Athens vs Sparta Free Essays

Jocelynn Grabowski Social Studies P. 6 Ms. Kaputa 2-10-13 Athens vs. We will write a custom essay sample on Athens vs Sparta or any similar topic only for you Order Now Sparta In Greece, Sparta and Athens society was very different in many ways. However, at the same time the two shared a number of character in common. The differences are what set the two apart while the things that they shared in common are what united them as Greek city-states. Sparta and Athens shared similarities and differences in their systems of government, and in education. One of the bigger differences between Sparta and Athens was their systems of government. There were many statuses to the Spartan government. There were the two kings who ruled the city, but a 28-member council of elders limited their power. The 28-member council of elders were 60 year old men or older elected for life by the citizens. These citizens voted for these men at the assembly. They also voted for five overseers, ephors, annually and ran the day to day operations of Sparta. The assembly was where they voted on and decided political issues. Only men of age 30 or older could attend. They were able to support or veto the councils recommendations by shouting out their votes. Women did not participate in the political life of Sparta. The differences and similarities coincide with each other in Athens. Athens had an assembly just like Sparta did. The assembly was at the hill of prnx at the foot of the Acropolis. During Pericles age the citizens were paid to go to assemblies so it wouldn’t just be the wealthy men. This was called jury service. They were a direct democracy, which meant everyone attended the assembly not just men or politicians (the wealthy). Athens had a council of elders like the 28 elder, but with a lot more people, 500 more people and citizens elected officials such as 10 generals (strategous), magistrates (archons), and others. Women, as well as in Sparta, did not participate in the political life, such as voting, of Athens. The government and how it was handled was very good and important, maybe not to fair but important, education is a highly needed subject to have in a Greek city-state. Education has big differences and similarities between the two great city-states. In Athens it was quite unfair for education. Boys got taught from ages 5-16 but if you came from a wealthier family you could be taught from ages 5-18, some in their twenties. Boys entered military training for two years until age of twenty. Foreign and slaves got taught only basic Greek education and they were not excluded from the public. Girls received very little formal education. They were usually kept at home and had no political powers. The women would learn spinning, weaving, and domestic art. If they were to learn any formal education it would be from their fathers or their brothers teaching them. There were not all equal differences and similarities between Athens and Sparta for their education. There were more differences than similarities. At age 7 boys were taken and trained in the art of warfare. The boys were given only a cloak and they were under fed. This required them to steal food and clothing. It was for survival. If the boys got caught stealing food they would get in trouble for getting caught not actually stealing the food. At age twenty they went to a higher rank of military. At 30 they could marry and live in the barracks with other soldiers. Military was all they learned though. They were educated in choral dance, reading, and writing. Military and athletics were favored more in Sparta. So Athens and Sparta’s boys education both mainly focused on warfare tactics and raising them to be soldiers. Spartan girls got taught at age 7 in gymnastics, athletics, and survival skills. They could participate in the sports boys did, but not play with the boys. The girls were more equal to the men in Sparta compared to in Athens. Athens girls had pretty close to no rights. Education and the system of government in Athens and Sparta were shared in similarities and in differences. Athens and Sparta’s government did not let women participate in their political life, but their statuses were quite alike in many stations. Sparta treated their women with more equal right than Athens did. Athens gave girl close to no rights through education. Both city-states were focused of war and teaching young men to fight in battle and survive. Both of these city-states were great, but was Sparta better than Athens, or Athens better than Sparta, or were they both as great as the each other? How to cite Athens vs Sparta, Essay examples

Offshore Outsourcing of IT is Dangerous

Question: Discuss about the Offshore Outsourcing of IT is Dangerousto the Profession. Answer: Offshore outsourcing of Information Technology (IT) is dangerous to the profession and economy and should be severely restricted. According to Yetton, Scherman and Krcmar (2014) Offshore outsourcing refers to the practice of hiring an exterior organization for the operation of a particular business in an external country that is the country other than the one where services or products are actually manufactured or developed. Do what you can do the best and outsource the rest-Tom Peters. (Nenonen and Vasara 2013) As stated by Dongus (2014), there are many business involved in outsourcing including the IT industries. IT industries hire companies from other countries to perform their work. There are various reasons behind outsourcing done such as it reduces the total time taken by the company to perform a work and it reduces the pressure on the workers of the company as their workload is lowered. If you deprive yourself of outsourcing and your competitors do not, youre putting yourself out of business-Lee Kuan Yew. (Willcocks and Cullen 2013) As stated by Gerard (2015), there are both negative and positive aspects of any business so does outsourcing. Outsourcing of IT business has various fatal effects because the programmers and software developers have very less customer interaction thus indicating to restriction of IT outsourcing. Information technology deals with mainly two types of work one is product based and the other is service based (Gerard and Kerr 2015). This industry deals with the installation and management of different softwares. Software business includes various business models, which either are license based or maintenance based or cloud based. This industry also deals with training, documentation, data recovery and consultation. The size of worldwide software industry is very wide. In 2013, it was estimated to be US$407.3 billion, which was an increment of 4.8% as compared to 2012 (Kerr 2015). It proves that software industry is getting wider all throughout the world. Information security is the major thing, which is taken care of while performing any business (DoleÃ… ¾el 2014). Outsourcing is still at an experimental stage and has not rooted itself yet. It still has to replace old methods in order to create a strong impact. For that, the results, have to be positive in every aspect (Willcocks and Cullen 2013). There are many areas where it still needs to work to get rooted properly in the market. According to Cullen (2013) Software industry has a great deal with data security as in this industry, the thing that matters the most is data. Here, the security of data is treated as the primary concern. Verner ( 2014) stated that a company stores all its relevant informations in the form of data and if anything happens to the data stored by the company, all the private and important information about the company will go viral and this can be fatal for the company. The competitors will know all the company strategies and the company may have to face great downfall regarding its performance in overall market. The best companies outsource to win, not to shrink. They outsource to innovate faster-Thomas L. Friedman. (Kitchenham, Turner and Niazi 2014) Theft of data can be done through various ways so IT industries need to provide overall security in order to ensure the company that no harm will be cost to their data (Verner, Brereton and Kitchenham 2014). After this assurance only, work is progressed in IT industry. Adverse affects of offshore outsourcing in IT industry are As stated by Verner et al. (2014) the major fatal result is that own nation companies will not get opportunity to work. As outsourcing is usually done by big and renowned companies, small scale companies of own nation should get chance to tie-up with big companies as it will help them work in a better way and learn various new ways to do the work. Also, deal with big companies will increase the popularity of small companies and this may help them to get more work in coming future. This will be a great improvement in nations IT industries (Kitchenham, Turner and Niazi 2014). Risk and confidentiality- According to Yetton, Schermann and Krcmar (2014) prior to hiring an outsourcing firm, there are some works, which needs to be done. References needs to be made sure and checked out whether they have no previous bad or negative history such as leakage of information or data and other thefts as stated by Dongus (2014). Outsourcing always has this concern. A company cannot rely totally on the company being outsourced (Yetton et al. 2014). Proper precautionary legal measures have to be taken so that any misuse of sensitive data is avoided. better safe than sorry-Dongus. (Allen 2013) According to Boussebaa, Sinha and Gabriel (2014) the company always has to be a step ahead for the safety of its information because if data and information is leaked once, then the only thing that can be done is to face the fatal circumstances. Lack of quality- According to Boussebaa and Gabriel (2014) companies are not very aware of the qualities when it comes to vendors from other nations . Companies often choose a vendor that does not have proper and efficient development process and thus they lack experience. Boussebaa (2014) stated that companies often do offshore outsourcing as they get cheaper facilities which in turn ends up in hurting the companies financially thus costing them more money. The company should look through vendors portfolio and examine it nicely to see what types of work is done by them and the complexity in their work. This provides the company with the idea of vendors experience and capabilities (Nenonen and Vasara 2013). Fragile customer support- According to Brown (2014), vendors, which do not have good experience in management of outsourcing relationships, fail to deliver appropriate customer care thus reducing the no of customers for the company. Allen (2013) stated that customers also give poor feedback to the companies which avoids the company from getting more customers and thus slowly the quality of the customers gets degraded. A company must maintain the no and quality of its customers. Good reviews from customers side id very essential for the company to flourish. If the vendor works with more no of companies and if it is out of their capacity, the companies do not get much attention and thus resulting in disappointing outcomes (Rivard and Aubert 2015). Proper survey should be done before choosing the vendor as one wrong step from the vendors side can spoil the reputation of the company (Solomon, Yan and Willcocks 2015). Hidden costs- On the other hand Lacity, Solomon and Yan (2015) stated that outsourcing is mainly done for cost-effectiveness or reduction of cost. But during the development period, hidden costs may arise. Hidden cost is mainly defined in terms of account as the expense which is not indulged in purchase price of a machine or an equipment, for example for supplies, maintenance, upgrades and training. In terms of payment, hidden cost is defined as the cost involved in cash in advance, or the price asked for other measures by the vendor (Norlander, Kuruvilla and Narasimhan 2015). In outsourcing, hidden cost can be said as the cost which arises by the means of unanticipated changes which demand some speedy adjustments. The company must set a clear expectation for both the ends at initial phase so as it does not becomes the victim of these hidden costs and thus the outsourcing remains cost effective that it was supposed to remain (Bertrand and Mol 2013). Cultural barriers- World is diverse and nations have different culture. Generally, culture is seen as the widest barrier in successful offshore outsourcing. As stated by Schniederjans, Schniederjans and Schniederjans (2015), interactions, understanding, productivity, commitment and comfort is effected by variation of culture. Companies have found measures for it. Till now, two measures have been adopted by the companies which include cultural awareness and culturally compatible resource deployment. Former deals with conducting sessions and workshops at both the ends which means inshore and offshore which is done to make the sides aware of each others cultural practices (Yetton, Scherman and Krcmar 2014). Latter deals with having local and native people manage the onshore client relationship. Communication barrier- other than the cultural barrier, communication barrier is one of the major problems that the companies face during offshore outsourcing. As stated by Dongus (2014), vendor and the company need to communicate properly for effective outsourcing. Political climate- On the other hand Dongus et al. (2014), stated that politics plays a very vital role in any business. Business is highly effected by stability and instability of politics in the country. Changes in government policies can increase the expense thus reducing the cost effectiveness of outsourcing. The various disadvantages of offshore outsourcing in IT industry has adverse effect on the economy of whole country. It should be strictly restricted as its restriction will advance the economic condition of the country (Verner, Brereton and Kitchenham 2014). As the extra money that the company spends on offshore outsourcing remains in the nation only and the company can use that money is some other business. Economic condition is very essential part of any nations development. If onshore outsourcing is done, then the money remains in the nation itself, thus increasing and up hilling the economic condition of the company. Economy is extremely effected by offshore outsourcing especially in the IT industries as it is the evolving industry which needs most attention. If most of the outsourcing done by the industry is offshore, the nations money gets transferred to other nation. Thus, offshore outsourcing should be restricted as it has fatal effect on the economy Offshore outsourcing also has fatal effects on the profession as here, the work is given to clients who belong to other nation thus increasing joblessness in own country. Companies hire people from other nation and people from own nation remain jobless. According to Yetton, Schermann and Krcmar (2014), worthy people from own country do not get proper work and this is a fatal effect of offshore outsourcing on the profession. Workers working for the company may have to dislocate because of offshore outsourcing. Offshore outsourcing complicates the ability of private and public sector management in order to practice control and satisfactory supervision of the companys own work. If companies continue providing job to employees from other countries then joblessness may increase in the IT sector of own nation thus discouraging students to study IT. On the other hand Norlander, Kuruvilla and Narasimhan (2015) staed that, students will not prefer IT as their subject for higher study because there will be no job for graduates in IT. Most fatal effect of offshore outsourcing is that nation may lose its leadership in technical field and other nations get more sophisticated in this field. Companies lack in technology as the keys of their leadership moves to other nations. As stated by Lacity, Solomon and Yan (2015), offshore outsourcing should be restricted as its restriction will have many advantageous effects. The nations economy will be maintained as the money will remain in the nation itself other than going in other nations. Also, the profession will be promoted in the nation. People in the nation will get encouraged to choose IT as their subject of study. It will also help the company to develop as the company will not have to waste much money and the money can be used for various other works. The company will not have to face the problems which arise due to unstable political condition in other countries. Entire concentration of the company will be on its work, which will give it much time to focus on the quality of the product. Thus, the quality of the product made by the company will get much enhanced. According to Nenonen and Vasara (2013), restriction of offshore outsourcing will be beneficial for the economy of the country, enhancement of the profession, popularity of the course and great help to the profession as it will save companys time as well as money. Conclusion Hence, from above discussion it is concluded that outsourcing is a good practice. There are many benefits of offshore outsourcing but it has more fatal results affecting the economy as well as the profession. Information technology deals with mainly two types of work one is product based and the other is service based. This industry deals with the installation and management of different softwares. Software business includes various business models which either is license/maintenance based or cloud based. Offshore outsourcing in IT industries has many fatal results, which point to its restriction. Its fatal results include discouraging students towards the course as there would be no vacancy left for IT graduates in the company. A company cannot rely totally on the company, being outsourced. Proper precautionary legal measures have to be taken so that any misuse of sensitive data is avoided. Offshore outsourcing should not be further encouraged as it effects the economy. So, it is re levant to restrict offshore outsourcing for better results. References Allen, J., 2013.Materials Experience: Chapter 6. The Immaterial of Materials. Elsevier Inc. Chapters. Bertrand, O. and Mol, M.J., 2013. The antecedents and innovation effects of domestic and offshore RD outsourcing: The contingent impact of cognitive distance and absorptive capacity.Strategic Management Journal,34(6), pp.751-760. Boussebaa, M., Sinha, S. and Gabriel, Y., 2014. Englishization in offshore call centers: A postcolonial perspective.Journal of International Business Studies,45(9), pp.1152-1169. Brown, F., 2014. Outsourcing Law Firm Libraries to Commercial Law Library and Legal Research Services. The UK Experience.Australian Academic Research Libraries,45(3), pp.176-192. Crow, G.B. and Muthuswamy, B., 2014. International outsourcing in the information technology industry: Trends and implications.Communications of the IIMA,3(1), p.3. DoleÃ… ¾el, M., 2014. Towards elimination of testing debt in outsourced IS development projects: a view from the client side. InInformation System Development(pp. 135-146). Springer International Publishing. Dongus, K., Yetton, P., Schermann, M. and Krcmar, H., 2014. Transaction cost economics and industry maturity in IT outsourcing: A meta-analysis of contract type choice. Dongus, K., Yetton, P., Schermann, M. and Krcmar, H., 2014. Transaction cost economics and industry maturity in IT outsourcing: A meta-analysis of contract type choice. Gerard, A.F. and Kerr, T.A., 2015. Emerging Zones of Legal Ambiguity and Lethal Violence: Deaths in Australia's Offshore Detention Centres. Lacity, M.C., Solomon, S., Yan, A. and Willcocks, L.P., 2015. Business process outsourcing studies: a critical review and research directions. InFormulating Research Methods for Information Systems(pp. 169-251). Palgrave Macmillan UK. Nenonen, S. and Vasara, J., 2013. Safety management in multiemployer worksites in the manufacturing industry: opinions on co-operation and problems encountered.International journal of occupational safety and ergonomics,19(2), pp.168-183. Norlander, P., Erickson, C., Kuruvilla, S. and Kannan-Narasimhan, R., 2015. Indias Outsourcing Industry and the Offshoring of Skilled Services Work: A Review Essay.E-Journal of International and Comparative Labour Studies,4(1). Rivard, S. and Aubert, B.A., 2015.Information technology outsourcing. Routledge. Schniederjans, M.J., Schniederjans, A.M. and Schniederjans, D.G., 2015.Outsourcing and insourcing in an international context. Routledge. Verner, J.M., Brereton, O.P., Kitchenham, B.A., Turner, M. and Niazi, M., 2014. Risks and risk mitigation in global software development: A tertiary study.Information and Software Technology,56(1), pp.54-78. Willcocks, L. and Cullen, S., 2013.Intelligent IT outsourcing. Routledge.

Khubilai Khan Essays - Borjigin, Mongol Empire, Kublai Khan

Khubilai Khan The founder of Chinas Yuan, or Mongol, Dynasty was a brilliant statesman and military leader named Khubilai Khan. Grandson and the best-known successor of the great Mongol conqueror Genghis Khan, Khubiliai became the first emperor of the Mongol Empire. He completed the conquest of China that was begun by his grandfather. Khubilais major accomplishment was convincing China to be ruled by foreign people, the Mongols. His achievements were first brought to the Western and European society in the writings of Marco Polo, the Venetian traveler who lived in China for nearly 20 years. Khubilai Khan began to play a significant part in the consolidation of Mongol rule when his brother, Mangu Khan, became determined to complete the conquest of China in 1251. Upon the death of Mangu, only eight years later, Khubilai was proclaimed as the Great Khan.1 Then in 1279, Khubilai defeated the Southern Song Dynasty, bringing the remainder of China under his reign.2 This was the first time all of China was under foreign rule. Khubilai named the dynasty Yuan, meaning beginning or origin of the universe, to signify that this was the beginning of a long era of Mongol power.3 The Yuan Dynasty lasted from 1279 to 1368 in China.4 Where to put the capital was a major decision for Khubilai Khan. He ended up making two capitals: Upper Capital, called Shang-tu, and Central Capital, called Ta-tu, located at present-day Beijing.5 Ta-tu soon became a sophisticated and wealthy city. There Khubilai ruled as both the emperor of the Chinese Yuan Dynasty and the Great Khan of the Mongols. Khubilai adapted to the Chinese way of governing. He successfully followed the bureaucratic system through which Chinese dynasties had ruled. However, the Mongols carefully guarded their cultural identity and way of life. The Mongols could not have ruled China without the help of some of the Chinese aristocracy and yet they were reluctant to use the Chinese in their government. Chinese talent was excluded from positions of authority and discriminative social and legal laws were set up, limiting the freedom of the Chinese. To support agriculture, Khubilai Khan created an Office for Stimulation of Agriculture in 1261.6 Although many of his people wanted to establish the nomadic way of life inside the Great Wall, in early 1262, Khubilai passed a law forbidding nomads animals from roaming on farmland. He filled up granaries in case of future famines, especially in the north where the land had been ravaged. At the Central Capital, Ta-tu, Khubilai had 58 granaries, which stored 145,000 shih (one shih was equivalent to about 133 pounds) of grain.7 He organized the farmers into groups called the she. Each she composed of 50 families and were under the supervision of a village leader known as the she-chang.8 The shes chief purpose was to serve in the stimulation of agriculture. They were encouraged to complete self-help projects such as promoting silk production, planting trees, improving irrigation and flood control, and stocking rivers and lakes with fish. Each she were to observe their own members and reward those who worked efficiently and discipline those who were lazy. The she not only, in a sense, give peasants control over their lives, but also helped the government to watch over the people. It also introduced the peasant children with a better education in agricultural techniques and basic literacy.9 Khubilai Khan also organized a fixed, regular taxing system. Instead of paying taxes to the local collectors, the people just made one annual payment to the central government. The government then paid the nobles. Khubilai also demanded a great deal of unpaid labor from the people. Not only did Khubilai demand the people to provide labor, but also to provide their own horses and supplies. At the same time he issued laws and codes demanding overseers not to be troublesome. He commanded that the Yangtze River be extended 135 miles north by constructing the Grand Canal. The Grand Canal would link the Yangtze River with Ta-tu. When it was completed in 1289, the Grand Canal, first used only for official news, but soon merchants used the Grand Canal as well. Khubilai also tried to improve the communication system within his empire. By the end of Khubilais reign, there were 1,400 postal stations, which used 50,000 horses, 8,400 oxen, 6,700 mules, 4,000 carts, 6,000 boats, 200 dogs, and 1,150 sheep.10 Because of Khubilais strict accomplishments, soon both trade on land and overseas flourished. The Mongols welcomed foreigners including Russians, Arabs, Jews, Genoese, and Venetians.

Free Essays on Nationalism

Nationalism After the war of 1812, Nationalism was like a widespread disease throughout the United States. People throughout the country were showing their red, white, and blue in many ways and forms. This pride seemed to stay surprisingly strong up through 1824. There was a new era in the air and it was called Nationalism. The first major event after the war of 1812 that brought out the pride of ones country, was the new capital being built. The British had burned down our old one during war, which was the heart of contempt with many Americans. The new capital was built bigger, better, and more beautiful than the first. This helped to raise the spirits of all Americans. Along with a new capital springing up after the war, humanities seemed to make its dà ©but in America around this time. The first actual American literature begins to appear. Instead of shipping over British books, Americans got to read books from their own country for the first time. People like Washington Irving who wrote The Legend of Hollow, and James Fennmore Cooper who wrote The Last of the Mohicans, made their fist appearances on paper as American novelists. Novels were not the only type of books starting to appear made by, and for, Americans. In fact, Webster published the first American dictionary around this time. Al ong with books, were paintings from American artists. The army was re-built to bring back strength and the federalist age was thrown out along with the Federalist Party. During these few years, major events occurred like the Monroe Doctrine being instated, saying that the western hemisphere was no longer open to European colonization or military intervention, making Americans feel at ease and secure. Florida is purchased from Spain. The Missouri Comprise is passed, which brings two more territories into statehood. Americans saw this time as a period of growth and although there were arguments within the Untied States, it seemed ... Free Essays on Nationalism Free Essays on Nationalism The Global Effects of Nationalism In a post 9/11 world nothing is more apparent than the resurgence of fervent nationalistic attitudes. This renewed uprising can be viewed in a positive or negative way. Nationalism is favourable on a local scale as it unites citizens, it protects a nation’s identity, and it protects the nation itself. Globally however nationalism is a damaging ideology. This paper explains why the re-emergence of nationalism has severe consequences for the global community. Nationalism is defined â€Å"as a fusion of patriotism with a consciousness of nationality.†(Carlton, 1960, p 2) This quote reflects that nationalism is felt on a much larger scale. Patriotism is loyalty one feels toward their country, it is confined by geographic borders. Nationalism however is not. Nationalism unites people regardless of location. A recent example of this is the Ukraine election. Although the situation is taking place in Ukraine, Ukrainians all over the world are uniting to see democracy prevail. This display of loyalty proves that â€Å"the supreme loyalty of man is therefore due to his nationality†(Kohn, 1944, p 16), The phrase ‘supreme loyalty’ describes a type of loyalty that transcends other loyalties. When people in separate nations experience this type of supreme loyalty conflict arrises. Conflict occurs because of the belief that one nation is superior to another, and this is the underlying current of nationalism. While some rulers may think that this superiority complex is beneficial to their country, in reality it is not. This complex breeds ignorance toward other nation’s traditions and values, which results in hostility between countries. The ‘Freedom fries’ controversy is an excellent example of this. When France refused to support the United States on their position regarding Iraq, two republican lawmakers attempted to change the name of french fries to freedom fries. The ignorance displayed by t... Free Essays on Nationalism Nationalism After the war of 1812, Nationalism was like a widespread disease throughout the United States. People throughout the country were showing their red, white, and blue in many ways and forms. This pride seemed to stay surprisingly strong up through 1824. There was a new era in the air and it was called Nationalism. The first major event after the war of 1812 that brought out the pride of ones country, was the new capital being built. The British had burned down our old one during war, which was the heart of contempt with many Americans. The new capital was built bigger, better, and more beautiful than the first. This helped to raise the spirits of all Americans. Along with a new capital springing up after the war, humanities seemed to make its dà ©but in America around this time. The first actual American literature begins to appear. Instead of shipping over British books, Americans got to read books from their own country for the first time. People like Washington Irving who wrote The Legend of Hollow, and James Fennmore Cooper who wrote The Last of the Mohicans, made their fist appearances on paper as American novelists. Novels were not the only type of books starting to appear made by, and for, Americans. In fact, Webster published the first American dictionary around this time. Al ong with books, were paintings from American artists. The army was re-built to bring back strength and the federalist age was thrown out along with the Federalist Party. During these few years, major events occurred like the Monroe Doctrine being instated, saying that the western hemisphere was no longer open to European colonization or military intervention, making Americans feel at ease and secure. Florida is purchased from Spain. The Missouri Comprise is passed, which brings two more territories into statehood. Americans saw this time as a period of growth and although there were arguments within the Untied States, it seemed ...

Ten Common Myths Regarding Teachers

Ten Common Myths Regarding Teachers Teaching is one of the most misunderstood professions. Many people do not understand the dedication and hard work that it takes to be a good teacher. The truth is that it is often a thankless profession. A significant portion of the parents and students that we work with on a regular basis do not respect or appreciate what we are trying to do for them. Teachers deserve to be respected more, but there is a stigma associated with the profession that will not go away any time soon. The following myths drive this stigma making this job even more difficult than it already is. Myth #1 – Teachers work from 8:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. The fact that people believe that teachers only work Monday-Friday from 8-3 is laughable. Most teachers arrive early, stay late, and often spend a few hours on the weekend working in their classrooms. Throughout the school year, they also sacrifice time at home for activities such as grading papers and preparing for the next day. They are always on the job. A recent article published by BBC news in England highlighted a survey asking their teachers how many hours they spend on the job. This survey compares favorably to the amount of time teachers in the United States spend working each week. The survey evaluated the time spent in the classroom and the time spent working at home. According to the survey, teachers worked between 55-63 hours per week depending on the level that they teach. Myth #2 – Teachers have the entire summer off work. Yearly teaching contracts typically range from 175-190 days depending on the number of professional development days required by the state. Teachers generally receive about 2 ½ months for summer vacation. This does not mean they are not working. Most teachers will attend at least one professional development workshop during the summer, and many attend more. They utilize the summer to plan for the next year, read up on the latest educational literature, and pour through new curriculum that they will be teaching when the New Year begins. Most teachers also start showing up weeks in advance of the required reporting time to start preparing for the new year. They may be away from their students, but much of the summer is dedicated to improving in the next year. Myth #3 – Teachers complain too often about their pay. Teachers feel underpaid because they are. According to the National Education Association, the average teacher salary in 2012-2013, in the United States, was $36,141. According to Forbes Magazine, 2013 graduates earning a bachelor’s degree would make an average of $45,000. Teachers with all ranges of experience make $9000 less a year on average than those beginning their career in another field. Many teachers have been forced to find part-time jobs in the evenings, on the weekends, and throughout the summer to supplement their income. Many states have beginning teacher salaries below the poverty level forcing those who have mouths to feed to get government assistance to survive. Myth #4 – Teachers want to eliminate standardized testing. Most teachers do not have an issue with standardized testing itself. Students have been taking standardized tests every year for several decades. Teachers have utilized testing data to drive classroom and individual instruction for years. Teachers appreciate having the data and apply it to their classroom. The high stakes testing era has changed a lot of the perception of standardized testing. Teacher evaluations, high school graduation, and student retention are just a few of the things that are now tied to these tests. Teachers have been forced to sacrifice creativity and to ignore teachable moments to ensure that they cover everything their students will see on these tests. They waste weeks and sometimes months of class time doing comprehension test prep activities to prepare their students. Teachers are not afraid of standardized testing itself, they are afraid of how the results are now used. Myth #5 – Teachers are opposed to the Common Core State Standards. Standards have been around for years. They will always exist in some form. They are blueprints for teachers based on grade level and subject matter. Teachers value standards because it gives them a central path to follow as they move from point A to point B. The Common Core State Standards are no different. They are another blueprint for teachers to follow. There are some subtle changes that many teachers would like to make, but they truly are not much different than what most states have been using for years. So what are teachers opposed to? They are opposed to the testing tied the Common Core. They already loathe the overemphasis on standardized testing and believe the Common Core will increase that emphasis even more. Myth #6 – Teachers only teach, because they cannot do anything else. Teachers are some of the smartest people I know. It is frustrating that there are people in the world that actually believe that teaching is an easy profession full of people that are incapable of doing anything else. Most become teachers because they love working with young people and want to make an impact. It takes an exceptional person and those who consider it glorified â€Å"babysitting† would be shocked if they shadowed a teacher for a few days. Many teachers could pursue other career paths with less stress and more money, but choose to stay in the profession because they want to be a difference maker. Myth #7 – Teachers are out to get my child. Most teachers are there because they genuinely care for their students. For the most part, they are not out to get a child. They have a certain set of rules and expectations that every student is expected to follow. The chances are decent that the child is the issue if you think the teacher is out to get them. No teacher is perfect. There may be times that we come down too hard on a student. This often results out of frustration when a student refuses to respect the rules of the classroom. However, this does not mean we are out to get them. It means that we care enough about them to correct the behavior before it becomes uncorrectable. Myth #8 – Teachers are responsible for my child’s education. Parents are any child’s greatest teacher. Teachers only spend a few hours each day over the course of a year with a child, but parents spend a lifetime. In reality, it takes a partnership between parents and teachers to maximize a student’s learning potential. Neither parents nor teachers can do it alone. Teachers want a healthy partnership with parents. They understand the value that parents bring. They are frustrated by parents who believe they have little to no role in their child’s education other than making them go to school. Parents should understand that they are limiting their child’s education when they do not get involved. Myth #9 – Teachers are continuously opposed to change. Most teachers embrace change when it is for the better. Education is a continuously changing field. Trends, technology, and new research are continuously evolving and teachers do a decent job of keeping up with those changes. What they fight against is bureaucratic policy that forces them to do more with less. In recent years, class sizes have increased, and school funding has decreased, but teachers are expected to produce greater results than at any time. Teachers want more than the status quo, but they want to be properly equipped to fight their battles successfully. Myth #10 – Teachers are not like real people. Students get used to seeing their teachers in â€Å"teacher mode† day in and day out. It is hard sometimes to think of them as real people who have lives outside of school. Teachers are often held to a higher moral standard. We are expected to behave a certain way at all times. However, we are very much real people. We have families. We have hobbies and interests. We have lives outside of school. We make mistakes. We laugh and tell jokes. We like to do the same things everyone else likes to do. We are teachers, but we are people too.

Developing an argument Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Developing an argument - Essay Example Are not there any other art forms that can be dominated by other culture besides English (Murphy, 335-48)? England is not the only culture that flourishes in the field of the arts, whether written, spoken or performed. One can put into consideration the art forms which are expressed like painting or sculpting as an example to be explored. The Italian culture has been proud of its sculptures, paintings and the artists who have created them. Sculptures are also poetry in their own sense without the need of expressing any words. Even those who are not English men can interpret these art forms without any spoken words. Just by the mere vision of the art, a person can be moved by the sculptures (Wigglesworth & Bradford, 394). Another Italian art form that can be considered as poetry is the opera. There are thousands of operas that are in Italian yet even those people who are not familiar with the language can understand the emotion the playwright would want to convey its audience. There are instances when these opera plays are translated into the English language to cater to more audience since English is understood more than the original language the opera was written. Though still carrying the same storyline, there are times when the emotions and some ideas of the opera become lost in the whole translation process. In this case, since the opera can be considered as a form of poetry, can English still be the best for poetry when in the process of translation some ideas or most of the ideas can be twisted (Freeman, 28)? Going back to the essay of Eliot, one of the reasons why he said such statement is that the Germans considered themselves as superior. The more German a person can be the more power he can have. However, Germans did not use language in getting attention and domination, they used violence. Violence is not a basis in measuring how rich a nation’s culture is. It is a

The Impact of Cause-Related Marketing on Consumer Choices Research Paper

The Impact of Cause-Related Marketing on Consumer Choices - Research Paper Example This research will begin with the definition of Cause Related Marketing. A working definition of CRM is borrowed from Varadarajan Menon. In this regard, Varadarajan and Menon define CRM as the process of formulating and implementing marketing activities that are characterised by an offer from the firm to contribute a specific amount to a designated cause when customers engage in revenue providing exchanges that satisfy organizational and individual objectives. In this regard, CRM is a form of business orientated philanthropy geared toward â€Å"profit-motivated giving†. CRM is also characterized by symmetrical relations between business organizations/for-profit organizations and non-profit organization on the basis of shared advantages. To this end, the business organization seeks to obtain an increase in sales and the non-profit organization seeks to obtain an increase in funding. Thus CRM is both a â€Å"positioning† and â€Å"marketing tool† that intentionally connects a business or a brad to â€Å"a relevant cause or issue† for the benefit of the business and the social cause or its non-profit promoter. A business firms’ investment in CRM is based on the concept that consumers for the most part will choose a brand for both â€Å"expressive† and â€Å"practical reasons†. Therefore a business may choose CRM as a means of promoting attachment to brand by tapping into the social and environmental consciousness of consumers to their products. When businesses’ brands are already experiencing a high level of loyalty to their products and brands, CRM can be used as â€Å"brand extensions†.... 60). In this regard, CRM is a form of business orientated philanthropy geared toward â€Å"profit-motivated giving† (Varadarajan & Menon, 1988, p. 58). CRM is also characterized by symmetrical relations between business organizations/for-profit organizations and non-profit organization on the basis of shared advantages. To this end, the business organization seeks to obtain an increase in sales and the non-profit organization seeks to obtain an increase in funding (Kahle & Close, 2011). Thus CRM is both a â€Å"positioning† and â€Å"marketing tool† that intentionally connects a business or a brad to â€Å"a relevant cause or issue† for the benefit of the business and the social cause or its non-profit promoter (Pringle & Thompson, 1999, p. 3). A business firms’ investment in CRM is based on the concept that consumers for the most part will choose a brand for both â€Å"expressive† and â€Å"practical reasons†(Linton, 2005, p. 604). Th erefore a business may choose CRM as a means of promoting attachment to brand by tapping into the social and environmental consciousness of consumers to their products. When businesses’ brands are already experiencing a high level of loyalty to their products and brands, CRM can be used as â€Å"brand extensions† (David, 2000, p. 132). Ultimately, the marketing strategy employed in CRM is to engage the consumer’s emotions with the result that the consumer is left feeling that by purchasing a specific product, he or she is helping to further social goods (Strahilevitz, 1999). From the perspective of the business organization, there can be two specific benefits. First, in the long term, CRM can provide an advantage in that it may improve the business’s