U.S. Army

Objectives1.1Recognize a situation, problem, issue, or opportunity that needs addressing. 1.2Determine the significance, scope, magnitude, and feasibility of finding a solution to the situation, problem, issue, or opportunity. 1.3Identify ethical issues involved in business research.1.4 Describe the business research process. ReadingRead Ch. 1 of Business Research Methods. Read Ch. 2 of Business Research Methods. Read Ch. 3 of Business Research Methods Read Ch. 4 of Business Research Methods. Participation & Discussion QuestionsParticipate in class discussion 4 out of 7 days in a week. & Respond to weekly discussion questions. Nongraded Activities and Preparation Resource: Business Research Methods Review the â€Å"Bringing Research to Life† sections of Ch. 1 & 3 of Business Research Methods.Respond to the following:†¢What evidence is presented that shows effort was made to understand the management dilemma? †¢Identify and classify all of the variables in the U.S. Ar my’s dud shell research. †¢What was Myra’s hypothesis for the U.S. Army’s dud shell research? What was the U.S. Army’s hypothesis? Nongraded Activities and PreparationResource: Business Research Methods Review Exhibit 4.1, â€Å"The Research Process,† in Ch. 4 of Business Research Methods.Find a case study of a research example in which a clear statement of the management dilemma leads to a precise and actionable research.Explain the management dilemma, the management question, and the research question(s).Answer the following questions:†¢Why did you consider the research to be actionable? †¢Was the business research process followed in its entirety?IndividualCurrent Events in Business ResearchWrite a 300-word summary of the business research process by describing the business research process from your experience in the workplace or in an article you find through the University Library. Format your paper consistent with APA guidelin es.Week Two: The Purpose of Business ResearchDetailsObjectives2.1State the purpose of the business research. 2.2Develop appropriate research questions and hypotheses. 2.3Identify dependent and independent variables in business research. ReadingRead Ch. 5 of Business Research Methods. Read Ch. 6 of Business Research Methods. Read Ch. 11 of Business Research Methods. Review Ch. 3 of Business Research Methods.ParticipationParticipate in class discussion 4 out of 7 days in a week. & Respond to weekly discussion questions.Nongraded Activities and PreparationApp DevelopmentIt is estimated that it costs approximately $55,000 to generate an application (app) for the Apple ® iPhone ® mobile digital device. Just offering an app is not a guarantee of success. The most successful apps are sold as downloads and they offer functional value. In addition, Apple takes weeks to review an app.Based on this information, answer the following questions:†¢If you worked for Apple, what research wo uld you want see in a proposal to approve a new app for the iPod ® mobile digital device? Why? †¢What research would not be appropriate? Why?IndividualBusiness Research EthicsResources: The University Library or the Electronic Reserve Readings Find an article using the University Library or in the Electronic Reserve Readings that discusses unethical business research conduct that has resulted in individuals or a firm being convicted, or at least tried for, this conduct. Some examples include the following:†¢Asking inappropriate questions †¢Skewing research results †¢Failing to maintain participants’ confidential information †¢Using participant information for unintended purposes such as selling goods or services Summarize the article you researched.Write a 750-word paper in which you address the following questions: †¢What unethical research behavior was involved?†¢Who were the injured parties? †¢How has the unethical behavior affecte d the organization, the individual, and society? †¢How could the unethical behavior be avoided or resolved? Format your paper consistent with APA guidelines.Learning Team ReflectionCollaborate with your learning team to discuss the previous week’s objectives. Discuss how you can apply them to a business setting or situation.

Indochina Essay

The South Vietnamese government had a substantial amount of success in keeping power up until 1968, surprisingly. This was done in a number of ways such as; government policies, fighting tactics/strategies and the aid of other countries e. g. America. On 26th October 1955 Ngo Dinh Diem won a referendum which appointed him as the President of South Vietnam (This was a rigged vote) and gave Emperor Bao Dai the boot. Although the country wasn’t really a democracy anymore it was more like an oligarchy that implemented a totalitarian regime. Over the next coming years Diem and his followers built his army up going against the communists in their own country, carry out a new campaign known as the Denunciation Campaign. This campaign convinced people to report anyone to the government who were in favour of communism by means of supporting the Viet Minh or anyone who had fought against the French. By August 1956, Diem made it illegal, in a decree known as Ordinance 47, to be a communist or to associate with one and it is estimated that because of this decree 12 000 people were killed and 40 000 were imprisoned. Although the way the government went about getting rid of communist was seen as harsh, today it can be seen that this tactic could have greatly contributed to government being as successful as they were in keeping power up until 1968. From the moment the Geneva Conference ended in 1954, America was South Vietnams backbone. This can be proven in a letter sent from President Eisenhower of the USA to Ngo Dinh Diem which states that the United States wanted to help with the welfare, stability and strength of the government of South Vietnam. America’s contribution to South Vietnam took form in many different ways, such as; 1. America sent over a thousand military personal to South Vietnam to assist in training and building up there armies. 2. From July of 1957 to June of 1958 America paid ALL of the South Vietnamese cost for their army, 80% of government expenditures and 90% of all imports. 3. The USA provided each refugee coming into South Vietnam with $89 America was a big reason in why South Vietnam was so successful in keeping power up until 1968, without their knowledge, military and financial power South Vietnam would have fallen to he Communist very early on in the war. Another reason the Government being as successful as they were in keeping power was their fighting strategies and tactics, although to many people some of these strategies and tactics can seem harsh and inhumane they actually helped South Vietnam a lot in keeping their government up and running and it has been documented that North Vietnam’s war tactics/strategies were just as inhumane as the South. The South Vietnamese government along with the help of the Americans implemented five main war strategies and tactics. These include; Counterinsurgency, Combat Troops, Search and destroy, Chemical warfare and Pacification. Most of these were very successful on the battlefield and proved to keep some sort of stability in the government. The South Vietnamese government was sufficiently successful in their bid to keep power up until the Tet offensive in 1968. Although without the help of the American government the country would have failed to keep their power well before this. The tactics and strategies implemented by both governments defiantly helped keep the country afloat and rain in some sort of government stability.

History of the American West

As far as history is concerned, prior to the settling of what we now, the great United States of America, minority groups of inhabitants are the first to established their living in that continent. Their lifestyle, tradition and culture are admirable as well as unique. The first inhabitants of the area are peaceful living natives of the land. However, an entry has changed everything. The phrase mentioned above seemingly denotes the vast riches accumulated in American West from the national expanse that occurred during the westward American expansion.As per history, it connotes the successive flow of riches in their area considering every line of factors such as trade, climate, events and other causation proofs that are evident even in today’s generation. Analyzing the phrases in the statement reveals claims of chain successive economic blooms, which is stated without adequate basis. However, the aggressive entry of American people over the west side has greatly affected the li vings of various inhabitants in the area.Tremendous effects of this entry have brought countless lives to experience suffrage in the early west side. The advancing foreigners tremendously hit the established communities of the native inhabitants causing massive degradation as well as damage in the land of these natives. The advances may have triggered advancement in the side of American people; however, there are those minority individuals and communities that suffered the damage of their actions. Moreover, the land filled with natural blessings has been ravaged by the suppressive citizens of America.It is, indeed, a fact that the west side during those period of time is immersed in massive content of natural resources, geographically, topographically, climatic and most of all naturally. Another fact is, the resources have brought immense conquer in the land of the natives. For the American people, the west side has become their garden flowing with milk and honey. In this essay, we shall take a glimpse back in the past and analyze the scenario that occurred before and compare it in the statement imposed by Martin Ridge.The claims of this treasury build-up are refuted in this paper. Various factors need to be considered before adhering in these false causations. Subjective narration without substantial basis cannot support this kind of claims, especially if the claim is way to opposite from what is reality. We shall analyze the pieces of this statement piece by piece, and critically scrutinize it to prove that such wordings are not even appropriate. â€Å"The history of the American West is, almost by definition, a triumphal narrative†¦Ã¢â‚¬ Starting from the first part mentioned in the statement, connoting â€Å"triumphal narrative† depicts an entry of galore, glorious moment in the history and an event that everybody looks forward. However, does this statement really cover the facts embedded in the American West? Judging the factors, such as top ographical, geographical and the natural advantages present in the place, can we still conclude the same conclusion mentioned in the statement? Crude to say but actually, the United States that we see today is very different compared before when the American people is still starting to colonize the west side.Stephen H. Long, an American explorer who explored the some areas of the Louisiana Purchase in 1819, first gave the term, â€Å"Great American Desert† to illustrate the area roughly between the 98th parallel and the Rocky Mountains. In a series of maps and journals, Long described this region as â€Å"wholly unfit for cultivation and uninhabitable for those dependent on agriculture. † Americans largely view Long's negative impression of the trans-Mississippi as a barren wasteland for decades and most did not become interested in settling there until after the Civil War.During 1803, the President Thomas Jefferson has had a secret conversation through a secret note t hat he has given to the Congress ordering for an expedition into the place west of the Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean. He has felt that a quality and smart military man with perhaps a dozen of handpicked crew can victoriously plot the entire route and do it on an estimation of roughly $2,500. Jefferson's message is regarded secret due to France ownership in that territory. If this is found by the French Government, the expedition can be branded as trespassing.This is the first view of those who seen this great desert; however, western boosters have come up with a plan in order to lure settlers in the area by promoting the â€Å"The Myth of the garden. † In addition, during this period, France has offered a piece of territory in the west side, which is the whole Louisiana Territory, for $15,000,000. That same year, President Tomas Jefferson has his mind patched up and agreed to take the offer. Surprisingly, after an overnight, United States grew by about one million sq uare miles, from the Mississippi to the Rockies and from the Gulf of Mexico to Canada.This event has greatly caused widening in the part of the America. During the late 1800’s, around 1870s and 1880s, climatic changes have begun to occur in this arid wasteland. This has encouraged the inhabitants to settle and stay put in this area. American settlers have started rampaging, packing up their luggage and migrated in the land of â€Å"Mythical West Garden†. This became the start of the native’s nightmare. The native settlers during this period are Indians and other minority groups; however, they have been driven away from their homelands by the aggressive and domineering Americans.The stampede has occupied 430 million acres of land, which is actually twice the size of the nation. Furthermore, these settlers carved out ten new states until the three western-based commercial â€Å"empires† are established. Around 1865 and 1890 the American settlers have began their territorial rerouting and their way of income have been through mining, especially gold and silver; farming; and the cattle industry. During the westward expansion, widespread beliefs, activities, and objects influenced the daily existence of western emigrants. Moreover, the American settlers discovered the wide resources present in this area.The long protected forests and the divine natural up-springs are all tarnished by the American advancement and modernization. Mining and deforestation has become two of the most devastating hazards accompanied by the advancement. The natural resources of the native Indians are greatly mistreated by the Americans. The trees are cut down in order to be replaced by the houses, establishments, and ranches for the American community. Homeland of the natives, and their territories have been pushed away without being considered by the Americans until, major forests and natural resources are greatly damaged and reduced.In the end, the original fo restry respected by the ancestors of Indian cultures and traditions have been tarnished and destroyed by the advancing colonizers. During the same year and time, Cowboys have been popularized. The estimate of 35,000 males has entered the profession of being a cowboy. 25% of them are black, 12% are Mexican and majority of them are White Americans, 63%. The herding of domesticated animals have lead into territorial overtake since, ranch requires these land hectares in order to place their animals. In the end, the space between Indians and American has grown smaller, particularly in the side of the Indians.Because of this continuous threat, reckless advances and cruelty of American colonizers, the North America’s Indian forces started their civil war with the Americans. Around 1865, the Indian people have fought fiercely using their axes, bow and arrows and spears. However, they are still no match from the gunpowders and advance tools of the Americans. In the end, large reductio n from their population occurred. This event has caused the forces of Indians to be weak and fragile. Many of their women have become slave workers for the Americans. Some have been persecuted and disregarded.In the end, the Indians have become useless human beings. In 1860s, the Western Frontier has emerged and their definite aim is to transform the savagery of civilians battling over territories, towards a decent, moral and civilized individuals. The frontier reproduces American democracy and individualism – the frontier requires Americans to develop new institutions and â€Å"free land makes free men. † The frontier migration targets the expanse of territory as well as accumulation of riches; however, savagery and conflicts have become the exchange of such actions.Racial oppression not only for the Indians but also towards other cultural backgrounds occurs. The race of Hispanics, Blacks and Chinese has been greatly looked down by the Whites. The Hispanics during tho se times are traders as well Chinese, and these people are considered low class merchants; hence, the treatment pattern for these people as also low class. Degradation, racial and social discrimination are also the biggest issues during this period. The blacks, aside from Indians, are the ones who suffered the tremendous discriminative character of the whites. They are regarded as lowly individuals and most of them are treated as slaves.People during this time are greatly quarrelling mostly about their material properties and belongings, but little do they know that there are people being stepped aside and being ignored by their reckless actions. In the end, the effect boils down to those discriminated races and they are the ones that suffered because of the reckless and greedy actions of the Whites. One of the biggest historical events in this period is the Gold Rush, wherein the substance of interest is non-other than gold. The out-migration of non-natives following the Gold rush has given the Indians renewed numerical importance.The discovery of Gold in California and other nearby mines has lead easterners to migrate in the said are in order to have their part in this gold galore. This event has caused great multitude of immigrants coming from local and foreign lands. The situation has damaged mines; natural resources and influx of people have led into chaotic way of life. The situation of the people especially the original inhabitants of the area, which is the natives, has greatly worsened by the migratory frontiers. Going back to the statement of Martin Ridge,â€Å"The history of the American West is, almost by definition, a triumphal narrative for it traces a virtually unbroken chain of successes in national expansion† This is indeed a refutable statement. The Americans may have entered the land of Mythical Desert Garden; however, there are many people that have suffered because of their ruthless actions. It may be triumphal because they have over taken the natives, but the natural resources and the craving of their hands have been diminished. In the end, the statement remains doubtful for there are so many sacrifices that are heavier that the rewards they have taken.

Berkely. Info in description Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Berkely. Info in description - Essay Example It is derived from two Greek words, phil and nous, which when translated to English means Lover of Mind. In this dialogue, Berkley, through Philonous, brings forth a strong argument against the theory of materialism and argues out his points in a way that shows how strongly he believes in immaterialism. According to Philonous, immaterialism proves and brings forth the erroneous nature of skepticism. This paper will be assessing the arguments that have been developed to oppose materialism and those that have been brought forth to support the theory of immaterialism and how it refutes skepticism. The paper will be assessing how successful the arguments that Berkley presents are in convincing the reader and the reasons for their success or failure. This dialogue is in three parts. In the first part of the dialogue, Hylas expresses his utter disdain of skepticism and points out to the opinion that he has heard Philonous to hold that there is no such thing as material substance in the wor ld; a skeptical opinion. However, according to Philonous, it is Hylas who is skeptical and he seeks to prove that to him. The two therefore begin to engage in a philosophical battle of wits. Philonous begins by questioning Hylas on heat as a secondary quality. He questions Hylas of how one can be able to experience pain or pleasure through heat if it is not perceived in the mind. Philonous gives a hypothetical situation to Hylas of putting his hand near a fire. According to Hylas, there is only one sensation that one can feel when they do this. But Philonous proves that to be contrary to reality. When the hand is put near the fire, there are two sensations that are perceived or experienced at the same time; pain, and heat. Through this argument, Philonous is able to convince Hylas that a particular sensation cannot exist in reality if it is not perceived by the mind. He also manages to convince him that heat and such sensations are not a real being. They are only existent if they ar e perceived by the mind. Philonous then proceeds to argue out about sound. Hylas believes that sound is a sensation that is created as a result of movement in the air particles. However, Philonousgoes ahead and shutters Hylas’ philosophical standing because no sensation can exist outside the mind. The mind is what enables a sensation to exist. Hylas eventually agrees that sound can have no real being without the mind, just like the sensation of heat.The next argument that Philonous presents is about colors. Hylas, in his philosophical stand believes that everything that is visible to the human eye has color that is present in it. This argument then develops to one that is based on the sense of sight. At the end of it all, Philonous gets to convince Hylas that color exists as a perception of what we see. This is because when an object is illuminated under different kinds of light, the color appearance seems to change. Therefore, the color of any object is not definite and it i s determined by one’s perception of sight. The argument on things as perceived by sight still continues beyond this point. The two argue about the size and extension. Philonous argues that everything in this world that has the privilege of sight, be it an animal, ant, or any other creature, perceives the sizes of things according to their sight. Philonous gives an example of a mite. A mite at its size is supposed to be able to see its own foot and things that are equal in size or lesser to it as bodies of some considerable dimension. However,

Sweeping Political and Economic Changes Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Sweeping Political and Economic Changes - Essay Example Customer expectations can be fulfilled or even exceeded by opting for quality systems whether the organization concerned is a manufacturing industry or an analytical laboratory offering services of chemical analyses. 2. DEFINITION OF QUALITY According to Mulmi,(2009, p7-8)the term ‘Quality’ has been defined in many a different way by various authorities on quality. For example he cites, Joseph M Juran’s definition of quality as ‘fitness for use’, Philip B Crosby’s definition as ‘Quality is conformance to requirement, it is respect to humanity’ and the American National Standards Institute’s definition of quality as the ‘totality of the features and characteristics of a product that bears on its ability to satisfy the stated or implied needs’. The International Organization for Standardization has defined quality as the ‘Degree to which a set of inherent characteristics fulfills requirements’ (ISO: 2 005a, 3.1.1). ... 3. SELECTIING A CONTEXT-THE ANALYTICAL LABORATORY Cases (2000,p xix) defines Analytical Chemistry as a ‘metrological science that develops, optimizes and applies measurement processes intended to derive selecting chemical information of global or partial type from natural or artificial objects or systems in order to solve analytical problems’. Fifield & Kealy (2000,p524) point out that a typical analytical laboratory carries out development and day-to-day application of analytical methods in optimum conditions. According to them, the successful functioning of activities in an analytical laboratory necessitates the simultaneous management of a number of related but different operations. Reproducibility, reliability, and efficiency of operation of various instruments are as much necessary as are collation and interpretation of data which result in the generation of valid conclusions drawn from them. In the present context, the Analytical Laboratory has been taken to illust rate the impact of quality issues in this dissertation. 4. QUALITY ISSUES RELEVANT TO AN ANALYTICAL LABORATORY Analytical laboratories are organizations that obtain process and communicate information about the composition, structure and relative amounts of constituent elements in matter or systems, from a chemical or biochemical point of view. The quality system, administrative system and technical system that govern the operations of a laboratory are together termed as the management system by the ISO ( 2005b, p1). Due to the increasing use of management systems, it is becoming increasingly important to ensure that analytical laboratories do operate to a quality management system while at the same time become capable of demonstrating their technical competency to international standards.  

Operations management Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words - 2

Operations management - Assignment Example In addition, the London Ritz hotel through their annual service quality week awards the best employee mostly through customer’s votes. The organization does its best in terms of service delivery to the customers because they believe in culture of employee satisfaction who later sells the same to customers in building the organizational reputation. The Ritz hotel in London is popular around the world due to its remorseful as a tourist attraction center. It is featured amongst the top most tourism profitable organizations in the whole world, generating invisible returns to London and the United Kingdom as a whole. For sustainable economic development of this institution, the management of Ritz hotel has continuously done its best to improve the level of professionalism and quality management in its services by ensuring that the customers’ demands are met and the institution remains the most competitive in the service industry sector (Bamford and Forrester 2010). Moreover, The Ritz hotel does its best to ensure that all its employees and practitioners receives recognition and high level of benefits in terms of ethical conduct since any practices of the stakeholders may subject the business to lose the reputation it has built over a long period of time thus leading to a downfall in returns. THESIS: This report is developed to determine the operation management strategies that the Ritz Hotel in London has adopted to remain competitive in the market. At the Ritz hotel inventory and assets, management is considered as one of the most important areas that requires keen management personnel. This is because the hotel spends a lot of money to purchase food items, the utensils and sanitaries, which are the commonly used items. Therefore, the hotel has put in place enough measures that ensure that competitive assets management system

Chronic Conditions Prevention and Management Assignment - 1

Chronic Conditions Prevention and Management - Assignment Example Secondly, cancer has many causative agents which include viruses like the human papilloma virus, radiations, and unprotected sex among other factors. Cancer has a long latency period implying that it can take along period before the effects are seen. Latency period depends on factors like degree of exposure to the risk, causative agent and immune competency of an individual and the site of inoculation of the causative agent (Pories, Moses and Lotz, 2009) Cancer is a disease known to affect all segments of the Australian population. However, the older people are primary the biggest victims. As such, the framework targets people aged between 50 years and 70 years. Greene & Heniford (2010) state that incidents of cancer increase exponentially with advancement in age. It is for this reason that different scholars like McVie (2006) and Pories, Moses & Lotz (2009) have come up with studies that are focused on mitigating the effects of the disease among the elderly. Members of the targeted population are not only at higher risk of contracting the disease but also face various challenges in recovery from the condition. When determining the treatment procedures for the group, care givers are always required to focus on the overall health of the individuals in question as well as their ability to keep up with their family activities. Different sets of conditions influence how the people aged between 50 and 75 cope with cancer. Most of the sta ccatos are related to their physical health. Age is not only a cancer risk factor but also an aspect that influences the probability of suffering from other related conditions and injuries. The aging process among this target population is a very complex issue. Foot & Sanson-Fisher (2005) notes that the actual age and the physical wellbeing of the members of this sample affects how they respond to cancer and their mental wellbeing. The other major characteristic of this group is their physical ability to respond to the

Sexual Harassment Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 3

Sexual Harassment - Research Paper Example The issue of sexual harassment affects the whole society and requires joined efforts to combat it. The starting point of handling the issue of sexual harassment is conducting research about the issue and understanding the various perspectives and contexts upon which sexual harassment takes place. This paper will start by discussing the origins, the evolution, and the global context of sexual harassment. It will also offer possible solutions of ways to decrease sexual harassment that is occurring in selected countries. Sexual harassment is an issue experienced by men and women of all ages, races, religions and nationalities, all over the world. The number of sexual harassment reports around the world continues to increase. The threat of sexual harassment affects the lives of millions, especially women, worldwide. Victims of sexual harassment often find it hard to recover from the trauma. They usually exhibit mental stress, depression, and low self-esteem. As such, the effects of sexual harassment may ultimately affect the lives of these people. â€Å"Incidences of sexual harassment are on the rise in most parts of the world particularly towards women† (Kenny, Samah and Chan 296). In Bahrain, most of the reported cases of sexual harassment are towards women, especially foreigners working in the country. In order to comprehend and know the dynamics and the importance of addressing the issue of sexual harassment, it is vital to assess the global trends of the matter in order to understand its severity. Most of the global research on sexual harassment has focused on women. Due to the increasing rates of sexual harassment in the world, there is a need for governments, organizations, and the international community, to take affirmative action towards the issue. â€Å"The world should not view incidents of sexual harassment as isolated incidences but as a construed aggression against the rights of people† (Akhtar 55). The world today is increasing

Provider Roles in Spiritual Care Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Provider Roles in Spiritual Care - Essay Example As the discussion stresses the spiritual dimension of the client is strongly evident during illness, stress, difficulties, and end-life-care when people strongly needed the direction and comfort derived from their spiritual preferences. Faith and religion are essential components of a client’s spiritual dimension and health provider has the responsibility to have self-awareness of one’s spiritual preferences before integrating a non-biased spiritual care.This paper discusses that in order to address a holistic care, the healthcare team must involve the participation of multi-faith chaplain professionals to assist healthcare team members in providing specific cultural, religious, and faith needs of clients and families. Spiritual care is the most difficult task of a provider, specially the nurses. Most of the nurses lack adequate training for spiritual care giving and may influence the provision of adequate spiritual care. Healthcare providers such as nurses need to have formal education training or graduate programs in pastoral counseling or ministry in order to provide an excellent and competent spiritual care and to refer clients to other spiritual care providers as needed.  Organizational team members such as the Baptist Healing Trust aim to further the work of non-profit agencies in providing health services to vulnerable populations in Middle Tennessee.  Members of the Baptist Healing Trust heal with love and compassionate care in accordance with the Christian tradition.

Car Safety Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Car Safety - Term Paper Example This paper will discuss a number of aspects of engineering and construction related to car safety such as car design, assembly, and equipment that eradicate or diminish car accidents. The History of Car Safety Car safety might have become a concern almost from the start of mechanized road vehicle expansion. The second artillery tractor that was powered by steam was produced by a Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot in the year 1771 and is described by some individuals to have crashed into a barricade through its demonstration run. On the other hand, Georges Ageon claims that the earliest declaration of this incident dates from the year1801, and it cannot be traced in any present-day accounts. The utilization of seat belts and cushion dashboards was advocated for in the year 1934, which led to the formation of the Automobile Safety League of America. The same year, GM undertook the initial barrier crash experiment. A number of experiments and addition of a number of items in the car through the year 1940 to date has developed the car design, assembly, and equipment for the eradication or reduction of car accidents (Hamer 156). Safety did not develop into a promotion point for novel cars until the late years of the 1980s, but it is without doubt now. There has been augmented public understanding of the relative efficiency of safety features within diverse models, which has been elevated by the prologue of self-sufficient crash tests, principally the New Car Assessment Program (NCAP), which is a global crash test establishment in which the NRMA, as well as other groupings are members. While noteworthy legislation, for example, the blood alcohol restrictions practice for driving has taken part in playing a key role in dropping road crash injury as well as deaths. However, to date, the seat belt is the development which has saved many human beings than any other (Jain 187). Active and Passive Car Safety Active safety refers to technology that supports in the avoidance of a crash w hile passive safety is a technology that supports in the avoidance of a crash to mechanisms of the vehicle such as airbags, seatbelts, as well as the physical construction of the car, which can aid in the protection of occupants when a crash occurs (Crandall, Bhalla & Madeley 234). Crash Evasion Systems Crash evasion systems and pieces of equipment assist the driver as well as the car itself to evade a crash. Cars are outfitted with a selection of lights as well as reflectors to mark their existence, position, distance across, length, and bearing of travel to put across the driver's intention and measures to other drivers. Crash evasion systems include the car's headlamp, which some have headlights that rotate with the obverse wheels of a car, revealing the pathway around a curve. Other evasion systems include front and back position lamps, turn warning signs, brake or stop lamps, repealing lamps, side marker lights, suspension systems, cars’ mirror, as well as reflectors. Dr iver Assistance Systems A division of crash evasion is driver support systems, which aid the driver to become aware of obstacles that are concealed and to manage the car. Driver support systems consist of mechanical braking systems that put a stop to or lessen the rigorousness of a crash. They utilize long and short array radar, to function efficiently at whichever

Computerized provider order entry(CPOE) Assignment

Computerized provider order entry(CPOE) - Assignment Example These systems are used for various reasons in healthcare. It is worth noting that this system makes it possible for individuals in the health care industry to insert precise and detailed analytical information relating to results from medical investigations to identify presence of disease, prescription information, as well as nursing information and guidelines. This helps individuals to keep proper electronic records. CPOE is a computerized system that helps link medical practitioners with patients medical information, links a medical practitioner with his or her colleagues in the health sector, links all computerized systems in a health institution, and also links one medical unit with other units or departments. CPOE helps reduce errors in the medical field. Some of the information entered in the CPOE system include prescribed amounts of medicines, sensitivities, and patients medical history. Availability of all this information is important as it helps healthcare providers consider all the benefits and possible effects of medications and hence minimize inaccuracies. A methodical investigation conducted in Brigham and Womens Hospital focusing on the effectiveness of CPOE, there was a decline medical mistakes or inaccuracies by fifty five percent in a period of four and half years (Doolan and Bates, 2002) To understand the benefits of CPOE, it is imperative to compare it with paper-based systems. According to Doolan and Bates (2002), "The advantages of CPOE over paper-based methods include decreased transcriptions, increased accuracy and completeness, and the ability to enter orders in multiple locations" (A4). This systems also makes it possible for health care providers to make resolutions regarding the patients health status aptly and timely as all information is readily available and computerized. The implementation of CPOE improves competence and effectiveness in health delivery systems. This is

Alibaba Essay Example for Free

Alibaba Essay He and his team have achieved many firsts in the area of Chinese Internet Trade. He founded the first internet commercial website in China, and created a 82B marketplace platform to all small and medium-sized enterprises in Asia and around the world. He promoted the Trust Pass plan on the website, which created the worlds first on-line credit platform for companies. Under Jack Mas leadership, the Alibaba 82B websites have attracted more than 17 million registered members in 220 countries globally, with daily postings exceeding 35 million, making Alibaba. om the most active Internet market place and 82B community worldwide. Since the inception of the company, more than 400 media have reported about Alibaba and Jack Ma, in dozens of languages. In addition to numerous awards presented to Alibaba. com, Jack Ma was lso selected by the World Economic Forum as one of the 100 Young Global Leaders in 2001; was named Business Leader of 2001 by Asia Commerce Association of USA; and was featured on the covers of Forbes Magazine, Nikkei Magazine, and Fortune (China) Magazine. In 2004, Jack Ma was honored as one of the Top 10 Economic Personas of the Year by CCTV. In 2005, Fortune Magazine ranked him one of the 25 Most Powerful Businesspeople in Asia and this year Business 2. 0 ranked him 1 5th among 50 Who Matter Now and Silicon. com ranked him 1 lth among its top 50 Agenda Setters 2006. company, Alibaba. om builds its business success and rapid growth on entrepreneurship, innovation, and service. Says Jack Ma: The company will remain a start-up no matter how long it has been in existence. What ever has been stable, I will disrupt that stability. The company needs to continue to innovate and grow. I want the employees to believe that we are a small company, no matter how big we get. I believe we can create a system and culture to perpetuate this culture of entrepreneurial and start-up spirit. To fuel the entrepreneurial and innovative spirit, along with a service attitude, Jack Ma is looking for people with the following characteristics: 1) People with a dream. Dont let your colleagues work for you. They need to work for their dreams! If people dont believe in the dream and Join the company purely for money, they wont stay long (refer to Appendix 2 for Alibabas vision, mission, and values). 2) People with shared values. The value system is very important at Alibaba. We are crazy for it! In China, we might be the only crazy company who so strongly maintains our value system. People who dont fit our values cannot survive in the company. (Alibabas six ore values are customer comes first, teamwork and cooperation, embracing change, integrity, passion, and honoring your Job). 3) People with a smile. When we hire people, we look for people who are naturally optimistic and happy. In the start-up process we will meet with difficulties and challenges. Optimistic and happy people can better deal with these challenges and succeed. Its hard to make a happy person unhappy, but its even harder to make an unhappy person happy. I am able to tell whether a person is on our staff by their smile. 4) People who enjoy work and can turn stress and challenges into innovation. Employees must be able to handle pressure and challenges, and turn them into positive energy for innovation, not negative energy for depression. 5) People who work together. We dont welcome people who think they are smart because they may think they are above others. This industry is so new that it really doesnt have any real talents. The people who are real talents probably dont know they are talents. Everyone has tremendous potential. We all use other peoples strengths to overcome our weaknesses We are all ordinary people, but our goals are extraordinary. While Alibaba seeks people with strong rofessional skills, these characteristics are even more important in deciding whether a person will Join, stay, and enjoy working in the company. 2 Alibabas Unique Value Proposition † a Smiling Community with a Dream While Alibaba is clear about what kind of talent they need for business success, the question is: how can the company attract, retain, and engage such talent, especially in the startup stage, when Alibaba had limited resources? The answer is a dream, a dream to make a difference in the way people do business, and a dream to create wealth together. During the start-up stage of Alibaba, Jack Ma often told those nterested in working for Alibaba, not of the great working conditions or the high pay, of what they could earn elsewhere. Alibaba also strives to provide a community, where employees can have fun to work together to pursue their dreams with minimal bureaucracy and politics. Ma recently painted a vivid image of his ideal work environment for his employees as follows: Blue Sky Processes, systems, and decisions need to be open and transparent. Theres nothing that should be hidden from employees. We should be transparent. Solid Ground Everything we do should be honest, ethical and contribute to the welfare of the ociety. The company should be on solid financial ground so employees wont worry about the financial future of the company. Free-flowing Ocean Talent must be allowed to rotate Jobs across subsidiaries and departments. Green Forest (R Conducive conditions for continued innovation. Harmonious Community Peers with shared values and simple interpersonal relationships. The ultimate objective of such a community is to offer employees a work environment to grow, contribute, and live out their dreams. Bureaucracy, secrecy, and stagnation are all attributes that inhibit employees, and the company must actively seek out these ehaviors and destroy them. Alibaba from the Eyes of Employees To what extent do employees at Alibaba experience what the company intends to offer? Why do they Join the company and how do they feel as employees working there? Our focus group discussion with employees in different functions and levels confirms that Alibaba is indeed a unique company to work with. The following themes and direct quotations capture their experiences and the feeling of working at Alibaba: A leader with charisma and credibility: Jack Ma is the magnet that draws people into the company and provides them with a credible dream. When I spoke with Jack Ma, I was impressed with his vision and business model. I had been in the internet business for a while but had not seen a successful model like the one Alibaba is employing. Tang Zhenrong, International Website Engineering Department, and one year with the company. Although the objectives for each year seem to be very high, somehow we have always managed to accomplish those objectives. With past success, we have built up confidence that were able to achieve the objectives no matter what they are. Lili Li, Sales Research Department, six years with the company. The passion of Alibaba is from within and radiates outward to others. We can see that they truly believe in the company and the culture of Alibaba is built from there, not by programs or processes. Echo Lu, Director of Organization and People Development. The company is true to its values at all levels. When Jack Ma talks to management about hiring, he told us that we must hire people With the same smell. Zhang Yu, Director of Marketing, Taobao. com Changes, challenges, and growth: People grow under tremendous pressure to change and grow. The speed of change is three to four times that of other organizations. The objectives are crazy, but when we reach and surpass the targets, we then have a profound sense of accomplishment. With the constant pressure and changes, were also forced to evaluate how we do our own Jobs and how we work as a team. Is it sufficient to accomplish the new objectives? Do we need to look at the challenge differently and try different things? Zhang Yu, Director of Marketing, Taobao. om 4 Communication and transparency Jack will meet with all new employees in a group setting, has meetings with management at least quarterly, and bi-annual staff meetings with all employees. On the intranet, theres a BBS that allows staff to post their thoughts and opinions. Jack often interacts with staff on the BBS in an open and casual way. Echo Lu, Director of Organization and People Development A company that cares about employees During the SARS crisis, because of one suspected case, Alibaba made the decision in one day to have all employees work from home and to pass the required isolation period. As a result of this quick action, we contained any possible outbreak, May. Employees continued to perform Jobs tremendously well at home. We encouraged each other through BBS, phone calls, and e-mails. Lili L, Sales Research Department The most positive thing to result from the SARS crisis was an enormous amount of pride for employees who went through this crisis together. They built a strong bond through experiencing this event together. Its still a much talked about event in the company. In fact, some employees have named the day that staff were sent home to contain the outbreak, Alibaba Day, to commemorate the event. The spirit of Alibaba came alive on that day. Echo Lu, Director of Organization and People Development Leadership and Management Practices that Create the Unique Value Proposition Leadership priority: As CEO, Jack Ma invests most of his time in three areas: vision/ mission/strategy, customers, and employees. By clearly articulating and constantly communicating the vision and mission of the company, he creates the most important foundation in attracting outstanding talent. Dont let your colleague work for you, but work for their dreams! Also, it is important to deeply understand customer needs, not competitors actions. Understanding customer needs can help Alibaba develop concrete business plans and focus on realizing its dream. Finally, it is also critical to realistically assess the competencies of employees. It will decide how fast, how far, and how the company can execute its business strategy and targets in the coming year and next three years. His attentiveness to talent is ref lected in two management practices. First, in the monthly senior management meeting, the first question he always asked is How is your team doing? instead of How many sales has your team made? Second, he always spends a lot of time alking around different business units and departments to smell how the people are doing there. If he smells something wrong, he will immediately talk to the unit head to identify problems and improve the situation. As a matter of fact, all senior executives at VP level and above must develop such smelling skills at Alibaba, to make sure that people are being managed properly. Value alignment: Strong shared values are essential in building a harmonious community where people feel comfortable working together and in ensuring that decisions and behaviors are aligned with company direction. Alibaba has gone the extra mile to make sure that people share the same values. When Alibaba hires people, they look for people with the same smell†people who are optimistic, happy, team oriented, ha rd working, and willing to invest their lives to achieve an ideal. When employees Join the company, they attend at least 10 days of orientation, focusing primarily on the companys vision, mission, and values. When the company assesses the performance of employees, 50% is tied to values and 50% is tied to business results. When employees demonstrate behaviors contrary to company core alues, they are asked to leave no matter how strong their business results are, or very important at Alibaba. People who dont fit into our values cannot survive in the company. Stretch opportunities and challenges: While Alibaba offers different training programs for different levels of employees in both technical and management areas, people grow rapidly by achieving impossible targets year after year. Although the objectives for each year seem high and unreasonable, somehow, we have always managed to accomplish those objectives. With past success we have built up the onfidence that we are able to achieve the objectives, no matter what they are, says Lili Li, of the Sales Research Department. At Alibaba I have been stretched and challenged. I have seen myself grow more than in my previous Jobs, says Zhang Yu from Taobao. com. Indeed, Jack Ma believes that all people have potential that can be unleashed in the right environment, allowing them to stretch and challenge themselves. Ma quoted one of his favorite examples, Several years ago when I looked at the current COO Li Qi, there was no way he looked like a COO. Nowadays, from all different angles, he really looks like a COO. Talent has tremendous potential to grow. However, in order for people to grow under challenges, three elements are important. First is teamwork. Alibaba uses teamwork to complement individual strengths and weaknesses to achieve extraordinary goals. Second are the right people, who enjoy challenges and have fun working. Third are line managers who are accountable for personal growth within their teams. Jack Ma remarked that all line managers at Alibaba are entrusted with two scarce resources (capital and talent) to create value for the company. In addition to ensuring good financial returns, they lso need to create value for their talent in terms of their growth and retention. Thats why Jack Ma also walks around the company to smell how people are being managed in different departments, and why he always asks business leaders how their teams are doing in the monthly CEO review. Wealth creation and sharing: All employees of Alibaba receive stock options, and in effect are owners of the organization. At Alibaba, stock options are not a tool for retention but for reward sharing. From five cents per share to five dollars per share in 6 years, many employees have not only shown tremendous pride in the company but also shared the fruits of their collective success for the well-being of both the society and themselves. Transparency and communication: Communication is an important practice within Alibaba that helps maintain a culture of transparency to all employees. Employees have easy access to all executives, including Jack Ma, through the use of email, BBS, and face-to-face meetings (monthly, quarterly or bi-annual staff meetings). Jack Ma sets a high standard for his executives to follow by regularly interacting with employees. All decisions are transparent, and people can see how they are made. This transparency is getting somewhat lost as we get bigger, but were still given a lot of information when possible. Our trust in the leaders has helped us to overcome this change in transparency. Communication is always good and strong from Sales Research Department. Advice to other CEOs When asked about what advice he would like to offer to other CEOs in China, Jack Ma suggested four: 1) Always believe people are the most important asset, and capital comes second. 2) It is not necessary to find the best talent but the talent that best fits your company. 3) Find and groom the talent inside our company rather than keep searching for talent from outside. The best talent is home-groomed people who fit our company culture. It always takes at least three years before people become fully immersed into our company culture 4) Believe in the potential of talent.

Action research

Action research ACTION RESEARCH, ITS BENEFITS AND CHALLENGES IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHER EDUCATION Action research in English Language Teaching is relatively a recent development which has been predominant in the literature in late 1980s and early 1990s. This essay explores the definitions, literature, benefits and challenges of action research as a method of teacher research in teacher education and development. It concludes by a critical assessment of the application of this research methodology and its sustainability in ELT. 1. INTRODUCTION There is a plethora of definitions of action research just as there is myriad literature on the subject by many scholars in many fields of human endeavour. Burns (2005) in her seminal paper on action research has explored definitions of action research by extensively highlighting the views of educators such as Denzin Lincoln (1998), Rogers (1961), Grotjahn (1987), Freire (1970), Schutz (1967) among others. She sums up that action research is a part of a quiet methodological revolution towards qualitative research approaches which impacted on the social sciences and emerged in reaction to scientific, experimental and quantitative paradigms. It encourages participative, naturalistic enquiry with its exploratory-interpretive underpinnings (Burns, 2005:57). Action research, since 1940s, and its related branches such as action science, action learning, practitioner research, participatory research, and collaborative/cooperative enquiry have been part of the new revolution towards change in human social and economic situations. Burns further explains that action research is a general movement that attempts to create meaning and understanding in a problematic social situations and improving the quality of human interactions and practices within those situations. The relevance of action research to English Language Teaching and teacher education, as we can deduce from the foregoing, is that it cuts across many disciplinary fields which include the field of applied linguistics. It is seen as a flexible research methodology suitable for research that supports change. According to Hopkins (1985: 32) and Ebbut (1985:156) the combination of action and research presupposes action as a form of disciplined inquiry in which personal attempt is made to understand, improve and reform practice. Cohen Marion (1994:186) see action research as small-scale intervention in the functioning of real world thus a closer examination of the effects of change of such intervention integrates social research with exploratory action to promote development. Lisa (2008:4) states action research involves fluid and overlapping cycles of investigation, action planning, piloting of new practices and evaluation of outcomes incorporating at all stages the collection and analysis of data and generation of knowledge. She maintains that the outcomes of action research are both practical and theoretical. The knowledge it generates has a direct and ongoing impact on changing practice for participants and on a wider audience through its publications, and application. This essay, however, focuses on educational action research (teacher action; as in Borgs paper on Conditions for Teacher Research; Condition 9: Community) with inclination to English language teaching. Thus the essay explores educational action research, its processes, purposes and characteristics in line with the views expressed by Burns (2009). The essay draws its conclusion from the challenges, status and how action research can be encouraged, maintained and promoted in English language teaching. 2. THE ORIGIN OF ACTION RESEARCH The popular belief is that Kurt Lewin is the originator of action research in the 1940s. His work was intended to change the life chances of disadvantaged groups in terms of housing, employment, prejudice, socialization and training. The combination of action and research has contributed to the attraction of this method of research to researchers, teachers, academic and educational community. Kurt was a psychologist, influenced by the work of the social philosopher, J. L. Moreno, in group dynamics and social movements in early 20th century Germany. Kurt conceived of research as leading to social action, and saw action research as a spiral of steps each of which is composed of circle of planning, action and fact-finding about the result of the action (Lewin, 1948:206, cited in Burns, 2009:58). Zuber-Skerritt (1996a) suggests emancipatory action researchis collaborative, critical and self-critical inquiry by practitioners into a major problem or issue or concern in their own practice. They own the problem and feel responsible and accountable for solving it through teamwork and through following a cyclical process of: strategic planning; actions, i.e. implementing the plan; observation, evaluation and self-evaluation; critical and self-critical reflections on the results On the basis of points 1-3 decisions could be made for the next cycle of action research. Earlier, Zuber-Skerritt (1996a:3-5) argues action research is emancipatory when it aims not only at technical and practical improvement and the participants better understanding, along with transformation and change within the existing boundaries and conditions, but also at changing the system itself or those conditions which impede desired improvement in the system/organization There is no hierarchy, but open and symmetrical communication. The emancipatory interest is based on the notion of action researchers as participants in a community of equals and as improvement to professional practice at the local, perhaps classroom level, within the capacities of individuals and the situations in which they are working. Action research is part of a broader agenda of changing education, changing schooling and changing society. A review of action research frameworks reveals several common features. An action research project seeks to create knowledge, propose and implement change, and improve practice and performance (Stringer, 1996). Kemmis and McTaggart (1988) suggest that the fundamental components of action research include the following: (1) developing a plan for improvement, (2) implementing the plan, (3) observing and documenting the effects of the plan, and (4) reflecting on the effects of the plan for further planning and informed action. New knowledge gained results in changes in practice (see also, Fullan, 2000a). Action research is often conducted to discover a plan for innovation or intervention and is collaborative. Based on Kemmis and McTaggarts (1998) original formulation of action research and subsequent modifications, Mills (2003) developed the following framework for action research: Describe the problem and area of focus. Define the factors involved in your area of focus (e.g., the curriculum, school setting, student outcomes, and instructional strategies). Develop research questions. Describe the intervention or innovation to be implemented. Develop a timeline for implementation. Describe the membership of the action research group. Develop a list of resources to implement the plan. Describe the data to be collected. Develop a data collection and analysis plan. Select appropriate tools of inquiry. Carry out the plan (implementation, data collection, data analysis). Report the results. This deductive approach implements a planned intervention, monitors its implementation, and evaluates the results. A more inductive approach, formulated by Burns (1999), is to carry out action research to explore what changes need to be made or what actions need to be taken in a specific instructional setting. Burns suggests the following interrelated activities: Explore an issue in teaching or learning. Identify areas of concern. Observe how those areas play out in the setting of the study. Discuss how the issue might be addressed. Collect data to determine the action to be taken (e.g., student questionnaires, observation reports, journal entries). Plan strategic actions based on the data to address the issue. Kemmis and McTaggerts approach focuses on implementing an action plan, whereas Burns focuses on planning for action. Commonly used data collection tools in action research projects include existing archival sources in schools (e.g., attendance reports, standardized test scores, lesson plans, curriculum documents,), questionnaires, interviews, observation notes and protocols, videotapes, photographs, journals and diaries, and narratives (e.g., stories told by teachers, see Hartman, 1998). ACTION RESEARCH IN EDUCATION Burns (2009) points out that the modern seeds of AR in educational contexts can be found in the work of John Dewey (and can be traced to Aristotle). Dewey had argued against the separation of theory from practice, and this had profoundly influenced educational enquiry in the first part of the 20th century to the present time. This has been the basis for future research by educators, academics and social scientists into their various fields with the aims of improving the human conditions. Nevertheless, in recent years a great body of literature in language teacher education has focus on teacher beliefs and reflection. Movement such as the teacher as researcher and teacher as reflective practitioner have been trying to promote the benefits of empowering teachers to take control of their professional development and curriculum development through reflection on practice. The new trend encourages teachers to carry out systematic rigorous enquiry into problematic areas of teaching, learning and curriculum in their classrooms, devise plans of action, carry out these plans of action and collect data to evaluate the revised plan in a cyclic pattern(Denny,2005:59-60). It is however noteworthy to understand that the movements teacher as researcher and teacher as reflective practitioner developed in different forms by different proponents of AR in UK, the USA and Australia, though they have much in common and strongly influenced by teacher education(Zeichner,2001 in Denny, 2005) . After all the polemics, it is obvious and important that teachers need support in order to carry on AR, streamline the research process, understand and imbibe group research ethics, ability to learn fast and become familiar with the literature on the theme of the research. Teachers on training like us, and practicing ELT/ESL with less experience or even completely unfamiliar with AR should be enlightened, given guidance on background reading in research methodology before any assignment or to initiate AR project. Where resources are available, there would be the need to organise a workshop at the beginning for a group with a varied and differing experiences to teach the principle of action research, methods of finding a focus which is realistic, selecting and designing the data gathering tools and planning the research timeline(Denny,2005). Also in line with Dennys (2005) suggestion, I feel that teacher researchers involved in group project should be also be involved in organising initial workshops and dissemination of the results of the workshop through publication. The group should include a researcher experienced in AR and with experience in applying for grants, presenting and publishing research reports. 3. MERITS AND BENEFITS OF ACTION RESEARCH Action research has made some significant positive impacts in language teaching field, especially ELT/ESL and on teachers involved in it, individually and collectively, however, the precise nature of these impacts on language teaching and learning may be difficult to ascertain in tangible concrete terms. This may not be unconnected to the argument that AR is not a research method can be sustained and replicated, because of lack of formal unified theory and training its conduct. Nonetheless, scholars such as Kemmis and McTaggart (1982:2-5, in Burns, 2005:68) claim that AR has enable teachers to develop skills in:  ¨ thinking systematically about what happens in the classroom  ¨ implementing action where improvements are thought to be possible  ¨ monitoring and evaluating the effects of the with a view to continuing the improvement  ¨ monitoring complex situations critically and practically  ¨ implementing a flexible approach to school or classroom  ¨ making improvements through action and reflection  ¨ researching the real, complex and often confusing circumstances and constraints of the modern school  ¨ recognizing and translating evolving ideas into action. Many more claims concerning the benefits of AR are made, Burns (1999: 14 15) states that the Australian teachers collaborated with her had experienced:  ¨ deeper engagements with their own classroom practices  ¨ a better understanding of research and methods for carrying out research  ¨ less sense of isolation from other teachers  ¨ a personal challenge, satisfaction and professional growth  ¨ heightened awareness of external factors impinging on their classrooms. 4. ARGUMENTS AGAINST ACTION RESEARCH Action research as a form of research is not without problems; articulation, conception and application. It has attracted a lot of criticisms; one major criticism is that research is an activity best left to academic specialists who have the training and capacity. Thus AR has no academic prestige and finesse. Jarvis (1981) is one of the proponents of this line of thinking in the language teaching field and similar views were expressed in TESOL Newsletter (2001), (see Burns, 2009:66-67). However, scholars like Borg (2002) feel differently, and reject the traditional boundaries between teachers and researchers. In fact Borg is championing the cause for teacher-researcher, has written extensively on this topic; Borg (2006) Conditions for Teacher Researcher. There is therefore need to address views such as Jarvis, if AR is to be considered as a research methodology. Many more criticisms against AR that deserve our attention are that it:  ¨ has not developed sound research procedures, techniques and methodology  ¨ is small-scale and therefore not generalizable(has low external validity)  ¨ shows low control of the research environment and therefore cannot contribute to causal theories of teaching and learning  ¨ exhibits strong personal involvement on the part of the participant and therefore is overly subjective and anecdotal  ¨ is not reported in a form that conforms to a recognisable scientific genre (Burns,2009:67). In addition to above criticisms AR has been criticised as messy, informal, and structurally unformed involving imprecise cycles of research and action. 5. CURRENT TRENDS IN ACTION RESEARCH Despite the arguments and counter arguments for and against AR as a methodology in language teaching fields, its range of activities has impacted on the participating teachers who have been engaged in it. It is now being accepted as a movement in the language teaching field, though it is not internationally widespread. This is because some essential conditions that promote AR, such as motivation, support, research knowledge, skills, and the potential for dissemination of findings are not readily available. This is in contrast to where AR has taken room, teachers are well supported, teaching in instructional contexts, such as in Australia and North America (Borg, unpublished, cited in Burns, 2009). Most ELT/ESL professional are still uninvolved in AR and despite the enthusiasm in favour of AR interest and involvement in it is on the decline. Most ELT and especially ESL teachers are not exposed to AR, and may not even have an idea of how it works. Some extensive workshops and conferences where teachers are involved in practical demonstration of teaching planning and presentation may result into AR. A case in point is my personal experience in Alfaisal International Academy, Riyadh. The Academy in collaboration with British Council organised a Training Workshop on the Teaching of Composition between the months of September and October, 2007. All participating teachers were given papers with spaces, and were asked to freely express the problems they encounter in the teaching of composition. The teachers were asked to present their views in groups and discuss the problems which include the choice of topic, sentence and paragraph development, logical arrangement of ideas, styles and soon. At the end of the month-long training most of the participating teachers were able to improve upon their composition class. The composition training was highly contextualized and localized in its attempt to investigate a situation in a specific school. We were able to convert tacit knowledge of student progress in composition writing to explicit knowledge that could be communicated clearly to other constituents, such as board members and parents. The training confirmed our individual opinions, observations, and intuitions based on investigation of our inputs in the training. If our observations were taken into considerations, it would provide impetus for changes in practice and curriculum, based on information that was systematically collected and synthesized. This information would lead to the expansion of the language capacity of the Arab ESL students through a revised curriculum that involved storytelling, sentence-level production of the language, and the use of content-based discourse-level speaking tasks. The research was participatory and collaborative, involving all of the international community English as second language teachers in Alfaisal International Academy, Riyadh Saudi Arabia. The problem is that such workshops are once-in-a-blue-moon events, wide apart and hardly sustainable. Moreover, we did not call it AR. However, it has all the features of action research. 6. CHALLENCES FACING ACTION RESEARCH AS A PRACTICE One of the major challenges of action research is to create awareness about its nature, scope, benefits in language teaching fields. Besides its inclusion as a certificatory requirement course, it should be encouraged through conferences and worldwide professional body where contacts can be maintained. Dissemination of individual and cooperative research findings would ensure the growth expansion of AR. Despite AR impacts in the language teaching learning field, more interesting challenges and tensions are still prevalent. I share Burns (2009) concerns that there are differing understandings, of ARs purpose, scope, and practices in various contexts. We should really consider finding answers to questions concerning the future directions of AR in a number of broad areas, such as: How should we envisage the primary purposes and outcomes of AR? Is it mainly a vehicle for practitioners personal and professional development, or can it also have a role in the production of knowledge for the field? Is AR simply an accessible version of research for teachers, or does it also denote an emerging paradigm with its own epistemology, methodologies and investigative practices? If so, how should standards of quality be addressed? In what ways can AR open up opportunities for collective forms of knowledge about teaching and learning that are inclusive of academic and teaching communities? What kinds of relationships between teachers, teacher educators and researchers will need to emerge to facilitate collective knowledge production? (How) can AR activity in language teaching also address broader issues of curriculum development, social justice and educational political action, thus contributing to the greater sustainability of effective educational practices? 7. CONCLUSION This research methodology, despite many contentions, criticism, arguments and counter arguments on the nature, scope and processes, is used in many fields of human endeavour such as social and health services, community development and education, to address a long history of difficulties in successfully transferring research knowledge into changes in practice. It is a means of combining the generation of knowledge with professional development of practitioners through their participation as co-researchers. It also serves as a barrier breaker between policymakers and practitioners, giving them richer insights into practice and an active role in policy development as well as its implementation respectively. This is clear in a research where teachers are involved in the identification of problem, plan on how to solve the problem in a participatory, collaborative, cooperative way. The various inputs of individual teacher researcher and all participating teacher researchers are the data t hat would inform the policy of change. Thus when teachers are part of the planning of policy and designing curriculum, its implementation and improvement would better and easier. The essay has been able to critically explore action research, teacher research, meaning, arguments and processes as a research methodology. Some suggestions have been proffered to more rigorous method of research in teacher action research in language teaching field. Altrichter, H., Feldman, A., Posch, P., Somekh, B. (2008). Teachers investigate their work: An introduction to action research across the professions (2nd ed.). London: Routledge. Burns, A. (1999). Collaborative action research for English language teachers. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Burns, A. (2005). Action research: An evolving paradigm? Language Teaching, 38(2), 57-74. Kemmis, S., McTaggart, R. (Eds.). (1988). The action research planner (Third ed.). Victoria, Australia: Deakin University Press. Wallace, M. J. (1998). Action research for language teachers. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Burns, A. (2009). Action research in second language teacher education. In A. Burns J. C. Richards (Eds.), The Cambridge guide to second language teacher education (pp. 289-297). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Burns, A. (2010). Doing action research in English language teaching. A guide for practitioners. New York: Routledge. Elliott, J. (1991). Action research for educational change. Milton Keynes: Open University Press. McNiff, J., Whitehead, J. (2002). Action research: Principles and practice (2nd ed.). London: RoutledgeFalmer. Rainey, I. (2000). Action research and the English as a foreign language practitioner: Time to take stock. Educational Action Research, 8(1), 65-91. American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages. (1998). ACTFL performance guidelines for K-12 learners. Yonkers, NY: Author. Burns, A. (1999). Collaborative action research for English language teachers. New York: Cambridge University Press. Fullan, M. (2000a). Change forces. The sequel. Philadelphia: Falmer Press. Fullan, M. (2000b). Leadership for the twenty-first century: Breaking the bonds of dependency. In The Jossey-Bass reader on educational leadership (pp. 156-63). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Hartman, D. K. (1998). Stories teachers tell. Lincolnwood, IL: National Textbook. Kemmis, S., McTaggert, R. (1998). The action research planner. Geelong, Victoria, Australia: Deakin University Press. Mills, G. E. (2003). Action research: A guide for the teacher researcher. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill/Prentice Hall. Stringer, E. (1996). Action research: A handbook for practitioners. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Wallace, M. J. (2000). Action research for language teachers. New York: Cambridge University Press.

Child Labour in Malawi

Child Labour in Malawi Theories of child labour rely on the universal concept of a child and a set age limit of responsibility and working life, however in many developing countries this concept does not exist or cannot exist because of poverty and lack of education.. Work can also not be limited to paid employment, as many children often help out in domestic work at home, a phenomenon not limited to the developing world, as it can be seen in the responsibilities of children who are carers in the UK. So with the differences in the social aspects between the countries in the developed and developing worlds, can we apply the theories of development, modernisation and dependency to the concept of child labour in the Malawi province when it is a largely western construct- this paper will discuss child labour in relation to these theories and attempt to draw conclusions on the notion of child labour in a developing countries. A child according to UNCIEF is a person under the age of 18 years and the convention states that international law that state parties must maintain that all children benefit from special protection measures and assistance (www.unicief.org). It goes on to state that a child must have access to education and health care and must be knowledgeable about and contribute to the process of attaining their rights. Conversely, the notion of a child is a challenging one according to James et al, in their book Constructing and Reconstruction Childhood, the writers go on to state how childhood is a social construction, and has different forms in different societies. (Prout et al, 1967). This view is in contrast to that of the western notion of child that appears to adopt the blanket view of the child and one size fits all. Children globally should be protected and remain in the family unit until they reach the age of 18years. It does not however allow for different cultural approach, or whether a child contributes to the household due to poverty, or indeed the child needs to fund their education (Leonard, 2009). To define a child is a difficult and emotive issue, and definitions and norms surrounding childhood vary over time and place, and within developing societies the move from childhood to adulthood may not be based on age (Johnson, 2012). According to the University of Malawi Centre for Social Research child labour has existed in Malawi for a long time. It goes on to state that it part of the Malawian culture to have children assist their parents in the home, and it was not until the late 1890s that child labour formalised (University of Malawi). In developing countries such as Malawi children are integrated into the household economy at an early age, where according to the International Labour Orginastition where 93.7% of girls and 90% of boys between the ages of 5-14 are unpaid family workers. Paid labour is 3.8% for girls and 4.7% for boys, self-employed is 2.6% for girls and 5.3% for boys (www.ilo.org). In to Whites consortium the writer argues that cultural doctrine in relation to child work appears to be a more general issue when it is raised on the international level of debate. White goes on to say that ethical issues are raised, and he raises the question as to whether the rights of different cultures should be recognised when debating child labour (white, 1999). The discussion continues in Whites paper where globalisation is concerned and takes the form of international debates regarding taking the child labour subject across borders, cultures and political worlds (Kent, 1995: 80). This according to White results in a debate that will never be resolved (Alston, 1994: 16). White believes that with regard to universalism of which he states there are three; cultural relativism that cultures cannot be compared, resulting in according to White cultures that can only be understood in their own terms. The second is cultural relativism as an ethical and political belief, in that culture is immune from critism from outsiders. Whites third cultural relativism pertains to developed worlds view of developing world and how we need to learn and observe and not change (White, Ben. 1999). This would tie in with the notion that west is not always best where the majority countries are concerned. The western notion could be misunderstood an issue raised by Leonard when she notes that children work in many types of work in developing or majority world countries and its the minority that work in the production of goods for the global market (Leonard, 2009). The estimate of child work involved in family based work is 70% (ODonnell et al. 2002). Leonard also argues that targeting child labour will categorises all child work and has a negative effect on the economics of the child and their nation state (Leonard, 2009). This further the debate on Whites third cultural relativism and the need to learn and respect for different cultures and to understand what other cultures define as child work as opposed to child labour and how western notions are not the best way to future development (White, 1999). In the now developed countries of the world millions of children once worked in mines, mills agriculture and on the streets, often in similar conditions to that of todays developing world, but yet the developed countries took several generations to address the issue of child labour according to Hindman. (Hindmand, 2009). It is this western notion of childhood that is imposed on the now developing countries that are sometimes viewed as deviant or backward when they dont adapt the west is best approach to childhood. It is this western notion of development that Frank argues developing countries could never adopt as developed countries have never experienced colonialism. He goes on to argue that many countries such as China and India were quite advanced before they were colonised in the eighteenth century how a peripheral account of development for developing countries would be that the deviancy of developing countries cannot be explained feudalism of traditionalism ( Frank, 1967:1969). It is according to Frank past experience of colonialism and domination that have reversed the development of what he term advanced developing countries and forced them to become economically regressive, and he terms this the development of underdevelopment this he writes signifies as unnatural and was created by historical colonialism (Frank, 1967: 1969). Defining development according to storey, 2009 was for many years straightforward and was seen as equivalent to economic growth of which Gross National Product (GNP) was used as the main indicator and is used in determining the individual total or per capita. This equation is used to determine the development or under development of a country (Storey, 2009). Social scientists Walt Rostow developed the idea that growth consists of five stages in which developing countries moved from traditional society to an age of high mass consumption. But the concept of growth without development came into question in the 1960s and 1970s (Storey, 2009). It was not until 1990 that Human Development Index (HDI) was introduced to accurately measure whether people were better off in terms of health, freedom, education and other aspects of life that were not measured by Gross National Product (GDP). Human Development Index was an alternative to Gross National Product; it does not however include the cultural features that make up a society (Lopez, 2009). There have been critism of HDI no more so than Storey when he states how the Human Development Index is extremely motivated by Western notions (Sen. 1981). Developing countries according to Frank 1990 became a urbanised western areas that are drained of their natural resources. This was prevalent as a result of colonialism and according to Baran 1957 India was at the fore of development in the world in the eighteen century. Their economy was seen as comparatively progressive and their production was the best in the world (Baran, 1957). The policies forced onto India were to result in India becoming dutiful to Britain and resulting in India becoming dependant on Britain and moving backwards from a moderately progressive industrial nation to a regressive agricultural nation (Baran, 1957) According to Frank this was a dependency theory with regard to international capitalism, and resulted in the division of labour that was responsible for the underdevelopment of many countries. The division of labour is the reason for poverty and capitalism regards the division of labour as essential when it comes to the distribution of resources (Frank, 1967). In 1963 an agreement was reached between European Community and its former colonies to address the underdevelopment of the former colonies and to contribute to a equally useful trading scheme with a range of trading measures. But in 1986 the European Union repositioned itself with regard to global economic position. This was followed by the Maastricht Treaty (1992) saw policy changes to include the smooth and slow incorporation of developing countries world into the world economy, this saw the change in the method in which governments approached support and trading treaties, this according to Mc Cann lead to a more globalising focus on the type of help that developing countries would receive. Mc Cann believes that the EU has the capacity and the financial means to give more help to developing countries. But he notes that after 50 years after the first help from the EU under the Treaty of Rome, developing countries continue to experience social and economic marginalisation, and these further impacts on the poorest and most helpless in developing countries (Mc Cann, 2009). The overseas Development Institute briefing paper for 1973 state that the International Munirity Fund (IMF) has become more interested a better balance between supply-side and demand-management, and the progress of economic growth within the said nation. It goes on to say how the IMF insist on reforming info-structure to encourage growth in the economy and this results in cuts to education and hospital which impact directly on children who may as a result of these measures need to work to help their family or themselves (www.odi.org.uk). In an International Monetary Fund (IMF) working paper by de Carvalho Filho 2008, on Household Income Determinant on Income on Child Labour and School Enrolment. The discussion focuses on household income as a problem where child labour and school enrolment is concerned. This plays back to the need for children to work as opposed attending school. It goes on to note the importance of policies that will improve the human capital of poor children and cut inequality in developing countries (www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/wp/2008/wp08241.pdf). The paper does not however focus on the determination of the IMF to ensure that the country seeking aid is required to restructure and to cut spending in order to get financial help from IMF in the first instance. According to Aide Internationale Pour Lenfance a nongovernmental organisation, the IMF contribute to child labour when they insist that countries severely indebted to them reduce their spending on education and healthcare increasing poverty and child labour www.aipe-cci.org/en/en-index.html . World Bank Global Child Labour Program was established in 2003 to research child poverty, and to actively address child labour within its lending and non-lending procedures. Another topic within this programme is for the World Bank Organisation to enable greater support between multilateral agencies (www.worldbank.org). In Malawi according to the World Bank Oginasation has a poverty level of 67.34% the WBO plans to transform Malawi form being an importing and consuming economy to a mainly manufacturing and exporting one (www.worldbank.org). Malawi gained its independence from colomlism in 1962, with a history of corruption and high interest loans it is according to an article in the economy watch dated 9th April 2010,one of the poorest countries in the world. It relays mainly on agriculture and its main crop it tobacco that employs a high percentage of children, and has been criticised by the International Labour Organisation for its use of child labour with some children as young as 11 years working sorting tobacco leave ( www.economywatch). . Tabaco growers are worried as the World Health Organisation Agreement on tobacco that will see governments move their economies away from tobacco growing, leaving the poorest vauranable and unsure of what crop they can grow to sell on the world market (www.bbcnew.co). Malawi gets significant financial aid from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and World Bank. The drive to reduce loans has led to server economic policies being implanted by the current government that has imposed severe hardship on the poorest of Malawi

Stalins Rise To Power Essay -- essays research papers

Question: How far did Stalin achieve and maintain what Kruchev described as â€Å"the accumulation of immense and limitless power†, in the USSR between 1924 and 1945? Between 1924 and 1945, Joseph Stalin was able to emerge as the leader of the USSR and maintain what Kruchev described as â€Å"the accumulation of immense and limitless power†. Stalin's rise to power was a combination of his ability to manipulate situations and the failure of others to prevent him from taking power, especially Leon Trotsky. Stalin ruled the USSR from 1929 until his death in 1953. His rule was one of tyranny, a great change from the society that his predecessor, Lenin, had envisioned. During his time of reign, Stalin put into effect two self-proclaimed "five-year plans". Both were very similar in that they were intended to improve production in the nation. The first of these plans began collectivization, in which harvests and industrial products were seized by the government and distributed as needed. The government eliminated most private businesses and the state became the leader in commerce. By these, and many more ideas, Stalin was able to collect limitless and immense power with no one to stop him. In 1925, according to historian V. Serge1, LeonTrotsky did not take advantage of several opportunities, which would have helped him to crush Stalin politically. When he failed to take advantage of these opportunities, Stalin maneuvered himself into a stronger position within the party by allying with Zinoviev and Kamnev. He manipulated them into crushing Trotsky, thus eliminating the strongest opponent in his path to power. Stalin cleverly avoided potential political diminishment when Lenin formulated his Testament in December 1922. Lenin's Testament2 described what he thought of the future of the Party and Party leaders, especially Trotsky and Stalin. Lenin warned the people of a potential split in which Stalin and Trotsky would be the head factors. When describing Stalin, Lenin felt that he had showed "†¦unlimited authority†¦ in his hands and whether he will always be capable of using that authority with sufficient caution." The content of Lenin's Testament eventually became more damaging to Trotsky than Stalin, allowing Stalin to accumulate even more power. Together with Lenin unintentionally praising Stalin, Stalin manipulated the content of the Testament to enhance... ...e 1930s. He decided and persuaded the people that the former leaders and allies, such as Kamenev and Zenoviev, were plotting against the Party with Trotsky. The purpose of the purges, according to N. Mandelstam4, was not to secure power Stalin’s position, but to intimidate the nation. So, all opponents were imprisoned. In January 1937, several other prominent Bolshevik leaders were trailed for treason and executed. The climax of Stalin’s purges came in March 1938 when 21 leading Bolsheviks, including Bukharin, Rykov and Yagoda were similarly accused and killed. This demonstrates Stalin’s immense power, for he could simply eliminate anyone standing in his way! Between 1924 and 1945, Stalin proved that he could, â€Å"accumulate immense and limitless power† in the USSR, mainly because everyone was either scared or inspired by him. Many of the poor peasants thought that he could give them what the wanted. Many of the kulaks were afraid to face Joseph and those who did were imprisoned. Even the Party members who did not give Stalin his way were eliminated. Because of his immeasurable amount of power and strength over the nation, Joseph Stalin would not be opposed by anyone until his death!

My Personal Code of Ethics Essay -- Ethics in Public Relations

Preamble I, Rob Geis, commit myself to the code and values that I am about to describe. As a person I have vast life experiences that have affected who I am and what I believe in. As a Public Relations professional it seems that our industry is often under ridicule for being unethical and known as spin doctors. As an ethical student and person I consider these key values as guiding stones to my applied ethical choices. Family, friends, school and religion have all made me the person I am today and influence my ethical choices. When it comes to family I was raised to be respectful of my elders and those around me; however I was also taught to speak my mind when I did not agree. Growing up I met many people who were not allowed to say no to their parents or elders because it was disrespectful. I believe this trait helped me be more open with teachers and family overall. I was also raised to respect women, which is something you do not see often in American culture anymore. I was raised to open doors for women and let them have my seat. As a kid people do things because this is the way people are taught; once people grow up you realize showing people respect is the right thing to do so you continue to do so. Respect is important; however the most influential values I learned were kindness and the power of knowledge. As a kid, I was taught to work hard and have fun later; we were not allowed to leave the house to party or go out unless we had all our homework done. This meant learning to think critically and efficiently in order to do great work in a small amount of time. My parents dropped out of college so that they could give my sisters and I opportunities they didn't have, for this reason I have learned the value of har... ...st of my values I feel only a virtuous person would follow them because it would make them a better person. Works Cited Klein, JÃ ¼rgen, "Francis Bacon", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (winter 2012 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.), URL = . Locke, J. (199). Idea of power. An essay concerning human understanding (p. 358). Raleigh, N.C.: Alex Catalogue. Chilton, B., & Neusner, J. (2008). The Golden Rule: The Ethics of Reciprocity in World Religions. London: Continuum. Kraut, R. (2001, May 1). Aristotle's Ethics.Stanford University. Retrieved January 26, 2014, from http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/aristotle-ethics/#VirDefConInc Parsons, Patricia. "The Trouble with Rules." Ethics in public relations a guide to best practice. 2nd ed. London: Kogan Page, 2008. 36-37. Print.

The Internets Accuracy and Usefullness :: Internet Research Papers

The Internet's Accuracy and Usefullness The following 15 web sites that I found on the Internet about the topic "Teenage Drinking and Driving" were given a rating between 1-5, with 1 being the lowest and 5 being the highest. I have listed these paragraphs in order with statistics being first, then prevention, and finally why teenagers drink and drive. Plus, I have an article and a book that I found on this topic. The information that I found on these web sites could be useful in writing a research paper, but I ask this question to myself: Can I find this data and information somewhere else? In my judgement when anyone is doing a research paper you can find the same data you find on the Internet in a book, magazine, or newspaper article. Although, I think that the Internet isn't very helpful in writing a research paper, some sites do have good data, but you just have to know how to find a good site. The web sites dealing with statistics were given a rate of 4 because I found them to be accurate sites for teenage drinking and driving, but you could find these sites in a book or article. The reason that I did not give them a 5 is because I did not feel that they were unique, and that you could not find them in another place. For example, in the web site called "Teenage Drunk Driving! Know the Facts!" This web site gave a lot of statistics on teenage drinking and driving, and how serious a problem it is in that specific age group (www.fugitive.com/is18.html). Another site that gave a lot of statistics was the site called "What the Research says about Youth and Drinking and Driving and Ways to Apply Research." This site gives statistics on teenage drinking and driving too, but it also talks about laws that should be passed in order to come down harder on DUI's because of the deaths that occur with these accidents (www.ncadd.com/tsra/abstracts/youth.html). The web sites in this paragraph also deal with statistics and was given a rating of 3. Although, these web sites were less accurate than the 4’s, I would probably use some of these. The first one comes from the California Office of Traffic Safety, gives statistics about Teenage Drinking and Driving in California (www.ots.ca.gov/campaign/3d98impaired.html) Next was the site from the Arizona Department of Safety, gives information on statistics of drinking and driving in Arizona compared to other states (www.

Black Like Me †Book Report Essay

For the book report, I read the book Black Like Me by John Howard Griffin. The story takes place in 1959 and revolves around a white man who decides to go to the Deep South undercover as a black man to try to understand what really goes on there. This man, John Griffin, documented his journey from beginning to end in order to make an effort to end racial segregation. For seven weeks, he lived and experienced the horrors that a black man lived every day during that time. He quickly learned that he no longer had the same privileges as he did as a white man. He could no longer go into any store he wanted and had to walk miles before finding someone who would let him buy a glass of water or to use the bathroom. Reading this book, my eyes were opened to all the disadvantages the black man faced that I always heard about in school, but never really understood. John Griffin moved away from his home and family in Mansfield, Texas to New Orleans, Louisiana to conduct his research. His motivation was for racial justice and for his frustration of not understanding the black experience. At this time, no black man in his right mind would tell a white man how horrible life was for him. Since Griffin was a white man, interviewing blacks would not give him a true picture of their life. He decides to go with the only way he will truly find out what it’s like to be a black in the South; to change the color of his skin. He went through different medical treatments to accomplish this. To change his skin color from white to black, he took pills to darken his skin, and also used skin dyes. He then could easily pass through New Orleans’ streets as a ‘Negro’. He befriended a shoeshine who had been shining his exact same shoes when he was a white man. The shoeshine is delighted with Griffin’s project and opens the life of a black man up to him. The shoeshine taught him how to act, talk, and everything else that he needed to know. Going into this study, Griffin, knew he would run into prejudice, oppression, and many hardships, but he did not truly know how bad it was until now. He was no longer allowed to use any bathroom he pleased. Sometimes he would have to walk all the way across town, even when there was a bathroom right by him, because he could not use a white man’s facilities. Throughout his experience as a black man he deals with insults and struggles on a daily basis. After being in New Orleans for a while, he decides to go to the heart of Mississippi where racial prejudice is even worse for blacks. Griffin notices that the black communities there seemed to have given up hope of ever being equal, and he begins to notice the same look across his own face. The whites were the main contributors to this loss of hope. For example, when he was riding the bus into Mississippi they took a ten minute bathroom break. The bus driver refused to let the black passengers off because he did not want to have to go â€Å"round them up† when they left. After witnessing this sense of defeat in Mississippi and how terrible the whites were, he decides to venture to Montgomery, Alabama where he is shocked at what he finds. In Montgomery, the black community is recharged with determination. They practice passive resistance against the racist laws and rules set against them. They are filled with hope and the words of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.  They are not afraid to go to jail or face the other consequences that may lie ahead. After seeing this, he begins to switch back and forth between being a black man and then a white man the very next day. He visits the very same places as a white man and is treated with the greatest respect, while as a black man he was treated with fear and suspicion. He was able to go into the restaurants where blacks were not even allowed to stop to look at the menu. Switching between black and white opened his eyes to how society treated blacks and whites at the time. One day he was a disgrace and the next he was treated like a king. After this long trip, he decided to let his skin fully return white and go back home. After looking over his information and organizing it he decides it is finally time for the public to know the truth. He then publishes his findings and goes on television for interviews. He is asked to speak on many shows. Many people support him and his findings, but the people in his home town do not offer much support. People in his town begin to turn on him and threaten his life and the lives of his family members. He asks the police to watch his house so his family is not harmed. It gets so bad that they have to leave for a while. When they come back, nothing has changed. Someone in town hangs a dummy of him on Main Street. The dummy is half black and half white and there was a sign on it that read â€Å"John Griffin†. He decided to move his family away once and for all to prevent anyone from getting hurt. This story gave me an inside look of what it was like to be both a black and a white person during 1959 in the south. I was unable to put the book down because I was so intrigued. I have never heard the black person’s view to racial prejudice before. This story took my breath away. My favorite part of this book is when John Griffin (1960) describes how you are treated based on your skin color. I was the same man, whether white or black. Yet when I was white, I received the brotherly-love smiles and the privileges from whites and the hate stares or obsequiousness from the Negroes. And when I was a Negro, the whites judged me fit for the junk heap, while the Negroes treated me with great warmth. (p. 126) I am shocked from what I read in this book. The author was treated completely different as a white man than he was as a black man. When he was a white man, he receives respect and courtesy from the other whites, but suspicion and fear from the blacks. When he was a black man, he receives hatred and hostility from the whites, but warmth and generosity from his fellow blacks. It surprised me that you could sense these distinct feelings toward him while reading. It was almost like I was living it myself. It is crazy how cold-hearted some of the white people acted towards him. Some had sympathy in their eyes, but others were set to make his life horrible. This book just goes to show you how truly bad it was for the blacks during segregation. It is proof of it, and the stories of John Griffin are more realistic than any told or documented before. Black Like Me was not made up to sympathize the blacks or as an overreaction. It’s the truth that Griffin personally witnessed and lived. The whites dehumanized the blacks and treated them like savages. Towards the end of the book he was walking down a highway for miles hoping someone would pick him up. During the day, not a single white person would pick him up. This all changed during the night. That night, he always had a ride. He realized after a while, that the whites only picked him up to hear about the black man’s sex life. This disgusts me. These men were asking him repulsive questions, and if he did not give him a sufficient answer, he would be kicked out of the vehicle. The questions that they were asking him would never be asked to his friends. This part of the book illustrates how the whites did not care for the black man’s pride and instead wanted to dehumanize him. Reading this book, Black Like Me, opened my eyes to the terrors that the black people faced in the South during 1959. I also gain an understanding of how whites were treated in comparison to blacks. John Griffin was very brave for taking on this project and publishing his findings. This must have taken a lot of courage, but his work helped many people. Without this inside look at the treatment of blacks in the South, we might never have known how truly horrible it was. Yes, there are other stories, but this is a full account of one man’s journey in and out of the heart of segregation.