Planning and Developing a Marketing Campaign Essay

In this assignment, I will be exploring the marketing mix and all of its different factors as well as to apply this to Coca-Cola and how they are currently and may be affected by the marketing mix in the future. Product – A product is anything that is capable of satisfying customer needs. There are two different offerings of this being, a physical item or of a virtual type. The product is therefore created at a specific cost and marketed at a desired price that would be deemed as acceptable for the quality of the item. Every product will follow a lifecycle, a company can increase its competitive edge. There are many different ways in which they can develop or expand upon a certain product so that it can remain relevant and up to date with the changing market especially when it reaches the decline or end of its life. Product development – The process of creating or improving a product or service and managing it during all stages from design through marketing. Product development is a key part of introducing a new, appealing product to their audience, this process may involve numerous modifications to the product so that it does meet the needs and purpose of the product. There are various stages that a new or improved product or service goes through from design, through developing, testing, and marketing it. Form and Function – form fit function, is used in manufacturing to describe the identifying characteristics of a part. For example, the screw is intended to hold other parts of the product together. In practice, the rule of form follows function, start the design process by first getting as much information as possible about the purpose of the piece you are creating. Using this process allows a company to understand and ensure that the product is acceptable as well as fit for its purpose. Without this process, the intentions and purpose for a product can be lost, which ideally is not a stage of which what a company would want to beat. Packaging – Packaging is a very crucial part when creating and marketing a product because it is the first thing the customer sees before purchasing the product, therefore, this makes the packaging of the product to be respectable and appropriate to catch the eye of the consumer. How the product is packaged may also be what attracts the consumer to check out the product on the shelf or it could be a product that stands out from the rest online, amongst its competitors. For this reason, companies conduct extensive research on color schemes, designs and types of product packaging that is the most appealing to its intended consumer. The main function of packaging is to protect the product from damage during the process from the producer to the consumer, this process involves travel and shelf life of the product. Branding – Branding a product was much easier when there were no websites, smartphones, interactive games or social media. Today, creative teams are required to seamlessly brand products across multiple media, using the same voice, design and messaging, often with different creative teams and designers creating separate brand extensions. Without a strong brand behind your product line, there’s little to compel a buyer to choose you over another option. And with so many options in most markets today, branding is more important than ever. Product branding gives the items in your store an identity within the marketplace. Good branding can allow your specific products to stand out against what a competitor offers, and engender the kind of brand loyalty that pulls customers into your store. That identity is built of numerous components, including logos, design, packaging, messaging as well as names and descriptions. Coca-Cola has been around since 1892 and has developed a well-known brand all over the world. They are a company who have worked on producing a high quality, refreshing product that meets the needs of their consumers. They have developed their product minimally and have always offered the same refreshing taste. From having a simple and unique design this has meant that they can stand out amongst competitive brands such as Pepsi. In addition, the look of the product has also been similar since they started, by doing this Coca-Cola is able to provide a distinctive well-known product all over the world. Coca-Cola is the best marketing and branding company in the world, the company built began with one soda. Today it is one of the world’s most valuable brands and they’ve done it by integrating different components into the marketing mix. Price – is the value that is put into a product or service and is the result of a complex set of calculations, research and understanding, and risk-taking ability. A pricing strategy takes into account segments, ability to pay, market conditions, competitor actions, trade margins and input costs, amongst others. It is targeted at the defined customers and against competitors. Penetration Pricing – Penetration pricing refers to a marketing strategy used by businesses to attract customers to a new product or service. Penetration pricing is the practice of offering a low price for a new product or service during its initial offering in order to lure customers away from competitors. Penetration pricing is most commonly associated with a marketing objective of increasing market share or sales volume. In the short term, penetration pricing is likely to result in lower profits than would be the case if the price were set higher. Skimming Pricing – Price skimming is a pricing strategy in which a marketer sets a relatively high initial price for a product or service at first, then lowers the price over time. It is a temporal version of price discrimination/yield management. Competitive Pricing – Competitive pricing is setting the price of a product or service based on what the competition is charging. This pricing method is used more often by businesses selling similar products since services can vary from business to business, while the attributes of a product remain similar. This type of pricing strategy is generally used once a price for a product or service has reached a level of equilibrium, which occurs when a product has been on the market for a long time and there are many substitutes for the product. Cost plus Pricing – Cost-plus pricing, also called markup pricing or markup pricing is the practice by a company of determining the cost of their product to them and then adding a percentage on top of that price to determine the selling price to the customer. Cost-plus pricing is a very simple cost-based pricing strategy for setting the prices of goods and services. The amount of money charged for a product or service, or the sum of the values that Consumers exchange for the benefits of having or using the product or services. As price gives us the profit so this P is very important for a business price of the product should be that which gives maximum benefit to the company and which gives maximum satisfaction to the customer. For Coca-Cola, there are many factors that they kept in mind while determining the pricing strategy. Firstly, the price should be set according to the product demand of public because it is of what which gives the company maximum revenue. Price should also not be too low or too high then the price competitor is charging from otherwise nobody will buy their product. Another factor is that price must be keeping the view of your target market. The price of Coca-Cola, despite being the market leader is the same as that of its competitors, sometimes, Pepsi places its customers into some psychological pricing strategies by reducing a high priced bottle and consumers think that they save a lot of money from this. Place – In the marketing mix, the process of moving products from the producer to the intended user is called the place. In other words, it is how your product is bought and where it is bought. This movement could be through a combination of intermediaries such as distributors, wholesalers, and retailers. In addition, a newer method is the internet which itself is a marketplace now. Through the use of the right place, a company can increase sales and maintain these over a longer period of time. In turn, this would mean a greater share of the market and increased revenues and profits. Correct placement is a vital activity that is focused on reaching the right target audience at the right time. Distribution Channels – Channels are broken into direct and indirect forms, with a †direct† channel allowing the consumer to buy the good from the manufacturer, and a †indirect† channel allowing the consumer to buy the good from a wholesaler or retailer. A distribution channel is a chain of businesses or intermediaries through which a good or service passes until it reaches the end consumer. It can include wholesalers, retailers, distributors and even the internet itself. Retailers – A retailer is a person or business that sells goods to the public in relatively small quantities for use or consumption rather than for resale. Retail distribution is the most traditional form of the distribution channel. The common model includes the manufacturer using an intermediary such as a wholesaler or distributor to deliver products directly to retailers, then ultimately to the consumer.   Wholesalers – Manufacturers may also employ wholesale operations that purchase products from manufacturers at a deeply discounted price. The wholesaler often uses a distributor or other smaller wholesaler as an intermediary to deliver products in bulk to retailers, or it may offer products directly to retailers or consumers. The scope of the manufacturer relationship with the wholesaler can have varying effects on product delivery time and price. Coca-Cola is a global business that operates on a local scale, in every community where we do business. We are able to create global reach with local focus because of the strength of the Coca-Cola system, which comprises our Company and our nearly 250 bottling partners worldwide. The firm’s distribution system is one of the most well planned and executed compared to all other drinks of the same category. It has such an impact on consumers and is so successful that even wholesalers and distributors need the product for their business’ success. Coke’s position on consumer’s mind makes it essential to retailers and wholesalers. They have achieved their goal due to this high visibility, and to the availability of their products all over the world, even remote places. Promotion – There is much more to promotion than advertising. Businesses use various methods to gain publicity. Promotion refers to the methods used by a business to make customers aware of its product. Advertising is just one of the means a business can use to create publicity. For example, product promotion performed by a typical business might take the form of advertising the product in question via print or Internet ads, direct mail or e-mail letters, trade shows, telephone and personal sales calls, TV and radio ads, billboards, posters and flyers. Public relations – Public relations is the way organizations, companies and individuals communicate with the public and media. A PR specialist communicates with the target audience directly or indirectly through media with an aim to create and maintain a positive image and create a strong relationship with the audience. Examples include press releases, newsletters, public appearances, etc. as well as utilization of the World Wide Web. Sponsorship – advertising that seeks to establish a deeper association and integration between an advertiser and a publisher, often involving coordinated beyond-the-banner placements. Examples of sponsorships vary widely, as the whole point is to establish a unique advertising opportunity than afforded by typical rotating advertisements. They may include several fixed ad placements, advertorials, co-branded content sections, or anything the advertiser and publisher can agree on. Social and or other Media – The emergence of Internet-based social media has made it possible for one person to communicate with hundreds or even thousands of other people about products and the companies that provide them. The impact of consumer-to-consumer communications has been greatly magnified in the marketplace. The first role of social media is reliable with the use of traditional integrated marketing Communication tools. That is, companies can use social media to talk to their customers through such platforms as blogs, as well as Facebook groups. These media may either be the company- sponsored or sponsored by other individuals or organizations. The second promotion-related role of social media is unique: customers can use it to communicate with one another. Guerrilla marketing – The goal of guerrilla marketing was to use unconventional tactics to advertise on a small budget. It is an advertisement strategy concept designed for businesses to promote their products or services in an unconventional way with little budget to spend. This involves high energy and imagination focusing on grasping the attention of the public in more personal and memorable level. The term guerrilla marketing was inspired by guerrilla warfare which is a form of irregular warfare and relates to the small tactic strategies used by armed civilians. Many of these tactics include ambushes, sabotage, raids and elements of surprise. Much like guerrilla warfare, guerrilla marketing uses the same sort of tactics in the marketing industry. Personal selling – Personal selling is the process of communicating with a potential buyer face-to-face with the purpose of selling a product or service. Personal selling is one part of a company’s promotion mix, along with advertising, sales promotion, and public relations. It is a strategy that salespeople use to convince customers to purchase a product. The salesperson uses a personalized approach, tailored to meet the individual needs of the customer, to demonstrate the ways that the product will benefit the company. Product placement – An advertising technique used by companies to subtly promote their products through a non-traditional advertising technique, usually through appearances in film, television, or other media. Product placements are often initiated through an agreement between a product manufacturer and the media company in which the media company receives an economic benefit. A company will often pay a fee to have their product used, displayed, or significantly featured in a movie or show. For example, Coca-Cola could pay a given fee to have the title character drinking a Coke, instead of a Pepsi beverage. Digital Marketing – The promotion of products or brands via one or more forms of electronic media. For example, advertising mediums that might be used as part of the digital marketing strategy of a business could include promotional efforts made via the Internet, social media, mobile phones and electronic billboards, as well as via digital and television and radio channels. Corporate image – Similar to a firm’s reputation or goodwill, it is the public perception of the firm rather than a reflection of its actual state or position. Unlike corporate identity, it is fluid and can change overnight from positive to negative to neutral. Large firms use various corporate advertising techniques to enhance their image in order to improve their desirability as a supplier, employer, customer or the borrower.

Emerging possibilities and ongoing reforms Essay

In 21st century, nations are increasingly becoming diverse, globalised, and complex and media structured. This rapidly changing world filled with fantastic new tribulations needs to be addressed using exciting new emerging possibilities. To adopt new possibilities, modern education reforms are progressively driven by a growing understanding of what works in education and how to go about productively improving teaching and learning in schools. This essay will focus on emerging possibilities and ongoing reform in primary education that are necessary for 21st century learning and hence need to be embraced both locally and globally. This essay will include the elaboration on emerging technologies that are being utilized with the purpose of meeting the global and local requirements and ongoing reforms on education such as Gonski for better schools, Melbourne declaration that acknowledges major changes in the world that are placing new demands on Australian education and globalization. People around the world are taking their education out of school into homes, libraries, internet cafes and workplaces, where they can decide what they want to learn, when they want to learn and how they want to learn. (Colin, Allan et.al, 2009, p3). This new learning model uses technologies to enable people of all ages to pursue learning on their own terms. Traditional class room based, single teachers as instructor model of education has now been replaced by emerging technologies that are being developed constantly in today’s fast moving digital world. It is an innovative technology that is reshaping the nature of education. Computer and network based technologies now hold great potential for increasing the access to information as well as a means of promote learning. (schoolcomputing.wikia.com/wiki/Emerging_Technologies). It redefines the way educators teach and the role of sole source of information to being a guide, facilitator and coach in the learning process. The major emerging technologies for primary education can be interactive whiteboard, I pads and cloud computing. Interactive whiteboard is designed to help students learn variety of ways and for teachers to teach in a range of ways with the ability of using online resources and fun presentation. It is an emerging technology in Australia but globally like UK it has been found to be successful and effective in teaching primary students (Torff & Toritta, 2010). Now what is the rationale for using interactive whiteboard in primary classroom? It increases motivation and performance of student as teachers  can integrate flexibly a variety of pedagogical approaches and the power to efficiently deliver multimedia or multimodal presentation with a touch sensitive screen. It can also increase the student and teacher interaction and can make the teachers teaching process smoother and effective. An interesting element of interactive whiteboard is it allows students from different classroom around country and globally to interact through programs such as Skype or YouTube. This allows for an expansive online classroom, broadening the students own community of practice. Another form of emerging technology is the use of Ipad in the classroom, which is a creative, hands-on device which allows students through educational applications, eBooks and iTunes to engage with content interactively and instantly obtain information moving away from the industrial era model where the classroom is the central learning place. Why do teachers might use Ipad in primary classroom? There are number of reasons why Ipad can be very beneficial emerging technology but one of the most useful features is its sharing information, receiving updates and conducting research hence helpful in communicating and collaborating with the world outside the classroom. Ipad can be very useful tool to interact with others around the world so it connects and create extended learning. Final emerging new technology for 21st century learner is cloud computing. It refers to as the future of education and storing and accessing of applications and computer data often through web browser rather than running installed software on personal computer. (www.cloudcomputingdefined.com). It is an interactive tool where student and teacher can instantaneously collaborate both in and out of the classroom and learn in real time with instant feedback. Cloud computing provides transparency for teachers and their student; collectively they are able to communicate with each other. What is the rational for cloud computing being a useful emerging technology for 21st century learner? One of the reasons it can be useful is its versatility as it can be accessed from home or school therefore great for collaborative assessments or group based projects. This new technology will encourage students to develop and maintain ICT skills (http://cloud-computing3100.wikispaces.com/Rationale+for+cloud+computing). The driving force behind educational reform comes from new technologies that greatly enhance educational opportunities. These new emerging technologies  allow the improved pedagogy that will revolutionize learning. ( Molebash, 1999). In 21st century, ubiquitous availability of ICT had significant implications on education. A significant reform is needed in education, world-wide, to respond to shape global trends. Systematic education reform is needed that include curriculum like National education agreement, pedagogy, teacher training and school organization like GONSKI reform. (Mcgaw, 2009, p1). Earlier this year, Skidmore and Carmicheal mentioned in The Telegraph UK that â€Å"reform is not only necessary, it is essential if we are to ensure that pupils are equipped with the knowledge and skills for the twenty first century.’(Skidmore and Carmicheal, 2013). Being able to do my practical placement at Garfield Barwick School managed by Royal Institute of Deaf and Blind Children (RIDBC), I realized that there is a huge requirement of special education teachers not only in Australia but globally. In England, an education reform is passed where parents are given control over their children’s special education needs (SEN) budgets, allowing them to choose expert support rather than local authorities being the sole provider. (Quinn and Malik, 2012). This is described as being the biggest reform of SEN for 30 years. However, while this reform offer hope, it create anxiety among parents too, as it divides children into two groups School Action and School Action plus. Lorraine Peterson, chief executive officer of the Nation Association of SEN, fears teachers could be left with endless lists of pupils and too little expertise as to how to deal with them (Shepherd, 2012). Furthermore ,there is also a concern in relate to this reform that what impact it will have of forward planning and co-ordination of putting budgets in the hands of many individuals and families, keeping in mind that not all parents are best advocates of their children’s needs hence will not be able to provide the best expert assistance for their children. (Shepherd, 2012). This is one of the drawbacks of SEN reform in England. In comparison to that, Australian government has deferred this reform since 2009 in order to allow more time for further consultation. (â€Å"Special education reform put on hold – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)†, 2009). An article by Philip Garner and Fiona Forbes in 2012 mentioned that Australia is appeared to slow down in some areas of special education and appearing to adopt wait and see approach. (Garner and Forbes, 2012, P 62). Currently Australia is investing $550 million in Improving Teacher Quality National  Partnership, in this reform agenda, priority and highest status should be given to inclusive environment to ensure that schools are given best possible teachers to be inclusive for the special need education. (Garner and Forbes, 2012, P 65). Special education need reform is not particularly focused locally but globally like UK it is getting implemented. The core principal behind this reform is proper funding to school and teacher training to allow every child to receive world class education and Australia is endeavoring to establish a reform around SEN. Gonski reform can correlate to SEN reform as it focuses on the funding of schools to support their student and help teachers to receive additional training and support, from pre-service teachers to principals. Under Better School Plans commencement in 2014, it is a plan to improve results of all schools and students by introducing education reforms that evidently improves results. This plan is based on five core areas; 1.Quality teaching 2.Quality learning 3.Empowered school leadership 4.Meeting student need 5.Greater transparency and accountability This plan aims to take Australian schools into top five by 2025 (What is the Better Schools Plan?, n.d. ). Therefore why do we need this plan? This plan is mandatory to meet the international standard as it has been revealed that even though Australian schools are good, our performance is declining and a greater gap has developed between highest and lowest performing students. The recent review of funding of schooling stumbled on current school funding do not fulfill the requirements necessary to meet the educational needs of all students (What is the Better Schools Plan?, n.d. ). In my point of view, Melbourne Declaration on education goals for Young Australians can articulate better school plans core reforms by overarching two goals for schooling in Australia where one goal promote equity and excellence in schools and secondly making creative individuals and active and informed citizen. Under this declaration, local education goals can collaborate with global education goals. The Melbourne Declaration supports National Education Agreement which articulates the commitment of Australian government to ensure that all Australian school students acquire the  knowledge and skills to participate effectively in society and employment in a globalised economy. (Educational goals | ACARA†, 2009). This National Education Agreement (NEA) has been made between the Commonwealth of Australia and all State and territories. The key objective of this agreement is to enable Australian students to compete with world and participate effectively. Under this agreement, the state wise curriculum is abandoned and standardized curriculum is introduced which is called national curriculum. It is ongoing reform and changes to curriculum is commencing from next year starting from English then moving into Mathematics and Science. Consequently, all of these reforms are in cooperating emerging possibilities to meet the local and global requirement. (National Education Agreement, 2012). To meet the pace and acceleration of 21st century, these emerging technologies need to be embraced and in doing so reforms need to be constructed, this way we will achieve success both locally and globally. In conclusion, education is transformed by emerging possibilities and in this technology rich environment, one must remember that educational focus is on learning and instructional goal instead of technology itself, because technologies are merely tools or vehicles to deliver instruction and are just driving force for education reform. These emerging technologies shift the local education scale to global and hence promote to develop reform around these new emerging possibilities so we can meet the global standard. Thus, for successful 21st century learner, emerging possibilities and ongoing reforms are necessary and need to be embraced both locally and globally. References Cloud Computing Defined. (n.d.). Retrieved October 1, 2013, from http://www.cloudcomputingdefined.com Educational goals | ACARA. (2009). Retrieved from ACARA website: http://www.acara.edu.au/reporting/national_report_on_schooling_2009/national_policy_context/educational_goals.html Educational goals | ACARA. (n.d.). Retrieved October 3, 2013, from http://www.acara.edu.au/reporting/national_report_on_schooling_2009/national_policy_context/educational_goals.html Garner, P., & Forbes, F. (2012). Disposable assets. Are special education teachers still needed in 21st

Clam system Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Clam system - Term Paper Example A clan is an extensive type of lineage that is characterized by blood relations whereby all relatives from either the mother’s or father’s lineage, together with all the ancestors and their offspring in that lineage are considered as members. The main features of a clan include being an exogamous group, having a common ancestor and being unilateral. Being unilateral means that a clan was/is made up families from the father’s or the mother’s side (Middleton and David 38). Clans were and are not made up of a combination of lineages of both the mother and the father. Almost all communities had unilateral clan systems which was either patrilineal or matrilineal lineage. Clans were also exogamous groups because all members of a clan were believed to be descendants of a common ancestor, hence most communities discouraged intra-clan marriages. Some clans had ancestors that some scholars term as mythical, while others had real ancestors. They were also small and they were led by elders who were in charge of making all crucial decisions affecting their clans and that of the community at large, but in conjunction with other clan elders from a community. Unlike the modern type of state governance whereby government officials make decisions purported to be representing the will of the citizens, clans were based on the â€Å"we feeling,† an aspect that made decisions made to be more representative. Almost all clans across the globe had teams of elders or the so-called council of elders who were in charge of making decisions affecting the clan and the community (Hudson, Thomas and Robbie 42). Councils of elders from different clans, but who are from the same tribe or community could come together and make decisions affecting the community at large. In case two or more communities were involved in disputes, clan leaders would select the best representatives to negotiate with leaders from the other communities in order to come up

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

Religion - Essay Example The four types of ground described by Jesus were the wayside (or roadside), stony places, thorns and good ground (13 Matt. 4-8 King James Version). Each one of these different seed-beds results in a very different experience for the seeds that land in them. The seeds that fall among the wayside are immediately devoured by birds. The seeds that fall in the stony places sprout up immediately but soon whither because their roots are not firmly established. Seeds that fell among the thorns begin to develop normally, but are then chocked out as the thorns spring up and outpace their growth. Finally, the good ground that the Lord mentions in the parable provides all the elements necessary for the full maturation of the crop. From that one seed, the fully mature plant can â€Å"†¦bring forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold and some thirtyfold.† (13 Matt. 8 King James Version) In clarifying his use of parables to the Apostles, Jesus explained that he did this so the people would understand. Understanding the teachings of the Gospel were important because Jesus likened the seeds that fell on stony ground to people that heard the Gospel and did not understand it. Their maturation was stopped even before the seed could germinate. This lack of progress was due to ignorance even after receiving the word. In a way, Jesus was expressing to the Apostles the need for clear and succinct teaching of Gospel doctrine. The second group of individuals take root but can not make it through the trials and temptations inherent in daily living. They cannot withstand the heat of these trials and so are scorched as if by the sun. Their faith withers and their maturation ceases. The third group to receive the word are described as landing among thorns. Maturation progresses as expected among the thorns but the good crops are soon outpaced by the bad. The tender growth

Creative Accounting and Earnings Management Essay

Creative Accounting and Earnings Management - Essay Example According to the research findings it can therefore be said that financial statements are prepared by managers of a company or enterprise to represent the true and fair view of the affairs of the company. They are then used by the shareholders and other users of financial statements for the decision making process. It is a very critical part of financial accounting because it provides information for the users of financial statements to interpret and come to a conclusion about the performance of the company. Creative accounting practices are such malpractices in accounting which may be legal and in accordance with the existing accounting standards but may not be in line with the true spirits of the rules laid down under accounting standards. In other words, when financial statements are prepared by the relevant managers of a company that is inconsistent with the purpose or intention of the existing accounting standards, then it is said to be a practice of creative accounting. The man agers do so by taking advantage of the flexibilities available in the letter of the rules in accounting standards practices. Earnings management is a term which acts as a substitute for creative accounting. Trying to manipulate the earnings which are reported by the managers of a company, by taking help of some specific accounting process, is termed as earnings management. The company does so to influence its earnings in a short term horizon. Earnings management makes use of accrual accounting.... The accounting standards are revised often to help fill its loopholes. More and more regulatory measures are taken to keep a track on how the financial information is reported by the firms. These measures taken are proving quite effective in preventing current creative accounting practices, but the question is whether it will be able to stop these malpractices completely or not. It is indeed very difficult to put an end to creative accounting in future (Keupp, 2002, p.1). Key Elements of Creative Accounting It is not very easy to precisely define creative accounting. Still, three elements can be regarded as key elements of creative accounting. They are: a. Flexibility: Accounting is always associated with flexibilities present in it. While accounting, one can use their discretion to choose their own preferred way of recording sales or turnover of the company, the method of depreciation to be used by the company, the method of valuation of inventory, etc. This type of flexibility help s the managers of a company to represent the true and fair view of the company’s affairs and its earnings in the financial statements. However, in practice the case may be quite different. These flexibilities in the hands of managers can be used by them to present the company’s performance in a more favourable way than what it is in reality. These methods can be applied by staying within the regulatory framework. b. Account Management: Accounting policies can be utilized by the managers of a company to accomplish the objectives of the management of the company and may not fulfil the essential requirements of the users. It can thus be used as a tool that can be managed and not as a means to

Sustainable Developmentu Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Sustainable Developmentu - Essay Example The main problem that the world has been facing has been resulting from overexploitation of resources and pollution of the environment. Therefore the concept of sustainable development has become synonymous any time the world is talking about looking at the problems that are threatening the survival of the future generation. Sustainability in the world has been encompassed in the concept of sustainable development that has become a common term all over the world. There have been development of various polices by various governments which are aimed at ensuring that there is sustainable development in their countries. As defined the UN, sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of the future generation to meet their needs. Therefore it is development that is well integrated in the use of resources which will enable us to meet our needs from those resources and at the same time enable the future generation to meet their needs from the same resources. We are therefore the custodian of the resources for the future generation. (Bateman 2005, p. 4) There are many reasons that have been given to explain why the world needs to embrace the concept of sustainable development. ... Therefore we have to take a step to protect what is providing us with all we need. The other fact has been the interfaced with the emerging technology in the world. As we strive to meet our needs there has been technological freedom that has made it difficult to control environmental degrading technologies which continue to be a danger to the world. Therefore we have to come up with measure that will help us to regulate our technology in order to be in line with environmental sustainability means. (Ramond, Lindsey and Todd 2003, p. 3) What is being done to ensure sustainable development There have been various efforts that are being implemented in all sectors of the world in order to ensure that there is sustainable development. There have been realizations that we cannot do without technology and therefore one of het best approach to curb the rate of degradation of the environment and ensure sustainability has been the adoption of the appropriate technology. Technology has been playing a crucial role in sustainable development since it has been one of the most significant way in which humans have been interacting with the environment. Therefore a sustainable technology is the helps the society to move towards sustainability and that fits well with the goals of sustainable development. It is practical solution that is used for economic development and satisfaction of human needs while living in harmony with the environment. A sustainable technology is a technology that meets some of the basic characteristics through which it can be distinguished from others. It is a technology that minimize the use of non renewable energy an natural resource

Israeli-Palestinian Conflict Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Israeli-Palestinian Conflict - Essay Example The main and the biggest obstacle to conflict resolution is strong religious values and inability of the parties to accept view points and ideas of ach other. Each of the parties tries to prove his position and correctness. "Prejudiced views on both sides, not only by those directly engaged in the conflict, but by their allies as well, further stoke the flames of hatred and violence" (Wahid and A'La 2009). This conflict vivid portrays that ethical and religious factors and principles dominated in the Arab world and prevent its people to establish peace in the region. This conflict can be overcome with the help of the global peace organizations and UNO (United Nations Organizations). In order to make the conflict peaceful, UNO should force leaders of two countries to take part in summit and sign peaceful agreements. The main policies should involve political negotiations and organization of social life on the disputed territory. In spite of territorial claims, the core of the conflict is religious difference between these states and their ethnical envy. The Israelis would have to choose whether to annex the West Bank and Gaza Strip. And if they did so, they would have to decide whether to grant full civil rights to the Palestinians (Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, 2008).

Project management as imperative for business organization Essay

Project management as imperative for business organization - Essay Example Project management has been depicted as a finely developed and a well recognized and accepted domain of professional expertise and as a sphere for academic study geared at promoting improvements in a system (White and Fortune, 2002). It likewise presents a logical and an efficient methodology to all phases of a project by ascertaining that every move and every step is meticulously conceptualized, supervised, monitored and accounted for. At the outset, its application was intended for big organizations with intricate systems and processes; however, contemporary techniques of project management can be modified and tailored to suit the needs of the smaller firms (Baccarini, 1999). In essence, project management is not just a process or a method; it is really more of a "mindset," thus, it is imperative for business organization owners or those in the higher echelon of firm management to be receptive to its potentials toward progress before it can be initiated as a constructive and a valuable process within the organization. Definition/Principles As a concept, project management has been in existence for centuries with its casual use of the Chinese and Egyptians that led to remarkable undertakings like the Great Wall of China and the Pyramids. Nonetheless, as a contemporary phenomenon, it has gained so much attention, focus and acceptance in the Information Technology industry as rapid developments continue to flow (Fox 2004). In a treatise centering on the significant components of effective project management, it has been inferred that - "In any project situation, there is a client/customer who has a unique need which requires knowledge and resources to conduct the realization of the concept within the specific constraints of time, money and specification. The effective management processes of planning, monitoring and control are required to translate the idea of change into tangible deliverables" (Cicmil, 1997). As it is, project management is a novel process whose implementation has become a great necessity in today's competitive market. To endeavor the completion of any project entails several elements and obstructions, among them are client special requirements, project complexity, organizational restructuring and project risks (Kerzner, 2003). With a methodical procedure in place, obstructions can be explained and courses of actions and suitable measures can be taken to either prevent or overcome them. Some of the many potential benefits project management provides include (Kerzner 2003): Identification of functional responsibilities ensuring that all activities are accounted for; Identification of time limits for scheduling; Measurement of accomplishment against plans; Early identification of problems; and Improved estimating capability PMI (2000) supplied a straightforward description and characterization of the term which depicts it as "the application of knowledge, skills, tools and techniques to project requirements." As the concept of project management surfaces, three core stimuli are involved (Baccarini, 1999): 1. Complexity - refers to the mounting intricacies of responsibilities and the necessity for higher levels in the spheres of expertise 2. Change - deals with progressively active settings and the continuous presence of pressure within organizations and the execution of change due to global competition 3. Time - refers to the demands for responsibilities, assignments and objectives to be

Defining Rule utilitarianism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Defining Rule utilitarianism - Essay Example Finally, Hospers brings up the last example when people vote. Thus, on an election day people may or may not be willing to go and vote. The first example might be considered to be an objection to act utilitarianism since according to it killing the fat man would be quite useful for the group of people, but the majority of people would agree on the fact that killing is wrong. The second example also shows that act utilitarianism might be regarded as a false approach: it is true that sometimes for a particular individual lying might bring considerable more benefits that tell the truth; however, the society condemns lying. Finally, the third example may also be regarded as a valid claim that rebuts act utilitarianism. According to the latter, it would be more ethical not to vote for a person, but it is quite obvious that such approach would ruin the legal system. Rule utilitarianism would provide a different solution for this problem. In case of the fat man, it would encourage people to let that man live. The reason for this is quite simple: it is generally accepted that killing other people is not an ethical action. That is why killing the person in question will violate the general rule which contributed to the security in the society. In the second example about lying, rule utilitarianism would urge a person to tell a truth even though it might be some problems. The logic behind it is rather simple: the social life is being productive and stable because people generally do not lie to each other. That is why if people chose to make an exception from that rule, they might undermine the very foundation of the society. Finally, in the example of voting, rule utilitarianism would encourage people to go and vote in spite of the fact that they may not be willing as if all the other people chose not to vote this is likely to break the democratic system and result in the collapse of the government. In my opinion rule

Serious Game Critique Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Serious Game Critique - Essay Example Farmville is a very popular game all around the world. It is meant to improve the intellectual and the creative capacity of the user. Moreover, the environmental aspects associated with the game intend to improve the aptitude of people towards farming and environment. The game has been designed based on the traits of responsibility and regularity. For instance, if a vegetable is planted by the gamer in the morning, the player will have to return on a set time to irrigate it or harvest it so as to maintain the crop. It is the regular maintenance and harvesting of the crops that advances one through the game. As I played the game, I felt that the game apparently stimulates an encouraging emotional change. The mouse clicks, through which the player plough, harvest and plant are perceived as expressions of hard work and dedication. The rewards of harvesting result in a lot of satisfaction through which a positive emotional status is created. I personally felt being proud of receiving the rewards of the labor that I put in. These rewards could further be used to enhance the farming area both qualitatively and quantitatively. As the game is played on the public forum, the farms can be showcased on the social media and can be compared with the farms of the virtual neighbors. This is an important social element associated with the game. It lets you boast over your achievement on the game in the virtual social space. Further as I advanced through the game, I discovered the game to be shallow in terms of its content. As the advanced stages I could not find the process intellectually or emotionally empowering. The game becomes simpler and less laborious as one achieves more rewards in the game. For instance, at later stages of the game the harvesting machine eases the player of the labour of clicking each square plot. Thus my experience the game fails in sustaining the emotional, physical and social excitement which it provides in the beginning. Thus at an advanced level game was delimiting the social and physical improvement of the user The game is obviously growing in its popularity. The provision for the current users to tempt the non-users through their facebook accounts severs as provision for its increasing popularity. These face book ‘updates’ creates a state of obligation for others to join. The game thus can be found to be bound by the principles of obligation along with responsibility and regularity. The commercial success and the increasing popularity of the game suggest the success of the game in catering to the targeted audience. Farmville also bound its users by adding an ethical aspect to it. The game raised almost one million dollars for the Haiti earthquake relief operations. This move could successfully bring in social and emotional change within the community of the gamers. They developed a feeling that they were playing for a social cause. This promoted more people to join the gaming community and further bound the g amers together. The physical change that the game brought forth in its gamers is however limited. The healthy physical, psychological and social development of any individual requires their active involvement in a variety of physical and social activities in the real time environment. For an individual to be healthy, happy, and productive, the integration of their physical activities, social interaction and

Professional Ethics of Detectives Essay Example for Free

Professional Ethics of Detectives Essay Criminal Justice Careers can be very exciting but also a risky job. Detective is one that interests me more. Detective went through intensive trainings. The profession requires Diplomas from high school institution they came from. It is also required that they take courses in English, Science, Mathematics, Social Sciences and Physical Education. Skills in foreign languages, journalism, and typing are also essential. Many of the police departments require one or two years of college coursework particularly in law, criminology and police science. Most police detectives were trained for six weeks up to several months, depending on the program they are attending. Those who successfully completed the training program will probably be assigned to detective’s duty permanently. They may be asked to take refresher courses consecutively to update their abilities and techniques. Since many private detectives were former police detectives, almost their education, skill and training requirements are similar to police detectives. Private detectives also acquired skills on the job from experienced private detectives. In some states, private detectives are required to have valid license and participate in specially systematized intensive training programs. Each state asks for a firearm permit. Detective is in charge for crime investigations and prevention. He is also trained to solve crimes against people and their properties. He can work for police departments or choose to be employed by a business firm and institution. Detectives can perform well through their highly specialized techniques and communication apparatuses that are technologys products. Detectives in any Police Departments are tasks to observe criminals actions, produce sources of information, and be in assistance in arresting criminals. They often work in civilian clothes, black robes, sunglasses, wearing huts to undercover themselves and also for protection of their lives. When on duty, they go to locations or places where the criminal often stay for the purpose of getting enough information of the suspects activities, people who mingle with him and his moves. For example, detective that is assigned in a gambling case spend his time at the suspects favorite clubs and bars, he acts as if he is also gambler and tries to learn as much as possible about the case. A detective may also find informers also witnesses from the neighborhood who might have information about the suspect. After gathering substantial evidences against the suspect, the detectives can now arrest the criminal with the help of police force. Other detectives who work for private agencies or individual client are often former police officers. Some of them were trained by the private agencies themselves. Private investigators collect information from police sources. They observe suspects and interview witnesses but they cannot arrest. Detectives work may be very rewarding, routine, safe or dangerous, depend on their assignments. For example, a police detective who investigates in drugs scandals may be exposed to the threat of physical violence or even death. Detectives often work in unstable hours and they even work during night, weekends and holidays. Their salaries differ from another; depend on locations, experiences, and the assigned responsibilities or tasks. In 2004, the median wage of a private detective is $32,110 per year while a police detective is $53,990 per year. Experienced detectives have special benefits such as pensions, life and health insurance, and payments during their leave or vacation. Lawyers and other private companies hire detectives to search information for court trials and to investigations including the passing of bad checks, and other illegal matters. Many insurance institutions also hire private detective to investigate insurance claims and dilemmas. Parents may hire them to search for their lost children. On the other hand, Private detective work as bodyguard for people who are in personal danger particularly special witnesses and politicians as well. Store detectives are in charge to investigate against customer shoplifting and dishonest employees. A bouncer ensures that order is served in restaurants, night bars, and other places of entertainment. House detectives, also known as hotel detectives are task to protect patrons from unexpected troubles and troublemakers. Detectives have their own Code of Ethics to follow. This Code is highly based in our Moral Rights and Conducts. Honesty and Integrity is its center. They have to give their full fidelity and sincerity to their client. All investigations should be legal, moral and professionally ethical. Preserving their clients confidence in all circumstances is also their duty as long as it is not contrary to criminal law. They must counsel their clients against any unethical and illegal course of action. A detective should also cooperate with the government and make sure that all their employees adhere to their code of ethics. He must retain his good reputation as well as his fellow investigators and professional associates. Some Ethical dilemmas are the officers misuse of his official position for expected or even actual incentive or gain, including opportunities and engaging in different forms of occupational deviance. Two of the most unique ethical standards of a detective are his honesty and good reputation. Cheating is one potential ethnical dilemma specific to this line of work that the code of ethics is meant to discourage. Since nobody is assigned to watch detectives’ operations they tend to move slow in order to take gain from their clients. As a result, some of the criminal cases are hanged. Another dilemma is distortion of truth when ask to testify in a court. Some hold special evidences to prove the suspect guilty. For, example, if the detective investigates someone who is politically powerful, this influential person can pay the detective to hide the truth. They also sometimes use brutality in acquisition of goods, money and even power. As an economic man, people tend to do their job better when given money as their reward. Detectives should firmly stand as saviors and source of truths of the people and the government. The unethical activities of one detective might cause the public to condemn other investigative agencies and other detectives. This would be a false generalization. Huge majority of private investigators or private detective agencies operate with utmost respect for the law and strict in abiding the code of ethics. In a study entitled Perceptions of Ethical Dilemmas made by a group of people including Dr. McGrath, stated through a survey the twenty unethical behaviors of a professional found in the field of Criminal Justice.   The study showed that many detectives sleep during their working hours. Instead of searching information and watching for the every move of the criminal, they spend their time in entertainments. The conclusion of this study stated clearly that police officers views on unethical behaviors are related to their rank and length of time in the service. Those that are considered pioneers are more into disobeying the code. This data is somewhat intertwined into corruption. It is also possible that this can highly affect serious judgments of greater emphasis on ethical issues that now occurs in police training. Nevertheless, these study also emphasized that there is a need for strict implementation of the Code of Ethics from this high level positions.   Any career from criminal justice requires true and reliable professional. This will largely determine how clean one’s government is. They are also a great help in maintaining the order and peace in the society. Any disobedience in the Code of Ethics can immediately affect the society’s stability of good morale. Those who are in highest ranks must be loyal to the code and stand as models to their associates. References Woody, Todd. (May 29, 2000), DNA Detectives, retrieved on February 7, 2008,   from http://www.theindustrystandard.com Bufill, Jose A. (November 28, 2003), Ethical Dilemmas at the Beginning of Death, retrieved on February 7, 2008), from http://www.illinoisrighttolife.org/EthicalDilemmasDefiningDeath.htm Huon, Gail F., Hesketh, Beryl L., Frank, Mark G.,Frank, McConkey, Kevin M., and Dr McGrath, G. M. (1995), PERCEPTIONS OF ETHICAL DILEMMAS, retrieved on February 7, 2008, from http://www.acpr.gov.au/pdf/ACPR125_1.pdf

Language, Culture And Thought

Language, Culture And Thought ABSTRACT Language is the basic means of communication in every culture. Language expresses cultural reality of the speakers in every society. Language is a socially acquired phenomenon and all the culturally bound languages differ dramatically from one another in terms of the description of the natural world. Language not only embodies cultural reality but it is also viewed as a symbol of social identity This assignment explores different ways in which the world is described by the speakers of different languages due to their cultural diversity and its effect on different ways of thinking about the world. The study reviews the description of spatial terms, temporal terms, substances and objects by different speakers of different languages belonging to different cultures and its effect on the ways of thinking about the world around us. Keywords: language, thought, culture, space, time, objects, substance, linguistic relativity, Whorf, Sapir LANGUAGE, CULTURE AND THOUGHT Language is a complex phenomenon for human communication. In the domain of communication each language of the world is different from the other on both lingual and cultural grounds. This diversity in world languages from linguistic standpoints ranges from the clear distinction of pronunciation and vocabulary to the more complex differences of grammar. The diversity of cultural standpoints related to different languages can be seen in the variety of cultural connotations assigned to these linguistic codes. The representation adopted by different languages to the same sentence such as, the professor delivered the lecture, is different to each culture. In English, the verb delivered marks the past tense. In Indonesian and Mandarin, the verb never changes to mark tense. In Russian, the verb is changed to mark tenses and gender, so if the subject is female instead of male, then a different verb is used from the verb that is used for the male. Similarly, in Russian, the verb is also change d to mark whether the whole lecture was delivered or only part of it was delivered by the professor. In Turkish, the verb even specifies weather the delivery of lecture was witnessed or it was a gossip. It is apparent the speakers of different languages see the different aspects of the world to use their language properly (Gumperz and Levinson: 1996) Do these features of language affect the way their speakers think about the world? The idea that thought is shaped by language is most commonly associated with the works of American linguistics Edward Sapir and Benjamin Lee Whorf. According to Whorf, the categories of every human language present a way of perceiving, analyzing and acting in the world. The strong view of the Sapir Whorf Hypothesis that thought and actions are completely determined by language has been rejected in the field of linguistics. However, answering a less deterministic weaker version does language affect thought has proven to be a very difficult task for the researchers. In recent times researches have found new evidences which highlight the effects of language on thought. This assignment discusses the effect of language on peoples thinking of space time, substance, and objects. Research Question To what extent are the world views and mental activities of members of a social group shaped by, or dependent on, the language they use? LANGUAGE AND CULTURE The word culture is etymologically derived from the Latin word cultura, which means to cultivate and different philosophers such as Voltaire, Hegel, Humboldt and Kant assign different meaning to it. In antiquity, culture was referred to the opposite of nature, something that is willingly produced by man. (Dahl: 2001) In 18th century, the term was used to describe elite and high-culture concepts in continental Europe. According to Dahl, culture is a collectively held set of attributes, which is dynamic and changing over time. It is the totality of values, beliefs, basic assumptions as well as code of social behavior in a society. Individual are made by culture on one level and culture is made by individuals on the other. (Dahl: 2001) Language is the basic means for communication in a society. Language is primarily related with culture in the domain of communication. Speakers communicate their ideas, feelings and facts with language both in inter and intra societal setups. Hence, we can say that language expresses cultural reality. (Kramsch, 3: 2005) Language is not only a mean of expressing experience but it also creates experience. Speakers give meaning to such an experience through various mediums, such as, mass media, internet, telephonic conversations, presentations, etc. The medium with which language is used also designate meaning to experience, for example, the phonological and supra-segmented phonological features of language. Hence, we can say that language embodies a cultural reality. (Kramsch, 3: 2005) In every society the collective set of social values, beliefs, norms and mores are transmitted from one generation to another by the process of socialization. Hence, culture is a socially acquired knowledge. If we observe language from this standpoint, it is observable that language is also transmitted from one generation to another through the process of socialization. It is, therefore, evident that language is also a socially acquired knowledge. (Horton and Hunt: 2005) Finally, the speakers of one language identify themselves with a particular group through their peculiar way of using language. This characteristic of individuals in a group signify that language is viewed a symbol of social identity. Hence, we can say that language symbolized culture. (Kramsch, 3: 2005) EFFECTS OF LANGUAGE ON THOUGHT Space Languages differ from each other in the description of the setting of space. For example, In English, it is different to put something in which it is contained (the orange in the plate, the letter in envelope) and putting things onto surfaces (the orange on the table, the sticker on refrigerator door). `In Korean, putting an orange in a bowl uses a different term (nehta) from putting a letter in an envelope (kitta). Additionally, putting a letter in envelops and putting sticker on the refrigerator is both expressed by the similar term Kitta because both involves close fitting. McDonough et al. (2000) conducted a research to test whether the linguistic differences between English and Korean speaker affects the representation of spatial relations. He showed scenes containing examples of tight and loose fit to Korean and English adults. The Korean adults looked longer at the example scenes compared to English adults. After that they were shown tight fit on one screen and loose fit on another and were asked to distinguish between them. The Korean adults were quick to identify between the tight fit and lose fit, whereas, the English adults were unable to distinguish between the tight fit and the lose fit, and they took relatively longer time than the Korean adults. Further, when these speakers were given several example of tight fight and one example of lose fight (or vice versa). The Korean adults could easily pick out the odd ones, but the English adults could not. This study concluded that the distinctions of settings reinforced by the particular languages r emained central in the representation of their spatial settings. Time Languages are also different from one another because of the difference in the descriptions of time. In English language, the conception of time is represented in horizontal terms. For example, students may ask the teacher to move the test forward, or the teacher may push the test back for the students. Similarly, the speakers of Mandarin language also use terms qian (front) and hou (back) to represent time in horizontal terms. However, the speakers of Mandarin also uses vertical terms such as shang (up) and xia (down) to describe time which in English signifies last and next respecitively. The use of the vertical terms of time in Mandarin is more common in than the horizontal terms of time. In a study conducted by Borodistsky (2001), it was found that the Mandarin speakers think about time vertically even when they are thinking for English. The Mandarin speakers were quick to answer questions such as March comes before April when they were shown objects in a vertical order before questioning compared to the English speakers. Similarly, the English speakers gave quick response to this answer when they were showed objects arranged in a horizontal order before the question were asked from them for the study, compared to the Mandarin speakers. The researcher in another attempt gave English and Hebrew speaking adults sets of pictures that showed some kind of temporal progression such as, pictures of a man aging, or a plant growing, or an apple being eaten. (Boroditsky: 2002) They were asked to arrange the shuffled photos on the ground to show the correct temporal order. They were tested in two separate sittings, each time facing a different direction. The English speakers arranged the cards in a way that time progresses from left to right. The Hebrew speakers arranged the cards in a way that time progresses from right to left, showing that the direction of writing plays a role in the progression of time. Objects Language also differs in the way the names of the objects are arranged into grammatical categories. Unlike English, many languages assign gender to all the nouns. A recent set of studies suggested that grammatical gender given to objects by the language influence the mental representation of these objects by the people (Boroditsky and Schmitt: 2003). The researcher gave pictures of people (male and female) and also pictures of objects (having opposite genders in German and Spanish) to two groups of German and Spanish speakers. They were asked to rate similarities between the pictures of objects and pictures of people. Both groups rated grammatically feminine objects to be more similar to females and grammatically masculine objects more similar to males as described by their languages. This test was a complete nonlinguistic test. In Spanish, the word for key is feminine, while the German word for key is masculine. The Spanish and German speakers were asked to provide descriptive adjectives for different objects. German speakers described keys as hard, heavy, jagged, metal, and useful, while Spanish speakers described them as golden, intricate, little, lovely, and shiny. For the word bridge, which is feminine in German and masculine in Spanish, the opposite happened. Germans described bridges as beautiful, elegant, fragile, and peaceful, while Spanish speakers said they were big, dangerous, long, and strong. CONCLUSION Languages appear to influence many aspects of human cognition: evidence regarding space, time, objects, has been reviewed in this assignment. Further studies have also found effects of language on peoples understanding of numbers, colors, and shapes, events, and other minds. Considering the many ways in which languages differ, the findings reviewed here suggest that the mental lives of people who speak different languages may differ much more than previously thought Beyond showing that speakers of different languages think differently, these results suggest that linguistic processes are pervasive in most fundamental domains of thought.

Things Fall Apart Masculinity English Literature Essay

Things Fall Apart Masculinity English Literature Essay Our lives are influenced by our peers and there believes. For instances, Ibo tribes in Africa believe in male masculinity and dominance, such that all individuals are conditioned from a young age to understand the concept of male superiority. Anyone who strays away from this believe is shunned by the community or considered weak. In Chinua Achebes Things Fall Apart the main character Okonkwos life is based upon the believe of male masculinity and hard work. He prides himself on his masculinity and does not accept failure or weakness of any kind including any from his family members. An example of an individual that Okonkwo despised and does not accept was Okwonkos father Unoka. To the community he was weak and considered to not be a true man. He was a failure in the eyes of society and constantly burrowed money. Unoka had only taken one wife and was unable to support his family. This inability to support his family stemmed from his bad work ethic and laziness. When Unoka died he had taken no title at all and he was heavily in debt (pg. 5). Due to his failure Unoka was frequently called an Agbala, which is a word that means a woman or an insult that describes a man that has taken no titles. Seeing his father inability to provide for the family Okwonko devoted his life to hard work and to hate everything his father loved. Unokas failures sculpted Okwonko to the man he was in the novel he became hard working and despised laziness. He was the complete opposite of Unoka, earning many titles, having many wives and being a successful man. All aspects of Okonkwos life were devoted to masculinity. Even when farming he was conditioned by his clansmen that yams their staple crop is the king of crops. This is further the male dominance in the Ibo culture because males will be the only people able to provide for the family. When his family was working hard to provide food he thought it would not help because they could not grow yams. He thought that His mother and sisters worked hard enough, but they grew womens crops, like coco-yams, beans and cassava.(pg. 19) and that Yam, the king of crops, was a mans crop (pg. 19). These believe caused him to seek yams seeds at a young age to try to help grow crops for his family. Masculinity is so important to Okonkwo that he would have done everything he could to prevent anyone from questioning his masculinity. This is due to his father failure and position in the Ibo community. Every time he felt weak Okonkwo was reminded of his father failure and how he was not able to provide for his family. Which lead Okonkwo to even participated in the killing of his adoptive son Ikemefuna because he was afraid of being thought weak (pg. 53). Afterward he slumped into a period of depression because of his actions. Okonkwo did not taste any food for two days after the death of Ikemefuna (pg.55). His view of masculinity is so high that he was even willing to kill his loved ones. One of the main traits of masculinity that Okonkwo believed in was the ability to control everyone in his household. He believed that all people must obey what he says in house and do what they were told. Whenever any of his wives talked back or tried to argue with him he would beat them. Okonkwo ruled his household with a heavy hand. His wives, especially the youngest, lived in perpetual fear of his fiery temper (pg. 10). Â  In addition he believed that no matter how prosperous a man was, if he was unable to rule his women and his children (and especially his women) he was not really a man (pg.46). This is why he would always talk down to his children and wives to show that he is the authority figure in the house and if anyone one would question this he would beat them. Overall Okonkwo refused to accept any signs of someone challenging his authority as the leader of his house hold. During The New Yam Festival, a holiday that is celebrated by feasting an argument arises between Okonkwo and his second wife Ekwefi. The New Yam Festival was a time of relaxation but in the eyes of Okonkwo it is a sign of laziness which he hates so very much. This causes him to become angry and in a fit he complains about a banana tree which Ekwefi cut some leaves form. Without further argument Okwonkwo gave her a sound beating and left her and her only daughter weeping (pg. 33). Okwonko became even more enraged when he heard her murmured something about guns that never shot (pg. 33), an insult on his poor hunting skills and shot at her with his gun. Luckily for Ekwefi he missed, but this proved how any sign of defiance or challenge to his masculinity is unacceptable to him in anyway. Throughout the novel Okonkwo does not show any signs of compassion for his children. In his perspective it is effeminate and a sign of weakness. This is also the reason why he never shows any love for his daughter Enzima. He even stated that he will not have a son who cannot hold up his head in the gathering of the clan (pg. 28) and that he would rather strangle him with his own hands. (pg.28). At one point he scolded Nyowe his eldest son and Ikemefuna his adoptive son about how to grow yams properly. Inwardly Okonkwo knew that the boys were still too young to understand fully the difficult art of preparing seed-yams. But he thought that one could not begin too early. Yam stood for manliness, and he who could feed his family on yams from one gravest to another was a very great man indeed (pg. 28). This shows how important being a man is and how being effeminate will not be tolerated in his household while he is alive. Okwonko even put his favorite child in danger because of his masculinity. When Ezinma fell sick Ekwefi wanted to take action, but the Oracle would not let her. Okwonko did not try to stop the Oracle even thought he loved Ezinma. He was afraid that if he showed any compassion he would be thought of as less of a man. Ekwefi could not even take any action for her own daughters sake for it was against the tradition and culture of their village Umofia. Ekwefi already lost five other children at young ages but now that Ezinma had come to ten years of age she refuse to let anything hurt her. She did everything she could to protect her. Even before Ezinma was born Okonkwo hired a medicine man to help get rid of the bad spirit that was haunting her. The doctor ordered that there should be no more mourning for the dead child. Then he took it away to bury in the Evil Forest, holding it by the ankle and dragging it on the ground behind him. (pg. 69). Yet Okwonko let the Oracle take Enzima away a nd only went looking for her after a while because it was the manly thing to do. Okwonkos belief in the Ibo masculine lifestyle eventually leads him to his death. He wanted to take action and kill everyone who was trying to change his way of life that he grew up with. When the messengers came to stop the gathering Okonkwo drew his machete(pg. 176) and cut the lead messenger down. The messenger crouched to avoid the blow. It was useless. Okonkwos machete descended twice and the mans head lay beside his uniformed body. (pg. 176). Then everyone started to panic and question why he killed the messengers. That was when he realized his way of life was over because they let the other messengers escape. Later on he committed suicide by hanging himself from a tree. This shows that he was so ingrained in his cultures lifestyle that when it was taken away he had nothing left to live for. Okonkwos believe of masculinity lead him to beat his own children and wife. In addition it also lead him to kill one of his loved ones. Even thought he loved Ikemfuna like a son he hated weakness so much because of his father laziness and inability to support his family. Okonkwos also believes that yams are the king of all crops like all his clansmen does because it is the staple crop of the Ibo people of Africa. He is so ingrained in the belief of masculinity that he commits suicide when he discovered his way of life that he lived his entire life had been taken away from him. We live our lives based on the ideas of people around us and when it is gone we are gone with it such in the case of Okonkwo. Words 1502

Essay --

Though the national public opinions on marijuana and the use of it have recently gained massive media attention, the question still largely remains: â€Å"Do the benefits of marijuana uses outweigh the potential risks associated with it?† The truth of the matter is that all of the negative attributes that would come along with its legalization and usage make one wonder why the nation is even deliberating on the subject. These main reasons clearly identify why marijuana should remain illegal. First, marijuana legalization poses a serious risk for the occurrence of an upswing in teen marijuana use. Secondly, marijuana poses countless health risks on individuals who use it. Finally, the benefits associated with marijuana use are minimal, to say the least, and therefore would do nothing more than allow people to get high at free will. Overall, even though marijuana has been heavily promoted through its own advocates as well as the media as a substance with a plethora of benefits, the legalization of the use of this drug would ultimately do more harm than good. It’s no secret that the media has heavily glamorized marijuana usage in recent times. Teens are watching as more and more states put marijuana legalization measures on their ballots. They are watching as states like Washington and Colorado legalize recreational marijuana use. Not to mention all the stars that glamorize drugs. Teens watch as stars they admire like Miley Cyrus openly proclaim their love for marijuana and getting stoned from it. (Rivera) Slogans like â€Å"Just Say No† are slowly fading from the minds of our nation’s teens. When teens watch things like this occur, it’s easy to see why they may want to begin using marijuana. The issue with this is that an upswing in teen ma... ...uana’s benefits probably do not outweigh its drawbacks, and therefore should remain illegal. Marijuana is and will remain a hot topic in American minds from years to come. Its legal status, though, is the situation at hand and the question remains: â€Å"Does the drug carry enough positive qualities to overcome all of its negative attributes?† The simple answer to that question is â€Å"no.† The drug poses a serious risk in an upswing of teen marijuana use, it has been proven to contain numerous health risks, and its benefits are so small and minimally-researched that likely the only â€Å"benefit† to come from its legalization is freedom for people to get stoned at their own discretion. To sum it up, marijuana is simply something that can do without legalizing. Keeping its status illegal will ultimately help keep our citizens from going down a road they certainly do not need to.

Abortion Must be Illegal Essay -- Argumentative

Oliver Wendell Holmes was born on March 8, 1941 and died on March 6, 1935. He was a vigorous political figure during his life time. He served as associate justice in the US Supreme Court from 1905 to1982. He was a great political philosopher of his days and his ideas are still remembered. According to Holmes, â€Å"the nature of legal language can obscure and hide the social interests and social advantages to some that a law promotes.† Holmes view about legal language is that law promotes social goodness for people but the manner in which the language of law is interpreted can be a block to providing equal justice to all human beings. Holmes says the interpretation of law makes it hard for others to actually enjoy the benefits law provides to all mankind. Holmes classifies the interpretation of law into rhetorical theory. He emphasizes that a law which is constructed as a principle or in a statute form reduces the likelihood of change. Again he says the language of law when interpreted tends to define or apply to only specific behavior or situation at a specific time. Legal language is constructed in complex forms that make it difficult for people without the knowledge of the laws to interpret their meaning. In addition, the language of law always depends on fi xed interpretation. In actual sense, if a law is not interpreted and therefore is not in statutes or has not being generally considered as a law then, no one can be considered a criminal for that offense. Though in reality, that offense may be morally wrong but it is yet to be discovered and entered as a legal principle thus, representing the prediction of the future consequences. Holmes further says that the interpretation of the law in a universal notion as morally obligated... ..., Holmes says legal language should be based on amendment or changes to suit current situations and not be measured from old or fixed legal principles. Indeed, Holmes’ theory that â€Å"the nature of legal language can obscure the social interests and hide the social advantage to some that a law promotes† is a very important philosophical thought. The fact is that legal language denies some people the right to social advantage or equal justice. For this reason, we should look at laws as they ought to be based on current situations at hand. We should not be predominantly obligated to follow fixed statutes as if they are holy books that have been handed down to us from our predecessors and therefore, cannot be altered or amended. Legal language should be used to serve the interest of current social treads and we should not favor legal rhetoric and traditions over change.

Sexual Harassment in the Workplace Essay -- Quid pro quo harassment, h

The workplace is an environment where one should always feel safe. That sometimes is not the case. There has been a great increase in sexual harassment lawsuits and claims in the workplace since the Anita Hill and Clarence Thomas controversy in 1991. Sexual harassment is any unwanted and offensive sexual advances or sexually derogatory or discriminatory remarks. The law currently recognizes two types of sexual harassment in the workplace. Quid pro quo harassment and hostile environment harassment. "Hostile environment" involves making unwanted sexual advances or other verbal or physical contact with the goal of reasonably obstructing an individuals work performance or alternatively effectuating and intimidating, hostile or formidable working environment (Sexual Harassment, 2014). "Quid pro quo" harassment involves harassment from supervisors and occurs when bosses use their authority to coerce employees, either with threats or rewards into having a sexual relationship. Non-supervisors, by the definition, cannot engage in quid pro quo harassment. In this paper I intend to explain both types of harassment that take place in the workplace. I will also focus on different ways that an employer (manager, supervisor) can do to prevent sexual harassment claims. If your firm is sued for sexual harassment, you will not recover legal costs, the cost to your reputation or the extensive time required to prepare for trial, even if you win the case. Thus, it's far better to take steps to prevent sexual harassment and minimize your liability if such a claim should arise (National Women's Law Center, 2015). Hostile Environment Harassment The first form of sexual harassment falls under the ?hostile environment category?. Thi... ...e Huffington Post (February 19, 2015) the number of sexual harassment cases filed with the EEOC in 2014 was 26,027(Vagianos, 2015). Employers need to always take all precautions to prevent a lawsuit . They need to make sure that they have visible standards about harassment polices so all employees can understand what sexual harassment is. Bibliography "Sexual Harassment" The EEOC. 2014. Web. 2 June 2015. http://www.eeoc.gov/laws/types/sexual_harassment.cfm "Sexual Harassment in the Workplace" National Women's Law Center, 2015. Web. 2 June 2015. http://www.nwlc.org/our-issues/employment/sexual-harassment-in-the-workplace Vagianos, Alanna. "1 In 3 Women Has Been Sexually Harassed At Work" The Huffington Post. Feb. 19, 2015. Web. 7 June 2015. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/02/19/1-in-3-women-sexually-harassed-work-cosmopolitan_n_6713814.html

Effectiveness Of Therapeutic Play Health And Social Care Essay

This chapter dealt with literature mention sing curative drama and painful processs and surveies related to Gate Control Theory. This chapter besides dealt with conceptual model of Melzack and Wall ( 1965 ) Gate Control Theory. CHAPTER-III RESEARCH METHODOLOGY This chapter deals with the methodological analysis selected for measuring the effectivity of curative drama on degree of hurting during endovenous canulation. The function of methodological analysis consists of processs and techniques of carry oning a survey. ( Sharma,1990 ) Methodology is a important portion of the research under which the research worker is able to project a bluish print of the research undertaken RESEARCH APPROACH The subdivision of research attack is the basic process for carry oning a research question. In position of the nature of the job selected and aims to be accomplished, a quantitative appraising research attack was considered appropriate to measure the effectivity of curative drama before making endovenous canulation among kids admitted in selected infirmary, Salem. RESEARCH DESIGN Research design is the overall program for turn toing research worker ‘s inquiries including specification for heightening the survey ‘s unity. ( Polit and Beck, 2004 ) Choice of design is based on the intent of the survey. The research design adopted for the survey was Non-equivalent Post trial merely control group design. Group Day 1 Experimental group X O1 Control group O1 Fig-3.1: Conventional representation of research design Keies: Ten: Intervention on curative drama. O1: Post-test merely to measure the degree of hurting during endovenous canulation. VARIABLES UNDER STUDY: A variable is a mensurable or potentially mensurable constituent of an object or event that may fluctuate in quality or measure from one person, object or event to another single object or event of the same general category. ( Basavanthappa, 1998 ) The variables under the survey was the followers, Independent variable: Harmonizing to Polit and Hungler, ( 1999 ) the independent variable is believed to care or act upon the behavior and thoughts. In this survey the independent variable refers to curative drama before making endovenous canulation. Dependent Variable: The dependant variable is the variable, the research worker is interested in understanding, explicating and predating. ( Polit and Hungler, 1999 ) In this survey the dependant variable refers to the degree of hurting during endovenous canulation among kids. Extraneous Variable: The variables that are present in research environment which may interfere with research findings by moving as unwanted independent variable. ( Woods and Khan, 1994 ) In this survey it refers to selected demographic variables such as age in old ages, gender and behavioral response to endovenous canulation. Setting OF THE STUDY: The scene of the survey is the physical location and status in which information aggregation takes topographic point. ( Polit and Hungler, 2009 ) The survey was conducted in Pranav Hospital, Salem. It is located near to New Bus Stand and about 2kms distance from the establishment, where the research worker is analyzing. The infirmary is 150 stratified multi forte infirmary with 30 bed in Paediatric unit. Population: Harmonizing to Polit and Beck. , ( 2004 ) population is the full collection of instances in which a research worker is interested. Population may be of two types, accessible population and mark population. In this survey two are described. Target Population: It refers to the population that the research worker wishes to do a generalization. In this research the mark population was kids acquiring admitted in Pranav Hospital. Accessible Population: It refers to the sum of instances which confirm to the designed standards and which is accessible to the research worker as the pool of topics or objects. In this survey the population consisted of kids acquiring admitted in Pranav Hospital who were undergoing endovenous canulation during the period of survey. Sample: Harmonizing to Polit and Beck. , ( 2004 ) sampling is the procedure of choosing a part of population to stand for the full population. Sample is the subset of population elements. In this survey the samples selected from kids of age group 3-6 old ages undergoing endovenous canulation in Pranav Hospital who fulfil the inclusion standards. Sampling TECHNIQUE AND SAMPLE SIZE Thomas. , ( 1990 ) defines trying is the procedure of choosing units for survey from a population. In this survey Purposive sampling technique was used to choose sample. Sample size was 20 for control group and 20 for experimental group. CRITERIA FOR SAMPLE SELECTION Inclusion Standards: The topic was selected based on the preset standards, aˆ? Children between the age group of 3-6yrs. aˆ? Children who had admitted in pediatric ward for the intervention through endovenous canulation. Exclusion Standards: aˆ? Mentally challenged kids. aˆ? Children with critically sick or of exigency admittance. DESCRIPTION AND INTERPRETATION OF TOOLS The instrument selected in research must be vechile that obtain best informations for pulling decision to the survey. ( Treece and Treece, 1986 ) The tool developed based on the information gathered from relevant literature reappraisal. The content cogency of the demographic informations and independent variable was established by obtaining sentiment from 5 experts ( 3 Nursing experts and 2 Medical experts ) . Tool -1: Demographic informations: It includes age in old ages, gender, behavioral response to endovenous canulation of the kid. Demographic information of the instrument was non scored but used for descriptive analysis. Tool-2: Wong-Baker Faces Pain Rating Scale: This evaluation graduated table is recommended for kids of ages 3and older. It consists of mark 0,2,4,6,8,10. During the clip of endovenous canulation the facial look of the kid was assessed by the research worker with this hurting graduated table. Face 0-no injury, Face 2-hurts merely a small spot, Face 4-hurts a little more, Face 6-hurts even more, Face 8-hurts a whole batch, Face 10-hurt every bit much as we can conceive of. Based on the hiting the hurting degree was assessed. Development of curative drama for direction of painful processs: A curative drama on direction of painful processs was prepared to diminish the degree of hurting during endovenous canulation. The stuffs used were venflon without stillet, plaster, stuffed doll with endovenous injection site, splint. The presentation was done by the research worker utilizing the needed stuffs and so the kid was allowed to pattern the endovenous canulation for the doll. This method was done before making endovenous canulation to the kid by the staff nurse. VALIDITY OF THE TOOL AND INDEPENDENT VARIABLE: The content was validated by the same 5 experts who validated the tool ( demographic variable ) and independent variable as per the standard. Harmonizing to experts suggestions the necessary images were included in the independent variable. It was translated in Tamil and once more retranslated in English by the linguistic communication experts severally. PILOT STUDY: Pilot survey is the little scale version or a trail tally done in readying for major survey. ( Polit and Hungler, 1999 ) The Pilot survey was conducted in SKS Hospital at Salem. After acquiring the written permission from concerned authorization, researcher conducted survey from 4.08.2010 to 11.08.2010 among kids who underwent endovenous canulation. The intent of the survey was explained to the samples and their parent every bit good as written consent was obtained from them. The entire size was 2 for control group and 2 for experimental group. Purposive sampling technique was used for sample choice. For the control group without giving intercession, the degree of hurting was assessed. A concise information analysis done by utilizing descriptive and illative statistics. The consequence of the survey showed the average station trial degree of hurting for control group as 90 % and for experimental group as 50 % . After that the ‘t ‘ value was calculated to happen out the important difference between the degree of hurting for control group and experimental group at P & lt ; 0.05 degree of significance. No important difference was seen between the control group and experimental group. No association was found between station trial degree of hurting and their age, gender and behavioral response of the kid. Since the sample size was merely 2 for control group and 2 for the experimental group. so the survey was non found as important in ‘t ‘ trial and chi-square trial. DATACOLLECTION PROCEDURE: Harmonizing to Polit and Hungler. , ( 1999 ) , â€Å" Data aggregation is the assemblage of information needed to turn to a research job † . Data aggregation for the survey was done from 18.08.2010 to 05.09.2010 in Pranav Hospital at Salem. Initially the research worker got the permission from the concerned authorization. Then the population were identified from the kids who have got admitted in the infirmary were selected by utilizing purposive sampling technique based on the inclusion standards. The sample size was 20 kids as control group and 20 as experimental group and the intent of the survey was explained to the samples and their parent every bit good as willingness to take part was assured by taking written consent of the parent of each sample and giving confidence for maintaining their information confidentially. At first the control group was selected and no intercession was given. On the twenty-four hours of admittance the hurting degree was assessed, during endovenous canulation by utilizing Wong-Baker Faces Pain Rating Scale. After the control group got finished, the experimental group was selected by purposive sampling technique. On day-1, after the kid got admitted, the parents and the kid were introduced by the research worker. The intercession on curative drama given. A particular room was provided to them in the presence of playthings. The research worker clearly explained and taught about the curative drama by utilizing a stuffed doll and the other needful stuffs. The research worker demonstrated the curative drama. Then the research worker made the kid to pattern the endovenous canulation on the doll by doing an unreal endovenous canulation site utilizing a venflon without stillet. After the intercession the research worker identified that the kid got relaxation from the emphasis of hospitalization. The continuance of the intercession was 20 proceedingss. After the intercession the kid was made to be ready for endovenous canulation. The endovenous canulation was done by the staff nurse. The post-test degree of hurting was assessed during the endovenous canulation by utilizing the same tool. Plan FOR DATA ANALYSIS Collected informations were planned for analysis by utilizing the frequence distribution, descriptive ststistics ( mean, SD, average mark per centum ) and illative statistics ( pupil ‘t ‘ trial, Chi-square trial ) .This was done to happen out the effectivity of curative drama degree of hurting among kids who underwent endovenous canulation. Summary This chapter dealt with the methodological analysis of how the research worker had planned and organized for the informations aggregation, the method of hiting and description of tool, pilot survey, informations aggregation process and program for informations analysis.

Schooling vs. Education

Education and Schooling: The Mental Fork In The Road Understanding the difference between schooling and educating is important. Many people use the two terms education and schooling interchangeably. Education refers basically to the education system such as: schools, colleges, Tech centers, universities in public and private. The belief is that these institutions are creating original thinkers. The system of schooling uses discipline and motivation as a method to motivate young people to learn. Within the School system students experience frustration when they attempt to make changes or improve because there is confusion between what is schooling and what is education. This confusion is caused because there is often overlapping and contradictory goals and objectives within each system. The term schooling is use as a way of pointing out the historical, cultural, political and social processes of transforming people into citizens and members of particular social groupings. School is meant to determine each student’s proper social role (Gatto page 157). This is a form of domesticating people, making them â€Å"fit in† to whatever the demands of the social group into which they are born and/or live in. You don’t have to learn anything original. What you really learn in college or any other level of schooling is how to navigate the system. Though you may be exposed to many ideas, theories, and discoveries, they are only side effects if you choose to gain the knowledge. Schooling depends on there being an authority to authorize what is going to be counted as correct and worthy of some certificate or other form of reward for conforming. Emphasis is given to learning information and repeating this information in tests that are marked according to the extent that the repetition is faithful to some original text. Schooling is about following norms of â€Å"behavior and thinking† that have been desired by authorities such as: governments, examination boards, and tradition. Memory therefore is accorded prime place under schooling. This method is commonly use but rarely noticed by the population it controls. Schooling can be compared to animal taming and boarder line brainwash. Schooling should be deemed wrong due to its more recent historical associations with controlling, forming and fashioning the minds of behaviors of American youth. The emphasis upon the meaning of schooling is ‘leading' the individual to engage in the teacher's desired forms of behavior. It sounds like we are a collection of domesticated animals. Without the gift of original thought, students are given the idea that they are now an educated person, they cease to be a force of change and movement in the intellectual universe. They are no longer a threat to the status quo, but another piece of the puzzle of our society. You will get a fine job, a credit card, and work your life to promote the thoughts, ideas, and passions of other people. This may suggest that schooling is necessary, but would you want to become another robot. Education can be described as the antithesis to schooling. Education is the process of exploring alternative ways of thinking, actions, believing, and expressing one's self. It is the process through which one forms one's own judgment independently and using cognitive thought processes. Education depends on dialogue between people on an intellectual level. Education is about freedom of thought and action. It means making judgments about knowledge. Education requires Students to ask why, not just what and how. After the why is answered, it requires students to ask, â€Å"what now?! † We all need ‘information' as a basis for reflection. Becoming educated may seem like the opposite; however the idea of schooling comes back into play. Who you can be and what you can accomplish are not so clear cut. Scholars in political economy and the sociology of knowledge have recently argued that public schools in complex industrial societies like our own make available different types of educational experience and curriculum†¦[for] different social classes (Anyon page 174). This creates a disadvantage for the poorer areas. Even if you absorb all the information you could, you would still fall short to the student being educated somewhere with better resources. Man y people who go to school, building up debt and spending valuable years. It is through the educative process that creativity and spontaneity, innovation possibilities for realization and action. Education is a fundamental process for democracy as schooling is a fundamental process for non democratic forms of political organization. Anyone engaged in a process of improvements would do themselves well by understanding these distinct differences and clarifying their own goals and objectives relative to each system. The completion of school is not the completion of an education; it is simply a point of departure. There are dangers that come when someone completes their schooling and makes the mistake of thinking they’re finished. A degree comes with it a grave responsibility to continue a quest for an education for the rest of your life. Within that phase of your life it is time to evaluate what you know and understand. The truth is†¦we know nothing without experiencing it ourselves. This experience, we should be striving to broaden, with enthusiasm every day. In conclusion, schooling and education are to opposing forces that work together. You can either become a robot with no original thought of your own, or a educated individual with the of cognitive thinking. As stated before school prepares you for the system that we identify as the real world. Through the schooling process many great things are highlighted for the benefit of the student to absorb. The student must be willing to take his education as Malcolm X did when he was in prison. He didn’t have the advantages like others may have been exposed to, but her took his education. Teachers should focus more on inspiring the students to want to absorb an education instead of just attending to be domesticated and looked after. The moral to this story is that schooling is unavoidable, but there is a great chance to take advantage of the knowledge that is available. Will you take your education by the horns or just let it push you by? Works Cited Anyon, Jean. Rereading America Cultural Context for Critical Thinking and Writing: Social Class. Bedford/St. Martin's; 7th edition April 12, 2007 Felder, Richard. â€Å"SCHOOLING VERSUS EDUCATION AND OTHER BALANCING ACTS. Educational Research and Methods Division, June 23, 1999 http://www4. ncsu. edu/unity/lockers/users/f/felder/public/Papers/ERM_Plenary. htm Gatto, John. Rereading America Cultural Context for Critical Thinking and Writing: Against school. Bedford/St. Martin's; 7th edition April 12, 2007 Moore, Michael. Rereading America Cultural Context for Critical Thinking and Writing: Idiot Nation. Bedford/St. Martin 's; 7th edition April 12, 2007 Rodriguez, Richard. Rereading America Cultural Context for Critical Thinking and Writing: The Achievement of Desire. Bedford/St. Martin's; 7th edition April 12, 2007