Of Plymouth Plantation Essay

â€Å"Of Plymouth Plantation† is a manuscript of Bradford’s history starting in 1620. The first book was copied into the church records and preserved, but unfortunately the second part was presumably lost. The manuscripts were found in the residence of the Bishop of London and were published together for the first time in 1856. There seems to be immeasurable history in these books. William Bradford, the author of â€Å"Of Plymouth Plantation† gives a narrative of the voyage to Cape Cod. In the beginning of chapter 9, Bradford starts with a story of a young sailor whom had cursed and slighted the pilgrims for their weakness and constant sickness. However, that same sailor died from an unstated disease, giving the pilgrims peace as they no longer had persecution from any sailor. Bradford also mentions that young John Howland had fallen into the sea. Howland was under the water for a long time and as he held on to a topsail halyard, a rope that hangs overboard, he was pulled down to a deep level while the ship moved at a steady pace. After he was rescued Howland was sick for a long time, but survived in spite of his experience. As the Pilgrims finally reach Cape Code, Bradford explains the problems of the voyage which were part of the reason they had not made it all the way to Jamestown. The Pilgrims were elated to see land however they were also troubled because they had arrived during winter. Not only were land  conditions poor for farming at this time, but the ground was also hard. The few provisions they brought had been mostly for the journey, and not necessarily for the winter. Yet, due to the condition of the ship, the general consensus was to stay at Cape Cod. The Pilgrims arrived at Cape Cod aboard the Mayflower on November 11th, 1620. When they arrived, sixteen men, lead by Miles Standish, went on an exploration hoping to find a nearby river. In the process, they stumbled upon a small group of natives. However, the natives ran away when they caught sight of the Pilgrims. The Pilgrims followed the natives and consequently came across a former village where they took some of the provisions that were left there. They also came upon two more dwellings where they found some seeds, which they were thankful for. On December 6th, the Pilgrims set out in a shallop to explore further. As they were approaching land, they spotted a group of ten to twelve natives. The day was coming to an end, so the Pilgrims set up a barricade in case of attack. The next morning they set out to find the natives. They came upon the group of natives and saw that they were cleaning a fish. As the sun set, the Pilgrims set up another barricade for protection. As they were going to sleep they could hear wolves in the night, and they fired off their muskets to scare the wolves away. At day break, the Pilgrims found themselves under attack by the natives, which caused them to retreat from the area. However, the winter weather had gotten bad, and they had to spend some time on an island before heading back to the ship. On Monday, they were able to return to the ship. The party subsequently anchored in Plymouth where they began to build the colony’s first house. When reading these two chapters of Bradford’s manuscript, one would begin to appreciate the value of history. America’s possession of the first accounts, from Bradford’s perspective, of the Mayflower’s voyage to Plymouth is invaluable. In _American Historical Review_ David Read said, â€Å"William Bradford’s Of Plymouth Plantation could easily be categorized as yet another largely unread, dry-as-toast document from the days before things got really interesting in this country (p512).† Any reader would realize the piece of history which makes this logic absurd, nevertheless understanding that it is dry and very difficult to read. Bradford seems to ramble on about significant details; however this is a manuscript and not a professionally written book. One of the best-known sections of Bradford’s manuscript is chapter nine, which details the arrival to Cape Cod. The Pilgrims are struck by what they perceive as a desolate wilderness, utterly hostile and without comforts. Bradford emphasizes the tribulation they endured in sailing to this new land, and in his writings, Bradford wants the reader to understand that things did not get any better. Continuing in chapter ten, readers can see Indians being more problematic and viewed as a hostile force of nature to be reckoned with, ready to destroy the Pilgrims. In conclusion, the point of these chapters in â€Å"Of Plymouth Plantation† is to emphasize the struggles, hardships, and privations suffered by the Pilgrims in an attempt to show that they had been chosen for success by divine Providence. As David Partenheimer said in _Explicator_, â€Å"In any case, it is a remarkable moment in American literature when the New World is typologically conceptualized as the Promised Land for a chosen people despite a landscape of hell (p121).† Works Cited Bradford, William. â€Å"Of Plymouth Plantation.† _The Norton Anthology of American Literature_. 7th ed. Vol. A. Ed. Nina Baym. New York: W. W. Norton, 2007. 105-120. Print. Partenheimer, David. â€Å"Bradford’s Of Plymouth Plantation: 1620-1647.† _Explicator_ 56.3 (1998): 121. _Academic Search Elite_. Web. 17 Oct. 2014 Read, David. â€Å"William Bradford’s Books: Of Plymouth Plantation And The Printed Word (Book).† _American Historical Review_ 109.2 (2004): 512-513. _Academic Search Elite_. Web. 17 Oct. 2014.

Whitman’s I Sing the Body Electric

Was it doubted that those who corrupt their own bodies conceal themselves;† Whitman's use of an interrogative tone here shows that he believes any corruption of the body is to cover up a deeper issue. Eating disorders are about deeper issues, not actually having much to do with food or weight; those things are merely a distraction from the issues buried under disordered behaviors. Other types of corruption during Whitman's time might have been premarital sex leading to pregnancy, sexual encounters with the same sex, and alcoholism. All of these are ways to have a â€Å"voice† without actually speaking.I believe that Whitman recognized using the body as an instrument of communication was a popular technique utilized by many, including himself. Whitman had a long term affair with a man, and to some he thus corrupted his body. As shown by the letters during a presentation in class, he concealed this relationship to anyone who inquired about his sexuality. The following line s speak just as strongly as the first. In my treatment center we learned that without proper care of the body, all other parts of one's being cease to exist entirely.Indeed â€Å"if the body [is] not the soul, what is the soul? † is a question I asked myself in many forms, many times. The body is the temple in which the soul, chakras, mind, intelligence, emotions, and lifeblood reside. No soul is unattached to the body. I believe that as a writer Whitman connected with his soul on a different level through his words. I have felt this connection myself when writing poetry regarding my eating disorder. Whitman's ability to write allowed him to see his body as neither male nor female , thus allowing him to see what the body is truly capable of.The body is simply a vessel that moves, breathes, eats, and sleeps. However, in Whitman's words, the body is the soul; it is something that can be corrupted or worshiped. â€Å"All things please the soul, but [the contact and odor of men and women] please the soul well. † The treatment ot a body as neither male nor temale is what is g tor the soul, according to Whitman. A body is not worthy of treating well because it has the anatomy of a male or the anatomy of a female; if the body is the soul, as Whitman says, then the body is deserving of being treated well, period.The treatment of the ody is something that is holistic, not Just a matter of treating the body with food or treating the soul with meditation. My recovery is not Just about eating the proper amount of fruits, vegetables, starches, proteins, and fats. It is also about doing what is good for my soul, and that is what Whitman means by that line. Any corruption of the body, whether it malnourishment, sexual exploitation, or anything else capable of corrupting the vessel itself, must be cured holistically. Overall, Whitman makes a claim about the body that is indeed pertinent to the present.The body is â€Å"electric† in all that it contains. T he body is more than Just skin and bone. In the words of Whitman, â€Å"O I these are not the parts and poems of the body only, but of the soul,] O I say now these are the soul! † He concludes with his notion that the body is the soul. I believe that I agree wholeheartedly with that sentiment; without acknowledging my soul, the recovery of my body would have never been possible to discontinue corrupting my body, thus discontinuing concealing myself. Recognizing my soul as intertwined with the body helped me have the most holistic recovery possible.

Edward R. Murrow †The Father of Broadcast Journalism Essay

The movie ‘Good Night and Good Luck’ portrays the early 1950s when America experienced the threat of communism that created fear amongst Americans. There were even some who took advantage of such situations such as Senator Joseph McCarthy of Wisconsin. But there was one person who knew of his scheme and did everything to expose his deception amongst the people, this was Edward Murrow. This film showed his and his producer’s pursuit to expose the truth. The bravery and determination of Edward Murrow to reveal the truth by the use of media made him known as the father of broadcast journalism. The bravery of Edward Murrow to deliver only the truth to his viewers was one of the reasons why he was well known during the 1950s. This movie showed how far Murrow would go just to reveal the truth. He did not consider the danger that would come with his plan to expose the public deception of Senator McCarthy. Being a journalist and a democrat, he had in him the drive to let the public know the truth no matter what (â€Å"MURROW, EDWARD R.  U. S. Broadcast Journalist†). Because of this dedication, people saw him as a person who upholds public service at its best; until now, he is known for his bravery in exposing the truth. The pursuit of Edward Murrow to expose the truth about the public deception of Senator McCarthy showed his determination to reveal the truth and save his fellow Americans. Murrow made use of his resources to uncover the truth behind the communism threat to America imposed primarily by Senator McCarthy. When chaos was dominating the society, Murrow knew that he had to do something to bring back the peace among the people. He served as the voice of the people, exposing information after information of the truth behind the â€Å"red scare† that started chaos all over America (Jeff, n. d. ). Edward Murrow not only served as a journalist who wanted to reveal the truth, but most importantly he served as a hero for the Americans in their time of crisis. He did not think of the danger that he would encounter in his pursuit to expose the truth. He believed that the people deserve to know the truth and, him being a journalist, he knows that it is his job to deliver the truth to the public. Because of his bravery and dedication to his work, he was acknowledged by journalists as a person to look up to and an epitome of â€Å"journalistic excellence† (â€Å"MURROW, EDWARD R. U. S. Broadcast Journalist†). These and many more are the reasons why Edward Murrow is regarded as the father of broadcast journalism.

Assignment, explore the topic of family Assignment

, explore the topic of family - Assignment Example It is astonishing to see how the two are divided along political lines. It goes to the extent of putting up posters of their respective political parties in sections of the house and his father sticking stickers on his car. Moreover, the daughter does not like guns, as opposed to his father who is obsessed with them. She is so deep into art and calm, while his father is stubborn and single minded. In another occasion, after her father was scolded by her mother for shooting at crows, he claimed shooting is a pastime like apple pie and baseball. This statement means that he could use his gun whenever, however, and whenever he felt like. In addition, the author’s sister has so much in common with his father as she loves guns too. Later on, she realizes she shares some similarities with her father as she comes to terms with his father’s love for artillery. She even wants to go and see his father’s manufactured cannon being launched. She finds out his father is artistic and creative (Vowell, 2001). Though they seemed different at first, they were similar in many

Early child education Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Early child education - Essay Example The nature of the statement we get from those around us will affect our attitude in dealing certain matter. In my third grade, I gave a wrong answer to a simple mathematics question in class. Our teacher called me the most stupid student embarrassing me in the classroom. I felt that I will never be good in mathematics for the rest of my life and did not feel like attending his classes anymore. Besides, I never participated in the class after the incident due to fear of embarrassment again. The negative statement affected my grades since I had an attitude that every question in mathematics was hard. Most teachers fail to consider the impact of their words or action to students (Grotewell and Yanus 17). In situations when I faced my relative or friend due to anger or frustrations, I wanted get their understanding and comfort. The understanding would show that they care how I feel and may be able to help if possible. Confiding in them may be necessary because they can provide support to help in solving the problem causing frustration or anger. If they say, â€Å"use your word,† means they do not want to understand my situation and do not care about my feelings and what is happening. The phrase will make the situation worse by causing more anger and frustration. The problem mainly arises due to lack of support and comfort from the person I trusted with my feelings. Confiding to the same person in future may be hard due to the frustration of the previous experience. The attitude towards the person handling how I feel will be negative that I will not be able to trust them in the same situation. When getting to the unwelcoming environment, the people tend to show facial expression to you such as frowning and raising the upper lip and nose to show disgust in your presences. Some of them will also smirk as you approach. The tone of their voices also changes to low tones as they communicate between one another and others have sarcastic tones to

Strategic Direction of Tesco Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Strategic Direction of Tesco - Case Study Example We have a track record of providing value for customers, creating jobs and training, providing opportunities for suppliers and regenerating deprived areas. [The Tesco Group had turnover of 33,974 million ($59,454 million) with pre-tax profits of 2,029 million ($3,551 million) in the year to February 2005. We have 2,467 stores, employing over 370,000 people in the 13 countries in which we operate. In Europe, outside the UK, we operate in Ireland, Hungary, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia and Turkey where we have 305 stores and over 61,000 employees.] For the first 50 years, Tesco worked hard to establish the brand and build up a strong UK business, by ensuring that everything we did was driven by a never-ending ambition to improve our customers' shopping trips.] http://www.tescocorporate.com/annualreview07/01_tescostory/tescostory5.html "No one tries harder for customers," and "Treat people how we like to be treated," are the core values of Tesco and its approach to Corporate Responsibility. Sir Terry Leahy says that they believe they can achieve most when they work together on practical things that make a difference. Tesco helps customers and fairly treat colleagues with trust and respect. Tesco delivers cheaper and better products, and provide more choice for the people and community. We continue to make long-term price reductions throughout our businesses. As life has become busier and more complex, and living costs more expensive, Tesco has helped make shopping simpler, more convenient and affordable to customers. During 2006/07 we have: (http://www.tescocorporate.com/page.aspxpointerid=22492B1EE56448CDB88FAD501D742BCB) [launched our Fruit and Veg Pledge - that we would offer at least

Literacy Information Influences Leadership Essay

Literacy Information Influences Leadership - Essay Example Do students ever check the accuracy of information they gather from dictionary.com, or about.com etc? Students simply search websites for information, with no sincere or serious thoughts about its accuracy, usefulness and applicability in their life. Information literacy is not just searching for information and finding them from easier sources, but applying them for professional or educational purposes. Information literacy greatly influences peoples’ scholarship, practice and leadership in any profession. A scholar is one who has knowledge and ability to apply it for a specific purpose. It’s widely believed that websites and e-libraries provide more convenient ways to researchers to access wide range of information, but they are very less likely to be information literate. This is a reason why information becomes obsolete very sooner in today’s; contexts. Information literacy is to be promoted at various educational levels in order to make learners and others i nformation competent. As Turusheva (2009, p. 127) pointed out, information competence occurs when a person is skillful in determining the size of necessary information, using information effectively, evaluating the information and its sources critically, developing own knowledge base, using the information for goal’s achievements and using the information ethically. These criteria aren’t generally found in today’s university learners and researchers and therefore they are less likely to be information literate. As and when they are not information literate, their processional leadership and educational scholarship can never be positively influenced. Turusheva’s (2009, p. 127) study concluded... This essay stresses that information literacy is to be promoted at various educational levels in order to make learners and others information competent. As Turusheva pointed out, information competence occurs when a person is skillful in determining the size of necessary information, using information effectively, evaluating the information and its sources critically, developing own knowledge base, using the information for goal’s achievements and using the information ethically. These criteria aren’t generally found in today’s university learners and researchers and therefore they are less likely to be information literate. As and when they are not information literate, their processional leadership and educational scholarship can never be positively influenced. Information, knowledge and intellectual capital are most valuable and powerful assets. These make people scholars or leaders to be fit for certain workplaces. In order to achieve this goal, information literacy needs to be effectively promoted at educational levels. There are many different suggestions on how to increase the efficiencies of today’s information literacy. This paper makes a conclusion that finding information has never been easier than today, but information never has become obsolete as quickly as it happens today. Universities and other educators require information literacy today more than ever before. This piece of research paper attempted to explain information literacy and how it influences scholarship in education and leadership in professions.

Compare the views on education and or work in two of the following Essay

Compare the views on education and or work in two of the following narratives from classic american autobiographies - Essay Example From the autobiographies written by themselves, the life of Twain and Franklin presents a great picture of success strategies to the major readers of the said pieces of written work. To understand how these primary elements of successful living have been presented through the said reading pieces, the following discussion shall show the different aspects of comparison that both writings hold a great understanding of both education and work aspect utilized to attain life's success. In the writing of Mark Twain, he naturally uses his childhood history as a primary narration as to how his dreams and aspirations in life primarily began. In Mississippi, life has offered him a great deal of beginning the steps towards his dreams of becoming the best kind of person that he aims to be. To compare, Franklin's autobiography on the other hand, he notes that to fulfill his dreams of getting thee best opportunity to be known in the field of publishing, he needed to live his hometown to begin his journey towards success. On this particular aspect of presentation, the said individuals showed that the society has a great contribution to whatever a person turns out to be.

Barriers to communication Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Barriers to communication - Essay Example Nurses fail to listen properly due to many reasons. Firstly, nurses have to keep up with the demand of their job all the time - which involves running from one bed to another, and taking care of many patients with individual and unique requirements within short notice. As a consequence, studies point out, that nurses fail to "listen" carefully to their patients owing to lack of time - they prefer hearing them out for a formality. Secondly, nurses are afflicted with a disease called "predisposition". Their prejudice on many vital areas causes them to ignore individual and unique patient needs, which automatically leads to a communication breakdown. Lack of patience among patience arises because of their lack of participation in a conversation, where they have to primarily play the role of a listener. This leads to irritability and loss of patience. "In each interaction, it was the STAFF who controlled the time, place, participants, structure, purpose, topics and language, as well as the form and style of discourse. There were few opportunities for patients to influence the agenda."1(Cass, Alan, et al.: Sharing true stories: improving communication between aboriginal patients and healthcare workers, 2002.) The difference in the gender of patients and nurses leads to many awkward and natural difficulties in communication, and magnifies in cases

Construction resources Essay Example for Free

Construction resources Essay Construction resources make use of physics in many of their products. Two that I have picked are solar collectors and their use of insutation. Insulators have the purpose of preventing conduction, convection and radiation to unwanted areas. There are a wide range of techniques and materials used in doing this and I am going to look in depth at this idea. The company uses solar collectors in many different ways, their main purpose is to collect solar energy and heat energy. They can be used to heat and power many different appliances. Photovoltaic cells: Photovoltaic cells transfer the energy carried by the electromagnetic waves that make up sunlight directly to an electrical circuit in order to make a current flow. Light excites electrons to move from one layer to another through semi conductive silicon materials. Only a fraction of a volt is produced so a large array is needed to produce appreciable currents, usually about 20W to 100W. The Photovoltaic cells produce DC current so if alternate current AC is desired then an inverter is required. AC form is commonly available from the mains. Solar cells: Sunlight may also be used to heat water directly. This can be done in two ways, water can be circulated through pipes which run through the back of the solar cells, producing water at around 60oC suitable for household use. The other method is to focus sunlight from a large are to a small spot using an array of mirrors, this can produce temperatures of up to 4000oC and its quite feasible to produce power stations from this, however it has not been implemented yet. Here is on way in which the hot water can be used, this is quite economical and environmentally friendly. Solar panels are quite versatile and can be put on many roofs of simply in the garden, which makes them popular when it comes to heating swimming pools of hot water for showers. Any material that is a poor conductor of heat and electricity can be used as an insulator. Thermal insulating materials reduce the flow of heat between hot and cold regions. Thermal insulation may have to fulfill one or more of three functions: to reduce thermal conduction in the material, in which heat is transferred by electrons; to reduce thermal convection currents, which can be set up in air- or liquid-filled spaces; and to reduce radiation heat transfer, in which thermal energy is transported by electromagnetic waves. These are three ways in which heat energy can be transferred. Conduction, where heat energy is transferred through solid materials, metals are normally the best conductors. There are a number of factors that affect thermal conductivity. Increasing the area of the cross-section of the solid through which hear flows increases the rate of flow, however increasing the thickness of the wall decreases the flow of heat. Provided that a steady state has been reached (where the temperature of any point is not changing through time) then the rate of flow of heat ? Q/? t is given by: ?Q/? t A ? T/? x Besides the physical dimensions of the materials, another factor affecting rate of flow is the properties of the material, the Thermal Conductivity of the materials ? through which the heat energy is travelling is the constant of proportionality in this relationship, so:?Q/? t = -? A ? T/? x The units for thermal conductivity are watts per metre per kelvin. The Quantity ? Q/? t is called the temperature gradient. On my visit to Construction resources I noticed that they have used these Physical conclusions in there insulation. One in particular is Homatherm a wall and roof insulator. The slabs are thick which means less flow of heat, and have a thermal conductivity is only 0. 04 W/mK. Conduction in terms of particles: The particles in metals and non-metals are arranged differently, which gives them their different characteristics. In a non-metal the particles have forces between them that can be described like springs. When heat is delivered to the solid the oscillations of the particles being heated will increase in amplitude. For heat to be conducted the neighboring particles must also receive the extra energy, as particles oscillations increase in frequency the neighboring particles also gradually increase in frequency as heat is transferred to them. This is a very slow process. In a metal the arrangement is different, metallic boding occurs between metal atoms where a sea of delocalized electrons hold the positive metal ions together in a lattice. It is these free electrons that are responsible for the high conductivity character of metals. When a metal is heated the metals ions vibrate with an increase frequency. When an electron hits these ions with extra energy, they receive this extra energy and move faster. This electron can then travel to another parts of the lattice, to an ion that hasnt received any of this heat energy and collide with it, transferring its energy to this ion. Now that ion has extra energy and vibrates with a greater frequency. This process is a lot faster as there are many electrons in a metal lattice. U-Values: Architects and heating engineers use U-Values to calculate the flow of heat energy through building materials. The U-Values is quoted for a given thickness of a particular material, and is based on actual measurements made using the material. The U-Value is defined as: U-value = Rate of energy flow Area X Temperature difference Construction resources uses this knowledge of U-Values when designing building materials to reduce the energy wasted in the form of heat going out of the build and to achieve the ultimate goal of reducing CO2 emissions. But there are obvious limitations with reducing thermal conductivity, you can only reduce it to a certain amount, 0. 025 in air, so there will always be heat loss. Also too much insulation in the house will lead to what construction resources refers to as internal pollution. This has lead to construction resources researching in trying to lower the energy that is used to build and transport he construction materials. Bibliography: Microsoft Encarta Heinemann Advanced Science Salters Horners AS Advanced Physics Strengths and Limitations of Photovoltaic cells: Since one photovoltaic cell only produces a small fraction of a volt, large arrays are required to produce appreciable voltages. This requires a lot of space and the cells need to be in a place where no shadows will be cast on them. This limits what they can be used for. Also the amount of power produced by the photovoltaic cells directly depends on the amount of sunlight, so they cannot be relied on to produce power for something that constantly needs it. The only way this can be overcome is if some power was stored for a rainy day. But this again would take up space. Also an array of solar collector will be expensive and have a long pay back time. However it is environmentally friendly and after the pay back time, savings can be made. Also photovoltaic cells can be made look attractive depending on where they are placed. Strengths and Limitations of solar cells: The solar cells have similar limitations to the photovoltaic cells in regards to positioning and cost but a small array is only required to produce enough hot water for something like residential showers or central heating. This is economical and environmentally friendly and solar cells are quite versatile.

Effect of Income Inequality on Economic Development

Effect of Income Inequality on Economic Development Income Inequality and Financial Crises: The 2007-2008 financial crises has been considered as amongst the worst the world has faced. This is since the great depression of the year 1930s ((Shiller, 7). This crisis was characterized by the collapse of large financial institutions, a downward fall in stock markets, bailout of banks by government, and the laying off of workers by business organizations. There are a variety of reasons given as to why the 2008 financial crisis emerged. MacEwan and Miller argue that it was an increase of income inequality that led to the emergence of the financial crisis (MacEwan and John, 5). On the other hand, others believe that it is the failure of the banking mortgage system that led to the emergence of the financial crisis (Paulet, 22). This paper examines the reasons as to why McEwan and Miller link economic instability, to income inequality. It further examines their proposal on how to solve this problem. Furthermore, this paper gives an explanation on the reasons for the emergence of the 2008 economic crises. There is a varying argument on the effects of income inequality on the growth of the economies of rich and developed countries. One of the major arguments is that income inequality was the major reason for the emergence of the 2008 global economic crisis. This is an argument that McEwan and Miller believe in (MacEwan and John, 5). Proponents argue that there are three major ways in which income inequality has the capability of destroying the economic system of a state. The first argument is that due to income inequality, there is a sharp increase in the debt ratio to income ratio amongst middle and low income households. This ratio increases because of their bid to maintain their consumption level, while they fall behind in relation to income or revenue that they are able to acquire. For example, a growing demand for loans and mortgages was as a result of a rise in the costs of college and homes. There was also a relaxed standard for lending, and it was easy to acquire mortgages. The failure by these low income earners to pay these mortgages and loans led to the beginning of the financial crisis, and the collapse of major financial institutions such as Citigroup and Lehman Brothers (Paulet, 17). The second argument is that the creation and development of a large pool of idle wealth leads to an increase in the demands of investment assets, fueling financial innovation and increasing the size of the financial sector. This is dangerous for the economy, because it may lead to speculative buying of financial assets. It is this speculative buying of financial assets that contributed to the collapse of financial institutions such as Lehman brothers during the 2008 crisis (Schiek, 39). It is important to denote that the collapse of the Lehman brothers was the beginning of the financial crisis, and it was followed by the collapse of several financial institutions and business organization such as General Motors. To protect the economy, the American government had to bail out companies such as General Motors, Citigroup, Bank of America, etc (Shiller, 22). The third argument is that income inequality leads to the emergence of a disproportionate political power. The major intention of the development of this political power is to protect the financial interests of the elite, or the wealthy members of the society. This would lead to the enactment of policies that have a negative impact on the stability of an economic system within the state (Schiek, 52). For example, setters of accounting standards, and federal government regulators were able to allow banking organizations such as Citigroup to move large number of liabilities and assets from the balance sheet, to a complex legal structure referred to as structured investment vehicles. This strategy helped to mask the financial weaknesses of the banking organization to the share holders and investors. The regulation of financial institutions in America is always influenced by powerful and wealthy companies and people (Schiek, 13). This is because they normally finance the political activi ties of candidates who would advance their agendas. In as much as McEwan and Miller believe that income inequality led to the emergence of the 2008 economic crisis, there are other reasons that led to the this crisis (MacEwan and John,15). One of the reasons given is the growth of the housing market in America. This demand led to speculative buying, leading to an increase in the prices of houses. People took mortgages, which did not have good security. However, in 2008, there was a correction in the housing prices, leading to a downward fall of the housing prices (Schiek, 57). Most Americans were unable to pay their mortgages, and this made banking and financial institutions to suffer massive losses because they were unable to recover their loans. This in turn led to the collapse of these financial institutions, affecting the economies that were heavily dependent on the American economy. Furthermore, it is the federal government that made it easy for people to acquire loans. This is because they initiated low interest rate, by lowering the federal fund rate target to 1.0%, from a figure of 6.5% (Shiller, 41). This made experts to denote that it was the easy availability of credit that led to a demand of houses, hence f uelling their increase. It is therefore prudent to denote that there is a need of restructuring the American economic system and regulatory institutions for purposes of protecting the economy from future crises. In fact, the government of President Obama realized on the need of regulating American financial institutions, and in 2008, and 2009, he initiated a series of measures aimed at meeting this objective (Shiller, 29). For example, President Obama introduced the Volcker rule, which was aimed at limiting the ability of banking organizations to engage in proprietary trading (Shiller, 19). The European Union also realized the need of regulating financial institutions and came up with the Basel III rule, which raised the capital of starting a banking business in Europe, and placing a limit on the banking rates of the European banks. In conclusion, the statement by MacEwan and Miller that income inequality contributes to a slowdown in economic development has some truth in it. For instance, due to income inequality, the poor and the middle class were engaged in borrowing from banks, for purposes of buying properties leading to a sharp increase in property prices. This was a factor that contributed to the emergence of the 2008 crises, and it is always referred to as the subprime crises. In a bid to protect the financial interests of big financial companies, the federal government agencies did not effectively regulate their financial activities. This allowed them to manipulate their financial records, hiding their weaknesses to shareholders and investors. It is therefore prudent to denote that McEwan and Miller are right when they assert that income inequalities was the main factor leading to the 2008 crisis, and there is a need of restructuring the economy, and improving the ability of the federal regulatory insti tutions. Works Cited: MacEwan, Arthur, and John A. Miller. Economic collapse, economic change: getting to the roots  of the crisis. Armonk, N.Y.: M.E. Sharpe, 2011. Print. Paulet, Elisabeth. The subprime crisis and its impact on financial and managerial environments  an unequal repercussion at European level. Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Pub., 2012. Print.   Schiek, Dagmar. The EU economic and social model in the global crisis: interdisciplinary  perspectives. Farnham (Surrey): Ashgate, 2013. Print. Shiller, Robert J. Subprime solution how todays global financial crisis happened, and what to do  about it.. Princeton: Princeton Univ Press, 2012. Print.

Impact of Technological Advancement on Agricultural Industry

Impact of Technological Advancement on Agricultural Industry THE IMPACT OF TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCEMENT ON THE AGRICULTURAL  INDUSTRY IN GHANA AND AFRICA INTRODUCTION 1. Technological advancement in agriculture has brought massive economic and social benefits to the world at large. Current trends also provide some assurance that the necessary growth in food production can be achieved with continued application of modern technology, a fact acknowledged by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the United Nations (UN) (FAO, 2009). According to Motes, 2010, individuals in the United States use less than ten per cent of their income on food while many developing African countries including Ghana spend about half of their income on food. This is because of low agricultural productivity with its associated high cost of food items, a fact blamed on traditional system of farming. 2. Traditional farmers use conservative farming processes. The technology and management systems involved are often characterized by lack of access to, or reluctance to use new information about production, management, public or commercial assistance. On the contrary, in modern agricultural systems, farmers apply technology and information to control most components of the system (Motes, 2010). Much success of modern systems depends on the development and maintenance of soil fertility through the specific provision of nutrients when they are depleted; machine power and technology to create soil conditions necessary to promote plant growth with minimal disturbance and soil loss (Motes, 2010). 3. An important modern agricultural technology that has gained prominence and much attention is biotechnology. Biotechnology is a technology based on genetic engineering or modification of crops. It allows the routine development of genetically modified (GM) plants in which Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA) from any source can be transferred to specific crops (James, 2001). 4. There are divergent views on biotechnology as a sustainable technology for improved agricultural production. In recent times, concerns have been raised in Ghana about the benefits and/or potential risk of biotechnology and GM food to society. The purpose of this paper is to examine the benefits and risks/adverse effects of biotechnology and GM food to Ghana. This paper will limit its scope to the benefits, potential risks, and policy framework for the implementation of biotechnology and then make some recommendations. AIM 5. This paper seeks to examine the potential impact of biotechnology in the agricultural sector in Ghana and Africa with the view to making recommendations. BENEFITS OF BIOTECHNOLOGY AND GENETICALLY MODIFIED FOOD 6. Biotechnology combines cellular and bio molecular practices to develop technologies and products that aid improve the lives and vigour of our globe. Biological processes of microorganisms have been in use for over 6,000 years to create suitable food products, such as bread and cheese (www.bio.org). It offers opportunities to accelerate the efficiency and extent of further crop improvement by the transfer of genes conferring resistance to pests, diseases, herbicides and environmental stress, as well as quality traits such as improved post-harvest storage, flavour, nutritional content and colour (James, 2001). 7. Biotechnology, varying in scope, scale and practice in many developing countries, is full of entrepreneurial opportunities for the technological progress of the developing world. Its role in the economic transformation of Africa is well noted in academic and public dialogue (FAO 2001). Contemporary agriculture using biotechnology gives massive monetary benefits to consumers by improving living standards as food prices drop. Additionally, it increases incomes because it allows better purchasing power for other consumer goods, education, health care, etc. It is globally known that the growth of modern food system has been vital to the improvement of living standard in today’s world (Motes, 2010). 8. The use of biotechnology to modify the nutritional make-up of crops shows promise as a means for reducing malnutrition in developing countries including Ghana. While currently in research stages, modifications such as these could significantly improve the diets of hundreds of millions of people who live primarily on mono crops (PEW 2004). Also, biotechnology uses numerous processes and skills to change comparatively large, unpreserved and uneatable raw ingredients into more valuable shelf-stable and edible nourishments. This contributes to food security by minimizing losses in the food chain whiles increasing food quality, safety, availability and marketability (PEW 2004). 9. Biotechnology, if effec ­tively harnessed can fundamentally improve farming practice by dropping post-harvest loss whiles increasing crop resistance to drought. The application of tissue culture in the production of bananas for instance, has improved harvests for some farmers in parts of Kenya (Mbote, 2002). In order to reap the benefits of biotechnology, collective political commitment and will from all stakeholders at state and regional level is required to generate adequate funding, institutional reforms to efficiently and effectively promote biotechnology in Africa. 10. Biotech yields have contributed to meaningful reduction in the release of greenhouse gas emissions from agricultural practices. Some biotech crops allow farmers to reduce pesticide use. Others allow farmers to leave crop residue on the land from one planting season to the next, providing a reduction or even elimination of the need to tilt the soil. The ability to leave crop residue from one year to the next also provides a natural â€Å"trap† for CO2 (Brookes et al, 2006). African leaders must build internal capability in science, technology and innovation so as to be able to determine the sustainability of practices associated with biotechnology. 11. Despite the potential benefits of this new technology in improving the reliability and quality of the world food supply, public and scientific concerns have been raised about the environmental and food safety of GM crops. Thus, the successive paragraphs will examine the concerns raised by the public in developing countries including Ghana. POTENTIAL RISKS OF BIOTECHNOLOGY AND GENETICALLY MODIFIED FOODS 12. Biotechnology and GM food are associated with certain risks or concerns. These include food safety, environmental risks, high cost of production and adverse effects on food exports. These are examined in the ensuing paragraphs. 13. Environmental Concerns. The use of biotechnology as a modern method of production has adverse effects on the environment. The technology results in ecological pollution through the accidental gene transmission to weeds, formation of fresh viruses and toxins (Brookes et al, 2006). 14. Food Safety. According to Codex Aliment Arius Commission, 2009, food safety is a technical discipline that delivers guarantee that food will not be harmful to the customer when cooked or eaten according to its intended use. Biotechnology and GM food brings about change in nutritional class of foods, possible toxicity and potential allergy issues, and therefore do not guarantee food security (Uzogara, 2000). 15. High Cost of Production. The cost of production of genetically modified plants and animals are high and need a lot of initial investment. To get back the money that was invested into these productions, governments have introduced the idea of patents. In addition, the seeds harvested are sterile, compelling farmers to always get their supply of seeds from the corporate suppliers (ShaliniBalan 2011). As such growers in emerging nations requiring such seeds have to buy fresh seeds annually from the corporate suppliers owned by the developed nations (Whitman, 2000). The cost involved in such transactions cannot be overemphasised. African leaders must therefore put in place measures to ensure financial sustainability of research and extension services into food items that can be owned locally. 16. Effect on Food Exports. A viable risk of genetically modified organisms (GMO’s) in emerging nations is the likely loss of export opportunities. These might be because some countries protect their marketplace from GMO’s and would not import GM foods. This would lead to an aggravation of the income gap between the rich and poor (ATTRA, 2006). In addition, GM monoculture crops like maize are being harvested for export and not primarily for local consumption. This may result in over dependency on Western companies and affect the life of traditional farmers. Absence of social security system, low harvests may also affect local farmers. The present provision for GMOs therefore endangers local crops and biodiversity (Kaphengst et al, 2013). POLLICY FRAMEWORK FOR IMPLIMENTATION 17. The President of Ghana adopted the Ghana Biosafety Act, 2011 (Act 831) in December 2011 after the passage of the Biosafety Bill by Parliament on 21 June 2011. The Act establishes the National Biosafety Authority (NBA) as the managerial figure that will see to the employment of all issues related to Biotechnology in Ghana. Crops approved by the NBA for confined trials include cowpea, high protein sweet potato, rice and cotton. However, cotton has been approved for field tests in Ghana. Ghana’s biosafety Act is deemed user friendly as it does not comprise any labelling requirements for GM food products or strict liability provisions. The Act creates an enabling environment for the development and commercialization of biotech seeds and crops (Ashitey, 2013). 18. In addition to regulations at the national level, professionals in AU countries have come together with initiatives aimed at guiding or advising biotechnology regulations at the regional-level. These initiatives can be divided into two categories. The first category comprises a basket of initiatives set up by or through networks of scientific researchers and research-based organizations such as national agricultural research centres. Initiatives from the first category are led by and often carry the imprint of the research community. These initiatives include the Association for Strengthening Agricultural Research in Eastern Central Africa (ASARECA). The second category comprises initiatives from regional intergovernmental organizations such as the AU itself, the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC), the Economic Community for West African States (ECOWAS), and the East African Community (EAC). Initiatives of this category tend to have input from researchers, but also invo lve other communities of stakeholders such as citizen groups, industry and policymakers, with scientific civil servants often playing an coordinating role. At the AU level, for example, member countries have accepted what is called the African Model Law on Safety in Biotechnology. This constitutes a guiding framework for regulating biotechnology with a view to protecting Africa’s biodiversity, environment and health (Juma et al, 2007). CONCLUSION 19. Globally, technology has played a big role in developing the agricultural industry. With this technology, plants have been engineered to survive in drought conditions. Through genetic engineering, scientists have managed to introduce traits into existing genes with a goal of making crops resistant to droughts and pests as well as quality traits such as improved post-harvest storage, flavour, nutritional content and colour (para 6). 20. Biotechnology, varying in scope, scale and practice in many developing countries, is full of entrepreneurial opportunities for the technological progress of the developing world. Modern agriculture brings enormous economic and social benefits to consumers by improving quality of life and living standards as food costs decline (Para 7). 21. The use of biotechnology to modify the nutritional make-up of crops shows promise as a means of reducing malnutrition in developing countries. The cluster of techniques that comprise biotechnology can, if effec ­tively harnessed and applied, radically transform farming systems by reducing post-harvest loss and increasing crop resistance to drought. In order to reap the benefits of biotechnology, collective Political commitment and will from all stakeholders at state and regional level is required to generate adequate funding, institutional reforms to efficiently and effectively promote biotechnology in Africa (Para 8 and 9). 22. Despite the potential benefits of biotechnology to improve the reliability and quality of the world food supply, public and scientific concerns have been raised about the technology. These include food safety, environmental risks, high cost of production and adverse effects on food exports. African leaders must build internal capability in science, technology and innovation so as to be able to determine the sustainability of practices associated by biotechnology. Additionally, African leaders must therefore put in place measures to ensure financial sustainability of research and extension services into food items that can be owned locally (Para 10 and 12). 23. The President of the Republic of Ghana signed the Ghana Biosafety Act, 2011 (Act 831) in December 2011 following the passage of the Biosafety Bill by the Ghanaian Parliament, in June 21, 2011. The Act establishes the National Biosafety Authority (NBA) as the administrative body that will manage the implementation of all issues related to Biotechnology in Ghana. In addition to regulations at the national level, professionals in AU countries have come together in different forums and initiatives with the aim of guiding or advising biotechnology regulations at the regional-level (Para 17 and 18). 24. Conclusively, it clear from the above discussion that biotechnology has a potential positive impact on the agricultural industry in Ghana and Africa as a whole and should therefore be adopted for improved agricultural productivity. RECOMMENDATIONS 24. The following recommendations are made: a. There is the need for collective political commitment and will from all stakeholders at state and regional level to generate adequate funding, institutional reforms to efficiently and effectively promote biotechnology in Africa (pa(Brookes et al, 2006)ra 21). b. African leaders must build internal capability in science, technology and innovation to enable them determine the sustainability of practices associated with biotechnology (Para 22). c. African countries must ensure financial sustainability of research and extension services in biotechnology related activities (Para 22). NB ADOMBIRE-AKOLOGO Captain Student 1 RESTRICTED

Enigma Outline :: essays research papers

Enigma Outline I. Flash back A. The main character Jericho is staying in Cambridge at the college. B. Jericho has a flash back. C. The flash back is of when he was talking to Atwood. D. March 12, his office comes and gets him. II. Shark A. Jericho goes back to Bletchley to work on the enigma. B. He is taken there by Logie. C. He is taken back to his old hut. D. Jericho looks at the codes called shark. E. Jericho can’t break the code. F. Jericho sees Clair, the reason he left. F. Jericho tries to hit Skinner after a meeting, but this just makes skinner mad. III. The Old House Gives Clue A. Jericho flashes back to the first time he met Clair on the train. B. He has another flash back. C. Jericho goes to her old house to look for her. D. Jericho searches Claire's room, where he finds stolen cryptograms. IV. Solution A. Jericho has another flashback of when Clair leaves him. B. Jericho runs into Hester while he is looking for Clair. C. Tom figures out that if the navy ships give up there position the U-boats can send code. Then he can solve the code by putting it into the decoding machine. V. Major Heaviside A. Hester and Tom meet again to discuss the codes. B. They go to see Major Heaviside, so they can get more of the codes. VI. Cracked Code A. Tom gets the opportunity to start to solve their code when the U-boats attack the convoy. B. At the end of the night, they put the codes in the bombes so they can decipher them. C. Tom uses the information that Hester gave him earlier to figure them out. D. When decoded they say that over 3000 Polish soldiers were killed in a Soviet Camp. E. Tom asks puck about this but he chases him off. F. As they run off the train they are both shot down by Wigram's officers.

THE WOMENS REVOLUTION :: essays research papers

From the American Revolution to the Civil War there were several developments that molded the lives of American women. There were cults formed that supported domesticity. The women of the south, both black and white were very similar to those of the north. The women had gotten roles that they had never faced before. When the men left for war the women took control of many things including, the farms, the businesses, etc. Just because men went to war that did not mean that the women did not go as well. In many cases the women joined their male relation in the Patriot camps. With many tasks to be completed while the men were gone women were just trying to become free and have rights of their own. Whether they were successful or not was something that they did not want to think about.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The lives of women were being completely controlled by the men all around them. The women were tired of it and just wanted this to end. The social roles between both the men and women were changing. They still had the typical rights in both politics and within the family. In 1837 women were now accepted into colleges and universities. The first schools that allowed this to begin were Oberlin which was located in Ohio; and Mt. Holyoke which was located in Massachusetts. Mt Holyoke was an all women school, where as Oberlin was both men and women. Around this time changes took place in the middle-class families. The normal role of the woman of the house was to contribute economically, but now they were to strictly stay home and take on a number of domestic activities. This meant they were to keep the house looking perfect, clean, relaxing, etc. Women that worked outside of their homes were looked at as low-class. They worked in factories and mills, but had much more horrible circumstances.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The women of the south had taken on roles that were very like the roles that the middle-class women of the north possessed. They too were at home wives. They served as their husband’s attendant and looked after the children. Along with being similar to the north, they were also very different. The women had significant importance to the men; the men played a defense role for the women. Many white women in the south lived on a farm and had little or no contact with the â€Å"public world†.

Privatization vs Public Sector

What is privatization? It is the process of transferring ownership of a  business, enterprise, agency, public service or public property from the  public sector  (a government) to the  private sector, either to a business that operates for a profit or to a  non-profit organization. The term can also mean government outsourcing  of services or functions to private firms, What is public sector undertaking? In India, public sector undertaking (PSU) is a term used for a government-owned corporation (company in the public sector). From my point of view, privatization is going to be a remedy for the financial ailments of our public sector undertaking.Let’s discuss some factors about these two types of organizations. 1. Performance. Public sector undertaking tends to be  bureaucratic. A political government may only be motivated to improve a function when its poor performance becomes politically sensitive. 2. Increased efficiency. Private companies and firms have a grea ter incentive to produce more  goods and services  for the sake of reaching  customer satisfaction  and hence increasing profits. A public organization would not be as productive due to the lack of financing allocated by the entire government's budget that must consider other areas of the economy. . Specialization. A private  business  has the ability to focus all relevant human and financial resources onto specific functions. A public sector undertaking does not have the necessary resources to  specialize  its goods and services as a result of the general products provided to the greatest number of people in the  population. 4. Corruption. A public sector undertaking is prone to  corruption; decisions are made primarily for political reasons, personal gain of the decision-maker, rather than economic ones.Corruption in a public sector undertaking affects the ongoing asset stream and company performance, whereas any corruption that may occur during the privatizati on process is a one-time event and does not affect ongoing cash flow or performance of the company. 5. Accountability. Managers of privately owned companies are accountable to their owners/shareholders and to the consumer, and can only exist and thrive where needs are met. Managers of publicly owned companies are required to be more accountable to the broader community and to political â€Å"stakeholders†.This can reduce their ability to directly and specifically serve the needs of their customers, and can bias investment decisions away from otherwise profitable areas. 6. Goals. A political government tends to run an industry or company for  political  goals rather than  economic  ones. 7. Capital. Privately held companies can sometimes more easily raise investment capital in the financial markets. public sector undertaking industries have to compete with demands from other government departments and special interests. 8. Lack of market discipline.Poorly managed publi c sector undertaking companies are insulated from the same discipline as private companies, which could go bankrupt, have their management removed, or be taken over by competitors. Publicly owned enterprises in competitive environments would not perform better than privately owned companies in the same circumstances in terms of profitability, Privatization reduces the net transfer to public sector undertaking from government as unnecessary subsidies. These transfers become positive if the government actually starts collecting taxes from privatized firms. Thank you.

Australian Drama

Australian playwrights use a variety of styles, techniques and conventions to present images on the stage that provoke and challenge their audiences. Discuss with reference to your study and experience of the plays you have studied. The Australian playwrights studied this year have used a variety of styles, techniques and conventions, presenting Images which provoke and challenge audiences. The Removals by David Williamson and No Sugar by Jack Davis, despite the different contexts, are concerned with power and status and the conflict which is created by intonating cultural and social values.While Davis' No Sugar is set in Western Australia in the ass's and focuses on the discrimination and racism experienced by Aboriginals, The Removals deals with Police corruption in the us. Despite these different contexts, both plays manipulate a range of style, techniques and conventions to create images which effectively challenge and provoke their audiences. Both plays combine a range of styles , techniques and conventions to create Images which provoke and challenge the audience but the most significant dramatic quinine Is the deliberate and careful use of contrast In the spoken language.The dialogue in No Sugar provokes the audience right from the first scene with the starting mixture of â€Å"lingo's', â€Å"Garrulously Nosegays corroboree to a wet]la's brass band! † Here the audience is presented with an incongruous image of Aboriginals trying to do the impossible – adjust and assimilate harmoniously to the traditional music of the controlling culture. From the humorous slang of Jimmy, â€Å"Oh Jesus, me bloody leg† to the formal, platitude – style speech of Manville, â€Å"in this small ornery of the Empire† (4. ) the audience is challenged by the evident differentiation of status, education and privilege. White language is formal and sanitized. Black language Is comic, creative, angry and despairing, the humor challenging the audie nce to Identify sympathetically with the gutsy and resilient characters. Contrasting social and cultural values are heard throughout the play, the playwright deliberately highlighting the black conditions with white.Similarly, the open stage settings and parallel scenes juxtaposed throughout, serve to emphasis the contrasting situations. For example, (focus on three important scenes as evidence – looking at how the different elements create images for the audience) In a completely different context, David Williamson The Removals highlights the characters' weaknesses and vulnerabilities which reveal themselves as the tension escalates and the increasing corruption materialists, through the contrasting and unmistakable individual voices.Simmons Interrogates rather than communicating, using an apparently polite but deliberately terse and crude style, â€Å"l hope you're not a young smart Ares Ross. Ross in contrast parrots clichà ©Ã‚ ©s, â€Å"got to be trained for all eventu alities,† and the Removal's repetitive, â€Å"Vie got 5000 dollars worth of machinery ticking over in the driveway', provoking the audience to reconsider the about the reliability and integrity of the Police force, the willingness of a tradesman to become involved in a crisis are challenged.Events are presented rapidly and intensified through the form of the two single acts, the police station and the flat; the playwright building on a essentially realistic style with elements of Greek Theatre, the lenience taking place offstage, thus allowing the audience to rely on their imaginations to create their own images of power and corruption out of control, challenging them to reconsider their ideas and assumption .Both plays essentially rely on Realism to engage, provoke and challenge the audience while creating convincing and effective images. Although No Sugar has conventionally been staged using a Promenade form, experiments and discussions in class. (identify a staging ideas à ¢â‚¬â€œ perhaps transformational acting/ projection/ voice over – think about how well this would work as a radio play) The Removals traditionally is performed on a stage which â€Å"breaks the fourth wall† in naturalistic style, relying on realistic and recognizable Australian stereotypes.

Resume

Developing departmental staff assessments, policy papers, directives, management policies, standards, and procedures involving the NRC protective force programs, protection program planning and Site and Security Plans. Conduct evaluations and inspections to ensure that Department facilities comply with established security standards and to determine the needs for adjustments or upgrades to the level of uniformed protection provided Conduct security inspections and security analyses of facilities involved in special program security test and evaluation programs. Identifies the necessary changes regarding policy, procedures, training and standards from inspections, surveys, and audits of the site.Results: Responsible for the training and instruction with established guidelines, standards in support of the nationally developed training programs regulated by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Serving as one of Facility Security Officers in support of the security education, safeguard and administering self-inspections in support of the NRC Serving as one of the Security Technical Representative on Installation Access Control Systems I ark closely with contractors and other security professionals for security clearance and access within a regulated nuclear facility. Accountable for the continues evaluation of all the protective measures and procedures governed by both the NRC and Industry. I review and evaluate all access control systems and security systems.Work with security senior management, in making recommendations on the modifications and improvements in order to enhance physical security and increase the efficiency with in the nuclear facility. Control multi-disciplinary security training program and provide and train on government and industry standards which includes identifying the need for facility protection along with the development and maintaining the protection. Department of the Army, Fort Believe, Virginia Police Supervisor (Lieutenant) Directory of Emergency Services 1 11201 0 to 04/201 1 Supervised the training, and development of subordinate police officers and other assigned staff.Acts as first responder to all types of emergencies or volatile situations such as terrorist attacks, hostage/barricaded situations, mob threats, vehicle accidents, robberies, hazardous material incidents, and other emergencies. Assisted officers by providing interpretation of departmental policies and procedures. Performed as the leader of the tactical response team and assisted in training newly hired officers. Directed activities of personnel engaged in preparing budget proposals, maintaining police records, and recruiting staff. Results: Took relevant steps to establish new policies and procedures by maintaining and setting new standards.Commended on my abilities to revived proactive measures in ensuring and monitoring the department's budget and spending habits. Awarded for my abilities to maintain a positive relationship with the communit y while enforcing the policies, regulations and law. CSS Army – ASPICS-E (U. S. Army Corrections Facility-Europe)/ Anaheim, Germany. Senior Corrections Supervisor, 08/2006 to 07/2010. Managed operations of a 146-bed, medium custody, joint-SE;CE corrections facility. Supervised facilities operations, physical security, safekeeping, custody and control of confined prisoners and staff of 100. Coordinated Security efforts across the organization, including Information Technology, Human Resources, Communications, Legal and Facilities Management.Developed internal management controls to identify resource requirements related to security, forwarded recommendations, corrected problem areas and conducting annual facility reviews. Maintained facility records and prepared daily reports and correspondence. Provide data entry into the security management system. Provided leadership with tracking all projects daily administrative duties. Oversee and provide a continuity of security for agi lity, personnel, visitor control, document control and equipment for all Special project Security matters. Results: Directed accreditation process with American Correctional Association, receiving overall rating of 98. 9 percent for its operation and physical security of the facility. Earned the USAF-See's highest rating. Was the first of five facilities in the U. S.Army's Corrections Command to receive USAF-See's national and its only CA international accreditation. IIS Army – Co 701 SST Military Police Battalion/ Fort Leonard Wood, MO. Military Police and Corrections Committee Chief/ Instructor/Writer, 08/2001 to 08/2006. Provided administrative, logistical, personnel and training support to staff and students of U. S. Army Military Police School. Maintained use of two buildings, video equipment, communication systems, classrooms, audio-visual equipment and ammunition valued in excess of MM. Prepare correspondence, reports, and documents related to security duties in a arti culate, perceptive, and tactful way.

Management Information Systems At Access Fulfillment Ltd

Introduction In an organizational setting, the main application of information is in making sound decisions and finding the best remedies to a problem. These practices are closely related, and form foundations of all successful companies (Oz, 2008: p.8). In order to achieve this, most organizations have embraced different information systems. By definition, an information system is a collection of related company resources, which aid in retrieval, processing and distribution of information that supports the decision making process. (Heijden, H., Heijden, M. and Govardus, 2009: p.3). It obtains data as input and uses it to process and output useful information for decision making. In this paper, we explore on the application of Management Information Systems by Access Fulfilment Limited, a distribution company for a wide range of products, based in Kent, U.K. Management Information Systems at Access Fulfilment Limited According to Sadagopan (2004: p.1), management information systems (MIS) are computer based systems which provide access to data, which is speedy and flexible. There are several management areas where the management information systems have been used to make strategic decisions at Access Fulfilment Ltd. Management Information Systems for Decisions on New Warehouse Locations In an effort to expand the company, new offices and branches are often opened in different locations. To identify the most ideal locations, management information systems often aid in this analysis. Before a final decision is made, internal company information, as well as environmental information is generated by a management information system. This information includes both the shot and long term aspects that should be considered before setting up the new branch. These include the market and changeability, which is a prediction of the possible market response at the tine the branch is set up and the government policy, among others. For the warehouse branches that have been opened in the recent past, which are at Suffolk and Bristol, this system has provided the management team with the necessary information they need to execute the correct strategic decisions. As stated by Sadagopan (2004: p.14), strategic management information systems require mechanisms necessary for the assimilation of environmental information. This is necessary for influencing strategic decisions systematically. Management Information Systems for Decisions on Alternate Financing In every business, the decision for alternate financing is one of several strategic decisions that need sufficient information before being arrived at (Depamphlis, 2010: p.209). At Access Fulfilment Limited, a summary of status information about the internal financial status of the company is made. This summary is then referred to when such decisions are being made. This summary includes details on payrolls, the company budget, overruns, and variance analyses. In addition to this, external information, which is critical to the long-term status of the company, is also considered. The knowledge of these components of the business environment has enabled the managers of the company to make strategic decisions on this issue. This strategic decision, which applies the management information system, has turned out to benefit the company. For more than ten years that Access Fulfilment Limited has been in business, it has experienced substantial growth. One of the contributions towards this is alternate financing decisions. Management Information Systems for Decisions on Maintaining Competitiveness Competition is one of the major challenges faced by every business organizations (Waters, 2010: p.6). For Access Fulfilment Limited, the main sources of competition are other distribution companies that were in business even before it was founded. Having an advantage of a broader customer base as compared to Access Fulfilment Limited, these companies were difficult to compete with. Thus, decisions that had to be made by management to overcome this were very significant for the company. Management information systems aided in making decisions. Through the application of this information system, vital information about these competitors was obtained. This information comprised of the competitors’ present and future strategies for their distribution businesses. This information was quite helpful to the company. Since the managers were aware of what their competitors had planned, strategic decisions about advertisement and all other marketing functions of the company were arrived at. This enhanced Access Fulfilment Limited’s competitiveness in the market. It has also helped the company survive and grow for the period that it has been in the market, as is hopeful for further growth. For this reason, the application of the management information system has been beneficial to Access Fulfilment Limited. Management Information Systems for Decisions on Employee welfare Policies Any decision that concerns an organization’s welfare policy is among the strategic decisions that are taken by personnel management. In order to execute this decision successfully, internal information about the staff members is vital (Sadagopan, 2004: p.15). At Access Fulfilment, the information that influences such decisions includes staff size, quality of staff, their salary enumerations, motivations, and many more. However, what really governs this decision in the organization is the future vision and plans that the managers have. It is also governed by the probable labour market conditions in the business environment. By the application of management information systems, both the internal and external information needed by Access Fulfilment is obtained. This system has been quite resourceful in terms of setting the salaries for employees and motivating them. This strategy has enabled the company to retain most of their pioneer employees. Had the company failed to apply this system, probably the external job market could have been promising for the employees without the knowledge of the management team. Thus, failure or delay in adjusting the welfare of the employees to match or surpass the external market could prompt some of them to leave. The Relationship between Management Information Systems and Other Information Systems At Access Fulfilment Limited, several information systems are applied. Apart from the management information system (MIS), there is the executive support system (ESS), decision support system (DSS) and the knowledge management system (KMS), among others. One common thing about these information systems is that they all contribute towards the making of sound decisions that will see the company grow. What differentiates these systems is the level of management in which they are used and when they are used. The executive support system, for instance, is used by top level executives in decision making (Stair & Reynolds, 2011: p.446). Thus, for this company in as much as management information systems are used on various management levels, executive support systems are exclusive to the top management. Decision support systems, on the other hand is a support system for the management, with more capabilities than the management information systems (Janakiraman & Sarukesi, 2004: p.26) Conclusion Access fulfilment has been experiencing reasonable growth ever since 2000, when it started business. Although this cannot be entirely attributed to management information systems, it has been shown that these systems have had their contribution to its success. As aforementioned, this support system has been of great aid to the company in terms of strategic decision making. The aim of management information systems is to offer the right information from company reports (Sarukesi, 2004: p.26). Among the several strategic decisions that this system has helped make, this paper has addressed decisions for new locations, employee welfare policies, alternate financing and maintaining competitiveness in the business. On evaluating of this system at Access Fulfilment Limited, it can be concluded that it has been of a positive impact to the company. REFERENCE Depamphlis, D. 2010. Mergers and Acquisitions Basics: All You Need to Know. Oxford: Academic Press. Heijden, H., Heijden, M. and Govardus, J. 2009. Designing Management Information Systems. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Janakiraman, V. S. and Sarukesi, K. 2004. Decision Support Systems. Delhi: PHI Publishers. Oz, E. 2008. Management Information Systems. Massachusetts: Cengage Learning. Sadagopan, S. 2004. Management Information Systems. Delhi: PHI Learning. Stair, R. and Reynolds, G. 2011. Principles of Information Systems. Massachusetts: Cengage Learning. Waters, T.J. 2010. Hyperformance: Using Competitive Intelligence for Better Strategy and Execution. California: John Wiley & Sons.

America's Constitution Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 3

America's Constitution - Assignment Example By taking this action, the plaintiff queried if it was really constitutional. Although it was done under the guidance of the Takings Clauses of the Fifth Amendment, it was challenged for not in a compliance with the public purpose. However, according to the Michigan Comp Laws clause 213.23, a county government has an authority to condemn a private property and use it for public purposes. Meaning, whenever a municipality decides to condemn a private property, it should be used for the activities which are meant for the common good such as the creation of employment opportunities to the citizens. So, like in this case, the municipality was constructing the park to help in generating numerous jobs to the people. This would be a good initiative that would help in reducing the high rate of unemployment within the municipality and helping the municipality to increase its revenues through taxation. As clearly spelled out in the article 10(2) of the Michigan Constitution, any constitutional condemnation should be justly done. Meaning, whenever the government seizes a private property, the owner must be fairly and justly compensated. A fair compensation simply refers to giving financial payments that correspond to the current and actual market value of the property as at the time of condemnation (Amar93). Therefore, while planning to build such a big park, the County of Wayne must be ready to compensate all the individual owners whose property has been condemned. After all, condemnation is a constitutional process that is permitted by the law if done for a public purpose.

In-Built Power Back-Up System Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

In-Built Power Back-Up System - Coursework Example It is quite common to see power blackouts in urban centers fixed almost immediately while the same problem in rural areas like rural Africa not fixed with the same urgency due to various reasons. The power back-up system television keeps the internal arrays completely charged. It is quite common to see power blackouts in urban centers fixed almost immediately while the same problem in rural areas like rural Africa not fixed with the same urgency due to various reasons. The power back-up system television keeps the internal arrays completely charged.4) Subtract: I would subtract the internal speakers from the television to make way for the backup device. The television set will come with external speakers.5) Repeat: I would continue using the same style and color for the television.6) Add: I would add more screen so that the television becomes wider and thicker to accommodate the backup device.7) Combine: I would combine the backup device with a timer-gadget that detects whether there are people watching the television and automatically switches off when no one is watching the television to save on backed-up power.8) Empathy: The television will give an indication when there is too much usage.9) The television will warn the user when the backed-up power is draining low.10) The television will be able to use either electrical power or solar power to charge the backup system.11) Animation: The television would have a voice that gives the warning and indication of low battery out loud like a speaking human.12) Transfer: I would transfer my ideas to experts overseas to get specialists to an opinion on the television model.13) Superimpose: The television will be a more advanced and refined model of the current television model in the market.14) The backup supply device will produce very little noise as compared to the usual generators that have been used to backup power.

E-government Program of Saudi Arabia Dissertation

E-government Program of Saudi Arabia - Dissertation Example In conclusion, the implementation of the Yesser program will allow technology to be used as a way of further refining existing processes in order to eventually promote economic growth. As such, most countries nowadays have their own e-government program which they use to achieve their own ends. Table 14. Frequency and percentage breakdown: The countrys economy would improve upon the implementation of the Yesser program, in the aspect that investors would find it easier to transact with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (government employees). Table 21. Frequency and percentage breakdown: The implementation of the e-government program would allow a better medium for sharing knowledge and information within government agencies (government employees). On a global scale, governments have placed high importance on the adoption of a new program referred to as e-government, as it resembles a fundamental change in the structure of any nations public sector and cultivation of culture (Silcock 2001; Lofstedt, 2005). In addition, it is also beneficial in the process of conducting business through the utilization of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) tools in government agencies. Prior to the introduction of such a concept, public sectors mainly focused on internal automation through the utilization of data processing machines as a means to gain efficiency in processing e-government services. The Saudi government has adopted an e-government program for political, economic, social and technological reasons.

The Communication Challenge In Change Management Essay

The Communication Challenge In Change Management - Essay Example The project starts off with the concepts and theories of change management to give us a handle on what the process is all about. We acknowledge that enough has been written about the subject, but a thorough discussion of its theoretical roots is necessary for us to pin down the object of our own research, which is expected to be uncovered from the results of the survey and research based on sub-questions 1 and 2. These sub-questions are as interesting and necessary as the primary question because they will allow us a look-see on how the change management theories are translated into actual practice, and how communication plays a role in that process. We then attempt to justify this information through a case study of companies that practice change management. Relations to Existing Literature The basic idea of change management is to bring order to a disorderly situation. It is also described as the process of locating and identifying problems for the purpose of solving them. Once the problem is identified, change is then carried out either by transformation, reduction or application. By transformation, the objective is to change the situation from a "problem state"... From the research, it can be comprehended that the basic idea of change management is to bring order to a disorderly situation. It is also described as the process of locating and identifying problems for the purpose of solving them. Once the problem is identified, change is then carried out either by transformation, reduction or application. By transformation, the objective is to change the situation from a â€Å"problem state† to a â€Å"solved state.† Through reduction, change management is aimed at lessening the magnitude of the problem to at least blunt its effects on the organization. As for application, management deals with the problem by calling in specialists to transform, reduce or eliminate said problem. For efficient management of the changes that could influence the smo oth operation and viability of the business, there are four basic change management strategies set forth in the literature, which are led by the â€Å"empirical-rational† strategy. In this particular strategy, Lewin, K. says the changes are communicated to the employees by setting up reward and incentive systems based on the notion that people, being rational beings, respond positively to a give-and-take proposition. The chief concern of the proposed dissertation is to sketch change management as it is applied and communicated in different industries, of which precious little is mentioned in the existing literature. For the most part, the literature is only concerned with the theories and concepts of change management.

The Progress of Developed Nations in Utilising Renewable Sources to Coursework

The Progress of Developed Nations in Utilising Renewable Sources to Reduce Reliance Upon Traditional Fossil Fuels - Coursework Example Many nations are rushing to search for a most developed  state  and, as such, increasing their  industrial  and  domestic  energy use. Domestically, energy use is in lighting and cooking  while industrially, it is for development, manufacturing, and transportation of products (Flavin and Hull, 2011: p.15). The source of this form of energy is  mostly  fossil fuels such as mined coal of which has a significant impact on the environments  productivity  and sustainability. Depletion of these various fossil energy sources is leading to increased exploitations, thus further degrading the environment. An increase in this  phenomenon  is causing considerable distress to the environment and ecosystems which  substantially  impacts back on the  people’s populations (Grover, 1985: p.101). The realization of this is causing most nations to  embrace  renewable energy use in their daily activities. This involves the  invention  of renewable energy us ing gadgets, and modification of the existing gadgets to incorporate renewable energy sources. ... This means that as these energy sources get utilized for various purposes, they replenish their sources almost immediately (Lettice, 2001: p.45). This gives them an advantage because they are readily available for utilization, and also because they do not  damage  the  environment  in terms of degradation. These renewable energy sources include sources such as wind, sun, water, geothermal, and biomass such as energy crops. Historically, the use of  energy  was not dependent on the development of technologies but through the available choices within the environment. This was way before civilization and urbanization. As time went on, people devised new methods through which to  advance  their way of life hence the development of technologies to  process  other energy sources. In the 1940s, it  was discovered  the use of fossil fuels. This continued on advancing through industrialization to urbanization to the current state. The advent of use of renewable energy source was first in Japan; a developed nation,  though,  in those years, it was still developing. It then spread to other developed nations as time advanced. Currently there has been considerable debate on the responsibilities for the  state  of environmental degradation experienced and its  effect  on the welfare of people. Blame  is thrown  among the developed and developing nations.  A serious consideration for the utilization of renewable energy sources started during a  time when  the developed nations realized they play a  particularly  influential  role in the  global  environmental  state.  As such around the 1990s they became  serious  with countries such as the United States and Japan. The choice for the use of renewable energy sources significantly influenced by their availability

Institutions in Business Strategy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Institutions in Business Strategy - Essay Example As the discussion declares in business, both formal and informal institutions are influential in domestic and foreign business operations. In Muslim societies, social norms and practices dictate that people of the Islam faith are religiously prohibited from consuming pork foods and alcoholic drinks among other products. Any business organization that markets pork products or alcoholic drinks in Muslim societies will hardly realize profits because the informal institution of Islam dictates that certain norms and practices must be observed by Muslim consumers. With respect to formal institutions, constitutions, trade agreements and legal courts define and interpret the operational frameworks that both domestic and foreign business entities exercise their business practices. Legal systems determine the level of taxes that organizations pay to revenue authorities, and legal systems also arbitrate issues between business organizations and other stakeholders within a business environment.T his paper discusses that  business entities are more interested in market certainties than they are interested in profitability. Market uncertainties increases business risks, thus correspondingly increasing business costs. As elaborated earlier, institutions enhance certainty and predictability of interactions within a business environment. Formal institutions like judicial systems and investment laws play a critical role during entry and operation within a foreign market.

U.S. Homeland Security and the Business, Government and Society Essay

U.S. Homeland Security and the Business, Government and Society - Essay Example Thus the phrase- â€Å"Homeland security†; this phrase may appear relatively new but was actually coined after a series of attacks against US and its nationals around the world during 1980s and 1990s. The U.S. military now defines homeland security as "the preparation for, prevention of, deterrence of preemption of, defense against, and response to threats and aggressions directed toward U.S. territory, sovereignty, domestic population and infrastructure; as well as crisis management, consequence management, and other domestic civil support." (1) The definition has two important constituents namely homeland defense and civil support. Homeland defense is seen as the "protection of U.S. territory, sovereignty, domestic population, and critical infrastructure against external threats and aggression," whereas while civil support is described as "support to U.S. civil authorities for domestic emergencies, and for designated law enforcement and other activities." (2) During the Clinton administration, homeland security was an important but passively discussed issue. By the time Clinton’s term ended, the notion of homeland security revolves around "national missile defense, counterterrorism, WMD preparedness, consequence management of WMD events and protection against cyber attacks." (3) The three main components of any counterterrorism strategy would thus form the basis for the creation of the Department of Homeland Security. These components were later clearly identified by President Bushs National Strategy for Homeland Security as "1) prevent terrorist attacks within the United States; 2) reduce Americas vulnerability to terrorism; and 3) minimize the damage and recover from attacks that do occur." (4) If Clinton administration had basically been passive about national security, then Bush administration did nothing concrete either in the first few months of entering

Early Childhood Learning Through Songs Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Early Childhood Learning Through Songs - Essay Example Their understanding grows as they grow because as an infant, they can only learn through senses and as they grow they begin to learn how to reason and think differently. Young children learn better when given examples that relate to them. Age is a determining factor when learning because children understand differently depending on how old they are (MacBlain, 2014). As children grow, they reach an age whereby they have to start attending school and learn more. Most children enjoy learning songs because they are fun and usually easy. A child is more likely to remember something they learned through a song than something they were taught through simple verbal communication. They are moreover more liable to remember something they were taught through a story or a game. This is because, at their young age, they can only reason and think to a certain level (Ostroff, 2012). Children are taught different things at different stages of their academic life. Some of the things they learn as beginners are how to write their names, letters and sounds, shapes, numbers and simple songs. Songs are a good way to learn since most of the children’s songs have simple actions that go with them. Children love singing along to songs and listening or watching kid’s songs. There are different strategies that can be used in helping dual language children learn the name of shapes through songs (Priddy, 2011). One of the strategies is creating a welcoming environment in the classroom and playing area. These may include pictures, posters and books that have children’s languages and cultures. The second strategy may be inquiring from the child’s family about their interests in order to incorporate them into the learning. The third strategy is providing opportunities for the children to share stories and information in English.

History Teaches Us Only One Thing Essay Example for Free

History Teaches Us Only One Thing Essay History teaches us only one thing: knowing about the past cannot help people to make important decisions today. History is the past considered as a whole, the series of events which are connected with someone. It is the past which had taken place like the world wars, about the freedom fighters, the evidence which have remained when these incidents took place. Knowing about the past can just help people to gain information and to be aware of what took place in the past and this does not help in taking important decisions today as this only helps people to be aware of the things which took place. The decisions taken at that time and the decisions taken in this modern society are totally different. It is said that â€Å"Past is no predictor of future† , the decisions taken at that time will not help for the decisions taken in the current events because that depends upon the people as to what circumstances they are facing and they can just get aware if at all this has taken place in the past and not the history. The people who took decisions at that particular point of time are totally different than what a person takes at this point of time. Firstly, history does not contain the circumstances that a person wants to take decisions today especially with the circumstances which a person faces at this time and the point taken at that past which is already history. The modern world or society does not depend upon history for decisions. For example, a person taking decisions in business deals cannot be dependent upon the history because a person needs to see all the consequences and the future prospects of his or her business and not on the history, a person can get aware of the things which took place in the past and can take care that the mistakes done in the past should not repeat the wrong decisions taken in the past. It does not depend solely upon the history. The decisions taken by the person will vary from person to person whether a person is choosing a career or decisions are made for business, or it is family decisions. The decisions taken today will vary and the important decisions taken in history does not make any sense in depending on those decisions because it does not help the people in taking right decisions because the circumstances the people faced and the circumstances faced in the modern world are two different things. History is the past and one should not look back for the future decisions taking place in the current situations. One should be aware and should be careful for the decisions, one should look into the consequences of taking the risk for the decisions a person is taking whether it is a family matter, or it is in a business, or choosing a career for a student. Thus, history does not help a person to take decisions of the modern society, past should be remained as a past and should not be considered for future prospects. The decisions taken in history and the decisions taken at this point of time are two different things and one cannot compare these two different things for the important decisions made today.

My English Language Journey English Language Essay

My English Language Journey English Language Essay My first experience of learning the English language was challenging, demanding, interesting and satisfying. My education in English began at home with my parents communicating with me in English. While my mother was a full time homemaker (housewife), my father was a banker. Since my mother spent most of her time at home, I was able to learn English language more from my mother. My father on the other hand, was the sole bread winner of our family. Nevertheless, whatever time he could muster from his busy schedules, he devoted that to teaching me the English language. This was indeed an advantage for me as I was able to learn the English language from them through our conversations and by listening to the words they spoke to me. Therefore, both my parents were responsible for imparting the education of English language to me. Accordingly, I consider it as a blessing to be born and raised in an English educated family. My first experience at learning English at school After going through one of the best cycles of childhood development, my first baby steps to school started at the age of 5 when I joined the kindergarten. Kindergarten was an entirely new experience for me because of the change in the environment. Also, this was the first time when I was away from my parents. As a result, though I was a bit hesitant initially, but soon I started interacting with new kids of my age. My experience of learning the English language at kindergarten was different than learning English at home because I was exposed to new and sophisticated learning tools. These new education methods included alphabets, writing and image recognition. I remembered that my teacher taught me alphabets at school by showing me a list of alphabets on a piece of cardboard and pronouncing each letter in the list of alphabets. The teacher would then instruct us to read the alphabets aloud by following her pronunciation. After doing that the teacher would then test our memory retentio n by telling us to independently read the alphabets, first in sequence and then in random fashion. The sequence method would be from A to Z and the random method would be any alphabet that the teacher pointed to us. Besides gaining exposure to alphabets, I also learnt new words through image recognition techniques at the kindergarten. I still remember looking at an image of a duck that my teacher pointed to me. Thereafter, she told me to repeat the word duck based on the image shown. In fact I found that learning words through image was easier than listening because of the strength and power of visual characteristic. Moreover, my teacher also taught me to write alphabets and words by looking at the existing alphabets and words taught during the classroom discussion and written in the study guide. Besides, the English language education at the kindergarten was fun and enjoyable with learning through alphabets-memory games. My primary school experience At the age of 7, I entered a new phase of erudition when I joined a primary school. Again this was an altogether new and unparalleled experience for me. As a primary school student, I was taken to a new level of knowledge in learning English. During my primary classes 1 and 2, I remember writing short simple texts such as stories and poems. One of the stories that I wrote was the shoe maker and the Alps. I wrote this story based on the original book story of the shoe maker and the Alps. I truly enjoyed the experience of this challenging task of rewriting and creating the story in my own words. Another interesting challenge in this story writing task was that the number of words required was limited to 150 only. This made me test my mental faculties and write a compelling and believable story within the limited words. These were certainly the best formative years in my learning of the English language. Learning higher rules of English Upon completing my primary school education, I joined the secondary school at the age of 13. It is imperative to mention that at the secondary school and during my form 1, 2 and 3, I had learnt how to ask and answer questions. In addition, I had also learnt to read a variety of different texts. Moreover, I remember when I was in 4th grade, my teacher taught us English with mock spelling tests. So I always memorized various new words and their spellings. This habit inculcated by my teacher in 4th continued for the future too. Furthermore, at a later stage, I began learning fundamental concepts and rules of English grammar. I have gained a fairly good understanding of the usage of an before a vowel. As I moved up to primary classes, 3, 4 and 6, I learnt how to use interesting expressions to write short stories and poems persuasively. Apart from this, I was also exposed to learning higher rules of grammar that are more advanced than the ones in primary classes 1 and 2. I must mention th at my English reading and speaking skills were tested during this time. Moreover, I found that this level of education in English language helped me to improve my reading as well as analytical skills for answering questions. I could see myself growing with confidence in replying to questions in English. With this level of education in English, I was progressing with my interpersonal skills too. Books, Conversations and Films: Valuable for learning English My parents and teachers instilled in me the habit of reading a lot of books. As a result of reading more books, I was able to enhance my vocabulary with each passing day. Furthermore, I was inculcating and developing different writing skills such as articles, composition, dialogue and summaries. When I was in form 4 and 5, I had to analyze situations and find appropriate counter responses. This involved a lot of research, analysis and brainstorming which eventually stimulated me to become more analytical. In addition, one of my most important English learning activities has been conversation. I made friends in class and we spoke about a lot of things at length. The experience of conversing on diverse topics has been very precious to me as it inspired me to improve my communication skills in English. Another of my most enjoyable English language learning experiences has been watching TV. Watching English films helped me a lot to improve my pronunciation, accent and speech in English. Besides, English news channels such as CNN and BBC have been very useful in building the foundation of my English language. Overall, I learnt the nuances of sentence construction, sentence structure, syntax, parentheses and much more through my English language education so far. For the most part, learning English language has been an interesting and a challenging journey for me owing to all the cycles that I have gone through to achieve a certain level of proficiency in English. I have also come to a conclusion that the method of teaching will vary depending on the age factor. I deem that while children will enjoy when learning is fun, the more mature English learners will focus more on self development. Whatever the means and methods be, I believe a learner is always eager to learn English. With English as a tool by my side, I can surely aim to reach the high echelons of my education and career.