Impression de Voyage

This poem â€Å"Impression De Voyage† by Oscar Wilde is in the sonnet form ABBA-ACCA-DEFFED. All in all though it really is just about the voyage, the poet took everything into account. The 14 lines stanza of the poem is composed in iambic pentameter and with a complex rhyme scheme. The Poet uses sounds in the sestet at the end. The imagery is nice (sapphire/opal/red sun upon the sea). There is the imagery of nature, sea and ship. Wilde presents ship imagery through various images like; steep prow, hoisted sail, the mast, creek and the stern. All these images symbolize a voyage or a journey perhaps a journey from life to death. Ship actually symbolizes refuge and sea is the symbol of danger. The color of the sun is red and it is going to set in the west. This image of â€Å"red sun upon the seas to ride† symbolize life’s journey towards death. â€Å"Lycaon’s snowy peak† is also symbolizing death and sterility. At the same instance the poet is mentioning the images ; flower strewn hills, blowing fair wind, blue lands, and olive grove, they all symbolize life. The use of auditory images; â€Å"flapping of the sail, the wind was blowing, ripple of the water, ripple of girl’s laughter†, these create aural impressions, symbolizing life, activity and energy. Thus life has juxtaposed with death by using contrasting images. The poet has used different colors to describe the beauty of nature. â€Å"Nature† meant many things to the Romantics. This poem is as true of Romantic landscape painting as of Romantic nature poetry. Romantic nature poetry is essentially poetry of meditation. Oscar Wilde has romanticized the nature in this poem. The landscape of the sea and the sky/ burned like a heated opal through the air†, establishes temporal and spatial distance between the enthusiastic visitor and the â€Å"fabled† Greece of myth and romance. The sapphire/ blue color of the sea is juxtaposed with heated opal/red sky. Blue color is the color of heaven. It is the color of equilibrium and impartiality (being the color devoid of all â€Å"heat†). It is the color that symbolizes; Peace, tranquility, cold, calm, stability, harmony, unity, cleanliness, order. While red is the color of fire. It symbolizes the extreme of activity, Excitement, energy, passion, love, desire, speed, strength, power, heat, aggression, danger, fire, blood, war, violence, and all things intense and passionate. The colors symbolizing peace and tranquility have juxtaposed with colors symbolizing aggression, passion and danger. According to Empidocles’ theory of plurality â€Å"psyche is the mixture of opposites. Good and bad both exist together in the world† Thus Wilde has brought the contrasting images together in order to show plurality in life. The repetition of the words† The flapping of† in the lines 10 and 11 shows the balance between opposites which exist in nature side by side. The tone of the poet is tender and mood is of excitement and enthusiasm. This poem could have been written by Lord Byron, because it is his style that Wilde copies. In this poem we have got the topic of Greece as a fabulous place. It seems that in â€Å"Impression De Voyage†, the French Impressionism term in the title appears misplaced, for in establishing a mythological setting (by mentioning Zakynthos, Olive grove, Ithaca’s cliff, Lycaon’s snowy peak and hills of Arcady†), Wilde abandons any attempt at depicting ‘impressions’; instead he describes a voyage to Greece, a return to the world of the flower-strewn hills of Arcady. It can also be considered that the title of this poem misleads, for a description of the voyage (including the’ ripple of girls’ laughter at the stern’) supersedes the effect of briefly experienced fleeting images. In the final line â€Å"I stood upon the soil of Greece at last† the speaker perhaps experiences an imaginative voyage into the mythological past.

Globalization as Neo Colonialism Essay

When in the 1950s and 60s, most colonized countries and territories across the world threw off the yolk of colonialism, there was tremendous hope and anticipation that a new era of hope, independence, freedom and self – determination was about to unfold. In most cases, it was with great reluctance that the colonial masters granted independence to their erstwhile colonies from where they had for generations held the total control that had enabled them to exploit human and material resources and perpetuate themselves in the social economic and political lives of their subjects. In Kenya and Algeria for instance, it was with extreme violence that independence was won. Thus, the Mau-Mau Movement of Kenya and the Algerian War of Independence remain to this date, significant watersheds in the movement for independence especially among African countries. However, independence has not always resulted in the anticipated changes. In some countries, once the common enemy in form of the colonial masters was rid of, local differences manifested, sometimes resulting in bitter wars. The 1947 Indo – Pakistani war is a case study. There are many other instances including Congo, Nigeria, Malaya, and even recently in Western Sahara, Eritrea and East Timor, among others where the fight for independence and independence itself has resulted in wars and strife. Sometimes, independence has come along with baggage of grief, blood and a plethora of painfully crushed hopes. Some thinkers argue that the colonial powers put in place mechanisms to ensure that the new states fail, or to allow them to continue to control the newly emergent countries even after independence. The close social, political and economic ties and relationships between former colonies and former colonial powers seem to favor this argument. Thus, 44 years after independence, Britain is still one of Nigeria’s biggest trading partners. The close ties between France and Francophone Africa, and even the US and say, Philippines lend credence to this theory. One can hardly dispute this view in light of overwhelming evidence. However, as the world continues to experience changes, the concept of neo colonialism is fast fading out of fashion. Newer and more sophisticated, yet more subtle movements are taking over, the most important of which is Globalization. The mass movement of capital, aggregated by effortless flow of human and material resources across seamless borders represents new and more challenging phenomena especially in a uni-polar world characterized by the opening up of new markets and the rise of global terror as the powers that control the global media would want us to imbibe.(Maybe Mercuse should rise and produce a new edition of his ‘One Dimensional Man’ Or Toffler should write on ‘One Dimensional Mind’). While the poorest countries in the world (usually African), are yet to be fully integrated into the emergent global market that has not stopped the negative impact of colonialism from being felt. African countries are faced with increased marginalization in the global economy and poverty is on the increase. Reports have indicated that sub Saharan Africa is the only region in the world where the living standard has actually fallen over the last 20 years or so. In the world of today, control of human and material resources is not done through forceful domination of people through military subjugation, even though President (Professor?) Bush is working hard to disprove that fact. But it remains that the new form of control is spearheaded by international finance organizations aimed at consolidating a global economic structure that very often has its head offices in New York, London, Tokyo, Paris, Frankfurt, and other investment hubs across the world. (The Chinese have just discovered this ice cream and have set about claiming their share with characteristic speed). The Gatlin guns are frozen. There are no more massacres like the 1904 Maji – Maji Revolt in Namibia where German troops systematically gunned down an estimated 60 – 80, 000 Africans. The Berlin Conference of 1884 – 1885 that partitioned Africa has been replaced by GATT, and in today’s parlance, the World Trade Organization. These days, African tribes do not need to be set upon each other while the colonial masters mop up colonies from where human and material resources were exploited. (We can do that all by ourselves, as we have demonstrated in Rwanda). The world has gone beyond such crudity. We call it free trade, and the final arbiter is the World Trade Organization whose aim is seemingly to allow a few rich countries and corporations dominate global capital and global resources. The colonial powers of today do not need military might and occupation to control the lives and destiny of billions of people in their former colonies. Perhaps in the not too distant future, Microsoft or Citi Group will have a seat on the United Nations. After all, these two companies alone generate more wealth every year than all of Africa’s 700 million people. Incidentally, the globalization of capital and other related resources is a continuation of a historical process that began with the mercantile era or indeed, is as old as man. The Dutch East Indies and the Royal Niger Company of 200 years ago are the HSBC, Barclays, USB and other multi nationals like Coca Cola, McDonalds, Exxon Mobile, Royal Shell, Sony, Philips and many others whose goal seems to be the aggregation of capital in as few hands as possible. No need to send a Cortez or a Columbus or a Drake or Cook on expeditions for huge profits. This is the Global age and a few computer screens will tell you exactly what is going on across the globe in an instant. (Remember Wall Mart’s Global Screens?) So for those who may think that colonialism is a thing of the past, it is time to think again. Imperialism and dialectical materialism as envisaged by a certain famous philosopher might not have come to pass, or at least, not as he predicted. But the sad fact remains that today, more than at any age in thousands of years of human domination through occupation and colonialism is witnessing the concentration of more wealth in the hands very few. Recent figures show that the top 5 percent control about 70 percent of global resources. And this was facilitated by Globalization. So the fact should be accepted that Globalization is another (digital?) form of Colonialism. It is good thing that most of us do not realize it.

Function/S of Space in Sandra Cisneros’ the House on Mango Street

Function/s of Space in Sandra Cisneros’ The House on Mango Street Space occupies a central role in Sandra Cisneros’ coming-of-age novel The House on Mango Street. Using the example of the house shows this very plainly. This can be seen at the very beginning of the book, namely the title. Although it is a female Bildungsroman, the novel is not named after its protagonist Esperanza Cordero, but her residence. It shows that Cisneros attached much importance to the house on Mango Street and the reader also learns that it is of central significance for the development of the young girl. On Mango Street, she develops not only physically, but also in terms of her character and her own identity. That is why I will concentrate on the function of the house rather than on other different settings in the novel. Usually, the house is a symbol for warmth and shelter. It represents the place of the family and where one belongs to. But the first sentence of the initial vignette shows, that this does not apply to the house on Mango Street. Esperanza’s family has been constantly on the move and they lived in several apartments in different cities. The feeling of being rooted therefore never existed, just as little as the feeling of comfort. For Esperanza, the house on Mango Street does not symbolize shelter, but shame. In the first vignette Esperanza depicts the family’s house in a very negative way, run down and with cramped confines. It is neither â€Å"[†¦] the house Papa talked about when he held a lottery ticket [†¦]†, nor â€Å"[†¦] the house Mama dreamed up in the stories she told us before we went to bed. † (Cisneros 4). The house on Mango Street is at last their own, but not the one Esperanza and her family have longed for. It symbolizes â€Å"[t]he conflict between the promised land and the harsh reality† (Valdes â€Å"Canadian Review† 57). Especially for Esperanza, who is in quest of her own identity, reality and hope (Spanish: esperanza) diverge here, which means that Esperanza has not found her personal reality yet. She wishes to have â€Å"[a] real house. One I could point to. † (Cisneros 5). This desire shows that the house also symbolizes the â€Å"American Dream† of having a comfortable home of one’s own, something the people of Esperanza’s community will probably never attain. Esperanza experiences that instead, they are often confronted with the fact that the house also functions as a symbol of female restriction. This proves the given traditional role of a Chicana, whose business concentrates on the household and on being wife and mother. In the novel, female restriction is also depicted in a more extreme way: Several women like Marin and Rafaela are restricted physically because they are locked indoors by their husbands. Esperanza clearly comes out against such a male-dominated home. Although she is not sure who she is and still searches for her own identity, she clearly knows what she wants: a house all on her own, â€Å"Not a man’s house. Not a daddy’s. A house all my own. † (Cisneros 108). According to that, having her own house stands for her longing for a self-determined space as an independent woman, in which she can be free to be herself, unconfined by either a husband or a father and without any social expectations. There is something, Esperanza didn’t realize yet: the fact â€Å"[†¦] that the house she seeks is, in reality, her person. (Valdes â€Å"Canadian Review† 58). Thus, the house functions as a metaphor for Esperanza’s identity formation. Apart from its importance for self-identification, the image of the house functions as a synecdoche: it is part of the community, a place of one’s own amidst the whole community and barrio. By interacting with the community, meaning communication and observat ion, Esperanza learns that she can only define herself through her relationship to the other people of her community. She orientates herself by some positive role models like Aunt Lupe or Minerva, but she also distances herself from Sally or the â€Å"women sitting by the window† like her great-grandmother or Mamacita. Nevertheless, Esperanza learns through their experience. This shows Esperanza’s ability to distinguish between the different role models. She recognizes that she does not want to be a copy of somebody and this is why she sees others just as partial role models. The social interaction with the community actually is of utter importance for Esperanza’s identity formation. The fact that she defines herself through people she lives with shows the close interaction between community and Individual. The house stands for the community because it is part of it and thus functions as a synecdoche: pars pro toto – the term â€Å"community† is replaced by a narrower one, thus the â€Å"house†. This also works vice versa, totum pro parte means here that the house is used to represent the community. For Esperanza, the relationship between individual and community is a mutual one. She recognizes that there is a lot she learned and experienced while living in the house on Mango Street and in the ommunity. At the end of the novel, both what the three sisters and Alicia say to her â€Å"[†¦] induce Esperanza to acknowledge her indebtedness to the community and her role as mediator and negotiator between worlds. † (Rukwied 63). So she decides to give something back, to help others with her experience. In the vignette â€Å"Bums in the Attic† she states: One day I’ll own my own house, but I won’t forget who I am or where I came from. Passing bums will ask, Can I come in? I’ll offer them the attic, ask them to stay, because I know how it is to be without a house. Cisneros 87) Esperanza shows great sympathy for other people who are, by some means or other, lost like she was when wondering who she is. She describes this state with the word â€Å"homeless† (Cisneros 87). Having no home means having no house or apartment. And as I argued before, the house is the central metaphor for self-identification. In the end, Esperanza finally finds her voice by beginning with writing. She now has a clear vision of how her promised house should be: â€Å"Only a house quiet as snow, a space for myself to go, clean as paper before the poem. (Cisneros 108). This is another way of contributing something to the community: she writes about it. As I argued, the house is of central importance in The Ho use on Mango Street. Esperenza first refuses to accept that she belongs to Mango Street and thus to the whole community. But in the end she recognizes that it was there her identity fully developed because our environment always shapes our identity. I focused on the function of the house, but there are further reasons for the importance of space in general. In my opinion, one of them is â€Å"highly visible† indeed: The fact that Sandra Cisneros left a lot of space on the pages of the novel. In chapter 7 for example, there is both recto and verso in a large part unprinted. Works Cited List: Cisneros, Sandra. The House on Mango Street. New York: Vintage Books, 1991. McCracken, Ellen. â€Å"The House on Mango Street: Community-oriented Introspection and the Demystification of Patriarchal Violence. † In: Horno-Delgado, Asuncion et al (eds). Breaking Boundaries: Latina Writing and Critical Readings. Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press, 1989. 7-71. Rukwied, Annette L. The search for identity in two Chicana novels : Sandra Cisneros' The house on Mango Street & Ana Castillo's the mixquiahuala letters. Stuttgart: Universitat, Magisterarbeit, 1998. Valdes, Maria Elena de: â€Å"In Search of Identity in Cisneros’s The House on Mango Street†, Canadian Review of American Studies, Vol. 23, No. 1, Fall 1992. 55-69. Valdes, Maria Elena de. â€Å"The Critical Reception of Sandra Cisneros's The House on Mango Street. † Gender, Self, and Society. Ed. Renate von Bardeleben. Frankfurt: Peter Lang, 1993. 287-300. (7. 01. 2008) (7. 01. 2008)

Mapping an argumetnt Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Mapping an argumetnt - Essay Example Besides, it compels the labor unions to serve the workers who do not pay for services. Moreover, the article clearly states that the right-to-work laws can be quite detrimental to the middle class and the small scale businesspeople who can greatly suffer when their businesses lose demand because of reduced purchasing power due to salary reduction. Based on the above facts, I would like to point out that this law is not beneficial. As these scholars argue, it might not advocate for the interests of the workers, but instead be manipulated as a political tool which is merely used to support voting. Because of this, it will advance the interests of the middle ruling class who will make decisions not favoring the lower class (Kathleen, 2011). By doing this, the law will be violating individual democratic rights and contributing to making life more challenging. Hence, in conclusion, the government, through the National Right to Work Committee and the National Chamber of Commerce should ensure that deliberate measures are taken to prevent the right-to-work laws from working against the critical demands of the individual workers, democracy, economy and society. According to Anne McElroy, autism is a very serious public health crisis. Since its outbreak in the 1980s, its effects have been greatly felt by many people. However, this skyrocketed in after the year 2001 when the number of children with this condition tremendously increased. In her opinion, autism has been attributed to the increased quantities of mercury-containing vaccines which were surprisingly recommended by the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). However, it is very unfortunate that the CDC has denied taking responsibility. Instead, it has decided to live in denial and only cheats on people to believe their lies about this crisis. However, McElroy concludes by acknowledging that, as a victim of this crisis, autism really exists and even if CDC denies

Principles of management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Principles of management - Essay Example The other staffs working under them just follow the tasks provided by the executives. The said structure may be considered as bureaucratic or post-bureaucratic depending upon the performance. Bureaucratic is considered when there is a value for merits, hierarchy and definite separation of responsibilities and roles. On the other hand, a post-bureaucratic organization may have the hierarchy but there is a sense of equality in voicing out opinions and ideas through dialogues. Post-bureaucratic also favors consensus which means the decision would depend upon the majority of votes or prevailing idea (DuBrin 263). Despite of the â€Å"majority wins† mentality, hierarchy still exists in post-bureaucratic organizations. Kraft was sort of a centralized rigid organization way back before its acquisition of Cadbury. After one and a half year of acquiring Cadbury, the company decided to split the organization into two namely the snack food business and grocery business (Geller). In addit ion, it also made efforts to decentralize its structure by allowing more staffs to participate in decision-making and improving the company as a whole. The decision-making involving the product development and manufacturing would be the ones transferred to the lower levels of the organizational hierarchy. In addition, the structure might look like a matrix because the information technology, human resources and logistics teams would be shared across the organization (Ferrari). Organizational structure is not the only concern in the paper as the ethical issues are also important in the productivity and performance of a company. It is already an accepted fact that making mistakes is inevitable but can be reduced by careful preparations, best practices and sound decisions. Each mistake can be detrimental to the overall state of the company so the rightness or wrongness of an action or practice is being looked at by the professionals and even by the public. After all, a business depends upon the profit that will be gained from sales that they can make from the market which includes the public. Once the public sees something wrong with the products, services or practices of a business, they will stop patronizing the business. As a result, the business will earn less due to a decrease in sales. Worst may come to worst, the business may shut down its operations. When it comes to Kraft Foods, it is not safe from ethical issues as it had been involved with two primary issues: the ethics in cloning food products and the acquisition of Cadbury. It was said that genetically-modified organisms and clones ones for food production became a controversy in the 90s when people suspect that they would not bring any good to the public. Some people speculated that those can be harmful once taken. It might have a partial truth with it but the Food and Drug Administration had released stricter guidelines in monitoring cloned food goods to ensure the safety of the consumers. Kraft ma rketed the Starlink corn which was contaminated. The said corn was used in making the Taco Bell shell which was marketed by Kraft in supermarkets (Brizek, Cameron and Woodle 5). In response, Kraft made a series of tests and when they found out the contamination to be true, they quickly pulled out the said product in the market. Another ethical issue would be the acquisition of Cadbury as Kraft made a promise not to close the plant in Summerdale community. The promise was not kept and

Online Marketing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Online Marketing - Essay Example It critically assesses the distinctiveness of the marketing strategy approach of these companies, when compared to traditional retailers. It also tries to predict the likely future of retailing and the role on online retailers. It finally discusses more general implications for strategy theory and practice of the growth of online retailers. Online retailing refers to the process enabling consumers to buy goods and services through the Internet, with the retailer being referred to as a virtual store, online store, web-store, web-shop, internet shop, e-store or online shop. It is a type of electronic commerce used for business-to-consumer (B2C) and business-to-business (B2B) transactions. This form of shopping has penetrated many aspects of our life, especially since the 1990s, linking us to a capitalist way of life in our everyday living. It enables us purchase whatever we require, whenever we require it. Online stores have the advantage of convenience since they are available round the clock and the buyers can access them from at the convenience of their homes and work. This is unlike the traditional physical stores that can only be accessed during the official working hours. Moreover, many online stores give links to supplementary product information like manufacturer's specifications, demonstrations, safety procedures and instructions. This form of shopping also enables a consumer to search and compare prices among various vendors by use of search engines. Backcountry's success story: A case study Backcountry was founded in 1996 with a mere $2,000 capital as a pure online retailer focusing on outdoor gear. It stated making profits in 1997, exactly a year after its founding, experiencing a triple digit growth six years in a row that culminated to 134 per cent in 2003. In 2004, Backcountry's sales revenue was $27.5 million dollars, an 84 per cent increase from the previous year's $14.7 million. These figures further rose by 89 per cent in 2005, settling at $52 million. The company earned great reputation for providing good quality outdoor gear on its website www.backcountry.com. Moreover, the company created niche sites aimed at addressing specific needs for of target groups and catering for distinct customers. For instance, the price-sensitive athletes had www.explore64.com, bargain seekers www.SteepandCheap.com and www.backcountry.com, snowboarders www.dogfunk.com while hardcore skiers had www.tramdock.com. In 2002 Backcountry implemented a new customer service solution known as 'click-to-chat technology.' This earned the company many chatting interactions that resulted to improved customer satisfaction ratings as well as increased sales volumes. The company was therefore among the very first online retailers to adopt the live chat technology, earning itself the title of an established industry innovator. The company however soon realized that this technology only improved customer satisfaction levels without translating to increased sales. In order to leverage its employees' expertise and maximize its profitability, the retailer ventured into transforming

The Way Incentives Work and Types of Motivation Problems Research Paper

The Way Incentives Work and Types of Motivation Problems - Research Paper Example Every incentive program is based on a formula for enhancing motivation that engages four fundamental variables: effort, performance, outcomes, and satisfaction. The logic behind these programs goes something like this: employees at Property Management Company will put in the accurate quantity of effort to meet performance hopes if these part-time employees at the small privately owned property management company obtain the types of outcomes that include pay raises and promotions which will provide part-time employees satisfaction. (Hanlan Marc, 2004) In simpler words, the property management company should provide its employees what they want, and employees will work hard to get it. Conversely, the problem with most incentive programs like of Property management company is that they center exclusively on the submission of outcomes and overlook the three beliefs that are the key to making the motivation solution work: The first conviction compacts with the relationship between employee effort and performance. The second compacts with the relationship between performance and outcomes. And the third compacts with the relationship between outcomes and satisfaction. These three beliefs form the basis of the belief system of motivation and performance. Accepting that these beliefs are decisive preconditions for motivation helps to explain why incentive programs generally yield such lackluster results like in case of Property Management Company Since employees do not always hold these beliefs to be true, attempts to improve motivation by using incentives cannot make the grade, even when the incentives are highly desirable ones. (Thomas, 2004)

Uustal 1993 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Uustal 1993 - Essay Example Decision models coupled with the right moral thinking offer a useful tool for guidance for the process of value clarification. In addition, the Uustal model prevents the nurses from solely relying on their emotions and intuition for the making of any critical decision. The model outlines formal steps for the nurses to follow when they encounter an ethical dilemma (Uustal 1993). For the purpose of this paper, the Uustal model details the dilemma that I once faced concerning my civil repression after pushing a colleague off the staircases. It focuses on whether the actions may have been rational and reasonable at that particular time. The welfare of others forms a critical part of my daily activities as a nurse. In this instance, my civil detention for the purpose mental health treatment and evaluation seemed like the sole right course. On the contrary, the system does not look for the danger posed by the nurses to the people around them. By healthcare laws, it is everyone’s right to work in any of the health institutions.  I was provoked by my fellow nurse, Johnston Lambert, who I even unsuccessfully tried to warn, but he incessantly kept whispering abuses and offensive word to me. Unfortunately, I lost my temper and turned violent on his cunning nature. He kept taunting the other nurses who before my arrival had grown very scared of his antics. Utilitarianism theory state that the outcome determines whether an action is right or wrong. In accordance with this, I was boldly trying to defend my dignity and sense of self-worth. Apparently, Johnston Lambert faces a series of federal cases filed by the nurses that he had bullied and harassed. Retrospectively, the concerns raised by the senior staff indicate that there would have been another better way that the whole issues would have been. The board issued me a verbal reprimand for my actions. Consequently, I received a transfer from the nursing home to my current workplace. It

Observations Made on Learning Differences between SETTS and Regular Assignment

Observations Made on Learning Differences between SETTS and Regular Methods of Delivery in Mathematics - Assignment Example I spent one hour with the student on the first day of my assessment and two hours on the second day, the two sessions from which I compiled my report. On the first day I decided to dwell on a previously covered area, addition and subtraction of two digit numbers. Luckily for me, she was cooperative right from the beginning. This particular student was good once the class kicked off and she was reminded the basics. She could easily work out the tests I gave her at the end of my initial one hour with her, and she was very encouraged when I commended her good work. She was able to follow my examples and come up with her own solutions. However, she got stuck when I removed from her sight the examples I had worked out for her, and she kept referring to her previous correct work. When I finally requested her to now work on simple problems without referring, she got very stuck and answered with great uncertainty. The loss of confidence could be attributed to lack of enough practice, and I d ecided to assess her from the current topic on measurements that was more familiar to her at the moment. We embarked on reviewing measurements and she showed proper grasp of the different measurement units. I gathered from her performance that memorizing a topic for long was quite a challenge, which meant that she could hardly cope when the teacher proceeded to other topics that built on the previous ones. I found that Mr. Jacob had identified the same problem and he explained that it recurred among three of his special students. He

The first written homework assignment for this course is posted at the Essay

The first written homework assignment for this course is posted at the Content link. You should use the posted sources to ans - Essay Example Question 2 Whitaker (2) says that in June 1973 cod blocks were going for 65 cents per pound, compared to around 22 cents in the same period in 1969. A graph has been provided that shows the worldwide landings and wholesale prices of cod blocks between 1960 and 1972, and the price is clearly 21 cents in 1968 (Whitaker 3). In April 2010, The Fish Site published an article titled US Groundfish Market Report. In the article, a graph was included that showed wholesale prices for cod and other groundfish. According to the graph, the wholesale price of cod blocks in 2008 was US$ 2.50 per pound (US Groundfish Market Report 1). Question 3 Supply (in metric tons) Price 1968 4.2 million 21 cents 2008 1.6 million $2.50 The conclusions I can draw from this table is that between 1968 and 2008, supply has been reducing, demand has remained high, and prices have continued to rise. Question 4 Generally, cod tonnage has been in steady decline (with the exception of a few years) between 1968 and 2008. This is how the demand curve also looks like, showing steady reduction and few increments. This is based on the sources provided. Question 5 The demand curve for cod shifted upwards from 1969-1972, compared to the years between 1960 and 1968. ... The market failure in this case is an inability to plan for the future by using existing stocks efficiently. Question 8 The Canadian government banned cod fishing in its Northeast fishing beds in 1993. The Canadian government did not follow an optimal policy in the regulation of the fishing beds, and that is why cod tonnage declined sharply and rapidly from 1968. Politics greatly affected the government’s decisions because it took almost 20 years for the ban to be effected (Waters 1). Without political interference it could have been done earlier since the issue at hand was very critical. Question 9 Although the ban came late, it was nonetheless effective. Slow cod recovery was brought about by a depression in the population of forage fish (necessitated by a virtual decimation of zooplanktons) and the ban. In the article, evidence is presented that there were sufficient haddock, cod and redfish to lay enough eggs and larvae to support recovery, therefore the ecosystem was â₠¬Å"lucky† in a way (Waters 1). Question 10 In my opinion, and based on research sources, the events in the cod market during the period 1968-2008 are expected to open up new markets for other fish species that were previously playing second fiddle to cod. The reality is that this time period has been punctuated by two things: a steady decline and worrying fluctuation in the tonnage of cod worldwide, and a rapid increase in the prices of cod products (particularly cod blocks). Since it has been established that reliance on cod alone will not sustain existing demand, the alternative has been to push people towards embracing other fish species. These alternatives include pollock and

Business Payment Methods Essay Example for Free

Business Payment Methods Essay At this time of building my business I need to consider the ways in which I will permit my customers to pay for the books that they buy from my book store. Today there are a wide array of payment solutions available for any buyer of goods and services and to buy books, almost all modes of payment available can be used by the customer whether it is electronically or by direct use of card at the shop or by paying in cash. If the customer is   regular and can be trusted or is a regular bulk customer, check payments can also be accepted. In view of the competitions in the sale of books I have to take some element of risk in this regard in keeping with the business practices. For direct sales at the store a wide choice of payments are available to the customer. He can pay directly in cash or by credit or debit card. I believe cash payment has the least hassles applicable as the money has already come in the moment a sale is done. In the ase of debit and credit cards a wide margin has to be provided for without any applicable discounts since a percentage of the sale amount has to be given to the financial institutions as part of the applicable commission for use of their services. The business of electronic payments is growing rapidly in view of the convenience involved and a wide array of payment options are available which are acceptable in the case of my book store. In addition to the tradition card payments other options are also cceptable to me such as mail order, online payments, acquiring bank payments and through payment bureaus. I understand that as long as a sale is taking place I can accept 2 any of these payment modes provided the financial institution is reputed to make fast payments and is reliable for its transparency in fair dealings. In such cases I may have to reduce my margins a little, but that is ok since most businesses work on volumes and hence I can make up on the low margins.

Reflections on my Personal and Professional Growth Essay Example for Free

Reflections on my Personal and Professional Growth Essay My time studying with the University of Phoenix online has affected my life in many ways. I have had the chance to learn a lot by utilizing the Internet to help me further my education. I feel that my degree will open many new doors for me, but first I will go back and discuss my impressions from when I first started taking nursing classes online. Learning has always been very important to me. I understand that we do not get very far in this world if we are not willing to take instruction and use it to the best of our abilities. Being a student was an exciting opportunity, especially in the major field that I had chosen, nursing. Nursing is an ever-changing field, and it is very important to keep up with the latest information if one is going to be professional and the best they can be in their chosen profession. I feel that strengthening my knowledge base made me grow in my personal life because there was so much that I could accomplish just by taking the steps to learn more. In nursing learning more leads to bigger and greater opportunities and the chance to take jobs that might be out of reach if I did not choose to obtain greater knowledge. While learning new things may be stressful at times, I feel that the knowledge received is all worth it in the end. I first learned the English language nine years ago when I immigrated to the United States. My problem solving skills and my oral communication skills were wonderful, but I had some trouble with my writing skills. As for retrieving information and using it, I had no problem locating information, whether in books or on the Internet, and using it for any task that was put in front of me. Collaboration was not a problem as long as it was done in an oral manner. As I have mentioned, my writing skills were only fair, and so collaboration involving writing could be fairly difficult. My career goals were based around degrees that I had already earned, namely a registered nurse degree and a respiratory therapist degree. My immediate goal was to get my Bachelors of Science degree in nursing, however, I also had other goals. For example, I wished to take my two degrees that were already earned and use them to get into a nurse anesthesia school. My most lofty goal was to finish my bachelor’s degree and start taking more classes to earn a Masters degree one day. As you may see, I am very dedicated to my chosen line of work and desire to be the best at it. Education is my ticket to being the best, and I crave all kinds of new information and knowledge that will make me an excellent nurse. While I was in the program, I found that the classes raised my level of competence in several areas. While I was already quite good at problem solving and oral communication, taking classes that challenged me and required me to do over and above what I was accustomed to only increased my competence in those areas. While my writing skills were not so good to start off with, different requirements for classes gave me a lot of practice and much more confidence with the written word. Taking Internet classes helped me solidify my ability to retrieve information on my own and use it to do the tasks that were expected of me. Two of the general education classes that helped me the most with becoming a more proficient learner were GEN 101, Skills for Lifelong Learning, and REL 333, World Religious Traditions. GEN 101 really gave me a lot of insight on how to balance learning with having an outside life. It gave me the opportunity to learn more about collaboration and how it would help me through classes and through life. Being taught how to assess my own strengths and weaknesses was very helpful and gave me a lot of insight into what I needed to improve upon and what I was already doing well. Learning how to access and use the information that the University provides to us online proved to be particularly valuable to me. Perhaps the most important thing this class provided me was the ability to sit back and take a look at why I was returning to school and what I really hoped to get out of it. That really solidified my career goals and made me eager to get into the process of completing my degree. REL 333 was my favorite general education class. I found that it taught me a lot about all the different kinds of religion in the world, and also about personal views of life from other perspectives. I know that in my line of work I will encounter many people who have different ideas about the world than I do, and this class was very helpful in giving me a glimpse into what some of my patient’s and co-workers’ lives and beliefs might be and how I might work with people who have different views on life than I do. The two core courses that I enjoyed the most were NUR 390, Introduction to Professional Nursing, and NUR 420, Health Assessment. NUR 390 was a great class because it really gave me a good base for the rest of my nursing classes. Being able to take a good look at my strengths and weaknesses in regards to writing, giving presentations, and working with other people as a group really gave me a reference to discover what I was doing very well and what I could improve in. It also gave tips on stress management, something that is very important for someone in the nursing field. Too many nurses burn out because they are unable to handle stress, and I think that learning these tips will help me get through some of the rough days. Also, thinking about the direction that health care is going and what my role as a nurse will be in that field was interesting and informational. NUR 420 was my favorite core class. I got a lot out of the information on different types of patient assessment, especially the ICU assessment section. The many different types of assessment taught will be very valuable to me in my profession, especially since they dealt with patients across the entire life span. I think that this class will prepare me very well for any hospital situation that I find myself in since it did not focus on one age group but instead gave a good overview of anyone I might come in contact with. Learning risk factors and strategies for prevention of many common problems will also prove to be invaluable in my line of work. Perhaps the most important thing I learned was how to get a good patient interview. It can be hard to get good information from someone who is very ill or in pain, and the strategies I learned will be something I can rely on until the end of my career. My University of Phoenix experience was wonderful for the most part, but there are a few things that I believe could make it better. I personally would like to see more interaction between the students taking any given course. While the Internet is very convenient and a great way to learn for people who cannot attend regular classes, there is a human component that is missing from the whole system. Social skills tend to get put on the back burner, and I think that for some professions it is very important to work on social abilities. Also, I believe that the tuition may be prohibitive for many people who would very much like to continue their education. I understand that all colleges are expensive, but perhaps a slightly lower tuition would make it possible for people who could never hope to attend college get the degree that they desire. I think that having an online university is great, but the students would benefit from classes on social interaction and dealing with the public without a computer in front of them. Dropping the tuition would also be a great help and encourage many new students to sign up for programs, thus offsetting the drop in revenue. Instituting those two measures would make for students more prepared for the real world and more people being able to follow their dreams, such as I am doing. Now that I have received my degree and am ready to take on new challenges, I see that lifelong learning is something that everyone should attempt to do, whether in a program or just by their own devices. Lifelong learning is extremely important if one wants to keep up with the ever-changing world we live in. For my part, nursing is a field that is very fluid. There are always new things to learn and new ways to do things. It would be nearly impossible for me to do a good job in my field if I was not constantly striving to learn something new and improve myself to do the best job possible. I have grown in my abilities to communicate with patients and families, my writing skills have improved quite a bit, and I have learned a lot about the views of others whom I will encounter daily. All of these things can be attributed to lifelong learning, and I feel that every class I took expanded my knowledge and made me more determined to continue my education until I reach my goal. I have not determined yet what my final goal will be, but I hope to be always reaching for the next thing I can learn until I find the perfect spot for me. Even then, I always wish to be perfecting all that I do to make my personal and professional life all that it can possibly be. My personal goals for the next few years center around my family. I want to take time to raise my beautiful son whom I have not had much time for during my past two years of study in this program. I want to spend some time with my family and do some traveling. I also want to consider expanding my family with another baby, but it is too soon to tell about that. My professional goals include getting out of bedside nursing. I have done that for quite a while and am ready to move on to something else. I want to keep learning more and more about my profession, and through that gain a promotion which will improve my skills and ability base. As far as educational goals, I have many things in mind. The two most pressing are to get my Masters degree in nursing and to apply to a nurse anesthesia school for next year. I will be in Kaplan University’s Legal Nurse Consultant program for the next full year. As far as skills and competencies that I would like to develop, I would very much like to continue learning about cardiac care. That is something that I am very interested in and would love to find out as much information as I can on the subject. I have not joined any professional organizations as of yet, but I am looking into different ones and may make a decision to join one in the near future. I hope to attend some pulmonary and cardiac workshops or conferences in the next year or so. Having just finished my degree, I have not given much thought to workshops and conferences just yet. There are several additional degrees that I might consider looking into. I am already enrolled at Kaplan to take their Legal Nurse Consultant program, and I would really like to get my Masters degree in nursing as soon as possible. Besides those I am also thinking about taking classes to be a nurse practitioner or become a CRNA, which is a certified nursing anesthesia position. I am keeping my options open. In conclusion, my years in the nursing program at the University of Phoenix have been hard, yet rewarding. I have finished my goal of having a Bachelors degree, and that is opening doors for me to become so much more. I am grateful for the emphasis on lifelong learning that my courses have provided as that has inspired me to go on to more classes and more degrees. It is good to have an online university to go to that is respectable and accredited, and it is good that there is a way for people who work and have families to improve their lives by getting higher education. I will take with me all that I have learned from this program and hopefully be a better nurse and a better professional for it. This is just the start of my dreams. .

Geographic Study of Mountain Area

Geographic Study of Mountain Area CHAPTER II STUDY AREA PROFILE 2.0 General: The study area (13858.83 ha) is a mountain range between River Pravara and River Mula Basin. The range started from western boarder at Ghatghar village and end eastern border at village Washere in the Akole tahsil, district Ahmendagar of Maharashtra state. The extent of study area is 19 ° 35 06.86 to 19 ° 30 13.08 N latitude and 73 ° 37 00.03 to 74 ° 04 24.65 E longitude. It covers parts of the Survey of India topographic sheet numbers 47 E/ 10, 11, 14, 15 and 47 I/ 2, 3. The depth and water-holding capacity of the soils are varied even if there is slightly change in slopes which is the one of the reason in the variation of forest land. The slope of the area is decreasing from NW to SE respectively and the height varies from 560 m to 1646 meters above mean sea level. Study area is distributed in the Sahyadri mountains (Western ghat) region of the Maharashtra state. Geologically this area formed from basaltic lava. Basalt rock prevent percolation of rainy, reservoir water in to underground zone. Due to rock type the soil cover is very shallow at the top of the mountain and increasing its deepness at foothill zones near water reservoirs. Basic Intrusive (Dykes) mainly found nearby this area. This are the approximate reasons of the shallow soil cover. Very shallow loamy, shallow clayey soil found on the moderate (1 °- 3 °) and stiff (3 °- 6 °) slope. Soil moisture impact on the amount of the vegetation cover with respect to soil type and slope. Therefore, North West and South zone have maximum vegetation cover compare to other land of the study area. It receives annual rainfall about 440.4 mm. The mean annual maximum and minimum temperatures are 39.80 C and 8.70 C respectively. Local tribal people engages with the agricultural activities at reclaimed land from forest area. Forestry is the second occupation after agriculture. 2.1 Geology: Study area is a part of Sahyadri Mountain Range (Western Ghat). Also called as Deccan Trap formed by basaltic rocks; amygdaloidal basalts form the bedrock. This area has shallow soil like loam, clayey; again divided in to sub types based on depth and slope classes. Overlying weathered and fractured rocks, resting on hard massive basalt. The basalts are nearly horizontal, separated by thin layers of ancient soil and volcanic ash (red bole). The basalt flows are nearly flat-lying (the sequence has a regional southerly dip of 0.5-1 °) and mainly belong to the Thakurvadi Formation (Fm) of the Kalsubai Subgroup (Khadri et al. 1988; Subbarao and Hooper 1988). The lithology of the area indicating that around 77.17 % area covered by 12-14 compound pahoehoe flows and some Aa flows (max 206m). Around 4.53 % by 2 compound pahoehoe flows (40-50m) and Megacryst compound pahoehoe basaltic flow M3 (50-60m) up to 3.26 %. Remaing 0.89% covered by 5 Aa and 1 compound pahoehoe basaltic lava flows (Max. 160m); 4-5 compound pahoehoe basaltic lava flows (Max. 150m), Basik Sill/Lava channels respectively. The regional stratigraphy of the Deccan basalts has been described by Beane et al. (1989), Khadri et al (1988), and Subbarao and Hooper (1988). Structural indices indicate the part of basic intrusive (dykes) in the part of noer-west and south-east. One fault line cross at the middle part of the study area. 2.2 Relief: Study situated at the middle of the tehsil Akole. It has horizontal shape and act like a natural water divider. Relief turn and fix the surface geographical landforms. The altitude of this area is varies from less than 640 meter (minimum) to 1646 meter (maximum). The formation of soil, natural vegetation cover and soil moisture conditions are totally controlled by the status of the relief. Contour lines demarcate the height of the study area above mean sea level. The Kalasubai (1646m) highest peak of the Maharashtra state located in the Akole tehsil. In the tehsil second highest peak Harishchandragarh (1422m) located in the south-west part of the study area. Relief decreasing toward to the Washere village of this mountain range. Drainage network flow depends on relief is explained in next point. 2.3 Slope: Slope of the study area calculated in degree (0 ° to 90 °) on the basis of contours. This slope of the area divided in to 7 classes. Gentle slope has up to 1 ° slope where water reserve and collected in dam. Soil depth, cover and types also depends on the nature of slope. Hill top and cliff sides has precipitous to very steep slope (12 ° to 90 °). At foothill slope moderate to steep (1 ° to 12 °) zone has maximum forest cover in north-west and south-west direction. Eroded material on the top hill concentrating on the foothill slopes and favourable for soil formation. That is why the in this area soil moisture, soil depth and vegetation cover found more than other zone. Soil types and different characteristics has been elaborated in the next point. 2.4 Drainage: Network of drainage is developing continually and it’s responsible for the different landform creation. Relief controlled the drainage flow and streams erode land surface in to different geographical landform features. Relief and streams has strong correlation. Study area has an origin point of the main river Pravara. River flows from north-west to north-east direction. This river has main and minor dam. Bhandardara is main dam situated on river Pravara, which is an important land-cover feature in study area. At the time of robust forest change analysis this water body play an important role. Soil moisture depend on drainage network and water reservoirs after rainy season. It made difference in the type of vegetation cover from dense forest to open scrub land. Drainage pattern related to slope and slope related to forest growth has been explained in detailed in the next point. 2.5 Soil: The growth and reproduction of forest cannot be understood without the knowledge of soil. The soil and vegetation have a complex interrelation because they develop together over a long period of time. The vegetation influences the chemical properties of soil to a great extent. The selective absorption of nutrient elements by different tree species and their capacity to return them to the soil brings about changes in soil properties (Singh et al. 1986). Soil element is one of the most important biophysical matter. Concentration of elements in the soils is a good indicator of their availability to plants. Their presence in soil would give good information towards the knowledge of nutrient cycling and bio-chemical cycle in the soil–plant ecosystem (Pandit and Thampan 1988). Generation of soil is depend on geology, topography, time span, climatic conditions, organic and inorganic factors, etc. Forests in general have a greater influence on soil conditions than most other plant eco system types, due to a well-developed ‘‘O’’ horizon, moderating temperature, and humidity at the soil surface, input of litter with high lignin content, high total net primary production, and high water and nutrient demand (Binkley and Giardina 1998). Study area is a hilly zone, soil is very shallow at the top-hills while excessively drained loamy soil (a rich soil consisting of a mixture of sand and clay and decaying organic materials) found at steep slopes north-west direction. Shallow well drained clayey soil and slightly deep excessively drained loamy soil found over moderate to gentle slope respectively. Clay soils, are made up of very fine, microscopic particles. These tiny particles fit together tightly, resulting in tiny pore spaces between them. The tiny pore spaces allow water to move through them, but at a much slower pace than in sandy soils. Clay soils drain quite slowly and hold more water than sandy soils. Loams soil capacity of maximum water holding (MWHC) approximately 0.18 inches of water per inch of soil depth, and clays hold up to 0.17 inches of water per inch of soil depth. However, soil types, soil elements, soil depth depends on the geology of the study area, explained in next point. 2.6Population and economic activities: Humans being living surrounding this area most are the tribal population. Primary economical activities including shifting cultivation, fishery, 2.7Spectral properties of plants in the forest: (1st ch) Interaction of radiation with plant leaves is extremely complex. General features of this interaction have been studied but many spectral features are yet unexplained. Gates et al., (1965) are considered pioneers, who have studied spectral characteristics of leaf reflection, transmission and absorption. Optical properties of plants have been further studied to understand the mechanisms involved by Gausman and Allen (1973), Wooley (1971) and Allen et al., (1970). It is the synthesis of the parameters like reflection of plant parts, reflection of plant canopies, nature and state of plant canopies and Structure and texture of plant canopies, which will be required to fully understand the remote sensing data collected from space borne and aerial platforms. They have been attempted for crop canopies through the development of models but not yet fully achieved. It will be initially required to discuss the electromagnetic spectrum and its interaction with vegetation canopies. Subsequent factors affecting the spectral reflectance of plant canopies with its possible applications in remote sensing technology would be discussed. The vegetation reflectance is influenced by the reflectance characteristics of individual plant organs, canopy organization and type, growth stage of plants, structure and texture of the canopies. The synthesis of the above four aspects provides true reflectance characteristic. However, various authors without fully achieving models to determine vegetation reflectance characteristics have studied effect of individual parameters. 2.6.1 Nature of the Plant: Numerous measurements have been performed to evaluate the spectral response of various categories of plants with a spectrophotometer (Fig. ***). For a plant in its normal state i.e., typical and healthy the spectral reflectance is specific of the group, the species and even of the variety at a given stage in its phenological evolution. The general aspects of spectral reflectance of healthy plant in the range from 0.4 to 2.6  µm is shown in figure ****. The very abrupt increase in reflectance near 0.7  µm and the fairly abrupt decrease near 1.5  µm are present for all mature, healthy green leaves. Very high; further in the far infrared >3.0  µm. Thus, the typical spectral curve of plant is divided into three prominent zones correlated with morphological characteristics of the leaves (Gates, 1971). 2.6.2 à ¯Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  Pigment Absorption Zone: The important pigments, viz. chlorophyll, xanthophylls and carotenoids absorb energy strongly in ultraviolet blue and red regions of the EMR. The reflectance and transmittance are weak. The absorbed energy of this part of this spectrum is utilized for the photosynthetic activity (Allen et al. 1970). 2.6.3 Multidioptric Reflectance Zone: In this zone, the reflectance is high, while the absorbptance remains weak. All the unabsorbed energy (30 to 70% according to the type of plant) is transmitted. They reflectance is essentially due to the internal structure of the leaf and the radiation is able to penetrate. The reflectance from internal structure is of physical more than chemical nature. Apart front the contribution of the waxy cuticle, the magnitude of the reflectance depends primarily upon the amount of spongy mesophyll. 2.6.4 à ¯Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  Hydric Zone: Amount of water inside the leaf affect the pattern of spectral reflectance with water specific absorption bands at 1.45  µm, 1.95  µm and 2.6  µm. Liquid water in a leaf causes strong absorption throughout middle infrared region. Beyond 2.5  µm the reflectance becomes less than 5% due to atmospheric absorption and beyond 3  µm the vegetation starts acting as quasi blackbody (Gates et al., 1965). There are numerous factors either internal of the plant or external coming from the environmental conditions have an influence on the specific spectral reflectance. The above descriptions are true only for a normal, mature and healthy vegetation. The factors which affect the spectral reflectance of leaves are leaf structure, maturity, pigmentation, sun exposition, phyllotaxis, pubescene, turgidity (water content) nutritional status and, disease etc. Important factors are pigmentation, nutritional status, anatomy of leaves and water content. While, sun exposition and phyllotaxy affects the canopy reflectance, phenological state and disease are linked to the primary factors affecting the spectral reflectance (Wooley, 1971). 2.7Spectral vegetation indices: Radiant energy intercepted by a vegetative canopy is primarily scattered by leaves either away from the leaf surface or to the leaf interior. The scattered radiation is reflected, transmitted or absorbed by leaves. The partitioning of radiation a reflected, transmitted or absorbed energy depends on a number of factor including leaf cellular structures (Gates et al. 1965; Kfipling, 1970; Woolley, 1971), leaf pubescence and roughness (Gausman, 1977), leaf morphology and physiology (Gausman et al., 1969 a, b; Gausman and Allen, 1973; Gausman et al., 1971) and leaf surface characteristics (Breece and Hommes, 1971; Grant, 1985). Leaves are not perfectly diffuse reflectors but have diffuse and specular characteristics. Leaf transmittance tends to have a non Lambertian distribution, while leaf reflectance is dependent on illumination and view angles. Knowledge of soils radiation interaction with individual leaves is necessary for several reasons like special to interpret and process remotely sensed data. Typical reflectance and transmittance spectrum of a individual plant leaf indicate three distinct wavelength regions in interaction: visible (0.4-0.7  µm), near infrared (NIR) (0.7-1.35  µm) and mid infrared (mid IR) (1.35-2.7  µm). Thus the typical spectral curve of plant is divided into three prominent zones correlated with morphological/anatomical/physiological characteristics of the leaves and these are Pigment Absorption Zone, Multi-Dioptric Reflectance Zone and Hydric Zone, etc. The analysis of all remotely sensed data involves models of many processes wherein the EM radiation is transformed (the scene, atmosphere and sensor) and whereby inference is made about the scene from the image data. The most common strategy for relating remote sensing data to vegetation canopies has been via the correlation of vegetation indices with vegetation structure and functional variables. This simple empirical approach has yielded substantial understanding of the structure and dynamics of vegetation at all scales. These indices are capable of handling variation introduced in a scene due to atmosphere or sensor and vegetation background influence in low vegetation cover areas. The capacity to assess and monitor the structure of terrestrial vegetation using spectral properties recorded by remote sensing is important because structure can be related to functioning, that is to ecosystem processes that are ultimately aggregated up to the functioning of the local-regional-global level of ecosystem. The categorization of the various spectral indices in to approximately five types. Such as Ratio Indices, Vegetation Indices, Orthogonal based Indices, Perpendicular Vegetation Indices and Tasseled Cap Transformation, etc. Remote sensing of cropland, forest and grassland involves the measurement of reflected energy of component in the presence of each other. The development and usefulness of vegetation indices are dependent upon the degree to which the spectral contribution of non-vegetation component can be isolated from the measured canopy response. Although vegetation indices have been widely recognized a valuable tools in the measurement and interpretation of ‘vegetation condition’ several limitation have also been identified. They are related to soil brightness effect and secondary soil spectral deviations. The use of site specific soil lines reduces soil background influence. In this context SAVI, GRABS and PVI holds greater promise in low vegetated areas. The vegetation indices are simplified method to extract information about vegetation parameter from multispectral data however, their use in spectral modeling needs to be studied in context of spectral dynamics of earth surface components. 2.8Resume`: Forest cover is an important natural resource for the environment and socio-eco on the surface of the earth. It can bridge the gap between nature and human beings conflicts. Changes in the forest land increase the imbalance in the ecosystem, climatic conditions, temperature, land degradation, drought prone zones, soil erosion, depending manmade activities, etc. The living tribes in the mountain hill as well as foot hill area utilized forest material for their domestic usages. Therefore, the objectives of detection and delineation of the forest land by using ordinary classification methods have been outlined in the present study. The methodology has been outlined in this chapter. The Landsat-5 TM and Landsat-7 ETM+ dataset has been suggested as a source of information to achieve the objectives of the study. The basic knowledge regarding spectral properties of the forest and physiographic elements as well as spectral vegetation indices area has been proposed for the second chapter to m ake information base study for image analysis, classification and interpretation in the next chapters. *********

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and The Prescription a Psychos

‘Boisterous’, ‘energetic’, and ‘spontaneous’ were once adjectives used to describe the behaviour of normal, healthy children. These days, similar behaviours might be labeled ‘problematic’, ‘hyperactive’, and ‘uncontrollable’, often resulting in the diagnosis of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and the prescription of a psychostimulant drug (Lardizabal, 2012). According to the DMS-V, ADHD is described as a combination of â€Å"inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity† (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). Due to the nature of the symptoms, ADHD can significantly hinder a child’s ability to succeed in a school setting, both academically and socially, which could have dire implications for their future (Faraone & Biederman, 2001). With over ten million children in the United States currently diagnosed with the disorder, ADHD has been labeled an epidemic and this has lead to a significant increase in the amount of research devoted to determining its cause and treatment (Stolzer, 2007). The increased attention has also attracted a great deal of controversy, with medical experts questioning the safety of administering psychostimulant drugs to children. Although the evidence is often contradictory, due to an increase in the documentation of the adverse side effects in children caused by psychostimulant medication, as well as an increase in the evidence of nonpharmacological treatments successfully reducing the symptoms of ADHD, many parents have become reluctant in allowing their children to take the prescribed drugs (Isaacs, Watkins, Hodgens, & Zachor, 2002). This movement has sparked an increase in the amount of parents questioning their own level of responsibility in the management of symptoms of their child’s disorde... ...ofeedback, 28, 63-75. doi: 10.1023/A:1022321017467 Sinn, N. (2008). Nutritional and dietary influences on attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Nutrition Reviews, 66, 558-568. doi: 10.1111/j.1753-4887.2008.00107.x. Stolzer, J. M. (2007). The ADHD epidemic in America. Ethical Human Psychology and Psychiatry, 9, 109-116. Swanson, J., Kraemer, H., Hinshaw, S., Arnold, L., & Conners, C. (2001). Clinical relevance of the primary findings of the MTA: success rates based on severity of ADHD and ODD symptoms at the end of treatment. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 40, 168-179. doi: 10.1097/00004583-200102000-00011 Verlaet, A. J., Noriega, D., Hermans, N., & Savelkoul, H. J. (2014). Nutrition, immunological mechanisms and dietary immunomodulation in ADHD. European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 23, 1-11. doi: 10.1007/s00787-014-0522-2

Reading Comic Books Essay -- Literary Analysis, Maus, Holocaust

When students learn how to read in elementary school, teachers would teach students how to read comic books and as students we see that the comics would give the animals multiple human traits. Many comic books substitute animals and give them human-like characteristics, such as the ability to talk and walk upright. However, the debate rages on as to what type of animal makes a good character and what type of animal makes a bad character. Comic writers would often use different types of animals that are naturally seen in the real world and they would determine what type of role they would have in the comic book. Also the cartoonist would determine who should prevail, who should not, and their emotions towards one another. In the book called Maus by Art Spiegelman, it tells the story about a mouse named Valdek Spiegelman, who is a Holocaust survivor, and his son Artie. Artie writes a book on his father and the terrifying experience he dealt with when surviving the Holocaust. The book uses animals instead of human characters. The book has three main types of animals that each symbolizes the different cultures during the Holocaust. The Jews are symbolized as mice, the Nazi Germans as cats, and the Poles as pigs. The reason why Spiegelman uses animals instead of humans is because he wants to give the reader a better understanding of what type of animal symbolizes the different types of social classes that are being address. The power hungry Nazis are symbolized as cats because of a cat’s constant starvation and tend to be stronger compared to mice and pigs. The Jews are symbolized as mice to show how weak they were and how they were treated during World War II. Spiegelman puts a focus on the mice and the struggle that Vladek went thr... ...he way Ripley talks about comics and animals is how humans have similar traits as animals and act like animals. The traits that come out in some humans are the â€Å"Biology in one personality, the geography location of where one lives, and the facts about one person and how they express it?† This would explain one interpretation of having animals in comics and explains how humans tend to act more like animals. Many different comics have animals in the short stories and interpret the animals in many different ways. Some comics illustrate animals more as simple creatures that are shy and away from humans. Other comics write about animals and how they are treated more like humans with horrible characteristics. It is important to have an understanding of the animal and how it interacts in nature to be able to compare it to a human in a short story comic.

Nettles For Food and Medicine :: Botany

Nettles For Food and Medicine Despite its nondescript appearance, the stinging nettle (Urtica dioica) has a knack for grabbing the attention of anyone passing by. Unfortunately, most people never notice nettles until they are viciously attacked with sharp, hot, itching stings. Consequently, most people familiar with nettles regard them as pesky and undesirable weeds. Few people today realize that nettles may actually be counted among nature's most useful plants. As is frequently the case with common names, the term nettle is often used for plants that aren't nettles at all. In the Midwest, the plant known as Red Dead-Nettle is actually a member of the Mint Family and the Horse Nettle (which is poisonous) is actually a Nightshade (Seymour, 1997). The true nettles belong to the Urticaceae, also known as the Nettle Family. The Nettle Family is found worldwide and consists of about 45 genera and 700-1000 species. Most of the species are tropical and herbaceous (Walters and Keil, 1996). Urtica dioica, the plant most often called by the name Stinging Nettle, is a dioecious perennial plant that stands about one meter tall. It has simple, opposite, toothed leaves (5-10cm long) with persistent stipules and, most importantly, stinging trichomes. The radially symmetrical flowers are arranged in axillary panicles, completely lack petals, and have 4 sepals and 4 stamens. The fruits are small, oval achenes (1-2mm long). In addition to growing from seed, the plants are able to spread rhizomatously (Radford, Ahles and Bell, 1968). The Stinging Nettle is actually not nearly as common in the U.S. as the closely related Wood Nettle (Laportea canadensis). The Wood Nettle is often mistaken for the Stinging Nettle by most people because the Wood Nettle also has stinging hairs. Laportea canadensis is not as tall as Urtica dioica, has larger leaves (up to 20cm) and minute stipules. The staminate flowers have 5 sepals and 5 stamens and are found in axillary panicles. The pistillate flowers have only 4 sepals and are found in either terminal or axillary panicles. The achene is crescent-shaped (Radford, Ahles and Bell, 1968). The wood nettle grows well in rich forests and may be particularly abundant along hiking trails near streams. Hikers are frequently dismayed to discover that when such trails aren't carefully maintained, nettles quickly begin to arch dangerously over the paths. There are several other species from the Nettle Family in the United States, but only 4 of the genera represented, Urtica, Hesperocnide, Laportea, and Urera, have the characteristic stinging trichomes.

Philosophy- Locke Hume and Kafka Essay

1. Explain how Locke and Hume view personal identity, or the â€Å"Self†. How do you see Kafka’s â€Å"Metamorphosis† as exemplifying these philosophical themes? You may choose Locke or Hume or both, or argue why you see neither of their theories as showing up in Kafka’s work. Locke’s theory of personal identity does not rely on substance to explain personal identity. Locke’s theory is person one at time two is the same person as person two at time one if and only if person one and person two are both persons and person one can remember at time two (his doing) what person two did or felt or what have you at time one. Hume’s theory of the self-held that the self is nothing but a bundle of experiences or perceptions linked by the relations of causation and resemblance; or, more accurately, that the empirically warranted idea of the self is just the idea of such a bundle. In â€Å"Metamorphosis† Kafka takes on Locke’s view of the self. Kafka illustrates that Gregor Samsa is the same person as he was when he was human even though he has changed into a bug. Kafka does this by showing that Gregor still has the same thoughts, memories, and tries to continue the same routine even though he has become a bug. Gregor stills tries to wake up and catch the train for work, he still knows how his sister, parents, and boss will act, and he still has the same feelings and emotions towards his life and the people who are in it. All of these explain go along with Locke’s view of the self verses Hume’s theory.

CASE: Gold Coast Advertising (GCA) Essay

George Stein sat in his large office overlooking Chicago’s Michigan Avenue. As CEO of the Gold Coast Advertising he seemed to always be confronted with one problem or another. Today was no exception. George had just come out of a long meeting with Jim Gerard, head of the board for the small advertising agency. Jim was concerned about a growing problem with lowered sales expectations and a decreasing customer base. Jim warned George that something had to be done quickly or Jim would have to go on the board of action. George acknowledges that sales were down but attributed this to general economic conditions. He assured Jim that the problems would be addressed immediately. As George pondered his next course of action, he admitted to himself that the customer base of GCA was slowly decreasing. The agency did not quite understand the reason for this decrease. Many regular customers were not coming back and the rate of new customers seemed to be slowly declining. GCA’s competitors seemed to be doing well. George did not understand the problem. What Do Customers Want? GCA was a Chicago-based advertising agency that developed campaigns and promotions for small and medium-sized firms. Their expertise was in the retail area, but they worked with a wide range of firms from the food service industry to the medical field. GCA competed on price and speed of product development. Advertising in the retail area was competitive and price had always been important. Also, since retail fashions change rapidly, speed in advertising development was thought to be critical. George reminded himself that price and speed had always been what customers wanted. Now he felt confused that he really didn’t know his customers. This was just another crisis that would pass, he told himself. But he needed to deal with it immediately.

School Uniform

School Uniforms Should Students in Public Schools Wear Uniforms? Abstract One of the most controversial issues in public school is the school uniforms. In 1996, the issue of school uniforms was bought to the forefront in President Clinton State of the Union address. People argue that uniforms can make schools safer and improve attendance and increase student’s achievement. People opposing school uniforms argue that it has not been proven to work with discipline, attendance or the student’s achievement. The purpose of this research is to find out if school uniforms will work in all elementary public schools. Do the students and their parents want a change in their school district attempting to control many aspects, attendance, academic achievement, self-esteem, safety and violence? Interested in positive changes in the students success and achievement may want to consider school uniform policy in their school district. School Uniforms Uniforms in public elementary schools can have an impact on the students and on the school system. The students can focus more on their classes rather than social factors that students focus on when there is no school uniform and the dress code is not strict. There is no competition between peers to outdo each other when wearing uniforms. Some parents complain that uniforms are too costly for them, but uniforms are actually more affordable and there are fewer clothes to buy because everyone will be dressed in similar clothing. There are also ways to help low-income families with the cost. The school can set up funding for low income families to help pay for the uniforms for their children in the form of donations, clothing vouchers, and support from the business partners of the communities; this problem can be overcome. The thrift stores and uniform supply houses also reduce the cost for the clothing. These things combined can make it far less costly to purchase standard clothing than to meet the demand for designer clothing worn now. Many private schools have required uniforms for a number of years and now public schools are adopting the school uniform policy. With Long Beach, California being the first large urban school district to enforce uniforms to all students in Kindergarten through eighth grade in 1995. In 1999, New York City enforced uniforms in 70 percent of their schools. In 2000, Philadelphia enforced the uniforms district wide and 60 percent in Miami and 80 percent in Chicago (Konheim-Kalkstein, 2006). Since then school uniforms in public schools are becoming increasingly popular across the nation. Several other states have already implemented uniform policies in Texas, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Los Angeles, Michigan, Florida, Utah, Indiana, Louisiana, Maryland, Tennessee, Virginia, and District of Columbia. Many large public school systems including Baltimore, Cincinnati, Dayton, Detroit, Los Angeles, Memphis, Milwaukee, Nashville, New Orleans, Phoenix, Seattle and St. Louis have schools with either voluntary or mandatory uniform policies, mostly in elementary and middle schools (Brunsma, 2006). Advocates believe that the uniform policies have great benefits. They believe that it eliminates conflict over expensive items of clothing and has a business-like atmosphere to the school (Darden, p. 36). They also think that the uniforms will make schools safer, improve attendance, and a higher education achievement. By wearing uniforms in school they will be able to identify trespassers and setting a good example for the students who are serious about school work and their studies, and also discourages the activities of gang members and the tensions that result from wearing gang clothing attire (Boutelle, 2008). Opponents feel there is not enough evidence to support the relationship between the uniforms and discipline or uniforms and students achievement. According to Brunsma (2006, p. 85), he suggest that uniform policies may only serve as a band-aid in dealing with the problems of schools and may only provide policymakers a way to avoid making the decisions necessary to reform public education. Now the question is, â€Å"Would Delaware public elementary schools benefit greatly if this policy were adopted? † Resistance is always a factor when trying to make changes. Some par ents and students may not want the school uniforms for a variety of reasons. If the parents and students realize that uniforms will benefit them in the long run they may change their minds. There are many advantages to school uniforms, including academic advantages, social outcomes, behavioral issues, safety and cost of uniforms. Research is needed because elementary schools will benefit more if they had a school uniform policy enforced. Literature Review School uniforms have been the cause of many jokes and harassment to those who wore them. In the past, public schools considered uniforms old and out dated trends, though recently many public schools are starting to implement and enforce a uniform policy. The implementation of a school uniform policy is important if we are still striving to improve our students. The arguments against them are fading while the positive reasons for promoting school uniforms are gaining ground. Some of the possible benefits are safety, cost, uniformity and violence in academics instead of fashions. According to Boutelle (2008), school uniforms in today’s society â€Å"promote school safety and enhance the learning environment, and diminish the clothing completion† (p. 3). School uniforms unify a school and help the blending of the school cultures, instead of separating the students. Along with school uniforms there is a boost in academic performance. With the United States dropping behind other developed nation ranking in at number 18 of 24 (Boutelle, 2007), this is low for a nation that is spending a lot on education every year. Students are losing focus on school and are competing for what the newest fashion or gadget rather than focusing on school these days. With the addition of school uniforms in American society, students can focus more on their classes rather than social factors that students focus on when there is no school uniform and the dress code is not strict. With the addition of school uniforms in public schools students are bonding together helping each other feel like they are accepted and part of a much bigger picture than just them. Everyone wearing uniforms also makes it very easy to recognize people who are not supposed to be there or can make an intruder stand out in a crowd. The Department of Education gave out manuals to all of the nation’s 16,000 school districts with suggestions to make school uniforms mandatory and model programs that are in a few public schools (Brunsma, 119). Reasons for implementing uniforms included: reduce peer pressure, increase school pride, gear focus more to learning, assist in discipline problems, and create a more work-like atmosphere with less distractions and expense. Schools that have significant problems are mostly likely to have school uniforms. Having a good overlap of a zero-tolerance policies and school uniform policies do not need the security guards, metal detectors, sign-in policies, or the limited restroom time (Brunsma, p. 51). Many parents are faced with the dilemma of outfitting their children in the latest trends or putting money towards more important things like saving for their children’s college education. Some families are unable to afford the popular named brand clothing that their children desires, which make the children, feel inadequate in school when they are forced to wear lesser brand clothes. Granted, the cost may be a bit more substantial in the beginning, but the uniforms will last longer which means there is less out-of-pocket expense for replacement articles. With uniforms, the parents may only have to purchase two or three sets compared to several pairs of bottoms and tops. Uniforms are more durable and can be washed more frequently compared to regular clothes. This makes them the better option not only for lower income families, but all families in general. Parents claim that uniforms will cost the families more money in the long run because parents will be forced to buy the uniforms and regular clothing for their children to wear when they are not in school. The cost for parents may double that of just buying traditional school clothes. Although this is partly true that parents would be faced making additional purchases for their children, in reality, should still be spending less money. Since uniforms are more durable, the parents only need to buy a limited supply and since the children will only be wearing their regular clothes outside of school, parents will not have to buy as many outfits. Most children wear out their clothes while in school. Since this is not an issue with the uniforms because they are worn during school hours only the traditional street clothes will last longer, hence saving the parents money in the long run. Also without the constant competition in schools, children may not feel the need to have the latest brands and styles as they would if they were wearing the clothes to school on a daily basis around other social classes. There are some objections to having children wear uniforms in school. The most popular one is the price of the uniforms; sometimes they may cost a lot depending on the company from which they are purchased. If the school does not go through a certain company but just asks the parents to buy certain colored shirts and pants, with no form f a logo on them, this would help make the cost of the uniform a lot less. Also, if the parents financially could not afford to buy the uniforms, then the parents would have to show proof of this and file for help with school board, which could provide them with a small grant to be used on the uniforms. In California, parents from low-income families are entitled to financial help and are able to receive assistance in purchasing the u niforms (Konheim-Kalkstein, 2006). Lake Forest School District in Delaware does not supplement the cost of the uniforms to low income families but if a child is in need they do go case by case. The school nurse keeps uniforms on stock and the local church also supplies the uniforms (Ms. Lands). Today’s style of uniforms is more relaxed than what they were before. The boys would wear dark slacks, white shirts and a tie and the girls wore a traditional blazer, white blouse and a plaid skirt. Now they can wear khaki pants or blue jeans with a white T-shirt, denim shirt or skirts. The largest manufacture French Toast has more than 4,000 school uniform items (Anderson, 2004). On the FrenchToast. com website short sleeve dress shirts with collar for boys cost $9. 98, pants $16. 8 and for girls the blouses and skirts are $9. 98 and pants are $14. 98. If parents could get them on sale they would defiantly save money. French Toast has a â€Å"Dollar in Uniform† fundraising event going on right now if the parents order from their website than the school they select will get a five percent cash back. Not only do mandatory uniform policies for public schools offer the pot ential for higher educational benefits and improved student discipline, school uniforms dissolve social boundaries between classmates. Students are no longer judged based off their appearance but by who they are on the inside. There is no more competition between social classes that these students may have otherwise felt and they work together as a team and share a common pride. All students will feel a sense of belonging. No longer will lower income children be labeled as poor based on their clothing. All children will appear as equals in the classroom and will be treated as such (Viadero, 2005). School violence can be greatly reduced by the use of school uniforms. With kids unable to noticeably tell or distinguish which kids belong to what gangs in school if any at all. Also, with uniforms it’s much harder to tell which kids come are wealthy and which kids come from needy families. This can relieve kids of the stress that social economic status can bring. With uniforms children blend, which helps kids see who the actual person is rather then who or where they came from or what their culture is or background. Stepping into any public school with a normal dress code during lunch is evidence of the different groups in a school including different educational and social statuses. Some school gangs separate themselves by their clothes. At any moment there could be a confrontation between any of these groups and instantly a conflict has started or worse school violence could happen between people. When something happens everything is stopped until the situation gets resolved whether it’s broken up by the school cop, teachers, or resolved between the people it happened between. Some of this can be stopped, as Bill Clinton said in his 1996 State of Union Address â€Å"I challenge all our schools to teach character education, to teach good values and good citizenship. And if it means that teenager will stop killing each other over designer jackets, then our public schools should be able to require their students to wear school uniform. In the first year of using school uniform Long Beach, California, the school officials found that suspensions dropped by 28 percent; assault and battery decreased 34 percent fighting decreased 56 percent; sex offenses decreased 74 percent; vandalism decreased 18 percent and school crime decreased 86 percent (Brunsma, p. 36). With less violence in the school, more students want to come to school. Therefore more students would be more interested in going to school (Konheim-Kalkstein, 2006). RESULTS The school uniforms maybe a means of improving our efforts to help students in becoming healthier, making them a better citizen in their community and being an interest in our society. Realizing that the success of this policy may depend on each individual school system and their needs, and knowing a school uniform policy is not good for every school is of utmost importance. The studies that have been done have lacked the evidence that supports the school uniforms. Some schools might benefit from a school uniform policy. When adopting a school uniform policy many schools also adopted other new programs at the same time. It was unclear as to what exactly created the successes that were notable in the studies. DISCUSSION School Uniforms affect schools in a better way, appears that only when the school and community have done research and done their homework. The successful schools first compiled reasons for wanting school uniforms and then decided if they were relevant or not. There were surveys taken of staff, parents and the community to find out what the level of support was for the administration if they had to enforce a school uniform policy. Several steps were conducting and it appeared to work for many school districts. It is important to listen to everyone concerning the adoption of a uniform policy (Brunsma, 2006, p. 116). Slowly moving to give the community time to think about the positives and negatives of their decision is must. When wanting to implement the uniforms the style and nature should be considered as well the school history (McBrayer, p. 126). The students should always be involved in the decision making and choices, but they may not make the final decision. Parents and schools need to decide what is safest and healthiest for all and not just the individual. There were other changes incorporated in the schools at the same time the school uniform policy was adopted. Some examples of the changes that took place with the uniform policy adoptions were; changes in the curriculum, new problems solving curriculums, more teachers in the hallways between classes, and new discipline procedures. Changes are continuous and therefore it is difficult to only rely on one at a time. It is a very difficult job for administrators to develop safe and healthy schools. However, there are times that an administrator may determine a factor in the success of the school’s dress code, no dress code, or uniform policy. Consistency is very important part of keeping the students safe. CONCLUSION For the support of school uniforms the research of evidence, or the lack thereof, it is recommended that each school districts review the information concerning school uniform policies. Probably what would be best is observing a school that already has uniforms. Members involved should observe a school similar to their own; rural, urban or suburban, size and community standards. Members should also recognize and consider steps taken by other schools when they first enforced the school uniforms. It is very important to learn as much as they can about mistakes that took place at the other schools and consider possible successful alternatives. When putting a school uniform policy into effect everyone involved should have a discussion with the community including the students. Parents, students, administrators, teachers, support staff, and board members are all part of the community and should have a decision in the final decision. In the decision making they need to also discuss the prices of the uniforms and if there is going to be help for the ones who cannot afford paying for them. The future of our society depends on confident, inclusive, and caring people focused on valuing the skills, abilities and talents of all the decision makers. I believe that all students deserve a safe learning environment. School uniforms might be the best solutions to the public elementary schools education needs to stop the competitiveness of clothes and create better learning environments in student’s achievements and positive social outcomes. Anderson, W. 2004, February). School dress codes and uniform policies. College of Education, University of Oregon. Eric Digest, 148. Boutelle, M. (2008, February). Uniforms: Are They a Good Fit? Education Digest, 73, 34-37. Brunsma, D. (2004). The school uniform movement and what it tells us about American education. Maryland: Rowman and Littlefield Education. Brunsma, D. ( 2006, Jan/Feb). School uniform policies in public school. Principal, 85, 50-53. Brunsma, D. (2006). Uniforms in public schools A decade of research and debate. Maryland: Rowman and Littlefield Education. Darden, E. (2008, January). What Not to Wear. American School Board Journal, 195, 36-37. French Toast Official School Wear http://frenchtoast. com/jump. jsp? itemID=0&itemType=HOME_PAGE&cobrand=www. frenchtoast. com Konheim-Kalkstein, Y. (2006, August). A uniform look. American School Board Journal, 193, 25-27. McBrayer, S. (2007, September). The school uniform movement and what it tells us about American education: A Symbolic Crusade. Catholic Education: A Journal of Inquiry and Practice, 11, 124-126. Viadero, D. (2005, January). Uniform effects? Schools cite benefits of student uniforms, but researchers see little evidence of effectiveness. Education Week, 24, 27-29. School Uniform School Uniforms Should Students in Public Schools Wear Uniforms? Abstract One of the most controversial issues in public school is the school uniforms. In 1996, the issue of school uniforms was bought to the forefront in President Clinton State of the Union address. People argue that uniforms can make schools safer and improve attendance and increase student’s achievement. People opposing school uniforms argue that it has not been proven to work with discipline, attendance or the student’s achievement. The purpose of this research is to find out if school uniforms will work in all elementary public schools. Do the students and their parents want a change in their school district attempting to control many aspects, attendance, academic achievement, self-esteem, safety and violence? Interested in positive changes in the students success and achievement may want to consider school uniform policy in their school district. School Uniforms Uniforms in public elementary schools can have an impact on the students and on the school system. The students can focus more on their classes rather than social factors that students focus on when there is no school uniform and the dress code is not strict. There is no competition between peers to outdo each other when wearing uniforms. Some parents complain that uniforms are too costly for them, but uniforms are actually more affordable and there are fewer clothes to buy because everyone will be dressed in similar clothing. There are also ways to help low-income families with the cost. The school can set up funding for low income families to help pay for the uniforms for their children in the form of donations, clothing vouchers, and support from the business partners of the communities; this problem can be overcome. The thrift stores and uniform supply houses also reduce the cost for the clothing. These things combined can make it far less costly to purchase standard clothing than to meet the demand for designer clothing worn now. Many private schools have required uniforms for a number of years and now public schools are adopting the school uniform policy. With Long Beach, California being the first large urban school district to enforce uniforms to all students in Kindergarten through eighth grade in 1995. In 1999, New York City enforced uniforms in 70 percent of their schools. In 2000, Philadelphia enforced the uniforms district wide and 60 percent in Miami and 80 percent in Chicago (Konheim-Kalkstein, 2006). Since then school uniforms in public schools are becoming increasingly popular across the nation. Several other states have already implemented uniform policies in Texas, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Los Angeles, Michigan, Florida, Utah, Indiana, Louisiana, Maryland, Tennessee, Virginia, and District of Columbia. Many large public school systems including Baltimore, Cincinnati, Dayton, Detroit, Los Angeles, Memphis, Milwaukee, Nashville, New Orleans, Phoenix, Seattle and St. Louis have schools with either voluntary or mandatory uniform policies, mostly in elementary and middle schools (Brunsma, 2006). Advocates believe that the uniform policies have great benefits. They believe that it eliminates conflict over expensive items of clothing and has a business-like atmosphere to the school (Darden, p. 36). They also think that the uniforms will make schools safer, improve attendance, and a higher education achievement. By wearing uniforms in school they will be able to identify trespassers and setting a good example for the students who are serious about school work and their studies, and also discourages the activities of gang members and the tensions that result from wearing gang clothing attire (Boutelle, 2008). Opponents feel there is not enough evidence to support the relationship between the uniforms and discipline or uniforms and students achievement. According to Brunsma (2006, p. 85), he suggest that uniform policies may only serve as a band-aid in dealing with the problems of schools and may only provide policymakers a way to avoid making the decisions necessary to reform public education. Now the question is, â€Å"Would Delaware public elementary schools benefit greatly if this policy were adopted? † Resistance is always a factor when trying to make changes. Some par ents and students may not want the school uniforms for a variety of reasons. If the parents and students realize that uniforms will benefit them in the long run they may change their minds. There are many advantages to school uniforms, including academic advantages, social outcomes, behavioral issues, safety and cost of uniforms. Research is needed because elementary schools will benefit more if they had a school uniform policy enforced. Literature Review School uniforms have been the cause of many jokes and harassment to those who wore them. In the past, public schools considered uniforms old and out dated trends, though recently many public schools are starting to implement and enforce a uniform policy. The implementation of a school uniform policy is important if we are still striving to improve our students. The arguments against them are fading while the positive reasons for promoting school uniforms are gaining ground. Some of the possible benefits are safety, cost, uniformity and violence in academics instead of fashions. According to Boutelle (2008), school uniforms in today’s society â€Å"promote school safety and enhance the learning environment, and diminish the clothing completion† (p. 3). School uniforms unify a school and help the blending of the school cultures, instead of separating the students. Along with school uniforms there is a boost in academic performance. With the United States dropping behind other developed nation ranking in at number 18 of 24 (Boutelle, 2007), this is low for a nation that is spending a lot on education every year. Students are losing focus on school and are competing for what the newest fashion or gadget rather than focusing on school these days. With the addition of school uniforms in American society, students can focus more on their classes rather than social factors that students focus on when there is no school uniform and the dress code is not strict. With the addition of school uniforms in public schools students are bonding together helping each other feel like they are accepted and part of a much bigger picture than just them. Everyone wearing uniforms also makes it very easy to recognize people who are not supposed to be there or can make an intruder stand out in a crowd. The Department of Education gave out manuals to all of the nation’s 16,000 school districts with suggestions to make school uniforms mandatory and model programs that are in a few public schools (Brunsma, 119). Reasons for implementing uniforms included: reduce peer pressure, increase school pride, gear focus more to learning, assist in discipline problems, and create a more work-like atmosphere with less distractions and expense. Schools that have significant problems are mostly likely to have school uniforms. Having a good overlap of a zero-tolerance policies and school uniform policies do not need the security guards, metal detectors, sign-in policies, or the limited restroom time (Brunsma, p. 51). Many parents are faced with the dilemma of outfitting their children in the latest trends or putting money towards more important things like saving for their children’s college education. Some families are unable to afford the popular named brand clothing that their children desires, which make the children, feel inadequate in school when they are forced to wear lesser brand clothes. Granted, the cost may be a bit more substantial in the beginning, but the uniforms will last longer which means there is less out-of-pocket expense for replacement articles. With uniforms, the parents may only have to purchase two or three sets compared to several pairs of bottoms and tops. Uniforms are more durable and can be washed more frequently compared to regular clothes. This makes them the better option not only for lower income families, but all families in general. Parents claim that uniforms will cost the families more money in the long run because parents will be forced to buy the uniforms and regular clothing for their children to wear when they are not in school. The cost for parents may double that of just buying traditional school clothes. Although this is partly true that parents would be faced making additional purchases for their children, in reality, should still be spending less money. Since uniforms are more durable, the parents only need to buy a limited supply and since the children will only be wearing their regular clothes outside of school, parents will not have to buy as many outfits. Most children wear out their clothes while in school. Since this is not an issue with the uniforms because they are worn during school hours only the traditional street clothes will last longer, hence saving the parents money in the long run. Also without the constant competition in schools, children may not feel the need to have the latest brands and styles as they would if they were wearing the clothes to school on a daily basis around other social classes. There are some objections to having children wear uniforms in school. The most popular one is the price of the uniforms; sometimes they may cost a lot depending on the company from which they are purchased. If the school does not go through a certain company but just asks the parents to buy certain colored shirts and pants, with no form f a logo on them, this would help make the cost of the uniform a lot less. Also, if the parents financially could not afford to buy the uniforms, then the parents would have to show proof of this and file for help with school board, which could provide them with a small grant to be used on the uniforms. In California, parents from low-income families are entitled to financial help and are able to receive assistance in purchasing the u niforms (Konheim-Kalkstein, 2006). Lake Forest School District in Delaware does not supplement the cost of the uniforms to low income families but if a child is in need they do go case by case. The school nurse keeps uniforms on stock and the local church also supplies the uniforms (Ms. Lands). Today’s style of uniforms is more relaxed than what they were before. The boys would wear dark slacks, white shirts and a tie and the girls wore a traditional blazer, white blouse and a plaid skirt. Now they can wear khaki pants or blue jeans with a white T-shirt, denim shirt or skirts. The largest manufacture French Toast has more than 4,000 school uniform items (Anderson, 2004). On the FrenchToast. com website short sleeve dress shirts with collar for boys cost $9. 98, pants $16. 8 and for girls the blouses and skirts are $9. 98 and pants are $14. 98. If parents could get them on sale they would defiantly save money. French Toast has a â€Å"Dollar in Uniform† fundraising event going on right now if the parents order from their website than the school they select will get a five percent cash back. Not only do mandatory uniform policies for public schools offer the pot ential for higher educational benefits and improved student discipline, school uniforms dissolve social boundaries between classmates. Students are no longer judged based off their appearance but by who they are on the inside. There is no more competition between social classes that these students may have otherwise felt and they work together as a team and share a common pride. All students will feel a sense of belonging. No longer will lower income children be labeled as poor based on their clothing. All children will appear as equals in the classroom and will be treated as such (Viadero, 2005). School violence can be greatly reduced by the use of school uniforms. With kids unable to noticeably tell or distinguish which kids belong to what gangs in school if any at all. Also, with uniforms it’s much harder to tell which kids come are wealthy and which kids come from needy families. This can relieve kids of the stress that social economic status can bring. With uniforms children blend, which helps kids see who the actual person is rather then who or where they came from or what their culture is or background. Stepping into any public school with a normal dress code during lunch is evidence of the different groups in a school including different educational and social statuses. Some school gangs separate themselves by their clothes. At any moment there could be a confrontation between any of these groups and instantly a conflict has started or worse school violence could happen between people. When something happens everything is stopped until the situation gets resolved whether it’s broken up by the school cop, teachers, or resolved between the people it happened between. Some of this can be stopped, as Bill Clinton said in his 1996 State of Union Address â€Å"I challenge all our schools to teach character education, to teach good values and good citizenship. And if it means that teenager will stop killing each other over designer jackets, then our public schools should be able to require their students to wear school uniform. In the first year of using school uniform Long Beach, California, the school officials found that suspensions dropped by 28 percent; assault and battery decreased 34 percent fighting decreased 56 percent; sex offenses decreased 74 percent; vandalism decreased 18 percent and school crime decreased 86 percent (Brunsma, p. 36). With less violence in the school, more students want to come to school. Therefore more students would be more interested in going to school (Konheim-Kalkstein, 2006). RESULTS The school uniforms maybe a means of improving our efforts to help students in becoming healthier, making them a better citizen in their community and being an interest in our society. Realizing that the success of this policy may depend on each individual school system and their needs, and knowing a school uniform policy is not good for every school is of utmost importance. The studies that have been done have lacked the evidence that supports the school uniforms. Some schools might benefit from a school uniform policy. When adopting a school uniform policy many schools also adopted other new programs at the same time. It was unclear as to what exactly created the successes that were notable in the studies. DISCUSSION School Uniforms affect schools in a better way, appears that only when the school and community have done research and done their homework. The successful schools first compiled reasons for wanting school uniforms and then decided if they were relevant or not. There were surveys taken of staff, parents and the community to find out what the level of support was for the administration if they had to enforce a school uniform policy. Several steps were conducting and it appeared to work for many school districts. It is important to listen to everyone concerning the adoption of a uniform policy (Brunsma, 2006, p. 116). Slowly moving to give the community time to think about the positives and negatives of their decision is must. When wanting to implement the uniforms the style and nature should be considered as well the school history (McBrayer, p. 126). The students should always be involved in the decision making and choices, but they may not make the final decision. Parents and schools need to decide what is safest and healthiest for all and not just the individual. There were other changes incorporated in the schools at the same time the school uniform policy was adopted. Some examples of the changes that took place with the uniform policy adoptions were; changes in the curriculum, new problems solving curriculums, more teachers in the hallways between classes, and new discipline procedures. Changes are continuous and therefore it is difficult to only rely on one at a time. It is a very difficult job for administrators to develop safe and healthy schools. However, there are times that an administrator may determine a factor in the success of the school’s dress code, no dress code, or uniform policy. Consistency is very important part of keeping the students safe. CONCLUSION For the support of school uniforms the research of evidence, or the lack thereof, it is recommended that each school districts review the information concerning school uniform policies. Probably what would be best is observing a school that already has uniforms. Members involved should observe a school similar to their own; rural, urban or suburban, size and community standards. Members should also recognize and consider steps taken by other schools when they first enforced the school uniforms. It is very important to learn as much as they can about mistakes that took place at the other schools and consider possible successful alternatives. When putting a school uniform policy into effect everyone involved should have a discussion with the community including the students. Parents, students, administrators, teachers, support staff, and board members are all part of the community and should have a decision in the final decision. In the decision making they need to also discuss the prices of the uniforms and if there is going to be help for the ones who cannot afford paying for them. The future of our society depends on confident, inclusive, and caring people focused on valuing the skills, abilities and talents of all the decision makers. I believe that all students deserve a safe learning environment. School uniforms might be the best solutions to the public elementary schools education needs to stop the competitiveness of clothes and create better learning environments in student’s achievements and positive social outcomes. Anderson, W. 2004, February). School dress codes and uniform policies. College of Education, University of Oregon. Eric Digest, 148. Boutelle, M. (2008, February). Uniforms: Are They a Good Fit? Education Digest, 73, 34-37. Brunsma, D. (2004). The school uniform movement and what it tells us about American education. Maryland: Rowman and Littlefield Education. Brunsma, D. ( 2006, Jan/Feb). School uniform policies in public school. Principal, 85, 50-53. Brunsma, D. (2006). Uniforms in public schools A decade of research and debate. Maryland: Rowman and Littlefield Education. Darden, E. (2008, January). What Not to Wear. American School Board Journal, 195, 36-37. French Toast Official School Wear http://frenchtoast. com/jump. jsp? itemID=0&itemType=HOME_PAGE&cobrand=www. frenchtoast. com Konheim-Kalkstein, Y. (2006, August). A uniform look. American School Board Journal, 193, 25-27. McBrayer, S. (2007, September). The school uniform movement and what it tells us about American education: A Symbolic Crusade. Catholic Education: A Journal of Inquiry and Practice, 11, 124-126. Viadero, D. (2005, January). Uniform effects? Schools cite benefits of student uniforms, but researchers see little evidence of effectiveness. Education Week, 24, 27-29.