Thursday, November 28, 2019

Dream School Essays - Youth, Disability, Segregation,

Dream School I am going to write my paper on my vision of the perfect school. In describing my dream school I will explain how it will operate, involve special education students and prepare students for life after high school. A strong site based administration is not only my preference, but is also the system that is most effective. I will first identify the individual positions of my dream school and then define their roles. I will call my school Dream High School. Dream High will have a traditional administrative chain, consisting of a principal and a vice-principal. There would be a dean of discipline for each grade, and a FAC (Faculty Advisory Committee) made up of two teacher representatives from each grade; one person from the classified staff and two from the parent teacher association. There will also be one student from each grade on the FAC. With the assistance of the two deans of discipline, the student body would establish a Peer Court. This would consist of seven members elected from the student body at large. Dream Supreme Court would be made up of the principal, vice principle, both deans and two teacher representatives. The principal would be responsible, primarily, for the business management of the school. Budgets, building, schedules, transportation and personnel issues fall into the area covered by the principal. The vice-principal would assist the principal in all areas. In addition, the VP must deal with staff development concerns. He or she will facilitate the mentoring program, manage the training schedules and ensure that all staff is allowed to attend seminars each year to further their expertise. All discipline issues not covered by the PEER COURT system-suspension, expulsion, safety- will be dealt with by the deans of discipline. The PEER COURT would be responsible for holding weekly sessions to address routine concerns. Students' accused of violating a rule will come before the PEER COURT for a hearing. In my school the accused will have an opportunity to present their side, witnesses may be called and may testify. The PEER COURT will then determine guilt and impose consequences. The accused may appeal to the deans of discipline. The VP and deans must approve of the imposed consequences. The Dream Supreme Court must automatically intervene when issues of safety, security, and or state law are involved. Otherwise, the decisions of the peer court are final. The Parent Teacher Association is an integral part of the running of my school. Formally, they are represented on the FAC. It is the representatives' responsibility to bring to light concerns, issues and desires of the community. It is an absolute mandate that the staff be responsive to community concerns. The school, primarily through the PTA, must actively seek not only their in-put regarding concerns, but also their needs and wants. The expertise of everyone in the site community must be sought to enhance the overall effectiveness. Each professional at Dream High will be assigned to his or her best area of expertise. The staff would have the FAC to deal with their issues while the students would have representatives on the FAC as well as their own PEER COURT. I believe that when those involved have direct control over their lives, the results will benefit all involved. Giving control to the local community, students and staff members will increase the feeling of belonging and investment of all who come in contact with the school. DREAM SCHOOL ISSUE: SPECIAL ED DISCIPLINE Dream High will include its Special Ed students with the mainstream population with regards to discipline. Since federal law interjects formal discipline guidelines, someone must be placed in charge to over see this process. The case manager (Special Ed teacher) for each student will act as the"legal advocate" for the Special ED student on his or her caseload. This utilization of the teacher will accomplish several things: First, federal and state laws will be followed. It is simply not reasonable to expect all staff, FAC members and student PEER COURT officers to be familiar with all legal statues. Therefore, the case manager will guide all involved through the discipline process. Next is the possible communication concern. Many Special Ed students are dramatically delayed in the communication and social skill areas. Having the case manager present will alleviate some of this concern. The student(s) will certainly feel much more comfortable with a known spokesperson. The student will be able to "voice" his or her case through the advocate. IDEA mandates that schools discipline Special ED students as mainstream students are treated. Therefore, it will

Monday, November 25, 2019

Site, Sight, and the Spell Check Syndrome

Site, Sight, and the Spell Check Syndrome Site, Sight, and the Spell Check Syndrome Site, Sight, and the Spell Check Syndrome By Maeve Maddox Today I found a plastic bag on my front door. A yellow sticker identified it as a bag for the Scouting Food Drive. Being a writer and a grammar nazi, I never just glance at things like this. It is my curse to read labels in their entirety. In small print I was instructed to leave the bag, with food inside, in plain site on my porch. My first surge of censure was for the Scout leaders who had submitted incorrect copy to the printer. The second surge was for the printer who hadnt bothered to read the copy for errors before printing it. Then, at the very bottom of the sticker, I saw that the printing had been donated by a local corporate entity, a very large company with international sales. Im sure it must employ educated people to see to such things as printing and advertising. So why in plain site and not, as the context called for, in plain sight? Id bet that the person responsible knows the difference between site and sight and would redden in embarrassment if called on it. I think the error is a symptom of Spell Check Syndrome. Spell check catches only those misspellings that do not represent any word at all. It will catch such howlers as recieve, seperate, and dalmation, but not homonyms like site/sight, and rite/right. Computers are great, but they are no substitute for the human brain. Run spell check by all means. But then run your own eyes over your writing before submitting it. In its usual use, site (noun) is an area, a piece of ground, a place: This is the site of a prehistoric village. As a noun, sight is the sense of vision, or something seen: Louis Braille lost his sight at the age of three. A favorite tourist sight is the Tower of London. Sight can also refer to the device on a gun that helps one to aim: The sight on this rifle is slightly bent. Sight can be a verb: Tell me when you sight the buffalo herd. Sight occurs in several idioms: Keep the enemy in sight. Youre a sight for sore eyes (i.e., a welcome sight). His newest book is out of sight (beyond comparison)! (slang) Dear me, you look a sight (have a bedraggled or disreputable appearance)! Theyve got a sight of grandchildren (a great many). (dialect) Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Spelling category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:What is the Difference Between "These" and "Those"?"Latter," not "Ladder"List of 50 Compliments and Nice Things to Say!

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Personal statement Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 5

Personal Statement Example Nevertheless, according to the constitution, the most important right that Kurdistan region had was the right to exploit its own natural resources. This right led to Kurdistan region being a place where major energy companies wanted to explore and invest in the region’s natural resources such as oil and gas. The energy business became large and had high demand therefore there arose the need for professionals such as lawyers to help with the formulation of contracts and for setting out various laws regarding energy. In my work experience at a law firm, I realized that I have to improve certain skills. These skills include acquiring knowledge on English as a language, legal writing skills, ability to do legal research based on international standards and communication skills with international lawyers and managers. I can only acquire these skills academically. This is mainly the chief reason why I desire an LL.M. degree in a country that uses English as its national language. I chose to do law because I have a passion for this profession. According to me, it as a method to lend a hand to people in their legal matters and become a legal adviser to many people as well. In my country, there is lack of adequate information and legal knowledge regarding energy. An LL.M. in energy degree will equip me with the right information that I can use to help my country with when it comes to legal matters concerning energy. I will have the ability to assist my nation expand its international market by formulating the correct legal contracts required, advising the government on legal matters concerning energy, and ensuring that my country is not exploited by other countries that want to invest in the energy business. In a this realm, I will be able to help the country understand the Iraqi people due to my acquired communication skills. I look forward to to acquiring skills that will aid me improve my ability as a professional. These

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Modern China Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 1

Modern China - Essay Example Oftentimes, the economic model of development propagated by China today is described as â€Å"authoritarian capitalism† (Gat, 2007, 33). China has recently taken cautious steps towards the embrace of market-oriented principles and while capitalism and entrepreneurship remain relatively new concepts, these concepts are starting to take hold. How has China developed over the past century? What is the recent history of China and how does this history explain the model of development which it has decided to pursue? How has the Chinese economy grown under globalization and has the ideological underpinnings of socialism in China evolved or simply withered away? These questions, and many more, will be addressed in this exploration of China and its cautious embrace of capitalism and entrepreneurship today. An ancient civilization with an extensive tradition of dynastic and centralized rulers, China was been ruled by the Communist Party of China (CCP) since the successful overthrow of the Nationalist government in 1949. Establishing a socialist form of government through the creation of the People’s Republic of China, the Communist Party of China is avowedly socialist and sought to impart communist teachings throughout this vast country. Accordingly, the communist leaders initially saw capitalism through a skeptic’s lens and implemented profound overhauls of the economic structure of Chinese society. Thus, the implementation of a series of top-down economic initiatives such as a series of Five Year Plans, the Great Leap Forward and the often-times violent Cultural revolution, all paved the way for the establishment of a socialist society in which economic matters were dictated by the state and implemented accordingly. Significantly, socialism provided the ideological impe tus for the Communist Party of China to govern. Thus, while implementing an economic overhaul of the country, the socialist credentials of

Monday, November 18, 2019

Banking Act of 1933 Glass-Steagall Act Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Banking Act of 1933 Glass-Steagall Act - Article Example Senator Carter Glass, who was a former treasury secretary, is the main man behind the act. Henry Steagall was the other sponsor. The act applies to both national banks and state chartered banks (Dept 12). Though the Glass-Steagall act, the government upheld its role to provide quality, public policy. It can be argued that the act went a long way in easing the depression. This occurred because of the measures the Act put in place to prevent further losses. For instance, limiting commercial banks investments prevented underwriting by banks. This allowed for faster liquidation of assets by banks. This led to separation of commercial banks from investment banks. In 1999, the Gramm-Leach-Bliley act repealed the provision that restricted banks and securities firms affiliations section 16 prevented the purchasing or selling of securities by national banks except when the bank acts as a customer’s agent (Dept 23). Under the act, the government tried to resolve the conflict of interest that arises with regard to granting credit. Section 32 prevented common directors and employees access to credit Four sections of the act,sections16,20,21and 32,laid out the provisions for acquiring secur ities, both directly and indirectly in case the bank needed fast access to short term credit. For instance, section 11(a) prevented Federal Reserve member banks from placing loans to dealers or brokers. The Act limited the previous enormous power of the banks. This Act prevents bank’s ability to expand greatly, which was possible to achieve by creating a barrier between banking and insurance against aggressive expansions. As a result of the bank’s risky moves, there was the provision for insurance to minimize losses. Over time, limits on insurance from 2,500 USD in 1934, continues to take place. Currently the FIDC provides insurance for safety deposits of member banks of up to 250,000 USD per depositor in each bank initially, under the act. FDIC had the mandate to regulate and supervise banks, which are non-members in a given State. Through the US treasury, and Federal Reserve an initial 289 million funded the Act. The Act through FDIC also prohibited payment of intere sts on checking accounts. There are also provisions in the Act, which allow national banks to have branches statewide depending on the state’s law (Dept 20). The Glass-Steagall Act provided the government with the opportunity of displaying its understanding of the public’s interest. The institution of the Act by the government proved beneficial in helping the public deal with the recovery period after the effects of the Great economic depression of 1929. The creation of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) affected the public on a personal level compared to the other reforms brought about by this Act. This is because the FDIC created a buffer for citizens making a deposit of over 5,000 USD by insuring the money deposited. This served to eliminate any unforeseen, future risks, for example, an economic depression. As a result, individuals had the opportunity of getting their money back in the event of an economic catastrophe. The FDIC also helped to reaffirm the government’s commitment in safeguarding the financial welfare of its citizens (Dept 25). The different branches of the government played an integral role with regard to

Friday, November 15, 2019

Enhancing Democracy Through Digital Communication Systems Media Essay

Enhancing Democracy Through Digital Communication Systems Media Essay In this essay, I aim to discuss whether the digital communication systems enhance democracy by offering greater access and participation to citizens as compared to traditional media. I will address this by defining the terms digital communication systems and democracy and exploring the differences in digital communication systems and traditional media and how these differences lead to enhancement of democracy on digital communication systems. Digital communication systems also known as network communication or new media simply refers to a constant reformulation of the relations between the media forms, interconnecting interpersonal communications established between different media in a network based on the interactions between users, mass media companies and, perhaps, regulators (Cardoso, 2011: 119). The digital communication system, as the name suggests, makes use of digital technology and devices and comprises of the Internet, mobile communications, and social media and so on. As compared to traditional media, such as the newspaper, radio and television, digital media offers more opportunities of democracy as it provides greater accessibility and allows for more participation by consumers. The arrival of social platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, MySpace and others changed the Internet (Cardoso, 2011: 131). These social platforms have the most impact on how digital communication systems enhance democracy. ENHANCING DEMOCRACY THROUGH DIGITAL COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS Firstly, content flow is less controlled over the Internet as compared to traditional media. Traditional media is still largely regulated by the state and/or media owners. Depending on the country, the media institution may be governed by the state or by private media owners. The owners of the institution direct the type of news that is broadcasted. Simply put within a specific old medium, people do not have many choices (Wei and Hindman, 2011: 220) An example would be the direction taken by media in Singapore. The media organisation in Singapore, MediaCorp, is owned by the Government and therefore, media is heavily regulated and news published will either be neutral or in favour of the Government. Not just with news, the types of programmes aired by MediaCorp are more conservative and slanted towards the Government (Seow, 1998: 183 194). Only through the Web are citizens able to express their views on the Government and its policies and receive and collect more diverse opinions from fellow citizens and not just a one-sided direction by the traditional media. With digital media, content on the Internet is available to almost everyone and anyone. There are limitations and regulations on the Web when it comes to content sourcing, however, with the advancement of technology; it is easily possible to get round that limitation and regulation. (Jin, 2011: 42) According to Bonfadelli, Wei and Hindman states that in contrast to traditional mass media, the new media such as the Internet provide much more diverse content and an unprecedented level of user controllability. The content supply on the Internet is not structured by journalists and is, therefore, heterogeneous and potentially unlimited (Wei and Hindman, 2011: 220). Jin gives an example of the criminal conviction of Conrad Black. As one of the most influential controllers of the global commercial media system, the conviction of Black confirms that people should not place all their trust in the mainstream media (Jin, 2011: 43) He explains that there is a need for the audience to produce alternative information sources and platforms for expression of their opinions. Only then will society be able to expand the avenues within interactive social networking and communication (Jin, 2011: 43). All the audience needs is a click of the button on their laptops or mobile phones and news and information will be readily available for consumption. A citizen from Australia can find out about happenings in Africa and be able to obtain viewpoints from different sources, and not just the one perspective that traditional media provides, all while on-the-go or from the comfort of his house. Secondly, audience participation helps enhance democracy as it becomes more active with the development of social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube as well as with the growth of blogs and forums. Consumers interact on these sites and get almost instantaneous response. The popularity of these sites also gives rise to citizen journalism, whereby the consumers become the producers, putting their content whether its their view on an issue or an original work of theirs onto the Web. The intent of this citizen participation is to provide independent, reliable, accurate, widespread and appropriate information that is required to strengthen the democracy (Riaz and Pasha, 2011: 90) All these forms of audience participation give voice to the issues of the world. The digital communication systems can have political impact on a country as well. A countrys laws and policies can be shaped as the citizens use of digital communications system changes. For example, some individuals and parties have taken to the Web for their presidential elections, such as the Barrack Obamas presidential campaign. Obamas successful online strategy in 2008, with the use of social networking sites saw Obama winning the election to becoming the President of the United States. With the elections on-going in the states now, President Obama has taken to social media again Reddit in particular. This time, Mitt Romney followed suit, taking over Twitter to gain foothold. Social media makes it easier for candidates to interact with the citizens and vice versa. Global Voices Online is an example of how audience participation online encourages democracy. According to its website, Global Voice seeks to aggregate, curate and amplify the global conversation online shining light on places and people other media often ignore. We work to develop tools, institutions and relationships that will help all voices, everywhere, to be heard (Global Voice, 2011). Global Voices Online acts as a platform for free, diverse and neutral voices (Riaz and Pasha, 2011: 90) and having more voices in the public arena can add to a more lively democracy (Riaz and Pasha, 2011: 93). These multimedia platforms have enabled new ways of bearing witness through technology and the ability to create media events; raise issues of aesthetics, cognitive distance or proximity as well as our ability to empathize and relate to human suffering (Jin, 2011: 124). This differs from traditional media where feedback and a consumers voice can only be heard if the media institution decides to broadcast it. Therefore, even traditional media institutions have jumped onto the Internet and social media bandwagon, inheriting the notion that it is important to keep abreast with of whats going on in the world so as to be not caught off-guard and be able to react accordingly (Cardoso, 2011: 120) Thirdly, the intercreative possibilities of social Web practices are leading to different kinds of representations and constructions of truth (Boler, 2008: 6). Boler explains the statement using the Persian Gulf War in 1991 as an example. She explains that one could not evidence the deceptions of television news spin easily as public archives could not be made, but now, information and sometimes, videos are easily accessible off the Internet that consumers now are able to easily determine what is factual and what is not. Consumers now demand and expect the truth. With the reach and accessibility of digital communications, political, education and the other institutions are pressured into doing the right thing and media institutions are pressured to report the truth. This is because citizen journalists have wrecked the stories about political corruption, police violence and other concerning issues to local and international communities (Riaz and Pasha, 2011: 92). It has become harder for the media, Government and any other corporations to get away when injustice has been done by them. An example would be China. After the Sichuan earthquake in 2008, China experienced an unprecedented openness in its media coverage (BBC News, 2008). Citizen journalism started flourishing as the Chinese media (were) instructed not to cover this kind of story, and a member of BBC and five other journalists were detained for a short time for approaching the parents (BBC News, 2008). This kind of story referring to articles on local corruption resulting in shoddy construction (BBC News, 2008). Unless a valid explanation was provided by the Chinese Government, talk on corruption causing the death of 87,000 citizens will not disappear. The Chinese Government then went to the extreme by sentencing activists who were investigating the cause of collapsing buildings to jail. The Chinese media might have avoided reporting on corruption and the cause of collapsed buildings, but it was not possible to stop citizen journalism from spreading like wildfire. DIGITAL COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS AGAINST DEMOCRACY The Internet could also become a double-edged sword as the freedom on the Web leads to misuse of the freedom and of the technology. As content become increasingly available to the public, piracy and copyright has become a major concern. The public now has free access to information and entertainment that previously had to be paid for. Now that its free, would the consumers want to pay for it? They do not, which is what led to the drastic increase in consumers downloading songs, videos and even e-books online through sites like LimeWire. In situations like this, the Internet does not enhance democracy but instead, undermines the value of the work by the original owner. CONCLUSION The digital communication systems have greatly impacted not just the media industry, but also on education, politics, cultural and social aspects. The consumers rely on the media to separate facts and tangible realities from assumptions and spin, to provide a reliable account of what is really going on (Hettiarachchi, 2011). Only with an unbiased and factual report will the consumers be able to form their own viewpoint. With less regulated content flow, audience participation on social media and the constant demand for truth, digital communication systems are increasingly enhancing democracy as compared to traditional media.

Wednesday, November 13, 2019

A Comparison Of The Women Of Wharton And Deledda :: essays research papers fc

A Comparison of the Women of Wharton and Deledda   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Two writers, both women, both from different backgrounds. Edith Wharton was high society. Grazia Deledda was a commoner from another country. Though both wrote almost exclusively to their won regions, their portrayal of women was quite similar. In Wharton's Ethan Frome she has two women, both distinct from one another. In Deledda's La Madre, two women also make up the bulk of the story. But there are many more similarities in these works. Released only nine years apart both novels deal with a struggle of the heart, of the faith, and a struggle of their moral soundness. And in both stories the women are portrayed on opposite sides of the conflict. In this paper I intend to show an apparent bond between these stories' characters, and the gamut ran between the female personae.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Published in 1911, Ethan Frome is considered one of the best contemporary short novels of its time. Ethan Frome illuminated Wharton's familiar writing style with a spark of imagination. In this story, as I expressed in the opening paragraph, lie two women. The first is Zenobia Frome, or Zeena for short. In her late twenties, she suffers from a compounded sickness that was thought to be brought on by her taking care of Ethan's mother and her absorption of life's burdens. In this story she is the conflicting character.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The other woman is a young Mattie Silver, the cousin of Zeena and the housemaid of the Fromes. Mattie is about twenty-one years old and not too much of a house keeper since she is small and weak and somewhat clumsy. But nevertheless she caught the eye of Ethan Frome who would fetch her on nights of town revelry, and with that grew a forbidden love. This is the conflict of the story.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In 1920, Grazia Deledda published La Madre. Maria Maddalena is the mother of the priest who, throughout the book, falls to the wayside under temptation. She is a very old-fashioned woman as is the whole town. Overprotective of her son, she helps build up the climactic theme of faith. The other woman is Agnes, a well-to-do townswoman who is the object of the priest's backslidden affair. Unlike Ethan Frome, in this story the characters of conflict shift between the two women. Now let's look at the comparable likeness of the women in both stories.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  To look at Maria Maddalena and Zeena Frome in the same frame would not be a far stretch. Both are very controlling and try to rule the lives of the men around them.