Outlining Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Outlining - Essay Example Twin studies have shown that there is an interaction between environmental factors and heredity. The preliminary outcomes from the conducted twin studies imply that both genetic factors and socialization processes are essential in human development (ibid). This is the scientific and systematic study of the biological underpinnings of social behavior. Sociobiologists in essence apply the principles of natural selection of the natural scientist Charles Darwin to the investigation of the human social behavior. They infer that specific forms of behavior become hereditarily connected to an organism if they play a significant role in is suitability to survive (Albrow, 1999). Individuals have diverse perceptions, sentiments, feelings and ideas about their identity and their attributes. However, these abilities of individuals to understand their position intrinsically and externally are not inborn. Sociologists argue that individuals establish their own description, which is the self. Both sociologists and psychologists have expressed interests in the process of individuals’ development and adjustment of the self because of social interactions (ibid). Cooley promoted the belief that individuals learn who they are through interacting with others. The viewpoint of individuals on themselves then not simply comes from direct reflection of their personal attributes, but also from their impression of how others identify them. Cooley referred to this process of self development as the looking-glass self which indicates that the self is the outcome of social interactions with other people (Schaefer, 1995). Georger Herbert Mead continued the tradition of sociological thinking of Cooley. He further explored the interactionist theory and the sociological understanding of the self. Mead formulated a useful model of the process by which the self surfaces, defined by three discrete stages (Smelser, 1967). These are the

Diet and Digestion as Factors for Large Size in Sauropods

Diet and Digestion as Factors for Large Size in Sauropods Dinosaurs have captured the imagination since the very first fossils were discovered. The mystical creatures in many ancient cultures may be attributed to fossils weathering out of the earth. Nearly every culture had some form of dragon in their mythology, a uniformity best explained by fossilized dinosaurs. Some scientists believe the fossils of ceratopsians are the source of the mythological griffin. Part of the fascination with dinosaurs is their size. With few animals reaching such massive proportions, the creatures that produced single bones as tall as a human must have seemed other worldly to ancient peoples. They still draw fascination today; their features so different from anything living. As more and more fossils are found, explanations and extrapolations of the features, size, and behavior become more comprehensive. The unknown element of dinosaur life allows for wild projections and suppositions, and the drama of discovery and scientific discourse and hypothesis disproval continue to draw the interest of people. As more is discovered, more questions are raised. One field of questions pertain to sauropod size. Sauropods are distinct in their absolutely massive bodies. Far larger than anything known by living humans, they are fascinating to consider. Trying to imagine their size is in some ways like trying to imagine the vastness of space. Without actually standing next to a mounted skeleton, there is no living reference to fix the size of sauropods in the imagination. Some estimates place the largest sauropods at 80,000kg, or 170,000 lbs. Conservative estimates suggest weights of 40,000-50,000 kg. Sauropod height is in some specimens 60 feet, about 3 times the height of a two-story house. Some sauropods were a third of a football field in length! Such sizes are nearly unfathomable, raising the question of how they got to be so massive and how their bodies functioned. Modern herbivores are often much bigger than carnivores, because in general, their e nergy expenditure is less and the biomass of their food source is higher. The huge size of sauropods is definitely tied to their diet, and it is likely that their food source and digestive mechanisms were a major factor in their growth to such massive sizes. The food available to sauropods was not very nutritive. Before the evolution and diversification of angiosperms 125 million years ago, herbivorous animals had to rely mainly on gymnosperms and ferns. The best measure of plant nutritional value is in the concentration of nitrogen and nonstructural carbohydrates like sugars. Protein levels largely correspond to the nitrogen levels in leaves. Because non-angiosperm plants dont have the xylem transport network that evolved, there is less nutrient flow, and therefore less nitrogen concentration. Ferns, cycads, and conifers, some of the main plant types available to the sauropod dinosaurs, were low in nutrition, and gymnosperms had secondary chemical defenses that made them unpleasant to eat and harder to digest (Midgley, 2005). A study by Zvereva and Kozlov (2006) found that the nitrogen concentration in gymnosperms drops in environments with elevated temperature and CO2 concentration, compared to the modern environment. Sugar levels tend ed to stay the same. The toughness of leaves increases when CO2 levels are higher. The carbon-nitrogen ratio is significantly increased by elevated CO2. It is well-known that the environmental conditions during the age of dinosaurs was both higher in temperature and higher in CO2 concentration. This would have produced plant material significantly less nutritious than the plant matter today. The lesser food quality supports the evolution of large sauropod dinosaurs, as the Jarman-Bell Principle states that larger species can feed on diets of lesser quality food, evidenced by the relatively large size of modern grazing mammals (Clauss, et. al., 2009). The physiology of the dinosaurs shows evidence of partitioning. Some sauropods, such as diplodocids, were low browsers, who were unlikely to life their heads higher than a couple meters (Stevens and Parrish, 1999). This separated their food source from the mid to high browsers, limiting their available food source in some ways, yet also preventing competition amongst sauropod species. The lower plant quality requires that herbivorous animals consume more material in order to meet their nutritional and energy needs. Given the quality of available plants, extended digestion would have been required. Of several methods to process plant material, sauropods digestion was extremely fermentation heavy. They had very little oral processing. Their teeth were either broad and leaf like, with serrations in the crown, or later more narrow and peg like. In most sauropods, teeth were present in the front part of the mouth but not the back. The body plan in the early Mesozoic seems to have been to maximize food intake through teeth adapted for cropping, stripping, and pulling plant material but with little oral processing. There is some evidence in the tooth replacement rate and wear that teeth farther back in the mouths of sauropods were not used in oral processing or food acquisition, but rather served the purpose of cheeks, to keep the food in the mouth (Schwarz, et. al., 2015). Prosauropods had some check development, but in the sauropod line, cheeks were lost early (Chure, et. al., 2010). There have been no teeth found in association with sauropods that had a large horizontal surface, indicative of use for chewing (Christiansen, 1999). The heads of sauropods were extremely small compared to their body size. Any dental batteries or cheeks would have increased the head mass and likely made it prohibitively heavy, especially at the end of a long neck. Christiansen also noted that the muzzle width in sauropod dinosaurs is proportionally wider than the width in herbivorous animals. This enables sauropods to intake more food per bite, increasing their intake rate. With relatively poor food nutrient quality, sauropods would need to consume a great amount of food to meet their daily needs. The length of the neck adds length to the digestive envelope, another way to maximize food consumption. The lack of oral processing, wide muzzle, and long neck work in conjunction to increase the consumption capability or sauropods, increasing their ability to meet their dietary needs and shortening thei r feeding time. With such high consumption and such little processing, digestion would be almost entirely focused in the gut. The particle size would be very large, making digesta harder to break down, and the longer it takes to digest. There has been some debate about the presence of gastroliths and a gastric mill in sauropod dinosaurs. Gastric mills certainly would help break down the plant material into smaller particle sizes and speed the digestion process. Unfortunately, the fossil record seems to rule out the presence of a gastric mill for most sauropod dinosaurs. Wings and Sander (2007) tested the hypothesis of sauropod gastroliths by testing gastrolith usage in farm ostriches. They found that rose quartz, which has the same properties as the white vein quartz found in association with sauropods, last the longest. Using granite cubes, they found that the general shape of the stone stays the same. They also found that the gastric milling process quickly roughens the face of the stone. None of the stones that he used in his test retained a shine, unlike those suspected to be sauropod gastroliths. He also found that gastroliths are about 1% of the total body mass. According to them, the largest mass of gastroliths found in association with a sauropod is 15kg, much lower than 1% of the estimated sauropod body mass. Gastroliths likely scale with body mass simply because organ size roughly scales with body mass. The stomachs of sauropods could have been proportionally smaller than expected, although it is unlikely with the amount of food that they are estimated to have consumed. Using projections from living herbivores, it is estimated that the large sauropods would consume several hundred kilograms worth of food (Englemann, et. al., 2004). This estimate accounts for the proportional decrease in required food consumption for successively larger and larger organisms. In another study focusing on the distribution of gastrolith stones amongst sauropod remains, it was found that gastroliths were found with about 4% of sauropod fossils. There are some species of sauropod that have strong evidence of gastric mills, but they are not widespread enough (Wings, 2014). With little to no processing of plant material, and with no evidence of any other break down processes, sauropods must have heavily relied on fermentation to digest their food. The relatively low density of nutrients in the gymnosperms at the time already required longer fermentation times. In order to achieve longer fermentation time, the gut size needs to increase, or the amount of food eaten needs to decrease. As the food particles must have been large, the time taken for fermentation would need to be even longer. With no internal soft tissues preserved in the fossil record, it is hard to determine where fermentation took place in the gut. Fermentation demands a large digestive tract. Larger intestines allow for longer digesta retention, pulling more nutrients from the food. The large torsos of s auropods could certainly fit and extensive gut. Estimates based on living animals gives a digesta retention time between 8 and 16 days. Galapagos turtles, which do not chew their food, retain theirs for 11 days (Franz, et. al., 2009). Sauropod dinosaurs could have evolved to be so large because those individuals with larger guts had better survival chances than those who had smaller guts. As stated previously, the amount of food needed in relation to the body mass would likely have been much lower than other, smaller herbivorous organisms. As sauropods heads were evolved to take in the maximum amount of food, the intake of food would likely not have consumed most of the sauropods time. This time advantage would have been especially needed in semiarid environments, like the Jurassic area preserved in the Morrison formation. Although there is lush vegetation in the Morrison fossil record, it is not widespread instead found in clusters. The Morrison Formation suggests that the environm ent during the time of sauropods was savannah-like. The dense vegetation found was likely due to seasonal rains, or centered around areas of water, such as lakes or streams. The vegetation likely moved, growing in different areas depending on rainfall (Englemann, et. al., 2004). Large herbivores would need to follow the seasonal changes, and migrate in search of new food sources. The size of the sauropods and the advantages of that size would have been a major edge in a semi-arid environment. Such sizes would have also made locomotion more efficient. Longer strides afforded by the overall large body size decreases the amount of energy per unit of distance. This, too, increases the ability of sauropods to migrate in search of food. Sauropod reliance on fermentation was so great that their methane production has been linked to the warm climate of the Mesozoic era (Wilkinson, et. al., 2012). Assuming a more reptilian metabolism, one paper puts the global biomass of large sauropods at 2 00,000 kg/km2. Their total estimated annual methane emission is about 520 million tons. For comparison, modern day ruminants produce about 50-100 million tons of atmospheric methane, and the total modern day global emissions are about 500-600 million tons a year. The author notes that their estimate could have been overstated by a factor of two, but also understated by the same amount, depending on assumed metabolic function and density of sauropods. Sauropods large sizes and reliance on fermentation to digest food was a major influence on their environment, and created a positive feedback loop, where the temperature increase would push nutritive values of plants lower. Massive sauropod bodies were well adapted to their environment and digestion. Of course, such large sizes bring their own challenges. The most debated question is whether or not dinosaurs were endothermic or ectothermic, and whether endothermy was even possible in mega dinosaurs like the sauropods. At body masses estimated between 20,000 kg and 80,000 kg, overheating would have been a huge problem in large sauropod dinosaurs. While it is unknown if they had special soft tissue adaptations in order to combat their size, it is speculated that their long necks and tails may have helped them keep cool by increasing surface area without adding too much internal volume (Eagle, et. al., 2011). The accelerated growth capable in endothermic animals is a major factor in favor of sauropod endothermy. Sauropods grew several size magnitudes, from hatchlings estimated to be about 10kg, to the hulking adult dinosaurs, in only a few decades (Sander Clauss, 2008). But does the size of adult sauropods rule out endothermic metabolisms? According to Eagle and others (2011), endo thermy was not impossible in large sauropods. In lower temperatures, more 13C-18O clumps form, which are preserved in the fossil record. The analysis of these clumps is not dependent on knowing the oxygen isotope composition of the surrounding water. These clumps can be observed in the tooth bioapatite of dinosaurs. The accuracy of this method is 1 °C, with precision within 1 °-2 °C. The accuracy of this method comes from tests of modern taxa, in which the isotopic temperature agrees with the expected temperature of the organisms. Eagle found the average body temperature of Brachiosaurus to be 38.2 °C  ± 1 °C and the temperature of Camarasaurus to be 35.7 °C  ±1.3 °C including a sample from a different fossil site. These temperatures are within the range of modern mammals, and lower than the body temperatures of many birds, which can be greater than 40 °C. Eagle does note that the temperature reflects the temperature of tooth formation, which may differ from the main body temperature. Body temperature is a product of metabolism, size, environmental temperature, and any special adaptations for the regulation of heat. The temperatures given for these sauropods is close to the temperatures estimated by earlier research done by Gillooly (2006). Such temperatures in such large animals suggests that they were either ectothermic, had low basal metabolic rates, or had some special methods of heat dissipation. Some researchers suggest that large sauropods were fermentative endotherms (Mackie, 2002). Because sauropods needed a lot of energy to reach their adult size in such little time, it is likely that they were endotherms who underwent some sort of change at maturation that prevented overheating as an adult. Metabolic changes through development is not unusual, so it is very possible that it also occurred in sauropods. They could have shifted from a higher metabolic endothermy during their rapid growth phase, to a lesser metabolic homeot hermy supported by the fermentation heat output from their fully formed guts. Other evidence in support of endothermic sauropods are growth lines, or the lack there of, in sauropod bones (Kohler, et. al., 2012). Lines of arrested growth are normally associated with ectotherms, which have periods of rapid growth interspersed with periods of slow growth. These lines are found in mammals as well, and in the majority of dinosaurs. The pattern the lines leave are not found in sauropod bones. This suggests unbroken, stead growth rates, highly unlikely in ectotherms. The evidence suggests endothermy in sauropods, even in large ones. Because endothermy requires more energy to maintain, sauropods would have had to consume a massive amount of food, unless they had a low basal metabolism. Hippopotami, while mammals and clearly not the size of sauropods, have particularly long retention times because they have low food intake and enormous gut capacity. Their required energy for maintenance is r emarkably low. This strategy is common in non-ruminant foregut fermentators and some small hindgut fermentators (Clauss, et. al., 2009). The metabolic process of sauropods is linked to their energetic needs and dietary restrictions. In some research, one of the byproducts of fermentation, heat, supports the endothermic theory, and endothermy in sauropods as juveniles helps explain how they managed to reach their massive adult size. The herbivorous, fermentative nature of sauropods is not an obstacle in understanding their ability to function at such large sizes. Sauropods likely evolved to be large because of the abundance of plant materials, especially after many herbivores died out during both the Permian extinction, but also the Triassic-Jurassic extinction. Their adaptations allowed them to widely diversify and fill the newly opened ecological niches. Some have speculated that their large body size was driven by predation, as larger bodies, especially the size of sauropods, were a natural defense (Sander, et. al., 2011). Given the evidence, it is more likely that immunity to predation was a lucky side effect of size, not the driving factor. It seems more likely that the resource opportunities of plants drove the initial adaptation, especially with the diverse nature of sauropods and their apparent partitioning, than protection. The size of sauropods is inextricably linked to their diet and digestive methods. Much of the discussion of sauropod feeding is based on conjecture is based on living animals, that are obviously very different from sauropods. As there is are no known records of internal tissues, it is hard to know anything about how sauropods functioned internally beyond comparing them to existing behaviors and traits in todays animals. Even though todays herbivores are different than sauropods, patterns of herbivory are similar in very different taxa. The circumstantial evidence offered by analysis of modern organisms still enables scientists to attempt to fit sauropods within the known herbivorous patterns, with allowances for the unknowns. Perhaps this analysis is just another element of the imaginative aspect of dinosaur life. Until more evidence is found, I believe that the evolution of the massive sauropods was in large part due to their diet and digestion. The nutrition offered by gymnosperms demanded higher levels of processing. The minimal oral digestion evidenced by small heads and non-chewing teeth led to greater digesta retention times in the gut. A greater gut size would have sped fermentation, compensating for the large particle size of the plant material and its low nutrient density. There is some evidence for resource partition amongst sauropods, both between different species and within the same species. Different tooth structure and browsing levels are some adaptations driven by available resources. The other benefits of the large body size of sauropods, in my opinion, do not seem likely to be as important in size evolution as the plants and their digestion. When the sauropods appeared, they filled an ecological niche left by previous extinctions, and quickly diversified, creating a hugely successful group of organisms, both in overall diversity, but also in longevity. Works Cited Christiansen, Per, 1999, On the Head Size of Sauropodomorph Dinosaurs: Implications for Ecology and Physiology. Historical Biology, v. 13, iss. 4, p. 269-297. Chure, D., Britt, B. B., Whitlock, J. A., Wilson, J. A., 2010, First complete sauropod dinosaur skull from the Cretaceous of the Americas and the evolution of sauropod dentition. Naturwissenschaften, v. 97, iss. 4, p. 379-391. Eagle, R. A., Tà ¼tken, T., Martin, T. S., Tripati., A. K., Fricke, H. C., Connely, M., Cifelli, R. L., Eiler, J. M., 2011, Dinosaur Body Temperatures Determined from Isotopic (13C- 18O) Ordering in Fossil Biominerals. Science, v. 333, n. 6041, p. 443-445. Englemann, G. F., Chure, D. J., Fiorillo, A. R., 2004, The implications of a dry climate for the paleoecology of the fauna of the Upper Jurassic Morrison Formation. Sedimentary Geology, v. 167, iss. 3-4, p. 397-308. Franz, R., Hummel, J., Kienzle, E., Kà ¶lle, P., Gunga, H., Clauss, M., 2009, Allometry of visceral organs in living amniotes and its implications for sauropod dinosaurs. Proceedings of the Royal Society B, v. 276, iss. 1662, p. 1731-1736. Gillooly, J. F., Allen, A. P., Charnov, E. L., 2006, Dinosaur Fossils Predict Body Temperatures. PLoS Biology, v. 4, iss. 8, p. 1467. Kohler, M., Marà ­n-Moratalla, N., Jordana, X., Aanes, R., 2012, Seasonal bone growth and physiology in endotherms shed light on dinosaur physiology. Nature, v. 487, iss. 7407, p. 358-361. Mackie, Roderick I., 2002, Mutualistic Fermentative Digestion in the Gastrointestinal Tract: Diversity and Evolution. Integrative and Comparative Biology, v. 42, n. 2, p. 319-326. Midgley, J. J., 2005, Why Dont Leaf-Eating Animals Prevent the Formation of Vegetation? Relative vs Absolute Dietary Requirements. The New Phytologist, v. 168, n. 2, p. 271- 273. Sander, P. Martin Martin Clauss, 2008, Sauropod Gigantism. Science, v. 322, n. 5899, p. 200- 201. Sander, P. M., Christian, A., Clauss, M., Fechner, R., Gee, C. T., Griebeler, E., Gunga, H., Hummel, J., Mallison, H., Perry, S. F., Preuschoft, H., Rauhut, O. W. M., Remes, K., Tà ¼tken, T., Wings, O., Witzel, U., 2011, Biology of the sauropod dinosaurs: the evolution of gigantism. Biological Reviews, v. 86, p. 117-155. Schwarz, D., Kosch, J. C. D., Fritsch G., Hildebrandt, 2015, Dentition and Tooth Replacement of Dicraeosaurus hansemanni (Dinosauria, Sauropoda, Diplodocoidea) from the Tendaguru Formation of Tanzania. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, v. 36. Stevens, Kent A. J. Michael Parrish, 1999, Neck Posture and Feeding Habits of Two Jurassic Sauropod Dinosaurs. Science, v. 284, n. 5415, p. 798-800. Wilkinson, D. M., Nisbet, E. G., Ruxton, G. D., 2012, Could methane produced by sauropod dinosaurs have helped drive Mesozoic climate warmth?. Current Biology, v. 22, iss. 9, p. R292-R293. Wings, O., 2015, The rarity of gastroliths in sauropod dinosaurs a case study in the Late Jurassic Morrison Formation, western USA. Fossil Record, v. 18, iss. 1, p. 1-16. Wings, Oliver P. Martin Sander, 2007, No gastric mill in sauropod dinosaurs: new evidence from analysis of gastrolith mass and function in ostriches. Proceedings of the Royal Society B, v. 274, iss. 1610, p. 635-640. Zvereva, E. L. M. V. Kozlov, 2006, Consequences of simultaneous elevation of carbon dioxide and temperature for plant-herbivore interactions: a metaanalysis. Global Change Biology, v. 12, iss. 1, p. 27-41.

Essay example --

Reflection I have been attending Virginia State University for one semester now, and ever since I came here I have learned more than I imagined imaginable. Since I have taken an English class every year in my life since the age of five, I believed I knew exactly what to expect. I was definitely wrong. When I began at Virginia State University, I assumed all my English classes would only consist of reading, discussing and then writing about â€Å"Old English†. Since that was what all my English classes consisted of in high school, I did not believe there would be huge difference at Virginia State University. I quickly discovered that there was much more to it. With only one semester of an English class at Virginia State University almost complete, they successfully showed me way more than the English language; they showed me how to be me. Taking a glance at my previous essays I wrote in high school before I came to Virginia State University, I am now very aware how much my skill to write, reveal my thoughts, ideas, and intelligence has grown stronger in this course. I have learned here at Virginia State University how to write, how to be myself, how to ponder for myself, and how to locate the solutions to the problems I do not have the answers to. I learned how vital the English language is to everyday life. There is never a second that goes by without me contemplating about something, but being enrolled in my first English class at Virginia State University, I am very proud to announce that as a result my critical analysis skills have significantly increased. Instead of concentrating on a proposed purpose, I have figured out how to constantly ask myself "why". I now actually dare myself to investigate an author’s work as acu... ...em up. The first English class I took at Virginia State University had actually assisted me in removing that horrid impulsion and write an essay worth writing with improved ideas that comes with added support. I was taught how to write numerous styles of essays in a lot of various arrangements. My writing has really improved in this writing course. This course has slowly taught and is still teaching me how to not write like I am still in high school. I do not make as many grammar mistakes as I use to. I have become a better proofreader. I learned a process to creating a thesis statement that unlike my other methods actually worked. I also learned a lot about the mechanics of writing. But, there are a few of things that I do believe I crave the fortitude and ability to achieve, and that is what I believe I will acquire continuing at Virginia State University.

Causes of Prejudice

Prejudice is an opinion that is not based on actual evidence or experience. In â€Å"Causes of Prejudice,† Vincent Parillo describes the psychological and sociological reasons of prejudice. Among these causes, frustration is defined to produce a prejudicial attitude towards others. Parillo explains in his work that throughout history, minority groups have been used as scapegoats to take the blame for certain events. He clarifies that scapegoating is the act of blaming others for an incident that is not their fault.This idea is also visible in the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, in the art where a lawyer named Atticus tries to prove an African American innocent who has been falsely charged with raping a white woman. Therefore, both Parillo's â€Å"Causes of Prejudice† and Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird support that frustration is a cause of prejudice because of an increase in aggression towards a scapegoat. To begin with, frustration is caused by relative deprivation, which is the lack of resources in an individual's environment when compared to others.This results in aggression towards a scapegoat in order to relieve this tension. â€Å"Frustrated people ay easily strike out against the perceived cause of their frustration. However, this reaction may not be possible because the true source of the frustration is often too nebulous to be identified or too powerful to act against† (Parillo 583). His view is also seen in To Kill a Mockingbird, when Mayella Ewell claims Tom Robinson has raped her. Atticus tries to prove to the Jury that Tom Robinson in fact did not rape Mayella and that she, a white woman, kissed Tom, a black man.Mayella is an Ewell; a very poor family in the town of Maycomb and therefore she has to live through tough onditions which include living behind the garbage dump, barely having any money to support her dad and seven siblings, as well as being beaten by her own father. Most importantly, she is frustrated t hat she always feels dissatisfied with her life since she was never able to experience any happiness by being isolated from the rest of the world. Therefore, she tries to at least kiss a black man to feel some sense of happiness.When she realizes it is condemned by society, her frustration increases partly because society is not allowing her to have a small amount of happiness, and o she shows her aggression by blaming Tom Robinson for raping her. In addition, aggression resulted from frustration is pinpointed towards scapegoats because they share similar characteristics of being vulnerable to blame. â€Å"The group must be (1) highly visible in physical appearance or observable customs and acations; (2) not strong enough to strike back; (3) situated within easy access of the dominant group .. † (Parillo 584). To Kill a Mockingbird takes place in southern Alabama in the 1930's. This was the time period where prejudice against African Americans was present. Segregation was pre sent because having white skin was een to be better than having black skin. This simple difference in skin color resulted in an unfair treatment of African Americans. Separate bathrooms, drinking fountains, churches, and schools resulted for African Americans and whites. Also, since whites felt that the blacks were inferior to them, they tended to assume all blacks were unintelligent.When Mayella copes with her frustration of being isolated from the rest of the world by blaming Tom Robinson, the court looks at his skin color instead of the evidence given tor this case. Even though Atticus provides plenty ot evidence that roves that it was impossible for Tom to commit the rape of Mayella, Tom is still found guilty because even if Mayella is part of the lower class of Maycomb, she is still a white woman, making her superior to Tom Robinson.It is evident that frustration plays an important role in determining prejudicial attitudes. Both the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee and â€Å"Causes of Prejudice† by Vincent Parillo, agree that frustration is caused by relative deprivation and when aggression forms, the blame is placed on scapegoats. These scapegoats share similar characteristics which allow them to be vulnerable to the blame that falls upon them.

Enhance the learning process in malaysian schools

Education is one of the chief basicss in constructing up a state. In Malaysia, instruction has ever been the top precedence of the authorities. About a one-fourth of the authorities 5 old ages budget is allocated to the ministry of instruction to keep good instruction system in this state. The vision of the authorities is to do Malaysia a Centre of educational excellence. There are three degrees of instruction in Malaysia which are the primary instruction – a period of six old ages, that is, from Standard One to Standard Six ; secondary instruction – five old ages, that is, from Form One to Form Five ; and the third degree of instruction. Upon completion of secondary instruction, eligible pupils can choose to prosecute two old ages of post-secondary instruction, Form Six. This is the university entryway preparative class. The pre-tertiary instruction ( pre-school to post-secondary instruction ) is under the legal power of the Ministry of Education ( MOE ) while Tertiary or higher instruction is the duty of the Ministry of Higher Education ( MOHE ) .[ 1 ] Education is a precedence of the Federal Government of Malaysia and it is committed to supply quality instruction to all. Most of the Five-Year Malayan Plans have placed great importance on instruction, preparation and womb-to-tomb acquisition. In line with greater focal point on human development, an norm of about 21 per centum of the entire budget allotment has been allocated for the outgo of instruction and preparation development. The national doctrine of instruction provinces that â€Å" Education in Malaysia is an on-going attempt towards further developing the potency of persons in a holistic and incorporate mode so as to bring forth persons who are intellectually, spiritually, emotionally and physically balanced and harmonious, based on a steadfast belief in and devotedness to God. † It is designed to bring forth Malayan citizens who are knowing and competent, possess high moral criterions, and are responsible and capable of accomplishing a high degree of personal well being every bit good as to lend to the improvement of the household, society and state at big.[ 2 ] In order to back up â€Å" Vision 2020 † the instruction system is transforming which entail altering the civilization and patterns of Malaysia ‘s primary and secondary schools, traveling off from memory-based larning to an instruction that stimulates believing, creativeness, caters to single abilities and larning manners, and based on a more just entree. At the same clip, Malaysia is originating many attacks in order to maintain up with the altering universe and current demands which will bring forth a well-structured development of higher instruction. The authorities has besides clearly outlined the strategic pushs in the National Higher Education Strategic Plan to do Malaysia an international Centre of educational excellence by 2020.[ 3 ]MALAYSIAN EDUCATION SYSTEMEducation is the duty of the Federal Government. Malaysia ‘s national instruction system is divided into pre-tertiary and third instruction. There are two regulating governments for the instruction sect or. Pre-tertiary instruction, that is, from pre-school to secondary instruction, is under the legal power of the Ministry of Education ( MOE ) while third instruction or higher instruction is the duty of the Ministry of Higher Education ( MOHE ) . Under the national instruction system, a kid begins his/her instruction with pre-school instruction at the age of four and will be admitted into the first twelvemonth of the six old ages mandatory primary instruction when the kid reaches the age of six on the first twenty-four hours of January of the current school twelvemonth. The authorities provides 11 old ages of free primary and secondary instruction. Most schools in the state are authorities or government-aided schools and a figure of private schools. The school starts in January and ends in November. Students sit for common public scrutinies at the terminal of primary, lower secondary, supper secondary and 6th signifier degrees.[ 4 ] Pre-school Education. Pre-school instruction is portion of the National Education System under the Education Act, 1996. The purpose of pre-school instruction is to supply a house foundation for formal instruction. Pre-schools are run by authorities bureaus, non-governmental organisations ( NGOs ) every bit good as private establishments. The major authorities bureaus that are responsible for pre-school instruction are the Ministry of Education ( MOE ) , the Ministry of Rural Development, and the Ministry of National Unity and Community Development. Children enroll between the ages of four and six and all pre-schools have to stay the course of study guidelines set by the Ministry of Education. The course of study enables pre-school kids to get sufficient basin communicating, societal and other positive accomplishments in readying for primary schooling. The learning constituents include linguistic communication and communicating, physical development, cognitive development, moral and r eligious growing, socio-emotional development, aesthetic and creativeness. Primary Education. Primary instruction is divided into two stages – stage 1: Year 1-3 and phase 2: Year 4-6. Education at this degree aims to supply the kid with a house foundation in the basic accomplishments of reading, composing and arithmetic, every bit good as stressing believing accomplishments and values across the course of study. While instruction at this degree is non mandatory, more than 99 per centum of this age-group are enrolled in primary schools throughout the state. There are two types of schools at the primary degree – the National Schools and the National-Type Schools. In the National Schools the medium of direction is the Malay linguistic communication which is the national linguistic communication. The medium of direction in the National-Type Schools is either Chinese linguistic communication or Tamil linguistic communication. in both types of schools, the Malay linguistic communication is a compulsory topic. English is mandatory and is taught as a 2nd linguistic communication in all schools. Chinese, Tamil and autochthonal linguistic communications are besides offered as topics in national schools.[ 5 ] Secondary Education. Secondary instruction is fundamentally an extension of primary degree instruction. Education at this degree is general in nature and is divided into lower and upper secondary degree, and a particular twelvemonth passage plan known as â€Å" Remove Class ‘ for students from the National-Type Chinese and Tamil Primary Schools.[ 6 ] a. Remove Class. Remove Class is a passage twelvemonth for students from the Chinese and Tamil medium schools to get sufficient proficiency in the national linguistic communication to enable them to larn through this medium the undermentioned twelvemonth. However, students who have performed good in the Primary Assessment Test ( UPSR – Ujian Penilaian Sekolah Rendah ) at the terminal of Year 6, are allowed to continue straight to Form 1. B. Lower Secondary Level ( Form 1-Form 3 ) . This degree covers a period of three old ages. Education at this degree is general in nature. All topics are core topics and compulsory for all. Chinese, linguistic communication, Tamil linguistic communication and Arabic linguistic communication ( Communication ) are offered as extra topics. Upon completion, pupils sit for a common scrutiny, that is, the Lower Secondary Assessment ( PMR – Penilaian Menengah Rendah ) . c. Upper Secondary ( Form 4-5 ) . Education at this degree covers a period of two old ages. Besides following the general instruction plan, pupils begin to specialise in the scientific discipline, humanistic disciplines, proficient, vocational and spiritual subject. Specific schools are designated for each subject. These schools are academic schools, proficient schools, vocational schools and spiritual schools. Upon completion, pupils sit for the Malayan Certificate of Education ( SPM – Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia ) scrutiny. Secondary Technical Schools. Secondary proficient instruction is aimed at bring forthing an equal pool of qualified pupils who excel in mathematics and scientific discipline, every bit good as in basic technology topics. Students in secondary proficient schools follow the same nucleus topics of upper secondary school course of study and take scientific discipline and proficient topics as electives. Admission to these schools is through application based on the PMR consequences, and merely pupils with strong background in Mathematicss and Science are selected. Students from these schools are expected to go on their surveies in scientific discipline and technology-related classs at the higher degrees every bit good as in advanced accomplishments. Secondary Vocational Schools. These schools provide classs in pre-employment accomplishments every bit good as general instruction. Courses are offered in two watercourses – vocational instruction watercourse and accomplishments instruction watercourse. In the former, accent is given to general and proficient topics in order to supply pupils with a good foundation for admittance into engineering schools or other higher establishments. In the accomplishments stream accent is given to practical work to develop competence in trade accomplishments required by related industries. Students are prepared for the National Vocational Training Certificate. Upon completion of 11 old ages of free instruction, farther instruction is no longer automatic but is capable to the person ‘s academic public presentation and fiscal stableness. These upper secondary school alumnuss, that is, Form Five departers, can choose to go on their instruction in post-secondary schools to obtain a pre-university making such as the Sixth Form or Matriculation plan or GCE A'Level, or further their instruction at third or higher establishments. Higher instruction includes certification, sheepskin, undergraduates every bit good as graduate student surveies. Undergraduate surveies consist of Bachelor ‘s grade degrees and professional surveies while postgraduate surveies consist of Master ‘s grades and PhD degrees. By and large, higher instruction at the sheepskin degree is for secondary school certification holders, that is, Form Five ( Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia or SPM ) from the age of 17 onwards. The Bachelor ‘s grade is for pupils from th e age of 19 onwards with post-secondary makings such Form Six ( STPM – Sijil Tinggi Pelajaran Malaysia ) , which is tantamount to the GCE A'Level, or pre-university makings.[ 7 ]MALAYSIAN SCHOOL CURRICULUMThe function of the school course of study is to guarantee the holistic development of the person ‘s possible, mentally, spiritually, emotionally and physically. The course of study is to convey faster the Malayan citizen who is balanced and all-around person, trained, adept and cherishes the national aspiration for integrity. The Malayan school course of study has been reframed and realigned to show and future demands. Besides that, rapid developments in engineering, new theories of acquisition and developments within Malaysia itself necessitated the systematic course of study. The footing of the course of study took into considerations four chief facets – national development, single development, larning theories, and the national doctrine of instruction.[ 8 ] The basic theoretical rule in the planning and design of the Malayan course of study is the incorporate attack. Infusion of specific facets of instruction such as moral values, nationalism, scientific discipline and engineering, linguistic communication, environmental instruction, survey accomplishments, originative and critical thought, and route safety across the topic disciplines is a basic characteristic in the Malayan course of study. Such an extract is made with the intent of consolidating these facets which may already be in the school topics but needs farther accent. Patriotism, for illustration, is already discussed in History and Local Surveies but because of its importance, the national course of study requires that it be taught across other topics. Others such as environmental instruction are taught across the course of study because it can non be accorded the position of capable due to restraints of clip, installations and the similar. The proficient, vocational and accomplishments developing offered in secondary proficient and secondary vocational schools provide pupils with practical preparation and employability accomplishments. Besides that, the usage of engineering as an enabler to ease instruction and acquisition activities have made larning interesting, motivation, stimulating, meaningful and develop accomplishments that will fix pupils to confront greater challenges.[ 9 ] Pre-school Curriculum. The pre-school course of study focuses on the whole-child development. The course of study emphasizes on socialisation procedure, the development of personality and the readying of kids to come in primary school. The constituents in the course of study include linguistic communication and communicating, cognitive development, socio-emotional development, religious development, physical development and aesthetic and creativeness. Primary School Curriculum. The Integrated Curriculum for Primary School ( ICPS ) is divided into two stages – stage 1 for Year 1-3 and phase 2 for Year 4-6. The ICPS emphasizes the command, support and application of 3Rs, acquisition of complex accomplishments and cognition, pre-vocational accomplishment, and the development of personality, attitudes and values. The ICPS consists of three countries, chiefly communicating, adult male and his environment, and self development. These countries are farther divide into six constituents – basic accomplishments, humanistic disciplines, art and diversion, populating accomplishments, communicating, spiritually, values and attitudes. Secondary School Curriculum. The accent of Integrated Curriculum for Secondary School ( ICCS ) is on general instruction, the consolidation of accomplishments acquired in primary school, the development of attitudes, values, personality, and involvements every bit good as specialisation for higher instruction and calling options.CONTEMPORARY CHALLENGES IN EDUCATIONIn the 21st century, instruction in Malaysia will confront important challenge as it is in this century that the state is set to go industrialised. It is imperative hence to understand what it is that demands to be given attending for the instruction system to fix adequately for the century: a. Shift to K-economy. Knowledge has to be the basic signifier of capital in the 21st century to place Malaysia for industrialisation. The instruction system must give cognition workers to force Malaysia into the K-economy. Knowledge workers are indispensable for the state to do investings in engineering which will lend to sustainable growing. Malayan instruction must heighten cognition and engineering in every aspect of its instruction system.[ 10 ] B. Bettering Education Qualities. Given all the qualitative accomplishments at all degrees of instruction with uninterrupted growing of registration rates, Malayan instruction has to switch to the laterality of qualitative mark. Several factors have to be considered for finding educational quality. The countries of content and bringing that straight affect learning and larning must be given accent. There have to be inventions within the attack for both the content and bringing at all degrees of instruction. To guarantee effectual bringing, instructor professionalism has to be addressed to bring on greater professionalism among school instructors. Recruitments, preparation and school restructuring should be the primary mark countries for presenting professionalism among instructors.[ 11 ] c. Narrowing the Digital Divide. The equity issue in instruction should take for supplying equal entree to instruction. The focal point of democratisation of the instruction in the 21st century will be in footings of supplying equity in instruction with accent on cognition and engineering between rural and urban school population. Malayan instruction has to accomplish addition engagement and improved public presentation in scientific discipline and engineering particularly among the school population. Apart from supplying the necessary substructure, scientific discipline and engineering have to be sharply promoted to tackle involvement among pupils.[ 12 ] d. Redefining the Role of the Private Sector. The function of the private sector is critical peculiarly at the higher degree of instruction. It releases some of the heavy funding burden off the authorities, reduces the capacity restraints of the public establishments, and supply invention and competition. Nonetheless, net income and commercial motives have developed a figure of jobs. These jobs if non reference adequately will consequence the quality of higher instruction in the state. One wide inquiry that should be addressed is what should be the function of private higher instruction – should they be complementary, auxiliary or both.[ 13 ] e. Teaching Methodology. Two shortcoming are identified in the current pattern: ( I ) lecture-based direction – pupils tend to go inactive receivers of cognition and resort to rote acquisition ; ( two ) teacher-centered – pupils tend to trust on their instructors to make up one's mind what, when, and how to larn. This worked comparatively good but it is non clear that pupils are larning at higher, conceptual degree of thought.[ 14 ]PROPOSED ENHANCEMENTSSeveral factors ought to ease the sweetenings of the Malayan instruction system, particularly the national course of study such as the debut of new topics and plans in schools. The facilitating factors include findings of research and surveies, public sentiments, universe tendencies, societal and economic demands and political force per unit areas. In add-on, they are to be facilitated further with the being of the undermentioned supporting factors at changing grades: a. The authorities ‘s continued attempts to spread out and better instruction and preparation through addition in the budget for instruction. B. The experience over the old ages of the state ‘s instruction policy in heightening quality and entree to instruction to run into the demands of rapid development of the state. c. Availability of basic substructure and preparation, that is, in-service instructor preparation, seminars, forums and workshops to familiarise instructors with the course of study and to upgrade instructors ‘ efficiency. d. Continuous developing received by ministry officers both locally and overseas covering a broad scope of subjects which helps the officers to derive more cognition and experience in planning and implementing course of study reform enterprises. e. Public consciousness and support to transport out educational reforms to carry through the demands of cultural, societal and economic development. f. Attempts by both the authorities and private sectors to escalate the acquisition and application of information and communicating engineerings in all Fieldss of life as a consequence of globalisation and modernization. g. The strong committedness and consciousness among parents of the importance of instruction in bring forthing educated, knowing and adept Malaysians who are prudent, originative and advanced. h. In the acquisition procedure, to develop inter-personal and small-group accomplishments – instructors must supply chances for group members to cognize each other, support and accept each other, pass on accurately and confidently, and decide differences constructively. i. Promotive interactions – person can accomplish promotive interaction by assisting each other, exchanging resources, disputing each other ‘s decision, supply feedback, promoting and endeavoring for common benefits. J. Individual answerability – instructors should measure the sum of attempt that each member is lending. These can be done by giving an single trial to each pupil and indiscriminately naming pupils to show their group ‘s work. k. Group treating – instructors should supply chances for the category to measure group advancement. This would enable group to concentrate on good working relationship, facilitate cooperation in acquisition and guarantee members get feedback.[ 15 ] l. The course of study must be so designed and indiscriminately monitored to assist pupils accomplish overall and balance development and betterment. m. Appropriate mix of larning schemes to guarantee command of basic competences and publicity of holistic development. n. More accent should be given on pupils understanding of a peculiar construct, steering pupils in active acquisition, supplying chances for treatment and amplification, and promoting them to work with equals and instructors. O. Encourage and support collaborative attempt with pupils from other schools or even from other states. p. The course of study and learning methodological analysis must provide to pupils ‘ different capablenesss, for illustration, their acquisition manners and degrees of intelligence. Q. Allow pupils to pattern self-paced, self-accessed and autonomous acquisition which can be facilitated via the usage of engineering.[ 16 ]DecisionThe environment and socialization procedure to which pupils are exposed remain as of import factors lending to academic success and character edifice. The Malayan educational system, at pre-school, primary and third degrees have systematically emphasised on the importance of nurturing, among others, moral values and moralss among pupils. Therefore, the quality of instruction that instructors provide to pupils is extremely dependent upon what instructors do in the schoolroom. Teachers should hold the cognition on how pupils learn and how best to learn. In add-on, modern-day acquisition and learning methodological analysis should be in line with the engineerings of tomorrow where engineerings and communications substructure are paving the manner for a more sophisticated ICT-enabled instruction and acquisition environment. Indeed, with the coming of globalization and modernization, the instruction course of study in Malaysia for sustainable development in the new century, call for a entire committednesss from all Malaysians, with a sense of urgency in the face of increasing competition. The Malayan policy model recognises that instruction development plays an of all time of import function in constructing a sustainable, resilient and competitory society. Interestingly, the planetary instruction scenario has similar development schemes, viz. , by supplying wider handinesss, guaranting quality instruction, uninterrupted strategic instruction reforms so that the several states can vie as planetary instruction suppliers. In fact, instruction has already evolved into a large economic entity for some states. Malaysia ought to be ready to confront these challenges in the field of instruction, both internally and externally, with the coming of globalization, trade liberalization, and the development of ICT in this new century.

Free Essays on The Development Of The Sappho-Corinne Myth In Victorian Women’s Poetry

Sappho, â€Å"the tenth muse† of antiquity, gives western culture one of its first lyric voices. The greatness of her work has significantly influenced women’s literature: particularly with the rediscovery of her songs during the 19th century, a time when western female literary voices were struggling to be recognized. Although modern scholars have only fragments of her works, Victorian women idealized and mythologized Sappho’s corpus as a vessel to develop their own unique literary voices. Victorian women’s poetry brims with Sapphic imagery which most often includes the lyre and a watery grave as images of Sappho’s life as a lyric poetess and death by suicide in the Aegean Sea. The work that has had the most influence in propagating the Sapphic myth is Germaine de Staà «l’s Corinne, or Italy. Corinne struggles to balance a yearning desire for literary fame with her desire for a husband’s love, which would require her to live life as a traditional housewife. Madame de Staà «l leaves Corinne’s dilemma unresolved and her protagonist, like Sappho, dies unsatisfied in both her love and her career. Published in 1807, Madame de Staà «l's work was widely read, serving â€Å"as both inspiration and warning† to â€Å"girls of more than ordinary intelligence or talent, and rising ambition to fame beyond the domestic circle.† Corrine, however, did little to dissuade this generation of women writers who were struggling to emerge as professionals. Indeed, â€Å"it was only with [this work] that the [Sapphic] myth floated free – the myth of the famous woman talking, writing, [and] performing, to the applause of the world .† If not for de Staà «l’s Corinne, the Sapphic myth would never have found such prominent status in Victorian Poetry. The propagation and popularization of the Sapphic myth occurred as literary annuals became fashionable in the early 19th century. The works allowed women authors a forum to publish for ... Free Essays on The Development Of The Sappho-Corinne Myth In Victorian Women’s Poetry Free Essays on The Development Of The Sappho-Corinne Myth In Victorian Women’s Poetry Sappho, â€Å"the tenth muse† of antiquity, gives western culture one of its first lyric voices. The greatness of her work has significantly influenced women’s literature: particularly with the rediscovery of her songs during the 19th century, a time when western female literary voices were struggling to be recognized. Although modern scholars have only fragments of her works, Victorian women idealized and mythologized Sappho’s corpus as a vessel to develop their own unique literary voices. Victorian women’s poetry brims with Sapphic imagery which most often includes the lyre and a watery grave as images of Sappho’s life as a lyric poetess and death by suicide in the Aegean Sea. The work that has had the most influence in propagating the Sapphic myth is Germaine de Staà «l’s Corinne, or Italy. Corinne struggles to balance a yearning desire for literary fame with her desire for a husband’s love, which would require her to live life as a traditional housewife. Madame de Staà «l leaves Corinne’s dilemma unresolved and her protagonist, like Sappho, dies unsatisfied in both her love and her career. Published in 1807, Madame de Staà «l's work was widely read, serving â€Å"as both inspiration and warning† to â€Å"girls of more than ordinary intelligence or talent, and rising ambition to fame beyond the domestic circle.† Corrine, however, did little to dissuade this generation of women writers who were struggling to emerge as professionals. Indeed, â€Å"it was only with [this work] that the [Sapphic] myth floated free – the myth of the famous woman talking, writing, [and] performing, to the applause of the world .† If not for de Staà «l’s Corinne, the Sapphic myth would never have found such prominent status in Victorian Poetry. The propagation and popularization of the Sapphic myth occurred as literary annuals became fashionable in the early 19th century. The works allowed women authors a forum to publish for ...

Essential Roommate Rules to Discuss when Moving in Together

Essential Roommate Rules to Discuss when Moving in Together Even if you’re used to sharing a room with your siblings or other relatives, living with a roommate is a new experience, and their habits and routines might seem weird or annoying to you. Can you find a compromise with your cohabitant? Can you be a good roommate even if you’re not friends? We are sure that this is possible if you follow some basic rules. Thats why we have made a list of ground rules for roommates that will help you avoid conflicts, which are not uncommon for people who live in close quarters. 1. Washing Dishes When talking about roommates, its impossible not to mention the most vital question – whose dirty plate is this and who should wash it? The issue of dirty dishes often starts a roommate war and makes you think â€Å"I hate my roommate. There are two simple ways to avoid this problem: Make a schedule Set the basic rule of doing dishes immediately after the meal or cooking What if a roommate breaks the rules, leaving dirty plates around? Such behavior might be a passive aggressive move or just an act of irresponsibility. Make sure you have separate dishes (maybe even marked or colored) and do only the ones which you use. Eventually, your roommate will have to start washing dishes instead of waiting for someone else to do it. 2. Inviting Guests Considerably Having your roommate’s friends, relatives, or significant other repeatedly staying at your place is annoying. Especially when you get up in the morning and discover an occupied bathroom or no hot water left. You need to establish must-have rules when living with a roommate to regulate such issues. Make sure to talk about how many people you and your roommate can invite and how long guests stay. Also, mention the necessity of warning each other beforehand. 3. Cleaning Living in a dirty apartment or dorm room is not the most pleasant thing. Especially if you’re not the one who makes the mess but the one who has to clean it eventually. When two or more people move in together, they might be surprised by the fact that the term â€Å"clean† might mean different things for different people. For example, some individuals are totally okay with the fact that there are dirty dishes in the sink. Others cant sleep knowing that there might be some trash in the bin. So, what you can do is: create a cleaning schedule discuss if you are going to use cleaning services and if so, split the bill discuss the organization and storage of things set up a list of weekly cleaning tasks discuss the rules of using and cleaning the kitchen, bathroom, and other shared spaces. The cleaning schedule solves the majority of problems that might occur. For example, you wont have to think of how to ask your roommate to clean the bathroom. You can just point out the schedule. 4. Respecting Each Others Space Having your space and some privacy is necessary no matter how many roomies you have. Thats why its important to respect personal space and the right to study, have some rest, or hang with your significant other alone. Always make sure to ask your roommate to knock before coming in and keep the noise reasonable no matter what time it is. By the way, if you would like to know how you can meet your significant other in college and develop a relationship, we have a few pieces of advice for you. How do you deal with roommate breaking rules? Start with closing the door to your room and putting a big sign on it. Having a key to lock your door is also a good idea if possible. If you live with your roommate in one dorm room, its much harder to establish the borders of private space for both of you. However, you can discuss: what to do if one of you has a date in your room your daily schedules – when each of you goes to bed and gets up the items, furniture, gadgets that are shared and any private stuff (what your roommate can use when he or she needs it, what needs to be asked before borrowed, and what should be never touched) what to do if you want to change something in the room, move furniture, etc. Being roommates doesnt imply being friends. However, being respectful of each others preferences is what helps to build a friendly relationship. If you want your rules to be followed, make sure that you are attentive to the needs of your roommate too, so that you are equal in your rights and obligations. 5. Being Responsible Living with a roommate is all about compromises. It’s also about being responsible and caring. This means that both of you should take care of the pets if you have them, observe fire safety, be careful when using roommates things, make sure you close the door when leaving, etc. No one wants to have an indifferent roommate whose absent-mindedness can lead to tragic results. Being responsible also means that sometimes you need to solve problems that are caused by your roommate. For example, if your roommate leaves clothes in the washing machine or forgets to turn off the iron. You aren’t the one who messed up, but you are the one who has to fix it once youve noticed it. What to Do if Your Roommate Keeps Breaking Rules? However, discussing and establishing these rules with your roomies doesn’t mean that they will be followed. Sometimes you might find that you’re the only one who cares about such rules. So, what can you do? Consider signing a roommate agreement Having rules written down and signed by both parties has a bit more weight when it comes to agreements with other people. This way you will not hear things like â€Å"I don’t recall talking about this with you† or â€Å"you have never asked me to.† A roommate agreement is a brief document that lists all the rules that you and your roommate agree to follow. Such agreements can be framed and put on the wall so you can always point them out. Communicate How many times have you heard that you need to speak about the things that bother you? If something is wrong, it doesn’t mean that your roommate wants to spoil your relationship. Sometimes they might just forget about your agreements (this is one more reason to put your rules on the paper). That’s why communicating is key to overcoming obstacles before they grow into problems. Talk to your roommate if you feel they don’t respect the rules that you have created together and why it makes living together difficult. Make your position clear and try to sound as calm as possible. Talk to a landlord Not all problems with your roommate can be solved by trying to reach a compromise. If your roommate breaks the rules intentionally in order to make you feel uncomfortable, this means that it’s better for you to consider other actions that you might take. For example, if you rent an apartment, you can talk to a landlord about the inconveniences which your roommate makes you go through. Provide a few examples or proof if you have any (for example, that your roommate throws noisy parties at night) and let your landlord know that you can find another roommate who will be more friendly and law-abiding. Chances are high that your landlord will take your roommate’s name off the lease. However, this should be a last resort. If you live in a dorm, you can also approach your supervisor and ask to move you to another room. There aren’t always vacant rooms, but you can at least try. Never be ashamed to move out if you are harassed or insulted by your roommate. Eventually, you can always teach your roommate a lesson by pulling a prank on him or her. Wrapping Up Lastly, one more tip for everyone moving in with another person for the first time and wondering how to set the rules in your house: roommates cant read thoughts. Communicate, discuss what bothers you, and what you can do about that. This is the only way to be able to live under the same roof. There might be plenty of things that you are used to doing differently, so be prepared to find a compromise to make this coexistence work. If it’s your freshman year, our article on some tips for your first year in college will come in handy too.

How to Write a Graduation Speech as Valedictorian

How to Write a Graduation Speech as Valedictorian The valedictory speech usually is delivered at the graduation ceremony by the valedictorian, the student with the highest grades in the graduating class, although some colleges and high schools have abandoned the practice of naming a valedictorian. The terms valedictory and valedictorian come from the Latin valedicere, meaning a formal farewell. Understand the Goal The valedictory should fulfill two goals: It should convey a sending off message  to the members of a graduating class and inspire them to leave the comfort and security of their school ready to embark on an exciting new adventure. You have been chosen to deliver this speech because you proved you are an excellent student who can live up to adult responsibilities. Now its time to make every student in your class feel special. As you prepare your speech, think about your shared experiences with the class and the people with whom you shared them, including popular and quiet students, class clowns and brains, teachers, principals, professors, deans, and other school employees. Its important to make everyone feel as if they played an important role in this shared experience. If you have limited experience in certain aspects of school life, ask for help in collecting important names and events you might not know about. Are there clubs or teams that won prizes? Students who volunteered in the community? Compile a List of Highlights Make a list of highlights since freshman year, focusing on the current year. Here are examples of events you could describe: Who received awards or scholarships?Were any sports records broken?Is a teacher retiring after this year?Did your class have a reputation with teachers, good or bad?How many students remain from freshman year?Was there a dramatic event in the world this year?Was there a dramatic event in your school?Was there a funny moment? You might need to conduct personal interviews to learn about these benchmarks. Write the Speech Valedictory speeches often combine humorous and serious elements. Start by greeting your audience with a hook that grabs their attention. For example, you could say the senior year has been full of surprises, or were leaving the faculty with lots of interesting memories, or this senior class has set records in some unusual ways. Organize your speech into topics describing these elements. You might want to start with an event thats on everyones mind, such as a championship basketball season, a student featured on a television show, or a tragic event in the community. Then focus on the other highlights, putting them into context and explaining their importance. For example: This year, Jane Smith won a National Merit Scholarship. This may not seem like a big deal, but Jane overcame a year of illness to achieve this goal. Her strength and perseverance are an inspiration to our whole class. Use Anecdotes and Quotes Come up with anecdotes to illustrate your shared experiences. These brief stories can be funny or poignant. You could say, When the student newspaper printed a story about the family who lost their home to a fire, our classmates rallied and organized a series of fundraisers. Sprinkle in quotes from famous people. Quotes work best in the introduction or conclusion and should reflect the theme of your speech. For example: The pain of parting is nothing to the joy of meeting again.- Charles DickensYou will find the key to success under the alarm clock.- Benjamin FranklinThere is only one success: to be able to spend your life in your own way.- Christopher Morley Plan for Time Be mindful of the appropriate length of your speech. Most people speak about 175 words per minute, so a 10-minute speech should contain about 1750 words. You can fit about 250 words onto a double-spaced page. That translates to seven pages of double-spaced text for 10 minutes of speaking time. Tips for Preparing to Speak Its important to practice your speech before giving it. This will help you troubleshoot problem spots, cut boring parts, and add elements if youre running short. You should: Practice reading your speech aloud to see how it sounds.Time yourself, but remember you may speak faster when youre nervous.Focus on remaining calm.Get plenty of sleep the night before your speech.Eat well before your speech.Don’t try to be funny if it feels unnatural.If youre going to talk about a tragic event your class experienced (it might be awkward not to address it), make sure you do so tactfully. Consult a teacher or adviser if you have any doubts or discomforts. If possible, practice your speech using the microphone in the location where youll be graduating. Your best chance might be just before the event. This will give you an opportunity to experience the sound of your magnified voice, figure out how to stand, and get past any butterflies in your stomach.

Mergers and Acquisitions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Mergers and Acquisitions - Essay Example Before this governments believed this was a nascent industry that needed its protection. However, over the last three decades the industry has become highly competitive forcing many carriers to operate on thin margins. In fact, four of the six legacy carriers filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy over the last ten years. American Airlines and Continental were the only two that did require bankruptcy protection (Harrison, 2010). US Airways is experiencing aggressive growth which is a consequence of its recent negotiations with other firms within the market. Specifically the Delta Slot Transaction whereby US Airways entered into a mutual asset purchase and sale agreement with Delta (Esterl, 2010). Pursuant to the agreement, US Airways would transfer to Delta certain assets related to flight operations at LaGuardia Airport in New York, consisting of 125 pairs of slots currently used to provide US Airways Express service at LaGuardia. Delta is expected to transfer to US Airways certain assets related to flight operations at Washington National Airport, including 42 pairs of slots, and the authority to serve Sao Paulo, Brazil and Tokyo, Japan. The agreement is structured as asset sales and is anticipated to be cash neutral to US Airways. The net benefit to the transaction is the restructuring of U.S Airways to focus its strategy and meet the growing demand. The agreement must be approved by the U.S.  Department of Justice, the DOT, the FAA and The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. If approved, this transaction will significantly increase US Airways’ capacity in the Washington,  D.C. market and improve profitability(Gibbons, 2007). US Airways is experiencing slow growth coupled with an improving competitive market position. This means that US Airways is going through a phase of concentrated growth. The Frequent Traveler Program is a great method for the company to focus on their local hubs and create loyal consumers in those markets. This will undermine the low transfer cost and incentivize ticket purchasing through their company. This program helps generate a loyal consumer base and helps differentiate between airline services. Focusing on this program is key to brand development for US Airways. The Dividend Miles program credits passengers who fly on US Airways and Star Alliance carriers. Credits can be redeemed for travel on US Airways or other participating partner airlines, whereby US Airways assumes the fee. The incremental cost method is used to account for the portion of frequent traveler program liability related to mileage credits earned by Dividend Miles members. This creates an obligation to provide future travel when credits are redeemed (Gross, 2007). II. Company Strategy The possibility for a merger between US Airways and American Airlines have been stifled twice before, but renewed interest in the merger possibility has been created as a result of economic re-stabilization. But the two companies are currently in me rger talks that would make US Airways the second largest airline. The industry reported a $60 billion dollar loss since 2000 which has spurred interest in consolidation. Even with the dramatic declines in capacity by airlines collectively, in recent years, experts believe that there are too many airlines and a shortage in travelers. A merger could help both increase the earnings per share in a smaller timeframe than either company can accomplish alone. The industry is

Paintings by Peter Paul Ruben and Nicolas Poussin Essay

Paintings by Peter Paul Ruben and Nicolas Poussin - Essay Example The essay "Paintings by Peter Paul Ruben and Nicolas Poussin" analyzes two painting by Peter Paul Ruben and Nicolas Poussin.Both of the women in Ruben’s picture are also of a higher social class, which is evident by their well-kempt hairstyles and the flowing, silky fabrics which lie at feet of one of the daughters. From the painted image, both young women look to be somewhat naive as if they were taken by surprise by their raping captors during what might have been a leisurely picnic or stroll through the countryside. Clearly, by the expression on both of the young women’s faces, they are not delighted by being chosen for this activity and likely have no previous experience with being the objects of desire by men who are not of their higher social class. The Rape of the Daughters of Leucippus also seems to illustrate that Rubens sees women as a lesser being than men, in terms of physical strength and in the expression of personal desires. It seems that Rubens, perhaps based on the social culture of the time, views women as merely objects of desire who have no rights to defend themselves and should be recognized as extremely inferior to the yearnings of warrior men. This is evident by the look of crazed passion on the faces of the women’s captors and the expressions of dissatisfaction on the faces of the daughters. Clearly, in this picture, the sexual power hierarchy favors the male persona and the rapists hold all of the power over their lesser female victims. It is also evident.

Business ethics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4500 words

Business ethics - Essay Example However, if there were no formal binding of legislation, it would be difficult to make employees comply with the rules and execute CSR practices effectively. In order to face this challenge, businesses need to align their framework based on certain principles that balances the financial and social performances of the company responding to stakeholders concerns at the same time (Schwartz, 2011). However, the framework and practices of Corporate Social Responsibilities varies with the culture and economy in which business operates. Mainly the communities in which the company operates are the major factors that drive ethical decisions of the corporation. The economic, cultural, environment and social issues are spontaneous. The pace of change in these factors is rapid and unpredictable. However, the core values of ethical conduct of the business are based on the effectiveness of the business to understand these changes and implement CSR policies that correspond with these issues. Hence, some of the CSR activities of the organization are based on legal contracts, and some are not based on formal binding. In the both  cases, Corporate Social Responsibilities that are not based on formal binding legislation enforcement are less  meaningful. Business ethics is code of conduct of the business it involves moral or ethical issues that may rise within a business with respect to its conduct with individuals or the entire organization. There are two dimensions of business ethics, normative and descriptive dimension. The Normative dimensions are the core corporate practice and specialization, and descriptive dimensions are experts and academics to understand the behaviour of business. In other words, Business ethics tells about the relation between the interactions of the organization with profit maximizing behaviour with non-economic concerns. However, there are several debates at international platform that citizen practices and framework of Corporate

Security Risk Management Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Security Risk Management - Case Study Example In this essay, I am going to highlight a successful Risk Management project undertaken by us in the Kumtor Operating Company, a prime value asset and gold mine of Kyrgyzstan. The company, due to its valuable product and huge future potential, was fraught with many risk factors. External ones included rising Islamic militancy and vulnerability due to close proximity of US forces fighting was against terror at Bishkek. On the other hand, internal risk factors included security of the gold production and storage facilities, corruption, lack of insurance against loss and many such mitigating factors. Our role as security managers was to prepare loss prevention techniques after applying critical risk assessment theories, and using the relevant ones to achieve the aim. Risk Management in our context was to include both external and internal aspects of Kumtor Operating Company. Gold mining in a developing country is always full of many intangible risks owing to a high value product. Unless the management takes a proactive stance in this regards, the losses to the company from the within itself can be monumental. Adding the external dimensions make the costs of losses absolutely prohibitive for the company. Hence, in this essay I have discussed how each aspect of risk was appreciated correctly and resolved after due consideration of all associated factors. The four strategies of Risk Avoidance, Risk Reduction, Risk Transfer and Risk Retention were applied to each existing risk factor after due deliberations, and a detailed Risk Management and loss prevention plan was worked out, discussed with the authorities and implemented after convincing the top bosses of its rationale and effectiveness for allocation of necessary budget. A situation exists today where the losses due to management of mining process have reduced unbelievably thereby directly benefiting t he company both financially and security wise. The loss prevention program thus necessitated to first bring out the specific risk factors relevant in our context. While most such risks could have been dealt with from within the resources, a certain amount of external help would be required sooner or later. Further, after assessing the risks, the most important task was to classify them accurately into four types of risk management strategies. Optimum classification would ensure that the future action plan would be economically most suitable for the company and beneficial in the long run. While some risks can be avoided and reduced, some inherent risks may have to be retained due to adverse tilt of cost vs. benefit analysis. At the same time, some risks would be too heavy to bear and would need to be transferred to an insuring agency. Hence, we now commenced our ground work for loss prevention plan on a war footing. (Risk Management strategies) Kumtor Operating Company Kyrgyzstan is an ex-soviet satellite state that became independent in 1992 and is now called the Kyrgyz Republic. The Kyrgyz Republic is geographically bordered to the North, North West by Kazakhstan, to the South West

Anthropology peoples sothesat asia Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Anthropology peoples sothesat asia - Essay Example These two opposing clans are in constant conflict; but the advent of slavery will merge the steadfast differences of these two into one similarity: Borneans in Southeast Asia who are duty-bound under the guise of civilization and the economic vitality of slavery. In the end of the eighteenth century, western superpowers, specifically the Spanish, Dutch, and British in Borneo, commenced in subjugating Southeast Asia for the purpose of monopolizing sought after products and raw materials in the developing marketplace in the region and Europe. Borneo, endowed with the gift of a lucrative geographical position, intensified its trading relations with other Southeast Asian countries. This move improved the island’s economy and commercial power. The growth of trade perverted through notching a better market for slave traders and raiders owing to the demand for laborers to accumulate riches and resources. Asian slavery is different from the western slavery structure. Slavery in Asia w as of two types: the debt slaves and the bondage slaves. The former type were people who paid large debts through elicited free labor whereas the latter type were captives from raids and wars who were sold to slavery. In the seventeenth and the eighteenth centuries, the population of Southeast Asia remained at a very low level hence troubling the region with problems of labor shortage. This reality aggravated the lust for money of the raiders who traded slaves as laborers in a naturally bountiful but populace- deprived environment. Nevertheless, even before the Dutch colonized Borneo it had already been the fortress of slave trade in which slaves were awarded as tributes or trading commodities. Although, it is important to note that western concept of slavery in Asia which is characterized by slaves in chains and those who were frequently chastised and maltreated, is not coherent

STRATEGY ANALYSIS AND EVALUATION Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

STRATEGY ANALYSIS AND EVALUATION - Essay Example A company can gain a competitive advantage by optimizing the coordination of the value chain to create value for services and products, which are more than what it would cost to perform value activities. Thus, a company could create additional value without necessarily having to increase costs or amount of producing these products or services. The customers then pay for the added value. Starbuck’s strategy will also be analyzed and evaluated using Porter’s generic strategy, which involve focus, differentiation, and cost leadership. Cost leadership involves pursuing reduction of costs through a firm control of overheads, sacrificing R&D, and avoiding less profitable and marginal customers. Differentiation involves coming up with a unique product in the market that could be customer service, dealer networks, and brand image. Focus involves targeting a specific group, segment, or geographic market of a product line. Starbucks today would seem to be pursuing differentiation as a generic strategy, although when it started out, its generic strategy was more the strategy of focus emphasizing more on differentiation in a specific segment of the target consumer. In this case, Porter’s generic model will analyze and evaluate the strategies that Starbucks uses in gaining a competitive advantage while Porter’s generic strategies will examine how they utilize these competitive advantages. Analysis and Evaluation of Starbuck’s Using Generic Strategy Model On top of an established strategy based on competence, which is a major contributor to the success enjoyed by Starbuck’s, the company utilizes other strategies so as to maintain a competitive advantage over its main competitors (Thompson & Arsel, 2009: p238). According to Porter, a company has at its disposal three basic strategies that it can use as leverage in its industry. These include focus, differentiation, and cost leadership. Cost leadership is a strategy that aims to produc e low cost products that are of high quality while also reducing the firm’s operational costs. However, Starbucks does not utilize this strategy since its products are high cost. A company can also use the strategy of differentiation that entails the creation of services and products that are unique. The firm’s clients then perceive these services or products as unique and an addition of value, which allows the company to charge premium prices on the services and products. Meanwhile, the focus generic strategy involves specific sections or segments of consumers and can be combined with the cost leadership or differentiation strategies (Thompson & Arsel, 2009: p239). Starbucks pursues the focus on generic strategy within their specific target client segment with added emphasis in and the combination of differentiation generic strategy. Starbucks utilizes the generic strategy of focus with a target base of consumers that is composed of educated and wealthy drinkers of co ffee that are willing to part with more money for quality customer service and products (Smith, 2011: p505). Starbucks aims at a specific and narrow portion of the coffee industry’s consumers. Therefore, Starbucks’ strategy lays focus on the segment with its services and products being especially designed to meet the wants and needs of this segment of consumer. In terms of integrating the differentiation strategy with that of focus, the firm’s brand is presented with various characteristics that are diverse. Other

Anthropology peoples sothesat asia Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Anthropology peoples sothesat asia - Essay Example These two opposing clans are in constant conflict; but the advent of slavery will merge the steadfast differences of these two into one similarity: Borneans in Southeast Asia who are duty-bound under the guise of civilization and the economic vitality of slavery. In the end of the eighteenth century, western superpowers, specifically the Spanish, Dutch, and British in Borneo, commenced in subjugating Southeast Asia for the purpose of monopolizing sought after products and raw materials in the developing marketplace in the region and Europe. Borneo, endowed with the gift of a lucrative geographical position, intensified its trading relations with other Southeast Asian countries. This move improved the island’s economy and commercial power. The growth of trade perverted through notching a better market for slave traders and raiders owing to the demand for laborers to accumulate riches and resources. Asian slavery is different from the western slavery structure. Slavery in Asia w as of two types: the debt slaves and the bondage slaves. The former type were people who paid large debts through elicited free labor whereas the latter type were captives from raids and wars who were sold to slavery. In the seventeenth and the eighteenth centuries, the population of Southeast Asia remained at a very low level hence troubling the region with problems of labor shortage. This reality aggravated the lust for money of the raiders who traded slaves as laborers in a naturally bountiful but populace- deprived environment. Nevertheless, even before the Dutch colonized Borneo it had already been the fortress of slave trade in which slaves were awarded as tributes or trading commodities. Although, it is important to note that western concept of slavery in Asia which is characterized by slaves in chains and those who were frequently chastised and maltreated, is not coherent

Sustainability Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Sustainability - Essay Example In the article by Koch (2015) for instance, the passive homes are designed to use less energy at act like thermos flasks. Energy is an interesting aspect because everybody uses energy in one form or the other on daily basis. One thing about sustainability that makes sense is that new and innovative ways of doing things are shaping the sustainability agenda. For example, in the article by Phansey (2014), the author shows how 3D printing has shaped manufacturing from its traditional form to additive manufacturing. Everybody appreciates that in order to lead a sustainable life, there is need to change the traditional way of doing things and adopt new strategies. However, I do not understand the issue of standards as they apply to sustainability. For example, in the article by Koch (2015), the Passive House Institute U.S. (PHIUS) sets the standards relating to passive houses. How such standards are developed and regulated is not clear to me. I would like to know more about recyclable materials. In particular, am interesting in knowing the various recyclable objects and materials around us and how to best use them. For example in the article by Phansey (2014), the author shows how thermoplastics such as polylactic acid (PLA) can be recycled and used in 3D printing. Knowing more about such materials will be beneficial in contributing to the sustainability efforts. I believe that since we live in an era when resources are scarce, sustainability should be a tenet of every society around the world. This will make the world a better place. Koch, W. (2015). Thermos-Like Passive Homes Aggressively Save Energy.  National Geographic. Retrieved from

Reflection on Personal Development Plan

Reflection on Personal Development Plan For those who intend to discover and to understand, not to indulge in conjectures and soothsaying, and rather than contrive imitation and fabulous worlds plan to look deep into the nature of the real world and to dissect it for them everything must be sought in things themselves. (Sir Francis Bacon). It is base on the wise saying that I reflect on my personal development plan. Everybody has dreams but not every person work to achieve their child wood dream. I have always which to become a successful business executive and I know it could only be achieve by knowing and studying the foundation of business, that is the reason I choose to go for my postgraduate studies in Masters in business Administration, it serves as basiss for my ongoing personal development plan. To be able to discuss my ongoing personal development plan there is need to first discuss what my swot analysis are ,as this will form the background to any developmental plan. STRENGTHS Developing strong people skills Using the power of other peoples help Planning ahead to reduce stress Widening the search for solutions Generating many radical ideas Weighing the pros and cons of a decision WEAKNESSES Lack of effective managerial experience Ineffective Public Speaking and Presentation experience In adequate job experience Lack of in depth knowledge on the way business is being run. OPPORTUNITIES testing the viability of a financial decision Making learning a happier experience Memory Improvement Techniques Choosing by projecting possible outcomes THREATS Using backward planning to set goals Surviving the crises that come with growth Coping with uncertainty Reaching for the top with everyday tools Communicate complex ideas successfully Having tried to analysis my swot analysis to the best of my understanding there is need to identify how it has contributed to my personal development plan. And a constant review of the stages of development will help guide to achieving our dreams. I have this dream of being an accomplished business entrepreneur. This I believe could only believe achieve by gaining managerial experience in work place ,and going for my MBA.I believe it would help me get the required managerial experience and experts that is required to be a successful business entrepreneur. 1.1 WHERE I AM NOW This is a long journey that stated 2004, when I was given admission to study Public Administration at OLABISI ONABANJO UNIVERISTY. While studying Public Administration I was taught managerial and administrative course which includes the following: Leadership foreign policy organizational behavior political economy administrative law conflict management This course has enhanced my knowledge on how several aspects of organization management is being runned which includes: Improved my decision making abilities Analysising work pattern in the work place Effective level of organization leadership and motivation Organizational structure and process of delayering. At the end of my studies I was awarded B.Sc Public administration in April 2008. The next step was to put all the academic knowledge I have gained into use and gain experience on the job. 1.2 Work Experience From May 2008 -march 2009 Company Name: D WAY SYSTEM AND TECH LTD Title: Assistant Operation Manager. My role in the organization is to create stability and used my academic knowledge to enhance productivity, sales and the running of the admin and sales department. My job includes the following: Handling of client request, compliant and comment about product sold to them. Managing the company cyber cafà © Working with the sales department in delivering good service to the clients. Filling of client problem report book, transferring those report to appropriate department Getting feedback from client about service rendered Coordinating the daily running of the cafà © business of the organization. Apart from my role, I still work in the following capacity in the organization Involved in the strategic preparation on company proposal Involved in new project execution Business proposal preparation for the organization 1.3 Strengths/experience gain Creating efficient systems: This skill was significantly developed while working for the organization; I was made to create a structure that allows for effective running of the organization. Comparing and evaluating information: I gain this experience as I have to look into the comparism of different product, using several parameters which includes: pricings, productive specification, market value, client popular demand. Working well in a team: I was able to function very well as a team players, as I work in almost all the department of the organization. Strategic thinking on problem solving: I gain experience on strategic and manipulation of problems in other to get the best solution, and how best to create alternative and exceptions. Areas of further Development Presentation skills: While working for the organization I discover I am very poorwith my presentation skill which need further development. Setting up and keeping to time schedules: My time management skill was way beyond the organization standard and it require prompt development and evaluation. Interpreting plans diagrams: due to my background in administration ,I was in experience in plan and diagram interpretation, since the organization is basically engineering related . 1.4 WHERE I AM GOING Long term objectives My long term aim is to develop my career in the information technology sectorand be a successful business executive in the information technology sector. I discovered that the world is going digital every seconds, and it is going to be a very good business in the third world country like Nigeria that is still struggles to catch up with the facet of technology development. My aim and goal is to work establish business in the e-business, software development and media/data digitalization aspect of the information technology world. This sector i believe is the most lucrative sector in IT, and I believe the experienced gained in the organization I have worked for will be of great help combined with my administrative knowledge. Short Term objectives To develop my business and administrative knowledge in relation to the information technology world. To develop my Information Technology Skills as related to e-bussiness, software and data development. 1.5 HOW WILL I GET THERE In other to achieve my objectives I am embarking on the following Developing my business and administrative knowledge Furthering my studies my going for my masters in business administration in one of the universities here in London. I am doing my postgraduate diploma in management studies with LONDON MILLENIUM COLLEGE, which is a two/third of mba. After completing my pgdip in Management studies, I would use the certificate to gain entrance to a university to finish my MBA. Developing my Information Technology skills I am a student of Oracle university (newyork) studying databases management. I registered with Home learning College to study Microsoft certified system Engineer.(MSCE) I am developing my knowledge of the following application which is widely used by organizations: SAP, ERP, and DASHBORD. Etc. 2.1 TASK2 The course advance professional development have being of great impact to my career development. The course has impacted greatly on getting of managerial competencies and to know the underlying techniques and approaches required to gain personal competency behavior and skills in order to achieve effective performance in the organization have being able to align and differentiate my skills and know my strength and weakness. The course has set out possible source for the development of my desired skills or competence, related to my personal and professional skill enhancement. There is therefore a need to do an analysis of the skills I have gain personally and professional. STRENGHTS Developing strong people skills Using the power of other peoples help Planning ahead to reduce stress Widening the search for solutions Generating many radical ideas Weighing the pros and cons of a decision WEAKNESS Lack of effective managerial experience Ineffective Public Speaking and Presentation experience In adequate job experience Lack of in depth knowledge on the way business is being run. Opportunities testing the viability of a financial decision Making learning a happier experience Memory Improvement Techniques Choosing by projecting possible outcomes Threats : Using backward planning to set goals Surviving the crises that come with growth Coping with uncertainty Reaching for the top with everyday tools Communicate complex ideas successfully 3.1 Assignment 2 task1 In new businesses, management is often considered whatever needs to be done just to keep things afloat. However, for your business to grow and remain healthy, you must master certain basic skills in management and leadership skills that will help you avoid the crisis situations where you have to do whatever it takes to stay afloat. Developing effective management skills to deal with specific challenges and problems of each organization is the urgent needs of many businesses and organizations in the global competitive environment, rapid change of technology and environment. 2.2 SKILLS REQUIRED FOR EFFECTIVE MANAGEMENT building power and influence; (ii) communication skills (iii) goal setting; (iv) managing conflict; (v) decision making; (vi) Creative Problem Solving Skills (vii) Task Execution(viii)People Skills;(ix) Inventing products and processes   The quality of manager and effective management styles can determine the culture of the organization, the productivity of its staff, and, ultimately, success or failure of the organization. A manager should have the ability to direct, supervise, encourage, inspire, and co-ordinate, and in doing so facilitate action and guide change.   Three personal and professional skill a manager must possess. This includes Creative Problem Solving Skills: A good and effective manager must possess good and accurate problem solving skills, it is believe that a manager always got problem to solve daily at the work place, proactiveness and have an in depth knowledge of problem solving is a great tool in creating stability A good manager must have good descriptive and analytical skills of solving problem, identifying the cause of the problem, developing and creative options and choosing the best course of action. he best method for implementing and evaluating to determine the effectiveness and efficiency of the decision must be known. During my brief stint working with D WAY Systems and Tech limited as an assistance operational manager, there was a time when the cafà © division of the company develop serious technical issues that requires us changing our Internet Service Provider (isp) and then reconnection process which requires high quality work and it take time for us to switch, this process created serious problem for us satisfying our customer, I was able to solve this applying the rule of problem solving. Communication Skills: A good manager must have a very good communication skill such as: listening skills, presentation skills, feedback skills and Report writing skills. All this communication skills mentions are part of what a good manager should posses to be effective at workplace. The ability to listen to suggestion, compliant, and several issues at the workplace give room for a good manage to eliminate easily the sources of problems. The presentation skills must be very good cause it is an effective to for business growth. Effective managers always give feedback openly this creates an environment of trust and encourages staff to be open with you in return. And not all feedback is critical its just as important to comment when someone has done something right. Employee feedback is critical in managing change. Holding focus groups with employees is a great way to gauge reaction and monitor the progress of change. You also can encourage employees to provide feedback through email or the company intranet. Communication is the cornerstone to successful change management. Talking to your employees is not a one-time event, and you need to reinforce your message by communicating early and often. People Skills Being a skilled people manager includes having the integrity to foster trust and the emotional intelligence to deal with different people successfully. Effective managers are also good at empowering, coaching, motivating and developing people. Managers act as catalysts by bringing the right people together for a wide range of tasks. They know who can do what and who will work best with other people. They are also good facilitators, able to ask the right questions to draw solutions out of others. They ask stimulating questions in a supportive manner rather than behaving like a police interrogator. Management effectiveness requires clear communication and good listening skills. 2.3 THE PROFESSIONAL SKILLS A MANAGER NEED TO BE SUCCESSFUL AT WORK INCLUDES Task Execution To execute complex tasks, manage projects and run an efficient operation, it helps to be able to plan, organize and monitor performance. It is also important to have a strong results focus, to be someone who conveys a sense of urgency and has the perseverance to get things done under tight time pressures. This includes the resilience to bounce back following setbacks, to be someone who is not easily defeated. Trust is an essential element in the relationship of manager and his or her team. You demonstrate your trust in others through your actions how much you check and control their work, how much you delegate and how much you allow people to participate. Organizing and coordinating (the manager organizes subordinates behaviors around tasks and coordinates interdependent relationships to accomplish organizational goals). Commercial insight: This set of skills emphasizes efficiency and, in the case of private sector managers, profitability or return on investment. Managers use strategic thinking to ensure that they focus on the right tasks, those that will add most value. They use their planning skills to prioritize in combination with the ability to understand how value is created. This means understanding the financial aspects of running an organization and allocating all resources at their disposal wisely. Leadership and motivation: A mark of a good leader is to be able to provide consistent motivation to his team encouraging them to attain excellence and quality in their performance. A good leader is always looking for ways to improve production and standards 2.4 HOW THIS SKILLS CONTRIBUTE TO MEET BOTH ORGANIZATIONAL AND PERSONAL GOALS Having analyze both the personal skills and professional skills a manager need to have to be effective at work, for effectiveness in the work place a good manager need to possess both personal and professional skills, both skills are inter related as both help in meeting both organizational and personal goal and objective. A manager that has both skills will possess this following attribute. Enthusiasm: If Managers are negative they bring staffs down. Manager with enthusiasm, with a bounce in their step, with a can-do attitude. Many people tend to follow people with a can-do attitude. Enthusiastic Managers are committed to their goals and express this commitment through optimism. Competence: Managers will be chosen based on their ability to successfully lead others rather than on technical expertise, as in the past. Having a winning track record is the surest way to be considered competent. Expertise in management skills is another dimension in competence. The ability to challenge, inspire, enable, model and encourage must be demonstrated if managers are to be seen as capable and competent. Ability to Delegate Tasks: Trust is an essential element in the relationship of manager and his or her team. You demonstrate your trust in others through your actions how much you check and control their work, how much you delegate and how much you allow people to participate. Cool under Pressure: In a perfect world, projects would be delivered on time, under budget and with no major problems or obstacles to overcome. A leader with a hardy attitude will take these problems in stride. When leaders encounter a stressful event, they consider it interesting, they feel they can influence the outcome and they see it as an opportunity. Team-Building Skills: A team builder can best be defined as a strong person who provides the substance that holds the team together in common purpose toward the right objective. In order for a team to progress from a group of strangers to a single cohesive unit, the leader must understand the process and dynamics required for this transformation. He or she must also know the appropriate leadership style to use during each stage of team development. The leader must also have an understanding of the different team players styles and how to capitalize on each at the proper time, for the problem at hand. Communicate the big picture: If you want your employees to work hard and be committed to your business, you have to keep them in the loop. Open communication helps foster loyalty and gives employees a sense of pride. It helps them understand how their work contributes to the companys success. 4.1 SKILL AUDIT Knowledge and skills which I consider to be important for my future career My Ability Rating strong / weak / somewhere in between Using the power of other peoples help Moderate: I am relatively able to use other peoples help to get things done. Lack of effective managerial experience Weak: i dont have effective managerial experience Ineffective Public Speaking and Presentation experience Weak I do not have enough experience when it comes to public speaking Developing strong people skills Moderate: I am able to demonstrate strong peoples skills to a good extent. In adequate job experience Weak: due to non-adequate job consistency. Lack of in depth knowledge on the way business is being run. Weak: due to my limited exposure on how an organization is being manage in the real world 4.3 A detail action Plan Area of further Development and leadership development Reason How to achieve further leadership development/Review date:dec 2011 Ineffective Public Speaking and Presentation experience I am not good at public specking and paper presentation due to my lack of exposure. I will undergoing constant training and being participative in speech presentation and would love to achieve it by dec 2011 In adequate job experience Having work for a short period I have not being able to gather the relevant experience I need for my development I intend to get a job that will enhance my development and improve my leadership style.so as to gather more job experience Developing strong people skills I have develop my peoples skill to a certain extent due to my constant interaction with people I will keep relating with people to enhanve my peoples skill the more Lack of in depth knowledge on the way business is being run. Due to my inexperience on the job, and my non-involvement in management make me to lack and in depth knowledge on the way business I intend to enhance my knowledge by reading books on business development ,going to seminars and being involve in the management of an organization. 4.4 Impact of learning style on personal development. Personal development of individual depends on the the type of learning styles that best sooth the the individual, while some people are sensory learner others may be intuitive.but for personal development the best approach to achieving a stated goal is to follow the learning style that best enhance its development. Developing your style of learning to cope with different environments takes time and effort, but is an essential skill for both academic study and career development. It is therefore necessary to test the following in achieveing the best learning style for personal development. identify the style of different learning environments you experience; work on the development suggestions in the learning styles reports; when starting new learning tasks, think about what styles will be most productive dont just use your preferred style; when working in groups, think about how each person contributes in terms of their learning style; think about your learning style in group tasks what effect does this have on others?