Children Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Children - Essay Example The question now arises that ‘what leads the children to divert from the society’s well treaded path?’ Is it because of the dramatically changing world? Or is because of the free media showing what ever it wants? Children have impressionable minds. From an early age they observe and remember what goes on around them. Sounds and pictures are the two main senses that mould the character of the child from an early stage. Of course the parents and the environment also mould the child’s character, but pictures in television and music are the main contributors to the development of a child in these modern times. [3] The Language The language used for most children targeted channels is getting more and more open. The cartoons like Johnny Bravo among others create that urge among children to attempt or copy the same styles irrespective to which society they belong to. Kid’s drama series show either love or violence which the children are apt to imitate in one form or the other. [2] The article ‘childish thongs’ that appeared in the guardian on Monday March 31st 2003 is also highlighting the points mentioned above. The language in the article is very strict and has a tone of anger complaining about the plight of children as a result of unchecked companies that propagate sex appeal in their products. The article does not blame the children for wearing garments that increase their sex appeal since children are immature and do not understand what they are getting involved in. [1] The Media The ideas about a certain thing are bred in to children from a variety of sources such as TV and movies. Children at their young ages watch and hear the pictures and sounds of the glamorous world which attracts them to follow the lead. This is the magic of the media. Showing explicit or obscene images on TV loosens the devil out of a child's heart and makes the child act in certain manners unacceptable to the society. [4] Music and TV artists like Britney Spears appearing in music videos wearing minimum clothing allowed on TV only appeals to the audience. The viewers world over go wild as the men drool over the sex-appeal involved while the women enact Britney Spears in order to get the same attention from the men. The children watching the video think dressing that way would get them rich and famous and get the desired attention. However these dreams are not always pretty in the real life. The increasing rape cases, sexual harassment and child pornography are some of the results of this trend towards wearing minimum clothes. [1] The role of the media in reaching to this trend is almost 100%. The cultures of one side of the world are shown on the other side, meaning that cultural clashes are bound to occur. Media is free to show whatever they want or tell whatever they want to and when ever there is a ban them, the media come up in arms cursing the government for not giving them media-freedom. Being the leaders of tomorrow, children getting involved in devilish acts can mark our world heading for chaos. Sanity must prevail within media channels to encourage dignity and self respect in children rather than propagating dangerous deeds against the boundaries of the society. [4] The media must aim to show images, documentaries or videos that give a meaning or a moral that the children can learn. Through articles like these, the parents of the children can be given a heads-up warning that their children involved in

Fitness Market Analysis Essay Example for Free

Fitness Market Analysis Essay Industry/market Industry: How many fitness centers? What’s their revenues? Profit margins? Is it growing? Concentrated or not? Market: PMB, attendance, consumer spending, Statistics Canada (average spending) General Trends: Growing? Health trends? Key Competitors: other popular gyms in the area (Nautilus, Progym, energy cardio) The Fitness Market The fitness market is very large and keeps growing. This market is targeted at anyone who wants to be in shape and is looking to live a healthier lifestyle. In 2009, consumers spent on average 186$ on fitness facilities and the median expenditure per household was 390$. We notice a positive trend of fitness center attendance during the past 10 years. Since 2003, there has been an increase in participating in a physical activity throughout the population of Quebec. Even though this change is small, it is a good indicator that people are looking to workout more. If we notice other health behaviours in Quebec we will notice the same positive trend of wanting to live a healthy lifestyle. There has been a drop in the smoker population: dropping from 26.4% in 2003 to 23.8% in 2010. People are also consuming more fruits and vegetables (5 times a day) an increase from 45.4% to 51.1% (2003-2010). Even the population’s life expectancy increased by 2 years to 81 from 2003 to 2008. All these statistics give us a good understand of our population’s health behaviours allowing to conclude that that the fitness center market has a high potential for profit because people are looking to stay fit and live healthier and longer.

Should Smoking be Banned? J.S Mills Harm Principle

Should Smoking be Banned? J.S Mills Harm Principle Should Smoking Be Banned? Discuss In Relation to J.S Mills Harm Principle Smoking has held a social stigma for many years, yet has generally been protected from being prohibited due to the principle of a freedom to smoke. However, freedom comes in many forms and means different things to different people, and with some concepts of freedom it may be seen that smoking should be banned. This essay will focus on one particular idea of freedom, J.S Mills Harm Principle, and will look in depth at how this relates to smoking. The essay will look at whether smoking should be banned, either partially, as is the case in Britain today or completely. The essay will also look at ideas such as Paternalism and consent and how this relates to J.S Mills Harm Principle and a smoking ban and concludes on whether smoking should be banned. J. S Mills Harm Theory is an idea based on the instrumental value of freedom. Instrumental value of freedom is concerned with the outcome, as opposed with the intrinsic value which is more concerned with freedom itself being fulfilled, the outcome desired usually being one with the most utility. Mills Harm Theory is the principle that a person should be restricted from committing an act that will cause harm. There are however restrictions to this rule. Acts are divided into two categories, other regarding and self regarding. Other regarding cause harm to others, such as assaulting another person, self regarding only harms the actor. Mills argues that only other regarding actions should be prohibited. N. Barry states the only grounds for interfering with an individual is to prevent harm to others; over action that affect only himself the individual is sovereign.1 Thus, under Mills Harm Principle actions that affect only the actor should not be prohibited. Mills did not think that all self-regarding acts are morally indifferent, and the principle supports persuasion against self regarding acts that are deemed immoral, however it is not persuasion, and coercion, that should be used.2 The reasoning behind Mills principle is that he believed in maximum freedom of the person. With regard to expression and thought, Mills Harm Principle does not place the same restrictions he places on actions. Other regarding actions that only cause offence and not injury should not be prohibited, no matter how much offence is caused. Clearly Mills had placed restriction on other regarding actions, as causing injury to others should not be defended in the name of freedom. None the less J. S Mills clearly thought that state authority should be markedly limited so as to leave as much room for liberty.3 The Harm Principle can be applied to the concept of smoking; however there are several interpretations and criticisms of this. Smoking in public is generally seen as an other regarding action as it causes harm to others. Second hand smoke (SHS) contains 4000 toxic chemicals4 and the Smoking in private however is usually seen as a self regarding action as the only harm caused is to the smoker. Thus, following the J. S Mills Harm Principle smoking should be banned in public places, but not banned entirely. The UK government introduced a ban on smoking in all public places in 20075 and this seems like the appropriate action if you were to follow J.S Mills Harm Principle. There are however many criticisms of the Harm Principle that actually suggest a ban on smoking in public places does not go far enough. It can be argued that smoking privately in your own home is not merely a self regarding action. Political theorists, notably James Fitzjames Stephen and Lord Delvin, have argued that there is not such thing as a self regarding action as all actions have some effect on others. Garner summarises this argument stating that there is no such thing as private immortality in the sense that even our private behaviour will have public consequence.6 It seems unlikely that even the most trivial private action would affect society, however there is a strong case that smoking does. Firstly smokers are likely to have their health affected later in life due to their smoking, which could ultimately lead to seriously health problems or death. It is argued that this would cause financial harm, through funeral costs or being left without a financial provider, and emoti onal harm to the smokers family. It is also argued that smokers harm society as tax payer money is spent on providing NHS treatment or social benefits if the smoker is left unable to work due to his habit.7 It can be argued then that smoking privately is not a self regarding action, is in fact an other regarding action, and thus following J.S Mills harm principle should be banned completely. D.D Raphael states however that this objection is not to the principle of Mills position, but to its unreality, its lack of application.8 In theory there are self regarding actions, but in reality they rarely, if at all, exist. Paternalism counters J.S Mills idea that a self regarding act, presuming they exist, should be allowed. Paternalism, with regard to smoking, would argue that the state ought to be concerned with the moral welfare of the individual agent.9 Paternalism would support the state prohibiting smoking in order to protect the individual, and thus would support an absolute ban on smoking. This is the same principle behind that of controlled drugs, of which the consumption is illegal if done so privately. Mill would obviously reject this principle as it goes against what is set out in the Harm Principle. Mill advocated the freedom of action, even if it is self harming as he believed it was both character forming, and humans are the best judge of their actions.10 Professor H. L. A Hart was a keen supporting of the idea that criminal law is to prevent harm to other people however even Hart accepted that the propriety of some paternalistic legislation e.g on the control of drugs.11 Smoking is as h armful clearly harmful to the user, with 25% of smokers dying from the habit12, then surely it is the states responsibility to prohibit the action. This is certainly the paternalistic viewpoint. Goodin makes an interesting point in The Ethics of Smoking. A supporter of Mills may argue Paternalism prohibition of smoking stops the individual from being free. However, if the smoker is trying to quit then by banning smoking completely, we are simply using coercion to enable people to carry out their own goals.13 Consent is an issue that is commonly found when discussing the banning of smoking, and has been used by both pro and anti ban theorist. It may be argued that non-smokers choose to visit public places where smoking is prevalent such as pubs or clubs. The harm they receive then from second hand smoke has been consented to as they choose to visit said public place. This would seem to conclude that smoking in public is only an other regarding action if it has been consented to, and therefore that smoking should be allowed freely in all public places. However, non-smokers if they sought to visit non-smoking pubs and clubs would have very limited choice. Even more importantly individuals who work in areas where smoking is allowed will suffer even greater health risks due to their constant interaction with second hand smoke. Goodin argued that passive smoking generally occurs as unavoidable consequence of being in proximity to smokers and thus they are involuntarily smoking.14 Therefore, it can be argued, there is actually no consent, so this cannot be used as a defence against ban of smoking in public places. If consent is not an argument for allowing smoking in public places, then it is certainly used when countering a complete smoking ban. Anti-Smoking ban individuals state that they have consented to smoking, and thus to the harm itself. Therefore they did not require any paternalistic state intervention. Dworkin summarises this stating the incurring of harm requires the active co-operation of the victim.15 This supports Mills idea that an individual is the best judge of their own actions, and they want to smoke and know the consequences it is their right to do so. However Goodin makes an interesting contradiction. As tobacco is addictive due to chemicals such as nicotine then the individual only consents to the first cigarette, as they cannot help but smoke after this. Goodin argues if the product is truly addictive, then we have no more reason to respect the persons voluntary choice (however well informed) to abandon his future validation to an addiction than we have for respecting a persons voluntary choice (however well informed) to sell himself to slavery.16 There are more practical objections to a complete ban on smoking however. Barry, amongst others, points out a utilitarian view supporting smoking. If smoking was to be banned, and tobacco was to be made an illegal substance society would see many negative consequences. There would be an increase in crime, both of the users and dealers of tobacco, and a gangster culture would develop around tobacco just as it has with controlled goods. As tobacco would be very expensive to (illegally) purchase, crime rates would increase that way as users may commit crime to fund their expensive habit.17 This can easily be related with the criticism of Mills Harm Theory that smoking is not an other regarding action due to its cost to society. If smoking was to be banned completely the increase in crime because of this would have a larger detrimental cost than would be saved through the decrease in NHS and social spending. The question remains, should smoking be banned? Strictly following the Harm Principle it would seem that smoking should be banned in public, but in private, as then it is only harming the user. However, this is only the case if you agree that smoking in private is a self regarding action. We have seen arguments both for and against classify smoking as a completely other regarding action and if this is the case then in theory smoking should be completely banned. Smoking should also be banned completely if you believe the state should play a paternalistic role in protecting its citizens from the harm of smoking. Consent obviously plays a role in this topic and we have seen how it has been argued that a smoker who consents to the harm should be allowed to continue smoking, although there have even been contradictions to this. Practicality should not forgotten, and a complete ban in smoking raises some serious concerns about the social effect this would have. It seems then that a compromise is needed in order to decide whether smoking should be banned. A ban in public places seems to be best solution to the problem; it protects passive smokers yet eliminates the danger to society that would occur if smoking was completely banned. Of course, some would argue we are still letting individuals harm themselves, however adult humans know the risk of smoking, and on a whole the cost to the individual is less than the possible cost to society. It seems J.S Mills Harm Principle is ideal for addressing the question of a smoking ban, and a ban on public smoking, as seen in the UK and states around the world is the best solution. 1 N. Barry, Modern Political Theory 4th ed. (Basingstoke; Macmillan Press Ltd, 2000) p.211 2 Ibid. p.211 3 D.D. Raphael, Problems of Political Philosophy 2ND ed. (London; Pall Mall Press Ltd, 1990) p.78 4http:/smokefree.nhs.uk/why-go-smokefree/secondhand-smoke/ accessed December 5 2009 5 R. Garner, Introduction to Politics (Oxford; Oxford University Press, 2009) p.100 6 Garner (2009) p101 8 Rapheal (1990) p.66 9 Ibid. p66 10 Barry (2000) p.101 11 Rapheal (1990) p.81 12 R.E Goodin, The Ethics of Smoking, Ethics, Vol.99, No.3, (1989) p.588 13 Goodin (1989) p.586 14 Ibid. p.586 15 Goodin (1989) p.579 16Ibid p.586 17Barry (2001) p.219

GRENDEL THE SAVAGE :: essays papers

GRENDEL THE SAVAGE Portraying adolescents as false tragic heroes has been a theme explored in literature throughout the twentieth century. In John Gardner’s Grendel, the protagonist Grendel, portrayed as a parentless adolescent seeking guidance, finds happiness in violence. Grendel continually commits the ultimate act of evilness, murder on Hrothgar’s mead hall. Gardner creates a character and an environment in, which the reader must feel sorrow for Grendel, in order to have fulfillment by the end of the resolution. However, Gardner uses Grendel and writing in general as tool to communicate his liberal philosophies to a wider audience making it difficult to weep over Grendel’s death. Grendel is not a misguided youth; he is a monster who willingly takes part in his death by indulging himself in violence. In Grendel, the protagonist spends his ephemeral life attacking Hrothgar’s mead hall, and Grendel takes the lives of Hrothgar’s men during the raids. When Grendel encounters the dragon, Grendel turns into a barbaric machine, after his self-realization. After the dragon, Grendel begins his contentious â€Å"war† with Hrothgar. The attacks on Hrothgar are essentially a deranged pastime for Grendel. After the attacks, Grendel feels some remorse, although this could merely be a biological reaction to the tyranny. Even if Grendel feels remorse, it is still no excuse to slaughter. If Grendel’s attacks are means of survival, then he must surely realize his death is necessary. Grendel returns to the mead hall repeatedly, even after the scenes of sick compassion. Grendel’s regrets only last long enough for the reader to see another side of him. The side of remorse and regret quickly disappears as he feels the hunger of death again. Grendel is a three – dimensional character. At the same time, Grendel can lose his confused frivolous existence and become a bloodthirsty killer. Grendel reflects modern troubled youth. He is lost in a corrupt world and consequently the use of violence is a means of short-term escape. Although we want to see Grendel saved, it is impossible to aid all adolescents in troubled. In addition, if we say Grendel’s acts are justifiable because he lives in terrible world, we are also saying it is justifiable for a drug dealer to deal out drugs. In order to maintain balance in civilization, we must have equal shares of compassion and common sense. Common sense tells us children are not products of their environment.

Is Mark Twain a Racist?

Is Mark Twain A racist? Many believe certain things about Twain's â€Å"Great American novel,† makes it a racist book, like the overuse of the word, â€Å"nigger,† and the given depiction of the black slave, Jim. However, there is a substantial amount of evidence that this book was not written out of hate, but in hope that Twain could change the ideals of skin color of the white people around him. The first and foremost question most people ask when they read the novel is, â€Å"was Mark Twain a racist? There are assumptions that because of Twain's use of edgy language and writing in the point of view of racists, that he was a racist himself. Much of the article is Twain going into detail about the type of environment and adults this young boy has been raised with, and how racism against the Chinese is commonplace. For example, the Chinese are taxed twice as much as all the other races to mine for gold. Also, when they are caught stealing from a mine, they are hung. Ho wever, when the same happens to the other races, they are only asked to leave the mining camp (Galaxy).In one part, the narrator shares, â€Å"†¦ [the boy] found out that in many districts of the vast Pacific coast, so strong is the wild, free love of justice in the hearts of the people, that whenever any secret and mysterious crime is committed, they say, â€Å"Let justice be done, though the heavens fall,† and go straightway and swing a Chinaman. † (Galaxy) The reason why Twain lists these observations is to show the city of San Francisco that it is not the boy who's at fault, because, â€Å"What had the child's education been? How should he suppose it was wrong to stone a Chinaman (Galaxy)? In fact, in one part of the article, the boy says, â€Å"†Ah, there goes a Chinaman! God will not love me if I do not stone him (Galaxy). † With this article, Twain hoped that he could allow the adult of the city to see how foolish they have been acting towards the Chinese and it was not the boy who is acting childish, but it is the men whom the young boy looked up to. This is the same scenario with the controversy surrounding, â€Å"The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. † In both stories we see a young boy who lives in a society that is racist against a certain race only because they were raised that way.An example of this in, â€Å"The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn,† is one of the first things we hear from Huck's father and his feelings about black people who have done well in the country. He refers to an African-American college professor who wore nice clothes and was intelligent. Also, since the man was from Ohio, he was also allowed to vote. It's interesting how Huck's father says, â€Å"It was ‘lection day, and I was just about to go and vote myself if I warn't too drunk to get there†¦ (37)†.The irony in this is how Huck's father, a man who is obviously morally, financially, socially, and intellectuall y inferior to the professor he met, believes he is superior to the man because of their difference in skin colors. This confirms that Huck was raised in a racist environment, which means that things Huck says or does probably isn't out of hate, but because that's the way he's been raised in his home and society. Something very risky that Twain did to show others his position on slavery and racism was when he volunteered to help pay for one of the first black student's tuition at Yale University.In his letter do the Dean of the university explaining why he wanted to do this, he said, â€Å"We have ground the manhood out of them, and the shame is ours, not theirs, and we should pay for it (Fishkin). † This act and quote shows that Mark Twain felt personally convicted about slavery as a terrible mistake towards the black society and wanted to give something back to those affected. Therefore, with all his negative experiences with slaves and racism, why would this man write a boo k that goes against the ideals he so boldly defends?This book should not be looked at as an attack against African-Americans, but as another way Twain tried to repay the debt he felt he owed the slaves and their families (Fishkin). When the book first introduces Jim, it seems that the slave is almost superstitious to the point of idiocy. In chapter two, Jim falls asleep when looking for Tom and Huck in Mrs. Watson's yard. Tom takes Jim's hat and places it on a branch above his head, and when Jim wakes up he tells the other slaves a group of witches, â€Å"rode him all over the world, and tired him most to death, and his back was all over saddle-boils (14). Two chapters later, Jim pulls a hairball out of an ox's stomach and claims an all-knowing spirit lives inside (26). Many people find Jim's superstitions very offensive and racist because it emphasizes the idea that slaves had no hope in having a good life. Some believe that since the slaves were treated so poorly and had little c hance of escaping their sentence, they made up superstitions as a way to escape from their cruel reality. Most African-American advocates of anning Twain's novel from schools don't think their children should have to read about a time in their family's history where so much pain, suffering and dignity was lost. The fact that Twain makes Jim an extremely superstitious character, is interpreted by many as a racist action (Wolfson). However, who's to say that Jim's superstitions are not just a creative way for him to take advantage of certain things for his own personal gain? It's possible that Jim used the witch story from chapter two because he knew he'd gain popularity throughout the slave world.It even says later that slaves traveled from far places to hear Jim's witch story. As with the hairball, Jim could have just used it to get a quick â€Å"buck† from Huck, or other customers who wanted some questions answered, since Jim pretended the spirit wouldn't work unless it was paid. If Jim's superstitions are viewed in this light, he should be looked at as a very clever human being, rather than a hopeless slave, and no one with the same skin color as him should be offended (Fishkin). Another big issue people have with the book is its seemingly overuse of the word, â€Å"nigger. Throughout the book, the word is mentioned an overwhelming two hundred and fifteen times, something that many see as unnecessary, since the word comes with such a negative, degrading implication in today's world. However, there is much debate whether or not the term carried the type of negative connotation it has today, but even if people did use the name as an insult, there are still reasonable explanations as to why Mark Twain would use this word. First of all, Twain strived to make this novel as realistic as possible.If he had not used the language of his time or depicted characters the way they were in his time period, then no one would have taken his book seriously. It's poss ible that there were other names that were less offensive that he could have used, but doing so would not have been as effective in exposing the ugliness of racism as, â€Å"nigger† does. The word reinforced the book's idea that the societies of the southern United States lived in constant racism. Though it's unclear whether Shelley Fisher Fishkin supported this idea, she says in her book, A Historical Guide to Mark Twain: †¦ â€Å"nigger†] was integral to the project of presenting and indicating a racist society, whose illegitimate racial hierarchy was embodied in the use of that word, because it was central to dramatizing the failure of everyone in that society (black and white) to challenge the legitimacy of the status quo and of the word that cemented and reinforced it, and because the diction was realistic to the time and characters. (137) The relation between, Disgraceful Persecution of a Boy, and the novel at hand must also be analyzed.The young boy who sto ned the Chinese man didn't commit the crime because he hated the Chinese, he did it because that's what he was taught to do. When Huck referred to the slaves as, â€Å"niggers,† it's not out of hate that he uses the word, but because he was taught that's just what you call slaves. Another issue people have with this book is the overall depiction of the slave's intellect. In parts of the book, it's hard to even understand what Jim is trying to say because he hasn't been educated. People believe that making Jim sound intellectually inferior to every other character in the book is a racist move on Twain's part.However, when reading the novel, the reader must also realize that the author and the narrator are two different voices. The author, Twain, is an adult who is very against the idea of slavery. The narrator is a young boy who has been raised by a society who sees nothing wrong with enslaving black people. Thus, it is not Twain voicing his opinions through the thought proces ses of Huck, but it is Twain trying to portray an accurate, historical point of view from a young, white boy (Fishkin). Unfortunately, this young boy has been raised with certain biases against slaves, and Twain must honor that bias.If he doesn't then the book would be historically inaccurate. Also, one must remember that people living today were probably not Twain's target audience. Twain wanted to change problems in his generation, and in order to create a story that applied to the reader of his day, he would have to make the story as realistic as possible. Lastly, the most obvious argument is that it just wouldn't make sense to create a slave character who was as smart as the white people. If slaves were not allowed any formal education, how realistic would it be to write about a smart, literate slave?Finally, at the end of the novel, it seems Huck is thinking about running away from his home again, only because, â€Å"Aunt Sally she's going to adopt me and sivilize me, and I ca n't stand it (307). † For this quote to truly hold any meaning, the reader must realize a â€Å"sivilized† person in the societies of the southern states back then would probably have owned and mistreated slaves. Hearing Huck say that he's sick of society teaching him how to be â€Å"sivilized,† could be his way of expressing the newfound feelings he has against slavery (Fishkin).To say that, â€Å"The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn,† is a racist novel should be considered a ridiculous idea. Why would an anti-slavery and anti-racist man write a racist book? Twain wrote books and articles to justify his ideas to his reader, even if the ideas were absurd, like the idea of the black man being on equal ground with the white man. Though by the time the book was completed slavery was abolished and African-Americans were free, the mindsets of the southern white families did not change. These types of families were to whom Mark Twain was directing this book.He hop ed they would see the ugliness of racism and slavery, and see people past the color of their skin. One of Mark Twain's well known quotes on racism is, â€Å"One of my theories is that the hearts of men are about alike, all over the world, whatever their skin-complexions may be (Everett). † Twain probably never realized his novel about young Huck Finn would have gained so much popularity and attention so long after it's original publishing, but throughout every generation, his message of anti-racism should not be banned for its racist interpretations because it is relevant for any race, people, or community.

Rethinking Special Education Due Process Essay

Rethinking Special Education Due Process Introduction   Summary of the proposal Rethinking the Special Education Due Process System is the first repot in AASA’s proposal. The report proposal objective is to address issues linked to the current statute on top of the projected developments. The proposal aims at sparking a sophisticated critical analysis about necessary changes that should be made to the special education dispute resolution system. The report project that changes to the new current special education system could significantly cut down several costs that are associated with the system. These are costly litigation that does not inevitably ensure significant educational gains for special education students. In addition AASA’s proposal safeguards the right for guardians to progress with proceedings against district and uphold other valuable disagreement resolution plans that are implemented in previous re-authorizations. This paper seeks to examine the probable effects of the proposal on the structure and function of IDEA (Retrieved from http://www.aasa.org).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   AASA feel that this is the appropriate time to reconsider how districts and parents decide upon disagreements over a student’s (IEP) individualized education program. The following are the recommendations that advocates and members of congress should rethink and discuss as indicated in the AASA proposal. AASA proposed addition of IEP to the list of options that a district might apply to solve disagreements with parents with a lawful IEP facilitator. The proposal uphold that mediation remain available to both parties for resolving IDEA disagreements only if IEP facilitation fail.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The proposal also propose that if the mediation failed, the parents and district can choose an independent special education consultant authorized by the state to review evidence of the child’s disability and advise the parties on how to develop an appropriate IEP. The proposal also holds that the consultant body chosen is given 21 days to carry out its duties effectively. Lastly, any party can file a lawsuit incase it is not satisfied with the consultant IEP ruling where model IEP would be considered as part of the record in any litigation. History of special education law   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In 1970, there were 20% of all U.S. students with disabilities in the public schools. The number had increased to 95% in 2010. This is a significant contribution from civil and education rights advocates who ensure that students with disabilities are enrolled in every school in the country. Federal education law was passed three decades ago where there was radical restructuring in America’s classrooms, though the increase in number of students educated in public schools were propelled by federal courts. The court declared that the constitution guaranteed disabled students right of being educated in public schools. Mills v. Board of Education and Pennsylvania Association for Retarded Children v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania are examples of judicial rulings that supported the enrollment of students with disabilities in public schools (Retrieved from http://www.aasa.org).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In 1975, Congress, under sturdy demands from disability rights educators, advocates, and parents, passed the (EAHCA) Education for All Handicapped Children Act. The statute warranted an additional set of rights to kids categorized as handicapped. Parents were permitted to ask for special education evaluation for their child and retract approval or approval to special education. Parents were also permitted to ask for autonomous education appraisal at public expense, if they disputed with the school district’s exceptional education evaluation (Retrieved from http://www.aasa.org).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Today the due process requirements in the EAHCA are known as Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, are similar to the provisions structured by the court in PARC. There are various reasons for raising questions regarding the present due process structure. The current special education is faced with a lot of disputes regarding the special education services. The districts are inconsistent with IDEA provisions and also the special education being provided is not appropriate to the disabled children (Retrieved from http://www.aasa.org). Negative and positive impacts of eliminating due process hearings on the current structure of IDEA.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Cost is a critical factor which should be considered when determining whether to avoid a complaint or due process hearing. Eliminating the due process hearing will significantly cut down the cost of parent’s requests. The districts were willing to comply provided that the cost of the parent’s requests was lower. Survey revealed that more than 80% of school management considered costs when determining whether to comply with the parent’s request.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Emotional burden is another factor that school administrators take into account before they consider engaging in the due process hearing. Eliminating the due process off hearing will reduce the stress experienced by special education management, other linked services professionals and special education teachers. Research findings reveal that more 95% of the respondents categorized the stress as high or extremely high. Eliminating the due hearing will help to reduce the rapidly increasing stress of special educators. The researchers found that process hearing was likely to add to the hastily increasing stress of special educators. In deed, few superintendents linked the shortage of special-education-related service administrators, teachers and professionals to the stress associated with the risk of a due process hearing (Gersten & Dimino, 2006).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The positive impact of eliminating the due process of hearing is that it will reduce the cost related to the hearing process. The parent’s requests might be costly such that they incur unreasonable cost to the system. These are some of the aspects that should be eliminated from the current composition of IDEA. The other positive effect of eliminating the due hearing from the existing structure of IDEA is that they will cut down the stress linked to the due process of hearing. This might increase the number of special education teachers, professionals and administrators. Research findings revealed that more than 50% of special schools administrators requested transfers from district special education after being involved in subsequent litigation or a due process of hearing (Giangreco, 2010). Alternatives that special education leader might consider.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   There is an increasing trend of misuse of teacher assistants in most special education systems. The special education leaders might consider developing advanced plans of general and special service delivery in schools to address the issues linked to the questionable teacher assistant utilization. Teacher assistants are not used prudently in general special education classrooms thus as a special education leader it is vital to consider of an appropriate way of utilizing the teacher assistants to meet the need of the students. Teacher assistants are inadequately trained to instruct students with disabilities (Giangreco, 2010).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Resource reallocation is another alternative whereby there should be trade off between teacher assistants and additional special education teachers. Co-teaching is another alternative a special education leader might consider. Co-teaching is a system whereby a teacher and special educator work in the same classroom. Building the capacity of teachers is another alternative which will help to cut down overdependence on teacher assistants. The special education leader might consider employment of dual certified teachers who are certified in special and general education offers improved personnel aptitude for all students.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   A peer support is another alternative that a special education leader might consider. Peer support strategies will provide a natural way of helping students with disabilities. The special education leader can also consider teaching self-determination skills as an alternative. Teaching self-determination will help students with disabilities to determine personal supports. The other alternative is improving working conditions for special educators and classroom teachers. The special education leader might explore the changes that are necessary to ensure there is an improvement in working conditions for teachers. In addition the special education leader might consider fading plans. If the students with disability get adequate help from the teacher assistants, a fading plan can be developed which will lead to greater student autonomous and extended innate supports (Giangreco, 2013). References Gersten, R., & Dimino, J. A. (2006). RTI (Response To Intervention): Rethinking Special Education For Students With Reading Difficulties (Yet Again). Reading Research Quarterly, 41(1), 99-108. Giangreco, M. F. (2010). Utilization of teacher assistants in inclusive schools: is it the kind of help that helping is all about? European Journal of Special Needs Education, 25(4), 341-345. Giangreco, M. F. (2013). Teacher Assistant Supports in Inclusive Schools: Research, Practices and Alternatives. Australasian Journal of Special Education, 37(02), 93-106. Rethinking Special Education Due Process. (n.d.). www.aasa.org. Retrieved July 5, 2014, from http://www.aasa.org/uploadedFiles/Policy_and_Advocacy/Public_Policy_Resources/Special_Education/AASARethinkingSpecialEdDueProcess.pdf Source document

Essay Sample on the Apostles Creed

Essay Sample on the Apostles Creed The Apostles Creed is an affirmation of things which are mainly held among Christians, and which are undoubtedly founded upon the contents of the Holy Scripture. I have rehearsed, cited, and prayed this creed from my childhood and whenever I repeat the creed I assert that I accept and approve of all the statements that it covers. I do not merely give a mental consent to the facts articulated in the creed because the scripture makes it clear that Faith without works is dead. (John H. 60). My belief depends on the facts found in the scripture, and also on my personal experience of salvation. I know I have been born again spiritually; my faith rests on the spiritual encounter with God as interpreted by scripture, not merely on an intellectual assent to the scriptures and doctrines expressed by the Apostles Creed. The creed starts with the greatest and universally accepted Christian statement I believe in God the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth. (William Barclay 11) The statement that God is Almighty implies that all beings are governed and controlled by Him and therefore this makes me wake up every morning with a prayer of thanksgiving for the day that God has given me and His mighty presence during my daily activities. Whenever I repeat the words of the creed I personally affirm that I have an almighty God and Father who is in charge of all things on earth and heaven above. I also agree that even those things that seem to oppose and resist His authority are still under His government. Rebellion serves but to make His omnipotence more apparent, for He causeth the wrath of man to praise Him, and the remainder of wrath He restraineth. (John H. Leith.74).Therefore by my belief in God, and the belief that He is the creator of heaven and the earth; I am charged daily with being, thinkin g and acting only as He has taught me through the years as one of His precious and great creations. To know my creator in this way is very simple to me but difficulties arise when I try to conceal the sins that I commit with excuses to the only God who knows everything about my life. I believe that is the greatest message for me as a Christian that is placed before me daily: to let Him guide me with His love and compassion for He has mighty plans for me. And in Jesus Christ his only son our Lord, who was conceived of the Holy Ghost, born of Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead and buried. The expected Messiah come to the world bearing with Him from heaven a message of salvation for all mankind and the creed shows me that because of my sinful nature God send His only begotten son to suffer the wrath on my behalf so that I could finally live in perfection with Him. I personally believe that Jesus Christ became incarnate through the conception of the Holy Spirit and birth by the Virgin Mary. I believe that Jesus died as a substitutionary atonement for the sins of the world; and that, after Christs resurrection and ascension into heaven, on Pentecost, God came to the Church in the form of the Holy Spirit, the Comforter promised by Christ. Because of these acts by an Almighty God, I am humbled that He chooses to relate to me as Father as well as King of my life. This is the greatest love from God who made me and who knows my daily failures, but gives me grace only through Christ. Although this world is full of misery and anguish, I am fully assured that He who suffered on my behalf will understand and sympathize with me and that He provides me with boldness and confidence as I daily draw nigh to the throne of grace. He descended into hell; The third day he rose again from the dead; He ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty; From thence he will come to judge the quick and the dead. This is part of the Creed gives me great hope, security and constant, abiding love in God! When I go to sleep every single night, I know that I have not lived up to each challenge but God has blessed me by sending Christ who is my intercessor. I take great comfort in knowing that for me, and everyone else of His creation who has gone before me and for everyone who comes after me, Christ himself sits at my God’s right hand and tenderly says Father, please remember to see her and her sins through me and my death on the cross. I marched the same path and did not commit any sin but I suffered and died for her sins, not mine, according to your great plan. (John H. Leith.64) For me, His intersession gives me the hope and strength to treasure each new day I am given and to strive to be a better person today than I was yesterday or even just a minute ago. I believe in the Holy Ghost; the holy Catholic Church, the communion of saints, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting, Amen. I believe that the born-again believers from every denomination and creed of the Catholic Church consist of the supernatural Body of Christ on earth, forming a spiritual unity that disproves our obvious disunity. I for sure know that Christ will return from His position at the right hand of the Father to judge the living and the dead. I believe that God the Holy Ghost lives within the saints; my spiritual birth, along with that of many others of the communion of saints stands as the most profound fact of my life. His presence in believers testifies to the fact of His forgiveness. His grace came to me and the rest of those who believe in Him by faith in what we accept as facts: our sinfulness, His sacrifice, and His forgiveness. I believe the ending of the Creed is where God calls me to live out His words rather than to just recite them or find personal comfort in them. If I want God’s grace and His love, then I am called on to declare His gifts and to then state publicly His assurances. To proclaim that I believe in the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins and the resurrection of the body is my another feature of God calling to me as a person of faith every day. The Father and His only son my Lord Jesus have given me the same task as was put on the original apostles, to go throughout the whole world and proclaim the good news of salvation to all creatures. Forgiveness of Sins is the gift and guarantee of God that Jesus Christ, the Saviour, has broken the separation between God and me that was brought about by sin and I am filled with joy for Jesus has brought me to God through His sinless life, His suffering and death, and His bodily resurrection from the dead. I am thus consoled in knowing of this gift of forgiveness that guarantees me of eternal life in heaven and deliverance from eternal condemnation in hell. (George 54). To sum up I believe that the God Who led the Church to accept the Apostles Creed lives and works whether human beings believe or not. Those who believe in God will believe by faith what cannot be proved literally. Those who refuse to believe would continue in unbelief regardless of awesome proof to the presence and working of God in the Church. Jesus clearly said that those who believe without seeing are blessed and therefore if anyone asks my opinion of the Apostles Creed, I can honestly say I believe in it. If you need custom essay, term paper, research paper or thesis on Religion or Theology feel free to contact our professional custom writing service.

Corporate Social Responsibility and Starbucks Primary Stakeholders Essay Example

Corporate Social Responsibility and Starbucks Primary Stakeholders Essay Example Corporate Social Responsibility and Starbucks Primary Stakeholders Paper Corporate Social Responsibility and Starbucks Primary Stakeholders Paper Case Content/Instructions 1. Introduce the organization/company, the case, and provide a brief history of the organization. 2. Provide a clear, concise statement of the problem(s)/issues(s). 3. Identify primary and secondary internal and external stakeholders affected, describe their stakes in the issue, analyze the situation for effect on these stakeholders, and describe the issues and impact from the stakeholders’ views. 4. Summarize the primary and secondary ethical issues(s) involved. . Describe the organization’s strategy in dealing with this issue(s), critique the strategy/actions taken, using facts from the course to defend your critique, and briefly state the outcomes the organization actually experienced †¦stock price, credibility, market share, management changes, residual stakeholder backlash, unresolved problems, etc. 6. State your conclusions and recommendations for other/more effective actions the company could have taken to produce better stakeholder outcomes. Support your argument with course facts/data/decision models/outside sources. 7. Each partner will write a one page summary of the case. 8. Prepare a presentation, 10 – 15 minutes (audience discussion after presentation). 2. (Include this with Starbucks having difficulties) Starbucks primary stakeholders are their employees, customers, shareholders, investors, suppliers, coffee farmers, local communities, and other business partners. Secondary stakeholders are media outlets, government, nviromentalist groups, and their competitors. . 5. Starbucks is using Corporate Social Responsibilty actions to tackle a lot of the issues they face. Starbucks defines CSR as conducting business in ways that produce social, environmental and economic benefits for the communities in which they operate and for the company’s stakeholders and shareholders. They have created internal structures to ensure that any emerging issues are recognized, prioritized, and addressed in a consistent way t hroughout the company. In response to the over consumption of water, they are in the process of installing buttons that will turn on the faucet instantly and momentarily. This will save approximatley 150 gallons of water per day in each store. Starbucks has also been named as one of the World’s Most Ethical Companies by Ethisphere Magazine. This is based off of their corporate citizenship and responsibility, corporate governance, innovation that contributes to public well being, leadership, and internal systems ethics/compliance program. Starbucks has also gave back to the communities they do business in and around the world. The last CSR report that was published in 2007, shows they gave approximatley 18. 01 million in philanthropic contributions. 2. Starbucks has been hit by the weakened economy as consumers are trying to cut back on their spending. It is much harder to draw in customers today that are willing to pay around $3 for a cup of coffee than before when the economy was booming. Fast food chains like McDonald’s are capitlizing on Starbuck’s â€Å"expensive† reputation by offering coffee products at a lesser cost. . In response to this, Starbucks is using a business-level strategic manaemetn strategy in order to compete back. They have introduced a new instant coffee called Starbucks Via, which is less than $1 a cup. This has expanded into many new markets, including airlines. They have expanded their menu in order to compete as well. You will now see â€Å"value meals† in their bistros. You can also order breakfast sandwiches, lunch items, and a wider selection of pastry items. 3. Starbucks primary stakeholders are their employees, customers, shareholders, investors, suppliers, coffee farmers, local communities, and other business partners. Secondary stakeholders are media outlets, government, enviromentalist groups, and their competitors. Sources http://business. timesonline. co. uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/leisure/article5240824. ece http://abcnews. go. com/International/SmartHome/story? id=5964908page=1 starbucks. com/aboutus/csrreport/Starbucks_CSR_FY2007. pdf http://cachef. ft. com/cms/s/2/aa9831ce-c266-11dd-a350-000077b07658. html

Analysis of the Modern State and Features of Stock Market Investment

Analysis of the Modern State and Features of Stock Market Investment Portfolio Analysis for stock market investment An investor tends to come up with various pools of investment to the market intending to maximize bid share and with an aim of upholding the invested amount in the stock market which is generally advocated in the principle of low risks which should lead to high yields. As much as long term investment is concerned, various factors such as types of assets in the portfolio and the management policy, by way of measuring both investor’s long and short term investment goals whereby they should come to fulfillment before closure of the intended period which makes easy to have 10 stocks for a given time. In order to attain an optimal asset allocation for portfolio, the investor should be aware of the market risks likely to encounter. The investor should however come up with the most efficient and risk tolerance portfolio goals. Some of the reasons which fostered the kind of market are as outlined. Transaction summary It clearly lists all the financial activities which occurred in the account in a systematic way. The total investable principle and the additional amount which can be invested can easily be channeled to the market. This has however sieved un important financial transaction which leaves the investor with the net market transactions which includes market buy, market sell, earned dividends and short proceeds. This report allows the investor to filter different transactions by date of occurrence and the date of transaction. Portfolio summary This summary shows the both cash inflow and outflows, purchases and sales, and, cash distributions which make it easy for the investors to at any particular to access the financial position of the investment firm. The summary also outlines all activities and performance in a specified duration, this summary is reached out by use of all transactions that occurred during the specified period of time i.e weekly, after two weeks etc. The investor can have a view on the look of the portfolio in between the selected time duration. The summary includes: value summary section, cash distributions and purchases section, period Returns section, and the portfolios and transaction bit of it. This approach guides on the starting market value (recorded at end of a starting date), ending market value (recorded at the close of ending date) and the portfolio net change. This makes it easy to come up with a financial and a defined market report and trade completion. The Gain/Loss summary The investor can easily get to know how the investment has performed in duration of specified period in terms profit or loss. This guides the investment scheme in making decisions for future investments and shows if the investor minimized costs to maximize returns. Every purchase in this case is matched with the sell transaction and a display of either there is a loss/gain. This information leads to the Back-In-Time-Report. Performance Study This approach analyses the aggregate performance of an investor in the market to other major investors. The trade however reflects the intended purpose, indicating whether the investor is 3in line with the set objectives or not, showing how the investor has failed to meet the core obligation which is maximum returns. True diversification of assets to market exposure is reached out, which advocates for low costly assets and low investment costs.

LOVE & MARRIAGE Movie Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

LOVE & MARRIAGE - Movie Review Example However, for our families the banquet was more important than the marriage certificate because this is our culture and however hard we try, we cannot shun these ideals or cause our families to change their viewpoint. 2) The movie, Our Family Wedding, centers on the marriage of Marcus, an African American man and Lucia, a Hispanic (Spanish) woman. In the course of planning a wedding ceremony, the families of both Marcus and Lucia have to deal with the liberal outlook of their children. The young couple, in turn, finds the cultural implications imposed on them, extremely arduous to follow. They finally reach a middle ground and the couple calls it "Our marriage, their wedding". Elaborate the significance of this statement. Further, they end up tying the knot in a ceremony modeled on ancient Mexican traditions, but the Catholic Church as a conventional venue is left out. Do you think that by doing this, an absolute convergence of Ancient traditions and popular culture is achieved, or the aesthetics of both the cultures is lost in transition? 3) In Lori Tsangs Postcards from Home, the writer is an American Chinese, residing in America. She talks about her Aunt Bessie, who left them and lives in China, and married a man who was not of the same village as hers. The writer mentions, "I think Aunt Bessies decision to go back to China was the major point of contention between her and my father. After the Liberation, Aunt Bessie decided to go back to help build the new China. She told me she married Uncle Ken because she knew he also wanted to use the education he got in the States to serve his country. But she never dreamed she would be separated from the New York side of the family. Aunt Bessie lived in China as a Chinese and the part of her that had learned to be American was out of place there." (Tsang 203) In your view, do you think that if Aunt Bessie knew beforehand that she would be alienated from her family and

Long term psychosocial effects of parental divorce Essay

Long term psychosocial effects of parental divorce - Essay Example Even if they chose not to take much of the effect of their parents’ divorce, the society allows them little room to grow normally with all the taunts and criticism they have to offer. The children of divorced parents have to develop extra potential, stamina and endurance to survive in the society. Adverse effects of the parental divorce are inevitable and start to surface in the very early years of a child’s academic career, when he/she has to mention the name of guardians on the admission forms. In case the child happened to live with only one of the parents, he/she develops a grey area for the image of the second parent in his/her mind. He/she can not realize what it feels like to be the son of the missing parent and becomes even more perplexed, as his/her friends narrate their relationship with the parent, that the child lacks. This paper discusses the long term psychological impacts of the divorce on the children that they have to live with. Soon after the parents divorce, the biggest problem that the child faces is his/her ownership. In a vast majority of cases, the ownership of child is decided by the laws. The child might have to live away from the parent he/she was very close to. The child also looses his/her grandparents. Although a child may not realize such a big loss of companions and relatives, the feeling pinches the child in his subconscious and he always misses something. The feelings lives on with the child as he/she grows up. Many children suffering from similar conditions might feel they lack something, though very less of them actually realize that it is all of those relations that were abandoned soon as his/her parents parted ways with each other. The confusion causes the child to develop psychological problems. The child can not find answers to many questions rising in his/her own mind. The child has to live on with those questions for the rest of his/her life. The child tries to sort out who was

Cost Control and Budgeting in Millennium Seoul Hilton Case Study

Cost Control and Budgeting in Millennium Seoul Hilton - Case Study Example Among these, power or electricity was found to be a major cost contributor. Further analyses revealed that there possibilities the use of electricity can be cut to an optimum level. Reduction of the consumption of power in the hotel would sufficiently reduce operational cost and thereby increase revenue. Based on the problem identified, it is proposed that a power cost saving plan will be developed and implemented. The first step is energy audit which would identify the trend and practices in electrical consumption in all section of the hotel and equate them to the volume of users. Once the information is at hand, areas where reduction can be implemented will be identified. Automated systems will be used instead of manual operations. Electronic devices that detect the optimum level of power needed in a particular area must be installed. For instance, a sensor automatically shuts off a light when there are no more users, etc. The solution will be implemented in few selected area to test the effectiveness. The data prior to implementation and during implementation will be recorded for validation purposes. The affectivity of the systems installed will be evaluated after six months of operation by comparing the consumption rate before and after using the systems. Consumption index will be obtained by dividing power consumption against total persons (consumers and employees). A lower consumption index would mean positive result. If the system is found to be efficient it will be replicated throughout the entire hotel systems.. Table of Contents POWER CONSUMPTION TREND AS POTENTIAL REVENUE ENHANCER FOR MILLENNIUM SEOUL HILTON 1 Management Summary 1 Table of Contents 3 Introduction 4 Findings 5 Analysis/Discussion 6 Recommendations 7 Conclusion 8 Bibliography/References 9 Hilton Hospitality, Inc. 2007. Millennium Seoul Hilton hotel. [Online]. Available: http://www1.hilton.com/en_US/hi/hotel/SELHITW-Millennium-Seoul-Hilton-hotel/index.do (19 October 2007) 9 Review Procedure 10 Introduction The Millennium Seoul Hilton is a Five Star Hotel situated at the foot of Mount Namsan and 1.5 miles from the business district of Seoul City, South Korea. The hotel can be considered a complete facility for business and leisure. For business purposes it has an Executive Lounge, a business center, and 8 meeting rooms that can accommodate 500 persons. It also has high-speed Internet access. Its support amenities for leisure and relaxation include 7 restaurants and bars catering Italian, French, Chinese, and Japanese foods aside from its native Korean specialties. It also has a health club, a golf driving range, a shopping area, a sauna, 82-foot swimming pool, and a well-equipped gym. Millennium Seoul Hilton hotel caters to individuals and families seeking for relaxation and leisure. But its services primarily is aimed on executives seeking for a place to do their business and other functions, meetings, conferences, seminars, and the likes. To suit the needs of the family they have babysitting services, children's video rental, cribs, high chairs, and family package offers. For the convenience of the business costumers they have audio-visual equipment rental, communication facility rental, office space rental, photo copying service, printer, secretarial service, and video conferencing service. The hotel offers several packages for tourists and family trips. The bulk however

Margaret Thatcher and her political career Term Paper

Margaret Thatcher and her political career - Term Paper Example The political career of the formidable Margaret Thatcher began in the voting of the year 1950 and 1951, when she ran for a parliamentary seat on a Conservative ticket. During these elections, she was not only the female candidate in the race, but she was also the youngest, at twenty-five; although she lost in both elections to the Labor party candidate, she managed to reduce significantly their majority in this constituency. Despite not being able to participate in the 1955 general elections, Thatcher, in the same year ran for the Orpington seat in a by-election in which she was also defeated, but in this case, the margin of defeat was quite narrow. This brought a realization that she could only win in a constituency where the Conservative party was downright dominant. To realize her ambition, she went looking for one such constituency, and consequently, she was selected to run as the Conservative candidate for Finchley, where she was elected Member of Parliament in the 1959 general elections. She made her first speech when she defended her bill, which required members of the local authorities to hold their council meetings in public. She displayed her strong will and character by going against the official position of her party by voting for the restoration of birching, which was a form of corporal punishment using a birch rod. From the outset of her career in politics, she declared herself a friend of the Jewish community; moreover, she was not only a founding affiliate of a pro Jewish group in her constituency, but she was also a member of the pro-Jewish association of the conservative party. However, despite this friendship she was of the opinion that Israel had to give up some of the land it had occupied in order to bring peace in Palestine. Moreover, she considered some of the actions of the Israeli government, such as the bombing of Osirak, as a severe abuse of international law. In 1961, Thatcher was agreed an endorsement to the front bench by the Macmillan governm ent of the time, and in this new capacity, she served as the Parliamentary Undersecretary at the Ministry of Pensions and National Insurance. However, when the Conservatives failed to win the elections in the voting of 1964, she developed into the spokesperson for Housing and Land.2 Here, she showed her strong support for her party’s stand on allowing those tenants living in council houses to be allowed to buy their residences. In 1966, she was selected into the shadow treasury lineup where she was strongly in opposition to the policy of the Labor party which set compulsory price and income management, she stated that such policies would not help the economy and that they would, in fact, damage the economy. At a party conference in 1966, Thatcher criticized the high taxation policies of the Labor government, stating that they were going against the established order of British society and turning towards socialism, and perhaps they would later turn towards communism. Her main argument for this position was that low taxes encouraged people to work harder to earn an income. She was among the small number of Conservative MPs to hold up the bill whose purpose was to decriminalize homosexuality in men. Moreover, she was also among those who voted in agreement of a bill to decriminalize abortion. She further gave her support for the maintaining of the death penalty but voted against the easing of the laws concerning divorce. These stances serve to show that while she was progressive in some of her views, she was extremely conservative in others. Edward Heath led the Conservative party to triumph in the 1970 general elections, and this proved to be an opportunity for her, as she was appointed Secretary for Education and Science. In her new position, she came to draw much public attention through her promotion of cutting spending in the education system. One of the most controversial moves during her first few months was the abolition of milk for schoolchildren at no cost3; therefore, because

Geology Questions. Sustainable development and resource management Essay

Geology Questions. Sustainable development and resource management - Essay Example Hubbert did not base his predication on feelings or emotions, he used a formula. He could prove what he was saying. It is looking like Hubbert was the only smart one that could face reality. 3. Many hydrothermal mineral deposits of copper, gold, silver, and other metals have been found in the countries bordering the Pacific Ocean. Can you offer an explanation for this remarkable concentration? If you were part of a team of exploration geologists looking for large copper deposits, where would you focus your search? Mineral deposits of copper, gold, silver, and other metals or ores are found in areas where the Earth’s crust has been pushed up or made by plate tectonics. Just like oil and coal are made by pressure in the earth. The ore is created by pressure in the crust. The Pacific Ocean has deep faults and plate tectonics pushing at the crust. For example, the earthquakes in California does not just cause destruction. It also causes ores to be created and pushed to the surface . If I was part of a team of exploration geologists looking for large copper deposits, I would look in plate eruptions on the ocean floor near magmatic arcs. 4. Given that we are now dependent on nonrenewable resources of energy and minerals, and that the world's population continues to increase, how do you think human societies will adjust in the future? Do we have a resource problem or a population problem (or both)? Human societies will have to learn to depend on renewable sources. If this is not possible, extinction would be a possibility. In order to survive humans will have to live off of renewable energy like wind, water, and other renewable sources. I do not believe humans will develop renewable resources until forced to.... Main questions of this article are: Oil production in the United States satisfies only half of the country's needs; the rest is imported. If imports were cut off, what changes would you expect to occur in your lifestyle? Investigate how geophysicist M. King Hubbert predicted in 1956 that annual U.S. oil production would peak in the early 1970s (the actual peak occurred in 1971). Also, investigate the debate over whether the same predictive technique can be applied to world oil supplies. When do you think world oil production will reach its peak—or has it done so already? Many hydrothermal mineral deposits of copper, gold, silver, and other metals have been found in the countries bordering the Pacific Ocean. Can you offer an explanation for this remarkable concentration? If you were part of a team of exploration geologists looking for large copper deposits, where would you focus your search? Given that we are now dependent on nonrenewable resources of energy and minerals, and that the world's population continues to increase, how do you think human societies will adjust in the future? Do we have a resource problem or a population problem (or both)? Some people think that sustainable development is not a useful concept, because it may be impossible to implement—or even to define—in the case of nonrenewable resources. Others think that it is an extremely important concept, if only because it makes us think about the needs of future generations in planning resource management. What do you think? Author gives all answers upon given questions.

Cost Control and Budgeting in Millennium Seoul Hilton Case Study

Cost Control and Budgeting in Millennium Seoul Hilton - Case Study Example Among these, power or electricity was found to be a major cost contributor. Further analyses revealed that there possibilities the use of electricity can be cut to an optimum level. Reduction of the consumption of power in the hotel would sufficiently reduce operational cost and thereby increase revenue. Based on the problem identified, it is proposed that a power cost saving plan will be developed and implemented. The first step is energy audit which would identify the trend and practices in electrical consumption in all section of the hotel and equate them to the volume of users. Once the information is at hand, areas where reduction can be implemented will be identified. Automated systems will be used instead of manual operations. Electronic devices that detect the optimum level of power needed in a particular area must be installed. For instance, a sensor automatically shuts off a light when there are no more users, etc. The solution will be implemented in few selected area to test the effectiveness. The data prior to implementation and during implementation will be recorded for validation purposes. The affectivity of the systems installed will be evaluated after six months of operation by comparing the consumption rate before and after using the systems. Consumption index will be obtained by dividing power consumption against total persons (consumers and employees). A lower consumption index would mean positive result. If the system is found to be efficient it will be replicated throughout the entire hotel systems.. Table of Contents POWER CONSUMPTION TREND AS POTENTIAL REVENUE ENHANCER FOR MILLENNIUM SEOUL HILTON 1 Management Summary 1 Table of Contents 3 Introduction 4 Findings 5 Analysis/Discussion 6 Recommendations 7 Conclusion 8 Bibliography/References 9 Hilton Hospitality, Inc. 2007. Millennium Seoul Hilton hotel. [Online]. Available: http://www1.hilton.com/en_US/hi/hotel/SELHITW-Millennium-Seoul-Hilton-hotel/index.do (19 October 2007) 9 Review Procedure 10 Introduction The Millennium Seoul Hilton is a Five Star Hotel situated at the foot of Mount Namsan and 1.5 miles from the business district of Seoul City, South Korea. The hotel can be considered a complete facility for business and leisure. For business purposes it has an Executive Lounge, a business center, and 8 meeting rooms that can accommodate 500 persons. It also has high-speed Internet access. Its support amenities for leisure and relaxation include 7 restaurants and bars catering Italian, French, Chinese, and Japanese foods aside from its native Korean specialties. It also has a health club, a golf driving range, a shopping area, a sauna, 82-foot swimming pool, and a well-equipped gym. Millennium Seoul Hilton hotel caters to individuals and families seeking for relaxation and leisure. But its services primarily is aimed on executives seeking for a place to do their business and other functions, meetings, conferences, seminars, and the likes. To suit the needs of the family they have babysitting services, children's video rental, cribs, high chairs, and family package offers. For the convenience of the business costumers they have audio-visual equipment rental, communication facility rental, office space rental, photo copying service, printer, secretarial service, and video conferencing service. The hotel offers several packages for tourists and family trips. The bulk however

Geology Questions. Sustainable development and resource management Essay

Geology Questions. Sustainable development and resource management - Essay Example Hubbert did not base his predication on feelings or emotions, he used a formula. He could prove what he was saying. It is looking like Hubbert was the only smart one that could face reality. 3. Many hydrothermal mineral deposits of copper, gold, silver, and other metals have been found in the countries bordering the Pacific Ocean. Can you offer an explanation for this remarkable concentration? If you were part of a team of exploration geologists looking for large copper deposits, where would you focus your search? Mineral deposits of copper, gold, silver, and other metals or ores are found in areas where the Earth’s crust has been pushed up or made by plate tectonics. Just like oil and coal are made by pressure in the earth. The ore is created by pressure in the crust. The Pacific Ocean has deep faults and plate tectonics pushing at the crust. For example, the earthquakes in California does not just cause destruction. It also causes ores to be created and pushed to the surface . If I was part of a team of exploration geologists looking for large copper deposits, I would look in plate eruptions on the ocean floor near magmatic arcs. 4. Given that we are now dependent on nonrenewable resources of energy and minerals, and that the world's population continues to increase, how do you think human societies will adjust in the future? Do we have a resource problem or a population problem (or both)? Human societies will have to learn to depend on renewable sources. If this is not possible, extinction would be a possibility. In order to survive humans will have to live off of renewable energy like wind, water, and other renewable sources. I do not believe humans will develop renewable resources until forced to.... Main questions of this article are: Oil production in the United States satisfies only half of the country's needs; the rest is imported. If imports were cut off, what changes would you expect to occur in your lifestyle? Investigate how geophysicist M. King Hubbert predicted in 1956 that annual U.S. oil production would peak in the early 1970s (the actual peak occurred in 1971). Also, investigate the debate over whether the same predictive technique can be applied to world oil supplies. When do you think world oil production will reach its peak—or has it done so already? Many hydrothermal mineral deposits of copper, gold, silver, and other metals have been found in the countries bordering the Pacific Ocean. Can you offer an explanation for this remarkable concentration? If you were part of a team of exploration geologists looking for large copper deposits, where would you focus your search? Given that we are now dependent on nonrenewable resources of energy and minerals, and that the world's population continues to increase, how do you think human societies will adjust in the future? Do we have a resource problem or a population problem (or both)? Some people think that sustainable development is not a useful concept, because it may be impossible to implement—or even to define—in the case of nonrenewable resources. Others think that it is an extremely important concept, if only because it makes us think about the needs of future generations in planning resource management. What do you think? Author gives all answers upon given questions.

Designing a Rewards System Essay Example for Free

Designing a Rewards System Essay When designing a rewards system within an organization there are several factors. First, look at the organization and focus on what matters most for that particular organization. Then focus in on the employees and what needs they have in particular. After breaking down the focus, you can move forward into creating a rewards system that not only fits but also everyone benefits from. † Reward management is concerned with the strategies, policies and processes required to ensure that the value of people and the contribution they make to achieving organizational, departmental and team goals is recognized and rewarded. It is about the design, implementation and maintenance of reward systems (interrelated reward processes, practices and procedures) that aim to satisfy the needs of both the organization and its stakeholders and to operate fairly, equitably and consistently. † (Armstrong, 2010) Look at the organization. What does the organization promote or goals it is working toward? Next, make sure the needs of the organization are being met. â€Å"Currently, many organisations are implementing or planning to implement, reward and/or recognition programmes believing that these will help bring about the desired cultural change. In some organisations, large amounts of money are being invested in these types of activities and some managers are required specifically to set aside a certain amount from their budgets for this purpose. † (Milne, 2007) If they are not met focus on creating a rewards system to include meeting the goals that at the moment are not being satisfied. Now to look at the employees and what they need. What will motivate them to perform better work? What is the age range within the organization so we can focus on what will better serve that population? After looking into the age check their work progress and see where there needs to be more and focus on setting up goals to get that area where it needs to be. â€Å"Recognizing employees for a job well done isn’t superfluous or magnanimous. It’s necessary. † (Zemke, 1988) â€Å"There was a study done with four groups that answered a questionnaire with twenty-five factors as to what would motivate them to work hard on their job. From the four groups only nine of the twenty-five factors were selected. The nine factors that were selected by these four groups are: 1. Respect for me as a person . Good Pay 3. Chance to turn out quality work 4. Chance for promotion 5. Opportunity to do interesting work 6. Feeling my job is important 7. Being told by my boss when I do a good job 8. Opportunity for self-development and improvement 9. Large amount of freedom on the job† (Kettner, 2002) All nine of these focus on how to build up the confidence of the employee and all owing them to know how well they are doing. Treating the employee like a person and not a machine is very important because it gives the employee a feeling of self and knowing it’s ok to be who you are as a person. This makes them comfortable to be there on the job. Providing good [ay is also very important because it shows the employee that you care and are rewarding them for their hard work while on the job. It also will make the employee want to stay with the organization because they do not need to go elsewhere. Giving the employee a chance to do the best quality work for the organization will give them a sense of pride in their job. If the employee knows that, there is a chance for them to be promoted through the organization they will work hard to be considered for promotion. Being able to do interesting work will keep the employee coming back because they are able to do different things which makes the job more interesting because they are not consistently performing the exact same job daily which will also make them feel that their job is important. Everyone loves being told good job! So as a boss, make sure you are informing your employees how well they are doing. Offer to the employee ways they can grow as people whether it is education or exercise. Giving them the opportunity for more development or just some improvement, they will be appreciative. Giving the employees freedom makes them more independent and lets them know that the organization trusts them to perform their job the way it is supposed to be done without someone standing over them constantly. After gathering this information, we can move forward with creating our own rewards system. First, we would create a chart showing the work and the progress being made. Then with that chart, incentives can be created for the employees to get to top of the list by making the most progress. In addition, incentives will be created for those that make the lowest amount of mistakes while performing their job function. This gives the employees some freedom to work hard on getting their performance up. Incentives will be in place for attendance also. Competitive pay will be based off performance and attendance. The better your performance is the better bonus and pay raise you will get. Your attendance will also affect your bonuses and pay raises. Keep your attendance up and consistent and you will be able to gain better pay bonuses. With bettering attendance and performance there will be opportunities for growth within the organization. The starting pay will be marginally based on experience and education. It will be fair and equitable to every employee. After setting up the chart with performance and attendance based incentives we can focus on creating a fair and free workplace for the employees. Set up the management center so they are accessible to the employees for guidance. The management system will also be in place for overviewing the employees from a distance without taking away from the employees ability to work as an individual. The management system will also be able to delegate tasks out to the employees that are performing at a faster or more effective rate. This will also allow the employees to be treated as individuals and not as a singular group. Next we would set up a system for growth and development that would include furthering your education and health needs. We work to offer help and assistance to other now we need to help and assist our employees. For education we will offer education breaks where you will be reimbursed for half of the amount spent on your college courses and supplies. This will allow the employee to re-enter school without fear of inability to pay. The stipulation will be that we will only reimburse as long as the course taken he employee completes and passes the course. The employee will be required to submit the final grade for the class and the receipt for the payment of the course and the supplies needed for the course. Next there will be a gym facility placed within the workplace that is available for the employees use before and after work and also during lunch or breaks. With offering the employee open use of a gym without having to pay will give them the help of not spending a lot of money on a gym membership that they may not be able to use regularly. It will also give them flexibility to use the gym whenever they want to without fear of it closing before they can get there to workout. With this rewards system in place every aspect of the employee and organizational needs are being met. The organization is running efficiently and effectively with each employee working hard to reach the incentive goals. The employees are working in an environment where they are comfortable and know they have every option available to them with movement and growth within the organization.

Circumstances under which monopolies can benefit the consumer

Circumstances under which monopolies can benefit the consumer Competition policies are set against monopolies in general. Explain why this statement is true. Are there any circumstances under which monopolies can benefit the consumer? A monopoly is a situation in which a single company owns all or nearly all of the market for a given type of product or service. This would happen in the case that there is a barrier to entry into the industry that allows the single company to operate without competition (for example, vast economies of scale, barriers to entry, or governmental regulation). In such an industry structure, the producer will often produce a volume that is less than the amount which would maximize social welfare. The EU Competition Commission is in charge of monitoring abuse of market dominance by monopolies, and follows the Treaty establishing the European Community: Article 82 of the Treaty establishing the European Community is an anti-monopoly instrument. It outlaws any abuse by one or more undertakings of a dominant position within the common market or in a substantial part of it in so far as it may affect the trade between Member States. Dominant position here means concentration or monopoly power which enables the firm or firms to influence, by independent action as a buyer or a seller, the outcome of the market. However, the article doesnt define what size of market share constitutes a dominant position, as this can vary from product to product. The emphasis isnt on the existence of a dominant position but rather on the abuse of power, primarily in trade between member states. Dominant enterprises are stopped from committing price discrimination in their interstate purchases or sales. Microsoft is often at the forefront of monopoly investigations: In December 1998, Sun Microsystems, another US company, complained that Microsoft had refused to provide information necessary for Sun to be able to develop products that would be able to interface with Windows PCs, so be able to compete on an equal footing in the market for work group server operating systems. The Commissions investigation revealed that Sun was not the only company that had been refused this information, and that these non-disclosures by Microsoft were part of a broader strategy designed to shut competitors out of the market. In 2000, the Commission also began to investigate the effect of Microsofts tying of another product, windows media player, to its operating system. This left other media player firms unable to compete. In 2004, after a 5-year-investigation, the European Commission concluded that the Microsoft Corporation broke European Union competition law by abusing its near monopoly in the market for PC operating systems and for media players. Microsoft had to disclose information to allow other firms to interface with the windows operating system. They were also fined à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬ 497 million for abusing its market power in the EU. In February 2008 the EU fined Microsoft a further à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬899 million for abusing its dominance of the market. *(skim over dont say all)* This diagram shows the effect of a monopoly on an economy; you can see that consumers are left worse off through the loss of consumer surplus. Policies are set against monopolies in general because of the market failure that Monopolies cause: Monopolies have large barriers to entry which prevent other firms being able to enter the market; this enables them to abuse their market dominance and set prices higher than the market equilibrium. If the product is price inelastic as there are no alternatives too it (such as the motor industry), then the customer has no choice but to pay the higher prices, thus consumers are worse off. They are able to charge Predatory prices which is when the firm sets artificially low prices which competitors arent able to compete with. Monopolies have less incentive to create good products because the customers have little or no alternative to that product. Compared to a normal market structure, a monopoly market skews most of the positive externalities to the producer rather than the consumer. Certain forms or cooperation agreements between enterprises, which are considered beneficial for the consumers by improving production, distribution or technical progress, are deemed not to restrict competition and therefore they are exempted. Cross-border concentrations of community interest, regardless of whether they are brought about by agreement or by takeovers, are also exempted There are a number of potential benefits of monopolies: Its possible that monopoly firms can be efficient: An argument popular with economists of the Austrian School of Economics is that firms who gain monopoly power are invariably successful, innovative and efficient. e.g. Google have monopoly power but who can do it any better? Stimulating Innovation and Investment with Patents: The most obvious field where monopolies benefit society in a great way is that of patents. Patents give inventors the exclusive rights to market their inventions for twenty years, after which these inventions turn into public property. In other words, patents give these inventors the right to keep a monopoly for twenty years. Monopolies are so important in this context because if they did not exist, an inventor would probably not receive any financial compensation for his or her work, since the imitators would steal it and flood the market with copied stuff, making the price collapse along with them. As a result, in a world without patents, a lot less people would invest their time, effort and money required to achieve new things. In order to remedy this situation, the nations all around the world offer inventors monopolies on patents. The result is much quicker innovation; an economic growth much more accelerated and at quicker speeds in the lifestyles. In truth, it is difficult to think about a more beneficial monopoly from the social view of patents. Monopoly and Economies of Scale If long-run average total cost (LRATC) declines over an extended range of output, it is argued that it is better to have a few large firms (and in the extreme case, only one firm). This is known as the natural monopoly argument. Because monopoly producers are often supplying goods and services on a very large scale, they may be better placed to take advantage of economies of scale leading to a fall in the average total costs of production. These reductions in costs will lead to an increase in monopoly profits but some of the gains in productive efficiency might be passed onto consumers in the form of lower prices. The effect of economies of scale is shown in the diagram. Examples of Natural Monopolies include public utilities such as water services and electricity. It is very expensive to build transmission networks (water/gas pipelines, electricity and telephone lines), therefore it is unlikely that a potential competitor would be willing to make the capital investment needed to even enter the monopolists market. Conclusion: Competition policies can be seen as generally set against monopolies, as monopolies can be such obstructions to competition, so the Competition Commission is going to have a lot of focus on managing monopolies; making sure they dont abuse their position. Though, Monopolies arent necessarily all bad as natural monopolies can be the most effective market structure, benefiting both the firm and the consumer. However Competition Policies arent only set against monopolies, as they also have a big focus on aspects such as Mergers, takeovers and collusions of firms like cartels.

Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant :: essays research papers

English Essay - Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant ‘To what extent are Ezra and Pearl the victims and/or the heroes of the novel?’   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I think Ezra and Pearl are both victims and heroes of the novel. Both looking after the family, especially Ezra always thinking about everyone. Yet they both get taunted by the people around them, Ezra is teased and put down by Cody and Pearl just seems to be picked on by everyone in the family.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Pearl is heroic in the way that she has kept the family together even after Beck leaves. Her salary at the grocery gets the family through. She would seem like a ‘bitch’ to her kids but I guess all the hardships she has gone through could make-up for her bursts of anger now and then. For example when Pearl sees Jenny staring at a nice dress on a girl when they were at church, which undoubtedly Pearl could not afford. Pearl at the dinner table starts blasting Jenny then Cody jumps into it.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  This shows that Pearl is victimised but at the same time shows strength so is heroic. The burdens of three children without the support of her husband, Beck, constitutes to her heroism. Pearl has moved from place to place losing friends and relatives, only to come to an unfamiliar town where her husband decides to leave. Pearl refuses help from anyone, this depicts her strong points and still thinks Beck will return from his business trip. her strongwilled mind aids her and her family through life’s most troublesome tasks.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ezra is quite of the more hero I think but still being victimised by his own mother, Pearl and brother, Cody. Being so kind hearted and always the favourite out his borther and sister Ezra leaves himself vulnerable to the ‘attacks’ of Cody and Pearl. Cody has always teased Ezra, for example the time when anyone complemented Ezra, Cody would lash back saying the very opposite. It seems that most of the families problem would rest on Ezra.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ezra would show the most heroism out of everyone. He was the one that kept the family together ofter Cody and Jenny left. Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant :: essays research papers English Essay - Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant ‘To what extent are Ezra and Pearl the victims and/or the heroes of the novel?’   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I think Ezra and Pearl are both victims and heroes of the novel. Both looking after the family, especially Ezra always thinking about everyone. Yet they both get taunted by the people around them, Ezra is teased and put down by Cody and Pearl just seems to be picked on by everyone in the family.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Pearl is heroic in the way that she has kept the family together even after Beck leaves. Her salary at the grocery gets the family through. She would seem like a ‘bitch’ to her kids but I guess all the hardships she has gone through could make-up for her bursts of anger now and then. For example when Pearl sees Jenny staring at a nice dress on a girl when they were at church, which undoubtedly Pearl could not afford. Pearl at the dinner table starts blasting Jenny then Cody jumps into it.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  This shows that Pearl is victimised but at the same time shows strength so is heroic. The burdens of three children without the support of her husband, Beck, constitutes to her heroism. Pearl has moved from place to place losing friends and relatives, only to come to an unfamiliar town where her husband decides to leave. Pearl refuses help from anyone, this depicts her strong points and still thinks Beck will return from his business trip. her strongwilled mind aids her and her family through life’s most troublesome tasks.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ezra is quite of the more hero I think but still being victimised by his own mother, Pearl and brother, Cody. Being so kind hearted and always the favourite out his borther and sister Ezra leaves himself vulnerable to the ‘attacks’ of Cody and Pearl. Cody has always teased Ezra, for example the time when anyone complemented Ezra, Cody would lash back saying the very opposite. It seems that most of the families problem would rest on Ezra.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ezra would show the most heroism out of everyone. He was the one that kept the family together ofter Cody and Jenny left.

Harvey Keitel: The Art Of Darkness :: essays research papers

Harvey Keitel: The Art of Darkness   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Harvey Keitel was born in Brooklyn, New York, on May 13, 1939. Harvey was the youngest of 3 children, one brother and one sister. Harvey’s childhood was rough. He spent most of his times on the streets of New York. He was raised in a rather bad neighborhood, and he began to hang out with a local gang. Although things were bad, every summer he would go to Coney Island, climb rocks, and fish. He was a normal child raised in a very dangerous place, but he knew what was the right thing and what was the wrong thing to do. Although he was in a gang, he never really got himself into much trouble.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  At the age of 16, Harvey Keitel did not know what to do with his life, so he decided to enlist in the Marines. Harvey was stationed in Lebanon, and stayed there for his 3 year term. When Harvey got out of the Marines in 1959, he was still unsure of what he wanted to do for a living. For the time being, he began a job as a shoe salesman. About a year later from selling shoes, Harvey began to take an interest in becoming an actor. He began to try out for part in off Broadway plays. Stella Adler and Strasberg found promise in Harvey Keitel, and they began to teach him ways to become a better actor. Even under these two stars wings, finding work was still very hard for Harvey. He did find some job opportunities in very off Broadway plays. While Harvey Keitel was a very good actor, it did not look like he was going to be going anywhere with acting.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Harvey Keitel was about to give up on acting altogether, but he decided to give it a second chance when he answered a newspaper ad by Martin Scorsese, who at the time, was a NYU student looking for actors for his thesis work, Who’s That Knocking On My Door?. When Harvey and Martin met, they became fast friends, and have stayed friends since than. Keitel has worked with Scorsese many times since than, and only Robert De Niro has worked with Scorsese more than Keitel.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Things were looking good for Harvey Keitel, but his career took a downfall when he was passed over for a role in Francis Ford Coppola’s Apocalypse Now.