Monday, September 30, 2019

Ethnic Literature and Postcolonialism In Barta’s Essay

The definition of ethnic literature â€Å"is literature like any other, except that it contains ethnic references. † (Reilly p. 2). Another definition of ethnic literature is when there is a literature work that contain religious beliefs, racial issues, linguistics, or cultural heritage. In another word, ethnic literature is the literary work that includes particular culture, beliefs, or linguistics distinction. Postcolonial literary theory draws attention in the issue of cultural difference emerging in the society. One of the issues which may often appear during the class discussion is hybridity. It seems that people who have been faced by the fact that they are living in a ‘hybrid world’ tend to be confused by their real status. They realize for their interest, but they can not avoid the possibility becoming ‘in between’. Although , they are included into one part, the native part, but on the other hand they can not deny the deep feeling to be pleasant considering themselves different with the other. There is a kind of more value they have compared with their surround, and they think it is worthy to be kept. Of course, this feeling comes into their mind by some reasons. There must be an additional value added into their original culture. The additional value may be in the form of a new ideology, belief or view which are brought by the dominating. The dominated rarely conscious with the impact. They usually only feel that it is a natural process which become the impact of daily social interaction they are engaged in. Another issue which emerges in postcolonial discussion is about dominated-dominating one. We can not expect who actually take the role as ‘dominating’ or ‘dominated’. The practice may turn over, the dominated may become the dominating in the same time toward different object, vice versa. We are also introduced by ‘Otherness’ theory. It makes someone consider that she or he are different from the other, and other people is not the same with her or him. Gadis Tangsi tells a story about a girl life, namely Teyi. She is a Javanese girl who grew up in the Javanese tradition. She lives with his parents and sibling in tangsi area. She was taught to become an obedient girl by her mother with many limitations as a girl. She helps her mother to sell fried bananas every day. Teyi finds herself limited by some rules which are considered as the right rules for her mother. She even does not know how ‘love’ or how to be ‘loved’ by a man. She was taught to be a polite woman. She finally finds who she is when she is introduced to Putri Parasi by Ndara Tuan Kapten Sarjubehi who has helped her. That is the beginning of her new experience to recognize a new world, the world that she has never imagined before. Putri Parasi teaches her everything to be ‘a good lady’. Putri Parasi likes Teyi for her politeness. She more likes Teyi after being saved when her disease comes immediately. Putri Parasi expects to teach her how to behave well. She even teaches Teyi to speak Dutch. Teyi starts to be able to read and write. Putri Parasi really wants to prepare her to be taken to Surakarta Keraton and introduced her to a man who will be married with her. She plans to make Teyi deserve to have a husband from Keraton families. In the novel Gadis Tangsi written by Suparto Brata, we can see some unexpected phenomenon occur. It makes me realize that actually there are still many things covered even by what Javanese people considered as ‘budaya adiluhung’. The word ‘politeness’, ‘hospitality’ and ‘dignity’ which come into people mind when they heard about Javanese culture become blur after they read this novel. Javanese woman who is considered as an obedient woman and become a mercy for whom takes her as a wife may be surprised by what Suparto tells about Teyi and Dumilah. He brings them in this novel as representative of Javanese woman character, in different point of view. However, the story about them, for me, is far from the stereotype of common Javanese women (may be just a few). The feeling of ‘in between’ seem to be experienced by Teyi. She starts to know about how the way the higher status people behave since she meets Putri Parasi. Teyi realizes that her life style is quite different from her, and she is glad when she knows that Putri Parasi does not mind introducing this new culture to her. From this intentional interaction, after she is taught how to behave like ‘putri bangsawan’, Teyi starts to consider she has a chance to be the same with them. Even she lives with her parents, she starts to consider that she is better than them. She has been raised from the lower part. She has more power than the people in the house. The very obvious impact of this teaching actually appears when Teyi has been left by Putri Parasi. After she passed away, Teyi become independent from the influence of Putri Parasi. Although, there are still some traces of her teaching inside Teyi which reflect in the way she behaves. She seems take the dominating position over her husband, Sapardal. Sapardal feeling about his lower position when they have been married becomes the cause of the divorce. Only two days of marriage, and Teyi considers that she has a right to sue divorce, while Sapardal can only keep silent without any comment. In this relationship, Sapardal as a man who actually considered as ‘the dominating’ take the role as ‘the dominated’. He does not feel on the same level with Teyi. He admits that he has no power compared to Teyi. He even has no courage to touch her in their first night of marriage. Here, we can see the role between man and woman has shifted. Brata seems to show us that the role of people in the society is like running on the moving wheel. The dominating and dominated are only a symbol of someone position, which also can be shifted based on where we are standing. Sapardal may fail in maintaining his position as superior in front of Teyi. The cultural change also appears in this novel. Sexual intercourse is not considered as a sacral any longer for almost all the women in this novel. During my reading, I wonder if I read Indonesian culture literary work, especially belong to Javanese one. However, Brata wrote the novel using the Indonesian condition in the past, in the colonial occupation. In this situation, it is not easy to determine which one who still hold the original value since the influence of other ideology come into the life in that simple way. The force of a new ideology input is not directly felt in this novel. The indigenous people enjoy the acculturation between the dominated and the dominating. It also happens in the shifting of the way they see sexual intercourse actually is. What we call as a taboo becomes commonly conducted by the people. Teyi is defined as a free woman, even she has been married and becomes a wife of Sapardal, and she breaks the rule by having intercourse with Ndara Tuan Kapten Sarjubehi. It seems that she wants to take a revenge to Dumilah who is considered had cheated her by having romantic affair with her master. Sapardal can not do anything. He has failed to become a good husband. This thinking is from his own side. When we look at this phenomenon, again, Teyi proves that she has had a power over a man from her own society. She starts to have a right to consider a man like Sapardal is not at the same level with her. However, in my opinion it will not happen if Sapardal never has the way of thinking. Actually, he has thought that she is great and different from the other woman in his environment before they are married. That makes he has no courage to touch her at their first night. It also makes Teyi feels not being regarding or respecting as a wife. She thinks that Sapardal has no desire toward her, and she thinks that it is better to ask divorce. What a short way of thinking! I found that Teyi has put a wrong way of thinking about what Putri Parasi had taught to her. It seems that she does not consider marriage as a sacral relationship any longer. ‘Love’ relationship has been considered as a ‘real’ relationship when we have passion to have sex with our couple. Is that so simple? That is the way Teyi think about love basically. It is shown also when she does not mind to have sex with her ex-master, Ndara Tuan Kapten Sarjubehi, and then she starts to love someone else, Ndara Mas Kus. There is no any guilty feeling. Finally, we can conclude that there are three aspect of postcolonial reading for Gadis Tangsi has been discussed above. First, hybridity appears when Teyi finds herself has involved and being a part of Putri Parasi’s society, Keraton environment since she has been able to behave and speak like her, so she considers that she is a part of Putri community. While she has that feeling, she still can not avoid other people consideration about her who is only becoming a servant and will not become like them. Second, dominating feeling toward Sapardal comes into her mind. There is dominating-dominated in shifting model between them. It seems a denial for a man who usually considered as the dominating one, while Teyi proves that it can be shifted. Last, ‘Otherness’ theory also emerges in this novel. After having taught to have attitude and behave like Putri Parasi model, Teyi finally considers herself different with other woman in her society. It appears in the way she treats Dumilah who is her old friend. She thinks that Dumilah has no right to become ‘a munci’ of Ndara Tuan Kapten Sarjubehi because she is not at the same level with her or Ndara. Reference Ashcroft, Bill, et. al. 1946. The Empire Writes Back. London : Routledge Barry, Peter. 1824. Beginning Theory. Manchester : Manchester University Press Brata, Suparto. 2004. Gadis Tangsi. Jakarta : Kompas Reilly, John. 1978. Critical Approaches to Ethnic Literature. London : Oxford University Press

Saturday, September 28, 2019

Social Networks: Advantages and Disadvantages

Social Network Sites: Advantages and Disadvantages I. Introduction a. Attention Getter: Imagine being stripped of your privileges to have access to social network sites such as facebook, twitter, myspace, and/or instagram†¦How would you reach out to family and friends you don’t get a chance to communicate with often? b. Name: Hello my name is Kenyatta Stephens c. Topic: Social Network Sites: Advantages and Disadvantages (SLIDE) d.Relevance: Social network sites are sites that majority of us, if not all of us, engage in on a daily basis – â€Å"According to the 2012 Statistic Brain Research Institute, members located in The United States use social network sites approximately 7. 8 hours per month. † www. statisticbrain. com e. Credibility: Personal Experience & Research f. Preview Statement: Today I will be informing you all about what social network sites (SNSs) are, their advantages and their disadvantages. g. Transition Statement: First, I would like to ta lk to you about what social network sites are and a few statistics.II. What are social network sites (SNSs)? h. Define – (SLIDE) – â€Å"SNSs are web-based services that allow individuals to (1) construct a public or semi-public profile within a bounded system, (2) articulate a list of other users with whom they share a connection, and (3) view and traverse their list of connections and those made by others within the system. † Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 2007. www. Onlinelibrary. wiley. com i. – â€Å"According to the Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, the first recognizable social network site was launched in 1997. † www. Onlinelibrary. wiley. om j. (SLIDE) – Different social network sites i. SixDegress ii. Classmates iii. Ryze iv. Tribe v. Myspace vi. Facebook vii. Instagram viii. Twitter k. (SLIDE) – Social Networking Statistics ix. Billions of users worldwide x. 98% of users are between the ages of 18-24 xi. The United States is among the top ten countries most engaged in social networking with an average of 7. 8 hours per month. Internal Summary: Now that I have defined SNSs and I have briefly discussed the different sites and statistics, I will tell you about the advantages that come along with SNSs. III. Advantages – (SLIDE) . Keep in touch with friends, classmates, and relatives m. Send/receive messages and upload/share photos and videos n. Not bound by any geographical and cultural differences o. Build a network of contacts and interact with a lot of people p. Promote business, services, products, and parties Internal Summary: Now that I have discussed some of the advantages of SNSs, I want to inform you about the disadvantages. IV. Disadvantages – (SLIDE) q. High rate of scams/fraud r. People waste valuable time s. Online harassment t. Personal secrets/information become public u.Employers and Government Agencies access Transition Statement: Now that I have told you what Social Network Sites are, their advantages, and their disadvantages, I would like to conclude my speech with a word of advice. V. Conclusion – (SLIDE) v. Be aware of the information you put out on any social network site. w. My take away – Using a bit of concern with your profiles in social media networks can help you in your personal and professional life. Sharing experiences and communicating with others has never been a crime, but it would be wise to think about the consequences of your action.

Friday, September 27, 2019

Dispute Settlement Understanding Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Dispute Settlement Understanding - Essay Example The members of the WTO are aware of the clear and well established legal procedures available for smooth trading and enforce the relevant rules to settle disputes among themselves. These rules are contained in the understanding on Rules and Procedures Governing the Settlement of Disputes (through Dispute Settlement Understanding or DSU)2 . The strict legal and policy framework of the DSU helps in promoting adherence to rules which are negotiated by WTO Members and since the rule of law rather than the rule of power is applicable and important, the DSU rules are beneficial for small and medium sized countries engage in worldwide trade so that there is very little scope for unilateral trade actions by large countries3. There are automatic establishments of panels to review complaints and disputes by WTO members and specific timelines are also established throughout the process so that all disputes are resolved quickly and efficiently. If the disputes are addressed in favour of a particular member, there are also provisions for a right to appeal against panel decision to a permanent Appellate Body on issues of law and automatic adoption of panel reports4. The WTO Members are encouraged to resolve disputes through consultations and for most disputes, reaching to the state of panel decision may also not be necessary5. If panel decisions are taken, the panel report and the Appellate Body report are adopted by WTO members and at a meeting of the Dispute Settlement Body, it becomes a WTO ruling. The members who are found to violate obligations are given a period of time to comply with the ruling in whatever manner possible. The member is given a time period within which it has to comply with the ruling. If the member fails to comply with the ruling, within the prescribed time limits, then it has to offer compensation to the complaining member during the time of pending compliance with the ruling. When there is disagreement on compensation, then the complaining member may be authorised to retaliate and take action until the other member has actually complied with the ruling. A rule based system seems to provide for a framework that helps to manage international trade relations and the trade disputes. The best method of resolving trade disputes have been considered as consultations and negotiations and when the consultations fail, then the dispute settlement provisions are utilised and panel decision may be sought.6 When even panel decisions fail, appeals are made to the Appellate Body and the legal provisions are identified and implemented. The DSU facilitates smoother trade transactions and exports between countries and also helps individual member countries to defend measures which may be challenged by the other trading partners7. In this assignment we will discuss the effects of Article 4, 6 and 23 of the

LISC Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

LISC - Essay Example While insulation principally diminishes conductive heat movement, weatherization mainly decreases convective heat movement (U.S Department of Energy). Weatherization has turned out to be gradually more high-profile when the outlays for house heating escalated. The United States Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP) was launched in 1976 to assist modest-income households to trim down their energy use and the associated expenses. Weatherization Assistance Program runs across each of the fifty states, the Native American tribes and the District of Columbia. The objective of Program is to support the low-income household units by dropping bills accrue form energy consumption and reduce dependence on overseas oil by cutting down energy utilization (U.S Department of Energy). The United States Department of Energy approximates that an excess of 5.6 million households have been weatherized, with a 30.5 million MBtu energy saved every year. It approximates the weatherization proceeds of 2.69 dollars for every dollar used up on the program, realized in energy and non-energy benefits. Households whose houses were weatherized are projected to record 358 dollars in savings on their debut year's service bills. The department of energy allocated funds to all the American states under the 2009 Recovery Act. New York received the largest share of funds award, after being awarded 197,343,256 dollars. Other notable states with sizable awards are Texas with 163,487,866 dollars, Ohio with 133,390,705 dollars, Pennsylvania with 126,396,531 dollars, Michigan with 121,699,488 and Illinois with 121,263,310 dollars. The states that received minor awards are Hawaii with 2,020,730 dollars, District of Columbia 4,044,511 dollars and miscellaneous regions like American Samoa a nd Guam. The total fund in dollars awarded to the states under the 2009 Recovery Act is 2,364,375,000 (U.S Department of Energy). NYS has the largest Weatherization Assistance Program. The program obtains financial support from the United States Energy plus Health and Human Services Departments. In 2007/08 around 55 million dollars was allotted to 64 community organizations, which offer the weatherization services. Every part of the NY State is qualified or entitled to weatherization assistance. The programs service providers are chosen in a yearly State scheduling procedure. The greatest amount of funding is restricted to 4,500 dollars for every unit. The Program in addition helps decrease energy expenses of affordable housing, aided by additional programs overseen by the Division of Housing & Community Renewal (DHCR). Developers of affordable housing, property supervisors, and other society development organizations are persuaded to get in touch with their neighborhood Weatherization providers for additional information (New York State Division of Housing & Community Renewal). Weatherization program providers can be local government units, community non-profit making organizations, counties or community action agencies. To qualified, providers ought to show the capability to manage the program, and must possess an impeccable proof of having provided service to the community. Household units having modest incomes of 60 percent or below of the New York state median income are entitled to get program assistance. The services are accessible to both renters and homeowners, with precedence granted to the senior citizens, households with young

Thursday, September 26, 2019

Financial Reporting on Enron Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4500 words

Financial Reporting on Enron - Case Study Example But as the time passed by the firm's business mix shifted from the regulated transportation of natural gas to unregulated energy trading markets. Since in the energy trading more money could be made in buying and selling financial contracts linked to the value of energy assets than in actual ownership of physical assets. Because of its business nature Enron's reported annual revenues grew from under $10 billion in the early 1990s to $101 billion in 2000, ranking it seventh on the Fortune 500 (Benston 2002). First, briefly it is important to know what happened which led to the ultimate bankruptcy and collapse. Enron was in the business of energy trading and distribution. It all started with Jeffery Skilling who replaced Kenneth Lay as CEO quitted from his position and Kenneth Lay became the CEO again. Another event of importance was the role of Enron's Chief Financial Officer, Andrew S. Fastow; he was responsible for handling all the off shore partnerships for the company; his actions led to hiding of around a billion dollar debt through these off shore drilling partnership businesses. This was one of the bases which led to the collapse of Enron when it was disclosed. And the admission was made regarding overstatement of profitability of Enron by hiding some of the debt; when the matter was disclosed Enron's share price came slashing down and the company lost its credibility in the financial markets. No one was ready to forward any loan so that the company can come out of the ditch of b ankruptcy. The collapse of Enron badly effected the retirement savings of the employees as these were linked to the stock prices which plummeted badly hence, effecting the employees' savings. An important thing to point out is that the accountants, Arthur Anderson did not indicate at any moment the worsening financial situation of the company. Thus, in the end the accountants, Anderson and the Enron shredded the company documents that reflected the audit reports and employees that were against this were fired (Beams 2002). What do we identify after Enron's implosion that we did not identify before it The conventional perception is that the Enron debacle exposes basic flaw in our current system of corporate governance. Conceivably, this is so, but where is the flaw located Beneath what conditions will critical systems fall short Chief debacles of historical dimensions (and Enron is certainly that) tend to produce a surplus of explanations. In Enron's case, the firm's strange breakdown is becoming an effective Rorschach test in which every commentator can observe evidence verifying that what he or she previously believed. However, the problem with viewing Enron as a sign of any methodical governance collapse is that its nucleus facts are maddeningly only one of its kinds. Most obviously, Enron's governance structure was sui generis. Other public corporations just have not certified their chief financial officer to run a self-governing entity that enters into billions of dollars of risky and unpredictable trading transactions with them; nor have they permitted their senior officials to profit from such self-dealing transactions with no wide direction or even understanding of the profits involved. Neither have

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

A Critical Examination of Business Set Up Opportunities in USA from A Essay

A Critical Examination of Business Set Up Opportunities in USA from A Company Perspective - Essay Example A number of forces drive organizations into expanding their operations to the foreign markets. Increased competition in the local and foreign markets as well as reduced trade barriers are some of the factors. The international business environment is quite dynamic and a business organization that has to survive in its international operations has to respond to the changes. The strategic business planning to manage this dynamics involves an examination of the bargaining power of the buyers, the bargaining power of the suppliers, the magnitude of rivalry, the other product or service substitutes, or the threats of other new entries into the market. The vending business is not a new practice in the United States, the first machine of this kind being developed as early as the late nineteenth century. The changing patterns are observed in the quality and types of products offered as well as improvement in the vending machines to ensure security and efficiency. Most recently, there have be en shifts towards high capacity vending machines that can vend healthy juices, yoghurt, fresh fruits, or vegetables. Investment in the healthy vending machine can be incredible in the contemporary society if proper strategic planning and management is carried out. The vending machine business is quite appealing to many individuals in the contemporary markets. The business has several associated benefits to the investor. It is characterized by immediate cash flows, all-cash business (no debts or accounts receivable), can operate 24 hours a day everyday, and it needs little expertise in business management or sales and marketing . The clients in this industry require quick service and ‘demand immediate result making fast food too slow. [The] vending machines provide an affordable quick snack’ (Vending Man, 2011b). The clients give more value to healthy vending that produces healthy foods and with no negative long-term effects on the health of the clients. The business is a fun industry that can generate high returns with little investment since it requires few employees (Vending Man, 201 1a). An individual can supply and manage millions of these machines at different locations with the little task of putting in food occasionally, after every few weeks. This report focuses on these opportunities and the establishment strategy for vending machine business in the US market. The socio-political and economic factors in the US market as well as the business strategy to be employed in this business are illustrated. The US market- Environmental analysis The factors external to our organization like laws and regulations in another country, the country’s economic profile, national culture, and market competition affect the decision to establish business in the country (Mead, 2005). Economic analysis The United States is among the countries that suffered the financial crisis and the resulting economic problems that have been experienced globally (Jickling, 2010). Nonetheless, the Federal Reserve and other government agencies like the US Treasury have shown relentless ef forts to restore the situation through improving the financial systems (Marshall, 2009). It is then likely that the buying ability of the US citizens will be improved giving hope for a new business opportunity. Socio-cultural influence The socio-cultural factors in the country also favor the investment in food industry with focus on healthy eating habits. The consumption of soft drinks has been high in the United States in the past and yet these foods have negative impacts on the consumer heath (Jacobson, 1999). The soft drinks add unnecessary calories to the diet and

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

Lesson Planning in teaching English - skills and activities Essay

Lesson Planning in teaching English - skills and activities - Essay Example This essay analyzes that It is against this background that this discussion seeks to develop a detailed lesson plan for teaching English listening and speaking skills to ESL Adult learners, with a view to justifying the necessity of all aspects of the lesson planning on the achievement of English communication skills objective, for ESL adult learners. The rationale/justification for the application of the methods of teaching above is the combination of both the requirements of both the Natural and the Communicative approaches to teaching language, which offers that the application of more communicative and less grammatical and structural instructions, coupled with the application of real-life activities can help ESL learners to understand a language better (Brown, 2000:27). The football and grocery shopping are real-life activities through which the adult ESL can be able to learn English language application, through practicing speaking (Larsen-Freeman, 1986:56). On the other hand, t he listening of the song and the story being read out loud are activities that can enhance the listening skills of the adult ESL learners, while also enabling them to contextualize the wording and phrases from the listening section into the speaking contexts (Stevick, 1980:112). Thus, the application of the method sought to foster both the listening and speaking skills of the adult ESL learners in practical and real-life ways, which do not entail applying strict grammar rules and structural correction of the student errors.

Monday, September 23, 2019

Essay questions Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 10

Questions - Essay Example Claims made by Matthew are geared towards the Jews to whom Jesus had come to set free by returning them back to their creator. Through connecting Jesus with King David, Matthew was trying to make his message more appealing to the Jews since they were well informed about the courageous acts of King David and how he was able to unite the entire nation of Israel and to bring peace to it. So the people were to believe that Jesus was to do the same although his approach was to be more spiritual than physical. On the other hand, John seeks to affirm the fact the fact that Jesus was God and was part of the trinity. Jesus was not just the messiah but he was God and this is demonstrated by John through the miracles that he performed such as changing water into wine, walking on water, raising the dead and healing many sick people. The claims of John were not just meant to be for the Jews but for the whole human race to whom Jesus being God had created and cared about (Neville,

Sunday, September 22, 2019

Book of Prophet Isaiah Essay Example for Free

Book of Prophet Isaiah Essay Prophet Isaiah, the son of Amos, was descended from a royal tribe. Isaiah was born during the reign of King Uzziah, Jothan, Ahaz, Hezekiah and Jehovah. During his reign the nation as a whole enjoyed times of prosperity and temporal development. The whole nation mourned his passing from the scene at a time when his presence seemed needed the most. Under him the worship of Jehovah was encouraged but he was not strong enough to secure the destruction of the high places where idolatrous practices were continued. His reign must be ranked as one of the outstanding of the southern kingdom. He walked in the ways of his father, and under him the people continued to worship the Lord Jehovah after the manner of the commandment, though still the places of idolatry were allowed to remain. Ahaz, whose whole reign was one chronicle of disaster and destruction. With an absolute abandon, Ahaz gave himself over to the overthrow of the ordained order of worship, broke the commandment in almost every detail, destroyed the temple worship and finally closed the doors of the house of God. In the most calculated manner he conspired to obliterate the memory of the service of the Lord of all Israel, the Redeemer and the Holy One. Then he was followed on the throne by his son Hezekiah, who was very unlike his fathers and set about reviving the worship in the temple, which his father had abolished. He attempted, with some success to obliterate idol worship, and to deliver his people from the yoke of foreign power. It was under him that Isaiah came into his own, and was treated with high favour. In this position he was given every opportunity for the use of his keen and divinely inspired power of discernment into the facts of the contemporary situation. The name, Isaiah, means Jehovah saves, or Jehovah is salvation, and through days of crisis and disaster greater than any before in the history of the people, his call was constantly to faith in the One Who alone could save the land. His role was ever that of inspiring and challenging the drooping spirits of the men of Judah at times when hope seemed dead. His ministry was a long one stretching as it did through the reigns of Uzziah, Jothan, Ahaz and Hezekiah. His fathers name was Amoz, and there is a Jewish tradition that he was a brother of King Amaziah; in which case Isaiah would be the cousin of King Uzziah. Naturally enough, it is impossible to be really sure of this, but it is certainly a reasonable explanation of the fact that Isaiah enjoyed immediate and regular entrance to the royal house. And also that he had the ear of the most influential people of his day. In spite of this, he remained a simple and undaunted spokesman for Jehovah, and tradition again affirms that it was for this reason that he was put to death in the reign of the wicked Manasseh, Hezekiahs successor. He was married and he himself called his wife the prophetess (Isaiah 8:3). He had two children, one named Shear-jashubl, which means a remnant shall return, and the other Maher-shalalhashbaz, which means haste ye to the spoil. These names were given to them as portents of what was to come and also as a reinforcement of the prophets predictive message. Apart from this, there is little else known of his personal history except what is found in the book itself. The exact length of his ministry is not known for sure, but he definitely laboured for at least forty years. From the last year of King Uzziahs reign 740 B.C. to the fourteenth year of ther reign of King Hezekiah in 701 B.C. and it is clear that through all this period of time his call and challenge were unremitting and persistent. His aim was ever definite the establishment of the worship of the Lord in righteousness and truth amongst the chosen race. His Message Isaiahs prophecy, the longest of all the Old Testament prophecies divides first of all quite naturally into two parts, chapters 1-39, and 40-66. Because of this split, critics during the last century have seen fit to decide that two separate authors are responsible for the prophecy and that the second one was written some hundred years after the first one. Unfortunately, there is nothing in the prophecy itself by the way of names and such like to establish the truth or the falsehood of this statement. However the nature of the second part of the book seems to indicate that it was said to a nation at a time when they were in a completely different condition from that of the exile in Babylon, during which time some people maintain that it was written. As well as these two separate parts, the prophecy also divides into nine sections. The Book of Isaiah (Hebrew: × ¡Ã— ¤Ã— ¨ ×™× ©Ã— ¢Ã—™×”) is the first of the Latter Prophets in the Hebrew Bible, preceding Ezekiel, Jeremiah and the Book of the Twelve. (The order of the subsequent books differs somewhat in the Christian Old Testament). The first 39 chapters prophesy doom for a sinful Judah and for all the nations of the world that oppose God, while the last 27 prophesy the restoration of the nation of Israel and a new creation in Gods glorious future kingdom;[1] this section includes the Songs of the Suffering Servant, four separate passages referring to the nation of Israel, interpreted by Christians as prefiguring the coming of Jesus Christ.

Saturday, September 21, 2019

Leadership Theories and Styles

Leadership Theories and Styles Leadership theories refers to the approach that a manager adopts in order to exercise authority in the work place and be able to direct staff towards meeting the organizational mandate as outlined in their job descriptions. It is the way that a manager resorts in order to discharge all the sum total of responsibilities that entails management and leadership. Leadership theories have just recently been advanced and well understood, earlier literature that is available which attempted to identify and classify leadership theories focused on personality aspects that defined leaders and which defined followers. It was not until 1939 when, Kurt Lewin as the lead researcher was able to provide a well documented and thorough research of leadership theories at the time in a study that formed frameworks and references of future studies in leadership theories and styles. The results and finding of the research were published in the U.S Army Handbook. Current available literature on leadership theories in the context of modern organization is still varied in terms of the number of the main leadership theories. In the journal of Harvard Business Review, Schmidt and Tannenbaum has summarized the four common leadership theories that can be identified in modern organizational leaders. First theory of leadership is referred as Autocratic or authoritative style, as the name would suggest it refers to an approach where a manager maintains and run an organizational with a tight leash on the apparatus of power. A manager is this type of style expects his word to be law and employees do not have room to present their suggestion for consideration. Decisions are made at the highest level of an organization and handed down through established protocols to be implemented across the appropriate levels by the employees through existing organizational procedures. In this type of leadership motivation among employees is very minimal or nonexistent and the techniques that are used to provide motivation apply a combination of threats and promises such as benefits and retributions (Tannenbaum Schmidt, 2008). The other type of leadership theory is bureaucratic style of management. In this type of management a manager requires that all work procedures within the organization be done in such a way as clearly outlined in the organizational manual or according to the set policy. Regardless of situations that are unique and in which the organizational policies might not apply, a bureaucratic leader is more likely to insist on sticking to the organizational way of doing things (Tannenbaum Schmidt, 2008). This leadership kills creativity in the work place and might give rise to work burn out, however it is appropriate in a work setting such as in laboratory research environment where all variables of interests are carefully controlled in order to achieve desired results. The third type is democratic leadership style also referred as participative style since it strives to involve employee in organizational management and decision making. In this type leadership a manger understands that employee are more informed in some instances than their leaders and can therefore provide valuable insight that can enable informed decisions at the management level. It makes an employee feel important and appreciated at the work place and is therefore a very motivating method of running an organization. By involving employees in organization management and decision making serves to impart this skills in their routine job requirements besides grooming them for their next career levels within the organization (Tannenbaum Schmidt, 2008). However this style is only effective in an organization where employees are skilled and very knowledgeable in their areas of specialty since they are less likely to make work related mistakes that might be costly to the organization. The final and fourth leadership style is the Leissez-Faire a French word that loosely translated describes lack of interest, and rightly so because in this case a manager is almost detached away from the intricacies of organization and employee management. Much leeway is given to employee to use their best judgment and achieve individual or teamwork requirements, meet targets and work deadline (Hofstede, 2007). The manger hardly ever supervise employee or follow up on their progress but relies on internal organizational systems. As with the democratic style this style too should be adopted where the employee are qualified and competent in discharging their duties without direction and are mature to achieve self motivation. This being the styles that a manager can use in organization and people management, there are other factors that are crucial in determining which leadership style a manager is likely to apply or indeed must apply in order to efficiently provide leadership. One is the managers personality type that is usually determined by the level of education, skills, experience, and previous work environment, this factors will significantly determine which approach a manager will use. For instance previous work environment could shape a managers future leadership roles to match with that experience. Another factor is the personality type of the organizational employees that is also shaped by other factors such as skills, competence, experience and their level of position. Depending on the employees personality a manager might not have choice on the type of the leadership to use (Kovacevic Builder, 2010). Finally an organizational values, traditions, and policies will also provide bearing as to how an organization is run and a manager might find that deviating from previous managers leadership approach might result in management crisis. Geert Hofstede, the Germany psychologist who researched the revolutionary findings that provided the first measurable evidence between association of culture and organization in what he termed as power distance, explains that the approach that a leader adopts to manage people is as a result of the attitude of the manager towards the employees (2007). Positive leaders he notes are likely to adopt the democratic or Leissez-Fare style that places much trust in employees and sets to achieves motivation through providing rewards. Negative managers on the other hand are more predisposed to adopt authoritative leadership style that uses set of punishments to achieve employee cooperation and ensure motivation. Leaders also use consideration and structure in employee and organizational management. In consideration the managers seeks to ensure that employees concerns are addressed and their need met. A manager therefore is aware that these way employees are more likely to perform well in discharging their duties through undivided attention. The other approach is structure where a leader approach to employee management is through increased task and job output assessment. The focus is on continuously providing employee with duties as the only way to measure employee performance (Hofstede, 2007). Let us now do an analysis of leadership style in practice using examples of known organizations that are managed by leaders that we are familiar with. Google incorporation recently found in early 2000 is now worth billions of dollars and has revolutionized the way internet search is done; they have the most efficient online search engine which is the company trademark (Kovacevic Builder, 2010). Google CEO Eric Schmidt organizational leadership perhaps is the single most significant factor that has contributed to the success of the organization besides it ability to continuously launch online innovate products compared to their rivals, Microsoft incorporation. Microsoft Incorporation that was establish decades ago by it founder and present CEO Bill Gates has been in the business of developing consumer softwares and recently has increasingly ventured towards cutting a niche of market share that is presently found online. Microsoft incorporation has decades of experience in consumer development products and marketing strategies that rivals Google, now it biggest competitor and the undisputed leader on online advertisement and its search engine thats can now been enabled through use of 36 languages (Kovacevic Builder, 2010). Microsoft Incorporation strengths lies in it experience and domination of the market for many years and it organizational strengths. Bill Gate the leader and CEO of Microsoft has over time adopted leadership style that has been instrumental in defining Microsoft organizational values, traditions and management approaches at other levels. The management style that Bill Gate has now used for a long time and which defines Microsoft Incorporation is the one where employees are managed top down by their manager with the managers exercising great control and clout in decision making process (Kovacevic Builder, 2010). Bill Gates is the leader who has largely shaped the vision and organizational direction that Microsoft has so far taken over the years. Being the founder of the company it is right to assume that Bill Gates would exercise more control and authority on where he would want his company to head. But this authority is in no way limited to making important decisions in that pertains to the future of the organization. In employee management Bill Gates has put internal mechanisms that provide oversight of employees performance and usually provide direct supervision to ensure that organizational project are on course and employee are adequately involved in the process. Each department manager is supposed to oversee and provide directions to junior staff on the shape that project are expected to focus on in line with decisions made at higher levels. This leadership style of Bill Gates therefore seems to be a blend of democratic and authoritative, which tends to lean towards authoritative style (Kovacevic Builder, 2010). As a result employee creativity is hampered and channeled to focus towards pre-arranged lines of ideas on which they are managed in order to deliver. For instance decisions arrived at board meetings of senior management personnel might decide that Microsoft as an organization need to focus more on developing an online search engine that is more superior to Google in order to remain competitive, as recently happened. Then employees are given directives that are supposed to implement this strategy without deviations, an employee who might be having a fresh idea that could be pursued to redefine the organization product might therefore have no platform for presenting such an idea and the organization innovativeness is likely to slump back as is now the case at Microsoft Incorporation (Kovacevic Builder, 2010). In Google Eric Schmidt prides himself in running an organization where less time and effort are delegated in terms of employee management. Back in 2002 when Eric Schmidt was hired as the CEO of the Google Incorporation he never realized that an organizational vision and direction could be largely defined by the creativity of the employees. The Google Incorporation founders Larry Page and Sergy Brin are even less involved in providing leadership and employee management. The leading factor that is used in staff recruitment at Google incorporation is the ability of a person to be creative. At Google incorporation employee are not managed per se but are put in very small teams of 3-5 persons and have as much leeway on any area they wish to focus that they believe hold potential of defining future opportunities with consumers. After a team comes up with an idea that they think the company should pursue they present all the facts in support of the idea including the budget requirement and possible time frame that might be required before initial results can be achieved for assessment, additional resources that would be necessary are also requested at this point (Tannenbaum Schmidt, 2008). The report is then presented to a committee comprised of very senior and experienced employees that would go through the report for vetting based on its strengths, resource requirements, time frame, and relevance of the application to consumer among other variables. Since employees are in an environment that continuously nurtures and encourages creativity at work place, more ideas keep coming from the employees that are as varied as the breath of products that Google incorporation keeps launching in the market place with an astonishingly regular rate. It is this Leissez-Faire leadership style by Eric Schmidt that is also the culture of the organization that has enabled Google to remain competitive and above all define new frontiers in the industry that some years back was unheard of. In just about ten years Google Incorporation has launched more consumer online products and applications than Microsoft has achieved in the decades that they have been operational (Kovacevic Builder, 2010). The future of Google as a company is going to be more influenced by the diversity of it employee which is the key to its strength besides the Leadership style that continues to encourage workplace creativity. As is now the norm Google is in a position to continue dominating the market share not only in online products but will continue chatting the future and the shape that future products will take and where online market wars will occur (Tannenbaum Schmidt, 2008). References Hofstede G. (2007). Culture and Organizations: Software of the Mind. New York: McGraw- Hill Publishers. Kovacevic, L., Builder, A.U. (2010). Google Incorporation Vs Microsoft Incorporation. Retrieved April 9, 2010 from http://www.builderau.com.au/strategy/soa/Google-vs-Microsoft/0,2000064882,339290499,00.htm Tannenbaum, R., Schmidt, W. (2008). How to Choose a leadership Pattern. Harvard Business Review, 733(23), Retrieved April 9th 2010 from http//www.havardbusinessreview.org U.S. Army Handbook. (1973). Military Leadership. Washington DC. Government Press.

Friday, September 20, 2019

Homosexual Marriage Love

Homosexual Marriage Love What are the rules of marriage? Who makes these rules and what are they based on? Is marriage for everyone? These are just a few questions that boggle peoples minds when it comes to the matter of same sex marriage. In the ethical issue of same sex marriage, the union of two people who genuinely love each other should be considered over moral reasons against same sex marriage.  Ã‚  Many people feel that same sex marriage should be illegal because they feel that homosexual couples are unable to make the same contributions to society that heterosexual marriages are able to make, but this is not so. Homosexual marriages do not affect society in a negative way and should be legal and recognized just as heterosexual marriages are. Several factors are considered when trying to determine the legality of same sex marriages. One factor is the economic advantage because of the benefits given by the government to married couples. Another is the issue of children and whether homosexuals can contribute to society by caring for their offspring. The biggest concern is the moral effect that homosexuality has on the society. Although people feel that same sex marriages will lessen the standards of society, should the government be allowed to prohibit marriage because the vast majority of the population is bothered by it? Same sex marriage should be legal. In the 1990s, gays and lesbians tried to establish themselves in â€Å"main stream† American life (Perkel, Marc). Many people were â€Å"coming out,† and society had to find ways to deal with this new outward demonstration of homosexuality. During this time, homosexuality became more common on television, in movies and other realms of media. This caused an uprise amongst conservatives who were against homosexuality. Soon after this new outward display of homosexuality became more prevalent, homosexuals not only wanted to be socially accepted , they wanted the right to get married (Same Sex). Society and the government have gone back and forth on this issue and many decisions have been made and subsequently turned over. Neither the constitution nor federal statutes offer clear-cut protection for Americans from the prevalent discrimination based on sexual orientations. States were responsible for both laws concerning same sex orientation and same sex marriages. The laws on homosexuality vary from state to state. Vermont is currently the only state to have legalized same sex marriage. Heterosexual couples eligible to marry can have their marriage performed in any state and have it recognized in every other sate in the nation and every country in the world. Couples who are joined in a civil union in Vermont have no guarantee that their marriage protections will even travel with them to neighboring states such as New York or New Hampshire. This is not right and should not be acceptable. If we pride ourselves on being a country founded on the equality of all, how can we deny o ur own citizens this right on the basis of sexual preference? During Former President Clintons tenure, he signed the Defense of Marriage Act on September 21, st 1996. This denied federal recognition of same sex marriages. Many people feel that same sex unions, which are practically the same as marriage, minus some small benefits, would be more appropriate for homosexual couples. alternatively, some recommend â€Å"domestic partnerships.† Under a domestic partnership, homosexual partners have all the same rights as married couples; however, they are not married and are not socially considered married. Today the problem lies with homosexuals feeling that â€Å"same sex unions† and â€Å"domestic partnerships† are not enough and that marriage should be a right allowed to all citizens regardless of sexual orientation. Comparing marriage to civil unions is like comparing diamonds to cubic zirconium. One is quite simply the real thing, the other is not. On the contrary, conservatives say that homosexual marriage is an oxymoron and should not be legal. Robert Knight, the author of Same Sex Marriages Should Not Be Legal, claims that â€Å"marriage is the union between a man and a woman, the most important social institution around the world. Legalizing same sex marriage would turn the state against those who believe in the traditional definition of marriage.† Many people in America agree with Robert Knight; however, the number of people who are for same sex marriage is steadily increasing. More and more people are realizing that the legality of same sex marriage does not turn the state against heterosexual couples, but rather allows two people who love each other the right to be married regardless their of sexual orientation. The love one person has for another should not and cannot be confined to sexual orientation. Because people do not agree with the marriage between two people, does not mean that marriage should not take place. What is marriage? Most would say the legal union of a man and a woman. Conservatives say that homosexuals fail to meet the â€Å"requirements† of marriage. They say that same sex marriages lessen family values and that having gay parents will make their children more inclined to be gay. These individuals say that homosexuals cannot contribute to society in the form of procreation. Finally, conservatives feel that homosexuals are sinful from a religious stand point. While these arguments are all very compelling and understandable, they are merely opinions and the law should never be based on opinions, but rather on facts, justice, and equality. Concerning family values, who has the right to set the rules for the way a family should be? All families are different and changes should not be shunned but rather embraced (Whats Wrong). A homosexual marriage does not affect other people of society. Take two men for example. Society has to see the couple together out side of their home. What difference would society see if that same couple were married? The answer in none, homosexual marriage does not affect society in a negative way. Society is affected the same way by a heterosexual couple. Children who are raised by two loving parents will grow up to become their own people because of all the support and nourishment they have been given. It does not matter if those two loving parents are a mother and a father or two mothers or two fathers (Perkel, Marc). Physically homosexuals cannot procreate, but that does not mean that they can not contribute to society through raising children. There are millions of children who want to be in a home with people who love them. Foster children are often sent from foster home to foster home, which leads to a very unstable childhood. Presently, between 1million and 9 million children are being raised by gay, lesbian and bisexual parents in the United States (Roleff). Conservatives say that homosexuals will not be able to provide a stable house for children, but a home with two caring parents is far more stable than a foster home where a child rarely receives attention. Studies show that unmarried people seeking to adopt a child are over 20 percent less likely than a married couple to be given a child (Whats wrong). Same sex marriages provide a foundation for same sex couples care for children, thus benefiting society in the form of supporting off spring into the next generation. If homosexuals should not be allowed to get married based on their inability to procreate, then heterosexual couples who are infertile, who choose not to have children or are elderly should also not be considered married (Henry). Many people feel that from a religious stand point, same sex marriage is wrong. In fact, Christianity, Judaism and Islam, three major religions, do not condone homosexuality or same sex marriage. However, all three of these religions believe in loving thy neighbor. Bishops Joseph Charron, of the Roman Catholic Church says that â€Å"No same sex union can realize the unique and full potential which the marital relationship expresses† (Ford). As Christians, God teaches us to love everyone and not to punish sinners but to try to have them converted. The Roman Catholic Church does not believe that homosexuals fulfill Gods requirements for marriage. On the contrary, they do believe that they should be treated with compassion. Its true that most religions do not accept homosexuality as being morally right under Gods eyes. However, society cannot play the role of God. The government cannot decide what constitutes love and whether or not the love between two people is just. That is no t societys place and the government should not make laws based on our religious views and beliefs. Our Constitution requires the separation of church and state, and this must be carried out. The economic factor that comes with marriage is also something that homosexual couples want.   Married couples are entitled to things like shared tax returns, special tax exemptions, deductions and refunds, coverage for the uninsured under the spouses medical care, disability and life insurance plans, survivor benefits, social security and pension plans, inheritance free from taxation, next of kin status in the case of an emergency and mental incapacity or death. These are all the things that married couples have and all the things that homosexual couples cannot attain. Should a person be denied these benefits for the rest of their life because they are in love with a person of the same sex and cannot be married? As a society, people need to be more accepting and less afraid of change. If it were not for change and accepting the unfamiliar, like different races, religions and preferences, America would not be the melting pot it is today. In America, the Constitution declares that all people should be treated equal. Same sex couples live in 99.3 % of all the counties nationwide. When we prohibit homosexuals from marrying, society is treating them as if they are unequal to heterosexuals. Sexual orientation should not be a reason to compromise the principals on which the Constitution is founded. Societys opinions on what is morally right or wrong should not sway the outcome of what is ethically right. The Constitution does not directly talk about same sex marriage; however, many of the rules in it are directly related to why same sex marriage should be legal. Among them are: life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness; all men are created equal; lastly, all men should have a chance for justice un der the law. All of these things are taken away from people just because of their sexual preference, and because their lifestyle is not the â€Å"average† American lifestyle. It is important to not allow what one feels to be right and wrong affect anothers right to happiness. Remember that marriage is not a creation of law, law relating to marriage merely recognizes and regulates an institution that already exists (Whats Wrong). When the government denies homosexuals the right to marry, it treats them like second class citizens. Just as society treated interracial couples not to long ago. Why should people be punished because they do not have the same sexual orientation and preference as the rest of society? Why should people be denied benefits because they will not give in to gimmicks such as â€Å"same sex unions† and â€Å"domestic partnerships?† Society needs to change. How many couples will have to suffer before America realizes that the government is not protecting soci ety by banning same sex marriage, but rather hurting it? Not every boy wants to date a girl, and not every girl wants to marry a boy. Just because their feelings are different does not mean they are not sincere. Homosexuals have the same thoughts and the same feelings that heterosexuals have, it is just that those feelings are for the same sex. The government cannot make homosexuality go away, and as long as there is homosexuality there will be a desire for same sex marriage. As men and women, it is natural to want to find that significant other, and once youve found them you want to engage in that sacred union of marriage with that person and reap all the benefits that it entails. Love is not bias to race, creed or sexual orientation. Legal or not, there will and always should be same sex marriages. Works Cited Bidstrup, Scott. Gay Marriage: The Arguments and the Motives. bidstrup. 2004. 7 Apr. 2007  . Ford, Thomas Michael. Out Spoken: Role Models from the Lesbian and Gay Community New York: Beech Tree, 1998. Gator Gay Straight Alliance. 12 Reasons. Gator Gay Straight Alliance . 18 Feb. 2004. The  University of Floridas Gay Straight Alliance. 8 Apr. 2007 . Henry, Charles. Telephone interview. 6 Apr. 2007. Perkel, Marc. Same Sex Marriage. The Peoples Legal Front. 16 Apr. 2007 http://www.perkel.com/politics/issues/samesex.htm Roleff, Tamara L., Ed. Gay Rights. San Diego, CA: Greenhaven press, Inc., 1997. â€Å"Same Sex Marriage ban awaits vote in Senate† Indy Star.com Apr. 8. 2007. The online   Edition of the Indianapolis Star. 16 Feb. 2005 The Family Research Council; Defending Family, Faith and Freedom. 8 Apr. 2007 â€Å"Whats Wrong with letting Same Sex Couples â€Å"Marry?† FRC.org 8 Apr. 2007.

Thursday, September 19, 2019

Proposing Windsor Boys and Girls Group Learning of Dance and Drama :: essays research papers

I am a six form council representative and I proposed an idea, discussed at length and agreed by everyone at the meeting and also by the students that study dance and drama that Windsor boys and Windsor girls should join together to study these lessons. This arrangement would cover a two-year period- AS and A2 level study. It would only apply to these two subjects however it could work well in other subject areas too. I do understand that some concerns will arise but I hope I can overcome any problems that do come up and hopefully I can persuade you in to this arrangement. I have taken this idea to the head of the department in the boy’s school and also the head of the department in our school. Both departments are very supportive of the idea and think that it would be very helpful in making lessons and productions more realistic. This would be a joint project, the drama and dance teachers will be working as a team and each teacher will mark a joint assessment however, each teacher will be responsible for their own pupil. Having thought this arrangement and talking it through with everyone concerned the boy’s school have offered to us the use of their facilities and equipment as they are much superior to ours. We have also decided that as the boy’s school is in walking distance, we would be prepared to walk to the school to complete our lesson, we would be in groups so it would be safe and also the dance and drama teachers would accompany us in order to reduce cost and facilities. Both schools are prepared to co operate with this p roject. We are also strong willed about scheduling to leave our school in our lunch time and start walking to the boy’s school in order for us to be able to arrive at the correct time so we will be able to begin and finish our lesson on time without having to over run or to make up for lost time because of lateness. Everyone concerned in this idea agrees that this would be a fantastic opportunity as the outcome consists of many advantages. Joining both schools’ together and having mixed gender lessons would mean that the productions and lessons would be more realistic, it would improve the performance to a high standard as everyone would be playing realistic and right roles.

Wednesday, September 18, 2019

Climate Change is a Minor Threat Essay -- Global Warming Essays

Predicting climate change is less accurate than firing a pistol at long range. The fact is, finding a forecast of our future is just as difficult as explaining the meaning of life. I mean, how can we predict the future climate when meteorologists can’t even predict today’s weather? Scientists have only been keeping exact records of the earth’s surface temperature for only just over a hundred years.# Before accurate readings of the earth had been taken, scientists have only viewed charts and graphs of recent years. Patterns have been formed from these short-term graphs. But how can scientists be sure that their trend is true? What proof do we have anyway? The media-crazed threat of global warming has made this topic a very popular and, according to the media, a very serious global issue too. I’m not going to deny Global Warming, but I feel that as humans, we have only contributed very little to the emission of greenhouse gases, etc. Global Warming is a natural phenomenon, and should be dealt with accordingly: A coat when it’s cold, a t-shirt when it’s warm. The biggest ...

Tuesday, September 17, 2019

Handling Multicultural Environment Essay

Any single culture is multidimensional, and in this time of globalization, people belonging to various cultures are sharing common workplace where they are bound to interact with one another. This situation certainly calls for a thorough training on cultural competency for all members of any multicultural organization, and especially for the managers who have the job to unify all employees’ aims and aspirations with the goals of their company. Such a task is easier said than done; as there is plethora of instances where cultural difference has shattered the dreams of the company. However, there is no dearth of opposite instances too, where successful implementation of multicultural philosophy has brought in sustainable competitive advantage for the companies. In either way, this state of affairs substantiates the importance of seriously considering â€Å"organization as culture† and adopting right steps to achieve the status of a true-blue multicultural organization. With this point of view, this paper explores how the organizations can impart quality training to their managers, besides evaluating the efficacy of the established theories/ideas on this issue, before reaching its own conclusion. Multicultural Environment Any workplace comprising of employees from more than one culture can be called a multicultural organization. Here the word â€Å"culture† contains several interpretation, though in general, it speak about a package of perception, belief and acquired behavioral process, containing elements like â€Å"learned and shared values, beliefs and behaviors to a particular group of people† (Yamashita, 2004). On the other hand, multiculturalism is a â€Å"Doctrine asserting value of different cultures coexisting within single society; globally, vision of cultural diversity deliberately fostered and protected† (Globalization, 2000). In plain words, it is a concept of aligning various cultures to serve a common purpose. Common Problems in Multicultural Environment Problems occur when cultural difference and consequently, difference in perception about a particular issue/act/custom/or policy stands between the individuals or groups. Such situations can occur anytime at any multicultural set up, which can begin with little differences like meaning of a word, eating habits, or religious practice, whatever, and that can fuel a bigger set of difference, if not timely diffused. For example, the word, â€Å"monkey† contains hint of racism in some parts of the world, while it is only a simple definition of primate in the other. Now if someone from that special part of the world is called a monkey, s/he might react furiously, no matter how innocent the caller is. Understandably, such channel noises , are the outcome of one’s ignorance about others’ culture. Specific Problems in Multicultural Environment This takes place when cultural difference puts spanner in the process of work. This too, can emerge out of various situations like managers’ or employees’ biases about their culture, or from ignorance about â€Å"what means what†. It is not uncommon for a manager to find difficulty in catering a multicultural audience at one go, if some of the members do not understand managers’ spoken language, or their idioms sound idiotic to their ears. This again points towards the importance of grooming to the tune of multicultural philosophy. Theories for Help No matter how much humans developed their science and technology, they are yet to discover a device that would be able to interpret one’s thought for another. It is for this reason, the age-old art and science of effective communication still works wonders for every sphere of life and it is in fact the oxygen of any multicultural organization. Thus it would be pertinent to mention about two such theories out of many, to explain how theories can save the day for the managers of multicultural organizations. What these theories do is, they form the foundation of understanding among humans, which is the prime condition to rise above any cultural biases and to accept the fact that humans are all equal at their basements. ERG Theory This is an improvised version of Abraham Maslow’s (1908-1970) famous model of Hierarchy of Needs (Maslow’s, 2008), created by Clayton Alderfer after prolonged research, which adds more flexibility in determining the needs of an individual, which it does by reorienting the elements from Maslow’s model into three segments like Existence (E) – It involves physiological and safety needs. Relatedness (R) – It contains social and external esteem needs. Growth (G) – Self-actualization and internal esteem needs. (ERG, 2007). Clayton’s model allows to set the order of needs according to the existing need structure of an employee, besides providing the scope to pursue different needs simultaneously. Accordingly, company can motivate any individual on any of the E, R or G needs – while looking after an individual’s E need (say, where an employee needs a safety measure), the company can look after the same individual’s R needs (like awarding her for her achievement) and G needs (inducting the individual in the think tank of the department). Expectancy Value Theory Founded by Martin Fishbein in the 1970-s, suggesting that people â€Å"mould themselves to the world in accordance with their expectations/beliefs and evaluations† (Expectancy, 2004). This serves as a pointer to the fact that behavior or behavioral intentions or attitudes evolve out of expectancy and evaluation, where the expectancy is an idea about a situation or object and evaluation is one’s estimation about the impact of that idea/situation/object on any plane. Theories Groom Vision  If the entire team of a workplace can adopt a vision in the light of the Expectancy Value Theory, where they would ‘expect’ that they are devoted to the collective goal. Once armed with this vision, the following areas of communication would definitely take a new turn as the outcome of reorientation of one’s approach to the world: Intrapersonal communication: The vision would make the employee think like â€Å"I’m attached to an important organ of the society and thus I have more responsibility to meet its expectations†. Communication with clients: The vision will make the employees more patient and taking interest in communicating with clients belonging to another culture. Team Communication: There would be less conflict of ego or other minor areas of personal interests, as the greater cause will influence all members to align their approach towards the perceived goal (achieving high standards of service).

Monday, September 16, 2019

Gender Roles and relationships within families Essay

Gender Roles and relationships within families. Different sociologists have had different views to whether conjugal roles have become equal. Researchers have measured different aspects of equality in conjugal roles. Some have focused on the division of labour in the home. They have examined the allocation of responsibility for housework between husband and wife and the amount of time spent by spouses on particular tasks. Others have tried to measure the distribution of power within marriage. Willmott and Young, and Gillian Dunne are amongst those who have argued that conjugal roles are equal. However many sociologists such as Ann Oakley, have carried out research into the area of conjugal roles and have found little evidence that couples share equal division of domestic tasks. Willmott and Young tend to agree that conjugal roles have become more equal. During the 70’s they announced the arrival of the symmetrical family, a family where husbands and wives were similar in their roles. In the home the couple ‘shared their work and shared their time’. Husbands were thought to be helping with the housework, childcare and decision making more often. Willmott and Young discovered that 72% of husbands helped with these household tasks. They thought that the change from separate to joint roles resulted mainly from the withdrawal of the wife from her relationships with female kin, and the drawing of the husband into the family circle. Ann Oakley is one sociologist who criticises this view of Willmott and Young. In 1974 Oakley pointed out that included in this 72% figure were husbands who did very little, only had to perform one household chore a week. During the 1970’s she collected information on 40 married women who had one child or more under the age of 5 and were themselves aged between 20 and 30. Half of her sample was working class and half was middle class. She found greater equality for domestic tasks in the middle class than in the working class. However in both classes few men had a high level of participation in housework and childcare. She found that most wives saw these jobs as their own responsibility, where only 15% of men in marriages participated in them at a high level. Sociologists such as Ann Oakley have argued that women have increasingly been taking on a dual burden: they have retained primary responsibility for household tasks while also being expected to have paid employment. Jonathan Gershuny agrees with Ann Oakley and disagrees with the statement that conjugal roles have become equal. He points out that dual burden could lead to increased inequality between husbands and wives as a rising proportion of women suffer from it. He believes that dual burden is a result of lagged adaptation where there is a time lag between women taking up paid employment and men adapting to this by increasing their contribution to domestic labour. In 1992 Gershuny studied the changes in hours worked by men and women over time, analysing data from 1974/5 to 1987. It showed a gradual increase in the amount of domestic labour performed by men. This increase was greatest when wives were in full-time employment. Husbands whose wives worked full time doubled the amount of time they spent cooking and cleaning. Gershuny concluded that though women still bear the main burden of domestic labour, there is a gradual trend towards greater equality. However it is still a long way off from becoming equal. In conclusion from the evidence presented it is clear that there is little support to Willmott and Young’s study that conjugal roles have become equal. Gillian Dunne however suggests that household tasks and childcare in single sex relationships have become equal, but haven’t in heterosexual relationships. There is though a trend towards greater equality. Gershuny’s research into childcare all suggests this trend. Therefore it appears that conjugal roles have not become equal, but evidence shows they are becoming more equal.

Sunday, September 15, 2019

Business Analysis. Introduction to data modeling

Before you sit down In front of the keyboard and start creating a database application, it is critical that you take a step back and consider your business problem-?in this case, the kitchen supply scenario presented in Lesson 2-? from a conceptual point of view. To facilitate this process, a number of conceptual modeling techniques have been developed by computer scientists, psychologists, and consultants. For our purposes, we can think of a conceptual model as a picture of the Information system we are going to build. To use an analogy, conceptual models are to Information systems what blueprints are to buildings.There are many different conceptual modeling techniques used in practice. Each technique uses a different set of symbols and may focus on a different part of the problem (e. G. , data, processes, information flows, objects, and so on). Despite differences in notation and focus, however, the underlying rationale for conceptual modeling techniques is always the Michael Bryon ([email  protected] Ca) Last update: 02-May-01 1 of 23 An Introduction to data modeling Introduction: The importance of conceptual 3. 1. 1. 1 Entities and attributes What is data modeling?A data model is a simply a diagram that describes the most important â€Å"things† in your business environment from a data-centric point of view. To illustrate, consider the simple RED shown in Figure 3. 1 . The purpose of the diagram is to describe the relationship between the data stored about products and the data stored about the organizations that supply the products. FIGURE 3. 1: An RED showing a relationship between products and suppliers. The rectangles in Figure 3. 1 are called entity types (typically shortened to â€Å"entities†) and the ovals are called attributes.The entities are the â€Å"things† in the business environment about which we want to store data. The attributes provide us with a means of organizing and structuring the data. For example, we need to s tore certain information about the products that we sell, such as the typical selling price of the product (â€Å"Unit price†) and the quantity of the product currently in inventory (â€Å"Sty on hand†). These pieces of data are attributes of the Product entity. It is important to note that the precise manner in which data are used and processed within a particular business application is a separate issue from data modeling.For example, the data model says nothing about how the value of â€Å"Sty on hand† is changed over time. The focus in data modeling is on capturing data about the environment. You will learn how to change this data (e. G. Process orders so that the inventory values are updated) once you have mastered the art of database design. Product Unit price Sty on hand Product Entity supplied by Cardinality Attributes Supplier Relationship Name Address A data modeled assumes that if the right data is available, the other elements of the application will fall into place effortlessly and wonderfully. For now, this is a good working assumption.Introduction: The importance of conceptual environment in which your wholesale company operates. However, it is easy to imagine a different environment in which each product is supplied by multiple suppliers. For example, many suppliers may carry a particular brand of wire whisk. When you run out of whisks, it is up to you to decide where to place your order. In other words, it is possible that a many-to-many relationship exists between suppliers and products. If multiple supplier exist, attributes of the product, such as its price and product number may vary from supplier to supplier.In this situation, the data requirements of a many-tomato environment are slightly more complex than those of the one-to-many environment. If you design and implement your database around the one-to-many assumption but hen discover that certain goods are supplied by multiple suppliers, much effort is going to be r equired to fix the problem. In addition to entities and attributes, Figure 3. 1 shows a relationship between the two entities using a line and a diamond. The relationship construct is used-?not surprisingly-?to indicate the existence or absence of a relationship between entities.A crows foot at either end of a relationship line is used to denote the cardinality of the relationship. For example, the crow's foot on the product side of the relationship in Figure 3. 1 indicates that a particular supplier may provide your company with overall different products, such as bowls, spatulas, wire whisks and so on. The absence of a crow's foot on the supplier side indicates that each product in your inventory is provided by a single supplier. Thus, the relationship in Figure 3. 1 indicates that you always buy all your wire whisks from the same company. . 1. 1. 3 Modeling assumptions The relationship shown in Figure 3. 1 is called one-to-many: each supplier supplies many products (where many me ans â€Å"any number including zero') but each product is supplied by one supplier (where â€Å"one† means â€Å"at most one†). The decision to use a nee-to-many relationship reflects an assumption about the business Herein lies the point of drawing an RED: The diagram makes your assumptions about the relationships within a particular business environment explicit before you start building things. The role of the modeled 3. 1. 1. In the environment used in these tutorials, you are the user, the designer, and the implementer An introduction to data modeling of the system. In a more realistic environment, however, these roles are played by different individuals (or groups) with different (programmers, database specialists, and so on) is that they seldom leave their busbies to communicate with end-users of the software they are writing. Similarly, it is generally safe to assume that users have no interest in, or understanding of, low- level technical details (such as the cardinality of relationships on Reds, mechanisms to enforce referential integrity, and so on).Thus, it is up to the business analyst to bridge the communication gap between the different groups involved in the construction, use, and administration of an information system. As a business analyst (or more generally, a designer), it is critical that you walk through your conceptual oodles with users and make sure that your modeling assumptions are appropriate. In some cases, you may have to examine sample data from the existing computer- based or manual system to determine whether (for instance) there are any products that are supplied by multiple suppliers.At the modeling stage, making changes such as converting a one-to-many relationship to a many-to-many relationship is trivial-? all that is required is the addition of a crows foot to one Introduction: The importance of conceptual end of the relationship, as shown in Figure 3. 2. In contrast, making the same change once you have im plemented tables, lilt a user interface, and written code is a time-consuming and frustrating chore. FIGURE 3. 2: An RED for an environment in which there is a many-to-many relationship between products and suppliers.Product Unit price Sty on hand The addition of a second crows foot transforms the one-to-many relationship into a many-to-many relationship. Supplier Generally, you can count on the lox rule of thumb when building software: the cost of making a change increases by an order of magnitude for each stage of the systems development lifestyle that you complete. An introduction to data modeling Introduction: The importance of conceptual 3. 1. 2. 1 Entities 3. 1 . 2 Data meddlers typically adopt a set of notational conventions so that their diagrams are consistent.For example, large IT organizations and consultancies typically adopt a methodology-?a set of tools and procedures for applying the tools that specifies the notation used within the organization. Enforcing standardiza tion in this way facilitates teamwork on large projects. Similarly, if a computerized software engineering (CASE) tool is used for conceptual modeling and design, notational conventions are often enforced by the software. What follows is a brief summary of the notational conventions that I use when drawing Reds.Keep in mind, however, that Reds are first and foremost a tool for communication between humans. As such, the precise notation you use is not particularly important as long as people can read and understand the diagrams. With experience, you will come to realize that differences in the shapes of the boxes and lines have little effect on the core concepts of data modeling. Entities are drawn as rectangular boxes containing a noun in singular form, as shown in Figure 3. 3. FIGURE 3. 3: An entity named â€Å"Customer†. CustomerYou will see later that each entity you draw ultimately becomes a table in your database. You might want to keep this transformation from entity to table in mind when selecting the names of your entities. For example, your entity names should be short but descriptive. 3. 1. 2. 2 Relationships A relationship between entities is drawn as a line bisected by a diamond. The diamond contains a verb (or short verb phrase) that describes the nature of the relationship between the entities, as shown in Figure 3. 4. Named relationships are used to make the Reds more readable.However, unlike entity names, relationship Ames never show up in the final database. Consequently, it does not really matter how you label your relationships, as long It can be argued that the term â€Å"method† is grammatically preferable. In Europe, for example, the term â€Å"method† tends to be favored. Introduction: The importance of conceptual Generally, Reds make certain assumptions about the reader's knowledge of the underlying business domain. FIGURE 3. 4: A relationship named â€Å"buys†. As the labels make the diagram easier to interp ret.To illustrate, consider the relationship between products and suppliers shown in Figure 3. 1 . The relationship is scribed by the verb phrase â€Å"supplied by'. Although one could have opted for the shorter relationship name â€Å"has† instead, the resulting diagram (e. G. , â€Å"Supplier has product†) would be more difficult for readers of the diagram to interpret. 3. 1. 2. 3 Relationship direction A notational convention supported by some CASE tools is to require two names for each relationship: one that makes sense in one direction (e. G. â€Å"is supplied by'), and another that makes sense in the opposite direction (e. G. , â€Å"supplies†). Although double-naming may make the diagram easier to read, it also adds clutter (twice as any labels) and imposes an additional burden on the modeled. Cardinality 3. 1 . 2. 4 One issue that sometimes troubles neophyte data meddlers is that the direction of the relationship is not made explicit on the diagram. Re turning to Figure 3. 1, it is obvious to me (since I drew the diagram) that the relationship should be read: â€Å"Product is supplied by supplier. Reading the relationship in the other direction (â€Å"Supplier is supplied by product†) makes very little sense to anyone who is familiar with the particular problem domain. As discussed in Section 3. 1. 1. 2, the cardinality of a relationship constrains the umber of instances of one entity type that can be associated with a single instance of the other entity type. The cardinality of relationships has an important impact on number and structure of the tables in the database. Consequently, it is important to get the cardinality right on paper before starting the implementation.An introduction to data modeling There are three fundamental types of cardinality in Reds: ; One-to-many -? You have already seen an example of a one-to-many relationship in Figure 3. 1 . You will soon discover that onto-many relationships are the bread an d butter of relational databases. One-to-one -? At this point in your data modeling career, you should avoid one-tone relationships. To illustrate the basic issue, consider the RED shown in Figure 3. 5. Based on an existing paper-based system, the modeled has assumed that each customer is associated with one â€Å"customer record† (I. . , a paper form containing information about the customer, such as address, fax number, and so on). Clearly, each customer has only one we automate the system and get rid of the paper form, then there is no reason not to combine the Customer and Customer Record entities into a single entity called Customer. Introduction: The importance of conceptual FIGURE 3. 5: An incorrect one-to-one relationship associated with Customer Record In many cases, one-to-one relationships indicate a modeling error. When you have a one-to-one relationship such as the one shown in Figure 3. , you should combine the two entities into a single entity. ; Many-to-many - ? The world is full of monotony-many relationships. A well-used example is â€Å"Student takes course. † Many-to-many relationships also arise when you consider the history of an entity. To illustrate, consider the RED shown in Figure 3. 6. At first glance, the relationship between Family and Single-Family Dwelling (SF) might seem to be one-to-one since a particular family can only live in one SF at a time and each SF can (by definition) only contain a single family. However, it is possible for a family to live in different houses over time.

Saturday, September 14, 2019

African American Essay

On October 23rd, 2006, a then 24 year old Dorothy Webb stood outside her Mississippi home. Fearing eviction from her home for non-payment of rent, Dorothy decided to do something drastic to save the only home she had grown to love. She walked to ‘the bottom’ which was almost 9 miles away, in an attempt to make a deal with a local drug dealer to sell crack cocaine and earn a profit. â€Å" I was truly scared because although I’ve been in the midst of the drug game as an outsider, I knew the consequences of selling drugs down south. They put my momma away for 8 years because my brother was selling drugs out of her house and she wasn’t even involved. I knew that if they could do that to her to and she didn’t even do anything, I was in real danger of getting even more time if I got caught. But it was between eating and living or being on the streets, so I made a choice that I could live with. I wanted to live in my house with food in my mouth. † According to Dorothy, she waited for days before she sold the drugs that she obtained from ‘the bottom‘. â€Å" I danced and danced around the idea in my head many days before I made my first sale, but I finally did it and it didn’t feel bad to me. By the end of it all, I had made ten sales, I had food in my mouth, and my rent was paid up so I could stay in my house,† Dorothy admits. Dorothy states that she only made those 10 sales, which was enough for her to pay rent and buy food until she was able to get back on her feet. â€Å"Almost a year after I sold the drugs, I was doin’ real good†¦ real good. I had kept my house and I had a job and a car all in that one year. I just kept workin’ and workin’ till one day, the police came to my house and arrested me for selling drugs to an undercover officer, and I was devastated. I mean, I know it was wrong to do so and against the law. I knew that I would get in trouble, but I never could have imagined that it would be as long as I was told. I mean c’mon! Murderers do less time than drug dealers do so where does that leave me, this one person tryin’ to live? During my sentencing, I cried until no more tears could flow. I was facing 20 years for the 10 sales that I made in the last year. After my sentencing, I ran to Illinois to be with my family until I was caught last week on a technicality† (D, Webb, personal communication, February, 2008). Dorothy Webb remains in a St. Clair county Illinois jail awaiting transport to Mississippi where she will start serving out her sentence. Dorothy’s story is not unlike many other African American men and women whom face years of their lives behind bars for drug trafficking and other related drug charges. Irreversible effects from drug related racial profiling and disparity should be stopped in relation to the African American community by way of rehabilitation for offenders and judicial officials. REVIEW OF LITERATURE Cocaine is a white powder substance originating from the coca plant dating as far back as the 11th century. It was used in the early 1800s to treat an assortment of common ailments ranging from hiccups to pneumonia. Presently, cocaine has been deemed very addictive and has been illegal in the United States for over 100 years. Cocaine can be snorted through the nose or used to intravenously. Crack cocaine is a free based substance that is used for smoking. It is produced by combining baking soda and cocaine and is cooked to generate a hard, rock-like material. Because the crack cocaine has been altered, using more baking soda than cocaine, it results in being a cheaper drug that requires less to cause a ‘high’ feeling (Lu, Taylor, & Riley, 2001, p. 399). From a socio-economic standpoint, the black community, consisting of mostly the poor or working class can afford crack, while whites whom generally consist of middle class families, thus financially stable, chose cocaine as a drug of choice. It is relatively clear that many users of crack cocaine consist of mostly individuals from the African American community. Many admit to using and selling the drug, however, evidence shows that white Americans produce an even higher population of illicit drug abusers and those whom traffic drugs as well. Although drug abuse among blacks is easily visual in ‘crack houses’ and even effortless drug sales on street corners, whites are not as flamboyant when it comes to drug use, conversely, middle America is now pressed with an overwhelming methamphetamine dilemma. Nevertheless, many professionals concerned with the sociological aspects of drug solicitation in African American communities across the nation scrutinize the domino effect resulting from wide-spread drug quandary such as child abandonment, school dropout rates, and deteriorating homes. In fact, Kennedy states that â€Å"Law enforcement naturally and logically focuses on those communities where illegal drug use has created the most harmful and most visible effects†¦ More generally, illegal drug use is seen as devastating African-American communities in a way that is not seen outside the inner city. People losing jobs, kids dropping out of school, parents neglecting or abandoning their children–all of these social costs are more readily seen in the inner city than in the more affluent white communities where illegal drug use seems to be relatively benign. Even more to the point, illegal drug use in the inner city is seen as crimogenic–the inner -city user of illegal drugs is thought to be more likely to steal or commit some other crime to finance his drug use† ( 2003, p. 154). The theoretical reasoning behind the abuse of crack cocaine in the black community has been speculated as the end result of a people in dire need, monetarily and emotionally, nonetheless, these outcomes resulting from drug infested communities do not constitute the racial disparity that is currently occurring throughout the nation, however, the issues do cause a need for probable concern . The illicit use and distribution of crack cocaine is steadily ricocheting through the African American community. In fact, according to Angeli, â€Å"The increase in the rates of incarceration of young black males is due primarily to the focus of the ‘war on drugs’ on black drug users. For drug offenses, the African American proportion of arrests increased from 24% in 1980 to 39% in 1993, even though African Americans comprise only 13% of monthly drug users. From 1986 to 1990, the number of minority jail inmates increased more than twice as fast as the number of white inmates, and the increase in the number of arrests of minorities for drug offenses was almost ten times the increase in arrests of white drug offenders† (1997, p. 1213). It is undisputable that this jump in the number of incarceration of blacks was initiated due to the passing of the Sentencing Reform Act of 1984. Under the Sentencing Reform Act of 1984, congress enabled sentencing commissions to guide the legislature of punishments for crack and cocaine possession offences. Subsequently, the commission ruled that â€Å"At every quantity level federal defendants convicted of a crack cocaine offense receive the same sentences as powder cocaine defendants convicted of an offense involving 100 times as much cocaine (Angeli, 1997, p. 1212). It seems that these laws were put into place to purposely capture blacks in the system given that the Judicial system is aware that all crack possessions are in the hands of blacks by a very larger margin than any other race. This can be corroborated with current percentages contrasted to earlier figures from the1920s before these laws were enacted. Compared to the early 1900s, when African Americans only made up less than 20% of the prison population for illicit possession of alcohol and drugs, while foreign-born whites accounted for over 40%. In 1992, 92. 6% of drug offenders were African American and 4. 7% were white and possessed pure cocaine (Elden, 2005). At present, over 1/3 of the total black male population is wedged in the judicial system involving imprisonment, parole, or probation, thus proving that race seems to be the issue in the current war on drugs. In previous combats in the war on drugs, other races were equally targeted just as contemporary matters of racial disparity. In the early 1920s, foreign born immigrants, whom made up much of the American population then were the predominately incarcerated culprits for drug trafficking and or distribution. Contemporary legislature has made the proper amendments to finally put an end to the racial disparity regarding blacks and crack cocaine sentences. In the later part of 2007, in the case of United States v. Kimbrough, Defendant Derrick Kimbrough was initially convicted and sentenced to 168 to 210 consecutive months for three counts of conspiracy to distribute 50 grams of crack cocaine. This decision was lessened by district courts to a total sentence of 120 months for all three charges and 60 consecutive months for possession of a firearm in connection to his arrest for the drug charges. This one case is a landmark case that will begin with the release of those whom have served a significant amount of time towards less severe charges related to crack cocaine and will lessen the amount of time given to those whom are tried and convicted of illicit drug crimes involving crack cocaine. SUGGESTIONS Although the damage has been done, thus forever disparaging the trust of black people in today’s justice system, things can still be done in an attempt to reverse illegitimate imprisonment of blacks for miniscule drug offenses. The war on drugs should simultaneously preserve our country’s promise to liberty and justice to each individual, equally regardless of race, stature, or background. If in fact the war on drugs is to combat all forms of illicit drug use and or trafficking, subsequently, all drugs should be charged consistently relative to quantity. Not only is the 100 to 1 ratio law unfair but it is also racially charged. It is apparent that the judicial system is aware of this racial activity that is continually produced by the members of government and courts, and have thus began to amend laws. However, regardless of these current revisions, more lenient laws should also be inserted concerning all first time offenders. For quantities less than 20 grams, no time should be served at all and incidents should be regarded as a misdemeanors, requiring community service and or fines. Amounts less than 10 pounds should result in months and not years in jail time as well. Additionally, rehabilitation programs for drug offenders as well as court officials should be created. Just as drug rehabilitation programs for drug abusers aid in job placement programs and drug dependency, drug distributors should also have to attend similar programs that are geared towards the rehabilitation of drug dependency as a way of career. If these offenders could understand the fundamentals behind their professions, it would be probable that they would return to their communities, not as an vandals, but as a productive member of society and their community. It may also be a good idea to implement drug addicts into their program as well, in order to reveal insight into the lives of those whom they have destroyed. If these programs could be implemented and utilized, it is very probable that there would be a significantly less amount of repeat offenders as well. Lastly, many officials believe that many members of law enforcement have very little role in the prosecution of crack cocaine holders. However, law enforcement officials are responsible for obtaining criminals. Racial disparity begins in this area first. As stated earlier, officers logically pursue areas where drugs have the most detrimental effects, however If equal focus would be put upon all races to prohibit the distribution of drugs, eventually, all areas of drug distribution would eventually subdue, principally the methamphetamine business. CONCLUSIONS Although the end results of drug use or distribution are riveted throughout the African American community, either through school dropout rates, child abandonment or neglect, and job loss, the effects of unfair drug sentences are equivalently devastating. More than 1/3 of the black male population have been witness to some form of the judicial prejudice through incarceration, parole, or probation, and the number is steadily increasing each year. It is more than probable that race is the intended target for these drug wars that are presently occurring, whilst this has happened previously in an earlier time. During the early 1920s, foreign-born immigrants were the targets during the first war against drugs in the United States, while African American men made up less than 20% of the total incarcerated population. At this time, the judicial system has commenced realization of these racially charged attacks on the African American community, thus lessening the sentencing of crack cocaine offenders. This was proved in a recent landmark case, The United States v. Kimbrough. In this case, Derrick Kimbrough’s lengthy 168 to 210 consecutive month sentence was cut down to a little more than half at 120 consecutive months. Although the court system has made this advancement in this area, further innovations must also be met as well. Progression within drug distribution rehabilitation programs should also be implemented. For instance, former drug distributors should be enrolled in some of the same programs that drug abusers undergo. These offenders should be allowed to hear the testimonies of the many lives that they have destroyed due to drug distribution and dependency as a profession. Additionally, programs should be executed, allowing each offender job placement and job training so that their likelihood of returning to that lifestyle will be greatly reduced. Members of the courts should also be counseled as well to allow insight into the lives of the people that they convict, therefore, sentencing will be fair and relevant to each case, instead of an overall depiction of that type of society. Members of law enforcement should also take rehabilitation classes that will allow them to equally focus on all areas of society that is ridden with drugs instead of primary focus on the black community. If these measures were considered and utilized, United States would be on its way to a less racially prejudiced society.