High School Drop out Rate Essay

Analysts agree that the rate of high school dropout in the United States has reached catastrophic levels. Credible estimates claim that more than a third of all students that join high school are likely to abandon school before completion. A look at the past decades indicates that this has been a growing trend and is yet to be arrested appropriately. This is a problem that has not been captured in the public glare due to scarcity if data. This paper will provide the available statistics on the rate of high school dropouts; provide an analysis of the possible causes and remedies. Different publications contain valid rates of dropouts; this is because of the existing differences in the definition of a dropout. There are those that graduate after completing the high school syllabus, others that graduate after completing an equivalency test of the same and those that graduate after passing other states based tests. The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) compiles its data using either the event rates, status rates or the cohert rates. Events rates refer to the number of students that drop out of school annually while the status rate takes into account the total number of students that have cumulatively dropped out of school as a proportion of the total population. (National Institute on the Education of At Risks Students, 2006) Indicative reports have it that the rate of school dropout from the 1970s to the 1990s recorded a steady decline; however the rates have stabilized from the 90s to date recording an insignificant improvement. A look at the 1999 and the 2000 reports indicate that 5% of all students that had joined high school in the respective years dropped out within a year. This is in according to the available education department’s event dropout rates. The status dropout rates for 2000 indicate that â€Å"some 3. 8 million young adults were not enrolled in a high school program and had not completed high school. † (National Center for Education Statistics). Other available statistics on the dropout rates focus on the differences between gender and the racial groups. They have indicated that 5. 8% of male students are more likely to dropout compared to whose dropout rate is 4. 3%. The gender disparities in the dropout rate are witnessed across all the ethnic and racial groups with male students being the most affected. The dropout rate for the minority groups has remained higher than that of white Americans. The Latinos lead the group of the minorities with a rate of 27. 5%; African Americans have 13. 6% while the whites have a dropout rate of 7. 9%. This is according to the 1993 survey although these rates have remained fairly constant since then. (National Institute on the Education of At Risk Students, 1996) Having looked at the existing statistics, it is important to look at the reasons behind these statistics. There exists immense research on the causes of high school dropouts but it is important to point out that they focus on a variety of issues depending on the discipline. The ethnographic studies for example may focus on the issues of minorities and the social causes of their dropout. Attempts therefore to establish the specific factors are impeded by the existence of â€Å"a large variety of factors that predict or influence dropout behaviors, ranging from family background to school characteristics. † (Richard, 2002, 120) Scholars however have observed that students drop out of schools either after being ‘pushed out’ by the school environment or after being ‘pulled away’ by factors beyond the school curriculum. (Jay W. , 1999). A survey conducted on the various reasons behind the high school drop out rates revolve around vague reasons such boring classes and hard exams. These though are the pointer towards the major factors that contribute towards high school dropout rates. The causes range from academic challenges, economic, social and personal reasons One of the major ‘push out’ cause of dropout of high school can be traced to the various schools’ requirements to undertake an exit exam as the precondition for graduation. A look at the United States reveals that most states have put forth a requirement for a standardized test to mark the graduation of students from high school. Exit exams were adopted to enable states to standardize their tests and upgrade their diplomas. Where the merits of these exams have been widely noted, criticism has been leveled against them alleging that they exert too much pressure on the high school students. The basic purpose of exit exams is to ensure that the quality of the diploma is maintained, today however it is being seen as pushing students out of school, â€Å"these critics rely upon the push-out-myth- the idea that requiring students to pass exit exams forces students to drop out of high school. † (Jay P. , 2006, 127). The conclusion that stringent exam requirement may push students out of school has been reached after examining performance records and transcripts belonging to those that have dropped out. Studies have pointed out a streak of dismal performance by most of them indicating a sense of hopelessness on the drop outs. Some students have blamed the dismal performance on the lack of motivation by their teachers. Another possible cause of school dropout is peer influence. Peers are an important component to the development of an individual and also as socialization agents. It has been established that the influence of the family to the life of adolescents is fast waning and its place taken over by peers. The issue of how peers influence school drop out rate is broad and has been found to be an important factor. School dropouts have claimed to have been influenced by their peers to quit schools especially for those that had non schooling friends. This is so as peer influence has been found to either be a source of motivation or discouragement. This has been problematic as most of these have plunged into the crime world led by their peers. Working students also find it hard to cope with both tasks and most have even been found to give up education in the belief that they will resume later. Unsupportive parents have also been known to lead their children out of schools due to lack of moral support. Just like there is no single cause behind the high rates of school dropouts, there is no single remedy for the problem. It requires a multifaceted approach that incorporates both students and the teachers. It has been found that most students drop out of schools to escape the taxing nature of academics and exams. While it is not prudent to change the existing exams, it would be appropriate to put measures to ensure that the tests would not be an excuse to drive students out of school. As Marvin (2003, 215) has pointed out, â€Å"states should look for more ways to identify students at risk and consider instituting or adapting existing programs to support students before they drop out. † The best approach hence would be to incorporate a support program to help students cope with the rising challenges. This should include providing extra school tutoring and retake programs for students that perform dismally in the first attempts. This should also include introducing changes to the academic programs to ensure that they are more responsive and relevant to the student lives. The government also should roll out programs that aim towards sensitizing students on the need to stay in school. A number of factors that contribute to high rates of school dropout are social-psychological meaning that they can be eradicated through creation of awareness and general counseling. It is also important to involve students in the process of policy making to ensure that their expectations and views are incorporated and hence make them feel that they have a bigger stake in the school programs. Indeed there much has to be done to reduce the number of students that fail to complete their high school. The dropout rates indicated above are worrisome. More also needs to be done to bridge the dropout disparities across the racial groups. Students should be sensitized on the dangers of dropping out of schools especially as they are exposing themselves to the risks of unemployment as well as crime.

Historical biases and how the truth was altered Essay

Taking into account the nature of historical truth, it cannot be viewed from absolutist position, but rather from relativist perspective. The values, dictated by the certain epoch, determine the purpose and the context of history, so there is a number of historical biases (again, from modern viewpoint) in the writings, describing and explaining the past experiences. The paper is designed to focus on the main historical biases and highlight the influence of modern media on the construction of new biases. Due to the fact that there is a plenty of historiographic schools, one can presume that each of them chooses specific symbol or aspect as a baseline and develops its argument through certain prism. In this sense, the book by Edwars Said, ‘Orientalism’, to great extent emphasizes the faultiness of Western historiographic approach to the diametrically opposite culture. The scholar writes: â€Å"The Orient is not only adjacent to Europe; it is also the place of Europe’s greatest and richest and oldest colonies, the source of its civilizations and languages, its cultural contestant, and one of its deepest and most recurring images of the Other† (Said, 1979, pp. 1-2). Orientalism therefore comprises the historically biased attitude towards the cultural ‘otherness’, so the author concludes that eastern studies cannot be completely independent from the polarization and confrontation between the two civilizations. Furthermore, social stratification determined the status of certain individual in society and consequently resulted in the creation of ‘middle class’ or ‘aristocratic’ approach to making historical notes, and, more importantly, religious approach had been predominant in this sense over more than a thousand years the issues related to heresy and Inquisition contributed to medieval historiography, whereas the social protest against religious dogmas was an overall Western historiographic framework in the 18th -20th centuries. Both approaches naturally distorted objective reality in an attempt to fit it into narrow Procrustean bed of sociopolitical context. Furthermore, it is important to keep in mind that the purpose of history hasn’t been static over the societal developmental course – it has altered a number of times – from the simple glorification of the certain ruler’s deeds to the formation of public consciousness and stereotypes. Historians, as the members of society, naturally shared most stereotypes and social convictions , even writing purely ‘for the sake of history’. Nowadays, historical biases are close-knit to the issues, which arise in connection with social, gender and racial equality, so the modern media are concentrating on covering these issues and determining public opinion. Information therefore is presented is extremely available manner, which allows remembering the content of the article without any ‘unnecessary’ reflections or more profound analysis. The ‘raw’ information (news, editorials) has attractive cover, so the digestion and informational metabolism have been enhanced over the last century, whereas the description of events still remains biased in terms of the author’s political and social position, or personal views. On the other hand, the freedom of printed word prohibits the misrepresentation of facts, yet the interpretation of certain data still may vary among journalists – this principle is widely used to put the most appropriate and suitable emphases, thus except the provision of recent news, media are responsible for creating images, persuading public and imposing certain moral or ethical evaluation of the event or phenomenon (for more utility and convenience, from the position of ‘right’ and ‘wrong’). To sum up, it is impossible to eradicate historical biases – historiography, like all descriptive and analytical sciences, follows relativist principles of ‘minor’ or ‘major’ truth. Nevertheless, with regard to high availability of historical writings, one has an opportunity to analyze the positions of several historiographic schools and draw more independent conclusions.

Much Ado about nothing Reflection

ch Ado About Nothing Reflection In our grade ten English class we studied the book Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare. I found this book interesting to read because it was different from any other Shakespeare book I had ever read. Before this play I had only learned about tragedies but some of the parts of this play that I understood I found funny. I found this book very interesting because it was easy to follow and many lessons to be learned. In this play there are many things to be learned from it even though it is from over 400 years ago.The language that this play is written in is sometimes hard to understand but with some reading over and careful thought, I understood. I think that because of the time that it was written in, the language is suitable for circumstances that happen in this play. The language in the 21st century has dramatically changed since the time of Shakespeare. I think the value of learning about this old play is to gain an understanding of the lang uage and time of these people. This play was written in a time where women and men did not always choose who they got married to.Women did not have the same rights as men in the shakespearian time, therefore most women had arranged marriages. Men were allowed to do whatever they please, but women were expected to be put together all of the time. A family's reputation could be ruined by the action of one daughter, sister ect. In today’s society people do things that wouldn’t even be imaginable back then. We are surrounded by a society telling us that chastity is not important, that is something you would never hear of in the Shakespearean time. While read the play, Much Ado About Nothing, the importance of a foil character became clear.While Hero and Claudio seem to be the main characters, Benedick and Beatrice mirror there love story. They seem to go through the same types of conflict and in the end everything is resolved. Also while reading this play, the theme of mar riage as a form of entrapment for women becomes visible. Hero, being the only daughter of Leonato, would be able to inherit her father’s possessions if she married. Also marrying into a higher status was very traditional. By Hero marrying Claudio his status would be raised. This play, Much Ado About Nothing, is classified as a comedy.I believe that this is a comedy because of the the numerous jokes, lacking of deaths, and the marriage. A classic Shakespearean comedy consists of a conflict being resolved and a marriage. In this case it was a double wedding, Hero and Claudio’s and Beatrice and Benedick’s. The theme of our year, healing broken relationships, fits well with this play. After Claudio accuses Hero of being of unfaithful, Hero and her family must forgive Claudio for his false accusation. Leonato does forgive him and gives Hero to be his wife. There is a happy marriage at the end of the play and all relationships were healed.

What is the Word Love Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

What is the Word Love - Essay Example Love is something that individuals know from the very beginning. A mother whispering to an unborn baby is one of the first signs of love that a human is shown. From the beginning of an individual’s life, it is likely that love is the first feeling they feel. In the very beginning God created man. Man was alone. Since man was alone God loved man and he created a woman (Genesis 2:16) this woman allowed man to feel love. Love is one of the first feelings since the beginning of creation. The love between a man and a woman are one of the greatest feelings of love. Love between a man and woman produce an intimate and sexual form of love. These forms of love are what allow men and woman to want to become married to one another. Marriage is one of the oldest symbols associated with loving one another. Intimate and sexual forms of love allow individuals to become attracted to one another. This attraction allows chemicals in the brain to release endorphins that make people feel good. Th is feeling of good is all possible because of love. The love a man and woman share can lead to having children and raising a loving family. Love is something that is taught to children and carried with them their whole life. When a child is shown love, the child loves others and teaches that love to their own children. LOVE IN ACTION Children that are shown love from the beginning are more likely to love others. Loving others can be shown. Because of this, love is so much more than just a word defined in the dictionary. Love is an action. Love as an action is amazing. There are so many ways to show love as an action. People show love everyday as an action. From infants to adults, people are able to show love. Babies show love by crying when someone they love walks away. The babies cry because they love that person and do not want to see them go. Children love in action when they hug someone else that they see hurt. They hug to show that they love. Teenagers show love as an action wh en they experience there first kiss. That first kiss is a sigh of love. An adult bringing home a bouquet of flowers is showing love as an action. Love in action is without a doubt amazing. Love can be shown by picking up the phone and calling an old friend. Love can be shown by hanging up a photo of someone who is missed. People perform these actions because of love. No other emotion would show such an experience. This is why love is an experience in itself. Although love is able to show actions that are pleasing, love can also show actions that may be tough and hurtful at times. A parent may discipline a child because of a tough form of love. Love as a tough action is important for all individuals. Being shown tough love can allow someone to learn and gain from the experience. When someone close does something that seems hurtful at the time, it is likely because they love. Doing things that may not seem right are necessary to prove a point. An individual would not bother proving th e point if it was not for love. Love can also cause intense and inappropriate actions of love.  Ã‚  

How White Privilege is Manifested on the Internet as Covert and Overt Term Paper

How White Privilege is Manifested on the Internet as Covert and Overt Racism - Term Paper Example The fact that even talking has become a fringe activity is the biggest marker yet of how much we have moved our lives online. However, the entry of this new mode of communication has not changed some of the ways in which we relate to other people in real life. One of the areas of great interest is with regard to race relations. For a long time we have got used to the idea that whites are portrayed as superior to all other races. There are different constructs in society that help reinforce that stereotype. The internet is now one of the mediums through which white privilege is passed on. There are several ways in which white privilege is manifested with regard to the internet. This paper shall seek to, explore those ways. In addition to that, the paper shall explore some of the ways that have been tried out to bring a about a more level racial playing field on the internet. White privilege has been defined variously but the basic components of that definition remain the same. It has to do with access for instance and the rewards that one receives for belonging to the white race. Further still there is a component that that states that there is some power to affect norms and values as a result of someone being white. Finally there is an agreement that white privilege can either be manifested consciously or unconsciously. The first point of entry when discussing a topic of this nature is to look at the development stage with regards to new technologies and software. It is known by all technology enthusiasts and mere watchers of the industry that Silicon Valley in California is the technology capital of the world in many ways. This is an area where developers and geeks gather to try and discover the next big thing in the world of technology. Most internet startups are located in Silicon Valley. Above all, this is an affluent part of California (Nakamura 2002). Most of these young men and women it must be said are white. They develop technologies that are genuinely designed to help the rest of humanity. However, we all know that diversity is a theme of continuing importance in this age of globalization. The lack of diversity in such places where technologies are developed is the first stage at which tendencies that are racial in nature later come to dominate people of other races when they eventually make them to the internet. Racial diversity might not add anything tangible in the process of developing these technologies, but at the very least it gives the developers an alternative viewpoint of the technologies that hey are developing. After all they are going to be used by people of all races (Nakamura 2002). To further illustrate this point, think about the world famous owners and founders of all the big global internet and technology companies. The most eminent of them, the now deceased Steve Jobs, was white. The founder of Facebook, mark Zuckerberg is white also. The Amazon founder is white also. It therefore begs the question, why is ra cial equality or rather diversity not reflected in the development of the major internet and technology firms? This is because there is limited access for those who belong to other races. Why for instance would a black man be the president of the United States but there is not even one renowned black founder of any of the big global internet and technology firms? The answer is that there is a lack of access (Racism review). On

Marketing and PR Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Marketing and PR - Essay Example These marketing strategies include differentiation strategy as a suitable generic strategy, and operational strategies such as pricing, promotion, distribution, and the environment. Other strategies adopted were push strategy for distribution of the products and services, and direct sales for the pricing of the commodities. The expected outcomes of the implementation of the marketing plan for the company were; (a) to reach 60 percent of the target population, (b) improve the brand image within four months, and (c) adopt and implement the most appropriate and efficient marketing strategies to reach the targeted consumer. Marketing Plan for the Unsigned Band ‘Yung Mur’ Publicity for the music artist means everything. Proper publicity ensures that the artist or music band are well known and received among the target audience. Gone are the days when musicians and music bands used to rely on record labels for publicity (Griffin, 2010). The world of music and media promotion h as shifted to online promotion. This has leveled the playing field as artists can now compete at the same level. Everyone has a fair chance at success, as long as they make good use of the new promotional opportunities available on the internet. Unsigned bands such as Yung Mur, with the right marketing strategy, can gain even more recognition than their counterparts who are signed by big record labels (Business Resource Software, 2011). The marketing plan should aim to increase the band’s fan base. To do this, the band’s publicity strategy should be targeted at the right audience. The image and brand of the band should be unique and authentic. Authenticity is vital for musicians planning to run publicity campaigns on the internet or using any other new media for promotion. The most important aspect of online marketing for unsigned bands is having a website. A customized website that has been designed professionally is vital to success in the business of music. The webs ite should be about content marketing, and the content needs to be original. The best music promotion websites not look anything like marketing, but they actually function like marketing (Luther, 2011). This is how the Yung Mur website should be like. The website should enable the band to build its own unique platform, find its own fans and sell its music to them directly. Other new media forms that the band can make use of in their promotion include social networking sites and video-sharing websites such as youtube. These two are powerful marketing tools since they have the capacity to form a bulk of the band’s target market. Although internet PR is a wise marketing strategy for musicians and music bands not yet signed to record labels, there remains the issue of competition from these conglomerates. Their influence is still significant because they also make use of the internet as a promotional tool for their work. However, there is also the option of collaborating with the m for the purpose of online music marketing (Business Resource Software, 2011). As an unsigned band, Yung Mur can gain much exposure by collaborating with a music marketing conglomerate which is likely to use its established platform to sell the band’s music. General Overview This marketing plan aims to popularize the name Yung Mur, not only in Britain, but in the rest of the western world. The

Work and leading people Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Work and leading people - Essay Example Mark Williams (refer to the appendix). As can be observed from the CVs of the two referred personnel, both can be identified to possess considerable experience in their respective fields. While many of their features can be identified as similar, there are particular dissimilarities in their degree of versatility that must be taken into consideration when evaluating CVs for the intended position. For instance, Mr. Thomas Crown can be observed to have handled more staff members than Mr. Mark Williams. On the other hand, Mr. Crown had switched three jobs within his 2 years of professional career, with his first job assigning him for only three months. Contradictorily, Mr. Williams has been engaged into one organisation for his 5 years of professional career. This indicates that chances of attrition shall be higher in the case of Mr. Crown while on the other hand, Mr. Williams might offer the privilege and advantages of greater experiences and loyalty. As a precautionary measure, it wil l also be important to have a verification done for the information presented by the two candidates prior to taking any firm conclusion regarding their ultimate recruitment in the organisation. This will help to omit any possible chance of conflict or dilemma post their recruitment, making the trustworthiness and mutual cooperation of the recruited personnel more binding for the long-run. Besides evaluating the CVs, it will also be important to conduct face-to-face interviews with the personnel, individually, so as to learn about their personality features in a better way, before drawing any conclusion to the professionalisms of the candidates. Leadership styles are of different types that include democratic leader, autocratic leader and laissez-faire leader. From the provided scenario, it has been identified that Mr. Worthy is a type of leader who does not have a relationship with his employees though his office is in the top floor of the building, which is

Reflection On Freewriting Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Reflection On Freewriting - Essay Example Answering the question â€Å"who am I?† truly offers me an opportunity to distinguish and express my personality, traits, and potential. I can quickly and briefly identify myself as a simple person who believes that a person’s surroundings do not dictate their future or potential. I am not a complicated individual who seemingly knows a little bit of everything and always ignores his surroundings. In addition, I am most certainly not similar to any other human being because we all possess unique character traits irrespective of how insignificant they may seem. The question â€Å"who am I?† is a lifelong endeavor. However, I can do my best to answer that I am a person who reads, reflects, and explores my many beliefs and decides which are real or unreal. I am a young adult who reads, reflects, and explores my many beliefs and settles on the idea that they are either real or unreal. There are numerous ways of answering the question â€Å"who am I?† The conven tional answer to this question unveils how saddening and dictating religion or traditional culture can be. Similarly, the modern way of defining my life is saddening but not dictating. Instead, the modern way only proves that there is no natural meaning in essentially anything in the universe. I chose a much more personalized standpoint to define who I am than the generalized roots of traditional and modern views. First, I am proud of this free writing piece because it is a reminder of the signs of progress in my writing I have made. Among the signs of progress in my writing is structure.

TREASURY & RISK MANAGEMENT Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

TREASURY & RISK MANAGEMENT - Essay Example The TMEM’s president had to come up with a proposal, on how to reduce and even eliminate the losses, and present it to the company CEO in Japan. Therefore, this case analysis will seek to provide possible reasons that could have forced the company to delay shifting its manufacturing centers for European market to Europe. Also, analysis of both the effects that could have been experienced if the Euro had joined European Monetary Union and other factors on the company’s situation will be provided. Next, possible problems leading to the losses being experienced by the company will be categorized into either short term or long term. The final part of analysis will provide recommendation of appropriate measures that the company should have taken to resolve the problems. There are a number of reasons that might have forced Toyota to delay in moving its manufacturing for European sales to Europe. The most probable reasons could be associated with the depreciation of Euro against major currencies, the expected costs of setting up the plant, availability of labor, anticipated risks of either losing their intellectual property as a result of theft, need for up-to-date innovations, strategic problems as well as feeling of being unprepared. To begin with off shoring manufacturing to Europe without a clear thought of plan could have resulted into two strategic problems (Wood 2009). One of the strategic problems is logistical issues. Spreading out manufacturing activities without having a good plan in place could expose the company to unexpected disruption of important supplies. Although the need to offshore manufacturing to Europe could have been appropriate in enabling the company to compete with its rivals, responding to customers’ needs could hav e been a problem (Bessis 2011). The other reason that could have resulted to a delay in shifting manufacturing to Europe

Marketing Plan Harley-Davidson Dyna Street Bob Research Paper

Marketing Plan Harley-Davidson Dyna Street Bob - Research Paper Example It is acknowledged by reader that information to be furnished in this marketing plan is in all respects confidential in nature, other than information which is in the public domain through other means and that any disclosure or use of same by reader may cause serious harm or damage to ______________. Upon request, this document is to be immediately returned to ________. ___________________ Signature ___________________ Name (typed or printed) ___________________ Date This is a marketing plan. It does not imply an offering of securities. ... Over the years, the firm has met numerous challenges as well as successes. Currently, Harley-Davidson has a number of motorbikes designed and targeted at different demographic groups. Among these is the Dyna Street Bob which is a sporting motorbike targeted at the younger generations. This product is intended to bring new marketing orientation in the market. This is because although it is targeted at the young people in general, it is also targeted at women as a new market. More women are becoming more interested in motor-biking and this is a new market which Harley-Davidson should use for to expand its market share of the motorbike market. As Taylor (para 1) says, Harley-Davidson has been accused of not targeting new markets and this will be an opportunity to look at the new market. 2.0 Situational Analysis In 1907 William Harley and Arthur Davidson incorporated the Harley-Davidson Motorcycle Company. AMF acquired the company in 1969 and nearly tripled production in the following 4 years. Increased production led to poorly performing products, which led to Honda gaining market segment and eventually a buyout of AMF in 1981 by Vaughn Beals and a group of other HD managers. Over the next 20 years HD incorporated lean operating principles, acquired rival companies effectively opening new niche markets and survived an instance of a primary lender refusing to advance further cash. In 1997 a former Honda manager, Berryman, revamped HD’s supply chain management system to further reduce waste. Subsequently a focus was placed on products that would open up more niche markets and help move HD away from their typical target demographic. Today HD realizes increased profits and revenues from these changes, but also faces

Reponses to Attachment. Two different positions Essay Example for Free

Reponses to Attachment. Two different positions Essay My chosen topic involves the use of food stamps for fast food which raises the main question, should you be able to go for food stamps for fast food. Food stamps simply refers to an assistance food program by the federal government in the United States to offer food to the low income earners and those who do not have any income whereby they are issued with coupons or paper and currently cards are used. The food stamps are issued for free by the government to allow poor people and low income earners to access food regardless of the nutritional value from any outlets such as supermarkets which accepts the cards or the stamps. The government issues the food stamps free of charge to all people and families who are in need. I came across this topic on food stamps on the internet, when I was conducting a research on the use of adverts on fast foods by various companies. Being an individual who values charity and helping others and considering my interest in fast food business, it got me wondering what would happen if food stamps could be allowed for fast foods. This generated my interest in this topic and how it will affect fast food business. I hope to gain more understanding on the impacts of the food stamps on fast food business and to ascertain whether it could be allowed for fast food. Provide a brief summary of the topic. Explain the current issues surrounding the topic and share at least two different positions on the topic             The main aim of the government in providing food stamps to families and people who are poor, elderly and even disabled and those who are homeless was to enable them to have something to eat. However, there are certain issue which surrounds the issue of food stamps whereby it is thought to be a contributing factor towards some disorders such as obesity. According to Aldhous (2013), the food stamps could be the option which can be applied in the fight against obesity epidemic which has become rampant in the United States. The author of the article says that obesity can be controlled through the food stamps which could be issued for the purchase of nutritious foods. The author observes that restriction on the choice of foods people could access through the food stamps will be of great help ion handling the obesity situation in the US (Aldhous, 2013). This indicates the author’s support for the food stamps program which could generate health improvement among t he beneficiaries of the food stamps. It is the suggestion of the author that the use of food stamps could be the way towards a healthier nation in the coming future (Aldhous, 2013). However, in another article by Whitmore (2013) the restrictions which are to placed on the use of food stamps with regard to sugary foods may not work. The author of the article observes that putting ban or restrictions on the use of food stamps in the purchase of sugary foods may have negative impacts which will even result in the ineffectiveness of the food stamps (Whitmore, 2013). Whitmore explains that the bans or restrictions on the use food stamps will result in extra expenses for the government in terms of administration costs (Whitmore, 2013). Furthermore, the author observes that placing restrictions on the use of food stamps on sugary foods would cause stigma on the people who are supposed to benefit from the program. What specific issue will you write about within the larger topic, and what unique angle will you provide?             The specific issue that I will write about is the impacts of food stamps on fast food business and health of consumers. This is based on the observation that fast food businesses have become quite popular and therefore, it would be wonderful to know how the food stamps can impact on the business as well as health matters. Define your audience. Who are they, and what are their needs, motivations, and influences? In what ways will you need to structure your writing to appeal to them?             It is important to know the kind of audience who will make use of the information provided here. In this case, the targeted audience will include fast food business investors and also the customers who have been issued with the food stamps. The investor have the need to know how the business will be affected if the food stamps are allowed for fast foods. The motivation for this audience is the positive benefits they will receive in terms of revenue and the customer base. Furthermore, the investors are influenced by the consumer behaviour that is displayed when purchasing products. To appeal to the audience which is comprised of investors may be a challenge but in this case, this work will be structured in form of an argumentative essay. This will is due to the reason that it will easier to weigh and outline all the available options with supporting evidence which can influence the decisions of the investors. The structure of an argumentative essay will create a chance for the investors to associate more with the writing depending on which side of the argument they feel outweighs the other. References Aldhous, P. (2013). Food stamps could help US trim obesity epidemic. New Scientist, 219(2928), 10.Whitmore, D. (2013). Proposals to ban purchase of sugary drink with food stamps wont work. Inside Tucson Business, 22(43), 22. Source document

Researching Human Service Agencies Essay Example for Free

Researching Human Service Agencies Essay Researching Human Service Agencies Michelle Pacheco HSM/210 June 20, 2012 Morgan Gamble The Family Outreach, Inc. serves over 400 families and individuals that live within the 12 counties of Southwestern Montana by providing services to families and individuals with developmental disabilities or at risk of developmental disabilities. The client base is from birth to adulthood. The main goal for this program is to keep children and families together, to educate families on how to live together, and educate on the disability. The needs being met are for both children, adults with special needs, and families. The article states the needs being met include: â€Å"primarily educational we teach families and friends how to teach skills to children and adults with special needs. We teach families and individuals how to become advocates. We encourage the development of skills that move people towards greater independence and inclusion in their communities. Supportive based on a family’s or individual’s chosen goals and expressed needs we provide other support services and help families find appropriate services. We assist families and individuals in building their own resource and support systems. We help provide services that wrap around children and adults in their natural environments. † Parents, Lets Unite for Kids-PLUK- PLUK is a non-profit organization that serves children with special needs in the state of Montana for the purpose of information, support, training and assistance. It was founded by parents who felt strongly that parents of children with disabilities need to band together to give each other information and support. The two groups are focused on the same thing and that is assisting individuals and families that are dealing with developmental disabilities. The Family Outreach attempts to meet the human needs of not separating families. They try and keep the families together and for families and adults to be nurtured and loved. They attempt to give the basic needs to families and individuals with education, shelter, and assistance on how to live as a family unit while dealing with the disability. The PLUK is focused on assisting children and adults with disabilities at school, work, and in the community. Support for families so that they can nurture their children in the home. The differences observed between the two agencies are that the Family Outreach only serves parts of Montana, while the PLUK serves families all over the state of Montana. They both have the focus of being non-profit and assisting families through education and support. The PLUK is based on the needs of children with disabilities and the Family Outreach is based on children and adults with disabilities. The PLUK is more focused on outsourcing for assistance such as doctors and psychologists, etc. While the Family Outreach is more focused on keeping the services â€Å"in house† so to speak. They both want the best for families and individuals dealing with disabilities and assisting in any way to help the individual maintain a â€Å"normal† life. The Family Outreach started in 1977 with 64 families and has grown to assisting over 400 families and individuals. The PLUK is much larger and has over 30,000 families that receive assistance. There are no statistics on their website and no one was available to speak over the phone regarding statistics when I called either place. The challenges that may be preventing the agencies from meeting certain goals are funding (donations). The Family Outreach runs off of donations and government funding with certain programs. The PLUK is parents and community members that volunteer their time. If the Family Outreach were to lose funding or if people were to stop donating, they could lose the agency as a whole. Many of their clients are on Social Security and on Medicaid. If either one of those programs were to go away, the clients would turn more to the program for assistance and without the funding, grants, and donations the agencies receive they would have nowhere for their clients to turn. They would have to turn down many clients. Volunteers are another challenge. Many people do not want to volunteer their time and if the people that are volunteering stop, the clients would be affected the most. The PLUK serves over 30,000 families. Without the families, doctors, psychologist, and friends donating their time, there Sources for this Assignment: Parents, Lets Unite for Kids- PLUK. (2011). Retrieved from http://www. pluk. org Family Outreach Inc.. (2005). Retrieved from http://www. familyoutreach. org

Social Media Effective Marketing Communicative Tool Caffe Nero Marketing Essay

Social Media Effective Marketing Communicative Tool Caffe Nero Marketing Essay This research primarily focuses on social media being an effective marketing communicative tool for Caffe Nero- the Italian coffee bar. Social media has made a huge impact both on the business and marketing world. Traditional marketing methods are not able to reach the target audiences as they did a decade ago with the same effect (Pelsmarker, Neijens 2009). Marketing communication which represents the voice of the company are a means to inform, remind and communicate about their products and services directly or indirectly to the consumers (Kevin lane keller, 2009). Caffe Nero, the Italian coffee company which have been chosen for the research work, provides a great deal of value for their customers. They are dedicated to providing their customers with their finest range of high quality espresso- based coffees, cold coffees as well as a wide range of high quality Italian foods. By creating a friendly atmosphere, by integrating local environment and culture, they have proved to be customer focused. On a business perspective, to increase sales and to gain competitive advantage the company has been trying to communicate its products and services to the consumers through different marketing communication tools. But according to Kevin lane keller (2009), marketing communication is changing enormously from what it was 10-30 years ago. Internet and technology are changing the way the world communicates and interacts. Marketing communication is conveying messages about the products and services to audiences that are of values encouraged to offer attitud inal and behavioural responses (chris fill, 2005). There is no point in communicating if there is no audience to receive the message. This brings the researcher to the aim and objectives of the research Marketing communication allows a company to link their products and services to other people, brands, places, feelings and experiences (Kevin lane keller, 2009). The media environment has changed dramatically in recent years. Traditional media such as Television, magazines, newspapers, magazines are losing their grip on customers. Attention age, as this current period is called, is overlapping the information age, as increasingly abundant information is available particularly on the internet (Richard A Lanham, 2006). This age was marked as individuals began to create, consume and share information freely and instantly on the internet using social media. The period began with the emergence of web 2.0 technologies and social media in the year 2000 (Lanham, 2006). Kaplan and Haenlein (2010), defines social media as a group of internet based applications that build on the ideological and technological foundations of web 2.0 and that allow the creation and exchange of user generated cont ent. With the emergence of web 2.0, internet allows individuals by providing a set of tools to share information and to build social and business connections. According to Dan Zarrella (2007), social media takes place in different forms. This includes blogs, microblogs(Twitter), social networking (Facebook, LinkedIn), social bookmarking and voting sites (digg, Reddit), forums, virtual worlds(second life), media sharing sites(Youtube, Flickr). The ultimate goal of these foundations is to create a platform that encages and empowers its customers with the opportunity to communicate with the organization. These platforms are important to organizations, as it allows the organization to measure and monitor the effects of organization on their customers. Building on the personal empowerment that internet offers, individuals are connecting and talking through social networking sites about anything and everything (Evan , 2008). Evan (2008) quotes social media to a Wikipedia process. He descr ibes saying, people can write anything and everything, whatever they want on sites like Wikipedia, encyclopaedia. But its also true that often within a few minutes, someone would look at what you wrote and either validate or comment on it. Safko, Brake (2009), defines social media to activities, behaviours and practices experienced among communities of people who gather online to share opinions, knowledge and information using conversational media. This is where organizations should use social media to reach their customers. Its not possible to receive a spontaneous response using traditional communication methods. Avoiding advertisements, media and audience fragmentation and technologies such as web 2.0, digital television makes it increasingly difficult to reach and convince the audience (the so called customers) with traditional campaigns (Pelsmarker, Neijens (2009). For organizations, social media serves as an inexpensive platform so to implement the marketing campaign. With thi s, its possible for organizations to receive direct feedback from their consumers and markets (Mangold, 2009). Social media can be used by organizations in giving direct response to customer complaints, broadcasting updates, announcements, news and promotions. In order for an organization to be successful, they need to define their goals and this depends upon the platform that the organizations choose. Ignoring social media completely can deprive a company of an important marketing vechile and potent, cost-effective tools (Stephen E Arnold, 2009). Arnold (2009), also makes it clear that social media when embraced by an organization allows to create a relationship with its customers. Rapid diffusion of powerful broadband internet connections, multipurpose cellphones, portable video music players and ad-skipping digital video recorder have forced marketers to rethink a number of their traditional practices (Kaplan Thaler, Koval 2003; kiley 2005) Social media has become an effective tool for marketing and sales. As social media continues to grow, the ability to reach consumers has increased. Social media appeals to both small and big business. Brands are using social media to reach customers and to build and maintain reputation. In this new media environment, it is important for organizations (small or big) to have a social media presence. 3. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY: Research methodology examines the ways in which the information is gathered in order to answer the questions imposed for research. In this study conducted on social media, the research methodology looks into the methods used for research, research design, sampling its size and type and the limitations to the study. Both primary and secondary research contributes to the study conducted on social media, as an effective communicative tool. With regards to the primary research, both qualitative and quantitative methods are used for the purpose of the research. 3.1 Secondary research: Collection of secondary data helps the researcher to get a general idea of the research field; therefore acting as a helpful source of information (Yin, 2003). With consideration to secondary research, data can be collected from books, journals, articles and websites which will help the research in getting an overall idea of the research topic. 3.2 Primary research: Collection of primary data is necessary when researchers are interested in socioeconomic and demographic characteristics, attitudes, intentions, motivations, opinions and behaviour (Gemmy, 1999). As mentioned above, both qualitative and quantitative research methods are used for this study. Knight, McCabe (1997), suggests that case study provides a vehicle through which several qualitative methods can be combined, thereby avoiding too great a reliance on one single approach. The tools used under qualitative method to gain access to the data are focus groups and depth interview. Focus groups: In focus groups, the verbal interactions between the participants are important. The planning and running of different types of group have no means of standard. At the end of the day, it is the skill of the moderator that determines the quality of the data (Ray kent, 2006). The type of group chosen is Mini groups consisting of 4-5 people in a group. As Ray Kent (2006), points out that, Mini Groups can be used for study related to personal issues or for in-depth explorations. As this is a study conducted on social media (which is more of consumer related), all age groups, from younger to older are taken for the purpose of study. The number of group planned for the discussion ranges from 2-6. Goodyear (1990) suggests that for exploratory research or for strategic projects, a group number of 30 or more is required and for tactical projects a group number of 2-8 is required. Every method has its own advantages as well as limitations. Ray kent (2006) examines the advantages as follows Advantages of focus groups: Cultural and social influences are highlighted Consumer differences are highlighted which helps in understanding a range of attitudes in a short span of time. Observing the groups is made easier Depth interviews: In depth interviews, the main lines of communication are between the interviewer and respondent or respondents (Kent, 2006). Executive and consumer interviews have been panned to be conducted, as this serves the purpose of the study and for the collection of data. Executive interviews are conducted with managers, which will highlight the way in which organization does things, which is relevant for this research. Consumer interviews are planned to be conducted with a whole family, consisting of different age groups which helps the research to understand the influence of individual members of the family. The interview is planned to be conducted in an open-ended way, with a time period of 15-30 minutes. Kent (2006) considers the following to be the advantages Advantages of depth interview: It is possible to identify who said what Majority and minority opinions can be captured The tool used under quantitative method to gain access to the data is Questionnaire. Asking individuals questions and noting their responses systematically has been a method of social research since 1970 (Kent, 2006). Questionnaires in relation to marketing tend to be in association with survey research (Yin, 2003). A face to face method of questionnaire has been chosen as it helps the study to be more realistic. A face to face method when compared with a telephone interview helps to limit the number of questions and the questions will appear to be fairly simple and short. The question format chosen with regards to the questionnaire is multi-response question, giving the respondents the choice to pick more than 1 response category. The length of the questionnaire has been planned to be limited to about 10-15 questions. The longer the questions, the more the chance to create unwillingness among respondents to finish off with the questionnaire. 3.3 Research Design: Chris fill, paul Baines (2008) defines research design as a clear non-technical description of the research type adopted and the specific techniques to be used to gather the required information which includes sampling procedures, data collection instruments. The research design used in this study conducted is of a case study design. Case study research is concerned with the particular nature and complexity of the case in question (Bryman, Bell, 2007). The question of how will a case study in the context of research design criteria, in terms of ecological validity, external validity, internal validity, experimental validity, replicability and reliability, depends on the researcher on how he feels that these are appropriate for the evolution of a case study research (Bryman, Bell, 2007) . But Yin (1984) considers that they are appropriate criteria and suggest ways in which the case study research can be developed to meet the criteria. 3.4 Sampling: Researching a small sample carefully may in fact , result in a greater accuracy than either a very large sample or attempting a complete census, since the problems associated with handling a large number of interviewers and a large number of questionnaires may create errors of a greater magnitude than those arising from the sampling process (kent, 2006). Under qualitative research, the size of the sample used for focus groups and depth interview, involves a small number of respondents. The sampling method used for qualitative research is purposive samples, a non-probability sampling method which allows the researcher, to select using his/her experience or judgement drawn from qualitative research. Under quantitative research, the size of the sample used for questionnaires, involves large number of respondents. The sampling method used for quantitative research is stratified sampling, a probability sampling method which classifies the population based on certain characteristics such a s age, gender, sex etc which is very relevant on the study conducted . Traditional marketing methods do not provide the same effectiveness as it did a decade ago in reaching their target customers (Pelsmarker, Neijens, 2009). A thorough study conducted through a range of literature has shown the rise of a new vehicle which helps organizations in communicating to its customers more effectively than it used to be. Yochai Benkler (2006) uses the neologism network information economy or network economy to describe the underlying technological, social and economic characteristics of what is known as social media. Social media is able to reach a global audience, it can be assessed at a little cost, it does not require much skill, and also receives spontaneous responses. Whether it is a small, medium or large business, consumers are using social media and there is no reason I can see as a researcher for organizations to not use social media as a means to reach their customers. The above findings from the literature have already proved social media as an effective communicative tool for Caffe Nero. Further results from the primary and secondary data will help the researcher to get a clear insight on whether social media can be used as an effective marketing communicative tool for Caffe Nero.

Christianity and the Beowulf Poet :: Epic of Beowulf Essays

Christianity and the Beowulf Poet In my initial study of Beowulf it seemed to me that the Christian references in it were overlaid onto the essentially pagan tale that makes up the bulk of the poem. So I innocently decided to investigate this incongruity as the topic of this paper. And so I found myself smack-dab in the middle of an argument that has evidently raged for the last one hundred years or so. I found sources that ran the gamut from the position that Beowulf was a quintessentially Germanic pagan work that had been corrupted by some revisionist monastic scribe (Mooreman 1967), to the assertion that the author intentionally created a Christian allegory along the lines of Book 1 of The Faerie Queen (McNamee 1960). I have chosen the middle ground in formulating my thesis, which after further study of the text and a wide range of criticism seems to make the most sense. The author of Beowulf is indeed the author of those Christian passages, but his intention is less to proselytize than to demonstrate tha t Christianity and his audience's Germanic heritage were not incompatible. We know that eighth century Anglo-Saxon poets relied upon their native Germanic traditions and techniques to shape even overtly Christian poetry (i.e. The Dream of the Rood) and so it was with the Beowulf poet. The tales of Beowulf were already ancient legend when the poet began his work (whenever that was; dating the poem seems to be another of those old controversies with dates ranging from the 7th to the 11th centuries). The author skillfully uses this material to construct an entertaining tale while at the same time attempting to reconcile the concepts of the pagan wyrd (fate) and dom (renown or worth) with the Christian concepts of grace and final judgement. So it is that we have a poem that is overwhelmingly a pagan story, suffused with the old Germanic warrior culture ethos, yet sprinkled with many loosely Christian comments and a few explicitly Christian passages. However, it should be noted that while we refer to these passages as Christian, no reference to Christ is t o be found within the poem. The first of the Christian passages occurs when we are introduced to Grendal: God had condemned them as kin of Cain. The Eternal Lord avenged the murder in which he slew Abel.

gifted education and funding Essay -- essays research papers

How Lack Of Funding Effects Gifted Students In Ohio   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  This year is a landmark year for Gifted Education in Ohio; for the last few years the number of gifted children in Ohio has been growing steadily. This year for the first time the percentage of children in Ohio that were identified as Gifted and Talented finally equaled the percentage of children who were served in Special Education Classrooms. There is only one small problem with this statement. The percentage is equal only if you count the students who are identified as being Talented and Gifted, not served. There are currently only 11% of all Talented and Gifted students being served in the State of Ohio.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Ohio Department of Education and the Federal Government gave a combined total $773 million for Special Education Programs around the state of Ohio this year. This amount includes professional development, classroom supplies, technology acquisition, testing supplies, and teacher salary. Gifted Education received $48 million from Ohio and no funding from the federal government this year. This $48 million can only spent on teacher’s salaries. This $48 million cannot be used to pay for any benefits the teacher will get by working in a school district, benefits like health insurance, and retirement. These expenses are expected to be paid by the school districts out of their funds.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In 1984, Ohio required that early identification ...

Operant condition Essay -- essays research papers

Several years ago, I was the marketing Manager for a new line of perfume, which had to be promoted, introduced to the consumer, and allow for succession in the market. By marketing the product the sales would either be high or low depending on the market responses. One way to ensure successfully marketing to the right consumers is through the use of Operant Conditioning. Operant Conditioning, also known as Instrumental learning is defined as a â€Å"learning process by which the consequences of an operant response affects the likelihood that the response will occur in the future†(Kozak, pg 22). Basically, Operant Conditioning is a stimulus response pattern that when reinforced will condition the individual response to a desired behavior. Our behaviors are altered to be desirable or undesirable through reinforcements, punishment and extinction. Overall, Operant conditioning is a voluntary response that precedes the stimulus and the reinforcement. According to Dr.Komisar Behavioral therapist at Long Island Jewish Hospital, says Operant Condition has been applied in many situations, such as teaching, clinical settings, and advertising, which have been proven successful in clinical trails. B.F Skinner and Edward Thorndike have developed two famous stream of research in this area. BF Skinner felt that the â€Å"term reinforcement was more desirable than the word reward†(Darcy, pg 215). â€Å"Reinforcement is any stimuli that strengthen the desired response† (Darcy, pg 223). For example, sometim...

Donna Tartt’s The Secret History Essay

Nietzsche’s philosophy has made for itself a unique cornerstone in the sense that it is not involved with pedantic aspects of ethics and other branches of epistemology. This seminal German thinker moves swiftly along majority of philosophical schools of thought. His exploration of the classical elements in literature, as found in the ancient Hellenic society, is manifested beautifully in Birth of Tragedy. The longstanding debate between the subjectivity and the objectivity of art is addressed to critically by Nietzsche in this book. The basic idea he propagates in Birth of Tragedy involves reality with forms and the same without, and the comparison therein. Known as the Dionysian and the Apollonian, this classical Greek model sums up humankind’s perpetual struggle to arrive at a state of equilibrium. Nietzsche argues that in our effort to pursue a meaningful existence, we need to discard the preposterous viewpoints of the Apollonian and have to embrace the Dionysian. Similar thoughts are expressed in Hermann Hesse’s illustrious work Steppenwolf which thematically deals with the Nietzschean Apollonian versus the Dionysian. The protagonist Haller is psychologically preoccupied with two contrasting facets of personality – the sensible and logical faculty of mind as opposed to the passionate and appetitive. Nietzsche assigns the terms ‘Apollonian’ and ‘Dionysian’ to these two primal worldviews of Greek tragedy. This essay is going to make a comparative study between the Apollonian and the Dionysian with reference to modern literature. To make the comparison, we have chosen Donna Tartt’s The Secret History, one of the originative post-modern fictions from the fatalistic school of literary works. In many ways, this novel echoes the Athenian concept of fate as being an overpowering element responsible for altering the desirable course of events. Idiosyncrasy is the key conceptual component in Nietzsche’s ethical doctrines. Time and again, he questions the acceptability of the prevalent trends that outline the social norms and fashions. What is far less understood in a generic attempt manifests itself intelligibly when associated with a context. â€Å"Nietzsche does not present us with a systematic theory of knowledge. Any attempt to construct one on the basis of his scattered remarks, aphorisms, poetry, and myth would be a difficult, if not impossible, task. It would, above all, be contrary to the intention of his thought and lead to a distortion of his views. Nietzsche, as Walter Kaufmann rightly asserts, is not a system builder, but a problem thinker. † (Pfeffer, p. 95-96) Now in the context of the ancient Greek anthology, both the Apollonian and the Dionysian worldviews were present, resulting in a clash of ideologies. Nietzsche borrows these two terms from the two Greek gods Apollo and Dionysus. The former symbolically represents clarity of form and interpretation, and therefore is suggestive of a linear human personality. Dionysus, on the other hand, stands for frolic and extravagance, hinting at the presence of multiple personalities within a single entity. On one hand he is the god of chaos and unrestrained emotions. But at the same time, he is also the divine countenance of richness and productivity. Hence the Dionysian school of thought deals with formlessness of expression which is closer to art perceived from an unbiased and liberal standpoint. Greek tragedy in its heydays attained sublimity when the two distinctive art forms merged with one another to form a seamless continuum. The beginning of Athenian tragedy was hinged on the Dionysian tradition before the other one sprang up, neutralizing the discordant elements. In a way, fluidity of the Dionysian elements seek platitude through the Apollonian directness. It was a matter of great curiosity for Nietzsche that such contrasting ideologies should ever be able to define tragedy (Pfeffer, p. 32). The flowing nature of Greek opera is worth mentioning in the context of the Dionysian. Music to a great extent is governed by the freedom of form and expression. Normative aspects of the Apollonian do not comply with the ecstatic jubilance conveyed through music. It evokes directly to man’s impulsive and spontaneous nature and hence, is not limited to the external forces of reason and dependence. The ingrained harmony in music is therefore counterbalanced by the Apollonian concept of plastic arts and epic poetry. What makes Greek tragedy a culmination of the Apollonian and the Dionysian is that the poetic genre characterized by reasoning can actually strike a harmonious chord and reach a level of elevated intensity as well as greater profundity. So the expansive verticality of this blending highlights Nietzsche’s exemplary vision of thought and his engineering capacity to induct precision qualities into the philosophy of literature. His unique interpretation of art and tragedy is not based on the conventional techniques. Rather it dissociates itself from the content and creates an aura of universality which can be aptly applied to any epoch of literary practices: â€Å"After recognizing this immense antithesis, I felt a deep need to explore the nature of Greek tragedy which is the profoundest manifestation of the Hellenic genius; only now did I seem to possess the key to probe deeply into the essential problems of tragedy that were no longer derived from conventional aesthetics. † (Pfeffer, p. 32) What is stated in the previous part of discussion is affirmed furthermore by Ansell-Pearson in A companion to Nietzsche. In Birth of Tragedy, he develops a style which is not only mechanical in discourse, but also highly sporadic in terms of articulating the individualistic notions so distinctive of Nietzsche (Ansell-Pearson, p. 58). The metaphysical utterance of Nietzsche deviates from what the contemporary philosophers such as Schopenhauer propagated in their doctrines. Many Greek authors, Euripides for instance, viewed the cosmos as a continuous process of creation primarily in accordance with the Apollonian traits. The Dionysian break down of form is not associated with the fictional content of human existence. The antithetical elements inherent in any human being are overlooked by Euripides in Bacchae. Claims made by Kant and Goethe that form and matter are irreversible in nature are given a refreshing new direction by Nietzsche in Birth of Tragedy. He establishes a linkage between what Euripides calls ‘organic fiction’ and plurality of human nature. He does not try to draw any kind of imposed distinction between the two incongruous constructs. Euripides’ Bacchae does not fit into Nietzsche’s delineation of metaphysics. If we strive to look into Bacchae in the light of the Apollonian and the Dionysian derivatives, we would be able to see clearly into the dubiousness of the latter one. Chronicling the historical event of Dionysus’ arrival to the royal court of Greece, Euripides presents a controversial topic involving man’s stance in relation with god. Even though this drama is written to question many of the old systems of belief, what remains extremely perplexing is the playwright’s ultimate focus. Euripides questions the vague borderline between intellect and feeling, reality and vision, and logic and craziness. But at the same time, he refrains from arriving at any conclusive outcome that would give a clue to the reason behind mankind’s endless misery. What Donna Tartt portrays in The Secret History resembles the thematic literary genealogy of Bacchae. The idea which is propagated through this novel involves the secularism of spirit as the ultimate winner in modern world. The sheer fatality of occurrences at random does not leave a chance of revisiting the past to find plausible explanations. In this sense, this novel is comparable with Birth of Tragedy and its promotion of the Dionysian worldview. This novel can be seen as a modernistic attempt to recreate the primitive world of the Dionysian rites and rituals. On the surface it is just a murder mystery which does not deserve any deeper analysis. But Tartt invests in this apparent murder mystery a profound understanding of the Apollonian versus the Dionysian, and the confrontation between reality and imagination, between social impositions and the human longing for liberation. Aristotle’s viewpoint on the Catharsis is also dealt with effectively, creating an opening for interpreting life outside the beauty of literary premises. A deeper understanding of The Secret History is bound to reveal the classical and literary elements explored in the novel. The etymology of this representative work is closely analogous to both Nietzsche’s Birth of Tragedy and Euripides’ Bacchae. It is indeed fascinating to find a connective bonding with two earlier works dissimilar in nature. First and foremost, Nietzsche’s confrontation with disillusionment in the context of Athenian literature dominated by the Apollonian worldview is stripped off in The Secret History. Events occurring within a timeline which is non-linear in nature do not imply Schopenhauer’s doctrine of the world as ‘maya’ (Segal, p. 361). The gradual disorientation of the lives of six students predates Nietzsche’s preoccupation with answering the question involving human individualism and its manifold expressions. The Secret History propels the earlier school of thought introduced by Schopenhauer: â€Å"Although Nietzsche frequently speaks of â€Å"illusion† in connection with Dionysus and tragedy, he has in mind Schopenhauer’s notions of the world as â€Å"maya†, the self-deception with which human beings (with the exception of the Nietzschean philosopher) mask the emptiness and meaninglessness of their lives, and hardly the kind of theatrical, and metatheatrical, illusion of my chapter on metatragedy. † (Segal, p. 361) It is clear from the three readings that The Secret History along with Steppenwolf is ideologically in proximity to Nietzsche’s Birth of Tragedy. What emerges out of Euripides’ Bacchae is a different doctrinal claim which does not provide any scholarly ground for either the Apollonian or the Dionysian worldviews. Euripides leaves it ambiguous as to which school of thought should the literary definition of tragedy comply with. It is rather a mixture of the Dionysian revelry associated with choir singing and the Apollonian poetry. However, the drama does not provide too much room for calculating the extent of each, therefore making the task of classification immensely difficult and problematic. References Pfeffer, R. (1972). Nietzsche: disciple of Dionysus. Lewisburg: University of Bucknell. Segal, C. (1997). Dionysiac poetics and Euripides’ Bacchae. Princeton: Princeton University Press. Ansell-Pearson, K. (2006). A compilation to Nietzsche. Hoboken: Wiley-Blackwell.

Existentialism is a Humanism Essay

In Existentialism is a Humanism, Jean-Paul Sartre (1905-1980) presents an accessible description of existentialism. A key idea of existentialism—and of the human condition— is that existence precedes essence. The essence of something is its meaning, its intended purpose. A paper cutter is made to cut paper; that is its point. Humans, however, do not have an essence. Man exists, turns up, appears on the scene, and, only afterwards, defines himself. We have no greater purpose, no pre-determined plan, no ultimate meaning. We have, in Sartre’s words, no human nature, since there is nothing (e.g. God) outside of us which would conceive of it for us. We are simply here, and it is up to us to define ourselves. Responsibility Man is nothing else but what he makes of himself. We have choice, we have subjectivity, and we choose what we will make ourselves to be; we are entirely responsible for our existence: Thus, existentialism’s first move is to make every man aware of what he is and to make the full responsibility of his existence rest on him. This thought is often not easily accepted. ‘Subjectivity’ is a word that riles up many. â€Å"If everything is subjective then nothing is objective; nothing is absolute! Our values are nothing more than our whims! Nothing is right or wrong! Rabble, rabble, rabble!† Sartre replies that, â€Å"it is impossible for man to transcend human subjectivity.† He isn’t saying â€Å"I prefer subjectivity over objectivity,† he’s asking, â€Å"how can we possibly not be subjective?† Even the religious individual who believes that morality is absolute and comes from God must, at some point, choose to bel ieve that this is the case. Our responsibility is a blessing and a curse. It leads us to feel things like anguish, forlornness, and despair. Anguish We experience anguish in the face of our subjectivity, because by choosing what we are to do, we ‘choose for everyone’. When you make a decision you are saying â€Å"this is how anyone ought to behave given these circumstances.† Many people don’t feel anguish, but this is because they are â€Å"fleeing from it.† If you don’t feel a sense of anxiety when you make decisions, it’s because you are forgetting about your â€Å"total and deep responsibility† toward yourself and all of humanity. Forlornness Forlornness is the idea that â€Å"God does not exist and that we have to face all the consequences of this.† There is no morality a priori. There is no absolute right or wrong. There is no ultimate judge. This is a very distressing idea. As Dostoievsky said, â€Å"If God didn’t exist, everything would be possible [permissible].† Without God we have nothing to cling to. â€Å"There is no determinism, man is free, man is freedom. [†¦] We have no values or commands to turn to which legitimize our conduct.† In other words, we have no excuses, and we are entirely responsible for our decisions. What are our values? The only way to determine them is to make a decision. At the end of the day, your ideals aren’t what matter; what matters is what you actually did. Despair Despair arises because we only have power to change things that are within our power to change—and there is a lot we cannot change. Reality is impartial and out of your control, except for small aspects of it here and there. We despair because we can never have full control of the future. What Will Happen Will Happen Tomorrow, after my death, some men may decide to set up Fascism, and the others may be cowardly and muddled enough to let them do it. Fascism will then be the human reality, so much the worse for us. Regardless of what is right or wrong, good or bad, and regardless of whether these are absolutes or not, â€Å"things will be as man will have decided they are to be.† What will happen will happen and humanity will be entirely responsible for what it does. Does this mean we ought to become passively accepting of what will happen? Sartre says the exact opposite. Does that mean that I should abandon myself to quietism? No. [†¦] Quietism is the attitude of people who say, â€Å"Let others do what I can’t do.† The doctrine I am presenting is the very opposite of quietism, since it declares, â€Å"There is no reality except in action.† Moreover, it goes further, since it adds, â€Å"Man is nothing else than his plan; he exists only to the extent that he fulfills himself; he is therefore nothing else than the ensemble of his acts, nothing else than his life. No Excuses This is why existentialism horrifies some people. It puts such a burden of responsibility squarely on their shoulders. They can’t stand to think they were at fault for not being a great or successful person, for having no great friendships or love. They think they are the victim of circumstances; they haven’t had the proper education, leisure, or incentives; they haven’t found the right person yet; they haven’t had the opportunity to show their greatness. Sartre, however, says that â€Å"The coward makes himself cowardly, the hero makes himself heroic.† The artist is an artist because of the works of art he created, not because of what he could have created. The mathematician is famous for the math he did, not what he maybe could have done. We find that this is â€Å"a harsh thought to someone whose life hasn’t been a success.† We are responsible for our successes and failures. But at the same time, this harshness forces us to face the incredibly important fact that: Reality alone is what counts. Sartre sees these views not as a pessimism, but as an â€Å"optimistic toughness.† Optimistic in that we are the rulers of our lives; our destiny is within our hands; we are encouraged to take action. Sartre summarizes his idea of optimism and action in the following passage. Thus, I think we have answered a number of the charges concerning existentialism. You see that it can not be taken for a philosophy of quietism, since it defines man in terms of action; nor for a pessimistic description of man—there is no doctrine more optimistic, since man’s destiny is within himself; nor for an attempt to discourage man from acting, since it tells him that the only hope is in his acting and that action is the only thing that enables a man to live. Is Choice Arbitrary? Sartre ends this piece with a further defence of subjectivism, in which I wish he had gone into a little more detail. He says people are still not satisfied with the idea of subjectivism, and objections usually come in one of the following forms: 1. â€Å"Well then, you’re able to do anything, no matter what! You’re promoting anarchy!† But this isn’t the point. It is not possible to not choose. In not making a choice you are still choosing not to choose. Choice is inescapable; we are â€Å"condemned to be free† because we are human, whether or not we are existentialists. 2. â€Å"You can’t pass judgement on others, because there’s no reason to prefer one idea to another!† We can still hold values, and values appear out of the choices we make. Through our actions (as an individual and as a group), we create ethics. 3. â€Å"Everything about your choice is arbitrary!† We define ourselves through our actions, â€Å"in relationship to involvement.† And as we make ourselves—as we make choices—it is absurd to say we are choosing arbitrarily.

Music and Its Effects on Behaviors in Teenagers and Young Adults

Jorja M. Rea Professor Andre Yang English 1A 25 November 2012 Music and its effects on Behaviors in Teenagers and Young Adults Picture this: A young man is arrested for murder, twisting and cursing at the police as his mother watches from the sidewalk. It is light enough out that you can see, not far from him, lays the body of a young women. She was his girlfriend, whom he had beaten to death. This young man is just one of many young adults that are being arrested for committing vicious crimes in our society. Barongan and Nagayama Hall (1995) examined the effects of cognitive distortions in men had towards women.The men in this study viewed women in a sexually aggressive way. The men’s behavior was observed in a laboratory setting. Twenty-seven men listened to misogynous rap music and 27 men listened to neutral rap music. Participants then viewed neutral, sexually-violent, and assaultive film vignettes and chose the vignette that they found appealing. The results showed that à ¢â‚¬Å"participants who viewed the sexual-violent stimuli indeed felt sexually violent towards women, even having thoughts of raping and abusing women†.That young man will spend the next 3 years of his teenage life in a jovial facility and then be relocated to prison once he turns 18. What happened that caused a young man with a 3. 0 GPA to go from good to bad? According to Ortiz (2004) it all has to do with the human brain. The human brain has been called the most complex mass in the known universe. This is a well-deserved reputation, for this organ contains billions of connections called neurons. Among its parts and governs countless actions, involuntary and voluntary, physical, mental and emotional. The largest part of the brain is the frontal lobe.A small area of the frontal lobe located behind the forehead, called the prefrontal cortex, controls the brain’s most advanced functions. This part often referred to as the â€Å"CEO† of the body, providing humans wi th advanced cognition. It allows us to prioritize thoughts, imagine, think in the abstract, anticipate consequences, plan, and control impulses. Along with everything else in the body, the brain changes significantly during adolescence. In the last five years, scientists, using new technologies, such as an MRI, have discovered that adolescent brain is far less developed han previously believed. Doctors of Harvard Medical School have studied the relation between these new findings and teen behavior and concluded that adolescents often rely on emotional parts of the brain, the Amygdala, rather than the frontal lobe, â€Å"one of the things that teenagers seem to do is to respond more strongly with gut response than they do with evaluating the consequences of what they’re doing. † Since this young man, and many countless others in his position, lacks a complete prefrontal cortex they are forced to use the Amygdala.Fight or Flight is all it tells us to do. Thus, without an y clear knowledge these young people are forced to find role models who the feel â€Å"get them†. They turn to music for its lyrics and beat and this is where the trouble begins. Mahiri and Conner (2003) tested whether or not it is true that our African-American youth is more violent than other nationalities and why. Is it the rap music that they may listen to? The researchers assessed the perspective on violence of 41 middle school students attending a unique school in a low-income section of a large northern California city.The researchers probed ways that these students interpreted or reflected upon rap music and hip-hop culture, particularly its representation of violence, crime, and sex. A brief questionnaire was handed out to each of these participants, which consisted of scenario questions (what would you do if†¦). Based on the responses to the questions researchers were able to come to the conclusion that these particular students were â€Å"unfortunately lookin g up to these negative role models†. The constant talk of female assault, sex, and violence was being imbedded into these children’s minds†. And it doesn’t end there. Many other researchers have examined the effects of how musical genres have increased tendencies towards violet behaviors in teenagers and young adults. These studies have helped to uncover whether or not violent and aggressive music and music lyrics have had in fact, increased the rate of individuals that lash out in a violent, aggressive manner.Although none of the researchers in this paper considered the lack of the prefrontal cortex as a results as to why these young adults are so effects by the images they see or the music they listen to, they did however find something else altogether; these studies were done to inform society on how music is affecting people’s moods. For example: Anderson et al. (2003) studied whether or not media violence influences youth. They randomly assigned youths to watch either a short violent or a short nonviolent music video and then observed how they interacted with other people after viewing the music video.After each participant watched the music video for approximately 15 minutes, both physical and verbal aggression towards others was assessed using a 10-point scale: with 1 showing nonviolent behaviors and 10 showing a lot of violent behaviors. A correlational analysis was used to see if there was a relationship between a participant watching the violent music video and acting violent, or watching the nonviolent music video and not acting violent. â€Å"The results showed that exposure to media violence had a statistically significant association with aggression and violence among youth†.This research clearly demonstrates that exposure to media violence heightens the chances that a youth will behave aggressively and have aggressive thoughts in the short run. Arlin (1996) examined the â€Å"influence of exposure to viol ent rock videos on participants’ appraisals of their own aggressiveness†. Participants were preselected based on their scores on a measure of locus of control. After completing a measure of Buss and Durkee’s Hostility Inventory, they were randomly assigned to view either a view or nonviolent music video. After viewing the video, participants once again completed the Hostility Inventory.The results revealed a main effect of locus of control, such that individuals with an external locus of control showed lower self-reported aggressiveness after viewing a music video than individuals with an internal locus of control. Johnson, Jackson and Gatto (1995) studied whether exposure to rap music could cause violent attitudes and delayed academic performance. Forty-six African-American males (ages 11 to 16 years) from an inner city boys club in Wilmington, North Carolina were recruited to participate in this study. Participants were randomly exposed to violent rap music vid eos, nonviolent rap music videos, or no music videos.They read two vignettes involving: (a) a violent act perpetrated against a man and a woman and (b) a young man who chose to engage in academic pursuits to achieve success, whereas his friend, who was unemployed, â€Å"mysteriously† obtained extravagant items (i. e. , a nice car, nice clothes). The results showed that participants who saw the violent rap music videos reported greater acceptance of violence. In addition, â€Å"participants who saw the violent rap videos reported higher probability of committing similar acts of violence and greater acceptance of the use of violence against women†. St.Lawrence and Joyner (1991) examined the effects of sexually violent rock videos on males’ acceptance or violence against women. The experimental manipulation involved exposure to sexually violent heavy-metal rock music, Christian heavy-metal rock music, or easy listening classical music. One month prior to the experi mental manipulation, participants were administered several attitudinal scales about religious orientation, sex roles, rape myths, and interpersonal violence. The results indicated that â€Å"males without a religious background were more accepting of sexist and rape-supportive beliefs†.The researchers also came across an unexpected finding which was greater self-reported sexual arousal in response to classical music. Kalof (1999) examined the effects of gender and music video imagery on sexual attitudes. A group of 44 U. S. college students were randomly assigned to 1 of 2 groups that viewed either a video portraying stereotyped sexual imagery or a video that excluded all sexual images. A two-way scale revealed that exposure to traditional sexual imagery had a significant main effect on attitudes about adversarial sexual relationships. There seems to be some confirmation of a relation between sex and exposure to conventional sexual imagery on the acceptance of interpersonal violence. † Viemero and Paajanen (1992) examined whether or not viewing violent television actually does increase the aggressive behavior of those who viewed it. There were 391 eight-year old and ten-year old children participating in this study. â€Å"These children were tested on their aggression, their fear fantasies, and their dream and fantasies about these shows†. Two measurements of aggression were made: peer-nominated aggression and self-related aggression.TV viewing habits were measured by the amount of TV viewed during the week. Violence was depicted by how regularly violent TV shows were watched. They found that there was significant positive correlation for boys between TV viewing variables and aggression. There was also a significant positive correlation between the amount of TV and televised violence viewing and fear and aggressive fantasies about actual shows that were seen by the children. â€Å"These children seem to have been strongly impacted by the violence seen on television shows they were watching, and then acting in a more aggressive way after watching the violence†.Now that the It seems very obvious that there is a significant relationship between listening to violent music and watching aggressive/violent music videos and one getting into more fights, using inappropriate language, inappropriate gestures, and a tendency to think less of women. All of these researchers identified in this paper studied this exact relationship and found significant results. It is apparent that there is indeed a direct correlation between violent music and people’s aggressive behaviors.An operational definition of violent behavior is physically and verbally hurrying others, cursing, stealing, inappropriate gestures and negative views of women. Whether it is the lyrics, the beat, or watching the entertainers act violently, people in general who are viewing these music videos are behaving in an inappropriate and destructive way. Lis tening to violent music has an effect on aggression. This information is useful for parents of young children who are growing up watching these music videos. The studies completed by the researches mentioned in this paper reveal a serious problem.Our society as a whole should consider this a severe problem, especially with all of the school bombings, the high rates of angry- gang affiliated- weapon carrying young people, and the millions of dollars being spent on this violent and degrading (mostly to women) kind of music. When angry, violent, aggressive, vulgar videos were shown, participants portrayed a massive amount of hostility; their moods were changing as the video continued as did their behavior. They also answered the scenario questions with the most violent answer chose available.The participants who viewed nonviolent videos showed amazingly different answers to the questions, the majority of them answering the questions with the nonviolent or calmer answer choses. This cle arly shows evidence that allowing teenagers and young adults to watch violent music videos (like Eminem or DMX) has and will have a strong effect on violent tendencies like beating a women to death. It can also be said that the reason the results were significant in the violent groups is because of the extreme difference between the two videos.The violent videos were extremely violent showing fighting, carjacking, yelling, cursing, and hitting women. Meanwhile, the nonviolent groups watched music videos that showed people dancing on the beach and having fun. The extreme differences between the two types of videos could be the reason for the significant results obtained by the researchers. It may be wise in the future research to use videos that are not so tremendously different. Bibliography Anderson, C. A, Berkowits, L. , Donnerstein, M. , Edward, K. , Huesmann, L. , Rowell, J. , Johnson, J. , Linz, D. , Malamuth, N. , & Wartella, H. 2003). The influence of media violence on youth. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 4, 81- 110. Arlin, B. , (1996). The influence of locus of control and aggressiveness of rock music on aggression. Journal of Social Behavior and Personality, 14, 491- 498. Barongan, C. , & Nagayama Hall, G. C. (1995). The influence of misogynous rap music on sexual aggression against women. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 19, 195-207. Mahiri, J. , & Conner, E. Black youth violence has a bad rap. Journal of Social Issues, 59, 121-140. Johnson, J. D, Jackson, L. A. , & Gatto, L (1995).Violent attitudes and different academic aspirations: Deleterious effects of exposure to rap music. Basic and Applied Social Psychology, 16 (1-2), 27-41. Kalof, L. (1999). The effects of gender and music video imagery on sexual attitudes. Journal of Social Psychology, 139, 378- 385. St. Lawrence, J. S. , & Joyner, D. J.. (1991). The effect of sexually violent rock music on males’ acceptance of violence against women. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 15, 49-63. Viemero, V. , & Paajanen, S. (1992). The role of fantasies and dreams in the TV viewing-aggression relationship. Journal of Social Psychology, 18, 109-116.

Manifest Destiny Essay

Manifest Destiny was a term created in 1845 by John L. O’Sullivan in a magazine article. It states that America was destined by God to move west and spread the Country from coast to coast. However, Manifest Destiny affected Native Americans lives in many ways; it moved their home, changed their way of life, and hurt their culture. Native Americans were forced onto Reservations on the West-Side of the Mississippi River. â€Å"A long time ago this land belonged to our fathers; but when I go up to the river I see camps of soldiers here on its bank. These soldiers cut down my timber; they kill my buffalo; and when I see that, my heart feels like bursting; I feel sorry. †(Santana, Chief of the Kiowas, 1867) This was a drastic change to the Native Americans because they were used to living in the environment prior to having other people move in. On the reservation, they were not able to hunt buffalo or able to roam around as they did before. Now that they lived on the reservation they also lost their spiritual ties to the land. Look more:  manifest consequences essay And when they were moved on to the Reservations, their whole life changed. The way the Native Americans used to live also changed when they were moved, they had to completely start life over and try to rebuild their nation. â€Å"In 1889, only 1,091 buffalos were left in North America. The rapid decrease in buffalo started in the 1870’s, and it was because of white hunters who moved west, railroads being built, and the introduction of European livestock diseases. Buffalo population graph from National Geographic, November 1994) This was a big change for Plains Indians, who used buffalos for many products and food, because there wasn’t enough Buffalo for them to hunt. Also with the decrease of buffalo the Indians had to change what they used to survive. And when their lives changed, it hurt their culture. Their culture also was hurt drastically because they had to be able to modernize and forget their old way of life to adapt to their new home and environment. The Indians here I find are not very unlike white people. †(Document B) The Indians were willing to work for what they have, and also learned trades to help them to do business with the whites. They tended to be able to learn trades easily, which caused a rapid advancement in mechanism. This in return began to modernize them, which started to corrode their culture and their language. Also their new environment affected their culture because they had to change things they did when performing rituals. The Native Americans homes were moved, their life was changed, and their culture was hurt by Manifest Destiny; which swept through America in the 1800s. All of these were just a few key points where Manifest Destiny affected Native Americans negatively. Today, Indians are still like this; they are still on the Reservations they were given back in the 1800s, which means their land that was once theirs was never returned to them; their living in poverty because they grew up with the bare minimum; and their culture is fading, since they speak english to fit in with the rest of the United States.

Journal on Aviation Education Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Journal on Aviation Education - Essay Example This analysis can take various forms including a variety of models for performance analysis. In this chapter, the "a-ha moment" is associated with the concept of modeling the process of problem solving. It's intuitive that problem solving requires extensive analysis, but the concept of using a "comprehensive" as well as a "situation specific" methodology in unison to arrive at both a high level and an operational approach to critical issues, really makes sense (Rothwell & Kazanas, 1998). The point that seemed most unclear is the process of finding the association of data point metrics required for a valid performance matrix designed. This model for comprehensive problem-solving was exemplified by the Gilbert Performance Matrix, but it was difficult to understand exactly how to associate the data points. In Chapter 5 the concept of assessing relative characteristics of targeted learners is the main topic of discussion. This exercise includes great attention to the detail of describing learner characteristics; identifying those characteristics specifically; developing learner profiles; evaluating and describing cognitive assessment; then judging learner assessment. The "a-ha moment" was based on the specifics of what kind of learner characteristics should be assessed. ... The entire range of learner characteristics provides for a sense of uncertainty in approach, so a template of learner related characteristics worthy of consideration and useful to the design process and in focusing the efforts in the instructional design. Muddiest Point The concept that made the least sense is the theory of "cognitivism" in the instructional design process. The idea that learners develop their own strategies for learning is perhaps misleading, since all learning is based on factors associated with one's own environment and percepts developed from the influence of others (Kemp, 1985). Developing Performance Measurements In this chapter, the development of measurement criteria is suggested as quickly as learning objectives has been established. Measurements are defined as a means to track performance relative to objectives, and as such are a critical component in understanding if the learning process is working as anticipated or needs to be adjusted. A-Ha Moment The breakdown of the value and purpose of performance measurements is the "a-ha" moment in this chapter. It's intuitive that there is an impact, but the correlation to purpose was somewhat unclear. Based on the Table 9.1, the value and influence of each component in the process becomes apparent. For example, the breakdown of each fundamental element assists with the understanding of the ingredients required for success (e.g.: influence of participant reaction; participant learning; on-the-job performance change; and organizational impact). Muddiest Point The process in deciding "how" to measure performance is still confusing. The reason for decisions associated with the selection of a data collection method seems arbitrary, since all the elements described could apply to