure its cash flows. This can be achieved using equity financing. The lending rate to a business varies directly with the risk associated with any given financial structure which can be accessed by leverage analysis. Issuing equity will reduce the leverage of business and reduce lending rate. PART C Other financing option I would like to recommend to the board and John Owen are; JetBlue can consider some other alternatives as well. Indeed, the company can issue some preferred stock. This stock might be considered as equity in accounting, to strengthen the balance sheet of the company, but will at the same time accommodate the board members concern about dilution. Another alternative might be the issuance of simple corporate bonds. The coupon rate for those will however be higher than the 3.5% of the convertible bonds. This option will thus cost more for JetBlue than convertible bonds QUESTION 4 PART A Aviation fuel cost is the second largest operating cost in the airline industry after payroll, this has significant impact on operating and financing risks of a company. IMPACT ON OPERATING RISK: In 2002, JetBlues fuel cost amounted to $76 million or 14.4% of operating cost. In the event that fuel prices rises, there will be a significant drop in operating income and higher exposure to operating risk (risk created by operating leverage). Operating leverage is the magnification of the top half of the income statement, it measures how EBIT changes in response to changes  in sale, and the relevant cost is the fixed cost of operating the business. It is expected that as operating leverage increase due to jet fuel increase, the operating risk of the business likewise increases. IMPACT ON FINANCING RISK In the event that jet fuel rises, it is expected that operating profit will drop and operating leverage would increase. This will also hurt JetBlues ability to meet the additional debt service payment i.e. it may face risk of default or potential financial loss which is known as financial risk. Financing risk is the risk associated with financing and its created by financial leverage. Financial leverage is the magnification of the bottom half of the income statement, it measures how EPS (earnings per share) changes in response to changes in sale, and the relevant cost is the fixed cost of financing, in particular interest. PART B The operating and financing risk exposure of JetBlue through rising fuel price of JetBlue has being managed in the past through hedging 75% of its fuel using a combination of CALL OPTIONS, SWAPS AND COLLARS hedging instrument. PART C HEDGING: Fuel hedging is a contractual tool some large fuel consuming companies such as airlines (JetBlue) use to reduce their expose to volatile and potentially rising fuel cost. A fuel hedge contract allows a large fuel consuming company to lock in the cost of future fuel purchase, allowing an increasing number of airlines to avoid surprises from unforeseen cost fluctuations. The hedging could be done via a commodity swap or option. One of the basic reasons why a company enters into hedging contract is to mitigate their exposure to future fuel prices that may be higher than current prices and/or  to establish a known fuel cost for budgeting and predictability of earnings. PRINCIPAL WAYS JETBLUE HAS BEING USING HEDGING TO MANAGE FUEL PRICING RISK: Jetblue is a small airline which had less leverage in procuring large volume of jet fuel in order to mitigate risk of volatility or shortage of jet fuel. In order to mitigate fuel pricing risk, Jetblue used a combination of fuel call option, swaps and collars hedging instrument. From time to time Jetblue has simply bought call options which tend to be at least $5 per barrel. HOW THE HEDGING INSTRUMENT WORKS The hedging instrument mostly used by JetBlue is the call option. CALL OPTION: This is a financial contract between two parties, the buyer and the seller of this type of option. The buyer of the option has the right but not the obligation to buy an agreed quantity of a particular commodity (jet fuel) from the seller of the option at a certain time (the expiration date for European call option or at any time during the life of the option for American call option) for a certain price (the strike price). The seller is obligated to sell the commodity (jet fuel) or financial instrument should the buyer so decide. The buyer pays a fee called a premium for this right. In the case JetBlue, the premium it pays is at least $5 per barrel. SWAPS: Swaps are tailor made futures contract whereby an airline exchanges payment at a future date (which can be in jet aviation fuel and could be further into the future into the future than possible through commodity exchanges), based on the fuel or oil price. There could be an arrangement with a supplier such as Air BP. The airline would buy a swap for a period of say one year at a certain strike price for a specified amount of jet fuel per month. The average price for that month is then compared with the strike price, and if it exceeds it the counter-party would pay the airline the difference times the amount of fuel. However, if it were lower, then the airline would pay the difference. They lock in a given price, as with forward contacts. COLLARS: This is a combination of a call and a put option. The call protects the holder from adverse price increases above its strike price, at a cost of the option premium that would be paid in any event. The holder of this call also writes a put option that limits the advantage it can take of price reduction below its strike price. The total cost of taking the two options is the call option premium paid less the put option premium received. A collar limits the speculative risk to a small range of price moves and locks in the price that will be paid for fuel between two known values.

Issues Concerning Islam Essay Example for Free

Issues Concerning Islam Essay Muslims have been accused of mutilating women. This practice, however, is denied by the followers of Islam. According to them, â€Å"Female Genital Mutilation† (FGM), which is actually a surgical procedure performed on girls before they reach the age of puberty for the purpose of terminating or reducing their sexual feelings, is not an Islamic practice. They explain that FGM is a tradition of â€Å"Animists, Christians, and [some] Muslims in those countries where FGM is common. † Women are given equal rights under Islam. In fact, the Qur’an decreed that when it comes to public life, men and women should have equal rights and participation. During the time of Muhammad, women were allowed to participate actively in their baya which is the equivalent of today’s practice of political endorsements. Evidence of this Muslim women’s status is the voting rights granted to women in the predominantly Muslim countries like Bahrain, Qatar, and Oman. The women in Kuwait followed suit by earning their right to vote and get elected sometime in 2005. In fact, Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah, Kuwait’s Prime Minister, divulged a plan to appoint a woman minister in Kuwait soon (Robinson, 2007). Muslims as terrorists and pro-violence Yusuf (n. d. ) said that majority of the Muslims are convinced that while the U. S. government has been blaming terrorism on Islam for years, it was the 9/11 incident which dealt the most telling blow on the credibility and reputation of their religion. This was because the international media was able to depict that many Muslims around the world rejoiced after that incident. The truth is, however, that majority of the Muslim world was saddened by that incident and the repercussions it caused. They would like to tell the world that terrorism is not an official policy of Islam and that, in fact, Muslims also consider terrorists as enemies of their religion. He laments the fact that When a crazy Christian does something terrible, everyone in the West knows it is the actions of a mad man because they have some knowledge of the core beliefs and ethics of Christianity. When a mad Muslim does something evil or foolish they assume it is from the religion of Islam, not because they hate us but because they have never been told by a Muslim what the teachings of Islam are all about. Yusuf blames this lack of Islamic knowledge among Christians to the fact that there is a dearth of credible spokespersons who could defend Islam from its attackers. As a matter of fact, Yusuf stressed that â€Å"Islam is the middle way between excess and neglect† and that terrorism is the preoccupation of zealots and extremists who are, in fact, a plaque of Islam. According to him, there are two types of Muslim extremists whose acts destroy Islam. The first he calls â€Å"reactionary extremists. † This group rejects any form of religious pluralism. According to these reactionary extremists, the world consists of good and evil with nothing in between. Good, according to them, means the reactionary extremists and all those who oppose their actions are evil. Yusuf further explains that these kind of extremists are in the habit of â€Å"excommunicating† other Muslims who reject the way they interpret the Qur’an. However, this kind does not usually resort to violent acts to achieve their goals. Instead, they employ character assassination or takfir to ward their critics (Yusuf, n. d. ). The second type is the â€Å"radical extremist. † These Muslims extremists, according to Yusuf, are the ones who resort to violent acts and tactics to further their objectives. Yusuf stressed that these Muslims act as if they belong to some secret, wicked society whose members believe in the dictum that â€Å"the end justifies the means. † In other words, any method, even the most violent method, is acceptable as long as their â€Å"cause† is advanced. According to Yusuf, this is destroying Islam because the methods employed by Islam should be reflecting the noble ends of the religion. Secondly, Islam is not a â€Å"secret society of conspirators† – rather, it is open with its objectives and traditions which have already been accepted and recognized by people from other religious denominations (Yusuf, n. d. ). Muslims confused with Arabs Muslims object to their being confused with Arabs because it would never be accurate to equate Islam, a religious denomination, with Arab, which is an ethnic grouping. According to Muslims, the reason for this erroneous identification could be the fact that Islam emerged from the culture and society of Arab Bedouins of the 8th century. Another reason might be the fact that the Qur’an was written in Arabic. However, beyond these facts, Muslims should not be identified as Arabs, and vice versa because, according to statistics, â€Å"there are many non-Muslim Arabs, and far, far more non-Arab Muslims in the world. In fact, out of the estimated one billion Muslims worldwide, only about 200 million are Arabs (DHinMl, 2006). Looking at the table below of the top ten countries with the highest Muslim population, only Egypt (at number seven) is an Arab country (Aneki. com, n. d. ). References Aneki.com. (n.d.). Largest Muslim Population in the World. Retrieved November 26, 2007 from http://www.aneki.com/muslim.html Fisher, M.P. (2005). Living Religions, Sixth Edition. Prentice-Hall. Philips, A.A.B. (n.d.). The True Religion. Retrieved November 26, 2007 from http://www.islamworld.net/

Theories Of Deviant Behavior

Theories Of Deviant Behavior Sigmund Freud was an Austrian neurologist and the founder of the psychoanalytic school of psychology. I intend to explain Freuds theory about the libido and how it changes its object, a process designed by the concept of sublimation. He argued that humans are born polymorphously perverse (AROPA, 2010), meaning that any number of objects could be a source of pleasure. Lawrence Kohlberg is known for writing The Six Stages of Moral Reasoning (Crain, 1985, pp. 118-136). These stages are planes of moral adequacy conceived to explain the development of moral reasoning and why these stages can lead to deviant behavior. I intend to scope all six stages and explain them in detail. In the end, from my explanation, one should be able to identify certain behaviors and where they stem from. Cesare Lombroso popularized the notion of the born criminal through biological determinism, claiming that criminals have particular physical attributes or deformities. If criminality was inherited, then the born criminal could be distinguished by physical atavistic stigmata. I intend to explain this theory in detail along with a few other concepts in order to properly broaden the topic so one can grasp its true meaning. Robert Mertons theory on deviance stems from his 1938 analysis of the relationship between culture, structure and anomie. Merton defines culture as an organized set of normative values governing behavior which is common to members of a designated society or group (Crain, 1985 pp 118-136). I intend to relate this theory to other theorists related to this field of study. I will define how one can become deviant through his/her surroundings. Each theorist has stated that deviance provides a way in which some individuals and groups can introduce their agendas to the rest of society, and elevate their own personal status while doing it (AROPA, 2010 pp 1-2). If that is the case then deviance is a violation of a norm; while crime is defined as a violation one specific type of norm, a law. By definition then, it would seem that society considers all crime to be deviant behavior. However, members of society may not consider a specific crime to be deviant at all. Sigmund Freud Stages of Development Freud advanced a theory of personality development that centered on the effects of the sexual pleasure drive on the individual psyche. At particular points in the developmental process, he claimed, a single body part is particularly sensitive to sexual, erotic stimulation (Stevenson, 1996 pp 2-3). These erogenous zones are the mouth, the anus, and the genital region. The childs libido centers on behavior affecting the primary erogenous zone of his age; he cannot focus on the primary erogenous zone of the next stage without resolving the developmental conflict of the immediate one. A child at a given stage of development has certain needs and demands, such as the need of an infant to nurse. Frustration occurs when these needs are not met; overindulgence stems from such a meeting of these needs that the child is reluctant to progress beyond the stage. Both frustration and overindulgence lock some amount of the childs libido permanently into the stage in which they occur; both result in a fixation (Stevenson, 1996 pp. 2-3). If a child progresses normally through the stages, resolving each conflict and moving on, then little libido remains invested in each stage of development. However, if he/she fixates at a particular stage, the method of obtaining satisfaction which characterized the stage will dominate and affect his/her adult personality. The Oral Stage The oral stage begins at birth, when the oral cavity is the primary focus of libidal energy. The infant preoccupies themselves with nursing, with the pleasure of sucking and accepting things into the mouth. The infant who is frustrated at this stage, because the mother refused to nurse him/her on demand or who ended nursing sessions early, is characterized by pessimism, envy, suspicion and sarcasm (Stevenson, 1996 pp 4-5). The overindulged oral character, whose nursing urges were always and often excessively satisfied, is optimistic, gullible, and is full of admiration for others around him/her (Stevenson, 1996 pp.4-5). The stage ends in the primary conflict of weaning, which both deprives the child of the sensory pleasures of nursing and of the psychological pleasure of being cared for and mothered. The stage lasts approximately one and one-half years. Anal Stage At one and one-half years, the child will enter the anal stage. The act of toilet training becomes the childs obsession with the erogenous zone of the anus and with the retention or expulsion of the feces. This represents a classic conflict between the id, which derives pleasure from expulsion of bodily wastes, and the ego and superego, which represent the practical and societal pressures to control the bodily functions (Stevenson, 1996 pp 5-6). The child will meet the conflict between the parents demands and the childs desires in one of two ways: Either he puts up a fight or he simply refuses to use expel the waste. The child who wants to fight takes pleasure in expelling maliciously, often just after being placed on the toilet. If the parents are too lenient and the child manages to derive pleasure and success from this expulsion, it will result in the formation of an anal expulsive character (Stevenson, 1996 pp 5-6). This character is generally messy, disorganized, reckless, carel ess, and defiant. However, a child may choose to retain feces, thereby disobeying his/her parents while enjoying the pleasurable pressure of the built-up feces on his/her intestine. If this tactic succeeds and the child is overindulged, he will develop into an anal retentive character (Stevenson, 1996 pp. 5-6). This character is neat, precise, orderly, careful, stingy, withholding, obstinate, meticulous, and passive-aggressive. This stage lasts from one and one-half to two years approximately. Phallic Stage From ages three to six, the setting for the greatest sexual conflict happens in the phallic stage. With the genital region becoming the weapon of choice, as the phallic stage matures, boys experience the Oedipus complex whereas girls experience the Electra complex. These complexes involve the inherent urge to remove our same-sexed parent so to possess our opposite-sexed parent (Psychosexual, 2010 pp 1) In boys, the father stands in the way of the increasingly sexual love for his mother. What controls this urge to eliminate the father is the fear that his father will remove their common appendage, the penis. The easiest way to resolve castration anxiety of the phallic stage is to imitate the father, which in the long-term acts as a voice of restraint in his adult life. The female counterparts in the phallic stage suffer from penis envy. The female child holds her mother accountable for not sharing the appendage that her brother wants to remove from their father. Unlike the male counte rparts, Freud remained unclear how the phallic stage is resolved. Fixation at the phallic stage develops a person who is reckless, resolute, self-assured, and narcissistic and is excessively vain and proud. The failure to resolve the conflict can also cause a person to be afraid or incapable of close love; Freud also hinted that fixation could be a root cause of homosexuality (Psychosexual, 2010 pp 1). Id, Ego, and Superego Freud saw the human personality as having three aspects, which work together to produce all of our complex behaviors. These are described as the t Id, the Ego and the Superego. All three components need to be well-balanced in order to have reasonable mental health. However, the Ego has a difficult time dealing with the competing demands of the Superego and the Id. According to the psychoanalytic view, this psychological conflict is an intrinsic and pervasive part of human experience (Wilderdom.com, 2008, pp. 1-2). The conflict between the Id and Superego, negotiated by the Ego, is one of the normal psychological battles all people face. The way in which a person characteristically resolves the instant gratification vs. longer-term reward dilemma reflects upon their character (Wilderdom.com, 2008, pp. 1-2). The id can be described as the functions of the irrational and emotional part of the mind. This part of psychology is very self-serving and uncaring towards others needs. This is very true of an infant since their only desire to be satisfied and served. In addition, this phase can be applied to childhood since children are also very self-serving and seek constant gratification. The Ego functions with the rational part of the mind. The Ego develops out of awareness that one cant always receive what they desire. The Ego operates in a world of reality. The Ego realizes the need for compromise and negotiates between the Id and the Superego. The Egos job is to get the Ids pleasures but to be reasonable and bear the long-term consequences in mind. (Wilderdom.com, 2008, pp. 1-2) The Ego denies gratification but the ego must cope with this conflicting force. To undertake its work of planning, thinking and controlling the Id, the Ego uses some of the Ids libidinal energy (Wilderdom.com, 2008, pp. 1-2). Typically, adults fit into this category since maturity also aides in recognizing reality and compromising. However, if the ego is too strong one can become well-organized and rational but extremely boring and cold. The Superego is the last part of the mind to develop. It is often called the moral part of the mind (Wilderdom.com, 2008, pp. 1-2). The Superego becomes a structure of parental and societal values by storing and enforcing rules. It constantly strives for perfection and its power to enforce rules comes from its ability to create mental anxiety. The Superego has two subsystems: Ego Ideal and Conscience. The Ego Ideal provides rules for good behavior, and standards of excellence towards which the Ego must strive. (Wilderdom.com, 2008, pp. 1-2). The Ego ideal is basically what the childs parents approve of or value. So, a parents proper guidance is greatly needed for one to possess these values. Therefore, these values will serve as their conscience throughout life. However, if ones superego is not balanced may feel guilty most of the time and feel the need to be perfect beyond reality.

Wetlands :: essays research papers

Soil and land managment Soil and Land Management The soil triangle is graph that helps the person determine the type of soil they are testing. This type of graph being a triangle has three sides. The first side, or right side is the percent of silt found in the soil sample. The second side, or the bottom is the percent of sand found in the soil sample. The third side, or the right side is the percent of clay found in the soil sample. You read the graph from right to left being silt, sand, to clay. There are twelve different classes of soil. The classes are sand, loamy sand, sandy loam, loam, silt loam, silt, sandy clay loam, clay loam, silty clay loam, sandy clay, silty clay, and clay. The particle size analysis we did I thought was very confusing, and unnecessary. The view of the soil underneath the microscope wasn’t very much different from the view without it, or at least I couldn’t tell much difference. The two millimeter mark on the paper was also very confusing. I had no idea of what I was doing during the particle size analysis. The mechanical soil analysis was much more to my liking. I understood the whole process and loved the project we did with it. From the begging when we went outside to collect the soil samples to when we were finished waiting the 24 hours for the water and soil particles to settle. After we mixed the right amount of dirt and water into the sample tube we had made two recordings of the percent of sand, silt, and clay. After that we took the readings over to the soil triangle to determine the type of soil that we had collected. The way soil is formed is not all that complicated. First soil begins as a rock and then is broken dependent upon the weathering factors. Soil types are based upon the type of rock from which they are made. Rock particles are further broken into various smaller sizes of rocks and minerals, then small plants such as lichens and mosses begin to grow on the rock surfaces. Dead plant materials or organic matter are mixed with rock fragments, and as more organic matter is formed, larger plant forms such as ferns, grasses, and shrubs take root. After that process bacteria and fungi break down the organic matter into simpler nutrients that are released into the soil, further aiding plant growth. The downside to this is that

The American Dream in Franklin’s Autobiography and Hawthorne’s My Kinsman, Major Molineux :: My Kinsman, Major Molineux

Benjamin Franklin and Nathaniel Hawthorne were both very important to America’s early literature. Franklin’s â€Å"Autobiography† and Hawthorne’s â€Å"My Kinsman, Major Molineux† represents the extremes of leaving home. Franklin makes accomplishing the American dream of the self-made man look easy. Hawthorne, however, revises and critiques that dream, showing the harsh realities of the real world. Franklin reveals his life story as a way to show the people of America that determination, hard work, and intelligence lead to success, while Hawthorne describes the harsh world waiting once youth and innocence are gone.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Benjamin Franklin and Robin, Hawthorne’s main character, leave home for different reasons. Franklin, in his autobiography, explains how he journeys to Philadelphia in search of a job and to start life on his own. Franklin wants independence and he knows he will find what he seeks. Franklin states, â€Å"I took it upon me to assert my Freedom† (194). Robin leaves his home with the idea of depending on his second cousin, dependence not independence. Robin journeys from his family’s country farm to the city in search of his kinsman, Major Molineux, with hopes that his kinsman will help him get started in life. Hawthorne writes, â€Å"The Major†¦ had thrown out hints respecting the future establishment of one of them in life. It was therefore determined that Robin should profit by his kinsman’s generous intentions† (801). Franklin and Robin’s arrival to the new towns embody the two author’s feelings toward the idea of the self made man.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Franklin and Robin arrival to their new destinations are drastically different. Franklin arrives in Philadelphia during the day, hungry, and dirty. Franklin’s determination keeps him going. He buys bread to eat, cleans himself up, and sets out straight away to find himself a job. He finds one within short time, â€Å"I return’d to Bradford’s who gave me a little job to do for the present, and there I lodged and dieted† (198). Franklin represents his arrival in Philadelphia as brightly and easy as it could possibly be, the people are nice, it is beautiful day, and he finds exactly what he wants, when he wants it. Hawthorne sees Franklin’s story as an abomination of the real world. Hawthorne stages Robin’s arrival to town at night, symbolizing the darkness of the harsh world. Robin also encounters nothing but paltry inhabitants of the town as he searches for his kinsman. Robin feels no joy as he journeys through the town, an d he even experiences fear at all of the strange things that he encounters.

A Persuasive Essay Against School Uniforms :: School Uniforms Argumentative

High school is typically a time when kids begin to distinguish themselves from one another. Students begin to develop their own sense of personal style, desperately trying to both fit in and stand out simultaneously. Being self-conscious and often lacking the confidence needed to assert themselves, teens are forced to use clothing and outward appearance as the means to manifest this individuality. Thus, students should not be forced to wear uniforms to school. Standard uniforms are unproven deterrents to student violence; are a "Band-Aid" to cover up the real problems faced by children and teens; and they violate students' right of self-expression, depriving them of their search for identity. There is something comforting about school children and teenagers dressed in pleats and plaid. Maybe it is a reminder of past times, or conjures up thoughts of order and safety. Whatever the reason, school uniforms are getting a lot of ?wear? these days, yet remain an unproven deterrent to school violence. No long-term, formal studies have been done with regards to the effectiveness of school uniforms, but many schools have kept their own informal statistics, such as the Long Beach School District. These statistics offered by Long Beach are often most cited as a proven deterrent to school violence, after adopting a mandatory uniform policy in 1994. According to Richard Van Der Laan, school crime has dropped over seventy-five percent, while attendance has reached an all-time high. One question we must ask ourselves is this, ?Is it the uniforms, or the induction of them that is solving the problem?? Maybe it is the school and parents showing some ?back-bone? which is affecting t he students, not the clothing. If you are a skeptic, get in line. There is no concrete evidence proving uniforms alone cause such dramatic reductions in crime, but rather, these policies appear to act as nothing more that a ?Band-Aid? that fails to address the real causes of youth violence. Although this violence, including sexual assault, can be linked to ?free-dress?, it is not dependent upon it, and points to deeper, more significant problems within the youth community. Violence is not learned by clothing, but rather through unfit home situations, negative friendships, and even popular culture (including emulation of television, media, music, and movies). A simple change in dress will not abolish these problems, but merely hide them for a time.

Nationalism in Latin American History

Nationalism 1. In the wake of neocolonialism, Latin Americans remade the nativist rhetoric of the past to push a new nationalist cultural and economic agenda. I. Nationalism 1. Latin American nations had been defined by their internal diversity 1. Transculturation 2. Racial mixing 2. Europeans had associated Latin American difference with a negative meaning 3. Nativism challenged this attitude 4. Nativism faded after independence 3. New nationalism was another wave of nativism with strong economic agenda 4. Who were nationalists? 5. Often urban, middle class 6. Mixed-race or recent immigrants . Benefitted less from export boom 5. Nationalism challenged the supposed superiority of European culture 8. Reinterpretation of Latin American difference as positive 9. Use of local cultural forms to define that difference 6. Critique of foreign intervention 10. Military intervention 11. Economic power 7. Ethnic nationalism 12. Differs from U. S. â€Å"civic nationalism†13. Employs signs of ethnic identity 1. Foods 2. Dance 3. Clothing 1. Celebrates racial mixing 1. Adaptation to Latin American environment 2. Sometimes as improvement — best of all races 3. Nicolas Guillen . Premier exponent of Afro-Cuban identity 2. â€Å"Ballad of Two Grandfathers† 3. Poems sometimes mimicked Afro-Cuban speech 1. Many writers use indigenous and Afro-Cuban themes 1. Alejo Carpentier (Cuba) 2. Ciro Alegria (Peru) 3. Miguel angel Asturias (Guatemala) I. Nationalists Take Power 1. Mexican Revolution 1. Diaz had ruled for 34 years by 1910 2. Reformers back Francisco Madero 1. Madero sought only more power for elites in Diaz government 2. Madero was jailed and exiled 1. Madero radicalizes, proposes returning indigenous lands 2. Emiliano Zapata 1.From indigenous community of Anenecuilo 2. Lost land to sugar plantations 3. Allied his movement with Madero 4. His image — sombrero, mustache, horse — become iconic of Revolution 5. One of many local leaders moving a gainst the government 1. Madero goes into exile in 1911 1. Diaz unseated by a general, killed 2. Years of upheaval, multiple armies fighting at once 1. Pancho Villa 1. Northern Mexico 2. Army comprised of cowboys, miners, railroad workers, oil workers 3. Very different from Zapata’s southern indigenous rebellion 1. Constitutionalists 1.Third movement along with Villa and Zapata 2. Urban, middle class 3. Drafted a new constitution in 1917 4. More typical of Latin American nationalists 5. May be considered the â€Å"winners† of the revolution 1. Constitution of 1917 1. Article 27 reclaims oil rights for nation from foreign companies 2. Paved the way for villages to recover common lands (ejidos) 3. Division of large landholdings, distribution to landless peasants 4. Article 123 – labor regulations 5. Limited privileges of foreigners 6. Curbed Catholic church 1. No longer could hold land 2. Limits to number of clergy . Clergy could not wear ecclesiastical clothes in the street 4. Clergy could not teach primary school 1. 7. Defeated Villa and Zapata 2. Fought off Catholic traditionalist â€Å"Cristero† rebellion 3. Created single-party political system 1. Remained in power as Revolutionary Party for seventy years 2. Employed Villa, Zapata, Madero as its heroes 1. Revolution was transformative for Mexico 1. Created new loyalties 2. Occupied a central space in the national imagination 3. Two U. S. interventions added nationalist luster 1. New government initiatives 1.Road initiative decreases isolation of rural areas 2. Land redistribution 3. Public education initiative 4. Jose Vasconcelos 1. Minister of Education 2. Celebrated the â€Å"Cosmic Race,† meaning mestizos 1. Artists Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo illustrate revolutionary nationalism 1. Diego Rivera 1. Muralist 2. Depicted Mexico’s indigenous past 3. Painted Ministry of Public Education 1. (i) Images of open-air schools 2. (ii) Indigenous peasants dividing land 1. M exico’s national palace 1. (i) Scenes of Tenochtitlan 2. (ii) Depicts Spanish conquest as a hypocritical bloodbath 1. . Frida Kahlo 1. Small self-portraits 2. Painted while bedridden 1. (i) Polio survivor 2. (ii) Crippled by a traffic accident 3. (iii) Multiple surgeries 1. Depicted herself with cultural symbols of Mexico 1. (i) Traditional hairstyles 2. (ii) Folk dresses 3. (iii) Pre-Colombian jewelry 1. Nationalism was en vogue in the 1920s–30s 1. Folk music (corridos) 2. Dance (jarabes) 3. Traditional dishes (moles  and  tamales) 4. Old-style theater (carpas) 5. Mexican films 1. Nationalist movement had Marxist overtones 1. Kahlo and Rivera joined Communist party 2. Soviet exile Trotsky lived in Mexico 1.Uruguay 1. Background 1. Export boom rivaled that of Argentina 2. Ruled through managed elections 1. Jose Batlle y Ordonez 1. Country’s great nationalist reformer 2. First term (1903–07) vanquished political rivals 3. Broad support among immigrant working and middle class of Montevideo 1. Batllismo 1. Civic and economic nationalism 2. State action against â€Å"foreign economic imperialism† 1. Tariffs to protect local business 2. Government monopoly on public utilities 1. (i) Formerly British-owned railroad 2. (ii) Port of Montevideo 1. Government ownership of tourist hotels 2.Government owned meat-packing plants 3. State-owned banks 1. 3. Hemisphere’s first welfare state 1. Minimum wage 2. Labor regulations 3. Paid vacations 4. Accident insurance 5. Public education expanded 6. University opened to women 1. 4. Batllismo relied on prosperity to sustain reforms 2. Left rural Uruguay largely untouched 3. Aggressively anti-clerical 4. Tried to abolish presidency in favor of a council 5. Considered a â€Å"civil caudillo† 1. Argentina — Hipolito Yrigoyen 1. â€Å"Revolution of the ballot box† (1916) 1. Radical Civic Union 2. Middle-class reform party with working class support 3.First truly mass -based political party in Latin America 4. Rewarded supporters with public jobs 5. Reforms less audacious than in Uruguay 1. Used nationalist rhetoric 2. Did not significantly affect presence of foreign capital 1. 6. Created government agency to oversee oil production 1. Man of the people 1. Hated, and hated by, urban elite 2. Framed politics in moral terms 3. Lived in a simple house 1. Rejected European and U. S. initiatives 2. Repressed labor action 1. â€Å"Tragic week† of 1919 2. Patagonian sheep herders’ strike of 1921 1. Returned to power in 1928 1.Victor Manuel Haya de la Torre (Peru) 2. Exiled from Peru for protesting a U. S. -backed dictatorship 3. Lived in Mexico, influenced by Mexican Revolution 4. Formed Popular American Revolutionary Alliance (APRA) 1. International party 2. Defense against economic imperialism 1. Preferred the term â€Å"Indo-America† to Latin America 2. Indigenismo  Ã¢â‚¬â€œ nationalist emphasis on indigenous roots 1. Jose Carlo s Mariategui imagined indigenous socialism 2. Inca models combined with Marxist theory 3. Peruvian society ethnically split, so  indigenismo  was not successful 1.APRA 1. Did not succeed as international party 2. Indigenismo  scared Peru’s Conservatives 3. Mass rallies against oligarchy, imperialism 4. Party revolted after losing a managed election 5. Rebellion crushed, party banned 1. Ciro Alegria 1. High-ranking APRA militant 2. Fled Peru 3. Wrote  indigenismo  fiction 4. Authored â€Å"Wide and Alien is the World† 5. Best-known Latin American  indigenismo  writer 1. Nationalists were influential even when kept from power 1. Colombia 1. Nationalists tried to outflank conservative client networks 1. Unionized urban workers 2.Rural oligarchies were too strong 1. 2. Jorge Eliecer Gaitan 1. Fiery popular leader 2. Rose to fame protesting massacre of banana workers at U. S. -owned plantation 1. Venezuela 1. Oil money kept leaders entrentched 2. Popular outre ach carried out by communist or socialist activists 1. Chile 1. Thirteen-day â€Å"Socialist Republic† 2. Nationalists on the right prevented consolidation of a government 1. Cuba 1. Broad nationalist coalition ousted neocolonial dictator 2. Included university students and non-commissioned army officers 3. Fulgencio Batista 1.Led military element of revolution 2. Bowed to U. S. influence 3. Nationalism as window-dressing I. ISI and Activist Governments of the 1930s 1. Import Substitution Industrialization (ISI) 1. International trade collapses during 1930s Depression 2. Latin American manufacturers fill void left by collapsed trade 3. Began during trade disruption during World War I 1. Buenos Aires, Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Mexico City develop industry 2. Latin American industry remains mostly undeveloped 1. Industrialization becomes central to nationalism 1. Economic activism 1.Setting wages and prices 2. Regulating production levels 3. Protective labor laws 4. Manipulate d exchange rates 1. 2. State ownership of banks, utilities, key industries 1. Largest markets benefitted from ISI 1. Mexico 2. Southern Cone nations 1. Smaller markets did not see much industrialization 1. Poor, rural populations 2. Less market for domestically-produced products 1. Light industry responded better to ISI than heavy industry 1. Heavy industry required importing equipment 2. Required steel 3. Only Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, and Chile had steel industries 1. Brazil 1.Industry surpassed agriculture as percentage of GDP within two decades 2. Getulio Vargas 1. Compared to U. S. president FDR (Franklin Delano Roosevelt) 1. Made famous use of radio 2. Vastly expanded government 1. Oligarchic republic begins to collapse in 1920s 2. Young army officers –  tenentes  Ã¢â‚¬â€œstage symbolic uprisings 3. Coffee industry in crisis from overproduction 1. â€Å"Coffee Valorization Program† cannot offset drops in prices 2. Depression in 1929 causes prices to plummet again 1. Revolution of 1930 1. Vargas was governor of Rio Grande do Sul, non-coffee state 2.Candidate from coffee-producing Sao Paulo won a managed election 3. Opposition forces gather to dispute result 4. Vargas takes presidency with support of the army 5. Revolution of 1930 brought together diverse political movements 1. Frustrated liberals 2. Tenentes —  nationalists who despised Liberals 1. Young  Tenentes  absorb radical ideologies 1. Many  tenentes  joined communist party 2. Communist party at the center of Alliance for National Liberation (ALN) 3. Others join Integralists, inspired by European fascism 1. Vargas presidency 1.Ruled more-or-less constitutionally for seven years 2. Played different political factions against each other 3. Took dictatorial power in 1937 4. Announced  Estado Novo  (New State) 1. Highly authoritarian 2. Dissolved legislative bodies 3. Banned political parties 4. Media censored 5. â€Å"Interventors† appointed to direct st ate governments 6. Police operated with brutal impunity 1. 5. Nationalism helped maintain his popularity 1. Flood of new government agencies 2. National Steel Company 3. National Motor Factory 4. Prohibited foreign ownership of newspapers 5.Assimilation pressure on immigrant communities 1. Promotion of Afro-Brazilian heritage 1. Gilberto Freyre 1. Anthropologist 2. Authored  The Masters and the Slaves 3. Argued that African heritage created Brazil’s national identity 1. 2. Samba became Brazil’s national dance 2. Carmen Miranda 1. Known for her fruit-hats 2. Movie star first in Brazil, then in United States 3. In Brazil, movies occupied a nationalist niche — national dance, national music 4. In the United States, became a caricature of Latin America 5. Born in Portugal, raised in Brazil . Dance, costumes, and songs embodied Brazil 1. Sao Paulo Modern Art Week, 1922 1. Heitor Villa-Lobos 1. Integrated Brazilian folk melodies into classical compositions 2. Under Vargas, worked on national program for musical enrichment 3. Remains Latin America’s most famous classical composer 1. 2. Oswald de Andrade 1. â€Å"Cannabalist manifesto† 1928 2. Suggested that Brazilians metaphorically cannibalize European art 1. (i) Consume and digest it 2. (ii) Combine it with indigenous and African art to create Brazilian forms 1. 3.Jorge Amado 1. Best-known Brazilian novelist 2. Novels set in strongly Afro-Brazilian Bahia 1. Placing Vargas on the left-right spectrum 1. Organized labor unions 2. Protected workers 1. 48-hour work week 2. Safety standards 3. Retirement and pension plans 4. Maternity benefits 1. 3. Paternalistic — no worker control 1. Striking prohibited 2. Grievances addressed to the state 1. Lazaro Cardenas in Mexico 1. Humble beginnings, unlike Vargas or FDR 2. Fought in the Revolution 3. Became governor of Michoacan, his home state 4. Ran for president unopposed as Revolutionary party’s candidate 1.Campaigned across the country 2. Made a point to visit small villages 1. Distributed nearly 45 million acres of land, as much as previous twenty-four years put together 2. Supported labor, defended right to strike 1. Led to major international confrontation in 1938 2. Striking workers were employed by U. S. and British companies 3. Companies and strikers submitted to Mexican government for arbitration 1. Arbitrators awarded workers increased pay and social services 2. Foreign firms refused to comply 3. Mexican supreme court upheld decision 4.Companies continued to stonewall 1. 4. Cardenas expropriated the oil companies under Article 27 1. Mexicans voluntarily contributed to help government compensate the companies 2. Seen as a â€Å"declaration of economic independence† 3. Gave rise to national oil company, PEMEX 1. 5. Britain cut off diplomatic relations 1. FDR’s â€Å"Good Neighbor Policy† 1. Need for Latin American allies in unstable 1930s 2. 1933, Pan-American Conference 1. United States forswears intervention in Latin America 2. Cuba and Panama would no longer be protectorates 1.Rise of â€Å"Good Neighbor† movies 1. Carmen Miranda 2. Disney’s â€Å"Three Caballeros† 1. World War II 1. All countries of Latin America joined the United States as allies in World War II 1. Central American and Caribbean countries among first to join 1. Rafael Trujillo of the Dominican Republic 1. (i) Petty dictator supported by United States 2. (ii) â€Å"He’s our bastard† 1. 2. Chile and Argentina were aloof, with large population of immigrants from Italy, Germany 2. Brazil was greatest ally 1. â€Å"Bulge of Brazil† was of great strategic importance 2.Vargas allowed construction of U. S. bases and airstrips 3. Brazilian infantry fought in Italy 1. 4. Mexican fighter pilots flew in Pacific 1. War spurred ISI 1. U. S. demand for agricultural exports increased 2. United States and Europe still unable to produce industrial goods 3. Demand up and competition low for Latin American industry 4. Brazil, for example, enjoyed a huge trade surplus 1. Nationalism in 1945 1. Cultural shift had taken place 1. Rivera’s murals in Mexico’s government buildings 2. Acclaim for Afro-Brazilian samba dancers . Carlos Gardel 1. Famed tango singer 2. Popular throughout Latin America 3. Career cut short by plane crash 1. 4. Gabriel Mistral 1. Chilean poet 2. First Latin American to win a Nobel Prize 1. Many things remained unchanged 1. Central America virtually untouched by benefits of nationalism 1. Internal markets too small to support industrialization 2. Land-owning oligarchies had not ceded control 1. 2. Guatemala 1. German coffee growers had no interest in developing the country 2. Jorge Ubico 1. (i) Classic neocolonial dictator 2. ii) Main concern was promoting â€Å"civilization† and cultivating coffee 3. (iii) Wanted to be closest U. S. ally 1. United Fruit Company becomes single dominant economic ent erprise 1. 3. El Salvador represented â€Å"worst-case scenario† 1. Dictator Maximiliano Hernandez Martinez 1. Brutally defended coffee production 2. (ii) 1932 becomes known as the year of â€Å"the Slaughter† 3. (iii) Most of the more than 10,000 victims were indigenous 1. Indigenous Salvadorans slowly gave up signs of their identity 1. 4.United States stopped nationalism in Central America and Caribbean 1. Batista in Cuba 2. Several rulers owed their power to U. S. intervention 1. (i) Anastasio Somoza of Nicaragua 2. (ii) Trujillo of Dominican Republic 1. (1) Motto: â€Å"God and Trujillo† 2. (2) Major nationalist effort was massacre of Haitian immigrants 1. 5. Rhetoric often outran reality in nationalist countries 1. Racism lingered 2. Urbanization created shantytowns 3. Rural areas of most countries saw no improvements 4. Countries remained technologically behind Europe and United StatesChapter

Describe the Expectedm Pattern of Children and Young People’s Development from Bith to 19 Years Essay

From their first year babies will start to have more control – hold their head, roll over, sit up unaided, hold a rattle, put everything into their mouths and start to crawl. During their second year development and growth continues and most start to walk. They learn to control their movements and grab objects and food and start to play with toys. They will start to climb and learn to judge distances. Towards their third year, children will have lots more control as their muscles develop and their confidence grows. Feeding themselves, using a cup and showing an interest in dressing themselves, also able to grip pencils and turn pages in a book. | Babies from birth cry to communicate and react this way to sounds. They then begin to turn their heads in the direction of sounds and use their eyes to follow others. As babies develop they enjoy attention and learn to make noises other than crying and will start to laugh. By the age of one, most understand simple words like no and yes and their own name. They will start to follow simple instructions. Between one and two years children start to pronounce words and this will then start to increase rapidly. They watch everything going on around them and recognise people. Between two to three years children recognise the difference between you, me and I and start to ask lots of questions, they won’t always get grammar right. They enjoy songs and have favourite stories. | From birth dependant on adults for comfort which generally stops when cuddled. Babies respond to adults especially Mothers face and voice. Will start to smile after a few weeks and stare at faces. As they reach 6 months babies start to enjoy more interaction and perhaps play peek-a-boo and show affection. Between one and two years they may become anxious when separated from known adults, may use a comfort object and start to play alongside other children but not with. They show interest around them and greet know adults with pleasure. Need continuous attention as can get into mischief, does not understand danger. Will get frustrated with themselves if can’t do something they try to do. Two to three years sees a sense of own identity, likes to roll-play, sometimes reluctant to share. Prone to tantrums, can spoon feed themselves, joins in songs, can use sentences but may not always make sense. Ready to toilet train. | 3 – 7 years| Three to four years – more coordination over movements – jumping with feet together, walk on tip toes, using stairs, catching a gently thrown ball, climbing with confidence. At four to five years they learn to pedal a tricycle and have control with fine motor skills such as cutting and drawing, using scissors, holding pencils. By five their skills become refined. They can hop and kick a ball with aim, handle a pencil with more control and copy shapes and some letters. Six to seven years most children can skip, ride a bicycle, do up buttons, write, handle larger climbing equipment confidently. | From three to four years children can understand two to three simple commands at once. They sort objects by size, colour and draw some objects. Loves the same stories over and over, very inquisitive, will start to know colours. By age four their grammar improves and they ask more complex questions. They also have a sense of humour. Between five to seven they begin to understand about differences, can count up to 20, know their address. Also start to recognise written words and start to write words and sentences and make up stories. | Three to four years – play becomes more sociable and able to share. Starts to show sympathy towards others and become more cooperative – likes to help. Pretend play is more complex and self-motivated and behaviour is getting better. They feel more secure and able to cope with separation from family for periods of time. Between five to seven years children can brush their own teeth, dress and undress. Can make friends and is developing a sense of rules. They love learning about people and the real world. They need routine and structure. Can use a knife and fork and enjoy a little responsibility. | 7 – 12 years| Children can run, jump, climb, swing, hit a ball and enjoys team games by age 8. Can sometimes be unsure of their own ability. May start to have hobbies and interests and have skills required to learn an instrument. About the age of 10-11 girls may start to show early signs of puberty. | Most children will be fluent in language and can read to themselves and also out loud. They start to develop their own thoughts and preferences and are able to discuss ideas. They take a lively interest in certain subjects over others. They write descriptively and drawing is detailed. They need help with the complexities of spellings. | At seven, friendships will be more settled and tend to be in groups. Children around this age start to become less dependent on adults for close support and have an understanding about behaviour and what is acceptable. By eight, children will start to form close friendships. They form their own personalities. Towards 10 and above children start to become aware of their own gender, and what others may think of them. |

Drone Attack

Drone Attacks Inside Pakistan there is ‘national consensus’ on the drones: the US must stop its Predators because they kill innocent citizens in collateral damage and increase the pressure on Pakistan Army fighting the Taliban by swelling the ranks of those who fight it for revenge. Outside Pakistan, there is an impression that the drones are being used against the terrorists in Pakistan’s Tribal Areas under some kind of secret deal between the CIA and Pakistan Army.Another al Qaeda top echelon leader has been killed on January 11  in Miranshah in North Waziristan through this alleged ‘coordination’. This was said to be Abdullah Khorasani, who is believed to have been playing a key role in planning the overall strategy of terror acts in Pakistan. The man’s real name was AslamAwan, and he was a citizen of Abbottabad, where Osama bin Laden was killed last May by US commandos. As per routine, the drone attack was effective because it was directe d by spotters on ground calling the strike precisely on to the victim.The strike ended a 55-day-long pause after the Salalacheckpost attack by American gunships in November 2011. Following this, a foreign news agency quoted Pakistani officials who said that the  drones are being operated under an agreed US-Pakistan plan  which remains classified. This clearly contradicts the government’s public stance on this issue, which, quite stridently believes that drones violate Pakistan’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.The American stance in the past has been that drone attacks had to be carried out without bringing Pakistan into the loop because the Pakistani side tended to ‘pass on’ the information about the attack to the terrorists who then moved away from the target area. This was understood all over the world in the light of the belief that Pakistan was actually an allowing safe haven to foreigner terrorists in North Waziristan whom it used for attac king inside Afghanistan to retain its stake in the Afghan endgame.The new ‘information’ — including quotes from unnamed Pakistani officials — belies much of that. It purports to verify that the Pakistani side was indeed keeping the strikes secret and, instead of passing on the information to the terrorists, was actually helping the CIA target them with spotters on the ground. Given the nature of these revelations, it remains to be seen what the Pakistani military’s response will be to them. One should understand that the drone attacks have been a success story as far as the US and its allies are concerned.The ‘analysis’ about the ‘wiping out’ of al Qaeda and the sharp diminution in its ability to target America and Europe is based on the number of al Qaeda terrorists killed by the drones inside Pakistan. As if to confirm this, a meeting took place between an al Qaeda leader and Mullah Umar in the presence of other commander s in which the al Qaeda representative was quoted as appealing for help for more attacks by allies in Pakistan. Pakistan’s wrath against the CIA after the Raymond Davis case in Lahore early 2011 had brought the  US-Pakistan quarrel to a boiling point.Since then, and since the May 2 attack that killed Osama bin Laden, the relationship has been hurtling downhill, ending in Pakistan’s decision not to attend the Bonn conference on Afghanistan. This would then lead to many arguing that with this all as a backdrop, how Pakistan could possibly be cooperating with the US on the drone attacks. Yet there is logic to the opposite point of view. Pakistan has benefited from the attacks in the sense that some of its most dangerous enemies have been killed by the drones.BaitullahMehsud, the Taliban chief, whose intercepted telephone call revealed that he was behind the assassination of Benazir Bhutto, was killed by a drone. Ilyas Kashmiri was killed in a drone strike and  Hakimul lahMehsud, who succeeded Baitullah, was killed ‘twice’ in drone strikes. The first one was false but the second more recent one is yet to be proven false. Clearly, drone strikes are effective. However, Pakistan’s policy of saying one thing in public and quite the opposite in private should be replaced by when where the people should be persuaded of this strategy’s effectiveness.