Free Essays on Paul Cronan Case

I. LEGAL ANALYSIS – ISSUE ONE Are AIDS patients such as Paul Cronan protected by the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA)? Rule: According to the US Department of Justice, the ADA prohibits discrimination in all employment practices, including job application procedures, hiring, firing, advancement, compensation, training, and other terms, conditions, and privileges of employment. It applies to recruitment, advertising, tenure, layoff, leave, fringe benefits, and all other employment-related activities. To secure protection from discrimination under the ADA, an individual first must show that she has 1) an impairment which 2) substantially limits 3) a major life activity, or that the individual is regarded as having such impairment by the person who is discriminating against her. Analysis: It is imperative to determine whether or not having contracted AIDS qualifies an individual for protection under the ADA. In 1998, the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 in the case Bradgon v. Abbott that individuals with HIV or AID are protected under the ADA. Although the Supreme Court stopped short of concluding that HIV is always, automatically, a disability for purposes of coverage under the ADA, it did note that the concept of "asymptomatic HIV" is something of a misnomer because of the virus' constant, destructive activity and therefore HIV is always an impairment under the ADA. Conclusion: By a vote of 5 to 4, the majority of the court concluded, that HIV represented an impairment which substantially limits reproduction, and that reproduction is a major life activity under the ADA. I agree with the courts decision in this case. This precedent should be extended to Cronan’s situation and provide him the necessary protection. Under the terms of the ADA, Cronan’s rights were violated. O’Brian had the legal right to inform management about Cronan’s aliment due to the fact that the disease would cause him to be absen... Free Essays on Paul Cronan Case Free Essays on Paul Cronan Case I. LEGAL ANALYSIS – ISSUE ONE Are AIDS patients such as Paul Cronan protected by the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA)? Rule: According to the US Department of Justice, the ADA prohibits discrimination in all employment practices, including job application procedures, hiring, firing, advancement, compensation, training, and other terms, conditions, and privileges of employment. It applies to recruitment, advertising, tenure, layoff, leave, fringe benefits, and all other employment-related activities. To secure protection from discrimination under the ADA, an individual first must show that she has 1) an impairment which 2) substantially limits 3) a major life activity, or that the individual is regarded as having such impairment by the person who is discriminating against her. Analysis: It is imperative to determine whether or not having contracted AIDS qualifies an individual for protection under the ADA. In 1998, the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 in the case Bradgon v. Abbott that individuals with HIV or AID are protected under the ADA. Although the Supreme Court stopped short of concluding that HIV is always, automatically, a disability for purposes of coverage under the ADA, it did note that the concept of "asymptomatic HIV" is something of a misnomer because of the virus' constant, destructive activity and therefore HIV is always an impairment under the ADA. Conclusion: By a vote of 5 to 4, the majority of the court concluded, that HIV represented an impairment which substantially limits reproduction, and that reproduction is a major life activity under the ADA. I agree with the courts decision in this case. This precedent should be extended to Cronan’s situation and provide him the necessary protection. Under the terms of the ADA, Cronan’s rights were violated. O’Brian had the legal right to inform management about Cronan’s aliment due to the fact that the disease would cause him to be absen...

Perspiration is Nothing without a Little Bit of Inspiration

Perspiration is Nothing without a Little Bit of Inspiration Inspiration and Success People need to be inspired to do their best.  Reward  and punishment, for instance, are traditional psychological techniques used by organizations to inspire people to peak performance. These external motivators according to literature make people work toward a certain goal and eventually succeed through  increased productivity and quality of work. Inspired people are mostly satisfied people having a sense of responsibility and commitment to the organization. In contrast, people with low level of motivation are not dedicated, unhappy, lazy, unenthusiastic, disengaged, and unproductive. Since motivated employees feel good about themselves, they normally performed beyond expectations and achieved the highest level of success. Motivation is a quest for personal gain thus, the pursuit of happiness often inspired people to become active and work hard until they are satisfied with the outcome. Similarly, empowerment is an important motivational tool as it can energize and excite people to work hard, make decisions, and take actions on their own. The study shows that empowered employees often have stronger work motivation, produce quality work, highly satisfied with their jobs, and stay longer in the organization. There are a number of things that motivate people and these include engagement with others animate and inanimate things, powers, spaces, and substances. For instance, social relationships inspire people to act in a way that is contingent on that relationship, accepted practices, a significance of places, and observed  values of people and things. For instance, monuments, paintings, sculptures, and others inspire and actively engage people because they have imaginary qualities that enable people to connect and look into other worlds. Want to know more? Go here: Relieving Students School-Related Stress Developing Students Creativity The Bright Sides of Academic Intellectuals We Call Nerds Junk Food in School Is Sports Competition Relevant to Academic Learning Common Study Inspirations Students are similar to musicians who need to be inspired to write a song. The desire of each student to study is determined by different motivational factors that include classroom climate, sociological factors such as competition and peer  pressure, relevance and confidence, achievement, and others. Study of high school students’ motivation in learning mathematics suggests that their level of self-efficacy and confidence is greatly affected by competition and peer pressure in the classroom. Similarly, anxiety over math subjects is commonly caused by students’ lack of confidence and perception of the relevance of studying  mathematics. In a comparative study of learners’ motivation in learning languages, suggest that motivation is an important factor that affects the desire to learn. Parental expectations played an important role in male students’ motivation to enroll and study advanced courses while female students’ motivation to learn science depends on their individual educational aspirations. Teacher’s enthusiasm is an important motivating factor mainly because the way to interest a class is to show them that you are interested. The study shows that teacher’s enthusiasm, energy, and vitality are correlated to higher achievement scores and test performance. Similarly, indirect teaching methods and the amount of movement, eye contact, and varied voice intonation aroused students desire to learn. Teacher’s genuine human sympathy satisfies students’ desire for relevance and natural curiosity over their studies. Students are better motivated when they are respected and given the opportunity to get involve and participate in class decision making. Moreover, they are often motivated by praise, positive feedback, and thoughts that achievement is possible.

Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words - 12

Essay Example The first article under focus refers to an article presented by Judith and Rebecca in the form of a discussion that discusses women conditions as well as the feminist movement. The presentation of the article between the two senior editors takes the form a discussion with the parties offering partially contrasting views. The topics discussed relates to connotation of negative or positive trends of the word feminist, women issues as well as the relationship between social media and feminists. The women issues discussed relate to employment discrimination, sexual violence, and caregivers conditions. On the onset Rebecca discusses her position on seeing public modern feminist disclosure in the current days. Through her discussion, it is clear that during the 90’s, individuals feared to present themselves as feminists but that is no more. These days, the trend has changed where even young teenagers wear clothes with writings that support feminism. Much of that credit goes to the i nternet for facilitating these discussions that in the past were hard (Judith and Rebecca 14). The debate is hot among the young throughout the world as they follow links and engage in conversations due to the participatory nature the internet provides. Through the media and entertainment, a number of individuals both female and male have taken the advantage of feminism discussion making it a selling point for their products. There are women working in outstanding positions who remain eager to fight for female empowerment that includes reproductive rights. Life in the U.S indicates a system of ever-tightening constriction that the whole world follows (Judith and Rebecca 16). To Rebecca development of feminism remains too small but is achievable through engagement of influential women within the society. She acknowledges the role of middle-class white women within the society in achieving that objective. In her response, Judith presents a partially contrasting

Exam Topics (Operations Management) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Exam Topics (Operations Management) - Essay Example Operations is one of the most important and primary functions in any sort of firm or business. "While marketing induces the demands for products and finance provides the capital, operations produces and delivers the product (goods and services)." (Hall, Johnson, & Pyke, 2005). By discussing these five questions, we can come to a clearer and more knowledgeable viewpoint on the subject matter. The aim of this paper is to discuss all of this, while also examining the other key elements which fit within this profile of subject matter. This is what will be dissertated in the following. Inefficiency drains valuable components such as money, time, quality, and talent. There is no chance in optimizing or making more positive any of the steps involved in the process if the process itself is deemed as inefficient. "Incidentally, process optimization is a continuous phenomena. It is not like you can do it once and forget about it. External conditions keep changing, other dependant processes keep changing, and so on." ("TopSigma", 2005). The nature of inefficient processes management is to make sure that these valuable components (money, time, etc.) are not wasted, but rather are used to the fullest extent possible; the ideal is to have all members working at their absolute top strength, which creates a cycle of efficiency, which in the end creates a positive result. What is the Role of Operations Management The role of 'operations' varies from business to business, but the basics always remain: the operations management looks at every process in the business, breaks it down, analyzes it, and makes it better. Their goal is to have overall customer satisfaction, and to continue the business in a positive, efficient, and effective way. "Operations management revolves around the design, organization, leadership and control of the productive assets of the enterprise, including people and technology." (Merrett, n.d.). Regardless of the size or type of business, there are always processes and operations issues that must be dealt with. Operations managers find the inefficiencies or problems in the work flow of the business, and re-engineer these processes in order for them to be more efficient and profitable for the company. Operations management involves all of the tools and processes of the business, including components such as: the supply chain, product quality, manufacturing, sales and marketing, safety and health, and environmental concerns. "Operations managers use tools like performance measurement, flowcharts, best practices information, and benchmarking to determine where the problems are and the best methods to correct them." (Obringer, 2006). Some of the processes that are linked to the operations ma

Teaching Reading Is Rocket Science Essay Example for Free

Teaching Reading Is Rocket Science Essay Preface Executive Summary Preventing Reading Failure: A Top Priority for Education Where We Are: Taking Stock of Teacher Preparation in Reading The Difficulty of Teaching Reading Has Been Underestimated / 11 Why Have Teachers Been Left Unprepared? / 11 The Knowledge Base for Teaching Reading Is Hidden, Extensive, and Complex / 11 Meaningful Professional Standards Are Absent / 12 Good Information Is Hard To Get / 14 Classroom Instructional Programs Are Uninformative / 14 Can We Do Better? /14 Toward a Curriculum for Teacher Preparation and Inservice Professional Development Knowledge of the Psychology of Reading and Reading Development / 16 Basic Facts About Reading / 16 The Characteristics of Poor and Novice Readers / 18 How Reading and Spelling Develop / 18 Language: The Foundation for Reading Instruction / 20 Practical Skills of Instruction in a Comprehensive Reading Program / 21 Opportunities for Supervised Experience / 21 Use of Validated Instructional Practices / 21 Assessment of Classroom Reading and Writing Skills / 24 Where We Need To Go: Changing Teacher Preparation and Professional Development in  Reading In Sum End Notes References Appendix A—Knowledge and Skills for Teaching Reading: A Core Curriculum for Teacher Candidates 5 7 9 11 16 25 28 29 30 33 TEACHING READING IS ROCKET SCIENCE / 3 Teaching reading is a job for an expert. Preface R eading is the fundamental skill upon which all formal education depends. Research now shows that a child who doesn’t learn the reading basics early is unlikely to learn them at all. Any child who doesn’t learn to read early and well will not easily master other skills and knowledge, and is unlikely to ever flourish in school or in life. Low reading achievement, more than any other factor, is the root cause of chronically low-performing schools, which harm students and contribute to the loss of public confidence in our school system. When many children don’t learn to read, the public schools cannot and will not be regarded as successful—and efforts to dismantle them will proceed. Thanks to new scientific research—plus a long-awaited scientific and political consensus around this research—the knowledge exists to teach all but a handful of severely disabled children to read well. This report discusses the current state of teacher preparation in reading in relation to that research. It reviews and describes the knowledge base and essential skills that teacher candidates and practicing teachers must master if they are to be successful in teaching all children to read well. Finally, the report makes recommendations for improving the system of teacher education and professional development. In medicine, if research found new ways to save lives, health care professionals would adopt these methods as quickly as possible, and would change practices, procedures, and systems. Educational research has found new ways to save young minds by helping them to become proficient readers; it is up to us to promote these new methods throughout the education system. Young lives depend on it. And so does the survival of public education. The urgent task before us is for university faculty and the teaching community to work together to develop programs that can help assure that all teachers of reading have access to this knowledge. TEACHING READING IS ROCKET SCIENCE / 5 To understand printed language well enough to teach it explicitly requires disciplined study of its systems and forms, both spoken and written. Executive Summary T he most fundamental responsibility of schools is teaching students to read. Indeed, the future success of all students hinges upon their ability to become proficient readers. Recent scientific studies have allowed us to understand more than ever before how literacy develops, why some children have difficulty, and what constitutes best instructional practice. Scientists now estimate that fully 95 percent of all children can be taught to read. Yet, in spite of all our knowledge, statistics reveal an alarming prevalence of struggling and poor readers that is not limited to any one segment of society: s About 20 percent of elementary students nationwide have significant problems learning to read. At least 20 percent of elementary students do not read fluently enough to enjoy or engage in independent reading. The rate of reading failure for AfricanAmerican, Hispanic, limited-English speakers and poor children ranges from 60 percent to 70 percent. One-third of poor readers nationwide are from college-educated families. Twenty-five percent of adults in this country lack the basic literacy skills required in a typical job. s s ameliorated by literacy instruction that includes a range of research-based components and practices. But, as the statistics testify, this type of instruction clearly has not made its way into every classroom. Indeed, a chasm exists between classroom instructional practices and the research knowledge-base on literacy development. Part of the responsibility for this divide lies with teacher preparation programs, many of which, for a variety of reasons, have failed to adequately prepare their teacher candidates to teach reading. Fortunately, this situation is being corrected, thanks in large part to recent basic research on reading that has allowed the community of reading scientists and educators to agree on what needs to be done. This new information about language, reading, and writing is just beginning to shape teacher preparation and instructional programs. This knowledge must also form the basis of high-quality professional development for practicing teachers. s s What Does the Research Say About Effective Reading Instruction? Well-designed, controlled comparisons of instructional approaches have consistently supported these components and practices in reading instruction: s Research indicates that, although some children will learn to read in spite of incidental teaching, others never learn unless they are taught in an organized, systematic, efficient way by a knowledgeable teacher using a  well-designed instructional approach. And, while many students from high-risk environments come to school less prepared for literacy than their more advantaged peers, their risk of reading difficulties could still be prevented and Direct teaching of decoding, comprehension, and literature appreciation; Phoneme awareness instruction; Systematic and explicit instruction in the code system of written English; Daily exposure to a variety of texts, as well as incentives for children to read  s s s TEACHING READING IS ROCKET SCIENCE / 7 independently and with others; s Vocabulary instruction that includes a variety of complementary methods designed to explore the relationships among words and the relationships among word structure, origin, and meaning; Comprehension strategies that include prediction of outcomes, summarizing, clarification, questioning, and visualization; and Frequent writing of prose to enable a deeper understanding of what is read. Changing Teacher Preparation and Professional Development in Reading If higher standards and substantive courses of preparation are adopted now, the two million new teachers projected over the next decade may be equipped to minimize reading failure in all but a small percentage of students. To achieve that goal, a range of initiatives needs to be considered: s s s s Research should guide the profession. Core requirements and standards for new teachers should be established. Teacher education programs should be aligned with standards for students and licensing requirements for teachers. Professional development institutes should be created for professors of education and master teachers. Developers of textbooks and instructional materials should be encouraged to improve their products. High-quality professional development must be available for teachers. An investment in teaching should be made to attract and retain high-caliber teacher candidates. Toward a Curriculum for Teacher Preparation and Inservice Professional Development Because classroom instruction, more than any other factor, is crucial in preventing reading problems, it is a primary focus for effecting change. A comprehensive redesign of teacher preparation in reading instruction, founded on a core curriculum that defines the knowledge and skills necessary for effective practice, is vital to improved classroom instruction. Such a research-based core curriculum would provide much more extensive, demanding, and content-driven training to inform classroom practice. Specifically, a core curriculum for teacher preparation must include components for: s s s s s s Understanding reading psychology and development; Understanding the structure of the English language; Applying best practices in all aspects of reading instruction; and Using validated, reliable, efficient assessments to inform classroom teaching. s s s This core curriculum can also serve as the basis for inservice professional development for the vast number of current teachers who have not been exposed to the research-based knowledge. The fact that teachers need better training to carry out deliberate instruction in reading, spelling, and writing should prompt action rather than criticism. It should highlight the existing gap between what teachers need and what they have been given. It should underscore the obligation of teacher preparation programs to provide candidates with a rigorous, research-based curriculum and opportunities to practice a range of predefined skills and knowledge, as well as the need for licensing authorities to assess that knowledge. The knowledge and skills inherent in effective reading programs must be part of every teacher’s reading instruction repertoire. Good, research-based teacher preparation programs, coupled with high-quality professional development for classroom teachers, can assure that this is so. 8 / AFT TEACHERS Preventing Reading Failure: A Top Priority for Education I n today’s literate world, academic success, secure employment, and personal autonomy depend on reading and writing proficiency. All children who are capable of reading must be taught how to read; such is the fundamental responsibility of schooling. Although educators have long understood the importance of literacy, a series of recent studies goes a long way in elucidating the chain of cause and effect that supports the development of literacy. Convergent findings of high-quality research have clarified how children learn to read and what must be done to ensure that they do. Beyond doubt, reading early links one benefit to another. Enjoyment of reading, exposure to the language in books, and attainment of knowledge about the world all accrue in greater measure to those who have learned how to read before the end of first grade. Difficulty with the first steps of reading, in contrast, eventually undermines vocabulary growth, knowledge of the world, mastery of language, and skill in writing. Once behind in reading, few children catch up unless they receive intensive, individual, and expert instruction, a scarce (and expensive) commodity in most schools. 1 Far too many children have trouble reading and writing. About 20 percent of elementary students nationwide have significant problems learning to read; at least another 20 percent do not read fluently enough to enjoy or engage in independent reading. Thus it should not be surprising that, according to the United States Office of Technology, 25 percent of the adult population lacks the basic literacy skills required in a typical job. 2 Among those who do not make it in life—school dropouts, incarcerated individuals, unemployed and underemployed adults—are high percentages of people who cannot read. 3 Such realities have prompted the National Institutes of Health to regard reading development and reading difficulty as a major public health concern. For poor, minority children who attend low-performing urban schools, the incidence of reading failure is astronomical and completely unacceptable. AfricanAmerican, Hispanic, limited-English speaking students, and those from impoverished homes fall behind and stay behind in far greater proportion than their white, middle-class counterparts. The rate of reading failure in these groups is 60 percent to 70 percent according to the National Assessment of Educational Progress. 4 This figure alone explains much about the poor academic achievement of minority students and why they are under-represented in professions that depend on higher education. Environment, however, does not explain all. Many children from more advantaged, literacy-rich environments have trouble learning to read, and many children from high-risk environments do indeed learn to read. 5 California recently initiated a series of laws to reform reading education after 49 percent of students of college-educated parents scored â€Å"below basic† on the National Assessment of Educational Progress. One-third of poor readers nationwide are from college-educated families who presumably encourage literacy in the home. The tragedy here is that most reading failure is unnecessary. We now know that classroom teaching itself, when it includes a range of research-based components and practices, can prevent and ameliorate reading difficulty. Although home factors do influence how well and how soon stu- TEACHING READING IS ROCKET SCIENCE / 9 Learning to read is not natural or easy for most children. Reading is an acquired skill. dents read, informed classroom instruction that targets specific language and reading skills beginning in kindergarten enhances success for all but a few students with moderate or severe learning disabilities. Scientists now estimate that 95 percent of all children can be taught to read at a level constrained only by their reasoning and listening comprehension abilities. 6 It is clear that students in high-risk populations need not fail at the rate they do. 7 When placed into schools with effective principals and well-prepared and wellsupported teachers, African-American, Hispanic, or students who are economically disadvantaged can learn to read as well as their more advantaged peers. 8 Further, students who lack the prerequisite awareness of sounds, symbols, and word meanings can overcome their initial disadvantage if teachers incorporate critical skills into lessons directly, systematically, and actively. 9 Thus, while parents, tutors, and the community can contribute to reading success, classroom instruction must be viewed as the critical factor in preventing reading problems and must be the primary focus for change. Ensuring effective classroom instructional practice is well within the purview of educational policymakers. 10 / AFT TEACHERS Where We Are: Taking Stock of Teacher Preparation in Reading The Difficulty of Teaching Reading Has Been Underestimated Teaching reading is a job for an expert. Contrary to the popular theory that learning to read is natural and easy, learning to read is a complex linguistic achievement. For many children, it requires effort and incremental skill development. Moreover, teaching reading requires considerable knowledge and skill, acquired over several years through focused study and supervised practice. Consider what the classroom demands of the teacher. Children’s interest in reading must be stimulated through regular exposure to interesting books and through discussions in which students respond to many kinds of texts. For best results, the teacher must instruct most students directly, systematically, and explicitly to decipher words in print, all the while keeping in mind the ultimate purpose of reading, which is to learn, enjoy, and understand. To accommodate children’s variability, the teacher must assess children and tailor lessons to individuals. She must interpret errors, give corrective feedback, select examples to illustrate concepts, explain new ideas in several ways, and connect linguistic symbols with â€Å"real† reading and writing. No one can develop such expertise by taking one or two college courses, or attending a few one-shot inservice workshops. Although reading is the cornerstone of academic success, a single course in reading methods is often all that is offered most prospective teachers. Even if well taught, a single course is only the beginning. Without deeper knowledge, the specific techniques of lesson delivery cannot be acquired, let alone knowledge of language, reading psychology, children’s literature, or the management of a reading program based on assessment. The demands of competent reading instruction, and the training experiences necessary to learn it, have been seriously underestimated by universities and by those who have approved licensing programs. The consequences for teachers and students alike have been disastrous. Why Have Teachers Been Left Unprepared? Why are the stringent demands of teaching reading and writing unrecognized in the design of preparation programs? In reading, at least, misunderstanding and lack of knowledge may play as big a role as institutional politics and budgetary constraints. What drives the mind of the reader is neither self-evident nor easy to grasp, and, consequently, many years of scientific inquiry have been necessary to expose the mechanisms of reading acquisition. Only recently has basic research allowed the community of reading scientists and educators to agree on what needs to be done. This new information about language, reading, and writing is just beginning to shape teacher preparation and instructional programs. This knowledge must also form the basis of inservice professional development for practicing teachers. The Knowledge Base for Teaching Reading Is Hidden, Extensive, and Complex Reading education is a field more vulnerable than many to faddish practices that TEACHING READING IS ROCKET SCIENCE / 11  later prove to be untenable. Such is the risk whenever a human trait that becomes the subject of education is poorly understood. To appreciate why reading is one of psychology’s more mysterious phenomena, we must consider the nature of the linguistic communication that reading requires. Skilled reading happens too fast and is too automatic to detect its underlying processes through simple introspection. We read, but we cannot watch how our minds make sense out of print. The linkage of sounds and symbols occurs rapidly and unconsciously. The linguistic units that compose words, the single speech sounds (phonemes), syllables, and meaningful parts (morphemes), are automatically matched with writing symbols so that attention is available for comprehension. 10 Because our attention is on meaning, we are not aware of the code translation process by which meaning is conveyed. Until we are faced with a class of children who are learning how to read symbols that represent speech sounds and word parts, we may never have analyzed language at the level required for explaining and teaching it. Similarly, we may not know how a paragraph is organized or how a story is put together until we teach writing to students who do not know how to organize their thoughts. Thus, to understand printed language well enough to teach it explicitly requires disciplined study of its systems and forms, both spoken and written. When adults are evaluated on knowledge of language, even those who are educated exhibit rudimentary or cursory familiarity with concepts about our writing system that are insufficient for teaching children. Surveys measuring experienced teachers’ ability to identify speech sounds, spelling patterns, and word structures reveal confusions that are typical of most adults. 11 For example, the concept that a letter combination can represent one unique speech sound (ch, wh, sh, th, ng)—is unclear to a surprising number of elementary teachers. Many identify these units by rote but are unable to differentiate conceptually between these spelling units (digraphs) and two letters that stand for two distinct sounds (consonant blends such as cl, st, pr) or silent letter spellings that retain the sound of one consonant (kn-, wr-, -mb). Few adults can explain common spelling patterns that correspond to pronunciation and word meaning, such as why we double the consonant letters in words like misspell, dinner, and accommodate. A deeper, explicit level of knowledge may not be necessary to read the words, but it is necessary to explain pronunciation and spelling, where the words came from, and how spelling is related to meaning. 12 Some children learn language concepts and their application very easily in spite of incidental teaching, but others never learn unless they are taught in an organized, systematic, efficient way by a knowledgeable teacher using a well-designed instructional approach. Children of average ability might learn enough about reading to get by, but may not develop the appreciation for language structure that supports learning words from context, organization of the mental dictionary, comparing words, or precise use of language. 13 Yet teachers are seldom asked to study the language they teach or how its form carries its message. In addition, teachers are not born knowing the relationships among the basic skills of reading and reading comprehension. They may see that children read poorly in the middle and upper grades, but may not understand that proficiency in basic reading skill must be taught before students will progress. Without instruction and practice, teachers are unlikely to develop the questioning techniques and discussion strategies that promote thoughtful reading by groups of children. 14 Meaningful Professional Standards Are Absent Other complex and demanding professions insist on much more stringent training and preparation than that required of teachers. Pilots, engineers, optometrists, and art therapists, for example, must learn concepts, facts, and skills to a prescribed level, must conduct their practice under supervision, and must pass rigorous entry 12 / AFT TEACHERS examinations that are standardized across the profession. Continuing education to stay abreast of proven best practices is mandated. The public interest is protected by professional governing boards that monitor the knowledge base and oversee the competence of these licensed professionals. We, the consumers of these professional services, should be able to trust that any person holding a license has demonstrated competence and is accountable to his or her professional board of governance. No such rules or standards assure that teachers who instruct children in reading have mastered the relevant knowledge base and acquired the necessary skills. Even within large universities that prepare hundreds of teachers every year, there may be no curricular specifications or standards. What a teacher candidate learns depends on the professor he or she selects. What the professor teaches is determined solely by what the professor may know or believe. Courses in reading, which are typically limited to three credit TEACHING READING IS ROCKET SCIENCE / 13 hours, are often taught by adjunct faculty who are accountable to no one. 15 Thus, preparation for teaching reading often is more grounded in ideology than evidence. 16 While the academic freedom that professors often invoke has a place in teacher education, its claim is not as absolute as it may be in the humanities. 17 Professional preparation programs have a responsibility to teach a defined body of knowledge, skills, and abilities that are based on the best research in the field. This is no less important in reading18 than it is in medicine or the law. Good Information Is Hard To Get Few of today’s popular textbooks for teacher preparation in reading contain information about the known relationships between linguistic awareness, word recognition ability, and reading comprehension. Few discuss in any useful detail how the English writing system represents speech. Basic concepts such as the differences between speech sounds and spellings, the fact that every syllable in English is organized around a vowel sound, and the existence of meaningful units (morphemes) in the Latin layer of English (about 60 percent of running text) are rarely explained. Few texts contain accurate information about the role of phonology in reading development, and few explain with depth, accuracy, or clarity why many children have trouble learning to read or what to do about it. Teachers are often given inaccurate and misleading information based on unsupported ideas. For example, in the recent past, one of the most common misconceptions has been that knowledge of the phonic system can be finessed with awareness of sentence structure and meaning. 19 Textbooks for teachers must attain a much higher standard of accuracy, currency, depth, clarity, and relevance if teachers are to be wellprepared to teach reading. 20 learn about spoken and written language concepts and to generate strategies for teaching students to read. Major classroom textbooks in language arts omit systematic teaching about speech sounds, the spelling system, or how to read words by sounding them out. 21 The most popular programs being used today are appropriately strong on literature, illustrations, cross-disciplinary thematic units, and motivational strategies for children, but very weak or simply wrong when it comes to the structure of English and how children actually learn to read the words on the page. 22 A recent review of major classroom reading programs shows that they continue to lack the content necessary to teach basic reading systematically and explicitly. 23 Can We Do Better? Comprehensive redesign of teacher preparation and inservice professional development is possible, but it must begin with a definition of the  knowledge and skills necessary for effective practice and demonstration of how these are best learned. Fortunately, leaders in the field— including the National Research Council panel on the Prevention of Reading Difficulties in Young Children and the member organizations of the Learning First Alliance—have reached consensus regarding the agenda for change. 24 They agree that new teachers require much more extensive, demanding, and contentdriven training if discoveries from the reading sciences are to inform classroom practice. Specifically, teachers must understand the basic psychological processes in reading, how children develop reading skill, how good readers differ from poor readers, how the English language is structured in spoken and written form, and the validated principles of effective reading instruction. The ability to design and deliver lessons to academically diverse learners, to select validated instructional methods and materials, and use assessments to tailor instruction are all central to effective teaching. Classroom Instructional Programs Are Uninformative Inadequately prepared novice teachers often find themselves dependent on the information given in teachers’ manuals to 14 / AFT TEACHERS Only recently has basic research allowed the community of reading scientists and educators to agree on what needs to be done. Toward a Curriculum for Teacher Preparation and Inservice Professional Development core curriculum for teacher preparation and inservice professional development can be divided roughly into the following four areas: s A. Understanding knowledge of reading psychology and development; Understanding knowledge of language structure which is the content of instruction; Applying best practices in all aspects of reading instruction; and Using validated, reliable, efficient assessments to inform classroom teaching. s s s This core will, of course, be supplemented and honed in time, but its goal is to bring continuity, consistency, and comprehensiveness to preservice teacher education and to focus the content of continuing education and graduate programs. (For specific details on the curriculum content in these four areas see Appendix A. ) Knowledge of the Psychology of Reading and Reading Development Basic Facts About Reading If the findings of research psychologists, educators, and linguists were better known, the risk of unfounded and even harmful teaching practices would be reduced. Learning to read is not natural or easy for most children. Reading is an acquired skill, unlike spoken language, which is learned with almost any kind of contextual exposure. If learning to read were as natural as acquiring spoken lan-guage, many more societies would have written languages; human beings would have invented writing systems many thousands of years before we did; and everyone would learn reading as easily as ducks learn to swim. The prolonged, gradual, and predictable progression of skill in print translation attests to the difference between processing spoken and written language. Although surrounding children with books will enhance reading development, a â€Å"literature-rich environment† is not sufficient for learning to read. Neither will exposure to print ordinarily be sufficient for learning to spell, unless organized practice is provided. Thus, teachers must be reflective and knowledgeable about the content they are teaching, that is, the symbol system itself and its relationship to meaning. Research has shown that good readers do not skim and sample the text when they scan a line in a book. 25 They process the letters of each word in detail, although they do so very rapidly and unconsciously. Those who comprehend well accomplish letter-wise text scanning with relative ease and fluency. When word identification is fast and accurate, a reader has ample mental energy to think over the meaning of the text. Knowledge of sound-symbol mapping is crucial in developing word recognition: the ability to sound out and recognize words accounts for about 80 percent of the variance in first-grade reading comprehension and continues to be a major (albeit diminishing) factor in text comprehension as students progress through the grades. 26 The ability to sound out words is, in fact, a major underpinning that allows rapid recognition of words â€Å"by sight. † 16 / AFT TEACHERS Language knowledge and language proficiency differentiate good and poor readers. Before children can easily sound out or decode words, they must have at least an implicit awareness of the speech sounds that are represented by symbolic units (letters and their combinations). Children who learn to read well are sensitive to linguistic structure; recognize redundant patterns; and connect letter patterns with sounds, syllables, and meaningful word parts quickly, accurately, and unconsciously. 27 Effective teaching of reading entails these concepts, presented in an order in which children can learn them. The Characteristics of Poor and Novice Readers. Experts agree that reading and writing call primarily on deep linguistic processing, not on more peripheral auditory or visual perceptual skills. Language knowledge and language proficiency differentiate good and poor readers. As they begin to learn, poor readers are not less intelligent or less motivated; they are, however, less skilled with language, especially at the level of elemental linguistic units smaller than whole words. For this reason, they benefit from instruction that develops awareness of sounds, syllables, meaningful word parts, relationships among word meanings, and the  structures of written text. The language skills that most reliably distinguish good and poor readers are specific to the phonological or speechsound processing system. Those skills include awareness of linguistic units that lie within a word (consonants, vowels, syllables, grammatical endings, meaningful parts, and the spelling units that represent them) and fluency in recognition and recall of letters and spelling patterns that make up words. Thus, skilled reading presents a paradox: Those who can most easily make sense of text are also those who can most easily read nonsense. For example, children who comprehend well when they read also do better at tasks such as reading words taken out of context, sounding out novel words, and spelling nonsense words. 28 Intelligence and verbal reasoning ability do not predict reading success in the beginning stages as well as these specific linguistic skills. Although the purpose of reading is to comprehend text, teachers should also appreciate the relationships among reading components in order to teach all components well—in connection to one another and with the emphasis needed at each stage of development.

Contrasting Perspectives on Horse’s Representation in Various Media Ven

Horses are valued by humans for the past million of years. Humans began to domesticate horses due to their ability to modulate with their environment. Horses' anatomy enables them to use of speed to escape predators. They have a well-developed sense of balance and a strong fight-or-flight instinct. Most domesticated horses begin training under saddle or in harness between the ages of two and four. The average life span of horses is approximately between 25 and 30 years. Horse breeds are based on general temperament. Spirited speed and endurance. Horses and humans intermingle in a wide variety of working activities such as police work, agriculture, entertainment, and therapy. Horses were historically used in warfare, from which a wide variety of riding. Many products are derived from horses, including meat, hide, and hair. Humans provide domesticated horses with food, water. and shelter. Horses are valued by humans in many ways and many forms of media such as Disney and the tale of Sprit, Hippotherapy, a form of rehabilitative therapy, and the tale of the Trojan horse. . Disney has made films regarding horses such as Sprit. It is about a mustang stallion that grows up to proudly succeed his father as leader of the Cimarron herd in the Wild West. When they reach the Dakota Territory, Sprit gets curious and a cowboy catches him and sells him to the United States cavalry. The cavalry uses a method of training by breaking a horse. This method fails with sprit. Spirit is captured by a brave and escapes on his back. He also tricks him to a coral with his beloved mare, but shows respect and wins some trust. As the railroad arrives, the Indian village is wrecked and Spirit gets captured for use as a draft-horse. When the stallion... ... and occasionally, horses are trained to perform without a bridle or other headgear. Many horses are also driven, which requires a harness, bridle, and some type of vehicle. Horse are valued by human in the past and will be in the future by all aspect horses are used to help human gain an increase in function in a variety of traditions and existing methods. Works Cited Association, A. H. (n.d.). Hippotherapy Researh and Supportive Evidance . Retrieved November 1, 2010, from American Hippotherapy Association . Greek Myths in Order of Publication. (n.d.). Retrieved November 1 1, 2010, from Storynory LTD: http://storynory.com/category/greek-myths/ Kelly Asbury, L. C. (Director). (2002). Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron (2002) [Motion Picture]. Viegas, J. (Director). (2010). Horses Never Forget Human Friends [Television Picture].

New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority

IntroductionTraditional market structure suggests that all market decisions should be based on utilitarian theory. We often witness market decisions which neglect other important aspects of the market activity. As a result, we appear under the impact of one-side unbalanced decisions which ultimately neglect the principles of morality and moral theology of the marketplace.Rising fares and tolls by MTAâ€Å"After an unusually vigorous and spirited debate, the board of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority voted to raise fares on subways, buses and commuter railroads and tolls on bridges and tunnels† (Chan, 2007a). Why is it so surprising that not all members of the MTA board wanted to turn into the proponents of fares and tolls’ increase? Does this mean that more and more political and business players realize the importance of morality in taking market decisions?Evidently, the situation is much worse than one may imagine. One may initially think that increasing the f ares will lead to less traffic congestion, and will urge more people to use public transport; yet, the public transport fares are being raised, too. From the viewpoint of those who vote for raising fares and tolls in New York, this decision is the first step towards â€Å"fiscal responsibility. The authority had for long applied windfalls and real estate taxes hoping that someone would bail us out and turning a blind eye to our responsibility to put this MTA on a firm future monetary structure† (Chan, 2007a).Simultaneously, from the viewpoint of morality and theology of the marketplace, commercial activity is not limited by rational market decisions, but also â€Å"confronts us with the moral predicaments† (Gregg, 2004). The major concern within this situation is that the decision to raise fares has completely neglected the position of those whom we traditionally consider to be vulnerable populations. The representative of Working Families Party is confident that raisi ng fares will seriously hit working people (Benjamin, 2007). â€Å"Today, once again middle class New Yorkers and those struggling to make it, are bearing the cost†, Rep. Anthony Weiner said (Benjamin, 2007).â€Å"A fare hike now is the wrong choice for New York. It would hit many people who are struggling hard to make ends meet and hurt the region's economy. [†¦] This fare hike will hit 86 percent of the riding public who use fare discounts. These include pay-per-ride bonus MetroCards and 7- and 30-day unlimited-ride passes. It's also a double whammy for most L.I.R.R. and Metro-North commuters whose railroad fares would go up!† (Chan, 2007b)The discussed fare hike will also cause the bonuses' decrease for riders (from 20 to 15 percent), and the discounted fare will cost $1.74 instead of $1.67 (Chan, 2007b). The problem is that New Yorkers pay more than they have to for the transport they use. â€Å"In 2005, riders paid 55 percent of the costs of running the subw ays and buses† (Chan, 2007b). Objectively, this is much higher that the riders in other cities pay: those in Boston do not compensate more than 29 percent of the discussed costs, and those in Philadelphia pay no more than 37 percent (Chan, 2007b).As the M.T.A reports $140 million reductions, does this mean that they will make the riders pay this amount through higher fares and tolls? Doubtlessly, the suggested fares and tolls increase will help compensate the under-financing of the MTA by the state Government, but if the decision framework remains unchanged, this compensation will actually take place for the account of the already mentioned vulnerable populations. â€Å"To rely upon utilitarianism as the moral – philosophical foundation of the case for the market creates tremendous difficulties for Catholics† (Gregg, 2004).The utilitarian desire to find the greatest good and to satisfy the masses does not meet the ethical and moral criteria of religion. Those who were taking the decision to raise the fares and tolls in New York have neglected one essential aspect in their decision making: when one looks for the means to produce the greatest pleasure for the greatest number of people, one has to perform numerous calculations and to produce the decision which satisfies everyone. From the viewpoint of moral theology, such calculations in market decision-making are simply impossible.â€Å"No person can make such an assessment without admitting a tremendous degree of ignorance about all the possible effects that might proceed from a freely chosen act† (Gregg, 2004). The MTA governors have evidently gone beyond their reasonable abilities, trying to persuade us that that the future with raised fares and tolls for everyone was better than other possible alternatives. The MTA board members view the increased tolls and fares as the means to close the gaps in MTA’s budget and to provide safe and reliable system of transportation for the New York’s citizens. However, it is not the ultimate goal for those who use public transport and belong to vulnerable layers of the city population.ConclusionThe moral theology of marketplace rejects any uniform measures in defining the goals of decision making. This is why the governors should have considered the financial opportunities of those who cannot afford paying more for using public transport. The diversified structure of prices would resolve all moral and ethical issues, and would not create serious obstacles on the way towards better functioning of the city’s transportation systems.ReferencesChan, S. (2007a). Board approves subway and bus fare increase. The New York Times.Retrieved February 17, 2008 from https://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/12/19/mta-board-approves-fare-and-toll-increases/Chan, S. (2007b). Hundreds stranded online by botched M.T.A. â€Å"Webinar†. The New YorkTimes. Retrieved February 17, 2008 from http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.co m/2007/12/10/mixed-reaction-to-new-mta-fare-plan/?hpGregg, S. (2004). Ethics and the market economy: Insights from Catholic moral theology.IEA Economic Affairs, June, pp. 4-10.

Environmental and Ecological Issues in Robyn Eckersley’s Perspective Essay

Robyn Eckersley, a renowned environmentalist believes that ecocentric theorists do not claim that anthropocentrism is the sole or original cause of the ecological crisis. She also reflects that environmental crisis is the outcome of humanity’s joyful and spontaneous instincts due to repressive social and psychic division of labor. As a matter of fact, she contends to the idea that it is the rise of material paradigms that people are in need of reconciliation with nature. She notes that utilitarianism in its very state undermined the essence of the environment which is why the veil of knowledge worn by the society is covering them thus colonizing the life-world. Eckersley examined the deontology of ethics inclined with the aim of making the recent topographical shifts within the field that are less â€Å"unknown to us (Eckersley). † To note, she states â€Å"utilitarian and eudaimonistic or therefore theological moral philosophy derives difference between good and evil from the effects which actions and attributes by nature have for the form of life of the actor and his environment (Louden). † In further illustration, she meant that the good deeds can conveyed as those that are considerably favorable effects for human welfare, while those that bring about the opposite are otherwise. Hence, this connotation also falls on the deliberative state of intuitive and formalistic ethics. Although Eckersley favors a rights discourse as a way to include the natural world in a liberal system, she admits that, â€Å"†¦the rights discourse becomes considerably strained (in all its dimensions) when we come to consider ecological entities (Eckersley). † She defines multiple human activities to be the cumulative result of the ecosystem’s components and that today’s approach towards this epidemic will not ensure sustainability. In essence, she is not against any form human-driven doings; however, she is not favor of the manner that it handles the resources that in the light provides for the very existence of human beings. The harvesting of the planet’s resources is seen to be detrimental to the future of the ecosystem and if such is prolonged, survival will be provided only for the few. Socialist critique of liberalism in comparison with the ecological state will differ in terms of morality and the deontology of ethics. It is apparent that not all deeds are the same when it comes to utilitarianism, sometimes, the ecosystem, being unable to air its share of sentiments, id reprimanded and oftentimes taken for granted (Rice). Humans are subject to care for those of its kind and the environment is not considered to be a part of it. In consequence, such is an irony, given that the human beings live and survive with the help of a healthy ecosystem—without the ecosystem, the members of the society will not be able to live. Policies, regulations and management may have changed over time. If compared to the previous century where not all are aware of the threat and the challenge of sustainability, the contemporary era now gives regard to narrowing the problems and eradicate or at least moderate in the utilization of resources provided that there is a massive chance that it may no longer be available in the next 100 years. The signs of climate change is a proof that laws would need to focus on combining good deeds not only for the people that it serves but also to detain the precautionary measures that may possibly harm the humanity.Accordingly guidance is considered necessary on the position of ecosystem mechanism that may be at risk (Rice). Works Cited Eckersley, Robyn. â€Å"Liberal Democracy and the Rights of Nature: The Struggle for Inclusion. † Environmental Politics 4. 4 (1995). Louden, Robert B. â€Å"Toward a Genealogy of Deontology. † Journal of the History of Philosophy 34. 4 (1996). Rice, Jake. â€Å"Can We Manage Ecosystems in a Sustainable Way? † A symposium on Sustainable Management of Marine Living Resources 60. 1-2 (2008). .

Knapps Stage Model Essay Essays

Knapps Stage Model Essay Essays Knapps Stage Model Essay Paper Knapps Stage Model Essay Paper Dear John. the drama-filled love affair film. John Tyree. a immature soldier. meets Savannah Curtis. a college pupil on spring interruption. and they rapidly fall in love. The film directed by Lasse Hallstrom. adapted from Nicolas Sparks’ novel of the same name. Dear John showcased many facets of communications in its most simple signifiers. Including the 10 phases of the Knapp Stage Model. which could really be witnessed throughout the Dear John the film and the book. as the two chief characters. John and Savannah. developed their relationship and as they tried to keep their relationship. In the Knapp’s Stage Model. Mark Knapp describes the patterned advance and development of relationships as a series of 10 phases in two stages: the ‘coming together’ . induction is followed by the experimenting. intensifying. integration and bonding phases. In the ‘coming apart’ . the differentiating. circumscribing. stagnating. avoiding and ending phase occu rs. These phases are illustrated in the movie Dear John. In the opening scene of Dear John. it was John’s and Savannah’s first clip meeting. it was attractive force at first sight. During the dark scene at the beach. they conversed. I would still believe it’s the initiating phase because the content of their conversation. They didn’t ask inquiries with the purpose of cognizing more of each other apart from that one inquiry. ‘’When are you traveling back? † which was instead insouciant. That will sum up the initiating phase. In the ulterior scene. John asked for a day of the month and Savannah agreed. That means they have both passed each other’s trial so there is an experimenting phase. By the manner. John really stayed at the Barbeque till the dark when he mentioned that his pa cooked dinner. Why else would one blow off his pa if it isn’t because he likes the miss? Therefore. that supports my base that they were already attracted to each other at the beach. At the dinner scene. they were started speaking about something more personal. They were doing little talk. The subject of household and John’s yesterye ar came in. These subjects normally wouldn’t be brought up at the initiating phase because they’re excessively personal. I would besides wish to associate to another construct with this scene which is relational demands of openness. If you notice. John wasn’t excessively comfy with the talk to the point he asked â€Å"why do you desire to cognize so much? † He would fall under the sort that closed away to other people. His replies were all one-liners. heterosexual to the point with no farther accounts. In the following scene. when they were walking towards the wooden house. that was another illustration of acquiring to cognize each other through speaking. This ends off the experimenting phase. They have a battle. but reconcile before John’s leave from the ground forces is over. When toilet returns to the ground forces. he and Savannah begin long distance relationship through handwritten letters. The first missive was really clear that Savannah loves John. Previously. John really gave Savannah a note in which the content wasn’t disclosed to the audience till the very terminal of the film. The note said â€Å"I love you† which was why Savannah wrote him. that missive was a answer . Those were revelations of feelings to each other. In that scene. John said â€Å"I made you a promise. didn’t I? † and subsequently. they both agreed to compose to each other all the clip. She was supposed to wait for him for a twelvemonth while he was off in Germany. That was a sense of committedness to the relationship. This will sum up the intensifying phase. The 4th phase is incorporating. This point is instead straightforward. It’s the turning point whereby the twosome announces to their friends and household that they are a twosome. In this instance. you could see John being introduced to Savannah’s parents. Couples do non ever follow purely to the theoretical account. Stairss could be jumped or revisited once more. Sadly. there was no 5th phase ( Bonding – matrimony. battle ) for this brace in the film. Conflicts arise because of different perceptual experiences ; it is besides illustrated in this film. There was a active scene at the terrace and it was because John wanted to widen his circuit with the ground forces but Savannah did non desire to wait for another two old ages. So after a long clip apart. John and Savannah find themselves floating apart and resigned to being apart from John. and Savannah sends a ‘D ear John’ missive stating him that she has become engaged to person else. John eventually got a missive from Savannah which she initiated a interruption up. Break ups are due to many possible factors. in their instance. alterations. hapless communicating and unrealistic outlooks. Changes referred to the immense alterations they went through from the two hebdomads of summer interruption together to being 1000 stat mis apart. Next. hapless communicating. I think this might be the least conducive factor. Even though. letters took hebdomads or months to make each other. their letters were filled with words. They told each other everything about their lives so it wasn’t a instance of floating apart. Last. it is the factor I think contributed the most likely which is an unrealistic outlook. Long distance relationships are difficult plenty and a individual can merely take it for so long. The first twelvemonth was all right but when John added two more old ages onto the heap. it was excessively difficult for Savannah to take. Although John’s and Sava nnah’s falling out they finally came together as friends. particularly when John’s male parent is on his decease bed. John returns place and connects with his male parent. something he was non able to make before. John so sells his father’s coin aggregation to fund Savannah’s husband’s malignant neoplastic disease intervention. In the last scene of the movie. John sees Savannah on the street and they embrace. The film may non showcase every bit much inside informations ; nevertheless it does demo the importance of communicating in a relationship. For illustration. Savannah chooses to compose a missive to John to interrupt the intelligence of her battle. alternatively of naming him. it shows that it is already a mark Doctor of Optometry avoiding the issue straight. A handwritten missive is a additive signifier of communicating. as John is non given a opportunity to answer instantly. If you were in John’s place. and you received a similar missive about your partner’s battle. would you travel back place to contend for what you want. or would you be ‘John’ . and merely bury yourself with work? Hopefully. now you have a better apprehension of the Knap p’s theoretical account and see how it fits into every relationship!

Legs Akimbo

Legs Akimbo Legs Akimbo Legs Akimbo By Simon Kewin Legs akimbo is a phrase used so much it has become a clichà ©, and clichà ©s are obviously something to be avoided if you want to create interesting, vivid writing. But you should also be aware that legs akimbo is logically meaningless. According to the OED, akimbo means : with hands on the hips and elbows turned outwards (origin, probably from Old Norse). It might just be possible to achieve such a stance in a Science Fiction story (if an alien had arms protruding from its legs), but otherwise, you simply cant stand legs akimbo. Of course, as with many questions of grammar, it could be argued that it doesnt matter that words are being used incorrectly, so long as the reader understands what the writer meant. Its a long-running debate. Language is constantly evolving and new meanings are always emerging. But writers need to be aware of the technically correct usage of words because they need to write in different voices. If, say, they are writing a piece of colloquial dialogue, legs akimbo might well be fine, if thats the sort of thing the character might say. If, however, they were writing in an authoritative, narrative voice, or penning a query letter to a publisher, then the phrase should clearly not be used. Quite how you could get the phrase legs akimbo into a query letter to a publisher, meanwhile, is another matter Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Misused Words category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:100 Beautiful and Ugly Words50 Latin Phrases You Should KnowParticular vs. Specific

Creativity and innovation at greenpeace Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Creativity and innovation at greenpeace - Essay Example While implementing any sustainable strategy, an organization has to closely analyze its resources and capabilities such as culture, diversity, human capital, innovation and creativity, as if they are durable, transferable and replicable or not. Creativity and innovation among organizations usually occurs through development and implementation of new mechanisms in a non-traditional way. Any organizational environment constitutes a social and a cultural aspect called the field and the domain respectively. According to Csikszentmihalyi (1999), â€Å"creativity occurs when a person makes a change in a domain, a change that will be transmitted through time†. Creativity is essentially a two way process in which people must interact with the field and the domain to achieve certain level of novel variation. The person with specific set of talents and experiences transmits the body of knowledge in context of the cultural system (domain). The social system (field) then evaluates innovat ion and retains the selected creativeness in context of the domain. For instance, there are people in the field of modern art who decide whether the new paintings deserve to be purchased, collected and added to the domain or not. Amabile (1998) suggests that â€Å"within every individual, creativity is a function of three components: expertise, creative-thinking skills, and motivation† illustrated in figure 01. In any organization, however, managers are fully capable of influencing these components via workplace practices and conditions. The intellectual, procedural and technical knowledge comprises the expertise. The novel and unique ways in which people approach certain issues come under the creative-thinking skills component, and the inner spirit and devotion required for tackling or solving a particular issue forms the motivation component. Factors such as challenge, freedom, resources, work-group features, supervisory encouragement, and organizational support affect crea tivity and can be analyzed to enhance creativity in organizations. It is important to note here that some systemic practices are existent which may also kill creativity. Figure 01: The Three Components of Creativity. Source: (Amabile, 1998) According to West and Farr (1990), innovation is â€Å"the intentional introduction and application within a job, work team or organization of ideas, processes, products or procedures which are new to that job, work team or organization and which are designed to benefit the job, the work team or organization†. The process of innovation encompasses both the development of a concept and effective translation of that concept into practice. All organizations are capable of being innovative to certain extent depending on the sources of innovation and many of them consider creativity and innovation as part of their competitive strategies. If a change is beneficial, intentional and novel, it can be rightly regarded as innovation. Economic activit ies are mostly dependent on finite and limited set of natural resources present on earth. Overexploitation of these limited resources is continuously threatening the global economy, which at its core is embedded in the environment. Industries worldwide are depleting resources of the earth not taking into account the provision of relatively free ecosystem services. The changing patterns of resource scarcity have given rise to a new business model known as Natural Capitalism. According to Lovins et al. (1999), â€Å"

Economics and care work Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Economics and care work - Essay Example The dynamics of care work have changed from the care work practices provided in the Victorian period. Economic conditions during the Victorian era were quite harsh. Middle-class men worked like machine to earn livelihood and their desire to return home after hard labor was fructified by the comforting home environment provided with the home care efforts and artful handling of the home sphere by the ladies working whole day providing needed care to all members of the family. Relationship between the middle class spouses was based on mutual trust of exchanging and sharing gifts unlike the â€Å"crass† (Nelson, 2006). The Victorian ideology was not a totally correct presentation of the economic life; the lower class underwent all the harshness of economic reasoning of working as labor in shops along with their children over time without any additional wages. Thus, in the Victorian times, the ideology of â€Å"angel in the house† put curtains on the job of running a home and exploitation of the poor women and children by increasing industrialization (Nelson, 2006). Nuns used to perform care work out of religious bonding or until they got married. Theme of charity was behind most of care provided to the needy and under-privileged by nuns, single women and married women with earning husbands. It was assumed that nurses, healthcare workers, foster parents, and child care providers felt emotionally charged and motivated in Victorian times but the same legacy has led to believe in the wrong notions that people either work for money or freely out of love and compassion (Nelson, 2006). Care work is perceived by society to be done with the profit motive only, as is evident from the reference to the foster care provided by Rosa Fernandez who takes care of two foster children besides her own two children. Irony of the care providing mother is that she develops kinship with the foster children and her attachment while nurturing them creates a bonding although she is being paid for the care work she is providing but she will miss the children when taken aw ay by the lawyers and the case workers for adoption. There are not only emotional but financial constraints if the children are taken out of the foster care. Difference between a foster parent and a case worker and lawyer, as told by Rosa Fernandez to the sociologist, Teresa Toguchi Swartz, is that money is the leading motive of the case workers and lawyers irrespective of the welfare interest of the children (Nelson, 2006). This case shows that Rosa and her family is related and attached to the children under her foster care because of economic and at the same time ethical considerations. The social service providers overlook the love angle between the foster children and Rosa and assume that money is the only motive of the foster care provided by Rosa. They are least caring about the financial compulsions of the working-class people who would bear the pangs of separation from the child as their love is reciprocal; the child would also feel the loss of separation likewise Rosa and her family (Nelson, 2006). The crucial question that arises here is that is it possible to be inspired by love and money both. Some care workers acceptance of monetary help does not mean that they are not kind-hearted because they have accepted money and â€Å"commodified† the transaction. Here, the issue of motivation and care becomes crucial not only to be decided in care work but in any job taken to earn money (Nelson, 2006). Motivation being the significant factor in providing free care in the Victorian era, it could be either intrinsic motivation or extrinsic motivation. Both these are crucial and basic elements of motivation theory, which says that it is non-spatial irrespective of the rewards accruing from intrinsic motivation elements or extrinsic elements although the issue of motivation is quite personal and difficult (The Happy Manager, 2011). When care work provides intangible rewards, it is because they are inspired from within and, therefore, highly