Civil Right Movement Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Civil Right Movement - Essay Example They were the oppressed group as they were denied the equal rights and opportunities as white people. The end of World War II set a new tone for civil rights movement. The movement got prominence when in 1954 Supreme Court of US gave a landmark judgment in Brown vs. Board of Education case. In this judgment, Supreme Court declared racial segregation in school totally illegal and a punishable crime (Brown vs. Board of Education). Finally, the Civil Right Act of 1964 put an end to all discrimination that African Americans were suffering from since centuries. The Act eliminated obstacles that persisted for centuries preventing development of African-Americans. Over 45 years have passed since then; the status of African Americans when seen in the above perspective has improved a lot. Now they have not only equal voting rights to elect the government but they can also occupy any office in the US by their sheer ability. The segregation episodes that their children faced in the schools have been now buried deep into history books. They share all public places with equal rights. They can enter into any professions without any restriction depending upon their interest and ability. It is not surprising that African Americans have excelled in sports, politics, business and hosts of other activities. Their contribution in the US mainstreams reached to its pinnacle when an African American reached to the highest office of US in 2009. Several well-known figures such as Tiger Woods, Oprah Winfrey, Michael Jordan sprung into limelight in the post-civil movement era. Boxer Muhammad Ali, tennis star Arthur Ash, Michael Jordan in basketball, athlete Carl Lewis are some of the prominent names that have excelled in sporting activities after the end of Civil Right movement. Condoleezza Rice and Colin Powell became Secretary of State and many large cities such as Chicago, Los Angeles, New York have had mayors from African American community. Barack Obama occupying the highest office in US is a veritable testimony to the genuine change process that has taken place in the last few decades in the country giving equal opportunity, status and privilege to the African Americans as enjoyed by others. The law has given them equal rights and opportunities in all walks of life; this certainly proves that the status of African American has improved significantly since the end of the Civil Rights Movement. Answer 2. The US Law has taken its course giving African American full rights and opportunities but the African American community still faces numerous issues and challenges in the US society. Cedric Herring argues that African Americans still face job discriminations in the US. Giving an example of Texaco, the author states that the companies systemically deny promotions to the members of African American community. The New York Times produced evidence that how several Texaco Executives referred them as 'black jelly beans' and 'niggers' in their mutual conversations. Fi nally, Texaco admitted having excluded all black employees’ names from the list of next level promotions. Later, Texaco had to settle the case by paying $176 million in the largest ever discrimination suit seen in the US. Before 1964, discrimination to the African American community was overt but in the post civil rights movement era it has taken a covert route. Before 1964, no laws questioned the

Genetically Modified (Gm) Foods Essay Example for Free

Genetically Modified (Gm) Foods Essay The Term Genetically Modified (GM) foods refers to crops produced for human or animal consumption using the recombinant DNA techniques. The world population is growing in a fast pace such that it is expected to double in the next 50 years. Supplying food to this growing population is a major challenge. GM foods can be considered as the major solution for the food security. These foods are produced by the modification of crop plants in the laboratory to enhance desired traits, mainly biotic and abiotic stress tolerance, improved nutritional content, etc. These traits were earlier carried out through conventional plant breeding, but these breeding methods are very time-consuming and often not very accurate. However, with recombinant DNA technology, plants with the desired traits can be produced, very rapidly and with greater accuracy. Process Recombinant DNA technology begins with the identification and isolation of a gene which expresses a desirable trait, with the aid of restriction enzymes. Then a recipient plant or animal is selected, and the gene is inserted and incorporated into its genome through a vector such as agrobacterium, through a gene gun shooting an elemental particle covered in plasmid DNA, electro oration, or a virus. Once part of the recipient, the newly inserted gene becomes part of the genome of the recipient and is regulated in the same way as its other genes. For example, we can isolate a gene responsible for conferring drought tolerance, introduce that gene into a plant, and make it drought tolerant. Crops can also be transformed using non-plant genes such as the use of Bt genes, in cotton and many other crops. Bt, or Bacillus thuringiensis, is a naturally occurring bacterium that produces crystal proteins that are lethal only to insect larvae. Bt crystal protein genes have been transferred into cotton, soya, corn, brinjal, enabling the plants to produce its own pesticides against insects such as the American bollworm, European corn borer. Bt genes are lethal only in the acidic medium, insect gut environment and do not get activated in an alkaline environment, prevalent in humans and other animals that feed on these plants. BENEFITS OF GM FOODS Drought tolerance/salinity tolerance: As the world population grows and more land is converted for housing instead of food production, farmers need to grow crops in non-arable land, previously unsuited for plant cultivation. Creating plants that can withstand long periods of drought or high salinity in soil and groundwater will help people to grow crops in large, barren wetlands/dry lands in our country. Pest resistance: Insect Pests are causing devastating financial loss for farmers, sometimes starvation. Indiscriminate use of pesticides is also a potential health hazard, and the run-off of agricultural wastes from excessive use of pesticides and fertilizers poisons the water supply and harms the environment. Ex: Growing GM foods such as Bt brinjal helps reduce the application of pesticides substantially, as 80 per cent of brinjal crop are infested with pests. Disease resistance: There are many viruses, fungi and bacteria that cause plant diseases and thereby contribute to yield loss. Plant biologists are working to create genetically engineered plants with resistance to these diseases. Ex: Developing sheath blight resistance in rice. Cold/heat tolerance: Farmers are facing the vagaries of weather, like unexpected frost or excess heat due to climate change. Researchers have identified an antifreeze gene from cold-water fish and introduced it into plants such as tobacco and potato to study the efficacy of the plant to withstand extreme temperatures. Also, research is on to identify plants that can survive excess heat, submergence tolerance etc. Nutrition: People in our country suffer from various nutrient deficiency diseases due to malnutrition. Most of the people rely on rice as a major staple food. But rice does not contain adequate amounts of all necessary micro and macronutrients. If rice could be genetically engineered to contain additional vitamins, iron and/or minerals, nutrient deficiencies could be alleviated. For example, MSSRF (M. S. Swaminathan Research Foundation) are working on improving the iron content. Phytoremediation: Soil and groundwater pollution continues to be a problem in many parts of the world. Plants such as poplar trees, brassica spp are being genetically engineered to clean up heavy metal pollution from soil contaminated with metals like lead, arsenic, and cadmium. Concerns Most concerns about GM foods fall into three categories Environmental hazards: Unintended harm to other organisms; reduced effectiveness of pesticides; gene transfer to non-target species are some of the concerns of the environmental concerns of GM crops. Human health risks: Allergenecity, unknown effects on human health are some of the main health concerns. For example, Pioneer Hi-Bred tested the allergenicity of a transgenic soybean that expressed a Brazil nut seed storage protein in hope that the seeds would have increased levels of the amino acid methionine. The tests (radio allergosorbent testing, immunoblotting, and skin-prick testing) showed that individuals allergic to Brazil nuts were also allergic to the new GM soybean. Economic concerns Environmental activists, religious organizations, non-governmental organizations have criticized agribusiness for concentrating on profits through GM Foods without concern for potential hazards. They also criticized the government for failing to start a regulatory body. All GM crops should be subjected to thorough regulatory processes and toxicology and allergenicity tests data needs to be shared with the regulatory authorities prior to commercialization. Government Role Many new plant genetic engineering technologies and GM plants have been patented, and patent infringement is a big concern of agribusiness. So, bringing GM food to market is a lengthy and costly process. This is a genuine concern and therefore it is important for the government to fund and support public sector research in reputed universities or agriculture institutes to ensure quality research and also keep prices under check. Conclusion Government should check all the hazards, environmental, health and economic concerns and then decisions should be taken to commercialize a GM product. Though ambiguity during the process, once they get regulatory approve, it implies that they have been subjected to stringent scrutiny and are safe for commercial release. So, the governments around the world are hard at work to establish an effective regulatory process to monitor the effects of and approve new varieties of GM plants. According to M S Swaminathan, the chairman of the National Commission on Farmers, GM foods have the potential to solve many of the worlds hunger and malnutrition problems, and can protect and preserve the environment by increasing yield and reducing reliance upon chemical pesticides. Yet there are many challenges ahead for governments, especially in the areas of safety testing, regulation, international policy and food labeling.

Model of Power within Organizations :: Legitimate Power, Reward, Coercive Power

Introduction To explain the statement: 'Power does not flow to unknown people in the organization', I will give an overview of the Model of Power in Organizations according to Mc Shane and Von Glinow, which includes a definition of the meaning of power, the different sources of power, and the contingencies that need to exist before sources of power will translate into actual power. Finally, I will provide a conclusion and recommendation. The Sources and Contingencies of Power in Organizations McShane and Von Glinow define Power as â€Å"the capacity of a person, team, or organization to influence others† (300). Furthermore, they state that power derives from five main sources and four main contingencies like the following figure illustrates. Figure 2: A Model of Power within organizations Source: McShane and Von Glinow 302 McShane and von Glinow determine that the first three powers - legitimate, reward, and coercive power - are granted to persons through the organization or co-workers, whereas the two other powers – expert and referent power - depend on the â€Å"power holders own characteristics† (301). The first source of power that can be assigned to members of the organization is Legitimate Power, which is defined as an â€Å"agreement among organizational members that people in certain roles can request certain behavior of others† (302). This source of power generally results from different roles in the organization (hierarchy). Like the manager can expect his or her employees to do what he or she requires. Another source of power that can be given to employees is Reward Power, which is defined as â€Å"the person’s ability to control the allocation of rewards valued by others and to remove negative sections† (302). Reward power offers incentives and is the opposite of the third source of power, which is Coercive Power. Coercive power is the last source of power that is assigned to people and involves â€Å"the ability to apply punishment† (303). The fourth source of power is Expert Power, which does not originate from the position but rather from within the person. Expert power is â€Å"the capacity to influence others by possessing knowledge or skills that others value† (303). For instance, an employee can develop expert power when gaining important knowledge for the organizations that others would also like to have. The fifth source of power that does not depend on the role or position of an employee, but on the person’s own characteristics is Referent Power, which is defined as â€Å"the capacity to influence others on the basis of an identification with and respect for the power holder† (303).

Silabus Introduction to Literature

INTRODUCTION TO LITERATURE COURSE OUTLINE Course Description: This course is an introduction to the fundamentals of literary study and analysis. Students will be introduced to the fundamental elements of poetry, drama, and fiction; basic literary terminology; and strategies for analyzing texts based on close reading. Students will also practice writing short literary analysis. Course Objectives †¢ Develop your basic understanding on what literature and its genre are. Develop your ability to respond to literary texts in class discussion †¢ Develop and articulate your own ideas about literary themes †¢ Present a coherent literary analysis including familiarity with literary devices (plot, character, characteristics, theme, setting, etc) †¢ Intended to support an argument through quotations and examples from primary, and in some cases, secondary texts (references) Student Outcomes By the end of this course, students should be able to do the following: 1. Correctly de fine commonly used literary terms and use those terms to discuss and analyze works of literature 2.Identify structural elements of works of poetry, fiction, and drama, and analyze how those elements help create specific meanings and effects Course Content: 1. Comprehensive Definition of Literature and of elements of literary work 2. Readings of a variety of poems, short fiction, and drama 3. Important literary terms and their application to the analysis of specific works 4. Several opportunities to compose written arguments about specific texts incorporating close reading skills and application of literary terms nd conventions. Teaching strategies: Lecturing is applied to give the students general guidance and theories used to analyze literary works. Besides, Class sessions will be structured to give students opportunity to discuss, analyze, and practice close reading of specific texts. Discussions should emphasize the application of course terms and concepts to the analysis of text s and the use of textual detail to defend opinions about the texts. Students’ Presentation is also needed in this subject.Course terms and concepts will be reinforced through quizzes and/or exams which ask students to identify terms and concepts as they appear in texts. Given the goals of the course, the use of film and videos are also recommended. Attendance: You will be allowed three absences. An extended illness would create an exception to these rules: please let me know as soon as possible if you will be missing a significant number of classes (i. e. 2 or more) due to illness or other long-term problem. REQUIREMENT Students are obliged to attend at least 80% of total meeting in a semester.If they are absent more than 20% of total meetings in a semester, they will not get their final grade as a consequence. Besides, students must submit all assignments in a due time. EVALUATION There are four elements of evaluation as giving score. 1. Midterm test (MT): 20 % 2. Final test (FT): 35 % 3. Assignment and quizzes(Ass/Q): 25 % 4. Attendance and class participation (A): 15 % 5. Personal Literature Anthology (final project): 15% Fixed Score = 3(Ass/Q) + 2(MT)+3(FT) + 1,5(A/CP)+1,5 (PLA) 10 Attendance = P x 100TM (total meeting) Class Policies Grading Scale: |81 – 100 = A 4,0 |76 – 79 = B+ 3,5 |61 – 70 = C+ 2,5 |45 – 50 = D 1,0 | |71 – 75 = B 3,0 |56 – 60 = C 2,0 |51- 55 = D+ 1,5 |0 – 44 = E 0 | Academic Dishonesty: Plagiarism does not refer only to flagrant copying; it includes also the unaccredited use of any phrases, quotations, or ideas. Please be sure to cite any outside sources which you use.That said, I will not tolerate cheating in this class. If you are caught plagiarizing or otherwise cheating, and the assignment is a minor one, you will immediately lose two letter grades off your final grade. If the assignment in question a major assignment, you will automatically fail the course. Consultation: If y ou are unsure about the reading, want feedback on discussion/assignment, or would like to talk about a text or idea, please come to my office for a consultation. If you can't make it to my office hours, feel free to make an appointment with me.Course Books: Hawthorn, Jeremy, Studying The Novel: An Introduction, Routledge, Chapman and Hall, Inc. 1989 Kearns, George, editor, Appreciating Literature, Macmillan Publishing Company. 1984. Kenney, William, How To Analyze Fiction, Monarch Press Inc. 1966 Luxemburg, Mieke Bal and Willem G. Weststeijn. Pengantrar Ilmu Sastra, Jakarta, Gramedia. 1989 Reaske. Christopher R. How To Analyze Drama. Monarch Press, INC. 1966 Siswantoro, Apresiasi Puisi-Puisi Sastra Inggris. Muhammadiyah University Press, 2002 Week |Expected Competence |Topic |Activities | |1 |The students are expected to |-Orientation |brainstorming | | |have comprehensive orientation on the course |-Definition of Literature |giving lecture | | |Understand the basic concept of liter ature | |discussion | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |2 |The students should be able to | -Genre of Literary works |brainstorming | | |recognize the genre of literary works | |giving lecture | | |identify the characteristics of literary works | |discussion | |3 |The students are expected to comprehend plot, |Short Story by Doris Lessing entitled A Woman on|Analyzing intrinsic elements of the short story | | |suspense and character. A Roof |Giving Lecture and discussion | |4 |The students should understand setting, point of |Short story by Alice Walker entitled Everyday |Analyzing intrinsic element of Walker’s story | | |view dan theme. |Use |Giving Lecture and discussion | |5 |Quiz | | | |6 |The students can identify basic elements of poetry |A poem by Sylvia Plath entitled Mirror and by |Analyzing intrinsic elements of the poems | | |such as rhyme and figurative languages. Walt Whitman entitled Cavalry Crossing a Ford |entitled Mirror and Cavalry Crossing a Ford | | | | |Giving lecture and discussion | |7 |The students can recognize types of poetry ( |A poem by Robert Frost entititled The Tuft of |Analyzing the poems | | |narrative, lyric dan dramatic) |Flowers, by William Wordsworth entitled My Heart|Discussin | | | |Leaps Up and by Frank Horne entitled To James | | |8 |Mid-term test | | | |9 |The students can recognize types of poetry ( |A poem by Robert Frost entititled The Tuft of |Reading the poems | | |narrative, lyric dan dramatic) |Flowers, by William Wordsworth entitled My Heart|Analyzing the poems | | | |Leaps Up and by Frank Horne entitled To James | | |10 |The students are expected to be able to define drama| |Giving lecture | | |and know the dramatic convention. | |discussion | |11 |The students understand the intrinsic elements of |Drama by Anton Chekov entitled Marriage Proposal|Giving lecture | | |Drama | |Discussion | | | | |Assignment | |12 |Continuation of The World of Drama. Drama by Anton Chekov entitled Marriage Proposal|Analyzing Marriage Proposal | |13 |Quiz | | | |14 |Tugas Terstruktur |Film adaptation from Shakespeare’ drama entitled| | | | |Othello | | |15 |The Correlation between Literary works and Other | |Brainstorming | | |disciplines | |discussion | | |(Wrap up Session) | | | |16 |Final Test | | | Period |Topic |Core Reading |Topic for Discussion | |Week 1 |Course Outline |Appreciating literature, How to | | | |What’s your |Analyze fiction | | | |orientation? | | | | |Literature: | | | |Definition, types,| | | | |and literary | | | | |devices (General) | | | |Week 2 |Introduction to |Appreciating literature, How to |I Remember Mama (John Van Druten) | | |Drama, Elements of|Analyze Drama | | | |drama | | | |Week 3 |Plot, Character, |Appreciating literature, How to |I Remember Mama (John Van Druten) | | | |Analyze fiction/drama | | |Week 4 |Theme, symbol |Appreciating literature, How to |Grandpa and the statue (Arthur Miller) | | | |Analyze drama | | |We ek 5 |Staging and |Appreciating literature, How to |Grandpa and the statue (Arthur Miller) | | |dialogue |Analyze drama | | |Week 6 |Quiz on Drama |Quiz |Quiz | |Week 7 |Introduction to |Appreciating literature, How to |The road not taken (Robert Frost) | | |Poetry.What is |Analyze Poetry | | | |poetry and how | | | | |might we begin to | | | | |discuss it | | | | |analytically? | | |Week 8 |Structure and |Appreciating literature, How to |First Lesson (Philip Booth) | | |kinds of Poetry, |Analyze Poetry | | | |Meaning of Poetry | | | | |Middle Test |Middle Test | | |Week 9 |Discussion of |Appreciating literature, How to |Acquainted with the Night (Robert Frost) | | |selected poems, |Analyze Poetry | | | |and some writing | | | | |exercises | | | |Week 10 Figurative |Appreciating literature, How to |The Eagle (Alfred Lord Tennyson) | | |language |Analyze poetry | | |Week 11 |Quiz on Poetry |Quiz |Quiz | |Week 12 |Introduction to |Appreciating literature, Studying|The woman Who Ha d no Prejudices (Anton Chekov) | | |Prose |Novel: An Introduction, How to | | | | |Analyze fiction | | |Week 13 |Analyzing Elements|Appreciating literature, Studying|The leader of the people (John Steinbeck) | | |of Prose (Short |Novel: An Introduction How to | | | |Story) |Analyze fiction | | |Week 14 |Discussion |Appreciating literature, How to |The leader of the people (John Steinbeck) | | | |Analyze fiction | | |Week 15 |Genre of Prose |Appreciating literature, Studying|In another Country (Earnest Hemmingway) | | |(Short Story and |Novel: An Introduction How to | | | |Novel) |Analyze fiction | | |Week 16 |Final Test |Final Test | |

Land use in Covent Garden

Aims: * Land use in Covent Garden is characterised by commercial retail and office functions. We will be looking at how buildings are used vertically what functions are present on each floor of every building. This will help us distinguish fact from fiction about land use in Covent Garden * It is possible to identify distinct vertical land use zones in Covent Garden. How easy is it to tell how levels are being used in Covent Garden? * The CBD suffers high levels of traffic congestion. This can be investigated by doing a traffic survey. We will monitor traffic on different streets for 10 minutes each and the record the information and compare it to other streets. * The CBD is the most accessible part of the city. This is shown by high pedestrian densities. Like the traffic survey people counts will help us judge how densely populated Covent Garden really is with pedestrians. Background / History of Covent Garden: In the 1630s land formerly owned by Westminster Abbey was redeveloped by the 4th Earl of Bedford. He commissioned Architect Inigo Jones to design a piazza (a square). The piazza was designed with arcaded houses to the north and east (These are now all gone). This piazza was a public one. But this approach lead to its social downfall. The distinguished people who occupied the houses around the square soon began to get agitated by the lack of privacy. This set off the trend of people leaving Covent Garden. The Covent Garden began in a very small way in 1649 but expanded quite a lot when the Great Fire of London in 1666 destroyed other markets in the City. In the 1760s, the market occupied much of the piazza. The market, the nearby theatres in Drury Lane and Bow Street and the many public houses, Covent Garden acquired an extremely dubious reputation, though it was still popular. Soon the market began to dominate the piazza. The main building in the piazza which is seen today was erected in 1830 by Charles Fowler, but at the time did not then have a glass roof – that came in the 1870s. The first part of the Flower Market was put up in 1872 – it is now used by the London Transport Museum and the National Theatre Museum. By this time Covent Garden market had become the principal fruit & veg market of the country. Even before World War II, it was becoming evident that the market had to move from this very congested area of London. A long time after the war, a decision was made to move the market to Nine Elms. It was relocated there in 1973, leaving empty market buildings and many vacant premises. It is called the New Covent Garden Market but many people want the name to be changed to Nine Elms Market. One of the proposed redevelopment plans was to knock it all down and build a brand new metropolis of through highways, hotels and conference centres. There was a major barrier in this though, the residents of Covent Garden and the general public. Instead the market was transformed into a very popular shopping centre. Covent Garden has been associated with theatres for a very long time, the longest established being The Theatre Royal on Drury Lane. Covent Garden wasn't always just a market and theatrical home, it was at one time thriving with coachmakers (especially in Long Acre), there have been lots of famous publishers and printers, notably Odhams Press. Sainsbury's began in Drury Lane. Moss Bros. began on the site of Tesco in Bedford Street, Moss Bros. are still located in Covent Garden. Samuel French, (Theatrical publishers) began in Wellington Street. Sotheby's, the auctioneers began in the same road. Also Covent Garden was the birthplace of Punch & Judy. Covent Garden has Protected Lands which are the Central Market, 25-31 James Street, 7, 9, 10 Floral Street, Bedford Chambers and Cubitts Yard and the Museum Blocks. The market itself has a very interesting history, it started life as a small market trying to balance out the lack of markets after the Great Fire but became the busiest fruit, vegetable and flower market of possibly the whole nation. Every morning at 4am market workers and retailers arrived to buy and sell their stocks in bulk. This continued for a long time and in the end the decision was made to move the market to Nine Elms to ease the pressure on the area put forward by the early morning congestion. Space was also fast running out is Covent Garden as it was continuously getting more and more popular with retailers and tourists alike. Background to Urban Geography Land use in a city varies from place to place, in one part of the city land use could purely be for housing and in another it could purely be for offices and commercial use. Many geographers make models and concentric diagrams; one of the most widely used is Burgess' Model. Burgess' Model has five zones; I. CBD – Central Business District II. Zone of Transition III. Low Class Residential IV. Medium Class Residential V. High Class Residential Another land use model is the Hoyt Model which shows how cities are laid out. Hoyt's model also has five zones with the same names but is set out differently: There are other ways of showing how land is used in a city one being transect maps, these are diagrams showing land usage across from one end of the city to the other, with the CBD in the middle. Land values also mean a lot and these are shown with Bid-Rent curves;

Using Teams in Production and Operations Management

Using Teams in Production and Operations Management Introduction Coca Cola Company is a global multinational with operations in many countries. The company is a manufacturer and retailer of various beverages and non-alcoholic drinks. All withstanding, the company is well known for its flagship brand Coca Cola although it has more than 500 brands.Advertising We will write a custom assessment sample on Using Teams in Production and Operations Management specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More As far as a wider global presence is concerned, the company has 500 brands in more than 200 countries (Coca Cola, 2011, p. 4). This therefore underlines its desire to conquer more markets around the world because it has been coming up with new products and brands that can suit different market interests. As far as its business is concerned, the company operates a franchise system that has proved to be successful in the markets that it has a presence. In this case, it only produces syrup that is sold to dif ferent bottlers that have exclusive rights throughout the world. When it comes to financials, Coca Cola Company is listed on the New York stock exchange market and is part of other indexes. As of 2010, the company recorded revenues of US$ 35.119 billion (Coca Cola, 2011, p.12). The company’s operating income in the last financial year was US$ 8.449 billion while its net income was recorded at US$ 11.809 billion (Coca Cola, 2011, p. 15). As far as its asset portfolio is concerned, Coca Cola Company is valued at US$ 72.921 billion. Based on the fact that the company operates in many countries around the world, it employs 139,600 people (Coca Cola, 2011, p. 9). To enhance its operations, it has other subsidiaries that have enabled it to diversity thereby serving its customers and market well. When assessed from a market share point of view, Coca Cola Company has a market share of around 50% while its share in the US has increased to almost 42%. This means that the company is sti ll a major player in the global beverage industry. To continue establishing itself as a force to reckon with in the market, it has introduced new products to suit individual markets because of different global diversity issues. The company’s production or operations management Coca Cola Company has embraced the best production and operation management practices and that is why it has continued to be successful as time goes by. It is not a mean task to have operations in more than 200 countries and coordinate them effectively which shows that the company is doing well as far as operations and production management are concerned.Advertising Looking for assessment on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More As far as production is concerned, the company operates a franchise system that it has relied on to reach its wide market. This means that the system needs effective management in relation to overa ll brand strategy (Tucker, 2009, p. 23). The company has built a good strategy on concentrate production that it sells to different bottlers for production of beverages. This is not an easy task because the concentrate syrup is supposed to be supplied to more than 200 countries that it has a presence. All this withstanding, the company’s franchise model has come under pressure because of intensifying competition that has been necessitated by health conscious customers who want health oriented drinks. To be successful as far as operations and production management are concerned, the company has occasionally rejuvenated its core product line for long term sustainability. In this case, to expand its operations in new markets, it has relied on key acquisitions mostly in the non-carbonated drinks sector. This has been made with an aim of expanding its presence in the growing market. As a matter of fact, this has been coordinated by a strong and dedicated team for efficiency and su ccess. Business management that is oriented towards operations management is the strategy that the company has used to grow and expand its market in recent years. This means that it has increased its cooperation with key partners’ to streamline its operations. The company prides itself in upholding the quality promise that has enhanced customer loyalty all along from diverse and distinct customers (Coca Cola, 2011, p. 11). All this can be well explained from its concentrate production, bottling and product delivery that is unique in the market. Production management is evaluated through software that minimizes production downtime that can be costly to a global company like Coca Cola. This has therefore enabled the company to serve its market on a global scale without any problem which can be tiresome without such measures.Advertising We will write a custom assessment sample on Using Teams in Production and Operations Management specifically for you for only $16.05 $ 11/page Learn More The company’s approach to pricing has been very good because it has enabled its partners and bottlers to continue being committed to its true business ethics and values. Sustainability has been embraced with a long term objective of ensuring that the company’s production activities are not affected in any way thereby disrupting market activities. In this case, the company is always flexible as far as its business model is concerned which enhances operations management because managers are able to come up with alternatives that will enhance productivity. All this withstanding, Coca Colas production and distribution system has been unique in the market thereby enabling it to realize different opportunities on a global scale. It should be understood that as much as issues might arise as far as the company’s operations and production management is concerned, it has been successful on a wider business scale (Plumb, 2009, p. 31). Coc a Cola’s use of teams in production and operations management Coca Cola’s use of teams in production and operations management has been reinforced by the fact that the company is the world’s largest producer and distributor of Coca Cola products. In this case, strategic management has been well managed by teams to ensure and enhance sustainability. Most of the company’s programs have been adjusted as time goes by to accommodate the changing business environment which has therefore enhanced the use of teams. Coca Cola uses teams effectively to reduce the impact of the changing business environment on the company’s operations management. Because it relies on a franchise system to do business, teams have been well coordinated to ensure that everything is running well and successfully. The use of work teams has mostly been embraced in production activities (Coca Cola, 2011, p. 15). This has been widely used in concentrate production because it is at th e core of the company’s success. In this case, the worldwide management team has ensured that local operations are organized in good and coordinated teams for enhanced production of Coca Cola products in different markets. For enhanced production, teams are embraced and given enough time to execute their ideas so long as they are in tandem with the company’s objectives and expectations in relation to set targets (Plumb, 2009, p. 62).Advertising Looking for assessment on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Proper production and operations management requires good teams for execution of strategies and this is what Coca Cola has capitalized on for success and long term sustainability. Management teams are competitively selected for each country to be in charge of operations thereby serving markets well. In this case, the company’s operations are divided into six operating units that are in charge of different markets (Coca Cola, 2011, p. 27). Most notably, these teams produce an attractive combination that has kept the company going as far as its operations are concerned. The use of teams has been capitalized on for individuals to make final and good decisions that will enhance productivity. Company’s ability to adjust Coca Cola is a global company and this means that it operates in a unique and competitive business environment. The recent global financial crisis posed a lot of challenges to the company based on the fact that it has operations in many countries around the world. The financial crisis affected incomes in a great way thereby compromising the company’s sales margins. In this case the company should be able to communicate effectively with its customers and employees on any changes that will be made to enhance sustainability. The company was not hurt by the global financial crisis in a broad way because it was able to adjust effectively through proper communication. It should be known that the company has the ability to adjust its approach to pricing which gives it an advantage to respond to emerging market needs and trends. This is because it only sells concentrate to its bottlers and not the finished product (Coca Cola, 2011, p. 35). The company’s ability to respond to any financial crisis is enhanced by its corporate social responsibility programs that have endeared it close to its customers. This means that customers have always stood with the company even in hard times. Employees are put at the heart of the companyâ€⠄¢s operations which means that they are always in contact with the top management which promotes communication thereby enhancing its ability to respond to different problems. This is because employees have felt that they are part of the company which implies that any problem will be shared together as a family. The company’s greatest strength is in its ability to respond to emerging market challenges which has been as a result of its experience in diverse and distinct markets (Coca Cola, 2011, p. 17). Creativity and problem solving skills have been instilled in employees to make them good ambassadors of the company’s products in different markets. This means that employees can be able to interact with different customers thereby informing them on the crisis without compromising products and services. Reference List Coca Cola. (2011). Our Company. Web. Tucker, S. (2009). Coca-Cola’s $2.4bn China deal at risk. Hong Kong: Financial Times. Plumb, T. (2009). Coca-Co la to unveil mini cans in D.C. New York: Harper Business.

Learning Mechanisms Associated with Referent Selection and Retention in 18-24 Month Old Children Essays

Learning Mechanisms Associated with Referent Selection and Retention in 18-24 Month Old Children Essays Learning Mechanisms Associated with Referent Selection and Retention in 18-24 Month Old Children Essay Learning Mechanisms Associated with Referent Selection and Retention in 18-24 Month Old Children Essay Learning Mechanisms Associated with Referent Selection and Retention in 18-24 Month Old Children Children are different from the adults especially in the way they visualize and conceptualize ideas and synthesize complex information as compared to adults. The learning environment in which a child is brought up dictates how fast the child is able to integrate into the formal school setup. In researching and studying how a child synthesizes information, it gives much insight into what are the strengths and weaknesses of the child as he or she grows, and also it exposes a niche in the development of the child and especially if one concentrates on the formal and developed learning environments and setups where children grow in. Learning Mechanisms Theories Some researchers have formulated theories suggesting that young children have complex cognitive senses that are used by the young children to comprehend what is around them (Piaget, 1920). Swiss psychologist argued that the cognitive structures of the young children developed gradually through various stages. He concluded that the external and internal environment surrounding the child leads to the gradual intellectual development of the child and mostly depends on the coordination of childs senses of hearing and touch (Gibson, 1973). Many scholars researched the childs sense of sight and hearing and some researchers, for example, Gibson (1973) noted that a childs learning ability was so rapid since the child was able to conceptualize the objects that were around them, and this made some scientists suggest that the mind of a child operates like a computer since the mind processes information very quickly Garner (1970) did a research on the social background of a child and how it influenced the childs thinking and the power to apprehend various things that were in the childs surrounding. He was also interested in understanding on how people and culture influenced development thinking of a child and he found that there was a zone of proximal development where there is a bandwidth of competence (Brown Reeve, 1987). It suggests that whatever a child can do with assistance of adults can also be done by a child without any assistance, underpinning the rapid development of a childs brain (Dore, Franklin, Miller Ramer, 1976). A Standard View: Acquiring Lexical Knowledge In this concept, word learning is fast developing (Bloom, 2000). Nazzi and Bertoncini (2003) described children as efficient learners. Though children being efficient learners, the main obstacle is that people in the society use ambiguous words to refer to an object or person just present making it difficult for the child to comprehend the new word. Despite the children going through all these challenges, it is somewhat seen as the start of social skills that enhance word learning Learning Mechanisms Used for Teaching Children Children and community where the child grows, play a great role in the development of the child. This greatly influences the childs behavior and intelligence hence making them acquire the various behavior that is present in the society. Though some behavior may impact the children positively or negatively. The physical world also influences the learning of children. They understand that objects vulnerable to fall are supported, immovable objects are moved with application of force and that the children stare longer to unusual happenings in the surrounding showing that they are conscious of their physical environment as much as the adults are conscious of their environment (Behl-Chadha, 1996). The early number concept shows that the human brain recognizes representation of the series of pictures and numbers. In a research done by Gibson (1973) some children aged from 6 to 8 months were subjected to the viewing of photographic slides which were grouped into two or three pictures per slide. As the children viewed the pictures, the interest of the children in viewing the photos fell by fifty percent and as the photos went on being repeated, the interest of the children fell further. In any case, when a new photo not previously viewed popped up, the interest of the children towards the photo grew and they got interested in viewing it. This shows that the children are able to process what they view either pictures or numbers (Garner, 1970). Early attention should be paid to a language a child is able to learn and develop according to where he or she has been brought up. They have the ability to differentiate between linguistic and non-linguistic languages and also they can differentiate different languages and sounds. Some research showed that a 2-month-old American born child reacted to some English utterances in more active way than to the Spanish utterances. Also, the child was able to notice the intonations in the utterances and this ensured that the child understood well the language spoken and the reaction and meaning of the statement made. The importance of gaining capacity, strategies, and knowledge which ensures that children are more intelligent and competent as they grow and mature (Behl-Chadha, 1996) As the children grow up they are able to make more complex decisions and thus grown up children are able to perform complex tasks in a more effective and efficient way and this ensures that the limited space and time they have are used in an efficient way to produce better results (Behl-Chadha, 1996)There are also more ways to ensure that there is retention of information for easier remembrance and apprehension of an idea. Metacognition is another learning mechanism that ensures referent selection and retention to children in the age of between 18 and 24 months. This is a phenomenon where a person has a higher level of thinking capacity. It also includes self-correction, controlling of ones mind, planning and execution of one own plan for efficient learning and the continuous gaining of knowledge (Bereiter ; Scardamalia, 1989). If children are not introduced to self-thinking and to self-control of their actions and decisions, in future they will be poor implementers of crucial decisions and tasks thus jeopardizing the effective running of their personal affairs. Though this phenomenon grows gradually as one grows up, some aspects of self-decision making should be introduced earlier in a childs life. Multiple strategies or strategy choices should be effectively enhanced for children to start reasoning and solving various challenging tasks as early as possible. This coupled with multiple intelligence which largely deals with the logical, linguistic and interpersonal intelligence (Gardner, 1997). This should be nurtured at an early stage of growth of the childs life to ensure flexibility of the childs decision making. Children should be motivated to learn, read and tell stories. This will ensure the growth and easier understanding of a language by the child. Reading of the pictured story books enable children to form mental illustrations in their mind to enhance concentration. To ensure that the book is readable to the child, questions may be asked throughout the book and in case the child encounters any hitches, the adult may help with it ensuring that the child is able to effectively answer the question. For example, asking the child the question what happened next? will develop the narrative skills of the child at an early stage. Cultural variations in communication are crucial in how a child grows and develops and it also impacts a childs learning culture (Newell, Shaw Simon, 1958). Though each society has its own unique way in how it communicates, children should be able to understand how to communicate in at least one language since this will inculcate various kinds of knowledge and interaction between the child and other people in the society. Conversing and observation are another way that learning can be enhanced in a child. In different interactions with the people in the society, children observe and reciprocate what they see the adults doing in the society. For example, the Pueblo children are given a chance to experience the adult life and they are allowed to choose what and whom to associate with (Gibson, 1973). In other communities, children are not allowed to directly converse with adults and when the adult talks, the child should better listen, since talking when the adult talks is abominable according to their culture. Conclusion Children behavior and language are always influenced by the community that they have grown up in. Children are able to comprehend what is happening around them and their brain develops rapidly as the child advances in age. Children are actively engaged in making their own decisions that will eventually shape their future destiny. Their zeal and will to know something make them be able to understand and comprehend the various aspects that life offers them on display. Children have the reasoning capacity but they lack the knowledge and experience of life and that is why children are able to adhere to the discipline instilled by adults on them. References Behl-Chadha, G. (1996). Basic-level and superordinate-like categorical representations in early infancy. _Cognition, 60_ (2), 105-141. Bereiter, C. Scardamalia, M. (1989). Intentional learning as a goal of instruction. In L. B. Resnick (Ed.), Knowing, learning, and instruction: Essays in honor of Robert Glaser (pp. 361-392). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Retrieved from http://ikit.org/fulltext/1989intentional.pdf Brown, A. L., Reeve, R. A. (in press). Bandwidths of competence: The role of supportive contexts in learning and development. To appear in L. S. Liben, D. H. Feldman (Eds.), Development and learning: Conflict and congruence? Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum. Garner, W. (1970). Principles of Perceptual Learning and Development. Eleanor J. Gibson. Appleton-Century-Crofts, New York, 1969. Century Psychology Series. Science, 168(3934), 958-959. http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.168.3934.958 Dore, J., Franklin, M., Miller, R., Ramer, A. (1976). Transitional phenomena in early language acquisition. Journal Of Child Language, 3_ (01). http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0305000900001288 Howard, G. (1997). Extraordinary minds; portraits of exceptional individuals and an examination of extraordinariness. Retrieved from: www.gurteen.com/gurteen/gurteen.nsf/id/x004DD0DA/ Newell, A., Shaw, J. Simon, H. (1958). Elements of a theory of human problem solving. Psychological Review, 65(3), 151-166. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/h0048495

Calculating Concentrations with Units and Dilutions

Calculating Concentrations with Units and Dilutions Calculating the concentration of a chemical  solution  is a basic skill all students of chemistry must develop early in their studies. What is concentration? Concentration refers to the amount of solute that is dissolved in a solvent. We normally think of a solute as a solid that is added to a solvent (e.g., adding table salt to water), but the solute could easily exist in another phase. For example, if we add a small amount of ethanol to water, then the ethanol is the solute, and the water is the solvent. If we add a smaller amount of water to a larger amount of ethanol, then the water could be the solute! How To Calculate Units of Concentration Once you have identified the solute and solvent in a solution, you are ready to determine its concentration. Concentration may be expressed several different ways, using percent composition by mass, volume percent, mole fraction, molarity, molality, or normality. Percent Composition by Mass (%)This is the mass of the solute divided by the mass of the solution (mass of solute plus mass of solvent), multiplied by 100.Example:Determine the percent composition by mass of a 100 g salt solution which contains 20 g salt.Solution:20 g NaCl / 100 g solution x 100 20% NaCl solutionVolume Percent (% v/v) Volume percent or volume/volume percent most often is used when preparing solutions of liquids. Volume percent is defined as:v/v % [(volume of solute)/(volume of solution)] x 100%Note that volume percent is relative to the volume of the solution, not the volume of solvent. For example, wine is about 12% v/v ethanol. This means there is 12 ml ethanol for every 100 ml of wine. It is important to realize liquid and gas volumes are not necessarily additive. If you mix 12 ml of ethanol and 100 ml of wine, you will get less than 112 ml of solution.As another example, 70% v/v rubbing alcohol may be prepared by taking 700 ml of isopropyl alcohol and adding su fficient water to obtain 1000 ml of solution (which will not be 300 ml). Mole Fraction (X) This is the number of moles of a compound divided by the total number of moles of all chemical species in the solution. Keep in mind, the sum of all mole fractions in a solution always equals 1.Example:What are the mole fractions of the components of the solution formed when 92 g glycerol is mixed with 90 g water? (molecular weight water 18; molecular weight of glycerol 92)Solution:90 g water 90 g x 1 mol / 18 g 5 mol water92 g glycerol 92 g x 1 mol / 92 g 1 mol glyceroltotal mol 5 1 6 molxwater 5 mol / 6 mol 0.833x glycerol 1 mol / 6 mol 0.167Its a good idea to check your math by making sure the mole fractions add up to 1:xwater xglycerol .833 0.167 1.000Molarity (M) Molarity is probably the most commonly used unit of concentration. It is the number of moles of solute per liter of solution (not necessarily the same as the volume of solvent!).Example:What is the molarity of a solution made when water is added to 11 g CaCl2 to make 100 mL of solution ? (The molecular weight of CaCl2 110)Solution:11 g CaCl2 / (110 g CaCl2 / mol CaCl2) 0.10 mol CaCl2100 mL x 1 L / 1000 mL 0.10 Lmolarity 0.10 mol / 0.10 Lmolarity 1.0 M Molality (m) Molality is the number of moles of solute per kilogram of solvent. Because the density of water at 25 °C is about 1 kilogram per liter, molality is approximately equal to molarity for dilute aqueous solutions at this temperature. This is a useful approximation, but remember that it is only an approximation and doesnt apply when the solution is at a different temperature, isnt dilute, or uses a solvent other than water.Example:What is the molality of a solution of 10 g NaOH in 500 g water? (Molecular weight of NaOH is 40)Solution:10 g NaOH / (40 g NaOH / 1 mol NaOH) 0.25 mol NaOH500 g water x 1 kg / 1000 g 0.50 kg watermolality 0.25 mol / 0.50 kgmolality 0.05 M / kgmolality 0.50 mNormality (N) Normality is equal to the gram equivalent weight of a solute per liter of solution. A gram equivalent weight or equivalent is a measure of the reactive capacity of a given molecule. Normality is the only concentration unit that is reaction dependent.Example:1 M sulfuric acid (H2SO4) is 2 N for acid-base reactions because each mole of sulfuric acid provides 2 moles of H ions. On the other hand, 1 M sulfuric acid is 1 N for sulfate precipitation, since 1 mole of sulfuric acid provides 1 mole of sulfate ions. Grams per Liter (g/L)This is a simple method of preparing a solution based on grams of solute per liter of solution.Formality (F)A formal solution is expressed regarding formula weight units per liter of solution.Parts per Million (ppm) and Parts per Billion (ppb)Used for extremely dilute solutions, these units express the ratio of parts of solute per either 1 million parts of the solution or 1 billion parts of a solution.Example:A sample of water is found to contain 2 ppm lead. This means that for every million parts, two of them are lead. So, in a one gram sample of water, two-millionths of a gram would be lead. For aqueous solutions, the density of water is assumed to be 1.00 g/ml for these units of concentration. How To Calculate Dilutions You dilute a solution whenever you add solvent to a solution. Adding solvent results in a solution of lower concentration. You can calculate the concentration of a solution following a dilution by applying this equation: MiVi MfVf where M is molarity, V is volume, and the subscripts i and f refer to the initial and final values. Example:How many milliliters of 5.5 M NaOH are needed to prepare 300 mL of 1.2 M NaOH? Solution:5.5 M x V1 1.2 M x 0.3 LV1 1.2 M x 0.3 L / 5.5 MV1 0.065 LV1 65 mL So, to prepare the 1.2 M NaOH solution, you pour 65 mL of 5.5 M NaOH into your container and add water to get 300 mL final volume

Controversy of Funding for Education Term Paper

Controversy of Funding for Education - Term Paper Example In most countries, government institutions host most students. This congestion has jeopardized the quality of teaching and, as a result, the students’ performance is extremely poor compared to private schools. The financial investment in education has increased tremendously compared to early times. The increase in expenditure per student has not had clear explanations. There are exceedingly strict deadlines for fee payments and, most students do not manage to pay the fees on time. This has seen most students remain at home due to lack of fees. A critical issue in education finances are misappropriation and embezzlement. The funds are put into many activities and, this leads to mismanagement of the money. On the other hand, there are a lot of education developments that are being carried out. The education sector has developed tremendously despite the alarming financial challenges. Most institutions that provide education have diversified their activities, and this has made the m appear like profit making institutions. The government is not providing enough funding to the education system. (Pillay, 2010) There are many development projects in the country but, surprisingly, very few involve education. There are some exceedingly controversial situations whereby, the government will use money budgeted for the education sector to subsidize other sectors such a health and environmental sectors. For example, this leaves the education sector with a deficit and will not manage to perform all the planned activities. Readers view Although there is a vast investment in education, it the benefits of education can not be underestimated. Students have been performing exceedingly well. This is evident in the many ideas that are emerging from extraordinarily young students. The students have been given an opportunity to explore wide in education to exploit their ability. There have been significant development in the education sector and this is has been as a result of he avy funding. The introduction of free primary education is a chief issue in the education system. Although, there are no enough funds, a lot of students have benefited. The introduction of school feeding students while in school has enabled many students to be comfortable at school. Although the quality of education is not extremely superior, the stakeholders in the education sector should try their best to ensure that there are adequate funds to meet all the needs. The funds in the education sector should be put in the intended purpose. All the money used should be accounted for and any amount that is not used should be returned to the appropriate account. Any person who misappropriates education funds should be forced to refund the money and stringent legal measure should be taken. Government and the education stakeholders should ensure that the teachers are remunerated well and at the right time. Parents and guardians should pay any amount that is asked by the government. This wi ll enable the government cater for the basic needs for the students. The schools should also have clear mode of payment so that students are not out of school because of lack of adequate fees. This amount should be favourable to all people and should be enough to cater for education needs. All the needy students should get financial assistance from the government. The basis of distributing the loans should be dreadfully transparent to avoid bias. This has provided

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HUMAN COMPUTER INTERACION - Essay Example The variety of guests, with respect to their level of experience with technology, provided exposure to multiple genres of viewpoints and angles with which human computer interaction can be analyzed. The low tech guests provided the information regarding the expectations of users with technology and the common issues that are faced due to overestimation of the skills of the end users. The high tech guests provided valuable feedback regarding the technological methods with which human computer interaction can be enhanced and how user interaction with machines is influenced by different factors and circumstances. The liberty to inquire questions proved to be an effective method of letting the students clear out their confusions and concerns about the topic. The interactive session with the guests gave the students the opportunity to enhance their knowledge and set a broader perspective in their minds regarding the relation of human computer interaction with the environment of the users. Another mode of teaching that proved to help me understand the concepts were the presentation sessions of the students. I believe that an individual can understand any concept from his fellow students as effectively as any of his teacher since the young mind explains the content in the easiest manner. All students have more or less the same level of knowledge for a topic; therefore, they highlight the factors that prove to be easier for the other students to comprehend. It was a pleasure to attend the presentation sessions of my fellow students and learn about the different methods with which they approached the topic. My ‘Aha moment’ in this course was the freedom to choose any topic (within the context of technology) to write the responses and develop presentations. Research and exploration are the most effective modes to make the students understand the content and to enable them to think in a broader perspective. The

Criminal Justice Act Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Criminal Justice Act - Essay Example The 2003 criminal justice act allows the admittance of evidence against a person for a bad character during the criminal process. The new law was enforced in 2004 succeeding the previous common law and many of the statutory regulations that governed the bad character admissibility which was abolished following these changes. The new scheme that replaced them sets out conditions in which such evidence can be put into use in criminal procedures (Denis 2002) The new statute seems to have sent back the position in DPP v P. it would seem that the law disregards the attempt to keep away from inclination evidence following DPP. These changes have been manifested so much in the period after 1999 in cases like R v Humphris (2005), R v Nguyen (2005) and R v Black. Nonetheless, it’s evident that that criminal cat of 2003 discards some of the cases like an instance of the case of New South Wales Makin V Attorney-General-(Roberts & Zuckerman 2004). According to Lord Herschell, the crown was unable to adduce evidence and was inclined to indicate that the accused was guilty of other criminal acts part from those implicated by the indictment for the reasons of drawing conclusions that he is a person likely from the previous criminal record to have committed the felony for which he was to be tried. This outlawed line of thinking prevented the crown from putting up arguments the defendant was guilty based on his general predisposition to commit comparable types of felonies (Denis 2002).

Compare and contrast the work and lives of Walter Gropius and Oscar Essay

Compare and contrast the work and lives of Walter Gropius and Oscar Niemeyer - Essay Example The art of architecture is not in its defiance of function, but in its ability to create a form through which functioning within the structure takes on meaning. Walter Gropius created a school in which the exploration of craft, art, and the functionality of a building through the form of its design was explored. His theories on teaching were based upon ideas of innovation and his students were encouraged to create their world by working with materials so that they could find how they could be used in expressive and innovative ways. Gropius must be understood to understand how the rest of Modernity through architecture has been achieved. Oscar Niemeyer is still a working architect, even at the age of 106. At the age of 101 he wrote his memoirs, explaining the trajectory of his life and how his politics prevented his work in the West and despite them he was still able to contribute to architecture because of his beautiful and extraordinary curvaceous forms. Although he was a Communist and he was dealing with the world as it was conditioned during the 1940s and 1950s to deny those who believed in Communist politics to work, he was still able to be a contributing architect to the UN building and to build beautiful works of art within which public functions could be accomplished. Gropius and Niemeyer were contemporaries, although Niemeyer was younger. Their histories intersect in the United States where the German born Gropius had migrated to Boston and Niemeyer was asked to become the dean of the Harvard Graduate School of Design, the second post that he would have to decline because of his associations with the Communist Party and the political climate in the 1950s. Walter Gropius Walter Gropius was born in 1883 and died in 1969, leaving behind a legacy of innovation and a history of teaching those ideas that he came to discover. Along with Oscar Niemeyer, who is the second subject of this paper, was a pioneer of modern architecture and ideas on form. Lupfer, Sige l, and Gropius write that without knowledge about Gropius, Modern architecture cannot be understood. His ability to communicate was his most powerful resource as he could not draw well.1 Therefore it was necessary for his associates to create what he could describe, his work the result of collaborations with those who could put into a drawing what he could not. His ability to communicate resulted in founding the Staatliches Bauhaus, or more commonly just referred to as the Bauhaus, was a school that was focused on the arts and craft.2 Craft is often seen as something less in modern interpretations, but the true idea of craft is the ability to build something that is high quality and with fine design. It might be said that art interprets life while craft enables it. Something is crafted when raw materials are developed into something that can be used in the everyday. Gropius said that â€Å"Let us then create a new guild of craftsmen without the class distinctions that raise an arro gant barrier between craftsman and artist!†3 Of course, not all art is interpretation and not all craft is used in the everyday, but it is a good way to consider the two. The Bauhaus was likely the direct result of the

Statistical Data Analysis and findings of a survey (the survey is part Statistics Project

Statistical Data Analysis and findings of a survey (the survey is part of an action research to investigate teacher training practices in Qatar) - Statistics Project Example A needs analysis survey in the first stage has been employed to collect data about issues in language teaching INSET in Qatar. It is important to emphasize that the use of this survey is for the purpose of needs analysis and is not based on any predetermined hypotheses. Using a survey in an early stage of my research project was intended to maximize the number of perspectives (Denscombe 1998: 169), and due to the versatile nature of surveys. Surveys can tap into attitudes that respondents are not completely aware of, and increase the consistency and reliability of the results through reducing the bias of interviewer effects (DÃ ¶rnyei & Taguchi 2010:6). The survey was administered online through a survey website (Surveymonkey.com). Online surveys are increasingly popular for data collection and preferred over traditional mail surveys in many ways (Pan 2010:121-122). They provide a lower cost option (Sheehan 1999:47), convenience in answering the survey (Evans & Mathur 2005:198) and respondents are also more likely to respond to sensitive and private questions (Ritter et al. 2004). The survey consisted of 70 items distributed under 7 categories in addition to a final open-ended question for respondents’ final comments. The table below shows the distribution of the survey items. The design of the survey was based on my initial literature review of the study and guided by the main aim of the survey which is to provide directions for the intervention design. As discussed in the first panel report, for INSET programs to be successful, teachers’ voice should be heard and taken into consideration (Locke 2006). As a result, most of the items of the survey are intended to capture teachers’ voice and concerns. Items 4-40 elicit data on preferences of delivery methods, training themes and assessment tools. Items 41-66 seek to

Compare and contrast the work and lives of Walter Gropius and Oscar Essay

Compare and contrast the work and lives of Walter Gropius and Oscar Niemeyer - Essay Example The art of architecture is not in its defiance of function, but in its ability to create a form through which functioning within the structure takes on meaning. Walter Gropius created a school in which the exploration of craft, art, and the functionality of a building through the form of its design was explored. His theories on teaching were based upon ideas of innovation and his students were encouraged to create their world by working with materials so that they could find how they could be used in expressive and innovative ways. Gropius must be understood to understand how the rest of Modernity through architecture has been achieved. Oscar Niemeyer is still a working architect, even at the age of 106. At the age of 101 he wrote his memoirs, explaining the trajectory of his life and how his politics prevented his work in the West and despite them he was still able to contribute to architecture because of his beautiful and extraordinary curvaceous forms. Although he was a Communist and he was dealing with the world as it was conditioned during the 1940s and 1950s to deny those who believed in Communist politics to work, he was still able to be a contributing architect to the UN building and to build beautiful works of art within which public functions could be accomplished. Gropius and Niemeyer were contemporaries, although Niemeyer was younger. Their histories intersect in the United States where the German born Gropius had migrated to Boston and Niemeyer was asked to become the dean of the Harvard Graduate School of Design, the second post that he would have to decline because of his associations with the Communist Party and the political climate in the 1950s. Walter Gropius Walter Gropius was born in 1883 and died in 1969, leaving behind a legacy of innovation and a history of teaching those ideas that he came to discover. Along with Oscar Niemeyer, who is the second subject of this paper, was a pioneer of modern architecture and ideas on form. Lupfer, Sige l, and Gropius write that without knowledge about Gropius, Modern architecture cannot be understood. His ability to communicate was his most powerful resource as he could not draw well.1 Therefore it was necessary for his associates to create what he could describe, his work the result of collaborations with those who could put into a drawing what he could not. His ability to communicate resulted in founding the Staatliches Bauhaus, or more commonly just referred to as the Bauhaus, was a school that was focused on the arts and craft.2 Craft is often seen as something less in modern interpretations, but the true idea of craft is the ability to build something that is high quality and with fine design. It might be said that art interprets life while craft enables it. Something is crafted when raw materials are developed into something that can be used in the everyday. Gropius said that â€Å"Let us then create a new guild of craftsmen without the class distinctions that raise an arro gant barrier between craftsman and artist!†3 Of course, not all art is interpretation and not all craft is used in the everyday, but it is a good way to consider the two. The Bauhaus was likely the direct result of the

Performance Management in International Human Resource Management Essay

Performance Management in International Human Resource Management - Essay Example e to employees that the company is committed to the wellbeing of its employees, and in developing a management that will provide assistance for both the company and its employees. Further, employees are likely to perceive HR practises as effective with the use of communication through information sharing, communicating with supervisors,  promotes employee’s understanding of the purposes and expectations (Edgar & Geare, 2005). Previous studies have stated that HRM practise predicts employee attitudes (Edgar & Geare, 2005). Specifically, when these practises are implemented properly with motivating factor, proper leadership, and communicated well to the employees, the organisation could produce a gratifying attitude from the employees (Edgar & Geare, 2005). In addition, implementing an effective HRM practises could affect the output of the employees in accordance with firm performance. Employees could become more productive and more committed to the organisation (Huselid, 1995; Delaney & Huselid, 1996).  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   HRM practise is an important topic in the field of human resource since it increases the level of motivation, working habits, skills, and abilities of employees (Delaney & Huselid, 1996). With good implementation of various HRM practises, organisations could retain talented employees. These could also serve as a communication tool between the employer and the employee since it sends messages that the employee could use to make sense and define the essence of their work (Bowen & Ostroff, 2004). In addition, the existence of HRM practises has positive effects since it delivers a message to employees that the company is devoted to the welfare of the employees, and in developing management that will benefit both the company and its employees. Further, employees are likely to perceive the HRM practises as effective with the use of communication through information sharing, communicating with supervisors,  promotes employee’s understanding of the purposes and

How to Describe Yourself Essay Example for Free

How to Describe Yourself Essay You could ask a hundred people to describe themselves and what they like least and most about themselves, and I bet you would get the same answer every time. People would say they are caring, sweet, loving, forgiving, nice, and respectful. The thing is though not everyone is what they say they are. Some people say they are forgiving but the still hold grudges and other may say they are truthful but tell that one white lie. So how can I describe myself to you? I would have to start with being honest about who I really am. I would describe myself as being honest, caring, loving, nurturing, forgiving, and a lot of other things. But I am not completely honest or completely loving or forgiving, no human being is. I tell that one white lie every now and again like: no that top looks great on you, or no you don’t look fat in those jeans. And to say that I am completely loving is not true either. There are some things I hate in life such as: tomatoes, bad hair days, and snow. Finally to say that I am forgiving would be a lie, I hold grudges longer than most people, and if you cross that certain line there’s no coming back and there is no forgiveness for you. So to say I am completely truthful, loving or forgiving would be a lie in itself. The qualities I would like to see flourish and whither about myself are the same qualities everyone has. I would like to see my bad habits of biting nails, or eating when I’m bored to wither away. But some of my best qualities I would like to see grow and expand are, being caring, putting others before myself, or helping someone in need whether my needs are more important or not. This entire thing comes back to what I describe myself as and how I really am. Some qualities about myself I want gone in a second but others I wouldn’t trade for the world. It all depends on how you view yourself. The qualities I like about myself the most are the fact that I can overlook whatever a person has done in their life and still see the good in them that’s trying to break free. Also no matter when or where if someone needs help and I know I can help them I will do it no matter what the cost. On the other hand the qualities I don’t like about myself are just like everyone else’s. I don’t like that fact that I have low self-esteem, or that I don’t have the same characteristics of other people. Also I don’t like that I sometimes judge a person just by looking at them and then I have my mind made up. But these are the qualities that make us human. Over all everyone has a good and bad quality about themself, no matter what race, religion, ethnic background ,everyone has something in common and that is the thing that makes us unique and separates us from each other. I wouldn’t trade any of my best characteristics or my good qualities. I would however change some of my bad qualities, or at least try to improve them. I as a human being have my ups and downs and have my flaws but that’s what makes me so special and so unique. So asking me to describe myself as a human being is really a trick question because it’s all a matter of my own opinion mixed with how the world sees me.

Creative And Critical Thinking Among Students

Creative And Critical Thinking Among Students 7,987 straight As in SPM screamed the headlines of major newspapers when the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia results were announced on the 10th of March 2010. The fixation with academic achievements among Malaysians knew no bounds. Every year, excitement and joy, anxiety and disappointment, pervade among students, parents and teachers when the Ministry of Education and Malaysian Examination Board releases the results of public examinations, be it UPSR, PMR, SPM and STPM. The obsession with academic achievement is overshadowing all other aspects of a holistic education system in Malaysia. The Malaysian Education Philosophy clearly states that the role of the school curriculum is to ensure the holistic development of the individual mentally, physically, spiritually and emotionally by imparting general knowledge and skills; cultivating, instilling and fostering healthy attitudes and accepted moral values. The curriculum aims to bring forth the Malaysian citizen who is a balanced and well-rounded individual, trained, skilful, and cherishes the national aspiration for unity. Why all the hype with students academic achievements? According to Professor Dr. Ray Wilks, Head of the School of Psychology, International Medical University, there is no evidence to show a positive correlation between academic achievement in examination and learning. Learning should not be about passing examinations. We should instead create more curiosity in childrens learning to nurture creativity and innovativeness, says Professor Dr. Ray Wilks. Indeed, the education systems in Malaysia aims to mould individuals to become better Malaysians with the right attitudes, and to equip them with the knowledge and skills necessary in the twenty-first century to make Malaysia a developed nation by the year 2020. To meet the challenges of the twenty first-century and Vision 2020, teaching and learning practices and school management are constantly reviewed to develop individuals who are technologically literate and can contribute to a creative and innovative workforce. This transformation will entail changing the school culture, from one that is predominantly memory-based to one that stimulates thinking, creativity, and innovativeness. Yet the importance placed on academic achievement has seriously impacted on the ability and efficiency of the Malaysian education system in developing holistic individuals that are able to handle the challenges of life after formal schooling. In fact many a times, newspapers highlighted employers complaints that school leavers and even universitys graduates have problems conversing and communicating effectively, let alone to think critically and creatively. In addition the lack of critical and creative thinking abilities among Malaysians school leavers and university graduates has been pinpointed by the Minister of Human Resource, Datuk Dr. S Subramaniam, as one of the main problems contributing to their low marketability in the job market. The lack of thinking skills among the present and future workforce of the nation will hamper the nations efforts toward achieving a developed nation status by 2020. What are critical and creative thinking? Critical thinking is a type of thinking that converges on a single thought or entity. One must organize, analyze or evaluate information, which might also be broken into parts and taught explicitly. A cognitive process complimentary to, but different than critical thinking, is creative thinking. This thinking diverges from a single thought or entity. One must generate, synthesize, find alternatives, adapt, substitute, or elaborate. Critical and creative thinking are the building blocks that will make certain our students will have the required thinking skills to succeed in life and at work and ensure the attainment of Vision 2020. Detractors of efforts to emphasize critical and creative thinking in the curriculum have point to the possibility of poorer academic achievements as a consequence. However, research has shown that when students develop their thinking skills by looking beyond the obvious, making creative connections, developing strategies, making decisions, planning ahead and reflecting, they also improved their academic performance. Thus, emphasizing critical and creative thinking will augment academic achievement. How to encourage critical and creative thinking? One way is to reduce the emphasis on the use summative assessments such as UPSR, PMR and SPM. Summative assessments are used for categorizing students and stress the use of written examinations. The UPSR and PMR summative assessment have deviated from its original purpose of diagnosing learning problems with the intention of preparing remedial actions to improve students learning. They are now used to stream children into classes. In psychological terms, it is bad to label children. It is positive reinforcement for smart children, as defined by our assessment system, but not for the children who do not do well. The tools used in our public examinations are picking up all the rote learners. Professor Dr Ray Wilks says, From a psychological point of view, to label a child of 12 is a kind of life sentence. He further states that experiments have shown that if we tell teachers that a child is of certain achievement level, they will teach t o that point. The teachers will not raise their teaching to the next level for that child. Instead we should encourage more formative assessment in the learning environments. Formative assessment also called continuous assessment is a more reliable way to look at the learning process. School-based continuous assessment looks at broader education skills, such as communication, critical and creative thinking, and teamwork, rather than just textbook skills. These skills are assessed by teachers through activities like debates, dramas, analysing issues and project work. Formative assessments also provide diagnostic information to enable teachers to assist students with learning difficulties. Furthermore, when there are less public examinations, children can have more time to explore other interests such as music and arts that would help instil creativity in them. Ive always wanted my children to learn to play the piano, but they are always tired after schools and tuition, says one parent. With less examination, teachers will also have more time to organize field trips and excursions, which will allow students to be in contact with nature and discover new learning opportunities for critical and creative thinking that may not be present in the classroom. Given appropriate opportunities, children can engage in sophisticated cognitive processes. Research suggests that either too much or too little structure can prevent development of critical and creative thinking and in the process children are not equipped with active and strategic approaches to learning tasks. Thus, appropriate instructional approaches could results in students enhancing their critical and creative thinking skills. Three approaches are commonly used in the teaching of thinking skills: stand-alone approach, immersion approach and embedded approach. Stand-alone approach consists of teaching thinking skills separate from subject matter content. In this case a general set of thinking skills are identified and taught as a separate course or subject. Students are taught how to transfer the skills to various subjects and situations. However, thinking skills taught in isolation tend to results in students having problems transferring thinking skills to academic or real world problems. The immersion approach does not involve teaching thinking skills. Rather it allows good thinking to develop naturally as a result of students being fully engaged or immersed in content-related activities which calls for higher levels of thinking. Students are provided with repeated practices in complex cognitive activities with the assumption that they will eventually develop the necessary cognitive skills to successfully engage in high-level thinking. However, research has shown that simply immersing students in thinking activities is not an effective instructional approach. The embedded approach involves teaching thinking skills within a subject-matter context. Thinking skills are taught in science, social studies, language, arts, and some other subjects. Students than apply these skills directly to the particular subject being studied. This allows students to use the skills in a meaningful context and helps them learn the subject matter more deeply. An embedded approach is an effective way to teach thinking skills. Rather than an additional subject, thinking skills are used to enhance whatever curriculum currently being taught. Training teachers in specific instructional approaches means that schools must invest in teachers professional development. Instructional approaches that help teachers integrate a learning to think component into their curriculum empower students to take responsibility for improving their thinking and learning. Although cognitive development is only one part of a childs overall development, it is essential that teachers respond to the community demand for and the childs right to cognitive competence. Teacher training providers need to become aware of the benefits of certain instructional approaches on pupil performance and incorporate training in such approaches in their courses. Thus, in conclusion, Malaysia needs to ensure that its future generation does not only perform well academically but should possess the ability to think critically and creatively. All Malaysians should support the integration of critical and creative thinking in its educational curriculum. It should not only merely be stated in printed documents. Affirmative actions should be put in place to ensure that the teaching and learning of critical and creative thinking is actualized in the classroom context. Lest, Vision 2020 remains a dream and Malaysia will stutter in its ability to achieve the New Economic Model towards achieving 1Malaysia, People First, Performance Now. (1497 words)

Black Panthers Essay -- essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In 1966, the national Black Panther party was created. Their platform and it’s ideals struck a chord with blacks across the country, especially in the inner cities of the north. The Panthers were able to organize and unite these blacks. This alarmed the federal government. They instituted many controversial, illegal programs of harassment, infiltration, and instigation which led to the deaths of many Panthers.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  From their inception, the Black Panthers were treated with disdain and contempt. The Panthers wrote out a platform called â€Å"What We Want, What We Believe.† There ideas and methods appealed greatly to blacks. The past few years had seen the civil rights struggle rise, and had left many blacks with the feeling that not enough was being accomplished. Many Blacks shared the view of the Panthers in that violence was needed to defend themselves until true equality could be achieved. Aside from being militant, the Panthers did things that helped the community. They set up breakfast, and helped people to clean up their neighborhoods. The Black Panthers gave many urban black communities a sense of unity and identity that they hadn’t had before.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Panther’s rhetoric of violence alarmed the government. In March of 1968, the Panther newspaper printed this warning to police, â€Å"Halt in the name of humanity! You shall make no more war on unarmed people. You will not kill anothe...

Discussion of Issues Surrounding the Classification and Diagnosis of Schizophrenia

One issue related to classification and diagnosis is reliability. Reliability refers to the consistency of a measuring instrument, such as DSM (the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual) that is used when diagnosing schizophrenia. Reliability can be measured in terms of whether two independent assessors give similar scores (inter-rater reliability). High reliability is indicated by a high positive correlation. Inter-rater reliability has been assessed for diagnoses of schizophrenia and found to be relatively low.This was especially true for earlier versions of DSM but it was hoped that later revisions of DSM would prove more reliable. However, more recent versions have continued to produce low inter-rater reliability scores. For example, Whaley (2001) found only a small positive correlation of +0. 11 between different raters. Differences in cultural interpretations also pose a threat to the reliability of the diagnosis of schizophrenia. A research study by Copeland et al. (1971) gave a d escription of a patient showing clinical characteristics associated with schizophrenia to US and UK psychiatrists.Of the US psychiatrists, 69% diagnosed schizophrenia, whereas only 2% of the UK psychiatrists gave the same diagnosis. This suggests that the diagnostic criteria had quite a different meaning in different cultures and therefore are not reliable when used in different cultural settings. Reliability is also an issue for diagnosis. This was raised by Rosenhan (1973) who claimed that situational factors were more important in determining the ultimate diagnosis of schizophrenia, rather than any specific characteristics of the person. Rosenhan demonstrated this in his well-known study called ‘Sane in insane places’.He arranged for ‘pseudopatients’ to present themselves to psychiatric hospitals claiming to be hearing voices (a symptom of schizophrenia). All were diagnosed with schizophrenia and admitted, despite the fact they displayed no further sympt oms during their hospitalisation. Throughout their stay, none of the staff recognised that they were actually normal. The unreliability of diagnosis was further demonstrated in a follow-up study by Rosenhan. Psychiatrists at several mental hospitals were told to expect pseudopatients over a period of several months.This resulted in a 21% detection rate by the psychiatrists, even though none were actually sent. This shows that the diagnostic criteria used by psychiatrists could not reliably identify a person with schizophrenia. A second issue is validity which concerns both classification and diagnosis. For example, there is the issue of comorbidity which is related to the validity. Comorbidity refers to the extent that two (or more) conditions co-occur (such as schizophrenia and depression) and therefore the extent to which the condition is ‘real’ and distinct.One way to avoid the issue of comorbidity is to just use first-rank symptoms of schizophrenia when diagnosing ( e. g. delusions or hallucinations). However, Bentall et al. (1988) claim that many of the first-rank symptoms of schizophrenia are also found in other disorders (e. g. depression and bipolar disorder). This makes it difficult to separate schizophrenia as a distinct disorder from other disorders and suggests that schizophrenia is not a distinct condition. It may be more realistic to suggest that there is no such discrete disorder as schizophrenia but instead there is a spectrum of psychotic symptoms.Allardyce et al.  (2001) claim that symptoms used to characterise schizophrenia do not define a specific disorder because its symptoms are also found in other categories of psychosis described in DSM and therefore there should just be a psychotic spectrum. Another aspect of validity is predictive validity. Predictive validity demonstrates the validity of a diagnosis by demonstrating that it can predict scores on some criterion measure. If a disorder has high predictive validity then it should be clear how the disorder would develop and how people would respond to treatment. Research has found low predictive validity for schizophrenia.Some patients (about 20%) do recover their previous level of functioning but 40% never really recover. This much variation in the prognosis suggests that the original diagnosis lacked predictive validity. It means that diagnosis was not helpful in dealing with the course of schizophrenia. Research has shown that other factors may be more influential on the ultimate outcome of having schizophrenia. For example, it seems more to do with gender (Malmberg et al. , 1998) and psychosocial factors, such as social skills, academic achievement and family tolerance of schizophrenic behaviour (Harrison et al. , 2001).

Analyzing a Literacy Event

At any moment, your life can change. In any instant you could find yourself walking down a different path than you started down. You would never know it, but the simplest form of literacy could make the world of difference in your life. Writing, believe it or not, is a constant in your everyday life. Whether making a grocery list, composing an email, or simply doing your homework, there is no escape from writing. In my case, however, writing came to be my only salvation for justice.On a seemingly normal, stress-free, fall day, I found myself walking through The Village of Rochester Hills. It goes without saying that writing was one of the last things on my mind as I was shopping. However, as things seem to do, my priorities were about to drastically change. As I was attacked by three teenage boys, my world began to spin. I was knocked out by one single blow to the side of my face. As I opened my eyes I saw the boys leaving me on the pavement of the parking lot. After a moment, I real ized that my purse and all of my belongings had been taken.There and then was when I realized how important writing can really be. I instantly ran into the closest store and began writing down all I could recall about the incident. Filling the paper with descriptions of the boys’ clothes, hair, faces, the van they left in, and even their voices, I wracked my brain for all the information I had. Eventually, the Oakland County Sherriff came to the scene of the crime. Within the time it had taken them to reach me, I had already begun to go into a form of shock, causing me to forget details and important factors of the incident.My small gesture of literacy had been the key to finding justice in this situation. After the police had calmed down and taken me to the station, my next writing adventure began. It might not be obvious, but filling out police reports and giving detailed descriptions to a sketch artist involves many literary techniques. I can honestly say my encounter with writing was the most meticulous, painstaking, in depth paper I have ever written. Needless to say, my literary work provoked many reactions. After reading the entire report, most were angry: Angry that this sort of situation could happen to anyone.Some were sympathetic, offering hopes of catching the three boys with the help of my descriptions. I, on the other hand, read through my report over and over again, feeling worse and worse about the situation. Days later, the police were able to link my case with three others. The three other girls who had been put in similar situations, however, were unable to give as much detail as I was. In a sense, my ability to understand the grave importance of writing was able to help three complete strangers come closer to catching the three boys who stole their feeling of safety and self confidence.For as little as the average person considers literacy to be a part of their lives, I have personally found it to be one of life’s most valuabl e privileges. A single act of writing led me closer to a sense of justice and closure in a moment between shock and sanity. This encounter with writing has changed my outlook on many things. The most important, however, is that I feel grateful for all the teachers that have taught me how to write because without them, I may not have been able to rise above the situation.

The Exxon Valdez 1989 Oil Spill

This summary will briefly discuss three topics: a) the oil spill, b) the environmental damage and clean up, and c) the insurance coverage settlements. This paper will then focus on the insurance coverage settlements. Afterwards, it will provide an analysis on the effectiveness of the dispute resolution process. The Exxon Valdez Oil Spill of 1989 was one of the largest manmade environmental disasters (Rodgers et al, 2005, p. 136). It occurred in U. S. waters at Prince William Sound, Alaska in March 1989 (Rodgers et al, 2005, p. 136).The oil tanker, Exxon Valdez, struck a reef and discharged an estimated 10. 8 million gallons of oil according to Exxon estimates but other sources indicate that it is around 30 million gallons (Rodgers et al, 2005, p. 136). The oil belonged to Exxon Corporation while the tanker belonged to Exxon Shipping, its subsidiary (Holman, Fenwick & Willan, 2004, p. 1). The environmental damage caused by the oil spill and the subsequent clean up of the spill and its contaminants became the subject of numerous litigations (Rodgers et al, 2005).Environmental damage claims and settlements ran into several billion U. S. dollars (Rodgers et al, 2005, p. 149-88). Oil spill clean up expenses likewise ran into several billion U. S. dollars (Holman, Fenwick & Willan, 2004, p. 2). In this regard, due to the huge volume of lawsuits, the complexity of the case or cases, the wide coverage of the disaster, and the disaster’s far-reaching implications among other considerations, Exxon Corporation undertook a wide variety of legal strategies. One of those strategies involved alternative dispute resolution through settlements for insurance coverage disputes.The Exxon insurance coverage disputes are complex (Covington & Burling LLP, 2007). One point of consideration is that Exxon’s primary insurers are reinsured with Lloyd’s London (Holman, Fenwick & Willan, 2004, p. 2). This complicates the disputes since Exxon is an American company while its underwriters are international business entities. Hence, the dispute involved significant activities in many locations: Texas, New York, London, Oslo, Alaska and other places (Covington & Burling LLP, 2007).As such, issues on jurisdiction and applicability of laws whether English law or New York law should be applied made litigations costly and long. Covington & Burling LLP represented Exxon from 1991 to 1997 in â€Å"its hotly contested, multi-forum claims for coverage of losses arising out of the grounding of the Valdez† (Covington & Burling LLP, 2007). In early 1997, these disputes ended after Exxon and the Lloyd’s consortium of international underwriters and various Scandinavian companies settled for $780 million (Treaster, 1996; Covington & Burling LLP, 2007).Covington & Burling LLP (2007) best describes the legal complexity of these disputes, to quote: The Exxon claims arose out of the company's Global Corporate Excess package of policies for 1988-89, which was characterized by high limits and high retentions. Exxon claimed coverage under various sections of the package, including the first-party property section's cover for removal of debris, the marine liability section's cover for cargo-owner pollution losses, and the general liability section's cover for pollution clean-up costs.Meanwhile, the Covington & Burling LLP strategy involved: a) â€Å"a non-binding ADR procedure moderated by a London-based barrister before any litigation commenced;† b) â€Å"a Texas lawsuit filed by Exxon that the underwriters unsuccessfully sought three times to remove and that resulted in a jury verdict for Exxon on one of its three claims;† c) â€Å"an arbitration proceeding in New York;† d) â€Å"a federal declaratory judgment action in New York that the underwriters struggled to keep alive despite a dismissal and multiple trips to the Second Circuit and the Supreme Court on jurisdictional issues;† and finally,e) â€Å"two settlements — one for $300 million before the Texas verdict and one for $480 million while the Texas verdict was on appeal and just before the arbitration hearing was to commence† (2007). Many forms of alternative dispute resolutions or ADR can be made. Balmer (n. d. ) notes that several types of ADR can in fact be customized as can be seen from the Exxon insurance settlements. Some of these customized ADRs can range â€Å"from non-assisted discussions through mediation, neutral fact finders, case exposure such as mini-trials, arbitration both binding and non-binding, and limited issue litigation† (Balmer). Exxon already spent some U. S. $ 2. 5 Billion in damage claims as a result of the oil spill (Rodgers et al, 2005).Without ADR, it would have been unable to recover some $780 million from its insurance coverage (Treaster, 1996) while Exxon’s insurance disputes could have been unnecessarily protracted. For this incident, Exxon employed litigation but was always open to the many forms of alternative dispute resolution. For instance, Exxon used mediation through a non-binding ADR procedure moderated by a London-based barrister before any litigation commenced (Covington & Burling LLP, 2007). Technically, mediation involves a neutral third party who helps in hammering out a resolution (Balmer). In another instance, Exxon employed arbitration proceedings. Balmer describes arbitration as â€Å"getting a neutral party or panel to reach a decision on facts, law or both.† Most importantly, Exxon often used settlements.