The culture and management Essay Example for Free

The culture and management Essay Sifangs recruitment of the length of time is fairly flexible from the three months minimum period to the 15 months maximum. From the previous experience, Sifang usually prepares three months necessary to advertise and fill a vacancy if no difficulties were encountered because there was nothing specific to contribute the timescale being longer. There are three stages of the recruitment process that influenced the timescales: creating and defining the position, advertising, and security checks. Recruitment success ratio in Sifang is very high because of the excellent HR department. The main reason is that the Sifangs recruitment advertisements only appear on the power system automatic protection field. The advertisements try to attract candidates who work in this field and fit the companys person specification. Another important reason is the HR department have a carefully selection process such as shortlist, interview, and probation which can reduce the failure rate. The culture and management style of Sifang  Organisational culture is a system of knowledge and standards for believing, evaluating and understanding etc that serve to environmental backgrounds (Allaire and Firsirotu 1984), which will help with the decision making and determine how the business is run. The organisations culture is very much concerned with the way in which people in the organisation interact with each other, and the typical patterns of interactions that have developed over time. Sifangs organisational culture focuses on honesty, responsibility and professional skills. Meanwhile, Sifang provides a broad stage for personal development. They always keeps in mind that qualified employees, endless self-challenging and management renovation construct the only bridge to success for a high- tech enterprise.  From the above description it can be seen that the main organisational culture in Sifang is task culture. Task culture focuses on full fulfilling the needs of the organisation and its problems by working in groups. Expertise creativity and flexibility is therefore important. This culture encourages the staffs to take more responsibility and power. Teams will have input when determining how a job will be done and their views and opinions will be listened to. For managers to be effective, they need to develop a style of management which suits the culture of the organisation. There are many different styles of management and four main styles are recognised as being effective if used at the right time and under the right conditions which are autocratic management, consultative management, democratic management, and laissez-faire management. The management style is mainly used in Sifang is consultative. The managers of the company tend to seek other employees within the company for advice before making decisions. This type of managers tends to aim to draw on more sources of opinion than just him/herself. The consultative managers will have good listening and also the capability to create the right communication channels to allow him/her to consult with other employees easily. For instance, as part of the consultative management style, Sifang uses suggestion boxes, which makes it easier for employees with new ideas to express their ideas without feeling intimidated. Managers also established an award to encourage staffs who have better suggestions and ideas. These methods bring many advantages to the company. On the other hand, sometimes the Sifangs head office takes the autocratic management style. It trend to give instructions to set the objectives and targets to staffs rather than asking them for their opinions in some situations. The company takes external recruitment because the top managers believe that the company hardly recruit candidates inside business because it will cause another vacancy will be created which might have to be filled. In the case, the head office/manager is the only one contributing to the decision-making process. The recruitment process is a part of the total organisational strategy plan for business growth. The managers of Sifang believe that market competition ultimately is enterprise talent competition. Therefore, they have attached most importance to recruit talent from its founding. Sifangs organisational culture can impact the process by taking prudent steps. The company only advertises its recruitment on the power system automatic protection field because the culture focuses on professional skills. The honesty, responsibility features can build a good reputation to candidates to make an earlier contribution to the hiring organisation. Overall, the recruitment process in Sifang has become a model of the values and methods to develop the organisation to run in an optimally human way. The recruitment of staff is a mixture of both consultative and autocratic management styles in Sifang. On the one hand, through consultative management, managers can always understand what the companys need on the recruitment. On the other hand, the head office autocratically set how much can be spent on the staffs. In the process, the final decisions are only made by managers under the autocratic management. When candidates are in the probation, the HR department only considers the feedback which comes from their managers and ignores the opinions of the candidates colleagues. Compare with the other companys recruitment in the same industry, Dongfang Electronics Information Industry Group Co., Ltd (Dongfang), which is a competitor of Sifang. There are some differences because of the different management styles. Sifang has never recruit staffs from internal environment because of the autocratic management style. On the contrary, Dongfang has approached democratic management style and the company takes a mixture of both internal and external recruitment after group discussion. Conclusion The report described and appraise the recruitment process of Beijing Sifang Automation Co., Ltd (Sifang) through analysisd its strengths, weakness, timescales, and success ratio. The companys culture, management style and how these impact in the recruitment process have also be introduced. As I come to a conclusion, I may reiterate the importance of a recruitment process to a business. Without it, corporations and organisations will run the risk of having unskilled employees and having a low profit margin. To hire people effectively, the HR department must think about the company needs over a longer period rather than simply getting next weeks job done. And also, the companys organisational culture and management styles can impact the recruitment process in both positive and negative way. References Barber, A.E. (1998) Recruiting employees: Individual and Organizational Perspectives. Thousand Oaks, Sage Publications  Barclay, J. (1999) Employee Selection: A question of Structure,  Beardwell, L. Holden, L. (2001) Human Resource management: a contemporary approach. Third Edition, London, FT Prentice Hill  Brown, A. (1995) Organisational Culture. London, Pitman Publishing.

The Effects Of Poverty On Education Education Essay

The Effects Of Poverty On Education Education Essay In the United States of America, there is great emphasis placed on equal rights for all. Further, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights declares Education to be a human right (Dhillon, 2011). Yet, in this great country, the poor still do not receive an equal education, an education that could raise kids out of poverty (Dhillon, 2011). Instead, impoverished children are often brought down by a classist system. The role of poverty in the U.S. Poverty is the strongest indicator of a child going to prison (Anders, 2011). Three times the amount of money goes in the prison system than in the schools (Anders, 2011). State governments benefit when people provide for their families with illegal labor rather than turning to welfare, plus the benefit of free labor from prisons (Anders, 2011). Social mobility through education is for the most part a myth; it only holds true in only some communities (Anders, 2011). One would think that the more compassionate and preventative method of providing a quality education would be the more preferable route. Compared to other industrialized countries, the United States of America is quite negligent of its poor. From 1999-2009, the child poverty rate has increased 19.6% (Armstrong, 2009). Every day, 2,500 children are born into poverty in the United States, giving the country one of the highest rates of poverty among industrialized countries (Anders, 2011). The U.S. also allocates fewer resources to social welfare programs, such as public employment services and modest support guaranteed for all children (child allowance, child care, and paid parental leave) than other Western countries, despite the high value placed on being able to work ones way out of poverty (Anders, 2011). Policy makers mistake work with self sufficiency, and feel that work is all that is needed to be able to live off of welfare programs (Anders, 2011). It is impossible to become independent of welfare at minimum wage, which is well below living wage; two full time, minimum wage workers cannot afford the average cost of a one bedroom apartment, and when food, transportation, and health care is added to the needs of the impoverished the debt becomes too much (Anders, 2011). Oftentimes, basic needs such as health care and a good diet are sacrificed by the poor because they cannot get assistance. Poverty and neurobiology. Food is essential to life. A full stomach and a clear mind are essential for learning (Armstrong, 2009). With the increase in child poverty, there has also been an alarming increase in food challenged children (Armstrong, 2009). Malnutrition can lead to vitamin deficiencies, particularly in B vitamins and iron, and in the long term can lead to neurological effects (Armstrong, 2009). Other maladies with possible neurological effects that are more common to low-income children include lead poisoning and asthma (Armstrong, 2009). In general, the brains of impoverished children develop differently (Armstrong, 2009). Many functions of the brain, such as language development and executive functioning (e.g. the ability to plan, remember details, and pay attention) develop much more slowly in low income children compared to their wealthier peers (Armstrong, 2009). By the age of nine or ten, the differences in the brain scans of poor kids, compared to wealthier kids, are almost equivalent to the damage of a stroke (Armstrong, 2009). Poverty effects the childs achievement when he or she is assessed in their first year of school and continues to affect children once they leave poverty; the effects of poverty may be lasting (Kiernan Mensah, 2011). Because the background of poverty affects the neurobiology of children, it raises the question of whether anything can be done to help these children. The role of the school. The schools do occasionally try to do something to help impoverished children. Schools sometimes have early, intensive, sustained, intervention programs that also provide good nutrition and health care (Armstrong, 2009). However, with the growth in the child poverty rate, the education system struggles to provide the programs low-income children need to succeed (Armstrong, 2009). These programs are often cut when the economy is down (Armstrong, 2009). Poor schools, such as those in rural areas, have low per-pupil expenditures (Fusarelli Militello, 2012). So, many schools do not have it in their budget to pay for such extensive programs for such a large proportion of their students in the first place. Poor schools also cannot afford good teachers. The students with the most need often have the least experienced teachers (Armstrong, 2009). Schools with high rates of minority students, impoverished students, and English language learners are more likely to hire beginning teachers (Armstrong, 2009). These teachers then move to more affluent schools as they gain experience because the schools dont have the money to retain them (Armstrong, 2009; Fusarelli Militello, 2012). These students are 77% more likely to get out of field teachers (Armstrong, 2009). These schools need to offer incentives such as targeted salary increases, bonuses, housing incentives, tuition assistance, and tax credits (Armstrong, 2009). They also hire non-traditional teaching candidates, such as retired military professionals and high-achieving college students (Armstrong, 2009). Poor schools also have less difficult curricula, higher student to teacher ratios, and receive less funding (Armstrong, 2009). Thus, n ot only are schools lacking in the extra programs that impoverished kids need to catch up with wealthier peers, but they are also hiring less qualified people to teach low-income children, giving children with a low socioeconomic status an unequal education. The role of the parent. If schools cannot make up for the difference in achievement between the poor and the rich, then perhaps the parents can. This assumption is one many policy makers and teachers have (Bower Griffin, 2011). Lack of parental involvement is associated with low student achievement and engagement (Bower Griffin, 2011). Parental involvement seems to be at the root of the achievement gap (Bower Griffin, 2011). Parental involvement is especially low for students of color and low-income households (Bower Griffin, 2011). Schools define parental involvement as volunteering in the school, communicating with teachers, assisting with homework, and attending school events and conferences (Bower Griffin, 2011). Correlational studies show that parental involvement leads to increased social competence and social networks, which leads to resources such as tutoring, enrichment opportunities, and curriculum extensions (Bower Griffin, 2011). By the traditional, white, middle-clas s definition of parental involvement, schools benefit by gaining resources. However, parenting in poverty is exceptionally difficult (Kiernan Mensah, 2011). Work schedules, difficulties with transportation, and difficulties with childcare prevent parents from coming to school events and conferences (Bower Griffin, 2011). Informal conversations and unscheduled meetings often work better for parents of low SES, but this is often see as obtrusive (Bower Griffin, 2011). Schools are warned against defining specific behaviors as parental involvement because it can disenfranchise families and make them feel like their efforts are going unrecognized (Bower Griffin, 2011). Low income families are ostracized by white middle class families who see their lack of traditional involvement as a lack of caring about their kids (Bower Griffin, 2011). Not all parents have the time and money the schools definition of parental involvement requires (Bower Griffin, 2011). Parents of poor and minority students, on the other hand, see the schools role as providing academic edu cation and their role as providing moral education; they define parental involvement as providing nurturance, instilling moral and cultural values, and talking with their children (Bower Griffin, 2011). Just because parents are not involved by the white, middle-class definition, does not mean they are not involved in their childrens lives. It is not necessarily the schools definition of parental involvement that determines the success of a child. A study by Kiernan and Mensah (2011) tested the effects of parenting, resources, and poverty on the achievement levels of children in elementary school in a longitudinal study. A parenting index was created using aspects that can help a child thrive despite the disadvantages of poverty: cognitive stimulation, promotion of play and learning, security and warmth in relationships, sensitivity towards the child, physical nurturance, boundaries and standards of behavior, and positive discipline (Kiernan Mensah, 2011). The top third scored 70% in good levels of achievement, the middle scored 51%, and the bottom scored 31% (Kiernan Mensah, 2011). Children were ranked from least number of risk factors to impede achievement to most and then put into quintiles; the first had 69% good achievement, the second had 64% good achievement, the third had 53% good achievement, the fourth had 4 2% good achievement, and the fifth, with the highest number of indicators, had 24% good achievement (Kiernan Mensah, 2011). Risk factors include income, mothers education, employment, housing, quality of the neighborhood, mothers age at birth, family structure, the number of children in the household, birth order, ethnic origin, and language spoken in the home (Kiernan Mensah, 2011). When tested for poverty, 60% of children who had not lived in poverty reached good levels of achievement compared to 40% in episodic poverty and 26% in persistent poverty (Kiernan Mensah, 2011). Kiernan and Mensah (2011) looked for interactions, and found that 44% of children who did not experience poverty had high parenting scores, compared to 11% of children in persistent poverty who had high parenting scores. Meanwhile, 66% of children in persistent poverty had low parenting scores (Kiernan Mensah, 2011). Similarly, 60% of children with the highest levels of family resources had high parenting sco res, while only 9% or children with low family resources had high parenting scores. Further, 69% of children with the lowest family resources had low parenting scores (Kiernan Mensah, 2011). Achievement scores for those in the lowest level of poverty with the lowest level of parenting were 19%, while it was 58% for the highest level of parenting (Kiernan Mensah, 2011). For those who had not experienced poverty and had high levels of parenting, their achievement levels were 73% (Kiernan Mensah, 2011). Poverty has about a 50% effect on achievement and parenting has a 40% effect on parenting within the study (Kiernan Mensah, 2011). Kiernan and Mensah show that although that poverty negatively affects a child, positive parenting practices can help counteract the effects of poverty. The role of the educator. Oftentimes, parents become an excuse not to teach impoverished children. Educators and policy makers absolve themselves of improving the problem with a blame-the-victim mentality by believing all parents of low income kids are lazy, addicted to substances, and dont care about their kids, and especially not their education (Armstrong, 2009). Teachers believe that parents will not become involved in the classroom, even though they refuse to try new methods (Bower Griffin, 2011). Often, the curriculum is not targeted to the children, even though children are most responsive to relevant materials and high stakes testing only exacerbates the problem (Anders, 2011). Instead of finding alternative methods to teach, schools see the child as deficit (Anders, 2011). There are definitely practices out there if teachers would only look. Teachers often do not relate to their students. Teachers primarily consist of white middle class women (Anders, 2011; Armstrong, 2009). Differences between middle and lower class include hidden social rules and communication, interactions, and expectations (Armstrong, 2009). There is a difference in symptoms of generational and situational poverty (Armstrong, 2009). Behaviors and the mindset related to poverty often affect learning (Armstrong, 2009). Identifying the students resources and strengths is proven to increase effectiveness of teaching (Armstrong, 2009). The best practice for educators working with impoverished students is that they should educate themselves on the effects of class and poverty and design curriculum relevant to poor students, drawing on the experiences and intelligences of the students (Armstrong, 2009). Teacher education programs tend to leave out critical conversations about how educators and education research relies primarily on white middle class educat ion (Anders, 2011). So, teachers tend to feel uncomfortable with their minority students (Anders, 2011). Finally, educators should be aware of their own biases and how they affect their interactions and expectations of students (Armstrong, 2009). This is good educational practice, but sadly it is not necessarily common educational practice. The standards of education are set to the white middle-class. Public schools want children to live by the behavioral standards set by the white middle class, including self regulation, memorization, social flexibility, compliance, and respect to authority (Anders, 2011). However, as stated above, children in poverty behave differently. Teachers know each pupil less on an individual basis and rely more on stereotypes (Anders, 2011). Knowing an individual child makes a behavior seem less disruptive and disrespectful and reveals the behavior as understandable and manageable (Anders, 2011) Based on differences, such as behavior, between the poor and the rich, students are academically sorted by socioeconomic status rather than ability based on stereotypes (Armstrong, 2009). However, merely educating oneself on the differences between students could help prevent this. Differences in behavioral standards between social classes lead to low income students being disciplined more in school. Zero tolerance policies, though they do not increase school wide academic achievement scores and in some cases lower them, contributes to school push out and school leaving (Anders, 2011). Students who jeopardize the schools achievement scores on top of having a disciplinary record are more likely to get pushed into the resource room or out of school altogether (Anders, 2011). No Child Left Behind leaves teachers with less time to focus on students because they have to focus more on curriculum and tests (Anders, 2011). In low-track classrooms, teachers rely on authoritarian compliance and give fewer opportunities for active learning (Anders, 2011). These teachers are compared to correctional officers when remembered by prisoners (Anders, 2011). Routines, compliance demands, condemnation, and targeting trained students for academic failure and dropping out (Anders, 2011). It raises the question as to whether or not the educational system, and society at large, wants kids to fail in life. The role of high-stakes tests. The educational system continuously places poor students on a lower track, and potentially forces them out of school, in order to protect their standing on high-stakes tests. Standardized tests test knowledge and skill sets that are more likely to be present in children of upper classes, yet these tests have become more important (Armstrong, 2009). A more prominent example is that the SAT has a persistent, but unintended, statistical bias in the verbal section that negatively affects African American students (Armstrong, 2009). The test has been recreated many times and it cannot relieve itself of bias, and the racial and class biases are very strong (Armstrong, 2009). Some postsecondary institutions base a large portion of their entry on the SAT without any other standardized test (Armstrong, 2009). This could impede impoverished students from getting into those institutions (Armstrong, 2009). Campbells Law, created in 1975, says that if a quantitative social indicator is used in decision making, the more subject it is to pressure and the more likely it will be to distort and corrupt what it was intended to monitor (Dutro Selland, 2012). Since No Child Left Behind, Campbells Law has lead to narrowing curriculum, reorganizing classroom time for tested subjects, reallocating funds for tested subjects (math and English) and students near the cut score, and to persuade teachers to teach in ineffective ways (Dutro Selland, 2012). High stakes testing only shows part of what a child knows. Too much focus on high stakes testing leads to cheating the system, a loss in quality of education, and increased dropout rates (Dutro Selland, 2012). Teachers must focus more on math and English and less on other subjects (Dutro Selland, 2012). They must drill students, especially poor students, on content and form (Dutro Selland, 2012). The form of the test though can often undermine important aspects of content students should know; for exampl e, the writing assessment over simplifies genre and the purpose and process of writing (Dutro Selland, 2012). High stakes tests certainly have their downfalls. Standardized testing is not all bad. Since No Child Left Behind, Schools must be held accountable for the education of their students; they must show this through adequate yearly progress (Booher-Jeening U.S. Department of Education, 2011). All students must be tested (Booher-Jennings U.S Department of Education, 2011). Unfortunately, in many schools there is no extensive help unless a child is in special education in many schools, which may explain why many poor students are pushed down to special education (Booher-Jennings U.S Department of Education, 2011). Further, Response to Intervention, a program that gives struggling children the extra help they need, rather than waiting for them to fail, is starting to be implemented across the nation (Fuchs, Litty, Hatch, 2011). Perhaps, things will change with the implementation of Response to Intervention. An important aspect is how high-stakes tests make children feel about themselves. High stakes tests place children in binary power relations of proficient or non-proficient (Dutro Selland, 2012). Non-proficient children can be locked into a pattern of powerlessness; once a person ascribes to a role or a competence, it is hard to see it another way (Dutro Selland, 2012). A third of the 4th graders knew where they were on the assessment, but didnt know why (Dutro Selland, 2012). They were certain about their reading competence, either for positive or negative (Dutro Selland, 2012). Dutro and Selland (2012) describe one child who despite having recently had a major success in reading, felt like she was a poor reader due to achievement tests. Students should not have to feel belittled by standardized tests, especially when they do work hard to make progress. Conclusion Children should not be put in the middle of a power struggle between the lower and upper classes. Three times the amount of money goes into the prisons than in schools, even though a proper education could easily reduce the amount of criminals because people wouldnt have to turn to crime to make money (Anders, 2011). Unlike in other industrialized countries, the United States does not give low income children the social welfare programs needed to the extent to equalize the opportunities to achieve. Families are left to struggle on their own to come up with resources such as housing, food, and health care. Many children of low income families academically develop at much slower rates due to lack of proper nutrition. Families also have a difficult time with housing and this provides discontinuity with curriculum and routines. Despite these difficulties, schools expect parents to make up for extensive schooling that they do not offer; poor schools have less money, less educational resou rces, and less qualified teachers than other schools. Parents do not have the time or money, and often times the education, to be extra involved and believe that it is the schools job to educate their children. Parents believe their job is to be the moral support for their child and the schools job is to be the academic support. A study by Kiernan and Mensah (2011) supports the parents belief that positive parenting can help a child to succeed, despite poverty. Unfortunately, the schools solution to offering extensive help to impoverished students is too often to push them to a lower track in school or forcing them out of school all together. Educators are primarily white, middle class women who do not relate to their students. If they did research on poverty, they could help prevent this all together. That way, students would not be discouraged and would not feel like failures for the rest of their lives. An increase in putting students in special education and forcing them to leav e school has increased due to high-stakes tests. While high stakes tests hold schools, teachers, and students more accountable, they also have lead to schools cheating the program and this is one really unfortunate result. Standardized tests tend to favor the white middle-class, meaning that poor students are at a disadvantage. Children who do poorly on the tests feel bad about themselves, even if they are making strides in the classroom. Even when they are not told how they did, they have a feeling how well they did on the test and are fairly accurate. It is important to keep in mind that poor children can succeed despite their disadvantages and more importantly despite all stereotypes. The poor in America are receiving unequal education thanks to stereotypes, funding, and high-stakes tests. While it is true that low income children may be disadvantaged from environmental stressors and are more likely to be delayed as a result of their environment and poor nutrition, with extensive programs and better nutrition more achievement can be gained. Equal education for the poor, and prevention of crime through better education, is attainable.

catcher in the rye :: essays research papers

As defined in The American Heritage Dictionary, symbolism is defined as the practice of representing things by means of symbols or of attributing symbolic meanings of significance to objects. The book â€Å"The Catcher in the Rye† by J.D. Salinger was the only novel he has written. The novel The Catcher in the Rye is about a boy named Holden Caulfield who’s trying to find himself and what he’s supposed to do with his life. Through his journey he gets kicked out of many schools, interacts with unusual characters, and has many different events that are unusual. Throughout the novel, he will be told he needs some kind of help and at the end he too will realize it himself. Why is Holden’s red hunting hat significant because, his hat is red like Allies hair, he’s hunting for truth, and he wears it like a catcher.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  First, Holden’s red hunting hat is significant because of him wanting to be the â€Å"Catcher in the Rye†. Also, Holden’s red hunting hat demonstrates symbolism because his hat is representing the fact that he wants to â€Å"save kids from losing their innocence† by catching them as would a catcher do.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"And I am standing on the edge of some crazy cliff. What I have to do, I have to catch everybody if they start to go over the cliff- I mean if they’re running and they don’t look where they’re going I have to come out from somewhere and catch them. That’s all I’d do all day. I’d just be the catcher in the rye and all† (173 Salinger). Also, Holden’s trying to save kids from making the same mistakes that he would by catching them before jumping into adulthood he doesn’t want them to grow up making the same mistakes that he did. Holden soon realizes that he can’t catch every single kid from falling into adulthood because it isn’t in his powers to help them because it’s a move they have to take.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Second, Holden’s red hunting hat has another significance which is being that it’s the same color as the color of Allies hair. This demonstrates symbolism because he really didn’t have a closer relationship with Allie. He feels bad that he had blown them off those few times that he wanted to hang out with him. Also, Allies red hair and Holden’s red hat reminds Holden about his brother and what he meant to him.

Analysis of the Poem, 35/10, by Sharon Olds Essay -- Poetry Analysis

In the poem, â€Å"35/10† by Sharon Olds, the speaker uses wistful and jealous tones to convey her feeling about her daughter’s coming of age. The speaker, a thirty-five year old woman, realizes that as the door to womanhood is opening for her ten year old daughter, it is starting to close for her. A wistful tone is used when the speaker calls herself, â€Å"the silver-haired servant† (4) behind her daughter, indicating that she wishes she was not the servant, but the served. Referring to herself as her daughter’s servant indicates a sense of self-awareness in the speaker. She senses her power is weakening and her daughter’s power is strengthening. It also shows wistfulness for her diminishing youth, and sadness for her advancing years. This wistful tone is again shown when she asks, â€Å"Why is it /they begin to arrive, the fold in my neck /clarifying as the fine bones of her/ hips sharpen?† (4-7). She is demanding an explanation for why she must turn older. She is jealous that as her daughter is on the threshold of puberty, becoming more beautiful, she is on the threshold of middle age, b... Analysis of the Poem, 35/10, by Sharon Olds Essay -- Poetry Analysis In the poem, â€Å"35/10† by Sharon Olds, the speaker uses wistful and jealous tones to convey her feeling about her daughter’s coming of age. The speaker, a thirty-five year old woman, realizes that as the door to womanhood is opening for her ten year old daughter, it is starting to close for her. A wistful tone is used when the speaker calls herself, â€Å"the silver-haired servant† (4) behind her daughter, indicating that she wishes she was not the servant, but the served. Referring to herself as her daughter’s servant indicates a sense of self-awareness in the speaker. She senses her power is weakening and her daughter’s power is strengthening. It also shows wistfulness for her diminishing youth, and sadness for her advancing years. This wistful tone is again shown when she asks, â€Å"Why is it /they begin to arrive, the fold in my neck /clarifying as the fine bones of her/ hips sharpen?† (4-7). She is demanding an explanation for why she must turn older. She is jealous that as her daughter is on the threshold of puberty, becoming more beautiful, she is on the threshold of middle age, b...

College Athletics :: essays research papers fc

A Scientific Report On Whether Athletics Should Be Instated At Basten College An intercollegiate athletics program at Basten College would provide many positives for the college. We would like to focus on the benefits to the majority of your students which would be spectators and athletes. These include health benefits, social benefits, and the effects on politics and race. We would also like to address the problems associated with sports. After our presentation we hope you will be confident in the positive effects an intercollegiate program will have on your institute. There are obvious benefits to being an athlete, specifically those related to one’s health. Everybody should exercise at least three times a week in order to establish a healthy way of life. When one is part of a team, they are able to develop certain social skills that can benefit them throughout life. Also, participating in a sport can increase one’s level of self-esteem. â€Å"In selected patients with major depression, aerobic training can produce a substantial improvement in symptoms in a short time,† (Dimeo et. al., 5) However, as important as all that is, the majority of the population at Basten College will probably not be varsity athletes. The majority will be spectators and fans. There are three main benefits to being a spectator. The first is the effects on academics. According to Karla Henderson watching sports or athletic events increases endorphin release in the brain, resulting in a higher aptitude and concentration level. So students have the abil ity to focus longer and retain more information while studying or attending class. The second reason deals with female’s personal identity. According to Linda Marsa, â€Å"Participation in sports pays big dividends physically, psychologically, and emotionally. Extensive research shows that girls who are involved in athletics boost their self esteem; improve their physical fitness; do better academically; are less likely to drop out of school, do drugs, smoke or get pregnant; and are more able to weather the physical and emotional storms of adolescence.† The third reason is that it has been found that people who continually participate and associate with athletics, begin to relate facts and literature to sports, enabling them to commit the knowledge to long-term memory better. For example, let’s say Jon Doe loves baseball, specifically the New York Yankees. He watches his favorite team at every leisurely moment he can. At the same time, at his college, the Univer sity of Basten, he is having trouble in his statistics class.

Math 208 Week One Individual

Chapter 1 – Section 1. 1 Write the interval of real numbers in interval notation and graph it. See Example 5. 50. The set of real numbers less than or equal to -4 Consider the following nine integers: -4, -3, -2, -1, 0, 1, 2, 3, 4 94. Which of these integers has an absolute value greater than 1? Solution: -4, -3, -2, 2, 3, 4 Write the interval notation for the interval of real numbers shown in the graph. __________________ -50 -40 -30 -20 -10 0 A B Hint: replace a with (-3) and evaluate each expression. Which are positive and which negative? a)-3 solution: positive (b)|-3| solution: positive (c)-|3| solution: negative (d)-(-3) = 3 solution: negative (e)-|-3| solution: negative Chapter 1 – Section 1. 2 Build up the fraction so that it is equivalent to the fraction with the indicated denominator. See Example 1. 5/7=? /98 (fraction problem) Let the missing number be x then Therefore, Convert the given fraction to both decimal and percent. See Example 8 or use a calculator. 19/20 = 0. 95, 95% Perform the indicated operations. See Example 7c. Chapter 1 – Section 1. 3Fill the correct value in the parentheses to make the statement correct. See Example 4. Solution : -9-(-2. 3) = -9 + 2. 3 Perform the indicated operations. -19-13=-32 Perform the indicated operations. 15 + (-39) = 15 – 39 = -24 Fill in the correct value in the parentheses so the equation is correct. Let the missing number be x then 13 + x = -4 Subtract 13 from each side, we will get x = -4 – 13 = -17 13 + (-17) = -4 Answer: -17 Chapter 1 – Section 1. 4 Perform the indicated operation. (-8)(-6) = 48 Perform the indicated operations and reduce to lowest terms. 9/10 x4/3 Solution: = – 36/30 = -6/5 Fill in the correct value in the parentheses so the equation is correct. -48 divided by ( )=6 -48/ x = 6 ?-48 = 6x ?x = -48/6 = -8 Therefore, -48 (-8) = 6 Chapter 1 – Section 1. 5 Evaluate the expression using order of operations.. See Example 8. 3[(2-3)^2 +6 (6-4)^2] = 3[(-1)^2 + 6*(2)^2] = 3[1 + 24] = 3*25 = 75 Evaluate each expression using order of operations.. See Example 8 a) 8 – 3 |5 – 4 + 1 | = 8 – 3|5-16+ 1| = 8 – 3|-10| = 8-3*10 = 8 – 30 = -22 Chapter 1 – Section 1. 6Evaluate each expression using a = -1, b = 2, and c = -3. See Example 4. (a – c)(a + c) = a^2 – c^2 = (-1)^2 – (-3)^2 = 1 – 9 = -8 Determine whether the given number is a solution to the equation following it. See Example 5. Let us substitute x = 5 in the given equation, we will get 3(5) + 7 = 2(5) – 1 15 + 7 = 9 22 = 9 Which is not true Therefore 5 is not the solution of the given equation Chapter 1 – Section 1. 7 Use the commutative and associative properties of multiplication and exponential notation to rewrite each product.See Example 3. y(y*5)(wy) y(y * 5)(wy) =5wy3 Use the distributive property to remove the parentheses. See Example 5. -3(6-p) 3 (6 – p) = (-3)6 – (-3)p = -18 + 3p Chapter 1 – Section 1. 8 Combine like terms where possible. See Example 3. Simplify the following expression by combining like terms. See Example 8. 2a(a – 5) + 4(a -5) = 2a2 – 10a + 4a – 20 = 2a2 – 10a + 4a – 20 = 2a2 – 6a – 20 Simplify the expression. 1/4(6b+2)-2/3(3b-2) (Please note!! the ? and the 2/3 are fractions) Solution:

Bay of Pigs Invasion

The invasion at the Bay of Pigs is an event that played a significant role in histories of both the United States and Cuba. It was a United States-supported attack on the regime of Cuban leader Fidel Castro, in an attempt to stop communism. The attempt proved futile; many lives were lost for an objective that was not achieved. The invasion therefore served as a lesson in American politics. Since the Second World War ended, the United States was convinced that communism was a major problem (Sierra 2). Americans believed that communism was a major threat.When Fidel Castro arrived in the United States for the American Society of Newspaper Editors in April 1959, Vice President Richard Nixon was already determined to oppose his rule (Sierra 3). Earlier that year, the Cuban revolution occurred, and President Dwight Eisenhower realized the social implications of the said revolution (Sierra 2; â€Å"Wars†). The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) had formulated a plan against Castro, wh ich Eisenhower approved on March 17, 1960 (â€Å"Bay†; Sierra 3). The relationship between the United States and Cuba began to break down; the diplomatic ties between the two nations were officially cut by the U.S. government on January 3, 1961 (â€Å"Bay†; Sierra 2). Seventeen days after the Eisenhower administration ended their relations with Cuba, former Senator John F. Kennedy assumed his post in the oval office as President (Sierra 2). Before being elected as President, with the given political climate, Kennedy knew that the only way he could win the presidency was to champion anti-communism. He then became fixated with Castro. The moment he became president, he had already promised Cuban exiles that he would fervently fight communism and support any effort to topple the Castro regime (Sierra 3).The invasion was planned in such a way that Cuban exiles would overthrow the Castro administration without exposing how involved the United States was to the operation (â €Å"Bay†). There had already been speculation that the officials of the United States had been planning to attack Cuba, but this was responded to with denials (Sierra 2). However, Raul Roa, the prime minister of Cuba, confirmed that Cuban exiles were being recruited, trained and paid for their contribution in the possible attack (Sierra 3). The initial plan of attack was to land in Trinidad City in the day (Sierra 3).However, this plan had two disadvantages. First, the city was located close to the Escambray Mountains; this would be an ideal place wherein Castro's troops would retreat into after the attack. Second, Kennedy realized that this would reveal to the public the involvement of the United States in the attack. The plan was then changed; instead, the landing would be at the Bay of Pigs, which was to occur at night. The bay presented a possible air-strip located on the beach wherein the bombing raids could be managed.After the area was secured, Cuban government created by the CIA would be established; its legitimacy would immediately acknowledged by the U. S. government. The installed government would then ask for military assistance, and there would be an â€Å"intervention† (Sierra 3). In a press conference five days prior to the attack, Kennedy claimed that the United States military would not interfere with the Cuban situation. He stated that it was a struggle amongst the Cubans, not a battle between the U. S. and Cuba (Sierra 3). On April 15th, B-26 planes simultaneously bombed four airfields in Cuba (Sierra 4).These bomber planes were transformed to look like Cuban planes operated by Cuban exiles. A few days before the actual attack was launched, people from the CIA arrived in Cuba to assist the invaders. They were tasked to commit terrorist attacks like bombing bridges; it is because by doing so, it would appear that the Cuban citizens were involved in the attack. However, the truth was soon unveiled. The difference between the nose s of a Cuban and an American plane gave it away. The former was made of Plexiglas, while the latter was opaque.Meanwhile, the forces arrived on April 16th; six battalions which consisted of 1,500 men arrived on the bay (Sierra 4). While the invasion was proceeding, the leader of the Soviet Union Nikita Khrushchev sent a letter to Kennedy (Sierra 4). The letter stated that everyone already knew about the U. S. involvement in the invasion, and that Russia would not hesitate to aid Cuba in defending itself from invaders. This prompted Kennedy to stop the air strikes (â€Å"Bay†). However, the attack on land continued; the exiles wanted to proceed to Havana in hopes of getting support from the locals.The invaders failed to reach their destination, as Castro's troops stopped them. It was on April 19th when the fighting was halted, but many people had already been killed while others have been captured. Later on, the exiles were free on ransom by the Cuban government (â€Å"Bayâ⠂¬ ). The invasion was a failure; it caused great embarrassment to Kennedy and the U. S. government (â€Å"Bay†). The failure was attributed to insufficient and erroneous planning and execution. There was lack of preparation, while the intelligence gathered was not sufficient to guarantee the success of the invasion.That is the reason why Kennedy fired several CIA officials (Sierra 6). In addition, information about the impending attack also allowed Castro and his troops to prepare. Despite the numerous setbacks, Kennedy pushed through with the attack hoping that the citizens of Cuba would support it. They never did (â€Å"Bay†). The invasion at the Bay of Pigs was intended to crush communism by overthrowing Fidel Castro. The invasion was an attempt of the United States to attack Cuba under the guise of a local political dilemma. The invasion failed, resulting in the loss of lives and the humiliation of the Free World.The event has indeed proved that a noble intention does not guarantee success. Works Cited â€Å"Bay of Pigs Invasion†. Microsoft Encarta Online Encyclopedia. 2008. Microsoft Corporation. 11 June 2008 . Sierra, Jerry A. â€Å"Invasion at Bay of Pigs. † History of Cuba. 30 July 2007. 11 June 2008 . â€Å"Wars and Battles: Bay of Pigs Invasion. † U-S-history. com. 12 June 2008 .