Crime Statistics Comparison

Crime statistics endeavour to provide statistical measures of crime in societies. They provide a point of analysis and comparison, allow countries to form long-term patterns and trends and can help to develop and reform criminal justice policies as well as being more meaningful than raw numbers. Using the countries of Bahrain and the United States as a comparison point for the following issues which surround crime statistics such as biases, agendas and general influences like education and religion; this essay will be focused around analysing the statistical factors and wider influences which can allow a country to have low or high crime rates. Crime Definitions Definitions of what exactly constitutes being a crime differ not only across countries but even across states. This can be an issue with statistics as in order to measure and compare crime consistently crimes need to be classified and placed into groups of similar offences. While murder is a crime recognized and agreed upon by most nations, what makes up a homicide may be more challenging and then even simply just a ‘crime against the person’ can vary widely. This often means that what makes up a crime for many offences can vary throughout jurisdictions. This is a problem when categorizing offences for international statistical comparison. An example of this is the way that laws differ state to state within the United States, while ‘offences known to police’ is a statistic seen as quite a high representative figure of the offences, a lot of researches see that no official measure can ever come close to the actual amount of criminality that exists in any form in society (Archer, 1984) Definitional problems are concerned with whether or not crimes have equivalent meanings between nations, which in most cases a lot of crimes seem not to have. Countries most often vary in behaviours which can sometimes be seen as coming within the space of the law. So for any kind of comparison of crime rates to work at all, it is crucial that the definitions of crimes and the categories they are placed in are similar. The next issue with definitions is that even the different organizations that compile crime statistics differ within their own definitions. Interpol for example defines murder as: Any act performed with the purpose of taking human life, excluding abortion but including infanticide (and including attempts). Kalish, 1988) While the World Health Organization (WHO) does not distinguish between intentional or unintentional homicides but does not include attempts under this organization attempts fall under a separate legal distinction(Kalish, 1988). And again, the United Nations have a different definition for homicide: Death purposely inflicted by another person, including infanticide. (Kalish, 1988) Due to major issues with the above topics across all countries, due to definitional and categorical differences, crime statistics can differ significantly. In Bahrain, crimes against the individual are ranked in relation to the seriousness of the offence, murder, attempted murder, murder by error, assault, threatening and others. In the United States, offences are not classed separately, but into broad categories which are homicides, robberies and assaults. Bahrain does not report rape as a single category and in response, no reports of rape have been sent to their criminal investigation unit (Ministry of Information, 1985). Reporting Issues The quality of the way crime is reported is likely to be influenced by a wide range of practices and techniques in different jurisdictions. For example in Bahrain, individual police departments participation in reporting crime rates is compulsory, but neither the numbers of convictions or the final outcome of cases are reported, whereas, local police departments in the United States are under no obligation to report back crime rates from their areas as participation is voluntary (Newman, 1993). Honesty or dishonesty of police who are involved in the collection and compilation process of statistics (Adler, 1983) and the manipulation of the data compiled for political reasons – which will be discussed later – are some other examples of things than can influence the quality of the crime that is reported. In the United States for example, every case involving multiple offences by the same person that are compiled by police, the statistic noted down is only in relation to the most serious offence that has occurred (Reichel, 1994). Underreporting is an influence on the reporting of crime as it affects basically every area and any data that is compiled by police. In many occasions and for many different reasons people do not report offenses they are victims of or that they witness. There is a ‘dark-figure’ of crime in both Bahrain and the United States, there have been no victimisation studies conducted in Bahrain to date, but on the opposite side, the victimisation surveys that have been conducted in the United States show higher crime rates than the Uniform Crime Reporting System shows (Federal Bureau of Investigation, 1981-1987). Another reason there are issues with extremely low or quite high crime rates is the issue of political influences. Police may exaggerate statistics in their areas to draw funding to their area for upgrades and to gain more police numbers, or even down the crime statistics to reflect success of their force, to show the people of the country and the world that they are doing their job correctly and well. The government can also do the above, by altering the statistics, they can create a sense of fear in there people to gain votes through public advertising that they will combat the high rates of crime in certain areas, or downgrade the rates to adhere to international requirements, to attempt to get the country placed on the ‘best of’ lists within international media as a way to gain tourism by showing they are a safe place to visit. Wider Influences: Bahrain is a country which operates on all levels in relation to the teachings of the Qur’an. This makes up the fabric of life for the Bahraini people, the influence of the Islamic religion can be seen in the economic, political and social pathways of life within the culture of the country. In Bahrain, religion is the most important structure. The Islamic religion opposes wrongdoing in all its forms and that any wrongdoing can lead to the downfall of society. The teachings of the Prophet attempt to get rid of all forms of crime before it happens by influencing the individuals who follow the religion. Acts against the law therefore is not only a crime against society in the eyes of Bahraini people it is also a violation of the principles of God. In Bahrain there are even ‘moral police officers’ who regulate the dress and public behaviour of citizens (Helal, 1991). As the Qur’an provides the basis for society, it also provides the base for which laws are made. All laws however have major influence from the Western cultures, apart from marriage, divorce and succession which all fall under the Shari’ah. Souryal, 1988)Therefore religion is a major influence in relation to everything, right down to helping explain the low crime rate in Bahrain. Citizens are able to speak directly to the ruler of Bahrain for a few days each month this allows the people to feel that they are in touch with their government as they are able to voice their concerns directly (Helal, 1991). Therefore crimes against the state are less likely to be committed as people feel as if they play a greater role than just an individual in a wider community. Souryal (1988) has noted in his studies that since firearms, drugs and alcohol are all banned, the opportunity for violence is reduced. Ontop of this, the way the law is applied to Muslim offenders acts as a deterrent to the Bahraini citizens. The penalty for committing a crime is harsher if the offender is Muslim and has committed an offence against a Muslim, the Islamic penal code is also enforced against non-Muslims in the country. Some punishments that can be given out include amputation, stoning, flogging and death which can be executed in public (Moore, 1987). The influence of education within Bahrain is a major factor that can be related back to the low crime rate of the country. Islam religion is tied tightly into the education at all levels in Bahrain, and education is compulsory for all children living in the country also (Helal, 1991). The United States however has a separation between church and state, which is not the case in Bahrain. Within the United States, there is a separation of powers, it is a multicultural society which also makes it multi-faith, to base all laws on just the one religion within the United States would most likely cause more crime rather than decrease the rate. Within the United States alcohol and firearms are legal once of a certain age, therefore the high crime rate within the country can be related back to the availability to things that aid criminal acts and violence. Education within the United States changes in relation to the age of compulsory education, it ranges from between 14 to 18 (State Compulsory Attendance Laws, 2007). Religion is not taught within all schools due to the adversity of religions within each state and the country as a whole. There are schools which focus on specific religions, these however are private schools and advertise that they do these teachings (Religion in Schools, 2004). The major difference between the two countries, other than the rate of crime, Bahrain’s crime rate being quite low compared to the United States, is the issue of religion within not just the country, but as the basis for all the laws and the way the entire community of Bahrain lives their life. In conclusion, there are so many reasons by which crime statistics can be altered due to not only issues with reporting and recording, but definitional issues and wider societal influences. It is not until recently that any one organization has attempted to compile and compare cross-national crime statistics, for this to be done however, organizations need to find a way to combat the above issues outlined. The United Nations have pushed for a standard level of classification of offences and the collection of statistics across continents which would set out minimum standards for the collection, analysis and presentation of the statistics. (Vetere, 1977). This is just one way we can start to remove bias and definitional errors. The true rate of crime is impossible to compare or even start to determine. The amounts of crime reported demonstrate that there is a major difference between the two countries in terms of crime rates. The Islamic religion within Bahrain lays the foundations for life and can be seen woven into critical social areas within the community, all in which can create the basis for crime to become a realty; within Bahrain however, due to the tight influence religion has on one’s conscience, it has the opposite impact (Helal, 1991). The United States has the separation of church and state, therefore fewer values are shared throughout the country, which allows for breaks within society and these can be seen as the basis for crime to be committed, therefore raising the crime rate rather than lowering it. It would be simply ridiculous to implement the way Bahraini society is run into the United States(Helal, 1991). But the influence that the combination of church and state within a country like Bahrain has on the Bahraini people is simply just one way in which can be shown to keep crime rates low.References http://www.edweek.org/ew/issues/religion-in-schools http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0112617.html

Higher education Essay

Education in its general sense is a form of learning in which the knowledge, skills, and habits of a group of people are transferred from one generation to the next through teaching, training, or research. Education frequently takes place under the guidance of others, but may also be autodidactic. [1] Any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts may be considered educational. Education is commonly divided into stages such as preschool, primary school, secondary school and then college, university or apprenticeship. A right to education has been recognized by some governments. At the global level, Article 13 of the United Nations’ 1966 International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights recognizes the right of everyone to an education. [2] Although education is compulsory in most places up to a certain age, attendance at school often isn’t, and a minority of parents choose home-schooling, e-learning or similar for their children. Contents [hide] 1 Etymology 2 History 3 Formal education 3. 1 Preschool 3. 2 Primary 3.3 Secondary 3. 4 Tertiary (higher) 3. 5 Vocational 3. 6 Special 4 Other educational forms 4. 1 Alternative 4. 2 Indigenous 4. 3 Informal learning 4. 4 Self-directed learning 4. 5 Open education and e-learning 5 Development goals 5. 1 Internationalization 5. 2 Education and technology in developing countries 5. 3 Private v public funding in developing countries 6 Educational theory 6. 1 Purpose of schools 6. 2 Educational psychology 6. 3 Learning modalities 6. 4 Philosophy 6. 5 Curriculum 6. 6 Instruction 7 Economics  8 See also 9 References 10 External links Etymology[edit]. Etymologically, the word â€Å"education† is derived from the Latin educatio (â€Å"A breeding, a bringing up, a rearing†) from educo (â€Å"I educate, I train†) which is related to the homonym educo (â€Å"I lead forth, I take out; I raise up, I erect†) from e- (â€Å"from, out of†) and duco (â€Å"I lead, I conduct†). [3] Education can take place in formal or informal educational settings. History[edit] Main article: History of education Nalanda, ancient center for higher learning. Plato’s academy, mosaic from Pompeii Education began in the earliest prehistory, as adults trained the young of their society in the knowledge and skills they would need to master and eventually pass on. In pre-literate societies this was achieved orally and through imitation. Story-telling continued from one generation to the next. As cultures began to extend their knowledge beyond skills that could be readily learned through imitation, formal education developed. Schools existed in Egypt at the time of the Middle Kingdom. [4]. A depiction of the University of Bologna, Italy, founded in 1088 Matteo Ricci (left) and Xu Guangqi (right) in the Chinese edition of Euclid’s Elements published in 1607 Plato founded the Academy in Athens, the first institution of higher learning in Europe. [5] The city of Alexandria in Egypt, founded in 330 BCE, became the successor to Athens as the intellectual cradle of Ancient Greece. There mathematician Euclid and anatomist Herophilus; constructed the great Library of Alexandria and translated the Hebrew Bible into Greek. European civilizations suffered a collapse of literacy and organization following the fall of Rome in AD 476. [6] In China, Confucius (551-479 BCE), of the State of Lu, was China’s most influential ancient philosopher, whose educational outlook continues to influence the societies of China and neighbours like Korea, Japan and Vietnam. He gathered disciples and searched in vain for a ruler who would adopt his ideals for good governance, but his Analects were written down by followers and have continued to influence education in East Asia into the modern era. [citation needed] After the Fall of Rome, the Catholic Church became the sole preserver of literate scholarship in Western Europe. The church established cathedral schools in the Early Middle Ages as centers of advanced education. Some of these ultimately evolved into medieval universities and forebears of many of Europe’s modern universities. [6] During the High Middle Ages, Chartres Cathedral operated the famous and influential Chartres Cathedral School. The medieval universities of Western Christendom were well-integrated across all of Western Europe, encouraged freedom of enquiry and produced a great variety of fine scholars and natural philosophers, including Thomas Aquinas of the University of Naples, Robert Grosseteste of the University of Oxford, an early expositor of a systematic method of scientific experimentation;[7] and Saint Albert the Great, a pioneer of biological field research. [8] The University of Bologne is considered the oldest continually operating university. Elsewhere during the Middle Ages, Islamic science and mathematics flourished under the Islamic caliphate established across the Middle East, extending from the Iberian Peninsula in the west to the Indus in the east and to the Almoravid Dynasty and Mali Empire in the south. The Renaissance in Europe ushered in a new age of scientific and intellectual inquiry and appreciation of ancient Greek and Roman civilizations. Around 1450, Johannes Gutenberg developed a printing press, which allowed works of literature to spread more quickly. The European Age of Empires saw European ideas of education in philosophy, religion, arts and sciences spread out across the globe. Missionaries and scholars also brought back new ideas from other civilisations — as with the Jesuit China missions who played a significant role in the transmission of knowledge, science, and culture between China and Europe, translating works from Europe like Euclid’s Elements for Chinese scholars and the thoughts of Confucius for European audiences. The Enlightenment saw the emergence of a more secular educational outlook in Europe. In most countries today, education is compulsory for all children up to a certain age. Due to this the proliferation of compulsory education, combined with population growth, UNESCO has calculated that in the next 30 years more people will receive formal education than in all of human history thus far. [9] Formal education[edit] Systems of schooling involve institutionalized teaching and learning in relation to a curriculum, which itself is established according to a predetermined purpose of the schools in the system. School systems are sometimes also based on religions, giving them different curricula. Preschool[edit] Young children in a kindergarten in Japan Main article: Early childhood education Preschools provide education up to the age of between 4 and 8 when children enter primary education. Also known as nursery schools and as kindergarten, except in the USA, where kindergarten is a term used for primary education. Preschool education is important because it can give a child the edge in a competitive world and education climate. [citation needed] While children who do not receive the fundamentals during their preschool years will be taught the alphabet, counting, shapes and colors and designs when they begin their formal education they will be behind the children who already possess that knowledge. The true purpose behind kindergarten is â€Å"to provide a child-centered, preschool curriculum for three to seven year old children that aimed at unfolding the child’s physical, intellectual, and moral nature with balanced emphasis on each of them. â€Å"[10] This period of education is very important in the formative years of the child. Teachers with special skills and training are needed at this time to nurture the children to develop their potentials. [citation needed] Primary[edit] School children line, in Kerala, India Main article: Primary education Primary (or elementary) education consists of the first 5–7 years of formal, structured education. In general, primary education consists of six or eight years of schooling starting at the age of five or six, although this varies between, and sometimes within, countries. Globally, around 89% of primary-age children are enrolled in primary education, and this proportion is rising. [11] Under the Education For All programs driven by UNESCO, most countries have committed to achieving universal enrollment in primary education by 2015, and in many countries, it is compulsory for children to receive primary education. The division between primary and secondary education is somewhat arbitrary, but it generally occurs at about eleven or twelve years of age. Some education systems have separate middle schools, with the transition to the final stage of secondary education taking place at around the age of fourteen. Schools that provide primary education, are mostly referred to as primary schools. Primary schools in these countries are often subdivided into infant schools and junior school. In India, compulsory education spans over twelve years, out of which children receive elementary education for 8 years. Elementary schooling consists of five years of primary schooling and 3 years of upper primary schooling. Various states in the republic of India provide 12 years of compulsory school education based on a national curriculum framework designed by the National Council of Educational Research and Training. Secondary[edit] Students working with a teacher at Albany Senior High School, New Zealand Main article: Secondary education In most contemporary educational systems of the world, secondary education comprises the formal education that occurs during adolescence. It is characterized by transition from the typically compulsory, comprehensive primary education for minors, to the optional, selective tertiary, â€Å"post-secondary†, or â€Å"higher† education (e. g. university, vocational school) for adults. Depending on the system, schools for this period, or a part of it, may be called secondary or high schools, gymnasiums, lyceums, middle schools, colleges, or vocational schools. The exact meaning of any of these terms varies from one system to another. The exact boundary between primary and secondary education also varies from country to country and even within them, but is generally around the seventh to the tenth year of schooling. Secondary education occurs mainly during the teenage years. In the United States, Canada and Australia primary and secondary education together are sometimes referred to as K-12 education, and in New Zealand Year 1–13 is used. The purpose of secondary education can be to give common knowledge, to prepare for higher education or to train directly in a profession. The emergence of secondary education in the United States did not happen until 1910, caused by the rise in big businesses and technological advances in factories (for instance, the emergence of electrification), that required skilled workers. In order to meet this new job demand, high schools were created, with a curriculum focused on practical job skills that would better prepare students for white collar or skilled blue collar work. This proved  to be beneficial for both employers and employees, for the improvement in human capital caused employees to become more efficient, which lowered costs for the employer, and skilled employees received a higher wage than employees with just primary educational attainment. In Europe, grammar schools or academies date from as early as the 16th century, in the form of public schools, fee-paying schools, or charitable educational foundations, which themselves have an even longer history. Community colleges offer nonresidential junior college offering courses to people living in a particular area. Tertiary (higher)[edit] Students in a laboratory, Saint Petersburg State Polytechnical University See also: Higher education and Adult education Higher education, also called tertiary, third stage, or post secondary education, is the non-compulsory educational level that follows the completion of a school providing a secondary education, such as a high school or secondary school. Tertiary education is normally taken to include undergraduate and postgraduate education, as well as vocational education and training. Colleges and universities are the main institutions that provide tertiary education. Collectively, these are sometimes known as tertiary institutions. Tertiary education generally results in the receipt of certificates, diplomas, or academic degrees. Higher education generally involves work towards a degree-level or foundation degree qualification. In most developed countries a high proportion of the population (up to 50%) now enter higher education at some time in their lives. Higher education is therefore very important to national economies, both as a significant industry in its own right, and as a source of trained and educated personnel for the rest of the economy. University education includes teaching, research, and social services activities, and it includes both the undergraduate level (sometimes referred to as tertiary education) and the graduate (or postgraduate) level (sometimes referred to as graduate school). Universities are generally composed of several colleges. In the United States, universities can be private and independent like Yale University; public and state-governed like the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education; or independent but state-funded like the University of Virginia. A number of career specific courses are now available to students through the Internet. A liberal arts institution can be defined as a â€Å"college or university curriculum aimed at imparting broad general knowledge and developing general intellectual capacities, in contrast to a professional, vocational, or technical curriculum. â€Å"[12] Although what is known today as the liberal arts college began in Europe,[13] the term is more commonly associated with universities in the United States. [citation needed] Vocational[edit]. Carpentry is normally learned through apprenticeship. Main article: Vocational education Vocational education is a form of education focused on direct and practical training for a specific trade or craft. Vocational education may come in the form of an apprenticeship or internship as well as institutions teaching courses such as carpentry, agriculture, engineering, medicine, architecture and the arts. Special[edit] Main article: Special education In the past, those who were disabled were often not eligible for public education. Children with disabilities were often educated by physicians or special tutors. These early physicians (people like Itard, Seguin, Howe, Gallaudet) set the foundation for special education today. They focused on individualized instruction and functional skills. Special education was only provided to people with severe disabilities in its early years, but more recently it has been opened to anyone who has experienced difficulty learning. [14] Other educational forms[edit] Alternative[edit]. Main article: Alternative education While considered â€Å"alternative† today, most alternative systems have existed since ancient times. After the public school system was widely developed beginning in the 19th century, some parents found reasons to be discontented with the new system. Alternative education developed in part as a reaction to perceived limitations and failings of traditional education. A broad range of educational approaches emerged, including alternative schools, self learning, homeschooling and unschooling. Example alternative schools include Montessori schools, Waldorf schools (or Steiner schools), Friends schools, Sands School, Summerhill School, The Peepal Grove School, Sudbury Valley School, Krishnamurti schools, and open classroom schools. To a greater or lesser degree, ideas from these experiments and challenges to the system may in time be adopted by the mainstream, as to a large degree has happened with kindergarten, an experimental approach to early childhood education developed by Friedrich Frobel in 19th century Germany. Other influential writers and thinkers have included the Swiss humanitarian Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi; the American transcendentalists Amos Bronson Alcott, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Henry David Thoreau; the founders of progressive education, John Dewey and Francis Parker; and educational pioneers such as Maria Montessori and Rudolf Steiner, and more recently John Caldwell Holt, Paul Goodman, Frederick Mayer, George Dennison and Ivan Illich. Indigenous[edit] Na Schoolyard. Teaching indigenous knowledge, models, methods in Yanyuan County, Sichuan in China Main article: Indigenous education. Indigenous education refers to the inclusion of indigenous knowledge, models, methods and content within formal and non-formal educational systems. Often in a post-colonial context, the growing recognition and use of indigenous education methods can be a response to the erosion and loss of indigenous knowledge and language through the processes of colonialism. Furthermore, it can enable indigenous communities to â€Å"reclaim and revalue their languages and cultures, and in so doing, improve the educational success of indigenous students. â€Å"[15] Informal learning[edit]. Main article: informal learning Informal learning is one of three forms of learning defined by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Informal learning occurs in a variety of places, such as at home, work, and through daily interactions and shared relationships among members of society. For many learners this includes language acquisition, cultural norms and manners. Informal learning for young people is an ongoing process that also occurs in a variety of places, such as out of school time, in youth programs at community centers and media labs. Informal learning usually takes place outside educational establishments, does not follow a specified curriculum and may originate accidentally, sporadically, in association with certain occasions, from changing practical requirements. It is not necessarily planned to be pedagogically conscious, systematic and according to subjects, but rather unconsciously incidental, holistically problem-related, and related to situation management and fitness for life. It is experienced directly in its â€Å"natural† function of everyday life and is often spontaneous. The concept of ‘education through recreation’ was applied to childhood development in the 19th century. [16] In the early 20th century, the concept was broadened to include young adults but the emphasis was on physical activities. [17] L. P. Jacks, also an early proponent of lifelong learning, described education through recreation: â€Å"A master in the art of living draws no sharp distinction between his work and his play, his labour and his leisure, his mind and his body, his education and his recreation. He hardly knows which is which. He simply pursues his vision of excellence through whatever he is doing and leaves others to determine whether he is working or playing. To himself he always seems to be doing both. Enough for him that he does it well. â€Å"[18] Education through recreation is the opportunity to learn in a seamless fashion through all of life’s activities. [19] The concept has been revived by the University of Western Ontario to teach anatomy to medical students. [19] Self-directed learning[edit]. Main article: Autodidacticism Autodidacticism (also autodidactism) is a contemplative, absorbing process, of â€Å"learning on your own† or â€Å"by yourself†, or as a self-teacher. Some autodidacts spend a great deal of time reviewing the resources of libraries and educational websites. One may become an autodidact at nearly any point in one’s life. While some may have been informed in a conventional manner in a particular field, they may choose to inform themselves in other, often unrelated areas. Notable autodidacts include Abraham Lincoln (U. S. president), Srinivasa Ramanujan (mathematician), Michael Faraday (chemist and physicist), Charles Darwin (naturalist), Thomas Alva Edison (inventor), Tadao Ando (architect), George Bernard Shaw (playwright), Frank Zappa (composer, recording engineer, film director), and Leonardo da Vinci (engineer, scientist, mathematician). Open education and e-learning[edit] Main articles: Open education and E-learning In 2012, e-learning had grown at 14 times the rate of traditional learning. [clarification needed][20] Open education is fast growing to become the dominant form of education, for many reasons such as its efficiency and results compared to traditional methods. [21] Cost of education has been an issue throughout history, and a major political issue in most countries today. Open education is generally significantly cheaper than traditional campus based learning and in many cases even free. Many large university institutions are now starting to offer free or almost free full courses such as Harvard, MIT and Berkeley teaming up to form edX. Other universities offering open education are Stanford, Princeton, Duke, Johns Hopkins, Edinburgh, U. Penn, U. Michigan, U. Virginia, U. Washington, and Caltech. It has been called the biggest change in the way we learn since the printing press. [22] Many people despite favorable studies on effectiveness may still desire to choose traditional campus education for social and cultural reasons. [23] The conventional merit-system degree is currently not as common in open education as it is in campus universities, although some open universities do already offer conventional degrees such as the Open University in the United Kingdom. Presently, many of the major open education sources offer their own form of certificate. Due to the popularity of open education, these new kind of academic certificates are gaining more respect and equal â€Å"academic value† to traditional degrees. [24] Many open universities are working to have the ability to offer students standardized testing and traditional degrees and credentials. [citation needed] There has been a culture forming around distance learning for people who are looking to enjoy the shared social aspects that many people value in traditional on-campus education, which is not often directly offered from open education. [citation needed] Examples of this are people in open education forming study groups, meetups and movements such as UnCollege. Development goals[edit] World map indicating Education Index (according to 2007/2008 Human Development Report) Russia has more academic graduates than any other country in Europe. [when? ] (Chart does not include population statistics. ) Since 1909, the ratio of children in the developing world going to school has increased. Before then, a small minority of boys attended school. By the start of the 21st century, the majority of all children in most regions of the world attended school. There are 73 million children,[clarification needed] mostly female children in poor families, who did not start elementary school. There are more than 200 million children, mostly females from poor families, who did not go to secondary school. [25] Universal Primary Education is one of the eight international Millennium Development Goals, towards which progress has been made in the past decade, though barriers still remain. [26] Securing charitable funding from prospective donors is one particularly persistent problem. Researchers at the Overseas Development Institute have indicated that the main obstacles to receiving more funding for education include conflicting donor priorities, an immature aid architecture, and a lack of evidence and advocacy for the issue. [26] Additionally, Transparency International has identified corruption in the education sector as a major stumbling block to achieving Universal Primary Education in Africa. [27] Furthermore, demand in the developing world for improved educational access is not as high as foreigners have expected. Indigenous governments are reluctant to take on the recurrent costs involved. There is economic pressure from those parents who prefer their children to earn money in the short term rather than work towards the long-term benefits of education. [citation needed] A study conducted by the UNESCO International Institute for Educational Planning indicates that stronger capacities in educational planning and management may have an important spill-over effect on the system as a whole. [28] Sustainable capacity development requires complex interventions at the institutional, organizational and individual levels that could be based on some foundational principles: national leadership and ownership should be the touchstone of any intervention; strategies must be context relevant and context specific;[clarification needed] they should embrace an integrated set of complementary interventions, though implementation may need to proceed in steps;[clarification needed] partners should commit to a long-term investment in capacity development, while working towards some short-term achievements; outside intervention should be conditional on an impact assessment of national capacities at various levels; a certain percentage of students should be removed for improvisation of academics (usually practiced in schools, after 10th grade). Internationalization[edit]. Nearly every country now has Universal Primary Education. Similarities — in systems or even in ideas — that schools share internationally have led to an increase in international student exchanges. The European Socrates-Erasmus Program[29] facilitates exchanges across European universities. The Soros Foundation[30] provides many opportunities for students from central Asia and eastern Europe. Programs such as the International Baccalaureate have contributed to the internationalization of education. The global campus online, led by American universities, allows free access to class materials and lecture files recorded during the actual classes. Education and technology in developing countries[edit]. The OLPC laptop being introduced to children in Haiti Technology plays an increasingly significant role in improving access to education for people living in impoverished areas and developing countries. There are charities dedicated to providing infrastructures through which the disadvantaged may access educational materials, for example, the One Laptop per Child project. The OLPC foundation, a group out of MIT Media Lab and supported by several major corporations, has a stated mission to develop a $100 laptop for delivering educational software. The laptops were widely available as of 2008. They are sold at cost or given away based on donations. In Africa, the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) has launched an â€Å"e-school program† to provide all 600,000 primary and high schools with computer equipment, learning materials and internet access within 10 years. [31] An International Development Agency project called nabuur. com,[32] started with the support of former American President Bill Clinton, uses the Internet to allow co-operation by individuals on issues of social development. India is developing technologies that will bypass land-based telephone and Internet infrastructure to deliver distance learning directly to its students. In 2004, the Indian Space Research Organization launched EDUSAT, a  communications satellite providing access to educational materials that can reach more of the country’s population at a greatly reduced cost. [33] Private v public funding in developing countries[edit] Research into low cost private schools found that over 5 years to July 2013, debate around low-cost private schools to achieving Education for All (EFA) objectives was polarised and finding growing coverage in international policy. [34] The polarisation was due to disputes around whether the schools are affordable for the poor, reaching disadvantaged groups, provide quality education, supporting or undermining equality, and are financially sustainable. The report examined the main challenges that development organisations which support LCPSs have encountered. [34] Surveys suggest these types of schools are expanding across Africa and Asia and is attributed to excess demand. These surveys also found concern for: Equity, widely found in the literature, as the growth in low-cost private schooling may be exacerbating or perpetuating already existing inequalities in developing countries, between urban and rural populations, lower- and higher-income families, and between girls and boys. The report says findings are that LCPSs see evidence girls are underrepresented and that they are reaching some low-income families, often in small numbers compared with higher-income families. Quality of provision and educational outcomes: You cannot generalise about the quality of private schools. While most achieve better results than government counterparts, even after their social background is taken into account, some studies find the opposite. Quality in terms of levels of teacher absence, teaching activity and pupil to teacher ratios in some countries are better in LCPSs than in government schools. Choice and affordability for the poor: parents can choose private schools because of perceptions of better-quality teaching and facilities, and an English language instruction preference. Nevertheless, the concept of ‘choice’ does not apply in all contexts, or to all groups in society, partly because of limited affordability (which excludes most of the poorest) and other forms of exclusion, related to caste or social status. Cost-effectiveness and financial sustainability: Evidence is that private schools operate at low cost by keeping teacher salaries low, but their financial situation may be precarious where they are reliant on fees from low-income households. The report said there were some cases of successful voucher and subsidy programmes; evaluations of international support to the sector are not widespread. [34] Addressing regulatory ineffectiveness is a key challenge. Emerging approaches stress the importance of understanding the political economy of the market for LCPSs, specifically how relationships of power and accountability between users, government and private providers can produce better education outcomes for the poor. Educational theory[edit]. A class size experiment in the United States found that attending small classes for 3 or more years in the early grades increased high school graduation rates of students from low income families. [35] Main article: Educational theory Purpose of schools[edit] Individual purposes for pursuing education can vary. The understanding of the goals and means of educational socialization processes may also differ according to the sociological paradigm used. In the early years of schooling, the focus is generally around developing basic interpersonal communication and literacy skills in order to further ability to learn more complex skills and subjects. After acquiring these basic abilities, education is commonly focused towards individuals gaining necessary knowledge and skills to improve ability to create value and a livelihood for themselves. [36] Satisfying personal curiosities (education for the sake of itself) and desire for personal development, to â€Å"better oneself† without career based reasons for doing so are also common reasons why people pursue education and use schools. [37] Education is often understood to be a means of overcoming handicaps, achieving greater equality and acquiring wealth and status for all (Sargent 1994). Learners can also be motivated by their interest in the subject area or specific skill they are trying to learn. Learner-responsibility education models are driven by the interest of the learner in the topic to be studied. [38] Education is often perceived as a place where children can develop according to their unique needs and potentialities[39] with the purpose of developing every individual to their full potential. Educational psychology[edit] Main article: Educational psychology Educational psychology is the study of how humans learn in educational settings, the effectiveness of educational interventions, the psychology of teaching, and the social psychology of schools as organizations. Although the terms â€Å"educational psychology† and â€Å"school psychology† are often used interchangeably, researchers and theorists are likely to be identified as educational psychologists, whereas practitioners in schools or school-related settings are identified as school psychologists.

Hyundai case study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Hyundai - Case Study Example Hyundai Motor Company is considered one of the best performing motor companies even in the face of the effects that followed recession. Factors of success within the firm which has beaten fort to take the fourth place in the motor industry applies strategies like the implementation of strong leadership and the continuous introduction of new models in the market to suit the preference of consumers within the different markets (Schmitt). Even with the likes of competitors like Tata and General Motors, among other, Hyundai has managed to do well in markets like Korea and other international markets in spite of having greater production capacity than their sales capabilities. Hyundai’s success is also attributed to their sensitivity to opportunities, say to the diversity that exists within the Middle East and their efforts in partnering with other firms. Their affiliation with Guangzhou Motor Group, in the year 2002, for instance, helped boosts the level of sales within the firm a nd therefore its overall performance (Yeats 54). The firms focus on producing the right products for the markets has also been of essence in helping Hyundai succeed like it has at the global levels. Basically, the demands of the consumers govern the ways by which the firms produce their automobiles. For example, the extremely high quality demand by the Korean populace has all through the time, made the company centre on always producing the best quality products for the markets (Davidson and Goldsmith 34). The stringent competition that exists from other car makers has also forced the firm to continually improve on all the aspects of production (Hyundai Motor America). The firm has even been ranked as the best in terms of customer satisfaction. Hyundai Motor America. Hyundai Motor America Reports Record January Sales. N.d. Web. February 27, 2012. Schmitt,

Analyies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Analyies - Essay Example As a result, the price begins to fall. As such, this paper seeks to illustrate how these macroeconomic forces are applied to world markets through an analysis of a recent article about world oil demand. Oil is a commodity that drives the economy in every country and for this reason, it is in demand across the whole globe. According to International Energy Agency (2015), â€Å"The price of oil continued to collapse into January as rising supplies collided with weak demand growth and OPEC maintained its commitment to not cut production. Brent crude futures last traded at $48.40/bbl, near a six-year low.† the problem is heightened by weak macroeconomic forces that continue to restrain global oil demand according to the energy agency. The graph below illustrates the trend in oil demand across the globe. It can be observed that the supply of this precious commodity is higher than the actual demand. Given such a scenario, it can also be noted that the price of this commodity begins to fall. The law of demand and supply applies in every market economy. There are quite a number of macroeconomic forces that come into play in as far as the price of a particular commodity is concerned. For instance, it the consumers have enough disposable income, it means that the price of the commodity is likely to decrease. On the other hand, more supply of the commodity than what is actually demanded in the market entails that the product price will also decline. Many countries across the globe are slashing the prices of fuel because of the fact that oil prices are falling on the world market. Given such as situation, it can be observed that countries in different parts of the globe a compelled to respond according to the macroeconomic conditions obtaining on the ground. In the same vein, when the supply of oil declines, the price of the commodity increases. As discussed above, it can be seen that the price of a certain

Opportunity Cost of Going to College, Marginal Analysis Essay

Opportunity Cost of Going to College, Marginal Analysis - Essay Example This research will begin with the statement that opportunity cost in economic terms is the cost of forgoing or sacrificing the consumption of one commodity or service in order to consume and derive utility from any other service or commodity. For computing opportunity cost of any commodity one has to take into account the next best substitute that has to be forgone or sacrificed. Under economies we generally compute opportunity cost in monetary terms. Considering the opportunity cost of going to college the next best alternative that can be sacrificed is the salary that an individual can get if he instead chooses a full time job. Such compromises are made each year. If the overall degree course the individual loses an annual salary of $80,000 in the three or four years. The commodities and services of opportunity cost for attending college are listed below: Monetary cost of college: Attending college require a minimum amount that has to be spent on food, clothing. Transportation costs: The student has to spend some amount of money each for attending. For the travelling expenses opportunity costs does not remain same and fluctuates frequently. This is because the student might choose not to attend college someday or he may choose to attend extra days than he usually does due to some extra class or some particular college meeting. Income through sports: If the student is an athlete he may earn huge through various tournaments. But such a job mostly requires the sportsman to travel a lot. In that case he may have to give up college. Clearly he has to choose between attending college and becoming a professional sportsperson (Gwartney, Stroup, Sobel and McPherson, 2009, p.29). Students dependent on parents: All the students attending college do not have to earn for their expenses. Sometimes students are dependent on their parents who take the responsibility of paying for all of their son’s or daughter’s expenses. In that case opportunity cost may be counted as zero (Gwartney, Stroup, Sobel and McPherson, 2009, p.29). Income in entertainment industries: Students who work as entertainers or pursue any other work in the entertainment industry have to spend a lot of time in the shoots or they may also have to travel abroad quite often. In that case too they have to choose between college and their work (Gwartney, Stroup, Sobel and McPherson, 2009, p.29). Missing T.V. shows: Attending college and pursuing a degree course also requires a student to study harder and appear for examinations. Thus in this respect the student would have less time for television and his favorite shows. In some cases while studying for college exams he might also have to miss out a big soccer match. Less leisure time: Attending college and then going for part time jobs- in this day to day busy schedule the student may not have any time left for leisure or spare time. Hence for attending college the student has to sacrifice leisure or any other activity that he used to perform during spare time. Higher Education: Attending colleges the student gets a professional degree. This may help the individual to earn higher income once he finishes college education than what he can earn currently by leaving college. 2. Marginal Analysis Decision taken on a margin Marginal analysis is a very important concept under microeconomics leading to efficient allocation of resources (McGuigan, Moyer and Harris, 2011, p.41). ‘Decision taken on a margin’ refers mainly to economic decisions. Alterations on the available amount of resources lead to such marginal decisions. It may be similar to decision making as simple as spending hours or money. Such decisions are assume to yield better output for a number of reasons. Firstly the decisions are made with full information on resources and shortages. Preferences and indifferences of an individual are also taken into account while making decisions. The involvement of analysis helps

Underage drinking Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Underage drinking - Essay Example A statistical voyage through this social malady would be more helpful to understand the inherent danger that under age drinking possess to our society. It has been estimated that each year around five thousand young people succumb to underage drinking. Here underage implies age below 21. Among these 5000 ill fortunate young blood, crash in motor vehicle claims 1900 lives, 1600 dies of murder and 300 ends their own lives. Ironically this high number of life casualty seems to have little effect on opening our eyes to this great danger that looms around our society. A survey among youths that has been carried on during 2005 revealed that 75% of the 12th graders, well over 66% of the 10th graders and 40% of the 8th graders are addicted to alcohol. More alarming fact is that heavy drinking or binge drinking as it is popularly known is a common phenomenon among 29% of 12th graders, 22% of 10th graders and 11% of 8th graders. Consuming alcohol rapidly such as more than four to five drinks w ithin two hours increases the blood alcohol concentration to an unprecedented high level of 0.08 grams%; this can initiate erratic behavior on behalf of the concerned underage person. Interestingly knowing all these have only led to the decline of the age of alcohol consumption over the years. As an example in the year 1965 the average age of beginners of alcohol was 17 and half. In 2003 the age of the first timer regarding alcohol has declined to 14. Such a decrease in first timer age regarding alcohol consumption reflects a grave social problem, as it has been observed that people who start early with alcohol, especially before the age of 15 are four times more prone to grow alcohol dependency (severe alcoholism) at some point of their lives (especially during the middle ages). Again such dependency often precedes middle age and starts quite early at young age and might be even during the adolescents. Moreover early drinkers are more likely to be socially maladjusted and cause har m to others as well as themselves. Risky behaviours such as taking illegal drugs like marijuana, cocaine and others are more likely to be found among early drinkers. Changing of sex partners and simultaneously having sex with more than one person is also more common among underage drinkers. They also have been found to get poor grade in schools and Ds and Fs are common among them. It is worth keeping in mind that the associated problems with underage drinking that have been discussed so far expose one million high school students all over America to great danger as the number associated with underage drinking in America has been found around that figure. (Alcohol Alert, 2006) Questions might be asked that even after knowing the consequences why such practise among youths is growing day by day? According to scientists and psychologists, teenage is an age when a person seeks adventure and tries to explore the unknown, if he or she considers alcohol among those unexplored horizons then they might feel attracted to alcohol as well. Through out the adolescence conception regarding alcohol undergoes several changes. It starts with a negative feeling regarding alcohol consumption at the age of 9 but strangely by 13 they consider it as holding something fairy within itself and that’s when the problem began. It has also been observed that youth with troublesome nature and aggression as a main type of characteristic, anxious, lonesome and upset tend to consume alcohol at a much early age than others. It has been observed

Lafarge-Aget Heracles Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4500 words

Lafarge-Aget Heracles - Case Study Example Lafarge- Aget Heracles is one of the leading producers of cement. The company has not been able to witness rapid growth within the industry. Some of the problems which are acting as major setbacks to the growth of the company are inability to offer a differentiated product line, huge freight costs added with under utilization of capacity. Out of these problems, the most vital being the inability of the company to offer diverse products which might become one of the principal causes leading to a huge loss of market shares. The company needs to address this problem and the consequences it may suffer as a result of this persistent problem. To strengthen its competitive edge in the market, the company needs to innovate its product line with the help of sophisticated technologies. Though other problems also needs proper resolution, but in this report we limit our scope of study to the analysis of one of the most crucial problem faced by the company which is inability of offering a differe ntiated product line. One of the biggest problems challenging Lafarge - Aget Heracles is their inability to differentiate their product line. The need of a differentiated product line was constantly felt within the cement industry and Aget, being one of the major players of the industry, was very much aware of the fact. To build a niche in the market, it was becoming necessary for Aget to innovate its product line. The need of environment friendly cement mixtures and specialty cement was becoming ardent. To ensure rapid growth in an industry, businesses need to adopt strategies to render higher customer satisfaction and offer value-added products and services. Aget was falling back on this aspect. Looming under its huge cost structure, it was felt that Aget was not keen on implementing innovation strategies. This was becoming an absolute necessity for Aget in order to strengthen its competitive edge in the industry as a whole. Aget was not able to develop its existing product line or offer new products and was becoming unable to meet the changing needs of the customers. For example, government institutions were demanding certain kinds of cement mixtures and specialty cements which would be environment friendly and would not contribute to the depletion of natural resources. With the development of the infrastructure industry in various regions across the world, for example in the middle-east, the demand for a special type of cement was becoming more and more apparent which would ensure greater durability to the infrastructure. But like other cement manufacturers across the world, Aget seemed to underestimate the need of an innovative product line as it

Brand Personalities Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Brand Personalities - Essay Example Brand Personality: A Comparison with Human Personality: Hans Ouwersloot and Ana Maria Tudorica in their article â€Å"Brand Personality Creation through Advertising (2001)† says that brand personality replicates how people experience a brand, rather than what they believe the brand is or what it does. He says that the emblematic use of brands is possible for the reason that the consumers frequently give human personalities to brands. Clients perceive the brand on aspects that naturally capture personality of a person, and widen that to the field of brands. The aspects of brand personality are defined by widening the aspects of human personality to the field of brands. One means to measure and conceptualize the human personality is by way of approach of trait, which explains that the personality is a group of traits. â€Å"A trait is defined as component of a person's behavior that is assumed to serve as an explanation of his or her enduring personal characteristics† (Trait 2012). Human personality individuality or characters are determined by multi-aspect factors such as behavior of individual’s, appearance, beliefs, attitude and the demographic characteristic. On the basis of these dimensions of human personality the five dimensions related to brands are identified and they are Excitement, Sincerity, Competence, Ruggedness and Sophistication. J. Aker, in the article â€Å"Dimensions of brand personality. Journal of Marketing Research, 1997† mentioned that the brand personality dimensions match with three of the five human personality aspects i.e. Excitement, Sincerity and Competence. The brand personality aspects such as Ruggedness and Sophistication vary from the aspects of human personality. According to Jennifer Aker, these brand personality dimension should have function in several ways or influence the preference of consumers for several reasons. The Brand Personality Creation: The traits of brand personality are shaped and influenced by a consumer’s direct or indirect contac t with a brand. A brand, can’t feel, think, or act like an individual,. A brand is merely a set of perceptions in the consumer’s mind. Consumers admit the actions of marketing to brands that are humanized. Personality characteristics are related with a brand by the individuals connected to that particular brand. The other way to influence and form the brand personality is imagery of user. Imagery user is defined as the group of human traits associated with the stereotype or typical user of the brand. The personality characteristics of the individual that are associated with a brand are shifted to the brand directly. Rajagopal in his publication named Brand Excellence: measuring the impact of advertising and brand personality on buying decisions, Measuring Business Excellence, 2006 explains that the effect that advertising have on the growth of the symbolic dimensions of the brands and this in turn affect the brand personality in a positive manner. Eventually, the spoke sperson’s personalities are shifted to the brand. The relation between brand and person may have a more personal nature. One of the main advantages of brand personalities are that on the basis of their unique personalities, consumers will be able to distinguish between brands. Another benefit is that the

Planning and Time Management in ABC, Inc Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Planning and Time Management in ABC, Inc - Essay Example Robbins can analyze present use of time, prioritizing activities, using time management systems and techniques. Carl Robins has been a campus recruiter for ABC, Inc. for six months. Given this short span of time, he successfully recruited several new hires in his first recruitment effort. Carl Robbins hired 15 new trainees to work for Monica Carrolls, the Operations Supervisor. He scheduled a new hire orientation to take place June 15, hoping to have all new hires working by July. On May 15, Monica contacted Carl about the training schedule, orientation, manuals, policy booklets, physicals, drug tests, and a host of other issues, which Carl would coordinate for the new hires. Carl assured Monica that everything would be arranged in time. After Memorial Day, Carl was at his office and pulled out his new trainee file to finalize the paperwork needed for the orientation on June 15. While going through the files, Carl became concerned. Some of the new trainees did not have applications completed or their transcripts on file, and none of them had been sent to the clinic for the mandatory drug screen. He then searched the orientation manuals and found only three copies with several pages missing from each. Management is the process of planning, organising, leading and controlling all phases of business operation in order to achieve the objectives of that organisation. Effective management invariably results in business success, while ineffective management often results in business failure. Using the POLC Model of Management, the key components namely planning, organizing, leading and controlling involves the use of different skills. (Burns, 1978) Carl Robbins was assigned to arrange and prepare the orientation for the new hires. In the context of the case, Robbins is the manager for the task. Planning is an intellectually demanding process because it requires deliberate courses of action where decisions are based on purpose, knowledge and the considerable degree of estimates.     

Assignment two-Culture Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Assignment two-Culture - Research Paper Example Because of faster evolution of the globalized trends, the consumers are getting increasingly aware of their needs and wants. It needs to be stated that the better and well developed connectivity is helping in the process of rapid dispersion of global trends to the emerging markets from the well established markets, thereby creating the opportunity for development of consumer demands. This increase in consumer demand is having a direct impact on the level of competition existing in the market place. Faced by growing domestic demands in the marketplace, companies with various homogenous kinds of product and services offerings which are located in various world markets are focusing to enter the new markets as they promote significant amount of business opportunity. It is important to state that because of the entrance of companies in new markets, the level of market competition has significantly increased. It is highly interesting to state that the rise in competition in the market plac e has created the demand for talented workers as well as significant job opportunities. Working class masses that have the necessary skills and experience that are needed for working in the competitive corporate environments and were previously residing in various rural and sub urban locations in multiple countries around the world are strongly migrating to the new cities. Because of this shift for jobs, people from various cultures, religion as well as varying personal faiths and beliefs are coming to the newer cities and taking the jobs in the business organizations present there. This automatically triggers diversity in regards to culture in the workplace. This research paper intends to focus on the theme of whether the cultural differences influence the human resource managemen

The Simpsons & a typical sitcom Essay Example for Free

The Simpsons a typical sitcom Essay Evaluate the extent to which The Simpsons follow the conventions of a typical sitcom. Refer to specific episodes that you have watched to support your evaluation. As T. V was getting more and more popular some shows had started, which fitted into a category of Sitcoms. These types of shows were both humorous and situational. The type of comedy which was comic devices like violence which is funny in cartoons or in real life the way the people fight and when some one gets hurt it brings a sense of comedy. There were a variety of different devices used examples include: Satire- this was a way of making jokes of stereotypes most people in America are stereotypes. Gags- In the sitcom it shows there were a lot of gags (jokes) used to make the show funny and more interesting. Slapstick- this was used a lot not only in cartoons but also in real life you would see idiotic people running into walls or slipping over banana peals. These sitcom shows were short. Normally what would happen is that there would be a situation but at the end everything will turn out to be OK and the situation would be dealt with. In most sitcoms when something funny would happen you would hear canned laughter it is an audience laugh recorded. Sitcoms were based on middle class homes/workers and about normal American/British families. The episodes werent in any sort of order any episode would come on. You would have main characters like the family and then the other characters friends, neighbours and other family/relatives etc. The narrative structure becomes a problem and it needs to be sorted out, at the end everything is back to normal, it is a simple plot. In the opening sequence of a sitcom called The Simpsons they show different stereotypes. The show is about a normal American middle class family. The father in this family is Homer Simpson who is a fat lazy slob he is definitely a stereotype because a lot of people are like him. In the opening sequence he is introduced when we go into the power plant he is doing dangerous work with a radioactive rod, which is glowing, there is a caution sign behind him, when the whistle blows to go home he drops everything takes his gas mask of. The radioactive rod bounces and falls into the back of his collar this shows how careless he is and it shows his stupidity. This is because he didnt care where the rod fell or even realized it fell he just wants to get home. In every Family you have a little devil that in the Simpsons appears to be Bart Simpson we see him at school writing lines on the board (he is in detention). Each episode he is writing something different and they are humorous for example I will not encourage others to fly the bell rings and he runs out of school, gets onto his skate board and goes home as he goes past chief Wiggum who is a police officer who waves his stick at him when Bart goes past him to slow down or to stop but Bart goes off. Also in every family you have an angel and in the Simpsons it is little Lisa Simpson she is intelligent and bright. In the opening sequence she is shown to be talented we see her in a music class she is playing a saxophone and she is very good at it. Marge is a stereotype as she stays at home and nurturing the children she doesnt go out as she is stuck with the household domestics e. g. cooking, shopping, cleaning etc. In the opening sequence she is shopping and she is not paying attention to Maggie who is on the till and she gets scanned at is put into the shopping bag Marge realises that Maggie is missing and she gets worried but Maggie pops her head out of the shopping bag and then they go home. The family get home at the same time. The episode that I had watched was Simpsons roasting on an open fire. A simple plot of this episode is that the family go out to do the Christmas shopping and Bart goes of and gets a tattoo Marge sees him and immediately takes him to get it removed unfortunately she spends all the Christmas money to get it removed she thinks she can use Homers Christmas bonus to use on Christmas. Meanwhile homer is at work and he finds out that he isnt getting a Christmas bonus so he thinks the family can use the money they saved not knowing Marge has spent it. When the family get home Homer finds out that the money they saved up has been spent to get Barts tattoo being removed Homer doesnt tell the family that his Christmas bonus is cancelled so he works in a superstore as Santa Clause. Bart finds out about this and at the end of Homers job he only gets $13. 00 so him and Bart go to the derby they lose but they bring the dog that they chose home because he was kicked out the derby so at the end every one is happy. In the Simpsons Homer is shown to be stereotyped because in America you would find a lot of people like him, he is not well educated, hes lazy, and he eats and drinks a lot, there are a lot of people in America like him but still though these people are stereotyped at the end they are all kind and loving towards there families. Homer would usually come home from work eat dinner with his family then he would either sit and watch telly or go out to Mos and have a drink with his friend. Another familiar character is Bart hes always in trouble and doing bad things, hes a rebel, and his family doesnt discipline him but only by his teacher who makes him write lines after school on the black board and it doesnt really help him. In the opening sequence when we see Barts school he is in detention writing out lines on the black board from there we can see that he is a bad boy and when he skates down the streets there are a lot of children who are exactly like this. Characters who are not part of the family lie Nelson Muntz hes in Lisas class and he is a typical bully who is normally hitting Bart or bullying other children. He is a stereotype because in every school or town you have a bully. He hangs around with a boy called Jimbo Jones and two other characters together they cause a lot of mischief. As always you have a group of bullies. Chief Wiggum is a stereotype like Homer he is fat lazy and doesnt do his job properly he is also very stupid (he is a police man). In one episode Bart is told to look after Maggie but while he is watching T. V she goes of with Homers car she zooms past chief Wiggum hes eating a donut and drinking coffee he says oh look theres a baby driving a car, and look theres a dog driving a bus he doesnt do anything about it. This shows how lazy he is and a stereotyped person. The Simpsons is not to fit into a stereotype of a typical sitcom. We analyse the episode The Simpsons Roasting on an open fire in this episode we see that the Simpsons, although different to what we have previously seen on typical sitcoms, they do love each other at the end of the day. The family are stereotyped of a normal everyday family. They are not perfect and they do have many problems but they are a healthy family. They are individually stereotyped in their own ways. Marge is a typical mother because like most housewives she is stuck at home with household domestics and looking after Maggie but she is more independent than other women in her position. Homer is very irresponsible he is clumsy and he is dumb. He is the father of the family he provides and cares for them but as we see Homer in the episodes he is shown to be really stupid but at the end of the day he does love, care and provide for the family. The children as a whole are very bright they have done a number of things for example Bart always catches out side-show Bob while he is planning something evil and Lisa helps her brother a lot she is very clever and saved her fathers life during a heart operation. The children do love their family and care for each other.

Factors Influencing Customer Loyalty Essay Example for Free

Factors Influencing Customer Loyalty Essay The financial services and banking facilities industry has seen a growing intensity of competition within the market place over the last decade. A bank is a financial intermediary that accepts deposits and channels those deposits into lending activities, either directly or through capital markets. A bank connects customers with capital deficits to customers with capital surpluses. Banking is generally a highly regulated industry, and government restrictions on financial activities by banks have varied over time and location. Today, CIMB serves close to seven million customers in over 600 locations through over 36,000 staff. Nowadays, financial services and banking facilities has force to pass by intense competition by other bank that growth from inside also outside this country because of the regulation for financial institution to establish was deregulation by government, and causing the adding in growth of the bank in Malaysia. Thus, people also have various banks to choose and directly give the big impact to manager of bank to search the way to enhance the loyalty of current customer from switching to other bank. They are many strategies that have been attempted by managers of the banks to retain customers in order to increase customer loyalty. It is costly than to attract new customer compared to retain the current customers. Thus, many banks have introduced innovative products and services (Alam and Khokhar, 2006) in order to retain current customers. Another strategy is to understand the factors influencing customer loyalty. Figure 1: Graph profit of Agrobank Seri Iskandar branch in April 2009 until April 2010 1. 2. Background of the organization Agrobank is an institution which provides holistic financial services and banking facilities. It give their utmost priority to the needs of their customers by providing attractive products and services such as savings activities, banking services, loan facilities, insurance coverage and advisory services. Agrobank is a Government-linked-Company (GLC) under the Minister of Finance Incorporated (MFI). The bank’s financing of the agricultural sector is driven by a policy set forth by the Ministry of Agriculture and Agro-based Industries. Agrobank is a continuity of the former Bank Pertanian Malaysia which has 40 years of experience in agricultural banking and an excellent track record in shaping and developing successful entrepreneurs. With a wide network of branches throughout Malaysia, they are confident of providing the best services to all. The rebranding of Bank Pertanian Malaysia to Agro Bank was done on 8 April 2008. The move is taken as an initiative to make the bank more competitive by fostering a fresher outlook, and enable it to provide a broader range of services to the market and cater the whole segment of the agriculture industry. An external consultant was deployed to carry out the public relation (PR) and rebranding exercise for Agrobank, penetrate the market and create awareness among the public. The solutions include Agrobanking, Business Banking, and Personal Banking. 1. 3. 1 Agrobanking Loan facility / financing offered under Agrobanking are open to agropreneurs clients carry out primary agricultural activities such as fisheries, forestry, livestock and any other related agro-based industry. Financing utilizing fund from the government and related agencies which is offered at a very competitive and special rate to help stimulate economic growth. This includes; i. Fund for Food (3F loan) ii. Skim Kredit Pengeluaran Makanan (SKPM) iii. Skim Kredit Padi (SKP) iv. The researcher was interested in predicting what the factors influencing customer loyalty toward AgroBank Seri Iskandar. Variables such as satisfaction, switching cost, trust and commitment might all contribute towards customer loyalty. When using multiple regressions in psychology, researchers use the term â€Å"independent variables† to identify those variables that they think will influence some other â€Å"dependent variable†. Thus, in as an example above, satisfaction, switching cost, trust and commitment would emerge as significant predictor variables, which allow researcher to estimate the criterion variable. As have pointed out before, human behavior is inherently noisy and therefore it is not possible to produce totally accurate predictions, but multiple regressions allows researcher to identify a set of predictor variables which together provide a useful estimate of a participant’s likely score on a criterion variable. Multiple regression analysis is done to examine the simultaneous effect of several independent variables on dependent variables. Multiple regression analysis can be used in order to determine whether the independent variables explain a significant variation in the dependent variable which is whether a relationship exists.

Factors Affecting Ethnic Minority Progression to University

Factors Affecting Ethnic Minority Progression to University It has been established that there is a very close connection between education attainment and upward social mobility (Ball 2010), hence, it is not unusual for ethnic minority to desire an upward social mobility and avoid discrimination in the work place, through the mechanism of obtaining higher qualification. However, this can be elusive as there are challenges that are capable of limiting the process or perhaps terminate the hope of obtaining higher qualifications. This commentary aims to discuss some the factors that affects the progression of ethnic minority children to higher education, in doing so attempt will be made at explaining the concept of race and ethnicity. Race and ethnicity Although it seems convenient to describe a person race based on certain physical characteristic, such as, colour of skin. However, there is no scientific basis for this classification, because there is no specific gene that distinguish a person of colour to white, classification is the based on people desire. According to Sternberg, Grigorenko et.al, the concept of race is not scientific but rather a social construct, it does not have any place in the genetic sequence (Sternberg, Grigorenko et al. 2005).ÂÂ   Even though, the concept of race is unscientific it does have factual consequences according to (Walters. 2012), as people face what is called racial discrimination, segregation among other things. In order to define ethnicity, it is vital to describe the characteristics makers of ethnic group, as well as determining if these characteristics are permanent (Cartrite 2003). Defining ethnicity is a complicated issue, as there is no consensus among political scientist as to what the makeup of an ethnic group is (Cartrite 2003). Ethnic group refers to a social group that share common and distinctive culture, religion, language, ancestry or the like (Dictionary.com). Ethnic minority denotes a group of people distinguished from the social mainstream, those who hold the majority spots of social supremacy in a society, and possibly will be definite by law (Wikipedia). The classification is based on some of the characteristic described in the definition of Ethnic grouping.ÂÂ   Ethnic group in the UK according to 2001 are white, black, Asian, mixed, Chinese and other. The word race and ethnicity are commonly used interchangeably, but they do not mean the same thing, as said earlier race is an artificial concept with factual reality, while ethnic group might be a real concept. Race equality and education policy The government have put in place a number of policy to address the issues relating to race, equality and education as it relates to ethnic minority. However, the wording of some of the policy are problematic, for example 1976 Race Equality Act, because it sounds like it is promoting a concept that is designed to crate division. The 1976 Race equality act makes it unlawful for any school to discriminate against any pupil because of their ethnic background as well as Crate Commission for Racial Equality (CRE). This was in attempt to stop the exclusion ethnic minority from education. In 1985 the swan report make recommendation that the inclusion of multicultural perspective in the curriculum in all the schools (Swann 1985). 2004 Higher Education Act Introduces further changes that offer more support particularly to students from lower economic background, this is to allow those children from poor social economic background go into university (Barr 2004). Various policies brought in by t he government to limit discrimination and encourage Ethnic Minority participation in education are not sufficient and has not eliminated the fear of going into debt among ethnic minority. Afro- Caribbean (AC) education experiences It is worth noting that most journals and articles tend to concentrate on concentrate on AC as the ethnic minority, according to department of education black Caribbean are 3 to 4 times likely to be excluded from school. AC often have problematic connection with teachers in school, as they are seen as threatening. They tend to apply to higher education while in employment at an older age compared to their white counterparts (Stoll, Bolam et al. 2006). According to the system every Child is important, however, the failure and social exclusion of Black children is a norm which suggest that they matter, but not as much. It might be necessary to employ personalisation so as to enable Black pupils to fulfil their real potential, this will not be possible as long as teachers opinion is formed by hidden bias (Stoll, Bolam et al. 2006) Key factors affecting the progression of ethnic minority into higher education language barrier Favourable cultural capital can be traded for more prospects.The most valued cultural capital is usually linked to that which prevailed in society which is a source of social inequality (Szeman and Kaposy 2010). Some ethnic minority may not be opportune to possess the cultural capitals that are valued in society, most migrant parent ideally has foreign cultural capital and probably poor English, that may result in low expectation and wages. However, the real problem is that universities tend to not that into account other cultural capitals (Dickinson, Griffith et al. 2012). Aspiration This is the key to success as it determines engagement and efforts. Due to high aspiration ethnic minority children tend to remain in full time education beyond the age of 16 in compares to their white counter part (Owen, Green et al. 2000). According to Connor et al, ethnic minority children punch above their weight when their percentage representative in university is compared to that of the general population (Connor, Tyers et al. 2004), It can be said that high aspiration among ethnic minority is responsible for this, because according to a study by university of Bristol 90 % of ethnic minority children aspire to stay in education beyond the age of 16 compared to 80% of their white counterpart (Wilson, Burgess et al. 2006) Social economic factor Poverty does reduce the chances of doing well in school, hence, cost and fear being in debt can be a factors capable of limiting ethnic minority progression into higher education. ethnic minority child that comes from a poor social economic background does face an uphill battle of trying to avoid getting into debt as a result of going into university. Due to their social economic background it is quite possible for their parents to not to be educated themselves, hence, they may not understand the value of education. conclusion although there are numerous factors that have the potential of limiting ethnic minority children from progressing into higher education, but there is no sufficient evidence to suggest that any of the factors, is a deterrent individually, however their collective effect is yet to be determined, it is also worth mentioning that high aspiration tend to be a major factor that enhances their chance of progression. According to Gillborn (2008) underachievement among ethnic minority may be caused by inadequate cognizance of policy-makers concerning the outcome specific policies will have groups References Ball, S. J. (2010). New class inequalities in education: Why education policy may be looking in the wrong place! Education policy, civil society and social class. International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy 30(3/4): 155-166. Barr, N. (2004). Higher education funding. Oxford review of economic policy 20(2): 264-283. Cartrite, B. (2003). Reclaiming their shadow: Ethnopolitical mobilization in consolidated democracies. Connor, H., et al. (2004). Why the difference? A closer look at higher education minority ethnic students and graduates. Institute for Employment Studies research report(552). Dickinson, D. K., et al. (2012). How reading books fosters language development around the world. Child Development Research 2012. Owen, D., et al. (2000). Minority ethnic participation and achievements in education, training and the labour market, DfEE Publications. Sternberg, R. J., et al. (2005). Intelligence, race, and genetics. American Psychologist 60(1): 46. Stoll, L., et al. (2006). Professional learning communities: A review of the literature. Journal of educational change 7(4): 221-258. Swann, B. M. S. (1985). Education for all: The report of the committee of inquiry into the education of children from ethnic minority groups, HMSO. Szeman, I. and T. Kaposy (2010). Cultural theory: an anthology, John Wiley Sons. Wilson, D., et al. (2006). The dynamics of school attainment of Englands ethnic minorities.

Woody Allen :: essays research papers

Woody Allen has proven himself as one of the forefathers of the American film industry and media as a whole. He has helped mold the standard for modern day film through is many movies that cover a wide range of styles, from comedy and drama to romance to tragedy. He has acted in 28 of the 36 movies he has produced while also famous for his writing. Allen is known best as the creator of films containing self-deprecating and intellectual mockery. His films typically parody the neuroses of the social class of New York sophisticates. Almost of his movies dealt with sex. Woody Allen was born in Brooklyn N.Y. on December 1, 1935 as Allen Steart Koinsberg to Martin and Nettie Konigsberg. Allen briefly attended New York City College, although he never graduated. During college, he wrote one-liners for the columnist Earl Wilson. It was at this time that he changed his name from Allan Konigsberg to Woody Allen. Soon after, he began writing for television, and in the early ‘60s, he worked as a stand-up comedian. In 1964, Woody Allen, a comedy album featuring his stand-up material, was nominated for a Grammy Award. In 1965, he wrote his first screenplay, What’s New, Pussycat, a film in which he also starred. Following the success of this film, he directed What’s Up, Tiger Lily? in 1966, a James Bond spoof that was not as commercially successful as What’s New, Pussycat, but which nonetheless established Allen as a cutting edge humorist.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  His featured stars that he selects for his movies are often the most established or up-and-coming actors of the day, and he frequently works with the same actors as well as technical crew. Dianne Wiest, for instance, was featured in Radio Days in 1987 and Bullets Over Broadway in 1994. Judy Davis, another Allen favorite, has appeared in Husbands and Wives released in 1992, Deconstructing Harry in 1997, and Celebrity released 1998. Additionally, Allen has a history of casting his significant others for his films. Louise Lasser, to whom Allen was married in the late ‘60s, starred in numerous film and theater projects penned by Allen. Works featuring Diane Keaton, whom Allen dated in the ‘70s, included Sleeper, 1973; Annie Hall, 1977, which earned Allen an Oscar for Best Director; Manhattan, 1979; and Radio Days, 1987. Mia Farrow, for whom Allen wrote numerous roles throughout their long-standing relationship, appeared in The Purple Rose of Cairo, released 1985, Hannah and Her Sisters, in 1986, also featuring Wiest; Alice, 1990, Shadows and Fog, 1992 and Husbands and Wives released 1992.

Conformity and Individuality in a Small Town Essay -- essays research

Conformity and Individuality in a Small Town John Updike was born in Shillington, Pennsylvania on March 18, 1932. His father was a high school math teacher who supported the entire family, including his grandparents on his mothers side. As a child, Updike wanted to become a cartoonist because of The New Yorker magazine. He wrote articles and poems and kept a journal. John was an exceptional student and received a full scholarship to Harvard University. At Harvard he majored in English and became the editor of the Harvard newspaper. Upon graduation in 1954, he wrote his first story, Friends from Philadelphia, and sent it to The New Yorker. This started his career and he became one of the great award winning authors of our time. In a transcript of a radio interview with Updike, he says his duties in the early works were to â€Å"describe reality as it had come to me, to give the mundane its beautiful due.† (http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/entertainment/july-dec03/updike_12-29.html retrieved 7/27/05) Updike felt as though ordinary middle-class life was enough to write about and that there was enough drama, interest, relevance, importance, poetry in it. The ‘A&P’ written by John is about middle and, presumed, upper middle class life and the characters are ones that people can easily identify with. There is the teenage boy, Sammy, working a meaningless job ogling scantily clad teenage girls, a married man with children, Stokesie, doing the same, an uptight store manager, Lengel, who, in this case, is a man but could have easily been a woman in today’s society, the insecure teenage girls, who Sammy nicknamed ‘Plaid’ and ‘Big Tall Goonie-Goonie, following around their â€Å"leader,† the leader herself, Queenie, who is confident in her socioeconomic status as well as her appearance, the housewives who cover themselves in public, the cash-register-watcher, the ’sheep’ or the other people in the A&P doing their grocery shopping, and the butcher, McMahon. All of these characters allow any reader to identify with them in some way, whether past or present. The story takes place on a summer afternoon in an eastern coastal town at a local grocery store, the A & P. The protagonist is Sammy; is a teenaged boy who works at the A&P. Sammy is also the narrator of the story, the reader sees through his ey... ...have given boys a hard time? Would the boys have had real names? These are questions for every reader to decide for themselves. Annotated Bibliography Porter, M. Gilbert.: "John Updike's 'A & P': the establishment and an Emersonian cashier." English Journal 61 (1972):1155-1158. Reinforces Sammy’s discust for the A&P clientele. At the same time, Sammy realizes he is an individual with individual thoughts and feelings that do not conform with the moral, social and ethical standards of that time. Saldivar, Toni. "The Art of John Updike's 'A & P.’† Studies in Short Fiction. 34:2 (1997): 215-225. This demonstrates Sammy’s desire to express his individuality and rebel against the conformity of society at that time and the A&P’s representation of that conformity. Wells, Walter. "John Updike's 'A & P': A Return Visit to Araby." Studies in Short Fiction 30.2 (1993): 127-133. Demonstrates the maturity process of Sammy. Confusing sexual impulses for being a ‘hero.’ Sammy thinks he is impressing the girls, but they don’t even notice. Reinforces the individuality/conformity themes.

Biography of Mother Teresa Essay -- Influential People Biographies Rel

Biography of Mother Teresa Mother Teresa was a wonderful woman and a great influence on the world today. She was born in 1910 in Macedonia with the name Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu. She was born into a family of deeply religious Catholics. Agnes felt she got the calling to work for God at the young age of fourteen. She joined the Loreto order and went to Bengal, India, to start her studies. In 1937, Agnes took her final vows to become a nun and has done much great work in the world since. Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu was born on August 27, 1910 to Nikola and Drana Bojaxhiu in Skopje, Macedonia. Drana and Nikola were Albanian and both were very deeply religious Roman Catholics. Nikola was a popular merchant and a partner to an Italian merchant. He owned several houses and was a member of the Skopje town council. Whenever Agnes’ father would return from a trip, he would always bring his children presents. Also, he promoted his daughters’ education, which was uncommon in that time period. Nikola also was involve d in an underground organization that worked to gain independence for the Albanians from the Ottoman Turks, who ruled Macedonia around the time Agnes was born. Agnes grew up around much fighting. When she was born, there were Albanian protests against the Turkish government. When she was two, she witnessed the First Balkan War. In that war, the Ottomans were defeated, but Macedonia was divided among the conquerors: Bulgaria, Greece, Montenegero, and Serbia. The city of Skopje was distributed to Serbia. Albania received its independence in 1912, but Nikola continued his nationalist work. He joined a movement determined to incorporate Serbia into the Albanian nation. In 1914, when Agnes was only four years old, World War I began. In 1918, her father was killed. Some people believe that he was poisoned by enemies. Many people mourned his death because of his kindness and generosity. Drana Bojaxhiu and the family were left with little money and no means of income. Drana worked hard to p rovide for her family. To get enough money, she became a dressmaker. Even though she had to work extra hard to make ends meet, Drana still found time and money to give to the lonely. When Agnes was young, she used to go on trips with her mother to visit the elderly, sick, and the poor. It is said that their mother’s generosity may have had the greatest influence on Agnes, her sister, an... ...eedy people. I feel that Mother Teresa will live on in the hearts of the people she helped as well as many other people. Mother Teresa had a tremendous effect on our world and I think she deserves much honor and praise for her work. Mother Teresa is a wonderful role-model for anyone. She has literally helped people all over the world. In a world so hateful and dishonest, a person like Mother Teresa is a rare occurrence. Overall, Mother Teresa was a wonderful person who helped the world a great deal Bibliography Bibliography Clucas, Joan Graff. Mother Teresa. New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1988. Egan, Eileen. Such a Vision of the Street. New York: Doubleday, 1985. "Mother Teresa." Encarta. 1997-2000. Muggeridge, Malcolm. Something Beautiful for God. New York: Image Books, 1977. Mukherjee, Bharati. "Mother Teresa." Time June 14, 1999: 88-90. Playfoot, Janet N. "My Life for the Poor: Mother Teresa of Calcutta." The Great American Bathroom Book, vol 1. Stevens W. Anderson. Salt Lake City: Compact Classics Inc., 1991. Serrou, Robert. Teresa of Calcutta. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1981. Spink, Kathryn. The Miracle of Love. San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1981. Word Count: 4206

Graded Assignment Essay

1. Three hypotheses—ecocide, rat outbreak, and climate change—are candidates as explanations of why the society of Easter Island collapsed. Explain each hypothesis, present at least one piece of evidence for each one, and state a lesson that each hypothesis contains for the world today. For each hypothesis, write one paragraph of at least four lines Answer: Ecocide Hypothesis: Humans used the resources irresponsibly and caused deforestation. Humans used the logs from the trees to transport the big statues. People also used the trees to build shelter. The resources were used irresponsibly when they should have been used graciously. Rat Outbreak: Rats were introduced to the environment and fed on the trees. The trees had bite marks on the bottom of the tree. Rats were brought over by ships. It wasn’t an intentional introduction. Climate Change: As the climate changed the Lakes were separated from the main body of water. (8 points) 2. In a paragraph, describe the seven steps of the scientific method. Answer: You must make an observation and ask a question or identify and define a problem about that observation. Then you make your hypothesis which is an if-then statement and then test the hypothesis by performing experiments or making observations. Then you have to organize and analyze your data. Finally you draw your conclusions and communicate your results. (7 points) 3. Error in data analysis often occurs because the researcher has chosen an inappropriate sample for study—a sample that does not correctly reflect the characteristics of the population or phenomenon as a whole. Name at least three different causes of sampling error and state why each of them can produce invalid data. Answer: Size: your sample must include enough size or amount of people or organisms. If you don’t have enough samples then your data will be concluded with an insufficient amount of data. Bias: If someone has a strong bias towards something then they may only use the data that supports their views. Location of Sample: If someone takes a sample in a location and then doesn’t go to another location to take a sample then the data may be insufficient.