Importance Of Homework In Education - 1565 Words

Corey Jones July 25, 2017 English 1301 Prof. Stacey Said Homework: Essential to the Student Homework is a very vital aspect of our education system that has been used for centuries. Homework is, â€Å"work or study done in preparation for a certain event or situation† (Webster). There is no better way to teach a student discipline, studiousness and diligence than through assigning homework. Homework was first assigned by an Italian schoolteacher by the name of Roberto Nevilis in the year 1095. Formal education was making its first appearance in the world at this time and it was essential to the well being of the students to learn and study the curriculum being taught. In modern day formal education, homework is used by teachers all across the†¦show more content†¦The study concluded, â€Å"The results of such studies suggest that homework can improve students’ scores on the class tests† (Cooper). When looking at the conclusion of the study, it is easy to correlate studying at home with a students’ academic success. The study also found t hat, â€Å"The correlation was stronger for older students† (Cooper). Cooper also states, â€Å"Across five studies, the average student who did homework had a higher unit test score than the students not doing homework† (Cooper). When reading Cooper’s study, it is very important to differentiate those who do the homework given between those who do not complete the homework assigned. Students who receive homework but do not complete it take away from the overall effect it would have had if that said student completed the given assignments. It is also important to keep in mind the fact that the amount of time spent on homework each night is increased per capita as grade level is increased. The assigning of homework should fluctuate depending on grade level. Due to an earlier stage in brain development, a second grade student should not be assigned the same amount of homework as a college student. Referencing studies and research, it is logically sound to conclude that homework helps students absorb and retain information compared to those who do not complete it. 20/20 Another reason why homework is beneficial to a students well being is because itShow MoreRelatedThe Importance Of Homework As A Part Of Education1793 Words   |  8 PagesIntroduction Throughout my schooling, I have always wondered what exactly I gained by doing my homework. In the past, when I have been given assignments that I find to be a waste of my time, I have asked my teachers why they chose to give us the assignment. In response to this question, my teachers have usually answered with things along the lines of â€Å"It will enhance your ability to better understand the subject.† (Pokorski, 2013) and â€Å"I am not given enough time to teach you, so you will have toRead More How Much Homework to Give Kids? Essay1464 Words   |  6 PagesHow Much Homework to Give Kids? To many kids in elementary schools, homework is a menace. It takes away quality time from a student’s daily life and activities. In Romesh Ratnesar’s article â€Å"The Homework Ate my Family†, Ratnesar mentions about a student named Molly and her daily routine. Her daily routine consists of â€Å"spending two hours doing homework, practicing the piano, doing more than 100 math problems, labeling the countries and bodies of water and reviewing a semester’s worthRead More Homework: The Key To Student Success Essay711 Words   |  3 Pageschallenges that teachers and parents face is getting teenagers to do their homework. A common complaint with high school students is the fact that they do not have enough time to do their homework. In the year 2000 American students are holding down more jobs, taking on more household responsibilities, and participating in a greater amount of extracurricular activities than any other generation of American stu dents. (Homework: Time To Turn It In?). As more and more distractions are made available toRead MoreBenefits Of Assigning Homework1579 Words   |  7 Pagesthis paper is to discuss the long debate over whether or not homework should be assigned within the school system. Are there benefits to assigning homework, or is the purpose of homework being defeated? The different sections will examine the benefits of homework, reasons why homework is not beneficial and personal opinions on homework. Benefits of Assigning Homework Assigning homework has been an ongoing debate for many years. Is homework helpful or is it a waste of time for students? Are thereRead MoreThe Effects Of Parental Involvement On Public Schools1192 Words   |  5 Pagesprimarily at home because there was no formal American public school education implemented. Parental education included, and still includes, activities related to discipline, basic skills, work skills, ethics, and value inculcation. These educational activities were carried out privately within the family, rather than publicly through the use of public institutions (Berger, 1981). In 1850, there was a progression in public education. The United States leaders of the educational reforms were successfulRead MoreEssay about Excessive Dependence on Homework in American Schools734 Words   |  3 PagesExcessive Dependence on Homework in American Schools I didn’t feel [stressed] until I was in my 30’s. It hurts my feelings that my daughter feels that way at eleven (Ratnesar 313). This statement describes the intense issue facing the American Education System today. More and more students are spending a lot of out of school time on enormous amounts of homework. The overabundance of homework is putting pressure on the students, along with their parents. Our nation has steadily focused on afterRead MoreThe Effects Of Homework On Students Lives Outside Of School1223 Words   |  5 Pageson sleep to do the things they need to do. As these tasks are quite time consuming, students state that homework is the most out of all the unpaid activities they do throughout the day, as 60% complete 2 hours and 20 minutes on average each day (CBC news, 2007). The amount of homework students receive on average daily has greatly increased in the past 15 years, which concerns parents. Homework interferes with students’ lives outside of school, a student’s overall health, and consumes countless hoursRead MoreThe Effects Of Homework On Students Lives Outside Of School1223 Words   |  5 Pageson sleep to do the things they need to do. As these tasks are quite time consuming, students state that homework is the most out of all the unpaid activities they do throughout the day, as 60% complete 2 hours and 20 minutes on average each day (CBC news, 2007). The amount of homework students receive on average daily has greatly increased in the past 15 years, which concerns parents. Homework interferes with students’ lives outside of school, a student’s overall health, and consumes countless hoursRead MoreHomework: Beneficial or Not?656 Words   |  3 PagesWhat is homework? Most students might say that homework is a time waster and is unrelated to learning. Both are logical statements in the eyes of the average student, but what are the facts and why is homework part of our school curriculum? Home work has been a standing tradition in America since the 1950’s due to the education war with the Soviets. Ever since the ending of the Cold War in the early 1990’s, the American consensus openly welcomed homework as a part of school curriculum. Homework is inRead MoreThe Civil Defense Education Act Of The United States917 Words   |  4 Pagesignored when it comes to students of all ages. Homework provides a heavy load that can add additional stress and time on a student’s shoulders. Schools should be making sure that students are receiving enough work throughout the day, to make sure kids do not have the worry of homework when school is over. Students who receive lots of homework, may not have enough time in the evenings to be around family, friends and enjoy the rest of their day. Homework has been around for many years, and parents have

The Regime Of The United States Essay - 971 Words

The regime which sets out to make its citizenry morally ‘good’ is an oppressive, totalitarian state that realistically must use force of arms to achieve this end. The conflict initially arises with what the state will consider ‘good’ and righteous behavior. Its definition to the state would essentially be a reflection of the values held dear by the lawmakers of this nation, in other words the values of the few, powerful elites. These values would likely be at odds with those held by the majority of the populace, whose socio-economic, cultural, or religious backgrounds would look very different from those of the elite lawmakers. A state perpetually led by a minority intending to impose its moral mandate on the populous at large would almost certainly have to resort to the might of its police and military in carrying out its wishes, resulting in the textbook example of the Orwellian state. A state such as this is one in which oppression, propaganda, and surveillance rule the day, an atmosphere that is anathema to the basic freedoms enjoyed by citizens of modern western nations. This is a state dominated by a ‘big brother’ figure that along with the aid of a kind of ‘thought police’ would attempt to monitor and control the thoughts and beliefs espoused by its populace; prosecutions for committing thought crime would be commonplace. George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four provides a great look at what living under a moral state might feel like. To see a more modern example ofShow MoreRelatedThe United States Support of Iraq ´s Regime2447 Words   |  10 PagesOn January 29, 2002, United States President George W. Bush blasted Iraq with these words, â€Å"Iraq continues to flaunt its hostility toward America and to support terror†¦ States like these and their terrorist allies constitute an axis of evil, arming to threaten the peace of the world.† [State of the Union] But as late as 1990, Iraq had received major military, economic, and intelligence support from the U.S. [Arbuthnot] This aide included â€Å"numerous items that had both military and civilian applicationsRead MoreAnalysis Of The Book The Overthrow Regime Change On The United States 1289 Words   |  6 Pagesthesis (what is he arguing in this book)? Kinzer’s thesis in the book the Overthrow is regime change in the United States. The author explains how regime change has been happening over one hundred years and how it is nothing new for the United States. He well explains and gives great example of how the United States is willing to do anything to other governments in order for them to accomplish their goals. Kinzer states that the US has overthrown fourteen different foreign governments around the worldRead MoreCompare the Political Regime Type in China and the United States1609 Words   |  7 PagesA country’s regimes are imposed to protect the country’s interest, but these protections will create unavoidable conflict-of-interest where businesses are conducted. Likewise, the super power China and the United States, the perpetual political changes create a direct implication to the day-to-day business activities and the type business investment plan to enter the country. Hence, conflict-of-interests are c ommonly tensions between the different in political ideologies, social issues, historicalRead MoreDemocracy : The Cause For International Peace Or For Global War?1718 Words   |  7 Pagesfail to explain the anomalies in this theory. Due to the high number of democracies that do, in fact, engage in global wars, there must also be another factor besides democracy that accounts for the likeliness of war. In addition, the Democratic regimes who do engage in war also have a greater tendency of winning, a phenomena that can be explained by the power of democracies. While the leadership style does have an effect on the likeliness of war, with democracies being extremely less likely, itRead MoreUnited Kingdom, Sweden And Japan1007 Words   |  5 Pagesthe population. Therefore regimes such as the parliamentary regime, presidential regime, semi presidential regime, bicameral regime, and unicameral regime exist. Parliamentary systems usually have the head of government and the head of state, with the head of government being the prime minister or premier, and the head of state often being a figurehead, often a hereditary monarch (often in a constitutional monarchy). Countries that have this type of government are the United Kingdom, Sweden and JapanRead MoreU.s. Korean Nuclear Relations1233 Words   |  5 PagesU.S.-North Korean Nuclear Relations From the creation of the North Korean state following the Second World War, the United States has opposed them. In time, the U.S. learned how to better deal with North Korea, but tension between the two countries has never fully ceased. North Korea’s nuclear programs have been a concern to America since their establishment, and even though tensions had lessened at points, nuclear proliferation is still a large issue. Due to America’s stance with North Korea, talksRead MoreShould Democracy Be Exported?1628 Words   |  7 PagesLiving in the United States, we tend to take for granted democracy and the institutions that were established by the constitution to ensure its viability and perpetuate its underlying principles. However, this is not the case for many countries around the world. In other places, authoritarian and other non-democratic regimes have existed and sustained rule without pushing for democracy. This raises the question: can democracy be exported to these countries? In present day, due to the fact that non-democraticRead MoreNorth Korea Is A Rogue State Essay1544 Words   |  7 Pages North Korea is a rogue state. A nation whose actions and behavior could set off a deadly regional conflict. A conflict which could involve the use of nuclear warheads, cause massive loss of life. Since the end of the Korean War tensions have run high between North Korea and the surrounding countries. The biggest cause for concern for the U.S. and South Korea is North Korea’s continual test of nuclear weapons paired with its aggressive behavior towards its regional neighbors. North Korea’s irrationalRead MoreThe Impact of the Cold War on Developing Nations Essay1175 Words   |  5 PagesIntroduction Third world countries became the perfect battleground for cold war proxy battles during the early 1940’s to late 1990’s. United States wanted to flex its political muscle and try to curtail the spread of Soviet Communism in the developing nations. Most of the nations in developed world had already made their political and socio-economic stand regarding the form of governance and leadership pursued. Underdeveloped nations in Asia, Latin America and Africa were still vulnerable and easilyRead MoreShould the U.S. Government Drop Its Sanctions against Cuba?1676 Words   |  7 Pagesengendered the denunciation of the brute use of force as a primary method of international coercion. Cuba is one of the countries considered as a rogue state by the United States and its allies. The emergence of Cuba as a communist country in the western hemisphere in 1960, and the nationalization of a huge amount of US assets in Cuba by the then new regime led to the sanctions against Cuba. Ho wever, starting from the end of the 1980’s the Communist block begin falling apart. Cuba lost its international

Civil Disobedience Essay Summary Example For Students

Civil Disobedience Essay Summary Civil Disobedience, Wheres The Line Drawn?In order to properly characterize and understand all aspects of civil disobedience we must look at where the line of disobedience stands and who crosses it. This country was founded on the idea of democracy. Our proud and dedicated fore fathers of the Constitution created this nation on a basis of morality and true freedom. Unfortunately, this dream has been contorted. Twisted to fit the ever growing greed and power thirsty idealisms of the powerful and wealthy politician. Our country has been raped of its true seed that it started from. I believe that this countrys main problem is that its run by a majority of white males, and of these men, not many younger than their forties. Wheres our equal representation of every populous? These people have lost touch with what they call, their number one resource, its youth. Yes, they were all young at one time as well, but times rapidly change. These quick changes can easily cause confusion among our leaders, and this results in poor decisions based on lack of current knowledge and direct involvement. Unfortunately, these people dont understand what todays youth goes through, and whos there to represent my population? The legal voting age in this country is eighteen 1years old, a population that has already been thrown into the busy world of work and many of whom have already lost the essence of their youth. We need a change, a new policy of understanding. The line of civil disobedience is drawn by our nations leaders and its their line and they mark it. The lines they make are the illusions they see, they dont look at the whole picture, our nation has a severe case of tunnel vision. Truthfully, laws are passed to protect our Christian morality, and notable standing among the Earths other great powers. It seems Americas main concern is how we project ourselves to others, and what we can get out of it. In this movement and idea, the young are lost in its deep cracks of political separation. Our nation needs a voice, a voice of youth and honesty. Over half of our nation is comprised of young adults, but we have no say in how our lives are run. What may be small and seemingly harmless to a youth, may land him in jail for a few years. Policies on things such as drugs are very harsh on todays children, but the real question is, is who is the punishment benefiting? Are drug policies strict because drugs are an un-taxable product to the government, or do they really care what we do on our weekends? Or do they not like how other similar nations will percieve us if we are too liberal on our policies. Does this nation care about its youth, or is Uncle Sam worried hes not getting his fair cut? The only true solution that I see to helping this ever growing problem, is for politicians to stop concentrating on foreign affairs so much, and concentrate on todays children. We are the future, and we know the path that we want to lead. We should have 2a voice, and our civil rights should be in our own hands. Im not saying we should be electing seventeen year old state represenitives, but we should be heard. These problems should have a proper represenative. These problems trace all the way down into our public education systems even, where the powers of the administration and security forces control the students like the government controls all of its children; unjust, and unheard. In order to make a change though, we cant start in the school system, we must get to the root of the problem, we must see the big picture. And that scene starts with the government. We dont have to take the abuse, we can change and a social revolution is always on the horizon, we just need to get there. Our journey starts now 3

Sudden Infant Death Syndrome Essays - Pediatrics, Infancy, RTT

Sudden Infant Death Syndrome Imagine the thought of a mother going in to her child's room and kissing her baby good night. Expecting to hear the gentle breath of her baby all that she hears is silence. Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) is the ?sudden death of an infant under one year of age which remains unexplained after a thorough case investigation, including performance of a complete autopsy, examination of the death scene, and review of the clinical history? (Willinger, et al., 1991). More children die of SIDS in a year that all who die of cancer, heart disease, pneumonia, child abuse, AIDS, cystic fibrosis and muscular dystrophy combined. Many researchers now believe that babies who die of SIDS are born with one or more conditions that make them especially vulnerable to stresses that occur in the normal life of an infant, including both internal and external influences. SIDS occurs in all types of families and is largely indifferent to race or socioeconomic level. SIDS is unexpected, usually occurring in otherwise apparently healthy infants from 1 month to 1 year of age. Most deaths from SIDS occur by the end of the sixth month, with the greatest number taking place between 2 and 4 months of age. A SIDS death occurs quickly and is often associated with sleep, with no signs of suffering. More deaths are reported in the fall and winter and there is a 60-to-40-percent male-to-female ratio. A death is diagnoses as SIDS only after all other alternatives have been elim inated: SIDS is a diagnosis of exclusion (Willinger, et al., 1991). Risk factors are those environmental and behavioral influences that can provoke ill health. Any risk factor may be a clue to finding the cause of a disease, but risk factors in and of themselves are not causes. Researchers now know that the mother's health and behavior during her pregnancy and the baby's health before birth seem to influence the occurrence of SIDS, but these variables are not reliable in predicting how, when, why, or if SIDS will occur. Maternal risk factors include : Maternal age less than 20 years Poor prenatal care Low weight gain Anemia Use of illegal drugs History of Sexually transmitted diseases Urinary tract infection These factors, which often may be subtle and undetected, suggest that SIDS may Somehow associated with a harmful prenatal environment. After birth, there also are numerous risk factors which can significantly influence the chance of SIDS. These include such things as: (Corr, et al., 1991) Sleeping position Crib and bedding materials Breast feeding By definition, the causes of SIDS are not known. Attempts to explain the sudden and unexpected death of an infant adequately have been difficult since earliest times. Initially, if a baby died suddenly and unexpectedly in a bed shared with adults, it was thought to be due to an adult rolling on to the infant during sleep. This was called ?over-laying' (Goyco, et al., 1990). Later, it was suggested that babies may have choked on something or that death was caused by prenatal neglect. It is clear now that in most cased none of these explanations was correct~that they were, in all probability, the victims of what is now known as SIDS (Goyco, et al., 1990). No consistent warning signs occur that might alert us to the risk of SIDS. Sometimes the infant was not feeding so well on the day he or she died, or there may have been symptoms of a slight cold or tummy upset (Goyco, et al., 1990). The National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) reported that, in 1988 in the United States, 5,476 infants under 1 year of age died from SIDS; in 1989, the number of SIDS deaths was 5,634 (NCHS, 1990, 1992). However, other sources estimate that the number of SIDS in this country each year may actually be closer to 7,000 (Goyco and Beckerman, 1990). The larger estimate represents additional cases that are unreported. Then considering the overall number of live births each year, SIDS remains the leading cause of death in the United States among infants between 1 month and 1 year of age and second only to congenital anomalies as the leading overall cause of death for all infants less than 1 year of age

Euthanasia Types and Palliative Care essays

Euthanasia Types and Palliative Care essays Euthanasia is not an acceptable solution but a disturbing development that undermines the very structure of positive palliative care. Instead of supporting euthanasia we must direct our efforts at improving the therapeutic method of alleviating the sufferings of the terminally ill Euthanasia is the hastening of death or the deliberate ending of life at the request of the patient. Over the last few years we have witnessed heated debates about the medical, ethical, legal and moral aspects euthanasia. At the very base of this issue is the fear factor', which underlies both the sides of the argument. From the patients perspective it is the fear of unbearable pain that cannot be assuaged, the embarrassment of dependence that interminable illness causes, and the feeling of worthlessness and loss of self-love. On the other hand we have a fear of doctors and the possible abuse of the power. Let us have a brief overview of euthanasia before we discuss the ethical and moral implications. The word Euthanasia is actually a combination of two Greek words Eu (easy, painless or happy) and thanatos' meaning death. So euthanasia in essence means pain free and happy end to life. Euthanasia is the term for the act of ending the suffering of the patient by putting him to death. In other words it is physician-assisted suicide (PAS). [Michigan Technological University]. There are basically two different forms of Euthanasia namely Active or Passive Euthanasia and Voluntary or involuntary Euthanasia. Passive Euthanasia refers to the case where there is no medical intervention and the patient is left to himself to a gradual death. Typical of this type of Euthanasia is the withdrawal of life support devices. On the other hand active Euthanasia is a case where death is forced by administration of some lethal dosage. (Sleeping pills or painkillers). It is essential to appreciate the di...

The 4 Hottest Careers for Generation Y

The 4 Hottest Careers for Generation Y Generation Y (whose members are generally in their late-20s and early-30s) are  facing a job market with fewer, less attractive prospects. Here are four sectors with the 4 hottest careers for generation y that are growing, hiring, and exciting enough to hold your attention. HealthcareEverybody get sick and everybody gets old. But we’re getting better at managing and curing illness, and all of us are living longer. This means health professionals  are in high demand. Whether you want to be a surgeon or a general practitioner or a medical assistant, or you want work on the administrative or research end of things, there will be jobs for you. High paying jobs. Jobs with flexibility for work life balance. And plenty of room for upward movement.EngineeringEngineers are also in demand- the healthcare, environment, and entertainment industries, to name a few, are increasingly requiring and seeking out the services of engineers. The comparatively high average salaries are also a p lus.Software developmentEver wonder who makes all those apps on your phone? Innovation never ceases, and as technologies advance, so does our drive for more software. If you have a passion for technology or good design and functionality, or you just like being on the cutting edge, this career is wide open- and pays extremely well.CoachingThe world is becoming more health and fitness conscious. Get in on this growing field while you still can. Athletic trainers are in higher and higher demand, and the field is expected to grow by 30% over the next 10 years. Fuse together a passion for sports, health expertise, and psychological training, and you can make bank helping athletes achieve their potential.

Literacy Practices Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Literacy Practices - Essay Example In practice text-user reading can be learned from schooling itself. Teachers are a good source for students to improve their abilities as a text-user reader. In schools students were taught the basics of any language. Basics are pillars for any subject that holds construction strong. In school students were taught how to use these texts for various purposes. Out of curiosity students starts to pose questions on different topics and slowly arguments starts to arise from other pupils. This interaction leads to know on what they were arguing, whether their argument is in accordance with the subject, where the argument will lead to from here, will the argument lead to fruitful conclusion, how can they organise themselves to get the best out of it, how can they present their opinions and finally what can they learn from this. The text-user practice reader's pose themselves some questions to come into some conclusion to achieve their task. Questions like 'Purpose of the text', 'How will be the text useful', 'Will this be enough to achieve the task', 'Is this text effective', 'In what ways it can be used', How can I work around this Let's look at the skills and strategies for being a text-user.

Pay as Motivator Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Pay as Motivator - Essay Example Skinner's reinforcement theory (1953) is perhaps the foundation for every study on the matter. By stating that behaviour can be shaped, changed, or maintained through positive and negative reinforcement, he implied that people can be made to behave in certain ways using levers of motivation. Later studies merely attempted to find what those levers were. Maslow (1954) proposed five levers he called human needs, with the lowest being physiological, and self-actualisation the highest; in between are the safety, social, and esteem needs. He said meeting these needs is the motivational key, which leads others to ask: if pay helps meet each of these needs, why is it that even highly-paid CEOs continue to milk their corporate cow, sometimes fatally Pay does not seem to give the complete answer. Perhaps Herzberg (1959) had an answer in his hygiene and motivational factors. He argued that a worker would be satisfied if the motivation factors are met, but not if hygiene factors are unmet. However, hygiene factors do not necessarily lead to job satisfaction. And like these other content theories, MacGregor's (1960) simplistic categorisation of employees does not fully explain the behaviour of greedy managers who used to be honest. An interesting trilogy of process theories (Adams, 1963; Vroom, 1964; Porter and Lawler, 1968) goes beyond the tangible and crosses the line into the realm of the mystical. Balance (Adams's Equity Theory), values and beliefs (the expectancy and instrumentality of Vroom), and intrinsic/extrinsic motivation (Porter and Lawler) point out that money is important, but there are others of greater value that managers need to know about workers so they can trigger the right behaviour. Fifteen years (1953-1968) of research concluded that to motivate others, one has to find out why people do the things they do. And now, some four decades later, as researchers continue investigating the human psyche in search of answers, the list of motivational levers just keeps on getting longer. Pay has never been near the top of the list, superseded by more important ones like job security, the loftiness of goals, and the meaningfulness of work (Ambrose and Kulik, 1999; Gagne and Deci, 2005). Are these findings supported by empirical evidence in the real world of the workplace We find out by looking at two well-known U.K. companies: The Royal Mail Holdings plc, a government-owned firm, and J. Sainsbury plc, the publicly listed owner of the third largest supermarket chain in the U.K. Both companies, just getting out of a serious business crisis, offer us a good look at the "pay as motivator" issue by considering the behaviour of managers and workers. We may find some evidence of how our motivation beast really looks like, discover whether the theories are right and, if not, gain some practical lessons from this exercise. The Reality: Hard Facts The Royal Mail Experience The Royal Mail is a 370-year old organisation that began when King Charles I introduced the postal services in Britain (Steven-Jones, 2004, p. 8-9). It was a government monopoly until the passage of the Postal Services Act of 2000 that liberalised the U.K. postal services market. The law was the culmination of several factors, but what triggered it was an event that took place three decades earlier, when in 1971 postal workers staged a six-week strike that threatened to cripple the

War and the Soul Essay Example for Free

War and the Soul Essay Today, the depiction of war is becoming more vivid and realistic. Audiences are more critical of how a move catches the actual events that transpired and of how they can relate to the emotions in the movie. The movies â€Å"Saving Private Ryan† and â€Å"We Were Soldiers† are two of the most popular modern day films with the subject of two different wars, World War II and Vietnam War respectively. They have similarities in many aspects However, they have even more differences. They have completely different themes, and completely different objectives. This paper explores on how these two films are alike and how they differ. When Duty Calls: A Comparative Film Review There has been much development in the movie industry since the onset of computer graphic imaging. This technology has enabled producers to depict subjects that were considered impossible. Today, humans are capable of transcending limitations on time and cultural differences. They can reenact historical events, reconstruct buildings, and recreate natural sceneries. Equipped with a blue screen, computers, and actors, an entire war can commence right before an audience. With both simple and complicated movie techniques, anything is accomplished. The movies â€Å"Saving Private Ryan† and â€Å"We Were Soldiers† share a common subject – and this is war. This topic has interested the curiosity of millions of viewers since time immemorial, as those who have witnessed it want to confirm the events and those who did not wish to learn the events. Both tackled common themes and presented different angles of a war. They share many similarities and possess many differences. But there is one significant aspect that both these movies have successfully translated. This is the price that war claims to those it chooses to affect (Spielberg, 1998; Wallace, 2002). Both stories of these masterpieces were derived from two of the most engaging events in the history of mankind. Saving Private Ryan was based on the life of a real individual named Sergeant Frederick Niland, a United States paratrooper sent to France on D-Day. We Were Soldiers, on the other hand, is a version of the book written by Lieutenant Colonel Harold G. Moore and Joseph L. Galloway about the military engagement in the la Drang Valley in 1965. Both contained fictional characters and modified events, but little truths must be altered in order for the actual truth to emerge (Spielberg, 1998; Wallace, 2002). Saving Private is neither a biopic nor a tale of heroism. Its story is a protest against the wraths of war and how humans condemn it. It has clear anti-war sentiments, as characters struggled through the horrors of war and suffered both insanity and distraught. The D-Day amphibious invasion at Normandy was an excellent prologue to the film. It had brutal depictions on the consequences of being a soldier, on the gruesome reality of battles, and the uncertainty of life. It is a story of comradeship, of realization of fears, and living an inch away from death (Spielberg, 1998; Wallace, 2002). In addition, We Were Soldiers is a film that shares absence of political themes of war. The primary objective of both movies is to relay to the audiences the lives of soldiers as soldiers, who are entities that can be separated from the entire picture of military and political debate. They are men who chose to be in the line of duty and take arms in order to fight for what they believe is righteous. But We Were Soldiers portrayed a relatively more intimate aspect, the scenario of the soldiers’ relationships with those they left at home. It prudently conveyed the lives that soldiers have before they leave for an assignment and after they have accomplished their missions (Spielberg, 1998; Wallace, 2002). In the sequence where Mel Gibson with Madeline Stowe and Chris Klein with Keri Russell were spending their last night together prior the soldiers’ departure for war, the intense emotions were effectively depicted. It relayed the fear being contained when lovers are being parted without any assurance of reunification. It is a scene where there is pain because of the uncertain. Another important aspect of war that this movie portrayed was not only the lives of men in the battle zones, but also those of their families awaiting their return. In the scene where the women would gather together and watch television for updates, one would feel the intensity of fear that these women are trying to suppress within. They would not want to cry until they hear something concrete, but just the prospect of losing their husbands is cruel. Every knock on their door was a possibility of the word that they have lost their beloved men (Spielberg, 1998; Wallace, 2002). Both movies focused on a hero, an officer of a military unit. Tom Hanks was the captain in charge of a platoon assigned to search for Private James Ryan while Mel Gibson was also the captain leading his men through Vietnamese jungles. In Saving Private Ryan, heroism is to fulfill one’s duty, regardless of its nature. As long as it contributes to the efforts of war, and that it is a soldier’s mission, then one is to be considered a genuine soldier. In We Were Soldiers, heroism is making a decision, although detrimental for a certain number of people but crucial for the entire outcome of the war. Saving Private Ryan was not a film about a country’s victory or defeat. It is a story of personal victory in one’s struggle to maintain his conviction amidst a world gone half mad. We Were Soldiers, in contrast, is about how a military unit lost a critical battle and most of the men involved (Spielberg, 1998; Wallace, 2002). Both shaped the American understanding of the realities of war. Because of these movies, the public has learned to further their appreciation of the sacrifices that men in uniform give in order for peace to prevail. The price is clear, their lives and the structure of their families are put in the line of fire each time they board the helicopters or boats in order to fight in the beaches or jungles. Both movies gave significance to the human side of war, concentrating on the people that comprise a war and how a war shaped these people (Spielberg, 1998; Wallace, 2002). References Spielberg, S. (Director). (1998). Saving Private Ryan. [Motion Picture]. United States: Amblin Entertainment. Wallace, R. (Director). (2002). We Were Soldiers. [Motion Picture]. United States: Icon

Sex and Music Videos in the 21st Century :: Music Essays

Sex and Music Videos in the 21st Century Females have been portrayed as sex objects in music videos since MTV began. Some of the earlier stars on MTV consisted of Prince, Kiss and Aerosmith, just to name a few. Even those videos contained images of women in bikini’s, so why are we so shocked and appalled when Kid Rock has 20 surgically enhanced women parading around him as if he is king? Is it really that shocking that Sisqo’s, â€Å"The Thong Song† was voted 2000’s summer anthem, by Jet Magazine? His most recent album contained thirteen tracks. Of those thirteen tracks, 50 % contained sexual content. (www.cwrl.utexas.edu) It isn’t that society is shocked that men portray women as sex objects, it’s the fact that males in general still view women as sex objects. This is the 21st century. Women have fought long and hard to be treated as equals to men. They wanted to prove that women are not a trophy, yet not required to be bare foot and pregnant. Just when women think they have won the fight, models, such as Pamela Anderson, whom willingly prance around in skimpy shorts and tight, revealing, leather tops and sporting high heels become the competition. This is an image that respectable women have fought so hard to rid society of. What a slap in the face. Young, impressionable males do not understand what the subliminal messages in popular music videos are. Subconsciously, boys think that they understand what rock and rap videos are saying. The children do not understand that producers, directors and the artists, work as a team to strategically use camera angles, positioning, poses and sexual innuendoes to make their point. In fact, according to Kathleen Turkel, an assistant professor of women’s studies at the University of Massachusetts, â€Å"The fantasy world of rock videos is not innocent or accidental, but it is a carefully designed advertising technique used to sell CD’s, tapes and videos to a target audience of 14 to 34 year-old consumers.† (Rhodes) The final result of all of these messages is a very skewed image of who and what women are. Young girls viewing these videos is actually quite disturbing because what they watch on television is what they will grow up wanting to become. With all of these gr aphic images allowed on television, is it any wonder why we have horrible rape cases and other sexual assault crimes? Sex and Music Videos in the 21st Century :: Music Essays Sex and Music Videos in the 21st Century Females have been portrayed as sex objects in music videos since MTV began. Some of the earlier stars on MTV consisted of Prince, Kiss and Aerosmith, just to name a few. Even those videos contained images of women in bikini’s, so why are we so shocked and appalled when Kid Rock has 20 surgically enhanced women parading around him as if he is king? Is it really that shocking that Sisqo’s, â€Å"The Thong Song† was voted 2000’s summer anthem, by Jet Magazine? His most recent album contained thirteen tracks. Of those thirteen tracks, 50 % contained sexual content. (www.cwrl.utexas.edu) It isn’t that society is shocked that men portray women as sex objects, it’s the fact that males in general still view women as sex objects. This is the 21st century. Women have fought long and hard to be treated as equals to men. They wanted to prove that women are not a trophy, yet not required to be bare foot and pregnant. Just when women think they have won the fight, models, such as Pamela Anderson, whom willingly prance around in skimpy shorts and tight, revealing, leather tops and sporting high heels become the competition. This is an image that respectable women have fought so hard to rid society of. What a slap in the face. Young, impressionable males do not understand what the subliminal messages in popular music videos are. Subconsciously, boys think that they understand what rock and rap videos are saying. The children do not understand that producers, directors and the artists, work as a team to strategically use camera angles, positioning, poses and sexual innuendoes to make their point. In fact, according to Kathleen Turkel, an assistant professor of women’s studies at the University of Massachusetts, â€Å"The fantasy world of rock videos is not innocent or accidental, but it is a carefully designed advertising technique used to sell CD’s, tapes and videos to a target audience of 14 to 34 year-old consumers.† (Rhodes) The final result of all of these messages is a very skewed image of who and what women are. Young girls viewing these videos is actually quite disturbing because what they watch on television is what they will grow up wanting to become. With all of these gr aphic images allowed on television, is it any wonder why we have horrible rape cases and other sexual assault crimes?

Pro-Choice Presentation Essay

1. Intro: How many people believe that terminating a pregnancy is a horrible thing, that under no circumstance an abortion should be performed? And how many people believe that interrupting a pregnancy under certain circumstances is okay, certain circumstances including: rape, unplanned pregnancy, and medical reasons? â€Å"Quote by Hillary Rodham Clinton on being pro-choice is not being pro-abortion.† 2. Thesis: I would like to give you a little more information tonight on a topic that is very disputed now in day. And I would like to change the way you think about the term †pro-choice† 3. Audience: Women just like men have rights, and not being able to decide what you would like to do with your body takes away from those rights. 4. Preview: I. discuss the origin of abortion and how it was performed in ancient culture II. describe the methods of abortion today. II. Who aborts and the reasons why? I. History of abortion A. in and article named â€Å"when did abortion begin† on About.com 1. The practice of abortion can be dated all the way back to 1550 BCE and it is first seen in Ancient Egyptian Culture. However we also see it in Ancient Persian culture, ancient Roman and ancient Greek. And since then the topic of abortion has caused a controversy . people pick pro-life or pro-choice. They used plants to terminate a pregnancy in the past. II. Terminating a pregnancy today can be performed with surgically, with certain plants, and with pills. A. The University of Washington published an article Facts for Women ¨termination of pregnancy† it describes the different ways to perform an abortion. 1. Medical Abortions: This is performed by taking a pill or receiving an injection. 2. Surgical Abortion: A way to terminate pregnancy surgically. a. For both you receive counseling, you sign a consent form, give medical history, have a physical exam including an ultrasound, and have lab tests. III. Reasons to why? And who aborts. A. a website named Action Life, wrote an article named â€Å"The real reasons women choose abortion† Gudrun Schultz claims that 92% of women choose abortion as an alternative because of social or other factors. Those â€Å"other factors† 25% Not ready for a(nother) child/timing is wrong 23% Can’t afford a baby now 19% Have completed my childbearing/have other people depending on me/children are grown 8% Don’t want to be a single mother/am having relationship problems 7% Don’t feel mature enough to raise a(nother) child/feel too young 4% Would interfere with education or career plans 4% Physical problem with my health 3% Possible problems affecting the health of the fetus  poverty level. Why bring a child to suffer. If you cannot provide for your own child why have it? 5. Conclusion: I’m not encouraging you to get an abortion. I am just trying to get you to view â€Å"pro-choice† differently, Laws against abortion don’t stop it, they simply make abortion Less safe. If a person is not ready to be a parent, or cannot afford another child, they should not be forced to have it.

A strong brand and international track record

A strong brand and international track record will attract equity funds and equity-related capital funding for an international acquisition. Retail sector is making extensive contribution to the economy, employment and regeneration (14 March 2007).More than 3.2 million people work in retail and it is now the UK’s third largest industry behind business services and the health sectorRetail employment is so crucial to today’s economy that its image as a sector full of â€Å"shelf-stacking low-skilled† jobs should be swept aside. That is one of the conclusions of a new report which analyses the contribution of the retail sector to the economy, employment and regeneration of the UK.According to the report, produced by international property consultancy King Sturge in association with Business in the Community, more than 3.2 million people work in retail which, following the slump in manufacturing jobs is now the UK’s third largest industry behind business servi ces and the health sector. And the report says it is time that retailers launched a co-ordinated campaign highlighting the fact that good retail jobs assisted individuals to develop their skills and careers which, in turn, provides real benefits to local communities.At the end of last year, Nottingham had 20,000 people working in retail and was ranked 11th in the league table of big urban centres most dependent on retail employment.According to Matthew Smith, Nottingham-based partner of King Sturge’s East Midlands Office â€Å"Retailing has proved to be one of the main contributors to employment creation in areas where there has been a loss of manufacturing jobs and although many employees, particularly women, are part-time it must be stressed that 95 percent of all part-time jobs are classed as permanent.Indeed, the flexibility of part-time employment suits many people who have to dovetail working arrangements with family commitments.†Last year, the retail sector empl oyed 1.75 million part-time workers –a total that accounted for more than 20 percent of all part-time employees in the UK.According to Mr. Smith   Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"The focus of much of the debate on retail today has been on the impact that it has had on the look and feel of city centres and the modern High Street. This report is different because it looks at the impact of retail on people who work or have worked in the sector.There is a perception that retail employment does not create ‘real jobs’ – only part-time or entry-level jobs that are unsustainable in the long term and contribute little to the wider economy. But let there be no mistake, retail is a major source of employment today and in government-identified deprivation areas retailing accounts for 1.1 million jobs, equivalent to ten percent of the workforce. Our document, however, should not be treated as the definitive report on the subject – it is there to further stimulate the debate and to be the catalyst for further research,†.According to Dr Angus McIntosh, Head of Research at King Sturge   Ã¢â‚¬Å"The time is right for retailers to confidently describe the benefits that people receive from working in their industry – benefits which employees themselves describe as helping to improve their skills and employability; being given a good start to career or work life prospects and helping to increase self-confidence.†Ã¢â‚¬Å"For too long the image of retail as full of shelf-stacking, low-skilled jobs has been allowed to perpetuate. This must now actively be countered with a positive image of employment in the sector, confidently presented to all.†Dr McIntosh said â€Å"It is recommended that retailers launch a concerted and co-ordinated campaign, highlighting the fact that retail jobs are good jobs that assist individuals to develop their skills and careers and which provide real benefits to local communities.†He said that many property d evelopers recognised the benefits of helping recreate the communities in which their developments were located. These included strengthening the core purpose of the local High Street through the provision of retail space but also adding community facilities such as a nursery or doctor’s surgery to a development site.

The importance of water as a b essays

The importance of water as a b essays Water is the most available compound on earth and is essential to life itself, without water, Earth would not exist. Water is a major component of cells, typically forming between 70 and 95% of the mass of the cell. This means that we are made approximately 80% water by mass, with some soft bodied creature, such as the jellyfish, are made of up to 96% of water. Water is the up-most important compound covering 75% of Earth, where it provides an environment for organisms to live in. Water itself is a simple molecule made up of 2 hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom, H2O. The hydrogen and oxygen atoms are bonded covalently via a shared pair of electrons. Thus there are 4 pairs of electrons surrounding the oxygen atom, two pairs involved in covalent bonds with hydrogen, and unshared pairs on the opposite side of the oxygen atom. Oxygen is an electronegative atom compared with hydrogen. Covalent bonds are formed by sharing electrons in the outer shelves of the quantum shells, however in the case of water the large number of protons in the oxygen nucleus have a stronger attraction for these shared electrons than the comparatively tiny hydrogen nuclei. As a result pulling the electrons slightly closer to the oxygen atom giving it a partial negative charge (ƒÔ-) due to these unshared electrons, and partial positive charges (ƒÔ+) to the hydrogen atoms. This shows that water is a  ¡polar ¡ molecule, meaning that there is an uneven distribution of elec tron density. An electrostatic attraction between the partial positive charges of the hydrogen atoms and the slight negative charge of the oxygen results in the formation of a weak hydrogen bond as shown in the above illustration. Water is an unusual yet important molecule, mostly due to its hydrogen bonds; its properties allow it to react as a solvent, a reactant, as a molecule with cohesive properties, as an environment and as a temperature stabiliser! Water can separate covalently bon...

10 Ways Identity Thieves Can Get Your Information

10 Ways Identity Thieves Can Get Your Information Identity theft is when someone fraudulently uses your personal information, such as your name, date of birth, Social Security number, and address, for their financial gain. These uses might include  to obtain credit, get a loan, open a bank, or a credit card account or obtain an I.D. card. If you become  the victim of identity theft, chances are it will cause severe damage to your finances and your good name, especially if you do not find out about it immediately. Even if you catch it quickly, you can spend months and thousands of dollars trying to repair the damage done to your credit rating. You can even find yourself accused of a crime you did not commit because someone used your personal information to perpetrate the crime in your name. Consequently, it is vital in todays electronic age to protect your information as best you can. Unfortunately, there are thieves out there just waiting for you to make a mistake or get careless. There are different ways that identity thieves go about stealing the personal information of others. Here are the most common methods used by identity thieves and ways for you to avoid becoming their victim. Dumpster Diving Dumpster diving is when someone  goes through trash looking for personal information that can be used for identity theft purposes. Identity thieves look for credit card bills, bank statements, medical bills and insurance, and old financial forms such as old tax forms. Stealing Your Mail Identity thieves will often target a person and steal mail directly from their mailbox. Thieves will also have all of the mail redirected through a change of address request made at the post office. The identity thieves are looking for bank statements, credit card bills, tax information, medical information, and personal checks. Stealing Your Wallet or Purse Identity thieves thrive by illegally obtaining personal information from others, and what better place to get it but from a purse or a wallet. A drivers license, credit cards, debit cards, and bank deposit slip, are like gold to identity thieves. You Are a Winner! Identity thieves use the temptation of prize winnings to lure people into giving them their personal and credit card information over the phone. The identity thief will tell the person that they have won a contest for a free vacation or some grand gift, but that they need to verify personal information, including their date of birth,  to prove they are over 18-years-of-age. They will explain that the vacation is free, except for the sales tax, and ask for the winner to provide them with a credit card. They usually make it sound like a decision must be made immediately, or the person will lose the prize. Skimming Debit or Credit Card Numbers Skimming is when thieves use a data storage device to capture the information from the magnetic strip of the credit, debit or ATM card at an ATM or during an actual purchase.   When skimming from an ATM, thieves will attach card readers (called skimmers) over the real terminal card reader and harvest data from every card that is swiped. Some thieves place a fake PIN pad over the real one to capture victims PINs (personal  identification  numbers) as they enter it. Another common way to do this is by installing tiny cameras to capture the PIN entered on the number pad. Shoulder surfing, which is when a person reads over the shoulder of the card user, is also a common way to obtain personal identification numbers. Once the thief has returned to the ATM and collected the file of stolen information, they can log into an ATM and steal money from the harvested accounts. Other thieves clone the credit cards to sell or for personal use. Skimming  can occur anytime someone with a digital card reader gains access to your credit or debit cards. It can be done easily  when the card is surrendered, such as in restaurants where it common practice for a waiter to take the card to another area to swipe it. Phishing Phishing is a scam in which the identity thief sends an email falsely claiming to be from a legitimate organization, government agency or bank, to lure the victim into surrendering personal information such as a  bank account number, credit card number or passwords. Often the email will send victims to a phony website that is designed to look like the real business or government agency. eBay, PayPal, and MSN are regularly used in phishing scams. ​Obtaining Your Credit Report Some identity thieves will obtain a copy of your credit report by posing as your employer or rental agent. This will give them access to your credit history including your credit cards numbers and loan information. Business Records Theft Business records theft involves the theft of files, hacking into electronic files or bribing an employee for access to files at a business. Identity thieves will sometimes go  through the trash of a business to get employee records which often contain social security numbers and customer information from charge receipts. Corporate Data Breaches A corporate data breach is when a corporations protected and confidential information is copied, viewed or stolen by someone who is unauthorized to obtain the information. The information can be personal or financial including names, addresses, telephone numbers, social security numbers, personal health information, banking information, credit history, and more. Once this information has been released, it will likely never be recovered and the individuals affected are at an increased risk of having their identities stolen.   Pretexting Pretexting is the practice of obtaining someones personal information using illegal tactics, then selling the information to people who will use it to, among other things,  steal the persons identity, Pretexters may call and claim that they are calling from the cable company and doing a service survey. After exchanging pleasantries, they would ask  about any recent cable problems, and then ask if you mind completing a short survey. They may offer to update your records, including the best time of the day to provide service to you and the obtain  your name, address and telephone number. People will often volunteer information to cheerful, helpful company representatives who are good listeners. Armed with the personal information,  the  pretexter may then decide to  search for public information about you, and learn your age, if you are a homeowner, if you paid your taxes, places that you lived before, and the names of your adult children. They may look at your social media profile to learn about your work history and the college that you attended. They will then call companies you are associated with to gain enough information to get access to your  financial information, health records, and  social security number.

The impact of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act on 1964 Essay

The impact of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act on 1964 - Essay Example However, Title VII of the act focuses primarily on discrimination within the workplace. This paper will explore Title VII of the 1964 legislation providing incidences, which may be protected under the law. Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act is a federal law, which deters discrimination in terms of employment on the basis of national origin, race, sex, color or religion. The law aims at protecting groups of people considered as vulnerable (Loevy, 1997). These groups include ethnic, racial, national, religious, and gender minorities within the workforce. The rights of these minority groups are protected to ensure that the groups attain similar treatment and rights as those in majority groups. The law typically applies to employers with at least 15 or more employees, consisting of local, federal and state employers. Notably, Title VII is applicable to institutions of higher learning colleges, labor organizations and employment agencies. Title VII essentially forbids discrimination i n employment, specifically on the basis of religion, sex, color, national origin or race. Title VII outlaws not only premeditated discrimination, but also disallow a number of practices, which have the consequence of discrimination against individuals termed as protected. ... In order to provide proof of the incident of unlawful discrimination, employees should demonstrate that the action in question centered primarily on the fact that the employee belongs to a protected category instead of a legitimate business choice. This means that employment discrimination falls into two categories; firstly, disparate treatment signifies an employer’s intentional discrimination. On the other hand, disparate impact actions refer to employer’s procedures, as well as policies, which encompass unintentional discriminatory effects. Regardless of the form discrimination takes; Title VII of Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits it and requires employers to find ways to deter its occurrence. Notably, however, even in case an employee provides evidence to show that the employer’s actions constitute discrimination, the employer can justify the actions by showing that there was an inherent business necessity. Employers may also justify their discriminatory act ions were in relation t legitimate job qualifications. When employers make decisions on the basis of legitimate justifications, the burden of proof lies squarely on the employees to show that discrimination, rather than the employer’s justification was the basis of the action. Title VII affirms what constitutes unlawful employment practices, which include, among others, failure or refusal to hire or discharge an individual (Loevy, 1997). Alternatively, the piece of legislation also qualifies discriminatory actions as touching on aspects of an employee’s conditions, terms, privileges, compensation of employment as a consequence of such a person’s attributes. Discrimination also constitutes limiting, classifying and segregating applicants or

The Concept of Globalization Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

The Concept of Globalization - Essay Example Businesses and markets across the world are now linked such that a business in one country can have customers from any part of the world. This is as a result of expanded business operations and easy access of world markets resulting to globalization of markets. Advancement in IT has aided in removing physical barriers like boundaries. Factors of production are central in the globalization process since nations exhibit differences in quantity and quality of these factors (Lechner, 2009). Nations that have less of one or more factors e.g. labor tend to seek it from others while they export what they have in surplus e.g. food in case land is put into proper use. Due to this interaction global institutions have emerged e.g. UN, IMF and The World Bank among others that control interaction between nations (Haugen and Mach, 2010). Some offer credit, others ensure peace and stability while others ensure credibility of international trade. Globalization has turned the world into one big marke t place where nations showcase what they have in plenty and seek what they are short of. Consumers are now free to shop for commodities from any part of the world. In the process goods and services, money and culture are exchanged making the world to be one big community. References Haugen, D. M. and Mach, R. (2010). Globalization. Greenhaven. Lechner, F. J. (2009). Globalization: The making of world society. Wiley-Blackwell.

Response paper about an article called ''Cuba Revolutionary Essay

Response paper about an article called ''Cuba Revolutionary Projections - Essay Example its socio-political transformation that had witnessed changing social structure of Cuba along with changing international alliances with withdrawal of American influences, including Hollywood films and emergence of socialistic culture and its coalition with Soviet Union etc. Consequently, films became the major platform to showcase transforming picture Cuba and an important way to influence the taste and preferences of people of Cuba who had become addicted to Hollywood films. ICAIC had contributed to the creative evolution of Cuban cinema despite its limited resources. It had not only helped make permanent record of the Cuban revolution but also encouraged Cuban artists and filmmakers to experiment and exploit media. In 1962, Mobile cinema had reached communities who had previously no access to films and their undiluted enthusiasm was captured in Octavio Cortazar’s short film, Por Primera vez. Eminent filmmakers had made their mark in the decade with highly creative films that had showcased the theme of revolution in bourgeois setting. Thus, films like Death of a Bureaucrat (Garcia Espinoza), Memories of the Underdevelopent, 1968 (Tomas Gutierrez Alea), Lucla (Humberto Solaz), The First machete Charge (Octavio Gomez), NOW, Hanoi Tuesday 13th, Seventy Nine Springs etc. by Santiago Alvarez etc. had brought Cuban films into the center stage of International film arena. (words:

Hotel Arts Barcelona Placement Cultural Studies Essay

Hotel Arts Barcelona Placement Cultural Studies Essay I really wanted to go to a Spanish speaking country, because it is my second language at school but also because I really want to discover the Spanish culture. Especially Barcelona attracted me a lot because I heard a lot of good things about this city. I have been to Madrid a couple of times but my perception of Barcelona was way different. Barcelona has a couple of things which attract me very much: the architecture, the climate and the football club. The department I was working in was the Guest Service Department and sometimes in the FB (bartender). I had several duties, some of these responsibilities were welcoming the new guests, taking care of the luggage of the guests, parking the cars of our guests, calling taxis for the guests, explain the directions to the guests and giving recommendations to the guests about restaurants and clubs. The  Hotel Arts Barcelona  is a 44-story, 482 room luxury  hotel  on the seafront of  Barcelona, in  Spain. A lot of people believe the hotel was build to service the 1992 Summer Olympics but actually it wasnt. Although the construction of the hotel was part of the big changes underwent by the city to prepare the Games, the hotel wasnt made for the Olympics. Hotel Arts is one of the citys leading hotels. The construction of the hotel was fully finished in 1994. It was designed by  Skidmore, Owings Merrill  and is 154 meters tall. Its one of the few skyscrapers that Barcelona has. The hotel underwent a total renovation in 2006, they installed new technology and upgraded the guestrooms and the bathrooms into modern, luxurious spaces to the standards of a 5 star hotel. A vision is an almost impossible dream and a mission is a written statement of the purpose of a company or organization. The mission statement guides the actions of the organization, it sets its overall goal and it guides decision making for every level of management. Its the direction for the company for within at least five years. Their vision is to provide the finest personal service and facilities, for their guest who will always enjoy a warm relaxed yet refined ambience. If you see this sentence you can conclude that its almost impossible. Their mission is to instill the well-being and fulfill even the unexpressed wishes and needs of their guests. 2.2.3 Mission Statement in practice The mission statement is definitely reflected in my department. Every morning we had a briefing about all the things that happened with out guests, good and bad things. So for example when it was someones birthday, everyone of our department kept that in mind so when someone came across the guest he congratulated him and gave him a little present. That is an example of fulfilling the unexpressed wishes of the guests. Every morning we also had a value of the day. Which was one of the 11 service values. For example: I own and immediately resolve guest problems. 2.3 Market segments 2.3.1 What market segment(s) does your hotel focus on? Hotel Arts Barcelona can be put in the luxury segment. They aim for well fortuned guests who are willing to spend from 400 up to 10.0000 euro per night. They make use of demographic segmentation because when you divide the market on a demographic base you get groups like: age, gender, life-cycle, occupation, race, income, education, religion and nationality. Hotel Arts has a mix of business guests and leisure guests. In the summer time its mostly leisure but trough the whole year there are big conventions being held in the meeting rooms. 2.3.2 Characteristics As I explained in the previous sub-title, there are different characteristics of demographic segmentation; age, gender, race, life-cycle, occupation, income, education, nationality. Hotel Arts is focusing on the upper-income guests and business guests. If you compare the demographic characteristics with other types of segmentation you will get the following things. When you look at the psychographic segment you can find a relation with the demographic segment. In the psychographic segment they are focusing on the social class, lifestyle and personality. When we talk about the targeted social class for the hotel, its the upper-level. If you look at the products the hotel is offering like, like. With geographic segmentation, they focus on geographic variables like: countries nations, states, and cities. Ritz Carlton is a brand that is known all over the world, thats why its not necessary to adapt to geographic variables because it doesnt matter. The mission statement does reflect on the market segment where Hotel Arts focuses on because the guests want to be treated like a king because they are used to a certain luxury standard. They say in their mission statement that the genuine care and comfort of their guest is their highest mission and that they pledge to provide the finest personal service and facilities, and those things are exactly what the luxury guest wants. When I started with working they let me walk with a colleague who showed me everything in my department. The first day was just looking, I didnt do anything but observing my colleagues. In my department we didnt have SOPs because the department itself was new. We did have standard procedures of working but it wasnt written down on paper. When a guest arrived we had a certain operating procedure. The cab with the guests came driven to our main door. One of my colleagues opened the trunk and took the luggage out. He told me trough a little microphone the name that was on the tag of the luggage and I opened the door of the cab and greeted the guest with the name that was given to me trough my earpiece. We first asked how their trip was to Hotel Arts and after that we asked if the guest wanted us to take care of the luggage. If yes we gave the guest one half of an orange ticket with a number on it and the other half we put on the luggage. It was an amazing system and it gave the guest mo re than just a warm welcome. We exceeded the expectations of the guest from the beginning by saying their name when opening the door of the cab. My managers were kind and open-minded, one came from Brazil and the other one from Belgium. They were natural leaders because they never acted like they were the boss or the manager but you always knew that you didnt want to disappoint them. They had a lot of conversations with the employees. If they had the feeling that there was a problem they always invited you for conversation. They asked a lot about how things where going personally and that was really nice. Because its good that your manager supports you and cares about you. We always had a group meeting 10 minutes before starting the shift and we always had a evaluation about the day after the shift. They also give you the room to improve yourself by giving you several responsibilities. For example after the first month I got the responsibility of welcoming the and taking care of the luggage of the band Coldplay. It took me a lot of planning and off course a little stress but it was nice to know that my manager had trust in me . One thing that I very much appreciated was the fact that my supervisor had arranged a Spanish class for me and a couple of my other foreign colleagues. I dont have the feeling that there are a lot of thing to improve for my managers. They were very talented and as a matter of fact when I left the hotel they got a promotion as Rooms Division managers 3.1.4 Guest Satisfaction When guests checked out they were asked to fill in an questionnaire with a few question about every department. Sometimes people got a phone call after there stay. Every month we got a report back about the answers that were given by the guests; this is called: the Gallup Report. Customer feedback is obviously an important part of the improvement process. Simon Cooper, president and chief operating officer, states, When it comes to customers, feelings are facts. The Ritz-Carlton deploys multiple methods to capture the customer experience, such as comment cards and a follow-up survey call from Gallup to guests after their stay. In addition, the staff discreetly look, listen, and ask for feedback during transactions and moments of truth to build upon the Ritz-Carlton knowledge-management system. In addition, theres a follow-up survey conducted by Gallup, which provides third-party validation. Finally, mystery shoppers circulate though the various properties to critique the processes.  [5]   3.1.5 Problems, complaints and solutions We had to take care of that the luggage went into the right room, which was sometimes a lot of work because of the arrivals of big groups (100 people at the same time). We made a sheet with all of the guests names and room numbers and after that we tagged all the luggage and made sure it was brought up. We had to take care of the parking as well, sometimes it was a problem for us because we had to park guests their cars but at the same time other guests wanted us to retrieve their cars. What we did to make sure it wouldnt be to busy with the parking we always asked if the guests were using their car during their stay. If not, we put them down in the big garage, if yes, we parked the cars in front of the hotel. Barcelona has a big problem with pick pocketing, because we where the first employees to come across when guests came back to the hotel, we were the first to listen to the problem. We had to send the guests to the concierge because he dealt with these problems but we always had the responsibility to follow up on the guest if we would come across him/her. We didnt have a point of sales system in my department because were werent selling anything, we were just providing service. I know from the times that I helped as a bartender we had Micros which was linked to the Opera system of the whole hotel. On Opera you could find everything of the guests. You could see what their preferences are in terms of their coffee, their newspaper and so on. With this knowledge we created a thing which was called Mystique. This is accomplished by having the empathy to know what thrills guests and how the staff can make the visit memorable. This is accomplished in conversations with guests and by maintaining a knowledge-management system that records the preferences of every guest. These preferences were all saved on Opera and it is accessible for Ritz Carlton employees all around the world. Maybe its a favorite magazine or wine, or dessert, or cappuccino. Whatever the case, employees know how to surprise the guests, which leads to strengthening the relat ionships with them. I have to make sure that all the employees are good ambassadors of the hotel, we must give arriving guests a warm welcome and a fond farewell. We can either make or break a holiday from the start and at the end. For example if people leave the hotel and nobody can order a taxi for them or help them with the luggage they will leave with a bad feeling. My responsibility is also to give my employees, like you for example, a warm welcome as well and to help you with problems. Welcoming the guests is a really strong point. We use a special system for this. The cab with the guests comes driven to our main door. One of my employees opens the trunk and takes the luggage out. He tells the doorman trough a little microphone the name that is on the tag of the luggage and the doorman opens the door of the cab and greets the guest with the name that was given to him trough his earpiece. We first ask how their trip was to Hotel Arts and after that we ask if the guest wants us to take care of the luggage. It is an amazing system and it gives the guest more than just a warm welcome. Simon Cooper, president and chief operating officer, states, When it comes to customers, feelings are facts. The Ritz-Carlton deploys multiple methods to capture the customer experience, such as comment cards and a follow-up survey call from Gallup to guests after their stay. In addition, the staff discreetly look, listen, and ask for feedback during transactions and moments of truth to build upon the Ritz-Carlton knowledge-management system. In addition, theres a follow-up survey conducted by Gallup, which provides third-party validation. Finally, mystery shoppers circulate though the various properties to critique the processes.  [6]   I think these are good performance indicators because if they say that they got noticed and helped immediately when they arrived it says a lot about giving a warm welcome. When they say the time of waiting for a taxi it says a lot about how fast people were getting helped. If their named was used when they left you can say that they got a fond farewell. Because every department gives its own specific service, and ours is welcoming guests, anticipate on needs of guests and giving guest a farewell, its good to be judged on specific indicators about our own department. If we score high and fits with our mission statement of giving the finest service to our guests. Because the hotel was situated in a an area where a lot of restaurants and nightclubs are, there were always people around the hotel. We always had a line of taxis right next to the hotel who were especially for our guests. If people from a restaurant from nearby came to our entrance and asked for a taxi we werent allowed to help him. We had to deal with that a lot. One day I started at seven in the morning and 10 minutes after I started a young man came to me. He got pick pocketed by a criminal gang, he lost his mobile phone and his wallet. He asked me to let him call with the hotels phone at the entrance but he was not a guest. If you look at this trough the JUSTICE way I couldnt let him make use of the phone because he was not a guest. Above that, the young man looked like he had drank to much. But if you look at this trough the CARE way, even though the guy had drank some alcohol he was really calm and friendly. On the other hand he was also really desperate because he couldnt ca ll for help. I could see the sadness in his eyes and because he asked me this in such a friendly way I decided to help him and let him make one quick call with the phone of the hotel.

The Pastoral Letter :: essays research papers

Religion Paper In the pastoral letter, it declares that â€Å"basic justice demands the establishment of minimum levels of participation in the life of the human community for all persons.† This small excerpt criticizes the church as well as society though. This Catholic Framework for Economic Life represents a fundamental challenge to a "winner takes all, every person for oneself" economic ethic which leaves too many behind. It seeks to shape the national debate about how to balance our budget without further burdening the poor. It offers a different set of values. I have read the Bishops' pastoral letter, and I find myself feeling a little defensive and a little irritated at some of his principles. Some of his remarks criticize society and confuse me dearly. It is stated in the pastoral letter that when a person is marginalized or not allowed to participate in something, it is a violation of their justice. The Bishop tells us that the framework is not about political platforms or secular economic theories. Instead he says it's about the poor people who have to scrap and fight for any sort of economic freedom in this world. These are the poor people who basically have to do the dirty work in this world and are the people who are taken for granted by the more wealthy people. My question is; okay, what about them? Should we have to do absolutely everything ourselves so someone does not have to come in at night and clean up after us. Do working people have to take their own garbage out at night and vacuum their offices so someone does not have to clean up afterwards? This is in effect marginalizing the poor worker’s jobs and is violating their justice. It is a bold contradiction and one that confuses me. On the other hand, should we leave garbage everywhere so after hours people have lots of work and more jobs are then provided for people with limited skills and education? Should we pay higher wages and provide better benefits to the people who clean up after us? How much higher? Maybe they should make the same amount the normal working person makes. There are poor people who can get around this though. I remember a job a few years ago where a number of janitors at my summer job made more money than some of the actual teachers that were fairly new in the district.

Exploring the use of ICT in Early Childhood Education in New Zealand Essay

In New Zealand, education styles have been like fashions that revive. Education system has changed a lot. The old system came back into use with some modifications to suit the current situation. In New Zealand, a school base curriculum development (SBCD) is one of the learning systems used in 1980s and 1990s. The system was dropped and later reused with the renewed interests implemented. According to Bolstad (2004), the system reflected the current situation integrating all the educational needs according to the researches done. SBCD was believed to give an opportunity for schools to use new technology and ideas amongst other things. Literature Review For over a decade now, there has been a lot of emphasis on introduction of information communication technology in schools. Introduction of technology in schools was thought of as a way of improving on teaching methods hence enhance the way of thinking and understanding of learners. To make it efficient, the curriculum had to be flexible to allow for changes in the future. ICT use in some schools has not been productive. The current situations calls for innovative people and knowledge based activities to restore New Zealand’s social and economic goals (Bolstad, 2004). According to Studies, New Zealand has registered an increase in the need for early childhood education. This calls for an increased number of trained teachers to provide the early childhood education. In addition the New Zealand government has implemented a strategy that runs for ten years to help promote early childhood education. The country has developed a culture that promotes early childhood education to children as the future of the nation (Arataki, 2002).   According to Arataki (2002), New Zealand will have realized their vision. All registered teachers in Early Childhood institutions will have undergone diploma training in Early Childhood Education. The quality of education that a child has depends on the teacher’s knowledge, skills and attitudes. The quality of education and personality of a teacher will affect the child much. At this age the teacher are encouraged to use cognitive teaching aids to incorporate the educational and care procedures to the children. With the implementation of Information Communication Technology in Early Childhood Education, the teachers should also have trained on information technology issues. Research in New Zealand the Early Childhood Education is home based. The home based institutions are under government control and hence get assessed frequently to ensure quality services to the children. There are places where learning has been enriched. Computers have been used in classes to demonstrate processes for the children. This builds on their way of thinking and they grow up in a different way of thinking. ICT enhance development of children from all perspectives. The in formation provided in school can be written in DVDs and used later at home. This will make both the parents and the teachers to have a shared responsibility in teaching the child (Ministry of Education, 2008). There is evidence that New Zealand Ministry of Education (2008) has adopted an ICT system to be used in Early Childhood Education. The main aim of developing the ICT system was to promote remote access, group work, network and resource sharing using a computer. This was meant to promote learning between young people in groups especially the early childhood children. The ICT system was to support any child applications to enhance the services given by their educators or teachers. The system had to be accessible through out the learning time to ensure all children and their teachers have reliable access to the required services.   There is a data management system used to filter traffic and this has been used to ensure all the mails received through the network are free from any threat. This has made the system appropriate for storing learning materials hence no need of buying or carrying them. Computer and internet access has served both the parents and teachers the cost of buying such learning materials to ensure quality services to the children. In addition it a stress free way of educating the children. These children gets to learn a lot making them get more prepared for the future (Ministry of Education, 2008). Studies show that there are computer based centers or libraries where children can be taken to get such services. In New Zealand, the home based early childhood centers have achieved this very easily. The programs have been made in to video tape or DVD players and watched in televisions at homes. This is encouraging to a child since they will find it as easy as watching the TV programs or playing games in their play stations. The programs encourage s both the learners and the trainers’ participation (Ministry of Education, 2008). Latest research show that early Childhood Education requires cognitive teaching aids. By using technology, the children will get access to many materials that can be used to help them relate what they have learnt to life experiences. It is also advantageous to the parents in that their children can easily access trainings form anywhere (Ministry of Education, 2008). With the computers and a reliable network access, these children can now access such services at home. This saves the parents from looking for good schools for their children. The children’s progress records can be accessed over the internet.   According to latest reports from Ministry of Education (2008), New Zealand ICT has formed the foundation of Early Childhood Education. This called for multimedia network service provider. The New Zealand government has introduced ICT use in their curriculum that has enhanced Early Childhood Education in this nation. Internet access use has enhanced communication between parents and the teachers. It has also engaged the parents in providing such services hence quality childhood care is assured amongst children in New Zealand. The web based learning materials is an added opportunity for the children.   Currently, the web has made the children get access to a well developed and managed learning process (Ministry of Education, 2008). This has expanded the child’s area of interest and has provided a new dimension to their learning capabilities. Teachers can take advantage of internet to provide a wide range of teaching resources or aids to the children hence an added opportunity to develop him/ her self professionally.   According to Ministry of Education (2008), a standard has been formed to ensure the ICT usage in Early Childhood Education is universally applicable in all communities. This ensures quality services that are accessible anywhere all over the world. The standards also assure the teachers if the easy maintainability requirements of the ICT systems.   Standardization will also make it easy for the trainers to be able to have the required qualifications to operate any such systems. The systems should be highly reliable to promote the learners and others users confidence. Studies have shown that the introduction of computers in schools has been cost effective. It has reduced the paper work involved in keeping records especially in the Early Childhood centers. With the little children it is a times very hard to help them take care of their property. By using computer systems, record keeping has been improved. Computers provide very convenient and secure data storages. Information collected and stored in the computers can be easily shared or transferred through the internet or using the portable data storage devices like CDs or flash disks (Ministry of Education, 2008). The ICT system is well protected physically. A firewall has been built and antivirus software installed to ensures data security. The system has been protected from any internal and external attacks. This makes it the best for the Early Childhood Education services (Ministry of Education, 2008). The student details will be safe, easily managed hence reduced workload for the teachers in maintaining orderliness. Latest studies show that data recovery systems have been used to help recover user data in case of any disaster. The auto-recovery system is good for the children (Ministry of Education, 2008). At their age they can easily tamper with the information in the computers hence to help track down their progress. At this age also, the children may tend to be very care less with their work or they just don’t feel interested in learning. This is an alternative way to engage all of them. Through using computers and every child’s work can be saves, this provides an easier way of monitoring the child’s work.   Teachers can make it to manage more than one or a big class remotely using networked computers. This an added advantage to both the teachers and the children. Every child will be able to receive the teacher’s attention or facilitate communication between the learner and the teacher (Ministry of Education, 2008). With the technology enhancements, the network is sound enabled with web cameras and UVC (USB Video Class) to allow for video chats sessions (Ministry of Education, 2008). This provides an easier way to teach the children. They will be listening and watching the actions and hence learn form them. Conclusion. From this study I would conclude that Information communication technology (ICT) has contributed a lot to the Early Childhood Education in the New Zealand (Ministry of education, 2008). Children have been introduced to computers at such a tender age and this will be a greater future for this nation. The children will be more creative and innovative to learn and use technology. This will enhance their productivity to the nation hence improve their economy. Technology use is cost effective, efficient and proves production quality. The New Zealand has invested much on their children as the future generation of the nation. In New Zealand all the teachers providing to Early Childhood Education are therefore expected to attend the right trains to ensure quality education to the children. The success of ICT system in ECE in New Zealand is as a result of these teachers. It is therefore appropriate for all teachers to be computer literate to benefit from introduction of technology use in our learning institutions. As a matter of fact, the children tend to emulate their teachers (Arataki, 2002) and so the teachers should be the first to understand well the technological advances. If the teachers are up to date with the technology applications then the children are assured of a continuous improvement on the quality of education they get from the teacher.   The New Zealand government should therefore ensure the teachers go for trainings occasionally to up date their experience or knowledge on technology applications. The New Zealand’s 2012 vision on Early Childhood Education is achievable. Reference: Arataki, N.H. 2002, Ministry of Education. Pathways to the future: A10 year strategic plan for early childhood education. Wellington: Learning Media. Bolstad, R. 2004. School-based curriculum development: principles, processes, and

Ethnic and Religious Conflict in Nigeria Essay

Basically, Nigeria is a plural society and heterogeneous in virtually all the facet of life. The custom and tradition of Nigerians is so diverse to the extent that Nigeria as a country is now confronted with the problem of religion and ethnicity towards their political stability. The origin and history of ethnic conflict (societal wars and violence) can be traced from eternal (internal) state rivalry to external (physical). And its root cause is not very far from power competition and decision making over economic resources and other important human factor, like position. The implementation process has always involved more than one or two persons. In general concept, the author of this work traces conflict back to the first and early Patriarchal of human history and ever since then, there has been an increase (in various dimensions) of Conflict in the face of human world. Some are personal (internal) conflict, family, community, and group, intellectual, state, national and international in nature, to mention but few. In conforming to this idea, Badawi (2006) in his statement titled â€Å"World Apart† stated thus, â€Å"indeed the greatest discord today is among the descendants of Abraham. These are the people of the book, the followers of Judaism, Christianity and Islam, who had in fact shared a common beginning in the religion of Abraham†. In shedding more light in the above statement, Badawi statement goes far beyond religion, rather, he was tracing one of the earliest source of conflict which Badawi mentioned the off-springs of the said Abraham. Even before Abraham, there had been conflict, so it is as old as human history down to the Abrahamic period, to ancient kingdoms, Dukes, and Kings. In about 88 B. C. , King Mithriadates VI of Pontus invaded Roman territory in Asian Minor. He advised Asian debtors to kill their Roman creditors. Happy to reduce their credit card bills, the Asians massacred 80,000 Romans. Ethno-political conflicts have greatly shaped our present world and of course have its structural phenomenon, (William Easterly, 2001). For instances, the conflict we now call Israeli and Palestinian war, has been an ever-lengthening sort. The Assyrian, Babylonian war, by King Nebuchadnezzar of the hanging Garden in history, the Persia war, Alexander the Great (the Macedonian mad man in history), the German war of Adolf’s. Hitler, the Roman wars, narrowing all these down, we came to the horn of African continent which seem to be an epidemic field of conflicts of diverse kinds till date. The giant-lion of African continent, just like the origin of conflict is said to have stated very old in human history, even so in the case of Nigeria, which can be traced to the colonial period of history. Conflict takes different sizes and shapes with diverse reasons and purposes. Majority of the conflicts takes time before their escalation and at such, could have been transformed right at their respective early stages. The history of ethnicity and ethnic conflicts in Nigeria is also traced back to the colonial transgressions that forced the ethnic groups of the northern and southern provinces to become an entity called Nigeria in 1914. In the case of Nigeria situation, disturbing history of colonialism, this generated hatred and conflict among different ethnic groups. The task of addressing this seed of conflict planted by the British has been a complex one. After weakening the former diverse kingdoms, Emperors, etc now called Nigeria and reordering the groups’ politics, the colonial powers failed in nation building and providing for the people’s basic needs. Hence, unemployment, poverty increase, and due to these, conflict over scarce resources ensue. The Southern and Northern protectorates were also being amalgamated into a nation. Thereafter, the merging of different colonies into one country called Nigeria was forcefully done without the people’s consent. This was a major seed of conflict that is still troubling Nigeria today. This article is focused on the historical incidents of ethnic conflicts in within Nigeria societies, the cause of the conflicts and perhaps, the government actions towards ethnic conflict in the country. In conclusion, this paper will explore into decision-making (by the elites and those in authority) process has contributed immensely in generating the syndromes of conflict in the said state. The Nigerian political situation has witnessed more breaking of heads, than counting them. In fact, even when it has been convenient for heads to be counted, the outcome has always been the breaking of heads instead. Conflict in Nigeria is so intense because of lack of democratic behaviour. The head of the individual in the democratic context signifies citizenship. So when heads are broken in the Nigerian political community, the issue in respect of broken heads is citizenship. If conflict in Nigeria means the absence of democratic behaviour, it follows, therefore, that conflict in Nigeria is interwoven with the absence of democratic governance. Gurr (2000): has also shown that the incidence of conflicts at the global level declined in recent years with the deepening of democratisation. Nation-states where conflicts persist are those where what obtains is the democratisation of disempowerment (Ake 1996). Beyond the veneer of elections, the state remains ambushed, privatised, repressive and unpopular. The people who were tantalised by the prospect of a democratic revolution that would terminate decades of alienation and pauperisation have been short changed and given a ‘choice less democracy’ (Mkandawire 1999). The ‘credibility gap’ which fostered the De-linkage of the people from the state, and ignited social forces to struggle for democracy, is not being bridged (Rothchild 1995: 58). African peoples out of clear rational calculations sans atavistic attachments have turned their backs on the state ‘and given their loyalty to sub-national social formations such as the community, the sub nationality or ethnic groups’ (Ake 2000: 114). It is against this backdrop that the proliferation and exacerbation of violent ethno-religious conflicts in Nigeria in the post-transition period can be appreciated. This article adopts an analytical framework that holds that The interface between ethnicity and democratisation is found in absence of effective citizenship and good governance in post-transition societies. In the circumstance that democracy does not go beyond the conduct of multiparty elections to include improvement in the quality of life of the people, there is frustration, and people who already feel alienated from the state are vulnerable and likely to be mobilised around counter-elites who exploit extant popular alienation from the state by whipping up sectarian sentiments. This has been the case in Nigeria and several multi-ethnic states of Africa (Osaghae 1994). Although the foregoing theoretical discussion has focused on ethnicity, the term ethno-religious is adopted because some of the recent violent conflicts to be examined were triggered by religious issues. The relevance of religion is also underlined by the fact that in Nigeria ethnic boundaries tend to coincide with religion, with the exception of the Yoruba ethnic group (Ibrahim 1999). The Nigeria state was amalgamated in the year 1914 by lord lugard. The various geographical areas or territory which was amalgamated to form Nigeria by the colonialist comprises of various cleavages, clans, towns even there were kingdoms and chiefdoms with diverse culture, language, religion, norms values, customs and political structures etc. The focus of the research monogram is to examine the role of religion and ethnicity in Nigeria nascent democracy. In Nigeria especially, religion plays a very vital and influential role in the society that has manifested itself as a potent force in the political development of the Nigerian state from pre-independence to post-independence. Hardly can the Nigerian state be talked about without reference to religion (Kukah, 1994; Falola, 1990; Kenny, 2006; International IDEA, 2000; Suberu, 2009). However, religion in Nigeria, at different levels, is mostly mentioned in negative terms. Or rather, historical events linked to religion tilts more towards its negative than its positive contribution to the Nigerian state. The Jihad, the civil war propaganda, the Sharia law controversy, the tensions provoked by the Nigerian accession to the Organization of Islamic Countries (OIC) and the incessant religious crises that have engulfed the Northern part mainly indicate that religion cannot be ignored or wished away in the Nigerian political development. Several religious crises have occurred in Nigeria. They have been documented as academic dissertations for some of them. This piece of work does not intend to start the discourse on religious violence anew but only recognizes the fact that as a recurrent phenomenon it is worth being explored further. Thus â€Å"Boko Haram† menace which gained global recognition and even press support ranging from July 2009 till date is a the central focus of this study together with other riots which has engulfed the Nigeria state from 1999 till date which most Nigeria educated elite believed that religion and ethnicity were the basic causes. The educated elite have conducted series of research on what the causes of this violent riots maybe. Most have concluded that it can be traced and linked to the failure of governance in Nigeria. 1. 2 STATEMENT OF PROBLEMS The mistake of 1914 has polarised the Nigeria society together with its citizens in which loyalty to the State is a mirage instead people pay loyalty to their various families and ethnic groups the effect of this can be traced to 1967 civil-war which disintegrate the country or in the political system which almost lead to secession of the country with the easterner believed to be the aggrieved ethnic in the war. Similarly Nigeria has a long history of religious crisis which has affected the political instability of Nigeria. The maintasine riot of 1980 can be said to be the first major religious riot in Nigerian history, claiming about 800 lives. The Boko Haram insurgence in the northern part of the country which has been directed mainly against the Christians, they have suffered a lot both physically, psychologically, economically, spiritually and even politically in the far North which has led political writers and pundits to affirm that Boko Haram conflict has its roots in Religion. The thrust of this work will be to examine the underlying reasons behind political instability in Nigeria using religion and ethnicity as a paradigm. 1. 3 SCOPE OF THE STUDY. The study will cover the impacts of religion and ethnicity towards the stabilization or in- stabilization of the Nigeria political system it will cover how religion and ethnicity have impacted on the political stability of Nigeria. Furthermore the study will emphasize more on the role the government is playing in stabilizing the un-stabilized country. 1. 4OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY The following can be regarded as the aims and objective of the study 1. To know the meaning of religion, ethnicity, political stability, and political instability 2. To know how religion and ethnicity have negatively impacted on Nigerian political development 3. To develop possible solutions and panaceas to the problems of religions and ethnicity to Nigerian political in-stability 1. 5 RESEARCH QUESTIONS 1 What meaning does religion, ethnicity and political instability carries 2 How has religion and ethnicity impacted on the political stability of Nigeria 3 what are the possible solutions to the problem of religion and ethnicity in Nigeria political system 1. 6 JUSTIFICATION OF STUDY Many a developing countries of the world are currently experiencing the problems which ethnicity and religion have caused. The ethnic problem which led to the apartheid era in South Africa is also the same ethnicity and religion problem which has almost disintegrated the Nigerian State. Recalling back to what happen during the civil war in the late sixties and early seventies which led to the introduction of the national youth service corp. by the then military president General Yakubu Gowon which aim at integrating back the almost disintegrated country. Books, Journals, Magazines, Pamphlets, and lot of researches have been written and carried out respectively on the issue of ethnicity and religion, and its impact on the Nigeria political stability. This research work will serve as an additional material to the issue on ethnicity and religion to political instability in Nigeria, this work will focus more on ethnicity and religion and its impact on Nigerian politics 1. 7RESEARCH METHODOLOGY The research methodology will be based on secondary data collections ranging from books, Journals Newspapers, News Magazines, Pamphlets and even the Internet. In conducting any research basically there are two methodologies employed by researchers which are the primary and the secondary methods. This research work will be basically conducted using the secondary methodology as earlier mentioned. 1. 8DEFINITION OF TERMS Ethnicity: According to the oxford advance learners dictionary ethnicity can simply mean â€Å"the fact of belonging to a particular race† from the dictionary meaning we can deduced the fact that Humans believed in race and they have passion for race which leads to humans ethnocentrism i. e. highly ethnocentric in nature. Ethnicity has a strategic interaction of persons and other actors, who have different beliefs, attitude’s, values and goals as they decide particular conflict the distribution of resource’s and general issues of political rules within a context of norms, expectations and institutions. Any of the rule, expectation and institutions may be reversed, maintained or inverted by the individual who win the right to control them, in the course of those political negotiations that are sometimes called cooperation, and sometimes called war, and are usually somewhere between the two. In another sense, ethnic identity are political resources just like money or vote. Instrumentalist like Micheal Banton and Micheal Hecthtar, argue that ethnic identity are not inherent in group or socio-formation of people. They see ethnic identity as socio-capital brought to bear on the political negotiation table by different groups and at different times. Hutchinson and Smith also argue that ethnic identity are an important resource that political Elite employ in securing the support of the masses as a strategy for gaining a desired good. These goods and or goals are â€Å"measured in terms of wealth, power, and status and†¦ joining or national communities helps to secure these ends either by influencing the state, or in certain situations, through secession. Religion: religion on its own part can be regarded as the belief in the existence of God or gods and the activity that are connected in the worship of them. Religion can also be stress further by meaning one of the system of faith that are based on the belief in the existence of a particular God or gods. For example the Jewish religion, Christianity Islam and other world religion. Furthermore in the classical and ancient ages religion has achieved a lot in their politics for example the doctrine of Islam was used in many Arab nations has their constitution even up till the present age. The Ancient Romans, also, during the time of Constantine accepted Christianity as a religion and a mode of life which also affected their political terrain. Religion in the 21 century is now used narrowly towards Christianity and Islam even though other religion still exist but the former two religion have elevated to prominence that other religion are now beneath them. For instance about Political stability: can depict the mean of a system of politics in which the government of that State is experiencing a stable government and peaceful existence in the State or in otherworld’s a legitimately accepted government by the people. Democratically governed States are believed to be stable. In the global sense every political entity must be ruled democratically without internal oppression or external aggression. Any country of the world that is free from the aforementioned point are regarded as stable political system in other words internal oppression has cause a lot of havoc to many democracies of the world which has infringed on their stability as noted by Ojo 2002. Descent Rule: These covers a larger set of cases that we commonly understand to be ethnic than the rules that ethnic groups must have a myth of common ancestry or common origin. But it excludes several cases in which individuals routinely consider themselves, and are considered as members, of a group that we classify as ethnic even when their parents were not coded as members of this group. Take for example the category â€Å"Yoruba† when it was invented in Nigeria in the nineteenth century. At this time period, the parents of those who were classified as Yoruba were not themselves classified as Yoruba for the reason that this category did not exist during their lifetimes. According to Descent Rule, then, the category Yoruba in the nineteenth century would not be coded as ethnic. But the category Yoruba is universally coded as an ethnic category by all comparative political scientists, without making a distinction between time periods. As another example, consider the category â€Å"Backward Caste† in India, which included as members individuals who possessed a given set of last names and/or ancestral occupations. The category was introduced by the Indian Central Government in 1990. Within a few years, 52% of the Indian population classified itself and was classified as backward. Yet the parents of those who termed themselves â€Å"Backward Caste† were not coded by themselves or by others as â€Å"Backward Caste† because, as in the case of the first generation of Yoruba’s, this category did not exist during their lifetimes Democracy: According to Abraham Lincoln he defines democracy as the government of the people by the people and for the people. In this wise democracy connotes a system of government in which all the people in a country will have the outright say on the government of their country although in a representative manner meaning that they will elect representatives that will represent their interest in the government. Advanced countries if the world where democracy is practiced completely they have national identity as opposed to the developing world where they have ethnic identity. Advanced democracies always believe in secularism in which every religion is accepted and embraced not a system in which part will have cognisance to a religion and the other will believe in other religion causing serious tension in such states like Nigeria. Federalism : Elasar (cited in Akande, 1996:1)† the formation of European union (EU) which simply begun as a trading partnership for coal and steel is now moving towards a more integrated political union founded upon federal principle of governance†. The African union (AU) which is the federation of African counties where a central government intended to be created with sharing or division of power among the federating unit, even the world highest organization body united Nation have in some little degree, evolved the principle of federalism. Federalism is a system of government which embraces unity in diversity. Federalism as a system of government is one in which there will be central and regional governments each one autonomous of each other.