Academic Performance of Working Students

CHAPTER 1 THE PROBLEM AND ITS SETTING Introduction Education in the largest sense is any act or experience that has a formative effect on the mind, character or physical ability of an individual. In its technical sense, education is the process by which society deliberately transmits its accumulated knowledge, skills and values from one generation to another. Education is universally recognized as a fundamental building block for human development and one of the strongest instruments for reducing poverty, and is a powerful driver for development of individuals and society—improving health, gender equality, peace, and stability. The Commission on Higher Education (CHED 1995) states that higher education is primarily bridge between the world of learning and the world of work industrialization has increased the demand for more differentiated skills. The Laguna State Polytechnic University System has been founded to help each student to develop into a total person: who is well equipped with knowledge and skills; one who fits the modern world of technologies; and one who is ready and capable to meet the challenges of life. A bachelor’s of science degree in Hotel and Restaurant Management (HRM) will provide with all the skills needed to success in a wide variety of hospitality management careers. The program allows the students to understand the principles involved in leading a successful hospitality organization. At the same time, they will have the opportunity to practice these principles in applied courses and through an internship. It can individualize the degree program to fit the career field that most interested one. The career hotel and restaurant management concept deal with the preparation for gainful and successful and satisfying life and equip them with knowledge and social relations as well as manipulative skills in developing impotent attitudes and values in work is the aim of hotel and restaurant management course in general. Employment is a contract between two parties, one being the employer and the other being the employee. An employee may be defined as: â€Å"A person in the service of another under any contract of hire, express or implied, oral or written, where the employer has the power or right to control and direct the employee in the material details of how the work is to be performed. † Black's Law Dictionary Working students can be categorized into two groups: those who primarily identify themselves as students but who work in order to pay the bills and those who are first and foremost workers who also take some college classes. Almost two-thirds of undergraduates who work consider themselves â€Å"students who work†; the other third consider themselves â€Å"workers who study. â€Å"CHED said working students today are mostly into food service, entertainment and sales, apart from their usual stints as library and research assistants. CHED advised working students to get jobs that are not that demanding and that are more closely related to their courses. Working students are ubiquitous in higher education. Students are more likely to work than they are to live on campus, to study full time, to attend a four-year college or university, or to apply for or receive financial aid. Students work regardless of the type of institution they attend, their age or family responsibilities, or even their family income or educational and living expenses. Working while enrolled is perhaps the single most common major activity among in all diverse undergraduate population. Most of the remaining two-thirds of working students state that their primary reason for working is to pay tuition, fees, and living expenses, with upper-income students more likely to work in order to earn spending money or gain job experience. It is difficult to understand the role that work may play in helping dependent students pay for college because income and educational expenses do not appear to significantly influence the likelihood that students will work, the amount that they work, or the amount that they earn.

Labour relations Essay

Labour relations refers to the relations between employers and employees. They are affected by certain factors, including labour organizations, collective bargaining, labour market, government policy, the structure of the economy, labour law and technological change. Since industrial relations are regularly connected with unions, it is noteworthy that in Canada, until the 1970s, a greater part of unions and union members belonged to American-based craft and industrial unions. According to some observers, incidence of strikes has been very high and unusual in North American labour relations. Studies have also disclosed that the frequency of savagery and unlawfulness emerging out of labour disputes has been much higher in the US and Canada than in other comparably industrialized countries. They included the relatively recent development of large-scale â€Å"mass unionization,† a extensive deposit of pressure and common hostility arising from the boundless, extended and very ofte n violent opposition of employers to unions; intense organizational and leadership rivalries among unions; the highly decentralized structure of labour organization and collective bargaining in most industries; and the absence of a strong or dominant labour party capable of gaining power at the national level. The relative strength of organized labour in Canada was also affected by cultural and ethnic divisions among workers, especially the considerable gap between Francophone and Anglophones, which was symbolized by the development of the separate francophone confederation of national trade unions in Quà ©bec. Maintained geographic and political divisions also precluded effective unionization and often set the interests of the workers in one region against those in another. Politically, the labour movement had been divided since the turn of the century, when the trades and labour congress, backed by the American Federation of Labour, ousted the activist knights of labour. Disputes over conflicting beliefs, programs and organizational goals became less intense with the formation of the Canadian Labour Congress in 1956. Since then a lot of unions have subdued away from traditional American-controlled organizations in a drive for national sovereignty. Some are in the CLC and some in the Confederation of Canadian Unions. Government intercession is another factor progressively impacting labour relations. Since W.L. Mackenzie King, as federal deputy minister, presented the  Industrial Disputes Investigation Act of 1907 to curb western Canada’s militant coal-mine workers, governments in Canada have acted to maintain â€Å"law and order† and to protect employers’ property and latitude of action rather than to protect the rights of employees to organize and bargain collectively. This tendency is apparent in a history of expeditious resort to mandatory intrusion, such as back-to-work legislation and obligatory adjudication, to settle disputes. Canadian Labour Laws: Both Federal and Provincial Laws Canadian labour laws cover all employees in Canada with the majority (approximately 90%) covered under provincial labour laws. The remaining are secured under federal labour law through the Canada Labour Code. The labour laws varies from one province to another. Canadian labour laws and employment laws are quite challenging to employers doing business in Canada as these laws are constantly being modified. Furthermore, to these consistent progressions, those employers having business all around Canada, or in different provinces, are concerned to dissimilarity in the employment laws of the various provinces and territories. What can also add to the employment act disputes is the fact that both the federal and the provincial governments can have jurisdiction over labour and employment issues in a province depending on which industry the enterprise operates in. These labour acts and employment acts can be very confusing to new businesses to the Canadian labour environment, as well as for local businesses that are expanding from provincial markets into the Canadian national market for goods and services. The constant change associated with employment and labour law in Canada poses a significant challenge for employers doing business here. That test is intensified by the fact that employers with operations across Canada may be subject to differing employment laws in each province. Canada Labour Code (CLC): Federal Employment Law Canada Labour Law alludes predominantly to the Canada Labour Code (CLC) which is the labour law consolidated under a federal Act, and which regulates work undertaken by the federal government or business undertakings that falls under federal jurisdiction. This Code consists of three parts: 1. Industrial Relations: Deals with the general industrial relations aspects covering the union-management interaction, union official recognition, a difference declaration in those industries that fall under federal jurisdiction. 2. Occupational Health and Safety: Lays out the legislation covering workplace health and safety issues in areas under federal jurisdiction. 3. Standard Hours, Wages, Vacations and Holidays: This section interprets the federal employment standards which covers the conditions of employment such as operational hours, pay, common holidays, time off leave, layoffs, severance pay, and unreasonable dismissals, etc. Conclusion: Unions still have a place in Canadian Workplace. Labour unions engage in collective bargaining with employers to determine issues such as salary, the rules and regulations of labour, and employee security. Unions also take on in political activities on behalf of workers and have historically had ties to political parties, such as the New Democratic Party (NDP). Unionized workers in Canada include industrial and office workers and public employees in government administration, schools, and hospitals, engineers, professors, nurses, teachers, and other skilled workers. workforce are less expected to be unionized in private service-sector firms such as retail stores, restaurants, banks, and insurance companies, because employers in those areas have forcefully opposed unions. Labour organizations exist on a diversity of levels, from confined workplaces to global organizations. Reference JAMIESON, S. M. (2006). Labour Relations. Retrieved from http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/labour-relations/#h3_jump_0 Canadian Labour Laws: Including Labour Relations Codes And Employment Laws. (2013). Retrieved from http://www.canadianlabourrelations.com/canadian-labour-laws.html Canada Labour Code: Federal Labour Relations Act And Regulations. (2013). Retrieved from http://www.canadianlabourrelations.com/canada-labour-code.html MacDowell, L. S. (2004). Labour Unions in Canada. Retrieved from http://autocww.colorado.edu/~toldy2/E64ContentFiles/HistoryOfTheAmericas/LaborUnionCanada060130.html

How I See Myself as a Teacher Essay

Teachers possess enormous impacts on the lives of the students he/she taught. As a future teacher, being able to shape the lives of the future generation, I desired to be a teacher that provides my students with an enjoyable education experience. Being a serious person, i believe that the atmosphere in the classroom that I will be teaching would be quite serious, but I should be able to negotiate the level of seriousness in the class with some fun. Even though I am a bit uptight, I can see myself opening up to my students, being able to have a friendly conversation with my students. Based on my experience and observations during my high school days, most of my friends that were labelled as problematic by the teachers always complains that they did not see the importance of a certain rules implemented upon them. When a teacher asks them to do something, or prevent them to do things, they cannot see the reasons behind them. Therefore, when I become a teacher, I want to be able to rationalise things that I do, and everything that I thought them. I want to emphasise the importance of what they are going to learn so that they can value the knowledge. Although i am an English teacher, I want to be a teacher that my students can relate to in every aspects of their life. I want to be a teacher that has enough knowledge about everything, so that my students can look for me for an advice. I also wanted to be a teacher that manages to shape the mentality of my students into a better one, from trivial matters such as littering to religious aspects for Muslims. Finally, as a future teacher, it is my hope to achieve the feeling that I in some way, as an individual have made a difference in the lives of my students, the school community, and therefore in society as a whole. By educating the next generation in terms of morale and in their mentality, it is my hope that I am able to achieve enough to make a difference not only in the lives of the students in my classes at that particular time, but also to impact their lives far into the future, and as a result make the future of our country a better place.

Feild note Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Feild note - Essay Example There was also the topic of female perception, which looked into the kind of ideas that adolescent girls develop after listening to and reading various kinds of advertisements. Then there was the topic of purchasing behavior, which centered on the trend of purchases made by adolescent girls in relation to what they hear from advertisements. Finally, there was focus on the effect of the decisions that girls take after acting to various forms of food and nutrition advertisements. Level of accuracy of transcription and transcription conventions: (Here you should note how accurate the transcription is and what factors affected this level. You should also note your own conventions used such as using all caps for emphasis, line breaks for pauses, etc.) The transcription can be said to be highly accurate given the strategies put in place to influence the level of accuracy with the practice. In the first place, as much as the researcher made on-the field transcription, the interview was also tape recorded with permission. This ensured that where there were lapses with the on-the field transcription, this was made up after the researcher went home. Whiles undertaking the transcription, there were clues that were personally developed to make interpretation easier. For instance CAPS were used to depict emphasis ___________________________________________________________________________ (Transcript begins below) Time Transcript (Start of Interview) Interview 1 Interviewer: Have you ever had the chance of buying the food and nutritional products that you consume on a day-to-day basis? Interviewee: Umm, I do have a chance to buy food and nutrition products that I use on daily basis. Umm†¦ I yah I do†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦I go to the store and when I see them there I sometimes purchase them and sometimes I do not †¦.yeah. Interviewer: What role do your parents play in the purchasing decisions that you make? Interviewee (student A): My parents play a very important role in th e purchasing decisions that I make, especially my mom. Umm†¦. She tries to get me to be healthier. This is different to my dad, who will†¦ umm†¦ actually get me junk food to eat. Interviewer: Through which channels do you often hear about the kinds of food and nutritional products and services that you patronize? Interviewee (student A): I hear about them on TV mostly. Umm†¦ I see advertisements for healthy fruits that would be good, not just you know non healthy stuff, which is what mostly attracts me. Interviewer: When you listen to food and nutritional advertisements, what are the specific things you hear about particular products that make you choose to purchase some? Interviewee (student A): The specific things I hear about the foods that I would buy like that would make me want to choose to buy it is how healthy it can be for me and if it tastes good or not. Interviewer: Does the frequency at which you hear about a particular food or nutritional produc

Family Member Interview Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Family Member Interview - Essay Example She went to the United States when she was twenty eight and grew up together with her siblings, which strengthened the family bond between them. They are so close that a day barely passes without the siblings meeting. My Aunts mother was born in Ouanaminthe which is a small town in the Northern part of Haiti, with an approximated population of Population while the father was born in Haà ¯tien  (Haitian Creole:  Okap or KapAyisyen, often referred to as  Le Cap. The town which is refferered to as Cape Haitian in English is a commune with a population of approximately 190,000 on the Northern Coast of Haiti. The maternal grandparents were born and raise din Quananminthe while the paternala grandparents were born and raised in Cap-Haà ¯tien. Dash, 2001) Being a Christian, my Aunt went to a private Christian school. Both my husband and children are also Christians with my husband who is also Haitian being very active in Church. Being a Sunday schoolteacher and a member of the choir, my Aunt attends church twice a week. She is strong in her religion that they have a daily bible study with the family. (Marcus, 2009) Just like other parts of Latin America, Haiti is predominantly inhabited by Christians with 16% members of Protestantism while approximately 80% are Roman Catholics. There are small group of the populace which are Hindus and Muslims mainly found in the Port-au-Prince. Another religion that is practice by Haitians is Vodou. The religion encompasses different unique traditions consisting of a mixture of Western and Central African, Native American and European. The practice has been embraced by the believers despite the associated negative stigma it’s associated with, both within and out of the country. Despite the fact that the exact number of practitioners of Vodou is not known, it is believed that a small group of people still practice the tradition besides their Christian faith. There are also few Christians who also

Finance and funding in travel and tourism sector Assignment

Finance and funding in travel and tourism sector - Assignment Example Such costs are therefore apportioned on the basis of any formula or any other mechanism. Such costs include administrative costs like janitorial services, utilities etc. Fixed Costs: These costs remain constant irrespective of the level of the activity. For instance, the machinery fuel consumption; this will not be reduced or increased with the level of production. Rather, the fuel expenses will be distributed over the units produced. Therefore, it is the behaviour of the fixed costs that they remain fixed in totality but reduce per unit as the production increases. Variable costs: Variable costs are such costs, which increase or decrease with respect to the level of the activity. For example, the labour cost for the production of the units of product will be nil in case the production halts and will be increased when the production starts. Such costs behave parallel to the level of the activity. Semi-variable costs: Semi-variable costs are such costs which consist of the features of variable costs also and that of the fixed costs. It implies that such costs are fixed up to a certain extent and then they get parallel to the level of the activity. Cost volumes are significant in decision-making process of the management. Things get managed when they get measured; this is the main reason why costs volumes are always monitored. Constraints are established for the costs levels so that they do not exceed the prescribed budget. Costs volumes analysis sets the direction for the controls to be applied on different components of the variable costs. In addition to this, once the cost volumes are established, they can be then compared with the costs of prior periods, competitors and other departments by way of benchmarking. Comparison with prior period assists in comparisons and variance analysis with respect to the previous years. The results of the previous year are

Nursing Home Care Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Nursing Home Care - Research Paper Example Background of study: The residents of nursing homes would in several occasions be sent to hospitals to undergo diagnostic tests or for acute healthcare services. In the year 2000, Carusone, Loeb and Lohfeld (2006) observed that there were about 46% of Americans older than 65 who would be in these nursing homes before death. This is quite a considerable number of the total population. Most of these long term care facility, LCTF residents would be transferred to hospitals to receive acute medical services and undergo diagnostic tests. It should be noted that these people usually would be supported in their daily activities including bathing, eating and toileting among others. Improved technology, fiscal pressures and associated services make it complicated for nursing home residents in hospitals. Similarly, the cost of these transfers has proven to be too high. There has thus been an increase concern if hospitalization services could be provided at these nursing homes. Respiratory trac t infections have been pointed out by Boise and White (2004) as the leading killer among nursing homes as documented in a Canadian study, the reason why pneumonia has been sampled in this study. The findings of this research would therefore enable nurses to advise accordingly when families of nursing home residents seek advice on where to have these persons treated. It would also enable provision of services to the satisfaction of the residents of nursing homes and their families. The purpose of this study was to determine whether in situ care among LTCF residents would give the value much sought by the residents and their families. This was achieved by identifying the experience that participants had with pneumonia and what locus of care would be preferred. The research also sought to find the differences that these participants perceived between hospital-based care and LTCF care and what would be the criteria for good care. Methods of study: In this study, qualitative descriptive study was employed. The participants involved members of families of LTFC residents and the residents themselves who had previously been treated for pneumonia. Members of staff in these nursing homes were asked to follow a pathway of treatment that would help in deciding the locus of care. 20 nursing homes were matched according to their sizes and a member randomly selected from each pair chosen to use the clinical pathway while the counterpart continued with the normal pneumonia diagnosis and treatment procedure. The family members and residents who could not make informed decisions on the locus of treatment were involved in the study’s in-depth interviews. Nurses were charged with the task of inviting participants that remembered their experiences. Participants signed consent before participating in these interviews. The data collected from 14 interviews were then analyzed by use of editing style borrowed from Miller and Crabtree. Results of study: Residents and family memb ers alike preferred that pneumonia be treated in the nursing homes as much as possible. Though the reasons for this were varied, most of them argued that nursing homes provide the much needed attention and care than in hospitals. Both parties agreed that some situations would call for hospitalization such as in cases of broken bones, fainting and operations, but not for any reason whatsoever in cases of pneumonia. The residents preferred

The VA Hospital Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

The VA Hospital - Research Paper Example 1.2 VA hospital History indicated that in 1990s VA hospital care system was very substandard. Congress were about to shut down the whole system and were considering ex-G.I.S vouchers for the treatment of private candidates. But, the present condition of VA hospitals is quite different. VA has one of the largest health systems in the country, having 1,400 hospitals, nursing homes and clinics. It has employed 61000 nurses and 14,800 doctors. This shows at a very small scale it have been able to attract a larger target market. Out of 100 private institutions VA has a rank of 83. It handles the male patients having the age of 65, providing minimum risk of death i.e. 40%. Health care to these patients is provided on the basis of various plans or HMO’s. Harvard University has provided American government reward to VA for its various agency works. It deals all patients on computerized basis at very low cost. In past ten years, it has been noted that number of veterans has doubled in VA hospitals around 2.5 to 5.3 million. The cost of per patient in VA hospitals has remained steady since last ten years. On the other hand, the cost in other private institutions has increased by 40% since last year (Dennis, 2003). 1.3 Historical and political effects During World War II, there were great advances in field medicine and body armor in order to survive in the battlefield. Number of patients was increasing very rapidly in hospitals. Research indicated that around 11000 patients were waiting for their treatment in hospitals. VA officials had difficulty in managing such a high number of patients. Patients suffering from World War II were dying rapidly due to natural causes of around 600,000 in a year. Patients were occurring with severer wounds to VA. Due to this reason, this hospital introduced four more centers in the country in order to fulfill the shortage of health care (Waller, 2006). Reformation VA hospital made many changes in its systems in order to be one of th e best hospitals in the country such as the hospital was reformed in back 1994, this was the era when Bill Clinton appointed Kenneth, a doctor from Navy as the secretor of VA health care system. Kenneth bought an overall change in the entire system of hospital by lowering down the bureaucracy and providing authority to regional managers to make all important decision rather than dependence on higher authority. It enabled keeping track of all records through computerized network. It should be noticed that in this era only three hospitals had computer networks and VA hospital were in these numbers. This means that when a doctor is engaged in treatment of any patient, he have the facility to see the patient’s information easily on laptop. While, in other hospitals nearly 20% of the lab test are repeated because doctors does not have any previous data on the test. Bar- code system VA invented bar code system in hospital, which is mostly used in supermarket stores for prescription s. This system was used only in 5% of hospitals. It is a reader in the form of hand- held laser, which a nurse uses to scan the bar code system of patient waist with the bottle of pills. It there is no match between the two, nurses gets an alert. Institute of medicine have estimated that 1.5 million patients suffer due to various medication errors each year. But in VA hospitals bar-code systems and

Innovation - apple Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Innovation - apple - Assignment Example Smooth and quick flow of information, rapid advancement of technology and highly customer centric behaviour of Apple makes it one of the most successful business organizations in the industry. Recently Apple has launched its new product, iPhone 5C and iPhone 5S. The company had to overcome their traditional box of ideas so as to come up with new developments. However, Apple’s CEO, Tim Cook, currently emphasises on the development of its existing products, instead of creating a whole new generation of ideas for innovating new products. In this paper, the context of creativity and innovation by Apple would be studied in detail to understand the factors that affect the level of market performance by the company. 2.0 Literature review Creativity and innovation are the most important buzz words in the current business world. Companies are trying to become more creative and improve their innovative ideas in order to maintain their competitive position in the market. However, these t wo concepts are not identical. They refer to different aspects of organizational development. Creativity refers to the capability of individuals to create new ideas or hypothesize new facts. This is the change in people’s â€Å"perception of reality† (Iny and Brabandere, 2013). Innovation, on the other hand, is the â€Å"change in reality† (Iny and Brabandere , 2013). In case of innovation, new ideas that have been created are taken up and worked upon to turn it into reality. For example, the idea of development of the idea of a new kind phone led to the creation of the first concept of iPhone. With this new idea, the iPhone has been created. Once the new iPhone is created, Apple could make various changes in the original product. The company has made different iterations of the iPhone by altering their own understanding of the product possibilities thereby changing the understanding of the customers regarding the facilities that can be offered by a mobile phone . Although this fundamental difference exists between creativity and innovation, these two concepts represent two very important facets of any organization. Creative thinking leads to an innovative product. Hence, it is not possible for any firm to move ahead by making innovative activities, if they lack creative talent amongst their employees. 2.1 Creativity and innovation Innovation is one of the key drivers of growth for any organization in the 21st century business world. Innovation allows the companies to invent new methods in which they might be able to grow in future. Innovation is not a skill that a company can develop within a short period of time through training. It has to have the knack, creative mind set of employees and risk taking attitude to invent new products, or strategies to serve its customer better. This in turn improves the company performance and its market share. This implies that, creativity and innovation is present within the organizational culture and is a part of its fundamental view towards growth. For an organization to be creative and innovative, it

The impact of service recovery on customer satisfaction, loyalty and Literature review

The impact of service recovery on customer satisfaction, loyalty and word-of-mouth - Literature review Example This essay discusses that service quality in the hospitality industry and hotels specifically has been an area of great research interest. Research has shown importance of service quality. Parsuraman et al. indicated that service quality of hotels is both a significant differentiator and the most aggressive weapon possessed by them. Leading organizations in the hotel industry ensure to put up a high level of service quality over their competitors for over large durations of time. The relationship between service quality and customer loyalty has been of great interest. Researchers have also investigated the relationship between customer loyalty and the complaints received from the customer. Heskett et al. define customer loyalty as repeated purchasing by the same customer and their willingness to recommend the product/service to other customers without any outright benefits. High customer loyalty is beneficial to the organization as it reduces the firms’ marketing costs and inc reases its market share. There can be various reasons of a customer being loyal to a hotel. While some might be loyal because of lack of options, others might face the problem of high cost of switching. Wong and Sohal in their research found that there is a positive relationship between service quality and customer loyalty in the retail trade. Researchers have concluded that service quality is positively related to behavioural outcomes including word-of-mouth, complaints, recommendations and loyalty. Measurement of the service quality expectations of service organizations is primarily done by using the tool SERVQUAL or its variants. Babakus & Boller (1992) and Carman (1990) found that amongst the hotel customers, the most important service quality dimensions are: assurance, reliability and tangibles. Many further studies (Saleh & Ryan, 1999; Fick & Ritchie, 1991) suggested the absence of any significant differences among the rankings of any of the five dimensions. The application of Servqual to two fine dining restaurants revealed the emergence of assurance, and reliability as importance expectations of the customers, and tangibles as the least important (Lee & Hing, 1995). Gabbie and O’Neill (1997) in their research in the hotel sector found that reliability and assurance were the most important

Looked After Children Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Looked After Children - Essay Example The Refugee Act, as amended, incorporated the 1951 Geneva Convention and the 1967 Protocol into Irish Law and with it our international obligations" (Separated Children Living in Ireland, 2009, p7). Article 42(5) of the Irish Constitution states: "State as guardian of the common good, by appropriate means shall endeavour to supply the place of the parents, but always with due regard for the natural and imprescriptible rights of the child" (Separated Children Living in Ireland, 2009, p14). "Of the 9 accommodation centres, 7 are not registered or inspected residential centres, contrary to the requirement that all children's residential centres be inspected by the Social Services Inspectorate under the Child Care Act, 1991" (Separated Children Living in Ireland, 2009, p22). Inconsistency exists in how separated children are treated and cared for in Ireland, with different sections of the Child Care Act, 1991 being used by different professionals, depending on where they are working around the country. In some instances, separated children are treated as homeless children under section 5 of the Act and are placed in hostel accommodation. They are therefore not received into the care of the Health Service Executive (HSE) and do not benefit from the potential to be allocated a social worker, or care planning. In Dublin, by comparison, separated children are dealt with under section 4 of the Act and are taken into the care of the HSE. England The government policy for all children in England is "every child must be healthy, safe, enjoy and achieve, and make positive contribution" (McAuley, Professor Colette; Children in Care in the Republic of Ireland: Some Statistics and Comparisons). The key objectives are to improve outcomes in these areas for all children and narrow the gap between outcomes for LAC, and children in the general population. However, there is "considerable gap in the attainment levels and qualifications achieved by children in care and their peers in the general population, leaving care literature found that the level of qualifications achieved whilst in care was a strong predictor of their outcomes in adult life. "Only 6% care leavers in England gain 5 or more GCSEs grades A-C compared with 53% of all children and over half leave school with no formal qualifications of any kind, less than 1% care leavers go on to higher education/university compared with 43% of young people who live with birth parents" (McAuley, Professor Colette; Children in Care: Educational Outcomes). The administration of child welfare was satisfactory although the number of children found to have mental health disorders was rather high. In the "first national prevalence survey of over 10 000 children aged 5-15 years in Great Britain, 10% of children had a mental health disorder. Of this, 5% had clinically significant conduct disorders, 4% had emotional disorders and 1%

The U.S. Navy Essay Example for Free

The U.S. Navy Essay Substance abuse is a condition in which the individual utilizes chemical substances that alter mood and behavior in a maladaptive manner, causing significant distress and failure to function normally at home, workplace, school or in social settings. Some individuals may also do dangerous acts or get themselves in trouble with the law. Some of the substances which can be misused include alcohol, marijuana, stimulants, tobacco, cocaine, etc. The incidences of substance abuse are quite high in the navy. Substance abuse is often linked with several unsolvable problems in life especially at the workplace or concerning personal issues. Individuals who cannot cope with these problems turn to alcohol, cocaine, cannabis and other substance to relieve their distress. The US Navy is quite strict about substance abuse, and maintains a ‘zero tolerance policy’ both during duty and after duty, or offshore and afloat. According to this policy, misuse of drugs or alcohol in the Navy is not suited in maintaining the high standard of performance, discipline and promptness. It destroys the navy’s goal of installing pride and sense of professionalism However, several individuals in the navy may have a drug problem, and the leaders should try to retain such staff and help them to get back to normal life and functioning. The Navy has lost several of its sailors due to substance abuse, which has resulted in a number of families getting destroyed. A survey conducted by the Department of Defense in 1980 found that 46% of the navy personnel used cannabis during the last 1 month. Out of these, about 26% confessed that they had been under the influence of drugs at their work. The incidences of cannabis use were especially high in individuals who had experienced a traumatic event at their work. Cannabis is one of the most misused drugs in the navy. There is a common misconception that cannabis use is safer than smoking tobacco. However, studies conducted showed that smoking cannabis significantly increased the risk of developing cancers of the head, neck and the lungs. Many individuals also felt that it was easier to quit cannabis use. However, studies conducted on individuals trying to quit the habit showed that they had severe problems including sleeplessness, irritability and aggression. Amongst all positive urine test results, cocaine accounted for 14% to 22% in Navy personnel in the last four years. Cocaine can be consumed through various means such as smoking, snorting, etc. The drug makes the individual feels euphoric, energetic, mentally alert and sensitive to various stimuli. Cocaine produces several ill-effects on the heart, blood vessels, lungs, nerves and the brain. In developing a program to combat substance abuse in the navy, it is very important to make the participants understand the ill-effects and the risks associated with substance abuse. The program has to include certain aims, goals, objectives and the certain means have to be implemented in a planned manner to attain these goals. The main aim of the program is to stop illicit substance use by the navy personnel. The goals of the program include educating the participants about various signs/indications through which substance abuse can be recognized. They should also be educated about the ill-effects, risk and consequences of the drug use.

Estimation of Importance of Web Pages for Web Crawlers

Estimation of Importance of Web Pages for Web Crawlers

UK Telecommunications Management of Interest Rates

UK Telecommunications Management of Interest Rates INTRODUCTION In business world today many companies are faced with the increase in volatility of financial markets which has lead to increase in financial price risk. Many companies are faced with exposure to financial risk which are caused by unanticipated exchange rate and interest rate movements. These unanticipated movement in exchange rate which is caused by international competition can results into large gain or loss if the risk is not managed properly. Exchange rate movement generate business risks which can vary the current foreign assets and liabilities and interest rate movement can have indirect impact on companys value on its future cash flows. Domestic and multinational companies who are faced with these kind of risks must assure that they control these risks otherwise if they are unmanaged then this can result into total failure of business. Financial Institutions have introduced different products to help companies in risk management. These products are Forward contracts on exchange rate, Futures contracts, Interest rate swaps and Options. Forward contract being the oldest product to be introduced to manage both foreign exchange and interest rate risks. 1.1 Problem statement Changes in business environment and increase in movement of interest rate and exchange rate has resulted into rise in financial risk exposure. These movements can affect not only companys profit but also companys survival in indirect way. Financial risks management has turn to be a significant area of pertain for UK corporations. Therefore this proposal attempt to find out how UK Telecommunications industry handle financial risks in an increasing business risk environment. Research aim and objectives Aim The main aim of the study is to determine how firms in UK Telecommunications industry manage interest rate and foreign exchange financial risks by looking into use of derivatives. 1.3 Research Objectives The primary objectives of the research will be; To determine how companies manage risk To determine whether derivatives are used or not To determine which derivatives are used and for what purpose Disclosure of financial instruments 1.4 Research Questions The following research questions will guide this research How companies manage risk? Are derivatives used or not used? Which derivatives are used and for what purpose? What are the disclosure of financial instruments? 2. LITERATURE REVIEW Derivatives are financial instruments whose values are deduced from some underlying assets or rate/price. Derivatives are now of paramount importance to the business world, with imaginary value of more than $200 trillion of these derivatives are being traded on coordinated and over the counter markets in 2004 (Bank for International Settlements, 2004). The financial products which are provided by FinanciaI Institution are options, futures contract, forward contract and interest rate swap. The common Interest rate derivative is Interest rate swaps and others are future contracts and interest rate options while for foreign exchange derivatives are forwards contracts, currency swaps, foreign exchange futures and options. Forward contract gives the owner the obligation to buy an asset at set price and maturity date as agreed in the contract. Future as like forward but in futures are public traded while forwards are private contracts. Unlike future and forward, options give the owner the right but not obligation to buy or sell an asset at a fixed price on or before specified date (Prevost et al, 2000). Derivatives are used to cut down cash flows and earnings volatility caused by changes in foreign currency exchange rates, commodity prices, interest rates and other risk factors (Barton J, 2000). Use of financial derivatives is widespread, especially among large publicly traded companies and is still increasing sharply. For example, in a study done by Guay and Kothari, (2003) based on annual reports information of 413 largest firms in the U.S revealed that 57% were using derivatives. In another study of 314 Fortune 500 firms showed that 72% were using derivatives (Barton J, 2001). Mallin et al. (2001) did survey analysis on the use of derivatives in risk management, he mailed questionnaire to 800 UK non financial firms listed on London stock exchange. Results showed that of 231 respondents 32% were applying at least one derivative instrument. Another researchers Bodnar et al (2003) studied derivative usage in managing risk to 167 non-financial Netherlands firms and revealed 84 usable responses which is 50.3%. In India a study was conducted to examine derivatives usage in managing foreign exchange risk to 640 companies which were faced with foreign exchange exposure and results showed that 70.4% of respondents used foreign exchange derivatives to manage risk (Anand and Kaushik 2007). Whilst many firms use derivatives in managing risk, misuse of it may result into major losses. This was proved by Karpinsky (1998) who revealed companies like Sumitomo Corporation lost $3,500 million in 1996 because of copper future. On the other hand El-Masry (2003) collected data from questionnaire mailed to 401 non financial companies listed on London stock exchange, 50% of respondents did not use derivatives because the risk exposure was not substational. Likewise suryey done by Bodnar et al (1995) revealed lower use of derivatives and the reason being low insignificant exposure. Regarding to mostly used derivatives to manage risk exposure, survey done by Marshall (1997) pointed that options, swaps and forwards were normally used to manage interest rate and foreign exchange risks. In El-Masry (2003) survey of UK non financial firms, results indicated that firms use options at 29.4%, forward/future at 23.7% and swaps 23.1%. 3.0. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY Research design This study will be conducted as a quantitative survey Sources of data The main source of data will be the annual reports of 10 companies in the UK telecommunications industry for the past three years. Documentary source Bell (1999) state documentary source involves the reading of relevant information from library source such as text books, journals, newspapers and internet. Secondary source will enable a researcher to conduct broad investigation and help confirm the reliability of the findings given that the findings may be subjective and this source will be used as well to cut down reliance on the annual reports as the main source of data used in the study. Sampling selection Selection of sample will be based on the public data information of the companies and the eligibility criteria will base on following factors; The company must be in the telecommunication services industry The company must be either a Domestic or a Multinational one which is exposed to financial risks as an outcome of international competition The company should be among of the listed London Stock Exchange companies Data analysis Data collected will be analysed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) and presented using frequency table. 4. CONCLUSION Measuring and managing financial risk exposure are crucial functions in cutting down companies vulnerabilities from major exchange and interest rate movements. Financial derivatives are very important in risk management of corporations 5. REFERENCE Anand m., Kaushik k. p., (2007).Management Motivations for Use of Foreign Currency Derivatives in India, IIML Working Paper Series. Bank for International Settlements. (2004). Triennial Central Bank Survey of Foreign Exchange and Derivatives Market Activity in 2004. http://www.bis.org/publ/rpfx05.htm. Barton, J. (2001). Does the Use of Financial Derivatives Affect Earnings Management Decisions? The Accounting Review, 76, 1-26. Bell, Judith. (1999). Doing your Research Project: A guide for first time researcher in Education: 3rd Edition Buckingham, Open University press.UK Bodnar g. m., de jong a., macrae v., (2003). The impact of Institutional Differences on Derivatives Usage: a Comparative Study of US and Dutch Firmsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬?, European Financial Management vol. 9, No. 3, pp. 271-297. El-masry a.,(2003) A survey of derivatives use by UK non financial companies, Social science research network Manchester Business School pg.455. Grant, K. and Marshall, A. P. (1997), à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Large UK companies and derivativesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬?, European Financial Management, vol. 3 no. 2, pp. 191-208. Guay W Kothari, S. P. (2003). How Much Do Firms Hedge with Derivatives? Journal of Financial Economics, 70, 423-461. Hentschel, L., Kothari, S. P. (2001). Are Corporations Reducing or Taking Risks with Derivatives. Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, 36, 93-118. Mallin c.; Ow-yong k. and Reynolds m.,(2001) Derivatives usage in UK non-financial listed companies, The European Journal of Finance Vol. 7 (2001), pp. 63-91. Saunders, M., Lewis, P. Thornhill, A. (2007). Research Methods for Business Students. 4th Edition. Pearson Education Limited UK. Prevost, A. K., Rose, L. C., Miller, G. (2000). Derivatives Usage and Financial Risk Management in Large and Small Economies: A Comparative Analysis. Journal of Business Finance and Accounting, 27, 733-759.

Too close for comfort :: essays research papers

Too close for comfort Yet the similarity between these two stories raises some interesting questions about how we read Carver. That he is adored as few late-century American writers are is not news -- as Bloom points out there's almost a cult of Carver. Readers treasure not only his taut, bleak, deeply moving short stories but the legend of his life, as well: unhappy, alcoholic, stifled by frustrating poverty and saddled with the overwhelming responsibilities of teenage parenthood ("[My wife and I] didn't have any youth" he told Simpson), Carver's singular talent didn't have room to develop until relatively late. His eventual triumph over adversity, a story of late, spectacular blooming against all odds, has given him a rare hold on his readers' affection. Carver chronicled the lives of the lumpen proletariat and the demoralized white working class with a sensitivity and eye for detail unmatched in his contemporaries and, many would argue, his followers. He is commonly thought of as a truly Amer ican writer, perhaps stylistically indebted to Sherwood Anderson, Stephen Crane and Ernest Hemingway (he himself suggested the link to Hemingway in his book "Fires"), but in a sense sui generis -- a talented, sensitive soul who rose up out of the deadening laundromats and strip malls of the great, dreary American suburban wastelands and wrote beautiful, sad stories in clipped, stripped prose. The minimalism and domestic realism of his short stories made his work read very differently from the cerebral literary styling of his contemporaries, the university-ensnared postmodernists. But perhaps Carver's work wasn't as unfettered or as American (in his literary influences, at least) as all that. It seems that he read (and taught) the European modernists very carefully. Bloom says that, "Carver was a very literary writer and his work is full of echoes of other writers, some of them unintentional. He's a derivative writer -- vastly overrated." Or, as Tobias Wolff wrote , admiringly, in the introduction to "The Best American Short Stories of 1994:" The picture of Gabriel Conroy [in James Joyce's' "The Dead"] watching his wife Gretta on the staircase above him as she listens to a tragic ballad ... has become for me ... the very emblem of that final distance which a lifetime of domestic partnership can never overcome. I wonder if there isn't an echo of this image in Raymond Carver's "Will You Please Be Quiet, Please?" when Ralph, returning from a walk on his honeymoon, sees his bride, Marian, "leaning motionless on her arms over the ironwork balustrade of their rented casita .

Beowulf :: Epic of Beowulf Essays

Beowulf Beowulf was written during the Anglo-Saxon time period. Beowulf is a story about a young warrior and his quest through life. Some people consider Beowulf a tragic hero, and some people just consider him a hero period. Whether Beowulf is a tragic hero or not, he fights many great battles. The reason Beowulf fights stays basically the same but it changes a little. In the beginning of the book, Beowulf goes to help the Danes out by killing Grendel. Grendel is a ferocious monster that has been killing the Danes in the mead hall (115). During this time period, warriors will celebrate their victories and tell of their accomplishments by singing. This social gathering has started bothering Grendel because he can hear all the noise and happiness coming from the mead hall. This is making Grendel jealous because he is a descendant from Cain, and knows he will never feel happy (106). Grendel goes into the mead hall at night, and he begins killing everyone in there. News of how Grendel is murdering the Danes starts to spread all over. When Beowulf hears about Grendel, he feels that it is his obligation to stop Grendel from killing anymore. Beowulf leaves to go to Herot to kill Grendel. He is mostly being praised for his long journey to face this terrible monster. Beowulf says, "Grendel is no braver, no stronger than I am! I could kill him with my s word; I shall not" (677). Beowulf feels that he can defeat Grendel even without a weapon. The first night, they have a celebration in the mead hall, and the warriors fall asleep in the hall. Grendel makes his usual nightly visit and finds many victims waiting to be killed (725). To his surprise, he meets his match, which happens to be Beowulf (748). After a brief confrontation, Beowulf rips Grendel’s arm off, and Grendel runs away to die (823). Beowulf is considered a hero now for risking his life to stop Grendel from killing anymore Danes (837). Not only does Beowulf protect all the Danes, he also receives many rewards. Beowulf is doing a good thing, but all his motives are not the most honorable motives. This shows the Pagan values of the time. Materialistic things meant a lot to people during this time. The next day, there is a celebration of Grendel’s death. Beowulf and his group of warriors leave the mead hall to go sleep in their beds (1300).

Do you think murmurin judges is a hopless play? Essay

David Hares aim to paint a portrait on some of the chronic wrongs within the dysfunctional, corrupt Justice system has definitely shown. As throughout this play we start to come to realise critical issues, and situations that often occur in real life such a prejudice, racism, sexism and stereotypes. However the ending of the play gives us a blurry light at the tunnel because although Sandra gives us a glimpse of hope as she says, ‘I want the chief Superintendant. I wonder. Could I have a word?’, some people would have predicted the ending to of had a larger impact of justice. This can be distressing and slightly worrying as it causes the reader to feel unsafe as we have to rely on the odd moral characters such as Irina, and Sandra. If Hares intensions were to reveal what goes on in the system, then he definitely portrayed that, but if his intentions were to reassure the audience that there is always hope then he didn’t for fill that as it only made us feel worse. Hare also underlines the issues that the system were facing in England in the 8o’s and early 90’s such as the increased levels of immigration and terror of the (IRA), and highlights the prejudge situations against the Irish within the system. Such as when Barry’s showing a slight hatred towards the Irish which he says to Sandra, ‘He was kind of Irish as well. He may happen to Hail form the north, but he did stand with a load of Micks outside the pub on Clampham Common every evening. I think we can guess his primary allegiance’. Barry also threatened Travis and Fielding which the semtex plantation, here Hare is showing elements of the terror attacks of the 80’s and 90’s. The play is not hopeless in the respect that is has taught us not to automatically believe the high status of the people in the high courts, as we have been blinded by there qualifications, there wealthy life’s and there high hierarchy in this world. We have learnt to respect and believe the image of powerful authority through social learning and we all forced to believe that there right. But most of these judges and barristers have never seen the real world, and have never considered the backgrounds of there clients, they think they know everything. Such as when Sir Peter makes up his own language towards criminals as ‘the sub-average human’, and says ‘I have represented dozens of people like him. He’s an ordinary, slightly sub-average human being who has landed himself in a dam stupid mess’. In this play Irina also says, ‘A lawyer should never be emotionally involved’, this makes the audience feel that maybe there should be some sort of relationship between the lawyer and the client, because otherwise why would the client trust the lawyer with there problems or the truth? The lawyer will never be able to find justice if they never know the truth behind there clients. An allegory of the justice system being portrayed as a factory of workers, as in each section of the justice system everything is everything is being passed on up the chain. Such as a manufactory chain from the prison (primary work), the police force (secondary work) then the judiciary (tertiary work).  I think the overall message is not hopeful as there is still a innocent man (Gerrard) as he reminds in prison and only to people Irina and Sandra trying to revolutionising the system against a whole battery of lawyers, police and prison officers.

School will Improve Education in America

School choice will improve education in America. Public schools are grossly inefficient, and are not educating many of America's youths adequately. Schools that are run independent from local government bureaucracy provide better education at lower cost. School choice would allow more students to attend better schools. School choice is a potent educational reform that is far more effective than increased spending. The fears of opponents of school choice are factually unfounded. School choice is necessary to improve American education. Through allowing more parental choice in education, school choice forces education into a free market environment. As it is now, parents send children to the nearest school, assigned to them by the school district. If a family is wealthy enough and chooses to do so, parents can send children to private schools. However, this family then pays twice for one education. They still pay their taxes, and they pay the tuition for the private school. Under a school choice plan, any parent who decides to send their child to a private school will receive a scholarship from the government, redeemable for tuition at scholarship accepting private schools. The scholarship dollar amount is far below that of the average cost per student per year at public schools, but would allow millions of parents who cannot presently afford private tuition to do so. If a school performed poorly, parents would choose to remove their children, and then send to them to better schools. If a school began losing all its students, and therefore all its funding, the school would desire to improve. Under the current system, government schools get your money whether they are doing a good job or not. Milton Friedman was one of the first people to propose a school choice plan. Since he did so over a quarter century ago, support has expanded rapidly. However, few plans for school choice have actually been enacted. The city of Milwaukee enacted a program designed by future choice icon Polly Williams. She asked the simple yet brilliant question, â€Å"Why not allow tax dollars to go to the schools that are working? † (Harmer, 162) The plan does not allow religious schools to participate, and allows only low-income children to take part. Schools that participate can have no more than 49% of their students are scholarship receiving students. The extremely limited scale demonstration has had little effect on Milwaukee public schools, but has enabled many students to attend better schools. The number of students in the choice program has grown every year, in 1990 there were 341, in 1994 there were 846. (McGroarty, 36) In California in 1993, the Parental Choice in Education Initiative was placed on the ballot. The initiative was defeated by more than 2 to 1. However, proponents were outspent by a factor of 4 to 1. Unions such as the AFL-CIO, Nation Education Association, and California Teachers association raised over $17 million. Proponents raised only $4. 1 million, and were left with only $2. 5 million once they got the initiative on the ballot. (Harmer, 147) Demonstrators attempted to physically prevent people from signing the petitions to get the initiative on the ballot. People deliberately signed the petition multiple times to hamper school choice efforts. One person signed 23 times. Principles and teachers sent home anti-school choice information with children. School boards, such as that of the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD), illegally used public funds and forums to send an anti-choice message. From the standpoint of well to do Washington, D. C. suburbs, a school choice plan may seem unnecessary. Choice plans are not designed to help the upper-middle or upper class children. David Harmer wrote, â€Å"In my travels as president of the Excellence through Choice in Education League (ExCEL), I rarely met rich white suburban Republicans who were desperate for alternative schools. † (Harmer, 114) They already get a good education from government schools. However, rural poor and inner-city children do not have that luxury. For example, in the city of Milwaukee, only 40% of freshman will eventually graduate from high school, and the average GPA for students is a D+. (McGroarty, 30) School choice plans would help these students the most. The people most involved in the education system are the ones who most easily realize the problems of government schools. The Wall Street Journal wrote that, â€Å"The California State Census Data Center, after analyzing the 1990 Census, found that about 18. 2% of the state's public school teachers send their children to private schools. That's nearly twice the statewide average for all households, which is 9. 7%† (Harmer, 28) College entrance exam scores have been dropping across the board, and the US often ranks dead last in international comparisons among industrialized nations. From 1960 to 1992, the average SAT score dropped 76 points. If one were to include the reenterings of the SAT test, scores would drop even further. (Harmer, 19) The landmark study by the National Commission on Excellence in Education, A Nation at Risk, claimed, â€Å"Each generation of Americans has outstripped its parents in education, in literacy, and in economic attainment. For the first time in the history of our country, the educational skills of one generation will not surpass, will not equal, will not even approach, those of their parents. † (Harmer, 25) In addition academic failure, public schools are failing to produce good citizens. According to a Tulane study, 20% of suburban high schooler's condoned shooting someone who had stolen something of theirs. (Harmer, 29) The answer, contrary to what many education reformers claim, is not to throw more money into schools. Only one nation in the entire world spends more money per student, per year than the US, Switzerland. Japan, whose schools consistently outperform those of the US, spends only half as much money per student. Accounting for inflation, per student expenditure has increased 40 percent since 1982, and has tripled since 1960. (Harmer, 38) The image of the â€Å"criminally-underfunded† public school is false. Class size has also failed to improve education. The pupil teacher ratio declined from 25. 8:1 in 1960 to 17. 3:1 in 1991. Even in urban public schools, the ratio is as low as 17. 9:1. (McGroarty, 16) The image of the over crowded inner city school is also false. There is no relationship between spending and educational achievement in grade schools. A recent comparison of per student expenditure and scores on the National Assessment of Educational Progress tests by Forbes and Right Data Associates found the correlation coefficient for a linear relationship between spending and test scores to be 0. 12. (This value could range from -1 to 1, the closer the absolute value of the correlation coefficient is to 1, the stronger the relationship. ) (Brimelow, 52) Where does all the money go? In the LAUSD only 36 % of school funding is spent on teacher salaries, textbooks, and supplies. Thirty-one people are paid over $100,000 a year, only one of which is a teacher. Statewide in California, only 44 percent of the people employed by the school system are teachers. In the independent schools in California, 86 percent of school employees are teachers. (Harmer, 41-43) The situation is the same nationwide. Researcher Michael Fisher found that only 25. 7% of funds reach the classroom in Milwaukee schools. (McGroarty, 21) It is plain to see that throwing more money at schools and calling it reform won't help the situation. Leaders of the National Education Association and its statewide affiliates have done much of the campaigning against proposed school choice plans. They represent the only people who are set to lose because of school choice: the education bureaucrats. Their jobs will no longer be guaranteed by a government monopoly. Many people fear that schools supported by the new choice movements would be fly-by-night institutions that are out to make a profit, teach racial and religious discrimination, and condone violent behavior. However, legislative school choice efforts have placed regulations on independent schools. The Parental Choice in Education initiative in California contained the following items: (1) No school, which discriminates on the basis of race, ethnicity, color, or national origin, may redeem scholarships. (2) To the extent permitted by this Constitution and the Constitution of the United States. The State shall prevent from redeeming scholarships any school which advocates unlawful behavior; teaches hatred of any person or group on the basis of race, ethnicity, color, national origin, religion, or gender; or deliberately provides false or misleading information respecting the school. 3) No school with fewer than 25 students may redeem scholarships, unless the Legislature provides otherwise. These measures would prevent fraud and discrimination. School choice does not condone discrimination. Government already regulates private schools to some degree, and this would definitely not decrease with the use of vouchers. Too many people are under the opinion that private schools are all elite academies or preppy boarding schools, both of which charge admission the price of a college education. However, 95 percent of Catholic schools, and 88 percent of Protestant schools charge tuition under $2,500 a year. Robert Genetski said, â€Å"Average cost data for public and private education indicate that in 1990 the operating cost per student for kindergarten through grade 12 in public schools was $4,841, compared with private school costs of $1,902. † (Harmer, 76) The truth is that even the poorest of parents would be able to afford a private education with a school choice plan. In legislative efforts for choice in California, parents would receive a voucher for half the cost of public schools, which would completely cover the costs of many adequate private schools. It is true that the government would lose money by giving scholarships to students already attending private schools. However, the government gains money by losing new students to private schools, since only half of a students tax money follows the student. The students that leave after school choice is enacted would provide a pool of money that would more than cover current private school attendees. Furthermore, David Harmer, author of the Parental Choice in Education initiative and School Choice: Why You Need It, How You Get It, said that if he had to rewrite the initiative, he would include a measure that would phase in school choice. Each year one new grade would be allowed to participate, starting at Kindergarten, and ending with grade 12. No students currently in private schools would benefit from school choice. (Harmer, 178) Opponents of school choice fear that children with special needs would be left out in the cold, since private schools would deny them admission. However, special education is already dealt with by a voucher type system. Public schools cannot meet the needs of many children, so the government sends these children with special needs to private contractors, such as the local School for Contemporary Education. Children who have special needs are guaranteed an equivalent education by many state laws, and this would not change under a school choice plan. Edd Doerr wrote that, â€Å"Despite repeated and misleading claims to the contrary, vouchers are merely the latest in a long line of attempts by sectarian special interests to channel public money to church-related education institutions. (Doerr, et al, 37) He conjures up images of â€Å"government funded religious schools† that, horror of horrors, teach religion. However, the GI Bill is constitutional! If a student decides to spend money from the government on a religious education, it does not mean that the wall between church and state has come tumbling down. Today students use money from the GI Bill and Pell Grants at religious colleges without any problem. Voucher plans are the exact same thing, except with younger kids. George Bush even called his school choice plan the â€Å"GI Bill for Kids. To say that vouchers fund religious schools is to say that food stamps are government funding of supermarkets. As to cultural balkanization, school choice would not effect this at all. Religious or racial discrimination is not allowed. The claim that society is held together by a â€Å"common school experience† is a faulty argument. Schools exist to teach, not for the sake of existing. Americans respect diversity and freedom of opinion, but somehow a diversity of ideas in education seems anathema. Private schools send a higher percentage of students to college than do public schools. Their students perform better on standardized tests. They operate more cost efficiently. They are directly responsible to the parents of their students, while public schools pay more attention to school boards and administrators. Government schools have had a monopoly on children for far too long. Thanks to their efforts, one third of American seventeen-year-olds cannot locate France on a map of the world. Only one in ten can write a reasonable paragraph or do pre-college mathematics. Every citizen in America deserves a decent education. School choice can make it happen.

Reservoir Dogs

Reservoir Dogs Postmodernism theory when related to films can be described when the audience’s delay of skepticism is shattered, in order to free the audience’s grasp of the director’s work. Small changes are made to create a significant meaning in the audience’s mind. The director has created a piece of art that removes the audience from the conventional and emotional bond to the subject, creating a new perspective.Postmodern films apply the usage of four concepts: simulation, reusing styles, typically drawing irony to the new style; pre-fabrication, drawing a closer attention to already existing scenes and using them in the films narrative or dialogue; intertextuality, using text that has already been used and finally bricolage, creating a film based on a collage of various other film styles and genres. Quentin Tarantino, the famous film director, screenwriter, producer, cinematographer and actor followed his passion from an early age. He did not watch m ovies as a child and adolescent, but he made the films a large part of his life.Tarantino, though he may deny his films to fall in the category of postmodernism, portrays various genres and styles from other movies, typically of his childhood very well. Tarantino draws upon the genres of martial arts, kung fu, grind-house, and spaghetti western films. Typically starting his films, Tarantino opens with â€Å"Our Feature Presentation† drawing immediate attention to the audience, transporting them in time to their days of childhood and adolescents. A director is an artist, Tarantino, though he recreated previous works of other artists, is one too.He adds his own twist to his films, in order to create a new, distinctive and pioneering film. Tarantino uses the concept of bricolage to fuse genres together in an original fantasy-like story with exaggerated confrontation scenes and violence. Reservoir Dogs, directed and written by Quentin Tarantino first premiered in October 1992. It is about a group of criminals who where hired for a job to retrieve diamonds from a jewelry store. Things do not go as planned during the heist and the gang thinks that there may be a police mole among the group. But who could it be? Mr. Pink, Mr. Orange, Mr.White, Mr. Brown, Mr. Blue, Mr. Blonde, Nice Guy Eddie, or even head gang leader, Joe Cabot? Strangers to one another, Joe (Lawrence Tierney) assigns each member a color code alias. The opening scene is in a diner with all gang members sitting around a table, eating breakfast, while Mr. Brown (Quentin Tarantino) explains his interpretation of Madonna’s song ‘Like a Virgin’. The men continue to discuss the importance and the meanings of popular songs, especially bringing up songs of the 1970s. Though this dialogue is rather unimportant, it shows Tarantino’s intricate eye to detail.It is ironic to see Tarantino the one explaining Madonna’s song, for it is his intention to set the stage for the au dience’s interpretation of the film. Mr. Brown explains Madonna’s sexual encounters, as she continues to remember the first time she lost her virginity and the pain she had to encounter. Tarantino intends for Reservoir Dogs to have many interpretations, and one may consider that the gang members have to be redeemed through pain and suffering. The styles that we can see throughout the film use exaggerated confrontations and violence.After the diner scene, the film continues with a â€Å"Men in Black† take of the gangsters walking towards the camera. Mr. White (Harvey Keitel) and Mr. Orange (Tim Roth) are now on pursuit away from the heist, as things did not go as planned as the cops showed up unexpectedly. Running on foot, they stop a car and the owner and driver shoots Mr. Orange in the abdomen. For the remainder of the film, Mr. Orange laid on the floor of the warehouse bleeding profusely in excruciating pain. The pain that Mr. Orange faced throughout the film is the interpretation that Tarantino had intended to compare to the suffering of Madonna.Mr. Orange (Roth) was the undercover mole that was ordered to bust the head of operation, Joe Cabot (Tierney). Aside for Tarantino’s significance of popular songs, he also used images inter-dispersed throughout the film; Silver Surfer comic and the Get Christie Love! TV show. These are a few examples of how Reservoir Dogs falls into the category of being a postmodern film through the usage of image and text, posing as in intricate part to media and society. Reservoir Dogs, a postmodern film, includes the usage of criminals falling; indicating a crime and gangster movie.It also uses the formula of a western movie. Though, usually in a traditional western there is one individual who upholds law and order, Tarantino put a spin on western genres when including the style throughout his films. Reservoir Dogs use of western is slightly different, instead of one individual; there is a group of me n who try to restore order that has spun out of control to arrange a logical explanation and conclusion of who the possible informant might be. Tarantino is specific about his films, he does not intend for them to represent real life, but rather mimic other movies.In Reservoir Dogs initial scene, the men are sitting in the diner, a very similar scene to Woody Allen’s film Hannah and Her Sisters (1986) when they are sitting in a restaurant. Woody’s film is considered to be a romantic comedy drama, where Tarantino, though not considering Woody when creating the scene, did not create a romantic comedy drama film, but rather a film that fell into the category of crime, mystery and thriller. Quentin Tarantino pulls from previous artists, not only text and images, but also styles, such as cinematography. In Reservoir Dogs, Tarantino uses extreme conflict and intense violent scenes.Aside from the acting, Tarantino creates a character, Mr. Pink (Steve Buscemi), who is constant ly reminding the team that he is acting professional, while everyone else is fighting and not thinking of the future affects of their actions. Mr. Pink aside from being a â€Å"better† criminal, draws upon the belief that if you are not wearing a uniform you therefore fall into the â€Å"real person† category. Tarantino, throughout all his films, Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction (1996) and Kill Bill (2003; 2004) the assassins, criminals, and law enforcements are all distinguished by their uniforms.Those who are â€Å"real people† wear real, daily, regular clothing, nothing that is out of the ordinary. The gang members who work for Joe Cabot are all dressed in the classic black suits with white button down dress shirts and thin black ties. The cops are wearing the typical blue uniform. It is interesting to notice that Joe and his son, though apart of the gang operation do not wear the â€Å"uniform†. The majority of Reservoir Dogs takes place in the dingy ware house, where no gangster becomes a â€Å"real person†; they do not undress from their uniforms, therefore staying as a gangster.Though they do not succeed in becoming real people, they are redeemed of being a gangster through death, unlike Mr. Pink who runs out after they go on a â€Å"trigger happy frenzy† shooting one another. The idea of the members, including the cop that was taken hostage is a similar idea to William Shakespeare, who was considered an outstanding poet and playwright during the 16th century. Typically, at the end of the plays, Shakespeare would conclude that the characters all be killed. Tarantino, a rather outstanding director and writer, pulls from these great artists to create an even greater piece of work.Quentin Tarantino, considered a postmodern filmmaker, uses references to earlier films. He blends genres from A-Z. In Reservoir Dogs, he uses many references from the French new wave directors, who were highly influential to his Production Com pany as well as his work. Francois Truffaut and Jean-Luc Godard were influential; he named his production company â€Å"A Band Apart†. In Reservoir Dogs, Tarantino named the jewelry store â€Å"Karina’s† after Anna Karina, star from Bande apart (Band of Outsiders, 1964).Postmodernism is a concept that pulls from many genres, and it is Reservoir Dogs that Quentin Tarantino first begins his voyage as an up and coming director to use this style of creativity and expression. Today, we entertain ourselves with concerts, movie theater, broadways, radio, and television. It is these social medias that people like Quentin Tarantino create for our enjoyment. Pulling on our childhood memories, familiarity, comfort, and most importantly clues to other important images of our past, bring a deeper appreciation to the work and creativity that has been produced.

Environmental Racism: Take Out the Race Essay

The best way to avoid environmental racism is to avoid the subject of race at all costs. Race should never be the subject of any discussion about vital decisions regarding humanity, because when race becomes a focal point, then the discussion automatically becomes racist. The best way to avoid racism in general, including environmental racism, is to keep race out of important debates and choices, including environmental, social, economic, and political ones. When politicians plan for the development of a city, neighborhood, or industry, which has an environmental impact, the best thing politicians can do is to either allow businesses to make their own economic judgments about how, where, and when to build, or to simply use sound economic judgment themselves. If one looks to business and urban planning or environmental development and protection, one must look to costs and benefits. If the costs are low and benefits are high to a city or region in regard to incoming business or environmental changes, then the politicians should make the decision to act in favor of good business and environmental practices. In my opinion, race has no place in the discussion. Sound economics should be considered, including sound planning and social and environmental benefits, but race is never a smart card to be played. Why consider race? Considering it only makes racism more of a truth and reality. Environmental justice is important, social justice is important, and economic justice is important. All of these are linked together, and, in all of these, the color of a person’s skin is an outdated and silly point of consideration. Best practices in government, in business, in ecology, are fundamentally tied to one another, and bringing differing races into the argument is only prejudiced and unreasonable. Protecting all of united humanity and humanity’s surrounding ecology should always be a consideration, but divisive race should never be. It proves fruitless. References (Client’s uploaded article information. No author, date, title, or publisher provided. )

Objective Function vs Constraints in Linear Programming Essay

Linear Programming Model in Operation Research study is usually mathematical type of model which contains set of equations that represent objective function and constraints. The keywords in this article are Objective Function and Constraints, according to Heizer & Render (2008) Objective Function are mathematical expression expressed in linear programming designed to maximizes or minimizes some quantity, for example profit can maximized while the cost might be reduced. The objective function is also called effectiveness function, it is the mathematical expression of the objectives which may be cost of operation or profit on operation (Kumar and Hira, 2008). Constraints which is also known as restrictions are mathematical expressions of the limitations that are involved in fulfilling the objectives; they are caused by scarce or limited resources which may include money, space, manpower, materials and so on. Heizer & Render (2008) defined constraints as restrictions which limit the ext ent to which a manager can pursue an objective The objective function is more important than the constraints in a linear programming model under the circumstances in which the controllable variables which is also called the decision variables forms the major components of the linear programming model. Controllable variables are the variables that are directly under the control of the operations analyst; their values are determined by the solution of the problem. Using the stock control or inventory as an example, the controllable variables are the order size and the interval between the placed orders (Kumar and Hira, 2008). On the other hand the constraints are more important than the objective function in linear program model when the models function depends largely on the uncontrollable variables of the model. They are variables that are the function of the external environment and over which the operations analyst has no control, such variables are known as state of nature. Using the transportation system as an example, the per unit transportation cost is known as uncontrollable variable because it is subjected to continuous, unceasing change. In conclusion, it is imperative to understand and analyses the situation carefully before applying one linear programming over the other in other to improve or optimize current operations (Heizer & Render, 2008). Furthermore, it is difficult to predict or choose without examining several samples, the more reason why it is important to define variables which represent the problem  from the real world, then based on the variable determine the most applicable method (Heizer & Render, 2008). References: Heizer, J. & Render, B. (2008) Operations Management and Principles of Operations Management. PowerPoint presentation, 7th Edition. Prentice Hall, Inc., Upper Saddle River, N.J. 07458 Kumar, G.P. and Hira D.S. (2008). Operations Research, Revised Edition. Chand and Company Ltd., New Delhi.

Women driving in Saudi Arabia Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Women driving in Saudi Arabia - Essay Example There was also no freedom of religion to believe in whatever they wanted. Even Christians killed other Christians and prosecuted them for believing in a different church than the government. That is the reason why a lot of Christians found it better to live under Islamic rule in Andalusia, Turkey, or Egypt rather than live in their own medieval European country. The founding fathers recognized the problem early on and wanted to create a country where people can state their opinion peacefully, worship their God freely, and have many other privileges and freedoms. And they have succeeded. Benjamin Franklin, for example, wanted the House of Speakers to be a place for anyone, including Jews, Buddhist, Hindus, â€Å"Mohammadans† or Muslims, etc. to come and speak knowing that their freedom of speech and other rights are protected. The U.S. Constitution was very well drafted to ensure the rights of everyone in the community. However, as I have now learned in my studies, it seems that people have been trying to manipulate the constitution in various ways. When the debate about whether or not to allow for a mosque to be built on Ground Zero New York New York came about I was shocked to see what this country has come to. Separation of church and state is supposed to be one of the strengths of the government, but recently it seems that is not the case. Even more so, it seems as if the problem is even worse. There seems to be a full blown religious war going on. Even though there are many churches all around the area, the proposition of building a much needed mosque by the private sector has sparked a heated debate on a whole other level. This is something that makes no sense. Believers would attend the mosque about five times a day, in comparison, believers would report to a church once or a twice week! I have learned that the American constitution is valuable and appropriate for a country of many cultures like the United States, but

Cereal Aisle Analysis Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Cereal Aisle Analysis - Assignment Example Consumer behavior process comprises of different stages which are undertaken by every customer. These stages are problem recognition, information search, and evaluation of alternatives, purchase decision, purchase and post-purchase evaluation. Customers need to firstly identify their need with respect to purchasing a product or service. This kind of need is further utilized to search information and take appropriate action. All possible alternatives available in the market place are identified by customers. Finally purchase decision is made and products or services are purchased (Alba and Hutchinson, 2008). Growth or success of a brand depends on post purchase evaluation. I visited a local grocery store where I observed behavior of three consumers who were going towards three different aisles. All of the three consumers had different demand such as one wanted to purchase breakfast cereals, another was looking at bread aisle, and third was visiting cereal aisle. Customer A had a need for breakfast cereals and the lady was visiting the store outlet with her kid. She compared prices of all breakfast cereals kept on the track and selected some like Kellogg’s, Lucky Charms and Cocoa Puffs. However while making final purchase decision her kid put across his preference towards Kellogg’s Apple Jacks. The lady finally purchased breakfast cereal of Kellogg’s. On the other hand, customer B was in a hurry, he smartly moved in and went to specific department to purchase a particular brand’s bread.

George Orwell's 1984 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

George Orwell's 1984 - Essay Example The ideology followed by the government is Ingsoc, or English Socialism, and represents what the socialist revolution has evolved into in the English speaking state of Oceania. The single party government is totalitarian and has a carefully constructed structure to perpetuate its rule. This structure is founded on basic principles of restricting freedom of thought, surveillance of population, perpetual war, and obliteration of history and facts. Strictly enforced class difference is also part of the government’s philosophy of a way to stay in power. Restriction on independent thinking is enforced by creating a new language called Newspeak, devoid of any words or phrases even remotely linked to freedom or independent thought. Everyone in the state is expected to learn and adopt Newspeak and the party’s rationale is that, over time, all vocabulary relating to freedom would be removed from the language and, therefore, thought could be controlled. The party believes that since all crimes and negativity originate initially from a thought, people in the state can be controlled by controlling thought itself1. Another dimension of thought control is the concept of Doublethink. Doublethink allows the government to construct realities by introducing lies which could be told blatantly, believing them to be true. This is done by manipulating distortion of belief where contradictory meanings of words and situations are accepted. The government, depending on its needs, could change the context and use alternate meanings to suit itself at any time. Changing these contexts and creating justifications to lies is done through obliterating or changing history itself. Any references in history which are contrary to desired contexts are removed and, as a consequence, a lie is taken as reality. In Orwell’s words, this was â€Å"controlled insanity† through which the government controlled

Volcanoes and Earthquake Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Volcanoes and Earthquake - Assignment Example Lava with low viscosity forms a shield mountain, which is low-lying because it flows over a long distance. On the other hand, the lava with high viscosity forms a dome-shaped mountain because it flows over a short distance before solidification (Gill, 2009). High silica content leads to the formation of a magma and lava that is more viscous than when the silica content is low. The viscosity is high because of the strong bonds between silica and oxygen. Intrusive igneous rocks refer to the igneous rocks that form when magma crystallizes within the Earth’s crust. Granite is the common example of intrusive igneous rocks. Extrusive igneous rocks refer to the igneous rocks that form when magma crystallizes on the Earth’s surface (Gill, 2009). Basalt is the common example of extrusive igneous rocks. On the other hand, the lava with high viscosity forms a dome-shaped mountain because it flows over a short distance before solidification (Gill, 2009). A pyroclastic flow refers t o a fast-moving mass of hot rocks and gases. It is evident that a pyroclastic flow is explosive because of the fast-moving gases. The volcanic eruption from St. Augustine volcano is an example of the volcano that produced a pyroclastic flow. A lava flow refers the movement molten rock from a volcanic mountain at a slow speed due to the absence of hot gases (Gill, 2009). It is evident that a volcanic flow is effusive because it does not involve hot gases. The volcanic eruption from Mauna Loa volcano is an example of the volcano that produced a lava flow. A supervolcano refers to a volcano that can produce an eruption with a large volume of about 1000 km3. An example of a supervolcano is Yellowstone.  Intrusive igneous rocks from within the vents before the magma moves to the Earth’s surface.

A Contemporary Artist From The Art 21 PBS Web Site Assignment

A Contemporary Artist From The Art 21 PBS Web Site - Assignment Example The essay "A Contemporary Artist From The Art 21 PBS Web Site" discovers the Contemporary Artist in Art 21. The episodes produced in each season have different types of theme like spirituality, identity, power, and humor among others. Some of the contemporary artists featured include Sally Mann, Kerry James, and Mel Chin among others. The first season of Art21 was premiered in 2001 its seasons being produced in every two years and has been able to spread in more than fifty countries. In this context we will cover season six which is the current one in 2012 in which Ai Weiwei was interviewed. He is known to be an outspoken activist of human rights and in this episode he was featured in the theme of change. His art included photographs, sculptures and also public artworks which were about politics. . Ai Weiwei is a Chinese contemporary artist born on 18th May 1957 in Beijing, China. He is one of the founders of Avant-garde art in 1978 to which the group disbanded in 1983 (Ai, 2011). He lived in United States, New York from 1981 to 1993 and studied at Parsons School of Design and also at the Art Student League of New York. He later returned to China and published three books on the new generation of artists. Ai Weiwei received a doctorate from the University of Ghent, Belgium from the faculty of Politics and Social science in 2010.He was arrested in 2011 and detained for three months without any official charges filed against him. He has received many awards which include Skowhegan medal in 2011.

Interest Groups and Politics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Interest Groups and Politics - Essay Example The organization acts as an advocate to suppliers on regulatory and legislative issues (MEMA (a)). It identifies issues affecting the industry and proposes to the relevant authorities on how changes should be made on the policy or the matter, to avoid harmful effects to the industry. Examples of its advocacy initiatives are three letters addressed to relevant authorities touching on legislative issues affecting the industry. One letter was addressed to an acting director and general counsel of the office of government ethics. There was a proposed amendment to limit gifts from registered lobbyists and lobbying organizations. MEMA was not for the idea. The main issue here was that, the proposal would prohibit government employees from using the WAG exception to attend lobbying organizations’ variety of events and programs. MEMA, therefore, wrote a letter to address this issue on behalf of the companies it represented. It explained the effect of such an amendment and the companie s’ contribution to the economy (MEMA (d)). Another letter was addressed to the Honorable Carl Levin, a US Senator by then (2008), touching on the issue of Patent Reform Act (S.1145). The organization was concerned that this reform would weaken its patent system. It therefore addressed a letter to the Senator, before the issue was taken up in the Senate (MEMA (b)). Recently, President Obama uncovered a new plan for a â€Å"clean and secure energy future† (Walsh). MEMA has already analyzed the proposal and the opportunities it provides its members. It would, therefore, like its suppliers to be included in the proposal. The proposal is meant to set up an Energy Security Trust Fund, aimed at collecting $2 billion for a period of over 10 years. This is to be used in research into initiatives such as bio-fuels, domestically produced natural gas, electric vehicles, and fuel cells. Since 30% of the $18 billion research and development investment in automotive comes from the su pply base, MEMA is concerned that they need to be included in the proposal. The organization therefore, wrote a letter to the white house advocating for the inclusion of suppliers in the proposal (Walsh). Interest groups are there to provide valuable information to policy makers. According to Crain and Santos, information is always provided in the form of testimonies to committees. Information is provided under oath and so the interest groups ensure they provide truthful information. This supports one of the actions of MEMA (Crain & Santos). MEMA has provided a testimony before â€Å"the U.S. House Representatives Financial Services Oversight and Investigation Subcommittee† (MEMA (c)). The groups provide such information to the relevant committees free of charge. This may bring in the question of where they get their funds, because, obtaining such kind of information to present to a committee as a testimony is costly, both in terms of money and time. They also do not make mon ey. Interest groups are funded by both government and private institutions. This affects the organizations ability to lobby for something that is of their interest. Most of these organizations were supported by their founding organizations or groups for various reasons. The main reason is advocacy. This could be the case with MEMA. Albiston and Nielsen, however, indicate that the structure of funding has shifted from foundational support to government grants. Most of the

Hamlet Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 2

Hamlet - Essay Example At first, he wants to make sure that Claudius is really guilty of the murder. One can see a Hamlet who wants to be sure of his uncle’s guilt before doing revenge, and for that, he plans the play. He says â€Å"the play’s the thing, wherein I’ll catch the conscience of the king† (Act 2 Scene II). However, the biggest mistake from his part that made his entire plan go astray is his killing of Polonius in his mother’s room. It gives Claudius a chance to send Hamlet away and order to kill him, which is followed by a number of deaths leading to the tragic end of the play. In addition, it is his love towards Ophelia and his desire to keep her away from the tragic end that makes him show callous attitude towards her after the ghost reveals the truth to him. In total, though the play has a tragic end, his plan is to do the revenge in such a manner that only the guilty is punished. In total, he is a man of great virtue. Or, Hamlet is â€Å"the most admirabl e picture of human nature in its highest state, little lower than angels† (Adams & Hackett, 4). II There is still a controversy among scholars about Shakespeare’s intention in showing Hamlet as mad. However, a close scrutiny clearly proves that he is not at all mad. Instead, he is utilizing that madness as a mask to cover his ploy. For example, in Act 2 Scene II, Hamlet answers the queries of Polonius in a totally nonsensical way, making them conclude that Hamlet has gone mad. However, when his friends Rosencrantz and Guildenstem appear, he greets them with excitement, and easily makes them reveal that they are spies of the king. In fact, one can observe his ability to plan and implement complex tasks with ease. To find if Claudius is really guilty of killing his father, he makes the troupe present a play which is very similar to the killing of his father, and from Claudius’ reaction, easily infer that it is guilt that makes Claudius stop the play. In addition, o ne can see Hamlet giving explicit directions to the players that they should not overact as that will ruin the purpose of the play (Act 3, Scene II, The Tragedy of Hamlet). In addition, he has no other way other than behaving like a madman because he wants to keep Ophelia away from the troubles, though she does not. However, one can also argue that the situation is painful enough for Hamlet to become mad, and considering the series of events he had to pass through, it arouses little surprise if he really becomes mad. III The most pathetic figure in the play, undoubtedly, is Ophelia. She is the one who suffers the most in the play for no guilt of her. She loved Hamlet very much but when her father stops her from meeting Hamlet, she readily agrees. As Gehrmann (13) points out, she acts the way that is liked by the male-dominated society; always obeys her father and ignores the feelings of her own heart. In Act 3 Scene I, when Ophelia greets him with trinkets he has given her, he lashe s out at the girl, and suggests that she should join a nunnery, and asks â€Å"why wouldst thou be a breeder of sinners?† (Act 3, Scene I). In addition, while watching the play, she tries to talk to him, but his response is hostile. (Act 3, Scene II) However, there are more issues for her in the pipeline waiting their turn. She gets the news of her father’