Americans Should Not Use Credit Cards Essay Essay Example

Americans Should Not Use Credit Cards Essay Essay Example Americans Should Not Use Credit Cards Essay Essay Americans Should Not Use Credit Cards Essay Essay Americans Should Not Use Credit Cards Com/156 Date: 08/31/2011 Instructor: Dierdre McKee Americans Should Not Use Credit Cards Why Americans should not use credit cards, throughout the United States,  credit cards  have become one of the most popular forms of payment in everyday shopping whether consumers are making a routine trip to the grocery store or  shopping online. There are various motives for not having a credit card and it is frequent for credit card companies to try to lure new or existing clients in by offering a zero percent interest rates and low fees. What they do not tell people is that there might be fees for doing so or that the rate only lasts for ninety days. These come in addition to  annual fees and late fees, which are insanely high. Sure, consumers can avoid them by finding cards without fees and paying on-line so that payment is not lost in the mail, but why go through that trouble? Interest Rates and Fees The one thing to dislike about credit cards is the  interest rates can be high if you do not choose the right one. To use a credit card correctly, one must make purchases he or she is able to pay off upon getting the monthly  bill, but some Americans  do not. Credit cards should be  only use as second-hand funds for emergencies only. A heavy user can be liable to abuse  credit cards. According to the Federal Reserve report, (2010), the total U. S. consumer revolving debt fell to $866 billion at the end of 2009, down from $958 billion at the end of 2008. About ninety-eight percent of that debt was credit card debt. Americans  who  utilize this financial tool are liable to spend more on transactions than those who purchase things with cash. As soon as the bills turn up, some people would pay only the minimum payment on their credit card. Keep in mind, small minimum expenditures just are not sufficient to cover finance charges. According to Mason, (2010), â€Å"Credit cards interest rates are at its highest in nine years. The average rate today is 14. 7% for every cardholder and last year interest rates was 13. 1% this is because of the new credit card regulations. In addition, new credit card rules may harm more than help. All of the credit card rules may force Americans to be more careful, but it is not going to help a struggling society pick up the pace,† (para. 2). Unpaid Balances No matter what the reason is for closing a credit card, it is imperative to make a note that not all credit cards should be closed. As a structure of damage control, some people decide to close a credit card when they have a high balance on it. According to Buttell,(2009) â€Å"This is not excellent because that balance will continue to build up high interest rate charges in the future and must pay off not only the remaining balance transfer but the purchase balance as well as any new balance transfers or purchases the consumer put on his or her card or cards. Before the cardholder can even touch his or her cash advance balance, which has the highest interest rate† (para. payment allocation details). What is an unpaid balance? An unpaid credit card is when a cardholder closes up a credit card account that has a  credit balance, the  credit card issuer credit limit  on that card is reduced to zero, and it comes across as if the cardholder has maxed out the card. According to Morah, (2009) â€Å"very high credit card interest rates are another reason why people close their accounts. If you still have an unpaid balance on a credit card with a high interest rate, closing the card. Beneath the existing state of affairs, it may possibly take customers years to pay off high interest rate balances,† (para. reasons for closing a credit card). What effect does an unpaid balance have on a cardholder? Having a maxed-out card, or even a card that simply appears to be maxed out, will have an unconstructive blow on the person’s credit score. â€Å"If someone has a horrible credit score, applying for a credit card is going to be agonizing. However, rates vary depending on the type of card he or she apply for, with a score below 599 the applicant will most likely be stuck facing an APR of 24% or higher. In fact, First Premier Bank offers a Gold MasterCard with a whopping 59. 9% rate for those people with less than perfect credit† (Ellis, 2011,para. 7). While creditors have no obligation to agree to negotiate the total sum a consumer owes, they have a legal responsibility to provide accurate information to the credit reporting agencies, as well as failure to make monthly payments. â€Å" In some instances, when creditors win a lawsuit, they have the right to garnish wages or put a lien on homes. That can result in a negative entry on credit reports. In certain situations, creditors may ave the right to sue to recover the money owed. Finally, the Internal Revenue Service may consider any amount of forgiven debt to be taxable income,† (Federal Trade Commission,  2011). Conclusion Consumers who are in a tight spot may find themselves needing to use credit cards. Today’s  society is  continuously  struggling to get rid of debt, although while attempting to eli minate debt we sometimes  generate extra debt. The one foremost trouble  we all encounter dealing with credit cards is debt. Anyone should not want to utilize credit cards because they may create a spending routine that is awful. Not having power over these bad habits will consolidate and lead to more debt for the near future. Credit cards allow people to go into debt. This is not the way to build wealth and become financially secure. Yes, the borrower has to pay the debt back within thirty to sixty days, depending on billing cycle, but no one can ever go into debt if relying on using cold, hard cash to buy everything. â€Å"There is no positive side to credit card usage. A person will spend more if they use credit cards. Even by paying all the bills on time, the credit card companies will never lose. However, most families do not pay on time. The average family in today’s society carries the burden of at least eight-thousand dollars in credit card debt according to the American Bankers Association† (Ramsey, 2009). There is no assurance that debt settlement services proposes are legitimate and there is no assurance a creditor will allow fractional payments of a legal debt. In actuality, if a consumer brings to a halt making expenditures on a credit card, late fees, and interest more often than not are added to the debt every month. If the cardholder exceeds his or her credit limit, additional fees and charges also can be added. This can cause the consumer’s original debt to double or maybe even triple and all these fees will put anyone further in the hole. References Ellis, B. (2011, January  28). Credit card rates at record highs near 15%. . Retrieved from http://money. cnn. com/2011/01/28/pf/credit_cards_interest_rates/index. htm Morah, C. (2009, June  20). Should you close your credit card. . Retrieved from investopedia. com/articles/pf/08/close-credit-card. asp#axzz1WfEy2qTU Federal Trade Commission. (2011). Facts for Consumers. Retrieved from ftc. gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/credit/cre19. shtm Ramsey, D. (2009, August  4). The truth about credit card debt []. Retrieved from daveramsey. com/article/the-truth-about-credit-card-debt/ Mason, A. (2010, August  24). New credit card rules may harm more than help []. Retrieved from cbsnews. com/stories/2010/08/23/eveningnews/main6798896. shtml Tomasino, K. (2011, August  14). Credit card APRs unchanged for 3rd straight week . . Retrieved from reditcards. com/credit-card-news/credit-card-interest-rate-report-0817-1276. php Buttell, A. E. (2009, June  Day). Until then, use these strategies to cut down debt Read more: creditcards. com/credit-card-news/law-bans-credit-card-payment-allocation-trickery-1282. php#ixzz1WfoH9fyc Compare credit cards here CreditCards. com. . Retrieved from creditcards. com/credit-card-news/law-bans-credit-card-payment-allocation-trickery-1282. php Federal Reserve . (2011). C onsumer credit. Retrieved from federalreserve. gov/Releases/g19/20100305/

The 7 Most Important Eminent Domain Cases

The 7 Most Important Eminent Domain Cases Eminent domain is the act of taking private property for public use. Enumerated in the Fifth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, it gives states and the federal government the right to seize property for public use in exchange for just compensation (based on fair market value for a piece of land). The concept of eminent domain is connected to the functionality of the government, because the government needs to acquire property for infrastructure and services like public schools, public utilities, parks, and transit operations. Seven key court cases throughout the 19th and 20th centuries allowed the judiciary to define eminent domain. Most eminent domain challenges focus on whether the lands were taken for a purpose that qualifies as â€Å"public use† and whether the compensation provided was â€Å"just. Kohl v. United States Kohl v. United States (1875) was the first Supreme Court case to assess the federal government’s eminent domain powers. The federal government seized a portion of the petitioner’s lands without compensation for the purpose of building a post office, customs office, and other government facilities in Cincinnati, Ohio. The petitioners alleged that the court did not have jurisdiction, the government could not acquire the land without proper legislation, and that the government should accept an independent assessment of the value of the land before compensating. In a decision delivered by Justice Strong, the court ruled in favor of the government. According to the majority opinion, eminent domain is a core and essential power afforded to the government through the Constitution. The government may develop legislation to further define eminent domain, but the legislation is not required in order to the use of the power. In the majority opinion, Justice Strong wrote: â€Å"If the right of eminent domain exists in the federal government, it is a right which may be exercised within the states, so far as is necessary to the enjoyment of the powers conferred upon it by the Constitution.† United States v. Gettysburg Electric Railroad Company In United States v. Gettysburg Electric Railroad Company (1896), Congress used eminent domain to condemn the Gettysburg Battlefield in Pennsylvania. The Gettysburg Railroad Company, who owned land in the condemned area, sued the government, alleging that the condemnation violated their Fifth Amendment right. The majority ruled that as long as the railroad company was paid fair market value for the land, the condemnation was lawful. In terms of public use, Justice Peckham, on behalf of the majority wrote, â€Å"No narrow view of the character of this proposed use should be taken. Its national character and importance, we think, are plain.† Furthermore, the court held that the amount of land needed in any eminent domain seizure is for the legislature to determine, not the court. Chicago, Burlington Quincy Railroad Co. v. City of Chicago Chicago, Burlington Quincy Railroad Co. v. City of Chicago (1897) incorporated the Fifth Amendment takings clause using the Fourteenth Amendment. Prior to this case, states had used eminent domain powers un-regulated by the Fifth Amendment. This means that states may have seized property for public use without just compensation. In the 1890s, the city of Chicago aimed to connect a stretch of road, even though it meant cutting through private property. The city condemned the land through a court petition and paid just compensation to the property owners. Quincy Railroad Corporation owned part of the condemned land and was awarded one dollar for the taking. The railroad appealed the judgment. In a 7-1 decision delivered by Justice Harlan, the court ruled that the state could take land under eminent domain if the original owners were awarded just compensation. The taking of the Railroad Company’s land had not deprived the company of its use. The street only bisected the railroad tracts and did not cause the tracts to be removed. Therefore, one dollar was just compensation for the taking. Berman v. Parker In 1945, Congress established the District of Columbia Redevelopment Land Agency to authorize the seizure of â€Å"blighted† housing districts for rebuilding. Berman owned a department store in the area slated for redevelopment and did not want his property to be seized along with the â€Å"blighted† area. In Berman v. Parker (1954), Berman sued on the basis that the District of Columbia Redevelopment Act  and its seizure of his land violated his right to due process. In a unanimous decision delivered by Justice Douglas, the court found that the seizure of Berman’s property was not a violation of his Fifth Amendment right. The Fifth Amendment does not specify what the land must be used for outside of â€Å"public use. Congress has the power to decide what this use might be and the goal of turning the land into housing, specifically low-income housing, fit the general definition of the takings clause. The majority opinion by Justice Douglas read: â€Å"Once the question of the public purpose has been decided, the amount and character of land to be taken for the project and the need for a particular tract to complete the integrated plan rests in the discretion of the legislative branch.† Penn Central Transportation v. New York City Penn Central Transportation v. New York City (1978) asked the court to decide whether a Landmark Preservation Law, which restricted Penn Station from building a 50-story building above it, was constitutional. Penn Station argued that preventing the construction of the building amounted to an illegal taking of the airspace by the City of New York, violating the Fifth Amendment. The court ruled in a 6-3 decision that the Landmarks Law was not a violation of the Fifth Amendment because restricting the construction of a 50-story building did not constitute a taking of the airspace. The Landmarks Law was more closely related to a zoning ordinance than eminent domain, and New York had a right to restrict construction in the public interest of protecting the â€Å"general welfare† of the surrounding area. Penn Central Transportation could not prove that New York had meaningfully â€Å"taken† the property simply because they had lowered the economic capacity and interfered with the property rights. Hawaii Housing Authority v. Midkiff Hawaii’s Land Reform Act of 1967 sought to tackle the issue of unequal land ownership on the island. Only 72 private landowners possessed 47 percent of the land. Hawaii Housing Authority v. Midkiff (1984) asked the court to determine whether the state of Hawaii could enact a law that would use eminent domain to take lands from lessors (property owners) and redistribute them to lessees (property renters). In a 7-1 decision, the court ruled that the Land Reform Act was constitutional. Hawaii sought to use eminent domain to prevent a concentration of private ownership, a purpose generally associated with good democratic governance. Additionally, the state legislature has just as much power to make this determination as Congress. The fact that the property was transferred from one private party to another did not defeat the public nature of the exchange. Kelo v. City of New London In Kelo v. City of New London (2005), the plaintiff, Kelo, sued the city of New London, Connecticut for seizing her property under eminent domain and transferring it to New London Development Corporation. Susette Kelo, along with other property owners in the area, had refused to sell their private property, and the city had condemned it to force the owners to accept just compensation. Kelo alleged that the seizure of her property was a violation of the â€Å"public use† element of the Fifth Amendment takings clause because the land would be used for economic development which is not solely public. Kelo’s property was not â€Å"blighted† and it would be transferred to a private firm for economic development. In a 5-4 decision delivered by Justice Stevens, the Court upheld aspects of its ruling in Berman v. Parker and Hawaii Housing Authority v. Midkiff. Redistributing the land was part of a detailed economic plan. The court ruled that this plan constituted a public use. Even though the transfer of land was from one private party to another, the goal of that transfer – economic development – served a definitive public purpose. In this case, the court further defined â€Å"public use† by explaining that it was not confined to literal usage by the public. Public use could mean public benefit or general welfare. Sources Kohl v. United States, 91 U.S. 367 (1875).Kelo v. New London, 545 U.S. 469 (2005).United States v. Gettysburg Elec. Ry. Co., 160 U.S. 668 (1896).Penn Central Transportation Co. v. New York City, 438 U.S. 104 (1978).Hawaii Housing Auth. v. Midkiff, 467 U.S. 229 (1984).Berman v. Parker, 348 U.S. 26 (1954).Chicago, B. Q. R. Co. v. Chicago, 166 U.S. 226 (1897).Somin, Ilya. â€Å"The Story behind Kelo v. City of New London.†Ã‚  The Washington Post, The Washington Post, 29 May 2015, www.washingtonpost.com/news/volokh-conspiracy/wp/2015/05/29/the-story-behind-the-kelo-case-how-an-obscure-takings-case-came-to-shock-the-conscience-of-the-nation/?utm_term.c6ecd7fb2fce.â€Å"History of the Federal Use of Eminent Domain.†Ã‚  The United States Department of Justice, 15 May 2015, www.justice.gov/enrd/history-federal-use-eminent-domain.â€Å"Constitutional Law. Federal Power of Eminent Domain.†Ã‚  The University of Chicago Law Review, vol. 7, no. 1, 1939, pp. 166–169.  JSTOR, JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/1596535.â€Å"Annotation 14 - Fifth Amendment.†Ã‚  Findlaw, constitution.findlaw.com/amendment5/annotation14.html#f170.

Water Quality in the State of Iowa Research Paper

Water Quality in the State of Iowa - Research Paper Example The quality of water that we use for domestic purposes and the one that is on the subsurface, that is, the water found on ponds, streams and other small bodies and is used for activities such as swimming or fishing has to be of proper quality. This is to ensure that it is not hazardous. Various state water departments in the United States strive to ensure that the quality of water being used within their states is high. The Iowa Water Department is an example of this. This paper will be a discussion of water quality in the state of Iowa, focusing on the advantages and disadvantages involved in this topic, together with areas where it can be utilized. The aspect of water quality focuses on household, commercial and the environmental aspect of water. In the state of Iowa, there is the Iowa Water Quality Association whose goal is to help its members provide better water treatment and protect the environment in which they are associated with (Iowa Water Quality Association, p. 1). This i s in a bid to ensure that the quality of water that people use is good and that the environment is protected. To ensure that this is done, various industries that provide water treatment services have to focus on the health needs of the people that may come into contact with the water that they have treated (Iowa Water Quality Association, p. 1). ... Variety is provided due to different consumers’ needs (Iowa Water Quality Association, p. 1). Septic systems are also regulated. There may be occasions where the piping system for water meant for domestic use lies hand in hand with the one for the septic system. Therefore, there are strict guidelines to ensure that contamination does not occur to water that is meant for domestic use in case of any leakages in the septic systems (Iowa Water Quality Association, p. 1). This is to ensure that the water being used for domestic purposes is pure and of good quality. To ensure that all aspects of water quality are enhanced, the department of natural bodies is in place. This looks after the wellbeing of the natural occurring water bodies. These include streams that are sometimes used for boat riding by individuals and ponds that are used for fishing. Since this area are widely visited by families enjoying their free time, it is necessary that the quality of water that is there is good (Iowa Department of Natural Resources, p. 1). Therefore, this department visits such bodies often to ensure that there are no any harmful pathogens. There is the possibility that some industrial waste is released to streams, this could be harmful to the animals that stay in water as well as to the various plants that form the water body biodiversity. These wetlands are inspected regularly to ensure that they are safe. Despite the fact that the quality of water within the state of Iowa is generally good, there is still some form of threat. Small portions of water in the state of Iowa have serious pollution problems (Dillard, p. 1). This mostly emanates from industrial wastes. However, the state tries to ensure that such cases are

School programs Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

School programs - Essay Example Briefly explain each innovation: one innovation for Pre-School Programs, one for Elementary School Programs, one for Middle School Programs, three for High School Programs and four for College Level Programs One innovation for pre-school programs is smaller classes that are based on a permissive model vs. an authoritarian or inoculation based pre-school program. Smaller classes that permit pre-school learners to explore the environment or educational materials as a preparation for learning can be considered as alternatives to large classes with rote drill learning methods. An example of an innovation in elementary school would be a participative and competitive spelling bee competition in class where all students were required to display and test knowledge vs. a rote, repetition and repeat spelling drill led by the teacher and followed by the class in unison. In Middle School, providing students a three hour period of intense guided instruction in a subject of specialization could be an innovation and reform that is an alternative to the relatively low amount of instructional time in classes and the general, homogenized nature of reproduction of class lectures and course material. In High Schools, increasing the level and quality of education in public schools is an important innovation, as is increasing the degree of personal and family choice in attending institutions. Making the 10th through 12th classes a more intensive time of study and preparation for students for future education and career choices is important. Increasing the student and family participation in school organization and management can lead to more feeling of involvement and ownership in institutions. Widening the areas of specialized studies by decreasing class or group sizes and increasing independent study ad research in subjects also build proficiencies in students. At the College or University level, implementing the reform of universal, free access to education is the most important and needed goal. That knowledge and learning is restricted by economics or socio-economic resources on a personal or family level leads to a divided society and class structure. Furthering student organization of classes and research would also build inclusion on campus. There are many options to cooperate to save costs in housing, food, books, etc. that are not undertaken because of the profit motive in education. Developing a more collective, self-organized, and non-profit approach to education at the university level is an important part of universal education reform practically. Students should have more freedom in designing their own areas of study, in both specialization and cross-disciplinary studies. Essay #2 - Try to chart the ways in which the American educational system (for publically funded schools) has historically attempted to reach its institutional goals. That means for you to sketch the ways our society has approached the process of education. Now try to explain ho w this process is mediated by having to keep attention on funding issues. The main goal of the American education system has been to provide a free or publicly funded educational opportunity from K-12 for all students or citizens of the country. The combinations of State, Local, and Federal taxes are used to this purpose. The higher education is based on student born costs that may be defrayed by the difference between public, or State-sponsored and subsidized schools, or private colleges and universities. The ideal of a broad general education as basis of citizenship developed from basic literacy requirements as a foundation for democratic citizenship. Nevertheless, the American system of education also is focused in producing

The Importance of and Impacts of Professional Development in Education Essay Example for Free

The Importance of and Impacts of Professional Development in Education Essay Abstract: Like any area of human endeavors, the professional development in case of education is considered as a key factor in honing the over all performance of the students thereby resulting in a marked success of educational institutes. In this regard, importance and the positive implications of efforts in terms of teacher development cannot be denied. This paper succinctly touches on the contemporary trends pertaining to the development in education sector with a special elucidation of professional development where areas like collegial interactions, teachers leadership, community interaction, teachers’ individual learning and data driven decision come up to be the effective strategies in order to enlighten the education system with positive reforms.    The paper also analyzes a few research based programs as the case studies for advocating the importance of teachers and their collegial interactions for the success of any institution. Development in Education: In the changing world, the aggrandizing competitiveness has overwhelmed every sphere of the contemporary life. It’s a datum of experience that to cope with the increasing demands of the current era, a modern man is in a continuous process of inoculating reforms in every field. In this regard, what surpasses all the fields is the sector of education since it forms the basis for strengthening all the other institutes of life. In other words, for the provision of better workers, the engineering sector is as much dependent on the education system as is any other field like Medicine or Business.   Keeping in view such a crucial importance of education, various analysts and educationists are bringing new innovations in order to hone the current education system. These reforms involve issues like the quality of teachers, testing and evaluation, learning environment, course design, curriculum and need analysis of the students etc. Professional Development in Eductaion: â€Å"Student learning depends first, last, and always on the quality of the teachers (Usdan, McCloud Podmostko: 2001).† When talking about the reforms in the education system, the role of a teacher cannot be denied. Since teachers play a key role in the over all accomplishment of any educational institute, they have rather become the cynosure of educational reforms where they are considered as students who are in a constant process of mentoring and being mentored. The reason behind bringing the teachers to the centre of attention is the fact that any kind of improvement happening in any classroom involves the participation of a teacher (Schwarz: 1998). Any development in teachers would not only improve students’ performance but would also motivate the teachers themselves. According to Fullan and Stiegebauer, â€Å"Good change processes (are those) that foster sustained professional development over ones career and lead to student benefits (Schwarz: 1998).† Reasons behind Professional Development: â€Å"Processes, practices, and policies that are built on (†¦) view of learning are at the heart of a more expanded view of teacher development that encourages teachers to involve themselves as learners in much the same way as they wish their students would (Lieberman: 2002).† Behind the increasing trend towards the teacher development lays the notion of ‘learning by changing (Lieberman: 2002)’. According to this notion, the basic catalyzing force behind teacher development is the process of changes implemented in the institutions in an expectation of amelioration. In order to cope with the increasing demands, the teachers not only attend to their individual skills but also refer to their colleagues. This concept views the teachers in a constant process of learning that facilitates them to realize their changing roles as instructors, peer coach and researches, to create new structures like problem-solving groups, decision-making teams, to work on new tasks like journal and proposal writing and to establish an inquiry oriented culture in the classroom (Lieberman: 2002). Models and interpretations of teachers’ professional development: Sparks and Loucks-Horsley have proposed five levels of teacher development which are individually-guided staff development, observation-assessment, involvement in a development and improvement process and training and inquiry. However Hargreaves and Fullan propose that the term ‘teacher development’ has multiple interpretations which include the search to find learning opportunities for better performance, finding places for personal development and helping to foster a learning oriented and supportive work environment (Kee Luan : 1996). Marsick and Watkins proposed their Model of the Learning Organization to have three levels namely individual learning, team learning, and organization learning (NCREL: 2003). The first level focuses on individual skills that may be obtained in solitude or in groups whereas the last two refer to the collaborative skills of the teachers. Issues and Scope of Professional Development in Education: The scope of professional development in education can be best seen in the light of various strategies and issues involved under the vast umbrella of the term ‘professional development’. Team Learning and Teachers Collegiality: According to Bernard-Powers et al., â€Å"Adults are learners just as are children, and that everyone learns best when there are ongoing opportunities to develop questions, investigate, reflect, apply and share knowledge in real-life contexts (NCREL: 2003). Collegiality or Collegial Interaction is a phenomenon whereby the teachers get a chance of interacting with their colleague teachers for active professional learning through events like Conventions, Faculty meeting, Seminars, Lesson planning, School Visitations, Sharing materials, Conferences, Workshops, Examination preparation, Informal meetings and Team teaching etc. According to the research work done by Jackson and Goodlad, the greatest impediment in the way of teacher development is the absence or lack of collegiality. It is because learning new skills and implementing them is a matter of trial and error. As long as the teachers work and asses the performance on their own, a much greater space for improvement is left as compared to the case where the teachers work in groups (Kee Luan: 1996). The concept of teacher collegiality or the collaboration of teachers for the purpose of honing their performance is not a novel idea. Although prevalent for the past decades, collegiality has gained special interest of educationists in the recent few years when it is considered to be the most effective way of teacher development. With its roots profoundly interred in the organizational theory models, Collegiality fosters team work of the teachers thereby assuring the success of the institute. During the collegial interaction process the teachers learn from the experienced teachers and apply collaborative skills. In this concern, organizations like Australian College of Education and the General Teaching Council for England have already taken active measures to encourage teachers’ collegial interactions (Leonard, L. Leonard, P.: 2003). Teacher leadership: Teacher leadership is often considered as a direct contrast against collegiality because collegiality is misinterpreted as a form of interdependence of teachers on one another which leaves the individual potential of the teachers as leaders in doubt. Such misconception arise because of the lack of information that the collaboration of teachers not only helps in accommodating the weaknesses but also emphasizes on the encouragement of teachers in case of their achievement. Such an encouragement boosts a spirit and motivates the teachers for further honing their performance.   This makes the teachers individually strong rather than being dependent. According to McCann and Radford, collegiality also indicates the positive contribution of other teachers in the success of a particular teacher (NCREL). Succinctly speaking, the ‘celebration of achievements is important to give teachers encouragement and recognition. Ways of sharing and celebrating achievements before a wider school audience should be a component of a mentoring scheme ( NCREL).’ Community Interaction: According to the Ontario College of Teachers, the teachers are educational leaders who collaborate not only with their colleagues and students but also with the parents, and members of the community. As proposed by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, an effective teacher is a participant of the learning community (Leonard, L. Leonard, P.: 2003). The learning of such teachers is not merely confined to the premises of the institute but is stretched throughout the community. Occasions like parent teacher meetings, co curricular events, exhibitions and fairs provide a fair chance of learning experience in a culture specific context. Individual Learning : â€Å"Just as independent learners inspire an engaged and effective classroom, teachers who are themselves independent learners inspire vital and engaged learning communities (NCREL: 2003).† Among many areas that are kept under consideration for teacher development, technical proficiency often supersedes various other skills since education like any other field is also overwhelmed with the current of latest technologies. For the very reason, professional development in education also focuses on the teaching of technological skills. According to a survey conducted in different schools of the West, technology use by teachers results in an improved student performance thereby resulting in an increase of such trends (Brumfield: 2006). It is because the modern methods of teaching employ different technologies which make the lessons not only innovative but also interesting for the students. Individual Learning through Collegial Interactions: Collegiality also helps in honing the individual skills of the teachers in such a way that interactions with colleagues help the teachers to be acquainted with innovative strategies. Group discussions allow them to   implement better strategies of the other teachers in their classrooms, helps them in fulfilling the needs of all the students and provides them with a standard of professional practices to be implemented in the classroom (School Education Division: 2006) . Cultural Contexts in Teachers’ Learning: Since collaboration of teachers is wholly coalesced with the process of sharing ideas, the cultural context plays a vital role during its practice. It is in the light of the cultural notions that the teachers share common norms while practicing collegiality. Consequently, this culture-specific collegiality is responsible for the creation of a particular school culture. Peterson draws a schism between two types of cultures prevalent in the schools.   Namely Positive Culture and Toxic Culture, the former exists in educational institutes with teachers actively involved in collegial practice whereas the latter ascends the institutes where such exchange practices are discouraged (Leonard, L. Leonard, P.: 2003). Educational Decision-making: Decision making in education is an extremely critical issue since the major decisions not only hold the fortune of the students but also determine the over all success of the institute. Any rightly taken decision may boost a positive wave of change when at the same time a wrong decision may mar the prospects of the school’s population and its reputation. Realizing such a significance of educational decisions, the modern educationists propose a data-driven approach to decision making.   Although with its idea being inoculated back in 1980s, data driven decision making in education has actually gained strength in the present day world. The pre-requisite of such a decision making is the presence of data as a proved reason for implementing any new policy or a change in the institute. Such a data is systematically collected and analyzed by the teachers, heads and administrators. This data is of various types including the input, process, outcome and satisfaction data. Here the input data involves the data on the demographics and expenditures of the school, the process data comprises of the data on quality of instruction, the outcome data analyzes the dropout rate and the test results and the satisfaction data asks for the opinions of teachers, parents, community and the students etc   (Marsh, Pane Hamilton: 2006). Instead of relying on a single type of information, triangulation of data is considered the most effective way of getting the maximum information possible. In the triangulation of data, various sources and techniques are adopted which are tallied with one another before arriving at any concrete finding to form the basis of the future decision. Such decisions fall under two categories namely the identification oriented decisions and the action oriented decisions. In the case of identification oriented decisions, the data obtained is utilized to identify goals and to do the needs analyses. In the case of action oriented decision making, one of the most viable ways of data collection is to introduce temporary changes in the classroom and obtain the data in the form of achievement test. The results of such an achievement test are further compared with the tests administered in normal circumstances. The difference in the average results of the students before and after the implementation of transitory changes determine whether the decision of implementing the change permanently would be workable or not. Research works on Professional Development and Collegial Interactions: The Project for Enhancing Effective Learning: The Project for Enhancing Effective Learning (PEEL) was launched in Australia in 1980s and proved to be a ground breaking work of teacher collaborative action research. The project commenced as a research work confined to the classrooms in Melbourne. Originally focused on the development of students and their learning practices, the proceedings of the research indicated a need of similar meta-cognitive development of the teachers in order to make the teachers play a positive role in facilitating the changes implemented in the classrooms.    As a result of the changing environment in classrooms, regular meetings of teachers were held in which the colleagues used to mention their observations, share their experiences and come up with their innovative ideas thereby making the meeting rather informal at many times. In the words of Baird and Hagglund, â€Å"The over-riding outcome of PEEL was that every one learned (1994).† Concerning the teachers, the Baird and Hagglund gave the following pictorial model to show a step-by-step approach of reforming education by the role of teachers in a collegial environment (1994). POOR LEARNING TENDENCIES Replace with GOOD LEARNING TENDENCIES Foster by practicing GOOD LEARNING BEHAVIOURS Stimulate such behaviours by applying GOOD TEACHING PROCEDURES (That should be associated with GOOD CURRICULUM DECISIONS and GOOD ASSESSMENT PRACTICES) The above mentioned Peel Pathway of Improving Learning stresses the coalition of learning in a collaborative situation. Since its inception, PEEL has not only become a popular education reform model for Australian institutes but also for the institutes in other countries like Canada. PLAN- Project: PLAN in Swedish means ‘Project for Independent Learning’. Originally based on the methodology of PEEL, the PLAN Project of Sweden was started being framed in 1992 in order to bring a positive change in Gà ¶kstensskolan Institute of Sweden. The project was considerably based on a model that favored collaboration among teachers. One of the terms of agreement for joining PLAN was that the teachers should devote an hour for collegial interactions practiced in the form of groups having 12 members each. The group leaders of different groups were also required to collegiate with each other frequently with a sole purpose of training the teachers for rising students’ performance. Impacts of Professional Development: As a consequence of aggrandizing emphasis on professional development of teachers, the education system has witnessed a considerable phase of amelioration. According to the studies of Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, as a result of professional development, the teachers do not confine their lessons to the conventional facts but keep updating their knowledge with latest developments in their fields. Similarly, the teachers do not expect normative feedback but appreciate multiple perspectives from their students. They also design the curriculum in such a way that the knowledge inculcated to the students becomes more thought provoking. In order to elucidate various concepts, they try to extract examples from the real life situations instead to sticking to the text book instances. Through the practice of collegiality, teachers are now able to work in groups in order to share different teaching strategies about which they had learnt either in workshops or through community interaction and also share materials they that had retrieved from various sources which are helpful in honing the teachers’ performance. As a result of frequent interactions, all the teachers of the institute simultaneously hone their abilities thereby rising the over all quality of the institute’s education. In a special case when a large number of teachers leave the institute, teacher collegiality helps in training the novices who enter the faculty. In this way the weaknesses of a few teachers are accommodates by the strengths of the others (Inger: 1993). Conclusion: The area of teacher development pertaining to the educational reforms is challenged by a number of impediments. Among these hindrances, a few pointed out by Lieberman involve the lack of knowledge about how teachers learn, little space for invention and the building of craft knowledge and the view of teachers in practices which is not considered as an acceptable moiety of teachers’ learning (Lieberman: 2002). Even with such obstacles, the significance and positive implications of Teacher Development Programs cannot be denied. In the light of case studies of various teacher development programs, it is clear that the place of teachers as learners in a collegial environment is as necessity for the development of education systems as the teachers’ place in the form of educational leaders is made possible only by the collegiality practiced among them at different levels. References Baird, J.R. Hagglund S. (1994). Teacher collaborative Action Research: A Swedish adaptation of an Australian Project.   Retrieved March 14, 2008, from Education Resources Information Center: http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICDocs/data/ericdocs2sql/content_storage_01/0000019b/80/13/5d/31.pdf Brumfield, R. (2006). Teacher development key to tech success. Retrieved March 14, 2008, from E-School News: http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/top-news/index.cfm?i=37127CFID=686760CFTOKEN=98871010 Critical Issue: Terms of Engagement—Rethinking Teachers Independent Learning   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Traits (2003). Retrieved March 14, 2008, from North Central regional Educational Laboratory: http://www.ncrel.org/sdrs/areas/issues/educatrs/profdevl/pd400.htm Collaboration, Teamwork, and Mentoring. Retrieved March 14, 2008, from North Central regional Educational Laboratory: http://www.ncrel.org/sdrs/areas/issues/envrnmnt/stw/sw5ment.htm Inger, M. (1993). Teacher Collaboration in Secondary Schools. Retrieved March 14, 2008, from National Center for Research in Vocational Education: http://vocserve.berkeley.edu/CenterFocus/CF2.html Kee, T.E. Luan, T.S. (1996). Collegiality and Teacher Development. Retrieved   Ã‚   March 14, 2008, from The Australian Association for Research in Education:http://www.aare.edu.au/96pap/teoek96556.txt Leonard, L. Leonard, P. (2003). The continuing trouble with collaboration: Teachers talk. Current Issues in Education [On-line], 6(15). Retrieved March 14, 2008, from http://cie.ed.asu.edu/volume6/number15/ Lieberman, A. (2002). Practices That Support Teacher Development. Phi Delta Kappan, 76 (8). Marsh, J.A. , Pane, J. F. Hamilton, L.S. (2006). Making Sense of Data Driven Decision Making in Education.   Retrieved March 14, 2008, from The Rand Corporation: http://www.rand.org/pubs/occasional_papers/2006/RAND_OP170.pdf Professional learning guide (2006). Retrieved March 14, 2008, from Learning, Teaching and Assessment Guide: http://www.ltag.education.tas.gov.au/Proflearn/designpl/proflearnguide.htm Schwarz, G. (1998). Teacher Lore and Professional Development for School Reform.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Westport, CT: Bergin Garvey. Usdan,M., McCloud, B. Podmostko, M. (2001). Leadership for Student Learning: Redefining the Teacher as Leader. Retrieved March 14, 2008, from Institute of Educational Leadership: http://www.iel.org/programs/21st/reports/teachlearn.pdf Wisconsin Standards for Teacher Development and Licensure. Retrieved March 14, 2008, from Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction: http://dpi.wi.gov/tepdl/pdf/10kdp.pdf

The Five Types of Memory Essay -- memory, psychology,

The human body is a complex structure. The brain being the most complex organ has the most work to do. The human memory consists of a process in which memories are stored and remembered. According to Intelegen Inc., there is this unique process of Memory in which the process only involves three stages. In the stages of this process, the memory is formed, retained, and retrieved. There are three stages of the five different types of Memory; the three stages are encoding, storage and retrieval. The five types are Memory is classified by a few different characteristics. Declarative Memory is the memory of dates, historical facts, and telephone numbers (Silvia Cardoso). It is easier to build up Declarative Memory but can be easily forgotten as well. Procedural Memory is the memory/ability to drive a car, to play sports and tie shoes. This type of memory involves repetitive practices. The other of types of memory is Elaboration, Self Referent and Visual Imagery. Elaboration is known as memory associating with other information. Self Referent Memory is how it is made personally relevant. Then, there is Visual Imagery, which can be used in a few ways, one of which can be used to add richness to the material to be remembered. The first stage is known as Encoding, which is how the memories are formed. Encoding requires selective attention to the material to be encoded (Intelegen Inc.). All the messages are registered but only the meaningful ones are put into memory. There are different types of encoding. Structural Encoding is the first; it keeps emphasis on the physical structural characteristics, also known as the shallow level. Phonemic Encoding is the second; it keeps the emphasis on the sounds of words, the intermediate level. ... ...By this it is meant that some see the glass half empty or half full, then it is stored into their memory and then relate everything else to that. When thoughts and ideas grow off one another once the first part is lost it becomes hard to bring any of the memory back. This happens often, anyone can have a retrieval flaw and thus it messes up the whole system. The three stages are encoding, storage and retrieval and there are five types of memory. Memory may seem to come and go but yet it will always be there. When starting to age the thing is that losing memory is always the problem. The problem is trying to find where in the mind it was stored. This complex process will be one of the only things that will not change over the years seeing as of now there is no way to input the human brain with fake memories but that does not mean in the future that will not happen.

Characters in Hamlet and Young Hamlet

The theme of revenge is a primary source of discord among the characters in Hamlet. Vengeance affects each person who is exacting it and those present around them. In particular, Hamlet, Laertes, and Claudius’s retribution leads to their demise. William Shakespeare's Hamlet can be defined as a revenge tragedy. In Shakespeare's Hamlet, the reader sees a noble, heroic central character that is destroyed because a defect in his character either causes him to involve himself in circumstances which overpower him, or make him incapable of dealing with a destructive situation caused by another character or by circumstances. The play ends with the death of the central character. But before he dies, he achieves insights which make him a more perceptive human being than he was when the play began. This central character, Hamlet, shows his love directly and indirectly to the reader. Hamlet is noble in birth and person, a prince of extraordinary intelligence: and, as the action of the play proves, he is heroic. His defect (indecision, excessive imagination, irrationality, madness, etc. ) prevent him from seizing control of the world Claudius has created. His death closes the play, but only after he experiences and expresses illuminations about human life and death. After Hamlet's Father died, it cast an unwanted and heavy cloud upon Hamlet's soul. Throughout the play Hamlet learns that his Father's death was no mistake, but it was Hamlet's Uncle's plan to murder him. This, of course, throws a much larger burden on Hamlet's hands and the thirty year old prince seeks revenge continuously. Hamlet learned from the ghost of his Father about the betrayal Claudius had planned. The ghost of his Father tells him to â€Å"Revenge his foul and most unnatural murder,† Act 1, Scene 3; Line 74]. He also directs Hamlet away from killing his Mother. Revenge causes the characters in Hamlet to act blindly through anger and emotion, rather than through reason. It is based on the principle of an eye for an eye; this action is not always the best means to an end. Fortinbras, Laertes, and Hamlet were all looking to avenge the deaths of their Fathers. They all acted on emotion driven by the want of revenge concerning their Father's deaths, and this led to the downfall of two, and the rise to power of one. Since the head authority figures of the three major families were each murdered, the eldest sons of these families felt that they needed to take some kind of action to avenge their Father's deaths. This need to bring honour to their respective families was ultimately the demise of Laertes and Hamlet. Firstly, Hamlet displays anger toward his Uncle, King Claudius for marrying his Mother, Queen Gertrude, so quickly after the tragic death of his Father, King Hamlet. However, the main source of his anger begins with his feelings of despise for his Mother who chose to marry Claudius so soon after her own husbands’ death. Hamlet constantly allows this incident to brood in him and overrule every other thought and action he takes. Hamlet is convinced that the level of grief he feels for his Father’s death is the standard that everyone around him should be following. Since Gertrude does not express the same intensity of sorrow that Hamlet does, he is left furious at her and those in similar standing. ‘Tis not alone my inky cloak, good mother, Nor customary suits of solemn black, Nor windy suspiration of forced breath, No, nor the fruitful river in the eye, Nor the dejected haviour of the visage†¦Ã¢â‚¬  [Act 1, Scene 2; lines 77-86]. Secondly, King Hamlet’s ghost shares with Hamlet the cause of his death and how his murderer, Claudius, seduced Gertrude even before his death. â€Å" ’Tis given out that, sleeping in mine orchard, A serpent stung me; so the whole ear of Denmark Is by a forged process of my death,† [Act I, Scene 5; lines 35-37]. â€Å"The serpent that did sting thy father’s life Now wears his crown. [Act 1, Scene 5; lines 39-40]. â€Å"O wicked wit and gifts, that have the power So to seduce! – won to his shameful lust The will of my most seeming-virtuous queen;† [Act 1, Scene 5; lines 45-47]. Nevertheless, the ghost warns Hamlet to leave Queen Gertrude alone, to kill Claudius but not harm her. â€Å"Taint not thy mind, nor let thy soul contrive Against thy mother aught; leave her to heaven,† [Act 1, Scene 5; lines 86-87]. In response to the ghost’s news Hamlet does not take action instantly, but instead, records the event in his journal showing a fascinating personality characteristic. Interestingly, there were three major families in the tragedy of Hamlet. These were the family of King Fortinbras, the family of Polonius, and the family of King Hamlet. Fortinbras, King of Norway, was killed by King Hamlet; slain by sword during a man-to-man battle. â€Å"†¦ Lost by his father, with all bonds of law, to our most valiant brother. â€Å"[Act 1, Scene 2; lines 24-25]. This entitled King Hamlet to the land that was possessed by Fortinbras because it was written in a sealed compact. Furthermore, Hamlet is slow to act in regards to killing Claudius but he does act rashly, without thinking. He is presented with numerous opportunities to kill Claudius but does not take those chances, which result in Hamlet being the murderer in the accidental death of Polonius. Polonius was an advisor to the King, and Father to Laertes and Ophelia. He was definitely a prying Father who did not trust his children, and at one point in the play, used his daughter to probe Hamlet. Young Hamlet killed Polonius while he was secretly listening in on a conversation between Hamlet and his Mother. â€Å"How now! A rat? Dead, for a ducat, dead! â€Å"[Act 3, Scene 4; Line 25]. King Hamlet of Denmark killed King Fortinbras, only to be killed by his brother, Claudius. â€Å"†¦ My offence is rank, it smells to high heaven; A brother's murder†¦ † Each of these events affected the sons of the deceased in the same way. Laertes discovered his Father's death, and immediately returned home. He confronted King Claudius and accused him of the murder of his Father. Claudius told Laertes that Hamlet was responsible for his Father's death. Laertes takes action, deciding to scheme and kill Hamlet in order to avenge the death of his Father. In addition, he and Claudius concoct a plot to kill Hamlet. â€Å"I will do’t: And for that purpose I’ll anoint my sword. I bought an unction of a mountebank, So mortal, that but dip a knife in it, Where it draws blood no cataplasm so rare,† [Act 4, Scene 7; Lines 140-144]. Laertes and Claudius follow with a proposal of a duel to Hamlet, which he accepts, even though he senses a foreboding. Hamlet does end up dying of wounds from the poisoned tipped sword Laertes used. â€Å"†¦ Hamlet, thou art slain†¦ the treacherous instrument is in thy, unbated and envenom'd†¦ ‘[Act 5, Scene 2; lines 306-313]. Throughout the play Hamlet proceeds to try and prove his Uncle's guilt, and then finally kills him while he himself is dying of poisoned wounds inflicted by Laertes during their duel. â€Å"The point envenomed too! Then venom, to thy work†¦ Here, thou incestuous, murderous, damned Dane, drink off this potion, is thy union here? Follow my mother. â€Å"[Act 5, Scene 2; lines 314-315, 317-319]. This left the King dead, and his Father's death avenged, with Gertrude dying shortly beforehand of the poisoned wine she drank as Claudius watched her. â€Å"No, no, the drink, the drink! O my dear Hamlet! –The drink, the drink! I am poison’d! [Act 5, Scene 2; lines 301-303]. The lack of thought used in exacting the revenge led to the deaths of Laertes, Hamlet, Claudius and Gertrude. Laertes planned with Claudius to kill Hamlet with the poisoned tipped sword, but they had not thought that the sword might be used against them. With Laertes believing the King's accusations th at Hamlet had murdered his Father, he fights Hamlet and wounds him once with the poisoned tipped sword. Hamlet proceeds to wound Laertes with the same sword, exacting his death. Hamlet had many chances to kill his Uncle, but his rage outweighed his better judgement; and he chose to wait until he assumed God could see no good in Claudius, and then strike him down into a world of eternal damnation. â€Å"Now might I do it pat, now he is praying†¦ A villain kills my father; and for that, I, his sole son, do this same villain send to heaven. â€Å"[Act 3, Scene 3, lines 74-98]. Hamlet waits until he can kill his Uncle while he is performing a sin but unfortunately for Hamlet, his next chance to exact revenge on Claudius is his own death. Revenge, being the driving force in the play Hamlet, is also one reason why it is a tragedy. Hamlet allows his revenge for his own justice to become his everything, consuming him. It is this rage that eventually drives him to madness and murder. Ironically, Claudius, Laertes, and Hamlet all died of the same sword. Revenge was the core strength behind three of the main characters of the play, ensuing in each of their downfalls. â€Å"If thou didst ever hold me in thy heart, Absent thee from felicity a while, And in this harsh world draw thy breath in pain, To tell my story. Act 5, Scene 2; lines 339-342]. The self interest demonstrated by Claudius, Laertes and Hamlet caused destruction in their own lives, which of course affected many lives around them. Driven by retribution, they did not consider the affect their anger would have on themselves or those they loved. â€Å"Of accidental judgments, casual slaughters, Of deaths put on by cunning and forced cause, And, in this upshot, pu rposes mistook Fall’n on the inventors’ heads: all this can I Truly deliver. † [Act 5, Scene 2; lines 375-379].

Girl Interrupted

Girl, Interrupted was the movie I chose to watch for my experiential paper. This 1999 movie, directed by James Mangold, tells a true tale of a woman’s eighteen-month stay at a psychiatric hospital. This woman, Susanne Kaysen, appears to be depressed and aimless as she finishes her high school career. After a suicide attempt, she finds herself trapped in a mental institution called Claymore Hospital. Although I’ve seen this movie many of times, it always makes an impact on me. Now that I know more about psychology, I feel as though I watched the movie from a different perspective. This new perspective allowed me to analyze and critique the film from through the lens of psychology. The movie ‘Girl Interrupted' is a story of a nineteen year old girl Susanne in the 1960's who, after being suspected of trying to commit suicide, gets sent away to the Mental Institution for a short ‘resting period. Her psychiatrist had suggested to her that the affair with one of her parents' friends, along with her misconception that chasing a bottle of aspirin with a bottle of vodka is anything other than a suicide attempt, could be signs that she may be suffering from ‘borderline personality disorder. ‘ Now she must struggle to remain as sane as possible while being immersed in the hospital with many unstable patients. At the Claymoore Hospital, Susanne quickly becomes friendly with a number of the institution's residents. These residents include Georgina, a pathological liar, Polly a terminally fearful burn victim, Daisy an incest victim and extremely withdrawn agoraphobic, and Lisa, a charming, but manipulating sociopath. The only character to really portray the characteristics of their disorder accurately was Lisa, the sociopath. Antisocial personality disorder is a psychiatric condition characterized by chronic behavior that manipulates, exploits, or violates the rights of others. Individuals with antisocial personality disorder are often angry and arrogant but may be capable of superficial wit and charm. They may be adept at flattery and are very skilled at manipulating the emotions for their own personal gain as we discussed in class. I thought Lisa’s disorder was accurately portrayed because even with her total disregard for the concerns and even the lives of others, she still manages to some how charm the audience with her blunt brutal honesty and her ‘I don't care what people think of me' attitude. People diagnosed with antisocial personality disorder seem to have no emotional connection to any one or anything, and seldom show any signs of emorse for their intrusions on the rights of others like we talked about in class.. Lisa's power of observations gave her the uncanny ability to sense the weakness in other people, which as most sociopaths do, used them for her own personal gain. Another character in the film was Daisy, an obsessive-compulsive agoraphobic whose ongoing affair with her father had left her with a number of various personality disorders to choose from there weren't many disorders that she didn't show symptoms of. Her character did a wonderful job portraying a neurotic recluse whose various disorders took over her life to the point she felt she no longer had any hope for living independently of her sexually abusive father. Other characters include Polly, with her self-inflicted burns that have kept her forever childlike, and Georgina the pathological liar and roommate of the borderline Susanna. It was amongst these characters that Susanna found the strength to confront her own turbulent mentality. Susanna's character did a good job with allowing the narrative to paint a picture of the thought processes of someone who suffers from depression or other personality disorders. Even though she did show signs of having a borderline personality, I personally felt that she showed more signs of depression than anything else. A person with depression or bipolar disorder typically endures the same mood for weeks; a person with BPD may experience intense bouts of anger, depression, and anxiety that may last only hours, or at most a day as we learned about in class.

Effective Managers Need Leadership Skills. Discuss.

Effective Managers Need Leadership Skills. Discuss. In view of business situations in the contemporary context, it is highly palpable that organizations realise the need for managers to have leadership skills in order to be effective in their job. It is essential to distinguish between the roles of a manager and a leader. Very simply, managers who are not leaders only rely on positional power to make things happen. They try to get things done only through the power of their post or position. Position or power, however, is rarely enough to bring about changes and sustain them in the long run (Arun Wakhlu, 1999). Gone are the days of the Industrial Age where managers go about their daily tasks following the rigid concept of making decisions and assigning tasks to people. All these managerial roles would never be carried out to its full potential without leadership qualities inculcated. World-renowned educator and investor Robert Kiyosaki (1999) defined leadership as the 'ability to bring out the best in people' in his best-selling book Cashflow Quadrant.English: Motivational SayingIf a leader can truly bring out the best in his people, being an effective and successful manager would be easy to achieve.Singapore is very much a developed country therefore organisations here are expected to conform to the requirements of imbuing managers with leadership skills. Of course, many organisations have long recognized the need for such conformance. My agenda is to focus on the factors that epitomise the way leadership is initiated in these organisations. Motivation, delegation, time management and communication skills are 'enablers' that help leaders perform more efficiently and effectively (Roger Fritz P.h.D, 2001). Delegation and time management are on-the-job practices that are encompassed by motivation and communication. Motivation and communication will thus constitute a majority of this essay.Communication may be defined as the process by which people...

What the Many Worlds Theory Means in Physics

What the Many Worlds Theory Means in Physics The many worlds interpretation (MWI) is a theory within quantum physics intended to explain the fact that the universe contains some non-deterministic events, but the theory itself intends to be fully deterministic. In this interpretation, every time a random event takes place, the universe splits between the various options available. Each separate version of the universe contains a different outcome of that event. Instead of one continuous timeline, the universe under the many worlds interpretation looks more like a series of branches splitting off of a tree limb. For example, quantum theory indicates the probability that an individual atom of a radioactive element will decay, but there is no way to tell precisely when (within those ranges of probabilities) that decay will take place. If you had a bunch of atoms of radioactive elements that have a 50% chance of decaying within an hour, then in an hour 50% of those atoms would be decayed. But the theory tells nothing precisely about when a given atom will decay. According to traditional quantum theory (the Copenhagen interpretation), until the measurement is made for a given atom there is no way to tell whether it will have decayed or not. In fact, according to quantum physics, you have to treat the atomas if it is in a superposition of states - both decayed and not decayed. This culminates in the famous Schroedingers cat thought experiment, which shows the logical contradictions in trying to apply the Schroedinger wavefunction literally. The many worlds interpretation takes this result and applies it literally, the form of the Everett Postulate: Everett PostulateAll isolated systems evolve according to the Schroedinger equation If quantum theory indicates that the atom is both decayed and not decayed, then the many worlds interpretation concludes that there must exist two universes: one in which the particle decayed and one in which it did not. The universe therefore branches off each and every time that a quantum event takes place, creating an infinite number of quantum universes. In fact, the Everett postulate implies that the entire universe (being a single isolated system) continuously exists in a superposition of multiple states. There is no point where the wavefunction ever collapses within the universe, because that would imply that some portion of the universe doesnt follow the Schroedinger wavefunction. History of the Many Worlds Interpretation The many worlds interpretation was created by Hugh Everett III in 1956 in his doctoral thesis, The Theory of the Universal Wave Function. It was later popularized by the efforts of physicist Bryce DeWitt. In recent years, some of the most popular work has been by David Deutsch, who has applied the concepts from the many worlds interpretation as part of his theoretical in support of quantum computers. Though not all physicists agree with the many worlds interpretation, there have been informal, unscientific polls which have supported the idea that it is one of the dominant interpretations believed by physicists, likely ranking just behind the Copenhagen interpretation and decoherence. (See the introduction of this Max Tegmark paper for one example. Michael Nielsen wrote a 2004 blog post (at a website which no longer exists) which indicates - guardedly - that the many worlds interpretation is not only accepted by many physicists, but that it was also the most strongly disliked quantum physics interpretation. Opponents dont just disagree with it, they actively object to it on principle.) It is a very controversial approach, and most physicists who work in quantum physics seem to believe that spending time questioning the (essentially untestable) interpretations of quantum physics is a waste of time. Other Names for the Many Worlds Interpretation The many worlds interpretation has several other names, though work in the 1960s 1970s by Bryce DeWitt has made the many worlds name more popular. Some other names for the theory are relative state formulation or the theory of the universal wavefunction. Non-physicists will sometimes use the broader terms of multiverse, megaverse, or parallel universes when speaking of the many worlds interpretation. These theories usually include classes of physical concepts that cover more than just the types of parallel universes predicted by the many worlds interpretation. Many Worlds Interpretation Myths In science fiction, such parallel universes have provided the foundation for a number of great storylines, but the fact is that none of these have a strong basis in scientific fact for one very good reason: The many worlds interpretation does not, in any way, allow for communication between the parallel universes that it proposes. The universes, once split, are entirely distinct from each other. Again, science fiction authors have been very creative in coming up with ways around this, but I know of no solid scientific work that has shown how parallel universes could communicate with each other. Edited by Anne Marie Helmenstine

Violence in America Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Violence in America - Term Paper Example The aftermath of the ruling saw the United States suffer one of the bloodiest wars in world history – the Civil War. In less than ten years since the ruling was made, Congress together with the Northern states addressed the biases in the ruling. The biases were addressed through the amendment of the constitution and the civil rights statute. Through the 13th Amendment, slavery was abolished in all parts of the United States. The 14th Amendment and the Civil Rights Act of 1866 guaranteed citizenship for all qualified, natural-born, and naturalized Americans, inclusive of former slaves and free blacks. The civil rights statute, in addition, authorized the transfer of cases from state to federal courts in cases where citizens’ rights could not be enforced through state systems of justice. The 14th Amendment also prohibited states from infringing the rights enjoyed by American citizens, as well as, ensuring every citizen had the right to due process and equal protection of the law (Kaczorowski, 1987, p. 45). The Congressional Republicans held the view that the14th Amendment and Civil Rights Act of 1886 provided a good ground for revolutionary change in the constitution of the United States. ... The Fourteenth Amendment and the Civil Rights Statute that conferred citizenship on all Americans, and expanded its federally enforceable guarantees to include civil rights protection was surely a revolutionary twist in American federalism.1 Twain called on American leaders to settle down domestic issues and create a society that others could emulate instead of seizing or otherwise taking on new territories. He was particularly outraged by the occupation and ongoing war against the forces of liberation in the Philippines, reporting from Manila and comparing the nationalist leader Emiliano Aguinaldo to Joan of Arc and George Washington. Twain was also quite vitriolic about missionaries who justified imperialism as an extension of the religious duty. 2 Mark Twain did not subscribe to stereotypical attitude regarding the civil war. In his literature, Twain expresses that, traditionally, the southerners were thought to be very spirited towards fighting the Yankees and enslaving them, whi le the northerners were out to oppress the rebels while granting slaves their freedom. By then, slavery was still regarded as legal, a notion that he strongly opposed.3Following outlawing of slavery by the government, Twain still held the view that racism against the black was still evident in the society. He particularly viewed civil war as evil which ought to be eliminated from the society. 4 The radical change in constitutionalism saw the congressional Republicans developed a legal framework delegating Congress the authority to protect the status and civil rights of American citizens. The Republicans maintained that the national government was sovereign. Thus, the national government would work with state governments in protecting the status and rights of American

Tablets and Business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Tablets and Business - Essay Example Businesses are using tablets in many different ways. One of the ways in which tablets are being used as a tool for business, is as a companion device. A tablet offers a strong computing platform for employees who are need a device that is lightweight but has amazing processing speed. As a matter of fact, many new generation tablets have high processing speeds that match the computing power of laptops. Moreover, these tablets are robust and lightweight. Companies in construction prefer these devices because it allows them to work in an environment where carrying 10lbs of equipment is not feasible. Without a doubt, tablets facilitate this process. In the hot world of commerce, tablets are taking place of traditional mainframe point of sales. Many companies are using tablets as points-of-sale, and as an increasing group of start-up. Also, established technological firms are in competition in providing point-of-sale services that are mobile. This is convenient especially for those businesses that are customer centric. Not only tablets allow ease of access, but they also allow privacy for customers. This is monumental for many organizations as they are trying to connect with clients. Undoubtedly, tablets are the future for companies. Another key feature of tablets is that it is dynamically caching data at a rapid pace. Employees are also in a position to help clients doing business at their branches by either hastening transactions at the teller or by minimizing over-the-counter transactions (Schmidt 214). For instance, restaurants use tablets at their point-of-sale simultaneously as the order is given by the customers. Tablets are amazing because they interconnect customers, managers, cashiers, and waiters in a seamless manner. Restaurant managers are also in a position to manage scanners, reservations. All these tasks are being automated to better serve organizations, while increasing profit. A