Project Management and Coffee Shop Essay

Mission/ Purpose We are A coffee Shop aim to achieve consumer satisfaction by providing fresh brew coffee and teas at guarantied the best prices. We strive to provide a comfortable and welcoming atmosphere. In addition, we will try to preserve our reputation of providing an excellent quality of coffee. SOW The coffee shop project contains a few renovations to an old building. It is my idea to create a vintage cafà © with hopes of attracting tourists as well as locals. I hope that the idea of a vintage cafà © in the hustle of the city attracts people as well as provides them with a sense of ease and relaxation. The renovation ideas include adding new, small, dim lights throughout the ceiling, repainting the walls, the addition of darkly colored wooden floor, purchasing and hanging up vintage style pictures and memorabilia. The use of small round tables and country styled chairs. We hope to renovate a new central air system. The project will start on the 5thof January and Finish by the 26th of February. This project will include a contingency of 50%. A project management team will be assigned to manage all renovations. Objectives In our efforts as a coffee shop the objective is to provide a unique project to a community that is located only minutes from all major subway and bus stops and has many openings in the busiest location throughout the five boroughs. Business Need We are in the business of clearly understanding our project requirements and this includes choosing coffee shop activities that enable my team to accomplish true desire, while monitoring performance during and at the end of the project. We the coffee shop are focusing on meeting real needs so therefore this project main goal is to establish itself in multiple locations throughout the state and eventually throughout the country to reach an overall goal of customer satisfaction as well as a prosperous business. Project Manager and Stakeholders Project leader is no other than Earnesto the stakeholders of this project are the satisfied consumers. Milestones The Key milestones of the coffee shop are to establish its renowned name through at least Five locations throughout the state; Twenty locations throughout the tri-state area; and possibly forty locations throughout the country. Budget The order-of-magnitude budget for this project is to improve our efficiency by 30 percent. Budget cont. (Monthly) Legal/ administrative fees $20,000.00 Renovations (painting, flooring, etc) $50,000.00 Contingency Allowance (Plan A) (20%) (Plan B) $25,000.00 $15,000.00 Business Insurance $15,000.00 Supplies (cups, coffee, stirrers, coffee makers, blenders, cash registers, $10,000.00 Staff Payment $5,000.00 Total Budget $140,000.00 User Acceptance Criteria/Quality The minimum success criteria as defined by the key stakeholders are to assure that our customers are always satisfied with their orders from our business, as well as the locations, set up and environment of the business. High-Level Project Assumptions A constant flow of customers in addition to first time customers will enable us to assume that we are conducting and carrying our business successfully. High-Level Project Constraints  Limiting factors that affect the project is ensuring that the majority of our customers enjoy our brews and blends with different selections of coffee as well as our dà ©cor and arrangement of the facility. We must cater to the public’s desire and keep up to date in order to progress as a business. Exclusions and Boundaries Boundaries of the project include making sure that we have appropriate and professional staff; That our overall interior and exterior design is attractive, that the staff is welcoming, customer satisfaction, etc. Major Risks The Risks affecting the project is that we must set up the next branch of the coffee shop in an area where we are sure that we will profit the most because if we set up in an unsuccessful area we may not profit which ultimately will risk the progression of our business.

A Stitch In Time Saves Nine Essay

There is no doubt that a stitch in time saves nine. It means that man must do something at the very early stage. This proverb in its literal sense applies to holes in our clothes which may be easily mended at first, but, if they are left unmanned, grow bigger and bigger, until they cannot be repaired without a great deal of sewing. What is true of torn clothes is true of boots, boxes, houses, ships, walls, bridges, in a word, of everything that needs mending, I may quote a striking illustration of the truth of the proverb from my own observation. A beautiful pier was built at great expense by Government many years ago on the stormy west coast of Scotland, to defend the harbor of a fishing village. The great stone of which it was composed were bound together by clamps of iron, and it looked as if it could defy the utmost fury of the waves. Nevertheless, in one of the violent storms that visit that iron bound coast, as little damage was done to the most exposed part of the structure. When I first saw the pier there was to be seen in it only a hole of moderate extent, that could have been repaired without much labor. But somehow the breach was left untended, and naturally grew bigger year by year until, on the occasion of my last visit to the town, half of the pier had sunk in ruin under the waves, and it was evident that to repair it would cost as much as the building of a new pier. The expediency of the stitch in time is exemplified not only by the destruction of material fabrics, the rents in which are neglected, but also in medicine, politics, and in intellectual and moral education. How often has a doctor to tell his patient that, if he had been consulted earlier he might have affected an easy cure, but that now more drastic remedies must be employed. A literary man, for instance, suffers from indigestion due to overwork and wasn’t of exercise. A short holiday in the country might restore him to good health if only he took it in time. But he has important work to do and is averse to taking any rest before he has finished it. So he goes on working until the symptoms become so threatening that he finds himself compelled to consult a doctor. To his surprise he finds that entire change of diet and absolute idleness for a long period of time are now needed to cure a disease, the progress of which might have been arrested with every little trouble at an earlier stage. It is the same with the body politic. The best politicians see in good time evils which, if allowed to go on unchecked, will swell to  alarming dimensions. Thus the just discontent felt by the people of France on account of the privileges enjoyed by the clergy and nobles might have been appeased by remedial legislation, but, as the cure was delayed, the feeling of disaffection went on gathering force, until at last it could no longer be extinguished and produced the horrors of the French Revolution. That no revolution has taken place in England for the last two hundred years is due to the fact that English politicians have been willing to anticipate rebellion by timely reforms. The same is true in our daily life. If anything is done at the very early stage, much energy can be saved for the same purpose.

10 Rules For Managing Global Innovation

This is a review of the HBR article â€Å"10 Rules for Managing Global Innovation† for the authors Keeley Wilson and Yves L. Doz . Keeley Wilson is a senior research fellow at INSEAD in Fontainebleau, France .Yves L. Doz is the Solvay Chaired Professor of Technological Innovation at INSEAD. INSEAD is ranked the 5th best business schools for an average of three years period by the Financial times ranking. â€Å"10 Rules for Managing Global Innovation† is written by the authors to pin point ten rules that the authors see crucial for a multinational company to manage its globally dispersed business units and still keep the innovative process going smoothly and efficiently.The authors list of the 10 rules is as follows,1. Start small: invlolving all team members in a short term projects and easy to achieve in order to build it and to make all members ready for the big challenging project 2. Provide a stable organizational context: and thus avoiding employees feeling insecur e and lose focus on the innovative process. 3. Assign Oversight and Support Responsibility to a Senior Manager: to avoid miscommunication, conflict, and stalemates over crucial decisions 4. Use Rigorous Project Management and Seasoned Project Leaders: to impose discipline, structure, and a shared sense of purpose across the locations.5. Appoint a Lead Site: ensured prompt decision making and a project successfully delivered on time and on budget 6. Invest Time Defining The Innovation: so that everyone working on the project has the same understanding of the goals and their individual contributions to them. 7. Allocate Resources On the Basis of Capability, Not Availability: Teams are selected not because they are the best qualified but because they are available at the time , when resources became available elsewhere, this module was moved to a team that had the necessary capabilities , but by then, morale had been dented, time wasted, and costs increased.8. Build  Enough Knowledge Overlap for Collaboration: in order to ensure critical interdependencies between modules. 9. Limit the Number of Subcontractors and Partners: to limit the additional complexity and time trying to manage different partners. 10. Don’t Rely Solely on Technology for Communication: regular face-to-face communications are important in order to drive projects forward, share knowledge, and reinforce trust between teams and project leaders.Article Critique:The article clearly states 10 rules that are important for managing global innovations in the author’s perspective. As they have done researches on companies that known for their high innovation spend for more than a decade in order to present a set of guidelines for successfully managing global innovation projects. The Authors identified the problems that MNCs face clearly in the article and their examples include big MNCs like Citibank, HP, Hitachi, Infosys, Intel, LG Electronics, Novartis, Philips, Samsung, Siemens, Vodaf one, and Xerox in the article which gives great credibility to their guidelines for managing global innovations.However, the article could be seen as being very generic and each rule in the article should be more elaborately explained and a guide for implementing those rules. And this should have been addressed as the limitation of the article. On the other hand, this overview provided by the authors gives the readers a good point to start from, especially if they are to know what managing innovation in an MNC means. Furthermore other external references are confirming the author’s perspective. Concerning the second rule, other business schools professors are confirming the same idea like Rita Gunther McGrath professor at Columbia Business School.In her book How the Growth Outliers Do It. â€Å"Stability is what enables these companies to innovate and to maintain steady growth. Coupled with transparent values, it allows employees to feel confident about taking the risks that experimentation requires.† Google Co-founder, Larry Page, had the idea of Google Books for a long time. People thought it was too crazy even to try, but he went ahead and bought a scanner and hooked it up in his office. He began scanning pages, timed how long it took, ran the numbers and realized it would be possible to bring the world’s  books online. Today, Google Books Search index contains over 10 million books.This example shows how important it is to start small for big projects to succeed as the authors clearly stated in the first rule in the article. Other literature was found to be supporting the role of management discussed in several rules in the article. â€Å"The findings reveal that management involvement has a positive and significant impact on all dimensions of innovation featured. It is also found that organizational innovation has a mediating effect on the association between management involvement and technical innovation.† (â€Å"The role of management involvement in innovation† by Stanley Kam Sing Wong published by Emerald Group Publishing Limited)Concerning the author’s last rule about communication, the case of Toyota â€Å"The Americanization of a Japanese Icon† clearly explains the importance of not relying on technology alone for communication. â€Å"The Fact is That Toyota and it’s U.S subsidiaries don’t always see eye to eye, especially when it comes to making design choices for the American market. Sometimes their conflicts are over small issues, other times there are clashes over crucial product-strategy decisions.†Conclusion:The Authors successfully managed to give the reader an overview of how to manage innovation in a MNC. Moreover, other literature and examples was found to be supporting the authors point of view. However, it would have been of more benefit if there were more specific examples to elaborate how this rules could be implemented successfully each of these rules were stated and a guidelines

How changes in the world economy since 1945 have affected room for Essay

How changes in the world economy since 1945 have affected room for maneuver of multinational firms - Essay Example Over several centuries, trade has always flowed across states, borders, and civilizations thus joining economic fortunes and acting as a channel for social practices, technologies, and ideas. International trade began to flourish at the beginning of the nineteenth century. The trade grew geographically between nations that were industrialized and in the imperial patronage, it grew between the underdeveloped peripheries and the urban centers. During the century, the average export to GDP ratio for developed economies rose to about 11% and for individual trading countries particularly in Europe, higher ratios were recorded (Gruber, 2007). This however did not last for a long time as the First World War coupled with depression of inter-war brought international trade to a halt, introduced imperial trading blocks, and increased trade tariffs substantially and other restrictions on import. Since 1945 however, there emerged far-reaching trading systems. Most countries began to trade with a large number of other countries. Regional trading became supportive of and complementary to more widespread multinational link. Even though the majority of trade took place between OECD nations, things began take a different route pretty first. These changes in the world economy since 1945 affected room for  maneuver of multinational firms. Such changes included: The Latin American and Eastern Asia industrializing economies began taking a substantial share of world trade; the liberalization in India, China as well as other developing countries, which made these countries more than ever set to intensify their trading ties beyond borders. Another change was the growing communication and transportation infrastructure, which reduced uncertainties and costs of trade according to Karlsson & Honig (2009). This growth in transportation and communication reduced significantly the investment required by multinational firms to venture in foreign economies. The crumbling of communism after 1 945 also brought very many nations into the international trading system. The formation of GATT and later WTO created a legal infrastructure, which was more accommodating than other previous systems before 1945 and the tariffs were also substantially decreased. Discussion The improvement in communication and transportation boosted the process of internationalization process of firms. Before 1945, communication infrastructure was still very poor. In 1956, the most noteworthy improvement in communication came to pass when for the first time the American telegram as well as telephone opened a telephone cable that was transatlantic by means of microwaves amplification technology. Following this advancement, multinational corporations for instance Ford began utilizing this new communication network to exchange information as well as manage operations based in other countries from their headquarters in the United States. According to Gruber (2007), though telephone cable tremendously enha nced enterprise communication after 1945 especially in urban areas, a huge portion of the world never utilized that opportunity optimally. Nevertheless, the introduction of satellite communications in the early 1980s started a new chapter in the world of multinational firms as it ended isolation and made the world a global village, multinational firms could now operate from almost anywhere in the world as communication made everything quite simple for them. The collapse of communism and the emergence of capitalism after 1945 saw many other nations accepting the American style globalization. The fall of communism gave the Anglo-American powers an opportunity to institute the system of the United Nations and establish the institutions of international economics such as the World Trade Organization (WTO). Financial collaboration was also introduced and this was a great opportunity for the multinational fir

Conspiracy Theory in Show Community Movie Review

Conspiracy Theory in Show Community - Movie Review Example The show tackles conspiracy thrillers in a manner that creates humor and draws laughs as Troy and Abed constructs the world’s largest blanket fort (TV.com n.p). The ‘chase’ entering the Blanket city mimics similar sequences as in any other thriller and is very inspiring. The conspiracy storyline starts out in a funny style and incorporates some levels of deception. The bond between the characters makes the show successful especially the reaction of Annie towards Jeff after he hurts her. Annie acts as if their kiss never happened, when Jeff comes back to school for the fall. The series may turn on the chemistry between any two pairs of the actors especially Jeff and Britta, who had some fun chemistry. The show highlights the idea that anyone on the show can be in a romantic relationship with anybody as depicted in the community. The ending of the episode is quite emotional and helps to keep the craziness in the show from extending too far. The structural insanity o f the storyline about conspiracy comes to a logical conclusion through the expression of emotions. The rest of the episode shows the weird wonderland Troy and Abed live through the conspiracy story. Another funny part is the idea that Greendale is infiltrated by the shadowed night school especially when Annie and Jeff find a fake classes' list. The episode eschews the four members on the scene entirely in which Shirley, Pierce, and Britta are present when the scene on study group opens though they disappear.

Gatsby and his mask Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Gatsby and his mask - Essay Example We may not want to admit it but we are different in one way or another at times. We could be the obedient and hardworking son or daughter to our parents, the witty or adventurous person with our friends, or the caring and understanding individual in a romantic relationship. James Gatz realized after desperately losing his greatest love to someone well-off with a notable pedigree that he needed to be someone else, someone other than himself. He wanted to be accepted by Daisy Fay and to be taken seriously as someone worthy to be her better half. Someone better than whom he truly is in the name of the famous (or rather infamous) Jay Gatsby. It had been necessary for him to put on a mask and carry on an alternate reality just to be able to move in the same circles as her. These efforts are all in the plot to gain Daisy’s attention as he became fixated to the idea of a life he was supposed to live with her. Nick was a pawn in all of the games that he played and their first extensiv e personal conversation revealed the flaws in the lies that Gatsby has weaved to convince people of his affluence. He had been seemingly consistent in his stories but Nick had been a good judge of character in taking things with a grain of salt and relating to the reader that Gatsby was by no means a great man but there is always more to his stories and the truth reveals itself almost anti-climactically in the end. Their meeting that morning in July revealed more to Gatsby and how the audience starts to perceive him as a character. There had been plenty of gossips and assumptions as to who the man who threw extravagant parties is and as to where he came from. In this scene Gatsby himself seem to divulge more about himself. But just like Nick the reader has to read between the lines and comprehend the context accordingly. The car parked in front of Nick’s door and he jumped right in, much like the heightened anticipation the reader has into wanting to know more about this man in order to understand him. Lurching forward and not caring whatever comes next so long as the enigma somehow reveals himself more. Gatsby starts off the conversation too fittingly by asking â€Å"What’s your opinion of me, anyhow?† (Fitzgerald 70). This signifies the persona’s great regard for what people think of him. He is careful to form a perception in people’s minds of who he is and he wants them to regard him in high esteem. This question consequently took Nick for quite a surprise though it did not entirely rattle him as he knew that Gatsby must also be aware of the ideas floating around about him. Then Gatsby went on to tell about his past. That he was the son of a wealthy family from the Midwest, San Francisco to be exact and that his entire family had died already. This led him to a journey in different parts of the world and then off to war where he claimed he intended to die. These stories complete with embellishments in how he tells his stor ies and complete with evidence through articles such as a medal of valor and a photograph from Oxford with his contemporaries. Nick took this all with some sense of doubt realizing what Jordan first found to be insincerities. â€Å"He hurried the phrase ‘educated at Oxford,’ or swallowed it or choked on it as though it had bothered him before. And with this doubt his whole statement fell to pieces and I wondered if there wasn’t something a little sinister about him after all† (ibid). The study in the syntax and the intonation of Gatsby gives a deeper understanding on what Nick had established early on in his narration, that he is a good judge of character by not forthrightly concluding on their personalities and trying to understand where they are coming from. This is something which is almost

Effective Leadership and Potential Obstacles Assignment

Effective Leadership and Potential Obstacles - Assignment Example Leaders should be social people (extroverts) and not timid. Since people listen to us, they should focus on the positive rather than the negative. It is also important to differentiate leader`s official duties from his personal life. It is very easy to attack and destroy the reputation of a leader so it is imperative that a leader shy away from situations and individuals who wish to do just that. Self-awareness plays an integral part in each of our lives since it simply makes us aware of whom we are as well as our traits, character, feelings and our desires. Any person with any ambition to become a leader should first identify all these attributes. David Keirsey and Richard L. Daft are the most renowned scholars in the field of effective leadership. They state that every person has four kinds of temperaments, and each of them differs from person to person. They include diplomatic, strategic, logistical and tactical (Keirsey & Marilyn, 20). According to David Keirsey, an individual tends to identify with one temperament and then ranks the rest in second, third and fourth in that order (Keirsey & Marilyn, 1984). As we leaders, I should be able to influence other people into embracing diverse cultures and also influence public opinion. I will gauge my payoff by the number of conflicts I determine as well as how well I do my job without any complaints from my subordinates. As a leader, I am prone to encounter many obstacles along the way from individuals who do not appreciate my leadership roles to those who seek to assume leadership. As a leader, I mostly identify with the diplomatic temperament. This is because I deal with lots of conflicts, and it is my job to come up with solutions to quell these conflicts. If I was to list, how I identify with my temperaments, diplomatic comes first followed by logistical, strategic then tactical. As a leader, I need to improve my feelings and my desires because I tend to become biased when it comes to some  very delicate issues such as discrimination.

Language is the Most Important Component of Communication Essay

Language is the Most Important Component of Communication - Essay Example The study of language, known as linguistics, has tried to show how language develops among different communities. This study also tries to understand the factors that contribute to similarities and differences in languages. It is clear from the chapter that language does not only mean the ability to talk. There are many forms of language used by human beings to communicate. Spoken language is the most common among them. Currently, there are about three thousands to six thousands different languages in the world. Linguistic anthropology, a branch of linguistics, majors in the study of structure of language. In this study, anthropologists study patterns of sound, the meaning of words made by these sounds, and how these words are combines to make meaningful sentences. Semantics are also covered in this area. Different people from different locations use different terns to describe similar things and physical phenomena in their environment. However, there are some similarities in some of their classifications for instance relatives. Also another area of concern for anthropologists is the origin of language. There are different models that explain the origin and development of language. For instance, from the behaviorist model, a person acquires and develops language from both negative and positive experiences. In linguistics, specifically historical linguistics, the relationship between different languages is also explored. ... Another field of linguistic anthropology is the study of non-verbal communication. Different communities have different forms of nonverbal communication. However, there are those that are universal. Non-verbal communication uses signs and body language to communicate different messages. This field of linguistics have helped very much especially in the study of sign language which is now being used universally. Yet another modern form of language is coded language which is very specialized. This field is being utilized in the field of science for instance in computers. Question two Language is part of every society’s culture therefore understanding the language of a community helps in understanding of a culture of a society. In studying the similarities, differences and development of languages of different communities, we are able to understand the societies better. For example there are communities that live in different geographic locations but have similar or related langua ges. Through this, we can be able to trace the origin of some communities. In these modern days, globalization has influenced almost all aspects in life language included. By making the world a global village means that there is a need for every person from any part of the world to understand each other. In the early times, communication was the major barrier to globalization. Studies in linguistics made everything easier all over sudden. With development of sign language people could communicate and even do business without necessarily having to talk. Again, development of sign language has helped in communication of people who cannot talk or hear. The study of linguistics is being applied

Marketing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words - 31

Marketing - Essay Example The museum should set its objectives so that it can move forward and always be referring to the objectives to enhance that it is moving on the right track. The objectives that will be set forth should be SMART, which translates to specific, measurable, realistic, and time bound. The following objectives are formulated using the guidelines of SMART; The strategies that will enhance the realization of the objectives set above include will be considered. Formulation of objectives is very important, which is based on identifying the best opportunities from the situational analysis. One of the key considerations is of setting the museums goals are that it should be consistent with the long term goals of the museum. When mentioning goals and objective, â€Å"they are a bit challenging but this is the charm it carries† (slater and Olson, 2001). The manner in which they are challenging is because they demand a lot of information to be gathered processed and evaluated. The external environment is usually uncontrollable, but using the normal PESTEL (political, economic, society, technology, environment, legal) it is and will be favorable for the marketing plan. The political environment of the company is favorable this is because of the mission statement that will make the government and the local council of Aberdeen to support t he project. The mission statement where it states that they will enhance conservation will be very much supported by the state government. The economy of the United Kingdom is one of the most stable economies of the world. This will help so much in the prices that will be set and help to raise more revenues to the Art gallery and Museum. Social factors are also favorable in the United Kingdom; the society of the country is diverse and very conservative this can be seen from the fact that the country still keeps the monarchy system of government. The fact that there is introduction of technology in the

Thomas Reid's Position on Common Sense Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Thomas Reid's Position on Common Sense - Essay Example This was thought to condition human experience and make possible knowledge of moral, religious, and scientific kind. The first thinkers were Herbert of Cherbury, as well as Rene Descartes; other British representatives were Henry Lee, Claude Buffier, Henry Home, G. Leibniz, and many more (Redekop, 2009, p.407). Thomas Reid is considered a founder of the Scottish School of Common Sense, whose ideas influenced several generations of philosophers well throughout the 19th and 20th centuries. Rejecting the Theory of ideas, he claimed that it was â€Å"sensus communis† (the term Reid used to describe the â€Å"common sense†) that should be perceived as a solid basis of the philosophical quest. Reid’s main arguments on common sense revolved around his reaction to the ideas by Hume and Berkeley. Hume believed that a person can never comprehend what the world which is external for him/her consists of, since human knowledge is restricted by the ideas that are present in hu man mind. Berkeley, in his turn, maintained that the external world is just ideas inherent in human mind. Both Berkeley and Hume asserted that a mental phenomenon exists as perceptions of certain mental objects (Yaffe & Nichols, 2009, [online]). Contrary to these philosophers, Reid asserted that the foundations of common sense provide a justification to human belief in the existence of an external world. Reid provided response to the arguments by Hume, both naturalistic and skeptical by devising a set of common sense principles. He saw them as the basis of rational perception of the world and rational thought. To illustrate, any person who commits oneself to a philosophical argument must unconditionally presuppose particular beliefs. The examples are I am speaking to a real person, or the external world does exist under the laws which remain unchanged. Along these claims, more presuppositions can be found, which are all positive, meaningful, and reality-based. In this context, it is worth mentioning that Reid does not see the belief in these principles’ rightness as something rational. Instead, he asserts that it is reason that demands that the aforementioned principles act as prerequisites and that it is human mind that inherently produces them. Thus, the question of sanity arises here, which Reid believes leans back on his understanding of the common sense functioning. In relation to this, Reid writes, â€Å"For, before men can reason together, they must agree in first principles; and it is impossible to reason with a man who has no principles in common with you.† (Reid, 1846, p.230). Reid also believed that qualities are to be in â€Å"(...) Something that is figured, colored, hard or soft, that moves or resists. It is not to these qualities, but to that which is the subject of them, that we give the name body. If any man should think fit to deny that these things are qualities, or that they require any subject, I leave him to enjoy his opini on as a man who denies first principles, and is not fit to be reasoned with.† (Reid, 1785, p.766) While Reid’s position on common sense can be well understood through analyzing his criticism of Hume, I would like to briefly outline his ideas regarding Hume’s understanding of knowledge. As it has already been mentioned, Hume along with Descartes, Locke, and Berkeley developed the ideal theory of human mind, which Reid refuted by offering the positive idea of mind instead. The grounding argument against the theory by Hume is

The Intersection of Nature and Culture Essay Example for Free

The Intersection of Nature and Culture Essay Semiotics is a discipline which stems from the work and theories of American logician C. S. Peirce and the French linguist Ferdinand de Saussure. The idiom originates from the Greek word seemeiootikee, which denotes the study of signs, what they represent and signify, and how human beings act, interact and think in their universe. This branch of learning and understanding can be best described as a system of many communication theories and techniques which can be viewed as pieces of a puzzle. When these fragments are connected and pieced together, they make visible, the intricate design of human interaction and interpersonal communication. Semiotics lies intermediary between philosophy and philology and is nothing less than an objectification, or self-expression, or interpretation and the formation and comprehension of meaning. This area of study is a combination between scientific discipline and a world-view. Semiotics is an enormously broad approach to understanding such matters as meaning, cognition, culture, behavior, even life itself. At the heart of this discipline lies the notion of sign. A sign, according to Charles S. Peirce, widely acknowledged to be one of the seminal thinkers about semiotics, is something which stands to somebody for something in some respect or capacity. It is the study of signs and symbols as elements of communicative behavior and the analysis of systems of communication. These signs take the form of words, images, sounds, acts or objects, but have no genuine meaning and become signs only when we invest them with meaning- nothing is a sign unless it is interpreted and brings about some form of meaning. Understanding semiology assists in the true understanding of ones self, others, and how we view the world around us. Inherently, humans are reactors. Because it is human nature to act, or react toward people, items, and instances on the basis of preconceived meanings that have been assigned, it is beneficial to understand that each sign or symbol will have a different meaning to each individual it is presented to. Because of communication filters and barriers (which can also be signs and symbols) no message is ever received the exact way it is sent. (See Appendix A)  Similarly, every sign encountered can be decoded and interpreted differently depending on preconceived notions, culture and personal experience. A signifier may induce many different interpretations of the signified (See Appendix B and D). This theory of signs and symbolism is divided into branches including pragmatics, semantics, and syntactics. Pragmatics is the branch of semiotics which deals with the causal and other relations between words, expressions, or symbols and their users. It can be an analysis of language in terms of the situational context within which utterances are made, including the knowledge and beliefs of the speaker and the relation between speaker and listener. Semantics is the study of the relationship between words and meanings. The field of semantics has three fundamental concerns: the relations of words to the objects denoted by them, the relations of words to the interpreters of them, and, in symbolic logic, the formal relations of signs to one another semantics is concerned with such issues as meaning and truth, meaning and thought, and the relation between signs and what they mean. Syntactics is the branch of semiotics dealing with the formal properties of language and systems of symbols. Innis proposes that, fundamentally these areas of thought deal with meanings and messages in all their forms and in all their contexts. There are three ways in which the sign can stand for its object: as icon, index or symbol. An icon is a sign that stands for an object by resembling it, not merely visually, but by any means. An icon makes a connection by similitude. Included in this category of sign are obvious examples like pictures, maps and diagrams and some not so obvious ones like algebraic expressions and metaphors. Indexes refer to their objects, not by virtue of any similarity relation, but by an actual causal link between the sign and its object: smoke is an index of fire. The relation between the sign and its object is substantial in that the sign and object have something in common; that is, the object affects the sign. It is physically connected to the object. Symbols refer to their objects by virtue of a law, rule or convention. Words, propositions and texts are obvious examples in that no similarity or causal link is suggested in the relation between, for example,  the word horse and the object to which it refers. In this category especially the potential arbitrary character of signs comes to the foreground. If symbols need bear no similarity or causal link to their object, then the signs can be considered by the sign user in unlimited ways, independent of any physical relationship to the sign user. The convention between recognizing a sign and the meaning which is provoked is affected by perception and experience. What appears to be a complex ideology is really very simple. Semiotics is everywhere, in every part of daily life. Humans recognize patterns of information and organize them to generate meaning. The sign is the signifier, and what speaks to us is the signified. We see a sign, internalize it, and create meaning. The Semantic Triangle, (Appendix E) shows the indirect relationship between symbols and their referents. Some signs are culturally universal and convey similar meaning in individuals (Appendix F). Some signs act as instructions or directions, and guide or restrict behaviors. For instance, if a sign with a cigarette encompassed by a red circle and a bar through the middle is on display in a business it is understood that there is no smoking on the premises. This image has predetermined meaning. Some signs act as reminders. An image in of a young child in a magazine may serve as a sign for an aging mother and the signified may be a sense of sadness as her children have grown and moved on. The perception of meaning and the ability making sense out of the information that is being transmitted by these signs is an essential element of human communication. The study and application of semiotics is the frame work for representing meaning. Reality is encoded with signs and symbols and life is but to decode and find meaning. We seem to be a species driven by a desire to make meaning: above all, we are surely homo-significans meaning-makers within which signs are meaningful units taking the form of words, images, sounds, acts or objects. Such things have no intrinsic meaning and become signs only when we invest them with meaning. And it is this meaning-making which is at the heart of the concerns of semiotics. The fact that humans can consume and interpret signs which are arbitrary and have no tangible existence in their immediate experience is what makes thought possible and is distinctly human. Ideas can be brought to mind and manipulated without being directly experienced. Meanings can be expressed in various ways, through a variety of sign systems: language, music, gesture and by many other vehicles. The meaning that is found within these signs creates the psychological and emotional environment we live in. Signs can also communicate ideological or connotative meaning, and perpetuate the dominant values of society. Aristotle claimed that a thing either is or it isnt. Semiotics is the arbitrator of this existence and because things can be decoded and deciphered differently by each individual, there is much grey area between the is and the isnt. By being aware of the way we use and interpret signs and symbols, and understanding the effects of these things on communication and interaction we are increasing and recognizing cognitive complexity so as to better approximate the halftones of this symbolically mediated real world. The meanings of signs and symbols are mediated by our experience and understanding of the world can never be the same for each person. Thomas Sebeok proposes that semiotics lies at the intersection of nature and culture. It is human nature to see and interpret signs but many of the signs we see are culturally adopted. However, we create our world of meaning by interpreting signs as we interact with objects in our environment and by personal experience. Having an understanding of Semiotics and its branches can help one to better understand their own psyche, as interpreting and finding meaning has much to do with self-disclosure. It also brings an understanding of others into the framework. The concept of semiotics and the ability to comprehend the notions can become a fortunate thing and be advantageous to the ability to communicate interpersonally, connect on a deeper level, and interact with other people and the world around References Barthes, Elements of Semiology (1967); A. A. Berger, Signs in Contemporary Culture: An Introduction to Semiotics (1988). Buchler, J. (Ed.). (1955). Philosophical Writings of Peirce. New York: Dover Innis, R. (Ed.). Semiotics: An Introductory Anthology. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press.1983 Sebeok, T. Contributions to the Doctrine of Signs.Lisse: Peter de Ridder Press.1976. Unknown, Steps towards Evolutionary Semiotics. Semiotica 132, 3/4 (317-342).2000

Immigrant Children and U.S Education Essay Example for Free

Immigrant Children and U.S Education Essay Aware of the free education provided by the United States government to any school age children, immigrants both legal and illegal continue to be attracted to the United States, migrating in an attempt to provide better opportunities for their families and themselves. As the number of illegal immigrants living in the United states continues to rise and the percentage of illegal immigrant households which consist of children also continues to rise, it is important for the American government to examine the effect that these illegal children are having on the United States public education system. How educators and policymakers address the increasing diversification of the population will ultimately determine the stability of communities in the future.In order to produce a more effective public education system for students as a whole, it is important for the government examine the effects of the influx of immigrant students and learn to address the issues in a more productive way.Americans must ask themselves and answer the question, â€Å"How should the government better manage the influx of undocumented immigrant children in the public education system?† In 1982, the supreme court case Plyler v. Doe, ruled â€Å"that public schools were prohibited from denying immigrant students access to a public education. The Court stated that undocumented children have the same right to a free public education as U.S. citizens and permanent residents. Undocumented immigrant students are obligated, as are all other students, to attend school until they reach the age mandated by state law (Olivas).† As an american citizen, it is crucial for our society to realize the effects of allowing illegal immigrants the right to free public education because the effects affect us as individuals and future generations in the american society. It is important for us to see if the benefits of allowing immigrants free education outweighs the strain it puts on our public education system. Researching and answering the question â€Å"How should the government better manage the influx of undocumented immigrant children in the public education system?†, will help americans realize what laws and policies need to be edited, reformed, or added, to greater benefit our society. Answering this question will show us if we need more laws promoting and protecting immigrants rights which would bring in more immigrants or if we should create laws restricting the rights of immigrant children. As immigration continues to increase, and the children of immigrants fill more of the schools, educators will have to recognize and address the social, cultural, political, psychological, and economic complexity that is immigrant education in the twenty-first century. â€Å"Despite several decades of reform, public education in the United States is criticized by some as not teaching all children effectively† (Koehler). Due to poor test results and low graduation rates, many taxpayers criticize public schools and want to see better results. Among many of the issues creating discontent with the public educational system, inequality of opportunity ranks high among citizens. Despite the historical promise of quality education for all children regardless of race, ethnicity, or income, many americans feel that many children do not have equal opportunities to learn and are not likely to attend a quality school. â€Å"Data from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) reports that 63 percent of fourth graders perform at only basic, or below basic, levels in reading. Sixty-nine percent perform at these levels in mathematics. African-American, Hispanic, and Native American fourth graders perform consistently lower than their white coun terparts†(Koehler). These statistics show that over half of the students in the American educational system fail to learn high thinking skills. â€Å"And once again, this bottom half comprises primarily the poor and ethnic minorities†(Koehler). Majority of immigrants live in poverty.†The poverty rate for immigrants and their U.S.-born children (under 18) is two-thirds higher than that of natives and their children, immigrants and their minor children now account for almost one in four persons living in poverty†(Camarota). The high percentage of immigrants that live in poverty causes majority of their children to attend an underachieving school adding to struggles they already face as an immigrant and effecting their educational success.â€Å"The percentage of immigrants without a high school diploma is 30 percent, more than 3.5 times the rate for natives.†(Camarota). with out proper management of immigrant children in the school system, these underachieving schools will take th e blunt force of the student population increase and due to lack of resources and funding the schools have, the schools will continue to strip the students of their equality to opportunity. As the immigration population continues to increase â€Å"immigration has become the determinate factor in population growth. The arrival of 1.5 million immigrants each year, coupled with 750,000 births to immigrant women annually, means that immigration policy is adding over two million people to the U.S. population each year, accounting for at least two-thirds of U.S. population growth†(Camarota), it is important that the government learn how better manage the influx of undocumented immigrant children in the public education system to ensure equality of opportunity to american and immigrant students. As taxpayers, citizens should especially be concerned with the amount of their money that is used to educate immigrants. In January 2011, it was estimated that 11.5 million unauthorized immigrants are currently living in the United States. Of these it is estimated that 1.5 million children attend a public school costing the government an estimated six thousand dollars a year per student. In addition to the six thousands per student the government also pays about $1.5 billion annually to pay the bi-lingual teachers which are necessary to teach and attempt to provide an equal opportunity to immigrant children. All together, the total cost of educating the children of illegal immigrants is around $52,000,000,000. Educating the children of illegal immigrants is by far the single largest cost to American taxpayers. Even though americans are paying large sums of money to educate children of illegal immigrants, â€Å"foreign-born students ages 16-24 had a drop out rate of 29% while students ages 16-24 of foreign born parents had a high school drop out rate of 38.7%†(Illegal immigration statistics). This drop out percentage shows that despite the large amounts of money being spent, the government needs to find a way to better manage the influx of undocumented immigrant children in the public education system. Due to the large number and rising percentage of immigrants in our school system, the immigrants educational success will influence our nations future success. Works Cited Camarota, Steven. Immigrants in the United States: A Snapshot of Americas Foreign-Born. Center for Immigration Studies. Nov. 2002. Web. 03 Apr. 2012. . Website TagsEditDelete Hernandez, Donald J. Demographic Change and the Life of Immigrant Families. Publication. New York: Foundation for Child Development, 2004. Future of Children. Web. . Report TagsEditDelete Illegal Immigration Statistics. Illegal Immigration Statistics. Web. 03 Apr. 2012. . Website TagsEditDelete Immigration Statistics. DHS. Web. 03 Apr. 2012. . Website TagsEditDelete Koehler, Paul, and Joy W. Lewis. Criticism of Public Education. Encyclopedia of Education. 2nd ed. Vol. 5. New York: Macmillan Reference USA, 2002. 1948-952. Print. Encyclopedia Article TagsEditDelete Olivas, Michael A. No Undocumented Child Left Behind: Plyler v. Doe and the Education of Undocumented Schoolchildren. New York: New York UP, 2012. Print. Book TagsEditDelete Schoorman, Diyls. Immigrant Education: Contemporary Issues. Encyclopedia of the Social and Cultural Foundations of Education. Vol. 2. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 2009. 433-35. Print.

Communication and Professional Relationships with Children

Communication and Professional Relationships with Children Hanan Adrime The educational environment is a place that gives us opportunity to make a deep and a vital link with children and young people. This also enables us to communicate and build positive relationships with them. Support staff should bear in mind that there are specific principles, skills, and regulations that are compulsory to provide a productive learning environment for children and young people. So, what are the main principles that the supporting assistant should be knowledgeable of when working in a school setting? The principles of relationship building: Effective communication with its both sides verbal and non-verbal is very important to develop positive relationships with everyone, from inside the school setting and from outside it like parents and careers. It has a good impact on children emotionally, intellectually, and socially as it provides them a harmonious and a happy learning environment. It is hard to build relationships with everyone in the school setting especially when we come across different people with different ideas, morals, and working practices. Therefore using good communication principles helps us easily to build positive relationships. We value children and young people when we respect them and when we communicate with them effectively by listening and making time to them. We should consider their feelings as well by avoiding making assumptions and prejudgements, and try to know what the reasons that push them to behave differently. When we show interest in children as human beings and when we behave with them with a sense of humour makes relationship building with them easy task. There are some social, professional, and cultural factors that affect our communication and relationships with people. Due to that the communication can be either formal or informal depending on the context and situation we are in. A formal communication can occur between a parent and any working staff in the school when discussing the child’s behaviour; it should take place as well when the teacher is discussing any learning information with children. On the other hand the informal one is considered to be an efficient manner to build relationships between teachers themselves and support assistants and also between teachers and their pupils. Informal communication gives more space and freedom for everyone in the school setting to get to know each other deeply. The other factor to be considered is culture. We already mentioned that working in a school setting we may come across different people from different backgrounds and cultures. For that reason, it is mandatory that we mo dify our communication to be adequate for everyone in order to avoid any misunderstandings, because what might be considered as respect in one culture might be considered as disrespect in another one. In addition to these principles, the supporting assistant should adopt some skills and adapt them when communicating and when dealing with disagreements, either with children and young people or with adults. Communication skills: There are different skills that are important when we communicating with children. For example keeping eye contact and adopting the art of silence shows them that their talk is valued by the listener, and it gives them freedom to express themselves and talk freely, especially children who have a low self-esteem. Once the child starts speaking we should pay attention to what they are saying and react appropriately by correcting their language mistakes implicitly. The use of questioning is another skill that proves to children that we are interested in what they are saying. It is an effective skill that enables us to converse with them. In addition to that, we value children more when we use body language; bending down to talk to a child gives him or her feeling of security and equality. Some other aspects like the age of children, the context and communication differences are strong reasons for us to adapt our communication with children and young people. When supporting 3-7 years age group, non-verbal communication is more used such as eye contact, tone of voice, gestures and motivation. Whereas, communication with the age range of 7-12 years is more verbal. Children at this age tend to converse freely with adults as they have more needs and problems to confess .This verbal and non-verbal communication is likely to change though ,according to the context of the situation we are in. For instance, the tone of voice may either be soft or loud depending on the activity being supported. When we adapt communication with children and young people it strongly means that there are differences that must be put into consideration. With children: The tone of voice should be projected appropriately to assure that the instructions are heard and being acted upon. The purpose of communication with children aims more to teach them or ask them to do something and we should show interest, and then listen to them when they are responding to questions being asked. With young people: The tone of voice here should not be projected when it is not required in order to avoid causing any offence. The purpose of communication with young people is different, in terms of passing a lot of information besides what is being taught to them by adopting verbal communication. In general communication with young people takes another sense depending on their level of maturity ,on their interest in the subject being taught and depending on their personality. Besides children and young people, adults as careers and parents also have some communication needs that support staff should be knowledgeable of, precisely when they pass information from school about their children or to explain them things that need to be done. These are some adult’s needs that communication should be adapted to meet them: Literacy: Information should be simplified and clarified as much as possible. Vision impaired: We should show the parents their children’s work closely. Hearing impaired: We should speak slowly and loudly with a clear voice. Speaking English as a second language: The supporting assistant should simplify their English language level and a translator should be provided if required. Communication skills are not only important to build positive relationships but also to deal with disagreements that may lead to break these relationships, and produce us negative relationships instead. Differences in personalities and culture backgrounds are factors that may lead children to disagree easily if they are not brought to accept and respect others. When children disagree, it is preferable to follow these skills: -Keep calm, as low voice makes it easy to discuss the situation. -Encourage both sides to reconcile and communicate. -Ensure no issue is dismissed regardless of how big or small they are. -Encourage both sides to apologise and remind them that they should treat others as they would wish to be treated themselves. Mostly disagreements happen with adults because of lack of communication, dishonesty, and inability to compromise, but if these negative elements are avoided adult’s disagreements might be decreased. When it is inevitable, adults should sort out their conflicts far from children’s earshot and sight especially if any aggressive disagreement is taking place. The support assistant should discuss other’s opinions calmly far from raised voices and assumption making. We should remain polite and professional as we are representing the school policies and principles. Then, consult with other member of staff or the teacher if the disagreement is beyond our position. We should also exercise confidentiality in all disagreements and discussions. When the support assistants comes across complicated disagreements ,they should refer them to teacher or head teacher of the school and it is also advised that they refer to the school grievance and policy. The purpose of practicing these skills wisely and peacefully in disagreements, guaranties a safe and a secure schooling environment for children, and it helps them to develop their positive attitudes towards others. Regulations: Exercising confidentiality in the school setting is a crucial condition that ensures safety for children and young people. All the school staff has access to confidential matters of pupils their families and even the school information. To safeguard this data and information, we should be aware of the main legislations covering and governing this confidentiality. The Data Protection Act 1998 explains us how to exercise confidentiality lawfully, fairly, appropriately, and professionally. The teaching assistant has a duty towards children and young people to reassure them that any information related to them is safe and will not be shared with someone else, as long as this information is not harming the child or anyone else around him. In every rule there is an exception no matter how strict this rule is. Therefore, confidentiality must be breached in cases like these: -Situations disclosed by pupils that would indicate they could come to harm. -Where a child is involved, or could become involved, in criminal activity. -Evidence of an adult being at risk or suffering harm. The teaching assistant should notify the child protection officer as soon as possible. There is another case that necessitates sharing data. For instance, having a child suffering from any dangerous illness. In cases like that the other members of staff should be privy to the whole situation so that attention is paid to the child to ensure his safety at any time. When the teaching assistants raise their knowledge about these principles, skills, and regulations it makes their work with children and young people productive and easier. Effective communication and positive relationships are vital contribution to children’s progress in the school setting.

Peter Gabriel, Van Morrison, and Don Henley :: Musicians Career Biographies Essays

Peter Gabriel, Van Morrison, and Don Henley Peter Gabriel has earned a worldwide reputation for his innovative work as a musician, writer and video maker. When at school, he CO-founded the band Genesis which he left in 1975. His albums, live performances and videos since then have won him a succession of awards. In 1980, he collected together a group of people to found WOMAD (World of Music, Arts & Dance). In a series of international festivals, each year WOMAD brings together traditional and modern music, arts and dance from every corner of the globe. Peter is currently an advisor on the board of WOMAD. Shortly afterwards, Peter established Real World Studios in Wiltshire, designed as an ideal environment for performance. It also became the base for Real World Records, a label which is dedicated to recording and promoting a wide range of artists from all over the world. Peter has released 10 solo albums and in 1986 he won his first Grammy with his seventh album, 'So.' The videos from this project established him as a leader in video production and included 'Sledgehammer' which has won the most music video awards ever, including a No. 1 position in Rolling Stone's top 100 videos of all time. Peter has been involved in a broad spectrum of human rights and environmental issues. His song, 'Biko,' was the first pop song which talked about the effects of apartheid, and in 1988 and 1990 he was involved in the Nelson Mandela concerts at Wembley. In 1988 he also worked with Amnesty International to set up the "Human Rights Now" tour, visiting many countries with Sting, Bruce Springsteen,Tracey Chapman and Youssou N'Dour. Following this, he initiated the "Witness" programme, which was launched in 1992 in conjunction with the Reebok Foundation in the USA. The organization aims to arm human rights activists from around the world with handheld video cameras and other tools of mass communication. To date, they have supplied hundreds of cameras to over fifty countries, and have also set up a biweekly Witness web broadcast via Macintosh's Quicktime Channel. In 1989, he visited the USSR to help launch Greenpeace and also contributed to the 'One World, One Voice' album -- a collaborative project which featured artists from all over the world. In 1989, Peter composed the soundtrack for Martin Scorcese's epic film "The Last Temptation of Christ" which was the basis for one of his most experimental and innovative albums,"Passion.

Pride And Prejudice :: essays research papers

Prejudice The first sentence of the novel, Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austin, foreshadows the end of the book. She writes, "It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a good wife". At first, readers would understand this in one way. However, in the second half of the novel it takes on a whole new meaning. At first this sentence takes on an ironic meaning, because it is commonly understood that it is the woman who is in pursuit of a wealthy gentleman (and not the man pursuing the woman as stated). Austin also seems to prove this understanding of the quotation in the first half of the novel in her use of Mr. Collins and Charlotte Lucas. In the novel, Mr. Collins has established himself by working for Lady Catherine de Bourgh, an extremely wealthy woman. Also, once Mr. Bennet dies, Mr. Collins is due to inherit his entire estate. Therefore, a man who is supported by that amount of money would seem to be quite a catch, to someone with less money. However, after listening to him talk, it is quickly revealed that he is utterly ignorant. On the other hand, Charlotte is his complete opposite. Charlotte is an extremely sensible and intelligent girl, but she has little money. Although Mr. Collins could obviously never satisfy Charlotte as a husband, Charllote agrees to marry him for his money. Hence the original understanding of the quotation at the start of the novel seems to be justified. Mr. Darcy also seems to follow this quotation. He believes that woman would marry him for his wealth and status no matter what. Therefore, when he falls in love with Elizabeth he does not treat her with the preferential treatment with which one would normally treat his beloved. Instead he treated her with the same condescending and proud manner as he would any other person. Afterall, all good wives are in want of a wealthy man. Darcy soon changes his philosophy (and hence one must understand the quotation d ifferently) after Elizabeth refuses his proposal. This incident proves that a woman does not necessarily need to find a rich man to marry. Afterall, this is now the second time that Elizabeth has rejected the proposal of a man with more wealth than she. It is clear that Darcy changes his whole philosophy on the subject after this rejection.

Title IX and the Expansion of Educational Rights for Women :: Exploratory Essays Research Papers

Title IX and the Expansion of Educational Rights for Women Title IX legislation, passed in 1972, expanded the rights of an individual in ed ucational opportunities. It equalized academic prospects for individuals by ensuring that males and females must have equal access to educational possibilities. Title IX is traditionally attributed to the growth of athletic programs for women by demanding that programs for women are given the same amount of money and attention as men's teams. However, Title IX has dealt with a plethora of equality issues in education that have been overshadowed, for the most part, by the legislation's impressive impact on women in sports. Title IX is attributed to have an important effect on the number of women in higher education. Richard W. Riley, former U.S. Secretary of Education, asserted that, "The great untold story of success that resulted from the passage of Title IX is surely the progress that has been achieved in education. In 1971, only 18 percent of all women, compared to 26 percent of all men, had completed four or more years of college. This education gap no longer exists. Women now make up the majority of students in America's colleges and universities in addition to making up the majority of recipients of master's degrees. Indeed, the United States has become a world leader in giving women the opportunity to receive a higher education." (25 Years of Progress, The U.S. Department of Education, p.online). Many universities and colleges did not allow women entrance before the legislation (The Legislative Road to Title IX, The U.S. Department of Education, p. online). Title IX has had a huge positive outc ome on the availability of higher educational opportunities for women by making sure that women are given equal opportunities to men that help them graduate from and achieve academic success past secondary levels of schooling. This has logically resulted in an increased number of women in more specialized and higher paid jobs. Title IX is effectually changing the face of the American workplace by giving women the opportunity to learn, compete, and surpass men. Title IX also increased the opportunity of women to be free from sexual harassment in schools. It made sure that, "A high school student who was alleged ly subjected to sexual harassment and abuse by her coach-teacher could seek monetary damages against a school district under Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972" (Wooster, "Sexual Harassment of Students under Title IX," p.

Poetry essay Essay

?How does Owen Sheers use language, form and structure to explore ideas about separation and division in ‘Winter Swans’? The Poem ‘Winter Swans’ seems to convey a strong theme of natural love. The poem begins with setting a scene of a peaceful day, where nature seems to be stilled after the torrential weather that is referred to in the first line through ‘The clouds had given their all. ’ It goes on to say that there was then a ‘break’, and throughout the poem the poet uses words such as ‘silent’ and ‘rolling’, ‘stilling’ and ‘slow-stepping’ to capture this scene of peace and serenity, as if the world was resting after being thrashed about by a storm. With the idea of a natural love, there comes the confusion and the inartificial knowledge that love is not materialistic, a feeling and something that can not be brought on by force. Through all natural love stories come feelings of hurt and division. A separation that brings the subjects closer and strengthens the emotion. Sheers uses the theme of leaving, and then returning, or rage, and then peace, or the unknown, and then the known to reoccur throughout the poem, eventually strengthening the love, which could be argued as the main emotion of the poem. The poet also uses imagery such as ‘lakes and ‘swans’, to symbolise the peacefulness, and also to symbolise love. You notice words that show the subject is not alone, with ‘we’ and ‘our’. These words and also the motion of the swans, the lake, and the peacefulness are foreshadowing that the poem will take a turning onto love that is more literate. However I don’t think that the poems theme is so much about love in particular, but about a natural love, a natural pull that brings two people together even after hard times. Sheer’s uses Swans as a metaphor of love, the way swans will smoothly dip in and out of the water, and how they are known to curve towards and away from each other as if dancing on ice. They are the perfect example to show the way love will draw away and then come back. He uses vocabulary ranging from ‘silent’ and ‘rolling’ to ‘righting’ and ‘rough’ to show the separation and how quickly the emotions get confused, and how quickly compassion will turn into anger, and vice versa. The poem begins referring to this in the first stanza with weather, as raging storm. And then a ‘break’. The poet then adds on ‘in which we walked’, showing possibly that the subject and whoever they are with also went through a hard time, but are now peaceful along with the nature. In the fourth stanza it describes the swans ‘halving themselves’ in the ‘dark water’, to portray a hard time, but then ‘returning again like boats righting in rough weather’ It then moves onto the poems only piece of speech, â€Å"they mate for life. † Which rounds off the conclusion of the theme of the poem, that although there are hard times, they will always be pulled back together. The poem then shows this also applies for the people, as at the beginning of the poem it describes them as being ‘silent and apart’, but right at the end it shows them holding hands, symbolising how they are together. The poem’s theme is concluded with comparing them to a ‘pair of wings settling after flight’, to show that finally, the emotion has strengthened, and they can settle after the confusion and separation.

Disabilities: Autism and Students Kimberly

There are many disabilities that students have that may impact their lives and education. These disabilities include intellectual disabilities, autism, severe disabilities and multiple disabilities. Although the exact causes of some of these disabilities are unknown, others have been identified. This paper will discuss what these disabilities are, their causes, their impact on student’s education, and curriculum areas necessary for these students. Definitions and Causes Intellectual disability (ID) used to be known as mental retardation.The terminology changed in 2010 when President Obama signed into law, Rosa’s Law (intellectual, 2011). Intellectual disability is defined according to IDEA as significantly sub average general intellectual functioning existing concurrently with deficits in adaptive behavior and manifested during the developmental period (before age 18), that affects a child’s educational performance (intellectual, 2011). The most common causes of intellectual disabilities are; problems during development (chromosomal abnormalities, maternal illness and infections such as rubella and syphilis or drug and alcohol abuse).Genetic conditions can also cause intellectual disabilities because of abnormal genes that are inherited by parents, errors when genes combine or other reasons (intellectual, 2011). Some examples of genetic conditions are Down syndrome, fragile X syndrome and phenylketonuria (PKU) (intellectual, 2011). Problems at birth for instance a lack of oxygen during development, labor or birth can cause intellectual disabilities, just as diseases like whopping cough, measles or meningitis can (intellectual, 2011).There are also health issues like malnutrition, inadequate medical care or exposure to lead and mercury that can cause this disability (Intellectual, 2011). Autism used to be subtyped by one of four different disorders: autistic disorder, childhood disintegrative disorder, pervasive developmental disorder-not ot herwise specified (PDD-NOS) and Asperger (What is, n. d. ). In May of 2013 the new DSM-5, merged all autism disorders into one umbrella diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) (What is, n.d. ).Autism is defined as developmental disability significantly affecting verbal and nonverbal communication and social interaction, generally evident by age three that adversely affects a child’s educational performance (What is, n. d. ). Other characteristics often associated with autism spectrum disorder are: engaging in repetitive activities, stereotyped movements, and resistance to environmental changes or changes in routine and unusual responses to sensory experiences (What is n. d. ).Autism has no one known cause and since it is a complex disorder with varying severity and symptoms, both genetics and environmental factors may play a part (Causes, n. d. ). Gene changes or mutations by themselves may be responsible for a small number of cases, but most cases seem to be caused by a combination of both gene problems and environmental factors (Causes, n. d. ). These factors include advanced parental age (both mother and father), maternal illness during pregnancy, environmental toxins and difficulties during birth (Causes, n.d. ).No reliable study has shown a link between autism spectrum disorder and the MMR vaccine (Causes, n. d. ). Severe disability is any disability that very significantly interferes physically, mentally, or emotionally with a student’s educational performance (McCabe, 2013). Multiple disabilities as defined by IDEA are simultaneous impairments which causes such severe educational needs that they cannot be accommodated in a special education program solely for one of the impairments (IDEAs, 2013).Examples are but not limited to: ID and blindness or ID and a physical impairment. The causes of severe and multiple disabilities are basically the same as the causes listed for the other disabilities covered in this paper: infection or disease s during pregnancy, drug and alcohol abuse during pregnancy, genetic disorders, chromosomal abnormalities, poor brain development, problems during birth, environmental toxins, and diseases such as whopping cough or meningitis (Multiple, 2013).The impact of having an intellectual disability on education varies among these students as do their abilities vary. They may take longer to reach typical milestones like: walking, talking (some may not become verbal), and taking care of personal needs like dressing or eating independently, and it may also take longer learn in school (Multiple, 2013). In the past it was thought that students with severe disabilities could not learn and were put in programs that only provided basic care and safety (Downing & MacFarland, 2010).Research has shown that individuals with severe disabilities can learn given the opportunity to learn, through direct instruction and watching students without disabilities (Downing & MacFarland, 2010). There is a need for highly trained teachers to instruct students with severe disabilities. Studies suggest that these students learn best in general education classrooms and placement should be based on chronological age when appropriate (Downing & MacFarland, 2010).Students with severe disabilities not only need to learn to eat independently, dress themselves, take care of their bathroom needs (as much as possible) and other self-help tasks, they also need to increase communication, social and safety skills, they need to have access to the core curriculum to acquire academic skills in reading, writing and math (Downing & Mac- Farland, 2010). Later like in high school, students with disabilities need transition services to teach them life skills and skills that can be used for employment (Downing & MacFarland, 2010).The local school district states that they follow the policies and regulations of the Virginia Dept. Of Education (VDOE) which states that they follow the policies and regulations of the fe deral mandates like IDEA and NCLB. Local school districts are required to educate and supply services to severely disabled students in the least restrictive setting with non-disabled students where appropriate to the maximum extent possible (VA code 34. CFR 300. 119) (Special, n. d. ).The VDOE mandates that all local school districts develop an IEP for all students with disabilities who need special education services (IEP, n. d. ). Some of what the IEP should contain to ensure that necessary curriculum areas are addressed are: measureable annual goals, benchmarks or short term objectives both in academic areas and functional performance, special education related services, supplementary aids and services including transition services (IEP, n. d. ).Although the VDOE website does not lay out a specific curriculum plan just for students with severe disabilities, it does state that students with disabilities are to have access to the core curriculum just like non-disabled students (IEP , n. d. ). The face of the typical classroom is changing. Since the signing of NCLB, students with severe disabilities are to be educated with non-disabled where appropriate. Educators need to inform themselves as to what severe disabilities are and their causes. Knowing this information will help teachers better serve their students with disabilities.

Absenteeism 2

Absenteeism is a serious workplace problem and an expensive occurrence for both employers and employees seemingly unpredictable in nature. A satisfactory level of attendance by employees at work is necessary to allow the achievement of objectives and targets by a department. Employee Absenteeism is the absence of an employee from work. It is a major problem faced by almost all employers of today. Employees are absent from work and thus the work suffers. Employee’s presence at workplace during the scheduled time is highly essential for the smooth running of the production process in particular and the organization in general. Despite the significance of their presence, employees sometime fail to report at the work place during the scheduled time, which is known as â€Å"Absenteeism†. Labour Bureau, Simla defined the term ‘absenteeism’ as â€Å"the failure of a worker to report for work when he is scheduled to work. † Labour Bureau also states that â€Å"absenteeism is the total man-shifts lost because of absence as a percentage of the total number of man-shifts scheduled to work. According to Webster’s Dictionary, â€Å"Absenteeism is the practice or habit of being an ‘absence’ and an absentee is one who habitually stays away. † Types of Absenteeism: Absenteeism is of four types viz: 1) Authorized Absenteeism, 2) Unauthorized Absenteeism, 3) Willful Absenteeism and 4) caus ed by circumstances beyond one’s control. 1) Authorized Absenteeism: If an employee absent himself from work by taking permission from his superior and applying for leave, such absenteeism is called authorized absenteeism. ) Unauthorized Absenteeism: if an employee absent himself from work without informing or taking permission and without applying for leave, such absenteeism is called unauthorized absenteeism. 3) Willful Absenteeism: If an employee absents himself from duty willfully, such absenteeism is called willful absenteeism. 4) Absenteeism caused by Circumstances beyond One’s Control: If an employee absents himself from duty owing to the circumstances beyond his control like involvement in accidents or sudden sickness, such absenteeism is called absenteeism caused by circumstances beyond one’s control. Features of Absenteeism: Research studies undertaken by different authors reveal the following features of absenteeism: * The rate of absenteeism is the lowest on pay day, it increases considerably on the days following the payment of wages and bonus. * Absenteeism is generally high among workers below 15 years of age and those above 40. The younger employees are not regular and punctual, presumably because of the employment of a large number of newcomers among the younger age groups. While the older people are not able to withstand the strenuous nature of the work. The rate of absenteeism varies from department to department within a unit. As the size of the group increases, the rate of absenteeism goes up. This difference in the rate of absenteeism is believed to be due to the peculiar style and practices of management, the composition of the labor force and the culture of the organization. * The percentage of absenteeism is generally higher in the day shifts * The percentage of ab senteeism is much higher in coal and mining industries than in organized industries. * Absenteeism in India is seasonal in character It is the highest during March-April-May, when a land has to be prepared for monsoon saving, and also in the harvest season, when the rate goes as high as 40 percent Causes Of Absenteeism: The following are the general causes of absenteeism 1) Maladjustment with the Working Conditions: If the working conditions of the company are poor, the workers cannot adjust themselves with the company’s working conditions. Then they prefer to stay away from the company. 2) Social and Religious Ceremonies: Social and religious functions divert the worker’s attention from the work. ) Unsatisfactory Housing conditions at the workplace. 4) Industrial Fatigue: The industrial fatigue compels workers to remain outside the work place. 5) Unhealthy Working Conditions: The poor and intolerable working condition in the factories irritates the workers. Excess hea t, noise, either too much or too low lightening, poor ventilation, dust, smoke etc. cause poor health of the workers. These factors cause the workers to be absent. 6) Poor Welfare Facilities: Though a number of legislation concerning welfare facilities are enacted, many organization fail to provide welfare facilities. This is either due to the poor financial position of the companies or due to the exploitative attitude of the employer. The poor welfare facilities include poor sanitation, washing, bathing, first-aid appliances, ambulance, rest rooms, drinking water, canteen, shelter, creches etc. the dissatisfied workers with these facilities prefer to be away from the work place. 7) Alcoholism: Workers mostly prefer to spend money on the consumption of liquor and enjoyment after getting the wages. Therefore the rate of absenteeism is more during the first week of every month. ) Indebtness: The low level wages and unplanned expenditure of the workers force them to borrow heavily. The research studies indicate that workers borrow more than 10 times of their net pay. Consequently, workers fail to repay the money. Then they try to escape from the place in order to avoid the moneylenders. This leads to absenteeism. 9) Maladjustments with the job demands: The fast changing technology demands higher leve l skills from the workers. Some workers fail to meet these demands due to their low level education and/or absence of training. 0) Unsound Personnel Policies: The improper and unrealistic personnel policies result in employee dissatisfaction. The dissatisfied employee in turn prefers to be away from the work. 11) Inadequate Leave Facilities: The inadequate leave facilities provided by the employer forces him to depend on E. S. I. leave which allows the workers to be away from the work for 56 days in a year on half pay. 12) Low level of Wages: Wages in some organizations are very poor and they are quite inadequate to meet the basic needs of the employees. Therefore, employees go for other employment during their busy season and earn more money. Further, some employees take up part time jobs. Thus the employees resort to moonlighting and absent themselves from work. The Cost to Co. Turnover As most HR managers know, the cost of turnover adds hundreds of thousands of dollars to a company's expenses. While it is difficult to fully calculate the cost of turnover (including hiring costs, training costs, productivity loss), industry experts often quote 25% of the average employee salary as a conservative estimate. For example, if the average salary is $20,000/yr the cost of one employee turnover is $5,000. If you have 30 employees terminating per month, the cost to the organization equals $150,000/month. Mulitiply that by 12 months and you have $1,800,000 in added annual expense. Loss of Company Knowledge When an employee leaves, they take with them valuable knowledge about your company, your customers, current projects and past history (sometimes to competitors). Often much time and money has been spent on the employee in expectation of a future return. When the employee leaves, the investment is not realized. Disruption of Customer Service Customers and clients do business with a company in part because of the people. Relationships are developed that encourage continued patronage of the business. When an employee leaves, the relationships that employee built for the company are severed, which could lead to potential customer loss. Turnover spirals into more turnover When an employee terminates, the effect is felt throughout the organization. Coworkers are often required to pick up the slack. The unspoken negativity often intensifies for the remaining staff.

Personal Philosophy of Man , God and the World Essay

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT First of all, I am grateful to the Almighty God for establishing me to complete this project. I wish to express my sincere thanks to SOTERO H. LAUREL Librarians, for providing me with all the necessary facilities and books that I need to be able to carefully analyze all the topics that have been discuss in philosophy of human existence. I also thank Professor Josefina C. Perez, one of the faculties in College of Arts and Sciences of Lyceum of the Philippines University. I am extremely grateful and indebted to her for her expert, sincere and valuable guidance and encouragement extended to me. I placed on record, my sincere gratitude to my close friends, best friends and college friends for their constant encouragement. I also thank to my parents for their unceasing encouragement and support. Lastly, I thank to Professor Violeta G. Tabin, full time faculty in College of Arts and Sciences of the Lyceum of the Philippines University, for taking this opportunity to comprehensive to understand the subject of Philosophy of Man. I also placed on record, my sense of gratitude to one and all who, directly or indirectly, have lent their helping in hand in this venture. INTRODUCTION My project is all about the Philosophy of Man, God and the world according to Pre – Socratic Philosophers who rejected traditional and mythological explanations that they have a lot of rational explanations that some of them I believed in, Great Pillars of Western thought or Classic Greek Philosophy that focusing on the role of reason and inquiry in explaining man and soul that some of them I contradict to their beliefs, Medieval Philosophers which their philosophy refers to philosophy in Western Europe but this philosophy of era is one of the greatest achievements in philosophical theology, Modern Philosophy that centers on the relation between experience and the reality, the ultimate origin of knowledge, the nature of the mind and it’s relation to the body, the implications of the new natural sciences for free will and God and find out some of this philosophers are more believes in science and this Modern Philosophy will discuss my belief in God, Man and the world on existentialism, utilitarianism and communism, lastly the Eastern Philosophers who’s belief generally does not focus on a single, indivisible, all – powerful God, I also write my philosophy of God which the eastern philosophers was almost absent from some of their beliefs to God like in Buddhism and Confucianism and the Hinduism that they said God is Brahman from them but they have almost 3 Gods. My belief in the world, man and God shall be presented in different views which I have more discuses and written on the next page.

Jose Rizal Essay

Republic Act No. 1425, known as the Rizal Law, mandates all educational institutions in the Philippines to offer courses about Josà © Rizal. The full name of the law is An Act to Include in the Curricula of All Public and Private Schools, Colleges and Universities Courses On the Life, Works and Writings of Jose Rizal, Particularly His Novels Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo, Authorizing the Printing and Distribution Thereof, and for Other Purposes. The measure was strongly opposed by the Roman Catholic Church in the Philippines due to the anti-clerical themes in Noli Me Tà ¡ngere and El Filibusterismo. RIZAL AS A HERO According to Renato Constantino, when the American government conquered the island of the Philippines from the Spanish government in 1896, the American government established a commonwealth government after the Spanish revolutionary government ceased to govern the country. At this time of the Philippine history, Filipinos under the commonwealth government started to frame up Filipino national identities. When the question on who would be the national hero arose, whether Rizal or Bonifacio, the American government â€Å"guided† the Filipino people to choose Rizal. The American rationale was based on Rizal’s peaceful propaganda and diplomatic approaches in attaining Philippine freedom and independence, unlike Bonifacio who chose a bloody revolution. Whether this assessment is accurate or not, Dr. Rizal has been considered a hero of the Philippines from the outset: a public holiday was declared honouring Dr. Rizal in 1898, whereas that for Bonifacio was not declared until 1921. Dr. Rizal was considered to be his inspiration by Bonifacio himself. Even without the assistance of US propaganda, Rizal would have been honoured as a hero in the Philippines. Perhaps the effect of the propaganda was less to boost Rizal and more to denigrate Bonifacio. THE RIZAL LAW AND NATIONALISM Much has been said and written about Dr. Jose P. Rizal, the man whose life we are honoring today. He was dubbed as our national hero, rightly so, as his life and even his morose death has inspired and continues to inspire  generation after generations of Filipinos. In a time where being born a Filipino in the Philippines was a disadvantage, he lived to prove this wrong and in his works that led to his death, he immortalized the true spirit of the Filipino people – the spirit of resilience, of valor, of greatness. His works and philosophies not only sparked a revolution, they were revolutionary. He was even himself a revolution in every sense of the word. Conrado de Quiros, in one of his columns, best described Rizal’s existence as he wrote and I quote, â€Å"Rizal’s greatest act of subversion was not something that he said or did. It was what he was. They probably would have executed him anyway even if he had not written savage satires of the friars and their brethren in government. His very existence was seditious. He was brilliant. That was the most seditious thing of all.† Jose Rizal lived in a time where those who fronted themselves as leaders and evangelizers led by reducing the ruled to nothingness, making them a horde of lazy, uneducated fools who owed the Spaniards a favor for ruling them; and evangelized by feeding them blind faith as they made the Indios believe that they were a bunch of sheep who would be lost without them. Then, suddenly, Rizal emerges from the institutions of Europe, where he turned himself into an arsenal of knowledge, bettering most of them and brimming with the desire to free his people from the brainwashing and the oppression. By virtue of his erudite and the burning passion for his bereaved motherland, he was despised. During those times, Rizal was not the Rizal we know today. Rizal was a traitor, Rizal was a filibuster, Rizal was a heathen, Rizal was even a philanderer, a womanizer, and everything that was no good. Worst of all, he was an excommunicado. In 1956, two world wars and decades after Rizal’s death and the dichotomy between state and church has been pronounced by Law, the Third Congress of the young Republic of the Philippines passed into Law Republic Act No. 1425, â€Å"An Act to include in the curricula of all public and private schools, colleges and universities courses on the life of Rizal, particularly his novels Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo, authorizing the printing and distribution thereof, and for other purposes.† It was called the Rizal Law and it was crafted so that the youth may know Jose Rizal so as to not forget who he was and what he did for our country and during the process of knowing Rizal in the formative and decisive years of a student in school, that they be re-dedicated to the ideals of freedom and   nationalism to which our Rizal and the rest of our heroes fought and died for. The Rizal Law My dear friends, this afternoon, I was given the task of lecturing to this august body how the Rizal Law came to be. Given that this is a historic piece of legislation, I hope its significance to our history will be enough to hold your attention until the end of the lecture. Ladies and gentlemen, please do not fall asleep because that would be very un-nationalistic and unRizal-like. The Rizal Law was principally authored by the Senator Jose P. Laurel and if I may add, not to be boastful but to express how proud I am of his legacy, that my grandfather, the late Senator Lorenzo Taà ±ada, co-authored and defended the Rizal Law in the halls of Senate with Senator Laurel. Senator Laurel was known to have read Rizal’s work extensively and he saw Rizal as our foremost hero and he believed that the only way of knowing him as a national hero was to read his works and to find out what he had done for us all, stating matter-of-factly, that there was simply no other way. For the senators who first proposed and defended the bill, one of the ways of honoring Rizal was to accord him recognition as the symbol of unity, and of our nationalistic sentiment as a people, as he himself showed us. When the Rizal Law was first drafted on April 3, 1956 as Senate Bill No. 438 entitled, â€Å"An act to make the Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo compulsory reading matter in all public and private colleges and universities for other purposes,† Senator Laurel, then the chairman of the Senate Committee on Education did not expect to encounter any opposition to the bill. However, mainly because of the fact that despite the established secularization between church and state, the influence of the Catholic Church casted a dark shadow on the proceedings on the passage of the bill, highlighting four major issues that forced the principal author to make serious amendments on the original bill – (a) the compulsory nature of the bill, (b) religion, (c) the de finition of â€Å"basic texts† and â€Å"required readings,† and lastly, (d) the power of the National Board of Education. Compulsory Nature of the Act In the original bill drafted, reading of the unexpurgated versions of the Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo was compulsory among students. This  was the bone of controversy to some of the Senators, the press, and the Catholic Church. The substitute bill sponsored by Senator Laurel corrected this by ordering that the compulsory aspect of reading the unexpurgated versions be applicable only to those in the collegiate level but the two books must be present in the libraries of all schools. Senator Laurel maintained throughout the entire debate that there is no compulsion or compulsory reading of the Noli and Fili in their original and unexpurgated form in schools and institutions below college level. Courses on the life, works and writings of Rizal, however, should be included in the curricula for schools, colleges and universities. He strongly believed that students in the tertiary level should be compelled to read the unexpurgated versions, and that Rizal’s two greatest works should not be disfigured or expurgated, because he believed that by disfiguring them, we disfigure Rizal. Religion The compulsory aspect of the bill was considered scandalous because of one thing, Religion. The Catholic Church has always had its way of making its influence known in matters of legislation. In the mid-1950’s, many Catholic Schools still banned their libraries from having copies of the Noli and Fili because of their subversive nature. Section 4 of the Rizal Law states in part that, â€Å"Nothing in this Act shall be construed as amending or repealing Sec. 927 of the Administrative Code, prohibiting the discussion of religious doctrines by public school teachers and other person engaged in any public school.† It is prohibited by law to discuss any problems affecting dogma and religious creed. In one of the interpellations, the late Senator Roseller T. Lim argued that â€Å"the possibility that in some respects we might divide our people, religious doctrines that might be brought up in the Noli Me Tangere or El Filibusterismo may not be touched upon or discussed.† To this statement, Senator Taà ±ada, asked â€Å"are teachers both in public and private schools not precluded from explaining even matters of religion contained in these two novels?† Senator Laurel defends the bill by stating, â€Å"when you use the novels of Rizal and a question was asked by a pupil and the teacher explains, he is supposed to explain in his own way in accordance to his beliefs, but he is not supposed to engage in religious discussion in favor of any religious sect or domination because there is separation between the Church and the State.† He furthers that, â€Å"if there is some question raised  to the teachers, the teachers must explain.† A scenario was raised by another Senator to deepen the discussion, â€Å"what if a professor is Catholic in a public school or an Aglipayan in a private school and the chapter where Pilosopong Tasyo and Purgatory comes up and a student asks whether or not purgatory exists?† If you remember in Chapter 14 of Noli, Pilosopong Tasyo, the man who was considered a lunatic for knowing too much from books by the Indios who knew nothing, boldly explains how he did not believe in purgatory and goes on about how it is just an imagined construct for Christians to live a good life. Of course, that chapter was a stab to the church so it was highly controversial during those times, apparently it was seen as controversial even until 1956. Senator Laurel answered that, â€Å"if you give freedom to the other teacher denying purgatory or defending purgatory, whatever may be his opinion, you have to grant that to the rest of the teachers. We cannot prohibit in one case what we grant in other cases.† The point of it was that if a student asks, the teacher must explain. The Catholic Church even issued a statement backed by the Archbishop then saying that the reading of the unexpurgated versions of the two novels would be contrary to the precepts of the religion of the church. The problem the senators had to face was the fact that students would be placed in a situation where on the one hand, he or she would like to follow the civil authorities to read the two novels, while on the other hand, he or she has the statement from his church that to read these books would be against the tenets of Catholicism. To these arguments, the senators behind the Rizal Law made it clear that those pronouncements which are lofty, patriotic, nationalistic, instructive, and of great educational value are the principles that should be disseminated and propagated and taught to the Filipino youth. Senator Laurel, being well-versed on the works of Rizal defends the hero by arguing that it was not Rizal’s intention to directly attack the church, but only those individuals who have prostituted and oppressed the Filipinos in the name of the Catholic religion. It was never Rizal’s purpose to impair and destroy the sacred institution of the Roman Catholic Church, he simply wanted to expose the rascals, the criminals, the oppressive elements of the religious institutions then in vogue. At the end of the discussion, Senator Laurel boldly states that the students had to make the decision of whether or not to read the two novels for themselves.  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Basic Texts† vs. â€Å"Required Readingà ¢â‚¬  Another issue was based on the technical aspects of the substitute bill. Section 1 of the Rizal Law states in part that, â€Å"in the collegiate courses, the original or unexpurgated editions of the Noli Me Tangere and the El Filibusterismo or their English translation shall be used as basic texts.† Some of the senators found difficulty in understanding the broadness of the term, â€Å"basic text,† so a good number of time was spent on this issue. Senator Laurel, being the principal author of the bill and Chairman of the Senate Committee on Education, was asked for a technical definition but was adamant about giving one arguing that this task should be relegated to the Board of National Education, which was composed of technical experts on the field of education. Senator Taà ±ada’s thoughts enlightened everyone on the matter arguing that basic text means something that is required because that is the plain meaning. When a text is basic, it is so considered because of its importance. If there is a basic subject that is required for the obtaining of a degree or the finishing of a course, that means that you cannot graduate unless you have successfully passed the subject because that subject is a requirement, and, therefore, a basic subject which if a student has not finished will not permit him to terminate his course or to graduate. Because of the difficulties the senators faced in the compulsory aspect of the bill, the concept of â€Å"required reading materials† was presented as an alternative. Some senators suggested that instead of being used as basic texts, why not just include the Noli and Fili in the list of required readings along with other books containing the same ideals of patriotism and nationalism so that students would have the choice of reading other required books if they find the Noli and Fili offensive to their respective religions. Senator Laurel would later yield to t his suggestion as a compromise to the detractions of the Catholic Church and the senators belonging to her. Power of the Board of National Education In order to settle some of the contentious issues found in the bill, the senators agreed to one solution – to authorize the Board of National Education to carry out the responsibilities of (a) writing and printing appropriate primers, readers and textbooks for the lower years, (b)  promulgate rules and regulations, including those of a disciplinary nature, to carry out and enforce the provisions of the bill, and (c) promulgate rules and regulations for the exemption of students for reasons of religious beliefs. This authorization was given based on logic that the Board of National Education, which was composed of technical experts on the field of education, will carry out the said responsibilities in the manner that will best insure the objectives of the law and in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution. This would also save the senators from the detractors on and against the side of the Catholic Church, the BNE would be the target of these hecklers later on. The final Rizal Law underwent several changes, but the 23 senators who voted Yes to the compromise bill on that faithful day of May 17, 1956, considered it as a step forward because of how it reasserted the power of the State to control and regulate the education of the people, while at the same time, it also conserved and preserved the liberty of conscience by leaving the option to the parties concerned that is, to the students themselves. Despite of the compromise that was drawn wherein students were no longer compelled to read the unexpurgated versions of the Noli and Fili, the fact that the courses on the life, works and writings of Jose Rizal were to be included in the curricula of all schools, colleges and universities, private or public, remained. And this has been in effect since then. The Rizal Law is the reason why we all know and remember Jose Rizal, who he was and what he stood for. It is why we know Crisostomo Ibarra, Elias, Maria Clara, Padre Damaso, and Pilosopong Tasyo. It is why we know Simoun, Isagani, Basilio, Kabesang Tales, Tandang Selo, Ben-zayb and Placido Penitente. My dear friends, as I threw out all those names, I was hoping for only one thing†¦that you can still recall who and what those names stood for. That you can still remember, and as you reminisce, that your memory of those characters awaken the emotions – the hurt, the anguish, the sense of betrayal from the oppressors, and the sense of patriotism, of wanting to fight for those who were oppressed, the love for our countrymen, and the love for our country – all these emotions that Rizal awakened within us when we were just students learning of Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo. If you are feeling these emotions right now, then I can truly say that Rizal’s legacy and the legacy of the Rizal Law lives on with us today. If not, I beg of you to read the Noli and Fili once again for they  have much to tell us and for they have much more to teach us. You may be surprised that the characters in Noli and Fili are very much alive and have taken different names in present day Philippine society. Ladies and gentlemen, the stories of the Noli and Fili, including Rizal’s struggle to publish them, tells us of resilience – that even the worst of times may not be a hurdle in the quest for excellence. Clearly, the late senators had their fair share of resilience in fighting for the passage of the Rizal Law despite the unpopular image it gave them. Not to drive a nail on the wall, but I think the enactment of the Rizal Bill into law was their way of exercising their patriotism. It was a testament of their living up to Rizal’s ideals and they have been quite successful in teaching Rizal to every Filipino. It was the same sense of nationalism and patriotism from Rizal’s teachings, I believe, that encouraged the 12 Senators 35 years later on September 16, 1991, to reject the continued presence of US Military Bases in our country. But most of all, my dear friends, the Noli and Fili tells us of heroism and nationalism. As Conrado de Quiros once again puts it, â€Å"striving becomes all the more luminous when done in the service of one’s own people, one’s own country.† Rizal believed that Filipinos are capable of far greater things and he and others like him were living proof of this, which is why he immortalized the true spirit of the Filipino people in his two great novels. Jose Rizal may remain unrivaled in his brilliance but he never meant to intimidate, he served to show us, to remind us, of who and what we are and of who a nd what we can become. In Rizal’s writings, our culture of resistance to oppressors was perpetuated. This is why we are a nation that resists when we are subjected to the brink. We are not afraid to dissent, to oppose, to fight. From the legacy that Rizal and our great heroes left us, let us ask ourselves, â€Å"What have we done to live up to this?† Today, we have been unfortunate to have lost the best and the brightest to other countries, our fields are being devoured by floods, our waters continue to be polluted by oil spills and our fishing grounds are running empty, our public schools are festering with termites while teachers sell longganiza to the students to augment their delayed salaries, businesses find no mercy in terminating long-time employees to save money, churches find it better to be chauvinistic than to address the poverty that overpopulation has progenized, where factories see neighborhoods as waste  disposal areas, and most of all, where those in power find it routine to squander the money of the people. We know what the cancer of our society is, it is still the same cancer that plagued Rizal’s time. The only difference is that ours has spread. The question now remains, have we, in any way, contributed to the cure? Or are we part of those who let the tumors fester? In Rizal’s work, The Indolence of the Filipinos, Rizal himself said: â€Å"Peoples and governments are correlated and complementary; a fatuous government would be an anomaly among a righteous people, just as a corrupt people cannot exist under just rulers and wise laws.† In other words, progress and prosperity can only be achieved only by a responsible citizenry. No number of measures for reforms and betterment would be enough if the people themselves tolerate abuses, are indifferent to rising issues, and are timid and apathetic to the ills besetting our country. When we are fully conscious of our duties and obligations to our people and country, when nationalism becomes a way of life, triumphant and influencing our daily life, then we can truly say that we have followed the teachings and examples of Rizal. Only then, can we hold our heads high, knowing that we have re-oriented our ways to the dreams and goals that Rizal had envisioned for us. Nationalism today places before us a grand challenge, a great responsibility. More than ever, in our national existence, we need Rizal to enlighten us, to be a symbol of our onward struggle for the realization of our ambition as a nation, unfettered not only politically, but culturally and economically. With nationalism — as demonstrated by Rizal — as our weapon and means, we will triumph.