Dorothy Livesay’s poem “Experience” Essay

Dorothy Livesay’s poem â€Å"Experience† teaches that if one learns solely from outside sources, then one will never know what it is to feel independence and self-growth. By examining the authors personal experiences, the imagery, and the symbolism used the above statement will be proven true. Dorothy’s personal life had a large influence on her opinion about independence and self-growth. Her lengthy career spanning over 5 decades, her involvement with politics and her general travelling not only across Canada but Paris and the soviet union kept her constantly experiencing new environments. This greatly affected her career as a poet, she let herself be influenced by all cultures and her surroundings. She began travelling independently at a young age and co inherently matured quickly, proving the idea that personal experience and learning first hand is essential in fully understanding all aspects of life. Livesay’s comparison of having situations and experiences forced upon you to the idea of eating bitter and stale bread leaving her feeling tired and hollow shows a direct relation to the idea of maturing and growing as a person. â€Å"So I went on my own road, tasting all fruits, all breads.† As she grows up she has everyone around her assuming they know what’s best and force her to follow their ideas without any say. This hurts her ability to be independent and leaves her completely reliant on others and lacking personality and imagination. Realising this as she continues to grow older she decides to travel and experience new ideas and ways of living to learn for herself what’s best for her personally. Although it is not guaranteed that everything you come across will have positive effects on your life, eventually what you’re looking for will come across and you will grow as an individual. In the poem, Livesay uses bread as a symbol for the situations and experiences forced upon you by others, and fruits as the adventures you make and learn from independently. The bread is described as being bitter and stale, leaving her heart feeling empty and unsatisfied†¦as if something was  missing. Once the decision was made to travel and experience everything for herself – both breads and fruits – she felt like that part of her that was missing had been filled and completed. One could infer that the part of her that was missing was her independence and maturity, which she developed as she continued to travel and work. â€Å"Tasting all fruits, all breads: And if some were bitter, others were sweet. So I learned, how the heart is fed.† Dorothy Livesay’s personal life following the idea of independence and growth through travelling alone and learning first hand, the imagery developed in the descriptions of how the bread and fruits taste, and the use of symbolism turning the idea of bread into undesirable events and fruits being the idea of self-growth and maturity show that the core message in Dorothy Livesay’s poem â€Å"Experience† is one cannot grow and mature as a person if they learn solely from outside sources.

Gardenia Bakeries Case Study Essay

This is a strategic marketing plan for Gardenia Bakeries (KL) Sdn Bhd to sell their product â€Å"Auntie Rosie’s Natural Pandan Kaya† to the country â€Å"Australia† in the state of â€Å"Sydney†. 2.0 Overview of Gardenia Bakeries Sdn Bhd 2.1 General Information of Gardenia Bakeries (KL) Sdn Bhd In 1969, an American named Horatio Sye Slocumm was sent by International Executive Service Corporation (IESC) to East Malaysia to start a bakery. Gardenia was then born. Gardenia Bakeries (KL) Sdn Bhd rolled the first loaf of bread off its line in 1986. Within four short years, it became the bread market leader with an astounding 99 percent brand recall rate and 80 percent top-of-mind recall. Gardenia’s range of products grew and evolved through the years, becoming better and better with each step. Leveraging on its brand strength, Gardenia now produces a variety of baked products to satisfy consumers’ demands. 2.2 Products of Gardenia Bakeries (KL) Sdn Bhd There are 11 types of product that Gardenia Bakeries produce, 10 types of it are all breads and the specific one is the coconut jam called â€Å"Auntie Rosie’s Natural Pandan Kaya†. We are only focusing on the product â€Å"Auntie Rosie’s Natural Pandan Kaya† which is very popular in Malaysia. â€Å"Auntie Rosie’s Natural Pandan Kaya† is a coconut jam made from coconut milk, egg, caramel, pandan leaf extract, food conditioner, salt and sweetened with sugar. 2.3 Pricing The pricing strategy for Gardenia Bakeries (KL) Sdn Bhd that is used upon â€Å"Auntie Rosie’s Natural Pandan Kaya† is the Market oriented pricing strategy. Market oriented pricing strategy is setting a price based upon analysis and research compiled from the target market. This means that marketers will set prices depending on the results from the research. The price that Gardenia set for â€Å"Auntie Rosie’s Natural Pandan Kaya† is RM2.50, but there is also competitive rival that throw prices such is RM1.80 and RM2.00. Gardenia would stay firm with this price due to its quality and well known brand over all these years. 2.4 Place/Distribution Gardenia Bakeries (KL) Sdn Bhd doesn’t have its own outlets but it depend on grocery stall, hypermarket and mini markets to distribute its products. Gardenia Bakeries (KL) Sdn Bhd provides their product to places like big hypermarkets and mini markets along the street. As long there is stalls or outlet selling Gardenia bread products, there are sure â€Å"Auntie Rosie’s Natural Pandan Kaya† for sale. 2.5 Promotion Gardenia Bakeries (KL) Sdn Bhd does not do any promotions. 3.0 Overview of Sydney, Australia 3.1 General Information about Sydney, Australia Sydney is the state capital of New South Wales and the most populous city in Australia. It is on Australia’s south-east coast, on the Tasman Sea. In June 2010 the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people. Inhabitants of Sydney are called Sydneysiders, comprising a cosmopolitan and international population. 3.2 State of the economy The economy of Australia is one of the largest capitalist economies in the world with a GDP of US$1.57 trillion. Australia’s total wealth is 6.4 trillion dollars. In 2011, it was the 13th largest national economy by nominal GDP and the 17th-largest measured by â€Å"PPP adjusted GDP†, about 1.7% of the world economy. Australia is the 19th-largest importer and 19th-largest exporter. Economy of Australia is quarterly forecasted by the Reserve Bank of Australia. Australian National University in Canberra also supplements Probabilistic interest rate setting project for the Australian Economy, which is compiled by Shadow board members from the ANU academic staff. 3.3 Reasons for selection Australia is one of the richest countries to fulfill purchasing needs. I would target Sydney is because it is one of the largest city in Australia. In Sydney, there is a big population of people there and it includes a lot of overseas student from Malaysia too. The main reason I target Sydney Australia is because the coconut jam would be easier to spread and sell for a head start because there is a lot of Malaysian and Singapore students studying there. 4.0 Pestel Analysis Pestle Analysis of Australia Factors Facts Findings Political Australia is a political stable country. Legally is not a problem to sell â€Å"Auntie Rosie’s Natural Pandan Kaya† there. Selling â€Å"Auntie Rosie’s Natural Pandan Kaya† is not a problem. However Gardenia Bakeries (KL) Sdn Bhd must expect competition in this industry Economic Australia’s economy is doing very well. GDP growth is 3.4% and the per capital income is one of the highest in the world. The economy is generating opportunity for Gardenia Bakeries (KL) Sdn Bhd to sell â€Å"Auntie Rosie’s Natural Pandan Kaya† Social & Culture New Entrants/ Potential Competitors: It is predicted to have more competitions entering into the market 5 Consumer Bargaining Power 6.0 Entry Strategy The proposed entry strategy for Gardenia Bakeries (KL) Sdn Bhd to enter Sydney, Australia should be â€Å"Indirect Exporting† because Gardenia Bakeries (KL) Sdn Bhd could use a middleman to carry out the responsibility for the selling job to sell it to all the hypermarket and mini market. There are a lot of advantages for doing so. First is the risk would be very low for Gardenia Bakeries (KL) Sdn Bhd and it would be safe to let the local middleman get contacts and to apply all the selling. Secondly because that Gardenia Bakeries (KL) Sdn Bhd is a small firm which limits their export business and it focus more on its own country Malaysia, it could be an advantage for them to expose themselves to the Australian. 7.0 Marketing Mix Proposal 7.1 Product The product’s name â€Å"Auntie Rosie’s Natural Pandan Kaya† should be changed due to the culture there don’t understand what is â€Å"Pandan† and â€Å"Kaya† and I find â€Å"Auntie Rosie† is nobody therefore it should be change. It should be changed to â€Å"Gardenia’s Coconut Jam† which it will suit the environment of Australia directly. 7.2 Pricing The price strategy would be using the Market Penetration Strategy which is to sell it cheaper in the first three to five months and then raise the price to the normal price. I would suggest that the price that we should allocate in Australia is $2.0 Aussie Dollars for each coconut jam and after that it should be raised back to $2.5 Aussie Dollars. 7.3 Place/Distribution We would be having a distributor as middle men to sell to all the hypermarkets, mini markets and even groceries store. We are targeting Sydney as our targeted location to start with first. 7.4 Promotion I would want to sell it with a promotion just for the first month. By purchasing one â€Å"Gardenia’s Coconut Jam† we would free one more for the consumers. So it is a buy one free one promotion. This promotion will only valid for one month. 8.0 Conclusion We look forward to help you implement the plan.

A Study of the Conversion Options for the Bataan

T. S. undertook a study of the options for converting the Bataan Nuclear Power Station to fossil fuel (coal or natural gas) combustion. One aim of the study was to find another market for Philippine and Australian coal or natural gas (LNG). The essential question regarding the Bataan Reactor is: how to obtain a financial return from a very expensive power station that * has never produced electricity; * is costing the Philippinec State a sizeable sum in interest; and * has environmental, safety and social concerns over its use as a nuclear power station. The retrofitting of the turbine generator with a fossil fuel fired steam raising system was suggested as a means of utilising part of the plant, and obtaining some return for past and future expenditure. The report/proposal examined some options for fossil fuel firing, and compared those options with nuclear operation. Background The Bataan Nuclear Power Plant was completed in 1984, whilst construction commenced in 1976. It is a Westinghouse light water reactor, that uses pressurised water as it heat exchange medium between the reactor and the steam generators. Its design thermal capacity is 1876MW(t), whilst its rated power output is 621MW(e)1. The technology that is incorporated into the plant is essentially early seventies, but has been modified to incorporate more recent safety devices, such as those recommended by the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission, after evaluation of the Three Mile Island incident. The plant, which was in the process of commissioning at the time of the EDSA revolution, has not been fired, although nuclear fuel was delivered to it storage facilities. Maintenance has continued, with the integrity of the plant and ancillaries being ensured. Conclusion of Study The Philippine Government has previously stated that the Philippines will have nuclear power, but that power will come from new plant and not the Bataan reactor. President Ramos announced on the 8th October 1994 that the Reactor would be converted to a 1000MW combined cycle gas plant. (Although an announcement for a specific conversion scheme has been made, it is still considered that there is time for other options to be considered. ) We found that conversion is technically possible, but economically unwise. New and dedicated coal or natural gas fired power plants would give much higher efficiencies, and thus would give the Philippines much better value per peso spent on fuel consumed. The M. E. T. T. S. ‘s study concluded that the only way of obtaining a reasonable return from the Bataan ‘machine’ is to use it as a nuclear power plant. Our report specifically came to the following conclusions: * That the use of the present ‘nuclear’ turbine/generator in a fossil fired system would be highly wasteful of energy (fuel), A new pulverised coal power station and/or combined cycle natural gas power stations at other site(s), would be a better investment in terms of fuel efficiency and levellised power costs, * The Bataan site is inappropriate for coal fired plant, due to environmental constraints and materials (coal and ash) handling problems, * More assessable sites could be found for co mbined cycle natural gas fired plants around Manila Bay, and Batangas, * The Bataan reactor has been maintained in a good condition since mothballing, and The reactor is of basically sound design and construction, and could with modest expenditure become one of the most modern and safest light water reactors in East Asia. To fire the plant as a nuclear facility, the sea water intakes to the condensers would need to be cleaned (with some equipment being replaced), some of the reactor monitoring systems would need to be further upgraded, whilst the second power transmission system would need to be reconstructed. Staff would need to be retrained and re-licenced. A description of the study is presented in the attached article by Clarke, Ebeling and Cordero. The article was presenred at The First Philippine International Conference on Energy Efficiency and Demand Side Management, Manila, January 1995. Options for the Conversion of the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant to Fossil Fuel Firing Dr. Michael C. Clarke, Director, M. E. T. T. S. Pty. Ltd. , Sydney, Australia Mr. Douglas R. Ebeling, Associate, M. E. T. T. S. Pty. Ltd. , Sydney, Australia Eng. Donato L. Cordero, Engineering Manager, Bataan Nuclear Power Plant The following Executive Summary of a major report formed the basis of a paper presented at the 1st Philippine Conference on Energy Efficiency and Demand-side Management, Manila, January 1995. ) Capital costs and power generation costs are summarised in Table 1, for one coal conversion option, and the conversion of the plant to natural gas fired, combined cycle operation. For comparison purposes figures are also presented for the refurbishm ent, commissioning and running the plant as a nuclear power station. Electricity costs from nuclear operation are considerably cheaper than for ither the two conversion options. If power costs was the only criteria for operating the plant then nuclear firing would clearly win. Both coal and natural gas conversions will have environmental consequences for the region. By the installation of best available technology and the application of best available practice, the impact will be minimised. The cost of technology and practice however will increase the cost of electricity produced by the plant. Table 1. SUMMARY TABLE, FOSSIL FUEL CONVERSION OPTIONS, BNPP – Revision, March 1995 CONVERSION TO COALCONVERSION TO N. GASNUCLEAR COMPARISON POWER OUTPUT MW(e)8001700 620 ENERGY OUTPUT GWH5,600 (With FGD – 5400)12,2004,613 CAPITAL COST $USm750 (With FGD – 1070)1385380 (UPGRADE) Electricity Cost ? US/kWH4. 82 (With FGD – 5. 94) 5. 24, 4. 34 (FP $230/170)3. 50 Electricity Cost P/kWH1. 21 (With FGD – 1. 49)1. 31, 1. 09 (FP $230/170)0. 88 CAP. COST/POWER OUT0. 94 (With FGD – 1. 34)0. 810. 61 CONSTRUCTION TIME42 MONTHS4218. 24 FGD Flue Gas Desulphurisation (+ Selective Catalytic Reduction) FP Fuel Price, Natural Gas ($US230 /tonne for LNG, $US170 /tonne piped gas) – (Coal $US 55 / tonne) Notes on Table 1 For comparison purposes, the two fossil fuel conversion options and the nuclear comparison have each had the electricity cost based on a pay-back period of twenty years. In each case (for the table) it has been assumed that the full capital cost has been borrowed. When financing packages are being considered, different pay-back periods are likely to be used. The periods are likely to increase with increasing debt. With the natural gas conversion option, an equity contribution would probably be included, since a BOT financing scheme may be used, that ties gas production, reticulation and use into one commercial package. The electricity costs for coal and natural gas conversion are based on a reasonably optimistic scenarios, where no excessive ancillary capital works are charged against the plant. If environmental or other factors require such works, then increase in the electricity cost would occur. It is further considered that the plant required for conversion would be sourced from low cost countries; China, India, Australia, the Philippines etc, as far as possible. The costings for conversion are further premised on the use of the site allocated for construction of PNPP 2, in that it is supplied at no cost, and is geologically stable. If the time required for the construction and commissioning is crucial, then the upgrading of the plant as a nuclear station is clearly the preferred choice. Further, the financial analyses indicate that the nuclear firing of the plant offers the cheapest electricity. Given that the nuclear fuel price is likely to remain stable over the foreseeable future (as against likely rises for coal and natural gas), the nuclear upgrading# and operation offers greater financial certainty to investors. # M. E. T. T. S. ‘s estimate for upgrading the nuclear plant to 1997/8 standards is $US380m. It is backed by further external assessment, and includes new safety features. $US300m is the cost of a basic upgrading based on calculations carried out by the National Power Corporation. SUMMARY – COAL FIRING The conversion of the PNPP I plant to coal firing has some advantages. Coal technology is well proven, and only a small variation in the normal use of that technology is required to convert the plant. The power station will have a capacity similar to the design capacity for the nuclear plant, and will not be the largest plant in the new echelon of Luzon’s power facilities. The plant of 800 MW(e) capacity will be relatively inexpensive at a capital cost of $US505m – without Flue Gas Desulphurisation, Selective Catalytic Reduction, or excessive expenditure on coal or ash handling and ignoring the previous expenditure on the nuclear system. A construction and commissioning period of 42 months is envisaged. The coal option however offers unique co-economic opportunities. The ash waste product would be valuable if used in ancillary industry. By using the Lahar produced by the Pinatubo eruption as an aggregate, with the ash, iron oxide and cement, valuable building materials could be produced. The disadvantages include designing and fitting an environmentally acceptable coal fired power station into the Bataan region. The materials handling alone will create many environmental, management and operational difficulties. The infrastructure requirements for materials handling will also raise engineering and environmental questions that will need to be solved before construction begins. Other environmental questions concerning emission reduction and control must also be answered before work can commence. Another major disadvantage is the requirement for premium fuel, that is expensive in 1994, and in all probability will become relatively more expensive as the demand for ‘clean’ coal increases in the future. SUMMARY – NATURAL GAS FIRING (COMBINED CYCLE, GAS TURBINE) Natural gas provides the cleanest option for the conversion of the Bataan power station to fossil fuel firing. It further offers the most flexible power output to the grid. Options exist for running a part (or whole) of the plant as a single cycle peak load provider, or running the whole plant as a base load facility. The environmental hazard that would be created by such a plant is low compared to coal. Thermal pollution to the sea would be greater than the nuclear option, in that if a 1700MW(e) plant was built with 46% efficiency, the waste heat would be 2000MW(t). This heat would be partially dissipated into the atmosphere (250MW) as against to the sea (1750MW). The additional heat discharge to the sea would be about 500MW(t). NOx emissions can be successfully controlled by modern technology. Steam or water injection, ammonia addition or innovative combustion designs will produce acceptable (but not zero) NOx emissions. At 1700MW(e), the power station would be the largest in the Philippines, and would certainly require a review of the Luzon energy plan. The total consumption of natural gas over a twenty five year period would be 2. 5 TCF; over half the entire Philippine projected resource from Palawan. Over a billion dollars in capital would be needed to build the plant, plus an additional substantial sum to supply the fuel; either as LNG or pipeline gas. The security of a large gas holding area would need to be addressed. Such a holding area and power station would make a relatively easy target when compared to a coal fired plant with coal yards or nuclear facilities. The installation of the gas turbines could be achieved in eighteen months, but the construction of the steam generators and carrying out modifications to the existing plant would take a further twenty four months. From the preliminary financial analysis, the construction of a new combined cycle power station makes better financial sense. A NUCLEAR COMPARISON Under the four headings (Technology, The Environment, Social and Political Concerns, and Economy) that were used to examine the coal-conversion option, a brief summary has been made of the nuclear option for comparison purposes. Technology Light water reactors are a very common type of nuclear reactor. They have good safety records, and most have high capacity factors. There development has been continuous, with technology now being available from Japan, Korea, France, the United Kingdom as well as the United States. They are used in close proximity to the Philippines (Japan, Korea and Taiwan) and have been armarked for use in Indonesia and Malaysia. The Bataan unit is 1970/80’s technology. It is however essentially the same as new units, and could be readily upgraded to 1990’s standards. The Environment The reactor will produce thermal pollution (waste heat) that will be disposed of, off Napot Point to the South China Sea. An environmental impact assessment cleared the plant for its designed heat disposal, and found that localised heating of the sea would not be excessive, given the strong currents that would ensure dispersion of the hot water. No other polluting emissions could be expected from the nuclear power plant. (Accidental emissions of radioactive material, are most unlikely. Once the plant was upgraded to 1997 standards, one accident in a million years could be expected. ) Social and Political Concerns The perceived problems at the Bataan power plant are its greatest liability. These problems include seismic instability, claims of faulty workmanship and the lack of experience of the operators. Many geological and seismic inspections have been carried out on the site, with the result being that no significant risk is apparent. To convince Philippine Society of the seismic safety of the plant, an educational programme would need to be carried out that emphasised the sites stability, and the high seismic safety factor of the plant (0. 4g). Part of the process of refurbishment and upgrading, would be quality assurance on all systems and components of the plant. Modern QA techniques would need to be used to provide the certainty that all significant parts of the plant meet the highest safety and operational standards. Initially foreign experts would be needed to run the plant. The retraining of Philippine staff would take considerable time and money, with the retrained staff spending a number of years assisting in operating similar plants in neighbouring countries. Economics By comparison with the costs of conversion to coal or natural gas, the refurbishment and upgrading of the plant for nuclear operation would be significantly cheaper. A maximum price of $US300m (including staff training) is a fair limit, compared to fossil fuel conversion alternatives. The nuclear option should have the shortest lag time in terms of upgrading and commissioning. If foreign staff were used to initially man the plant then a period of eighteen to twenty months would be needed for full operation. This relatively short period, may be valuable in that the some of the expensive, old or temporary oil fired power plant could be retired early. Fuel costs, plus operation and management costs for LWRs should cost no more than ? US 2/kWH (0. 54 Centavos/kWH). If the interest on the $US 300m was 12%, with a pay-back period of twenty years for the capital, then a further 0. 9? US/kWH would be added to the power cost. The total power cost would be 2. 9? US/kWH (0. 78 Centavos/kWH). If consideration was given to running the Bataan power station as a nuclear plant, then the environmental and economic benefits (as well as safety) should be emphasised, to overcome social and political opposition. THE PHILIPPINES AND THE NUCLEAR CYCLE The Philippines would be an importer of nuclear fuel and an exporter of spent fuel. The fuel that the reactor would use would be lightly enriched. As the uranium 235 is consumed, some plutonium is formed, part of which is also used up as fuel. The spent fuel rods contain a depleted amount of uranium 235, a little plutonium but mostly non-fissile uranium 238. These fuel rods can be reused in heavy water type reactors (CANDU) that are running in Japan, Korea and Taiwan, as primary fuel. All the wastes would be processed by those countries, whilst the Philippines would receive a financial return for its used nuclear fuel. This is a win-win situation. The sale of the used fuel rods could bring the net production cost of electricity (fuel plus operations and management) to under ? US 1. 5/kWH. PLANT SECURITY AND THE NUCLEAR OPTION Unfortunately there is an ongoing insurgency situation in the Philippines. The insurgency problems are no longer major, and in all probability will recede. All major plant however does need a security system. The Bataan plant was constructed with good external, perimeter and internal security systems. There are commonly perceived notions that Nuclear Plants are susceptible to terrorist attack. These notions are based on a lack of understanding of the compact nature of nuclear plants, and the presence of very considerable containment structures for the reactor and fuel stores – especially American designed LWRs. The plant is easy to guard, and would be able to resist attack with light weapons, including rocket propelled grenades etc. The damage from such an attack would be limited to the knocking out of ancillary plant and structures, including the transformer yard, the auxiliary fuel tanks and administration building. Notes 1. The above power cost figures are based on 1997 projected fuel prices, 12% interest, 85% availability, and 20 years amortisation.. The price of coal and natural gas are considered to be more liable for major increases, than nuclear fuel. The Asian demand for both coal and gas is expected to outstrip supply in the coming decade. 2. The estimated construction time includes planning and design, equipment construction, site modification, plant erection and commissioning, and staff training (coal and natural gas conversion). If major ancillary works are required (eg. major wharves, ash and coal pipelines, shipping channels etc), then both an increase in the construction time and costs could be expected. A Study of the Conversion Options for the Bataan T. S. undertook a study of the options for converting the Bataan Nuclear Power Station to fossil fuel (coal or natural gas) combustion. One aim of the study was to find another market for Philippine and Australian coal or natural gas (LNG). The essential question regarding the Bataan Reactor is: how to obtain a financial return from a very expensive power station that * has never produced electricity; * is costing the Philippinec State a sizeable sum in interest; and * has environmental, safety and social concerns over its use as a nuclear power station. The retrofitting of the turbine generator with a fossil fuel fired steam raising system was suggested as a means of utilising part of the plant, and obtaining some return for past and future expenditure. The report/proposal examined some options for fossil fuel firing, and compared those options with nuclear operation. Background The Bataan Nuclear Power Plant was completed in 1984, whilst construction commenced in 1976. It is a Westinghouse light water reactor, that uses pressurised water as it heat exchange medium between the reactor and the steam generators. Its design thermal capacity is 1876MW(t), whilst its rated power output is 621MW(e)1. The technology that is incorporated into the plant is essentially early seventies, but has been modified to incorporate more recent safety devices, such as those recommended by the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission, after evaluation of the Three Mile Island incident. The plant, which was in the process of commissioning at the time of the EDSA revolution, has not been fired, although nuclear fuel was delivered to it storage facilities. Maintenance has continued, with the integrity of the plant and ancillaries being ensured. Conclusion of Study The Philippine Government has previously stated that the Philippines will have nuclear power, but that power will come from new plant and not the Bataan reactor. President Ramos announced on the 8th October 1994 that the Reactor would be converted to a 1000MW combined cycle gas plant. (Although an announcement for a specific conversion scheme has been made, it is still considered that there is time for other options to be considered. ) We found that conversion is technically possible, but economically unwise. New and dedicated coal or natural gas fired power plants would give much higher efficiencies, and thus would give the Philippines much better value per peso spent on fuel consumed. The M. E. T. T. S. ‘s study concluded that the only way of obtaining a reasonable return from the Bataan ‘machine’ is to use it as a nuclear power plant. Our report specifically came to the following conclusions: * That the use of the present ‘nuclear’ turbine/generator in a fossil fired system would be highly wasteful of energy (fuel), A new pulverised coal power station and/or combined cycle natural gas power stations at other site(s), would be a better investment in terms of fuel efficiency and levellised power costs, * The Bataan site is inappropriate for coal fired plant, due to environmental constraints and materials (coal and ash) handling problems, * More assessable sites could be found for co mbined cycle natural gas fired plants around Manila Bay, and Batangas, * The Bataan reactor has been maintained in a good condition since mothballing, and The reactor is of basically sound design and construction, and could with modest expenditure become one of the most modern and safest light water reactors in East Asia. To fire the plant as a nuclear facility, the sea water intakes to the condensers would need to be cleaned (with some equipment being replaced), some of the reactor monitoring systems would need to be further upgraded, whilst the second power transmission system would need to be reconstructed. Staff would need to be retrained and re-licenced. A description of the study is presented in the attached article by Clarke, Ebeling and Cordero. The article was presenred at The First Philippine International Conference on Energy Efficiency and Demand Side Management, Manila, January 1995. Options for the Conversion of the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant to Fossil Fuel Firing Dr. Michael C. Clarke, Director, M. E. T. T. S. Pty. Ltd. , Sydney, Australia Mr. Douglas R. Ebeling, Associate, M. E. T. T. S. Pty. Ltd. , Sydney, Australia Eng. Donato L. Cordero, Engineering Manager, Bataan Nuclear Power Plant The following Executive Summary of a major report formed the basis of a paper presented at the 1st Philippine Conference on Energy Efficiency and Demand-side Management, Manila, January 1995. ) Capital costs and power generation costs are summarised in Table 1, for one coal conversion option, and the conversion of the plant to natural gas fired, combined cycle operation. For comparison purposes figures are also presented for the refurbishm ent, commissioning and running the plant as a nuclear power station. Electricity costs from nuclear operation are considerably cheaper than for ither the two conversion options. If power costs was the only criteria for operating the plant then nuclear firing would clearly win. Both coal and natural gas conversions will have environmental consequences for the region. By the installation of best available technology and the application of best available practice, the impact will be minimised. The cost of technology and practice however will increase the cost of electricity produced by the plant. Table 1. SUMMARY TABLE, FOSSIL FUEL CONVERSION OPTIONS, BNPP – Revision, March 1995 CONVERSION TO COALCONVERSION TO N. GASNUCLEAR COMPARISON POWER OUTPUT MW(e)8001700 620 ENERGY OUTPUT GWH5,600 (With FGD – 5400)12,2004,613 CAPITAL COST $USm750 (With FGD – 1070)1385380 (UPGRADE) Electricity Cost ? US/kWH4. 82 (With FGD – 5. 94) 5. 24, 4. 34 (FP $230/170)3. 50 Electricity Cost P/kWH1. 21 (With FGD – 1. 49)1. 31, 1. 09 (FP $230/170)0. 88 CAP. COST/POWER OUT0. 94 (With FGD – 1. 34)0. 810. 61 CONSTRUCTION TIME42 MONTHS4218. 24 FGD Flue Gas Desulphurisation (+ Selective Catalytic Reduction) FP Fuel Price, Natural Gas ($US230 /tonne for LNG, $US170 /tonne piped gas) – (Coal $US 55 / tonne) Notes on Table 1 For comparison purposes, the two fossil fuel conversion options and the nuclear comparison have each had the electricity cost based on a pay-back period of twenty years. In each case (for the table) it has been assumed that the full capital cost has been borrowed. When financing packages are being considered, different pay-back periods are likely to be used. The periods are likely to increase with increasing debt. With the natural gas conversion option, an equity contribution would probably be included, since a BOT financing scheme may be used, that ties gas production, reticulation and use into one commercial package. The electricity costs for coal and natural gas conversion are based on a reasonably optimistic scenarios, where no excessive ancillary capital works are charged against the plant. If environmental or other factors require such works, then increase in the electricity cost would occur. It is further considered that the plant required for conversion would be sourced from low cost countries; China, India, Australia, the Philippines etc, as far as possible. The costings for conversion are further premised on the use of the site allocated for construction of PNPP 2, in that it is supplied at no cost, and is geologically stable. If the time required for the construction and commissioning is crucial, then the upgrading of the plant as a nuclear station is clearly the preferred choice. Further, the financial analyses indicate that the nuclear firing of the plant offers the cheapest electricity. Given that the nuclear fuel price is likely to remain stable over the foreseeable future (as against likely rises for coal and natural gas), the nuclear upgrading# and operation offers greater financial certainty to investors. # M. E. T. T. S. ‘s estimate for upgrading the nuclear plant to 1997/8 standards is $US380m. It is backed by further external assessment, and includes new safety features. $US300m is the cost of a basic upgrading based on calculations carried out by the National Power Corporation. SUMMARY – COAL FIRING The conversion of the PNPP I plant to coal firing has some advantages. Coal technology is well proven, and only a small variation in the normal use of that technology is required to convert the plant. The power station will have a capacity similar to the design capacity for the nuclear plant, and will not be the largest plant in the new echelon of Luzon’s power facilities. The plant of 800 MW(e) capacity will be relatively inexpensive at a capital cost of $US505m – without Flue Gas Desulphurisation, Selective Catalytic Reduction, or excessive expenditure on coal or ash handling and ignoring the previous expenditure on the nuclear system. A construction and commissioning period of 42 months is envisaged. The coal option however offers unique co-economic opportunities. The ash waste product would be valuable if used in ancillary industry. By using the Lahar produced by the Pinatubo eruption as an aggregate, with the ash, iron oxide and cement, valuable building materials could be produced. The disadvantages include designing and fitting an environmentally acceptable coal fired power station into the Bataan region. The materials handling alone will create many environmental, management and operational difficulties. The infrastructure requirements for materials handling will also raise engineering and environmental questions that will need to be solved before construction begins. Other environmental questions concerning emission reduction and control must also be answered before work can commence. Another major disadvantage is the requirement for premium fuel, that is expensive in 1994, and in all probability will become relatively more expensive as the demand for ‘clean’ coal increases in the future. SUMMARY – NATURAL GAS FIRING (COMBINED CYCLE, GAS TURBINE) Natural gas provides the cleanest option for the conversion of the Bataan power station to fossil fuel firing. It further offers the most flexible power output to the grid. Options exist for running a part (or whole) of the plant as a single cycle peak load provider, or running the whole plant as a base load facility. The environmental hazard that would be created by such a plant is low compared to coal. Thermal pollution to the sea would be greater than the nuclear option, in that if a 1700MW(e) plant was built with 46% efficiency, the waste heat would be 2000MW(t). This heat would be partially dissipated into the atmosphere (250MW) as against to the sea (1750MW). The additional heat discharge to the sea would be about 500MW(t). NOx emissions can be successfully controlled by modern technology. Steam or water injection, ammonia addition or innovative combustion designs will produce acceptable (but not zero) NOx emissions. At 1700MW(e), the power station would be the largest in the Philippines, and would certainly require a review of the Luzon energy plan. The total consumption of natural gas over a twenty five year period would be 2. 5 TCF; over half the entire Philippine projected resource from Palawan. Over a billion dollars in capital would be needed to build the plant, plus an additional substantial sum to supply the fuel; either as LNG or pipeline gas. The security of a large gas holding area would need to be addressed. Such a holding area and power station would make a relatively easy target when compared to a coal fired plant with coal yards or nuclear facilities. The installation of the gas turbines could be achieved in eighteen months, but the construction of the steam generators and carrying out modifications to the existing plant would take a further twenty four months. From the preliminary financial analysis, the construction of a new combined cycle power station makes better financial sense. A NUCLEAR COMPARISON Under the four headings (Technology, The Environment, Social and Political Concerns, and Economy) that were used to examine the coal-conversion option, a brief summary has been made of the nuclear option for comparison purposes. Technology Light water reactors are a very common type of nuclear reactor. They have good safety records, and most have high capacity factors. There development has been continuous, with technology now being available from Japan, Korea, France, the United Kingdom as well as the United States. They are used in close proximity to the Philippines (Japan, Korea and Taiwan) and have been armarked for use in Indonesia and Malaysia. The Bataan unit is 1970/80’s technology. It is however essentially the same as new units, and could be readily upgraded to 1990’s standards. The Environment The reactor will produce thermal pollution (waste heat) that will be disposed of, off Napot Point to the South China Sea. An environmental impact assessment cleared the plant for its designed heat disposal, and found that localised heating of the sea would not be excessive, given the strong currents that would ensure dispersion of the hot water. No other polluting emissions could be expected from the nuclear power plant. (Accidental emissions of radioactive material, are most unlikely. Once the plant was upgraded to 1997 standards, one accident in a million years could be expected. ) Social and Political Concerns The perceived problems at the Bataan power plant are its greatest liability. These problems include seismic instability, claims of faulty workmanship and the lack of experience of the operators. Many geological and seismic inspections have been carried out on the site, with the result being that no significant risk is apparent. To convince Philippine Society of the seismic safety of the plant, an educational programme would need to be carried out that emphasised the sites stability, and the high seismic safety factor of the plant (0. 4g). Part of the process of refurbishment and upgrading, would be quality assurance on all systems and components of the plant. Modern QA techniques would need to be used to provide the certainty that all significant parts of the plant meet the highest safety and operational standards. Initially foreign experts would be needed to run the plant. The retraining of Philippine staff would take considerable time and money, with the retrained staff spending a number of years assisting in operating similar plants in neighbouring countries. Economics By comparison with the costs of conversion to coal or natural gas, the refurbishment and upgrading of the plant for nuclear operation would be significantly cheaper. A maximum price of $US300m (including staff training) is a fair limit, compared to fossil fuel conversion alternatives. The nuclear option should have the shortest lag time in terms of upgrading and commissioning. If foreign staff were used to initially man the plant then a period of eighteen to twenty months would be needed for full operation. This relatively short period, may be valuable in that the some of the expensive, old or temporary oil fired power plant could be retired early. Fuel costs, plus operation and management costs for LWRs should cost no more than ? US 2/kWH (0. 54 Centavos/kWH). If the interest on the $US 300m was 12%, with a pay-back period of twenty years for the capital, then a further 0. 9? US/kWH would be added to the power cost. The total power cost would be 2. 9? US/kWH (0. 78 Centavos/kWH). If consideration was given to running the Bataan power station as a nuclear plant, then the environmental and economic benefits (as well as safety) should be emphasised, to overcome social and political opposition. THE PHILIPPINES AND THE NUCLEAR CYCLE The Philippines would be an importer of nuclear fuel and an exporter of spent fuel. The fuel that the reactor would use would be lightly enriched. As the uranium 235 is consumed, some plutonium is formed, part of which is also used up as fuel. The spent fuel rods contain a depleted amount of uranium 235, a little plutonium but mostly non-fissile uranium 238. These fuel rods can be reused in heavy water type reactors (CANDU) that are running in Japan, Korea and Taiwan, as primary fuel. All the wastes would be processed by those countries, whilst the Philippines would receive a financial return for its used nuclear fuel. This is a win-win situation. The sale of the used fuel rods could bring the net production cost of electricity (fuel plus operations and management) to under ? US 1. 5/kWH. PLANT SECURITY AND THE NUCLEAR OPTION Unfortunately there is an ongoing insurgency situation in the Philippines. The insurgency problems are no longer major, and in all probability will recede. All major plant however does need a security system. The Bataan plant was constructed with good external, perimeter and internal security systems. There are commonly perceived notions that Nuclear Plants are susceptible to terrorist attack. These notions are based on a lack of understanding of the compact nature of nuclear plants, and the presence of very considerable containment structures for the reactor and fuel stores – especially American designed LWRs. The plant is easy to guard, and would be able to resist attack with light weapons, including rocket propelled grenades etc. The damage from such an attack would be limited to the knocking out of ancillary plant and structures, including the transformer yard, the auxiliary fuel tanks and administration building. Notes 1. The above power cost figures are based on 1997 projected fuel prices, 12% interest, 85% availability, and 20 years amortisation.. The price of coal and natural gas are considered to be more liable for major increases, than nuclear fuel. The Asian demand for both coal and gas is expected to outstrip supply in the coming decade. 2. The estimated construction time includes planning and design, equipment construction, site modification, plant erection and commissioning, and staff training (coal and natural gas conversion). If major ancillary works are required (eg. major wharves, ash and coal pipelines, shipping channels etc), then both an increase in the construction time and costs could be expected.

Research Paper, Journalism, mass media and communication Paper

, Journalism, mass media and communication - Research Paper Example Therefore, one is left to wonder how this vast amount of data is analyzed. In addition, what models are being used to analyze such data and what is their accuracy. More so what assumptions are made when analyzing the figures? When these factors are keenly considered, there emerges an ethical issue that surrounds the whole process. For example, are the figures being used to forecast or tell the true position of an issue or are they being used as tolls to manipulate people. Advertisers and users of advertisements have embraced on the help availed by the use of big data tactics. A good illustration to this is the campaign teams’ especially for political career. Many politicians have found the use of opinion polls helpful because they are able to manipulate them. In such a case, the users of such polls (voters) are deceived to believing that a given candidate is well ahead of other opponents (Fahy 1-2). To conclude, the role being played by big data tactics is enormous and helpful to advertisers or sellers. However, when used for personal gain thus hiding the true position of any issue it turns to be unethical. It deprives off the citizens their freedom of choice and liberty to make sober judgments. In the case of political advertising, it denies the citizens their right to democracy. Opinion-Leader Campaigns Opinion leaders are defined as people with an influential trait in a given society. In most cases, opinion leaders are change agents and very active media users. To state that they are active media users is for the sole purpose of delivering their message to a wide audience who care about the opinions, industry, ideology or interests. It is true to not that every industry has its own opinion leaders. For example, Bill gates- founder of Microsoft is an opinion leader in the technology industry. More so Al Gore is another opinion leader in the environment awareness industry. However, the roles played by opinion leaders must be genuine and must be free of malice. Opinion leaders must utilize their influence carefully so that their actions and statements to not impact negatively on their followers. They should understand they many people perceive tom as role models. Another aspect of opinion leadership is their close link to the media. It is a fact that the opinions of these leaders are published or furthered by journalists. Therefore, without professional journalist the ideas and opinions of these leaders would not reach its audience. Hence, journalist advances the opinions of these leaders while the opinion leaders rely on journalists to spread their opinion and add the debate (Nisbet and Kotcher 328-354). The most notable advantage of opinion leaders is their ability to form opinions that are influential. They are very influential such hat they can move an opinion that ensures proper legislation are passed, or harsh rules are burnished. However, if an opinion leader is not ken on their statements they may be misquoted, and their fo llower may cause chaos. For example, opinion leaders may cause a war or displacements of certain groups like the gay, Jews, among others. Stealth marketing A successful marketing campaign must be able to induce a change in behavior in the people it is intended for. These induced changes may be in terms of voting preferences personal value, buying behavior since any advertisement should be objected at changing the current behavior. In the recent past, most advertisements have made people to act in a skeptical manner due to the credibility of the advertisements. Most advertisements are not sincere or credible. Further, research has shown that the word of mouth marketing is

Dr. Von Gronberg strategies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Dr. Von Gronberg strategies - Essay Example As a move to step up the change process, he intensively used internal competition. Amongst corporate units of the company. Corporate headquarters were started which continued to define targets which served as a framework of expected pursuit. The new CEO should continue with this change process as one of his evolutionary strategies According to Porter 1980 a vertically integrated company can be at a competitive disadvantage because its component manufacturers this will make it lack flexibility because its capital investment in establishing methods forms a barrier in technological change. Kr. Van never ignored the idea of technology in his change process it has been said that to manage a business well is to manage its future, and to manage the future is to manage information. He realized that if your competitor has access to the same information as you, then the question becomes one of the speed and the skill with which you use the information. He knew that ht equality of information analysis and how to use technology to integrate the business around the customer was very critical to the future success of continental (Ohmae, 1982) In the early period of his chairmanship of the executive Board he called for the company to actively strive for the leading positions in technology which was to be on the basis of innovative capability of each individual employee in every department of the company. Though the tire areas innovative potential seemed exhausted he continues to count on further product and process innovations saying that the company was looking for access to fields of technology that were not occupied. Technology brings about competitive advantage a thing that favourably distinguishes a company or its products form those of a competition in the eyes of the customers. This can be enhanced with information technology such as reduced cost, better service through speed of response or information provision, or a feeling by customers that the manufacturer understands their needs and values them because of flexibility and responsiveness (schon, 1983) technology has helped the marketing manages in achieving the objective of getting close to customers and integrating the total marketing system. Hammer and Mangorian (1987) suggested an impact/value framework for understanding the way in which technology can create business opportunities. The potential impact of information technology is classified into three areas. Compression of time, overcoming the restrictions of geography and the restructuring relationships. Time compression takes place through clear communication links between organization units or between parts of the business process. IMPACT/VALUE FRAMEWORK Efficiency Effectiveness Innovation Time Accelerate business process Reduce information Float Create service excellence Geography Recapture scale Ensure global management control Penetrate new markets Relationships By pass intermediaries Replicate scarce knowledge Build umbilical cords. Marketing is concerned with satisfying customers needs by providing products and services which give benefits to the customers value

Middle Ages Magic Activities from Religious Point of View Assignment

Middle Ages Magic Activities from Religious Point of View - Assignment Example The Church did not approve of theories that contradicted the official doctrine of the Church. This is because their view of human knowledge is based on a concept of an all-knowing God and a revelation of absolute truth through the scriptures and through the Pope and the senior leaders of the Church. There was no room for theories that were based on principles outside this rather strict set of rules. The whole issue of whether the earth is the center of the universe, for example, was seen as a theological dogma, not a theory or scientific view, and these issues have the potential to cause the whole foundation of Christian belief to crumble if they are challenged and found to be false. That is why the Church resisted any other views. There seems to have been in Medieval times quite a bit of experimentation with these forbidden arts, just as today people read horoscopes, go to see fortune tellers, and have lucky objects at the same time as holding broadly orthodox beliefs in one of the main religions. Old pagan beliefs linger on in symbolic ways, as for example in the Christmas trees, Harvest Thanksgiving services and Easter eggs that we have in Western culture, even though these are symbolic of pagan festivals (Jolly, 2000, p. 1). In this, there is not so much difference between medieval and modern society. The issue of predetermined events and the prediction of human behavior was a very thorny one because it goes to the heart of the Christian doctrine of salvation. It matters a lot, for example, whether a person has free will or not, and whether they freely choose to do good or evil deeds, or whether they are just puppets being manipulated by fate or some demon or other. Christians have a strong sense of being morally responsible for their actions, and relying on God alone, and so many other forces that get in between a man or woman and their god were seen as a bit threat.  

Legal Environment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Legal Environment - Essay Example In this case, an agreement was made to exhibit advertisement on the defendants' hotel for a period of seven years. During this time, Manchester Corporation, exercising statutory powers, acquired the hotel and demolished it. It was held that the defendant should have been aware of the risk of compulsory purchase, and must be taken to have implicitly accepted the risk. The contract could also have been discharged by frustration due to government interference. The government interfered causing a fundamental change of circumstance from the contemplated by the parties when the contract was made. This is because the government prohibited with immediate effect the manufacture and export of relevant weapons systems hence there was need for Maldrive to purchase the machine. This caused the termination of the contract. In this case, the defendant had agreed to construct a reservoir for the plaintiff. Before the defendants had done so, the government acting in pursuance of war-time powers, stopped it. It was held that the contract was discharged through government interference. A contract is discharged by breach; that is failure of one of the parties to perform his obligation under the contract. Every breach of contract provides remedies to the innocent party, and this does not necessary discharge the contract. Thus if a party breaks a term of contract going to its root, known as condition the other party will be released from his obligations under the contract. But if the term broken is one collateral to the main term of the contract, known as a warranty, the innocent party will not be released from performance and can only claim damages. Maldrive, the manufacturers of weapons systems for exports had agreed to buy a machine from Planright but failed to perform his obligation under the contract. Failure of Maldrive to buy the machine from Planright discharged the contract. Rights and Remedies available to Maldrive and to Planright if contract is terminated by frustration. Maldrive could recover his deposit of |1000 pounds and was not liable to pay the balance. The law reform (Frustration Contracts) Acts 1943 England, amended the common law rule and provides what shall happen if the contract is discharged by frustration: All money paid before discharge is recoverable Money which become payable before frustration ceases to be payable. The court allow the parties to recover sums of money paid out in expenses incurred in connection with the contract, or to retain such sums from money already received under the contract. Where one party has received benefits, other than the money payment, the court may permit the other party to recover a reasonable sum as compensation for such benefit on quantum Meruit. A relevant case

Literature review Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 2

Literature review - Essay Example cribe the previous Presidential elections The stakes in the election have been raised by the use of these terms, but the changes that have resulted from these elections have not lived up to the importance given to the election, save for a few of the Presidential elections that go back quite a way in time. Examples of these lie in the first Presidential election in 1789 that made George Washington the President, as it set the pattern of the four year tenure of the President; the 1800 Presidential election, which saw for the first time power changing hands from one political party to the other; the 1864 Presidential election that returned Abraham Lincoln to continue the fight, and bring to an end the stalemate in the Civil War; and the 1932 Presidential election that brought Franklin D. Roosevelt to power and the manner in which he changed the scope and power of the federal government. Now this election is being acclaimed as the most important election in history. There is a definite c hange that it might bring and that is in the form of the first African-American President. Other changes are promised, but they have to be delivered and be momentous for it to rank among the important elections in the history of the U.S.A. Democratic presidential candidate Obama received a surprise endorsement from the respected Republican retired General and former Secretary of State Colin L. Powell, who at one time was touted as a possible first African American President. Critics of this endorsement in the Republican Party have charged that this endorsement of Powell stems from the Obama being an African American, while his opponent Republican presidential candidate is white; his resentment of the present Republican President George Bush and the opportunism of Powell, with Obama leading in the opinion polls. Powell defends his endorsement of Obama saying that it is a well thought out move after assessing the two candidates, the initiatives that they will take as President, the

The Civic Hybrid Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

The Civic Hybrid - Essay Example In the business industry, there are a lot of products available. In order to evaluate the best purchasing alternatives is a good practice to compare similar items from different manufacturers. The products that I’m going to compare are automobiles that are fuel efficient. These types of automobiles are categorized by the media as green vehicles. The three car models analyzed are the Honda Civic hybrid, the Chevy Volt and the Nissan Leaf. The Honda Civic hybrid is a vehicle that combines gas and electric technology. The Civic hybrid has a starting price of $24,050 (Honda). The car gives an mpg rating of 44 miles per gallon. The car is power by a 1.5-liter V-tech engine that incorporates an electric motor for friction reducing and airflow improvements. The car has 110 horsepower.  In the business industry, there are a lot of products available. In order to evaluate the best purchasing alternatives is a good practice to compare similar items from different manufacturers. The pr oducts that I’m going to compare are automobiles that are fuel efficient. These types of automobiles are categorized by the media as green vehicles. The three car models analyzed are the Honda Civic hybrid, the Chevy Volt and the Nissan Leaf. The Honda Civic hybrid is a vehicle that combines gas and electric technology. The Civic hybrid has a starting price of $24,050 (Honda). The car gives an mpg rating of 44 miles per gallon. The car is power by a 1.5-liter V-tech engine that incorporates an electric motor for friction reducing and airflow improvements. The car has 110 horsepower.   The second car featured is the Chevy Volt. The Volt is a hybrid vehicle that combines electric and gasoline technology. The car is very unique because it has different modes that allow for different performance and fuel efficiency. The maximum fuel efficiency of the Volt is 230 miles per gallon. The price of the Volt is $32,780 (Chevrolet). The automobile is power by an electric drive unit wit h 150 horsepower with an 80 horsepower 1.4-liter combustion engine.   The third auto featured is the Nissan Leaf. The Leaf is priced at $25,280 (Nissanusa). The car is powered by an all-electric motor 80 kW A/C synchronous motor with a 24 kWh lithium-ion battery.   The range of one full battery is 100 miles per trip.  

Youth during the Great Depression Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Youth during the Great Depression - Essay Example al. 670-671). There is little doubt that experiences of the rail riding youths of the Depression were impacted and influenced but those experiences in a number of different ways; some positive and some negative. On October 29, 1929 the Stock market crashed. This day is often called â€Å"Black Tuesday.† This crash did not just affect the United States, but multiple countries and economics all over the world. Herbert Hoover held the office of United States President when the Depression began and despite his dedication to optimism, conditions were only getting worse. Many Americans blamed Hoover for the Depression as a whole. Of course, this historical event cannot be blamed on any one person, but a number of economic variables, financial aspects, and other contributions. Because unemployment was so extreme in so many parts of the country that many people became almost entirely migrant; walking, hitchhiking, or riding train cars. As can be seen above, people were essential living like refugees all over the nation. Whenever news of jobs was heard, sometimes, hundreds of people would arrive to apply. The Human traffic moving from one place to another was immense. Approximately 250, 000 teenagers, mostly male, hit the road and rode the rails The 2009 film â€Å"Riding the Rails† interviews, discusses, and delves into the experiences of the teens during the Depression through the stories of the men and women who lived it. These stories have the ability to make you think at the time, the culture, and hardships experienced by the generations before us and how very different the cultural mentality is today. Again there were many reasons that the youths of the Depression left home and found themselves riding the rails. Clarence Lee’s father approached him and explained that this there simply was not enough to feed him anymore; he left home the next day. Peggy DeHart and her traveling companion, Rene Champion, hitchhiked across the country and occasionally road

The Choice of Celebration of the Young Generation Forecast Social Change Essay Example for Free

The Choice of Celebration of the Young Generation Forecast Social Change Essay Our research topic is the choice of celebration of the young generation forecast social change. This research topic has been selected to see the impact of western events on young generation of our country. Questionnaires were given to the youngster’s separately Questionnaires consist of 14 questions and we gave 30 copies of questions to separate individuals. The results are showed on pie charts and there is little discussion on every question. We came to know that youngsters like to celebrate western events but they also know that these often create vulgarity among them. One side they agree that these events mislead new generation and may cause deviant behavior but they also attract towards those events because of their glamour. There are positive and negative responses from youngsters toward western events. Observation shows that if youngsters know the reason and history that belong to western events, encourage their attitude may become changed toward these events. The negative impact of western events may be controlled by the adult and should be encourage with Islamic values and local cultural events. 2. Introduction The aim of the reports is to find out the cultural change that is going to be invited by the young generation through their way of celebration. As the sources of the research we have exploited books, internet and went for surveying people etc. the result shows both the good and bad impact of the way of celebration of the young generation on our society and culture which survey on our society and which surely opens doors for culture change. 2. 1 What is an Event? An event is usually staged by a local community, which enters on some unique aspect of that community. Among many religions, event is a set of celebration in honors of God/s. But in common Events is a program that is usually held at regular intervals often in one place. People are waiting for those days to celebrate these events. Often events comes in once in the year. These events differ from each other on the basis of religious and geographical characteristics of the people. The events allow the people to rejoice themselves. It also creates a cultural harmony among them. 2. 2 The nature of western events Now a day, because of amazing development in the field of science world has become the global village. Western culture attracts the people all over the world. Western events are not only associated with the national days and Religions days they also celebrate social problem and occasion specific to a day. Western people celebrate New Year Day, valentine Day, Friendship Day, Rose Day, Love Day, and Music Day with great zeal. They also associate days with the love and devotion towards father and mother and celebrate father’s day and mother’s day. The purpose to celebrate the teacher’s day is to give tribute to teachers. In Bangladesh many people celebrate New Year, on 1st January. Due to blessing of media, youngsters like to celebrate valentine day. They try to wear red dresses and exchange gifts their friends and fiance. Neither they feel know the history of these events nor of the purpose of the celebration. Western events are much charming and glamour’s. These events are unique and also enjoyable. Another event which is celebrated on 1st April, some non serious or naughty people making fun of others by making them fool without any reason, purpose and without any feeling on this day. People make false stories and tell others for seeking happiness and enjoyment in the trouble and worries of other people. Some of western events may celebrate to point out or locate special social problems. World no smoking day, tobacco day, pollution day, health day, population day, labor day, are some of   these events. Valentine day, friendship day, rose day, color day. Costumes day, Christmas day are some events which are much popular among youngsters. 3. Method The objectives of the study are: * To find out the effect of western events on youth’s life. * To analyze the interest of youth in western events. * To find out that how much youth adopting western events. * To find out the causes of attending western events. The research topic was selected in order to observe to the impact of western events on the young generation of Bangladesh who like to adopt western culture. As the research Procedure simple techniques were used for data collection. There are 25 respondents fill the research questionnaire. The respondents are the youngsters of Samford University Bangladesh and some youngsters who were available on that time. The collected data was analyzed through percentages and then these percentages converted on to pie charts through ms excel. Pie chart shows clearly the responses of the youngsters. As we asked the youngsters n 80% response as positive and 20% response as negative. 8. Pie chart 6 shows the responses of people towards western events provide the plat form for unethical activities  As we asked youngsters, you agreed that western events provide the plat form to unethical activities, 75% of them answered yes and 25% answer no. 9. Pie 7 shows the responses of people towards Western events may cause deviant behavior among youth. As we asked to the youngsters 90% agreed that western events may cause deviant behavior among and 10% of them response as No. 0. Pie chart 8 shows the responses of people towards Western events effects our culture. As we asked the youngsters that do you agree that western events effects our own culture of Bangladesh then 85% answered yes and 15% answered no. 11. Pie chart 9 shows the responses of youngsters towards which are mostly happened by the practice of western events in our country. 60% said that western events responsible to affect our culture of Bangladesh, 30% said that it is responsible vulgar young generation and 10% said that it is responsible western increase crime rate. When we asked the youngster the contingency question that, what is youngster are thinking in the context of our country western cultures have some positive sides- most of them agreed with the positive side of western culture because they thought that it helps us to enhance different types of knowledge, moderate our lifestyle. Some of them got negative side because they thought that it increased adopt bad thing, illegal drugs using and forgetting own culture. When we requested the youngster to describe that, how they observe their religious festival, most of them said that, they observe their religious festival as it is said in their religion from the core of their heart with their family. Eid- Ul- Fitr is the most famous festival of young generation. 14. When we requested the youngsters that, what do they think about the practice of western culture change the pattern of young behavior of young people- most of them agreed western culture changed the behavior of young people, like young people are addicted with drugs, effected the religious believe, it also bring changes in their daily lifestyle. Western events celebrated most of the young generation. Youngsters don’t know the history or purpose of these western celebrations but they just celebrate for entertainment. According to results majority of youngsters are interested in western events. Youngsters celebrate western events because they think that these events are more charming and attractive. So they like to celebrate these kinds of events. Youngsters believe that western events miss lead new generation and our religion doesn’t allow us to celebrate these events. About 60% youngsters thought that these events increase international relations but remaining 40% do not think like this. All youngsters agree that media increase the interest of these events in youth and majority of them think that its effects the Pakistani culture. High numbers of respondents agree that these events provide wrong path to our youth and it also creates complex between different classes. They agree that crime rate increase due to western events and it is also a cause of vulgarity among youngsters but youngsters like to celebrate western events because these attracts youth because of its charm and glamour. Many of the young generation like to celebrate these events because they thought that these events provide the way to express their feelings in a new shape like in the form of valentine day etc. some are against these events because they strongly followed the religious events and don’t like to celebrate any western events. 6. Recommendation From the findings that are discussed yet, it can be said that the impact of western culture is a part of modernization. But it can be considered also as a problem in our country’s perspective. Because many of the young people of our country are addicted day by day to the negative sides of western culture. For this reason after the observation the following recommendation are suggested recommendations: * There should be vast opportunities for young people to know and learn more about our traditional culture. * They should be made aware what are traditional cultures and what western cultures are.

The Benefits of My Fantasy Football League Essay Example for Free

The Benefits of My Fantasy Football League Essay The difference between knowledge and intellect is remarkable, yet many times these words are used interchangeably. Knowledge refers to facts on a given subject; intellect refers to a person’s perspective, how they view, analyze, and interpret their environment . Unlike I.Q., intellect can and should be taught to our students, but instead our current schooling system is focused on ensuring students memorize the facts required to pass an exam. In his essay, â€Å"Hidden Intellectualism†, Gerald Graff explores the limits current education standards impose on our youth’s development. Graff presents the idea that perhaps the subjects that we normally associate with â€Å"anti-intellectualism† are just as capable of being subject of critical thought as Shakespeare’s plays. â€Å"Real intellectuals turn any subject, however lightweight it may seem, into grist for their mill through the thoughtful questions they bring to it† (Graff, 381). This idea is central to understanding the rest of Graff’s argument. If no subject is more deserving than another, then every subject—sports to science—should be utilized in the classroom as learning tools. Young students are motivated in complicated ways. The things that interest them are normally not academic texts of Plato or George Orwell. The author himself identified himself as a person who â€Å"hated books and cared only for sports† (Graff, 381). The only readings that interested him were sports novels and magazines. Over time, Graff developed the idea that his love for sports was not actually anti-intellectual as he had previously assumed, but was as intellectual as his university studies. He claims that had his teachers utilized his love for the workings of the sports world as an outlet to spark academic discussion and thought, he would have earned a stronger education. While Graff was postponing his English homework to have a debate with his best friend about who was the best pitcher in the 50s, he was practicing the skills that would later allow him to become a successful professor at the University of Illinois. Engaging in heated debates about baseball gave Graff opportunities to practice forming coherent arguments supported with evidence he had to collect and analyze while at the same time perfecting his conversation skills and logical thought patterns. What is the goal of elementary education if not to teach one how to learn and think? Sure, one needs to know their multiplication tables and Presidents, but the curriculum should be designed to teach students how to educate themselves in order to think critically about their world. The first step in education, according to Graff, should be providing the pupil with a topic they are interested in. Doing so gives students a bridge from their social life into the academic world and will yield students that are more interested and involved in their studies. Graff acknowledges that there are limits to this approach just like any other. A quote from his peer, Ned Laff, summarizes the challenge in education. â€Å"[The challenge] is not simply to exploit students’ nonacademic interests, but to get them to see those interests through academic eyes† (Graff, 385). Being a cognoscenti on the top songs of the decade is not enough, one should be able draw relationships between the trends of the songs in order to come to a general conclusion or theory that is applicable to other areas of life. Graff is careful to not belittle the classic academic texts and subjects. He claims that educators should use the topics their students are interested in as a gateway to more challenging topics. If one can teach a student to think critically about the implications of performance enhancing drugs in today’s athletes, then the hard part in education is complete. Once a student knows how to think critically, they can apply that technique to whatever subject they want to study for the rest of their life. It gives the power and responsibility of teaching to the student themselves. Graff ends his argument by appealing to the readers logic. Suppose he is wrong, and allowing trending topics in the classroom does not in fact motivate the student to become a student of the world. What does the educator stand to lose in trying? Even if all they ever are interested in studying are the current stats of the Baltimore Ravens, â€Å"they are more literate and reflective than they would be otherwise† (Graff, 386). I believe Graff presented a strong and valid argument worthy of discussion. I am able to relate on many levels with Graff. Often I find myself more interested in my fantasy football team than my college courses. Previously, I had assumed time spent on fantasy football was time wasted, but this essay has allowed me to develop a different perspective. In order to have a successful team, I had to decide what players would complement each other; this required close analysis of their strengths and weaknesses. Memorizing and studying stats has allowed me to develop my statistical analysis skills, a skill that otherwise would be left unrefined. After each season, game, play, I have to reevaluate my thoughts on a player in order to take into account the new information. It has taught me that the greatest players make the same amount of novel mistakes as the worst players but repeat their errors only a fraction as often. If more of my teachers had exploited my love of sports earlier in my education, I might have a more accurate idea of my academic capabilities. Although I agree with the central tenets of Graff’s argument, I think he is overly critical and general of today’s educators. There are teachers who exploit every opportunity to intrigue their students, and they deserve to be acknowledged in any argument critiquing the current education system. These are teachers who go beyond the status quo of â€Å"teaching to the exam.† They are the educators who attempt to instill in their students a passion to learn, explore, and test the boundaries of their mind. It is also important to elaborate on my use of the word â€Å"teacher.† A teacher is not restricted to the classroom, but I have extended the term to encompass all one’s advisors, especially a child’s parents. I believe Graff would agree with my statement that a child’s parent plays a vital and irreplaceable role in the education of a child. Rather than discourage discussion of the popular topics, parents can facilitate classroom learning through critical discussion of subjects directly related to the youth’s life. â€Å"Hidden Intellectualism† details a not so unique argument in a way that is easy for the general public to sympathize with. It provides people with a justification for their â€Å"guilty pleasures† and encourages a more critical mindset no matter what you are doing. I would recommend the article to my peers, teachers, and teammates alike. Works Cited Graff, Gerald. â€Å"Hidden Intellectualism.† They say I say. Eds. Graff, G., Birkenstein, C., and Durst, R.. New York City: W. W. Norton Company, 2012. 380-386.

Violent Acts In School Sociology Essay

Violent Acts In School Sociology Essay School violence is considered as a youth violence that occurs within schools, from the way to and from schools and also even during events that are sponsored by the schools. Violence is of many forms and it affects people in a multitude of perspectives. Some form of violence such as slapping, hitting, bullying can lead to more emotional trauma than physical one. The severity of the form of the harm may be arguable however we can lay a general consensus that both forms are equally harmful. There are many other forms of violence which are more drastic involving weapons, gangs which lead to severe physical damages to the point that it can even lead to death. This paper deals with various types of such violence and their effects. Keywords: school violence, violent students, violent acts in school, stop school violence. Introduction Violence, as defined by the WHO is the use of physical power against another person or group or community resulting in harmful effects such as psychological harm, injury, deprivation or even death. One of the most prominent instances of violence is seen in the form of bullying in schools. Even our elementary school textbooks highlight specific stories regarding bullying and the same is seen in the form of strict rules imposed in our school handbooks. Thus it doesnt come as a surprise that parents, administrators, and students are all familiar with this harmful act of bullying. Children try to avoid the fear of being successively punished by the abuser by not reporting to the people who are concerned the most for their health and well-being. Sometimes the participants do not find any faults in being subjected to violence and view it as a justified act or a necessary punishment. Often, bullying causes a child victim to feel ashamed and guilty and this ultimately ends up as the reason for their silence. The global study recently conducted by the UN secretary general revealed the increase in violence and documenting these acts against children to be the primary reason for cruelty and violence shown against children. Studies reveal that violence exists in every country of the world and it cuts across culture, class, education, income and ethnic origin (Felitti, Anda, Nordenberg, Williamson, Spitz, Edwards, Koss, Marks 1998; Krug,Dahlberg, Mercy, Zwi and Lozano 2002; Reza, Mercy and Krug 2002;Curie, Molcho, Boyce, Holstein, Torsheim and Richter 2004; WHO 2006). As study in Unicef 2007, has shown that, violence among the learners are low, which ranges from 4 percent from violence sexually to 40 percent in the case of physical violence. Most learners will report cases of physical violence to school teachers (45.1%) and also the head teacher (34.5%). Some of the major reasons why learners will not report cases of violence especially for physical and gender based violence were because they felt nothing will be done. Civilizing the quality of education is most important and intricate not addressing towards the violence in schools, because even though how much better the subject or the teachers are, it would always be difficult for students due to violence occurring in schools. The effects of school violence can lead to a range of effects including stress, depression, PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder) also including severe effects like suicidal tendencies, inclination to spread chaos, and also a tendency to become aggressive or violent. Different acts of violence are considered to be being bullied, being bullied by teachers, cyber bullying, violence, shooting in schools. How School Violence Affects Health Deaths resulting from school violence are only part of the problem. Many young people experience nonfatal injuries. Some of these injuries are relatively minor and include cuts, bruises, and broken bones. Other injuries, like gunshot wounds and head trauma, are more serious and can lead to permanent disability Not all injuries are visible. Exposure to youth violence and school violence can lead to a varied collection of negative health behaviors and outcomes, including alcohol and drug use and suicide. Depression, anxiety, and many other psychological problems, including fear, can result from school violence. What leads to Violent Acts? A lot of factors can add to the risk of a youth engaging in aggressiveness or violence at school level. However, the existence of these factors within a child does not always mean that a he or she will become an offender. Risk factors for youth and school violence includes: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Violence history in the past in childs life à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Using of drugs, tobacco or alcohols à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Association with delinquent peers à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Poor family functioning within homes à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Poor scores in school or poor performance à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Poverty within the community Data analyzed revealed that many things do cause violent behavior in children among which are poor supervision by school authorities (82%), peer influence (82.8%), exposure to violent films(85.2%) and emotional instability (79.8%) just to mention a few. It is said that education begins at home. The same is applicable to the tendency of violence. Studies show us two very disturbing realities. One that children who are subjected to regular violence, physical or verbal at home have a tendency to become introverts and thus are more likely to be bullied in the school which again makes them victims of violence. The second one is even worse. It is shown that children who are subjected to violence at home often start to think of violence as a solution to problems and thus they too become advocators of violence giving rise to a vicious chain or a circle as they again become parents who are abusive to their children and the chain continues. The extended family of the forties (40s) and fifties (50s) are no longer existential in our society today. To satisfy the needs of the nuclear group, generally both the parents work out of the necessity to meet their costs. The consequence of this act results in the negligence of supervision of their children. The parent child relationship is hampered and there is a breakdown in the governance which allows children to make their own decision without the discretion of their parents. The child becomes the dominating factor. Also, sibling violence would later set the path to later violence in school environment. It starts with bullying the siblings and eventually ends at bullying their peers at school. Children at very early age learn violence from television by watching cartoons. These humorous undamaging half-hour scenes, that make us laugh or enjoy, are the first presentation of violence that our children see. These shows tell our children that violence is not a problem. It makes them frozen to the horror of the real violence experiencing around them. Through statistical studies, 86% of the violent acts dont have any unconstructive repercussions, no signs of death, no one goes to jail, 47% of the violent acts on television do not hurt the sufferer, and no ones life is bankrupt. While 73% of all the time the bad guy or the criminal goes without punishment. Media glamorizes violence, thus teaching our children that being violent is not a problem to the society. C:UsersKms HamzaDesktopvio.gif (Source: Psychology in School (2004)) Some facts about child abuse: Approx. Five children die daily because of child abuse and violence.  Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¨ One-fifth (1 /5) boys and one-third (1 / 3) girls is sexually violated before they reach age 18.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¨Ã‚   Ninety percent (90%) of child sexual abuse or violence, victims knows the perpetrator in some way. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¨Ã‚   Most of the children happen to be victims of child abuse. In 2010, 1,537 children died of violence or overlook. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ 79.4 % were under the age of  4. 3.6 million Cases of child violence has been reported in each year only in U.S. and it is also found that out of them over 6 million children are involved. About 80 % of 21-yr-olds who were violated as a child were found that they suffered from at least one kind of disorder that is psychologically related. Children who were violated sexually were found that they put themselves towards practice of safe sex which puts them at a more risk of being affected with sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). And it is even found that 25% of them are experience teen pregnancy. Risk Factors 1. The individual child externalizing and internalizing behaviors Between the externalizing behavior and internalizing behavior, a proper distinction is made. The kinds of internalizing behavior are anxiety, inhibition, withdrawal or depression. In youth violence, this kind of internalizing behavior is found but in youth substance or drug abuse causes depression. Students with these internalizing problems rarely express their feeling and thus are often neglected or overlooked by school personals. While externalizing behavior is considered to be people who bully or harass others, and enjoy doing so. These people pose as risk to such violence that occurs in school level. 2. Other individual factors A lot of individuals are also related with aggressiveness or violence of higher levels. Children whose antisocial behavior or actions begins late, early starts have even worse effect than these children. Even people with lower intelligence are considered to have higher level of aggressiveness. Other facts indicate that boys early attention difficulties, reading problems and motor skills predict that it persists to antisocial conduct. 3. Home environment Home environment is also considered to be an important part in school violence. Latest study has shown that if a child is exposed too much towards domestic violence, any kind of physical molestation, parents involved in alcoholism, children being bullied or ragged or any kind of gun violence or abuse done sexually on children makes them feel that these kind violence or molestation or criminal activities are proper to them. If parental discipline are harsh, then it also leads to higher level of violence in youth. Even scientific studies have stated that children exposed to television violence like cartoons where violence are shown and is considered to be okay, and also games which are violent also leads to more fierceness among children. 4. Other Reasons Other reasons range from violent shootings and other acts of violence where mental illness, psychological disorders contributes. In some instances, a drug deal gone badly, an issue between a girlfriend and boyfriend, a disagreement among friends or a gang-related argument may also lead to violence in schools. Efforts to stop violent acts committed in school (1) When parents and teachers are more involved in students life, then it might result to less school violence in his life. Teachers can see problems before they occur and they are in the suitable situation to see the problems occurring and help students when they are in potentially volatile situations. So teachers can take steps to prevent these violent acts of these potentially volatile aggressors. Parents are close to their children and so they are more capable of providing a moral structure and also help to solve the problem when their children face more challenging or difficult situations. Both teachers and parents could work as a team to prevent such kind of violent acts that occur in schools. Drawback: But the drawback that occurs in normal life situation is that teachers and parents dont have enough time to manage or monitor their children as needed to stop this violence. Due to urbanization parents tend to move away from their children and with high rate of divorce and schools being overcrowded, it is a real tough job to manage each and every childrens life discreetly. The television acts as the babysitter for the children which in this case with latchkey children. Parents, who work hard, bring their work with them to their homes while they are trying to cook or clean or in any household activities so that they can keep their job as well as monitor their children closely. (2) Another kind of solution that would prevent this kind of violence would be to educate their children about the effect of being bullied and harassed and how it affects their physiological behavior. We all know that these bullies or harassed students who feel that they have no other recourse results to gun violence. If we educate these bullies about the effect of harassment on physiological level, then they might stop bullying smaller children and thus reduce such violence. Majority of public school principals (about 78%) have reported that they have conducted a formal school violence reduction and (School Violence) prevention programs. With this bully prevention and reduction program, the violence against these children could reduce a lot though much difference in results has not been seen, but violence has been drastically reduced. Drawback: But this solution might not be achievable if children enjoy bullying or harassing others. If they enjoy what they are doing then education or reduction program will have no effect on these children. It might be possible that their parent have suffered though bullies and harassment and possibly transferring their legacy to their children themselves and feeling that they have no other outlet. With education and reduction program, there is very less chance of change in their act of violence and so the solution would be to treat them properly by psychiatrists who are trained to solve such physiological behaviors thus reducing violence to a certain level. Even with these sensitive classes, it wont affect the minds of potential aggressors to stop bullying. (3) And so the best of all solution to prevent school violence is considered to be having more and more adults involving the childs life. This would also include in promotion of childs pride and also having more involvement in life of teachers and parents. There should also be more school programs to prevent such activities of violence and also a peer group therapy would effect in serious reduction of such activities. Schools like Stephens consider bullying to be serious offence and takes serious steps to prevent such acts. This kind of programs and rules would considerably reduce school violence significantly.

We Must Invest in Technology Education :: Argumentative Persuasive Topics

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Many school districts today are faced with the ever-growing challenge of inadequate funding for technology education; one school found an inventive way to meet this challenge. In Spokane, Washington, the Audubon Elementary Student Technology Cabinet was formed as an innovative way to assist the school with the essential technology support on a restricted budget. At the onset, students in the cabinet received training on how to clean the computers, load new programs and trouble shoot computer glitches. Moreover, students perform as mentors for other students assisting with computer-based homework and research projects. Club members spend approximately two hours a week going from class to class exposing children to the wonderful world of technology and it's many applications: surfing the web, and assistance when writing a report and fun and games. Like the children described above, students anxiously desire the experience of working with computers and technology; since, they not only see computer knowledge as fun but as a necessary part of their education. According to Kyle Martin, a sixth grader at Audubon Elementary, "I use my computer and the Internet every night to finish my homework. It's a lot easier than going to the library and searching for the right book." In the past, information was treated as a scarce resource, and educators harnessed the task of imparting this information for the benefit of the learners. This is not true in the world today; as a matter of fact, students encounter a vast reservoir of information at their fingertips: the Internet, CD ROM Encyclopedias and computerized maps. Consequently, educators need to impart to all learners three new foundational skills: how to find information, how to determine if what is found is relevant to the task at hand, and how to determine if the relevant i nformation is accurate.    While the importance of securing an adequate education for American's children has been long understood, this undertaking has, over the last fifteen years taken on a new sense of urgency. On the one hand, increasing international economic competitions and corporate restructuring brought attention to the necessity of preparing the next generation of Americans in the challenging world of high-tech and finance. Accordingly, the quality of education in the United States could determine whether our children achieve highly compensated jobs, compete for high-skilled jobs, or contend with workers from developing countries; hence, adequate technology training helps ensure our children's success as adults.

Free Tempest Essays: Treacheries and Rebellions :: Tempest essays

  Treacheries and Rebellions is The Tempest  Ã‚   The Tempest consists of â€Å"a series of rebellion, treacheries, mutinies and conspiracies against authority† but the overall view of the dramatic action is much more complex. Many other aspects and themes such as illusion and the supernatural (magic) also play a very important part in shaping the plot. Power struggle is evident from the beginning, way back when Prospero’s brother, Antonio, seized his status as Duke of Milan and banished him to a barren place and left for dead. â€Å"In scene 2.1, pg 141, Sebastian remarks, â€Å"I remember/You did supplant your brother Prospero.† And Antonio replies, â€Å"True;/ And look how well my garment sit upon me,†. Antonio betrayed Prospero, and yet he feels no remorse for his treacherous act: ‘I feel not/ This deity in my bosom†, his conscience is not bothered by what he did to Prospero. Another sibling conspiracy in the play came in Act II when Sebastian is encouraged by Antonio to kill his brother , Alonso, which would put him next in line for the throne but first, they attempted to kill Gonzalo, the Alonso’s faithful advisor. Scene 2.1, pg â€Å"Draw together,/and when I rear my hand do you the like/TO fall it (the sword) on Gonzalo.† Their evil plot is interrupted and plans ruined as Ariel wakes the sleeping party (Alonso and Gonzalo). But perhaps the most prominent resistance against authority comes from Caliban, the slave of Prospero who feels that the island is rightfully his, â€Å"The island’s mine by Sycorax my mother,†. He goes on to state that Prospero â€Å"tak’st from me.† In order to regain or gain his rulership, Caliban plots with Trinculo and Stephano to kill Prospero and take over the island. Act 3, scene I, pg 160 â€Å"Why, as I told thee, ‘tis a custom with him I’ th’ afternoon to sleep. There thou mayst brain him Having fisrt seized his books; or with a log Batter his skull, or paunch him with a stake Or cut his weasand with thy knife.†    An important factor in authority struggle is the illusion of authority, who is ultimately in charge? Illusion of authority becomes evident from the start when the boatswain speaks to the king in the storm; â€Å"What cares these roarers for the name of king?†¦if you can command there elements to silence, and work the peace of the present, we will not hand a rope more—use your authority.