Money and Banking Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Money and Banking - Essay Example One of the shortcomings of an economy with a fixed exchange rate is that monetary policy cannot be utilized to stimulate the economy, although an economy with a floating exchange rate like the U.S. can employ monetary policy to stimulate economic growth. The macroeconomic shock, interest rates in the domestic economy fluctuate with respect to foreign interest rates. For instance, when there is an expansionary monetary policy, it will cause interest rate to decline in the domestic economy, as a result, domestic investors will have an opportunity to invest in the foreign market that will cause a capital account deficit and cause the exchange rate to decrease. The monetary growth causes a raise in domestic income that in turn causes an increase in imports and a current account deficit. When the domestic money supply increases in the foreign market because of an increase in imports and net capital outflows, it leads to depreciation of the domestic currency due to the weak association between supply and demand. The decline in the exchange rate will cause domestic capital to be attractive for foreign investors and the domestic economy will start to draw foreign investment as the exchange rate declines until the BOP equals zero that lead t o interest rate parity . 1b The BOP factors that affect the supply for domestic currency in the foreign economies are a raise in imports and an increase in capital outflows in search of higher rates of return. These factors lead to a BOP deficit in the domestic economy and are frequently affected by expansionary monetary policy that causes a decrease in the domestic interest rate. 1C Increase in exports and an increase in capital inflows where foreign investors are in search of higher rates of return in the domestic economy are factors that affect the demand for domestic currency in the foreign economies. In addition, if the domestic economy cause an increase of exports, it indicate that domestic goods are relatively less expensive compared to foreign goods. Consequently, foreigners will demand more domestic currency as they import compared to domestic exports. When, the domestic rate of returns is more in respect to foreign economies, there will be a raise in demand for the domestic currency, as foreign i nvestors will require domestic currency to buy domestic capital. 2A Based on flexible exchange rates and relatively responsive capital flows, we can establish that any fluctuate in the capital financial account will be greater in magnitude than fluctuate in the capital account. Thus, the EE curve will be flat compared to the LM curve. A fiscal expansion causes IS curve to shifts up and to the right that lead to increase of interest rates and output (y) .The increase in interest rates lead to increase of inflow of KA and a demand for domestic currency in magnitude than the CA deficit affected by increase in revenues that in turn increases imports relative to exports. This causes a BOP surplus that causes the exchange rate to appreciate and lead to shift of the EE curve up and to the left. The exchange rate will appreciate to the point where the BOP comes back to equilibrium. When exchange rate appreciates, the rate of return on domestic capital gets smaller due to diminishing margina l returns, which will reduce the rate of capital inflows to the domestic econ

Romeo presented to the audience Essay Example for Free

Romeo presented to the audience Essay Romeo is presented to the audience through two characters. Montague and Benvolio, Montague is Romeos father and Benvolio is Romeos cousin Good morrow, cousin. Shakespeare has laid this out in a very intellectual manner; by introducing Romeo through other characters because this instantly makes Romeo stand out, look more imperative and maybe even have a higher status than the other characters in the play; because he is talked about and has been acquainted by Montague and Benvolio. Benvolio and Montague are both concerned about Romeos recent behaviour because he has not been acting himself lately. Montague reveals Away from light steals home my heavy son. This presents Romeo as a character who locks himself out of regularity and is constantly feeling sorry for him. His father feels that he needs to depend on others to remove him from this extraordinary insecurity. Benvolio comments Towards him I made, but he was ware of me, this shows that Romeo is feeling unsociable at he moment as well as out of character. Romeo also unexpectedly admits that in recent times he has not been himself Tut, I have lost myself, I am not here, this is not Romeo, hes some other where Romeo is presented to the audience as quite timid and introverted. He has been shown to wanting to take the easy way round to things O me! What fray was here? Showing that he does not like fighting and he is not interested in it. By saying that Romeo may be referring it to the old grudge between the Montagues and Capulets. When Benvolio questions him about love, he avoids admitting to it, however does not change the subject. This shows that he does not want to spill out with the truth and does not mention any names, but keep on waffling on about love thinking slowly as time goes by. The audience gets the impression that Romeo is inexperienced as this is his first love. He has only just realised how painful love is this love feel I, that feel no love in this, showing that Romeo almost certainly felt that love would be an exciting experience. Shakespeare presents Benvolio as a stronger, less sensitive character than Romeo, he also seems to be literally telling Romeo what to do directly Be ruled by me, forget to think of her show that Benvolio is giving Romeo good quality advice. Romeo also tends to dramatise and exaggerate his feelings as they pour out in one go, o brawling love, o loving hate, o any thingetc. This speeds up the time compared to before; it is builds up the tension, as Romeo chants many oxymorons. This extent of dramatisation is due to Romeos depression and bewilderment about love. This shows the audience that Romeo is going through the enjoyment of emotional pain. In conclusion to this, in act 1 scene 1, Shakespeare presents Romeo in a very, perplexed, depressed and frazzled way. As the audience knows Romeo is also not acting himself; due to this we cannot make any assumptions about him, yet.

Comparison Of Dorian Gray To Lord Henry And Sibyl Vane Essay -- essays

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Comparison of Dorian Gray to   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Lord Henry and Sibyl Vane   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Oscar Wilde’s 19th century The Picture of Dorian Gray portrays a young, naà ¯ve man, Dorian Gray, who begins to change because of Lord Henry Wotton’s negative influence on him; likewise, Dorian influences Sibyl Vane as a result of Henry’s influence on him. Because of Henry’s influence, Dorian’s attitude towards women and his respect for women change for the worse. Because of Dorian’s influence on Sibyl, she commits suicide.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Wilde first portrays Dorian as a sweet, sensitive man whom everyone admires. He was described as a â€Å"wonderful young man.† He was not concerned with money or power. One day Dorian meets Lord Henry Wotton through a mutual friend, Basil Hallward. This is the beginning of the end for Dorian because Lord Henry’s influence pollutes his mind. Although Lord Henry states that, â€Å"all influence is immoral,† he nonetheless changes Dorian. Lord Henry gives Dorian a book about a man who seeks beauty in evil pleasures. Dorian becomes this man. Lord Henry tells Dorian, â€Å"Women represent the triumph of matter over mind, men represent the triumph of mind over morals.† Lord Henry means that women are beautiful, but stupid and men are smart but have no morals. Lord Henry’s theory cor...

Patient Self Determination

Patient Self-Determination Act Project Scott Betzelos, Remedios C. Lazaga, Emelin Tan, Maya C. Richardson HCS/578 – Ethical, Legal, and Regulatory Issues in Health Care November 28, 2011 Susan M. Kajfasz Patient Self-Determination Act Project – Advance Directives Congress enacted the Patient Self-Determination Act, a healthcare policy, as part of the Omnibus Reconciliation Act signed by President Bush in 1990. The act went into effect in 1991(Nathanson, 1997). According to Nathanson (1997), the law intends to protect the patient’s right to make his or her own decisions through advanced directives. Advance directives designate another person to make decisions for him or her should a patient lose his or her decision-making capacity. The Medicare and Medicaid programs established a requirement that health care providers must acknowledge the law through the implementation of written policies and procedures that illustrate the patient’s rights (Nathanson, 1997). Therefore, it is the responsibility of the health care professional to comply ethically and legally according to the policies dictated by the organization. Nathanson (1997) interpretation of the law asserts that the patient must receive advice and written information about advanced directives illustrating his or her right to accept or refuse medical treatment. The Patient Self-Determination Act requirement ensures that health care professionals receive education and training that is appropriate and in subordination with the specific laws, regulations, organizational policies, and procedures. The Act requires each state to furnish health care providers and agencies with a description of the law. The Act also requires providers to give their patients information through various forms of media such as the policy of Concerned Home Care, Incorporated, (Concerned Home Care, Inc, 2011). How does this agency’s policy influence your professional work? The Advanced Directive Policy creates a unique physician patient relationship by placing the patient at the center of the health care decision-making process from the onset of the relationship. The patient has an inherent right to â€Å"accept or refuse medical treatment† through the formulation of an Advanced Directive. Through this policy the hysician-patient relationship begins with discussions that center on the desires of the patient rather than the processes of the health care provider. The Agency’s policy mandates that physicians, nurses, and other health care providers â€Å"provide the patient with written information regarding Advance Medical Directives and ask the patient if he/she has prepared an Advan ce Directive; either a living will or durable power of attorney. † Advance Directives allow patients to implement specific boundaries for treatments at the beginning of the clinician-patient relationship. Pre-existing advance directives also empowers patients because it allows family members to speak on their behalf in the event that they become incapacitated or unable to render decisions on their own. A patient’s medical wishes were often preempted for the application of intensive and invasive treatments of the past. Advance Directive Policies changed this standard of care and gave patients the opportunity to determine their own treatment plan. The initiation of Do Not Resuscitate (DNR) Orders is an early example of Advance Directives. Later developments embrace the inclusion or exclusion of specific treatment medications, invasive procedures, and care maps that can impact patient longevity in the event that complications from disease arise. Written Advance Directive Information protects the patient from personal bias of staff members. The policy states â€Å"the staff member is not authorized to give the patient advice about advanced directives,† and â€Å"shall refer the patient to the Advanced Directive Questions and Answers section of the admission packet and also shall inform the patient to seek further information from the physician. This further advances the discussions between the physician and the patient ultimately ensuring that the desires and expectations of the patient remain central to the care map. Advanced Directive decisions â€Å"require open communication between the patient and the health care team† (Burkhardt & Nathaniel,  2008, pp. 242-243). The Agency is also required to rais e awareness of Advanced Directive within the community by including â€Å"Advance Directive information in its presentations,† either â€Å"in presentations made directly to the community members or in presentations made to other providers and/or other organizations. Enhanced discussions regarding Advanced Directives, end of life care and the patient’s desired plan of treatment becomes part of the heath care provider’s relationship during an office or in home. The creation of open and honest lines of communication stimulates healthy discussions and strengthens the bond between providers and patients. In fact the term â€Å"physician-patient relationship† has forever changed with Advanced Directive policies. It is more fitting that the terminology reflects the fact that patients have greater control over their care. Thus the term should be â€Å"patient-physician relationship,† placing the patient at the center of the health care continuum. As the patient centered relationship continues, the past â€Å"passive position† that makes it difficult â€Å"to remain intellectually and emotionally in control of your own experience† will continue to progress placing patients first and normal operating procedures second (Ashton & Richards,  2003, p. 7). What are the effects of the increasing technology of patient confidentiality and data security on health care organizations? Health care organizations face an enormous task of maintaining the privacy of their patients with the onslaught of new technology. This task involves ensuring that employees have policies and procedures to follow when using new technology to access protected health information (PHI), faxing PHI, and using the Internet. Health care organizations and health care providers have the responsibility of implementing a patient’s Advance Directives. However, new technology can give way to digression to past behaviors and the paternalistic attitudes of some clinicians may result in disregarding a patient’s Advance Directives. Some clinicians may believe they know what is best for the patient because advances in technology often raises hope that a provider can positively impact or alter a patient’s current medical condition (Burkhardt & Nathaniel, 2008). According to Miller and Tucker (2009), the use of electronic medical records (EMRs) could reduce America’s annual health care bill by $34 billion through higher safety and efficiency but only 41% of hospitals in the United States have adopted its use. Concerns over effectively protecting patient privacy and the cost of securing information have prevented the widespread use throughout the industry. A prime example of the fruition of security concerns is the downfall of the Santa Barbara County Care Health Data Exchange in 2007 (Miller & Tucker, 2009). The state mandated privacy filters but the system still failed. New technology requires privacy protection devices to protect PHI. This may force health care organizations to increase the rates of medical record use just to keep financially afloat. Conclusion The creation of Agency policies has impacted the physician-patient relationship effectively giving the power to control the course of treatment to patients. In essence, physicians have become advisors in the presence of Advanced Directives, yielding to the desires of patients and their families. The provision of care changed with advances in technology. Information sharing and dissemination requires physicians and other health care providers to successfully navigate between their new role as advisors and their commitment to ensure the best delivery of care to their patients. Melding the two provides the best guarantee that patients will have both their wants and needs met maximizing the opportunity for positive health outcomes. References Burkhardt, M. A. , & Nathaniel, A. K. (2008). Ethics and issues in contemporary nursing (3rd ed. ). Mason, OH: Delmar Cengage Learning. Concerned Home Care, Inc. , (2011). Concerned Home Care Policy and Procedure Manual Harbor Beach, MI. : . Miller, A. R. , & Tucker, C. (2009). Privacy protection and technology diffusion: The case of electronic medical records. Management Science, 55(7), 1077-1093. Nathanson, M. D. (1997). Home Health Care Law Manual (5th ed. ). Gaithersburg, MD. : Aspen Publication. Appendix I: Advance Directives for Concerned Home Care, Inc. [pic]

Europe between the Wars: Fascism Essay

According to Stanley Payne, the term fascism rooted from the Latin word fasces which delineate â€Å"bundle† or â€Å"union†. Yet, these words cannot fully encapsulate nor even define what fascism; more specifically â€Å"Italian Fascism† is all about. It had been commonly misused as to refer to â€Å"violence, repression, dictatorship and brutality† removing any difference from the concept that were commonly associated with Communism. (p. 3) Seemingly, a clear cut definition of fascism is hard to come up with because it does not have any â€Å"seminal text† that should have defined its political, social and economic pursuit in contrast with other ideologies. Since this is the case, knowing the history of how the so-called â€Å"fascist† acts and the things they try to emphasize in the words they said, were substantial for anyone to have a more relevant understanding of the term or the word â€Å"fascism†. As an ideology, fascism considers the concerns of the individual along with those of the society as secondary or inferior to those of the whole state. Primarily, it views the state as an organic living thing that is mythical in a sense due to its belief in a â€Å"national rebirth† in the process of : nti-ideological’ and pragmatic ideology that proclaims itself antimaterialist, antiindividualist, antiliberal, antidemocratic, anti-Marxist, is populist and anticapitalist in tendency, expresses itself aesthetically more than theoretically by means of a new political style and by myths, rites, and symbols as a lay religion designed to acculturate, socialize, and integrate the faith of the masses with the goal of creating a ‘new man’ (Payne, p. 4) It was believed to be founded by Benito Mussolini as a political movement that espouses authoritarian dictatorship. It does not promote the concept of â€Å"class struggle† which makes it different from Marxism; it is a revolutionary ideology which seeks to promote the Italian race as part of aggressive nationalism programs which was associated or was said to have influenced German’s Nazism. (p. 225) It was believed to have started as an anti-communist group in the leadership of Mussolini, in addition with the anti-socialist sentiments that had flood Italy during the 1920’s as a result of the worker’s upheaval. Mussolini’s power doesn’t actually come from his own cunningness but was derived from the ineffectiveness of the government and the miscalculation made by the Socialist party. (p. 23-35) As the government of his time side with him in order to combat the socialism and the problems that it brought to the government and as the Socialist party remained confident that they would reign Italy, Mussolini have managed to gradually gain popularity, trust and power. (p. 27) Domestically, Mussolini’s actions were directed towards the restoration of Italy. He favored militarism and internationalism. He calls for the separation of the church and the state. There was also a movement which replaced the labor unions with co-operatives that works ideally with the government in able to look create plans that would benefit both the workers and the state. (p. 55-67) He legislate laws which were in favor of private ownership and capitalization. His foreign policies include the invasion of Ethiopia and the recognition of Roman Catholicism as the only religion in the state. (p. 55) This had resulted to the Anti-Semitic laws resulting to several other actions that were now being referred as racial discrimination. Seeing that his goals paralleled with those of the Nazi German’s, he had establish an alliance with them. His economic policies involve public works and the imposition of a state police under his party. (p. 25-317) Mussolini started the promotion of imperialism by directing a war with Ethiopia in view that this would redirect the attention and sympathy of the citizens. He had also aided fascist movement in Spain and accepted alliance with Germany. It is during these years that he started to decline in his prominence. (p. 225-317) Violence are viewed by Mussolini as liberating, deaths as a necessary sacrifice and wars as trials that must be overcome in reverence of the state. This is quite different from the Marxist Communism which according to Payne (p. 355) have â€Å"qualified violence as an indispensable means to an end—while gratuitously employing it en masse—and almost always preached peace as ideal and goal, while massively militarizing their systems in practice†. Italian Fascism might not have a core value system or an organized history, yet it had managed to influence other nations and it had been successful in eradicating or at least minimizing the Socialist movement that have dominated in the 1920’s. It promotes cultural liberalism by promoting capitalism under authoritarianism and nationalism. Although the ideal desire for hegemony and false judgment have led to the downfall of Mussolini, his actions, practices and ideology as whole have prompted several leaders into developing strands of political movements that resembles fascist vision and methods. The idea of focusing and putting the needs of the state above any personal needs indeed capture the hearts and minds of most citizens and has so far work even in the expense of many lives. (p. 355-358)

Essay on Aging grandparentsEssay Writing Service

Essay on Aging grandparentsEssay Writing Service Essay on Aging grandparents Essay on Aging grandparentsWhat could society do to prevent homelessness among the aged?Society could develop the proper strategies to prevent homelessness among the aged. For example, it is possible to develop effective policies aimed at promoting positive relationships between the aged and their relatives. These policies should be based on morale as they could help to prevent the aged from becoming homeless. Besides, it is necessary to improve the system of benefits for older AmericansShould aging grandparents who are raising their grandchildren receive assistance from social service agencies? If so, what type of services should be provided?Aging grandparents who are raising their grandchildren should receive assistance from social service agencies. They should receive financial support, education training and psychological assistance. These types of services are crucial to them.Discuss some of the benefits to seniors who volunteer?Some of the benefits to seniors who volunteer incl ude not only social benefits, but also developing a sense of accomplishment, happiness and satisfaction. Many seniors are involved in volunteering in order to help others. They fulfill their moral responsibility.Discuss alternative living opportunities for seniors. What could communities do to support alternate living options for seniors?Alternative living opportunities for seniors include independent living facilities, medical assistance and other types of care, entertainment opportunities, such as well-organized social events with other seniors, and other alternative living opportunities. Communities could do much to support alternate living options for seniors. For example, communities could provide financial support and moral support (counseling, participation in community events).Why are women most likely to take responsibility for the care of the frail elderly?Women are most likely to take responsibility for the care of the frail elderly because they experience greater level o f empathy to the aged than men. They are kinder and tenderer to others. Besides, women better understand the problems of others.Discuss how gender, race and ethnicity affect an older person’s health?Gender, race and ethnicity affect an older person’s health to a great extent. The aged from minority groups live below the poverty line. They are more vulnerable to discrimination. Most of them get poor health care services because of low social status.How is long term care of the elderly financed in the United States? Discuss how this might affect those of low, middle and high income levels.Long term care of the elderly is financed in the United States through public programs, such as Medicaid and Medicare. Â  This might affect those of low, middle and high income levels because of differences in funding by federal and state governments. For example, Medicaid was launched for low-income population.Discuss the conflict between federal standards for nursing homes and reimbu rsement.The conflict between federal standards for nursing homes and reimbursement is concluded in the fact that federal standards for many nursing home services are nonexistent. Most health care facilities do not meet the standards. As a result, they are not eligible for reimbursement.

Free Essays on Interaction And Communication Between Parents And Babies Through Touch

Abstract Parental touch is explained in the context of infant massage and is discussed as being central to a baby’s various dimensions of health. The importance of touch is explained as it relates to the babies, parents and their union as a family. Emphasis is given on the communicative functions of touch on babies and the short and long term benefits of parental touch on the family collectively and as individuals. Finally, infant massage is promoted as being essential for parents to practice because of its strong effect throughout the receiver’s life. Introduction Touch has long been researched but we yet need to know more about it since its effects are of such magnitude. Touch is the most essential communication channel for babies because they sense, understand and experience it more than any other stimulation. Babies need to be touched because it affects their mind and bodies’ development, health and strengthens their bond with parents resulting in happier family life and facilitated development later in life. The benefits of this interaction are short term and long term if touch is properly administered at this early age. Physiological changes, action readiness, valenced emotions, discrete emotions, and most essential of all, love, along with safety and security, are communicated to babies when they are touched. All parents should take time to learn about touch and use this knowledge to improve their children’s quality of life. Literature Review Infant massage, the practice of massaging particular areas of a baby’s body with gentleness and love is well established and taught by many institutions devoted to teaching parents necessary skills for child rearing. The key to successful infant massage is to remember that is it meant to be a pleasure for both parent and child. The setting should be comfortable for both parties. A warm room, pillows, blankets, hand cream to keep the parent’s hands soft and ... Free Essays on Interaction And Communication Between Parents And Babies Through Touch Free Essays on Interaction And Communication Between Parents And Babies Through Touch Abstract Parental touch is explained in the context of infant massage and is discussed as being central to a baby’s various dimensions of health. The importance of touch is explained as it relates to the babies, parents and their union as a family. Emphasis is given on the communicative functions of touch on babies and the short and long term benefits of parental touch on the family collectively and as individuals. Finally, infant massage is promoted as being essential for parents to practice because of its strong effect throughout the receiver’s life. Introduction Touch has long been researched but we yet need to know more about it since its effects are of such magnitude. Touch is the most essential communication channel for babies because they sense, understand and experience it more than any other stimulation. Babies need to be touched because it affects their mind and bodies’ development, health and strengthens their bond with parents resulting in happier family life and facilitated development later in life. The benefits of this interaction are short term and long term if touch is properly administered at this early age. Physiological changes, action readiness, valenced emotions, discrete emotions, and most essential of all, love, along with safety and security, are communicated to babies when they are touched. All parents should take time to learn about touch and use this knowledge to improve their children’s quality of life. Literature Review Infant massage, the practice of massaging particular areas of a baby’s body with gentleness and love is well established and taught by many institutions devoted to teaching parents necessary skills for child rearing. The key to successful infant massage is to remember that is it meant to be a pleasure for both parent and child. The setting should be comfortable for both parties. A warm room, pillows, blankets, hand cream to keep the parent’s hands soft and ...

UNH Admissions Data and Acceptance Rate

UNH Admissions Data and Acceptance Rate With an acceptance rate of 76 percent, the University of New Hampshire is accessible to many applicants. Students with good grades and test scores are likely to be admitted.  To apply, interested students will need to submit an application, official high school transcripts, SAT or ACT scores, and a letter of recommendation. Art and music students will need to submit additional materialscheck the schools website for more information. The school accepts the Common Application, which can save applicants time and energy when applying to multiple schools that use that application. W ill you get in? Calculate your chances of getting in with this free tool from Cappex. Admissions Data (2016) University of New Hampshire Acceptance Rate: 76  percentGPA, SAT and ACT Graph for UNHTest Scores: 25th / 75th PercentileSAT Critical Reading: 490 / 590SAT Math: 500 / 610SAT Writing: - / -What these SAT numbers meanNew Hampshire colleges SAT comparisonAmerica East Conference SAT score comparisonACT Composite: 22 / 27ACT English: 22 / 27ACT Math: 22  / 27What these ACT numbers meanNew Hampshire colleges ACT comparisonAmerica East Conference ACT score comparison UNH Description The University of New Hampshires main campus is located in Durham, a seacoast town with a population similar to the university. Boston is about an hour away, as is excellent skiing in the White Mountains. The university has an 18 to 1  student/faculty ratio, and high achieving and motivated students should check out the opportunities available through the Honors Program. For its academic strengths, UNH was awarded a chapter of  Phi Beta Kappa. In athletics, the UNH Wildcats compete in the NCAA Division I  Colonial Athletic Association  for football, and the  America East Conference  for many other sports. Enrollment (2016) Total Enrollment: 15,188 (12,857 undergraduates)Gender Breakdown: 46 percent male / 54 percent female97 percent full-time Costs (2016-17) Tuition and Fees: $17,624  (in-state); $31,424  (out-of-state)Books: $1,200 (why so much?)Room and Board: $10,938Other Expenses: $2,438Total Cost: $32,200  (in-state); $46,000 (out-of-state) UNH Financial Aid (2015-16) Percentage of New Students Receiving Aid: 85  percentPercentage of New Students Receiving Types of AidGrants: 70 percentLoans: 71  percentAverage Amount of AidGrants: $12,196Loans: $10,169 Academic Programs Most Popular Majors:  Biology, Business Administration, Communication Studies, English, Kinesiology and Exercise Science, Nursing, Political Science, PsychologyWhat major is right for you?  Sign up to take the free My Careers and Majors Quiz at Cappex. Graduation, Retention and Transfer Rates First Year Student Retention (full-time students): 86  percent4-Year Graduation Rate: 67 percent6-Year Graduation Rate: 78  percent Intercollegiate Athletic Programs Mens Sports:  Football, Ice Hockey, Skiing, Basketball, Cross Country, SoccerWomens Sports:  Lacrosse, Skiing, Soccer, Basketball, Gymnastics, Field Hockey If You Like UNH, You May Also Like These Schools: University of Vermont: Profile | GPA-SAT-ACT GraphQuinnipiac University: Profile | GPA-SAT-ACT GraphBoston University: Profile | GPA-SAT-ACT GraphRoger Williams University: Profile | GPA-SAT-ACT GraphBoston College: Profile | GPA-SAT-ACT GraphEndicott College: Profile | GPA-SAT-ACT GraphSyracuse University: Profile | GPA-SAT-ACT GraphPlymouth State University: Profile  University of Connecticut: Profile | GPA-SAT-ACT GraphUMass - Amherst: Profile | GPA-SAT-ACT GraphUniversity of Maine: Profile | GPA-SAT-ACT Graph Data Source: National Center for Educational Statistics

Company Report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Company Report - Essay Example To prove the point, the example of Microsoft may be analyzed since it is comparatively easier to compile data owing to the transparency policy of the organization; whereby all reports and strategy objectives alongside other company deliverables are available on request. Similarly, field data may also be gathered due to research-friendly policy of the organization. Microsoft offers a diverse range of information technology applications in the ever changing industry where innovation and globalization drives the business. In this context, Microsoft is aiming at performing on a scale where digital experience for the users enhances and technology becomes more intuitive to suit the needs of humans. However, the technology outcomes have been compromised to some extent, especially with reference to newer versions of technology like cloud computing since the customers fail to encourage the sales by denying on licensing the products. This has, however, more to do with the competition where oth er smaller companies are reaching out to the clientele base with products which don`t need to be licensed since their revenue generation base differs from that of Microsoft. In this context, various recommendations can be made to Microsoft in order to improve their performance against the set objectives. To elaborate on the company`s performance, the objectives need to be discussed first. An analysis of the company`s various reports as well as on first hand interaction with various stakeholders in the company, five major objectives may be concluded; though in originality, there are a wide range of objectives set by the company. Following are five of these objectives, which seem to be gauging the major chunk of preferences of Microsoft; Establishing windows as the central platform for the entire ecosystem of the information technology world, where developers` needs may be in sync with the needs of the newer

The Effects of Globalization on the Sultanate of Oman Economy, Society Essay

The Effects of Globalization on the Sultanate of Oman Economy, Society and Policy - Essay Example As the report stresses globalization is the current trend of the major countries joined within the process of development of the entire human society today based on the international trade. What globalization is actually based on is the ideal thought of making the entire human society operatively connected to each other through the development of worldwide economy. It could be observed that the most affected countries in this particular process are those that are most connected to their cultural standing and traditions as a country which has an identifiable status in the international sense. The main focus of this research shall be addressed on the different developments and adjustments that the sultanate system of Oman should and already have undergone for the sake of being able to cope up with the challenges of global trade. Through this research, deciphering the different effects of globalization in the different aspects of social, political and economic systems of the country. By doing so, it is expected that understanding globalization in a more balanced perspective shall be given way in this research. To be able to come up with a considerable result for this research, the researcher plans to handle the study through basing from the combined perspectives of other researchers in the field of understanding how the sultanate government of Oman tries to cope with a more liberalized system of economy in the world at present.

Juvenile justice Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4500 words

Juvenile justice - Case Study Example Since psychologist say that the majority of intellectual growth takes place throughout adolescents, the ACT OF 1993helps establish the idea that incarceration may not be the best way to deter young adults from committing future crimes. When studying the legislation which directs how young offenders should be treated, as this essay will do shortly, it is possible to detect certain trends. At some points the courts were directed to deal harshly with young offenders. Harsh treatment varies in severity, from hanging in the eighteenth century to the 'short, sharp, shock' of detention centres advocated more recently. A more humane approach is also detectable within the history of juvenile justice, whereby the correction or treatment of young offenders is directed away from the penal system and towards welfare experts. There is also some legislation which can be regarded as a reaction to a certain event, as has happened recently with regard to the treatment of young people who have committed very serious crimes but, although these examples are not very common, it provides concern as to how far policy is geared toward addressing issues. This essay will concentrate on the last 30 years of juvenile justice policy, a brief o utline of the changes which have occurred in this area over a longer period will be provided in order that the debate may have some context historically (Morris & Giller 1987). Recent legislative changes and the underlying assumptions which have influenced them will then be discussed. Firstly, however, different approaches to juvenile justice will be considered. The notion that youth in trouble with the law may just be misguided, has the youth courts not treating these matters strictly as criminal issues, but helping to divert the juvenile from a potential adult life of crime. The Young Offenders Act starts with the idea that youth should be responsible for their actions, but we must take into account that some youth make mistakes and there is no evidence that long sentences reduce youth crime. (Singer and McDowell, 1987) Child development and juvenile experts agree, that the "correction" of young offenders should be positive and influence healthy development. They say that a sense of responsibility and judgment are less developed in adolescents and thus makes rehabilitation that much greater and that the traditional sentences and emphasis on incarceration do not work well. They believe that rehabilitation, where possible, can address the needs and circumstances under which a crime was committed, for example, killing/maiming animals at a you ng age often indicates an underlying psychosis. The Act itself was developed around the purpose; giving the young offender a chance to realize that they are headed in the wrong direction. It is not trying to adjudicate crime, but to merely "save" the child involved and reduce their chance of recidivism. They caught onto this notion through the determination that adolescent development is critical to the mental, cognitive, social and moral/ethical well being of the young adult (The World of Psychology, 1999). Psychologists believe that the years between 12-17 are the most detrimental to these factors and that one has to understand that human development is the function of the

Human Resource Management at Work Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words - 1

Human Resource Management at Work - Essay Example In this approach, there is not much focus on the human resource. The contemporary approach focuses on competencies and the employees’ commitment to the organisation. The principle behind the contemporary approach is that if the employees are happy, the organisation progresses too. Talents and capabilities of the employees are maximized, and are linked to the goals of the organisation. The contemporary approach is based on the principle that the people are the organisation’s greatest asset (Armstrong, 2006, p. 3). HRM provides effective management of the staff, retention, and turnover processes, and selection of employees that fit with both the organisational strategy and culture, and the cost effective utilisation of employees through investment in identified human capital. The first part of this paper focuses on theories and concepts, while the second part is concentrated on a particularly industry, the automotive industry, with Toyota as the particular organization battling the forces of organisational and external environment. The last part is a reflective diary which details this author’s personal experiences in the conduct of the research. The ‘universalist’ paradigm states that the purpose of the study of HRM is to improve the way that human resources are managed strategically within organisations. The aim is to improve organisational performance, as judged by its impact on the organisation’s corporate strategy (Tichy, Fombrun and Devanna, 1982; Huselid 1995, cited in Harris et al., 2003). Good HRM focuses on careful recruitment and selection methods, coupled with an effective training and development. Other contributing factors are a good communication process within the organisation, a well-defined job design, performance appraisal, and the motivation system for employees, which include performance standards, appraisal, etc. (Harris et al., 2003) The contextual paradigm searches

Information Technology - Questions to be answered Essay

Information Technology - Questions to be answered - Essay Example Expert systems (in general all symbolic systems) and neural networks are two "rival" approaches to Artificial Intelligence, both having different application areas within this scope. expert system design may take months of gathering information and testing. On the other hand, a neural network may be designed and trained in a few days after most examples related with the domain are gathered. A good rule of thumb is if the rules are not well defined and there is a lot of training data then use neural network approach. If there are no examples available then a classical expert system approach may be taken. Apart from this, there are of course other criteria for deciding which approach to follow: Expert system technology is a mature and well expressed technology which is currently available. it can be stated that the desire for increased knowledge has brought expert systems out of the research laboratories into the office. Expert systems are good at procedural types of problems such as strategy, scheduling, and teaching. They are better than manuals because they ask the user only relevant information, they incorporate past experience into solving the problem, and they answer questions about their reasoning process [17]. Data warehousing can ensure that a company remains profitable as... 2. Summarize how a data warehouse might become a survival issue for a company Data warehousing can ensure that a company remains profitable as it can help businesses and consumers cut through the chase and provide a more meaningful service to both consumer and business, or they can be used in such a way as to harm the business, the consumer or both. With this potentially tremendous power comes tremendous responsibility. Companies that choose to engage in data warehousing activities should have in place not only a technical team for implementation, but also a sound data security policy as well as an ethical use policy. These policies should be made available to the consumers whose information is stored within the warehouse. The following table summarizes the seven myths and counter-myths discussed in this paper, organized by value to the consumer, business and society as a whole. Source: (Joseph Cazier and Ryan LaBrie, 7 Myths of Common Data Warehousing Practices: An examination of consumer, business and societal value. 2003) 3. ERP, CRM and other behemoth conceptual information systems represent behemoth physical systems. Compare and contrast whether or not such behemoth conceptual systems inhibit an organization's physical system and its ability to be agile The phrase "agile organization" refers to an organization that can respond in a real-time enough fashion to situations that impact the health and well-being of the organizations and its stakeholders. Becoming "agile" typically involves a combination of process re-engineering as well as the deployment of application, infrastructure and management capabilities with the goal of taking time and cost out of business processes, while improving the quality of these

Professional Development Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Professional Development - Assignment Example As I began to consider civil engineering as a suitable career, I became more aware of the time that I spent studying and learning, at my own will, about a great deal of construction, design, and architecture topics, along with mathematics, science, and project management that are all relevant to civil engineering. I am an observant listener and I believe that learning from others’ advice and experiences will be useful input for career development, especially from those who are engaged in the civil engineering profession. At present, I do believe that I possess a number of skills and attributes which may be valuable if I pursue my preferred career, such as technical skills for design and construction. My analytical and problem-solving skills and excellent use of computer applications are significant in dealing with engineering projects in the future. Moreover, I also possess soft skills such as confidence and team spirit which may be favorable in working with a team. Team performance has been suggested to significantly influence organisational performance (Tarricone and Luca 2002), making such skills critical in contemporary organisations. I strongly believe in the power of motivation and I try to be a good example to others, especially when faced with difficulty. I do not fear unexpected comes as I trust that there is always a solution to a problem. In a state of uncertainty, it is better to be creative and make the best use of opportunities (Vakola and Nikolauo 2005). However, I also have weak points, particularly in management skills. Although I can consider myself as capable of managing projects with my technical abilities and dealing with other people through my values, these are not enough. There is a need for engineers to be highly capable of managing all processes involved in a managerial role to allow for coherence and holism. I find it difficult to be organised, and this is a

Information Technology - Questions to be answered Essay

Information Technology - Questions to be answered - Essay Example Expert systems (in general all symbolic systems) and neural networks are two "rival" approaches to Artificial Intelligence, both having different application areas within this scope. expert system design may take months of gathering information and testing. On the other hand, a neural network may be designed and trained in a few days after most examples related with the domain are gathered. A good rule of thumb is if the rules are not well defined and there is a lot of training data then use neural network approach. If there are no examples available then a classical expert system approach may be taken. Apart from this, there are of course other criteria for deciding which approach to follow: Expert system technology is a mature and well expressed technology which is currently available. it can be stated that the desire for increased knowledge has brought expert systems out of the research laboratories into the office. Expert systems are good at procedural types of problems such as strategy, scheduling, and teaching. They are better than manuals because they ask the user only relevant information, they incorporate past experience into solving the problem, and they answer questions about their reasoning process [17]. Data warehousing can ensure that a company remains profitable as... 2. Summarize how a data warehouse might become a survival issue for a company Data warehousing can ensure that a company remains profitable as it can help businesses and consumers cut through the chase and provide a more meaningful service to both consumer and business, or they can be used in such a way as to harm the business, the consumer or both. With this potentially tremendous power comes tremendous responsibility. Companies that choose to engage in data warehousing activities should have in place not only a technical team for implementation, but also a sound data security policy as well as an ethical use policy. These policies should be made available to the consumers whose information is stored within the warehouse. The following table summarizes the seven myths and counter-myths discussed in this paper, organized by value to the consumer, business and society as a whole. Source: (Joseph Cazier and Ryan LaBrie, 7 Myths of Common Data Warehousing Practices: An examination of consumer, business and societal value. 2003) 3. ERP, CRM and other behemoth conceptual information systems represent behemoth physical systems. Compare and contrast whether or not such behemoth conceptual systems inhibit an organization's physical system and its ability to be agile The phrase "agile organization" refers to an organization that can respond in a real-time enough fashion to situations that impact the health and well-being of the organizations and its stakeholders. Becoming "agile" typically involves a combination of process re-engineering as well as the deployment of application, infrastructure and management capabilities with the goal of taking time and cost out of business processes, while improving the quality of these

Qualities I Lacked to Work Effectively in a Group Personal Statement

Qualities I Lacked to Work Effectively in a Group - Personal Statement Example Being an egocentric person, the situation was too difficult for me to survive. Being a person who always liked to outperform others and too intolerant in failures, I found the situation humiliating far beyond my expectations. Along with these, the hard reality hit my mind that my abilities were not as good as I expected and I had a long way to go to prove my mettle. It became a nightmare for me to work in a group in the field. Many a time, I found my seniors engaging other members in the team with works that I could do better and adding to my woes, I always erred or had insufficient knowledge in the ones I was handed. I was getting criticized but had no way to react as I found myself in a world where no one seemed interested in recognizing the talent of another one; instead, everyone was looking for ways to undermine others. It was a picture that I never dreamt of. There were two things that I lacked; lack of knowledge in certain specific areas and lack of experience. It was too conf using for me to take a decision; on one hand, I wanted to quit the profession forever and on the other, I wanted to prove my abilities after getting the required qualifications. Finally, I decided to put off my ego and asked my tutor about the future course I had to adopt. She was more than ready to provide advice and on her advice and support, I decided to join this course so that I can improve my knowledge and have a new beginning with sufficient knowledge. In addition, I wrote to MSF after joining my course and I am advised to complete my studies to apply for even better positions in MSF. Now, I am happy that I did not lose heart and give up the idea. Feelings – looking in The incident made me look deep into the wide variety of emotions that ruled my mind at that time. As I already mentioned I had an egalitarian nature and I had a problem accepting suggestions and advice and I always nurtured the feeling that I am better than others and it was so in my academic pursuit. Ho wever, out in the field, I found it hard to digest that what I do just goes wrong or the workplace requires more ability than I possessed. It was totally indigestible and unbelievable in the beginning as my ego did not accept it that easily. Still, I knew very well that I could do much better than what many others did but had no opportunity. I found it humiliating as I was very often criticized for the lack of knowledge. Now I have to accept the fact that the reason behind my misery at work was mostly because of my ego and lack of knowledge compounded with my dislike to seek help from others. However, the feeling of utter disappointment made me seek help, though reluctantly, and when I sought advice and became ready to accept, the solution was immediate.  

Texting and driving Essay Example for Free

Texting and driving Essay I think texting and driving is dangerous and whether or not it has affected you as of now, statistics show it could in the future. Did you know that texting while driving is now one of the most common distractions that take a driver’s eyes off the road today? Imagine if someone in your family, your mom, dad, or sibling were killed by a driver who was texting, how would you feel? Would you think, was that text really worth losing a life over? I am going to show you that texting while driving is never a good idea and can have dangerous and deadly consequences’ for that individual. Problem: Texting while driving kill’s people on a daily basis. Recent statistics from 2009 show that 5,474 people in the United States were killed due to texting. This was a significant increase from 2007 when 3,210 people were killed in accidents where drivers were texting.(http://www.stoptextsstopwrecks.org/#facts) Teenagers are the most experienced drivers and when they read or write a text it compounds their likely hood of having a fatal accident. Statistics bears this out with this age group when texting and driving 45% of their accidents resulted in death. The Allstate Foundation’s recent survey showed that 82% of teens report texting while driving, while only 23% admit to drinking and driving which shows how common this practice is for this age group. According to data collected by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety on (http://www.textndrive.com/, more teenagers die on May 20 than any other day of the year. Over the past five years, May 20 claimed 63% more lives than any average day because of prom and other end of the school year celebrations II. Cause: Driving and texting is considered a multi-tasked skill that increases the output of the driver’s brain causing distractions to our cognitive functions, memory, visual fields, and manually. The first way that texting interferes with drivers is through the brain’s cognitive functions that allow for multi-tasking. Driver’s attention span is split between what’s going on in the road and what’s happening on their cell phone, and this lack of focus makes them a liability for other drivers. Most people do not have the cognitive skills to manage two different multi-tasked processes at once.  This causes individuals brains to process too much mentally, making the information that is received unclear and hard for them to react quickly to events happening in their surroundings. Second way that texting interferes with driving is through memory. a. Memory is when the brain engages in a constant process that sends. III. Solution: There are many solutions to this problem and I will list a few: Unless you are on a long road trip, put your phone away until you arrive at your destination, if you have to text just pull over for a few minutes. There are apps for most phones that you can use to prevent if you are tempted to text while you are driving called anti-texting apps that can be utilized. If you are on a trip with more than yourself, designate a person that will be the texter, if you are driving have your passenger text for you so you can concentrate on the road. Silence your phone if you are one who has to look at your phone for every noise it makes. I have just taken you through the problems with texting and driving. Provided you with the statistics and presented you with possible dangers of texting and driving. I have given you alternatives to not only keep you safe but to also keep others safe too. Laws are being enacted due to the public outcry and most states are on board with legislation punishing drivers that text. But that would be a drop in the bucket should you be distracted and injure or kill someone when it could have been avoided. I hope that I have convinced you to join me in educating people to change their driving habits†¦ Silence can saves lives. References: BIBLIOGRAPHY \* MERGEFORMAT Stop the Texys Stop the Wrecks. (2014). From Stoptextsstopwrecks: www.stoptextstopwrecks.org www.stoptextstopwrecks.org. (2014). From www.stoptextstopwrecks.org www.textndrive.com. (2014). From www.textndrive.com: www.textndrive.com/wordpress/2010/05/may-20-is-deadliest-day-for-american-teen-drivers/ Here is the link to my Persuasive speech: http://youtu.be/dgCanjzytFs

Analysis Of External And Internal Environment Marketing Essay

Analysis Of External And Internal Environment Marketing Essay A small business is a business that is privately owned and operated, with a small number of employees and relatively low volume of sales. Small businesses are normally privately owned corporations, partnerships, or sole proprietorships. Every business which starts with the small capital, few members of staff and management, dont have much branches in other areas, town or country will be called as small businesses. Small businesses often have the vision of expansion, invest more capitalisation as well as profit maximisation. Here I am taking about Fried chicken shop which is necessary to UK people. This fried chicken shop name is western fried chicken. Executive Summary: The marketing plan of Western Fried Chicken focuses on their current positioning and the effects of repositioning themselves by launching Halal Fried Chicken. With its launch, theyd also be in the list of one of the Halal food suppliers in UK. The main idea is to offer Halal fried chicken in western style as well as with a few amendments in the recipe by making it spicy to make it appealing to its extended target audience i.e. Muslims that reside in United Kingdom. The reason being Muslims prefer a slightly more spicy food than the western food. The repositioning of the brand is targeted towards the extension of its target audience by allowing access to another target group i.e. a profitable population of Muslims from all over the world, living in UK. There is a high tendency of its success as Western Fried Chicken is already liked by its existing target audience and gets good reviews if anyone is a big fan of scrumptious chicken, chips and even juicy burgers. The consumers prefer WF C more than one of its giant competitors i.e. KFC. The Buzz marketing effect would be one of the best and cost free methods of promoting their chicken. The Challenge The food industry is a mammoth industry in UK and since there is a busy lifestyle, people prefer fast food take away rather than going for fine dining. In order to survive in the food industry where there is cut throat competition with over 1, 000 individual brands and 1,700 outlets, WFC has to offer something exceptional to its existing target audience in order to retain them and also attract new ones by enabling Muslims to be carefree regarding the Halal meat and focus on providing them something according to their preferences and taste. A little effort on consumer research should be put in, in order to know about their preferences and ultimately provide better end results to them and remove chances of consumer disgust. Vision: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ To establish a world class brand. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ To be the leading and fastest growing fast food chain in UK. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ To be synonymous with quality and profitability. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ To bring innovative products and business models to customers. Mission: Providing a hot juice burger, hot testy fried wings and chips. Providing a customer nice environment and nice service. Analysis of external and internal environment of the company: EXTERNAL environment: EXTERNAL ENVIRONMENT is factors (conditions, trends, and forces) essentially outside the control of organizational members. External environmental scans are conducted to identify important factors in the external environment. This analysis is often a critical aspect in all business or strategic plans. Also known as the operating environment, this refers to market conditions, economic and political issues on the local and national levels, demographic factors, and other forces outside of a business that affect the overall success of that business. The external environment creates both risks and opportunities for a company. Companys external environment has two factors such as Micro and Macro. To study micro factors, we need to focuses on Porters five generic forces model and to study macro factors, we need to focuses on PEST analysis of the company. Organization Macro factor: Macro environment factors are external forces or components that may affect the running of a business or organization. Despite being largely beyond the control of a business, macro environment factors often require changes and shifts in operating, management, production, and marketing. There are many different types of macro environment factors, including political, economic, social, and technological concerns also known as PEST factors. Macro-environmental factor normally using by the management and professionals to scan the external environment of the business to study strategic business management. There are many factors in the Western Fried chickens macro-environment that would affect the decisions of its management. Economical Political PEST Technological Social Political: Political factors can have a profound effect on how a business is operated and managed. Tax policy, government-issued safety regulations, the availability of government contracts, and even shifts in the controlling political party may all change the macro environment for an organization. International laws, such as trade agreements and tariffs, may affect the supply and demand chains and available markets for many different businesses as well. Political factors like changes in the Tax changes, new laws, trade barriers, demographic changes and government policy changes can affect WFC. WFC has an advantage being a food outlet as there wont be any such limitations in running their business. Despite the political distress it wouldnt affect the business of food chains at all as people wont stop eating food. Therefore, in political terms it has a positive edge. Economic Environment: A market boom, recession, or growing inflation problem can all change the way a business plans for the future and operates in the present. Economic macro environment factors are often difficult to assess, since economic forecasts and analyses vary widely between experts. Unemployment levels, comparative foreign exchange rates, and the state of the global economy can all help or hurt a business ability to get components it needs and maintain stable profit levels. Envisioning the economic environment of UK where inflation is as high as 3.3424%, the business might get affected thereby, decreasing the customer footfall, but at the same time, welcoming another target market will subsidize this outcome. Social and Cultural Environment: With respect to social and cultural environment, WFC is in an excellent situation. The reason being they are providing food which is one of the basic necessities of survival of human life. Secondly when talking about culture, just as the name suggests Western Fried Chicken, their offering fits the culture of UK the best and now they are even planning to launch Halal meat which would include the understanding of western consumer groups as well as other consumer groups i.e. Muslims for whom Halal meat is sacred This would help create positive associations to their brand. Technological: Technological macro environment factors can influence how a company does business. A new type of machinery, advanced computer chip, or product created through research and development can help a company stay modernized and ahead of the market curve. Keeping up with technological advances can be something of a marathon and a gamble; smart business owners must be able to accurately identify which new developments will be truly useful, and which are merely shiny objects with no real ability to improve business. Being a food outlet, Western Fried Chicken can adapt to a few more advanced technological cooking equipment such as electrical ovens and deep fryers etc. that would be hassle free and heat the oil at a flawless level in order to provide well cooked and crispy chicken than ever before. Organization Micro Factor: Companys micro environmental factors can be explained by using Michael Porters generic five forces model. This model mainly explains the relationship between company and their potential competitors, buyers and suppliers. These five forces also affect WFC. With this analysis one can find out the best option suitable for WFC to overcome the problems in the market due to those five forces. Bargaining power of CustomerMichael Porters five forces model: Bargaining Power of Suppliers Threat of substitute Products Competitive Rivalry within industry Threat of new Entrance Threat of new Entrance: Threat of New entrants is high as there are low barriers to entry on and there is no monopoly of any food outlets. The reason being the core product i.e. fried chicken is always a hit and there are higher chances of new entrants to survive pretty well in this industry by consuming other existing businesses market share. The bargaining power of suppliers: The bargaining power of suppliers is also low as chicken which is the raw material for WFC is not a difficult item to get due to the sufficient amount of suppliers but when it comes to Halal meat then it could be taken as bargaining power of suppliers is high as a very few suppliers provide Halal meat which is near to having monopoly. The bargaining power of buyers: The bargaining power of buyers is high when it comes to fast food items as there are many other outlets such as Chicken Cottage, KFC and Dixy Chicken etc. offering the same menu. Therefore, if the customers feel that WFC is continuously over pricing then there is a possibility of switching to other competitors. Threat of substitutes: Threat of substitutes is also high as there are over 1000 individual brands in operation in UK and if in future the consumers may think that WFC is not a healthy food, they might get inclined towards healthy food such as Chinese, Thai and Subway etc. Competitive Rivalry in the industry: Competitive Rivalry in the industry is very high because there is cut throat competition in the food industry of UK. There are over 1700 outlets providing something or the other. WFC has a lot of direct and indirect competitors. Internal analysis: To analyse any companys internal environment, it is very important to focus on what are the companys strength and weaknesses. By utilizing strength, company can use this positive factor to grow in the competitive market. It shows companys uniqueness from its competitors. Why we should choose or do not choose this company, we can get idea from its strengths or weakness. By focusing on companys weaknesses management can change or improve the weak points and they can transform weakness into their strengths. Strengths: Characteristics of the business, or project team that give it an advantage over others. Good Taste: WFC is famous for providing one of the best fried chicken and chicken burgers in town. Strong Brand Conviction: When it comes to fried chicken the customers strongly prefer and the fact that WFC is open till 4am which gives it an edge over all its competitors such as KFC etc. Customer Loyalty: If a customer has once tried WFC; hed get converted into a regular customer in no time. Customer Oriented Business: WFC is somewhat an amateur customer oriented business that plans to focus on consumer preferences and meet the expectations of the consumers better. Adaptability to change: WFC is willing to change as theyre thinking on the lines introducing Halal meat and extending their target audience. Weaknesses: Weaknesses are characteristics that place the team at a disadvantage relative to others. Narrow assortment of menu: fried chicken pieces, burgers, wings and ribs with fries and drink are just too limited offerings due to which they might lose on some of the potential customers. Lack in providing value for money to the customers: According to a few customers WFC is now charging expensive rates with respect to the value they are providing in form of food. The perceived value is less than the actual value delivered to the customers. Lacks in marketing research: A little effort put towards the marketing research of existing as well as attracting new customers might help WFC to be more profitable by providing value to its target market. Business Plan: Every small and big business starts with business plan. A business plan is a formal statement of a set of business goals, the reasons they are believed attainable, and the plan for reaching those goals. It may also contain background information about the organization or team attempting to reach those goals. Business plans may also target changes in perception and branding by the customer, client, taxpayer, or larger community. When the existing business is to assume a major change or when planning a new venture, a 3 to 5 year business plan is required, since investors will look for their annual return in that timeframe. The process of business plan passes through series of stages. Gather Information: WFC has gathered information about market trend in the UK. They found out that in UK there are lots of Muslim people. Age 14 45 years; teenagers who are students to adults, who are working there mostly, like fried chicken. Thats why there opening at let night 4 AM. Mission Goals: To provide a hot good quality and juice food to customer. Providing a good customer service. Increasing the income  £15000 to  £25000. Devise Strategies: At this stage WFC formulate their strategies to play in the market. Owner sit together and discuss about the market research and statistical data based on past survey. They develop the strategies on the basis of those data. Evaluation Plan: On the basis of the reports regarding monitored performance, Owner can evaluate the business plan again if he fined any gaps in their actual then targeted outcome. He can again start gathering information about actual market trend. Business plan is like a cycle. It doesnt stop once they achieved their target. Conclusion: Western Fried Chicken is operating really well in the food industry in UK and is really popular amongst its target audience. Catering to another untapped market of the Muslim population would make it a profitable venture by leaps and bounds as there are a really few Halal meat retail outlets in the UK. The opportunity is huge for the outlet which if grabbed properly can take the company into a new arena completely. I feel that this opportunity should be grabbed by the organization as there is a huge potential market available for it.

Essay --

Assignment #1 Ethics Bernie L. Madoff Investment Securities LLP was part of what is considered to be one of the largest financial frauds in U.S history. The Wall Street investment firm was used as an elaborate â€Å"Ponzi Scheme† that extorted upwards of $65 billion from unsuspecting investors. The Ponzi scheme is a fraudulent investment operation that pays earnings to older investors using the money generated from newer investors. The Ponzi scheme was perpetrated by founder Bernie Madoff and was carried out for a number of years until 2008 when he was finally convicted. Bernie L Madoff Investment Securities LLP was founded in 1960 by Chairman Bernie Madoff and was one of the top market-maker businesses primarily serving as the middleman between buyers and sellers of shares. Bernie Madoff first started his firm as a penny stock trader using the $5,000 he saved up from his job as a lifeguard and sprinkler installer. As time went on he was able to build up his firm with the help of his father-in-law, Saul Alpern who referred him to a large circle of friends and families which further helped expand his business (Biography.com). The firm eventually became so successful that by the 1980s, the firm handled up to 5% of the trading volume on the New York Stock Exchange. The firm also helped develop the National Association for Securities Dealers Automated Quotations (NASDAQ), a computer technology information platform which the firm used to broadcast stock quotes. In the 1990s Bernie Madoff was eventually named chairman of NASDAQ (DeGrace, 2011). Alongside B ernie Madoff was his brother Peter Madoff who was the firm’s chief compliance officer and senior managing director. Bernie also hired his two sons Mark and Andrew Madoff at his firm. ... .... According to the nytimes.com, it is required under the SOX that brokerage firms such as Madoff Securities are required to be audited by firms registered with the Public Company Accounting Board. However, the S.E.C issued a rule to waive that requirement for privately held brokerage firms. This again allowed Friehling & Horowitz who weren’t registered with the board to continue on doing the audits for Madoff Securities. (Norris, 2009) It’s obvious that Bernie Madoff was highly respected among his peers for his knowledge and experience in stock trading and he used that leverage to manipulate hundreds of investors. His returns despite seeming suspicious left his investors wanting more. There’s no doubt greed was the driving force behind Madoff’s unethical behaviour but it could also be said greed was also the reason Madoff was able to get away with it for so long.

Analysis of Arabian Nights

ARABIAN NIGHTS SYNOPSIS In Baghdad there was a Sultan named Shahryar who had gone mad because he accidentally killed his wife who was unfaithful to him for he had an affair with the Sultan’s brother, Schahzenan. He gone mad because he thought that every women wanted to kill him and for that he requests to bring a harem girl to marry and be killed the next day. A clever woman named Scheherazade decide to marry the Sultan in order to prevent his madness. With the help of a storyteller she tells the him a story every night and stopping every dawn with a cliffhanger and refuse to continue until its night time again.This prevents the Sultan to kill Scheherazade and the stories she was telling has lessons and will cure the madness of the Sultan. The stories she had told were Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves, The Tale of the Poor Hunchback, Aladdin and the Magic Lamp, The Sultan and the Beggar and The Three Princes. When Schahzenan heard about the Sultan’s madness and thought of it as his weakness, he took advantage of it. He formed an army to battle with him in getting the throne but he failed because Sultan Shahryar was cured by Scheherazade with her stories.The Sultan fell in love with her and because of the morals of her stories they defeated the army. At the end, Scheherazade was telling the whole story to her children. ANALYSIS 1. Give three traditional, cultural and customary practices shown in the movie. Explain its significance. A. The remarriage of the Sultan after the death of his wife or to pass the throne to a sibling. This can be considered a tradition because this practice has been done a long time ago. Almost all royal families do this. This is an important tradition because this speaks of loyalty and sincerity of the king or the sultan to his position.Marrying again shows that he is dedicated to his position that he does not let his emotions conquer him. That even he is grieving to the death of his former wife; he doesn’t mind it be cause what more important is his people and not his own self and own happiness. He is not willing to give up the throne because he knew it might affect his people and their daily lives. When the leader changes, adjustment of the people becomes difficult. Many would not agree and many will be against it. A good leader knows this well that is why he gives good decisions. B. The performance of an exotic dance to celebrate a victory.This is a cultural practice for this shows the culture of a certain group. In the movie, in the part about Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves, Morgiana, the love of Ali Baba performed a dance in celebration of their victory. It is a victory for defeating the enemies. This is significant because this presents the true picture of a group. It shows what the group is, what do they do and how they make-known their culture. It is therefore important because this will be the way that they can be recognized and appreciated. That they can show to all that they also posse ss a rich culture.In just a simple dance number, every movement, the music, the steps, the costume and the emotions talks about something, it talks about a story which is about them and their tradition. C. The offering of a dowry in asking a princess for marriage. This is a very known practice ever since for in ancient stories every man who wants to marry should offer something special and costly to the woman and the family. This is also considered important because this shows respect and assurance to the future of the couple. This just represent that the family of the woman can be at peace that they can give their child to a trustworthy man.And this is also important because this gives a man the opportunity to present himself and prove to be a gentleman. 2. Give three to five representations of human character and how these human nature shown in the movie. A. Courageous Courage is the ability to face difficulty and this trait is possessed by Scheherazade. She was willing to risk he r life just to save her fellow women from the mad Sultan. Even she was a little nervous of what she had decided, she face the challenge with great courage and bravery, letting her fate decide what will happen to her as long as she pursue her plan.B. Wise This trait is possessed by Aladdin when he snatched the lamp from Mustappa. He used his skills and took it as an opportunity to bring back the lamp to his owner, himself. Even pick-pocketing is a bad habit, he still used it in a useful and good reason. He did it because he knew, Mustappa has evil plans for it. C. Oppurtunistic This negative trait is possessed by Sultan Harun Al-Rashid when he always plays a prank with the beggar, Amin. He took advantage of Amin because he thinks he is weak and that he could have fun using him.But at the end, because of his bad trait, he faced his consequence and that is to be killed by the person he belittled before. D. Loving This is presented by the three princes, they showed how much they love th eir father even at first, they always compete and quarrel. Even they always do this, their reason is always, they love their father and they will do anything for him. When they were requested to bring back a special thing to their father, they exerted effort and time just to have it. And also because of the love they have for their parent, the three of them learn to rule the kingdom with peace and harmony.E. Pessimistic Sultan Shahryar is pessimistic. This was shown when he was betrayed by his wife. Because of this experience, he blinded himself that all women are trying to kill him. He generalize that women has bad intentions against him. He did not try to see the brighter side of life, that what had happened to him has a purpose and reason, instead he let himself sink to his emotions and this had conquered his mind that is why he became mad. 3. Give three universal truths drawn from the movie and its application to personal experience. A. No man is an island.Even if how strong a p erson is, how brave he is and how unbreakable he is, he might not admit it, but he still needs a shoulder and a hand for support. I am not this kind of person but I think this is one lesson that might get from the story. I observe this with others, who shows the world they do not need help but when problems come they hopelessly aiming for it. Nobody survives alone, everyone needs somebody because as I can see, you cannot talk, cry, laugh and tap yourself. It’s much better to see someone who are happy when you are happy and wipes your tears when in pain.For short, it’s best when you have true friends. B. People who do bad things suffer the consequence of their action in the end. I always believe in this line because every action done has a corresponding consequence, may it be good or bad, it always depends on the former action. In my experience, what I did was, I didn’t ask permission that I’ll accompany my cousin at the park. We went there and played in à ¢â‚¬Å"monkey bars†. Unfortunately, I fell and broke my bone in the arm. And I really put this lesson in my mind. I also saw this in people who engaged in bad activities like pick-pocketing.They might benefit in that act but the so called karma, it might not strike them, instead their loved ones suffer for them. C. Everything happens for a purpose. This lesson may be applied in every situation and in any kinds of problems. Whatever happens, there is always a reason, we may not see it easily but as time passes by, we tend to realize why it had happened. Many problems come and sometimes we fail, but we should be open minded and realize that bad things happen because it will be exchanged with much of happiness. BEST PART OF THE MOVIEFor me, the best part of the movie is when Scheherazade conducted her plan to save the women and to rescue the Sultan from madness. In the time that she told the Sultan stories in order for him to heal. I like this because it showed â€Å"girl-powerâ € . It showed that even a long time ago, women had also out win men. That in a simple act, she had changed a very big thing. In this part, it showed that women are wise and courageous. I am very pleased and as I see it, I can’t resist feeling very proud of her and us, her fellow women. It showed that we can also be strong, that we can also stand and conquer something.It can be respect, power and appreciation of others. It’s brings me to an inspiration that I can also be like her, to have the courage to face difficulties. RECOMMENDATIONS 1. When watching the movie, the viewer should listen and take notes of the lines being uttered by the characters. This is because, these lines give inspiring thought to its viewers and it can be applied to some situations in each lives. 2. When watching, try to see yourself in the situation or in the characters because there is reality in their every action. There is truth in what they are doing because it can happen in a person in c ertainty.

Othello and Crescent Essay

Introduction Present essay provides a comparative analysis of Shakespeare’s Othello and Abu-Jaber’s Crescent in terms of locating similar and opposite themes. The theme that was chosen is representation of Arabness as social, individual and cultural category. There is no denying the importance of the fact that both works depict the fate of Arab people in Western civilization, including Western attitudes to them, their own perception of Western way of life and traditions and their relations with other people. Moreover, both works serve as the instruments for revealing negative contours of Western societies, including racist prejudices, which is especially evident in Othello. Based on the latter reservations, present essay defends the thesis, which may be formulated as follows: Shakespeare’s Othello and Abu-Jaber’s Crescent have much in common due to the fact that beneath recurrent symbols and themes, such as love, betrayal etc. lies the central theme of Arabness, reflected through the prism of civilizations’ interchange, conflict and contradiction. The comparative analysis of Othello and Crescent Both Othello and Crescent have Arab people, found themselves in certain roles within Western civilization, as their main protagonists. The conflict between them and Western civilization takes place on different thematic levels, explained by the difference in plots and historical surrounding. Sirine, the main protagonist of Cresent, is a chef at Lebanese restaurant in Los Angeles with Middle-Eastern cuisine. Her surrounding consists of the Arab people, many of whom were exiled or emigrated from Iraq due to political repressions. Sirine’s Arabness is constituted by her sentimental intimacy to Iraqi uncle and a great interest in Iraqi history, culture and Muslim traditions in general. Notwithstanding the fact, that Sirine is successful in America, she is rather lonely and still feels herself an immigrant, living in alien and unfriendly culture. The latter feeling of loneliness is well described by the friend of Sirine, called Um-Nadia: â€Å"The loneliness of the Arab is a terrible thing; it is all-consuming†¦. it threatens to swallow him whole when he leaves his own country, even though he marries and travels and talks to friends twenty-four hours a day. † (Abu Jaber,78) Hence, it is important to note that Sirine’s Arabness and conflicting status within Western civilization are not constituted in direct terms and notions, bearing on direct political connotations. As Nouri Gana rightly suggests about Abu Jaber’s novel, ‘perhaps one of the most glowing virtues of the novel is that it awakens the political in the reader by craftily staging how it bears on the individual and communal on a day-to-day basis’ (Gana, 237). The same may be said about Shakespeare’s Othello, where Arabness is also not addressed directly, but essentially mediated through thematic, symbolical and cultural discourses. Unlike Crescent’s where the contradiction between cultures and civilization is depicted as the difficulty of adaptation, assimilation and longing for native country, Arabness in Othello is constituted mainly in racist terms. However, the latter racism should also be understood as the instruments by means of which Shakespeare debunks aggressive, brutal, coward character of such members of Western civilization as Iago. The Arabness of Othello is initially constituted through the mechanism of exoticization, when he is named not by name, but as ‘Moor’ and ‘extravagant stranger’, which immediately creates mental border between civilizations. (Othello 1. 1. 58 and 1. 1. 37). Here, the direct distinction in representing Arabness may be traced at the narrative level of Crescent. Unlike Othello, Hanif Al Eyad, who is an exiled Iraqi professor, does not experience direct racial prejudices, but problems of adapting to American society. What is more important, he has significant problem of integrating in Arab American community, which is already assimilated into the wider American culture. In fact, Hanif finds himself in a difficult position of finding new contours of his Arabness, as he meets with new conditions of its existence in the American society. In the same vein, Sirine reconfigures her identity, when she starts working at Arab restaurant. Her lost Arab roots come to existence, when she delves into her parents, ’old recipes and to begin cooking â€Å"the favorite—but almost forgotten—dishes of her childhood† (Abu Jaber, 22). Finally, when Hanif and Sirine meet, they are engaged in cultural interchange – Sirine educates him about American and Hanif opens the culture of Iraq and the Arab world to Sirine. In this way, the Arabness is constituted in the contradictory multicultural way, when it becomes a mixture of American way of life, its contradictions, immigrants’ culture and post-9/11 ‘anti-Muslim syndrome’, negatively experienced by Arab people, living in the US. Therefore, the Arabness in Crescent and Othello are constituted in distinctively different ways. Othello’s racial and cultural difference is the main source of legitimization for brutal behavior of Roderigo, Iago and others, who oppose the relationships between Othello and Desdemona. In fact, Desdemona is the only protagonist, which opposes particularization of cultural differences and represents universality of human relationships. She sees in Othello neither Arab, nor exotic man, but a man, whom she loves. The narration in Othello is abundant with racial prejudices, which function as the markers of Arabness. At the outset of the play, Iago wakes Brabantio up and tells him that â€Å"an old black ram / Is tupping your white ewe† (1. 1. 89-90), referring to Othello. The relations between Othello and Desdemona are also presented by Iago through racist discourse, â€Å"your daughter covered with a Barbary horse† (1. 1. 112), and reminds Brabantio of genetic consequences for his family, â€Å"you’ll have your nephews neigh to you,† (1. 1. 112-18). Other features of Othello’s Arabness are reproduced mainly through the depiction of his temperament and here we find Shakespeare’s critical edge, which uses then dominant racial prejudices of English aristocracy to depict their defected nature. Othello is depicted by Shakespeare as lacking Western (Iago-type) ‘virtues’ as cunningness, meanness, egoism, rationality, calculation, but endows him with trustful, kind, energetic temperament. The latter positive constitution of Arabness serves as the critique of Western society deficiencies and problems. Eventually, such features of Arabness result in tragic ending of Shakespeare’s play (Bartels, 458). Othello as Abu-Jader’s protagonists also seems lonely in the Western world, where all are against him. Pain of loss, exile and loneliness, however, is presented in Crescent in more sentimental quotidian way. For instance, it is evident when Sirine’s Iraqi uncle asks the Italian waiter in a restaurant: â€Å"Wouldn’t you say that immigrants are sadder than other people? † To which the latter responds, â€Å"When we leave our home we fall in love with our sadness. † (Abu-Jaber, 78). Another important theme, which runs through Abu-Jaber’s novel is difficulty of being Arab. This idea is mainly propagated by Sirine’s uncle and defended through telling mythical stories from Arab history, depicting the suffering of Arab people. The difficulty of being Arab is also presented at the level of racialized and politicized metaphors, which represent Arabness in Western world and in fact distort real culture of Arab people. In this way, Arabness is constituted as the ideological category, which has nothing to do with real life of Arab people (Gana, 241). The latter contradiction may be traced in Othello, when in fact our vision of the main protagonist is constituted by Oriental discourse. One of the major differences pertinent to the analyzed works is general narrative tone in which the latter discussed contradictions are presented. The contradictions of being Arab in the Western world in Cresent are presented through the depiction of Arab community daily life. The experience of Sirine and Hanif is characterized by sentimental feelings, loneliness, psychological trauma etc. The conflict between cultures and civilizations is presented as the quotidian difficulties of communication, adaptation and active life. The romantic ties which united Sirine and Hanif may be described as the part of sentimental representation of Arabness in Abu-Jabar’s novel. However, as it was noted above, even such approach to narration reveals much of the tensions and contradictions, experienced by immigrant Arabs. Unlike Crescent, Othello represents the evidence of contradictions between Western and Eastern civilization, which results in tragic implications for the destiny of individual people. Racial prejudices against Othello function as the legitimization of Iago’s plot against him. The differences between temperament and culture of Othello and his latent rivals, hence, should be understood as the main driving force of Shakespeare’s tragedy. Conclusion To sum it up, Arabness may be described as the central theme in both Shakespeare’s and Abu-Jaber’s works. It is represented on the level of human relations and is not directly interpreted in political manner, however, certain ideological and political interpretations may be found. Racial prejudices in Othello serve as a tool for debunking negative features of Western civilization and human/universal features, reflected in Othello’s temperament. In Crescent, the Arabness is presented through the prism of immigrants’ difficulty of adaptation, permanent feeling of pain, loneliness and lack of identity. In this way, the discussed theme has both similarities and difference in the discussed novels, explained by their distinct genres, historical and cultural surrounding. Works Cited Abu-Jaber, Diana. Crescent. New York: Norton, 2003. Bartels, E. C. ‘Making More of the Moor: Aaron, Othello, and Renaissance Refashioning of Race’. Shakespeare Quarterly vol. 41: 454, 1990. Gana, Nouri. ‘In Search of Andalusia: reconfiguring Arabness in Diana Abu-Jaber’s Crescent’. Comparative Literature Studies. Vol. 45, no. 2, 2008. The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA. Shakespeare, W. Othello. The Complete Works of Shakespeare, ed. David Bevington, 3d edition. Glenview, IL: Scott, Foresman, 1980.

Critical Issues For The United States

Deliberation suggests careful thought or reflection, consideration of alternatives, but may also imply public discussion, processes working toward collective judgments. For different reasons, liberals and their critics would agree that deliberation is central to citizenship. For liberals, deliberation in the public sphere is instrumental to the purposes and interests of free individuals, combining with other private citizens to articulate and pursue common interests. For those with a more communitarian perspective, public deliberation is part of the process through which citizens are socially constituted and democratic participation is thus intrinsically rather than instrumentally valuable. At Syracuse University’s Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, we have developed a team-taught, cross-disciplinary social science course which emphasizes public deliberation not only on policy issues, but on the meaning of citizenship itself. Our course entitled Critical Issues for The United States – along with its sister-course, The Global Community – originated with a year-long process of intensive discussion and planning among a group of faculty drawn from the various academic departments and programs of the Maxwell School†¦ The courses we developed were first offered during the 1993-94 academic year, and have undergone annual revisions – some modest, some more substantial – ever since. The fundamental ideas underlying the courses have not changed, however: they remain focused upon citizenship, understood in terms of practices of public deliberation. Our courses were designed as multidisciplinary survey courses which would, in the process of discussing issues important to the lives of our students, introduce them to some of the major concepts and modes of analysis employed in the various social science disciplines represented at the Maxwell School. There was from the outset, then, a sense of multiplicity of perspective built into the core concept of these courses. They would not present a single seamless vision of social life or seek to find the one right answer. Rather, they would present multiple interpretations of each issue we dealt with, some convergent, some in direct conflict. We would try to link these interpretations to fundamental assumptions about the nature of social life, and to show how these basic conceptual frameworks were related to different normative orientations and political positions — that is, to different practices of citizenship. We would invite students to ponder the implications of the various perspectives we discussed, to consider the consequences for their lives as citizens, but we would not push for closure or consensus. We would emphasize the process of deliberation, rather than any particular result. We expose students to different ways of knowing social reality: the hypothesis-testing approach of orthodox social science, rudimentary rational choice theory, more interpretive understandings of social action, and critical theory models which seek organic links between knowing the world and recreating the world. We try to underscore the idea that different ways of knowing are associated with different modes of action and, ultimately, with alternative possible worlds. How knowledge is socially constructed is thus a crucial dimension of citizenship, and an important aspect of this course. FormatAs part of our emphasis on processes of deliberation, we wanted to move away from the passive, lecture-based format typical of introductory survey courses at larger universities. In many such courses, if students are involved in smaller discussion sections at all, they are typically led by graduate teaching assistants and are at best an adjunct to the primary, lecture-driven substance of the course. In contrast, the Maxwell courses were designed so that two-thirds of students’ class time would be spent in discussion sections of no more than fifteen, led by members of a team representing a cross-section of the Maxwell School faculty. To underscore for students that these discussion sections were not merely the caboose on a lecture-driven train, but were rather the motor of this course, a substantial part of their final course grade (currently 25 percent) is directly linked to their level of participation in these discussions. Particular faculty members meet twice each week with the same discussion groups so that a sense of mutual familiarity and group identity could develop, fostering candor in discussion and a willingness to think out loud. Once a week, rotating pairs of faculty share the responsibility of lecturing to a â€Å"plenary† in which all the discussion sections meet together. These lectures typically present alternative perspectives or ways of thinking about some general question or issue area. Faculty attempt to â€Å"model† intellectual activity for students, thinking through the strengths and weaknesses of various perspectives, underscoring their implications for politics and social life. Often, faculty will present perspectives with which they do not agree, and will state so at the outset. In this way, they may illustrate for students that there is an intelligible train of reasoning behind each position, and that our fist task as critical thinkers and citizens is to try to understand that reasoning. Implicitly we pose the question: why would reasonable people hold such a view? In the first instance, then, our objective is to help students to feel the attraction which draws scholars and citizens to a particular perspective, its intellectual power, its political promise, its vitality. We then try to explore the tensions or limits of each perspective. Again, the emphasis is on deliberation rather than mastery of a given fund of â€Å"knowledge†, but we do expect students to understand key concepts, arguments and supporting evidence for each of the major positions we deal with, and ultimately to be able to incorporate these into their own critical judgments and deliberations. To deemphasize rote learning, we abandoned conventional exams altogether. Instead, frequent writing assignments are integrated into the course as one more mode of deliberation and discussion. Students contribute regularly to a computerized â€Å"citizenship log† in which they are asked to exchange comments on a particular issue or idea in the course material. To encourage students to come to class prepared to actively discuss the material at hand, we may ask them to write a brief paragraph responding to each day’s readings and perhaps to post this response on the electronic log for other members of the class to see. In addition to addressing regular prompts from the faculty, students may also engage each other on the electronic log, continuing or anticipating classroom discussions. Often, faculty will review students’ e-log entries prior to class and use them to construct an agenda for more focused group discussion. We also employ more traditional forms of writing. From time to time, we ask students to write very brief (1-2 page) response papers which focus their attention directly upon substantive points judged by the faculty team to be especially significant. Frequently these will be concepts or issues which will be important for future deliberative essays. This helps students early on to begin come to grips with key claims or ideas, and enables the faculty to gauge their success in doing so. This may be a useful diagnostic tool: disappointing performance on response papers may then signal to us that particular students need additional help with key concepts, or they may reveal that the entire class needs to spend more time collectively working through some especially difficult points. Finally, each major unit of the course culminates in a somewhat longer â€Å"deliberative essay† in which students are asked to critically assess various perspectives and formulate a position relative to the major theme or issue of that unit. These essays are kept short (typically around five pages) in order to encourage students to be as concise as possible, to make deliberate decisions about what material is most significant, to develop summarization skills and to preclude the â€Å"kitchen sink† approach to paper writing. To aid students in the development of essay writing skills, the faculty have prepared extensive writing guidelines which include such fundamentals as how to construct and support a reasoned argument, how such arguments differ from assertions of opinion, how to use sources and avoid plagiarism. To reinforce our seriousness about the development of analytical writing skills, our grading criteria are keyed to these guidelines and we provide extensive written feedback on essays pointing out where there is significant room for improvement. We also make available to students annotated examples of especially strong essays so that students can see for themselves the kinds of work they are capable of producing and what faculty graders are looking for in student writing. Altogether, students would write 5-8 papers of various lengths, and anywhere from a dozen to several dozen computer log entries. To aid faculty in designing these writing assignments, and to advise students on how to construct them, our faculty team includes an instructor from the university’s writing program who has been involved in course planning from the outset, is familiar with the readings, attends all our lectures, and participates actively in faculty meetings. We have found the writing instructor to be especially valuable in helping us to design writing assignments which balance the open-endedness necessary for real deliberation with the concreteness required to hold student interest. In keeping with this relatively open-ended format, we avoided adopting any standard textbooks, and instead assembled a custom reader which presents students with the challenge of interpreting multiple voices and engaging a variety of perspectives. In addition to our reader, we assign three books representing particular positions on each of the major issues under discussion. To maintain creative tension and space for deliberation, we are careful to include in our reader several counterpoints to each of the books we assign. Our goal is to provide students with enough material to construct a critical and also a supportive position with regard to each major reading. We have also developed a home page on the World Wide Web in order to give students the opportunity to explore the vast array of resources available in cyber-space. Our home page contains all the materials which would be found in a syllabus, together with guidelines for the different kinds of writing assignments students will encounter, annotated examples of strong student essays, information about members of the faculty team, links to computerized discussion forums for each class section, and links to a variety of resources external to the university. Newspapers and magazines, government agencies, political parties, advocacy groups, think tanks, data bases and archives are made accessible through our web page. Our hope is that this array of electronic resources will not just facilitate learning through the classroom experience, but will also prompt students to consider the links between issues and perspectives discussed in class and those they encounter in the media and on the web. To further encourage this, we directly incorporate web materials into some of our class sessions: for example, we used material from the web sites of industry, environmental, and citizens’ groups to facilitate a role-playing exercise in which groups of students were asked to interpret the position of a particular group and to come to class prepared to assume their identity and negotiate with others based upon what they had learned from the web sites we assigned. Substantive VehicleCritical Issues for The United States began as a series of debates on issues which faculty planning teams thought to be important ones for students as citizens. Early versions of the course focused upon such issues as: individual rights and the responsibilities of citizenship; the size and scope of federal government as well as the relative merits of governmental centralization and decentralization; unequal access to quality education; race and affirmative action; and the environment. However, over successive semesters, student evaluations suggested that these issues and the arguments relevant to them were being perceived as separate and disconnected. The course was not providing students with a way to connect these discussions to contested visions of civic life, to see that positions on different issues might be linked by similar understandings of citizenship, to understand that policy debates are also debates about the kind of society we wish to live in and the kinds of citizens we want to be. To provide a substantive vehicle which would refocus the course on contested meanings of civic life and citizenship, and to help students see more clearly the linkages between these visions and particular political positions, we introduced a new integrative theme for the course as a whole: â€Å"the American Dream reconsidered†. We ask students to deliberate on questions such as the following: What has the American Dream meant historically? What meanings does it have for people today? How do visions of the American Dream help us to think about ourselves as citizens, and what difference does it make if we think about the Dream in one way or another? How have issues of race, class, and gender figured in various interpretations of the Dream? Are there nationalist or nativist undertones in some or all versions of the Dream? Can, or should, the prevailing interpretation of the American Dream survive into the 21st century? To engage students on issues where they feel they have some stake and where they already know something, we approach these questions not in the abstract but as they have confronted us in three major areas of public controversy. EconomyWe ask whether the American Dream has been associated with the rise of a large and prosperous â€Å"middle class†, and if that version of the Dream is threatened by economic changes currently underway. What kinds of economic conditions are needed to support the Dream? Who can, or should, participate in such prosperity? What is the meaning of participation in an economy, and how is that participation related to different notions of citizenship and community? This unit of the course introduces the basic market model, emphasizing individual choice and the role of prices as transmitters of both information and incentives. We present the case for the proposition that, in the absence of external intervention, individuals acting in pursuit of their own self-interest will realize through market institutions the most efficient allocation of resources. This implies a limited role for government and a tolerance for the economic and political inequalities which are intrinsic to a system of individualized incentives. We present the classic critique of governmental policies aimed at fostering greater equality: such policies are counterproductive insofar as they distort price signals and undermine incentives for the efficient allocation of resources, and are undesirable since they restrict individual liberty. On this view, then, the American Dream entails the protection of individual rights and liberties and a system of opportunity in which individuals are rewarded in proportion to their hard work and merit. America became a wealthy and powerful world leader through the pursuit of this vision of the Dream and, to the extent that we have in recent decades experienced diminished opportunity, prosperity and power, it is because we have strayed from the original version of the Dream. We also present in this unit a view of the American Dream of individual reward and prosperity as embedded in sets of social institutions which unequally allocate power, wealth and knowledge, and which limit opportunities for meaningful self-government. These inequalities are woven through relations of class, race, and gender, and have intensified in recent years as the American economy has become more polarized in terms of power, income and wealth. This view offers its own vision of the American Dream, one which has markedly different political implications from the first view. The political horizon projected by this vision of the Dream constitutes a community of actively self-governing citizens. To the extent that economic institutions foster inequalities which preclude the realization of this Dream of participatory democracy for all citizens, institutional reforms aimed at equalization and democratization are warranted. We then explore some of the reforms proposed by critics of the contemporary American political economy, as well as the concerns which a more individualistic perspective would raise about those proposed reforms. EducationWe look at education as a pathway to a better life for individuals, or as a prerequisite of an actively self-governing community. What kind of educational system do we need in order to fulfill different versions of the Dream? How are different visions of citizenship implicated in contemporary debates about educational reform? We explore problems of unequal access to quality education, both in K-12 public schools and at the college level. We examine analyses which argue that some Americans receive first-rate education at public expense, while there are entire classes of citizens who are not provided with education adequate to enable effective participation in public deliberations, and thereby become disempowered, second-class citizens. Accordingly, some prescribe a more centralized and uniform administration of public education in order to eliminate the grossest inequalities and insure for all citizens the â€Å"equal protection of the laws† promised by the Fourteenth Amendment. We also explore arguments which locate the problems of public school systems in over-centralized and bureaucratized administrations, and which prescribe institutional reforms which move education closer to a competitive market model based upon consumer sovereignty and choice. Finally, we grapple with the dilemmas of affirmative action in college admissions, and ask how a liberal individualist society can cope with persistent inequalities of race in higher education. EnvironmentWe look at the relationship between the natural environment and the American Dream. Can the prevailing vision of the Dream coexist with a healthy environment? Can we imagine more environmentally friendly versions of the Dream? What would be the broader social and political implications of enacting a more environmentally sustainable vision of the American Dream? We examine the anthropocentric view of nature as having value only insofar as it serves human purposes, and which further suggests that the market mechanism is the best way to determine to what extent humans should exploit the natural environment. Establishing property rights over natural resources creates a direct incentive for their wise management. Further, the price signals and incentives of the market will call forth effective substitutes in response to resource shortages and new technologies which may minimize or eliminate our costliest environmental problems. This â€Å"free market environmentalism† is entirely consistent with the individualistic vision of the American Dream, promising consumers a world in which self-interested market behavior continues to generate high standards of living into the indefinite future. This view is encapsulated in Jay Lenno’s snack chip advertisement: â€Å"Eat all you want; we’ll make more†. In contrast to this market-based view, we also examine the perspective of environmentalists who suggest that our relationship with nature is best viewed not in terms of the instrumental exploitation of an external object, but rather as a necessary aspect of any sustainable human community. On this view, then, our obligation as citizens of the community extends to future generations, and we must make environmental decisions based upon social norms of long-term sustainability. Such decisions cannot be made through the instrumental calculus of the market, but must instead be made through processes of public deliberation. This, in turn, requires institutions to support such processes of democratic deliberation and citizens competent to participate in them, and thus also suggests certain linkages to the other units of our course. In addressing each of these critical issues we hope to lead students to ask: What does the American Dream promise? Does it mean individual liberty? Does it mean democracy? Does it mean equality? Does it mean opportunity for material success? A â€Å"middle class† standard of living for most, if not all, citizens? The freedom to succeed or to fail? Freedom from oppression or poverty? Is it a promise of a better life for individuals? A better society in which all of us can live? Is mass consumption a necessary centerpiece of the Dream, or might it involve a more harmonious and balanced relationship with nature? What can, or should, we expect from the American Dream now and in the future? And what do those expectations mean for our own practices of citizenship? In these ways, we try to encourage our students to see this course as being about themselves, their political community and their future. In that sense, the course as a whole represents an invitation to enter into the public deliberations which are at the heart of various understandings of citizenship. ReflectionsI came to these special courses with some modest experience of teaching discussion-oriented and writing-intensive courses. After an introduction to the teaching profession which involved lecturing three times a week to faceless crowds of 250 or so students, I was fortunate to be able to teach international relations for several years in the Syracuse University Honors Program. These were some of the best students at Syracuse, accustomed to putting serious effort into their education and expecting a more intensive learning experience. It was exhilarating, a whole new kind of teaching for me: the students were eager to learn and it seemed as though all I had to do was present them with some challenging material and prompt them with a few provocative questions and off they went, teaching each other and, in the process, teaching me about teaching. Eventually, though, I began to feel a nagging sense of guilt, inchoate at first, increasingly clear later on. I was doing my best teaching with those students who least needed my help. In that sense, I began to feel that I wasn’t really doing my job. Then I was offered the opportunity to join the Maxwell courses. Reflecting back now on five years of continuous teaching with these very special courses, the thing from which I derive the greatest satisfaction is that we have been able to create for a cross-section of first and second year students a learning experience very much like that which was previously the privilege of Honors students. In that sense, our courses have been about the democratization of education, as well as the education of democratization.