Monday, September 30, 2019

The Advantages of Late Exit Bilingual Education

Imagine being brought up in a family speaking only one language for your entire life and then you had to move to a foreign land where the language is different. If you had a choice of progressively learning this new language over the course of six to nine years or being put into a classroom and have to virtually teach yourself the language by listening to others around you which would you choose? Late exit bilingual education is a more effective form of bilingual education compared to the English immersion form of bilingual education in the fact that there are more benefits and less adverse effects. There are many reasons why late exit bilingual education should be the choice of public schools everywhere with high minority populations. One of the effects of late exit bilingual education is that the students would be able to maintain their cultural background instead of having to give up one or the other. Language is a big part of a person†s culture. Late exit bilingual education gives the non-English speaking students more time to master the English language which is not an easy language to learn in three years as the English immersion strategy teaches. The findings of the Ramirez team in 1991 evaluating the effectiveness of English immersion, early exit bilingual education, and late exit bilingual education further prove why late exit bilingual education is the one that needs to be used. To look at why keeping one†s culture is important one just needs to look at how and why this country was founded. The first Americans from England came here so they wouldn†t have to conform to everything the rulers of England wanted. Immigrants founded this country. One of the greatest things about the United States is that there are so many different types of cultures everywhere you look. It is true that one needs to learn the English language to be successful, but forcing one to give up his or her cultural background is going against everything this country stands for. English immersion does just that by forcing the student to give up his or her cultural background and language (Faltis 191). Late exit bilingual education allows the child to progress effectively through the educational system with the instruction given in English to the extent to make this possible (Schneider, 1976, p. 128. ). To throw a student into a classroom that speaks a language that is not familiar to them and forcing them to adjust in three years like English immersion does is not fair to the student. A sink or swim technique is not very beneficial and can cause more harms than good. The English language takes longer than that to gain mastery in even for people who have a firm English base to start from. The expected time to master the English language is anywhere from four to nine years for the average person (Collier, 1992). Students who don†t have time to develop their L1 or English will not succeed in all-English classrooms (Cummins, 1981). Time is needed for development, which is just not offered with English immersion. I was in a class with three Hispanic immigrants while I was in high school. They knew no English and were forced to adapt to the all-English environment through English immersion. The classes were difficult for English speaking students let alone students who didn†t understand what was going on around them. As expected by the observers of these students, the immigrant students passed the class with D- ‘s only because the teacher felt it was the best thing for them. We need to realize that these non-English speaking students and other like them who go through the English immersion program will graduate from high school by the mercy of teachers and will not be prepared to be successful in the so-called ‘real world†. This leads me to statistics that further the notion that late exit bilingual education is more effective than English immersion. These results were published in the Ramirez report. The Ramirez report contains some very important evidence that suggests late exit bilingual education is the more beneficial program to use. By looking at the report it is clear that even teachers of the English immersion strategy believe that many of the students in their classes would be better off if they remained in the program for more than the three years that it takes now. The report has evidence that suggests the students should be provided with instruction in their primary language until they are able to profit from the English only instruction. Another important detail that came out of the Ramirez study was that the home language of the student should be used for instruction and as a way for parents to assist their children in their learning. Parental involvement appears to be the greatest in the late exit program. The study suggests that schools should explore how they might use the students† home language to get the parents involved in the schooling of their children. Whether it†s from the Ramirez report, my personal experiences, or the fact that it takes more than three years to even get close to mastering the English language it is clear to see that the English immersion program is not the way to go, but rather late exit bilingual education. If public schools want to prepare the minority student for the world after high school they need to use late exit bilingual education and give them the best chance to succeed while at the same time allowing them to keep there cultural and native language. It is clear that there are more benefits to late exit bilingual education compared to English immersion.

Sunday, September 29, 2019

Homosexuality in America

Despite the United States progress toward homosexual liberation in the past few years, anti-gay and lesbian attitudes are still showing their ugly faces. Violence towards homosexuals is on the rise, conversion groups are popping up everywhere, conflict over homosexuality innateness is high, religious and personal discrimination is rampant: all this in a time when more and more gays and lesbians are coming out and their coming out at younger ages. It is a time in America when we need to support the homosexual community. Jamie Nabozny, now an openly gay man, was a troubled teenager who ttempted suicide three times and had frequently stayed in psychiatric wards. In high school he was tortured with emotional and physical violence from his peers. On one occasion in his freshmen year, two boys attacked him in the bathroom. He fell into the urinal and the boys proceeded to urinate on him. I just remember sitting there, waiting for it to get over with, recalled Nabozny (Jerome, 1). The school did nothing to prevent the harassment. Later, in his junior year, he was beaten so severely that he had to undergo exploratory abdominal surgery. Nabozny decided to sue the school district. The case was thrown out, but when he appealed to the federal courts, they decided a school could be sued for not preventing harassment. The district settled out of court, paying Nabozny $900,000 (Jerome, 5). Willi Wagner, a gay teenager who came out in ninth grade, was also harassed. Most of the time the abuse was verbal, and he was always ready with a comeback. Theyd call me a faggot and Id call them a hick, Wagner said. However, things did become violent. When Wagner and some friends were walking down the street, two vehicles stopped beside them and eight boys jumped out. Five of the boys formed a circle around Wagner, while the others beat him, leaving him with two black eyes, a broken nose and many bruises. I could feel my nose crack. It wasnt a good feeling, Wagner said of the incident. Two of the boys were put on probation for the incident; not near enough punishment for the crime (Jerome, 3). Incidents like these are quite common. In fact, one study showed that while the overall crime rate decreased four percent, anti-gay crimes rose seven percent (Peyser, 1). Another study, conducted by the Massachusetts Department of Education, found that, for homosexuals, the igh school years are filled with abuse, some of it self-inflicted. Gay and lesbian teenagers are five times more likely to use cocaine or skip school out of fear for safety than straight kids. Over thirty six percent of homosexual teens will attempt suicide each year (Jerome, 1). Conversion groups, usually run by religious denominations, are becoming more widespread. The goal of these groups is to convert homosexuals into heterosexuals, and in the meantime save them from the pits of hell. Conversion groups thrive on the idea that homosexuality is a choice, something about a person that can be changed. Some programs include butching up the men and feminizing the women. This is done by taking the males to sporting events and having make-up or shopping parties for females, or by pairing them with heterosexual mentors to show them the way to act. Others have gays and lesbians imagine members of the same sex as diseased, or perform exorcisms.. These programs say they have about a one-third success rate, success being when a homosexual is cured, that is when he or she no longer acts on urges (Schoofs, 2). Often, however, these therapies end up doing more harm than good, as hey did for Jeffrey Coates. He had been raised to believe that gay men go to hell. So after his first sexual experience with a man, Coates joined a twenty week conversion program called Desert Stream. He was recognized for making excellent progress in his group, even though he admitted that he felt absolutely no different inside.. He continued to try to become heterosexual until he finally decided suicide was less of a sin than same-sex relationships. He drank heavily one night and drove home on a narrow road, hoping to drive into the canyon. Fortunately, he made it home alive (Schoofs, 1). Now Coates is comfortable with his sexuality and does not regret his conversion experience merely because it helped him come to terms with himself. Another man, Brandon Bauer, could not be accepted as gay by his Mormon peers. He attempted suicide at age seventeen, and soon after, he was admitted into therapy under a Mormon psychologist. He told Bauer that he was under Satans influence, that Satan was making him believe that he could not change. Bauers parents were instructed to remove all magazines that might contain male underwear models and to time his showers to prevent im from masturbating. He was told that God could forgive a murderer, but He could never forgive a homosexual. It haunts me to this day, he said. Bauer began to live a double life, one as a heterosexual with kids and a wife, and another as a homosexual who drinks and has sex. Despite the fact that he now accepts his sexuality, he admits that conversion therapy has permanently scarred him (Schoofs, 3). Many people wonder if these therapies actually work. This issue was addressed by Ariel Shidlo and Michael Schroeder, two New York psychologists. In their study, they found that five out of one hundred and fifty people tested are happy with their conversion, but each of these people still have homosexual urges (Miller, 2). It may be concluded that homosexuals are not cured but merely suppressing their feelings. Often, as in the case of Kelly Kirby, the attendees end up meeting their future partners at the conversion meetings (Schoofs, 4). These ministries actually act as a transition place for many people to come out and accept their gayness, says Jeffrey Coates (Schoofs, 5). The gay curing movement is spreading because of actions like the Christian Coalition and the Family Research Councils joint effort in launching a $200,000 ad campaign. The full-page ads feature photographs of ex-gays, talk about the physical and spiritual consequences of sin and offer the solution of conversion therapy. This kinder, gentler homophobia was the brainchild of Janet Folger, who on Nightline, confessed to supporting laws that criminalize homosexual sex, proving to some the true anti-gay hate behind the facade of Christian love (Schoofs, 1). In a study administered by Gallup, only thirteen percent of Americans onsidered homosexuality as innate in 1977. By 1996, that number had climbed to thirty one percent. The study also found that Americans are twice as likely to accept homosexuality if they believe it was not a choice (Schoofs, 2). So, is it a choice Scientific evidence says no. The evidence we now have strongly suggests that this is determined. Its not purely genetic, but there doesnt seem to be any choice in the matter. One thing that is clear is that the brain of homosexuals and heterosexuals appear to be different. Studies suggest that homosexuals in many cases developed neurologically in a ay that made them more likely to become homosexual, reported University of Massachusetts (Amherst) professor of neuroscience Geert J. De Vries (Jerome, 2). More simply put, Ask some straight guy to imagine what it would be like if he was told, You cant love women and now youre going to have to love a guy. Tell em that, and then they get it, says Dave Lemon, a man who tried for years to become heterosexual (Schoofs, 2). If it were a choice, why would someone choose it Despite improvements in openness, such as the public coming out of Ellen Degeneres, many still say homosexuality is wrong. They might point to anatomy. Our bodies are not made for homosexual sex, says Michael Johnston, president of the Kerusso Ministry, The anus was not to be penetrated (Schoofs, 3). What most people dont seem to realize is that many heterosexuals practice anal sex, and that many gay men (not to mention lesbians) never do. Joseph Nicolosi, cofounder of NARTH, a secular psychological organization, said, I think the penis was made for a vagina: I dont think it was made for another mans rectum. When Nicolosi was asked if the penis was made for the hand or the mouth, other body arts where the penis is often found, he answered sharply, I dont want to get into that (Schoofs, 4). Some insist it is morally wrong or they point to the Bible, taking the Scripture literally, and say it is a sin. Many believe marriage and relationships are to be between a man and a woman. Some Americans are concerned that the homosexual community will encourage their children to be gay or lesbian. The Boy Scouts recently fought to ban gay scoutmasters. Scout spokesman Gregg Sheilds said, A homosexual is not a role model for traditional family values (Peyser, 2). As for the religious iscrimination, The gay and lesbian community is still the community you can blatantly attack and then hide behind the Bible, said Rebecca Isaacs, political director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force (Revival of Hatred, 1). America is currently in a period of backward thinking, the one step back after our two steps forward. Tolerance is the only way the United States can become united at all. We must overcome our differences, end discrimination and join this fight together. No one deserves to be mistreated as homosexuals are today. Remember that all men were created equal- even gay men.

Saturday, September 28, 2019

Characterization in “Charles”

Laurie’s lies In the story â€Å"Charles† , Shirley Jackson vividly creates an entertaining main character, Laurie, through a description of his own looks, clothing, his own words, and actions. Shirley Jackson shows Laurie as having three main personality traits. Laurie can be best described as rude, impish, and disruptive. Early on in this story Laurie shows us his rude behavior when he starts kindergarten. Laurie is rude to everyone. He is rude to his teacher, his dad, and his mom.He says to his dad â€Å"hey pop you old dust mop†. That’s rude most dads would have slapped him. Laurie shows another trait later on in the story â€Å"impish†. He got in trouble and the whole class stayed to watch what would happen. He also makes up this character Charles he tells his mom that â€Å"Charles does whatever he really does at school. † That is just some really impish attitude. Laurie also has a third trait disruptive. Laurie disrupts the whole class a lot in this story. He tells a little girl in his class to say a bad word. † The little girl did and got in trouble. Then Laurie goes ahead and says the word himself and gets in trouble. That shows disruptive behavior. In our world today kids are the same. They all do stuff to get attention. This story will bring to parents attention how their kids act when they are not around. All kids today can have the same characteristics as Laurie does rude, impish, and disruptive.

Friday, September 27, 2019

Response to Gran Torino Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Response to Gran Torino - Essay Example This is because it does not go as far as the extremes of racist language and that there is not a single character that takes offence to the language used. However, the language may be offensive to the audience watching the film as most of the terms, though witty, are in bad taste of conventional anti-racist terms, especially when used by Caucasians, as is the case with Walt. This makes the language to be in bad taste of the audience in addition to the presence of random Hmong chatter to make up of Asian language scenes in the film. The use of this language in the film is not entirely appropriate although it serves its purpose in creating realistic scenes of Asian language speech. There is also extensive use of dirty speech or language throughout the movie with swear words and cursing with words such as goddamnit, bitch, fuck and shit, which make the film a bit language unfriendly although it is common in most modern movies. Gran Torino also features aspects of racism that are incorpo rated in language and other activities depicted in the film. The first one is in the definition and names assigned to different ethnicities such as Asians, who are called chinks, African Americans who are called niggers and Polish Americans, who are called Polacks. This shows the degree of ethnic intolerance throughout the film, in addition to the dissatisfaction of Walt Kowalski in his hatred towards Asians. This is because he is a Korean War veteran and is intolerant attitude towards Asians.... d names assigned to different ethnicities such as Asians, who are called chinks, African Americans who are called niggers and Polish Americans, who are called Polacks. This shows the degree of ethnic intolerance throughout the film, in addition to the dissatisfaction of Walt Kowalski in his hatred towards Asians. This is because he is a Korean War veteran and is intolerant attitude towards Asians, until he starts mentoring Thao, the next-door teenage boy. Although there is this form of reconciliation in the film through mentoring the boy, it appears as if the racial tension between the Caucasian man and the Asians does not entirely go away. The above is due to the presence of Asian gangs who target the family of his mentee, which brings up the concept of revenge. In regard to portrayal of revenge in Gran Torino, Asian gangs are portrayed as largely unforgiving; in the same way that Walt Kowalski is, when one tries to mess with his family. Walter Kowalski holds the concept of family d early and carries his family with high regard in regard to the Hmongs who live in is neighborhood. Following the rescue of Thao from the influence of the Asian gang operating in his neighborhood by Walt, the Asians seek their revenge against Walt (Gran Torino). This is in addition to punishing Thao’s sister, Sue, for receiving Walt’s help and helping the two stands up against the gang to stop with their oppression. The Hmong gang beats up Walt and drives by Thao’s house shooting at it, and in the process wound Thao in the neck, while the revenge mission of the Hmong gang goes beyond this in that they abduct Sue, beat her up, rape her and then discard her at her house. Revenge in the film appears to be taken seriously through vicious actions by gangs and individuals, although Walt and

Thursday, September 26, 2019

Marketing Major Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Marketing Major - Essay Example The market gap represents signs of potential success. The product is mainly targeted to three segments, namely the youth, professionals who have a tendency to eat convenient food and health-conscious people who survive on a healthy diet. The product is being positioned in the market as a healthy one which is supreme to its competitors on account of taste and quality. The target consumers lie in the age group of 16-24 and 26-45 mainly so a wide range of media support has been devised. For instance, radio and television has been mainly used to target all the age group on account of their popularity. On the other hand social media like facebook and LinkedIn has been used for promoting the product launch among the youth and young professionals. Magazines like The Economist have been used to communicate with the young professionals. Fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) include a variety of products which are sold at low prices and their sale occurs relatively faster. The target market for FMCG is quite vast but proper segmentation of the market and adding value to the customers are formidable challenges for any FMCG company. According to the traditional definition FMCG goods can be described as goods which are purchased very frequently. These goods are generally sold in large volume in order to generate profits for the companies which produce them. These goods are priced relatively lower compared to consumer durable goods and are perishable generally. These goods can include a wide range of items like soft drinks, toiletries, packed food items and chocolate bars to name a few. The shelf-life of the products is relatively lower for which they are manufactured in large quantities to compensate for the small price. The FMCG sector is a key component of the U.K. economy and accounts for 10% of the GDP of the country a nd 20% of the entire market (The Statistics Portal, 2014). The food and beverages sector is one of

Development and Advancement of Science Research Paper

Development and Advancement of Science - Research Paper Example Cloning is a form of asexual reproduction which involves creating genetically identical genes or cells, plants or animals. The procedure of cloning is done by taking a gene from the animal or human and then putting that gene in another animal or human organisms. Scientists found out that cloning can also make identical twins by using a method called embryo splitting. In July 1996, a team of Scottish scientists had the first cloning success. Dolly was the first ever cloned sheep. Therapeutic cloning is practised to clone things such as organs and tissues for patients in need of them. Reproductive cloning is practised for the purpose of actually producing a human that is genetically identical to somebody else. Human cloning is the creation of a genetically identical copy of an existing, or previously existing human, by growing cloned tissues from that individual. The term is generally used to refer to artificial human cloning; human clones in the form of identical twins are commonplace . Human cloning is amongst the most controversial forms of practice. One of the most ethically questionable problems with human cloning is the farming of organs from clones. 1) Cloning has not been perfect yet. The cloning of sheep Dolly had 276 failures before successfully cloning a sheep. With these kinds of figures, we should not even go near trying to demonstrate cloning on humans. 2) Aldous Huxley in his book the â€Å"Brave New World† illustrates the future with people having a total loss of individuality, creativity, and freedom. This is because if humans are cloned then there would be a lot of the same people in the future.  Ã‚  

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

What are the main justification for a health system funded largely Essay

What are the main justification for a health system funded largely through private and public taxation and what are the strenghth and weaknesses of the two opposing view point - Essay Example may be required to pay little fee that is not significant to their income, a factor that bridges potential differences in care access based on economic status. Healthcare is also budgeted for, resources availed through the formal budget and taxation policies, and this guarantees continuous availability of care services (Leatt and Mapa 2003, p. 49). A publicly funded healthcare system also ensures quality of care to citizens. This is because the system is organized and qualified professionals manage it. It therefore also offers a benchmark to private practitioners who must match the level of quality in order to attract and retain customers (Ho 2012, p. 68). The system is also comprehensive to meet diversified needs and is in some cases compulsory, a factor that motivates people to seek care and therefore ensures quality of health (Morfaw 2009, p. 109). One of the contrary viewpoints to justification of the publicly funded healthcare system, through taxation and through a special system, is its â€Å"inflexibility and bureaucratization† (Leatt and Mapa 2003, p. 49). The opinion is strong because such a scope may lead to regional scarcity of resources and restrained access but proper management through accurate forecast of needs undermines this criticism. Another criticism is that success of the publicly funded care system may be over-valued because it does not bear some of its costs such as time wasted on waiting lists. The cost may be significant to identify overestimation of the derived utility but such wastes may be inevitable and may also exist in privately funded care systems (Leatt and Mapa 2003, p. 49). Even though opposing views exist to the justification of publicly funded healthcare system, weaknesses of such opinions are more significant than their strengths. Justifications of the system are further more practical. The publicly funded care through taxation is therefore

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

History Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

History - Term Paper Example New Confucianism became the dominant political ideology for nearly 1,000 years to come. In fact, the rise of money economy along with new systems of landholding and taxation that took over in the middle of the Song Dynasty changed the Chinese economy throughout its history† (232). During the Song Dynasty, â€Å"the severe restrictions on women began to appear, and with the rise of Neo-Confucianism, women’s roles began to diminish and to receive strict definition. The boundary of activities for women revolved merely within the family’s needs† (Tierney, 232). II. Discussion â€Å"The feudal China made women more submissive to men† (Fan, 196). It was during this time women stayed at home, took care of the household chores, bear children, reared and nurtured them. â€Å"This became the most significant role of women who were merely associated as men’s attachments, slaves and possessions† (Fan, 196). â€Å"Footbinding became the ultimate to ol to deny women the physical expression of freedom† (Fan, 196). It became a symbol of oppression as women because victims of physical and psychological abuses. â€Å"More often than not, a woman accepted her own physical castration and acknowledged herself as inferior and accepted the negative roles of femininity. Footbinding was therefore the pre-eminent symbol of sexual oppression† (Fan, 196). The late nineteenth century was the period when anti-footbinding campaigns began in China. It was during the visit of Helen Snow to Yan’an in 1939 when she noticed that most of the women in that area, including peasants had bound feet. It was during this time when equality between men and women was declared by women’s associations. The rationale behind the practice of foot-binding among Chinese women is that â€Å"it marked the beginning of the womanhood of a young girl† (Rosanlee, 143). It became a family affair and not just a private occasion as the mothe r of the young girl sought the â€Å"divine blessings prior to the commencement of footbinding† (Rosanlee, 143). It became a part of the family’s heritage, as the â€Å"technique of footbinding varied not just from different regions, but from different families as well, and was sort of knowledge and work that was passed on from mothers to daughters and from aunts to nieces† (Rosanlee, 143). â€Å"Correct attire was a sign of civility of Wen, the woman’s needlework and artifacts, whose meaning encompasses not only literary patterns of artifacts and clothing† (Rosanlee, 144). In the seventeenth century, â€Å"footbinding in China was regarded as: First: an expression of Chinese wen civility; Second: a marker of ethnic boundaries separating the Han from the Manchu; and Third: an ornament of the body that is the correct concealment of the female body† (Rosanlee, 144). III. Conclusion Chiu Chin became a symbol of freedom and liberation among Chin ese women. â€Å"Towards the end of her short life, she became one of the most passionate and influential among revolutionaries and was beheaded by the still-ruling Manchus when she was only 31 years of age. Before her death, she fought valiantly for the rights of the women, the poor and the oppressed†

Monday, September 23, 2019

Infosys Write Up Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Infosys Write Up - Essay Example Infosys Technologies has established a smaller firm with the name ICI, which is established in get knowledge about IT consultancy business. The company Infosys Technologies is interested in IT consultancy because it is the current business of the market and the companies are getting good revenues on the basis of the new market trend of information technology consultancy business. The company showed interest in consultancy business because of its interest in extra revenue, expansion and the client’s needs and requirements regarding IT consultancy. The company has many strengths on the basis of which, it is going to appear better than its competitors before its clients. The company also has some weaknesses but the company is interested to control and improve all its weak to progress, expand and get better. The company Infosys Technologies and Infosys Consultancy (ICI) are going to face some challenges in their interface development such as the communication development challenge and management challenge. The establishment of a subsidiary firm is beneficial for the parent company, Infosys Technologies. Infosys is a well established firm that enjoys a reputable position in the market. It is suggested by the administrators of the firm that the firm will be the foremost firm in a couple of years on the basis of its technologies and growth of information technology. Infosys Technologies has a number of competitors in the market such as IBM, EDS, Accenture, Wipro Limited, Tata Consultancy Services and many more (Info Consulting in 2006). With all these firms in market of information technology and business, Infosys faced a full-fledged challenge in the market. The position of the company Infosys Technologies in December 2005 was at 9th number (Info Consulting in 2006). The company Infosys Technologies after being developed into ICI comes up with greater success and ambitions for its clients and employees. Because of its competition with many

Sunday, September 22, 2019

Higher education Essay Example for Free

Higher education Essay English 10/29/13 Education has become a tremendous topic over the past several years and many people have come up with different philosophies on how to improve it. In â€Å"The Vision of Education Reform in the United States Remarks to UNESCO† by Arne Duncan and â€Å"Changing Paradigms† by Ken Robinson both have similar and different philosophies on education. Arne Duncan compares America to other nations, and Ken Robinson talks about the problems with our current day educational system. In the â€Å"The Vision of Education Reform in the United States Remarks to UNESCO† Arne Duncan addresses America as a whole. America is behind other nations in terms of educational success. There is a gap because one quarter of high school students drop out or fail to graduate on time, also 1 million students leave for the streets every year this is socially and economically unacceptable, and with the opportunity to acquire a good job without a high school or college diploma diminishing it is getting harder and harder to live without a proper education. Duncan also states that America needs to increase economic and educational competitiveness. The demand for educated workers has skyrocketed over the last decade and the United States simply can’t keep up with other nations. Americans have been introduced with new difficulties, now that Americans not only have to compete with fellow Americans but now with citizens from other nations. The most significant theory that Duncan presents is the idea that America needs to collaborate more with other nations. Collaboration is a necessity if America wants to accomplish our major goals like curing cancer, stopping world hunger, and obtaining world peace. Unfortunately America is not currently at a level in which it can keep up with other nations. To achieve such a level of educational success it is extremely important, America needs to improve upon STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, And Math) subjects. America has the tools to accomplish these goals. This was proven when a study showed that â€Å"foreign-born students were earning masters and doctorates in science and engineering fields, now nearly half of America’s PhD scientists and engineers are immigrants even though they only take up 12% of America’s workforce overall. Although† The foreign-born immigrants usually return back to their home country with the skills they learned in America. Strengthening Americas rank in educational attainment to its former position is presidents Obama’s goal by 2020. It is immensely important that America strengthens its educational system not only to its benefit but for the benefit of nations all-around the globe. Arne Duncan identifies what America must do to progress on, an international standpoint; While Ken Robinson focuses mostly on improving America at home. In Ken Robinson’s â€Å"Changing Paradigms† he discusses what the United States government should do to improve schools in various ways. Ken Robinson discusses the lack of use of technology in schools. While students are stimulated outside of school with smart phones, computers, TVs, and tablets, when they come to school they are bored because they do not have that stimulation. This lack of stimulation can cause problems for students. Ken Robinson addresses one of these problems as ADHD. Robinson thinks ADHD is a â€Å"false epidemic†. He justifies his statement by blaming the lack of technology in schools. He believes that the high use of technology outside of school and the lack of it in school are causing the students to become bored, so they will try to stimulate themselves which is being diagnosed as ADHD. Ken Robinson in away wants our educational system to be revamped, such as he wants the way children are grouped to be change from age to ability. He also desires more in class collaboration like in a real workplace. He also wishes for the added use of technology in schools. Ken Robinson has a very agreeable philosophy on how education should be, however he fails to elaborate on how these changes should take place. Arne Duncan and Ken Robinson have very interesting philosophies on education but each focus on different parts of it. Duncan focuses on international success and on higher level education, while Robinson has a more local standpoint and is more K-12 based. Arne Duncan believes that America’s main priority should be to lead the world in educational success. Ken Robinson believes that the government should work on advancing schools technologically and changing education to better fit the students. America needs step up and step up fast both internationally and locally. By 2020 the president of the United States goal is for America to lead the world in college attainment America also needs to increase technology in schools.

Saturday, September 21, 2019

Democratic and Transformational styles of leadership

Democratic and Transformational styles of leadership In times of tough economic situation businesses face today, it is essential to stay as effective as one can be. In order to be an effective leader, besides other things, one must know or learn how to manage stress not only in the work place, but also outside work. Our generation is set in a very challenging and vivid environment. People are being thrown at with various demands everywhere. Stress can be defined as the unconscious preparation to fight or flee a person experiences when faced with any demand (Nelson Quick, 2006). Stress is an inevitable part of our everyday life. We cannot get rid of it for sure, but we can reduce stress to acceptable levels, or to the amount it can be helpful. If not managed successfully, stress can cause health problems, both physical and emotional. To create a stress reducing program, I have chosen the democratic leadership style and the autocratic style. Democratic leader initiates collaboration, delegates power, interacts with its employees and cares about their decisions. This style is the best when the outcome is not known, and the emphasis is on the quality of the job. Manager likes to communicate with its employees, takes into consideration employees opinions, and invites them to share ideas, allowing employees to take part in leading. Feed back in this style is highly recommended and expected, the manger builds on feedback (Oates, (n.d.). Autocratic or commanding leader is the opposite of the previous one. Such a leader does not ask for opinions of its employees, but sets strict rules and regulations that ought to be followed. This style is used when the direction and the outcome are clear, and the team must follow certain rules or steps. Most decisions here are made by the manager himself, without discussing with his employees, so the communication is often only one- way. There is hardly any power delegating to the followers and the leader maintains the authority. Feedback to the leader is uncommon and not tolerated, can be perceived as an unacceptable criticism (Oates, (n.d.). Democratic style stress reducing program: There are more traits in this style that help reduce stress compared to the other one. Democratic style creates a positive work environment, where employees are given responsibilities, and are empowered to do certain tasks on their own, offering challenge which is the type of stress that is good. If the employees feel good in the company, enjoy the job and experiencing healthy stress. Another stress reducing trait of this style is that it provides room for communication and feedback, which is very important. If a leader communicates with his employees, he knows their needs and their problems, and can help them sort these out. Giving positive feedback to an employee is a great motivator and can also increase productivity, since positive appraisals to employees are very valued, and also boost confidence, which helps to reduce stress. Democratic style provides plenty possibilities for creative thinking. The shared decision making process invites for ideas of all members, therefore if the employees have a great idea, they are free to share it and even if it is not such a great idea, they know they will not be punished. Employees will be under lower stress if they are free to use their initiative, and they are being supported with their initiatives and even given credit for it. The use of the two-way communication creates no room for grapevine, therefore there is less tension in the work place, consequently leading to less stressful situations. Employees led by democratic leader are less likely to switch jobs, because they feel more appreciated, feel more involved and by giving more responsibilities, they dedicate themselves to the company for a longer period of time, because they are not experiencing distress, but rather eustress. Some of the stressful situations that may arise under democratic leadership are the lengthy and boring decision making. For some employees, the long and shared decision making can be stressful. Therefore in order to reduce stress in such situation, more involvement from the leader would be required, to move from one point to another. There are leaders that pretend to be democratic leaders, who just want their employees to think they care about them, but such actions can cause a lot of stress and dissatisfaction among employees. Leaders should not just pretend to listen to their employees, but really listen to them and try to implement their ideas. Democratic style may create stress in a type of employees that want to have rules, that want to be directed and that do not want to participate in the decision making process. In such a situation, the worker should be either explained the importance of this style, and how important his ideas could be. If the employee cannot put up with such an approach, maybe it will be best to transfer him to a department with more direct rules (Oates, (n.d.). In a democratic environment, in order to create a good stress, eustress, the leader may assign somebody with a role of devils advocate, who will question every decision, making it even more inspiring for others to participate. Democratic Program: Democratic leader agrees on a meeting with his employees, where they will be discussing stress issues inside and outside the workplace. The meeting will not be held by the leader, but the leader will inspire his employees to freely share their ideas. He can encourage them by sharing his concerns or problems first. Democratic leader does not force employees to participate. If there are individuals that want to share their personal problems confidentially, he will have them come to his office and have a private talk. The important step during these meetings is to identify the causes of stress at the workplace. Some of the common causes can be the fear of layoffs, increased demands, and pressure from manager to meet expectations. On the next meeting, team can come up with some team building activities, that will reduce the potential tension among the employees, and they will learn the roles they have in teams. Members can suggest some sport activities that the team can do together after work, because it reduces stress, and builds good relationships. Next task for the team to discuss would be the time management, and how could they improve. If people are running out of time, the pressure is on and the stress increases rapidly. Even democratic manager should create a balanced schedule. The team should plan regular breaks during work time. If the members experience lack of time, they could agree to come to work a little bit earlier to get ahead of time. Task management is very important in teams with democratic leader, since the decision making process takes longer. The tasks should be prioritized; some activities must get a high priority and others low. If the team seems to be lost in a project, manager should split it up not to lose focus on the objectives (Stress at work, 2010). 1st email message to general staff: Subject: Launch of the new stress reduction program Message: Dear members of the team, Due to fact we have all experienced the increased level of stress throughout past weeks, I would like to meet with you to discuss specific problems. I would like to kindly ask every one of you to think about the major issue that bothers you the most, and come up with suggestions for improvement. The program of the first meeting will mostly consist of the brainstorming the ideas, and solutions to them. Looking forward to meeting you, Your democratic leader. 2nd email to the general staff, after the rirst meeting: Subject: First meeting reactions Message: Thank you all for your active participation, I am delighted with the number of the solutions we came up with. If there is anything else you would like to add, or consult with me, do not hesitate to contact me. Looking forward to our next meeting. Autocratic style stress reducing program: Working with this commanding type of leader may create more stressful situations, compared to the democratic style, however, there are situations where this type can be less stressful. In some cases, it can be less stressful for an autocratic leader, since he is in charge of all the decisions, and knows he controls his own fate. On the other side, if there is too much for the leader to bear, he can be over stressed with too many decisions for him to make, so delegating power could take away some stress. If the employees prefer to be supervised and are poorly motivated, or have low interest in improving quality, autocratic style would be more productive than the team that is not commanded. Commanding style may reduce stress by improved logistics or time management. One leader can better keep deadlines and spot problems on projects that require certain schedule and complicated operations. In such cases long decision making would not be appropriate. Since there is only one to make decisions, snap decisions can be made immediately, which can on side reduce stress in the team, but may certainly put more stress on the leader, because the success or the failure of the project depends purely on his decision. If employees are not being listened to and are only supposed to follow the directions of the leader, there is room for stress to be created. Therefore, even autocratic leaders should be more open to the two-way communication, and providing also positive feedback to their employees. Autocratic leaders should lessen the pressure that is put on their employees, and appraise them for their work. Autocratic style seems to be unpopular among employees, sometimes being compared to as having no leadership skills, just commanding people. Therefore such leaders should provide some of their soft skills and try to listen to their employees more. By only giving orders, the confidence of employees will not be increased, so the productivity will be lower, and people will be under more stress. By delegating power to the employees, the manager reduces stress that is put on them, and shares the stress load with his team members. In some companies, autocratic leaders may experience huge loads of stress, while being responsible for everything. Empowering employees also improves the productivity, because employees can work on something they are responsible for, and if managed well, experience appraisal, which reduces stress. For the generation Y people that are naturally motivated by work, and work because they like the job, theycan be discouraged by the autocratic leader, therefore should be given more flexibility in order to reduce their stress. For such people being ordered is the worst thing, because they lose motivation and the productivity as well. If the team is mainly consisting of such people, the leader should not imply strict rules, but rather involve employees in the decision making and leave room for them to be challenged, because that is what motivates then the most. In case employees get used to such commanding style, they can become dependent on their leader, and without him, not being able to work. In such teams, productivity decreases rapidly and individual contribution is not present (Oates, (n.d.). While commanding style may work on short term projects, in long term ones it can cause substantial stress among the employees. Autocratic program: Autocratic leader would probably call the meeting himself and have the topics already prepared. Commanding leader needs to improve his communication. Employees do not like to be ordered at all times, they prefer being informed to reduce their uncertainty. The two- way communication is essential in a stress reducing environment, meaning the exchange of thoughts and feelings. Autocratic manager should learn how to consult their employees, and involve them in decision making, which will go hand in hand with higher motivation. The workload should also be consulted, whether they are able to perform all the tasks assigned. Autocratic leader needs to work on his emotional intelligence. This includes self- awareness, as the ability to show emotions, self- management, controlling yourself under all circumstances. Be socially aware, trying to understand his employees. Autocratic leaders need to build good relationships at work, because without it, the employees will either work under stress, or will be leaving the team very often. Next step could be to provide rewards and incentives for employees. Everybody needs to feel appraised for good work. Employees should not only be punished and criticized for bad work, but most importantly to be rewarded for good results. Even though task management in most cases of commanding leadership is done well, some leaders put too much on their shoulders, putting themselves under stress. Instead, they should delegate more power to their employees, which will be happy they are included in the task, and the manger will experience less stress. Relationship management is something autocratic leaders dont do, but is essential for the working environment. Manager should be able to inspire their employees not only by direct orders, but also by other means. Relationship building can be improved by many teambuilding activities: playing sports, going out together, find common interest with members of the team and interact more. Autocratic manager can reduce stress by breaking some of his bad habits. Commanding types tend to be perfectionist, which in reality cannot work. Nothing can ever be perfect; therefore managers should try to resist perfectionism. Setting up unrealistic goals that are unattainable can be very stressful, for everyone concerned. Humour is a great way how to release tension at work. Manager should not take all things seriously, sometimes looking at the problem from the other side is the best we can do (Stress at work, 2010). 1st email message to general staff: Subject: Launch of the new stress reduction program Message: Dear employees, I would like to inform you that there will be a meeting concerning the latest issues regarding stress. I have come up with some suggestions that might improve current situation. I expect all of you to be present on the meeting. Best regards, Your Autocratic boss. 2nd email to the general staff, after the rirst meeting: Subject: Update on the first meeting Message: I would like to thank you for coming to the meeting, I think the suggested solutions will work, and I strongly encourage you to start applying those. We will be meeting shortly to push the changes further. Talk to you soon. Conclusion: Every single leadership style has its drawbacks and positive sides. If manager can identify the benefits and reduce the negatives of his leadership style, everyone involved will benefit. Positive working environment, improved motivation along with the balanced work/life can reduce the impacts of stress employees and leaders are put through. In times of economic crises, where the demands are higher than ever, learning how to cope with stress is a necessity. Leaders should learn to listen to the needs of their subordinates, communicate effectively and lead efficiently.

Friday, September 20, 2019

Human Resource Mechanisms in Healthcare

Human Resource Mechanisms in Healthcare Quynh Phuong Diem Nguyen Health care workers are people, who often work in hospital, healthcare centers and other service delivery points, but also in academic training, research and administration; some provide care and treatment services for patients in private homes. Human resources are really important to a health care systems effectiveness. From an economics viewpoint, health workers salaries make up a great share of health budgets in most countries. The health worker can be considered as the gatekeeper of the health system. However, caregivers are getting low-paid in spite of the fact that they are the people perform the most intimate, most personal tasks for our frail, elderly parents and grandparents. According to NZ Herald, they do almost everything for a medium pay rate of around $15/hour only $1.25 more than adult minimum wage. Dr Judy McGregor, Equal Employment, Opportunities Commissioner, called this is a form of modern-day slavery. Healthcare workers and other formals carer told that they love the work in spite of the low pay, but others said they had little time to care properly or that they often werent paid for some of their work, for example  writing daily progress notes on residents after the end of their shifts (Collins, 2013). Therefore, whats health care workers motivation to continue working in this sector? In New Zealand there are 20,000 people; most of them are women and many of them new immigrants, work as caregivers in nearly 700 rest homes and geriatric hospitals. According to Maslows Hierarchy of Needs, there are 5 basic things of human needs: Self-actualization, Esteem, Love/Belonging, Safety and Physiological. As shown in this theory, a persons basic need must be met before self-actualization can be achieved. There is a way of thinking about the different needs of individual employees. In lower-order needs of physical and emotional well-being are basic all; once satisfied, these no longer serve as motivators. Therefore, a lot of people have to take thi s job for their whole life to meet their own needs. Such as Rouru Kiria, a 55 years old woman has been a caregiver for 15 years at the now renamed Meadowbank Lifestyle and Care Village. As the facility moved more towards the retirement village model in 2010, at the same time her husband had a kidney transplant, her job became redundant. They have to live in a rented home and both unemployed. However, she was still looking for work in aged care despite the low pay. She said she will take whatever is given since its better than the dole (Collins, 2013). Generally, if a health worker feel that they are effective at their jobs and having well performance they can be motivated and express their job satisfaction. Factors contributing to motivation and job satisfaction also include an adequate compensation, strong career development, adequate working and living conditions. Despite of the fact that health care workers get a low salary, having strong human resources mechanisms within a healt h system can also help to ensure what motivational factors are in place at adequate levels to keep health workers satisfied. According to the Inside our Rest Homes series by NZ Herald in 2012, one in four  caregivers left their job in aged care homes and hospitals. The series also showed that there is high turnover that affect quality of care, as well as discouraging staff development and training which adversely impact stress levels. Therefore, we all come up with the question that what is major source of stress. According to some research, stress usually comes from 4 factors: Environmental factors, Organisational factors, Job factors and Personal factors. According to some research, many caregivers have to work under pressure because lack  of staff. Some which work in a high dependency hospital fear that their needs are not always being met. This also leads to high mental and physical stress. Some said stress comes from surrounding environment, physically tough; their pay rate doesnt reflect the responsibility that they carry, having to constantly train and orientate new staff due to high attrition r ate. An estimated 30,000 women working in aged care have been underpaid and undervalued for too long (Herald, 2013). While others think that the worst thing about their job are low pay, stress and physical strain on body. Some of them even being yelled at, hit and being called names by resident (Katherine Ravenswood). Based on the research of NZ Aged care workforce survey, the most common causes of injury or illness which relate to work were lifting, pushing, pulling and bending movement (43.7%); hitting, being hit or cut by person. Non-specified  causes accounted for 20.7% of injuries which is a small number cited falls but long term exposure. Therefore, to reduce staff turnover and improve organizational outcomes we need to come up with some appropriate solutions. Hiring more staff and using an objective pre-screening tool to identify those likely to succeed can be one of the ways to manage this problem. There is about 46% of the healthcare staff that have no qualification said in Dr. McGregors report, which may leads to lower quality of caregiving (Simon Martin, 2013). There is a large proportion of participant had completed some of the National certification in health, disability and aged support but there is number of people that hadnt completed it yet. Caregivers should be trained both skills and knowledge in order to work more effective. On the other hand, caregivers also need to be respected and supported from everyone around, especially from their boss. Getting exhausted and having no actual support make the staff easily quit the job, which means aged care organisations need to get more people and at the same time give them proper training. Some trainees said they want to be supported by their boss while they are studying and also the responsibilities my boss trusts them with. Also match the caregiver with the right client can be one appropriate solution to reduce their stress. By discovering which role applicants are best and suit for in order to help them not to work under pressure (Talintel, 2013). Residential  care is more applicable for the old aged people due to the lack of capability of taking care of themselves. Based on my study of changes that affect employee behavior in organisations, employee behaviour basically relies on number of factors which resulting quality fluctuation of the care services among its stakeholders and their residents. In other words, there are 4 main factors that affect employees behaviour in organisation: Political factor, Economic factor, Socio-cultural factors and Technological factor. According to the article which was published by  Ministry of health, asset threshold has become one of the prime factors to measure the amount spent by the older people in enjoying the residential care services (Changes to the Residential Care Subsidy asset threshold, 2016). On 1 July every year, the asset threshold is set at a new level which will be determined and set by the government with cost residential care. According to the instruction of the governmen t, the person with equal possession or below the specific asset threshold would be accounted for government funding. There was an increase of the asset in the cost of care services on consumer price index, in other word they dont have to depend on a lump sum amount every year from 1st July, 2012 onwards. This change means that it will takes you longer for the value of your assets to reduce to the threshold and for you to become eligible for the Residential Care Subsidy if you have been assessed as having assets with a value above the current threshold. On other hand, it is clear that the rest home staffs have unsustainable paid in proportion to the value of service provision. In the Equal Pay  Case, the union has talked about raising the hourly caregiver rate to $26.00 from the current average of $15.30. According to their calculations, the sector would need to find an additional $500 million annually in order  to increase caregiver pay rates. In that case, the staffs have switc hed option to the other care and rest home institute against satisfactory pay scale, some even change into another job. Staffs in the residential care also have to with deal more with emotion than the rational knowledge and skills. The New Zealand aged care association has claimed that the residential care homes under the association is capable  to pay higher to the staffs based on the value of the area they work on. However, even when some employers want to give their workers a raise, they still cant do it since they stuck to the contract with government, which funds homes for the care they deliver (Equal Pay Case, 2012). Thus, the organisations should develop the benefit package on residential care on long term service provision in order to attract potential care staffs in the company. The association would also enter into a contract with the government to improve the care services against better pay scale and security on future residential care provision. According to my interview and my opinion of the respondents it is clear that the care home staffs have faced more difficulties in the service provision than the benefits from the organisation. Salary is the key issue among all the respondents where no one is happy with the current pay scale of the care home staffs in proportion to the effort and labour contributed. On the other hand, payment, workplace relationship, clients complaints after service or some caregivers be bothered about the organisational behaviour and treatment of the co-workers which can create the state of stress. Based on the responses obtained and my study of the relevant theories, I have made some practical suggestions to management. Provide meaningful feedback in a constructive manner on a regular basis. Helpful feedback in manner to employees which will encourage them is a cornerstone of effective management. However, feedback is not always positive but that the communication is done thoughtfully. Another sugge stion is respect employees as individuals, in addition to the job they do. According to Allieli and most of health care student that I have interviewed with, they all want to be respected by their residents, their colleagues, especially their family. Furthermore, they also want to be given credit or some specific feedback for what they do. Management support in times of need wont be forgotten; it builds employee goodwill and loyalty (Lipman, 2013). Moreover, non-financial rewards in terms of achievement recognition and disclosure of contribution of the care home staffs would overwhelm the staffs to stay back in the association for better service provision to the older people. Maria also mentioned above the interview that the pay scale is major factor to reduce morale of the care home staffs. In that case, the salary package of the staffs needs a little upliftment to motivate the staffs under greater scope of financial benefits. Salary and wage are considered as the most common motiv ation for caregivers. Moreover, be sure management at all levels of an organization receives adequate training. Theres a tendency for companies to put so much effort in training leader while focusing far less on supervisors and middle managers. Mrs Kiria, who was a senior union delegate with the Nurses Organisation, said she received adequate training, but some colleagues had difficulties she attributed to lack of training (Simon Martin, 2013). Therefore, providing fairly training is really important, especially when it can minimize employee turnover rate. References Changes to the Residential Care Subsidy asset threshold. (2016). Ministry of Health. CIPD. (2007). Annual survey report. Recruitment, retention and turnover, 36. Collins, S. (2013, 11 27). NZ Herald. Inside our rest homes: Aged cares low-paid workforce. Equal Pay Case. (2012). Herald, N. (2013). Rest home chains face legal battle over pay. Katherine Ravenswood, J. D. (n.d.). THE NEW ZEALAND AGED CARE WORKFORCE SURVEY 2014. A FUTURE OF WORK PROGRAMME REPORT, 22. Lipman, V. (2013). 7 Management Practices That Can Improve Employee Productivity. Forbes. Simon, Martin. (2013). NZ Herald. Inside our rest home. Talintel. (2013). The 5 Key Ways To Reduce Caregiver Turnover, 4.

Thursday, September 19, 2019

Narrative in the Chronicles of a Death Foretold Essay -- essays resear

Narrative in the Chronicles of a death foretold The novel consists of a detailed history of the circumstances of the murder taken by the narrator, a journalist and former friend of the victim, twenty-seven years after the incident in question. The long range effects of this murder on the citizens of the town in which it occurs, and their unspoken involvement in the crime itself, are revealed in the course of the narrator’s history. The novel tells the story of the narrator's return to the Colombian town to resolve the details of the murder. First person narration throughout, narrator himself is like a detective, exploring ideas, comments. The story itself is based on a real occurrence, but the novel, while seemingly journalistic, uses unreliable information as often as it presents the reader with the facts of the murder. He does not ever clarify whether or not Santiago Nasar was guilty of the crime he died for. It is not given whether Santiago was really d 1 who took Angela’s virginity. In addition, the novel does not "chronicle" the events as the title leads the reader to expect that it will-the narrative shifts between the past and the present. Because the novel does not answer many questions, it accurately shows the reader how confusing all of the events surrounding the murder were when it occurred. It is a novel tat makes d reader think because the reader has to put all d aspects of murder together bit by bit continuously while reading thus keeping him engrossed in d story. In real life, nobody is ever sure whether the crime had taken place or not. Different people will have different angles of viewing d same crime. The same is true for the narrator he tries to gather as much info as possible about d killing fm ... ...stion of guilt. The town knows that the vicario boys are guilty. Somehow they still have a viable defense. The boys claim that they did these things to get back the honor that Nasar had stolen from them. The Vicario brothers' belief that their sister was done wrong was brought upon by this honor, along with racial and social tension. The dangerous path of both honor and religious faith caused Santiago's untimely death. This was seen as good reason by the town, but it is clear that the boys still have to answer to God. In full, Marquez questions the motive of society. Maybe he is saying that one should stop worshiping something simply because is in front of him and put more faith in his beliefs. Stop putting so much emphasis on a single event and focus on the whole. After all, all of the single events in our lives will eventually lead up to one single moment.

Wednesday, September 18, 2019

Ireland and Irish Nationalism in the Poetry of William Butler Yeats Ess

Ireland and Irish Nationalism in the Poetry of William Butler Yeats William Butler Yeats was an Irish poet, a dramatist, and a prose writer - one of the greatest English-language poets of the twentieth century. (Yeats 1) His early poetry and drama acquired ideas from Irish fable and arcane study. (Eiermann 1) Yeats used the themes of nationalism, freedom from oppression, social division, and unity when writing about his country. Yeats, an Irish nationalist, used the three poems, â€Å"To Ireland in the Coming Times,† â€Å"September 1913† and â€Å"Easter 1916† which revealed an expression of his feelings about the War of Irish Independence through theme, mood and figurative language. The theme of nationalism dominates in â€Å"To Ireland in the Coming times† and in â€Å"Easter 1916.† In the former poem, Yeats suggested the idea of Irish brotherhood to achieve justice for Ireland, â€Å"True brother of a company, that sang, to sweeten Ireland’s wrong† (Finneran 50). Although he wanted to fight for Ireland’s freedom, he did not participate in any military activities. Instead, he used songs and poems to reflect the situation in Ireland: I cast my heart into my rhymes, That you, in the dim coming times, May know how my heart went with them (Finneran 51) In the latter poem, he mentioned the names of the national heroes such as MacDonagh who died for the rebellion (Abrams 2308) and said, â€Å"Now and in time to be, / Whenever green is worn,† (Finneran 182). Green, being the colour of the soldiers’ uniforms and also the national colour of Ireland, alluded that the war was still going on in Ireland. The theme of freedom from oppression was introduced in â€Å"September 1913.† Although Yeats loved his country, he often criticized it. He left Ireland after he publish... ...d support the themes and moods that he used in different poems and he persuaded his readers to believe what he said was true. When comparing these three different elements in the poems, mood is the most effective technique since nationalism is based on the emotions one feels for one’s country. The mood is what links the themes and figurative language that attract readers’ attention. Bibliography: Works Cited List Abrams, M. H. et al. The Norton Anthology of English Literature. 5th ed. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, Inc., 1986. Eiermann, Katharena. â€Å"Katharena’s ‘The Magic of Yeats’.† Yeats: Life and Times http://members.aol.com/KatharenaE/private/Pweek/Yeats/YLife.html (17 Feb. 2001). Finneran, Richard J. The Collected Poems of W. B. Yeats. 2nd ed. New York: Simon & Schuster Inc., 1996. â€Å"Yeats, William Butler†. Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia. 1996 ed.

Tuesday, September 17, 2019

Crime and Victimization Essay

Crime is an unfortunate part of many people’s lives – both for the victim of the crime and also the suspect. There are many theories as to why crimes happen, who commits the crimes, and why crimes happen to certain people. Not all crimes can be solved, or questions answered but these theories give a peek into the thinking or background behind some crimes that are committed. Social process theory believes that individuals are socially conditioned into or against crime (Siegel, â€Å"Social Process Theory†). Negative family relationships, limited education or association with others who have little or not respect for the law, can have a significant impact on a person’s life. The case of Christopher Newsom and Channon Christian, is a perfect example of this theory. Christopher and Channon, both 21, were on a date in January 2007, in Knoxville, Tennessee when they were carjacked and abducted late at night. They were taken to the house of a man named, Lemaricus Davidson where they were tortured and eventually killed. This terrible murder was not only the act of Lemaricus Davidson, but four additional individuals: Letalvis Cobbins, George Thompson, Eric Boyd and Vanessa Coleman (Channon Christian, Christopher Newsom murders). Social process theory believes if a person associates with criminals, they are more likely to engage in criminal activity themselves. Over a period of hours, these five individuals slowly tortured Christopher and Channon. They suspects were all involved in this horrific crime and did not attempt to stop each other. With various local, state and federal organizations/agencies, depending on the crime(s), one or more organization/agency can be involved. A majority of routine traffic stops and arrest and done by local law enforcement. Sometimes, if a pursuit entails, more than one agency may be involved, especially if the pursuit crosses into another county or state lines. More serious crimes, involve federal agencies. This type of crime would involve acts of terrorism, money laundering, drug trafficking or serial murders. One recent crime would be three murders in Cleveland, Ohio by a convicted sex offender (Associated Press). In this case, because of the number of victims and the possibility of additional victims, both the local Cleveland Police Department and the FBI are involved in this case. Cleveland PD is involved, because the crimes happened in their jurisdiction. The FBI is involved in this case as well, because they are dealing with a serial killer and there are potentially additional victims that have not yet been discovered. In a case like this, the various organizations/agencies work together to try to solve the crime and gather evidence. Just by reading your local newspaper, you will find that a number of crimes happen in your own community. Recently, in a local community in Virginia a 25-year-old man was charged with murder and robbery, when he shot a 55-year-old man who was out walking his dog around 9:40 PM. Police report that the victim was approached by the suspect, shot the victim and robbed him and then fled the scene. Police were given the description of the man they saw fleeing the scene. It was also reported that the gun used in this crime was stolen from a car in a local neighborhood (Aric Alexander Smith). Not all crimes are preventable; sometimes criminals are determined to commit a crime for one reason or another. In this case, it may not have been preventable but steps could have been taken to possibly deter activity like this. Sometimes, increased patrols can deter car breakings and confrontations just simply because there is a visual presence of law enforcement. Many neighborhoods have adequate lighting with the idea of a better-lit area may have less criminal activity. Law enforcement also educates the community on how to protect themselves and their home when walking late at night, going on vacation and some even offer self defense classes (Siegel and Worrall, 99). Crime is an ugly side of our society, but measure can be taken to possibly avoid certain situations or to make oneself less likely to become a victim. There are many tips and suggestions on things such as even visiting an ATM or going to the bank, to make yourself not stand out or become a victim of a robbery – be prepared when going to an ATM, make sure you don’t have to dig  in your pockets or your purse; use an ATM in a well lit area; be aware of your surrounding. Simple things like this could help one’s chances of becoming a victim. Not all crime is avoidable, but we can do what we can to try and make it less likely to happen. References Siegel, Larry J. (N. D. ) Social Process Theory. www. NCJRS. gov. Retrieved July 27, 2013, from https://www. ncjrs. gov/App/publications/abstract. aspx? ID=185186 Associated Press. (July 21, 2013) Three Ohio Murders. www. foxnews. com. Retrieved July 27, 2013 from http://www. foxnews.com/us/2013/07/21/three-bodies-found-wrapped-in-plastic-in-cleveland/ (February 21, 2013). Aric Alexander Smith. www. wusa9. com. Retrieved July 27, 2013, from http://www. wusa9. com/news/article/244584/256/Aric-Alexander-Smith-Charged-With-Murder-Robbery-In-Shooting-Death-Of-Gregory-Lee-Holley-Sr-In-Woodbridge-Va Siegel and Worrall. 2013. Essentials of Criminal Justice. (N. D. ) Channon Christian, Christopher Newsom murders. www. knoxnews. com. Retrieved July 27, 2013, from http://www. knoxnews. com/news/news/local/channon-christian-christopher-newsom-murders/

Monday, September 16, 2019

Deception Point Page 27

The gaping hole in the ice now looked like a small swimming pool in the middle of the habisphere. The surface of the two-hundred-foot-deep pool of melted water sloshed for a while against the icy walls of the shaft and then finally grew calm. The waterline in the shaft was a good four feet beneath the glacier's surface, the discrepancy caused by both the removal of the meteorite's mass and ice's property of shrinking as it melts. Norah Mangor immediately set up SHABA pylons all around the hole. Although the hole was clearly visible, any curious soul who ventured too close and accidentally slipped in would be in dire jeopardy. The walls of the shaft were solid ice, with no footholds, and climbing out unassisted would be impossible. Lawrence Ekstrom came padding across the ice toward them. He moved directly to Norah Mangor and shook her hand firmly. â€Å"Well done, Dr. Mangor.† â€Å"I'll expect lots of praise in print,† Norah replied. â€Å"You'll get it.† The administrator turned now to Rachel. He looked happier, relieved. â€Å"So, Ms. Sexton, is the professional skeptic convinced?† Rachel couldn't help but smile. â€Å"Stunned is more like it.† â€Å"Good. Then follow me.† Rachel followed the administrator across the habisphere to a large metal box that resembled an industrial shipping container. The box was painted with military camouflage patterns and stenciled letters: P-S-C. â€Å"You'll call the President from in here,† Ekstrom said. Portable Secure Comm, Rachel thought. These mobile communications booths were standard battlefield installations, although Rachel had never expected to see one used as part of a peacetime NASA mission. Then again, Administrator Ekstrom's background was the Pentagon, so he certainly had access to toys like this. From the stern faces on the two armed guards watching over the PSC, Rachel got the distinct impression that contact with the outside world was made only with express consent from Administrator Ekstrom. Looks like I'm not the only one who is off-the-grid. Ekstrom spoke briefly with one of the guards outside the trailer and then returned to Rachel. â€Å"Good luck,† he said. Then he left. A guard rapped on the trailer door, and it opened from within. A technician emerged and motioned for Rachel to enter. She followed him in. The inside of the PSC was dark and stuffy. In the bluish glow of the lone computer monitor, Rachel could make out racks of telephone gear, radios, and satellite telecommunications devices. She already felt claustrophobic. The air inside was bitter, like a basement in winter. â€Å"Sit here, please, Ms. Sexton.† The technician produced a rolling stool and positioned Rachel in front of a flat-screen monitor. He arranged a microphone in front of her and placed a bulky pair of AKG headphones on her head. Checking a logbook of encryption passwords, the technician typed a long series of keys on a nearby device. A timer materialized on the screen in front of Rachel. 00:60 SECONDS The technician gave a satisfied nod as the timer began to count down. â€Å"One minute until connection.† He turned and left, slamming the door behind him. Rachel could hear the bolt lock outside. Great. As she waited in the dark, watching the sixty-second clock slowly count down, she realized that this was the first moment of privacy she'd had since early that morning. She'd woken up today without the slightest inkling of what lay ahead. Extraterrestrial life. As of today, the most popular modern myth of all time was no longer a myth. Rachel was just now starting to sense how truly devastating this meteorite would be to her father's campaign. Although NASA funding had no business being on a political par with abortion rights, welfare, and health care, her father had made it an issue. Now it was going to blow up in his face. Within hours, Americans would feel the thrill of a NASA triumph all over again. There would be teary-eyed dreamers. Slack-jawed scientists. Children's imaginations running free. Issues of dollars and cents would fade away as petty, overshadowed by this monumental moment. The President would emerge like a phoenix, transforming himself into a hero, while in the midst of the celebration, the businesslike senator would suddenly appear small-minded, a penny-pinching Scrooge with no American sense of adventure. The computer beeped, and Rachel glanced up. 00:05 SECONDS The screen in front of her flickered suddenly, and a blurry image of the White House seal materialized on-screen. After a moment, the image dissolved into the face of President Herney. â€Å"Hello, Rachel,† he said, a mischievous glint in his eye. â€Å"I trust you've had an interesting afternoon?† 29 The office of Senator Sedgewick Sexton was located in the Philip A. Hart Senate Office Building on C Street to the northeast of the Capitol. The building was a neo-modern grid of white rectangles that critics claimed looked more like a prison than an office building. Many who worked there felt the same. On the third floor, Gabrielle Ashe's long legs paced briskly back and forth in front of her computer terminal. On the screen was a new e-mail message. She was not sure what to make of it. The first two lines read: SEDGEWICK WAS IMPRESSIVE ON CNN. I HAVE MORE INFORMATION FOR YOU. Gabrielle had been receiving messages like this for the last couple of weeks. The return address was bogus, although she'd been able to track it to a â€Å"whitehouse.gov† domain. It seemed her mysterious informant was a White House insider, and whoever it was had become Gabrielle's source for all kinds of valuable political information recently, including the news of a covert meeting between the NASA administrator and the President. Gabrielle had been leery of the e-mails at first, but when she checked out the tips, she was amazed to find the information consistently accurate and helpful-classified information on NASA overexpenditures, costly upcoming missions, data showing that NASA's search for extraterrestrial life was grossly overfunded and pathetically unproductive, even internal opinion polls warning that NASA was the issue turning voters away from the President. To enhance her perceived value to the senator, Gabrielle had not informed him she was receiving unsolicited e-mail help from inside the White House. Instead, she simply passed the information to him as coming from â€Å"one of her sources.† Sexton was always appreciative and seemed to know better than to ask who her source was. She could tell he suspected Gabrielle was doing sexual favors. Troublingly, it didn't seem to bother him in the least. Gabrielle stopped pacing and looked again at the newly arrived message. The connotations of all the e-mails were clear: Someone inside the White House wanted Senator Sexton to win this election and was helping him do it by aiding his attack against NASA. But who? And why? A rat from a sinking ship, Gabrielle decided. In Washington it was not at all uncommon for a White House employee, fearing his President was about to be ousted from office, to offer quiet favors to the apparent successor in hopes of securing power or another position after the changeover. It seemed someone smelled Sexton victory and was buying stock early. The message currently on Gabrielle's screen made her nervous. It was like none other she had ever received. The first two lines didn't bother her so much. It was the last two: EAST APPOINTMENT GATE, 4:30 P.M. COME ALONE. Her informant had never before asked to meet in person. Even so, Gabrielle would have expected a more subtle location for a face-to-face meeting. East Appointment Gate? Only one East Appointment Gate existed in Washington, as far as she knew. Outside the White House? Is this some kind of joke? Gabrielle knew she could not respond via e-mail; her messages were always bounced back as undeliverable. Her correspondent's account was anonymous. Not surprising.

Sunday, September 15, 2019

Discuss the Effect of Islam upon West Africa Essay

Change Over Time Essay Assignment # 1The camel. with its ability to go long distances without H2O and carry heavy tonss. facilitated trans-Saharan communicating. During the 7th and 8th centuries CE. Islamic vanquishers had added North Africa to the dar al-Islam. By the terminal of the 8th century CE. Muslim merchandisers had crossed the Sahara and initiated commercial dealingss with Sub-Saharan West Africa and by the beginning of the 2nd millenary. Islam had become entrenched in West African life. Islam dramatically changed West Africa culturally. politically. and economically in the clip period between 1000 CE and 1750 CE. but many basics of West African society remained the same. Economically. Islam ushered a new epoch of economic prosperity into West Africa. The acceptance of Islam by West African provinces provided them with common land upon which provinces such as Mali greatly expanded their gold trade to embrace Arab and Mediterranean states. Established Muslim trade paths facilitated the immense addition in the volume of African trade. Commercial metropoliss sprung up across West Africa. with commercialism increasing Timbuktu’s population to 100. 000. In the 12th century. Muslim merchandisers introduced cotton. rice. and citrus fruits to West Africa ; by the 16th century cotton was the chief fabric produced in West Africa. European demand for cotton fabrics ensured that West Africa would stay economically comfortable. Muslim merchandisers expanded the African break one's back trade to a Continental degree. supplying Europeans with a model upon which to construct the ruinous Atlantic slave trade. replacing little graduated table tribal bondage with immense province economic systems built wholly around capturing slaves and selling them to foreign states. However. despite these immense alterations in economic methods and volume. West African provinces relied to a great extent upon trade as the rule signifier of economic support throughout periods of Islamic influence. The addition in trade with Islamic merchandisers between 1000 and 1750 led to the pervasion of Muslim civilization among West African peoples. Islamic swayers built big mosques and universities where people could larn about Islam. every bit good as other countries of cognition. These universities spread literacy within West African society. Islam was by and large tolerant of traditional values. such as polygamy. This allowed it greater popularity than Christianity. and decreased opposition to transition. Islam was non forced upon citizens by their male monarchs. but instead was voluntarily encouraged. Despite this. many people adopted Islam. particularly those who interacted with Muslim merchandisers. However. many of those who adopted Islam did non follow Islam in its original signifier. but instead combined it with traditional spiritual beliefs to make a syncretistic faith. There was much societal convulsion among purists. such as the Fulani. and those who practiced syncretistic Is lam. Despite the big Islamic influence in the country. many chose non to follow a syncretistic religion and instead kept their traditional beliefs. The integrating of Islamic civilization into West Africa. every bit good as the economic prosperity that Islamic trade brought West Africa. led to the creative activity of big centralised provinces. As opposed to the little lands. such as the land of Ghana. that the first Islamic merchandisers encountered in West Africa. by the 15th century two big centralized imperiums had emerged. Muslim influence played a big portion in the creative activity of these big imperiums. First. the gross created by integrating of West Africa into Islamic trade allowed West African swayers to make and back up big standing ground forcess. These ground forcess ensured that these imperiums could protect their peoples and beginnings of income. every bit good as exert their influence. Second. Islamic jurisprudence. known as Shari’a. introduced to West Africa allowed for incorporate regulation. Previously. changing tribal Torahs had caused upset and atomization. every bit good as discontent. Islamic jurisprudence facilitated and demanded the creative activity of big centralised imperiums. However. Islam itself did non needfully go the sole faith of these imperiums ; many. so most. citizens of these imperiums clung to and practise their traditional heathen spiritual beliefs. Following the prostration of these two imperiums. West African political construction returned to the little regional lands that had been West African norm before Muslim merchandisers crossed the Sahara. Overall. the Islam greatly. sometimes even wholly. changed cultural. political. and economic environments in West Africa between 1000 CE and 1750 CE. Examples of this alteration include the debut of centralised lands. trans-Saharan trade. and Muslim values. Despite this great alteration. many elements of West African society. such as popular faith. dependance on trade. and basic values remained the same despite Muslim influence up through 1750 CE. Near the terminal of that period. Africa began to be colonized by European states. and fell under European influence.

Saturday, September 14, 2019

Importance of Animal Behavior Essay

Why do animals behave the way they do? The answer to this question depends on what the behavior is. A cat chases a mouse to catch it. A spider spins its sticky web to trap insects. A mother dog nurses her puppies to feed them. All of these behaviors have the same purpose: getting or providing food. All animals need food for energy. They need energy to move around. In fact, they need energy just to stay alive. Baby animals also need energy to grow and develop. Birds and wasps build nests to have a safe place to store their eggs and raise their young. Many other animals build nests for the same reason. Animals protect their young in other ways, as well. For example, a mother dog not only nurses her puppies. She also washes them with her tongue and protects them from strange people or other animals. All of these behaviors help the young survive and grow up to be adults. Rabbits run away from foxes and other predators to stay alive. Their speed is their best defense. Lizards sun themselves on rocks to get warm because they cannot produce their own body heat. When they are warmer, they can move faster and be more alert. This helps them escape from predators, as well as find food. All of these animal behaviors are important. They help the animals get food for energy, make sure their young survive, or ensure that they survive themselves. Behaviors that help animals or their young survive increase the animals’ fitness. You read about fitness in the Evolution chapter. Animals with higher fitness have a better chance of passing their genes to the next generation. If genes control behaviors that increase fitness, the behaviors become more common in the species. This is called evolution by natural selection. Innate Behavior All of the behaviors shown in the images above are ways that animals act naturally. They don’t have to learn how to behave in these ways. Cats are natural-born hunters. They don’t need to learn how to hunt. Spiders spin their complex webs without learning how to do it from other spiders. Birds and wasps know how to build nests without being taught. These behaviors are called innate. An innate behavior is any behavior that occurs naturally in all animals of a given species. An innate behavior is also called an instinct. The first time an animal performs an innate behavior, the animal does it well. The animal does not have to practice the behavior in order to  get it right or become better at it. Innate behaviors are also predictable. All members of a species perform an innate behavior in the same way. From the examples described above, you can probably tell that innate behaviors usually involve important actions, like eating and caring for the young. There are many oth er examples of innate behaviors. For example, did you know that honeybees dance? The honeybee in Figure below has found a source of food. When the bee returns to its hive, it will do a dance, called the waggle dance. The way the bee moves during its dance tells other bees in the hive where to find the food. Honeybees can do the waggle dance without learning it from other bees, so it is an innate behavior. When this honeybee goes back to its hive, it will do a dance to tell the other bees in the hive where it found food. Learned Behavior Just about all other human behaviors are learned. Learned behavior is behavior that occurs only after experience or practice. Learned behavior has an advantage over innate behavior. It is more flexible. Learned behavior can be changed if conditions change. For example, you probably know the route from your house to your school. Assume that you moved to a new house in a different place, so you had to take a different route to school. What if following the old route was an innate behavior? You would not be able to adapt. Fortunately, it is a learned behavior. You can learn the new route just as you learned the old one. Although most animals can learn, animals with greater intelligence are better at learning and have more learned behaviors. Humans are the most intelligent animals. They depend on learned behaviors more than any other species. Other highly intelligent species include apes, our closest relatives in the animal kingdom. They include chimpanzees and gorillas. Both are also very good at learning behaviors. You may have heard of a gorilla named Koko. The psychologist Dr. Francine Patterson raised Koko. Dr. Patterson wanted to find out if gorillas could learn human language. Starting when Koko was just one year old, Dr. Patterson taught her to use sign language. Koko learned to use and understand more than 1,000 signs. Koko showed how much gorillas can learn. See A Conversation with Koko at http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/koko/ for additional information. Think about some of the behaviors you have learned. They might include riding a bicycle, using a computer, and playing a musical  instrument or sport. You probably did not learn all of these behaviors in the same way. Perhaps you learned some behaviors on your own, just by practicing. Other behaviors you may have learned from other people. Humans and other animals can learn behaviors in several different ways. The following methods of learning will be explored below: 1. Habituation (forming a habit). 2. Observational learning. 3. Conditioning. 4. Play. 5. Insight learning. Habituation Habituation is learning to get used to something after being exposed to it for a while. Habituation usually involves getting used to something that is annoying or frightening, but not dangerous. Habituation is one of the simplest ways of learning. It occurs in just about every species of animal. You have probably learned through habituation many times. For example, maybe you were reading a book when someone turned on a television in the same room. At first, the sound of the television may have been annoying. After awhile, you may no longer have noticed it. If so, you had become habituated to the sound. Another example of habituation is shown in Figure below. Crows and most other birds are usually afraid of people. They avoid coming close to people, or they fly away when people come near them. The crows landing on this scarecrow have gotten used to a â€Å"human† in this place. They have learned that the scarecrow poses no danger. They are no longer afraid to come close. They h ave become habituated to the scarecrow. This scarecrow is no longer scary to these crows. They have become used to its being in this spot and learned that it is not dangerous. This is an example of habituation. Can you see why habituation is useful? It lets animals ignore things that will not harm them. Without habituation, animals might waste time and energy trying to escape from things that are not really dangerous. Observational Learning Observational learning is learning by watching and copying the behavior of  someone else. Human children learn many behaviors this way. When you were a young child, you may have learned how to tie your shoes by watching your dad tie his shoes. More recently, you may have learned how to dance by watching a pop star dancing on TV. Most likely you have learned how to do math problems by watching your teachers do problems on the board at school. Can you think of other behaviors you have learned by watching and copying other people? Other animals also learn through observational learning. For example, young wolves learn to be better hunters by watching and copying the skills of older wolves in their pack. Another example of observational learning is how some monkeys have learned how to wash their food. They learned by watching and copying the behavior of other monkeys. Conditioning Conditioning is a way of learning that involves a reward or punishment. Did you ever train a dog to fetch a ball or stick by rewarding it with treats? If you did, you were using conditioning. Another example of conditioning is shown in Figure below. This lab rat has been taught to â€Å"play basketball† by being rewarded with food pellets. Conditioning also occurs in wild animals. For example, bees learn to find nectar in certain types of flowers because they have found nectar in those flowers before. This rat has been taught to put the ball through the hoop by being rewarded with food for the behavior. This is an example of conditioning. What do you think would happen if the rat was no longer rewarded for the behavior? Humans learn behaviors through conditioning, as well. A young child might learn to put away his toys by being rewarded with a bedtime story. An older child might learn to study for tests in school by being rewarded with better grades. Can you think of behaviors you learned by being rewarded for them? Conditioning does not always involve a reward. It can involve a punishment instead. A toddler might be punished with a time-out each time he grabs a toy from his baby brother. After several time-outs, he may learn to stop taking his brother’s toys. A dog might be scolded each time she jumps up on the sofa. After repeated scolding, she may learn to stay off the sofa. A bird might become ill after eating a poisonous insect. The bird may learn from this â€Å"puni shment† to avoid eating the same kind of insect in the future. Learning by Playing Most young mammals, including humans, like to play. Play is one way they learn skills they will need as adults. Think about how kittens play. They pounce on toys and chase each other. This helps them learn how to be better predators when they are older. Big cats also play. The lion cubs in Figure below are playing and practicing their hunting skills at the same time. The dogs in Figure below are playing tug-of-war with a toy. What do you think they are learning by playing together this way? Other young animals play in different ways. For example, young deer play by running and kicking up their hooves. This helps them learn how to escape from predators. These two lion cubs are playing. They are not only having fun. They are also learning how to be better hunters. Insight Learning Insight learning is learning from past experiences and reasoning. It usually involves coming up with new ways to solve problems. Insight learning generally happens quickly. An animal has a sudden flash of insight. Insight learning requires relatively great intelligence. Human beings use insight learning more than any other species. They have used their intelligence to solve problems ranging from inventing the wheel to flying rockets into space. Think about problems you have solved. Maybe you figured out how to solve a new type of math problem or how to get to the next level of a video game. If you relied on your past experiences and reasoning to do it, then you were using insight learning. One type of insight learning is making tools to solve problems. Scientists used to think that humans were the only animals intelligent enough to make tools. In fact, tool-making was believed to set humans apart from all other animals. In 1960, primate expert Jane Goodall discovered that chimpanzees also make tools. She saw a chimpanzee strip leaves from a twig. Then he poked the twig into a hole in a termite mound. After termites climbed onto the twig, he pulled the twig out of the hole and ate the insects clinging to it. The chimpanzee had made a tool to â€Å"fish† for termites. He had used insight to solve a problem. Since then, chimpanzees have been seen making several different types of tools. For example, they sharpen sticks and use them as spears for hunting. They use stones as hammers to crack open nuts. Scientists have also observed other species of animals making tools to solve problems. A crow was seen bending a  piece of wire into a hook. Then the crow used the hook to pull food out of a tube. An example of a gorilla using a walking stick is shown in Figure below. Behaviors such as these show that other species of animals can use their experience and reasoning to solve problems. They can learn through insight. This gorilla is using a branch as a tool. She is leaning on it to keep her balance while she reaches down into swampy water to catch a fish. Social Behavior Why is animal communication important? Without it, animals would not be able to live together in groups. Animals that live in groups with other members of their species are called social animals. Social animals include many species of insects, birds, and mammals. Specific examples of social animals are ants, bees, crows, wolves, and humans. To live together with one another, these animals must be able to share information. Highly Social Animals Some species of animals are very social. In these species, members of the group depend completely on one another. Different animals within the group have different jobs. Therefore, group members must work together for the good of all. Most species of ants and bees are highly social animals. Ants, like those in Figure below, live together in large groups called colonies. A colony may have millions of ants. All of the ants in the colony work together as a single unit. Each ant has a specific job. Most of the ants are workers. Their job is to build and repair the colony’s nest. Worker ants also leave the nest to find food for themselves and other colony members. The workers care for the young as well. Other ants in the colony are soldiers. They defend the colony against predators. Each colony also has a queen. Her only job is to lay eggs. She may lay millions of eggs each month. A few ants in the colony are called drones. They are the only male ants in the colony. Their job is to mate with the queen. The ants in this picture belong to the same colony. They have left the colony Honeybees and bumblebees also live in colonies. A colony of honeybees is shown in Figure don’t purge me. Each bee in the colony has a particular job. Most of the bees are workers. Young worker bees clean the colony’s hive and feed the young. Older worker bees build the waxy honeycomb or guard the hive. The oldest workers leave the hive to find food. Each colony usually has one queen that lays eggs. The colony also has a small number of male drones. They mate with the queen. All the honeybees in this colony work together. Each bee has a certain job to perform. The bees are gathered together to fly to a new home. How do you think they knew it was time to gather together? Cooperation Ants, bees, and other social animals must cooperate. Cooperation means working together with others. Members of the group may cooperate by sharing food. They may also cooperate by defending each other. Look at the ants in Figure below. They show clearly why cooperation is important. A single ant would not be able to carry this large insect back to the nest to feed the other ants. With cooperation, the job is easy. These ants are cooperating. By working together, they are able to move this much larger insect prey back to their nest. At the nest, they will share the insect with other ants that do not leave the nest. Animals in many other species cooperate. For example, lions live in groups called prides. A lion pride is shown in Figure below. All the lions in the pride cooperate. Male lions work together to defend the other lions in the pride. Female lions work together to hunt. Then they share the meat with other pride members. Another example is meerkats. Meerkats are small mammals that live in Africa. They also live in groups and cooperate with one another. For example, young female meerkats act as babysitters. They take care of the baby meerkats while their parents are away looking for food. Members of this lion pride work together. Males cooperate by defending the pride. Females cooperate by hunting and sharing the food. Mating Behavior Some of the most important animal behaviors involve mating. Mating is the pairing of an adult male and female to produce young. Adults that are most successful at attracting a mate are most likely to have offspring. Traits  that help animals attract a mate and have offspring increase their fitness. As the genes that encode these traits are passed to the next generation, the traits will become more common in the population. Courtship Behaviors In many species, females choose the male they will mate with. For their part, males try to be chosen as mates. They show females that they would be a better mate than the other males. To be chosen as a mate, males may perform courtship behaviors. These are special behaviors that help attract a mate. Male courtship behaviors get the attention of females and show off a male’s traits. Different species have different courtship behaviors. Remember the peacock raising his tail feathers in Figure above? This is an example of courtship behavior. The peacock is trying to impress females of his species with his beautiful feathers. Another example of courtship behavior in birds is shown in Figure below. This bird is called a blue-footed booby. He is doing a dance to attract a female for mating. During the dance, he spreads out his wings and stamps his feet on the ground. . This blue-footed booby is a species of sea bird. The male pictured here is doing a courtship Courtship behaviors occur in many other species. For example, males in some species of whales have special mating songs to attract females as mates. Frogs croak for the same reason. Male deer clash antlers to court females. Male jumping spiders jump from side to side to attract mates. Courtship behaviors are one type of display behavior. A display behavior is a fixed set of actions that carries a specific message. Although many display behaviors are used to attract mates, some display behaviors have other purposes. For example, display behaviors may be used to warn other animals to stay away, as you will read below. Caring for the Young In most species of birds and mammals, one or both parents care for their offspring. Caring for the young may include making a nest or other shelter. It may also include feeding the young and protecting them from predators. Caring for offspring increases their chances of surviving. Birds called killdeers have an interesting way to protect their chicks. When a predator gets too close to her nest, a mother killdeer pretends to have a broken wing. The mother walks away from the nest holding her wing as though it is  injured. This is what the killdeer in Figure below is doing. The predator thinks she is injured and will be easy prey. The mother leads the predator away from the nest and then flies away. This mother killdeer is pretending she has a broken wing. She is trying to attract a predator In most species of mammals, parents also teach their offspring important skills. For example, meerkat parents teach their pups how to eat scorpions without being stung. A scorpion sting can be deadly, so this is a very important skill. Teaching the young important skills makes it more likely that they will survive. Defending Territory Some species of animals are territorial. This means that they defend their area. The area they defend usually contains their nest and enough food for themselves and their offspring. A species is more likely to be territorial if there is not very much food in their area. Animals generally do not defend their territory by fighting. Instead, they are more likely to use display behavior. The behavior tells other animals to stay away. It gets the message across without the need for fighting. Display behavior is generally safer and uses less energy than fighting. Male gorillas use display behavior to defend their territory. They pound on their chests and thump the ground with their hands to warn other male gorillas to keep away from their area. The robin in Figure below is also using display behavior to defend his territory. He is displaying his red breast to warn other robins to stay away. The red breast of this male robin is easy to see. The robin displays his bright red chest to defend his territory. It warns other robins to keep out of his area. Some animals deposit chemicals to mark the boundary of their territory. This is why dogs urinate on fire hydrants and other objects. Cats may also mark their territory by depositing chemicals. They have scent glands in their face. They deposit chemicals by rubbing their face against objects. Cycles of Behavior Many animal behaviors change in a regular way. They go through cycles. Some cycles of behavior repeat each year. Other cycles of behavior repeat every day. Yearly Cycles An example of a behavior with a yearly cycle is hibernation. Hibernation is a state in which an animal’s body processes are slower than usual and its body temperature falls. An animal uses less energy than usual during hibernation. This helps the animal survive during a time of year when food is scarce. Hibernation may last for weeks or months. Animals that hibernate include species of bats, squirrels, and snakes. Most people think that bears hibernate. In fact, bears do not go into true hibernation. In the winter, they go into a deep sleep. However, their body processes do not slow down very much. Their body temperature also remains about the same as usual. Bears can be awakened easily from their winter sleep. Instinctual behavior One type of instinctual behavior is fixed action patterns, which are behaviors the animal is compelled to engage in. For instance, some birds will raise the chicks of other birds if the eggs are put in their nests during nesting season, because caring for an egg is a fixed action pattern. Another instinctual behavior is imprinting, wherein a baby animal accepts a person, or even an item, as a surrogate mother. Sexual behavior is also instinctual, bolstered by play, which helps animals learn courtship and mating skills. Many of these behaviors are dictated by specific body systems, like the nervous system, which responds to stimuli in the environment. Learned behavior Learned behavior is important both for wild animals, who must learn specific and new ways to survive, and for domestic animals that we seek to train. Animals can learn to anticipate that an action will have a predictable outcome through trial and error, such as dog learning to sit for a treat. This is called operant conditioning. They can also learn that one event precedes another, such as the sound of a metal food bowl being moved signaling food being served, which is known as associative learning. Animals also learn a lot through watching others and mimicry. All of these behaviors allow an animal to adapt to new situations and problems. Abnormal behavior Identifying behavior patterns enables people to determine when animals are  behaving abnormally. These abnormal behaviors might simply be annoying to animal owners; however, in other instances they may also be dangerous for the animal and others or even threaten their very survival. For example, inappropriately aggressive dogs, which might be suffering from disease or trauma, are potentially dangerous to themselves and others. The behavior may be addressed if it is identified as abnormal and normal behavior is reestablished. More important to species survival are mating and raising offspring, and in these cases abnormal behavior that leads to failure to mate or care for offspring can present a threat to the animal’s long-term survival.