Wednesday, October 30, 2019
Case study Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words - 4
Case study - Essay Example Through this program, company collected the discarded systems waste from the customers and delivered it to the certified vendors. The vendors were certified by the Pollution Control Board. In 2007, Wipro also appeared as a first Indian company which introduced eco-friendly range of desktops and laptops. By introducing these laptops and desktops, Wipro was aiming to reduce e-waste in the environment. Wipro also introduced a range of other products which were environment friendly and they were named as Green Ware. These products were manufactured from the materials which were free from the hazardous material such as heavy metals like lead, mercury and cadmium, polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and Brominated flame retardants. All of the other companies were using these ingredients in their products however; Wipro designed its products such as PCs without using these hazardous items. In this way, Green Ware products of the company were compliant with the Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS). Wipro has been very active in joining the campaigns and initiatives taken at global level for environmental safety. Wipro joined the Green Grid in June 2008 which was a global consortium and started to enhance energy efficiency in datacenters and business computing ecosystems. The company was not joining such platforms to get aim but the aim of the company was to actually contribute in enhancing the green technology and systems. It is also evident from the fact that Wipro joined Green Grid in June 2008 and in the same month company also joined EcoEye initiative. EcoEye initiative was a comprehensive plan aimed to increase ecological sustainability in all operations and engaging its shareholders. By joining this program, Wipro showed that it is very active in taking initiatives on green concerns. As mentioned in the case study, Chandran commented on this initiative taken by Wipro. He argues that this initiative has been taken as a collaborative effort
Monday, October 28, 2019
Compare Plath and Larkin Essay Example for Free
Compare Plath and Larkin Essay Compare and contrast the ways in which death is portrayed in Philip Larkinââ¬â¢s poem ââ¬ËDaysââ¬â¢ and ââ¬ËAmbulancesââ¬â¢ and Sylvia plathââ¬â¢s ââ¬ËLady Lazarusââ¬â¢ and ââ¬ËDeath and Coââ¬â¢ The poems i am going to analyse are: â⬠¢Lady Lazarus â⬠¢Death and Co â⬠¢Ambulances â⬠¢Days It is understatement to say that both Sylvia Plath and Philip Larkin have immense depth and subsidiary meanings to their poems, both writers expertly structure their poems and used varied techniques to convey their themes of death and instil their messages to their readers. Plath goes about it an autobiographical manner and parades death as a theatrical show leaving the audience in shock and awe however Larkin presents death in a rather trivial manner in comparison to Plath. He juxtaposes the everyday street scene with horrific. He uses the ambulance as a momentary that death is every present and our lives ultimately lead to the journey of death. The oxymoron Lady Lazarus is significant to the poem. Lazarus, originally a man who is raised from the dead by Jesus is feminised and turned into Lady Lazarus. Plath summarises what she feels; ââ¬Å"the terrible gift of being rebornâ⬠. The alliterative form of address ââ¬Å"Lady Lazarusâ⬠liberates herself from the irrevocable influence of the male figure portrays her idea of feminine superiority over men and how women should excel over men in whatever they do however Larkinââ¬â¢s title ââ¬Å"Ambulancesâ⬠is a noun that is commonly associated with the negative imagery relating to accidents,hospitals ,blood, injuries and most importantly death. Both writers use lexical techniques to convey their outlook and opinion on the theme of death; some of which consists of rhyme, rhetorical devices and their choice of vocab. Rhyme is used in the first stanza as Plath declares ââ¬Å"I have done it again/One year in every tenâ⬠she emphasises to the equal repartition of her near-death experiences and holds connotations of her suicide attempts, ââ¬Å"one year in every tenâ⬠and one being premeditated at this stage. Plath speaks in hyperboles to emphasize her suicidal intention and her need to control her death and become a ââ¬Å"walking miracleâ⬠. The pre modifier ââ¬Å"walkingâ⬠illustrates the fact that despite her many near death experiences she is still alive and ready as ever to attempt another suicide experience. The uoyant noun ââ¬Å"miracleâ⬠that Plath describes herself as, demonstrates to the reader just how romantically Plath thinks of death to be and how her ending her own life is a seemingly phenomenal way of dying. In comparison to this, Larkin contrasts his lexical techniques in oppose to Plath, he begins with the first stanza being a dramatic, alliterative opener. The vehicles are ââ¬Å"Closed like confessionalsâ⬠and are ââ¬Å"giving back none of the glances they absorbâ⬠; like a corpse. The alliterative statement ââ¬Å"closed like confessionals ââ¬Å"illustrates the Roman Catholic idea of confessing sins to a priest in a ââ¬Å"closedâ⬠box. This also outlines the poems religious nature and demonstrates to us the religious idea of death which connotes it of being like a ââ¬Å"closedâ⬠off box a coffin. This also depicts the closed off nature of death and how once a person dies everything, they are sealed off from the world, an end to everything. Larkin uses enjambment to emphasize the disconnection between people and death throughout the poem. In the first two lines, the lack of punctuation ironically causes the reader to stop at the end of each line. This symbolises the separation between the ambulance, and the city it is travelling through, as well as the glances the ambulance takes in. In the fourth stanza, Larkin uses enjambment in five out of the six lines, demonstrating the isolation of death throughout society. Specifically in the last three lines and into the last stanza, Larkin reveals that what unites one another across the years, at last falls apart there (in the ambulance and at the hospital), while connecting all four of those lines. Vocabulary is also an element used by Plath to depict death; her language register is bold and informal. The vocabulary and rhythms make out the conversational speeches within the poem and make them out to be colloquial and everyday spoken, the frequently end-stopped lines, the repetitions which have the effect of mockingly counteracting the violence of the meaning, all establish the deliberately dismissive note of death which Plath strives to achieve.. At times the tone is hysterically strident and demanding: ââ¬Å"unwrap me hand and footââ¬â The big strip tease. Gentlemen, ladies These are my hands My knees. Iambic pentameter is also used in Lady Lazarus because it mimics the rhythm of conversational speech and makes it closer to spontaneous speech. This also highlights Lady Lazarus aural quality as it is meant to be read aloud which emphasizes it rhetorical intensity and perhaps the power that Lady Lazarus has gained throughout the poem ââ¬Å" I am your opus I am your valuable The pure gold babyâ⬠The spontaneous structure of the poem emphasises the emotional and physcological disintegration of Lady Lazarus and how she speaks spontaneously out of pain that she is feeling form her suicidal attempts On the contrary, Larkin also used five groups of six lines of poetry (sestet) of iambic trimeter and roughlythere are some irregularities, a, with the first and last lines of each sestet rhyming, and the middle rhyming ââ¬Å"aââ¬âb-a-bâ⬠like a ballad. The second stanza, only the first and last lines have been ended with punctuation leaving everything in the middle flowing. The women in the shops are detached from the Wild white face inside the ambulance. The third stanza all ends with punctuation, excluding the first line. This one exception is very isolated within the stanza as it is the only line left to flow. The flow emphasizes that the solving emptiness is not an obvious encounter which we face every day. The ââ¬Å"solving emptinessâ⬠, a description of death, lies just under all we do, not exposed. Moreover, Plath employs and uses unique language features to express her emotion; ââ¬Å"soon, soon the flesh/the grave cave â⬠repetition is used to emphasise her point across to the audience, she also repeats ââ¬Å"soonâ⬠twice to comfort the audience as well as herself; this also correlates to Plathââ¬â¢s idea of death and how it is a welcoming experience not to be terrified by, something that makes her feel ââ¬Å"at homeâ⬠. To the readers and audience itself it is something disorientating and a lonely discomforting concept, but to Plath and her persona Lazarus, it is something they embrace with open arms and are anticipating it ââ¬Å"soonâ⬠â⬠¦ However, Larkin goes about his language features differently; so much so that Larkin hardly uses devices such as repetition, exclamation , but rather settles for an indirect approach to his language, the only apparent use of language feature is the distinctive italic fronted text ââ¬Å"poor soulâ⬠,this highlights and emphasises the point Larkin wishes to make and also is his idea od the reaction given to the audience and the reader. This again relates to Larkinââ¬â¢s idea of death and his opinion being in total contrast to Plath. For Larkin, death is a dreadful thing, a cold, merciless, selfish thing and when death strikes it only can be described for the prey of death as ââ¬Å"poorâ⬠which Larkin does, to have pity on those death has taken. â⬠Soulâ⬠has In Lady Lazarus the audience are the spectators watching the performer show off her daring acts in order to prepare her to die. She in other words entertains the audience by producing her own death in a rather erotic manner. The audience is shown the grim reality of death through the pre-modifier ââ¬Ëpeanut-crunchingââ¬â¢. This illustrates to the reader just how engrossed the audience is in watching Lady Lazarus attempt her suicide and are absorbed in the strangeness of her death and robotically carry on ââ¬Ëcrunchingââ¬â¢ on their peanuts oblivious to just how dismal the death of Lady Lazarus is . Showmanship is portrayed through the use of first person ââ¬Å"Iâ⬠throughout the whole poem and the audience seems to develop a ââ¬Å"chargeâ⬠from the gothic striptease Lady Lazarus puts on for them or perhaps a charge the audience have to pay for watching. Using the metaphor ââ¬Å"chargeâ⬠gives connotations of the audience wanting a show, watching ââ¬Å"Lady Lazarusâ⬠unwrap herself ,restored to life ââ¬Å"The big strip teaseâ⬠indicating sexual connotations of the audience being largely male and receiving some sort of sexual fulfilment from this. Plath also portrays her rather freakish desire for death by questioning the audience directly ââ¬Å"O my enemy/ do I terrify? â⬠The vocative ââ¬Å"Oâ⬠along with the possessive pronoun ââ¬Å"myâ⬠directly challenges the audience as if the audience are somewhat responsible for the suicidal state that Plath is now in, intimidating them as she challenges them. The ââ¬Å"O myâ⬠could also be taken as a form of loving address to her lover. If put next to ââ¬Ëenemyââ¬â¢ it reflects her feelings about death as if it I something to long and lust for however death is all something that is utterly terrifying at the same time as it is a mystery to all of us. It also adds a sense of awkwardness throughout the poem as the reader begins to wonder about death and what appears in the afterlife. The audience also feels partly responsible for Plathââ¬â¢s terrible state and are also blamed for causing her death in such a manner. The rhetorical question ââ¬Å"do I terrifyâ⬠not only involves the audience directly, but also threatens the audience rather mockingly as if the answer to the question should be nothing but a yes. The verb ââ¬Å"terrifyâ⬠portrays Plathââ¬â¢s dual state, just like the Nazis she will not hesitate to inflict pain upon herself in order for her to die yet just like the Jewish race she fades beneath a strong force as she begins to doubt whether she is capable of ending her life. This again increasingly adds to awkward uncomfortable nature as audience beings to wonder what kind of miserable state she will be left in when she dies. However the audience in ââ¬Å"Ambulancesâ⬠are the people (mainly middle class) that are around where the death has taken place. They are the ââ¬Å"children strewn on stepsâ⬠and ââ¬Å"women coming from the shopsâ⬠. Here the normality of life trivialises the horror of death as ordinary people carry on living their life. They are watching horrifically as the body comes in. The audience here is rather sympathetic and empathise with the person that has just died. ââ¬Å"Poor soul/they whisper at their own distressâ⬠. Using the verb ââ¬Å" ââ¬Å"whisperâ⬠Larkin wishes to portray how the audience not only whispers out of remorse, pity and respect for the person that has just died but also whisper because they feel a sense of relief and thankfulness that the person that has just expired was not themselves or their loved one. Here Larkin shows us the selfish nature of man and how man despite everything shall always care about them; in essence leaving everybody walking on their own. Through this Larkin shows us how death is, death shall leave every person unaccompanied and everyone shall be no one. Death is selfish and when the appointed time, death shall not wait and indeed ââ¬Å"All streets in time are visitedâ⬠. The visitor being death personified through the use of a vehicle, the Ambulance. The ambulance here is death. And Larkin portrays the randomness of death and how unexpected it can be by the use of the preposition ââ¬Å"inâ⬠and the noun ââ¬Å"timeâ⬠. Here Larkin reminds the reader than death is inevitable and is always there, a god like figure. Larkin also presents the idea that the audience, the ââ¬Å"onlookersâ⬠forgot about death yet are reminded when a death appears around their life and the ââ¬Å"fastened doors recedeâ⬠. The audience are perhaps morbidly fascinated by death as it appears strange to them but then the audience then begins to realise the ââ¬Å"emptiness/That lies under all we doâ⬠and for a moment the audience understands that life has only one certainty; death. The title of the poem Death Co title is an etymological, lexical technique in itself and is employed by the writer to change the perception of the reader, for the reader to be open minded and to grasp the writers idea. The ââ¬Å"coâ⬠referred to in the title refers to a business which begins to establish the ironic and mocking mood of the poem,. Death is often viewed with incongruity, something that coldly takes away life yet offers comfort to those who are in pain or believe in an afterlife. This again links to the idea of death being a business because the persona asserts that ââ¬Å"there are twoâ⬠referring to the two individuals that make up the entity called ââ¬Å"Death and coâ⬠. To the persona it is ââ¬Å"perfectly naturalâ⬠that there are two people because a business must be compromised of at least two people. In Death Co the persona asserts that, ââ¬Å"there are two,â⬠personifying death the two individuals who make up the entity called Death Co. She comments that it is natural that there would be two, as most companies are made up of at least two people. The individual ââ¬Å"exhibits // birthmarks,â⬠and the speaker proclaims that they are ââ¬Å"his trademark. â⬠This claim subsumes the title of the poem, metaphorically revealing the business which is ââ¬Å"Death Co. By doing this the ide of death is bought closer to the persona as it now becomes a threat that is visible and is standing before the narrator. â⬠Sibilance is used to describe the trademark ââ¬Å"the scald scar of waterâ⬠. The effect of the assonance is that it creates harsh violent sound and emphasises the cruel and punitive nature of the partners in Death Co. Larkin however does not use his metaphoric objectified technique in the title but rather from within the poem itself. In the second stanza Larkin uses the ââ¬Å"priestâ⬠and the ââ¬Å"doctorâ⬠as symbols of different sentiments and values of ââ¬Å"deathâ⬠. The priest being a man of religion and the doctor symbolic to a man of science who both serves in ââ¬Å"solving that questionâ⬠; two people obsessed with the mystery of death appears after the question has been solved. The ââ¬Å"priestâ⬠coat is black which represents death and he helps the person from moving from this life to the next. The ââ¬Å"Doctorâ⬠coat is white which represents life as the doctor tries to revive the person. This again has connotations of conflict between science and religion Plath begins by using repetition of numbers ââ¬Å"two of course there are twoâ⬠. She is reasserting that death has come in two living forms before her. One of them looking grotesque, ââ¬Å"whose eyes are liddedâ⬠and the other is attractive having ââ¬Å"long and plausiveâ⬠hair yet dangerous . She does this to juxtapose the idea of life and death, the fact that two mortal creatures are bring about her lifeless state. The two figures create a sense of fear within her as she finds it difficult to name the two. ââ¬Å"he tells me how badly/He tells me how sweetâ⬠. The repetition of Second person pronouns and the juxtaposition of her divergent feelings towards death emphasises how at times death appears inviting and perhaps more easier alternative to life difficulties yet the sheer fact of suicide perhaps restrains her form ending her life as the fear of the unknown in the afterlife haunts her . Which perhaps emphasizes her fearful yet unrecognisable feelings towards death. She fears death and the reader can see that Plaths posseses a frightened predatory victimised outlook on death so she cannot find a specific name to address them as or perhaps there is no personal attachment to death as death is metaphorically recognised as a business, it performs it function and then leaves. On the other hand Larkin uses the same rhetorical feature of repetition but in a rather different manner. Days are repeated three times in the first stanza and this repetition forces the reader to think about the meaning of the word ââ¬Å"daysâ⬠which is the futility of existence ,the inevitable truth that all life must end in death. The reader is compelled to think about what would happen after the days has ended. Larkin gives day a spatial dimension as he describes days as ââ¬Å"Days are where we liveâ⬠. This raises about how time is measured the nature of it and its artificiality. Days are not a place,not a ââ¬Å"whereâ⬠but a when and it is in this paradox that leads to the blank response to the second question. â⬠Where can we live but daysâ⬠. From this question the answerer is now question themselves as they come to realise the inevitable truth behind days ,there is a lack of choice to the answer and the answerer realises that on the other side of dyas is the night which holds high connotations of death and the afterlife something which clearly fright and perhaps intrigues the answerer Once a person no longer has any days left to live in,the only other place that a person can occupy will be a place in his grave The use of a voice or persona is clearly present in both poemââ¬â¢s although again both poets use this craft differently to suit their own methods of portraying death. Larkin does not clearly portray the identity of the voice or the voices the reader perceives in ââ¬Å"Daysâ⬠however what we do know is that there is a clear distinction bewtween the voice that asks the questions and the voice that answers the questions. The questions that questioner asks are literally simple,naive and appear to be that of a child asking questions rather simple questions. Of course the underlying meaning which lies behing these unpretentious questins is the metaphor of death in the background. The second voice appears to be different and fluctuates throughout the development of the poem. This voice appears to be the answerer to the questions that are asked and answers the question in a rather straightforward manner . The answer to the first question: ââ¬Å"Days are where we liveâ⬠denotes a matter of fact, mollifying tone as the simple question is answered by an equally simple although equally worrying answer. At first the voice appears to be kindly positive reassuring the childish questioner that days ââ¬Å"are to be happy inâ⬠which again holds connotations of death. It tells the questioner and the reader also that the inevitability of death is true so we should live our lives while we have it and enjoy and ââ¬Å"be happyâ⬠within it. In the second stanza the answerer adopts a worldly macabre tone almost mocking and cruel as it dryly observes that the only place people can inhibit apaprt from days is death. the questioner is trying to find a simple answer and uses the filler ââ¬Å"ahâ⬠to contemplate on what happens after days,the question become a lot of bigger then it initially seemed and the answerer realises there is no simplistic way to answer it and so the ââ¬Å"preistâ⬠and ââ¬Å"doctorâ⬠are suppousedly the only people that hold the answers to the question However Plath uses two male persona in her poem to portray death and reveal the double or schizophrenic nature of death. The use of male personaââ¬â¢s was chosen deliberately to emphasise the painful awareness of manââ¬â¢s seemingly innate Judas quality just as death can be cruel and snipe away happiness at the last moment.
Saturday, October 26, 2019
Determining the Intensity of a Memory :: Biology Essays Research Papers
Determining the Intensity of a Memory Two people can have the same exact experience but remember the event differently. This has always amazed me, especially when I am reminiscing with a friend and our memories of our relationship are slightly different. For example, we went on a road trip to the shore and when I recall the vacation, my first thought is of the car ride and how much fun it was. My friend thinks of our night at Seaside Heights. It isn't that I have repressed the memory of the rickety old rides and carnival games, I just don't think of that part of the vacation first. For some reason, the experience of singing along with our "road trip" cassette tape with our hair blowing in the wind made more of an impression on me. There are obviously different kinds of memories. There are memories concerning facts and figures, learned skills, emotions, faces, survival skills, long term, short term, vacations, etc. All of these types of memories are different for all people, and are different from experience to experience . This is due to the fact that the brain is always changing, and no two situations are identical. This is further clarified by the cliche; "You only get one chance to make a first impression." Once a person has an experience, her brain is permanently altered. Memory is a vast topic and only the very surface will be scratched here. Several areas are mentioned, repressed memories and False Memory Syndrome, and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. These topics enabled me to learn how some memories are purposely "forgotten", how memories effect behavior in the aftermath, and what dictates memory storage. Two structures of the brain linked to memory are the hippocampus and amygdala. Both are discussed with respect to their role in memory storage and what trends are noticed in subjects who are damaged in some manner either by experience or for the purposes of research. All this information is used to address the following question. Why are some experiences remembered so clearly and vividly while others are completely forgotten? As I mentioned above in my personal anecdote, some memories seem to be "at the back of the mind" and are not recalled as strongly as others. Repressed memory is an extreme example of this. The person basically forgets a traumatic experience and this is associated with victims of physical and sexual assault, rape, and other devastatingly traumatic experiences. Determining the Intensity of a Memory :: Biology Essays Research Papers Determining the Intensity of a Memory Two people can have the same exact experience but remember the event differently. This has always amazed me, especially when I am reminiscing with a friend and our memories of our relationship are slightly different. For example, we went on a road trip to the shore and when I recall the vacation, my first thought is of the car ride and how much fun it was. My friend thinks of our night at Seaside Heights. It isn't that I have repressed the memory of the rickety old rides and carnival games, I just don't think of that part of the vacation first. For some reason, the experience of singing along with our "road trip" cassette tape with our hair blowing in the wind made more of an impression on me. There are obviously different kinds of memories. There are memories concerning facts and figures, learned skills, emotions, faces, survival skills, long term, short term, vacations, etc. All of these types of memories are different for all people, and are different from experience to experience . This is due to the fact that the brain is always changing, and no two situations are identical. This is further clarified by the cliche; "You only get one chance to make a first impression." Once a person has an experience, her brain is permanently altered. Memory is a vast topic and only the very surface will be scratched here. Several areas are mentioned, repressed memories and False Memory Syndrome, and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. These topics enabled me to learn how some memories are purposely "forgotten", how memories effect behavior in the aftermath, and what dictates memory storage. Two structures of the brain linked to memory are the hippocampus and amygdala. Both are discussed with respect to their role in memory storage and what trends are noticed in subjects who are damaged in some manner either by experience or for the purposes of research. All this information is used to address the following question. Why are some experiences remembered so clearly and vividly while others are completely forgotten? As I mentioned above in my personal anecdote, some memories seem to be "at the back of the mind" and are not recalled as strongly as others. Repressed memory is an extreme example of this. The person basically forgets a traumatic experience and this is associated with victims of physical and sexual assault, rape, and other devastatingly traumatic experiences.
Thursday, October 24, 2019
Hmong Essay -- essays research papers
à à à à à The traditional Hmong live a horticultural society they depend on domesticated plants, they are well-adapted on soils of the tropical rain forests and poor soil places which are unsuitable for intense agriculture. Prehistoric Hmong are thought to have moved from Eurasia and made a few stops at Siberia. As their custom they settled in the highlands (mountains) from Vietnam and Laos and later in Thailand. They inherited the name ââ¬Å"Miaoâ⬠, from living in the mountains. Today Five million Hmong reside in China, more than any other country. The Hmong people have straight black hair and have a short, sturdy stature. In the southern margins of the Sahara Desert, going southward toward East Africa are tall, rather thin dark skin peoples called the Nuer. To the Nuer horticulture is degrading toil. The Nuer live the pastoral mode of production with their primary dependancy on animal husbandry, cattle. Although the cattle is not raised for the meat, unless they become barren, or injured they eat them under special conditions. Usually adapt in dry grassland with short growing seasons. Although they do eat/grow crop it is very little. Milk is one of the main foods of the Nuer. Both cultures sacrifice animals to heal souls. The Hmong believe in the dab as the evil spirit, the Nuer believe in the evil eye. The evil eye is a person with supernatural power who causes damage to people who look at them. For the Hmong the most common cause of illness is soul lo...
Wednesday, October 23, 2019
Ellen Moore: Living and Working in Korea Essay
The Korean culture on the other hand uses indirect communication which makes it hard for western cultures to understand what is really meant or wanted. In addition, the Confucianism in the Korean culture teaches to show respect for teachers and superiors. Showing respect to a teacher/superior implies to not ask questions to avoid offending the speaker by implying that the teaching is not well done and that the group cannot follow the subject taught. In this case the cultural behavior of the Korean consultants is causing major problems. Since the knowledge of the Korean consultants is by ar not as enhanced as the knowledge of the American counterparts, Scott is trying to give the consultants instructions how to tackle certain problems and how to structure the project, but is not able to confirm if these instructions were understood or if more explanations are needed. In addition, this cultural behavior is reducing the consultantsââ¬â¢ ability to openly communicate with their superi ors such as Scott, Ellen, Jack and the client and speak freely about concerns, questions or better solutions they might have. Another communication barrier can be recognized in regards to gender. In Confucianism the male-female relationship is equal to superior-subordinate relationship. This causes major tension in the communication between Ellen and Jack since his norms and values might have led him to devalue the authority of Ellenââ¬â¢s input. This might explain why he is holding meetings without inviting Ellen and his refusal to use Ellenââ¬â¢s memo she prepared detailing the progress during her absence. Since Ellen is not speaking the Korean language and needs to rely on a translator, her ability to manage the team effectively and her understanding of different nuances in the Korean language are decreased and sometimes even diminished. Missing language skills is the third major communication barrier in this case which becomes very apparent at the dinner when Jack makes a very passive-aggressive speech in Korean. When the translator stops translating (Jack told her so), Ellen is confronted with not only the language barrier, but also with the cultural barrier of the superior-subordinate relationship and has to confront Jack and tell him to speak in English in order to keep the threats against the translator minimal and to ensure that she can understand the speech going forward. Another challenge this team is facing is an unclear leadership and direction which is causing interruptions in the decision making process. The misalignment between Jackââ¬â¢s and Ellenââ¬â¢s instructions causes inconsistencies and insecurities in the team. The Korean consultants are not sure which orders to follow and due to the cultural familiarity with Jack and the high power distance in the Korean work culture, they are ignoring Ellenââ¬â¢s instructions. The decision making process is further slowed down by major cultural difference in regards how and how quickly project related decisions are made. The American culture is known for quick decision-making whereas the Korean culture has a very high uncertainty-avoidance. This risk avoidant culture is driving Jackââ¬â¢s decision to conduct further market research even if that is outside of the scope of the companies deliverables. Since Korea is a collectivist society in which group decisions are valued, his unilateral decision in regards to the market research suggests that he does not view Ellen as part of the group. The differing attitudes toward hierarchy and authority make it very hard for the American consultants to gage what the knowledge of the team is and how much is really understood. The American culture has a very low-power distance compared to the high-power distance work culture of Koreanââ¬â¢s. This is minimizing the knowledge and idea exchange which is very critical especially in consulting projects. Another major challenge is the missing group development. The Five Stage Model describes the first of these stages as the forming stage where team members get a feeling of how they fit into the team and what their responsibilities and tasks will be. Due to the constant disagreements and power struggles between Ellen and Jack, the group building process is majorly interrupted. No trust can be built between the team members and the leaders and will eventually cause the failure of the project. The last challenge is the low emotional and cultural intelligence in the group (EQ and CQ). In order for all members of the group to feel comfortable around the other members of the team, trust has to be developed and a sense of group identity and group efficacy has to be established. This would convey the efficiency and productivity of the team and the awareness of cultural differences. In this case, Ellen destroys the chance to get closer to an integrated group when she interrupts Jack during a meeting and makes him ââ¬Å"lose his faceâ⬠in front of his subordinates. In the Korean culture this is a huge sign of disrespect and she will be not able to regain trust or authority without any intervention from the management team. Q2: The 1st alternative would be to remove either Jack or Ellen from the team. Ellenââ¬â¢s removal would appease the Korean hierarchy and would give the team a unified leadership under Jack. Nevertheless, removing Ellen from the team would challenge the successful completion of the project since her expertise and experience is needed. Even if a suitable replacement for Ellen could be found, the person would need time to get up to speed and additional expenses would be occurred for the relocation package of the new person and a severance payment or relocation package for Ellen who would need to move to another project which most probably would be in a different country. This could possibly damage Andrewââ¬â¢s leadership and reputation. On the other hand, removing Jack from the project team would not be received well by the Korean consultants and the management team and the cultural differences would increasingly prohibit the project from succeeding. The 2nd alternative would be to keep status quo and leave the team as it is and let the situation take care of itself. The assumption here would be that Ellen has adjusted to different cultures in prior assignments and might be the best person to get the team back on track. The advantage of this solution would be that no initial cost is required and everybody continues in their role without major interruptions. The drawback with this solution is that this alternative is very risky. The team has already reached a point where action needs to be taken. The work environment and the tension between Ellen and Jack did not improve over the last weeks and additional resources will be needed to keep the project on track. The ultimate alternative in this case is to restructure and redefine the team. Ellen should be the sole team leader in regards to tasks, deadlines and milestones. Jack should be assigned to a specialized role on the consulting team, so that on the one hand his technical expertise is still available if needed, but on the other hand his control as a leader is decreased significantly, so he cannot interfere with the work flow of the team anymore. In order to make the restructuring of the team successful, Ellen should address the above mentioned challenges one by one, to ensure the highest possible success rate. In order to address the communication issue and the high-power distance work environment, she should establish an nvironment, where team members can anonymously state their opinion, ask questions or introduce new solutions to problems the team is currently facing. This could be established by creating an anonymous drop box (physically or digitally) which would be read daily by Ellen and topics submitted would be discussed during the meetings. For certain specialized tasks, subgroups should be created to make sure the high-power distance wo rk environment can be decreased and different viewpoints and ideas can arise from free discussions. This solution will improve team functionality and eliminate time lost on tasks not related to the project, preventing further delays. Furthermore Ellen would need to make the team aware of the cultural differences and try to make the team find common solutions which are acceptable to everybody (Adaption). Commonly agreed on procedures for office behavior or approval processes will make it easier for the employees to follow rules and to work efficiently. Team building sessions will be required to brainstorm team values, individual roles and decision making processes. This will eliminate the disconnect between leadership and subordinates while accelerating the group development. The demotion of Jack out of a management position will be potentially damaging to his reputation but will be counteracted by his new role as a specialized consultant with technical experience. The additional costs associated with the recommended solution are minimal. Nevertheless, gaining the buy-in of the Korean management team will be difficult. If the proposed solution does not work due to the missing of the Korean management team, Andrew would need to assume this position by himself.
Tuesday, October 22, 2019
Funny Break up Quotes to Make You Feel Better
Funny Break up Quotes to Make You Feel Better Regardless of whether you have been through one or a dozen breakups, each one erodes your spirit. A breakup leaves you sapped. It affects your self-esteem, confidence, and relationships. Many heartbroken people are known to drown themselves into addiction: be it smoking, drugs, or even food. The emotional upheaval also causes physical disorders: insomnia, memory loss, weight gain, and digestive disorders. Different Ways to Heal While you shouldnt drown your grief in alcohol or drugs, you should take solace in spiritual talks, music, yoga, and dance. Take up activities that help release stress, and heal your soul. Read self-improvement books, inspirational quotes, or even funny quotes to shake off the gloom. Share your feelings with friends, without clinging on to the past. Most of all, avoid blaming yourself. Laughter Is the Best Medicine Humor helps cushion the fall after a bad breakup. Laughter releases the endorphins that are needed to counter depression. Humor also helps you reflect on the situation in a lighter vein. Many humorists have poked fun at breakups. Read this collection of funny breakup quotes. These quotes make light of the situation, poking harmless jokes. Some quotes mock at love and marriage. Let laughter play on your lips when you read these funny breakup quotes. Quotes Joan Crawford Love is a fire. But whether it is going to warm your hearth or burn down your house, you can never tell. Mae West All discarded lovers should be given a second chance, but with somebody else. Steve Martin There is one thing I would break up over and that is if she caught me with another woman. I wouldnt stand for that. Johnny Carson The difference between a divorce and a legal separation is that a legal separation gives a husband time to hide his money. Paris Hilton Every woman should have four pets in her life. A mink in her closet, a jaguar in her garage, a tiger in her bed, and a jackass to pay for it all. Cyril Connolly The dread of loneliness is greater than the dread of bondage, so we get married. Victoria Holt Never regret. If its good, its wonderful. If its bad, its experience. Ogden Nash Love is a word that is constantly heard, Hate is a word that is not. Love, I am told, is more precious than gold. Love, I have read, is hot. But Hate is the verb that to me is superb, And Love but a drug on the mart. Any kiddie in school can Love like a fool, But Hating, my boy, is an Art. Marie Corelli I never married because there was no need. I have three pets at home, which answer the same purpose as a husband. I have a dog, which growls every morning, a parrot which swears all afternoon and a cat that comes home late at night. Bob Udkoff Hate is such a luxurious emotion, it can only be spent on one we love. Miss Piggy, The Muppet Show Is there a cure for a broken heart? Only time can heal your broken heart, just as time can heal his broken arms and legs.How can a woman be expected to be happy with a man who insists on treating her as if she were a perfectly normal human being. Cher The trouble with women is that they get all excited about nothing... and then marry him! Dave Barry The obvious and fair solution to the housework problem is to let men do the housework for, say, the next six thousand years, to even things up. The trouble is that over the years, men have developed an inflated notion of everything they do, so that before long they would turn housework into just as much a charade as business is now. They would hire secretaries and buy computers and fly off to housework conferences in Bermuda, but theyd never clean anything. Katherine Hepburn Sometimes I wonder if men and women really suit each other. Perhaps they should live next door and just visit now and then. Rita Rudner The older theory was, marry an older man because theyre more mature. But the new theory is men dont mature. Marry a younger one. Mahatma Gandhi I first learned the concepts of non-violence in my marriage. Sir George Jessel Marriage is a mistake every man should make. Dennis Miller After 7 years of marriage, I am sure of two things. First, never wallpaper together and second, youll need two bathrooms... both for her. The rest is a mystery, but a mystery I love to be involved in. Queen Victoria When I think of a merry, happy, free girl, and look at the ailing, aching state a wife is generally doomed to, which you cant deny is the penalty of marriage. Andy Rooney For every stunning, smart, well-coiffed hot woman of forty plus, there is a balding, paunchy relic in yellow pants making a fool of himself with some 22-year-old waitress. Lizz Winstead I think... therefore, Im single. Steve Martin There is one thing I would break up over and that is if she caught me with another woman. I wouldnt stand for that. Jerry Seinfeld Breaking up is like knocking over a Coke machine. You cant do it in one push. You gotta rock it back and forth a few times, and then it goes over. John Imbergamo There are always a few before-Valentines Day breakups that allow people to cancel reservations. Katherine Mansfield If only one could tell true love from false love as one can tell mushrooms from toadstools. Mae West Live close, visit often.Marriage is a great institution, but Im not ready for an institution yet. Queen Elizabeth I of England I would rather be a beggar and single, than a queen and married. Marion Smith Can you imagine a world without men? No crime and lots of happy, fat women. Jane Austen It is always incomprehensible to men, that a woman should refuse an offer of marriage. Jean Harlow I like to wake up each morning feeling a new man. Gloria Steinem The surest way to be alone is to get married. Socrates By all means marry, if you get a good wife, youll be happy. If you get a bad one, youll become a philosopher.I guess the only way to stop divorce is to stop marriage. Dave Barry What women want: To be loved, to be listened to, to be desired, to be respected, to be needed, to be trusted, and sometimes, just to be held. What men want: Tickets to the World Series.
Monday, October 21, 2019
Caballero Review essays
Caballero Review essays It is an irony that something that can raise a person to their highest level has the same power to dissolve it. In the case of Caballero, pride and vision fuel the Mendoza family to establish an hacienda and be respected among their peers. This greatness, in their eyes, is the fruit of hard work, family, and traditions followed through many generations. Through the course of the novel, pride remains a key element in Don Santiago, but somewhere vision is lost and is blurred by the pestering war that raises emotion to take control of his actions. A reasonable man can do many things, but Don Santiagos reason is blinded by rage directed at people whom he knows little to nothing of. Letting pride take the best of him, he alone is the cause for the fall of his family. When Don Jose arrived in the area known as Rancho Las Palmas, the land was unmarked and unwanted, so he labeled it his and raised a great hacienda and family. However, during this time, power and control changed as countries fought for this land. No one really took notice to the area of South Texas, for it was not yet settled by Americans, and it was too far from Mexico to be of real significance to them. This made life for the first hundred years at Rancho Las Palmas fairly easy to follow traditions and live as planned. With the dispute of the land between the Nueces and Rio Grande rivers came trouble for Don Santiagos reign. As the Anglos fought for control of this land, they brought with them a whole other culture, alien to that of the rancheros. Also, Don Santiago felt the presence of unwanted guests in his territory that had been only disturbed by measly Indians in the past. But how would he protect this lifelong reign of Rancho Las Palmas against these big unknown Anglos? The authors, Gonzalez and Raleigh, continually emphasize the size difference and physical appearance of the Anglo men and how it frightens the shorter Mexican. ...
Sunday, October 20, 2019
Forgetting and our emotional state Essays
Forgetting and our emotional state Essays Forgetting and our emotional state Essay Forgetting and our emotional state Essay They are peripheral details which are encoded which wouldnââ¬â¢t normally be encoded. These details may be where the person was at the time and what the were doing when the event took place or when being told it took place etc. an example may be when Felix Baumgartner sky dived from out of space. FBMs are usually formed if the event was emotionally arousing. They tend to be memories of the events which is episodic rather than memories of facts which are semantic. An evaluation point of FMB is research done by Brown and Kulik, it was found that white Ps had FBMs for assassinations of white people for e.g. President Kennedy whereas black Ps had FBMs of the assassinations of black people for e.g. Martin Luther King. This supports FBMs as it showed that emotional arousal,huge significance and persona relevance are important factors in the formation of FBMs. It was also suggested by Brown and Kulik that the ability to form FBMs would be useful for our ancestors for activities such as hunting and gathering to survive. This would be an evolutionary advantage as there would be trial and error and the errors would have caused trauma which in turn led to a FBM so the error would not be attempted again. However it could be said that in the 21st century it is not very useful as there is no need to hunt and gather. The suggestion of evolutionary advantages supports FBMs. : Support for Brown and Kulik is from the research where it is shown how sudden shocks or surprises increase adrenaline production. Stress hormones are known to lead to stronger memory information/ so high arousal of a sudden even triggers changes and increases the production of adrenaline. This is then likely to form into a à FBM. Its an advantage to have this medical knowledge as it is objective so there is no risk of demand characteristics, it I also high in reliability. Contradictory evidence for à FBMs are that high arousal and danger might be the cause of them. Write found that there was little evidence for witnesses of the Hills-borough football disaster having à FBMs. 96 Liverpool fans were crushed to death and this was seen by hundreds. After 5 months fans tended to have only a vague memory and not the clear à FBMs one which was expected.à However it could be said that the witnesses may not have wanted to recall the events as it may have been traumatic to remember so they pretended they forgot. Another contradicting point for FBM is the MSM. Neisser has criticised the concept of à FBMs and says they can be explained in other ways. They could be explained by using the models of memory, for example the MSM say that we remember long lasting memories because of rehearsal, and a traumatic event may be rehearsed.à Repression:à Freud believed that forgetting is an unconscious motivated process. He came up with motivated forgetting which involved memories which were too emotionally painful to be forgotten using a defence mechanism such as repression and denial. It was said that in repression painful feelings are at first conscious and then are forgotten, but they are stored in the unconscious from where they can be retrieved. Repression can range from momentary lapses of forgetting the details of a horrific event such as a murder. Amnesia can occur in cases where the person has experienced something extremely painful. Freud says that the Oedipus and Elektra complex go through repression whereby the child represses incestuous desires towards the the opposite sex parent and feelings of rivalry towards the same sex parent. Freud didnââ¬â¢t believe all forgetting can be explained through repression but most of it could be due to getting rid of unwanted and unnecessary information. People may forget experiences because of unpleasant associations for e.g. you may forget your homework because you didnââ¬â¢t want to do it so you simply pushed it out of your mind. This is called suppression which is a conscious or semi conscious behaviour as distinct from repression that occurs unconsciously.à Repression is when the ego protects itself from emotional conflicts. Traumatic events cause anxiety and to reduce this the memory of the even is forgotten, this anxiety maybe expressed through dreams or disordered behaviour as in the the case of little Hams. The repressed memories continue to affect conscious thought,desire and action even though there is no conscious memory of the traumatic event. Once the traumatic event is repressed à from the conscious mind to the unconscious mind it make individual feel better,at least temporarily.à And evaluation point for repression is research by Levinger and Clark, they carried out a study where the Ps were given negatively charged words and neutral words. They had to do a word association task whilst having their skin response measured. The Ps were then given the cue words again and asked the associations hey had just reported. They found that Ps took longer to recall the negatively charged associations than the neutral ones. So it could be said that it took longer to access the unconscious mind for the word associations. It has been reported that between 20-60% of people undergoing therapy as a result of child sexual abuse report periods in their lives when they could not remember the abuse had taken place. This supports repression as it shows that the memories had been repressed in their unconscious. However it could be said that they did not want to recall the events so therefore pretended they couldnââ¬â¢t remember. Freud published case studies for his neurotic patients to support his ideas of repression. These have been questioned as inaccurate, however the case studied were unique and one off and cant be generalised as the study took place on white,middle class neurotic women only. The study could be therefore be said to be Oestocentric and culture bias. The study however did have rich qualitative data. Post traumatic stress disorder is where people re-live traumatic events that have taken place in theory lives. This contradicts repression theory as these people are always remembering it as its not being repressed like Freud says they should.à Robinson et al found that the memory of childbirth pain seems to be forgotten or repressed over time. This supports Freuds theory as child birth can be very traumatic however there are problems with using this evidence to support repression. It is difficult to generalise as the pain of childbirth is more painful and lasts longer than other types of pain.
Saturday, October 19, 2019
Tesco in India Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words
Tesco in India - Essay Example This research will begin with the statement that India is amongst the largest countries based on size and population across the world. Its population is more than 1 billion. There is a wide range of economic, as well as, social classes, religions, cultures, languages, and geographies within India. Therefore, it is important for any business operating in India to meet the wide range of consumersââ¬â¢ needs. The extremely large population reflects the opportunities for global businesses, especially the retail stores to invest within the country. à Tesco started its operations in 1929, in Britain. It is the leading food retail chain in the country and the third largest globally. In the 1980s, it was amongst the global retail chains that tried the concept of large supermarkets out-of-town. The company has come up with several innovations since the 1990s, including new store concepts, i.e. Tesco Metro and Tesco Express. Tesco Metro is a city store that serves all the needs of the con sumers. Tesco Express was the petrol station store in the United Kingdom. In 1995, the company introduced a Clubcard, which is a shopping card for its loyal customers. It was the first card of the kind in the United Kingdom. The company launched online selling in 2000, through its website Tesco.com. It started spreading globally in 1994. Currently, more than 50 percent of the companyââ¬â¢s space is its international operations. Since 2000, the company has started focusing on non-food items, which, for example, has made it the leading retailer of CDs.
Friday, October 18, 2019
Foreign Exchange Risk Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words
Foreign Exchange Risk Analysis - Essay Example The policies in china resulted in a successful market economy and indigenous private sector. This resulted increase of foreign trade and inward investments. The high growth recorded in China regarding economic activity and manufacturing, prompted many companies to export to establish manufacturing units in China.1 The exchange rate in the international market is dominated by US dollar. The imbalance in the system can be considered as a reason for instability. The foreign exchange policy by any state should have a long term agenda to appreciate it along with the increasing exports, which is a difficult thing. As per now the USD is international currency and Euro and Yen are trying to replace it. For this purpose the currency should fulfill the classical money functions. This makes the countries like china to have US currency up to some extent and this leads to appreciation of that currency resulting in increasing the import costs. If any country wants to appreciate its currency, it must be accepted by lot of people and countries in the world. This increases demand for that particular currency and can be appreciated. 2 The reason for the change in the foreign economic relations and exchange of Yuan with other currencies is due to opening of its economy to the outer world. The private foreign capital was used to increase the economic development. As China absorbed the new capitals, the currency was being appreciated. The increase of manufacturing sector simultaneously provided the foreign exchange to china to import the requirements. As it followed the self reliance the imports are kept at a limitation and this resulted in appreciation of its currency over the international currencies. As a result 1USD can fetch only 7 Yuan and this is due to the acceptance of the Yuan by different countries like the members of ASEAN and other countries. The self reliance and control of imports also made Chinese currency appreciate gradually over USD in the course of time. As per Nike company is considered it can export its goods into china. One reason is that there are very less currencies like Yuan that are very close to the value of US. This makes the company to make more profit in China than the countries like India, which have 1USD = more than 40 Indian rupees. So, instead of exporting the products to the countries like in India, it is better to export to country like China for Nike. Though it results in decrease of foreign investment, this resulted in healthy competition and growth of economy. 3 From the hardened stand in 1949-50 the US policy has been liberalized from then on China. UK along with US favored China and both of them relied heavily on china. The policies of US and UK made china to implement the economic reforms. 4 After the end of China's Civil war both other parts of the world and China recognized the importance of China and the openness of the economies. After Europe, Britain considered the China to be important according to American influence. Out of its large investments in the world, the British and Americans have substantial investments in China. China, which was ranked below Hong Kong and Malays by US in the preferential treatment emerged as the front runner in the economic refo
STP Analysis, Instacart Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words
STP Analysis, Instacart - Essay Example These are different market segments with different needs. For schools Instacart provides a combination of high quality and affordable groceries. On the other hand, for the light commercial customers, Instacart offers a variety of comprehensive groceries with extraordinary convenience. Instacart relentlessly focuses on its quality and customer experience. In doing this, Instacart offers its customers low prices, wide selection and convenience products and brands. Achieving repeat purchases and customer loyalty remains the key aspects to Instacart success. Instacart communicates fulfillment of its promises including the delivery of date estimates, options for expedited delivery, update facilities, delivery shipment notifications and presentation of latest inventory through availability of information (Cheng 32). Instacart provides quality, timely customer service, fast and reliable fulfillment, and trusted transaction environment. It also features rich in nutrients products and repeated customer purchases systems. Large retailers, physical retailers, vendors, manufacturers and distributors of alternative products most of which tend to possess sales volumes, significant grocery awareness. Some competitors who sell the franchise products through direct marketing, mail order and the internet The primary competitive factor in Instacart is its market segments that include quality and fresh products, convenience, selection, availability, price, personalized services, brand recognition, discovery, information, speed of fulfillment and customer service (Manjoo). Other competitive factors include: reliability, trust in transactions and having the ability to adapt changing markets conditions. For products offered to individual and business sellers, additional competitive factors in this case includes their ability to generate sales especially for third parties in which Instacart serves,
Thursday, October 17, 2019
Design the telecommunications network to support a new multi-location Essay
Design the telecommunications network to support a new multi-location practice - Essay Example The use of latest networking tools has transformed the overall world particularly business areas. At the present, organizations have much faster, accurate and enhanced ways for business and corporate management. This paper presents communication network specification for a Dental Office. In this scenario I will recommend a new network technology and data sharing method for better management of the corporate areas. Requirements for the Network I have presented below some of the requirements for new network technology implementation at corporation: Offering better communication services at corporation Establishment of effective data sharing environment Offering secure data access points for communication Establishment of better communication facility Offering remote access to network Offering remote data transfer and access mechanism Implementing new and enhanced data communication framework Offering better data safety and access points Implementing enhanced capability of data handling Developing better data handling mechanism Suitable data backup and recovery mechanism Superior data transfer speed Effective user management Tight security login and access methods Network Information and Data Need Security In this network establishment main sensitive data that we have is about the Dental Clinic clients (patients). This data needs to be secured for superior management and corporate security and privacy. This link of data can include: Patient name Patient address Patient content Patient financial details Patient medial details Patient medical history Patient personal and sensitive information Patient funds transfer information Besides we also have some of the important information regarding doctors and other clinic staff. In this scenario we have a lot of details regarding staff working and financial information that can be extremely sensitive: Staff Person name Staff Person address Staff Person content Staff Person financial details Staff Person job details Staff P erson working history Staff Person personal and sensitive information Staff Person salary and financial transfers details In addition, this new corporate network and database will also keep some sensitive information regarding Dental Clinic itself. I have outline below some of the important aspects that will be kept by network database for the business: Business financial information Business staff details Business tax details Business revenue information Business assistants details Business daily working schedule Network Specification For analyzing the needs and requirements of Dental Clinic business and operational capabilities required by corporation I would suggest a new and effective network arrangement for the business. For this network development, I would suggest the implementation of VPN (virtual private network). In this scenario, a virtual private network (VPN) is a network arrangement that makes use of a public telecommunication arrangement, like that internet, to offer remote offices or individual clients through protected access to their organization's communication network. In addition, the basic goal of a VPN is to offer the business the similar potentials however at a much lower cost
Workshop Critique Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words
Workshop Critique - Essay Example The design chosen by this specific group put into effect KOLB's theory of experimental learning (Kolb 1976). This was against the other models for a variety of reasons. The Johari Window is specific to every individual because of its division into what the person knows about them, what others know about the individual that is known and unknown to them and what is unknown about the individual to both himself and the group (Luft & Ingham). Thus all the Johari Window does is represent information about the individual in relation to his team or group. The ladder of inference concentrates on the understanding that prevents an individual from reaching the wrong conclusions (Senge 1994). Thus, in other words it assists an individual to consider the facts and reality before making any decision. The ladder plays on the individual's belief that his ideas and data might not be the correct or rational proof that the team seeks. This idea was too specific to convincing and teaching the truth so it was foregone as the chosen concept Tuckman's theory is considered one of the most successful team concepts ever created. The concept revolves around concentrating on the team's history: from its creation to the fulfillment of the task, the theory concentrates and succeeds in understanding the entirety of achieving any given task (Tuckman 1965). Tuckman also feels the need of adding a phase known as: adjourning and transforming that applies only after the team has finished their project. Thus, the concept talks of five phases: creating a team, brain-storming ideas, creating rules and values that must be followed, carrying out the practice and learning from experience. Our team chose to follow Kolb's concept. For this concept to come into affect in its entirety it was necessary to run it against a certain sort of experimentation. Kolb's model works on the idea of a four-stage learning cycle: concrete experience, reflective observation, abstract conceptualization and active experimentation. Thus every individual in the team succumbs to four different emotions: feeling, watching, thinking and doing (Chapman 2003). Our team merged the Kolb model with certain aspects of the Tuckman model to create an activity and environment that would suit the needs to show the workings and intricacies of team-work. By choosing to play a short game, Tuckman's theory of short projects to be the best indicator came into play. Not only was the activity chosen, short but it also allowed the facilitator to observe the behavior of the team over a measurable timeframe, allowing the judgments that were created to be functional and precise. Also, the activity which took placed allowed every member of the team to engage in each aspect of Kolb's model. Not only was each team member expected to be an active participant but they were also engaged into following the rules of emotionally involving themselves into the task, participating in it, improving by watching the fellow members and eventually doing the best job they thought possible (Kolb & Fry). Outcomes and
Wednesday, October 16, 2019
Design the telecommunications network to support a new multi-location Essay
Design the telecommunications network to support a new multi-location practice - Essay Example The use of latest networking tools has transformed the overall world particularly business areas. At the present, organizations have much faster, accurate and enhanced ways for business and corporate management. This paper presents communication network specification for a Dental Office. In this scenario I will recommend a new network technology and data sharing method for better management of the corporate areas. Requirements for the Network I have presented below some of the requirements for new network technology implementation at corporation: Offering better communication services at corporation Establishment of effective data sharing environment Offering secure data access points for communication Establishment of better communication facility Offering remote access to network Offering remote data transfer and access mechanism Implementing new and enhanced data communication framework Offering better data safety and access points Implementing enhanced capability of data handling Developing better data handling mechanism Suitable data backup and recovery mechanism Superior data transfer speed Effective user management Tight security login and access methods Network Information and Data Need Security In this network establishment main sensitive data that we have is about the Dental Clinic clients (patients). This data needs to be secured for superior management and corporate security and privacy. This link of data can include: Patient name Patient address Patient content Patient financial details Patient medial details Patient medical history Patient personal and sensitive information Patient funds transfer information Besides we also have some of the important information regarding doctors and other clinic staff. In this scenario we have a lot of details regarding staff working and financial information that can be extremely sensitive: Staff Person name Staff Person address Staff Person content Staff Person financial details Staff Person job details Staff P erson working history Staff Person personal and sensitive information Staff Person salary and financial transfers details In addition, this new corporate network and database will also keep some sensitive information regarding Dental Clinic itself. I have outline below some of the important aspects that will be kept by network database for the business: Business financial information Business staff details Business tax details Business revenue information Business assistants details Business daily working schedule Network Specification For analyzing the needs and requirements of Dental Clinic business and operational capabilities required by corporation I would suggest a new and effective network arrangement for the business. For this network development, I would suggest the implementation of VPN (virtual private network). In this scenario, a virtual private network (VPN) is a network arrangement that makes use of a public telecommunication arrangement, like that internet, to offer remote offices or individual clients through protected access to their organization's communication network. In addition, the basic goal of a VPN is to offer the business the similar potentials however at a much lower cost
Tuesday, October 15, 2019
Anthropology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 4
Anthropology - Essay Example Results, that Mulling et al (85) consider as being indicative of their method of research, and which would likely to have been different within a more traditional epidemiological study, indicate that different social structures in terms of class and profession (i.e. head of household), in other words pre-existing causal links to stress, impact on the degree of chronic stress evident. Furthermore, the results show that the pre-existing links to stress initiate from concerns to do with housing, health care, social support and economics, as well as their general living environment. Mulling et al (90) further purport that pregnancy serves as a mechanism to increase those stress levels even further. The study also reveals that the kind of support these women receive from social support networks differs in relation to their social class; for example the causes of stress differ between low and middle income women. This study adopts an intersectional approach to the research by considering gender and racial inequalities of African American women in Harlem, as stemming from other social categories such as class, and showing how it affects those women in different ways. Mullings, L., AlakaWali, Mclean, D., Mitchell, J. Prince Sabiyha, Thomas, D. & Tovar, P. ââ¬Å"Qualitative methodologies and Community Participation in Examining Reproductive Experiences: The Harlem Birth Right Projectâ⬠. Maternal and Child Health Journal, 5.2 (2001):
Right to Education Essay Example for Free
Right to Education Essay On 12 April 2012, in its historical decision the Supreme Court (SC) of India threw its weight behind the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009. The court upheld the constitutional validity of RTE Act that guarantees children free and compulsory education from the age of 6 to 14 years of age. The judgment makes it mandatory for the government, local authorities and private schools to reserve 25 percent of their seats for ââ¬Ëweaker and disadvantaged sectionsââ¬â¢ of society. The decision has wiped away many apprehensions regarding the future of the Act. It has been welcomed by academicians, politicians, journalists and others. The Union minister for human resources development Mr. Kapil Sibal, articulated, ââ¬Å"RTE can be a model for the worldâ⬠. While there has been enthusiastic praise of the judgment, concerns related to quality, finance, ensuring of 25 percent reservation in private schools and change in classroom structure cannot be thrown into the winds. The amount put aside by Finance minister Pranab Mukherjee, for the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan is only Rs. 25,555 crores for 2012-13, which falls short of the recommended financial requirement of Rs 1. 82 lakh crore. From where will the rest of amount come? According to Kapil Sibal (2012) more than 90 percent of households will have to enroll their wards in government schools. Thus 90 percent of householdsââ¬â¢ wards will have poor access to education; if at all they are enrolled in schools, as the quality of education in government schools is a matter of serious concern. There is no clarity on how 25 percent reservation in private schools will be filled. There may be more than one private school in a neighborhood, so how will they decide who will go where? How will reservation in private schools be monitored? The 25 percent reservation in private schools will dramatically change the structure of classrooms in schools. Whether diversity of classroom will create democratic learning environment and enhance teaching learning process or will it put children from ââ¬Ëweaker and disadvantaged sectionsââ¬â¢ in discomfited position? Concern of Quality Education One of the primary objectives of Right of Children Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 is improving quality education. The quality of elementary education, particularly in government schools, is a matter of serious concern. The quality of school education depends on various variables which includes physical infrastructure, method of teaching, learning environment, type of books, qualification of teachers, number of teachers, attendance of teachers and students and so on. There has been substantial progress in increasing enrollment with national average now at 98. 3 percent (2009-2010) according to official statistics. However, the attendance of pupils in class rooms has declined. In 2007, 73. 4 percent students enrolled for Standards I-IV/V were present in class, which has fallen to 70. 9 percent by 2011 (EPW, 2012). Fayaz Ahmad (2009) came with the findings that despite lack of staff in government schools, teachers remain absent on rotational bases. He adds that due to vacancies for teacher, absenteeism of teachers and poor infrastructure in government schools classrooms are multi-grade, i. e. one teacher attending to children from different grades in a single classroom. The attendance of teachers and students in schools is directly related with the quality of education. Furthermore, mere enrollment of children in school does not fulfill the aims of RTE. Amman Madan (2003) argues ââ¬Ëthe question of reform in Indian education has usually been conceived of in narrow ways ââ¬â putting children in school and getting schools to function efficientlyââ¬â¢. Despite high enrollments in schools 50 percent of children studying in the fifth grade lack the reading skills expected of children in the second grade (Annual Status of Education Report, ASER 2010). Ensuring 25 percent Reservation The RTE, Act, 2009 clause, 12 (1) (c) mandates for private schools to admit quarter of their class strength from weaker section and disadvantaged groups 1. The constitutional validity of this clause was challenged in the apex court of country. However on 12, April 2012, a bench of Chief Justice S . H. Kapadia, Justice K. S Radhakrishnan and Swatanter Kumar upheld the constitutional validity of the Act. In response to the Supreme Court order, HRD minister Kapil Sibal said, ââ¬Å"I am very happy that the court has set all controversies at rest. One of the biggest controversies was on whether the 25 percent reservation applies to private schools or notâ⬠¦ that controversy has been set to rest. â⬠2 Reacting to the 25 percent reservation Krishna Kumar (2012) penned down ââ¬Å"most ambitious among its objectives is the social engineering it proposes by guaranteeing at least 25 percent share of enrolment in unaided fee-charging schools to children whose parents cannot afford the fee. â⬠Both Krishna Kumar and Kapil Sibal did not give indepth critical insight to the provision. The questions like, what will be the mechanism of selection process of 25 percent children from ââ¬Ëweaker and disadvantaged sectionsââ¬â¢. Some private schools are very reputed and provide very high quality of education and some are either at par with government schools or little ahead. There is a hierarchy of private schools which are stratified in quality education. Who will go where what will be the criteria for that? Furthermore Indian society is patriarchal in nature, boys are even served good food in comparison to girls how one can expect parents or guardians will send a girl child to these private schools, if at all they agree to send a girl child to school. The reservation benefits will go to a particular gender of society. This will further reinforce and reproduce gender bias and social inequality in society. Thus RTE itself creates a vacuum for ââ¬Å"reproduction of cultureâ⬠. Fayaz Ahmad (2009) underlines, parents prefer schooling for their girl child but prefer government schools for them in comparison to a male child. The important finding which has been revealed by Fayaz Ahmad (2009) is the enrollment shown in schools was higher than what actually it was. This was done to get mid-day meals for more and more children so that teachers can save some money to bear other hidden expenditures and avoid wrath of authorities for poor enrollment. Despite employment of Resource Persons and Zonal Resource Persons by Jammu and Kashmir government in the department of school education ,who are obliged to ensure smooth and normal functioning of schools, such kind of loopholes are observed, how can the government ensure that private schools will follow the provision of 25 percent reservation. Change in the Structure of Classroom and Beyond. The RTE Act directed all schools, including privately -run schools, to reserve 25 percent of their seats for students from socially and economically backward families. That means, quarter of students in classes will be from marginalized section of the society. This will change the structure of classes. Krishna Kumar (2012) maintains ââ¬Å"a classroom reflecting lifeââ¬â¢s diversity will benefit children of all strata while enriching teaching experience. â⬠He further adds ââ¬Å"classroom life will now be experientially and linguistically richer. It will be easier to illustrate complex issues with examples drawn from childrenââ¬â¢s own lives. â⬠He rightly articulates that class room will reflect diversity and will be experientially and linguistically richer. But his argument that classroom diversity will benefit children from weaker section of society is hypothetical and ambiguous. School education canââ¬â¢t be separated from its social context, those who teach and learn carry with them attitudes, beliefs, habits, customs, orientations which differ from class to class. The elite schools have their own culture which suits to children of upper class. The teaching-learning environment at these schools suits children of upper class while children from weaker section may find themselves alienated from the schools. Bernstein (1971) while examining the mode of communication of working and middle class argues that both have different mode of communication and most of the teachers in schools belong to middle class which gives edge to middle class children in learning. Bourdieu(1977) empirical research in France explores that performance of a child in school on his access to cultural capital. He maintains that children of upper classes are able to understand contents of knowledge better than their counterparts belonging to marginalized sections of society. The present experience of India with mixed or diversified classroom is not encouraging. The children from marginalized sections of society are discriminated in the classroom on the bases of gender, caste, and ethnicity. Despite Indian constitution strictly prohibits discrimination on the bases of caste and other social backgrounds and makes it a punishable act yet children from marginalized sections are discriminated in schools. How can discrimination of ââ¬Ëweaker and disadvantaged sections be prevented? There are various theoretical and empirical studies which have come up with that children from lower classes are at a backfoot in schools in the learning process. They are more vulnerable when enrolled in elite schools. Conclusion Indian children now have a precious right to receive free and compulsory education from the ages of 6 to 14 years of age. The government will bear all the expenditures of schooling. The act has mandated for private schools to reserve quarter of classroom strength for deprived sections of society, which will change the structure of classrooms in elite schools to school who are not yet enrolled. However, there are many apprehensions with regard to achieving desired goals through RTE. By pressing for 25 percent reservation for the ââ¬Ëweaker and disadvantaged sectionsââ¬â¢ of society, government has acknowledged poor quality in government schools where more than 90 percent of households in the country will have to enroll their children even if 25 percent reservation is implemented in true sense. This means that there will be further diversification of society in India. There are also concerns whether those enrolled in private schools will cope and adjust with education system and culture of elite schools. There are many other loop holes which are pressing and challenging in the way of RTE: quality education, funding, teacher skills and enhance of reservation policy are some major concerns. Despite the flaws in the way of RTE Act, it is important to simultaneously ensure proper implementation of the Act. ââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬â- Footnotes 1. The Gazette of India, http://eoc. du. ac. in/RTE%20-%20notified. pdf 2. Dhananjay Mahapatra Himanshi Dhawan(2012) Times of India, RTE:Govt Subsidy to be based on KV expenditure, New Delhi, 13 April. References. Ahmad, Fayaz (2009) ââ¬Å" A Sociological Study of Primary Education Among Girls: With Special Reference to Block Hajin of District Bandiporaâ⬠Dissertation, Barkatullah University. Annual Status of Educational Report (2010): ââ¬Å"Annual Status of Educational Report ( Rural) , assessed 21April 2012: http://www. pratham. org/aser08/ASER_2010_Report. pdf Bernstein, B (1973): ââ¬Å"Class Codes and Control: Applied Studies towards a Sociology of Languageâ⬠, London, Routledge Kegan Paul. Boourdieu,P (1977): ââ¬Å" Cultural Reproduction and Social Reproductionâ⬠, In Karabel, J and A. H, Halsey, (ed), Power and Ideology in Education. OUP Economic and Political Weekly (2012): ââ¬Å"The Right to learn: Two Years after the Right to Education Act, the government needs to focus on qualityâ⬠,16 April, Vol XLVII No 16. Kumar, Krishna (2012): ââ¬Å"Let a hundred children blossom: A classroom reflecting lifeââ¬â¢s diversity will benefit children of all strata while enriching teaching experience. â⬠, The Hindu, Delhi,20 April 2012. Madan, Amman (2003): Education as Vision for Social Change, Economic and Political Weekly May 31, 2003 pp. 2135-2136 Sibal, Kapil (2012): ââ¬Å"Admitting kids from weaker sections while not lowering quality of teaching will be difficult for pvt schools, but it can be done: RTE Can Be A Model For The Worldâ⬠The Times of India, New Delhi, 20 April. The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009, popularly known as the Right to Education (RTE) Act, came into being in India from April 1, 2010. The Act introduces a number of changes in education delivery through schools in India. Many of the changes are simply revolutionary, and if they are implemented properly will vastly improve the system of imparting education in the country. The Act is a landmark in the history of education related legislation in India. However, some of the provisions of the Act, although included with noble intentions, will have unintended consequences that might counter some of the advantages of the new system itself. The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009, as published in the Gazette of India [No. 39, Dated August 27, 2009] makes for interesting reading. I present below a critique of some of the salient provisions of the Act, and elucidate how these provisions also have unintended consequences that have not been addressed. Along the way, I also provide suggestions on what could be done better. Category 1: Decisions relating to screening and failing students (Section 16) No failing allowed: Section 16 of the RTE Act states that no child shall be failed in any class or expelled from school till he or she completes elementary education (defined as education imparted from Class 1 to Class 8). The Act also provides for special training for students who are deemed to be deficient and deserving of extra help. The Government reasons that failing a child is wrong, no matter the level of learning deficiency the child exhibits with respect to his or her peers. Any such deficiencies, the Government thinks, can be made up through special training provided by the school authorities under Section 4 of the Act. The intention of this rule is no doubt to support those children who are not able to attain the level of performance required to gain admission into the next class. Through this provision, the Government wants to reinforce that performance standards are relative, that failing a child is an unjust mortification for the childââ¬â¢s persona, and that a child younger than 14 is too young to be explicitly classified as deficient compared to his or her peers. While all these reasons hold good, a number of issues remain unaddressed: Skill development: While it is true that failing a child may well cause the child to intensely doubt his or her abilities, the Government fails to appreciate that failing a child also serves as a protective mechanism. Under the mechanism of failing, a child whose skills are clearly deficient with respect to his or her peers is held back in the same class and denied promotion. Failing therefore also acts as a protective mechanism, allowing a child to spend more time in the same class to make sure that he or she gains skills commensurate with his or her peers, and acts as a crucial aid in skill development. Under the new system, however, the child graduates to the next class regardless of performance or skill level in the previous one. The system then provides for special attention (through Section 4 of the Act) for such a child in the higher class to make up the deficiency in skills and ability. The critical question is ââ¬â can a child who is unable to bear the workload of a junior class now deal with the workload of a senior class in addition to taking special classes? The embarrassment of failing, which under a system of failing a weak student is corrected at the first stage of inadequacy, now carries over into senior classes. This only accentuates the embarrassment that a child faces because of an increasingly steep learning curve which he or she finds ever more difficult to negotiate as compared to his or her peers. As a consequence, the child faces academic seclusion in the higher class. No feedback mechanism: Failing also acts as an important feedback mechanism, making the child and his parents and teachers aware that the child is deficient in critical skills. It also acts as feedback for teachers ââ¬â if more students fail in a teacherââ¬â¢s class than those in other teachersââ¬â¢ classes, the teacherââ¬â¢s methods and effectiveness should be put under the scanner. However, under the new system, when every child is promoted to the next class irrespective of performance, both parents and teachers in general put in less of a marginal effort to ensure development of the child. The onus to support the child is passed from teachers and parents to schools (through Section 4 of the Act), and rarely, if ever, will teachers be held accountable for falling standards of teaching. Similarly, the incentive for children to learn is diminished, because the fear of failure and the repercussions of non-performance are removed. No doubt all consuming interest rather than fear should be the motive for sustained academic development of children but a system that ensures less accountability for all concerned (students, parents, and teachers) in no way creates a case for substituting ââ¬Ëfearââ¬â¢ with interest. The stick has been removed, but where is the carrot? Postponing development does not work: One reason often put forward is that failing creates a frustration and lack of confidence in the child, causing them to drop out of school. However, a child that is deficient in skills will find it even harder to catch on in a senior class. The frustration and inclination to quit will therefore be even stronger. Ultimately, the child may be inclined to drop out of school in frustration with the system (experienced over a number of years) rather than with just a particular teacher or class. With the latter, there is still hope to bring the child back into the system. With the former, even that is gone. Inability to deal with failure: A child who does not learn the value of accountability, performance, and hard work in the initial stages of its schooling will be ill-equipped to meet these constants of life in later stages. The child will grow up not with resilience, but with a sense of entitlement, feeling that it is the duty of teachers to provide special training when he or she does not perform. When this sense of entitlement is suddenly removed after 14 years of age, the child may well feel deprived, unsupported, and unable to deal with performance expectations. Rewarding competence is the rule in all professions and vocations ââ¬â why not embed it into the child at an early age? Category 2: Prohibition on physical punishment and ââ¬Ëmental harassmentââ¬â¢ (Section 17). Section 17(1) of the Act prohibits physical punishment or mental harassment of students. While a ban on physical punishment is laudable, the one on mental harassment is incompletely defined. What, after all, is ââ¬Ëmental harassmentââ¬â¢? It could be anything from a light admonition for not completing homework to vile abuses meant to strip the student of all self-respect. The Act sheds no further light. The problem then becomes one of establishing the commission of mental harassment itself. When rules are incompletely defined, they are subject to manipulation and misuse. Consider the plausible scenario when the rule on mental harassment is sought to be enacted. The clear and visible effect is that teachers will not be able to physically punish or mentally berate students. However, there are also some unseen effects. No clear escalation mechanism: One of the unseen effects is that in rural areas and impoverished regions, where acts of mental harassment are most often carried out, these acts are not even reported (except in severe cases). This is because the child risks arousing further displeasure of the teacher concerned, and is not assured of action in any case. Section 17(2) of the Act prescribes disciplinary action against any teacher violating the rule. However, in a set up where mental harassment is hard to establish, reporting mechanisms are poor, the social matrix favours teachers, and where administrators are already feeling a crunch of available teachers, strong action against the guilty is unlikely. If at all it is to be more effective, the provision needs to be given more teeth ââ¬â establish a uniform reporting and escalation mechanism for teacher misconduct and ensure that whistleblowers are not at the receiving end of punitive measures. ââ¬ËMental harassmentââ¬â¢ not clearly defined: In an urban, metropolitan setting, again the loose definition of mental harassment becomes a problem. Here, students are more empowered, and find it easy to report any behaviour which would constitute ââ¬Ëmental harassmentââ¬â¢ in their opinion. In such schools, errant behaviour from students is encouraged because any admonishment, even if it is meant to serve as a correction, can be (mis)interpreted as mental harassment. This will reduce the effectiveness of teachers to administer suitable admonitory measures to this class of students. A solution for improvement, then, seems to be introduction of a uniform escalation and protection mechanism for students, along with clearly defining what mental harassment constitutes, allowing students and teachers to be aware of potential violations when they occur. Category 3: Only ââ¬Ërecognizedââ¬â¢ schools allowed to function (Section 18) Schools which do not have a certificate of recognition from the local authority or government shall no longer be allowed to function, under Section 18 of the Right to Education Act. If such a school is already functioning, the Act prescribes that it be shut down within 3 years if it fails to meet norms. If a new school is set up, it must conform to the norms for a school as laid out in the Schedule of the Act, or be shut down within three years. The norms themselves prescribe minimum teacher-student ratios for different classes, the existence of a permanent building, minimum number of working hours per teacher, and a functioning library, among other things. There is no doubt that a school which provides all of these will be superior in imparting education to an institution which provides only some of these. However, two main difficulties arise ââ¬â it is erroneous to conclude that private, unrecognized schools offer a quality of education that is less than that offered by recognized schools, and banning private unrecognized schools further aggravates the problem of scarcity of formal education institutions. Unrecognized schools may be better than recognized ones: In a study conducted on private, unrecognized schools in the slums of East Delhi in 2004-05[1], James Tooley and Pauline Dixon from the University of Newcastle found that there were more unrecognized schools than government schools in the locality. In this research paper, the authors found, through unannounced visits, that a higher number of teachers were teaching in private unaided schools as compared to government schools. Further, they found that private unaided schools (including unrecognized ones) had superior or similar inputs than government schools. Most significantly, in this study, Tooley and Dixon found that children in unrecognized private schools scored 72% higher in Mathematics, 83% higher in Hindi, and 246% higher in English than students in government schools. Students in private unaided schools were found to be more satisfied with facilities being provided to them than their counterparts in government schools. Teachers in these schools reported a level of satisfaction similar to that reported by teachers in government schools. Importantly, even head teachers or principals were reported to maintain closer monitoring on teachers in private unaided schools (including unrecognized schools) than in government schools. Considering that monitoring and continuous evaluation of teachers is an important element of the strategy under the new Act, this last point gains even more significance. In another study conducted by Tooley and Dixon[2] in 918 schools within a locality in Hyderabad, 37 percent were found to be private unrecognized schools, compared to only 35 percent government run schools. Around 65 percent of school-going children in the area went to the private, unrecognized schools. It may be argued that this study was conducted only in particular areas, and that things might be different in other parts of the country. This notion is refuted by another study done by Karthik Muralidharan and Michael Kremer of rural private primary schools in India in 2003[3]. This study, as claimed by the authors, is a ââ¬Å"nationally representative survey of rural private primary schools in India conducted in 2003â⬠[4]. While conducting this research, the authors found that private schools are most common in areas with poor public school performance. In spite of paying lower teacher salaries, these schools have children with higher attendance rates and higher test scores. The teachers are 2 to 8 percentage points less likely to be absent as compared to public school teachers, and 6 to 9 percent more likely to be engaged in regular teaching activity. These research studies do present strong evidence for the view that private unrecognized schools are comparable, if not superior, to their government counterparts. The onus is on the government to prove conclusively that this is not so. Until this has been done, closing down the unrecognized schools, even with a 3 year grace period to confirm to standard regulations, might be hasty, unwarranted, and a step backward. Unrecognized schools solve the problem of outreach: Under Section 13(1), the Government has mandated that no school should collect any capitation fee for granting admission to a child. This move is welcome, and it will ensure that discretionary admissions are not the hegemony of the rich. However, having addressed the symptom, the Government has failed to address the underlying cause. Why do schools demand that capitation fees be paid for admission? The simple reason is that the number of children seeking admission is much higher than the number of seats available. The school therefore sees this as a convenient way of ensuring admission for those wards whose parents can contribute the most to the school financially. The presence of this phenomenon itself indicates the paucity of available education. The solution would be to either ensure that government schools or private recognized schools can ensure education for every child who seeks it. As this is a huge task and is not easily accomplished in at least the foreseeable future, private unrecognized schools must be a crucial part of the strategy for enabling outreach. Not only will this ensure a lesser burden on the government to set up new schools quickly, but it will also ensure that the overall vision of the Act ââ¬â basic education for the widest base of children possible ââ¬â is more convincingly achieved. We need to create more schools, not less. Private unrecognized schools are not the alternative to recognized institutions ââ¬â they are the alternative to no education at all! By proposing to shut them down, the government decreases the outreach of education made possible by these institutions. An uncertain future for students: The RTE Act mandates that unrecognized institutions which fail to meet the set criteria will have to close down after a period of about 3 years. However, apart from mandating that the students in these schools will have a right to seek transfer to other schools within the area, the Act does not specify how and on what basis these students will be given admission in other schools. With recognized schools already straining under the burden of having to support free education for all students who approach them (till their capacity), the room for accommodating more students will be scarce. This itself will create uncertainty for students studying in these unrecognized institutions, and will also create a strain on recognized institutions to accommodate them later. The only alternative is for the state to open as many recognized schools (of approximately similar capacity) as the number of unrecognized schools that it closes down. A Times of India report[5] cites various studies that show that in Punjab, 86% of more than 3000 private schools are unrecognized and 3. 5 lakh children are enrolled in them. The report also says that in 1996, the Public Report on Basic Education in India (PROBE) survey of UP, Bihar, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Madhya Pradesh found that 63% of private schools were not recognized. According to the report, Andhra Pradesh has 10,000 unrecognized schools, and Delhi has at least 1,500 catering to around 6 lakh children. The report also cites Prof Yash Aggarwal of the National Institute of Educational Planning and Administration (NIEPA), who in 2000 had said that the number of unrecognized schools in the country was doubling every 5 years and the number of such schools was soon expected to be 1. 5 to 2 times that of government schools in the country. With 10 years already having passed since this assertion, one can assume that unrecognized schools form a large part of the educational backbone of India. To break this apart and yet keep the neck straight will be a difficult endeavour. Category 4: Prohibition of private tuition by teachers (Section 28) Section 28 of the RTE Act mandates that no teacher should engage himself or herself in private tuition activity. Through this provision, the Government is trying to address the problem of teachers not teaching properly in schools and then requiring students to attend private tuitions to actually learn the subject material. The intention again is worthy of appreciation ââ¬â any provision that improves standards of teaching in the classroom and removes perverse incentives for teachers to earn money from their students through unethical means is welcome. A question of money: The primary reason why teachers underperform in the classroom and then require their students to attend private tuitions is the want of additional income, unfettered by a loose monitoring and punitive system. Banning teachers from taking private tuitions does not do away with the cause of the problem. With the RTE Act enforcing strict norms on the appointment of teachers, some aspirational educationists might well be forced to sit out. It is then possible for their collaborators inside the system to promote the seeking of private tuitions with these private teachers, with of course a money sharing arrangement being worked out between the two. While banning private tuitions by teachers themselves is a welcome step in this regard, this should also be reinforced with a ban on referring students for private tuitions. Monitoring this will not be an easy task, but then neither will be monitoring teachers to ensure they do not provide private tuitions. It is student reporting that must be the proof of misdemeanour in this case (with suitable verification and safeguards to ensure false reports are filtered out). Banning referral for private tuitions along with private tuitions by teachers themselves will make the legislation more complete. A question of performance: Even if private tuitions by teachers are successfully done away with, it still does not address the prevalence of teacher underperformance and absenteeism. One may argue that with an alternative source of revenue (private tuitions) now removed, teachers will be loath to take up government school jobs, as the effective income earned is lower. Some capable teachers who would otherwise have taught well in school, and also taken private tuitions, will therefore walk away from a government school teacher job, choosing to dedicate themselves completely to private tuitions. On the other hand, some less capable teachers, who were not teaching well in school but were supplementing their income through private tuitions, will elect to stay on. With the failing mechanism also removed, the performance evaluation of these teachers will become even more difficult. Underperformance, therefore, will stay, and teacher absenteeism will only increase (especially to pursue other income opportunities). Section 24 of the Act prescribes punitive measures to be undertaken in case absenteeism and non-performance of duties is observed. While it prescribes the minimum duties to be undertaken by each teacher, no specification is made of what constitutes high performance.
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