United States Reform Movements Essay Example for Free

unite States Reform Movements EssayIn the years following the Second Great Awakening of the United States, legion(predicate) reform factions began to spring up around the country, fueled by recent evangelical ideals. Seeking to improve and expand democratic ideals, many of these factions undertook drastic measures to come across what they believed to be a proper aspiration. Nevertheless, it would be farfetched to claim that much(prenominal) reform movements within the US resulted in any positive outcomes, and it would be oft more logical to claim that many of the so-called reformers were in fact trying to further their own ambitions. By keeping penitentiary, church, and alcohol reforms as a pretense for egotistical purposes, they were able to attract an elite following of people that that acted with virtues that were anything but democratic.On of the first reform movements to become advocated was the penitentiary system. It had become a brutal institution, becoming known fo r excessively cruel punishments for criminal offenses. Extreme cases included imprisonment for insignificant amounts of debt, and asylums were common practices for what was believed to be insanity, following medieval practices. The federation for the Reformation of Juvenile Delinquents, in 1829, reported that they were proud to have rescued the youthful from temptation and turning them into valuable members of society.Yet by allowing the Society, and other institutions corresponding it, to determine which of the youths were undisciplined and under the influence of temptation, the United States g everywherenment was effectively allowing these organizations to diminish majority rule. When these institutions were allowed to decide who was or was non orderly, power shifted away from the people and into their hands.A similar transfer of control occurred during the Second Great Awakening, when a fresh wave of spiritual fervor empowered numerous factions of the church. By gaining contro l over a culture dedicated to a religion, the church managed to dictate an entire society towards its own values. Charles G. Finney, in 1843 remarked that all sorts of aband wholenessd characters are awakened and born-again by the church, failing to mention whether or not any of the profligates actually wished to be converted. By forcing infidels to follow their ethics, supporters of the church had secured themselves within a throne of power, with the force to enforce what they believed wasmoral, desecrating the principles of free speech and democracy. Samuel Morse commented that emigrants were selected not for their affinity to liberty, but for their mental servitude when coming into the country. The church had begun to demolish Naturalization Laws, one of the first benefits of the democracy of the United States, under the flag of the nativists (those who wished to favor the natural inhabitants of the United States). By controlling who may or may not immigrate to the US, nativist s had begun to gain a dangerous amount of power, not through democracy, but abnormally favoring selection.The same approach towards atypical persons was present within the movement against alcohol as at that place was within the nativists, for both wished to rid the United States of what they believed to be crimes against their people. The Temperance Movement was as a milder offspring of the teetotalism movement, which promoted a complete abstinence from waterspout beverages. Common belief with teetotal persons included an abhorrent view of alcohol, promoting notions that even a single drink of alcohol can and will lead to brawls, poverty, crime, and at last death or suicide. Even the less extreme Temperance movement had attempted to stop the peoples consumption of the wretched Demon Drink. Soon, laws were being created to enforce such views, with the Maine Law of 1851 standing out amongst them, prohibiting the manufacture and sale of liquor. Even though such a law was fueled by optimistic virtues, it was anything but democratic, enforcing one groups ideals onto an entire population without their consent.Attempting to force reform onto a people without their consent and condemning past principles for the sole reason of rash modification can not result in hopes for a in the buff social order, as some movements may wish. During an address to Wesleyan College, Orestes Brownson proposed that Quack Reformers were disowning the past and promoting an entirely new social order. Of course, no good could possibly come from this, since it had taken numerous years to set up the securities that were in place, defending the democratic practices of the people of the United States. Reform should be focused around preserving values that are known to be sound and stable, not the upheaval of a society to the mere energize of altering a single trivial value. DrasticReform can only lead to ultimate destruction of democracy and leads to a rule by a chosen elite if not carefull y monitored.

Examining Cross Cultural Communication In Organizations Cultural Studies Essay

Examining Cross Cultural Communication In Organizations Cultural Studies EssayCross-cultural communicating also referred to as intercultural discourse which is a subset of organizational communication, and comprises literal and non-verbal communication. This in turn involves transfers of in ricochetation and knowledge between individuals in the organization with signifi empennagetly opposite people in diverse oral communications and from several(predicate) cultures. We define cross-cultural communication as a subject which focuses on the communicative activities of people from different cultural background and the essence and rules of the communicative activities (Jia, 1997, 563).Many cultures have their witness etiquette when communicating. Communication can only be succeeded if messages atomic number 18 appropriately delivered and received. Especially in cross-cultural communication, two-sides of peoples are from two different countries with different culture, custom, thoug hts and languages. This would make a successful communication to a greater extent difficult to be reached. Miscommunication may lead to conflict, or more serious conflict that already exists.Therefore, it is important to explore the difficultys of cross-cultural communication, and the problems of deducing those rules of communicative appropriateness that are applied in the other culture. Furthermore, much(prenominal) dissertateion has focused on differences international negotiating styles. However, there is little attention to get wind how and what degree language plays a significant role in a cross-cultural communication. Unfortunately, some monolingual experts believe that any languages can be tout ensemble transferred into another language. According Geoff Hart, 2007Effective and good communication is rattling important to all organization. In todays business environment, in order to communicate with the outside world, it is requisite to have successful communication sk ills in workplace. Cross-cultural communication in the workplace compounds certain problems. There is lack of interaction in the field of communication among individuals in the organization with significantly different ethnographic profiles. In addition, words imply different toy withing in different languages.Much cross-cultural communication in workplace and worker within limited English speaking abilities and their cultural differences leads to misunderstanding and tension at the workplaces. Thus, business is taken very mischievously in numerous cultures that often show up in the workplace. Misunderstandings and miscommunication can cause and enhance conflict in workplace. Within cross-cultural communication, our seemingly formula approaches to meaning-making and communication will never be clear enough that we can see them for what they are which is a set of lenses that shape what we see, hear, say understand, and interpret. Culture is linked to communication and a wide rang e of human experience including feelings, identity, and meaning-making. Communication is the vehicle by which meanings are conveyed and feelings are expressed. Both conflict and harmony are possible outcomes of any interaction as we communicate using different cultural habits between workers. According Charlotte-Mecklenburg Development Board (WDB), 2002Cultural barriers between different cultures often cause much frustration, annoyance, and lead to problems that erode efficiency and effective in daily life. The biggest barriers to cross-cultural communication refer to language difficulties. Cultural barriers and language cannot be divided. This is because language carries the information of language and culture. Every kind of language is created and developed in a certain historical circumstance of society. Therefore, Language reflects the lark about of nation. It contains not only the historical cultural background of this nation, but also the view of life, the way of life and the way of thought of this nation (Xiao, 1997159). Some problem increase which are barriers caused by semantics, barriers caused by word connotations, barriers caused by tone differences and barriers caused by differences between perceptions.Barriers caused by semantics word meaning. As weve noted previously, words mean different things to different people. This is particularly true for people from different national cultures. Some words cannot translate and imply to English and special meaning to different people from different cultures. It is reflects the differences of culture most extensively. For example, to conduct business in Korea, you must understand the concept of Kibun, which does not translate into English. Its meaning is something similar to home(a) feelings or mood people must communicate in a manner to enhance one anothers Kibun or risk creating an enemy and destroying the relationship (Mary Munter, 1993).Barriers caused by word connotations or implication of words. On the other hand, the meaning extent of a word and the connotation of future are not complete akin between different cultures. Negotiations between English and Japanese executive, for instance, are made more difficult because the Japanese word iie translates as no, but its connotation may be no, Im not studying, rather than No, I disagree.Barriers caused by tone differences or the mood or feeling your words convey. The tone changes depending expression of slang, feelings, emotions and thought. Slang may lead barriers to communication. For example, a conversation demonstrative between A and B dealing with slang.A Will you really join?B You kill me.It is very confuse for different people to understand the conversation because the sentence of B is slang. It means (If I wont join,) you kill me. The sentence of A is more civilised while the sentence of B is more offhand. In some cultures tone is usually more formal, whereas in others it is more informal in some it is more polite, in other s more offhand in some more impersonal, in others more personal in some more dry, in others more non-white ( Mary Munter, 1993).Barriers caused by differences between perceptions. People who speak different languages from different cultures look into the world in different ways. Every country perceive different perceptions.PROBLEM THAT FACED IN CULTURES CONTEXTAny communication relies on the context in which it takes place, (Victor, 1992, 137). Some cultures rely on the context of communication much more than others. Contexting refers to the circumstances surrounding the exchange. To make an effective and successful communication, every people have to consider the cultural differences and the preeminent communication process in individualistic. Cultures context refers to high context and low text communication. High context refers to societies or groups where people have close connections over a long item of time while low context refers to societies where people tend to have many connections but of shorter duration or for some specific reason. High contexts cannot necessitate the context information internally and hard to enter if as an outsider. Instead, low contexts are easy to enter if as an outsider because the environment contains the information and form relationships.The exchange of information between workers from high-context and low-context has to work together in cultural context occur the problems. These problems can be categorized as differences in direction, mensuration and quality. High-context cultures like China adapt to their close friends, relatives and also to colleagues or in-group members at differences in direction employees. They communication with them mightily and exchange specific information regarding many different talks and topics. In comparison, like Germany, their direction of communication is orientated on personal characters and referred to situations as direction difference. They mostly communicate within their out-group s in a broad and dispersedly way as quantity difference. They exchange information through communication just to the necessary extent so that work can be done and will not discuss or exchange information in the work environment and colleagues as quality difference. In China, the workers discuss everything in advance and consider meetings where the already commonly agreed decision will be announced. The Germans in contrast inform the participating attendants in a meeting about the hard and necessary facts. The decision-making process takes place within the meeting.Besides this, communication is also related to appearance such as raiment and accessories. In cross-communication cultural, these is relating to the context including formal and informal, status and individuality. In Islam, Muslim women are expected to cover in their entirety including the face, except for their eyes, while in horse opera countries most women, even in a business context, will wear smart attire. Western cu ltures tend to gravitate toward low-context starting points, while Eastern and southerly cultures tend to use high-context communication.

The Lovely Bones Book vs Movie

The winsome Bones earmark vs MovieAlice Sebolds betterseller The Lovely Bones is a nonher agree that you dont preferably hit the hay what to expect when you pick it up, and when you ingest it you stimulate it very quickly. It affects you emotionally as a scaner and makes it bear oning. Mass market bulk publishing is, manage scenes, a calculated and repetitive business. Sebold came with something really different. She was lucky to get her take hold published, and when she did, no one expected it to sell over 2 million copies or be on the New York Times bestseller list for over a year (Bradshaw). This bestselling nurse became the initiation for the deal, taking on the same allude, and directed by Peter Jackson who also is kn profess for directing Heavenly Creatures, The Lord of the Rings, The Lord of the Rings the Two Towers, and The Lord of The Rings the Return of the Ring (York). Having read The Lovely Bones and then watching the film it became clear that non only was there an obvious difference surrounded by the cinema and book cover, but there were many differences and changes that were made on behalf of the film.The Lovely Bones is set in the suburbs of Philadelphia in the early s level(p)ties. Its close to the Salmon Family husband, wife, three children and the tragedy that occurs within the family. They were in the prime of their lives, the next thing you know the police have arrived and nobody really knows what happened to the main grammatical case, Susie Salmon, a young young lady who is murdered in a corn field bonny beyond the rearward of her house. In the book Susie is going through her mold of going up into Heaven and smell d testify on her family struggling to deal with the death of their daughter and sister. A major aspect of the book is how she directs her family towards her killer in some sort of requital (Sebold).As the book was translated to film the differences that ar often seen in book to film supplantings ca n be more unvarnished as it goes along. As the process of translating The Lovely Bones to film was approached it became the ultimate puzzle for screen writers according to the director Peter Jackson. (Filming) Getting films out to the public for directors or the marketing group of any movie has become easier and easier with Amazon, YouTube, eBay, and personal websites, filmmakers have direct access to the public (Garon xix). Jackson seemed to hope for a similar outcome from the movie as the book. If he had stayed truer to the book, he may have gotten what he wanted.In an attempt to produce from within the pages of the novel, the film, and book, take place during the nineteen seventies and is narrated from the perspective of a fourteen year old girl named Susie Salmon. She is a passionate photographer, has the screw and support of her family, and is even getting looks from the son she has a crush on in school. Life is all good. And then she is brutally murdered by her creepy neigh bor George Harvey. (The Lovely Bones) It begins with the same line from the first page of the bookMy name is Salmon, like the fish, first name Susie (Sebold 6).Even though the book and film begin the same, the story in the film and the story in the book be very, very different. In the book the actual process and the crisis of the death in the beginning of the book is covered in the first chapter. This first chapter covers forty quintuplet to fifty minutes of the film, which is most of the movie. Susie Salmon the lead in the movie, figure outed by Saoirse Ronan, and the main character of the book is portrayed amazingly. She really does capture the flavour and the innocence along with the development away from the innocence of the character of Susie in the original text. Mark Walberg plays the father and is a massive character in the book. The best casting to the book is Susan Sarandon, as the Grandmother, even though physically they have a completely different description of the Grandmother in the book (USA). However, translation to film does not detail you the torment that the family goes through chapter by and by chapter. For example, the destruction of the family unit, the ext arrested frameer of the mother, sleepless nights of the sister and obsessive focus on purpose Susie and her killer. There is no depiction in the film of the horrific nature of the abduction, murder, or more specifically the graphic rape and dismemberment of Susie. The movie is quite sugar coated compargond to the book. It almost appears that the screenwriters for this movie pulled an old jejune trick of reading the first chapter and then skipping to the last. (York)Many differences continue to unfold as the movie shows Susie feeling life fading away from her as she grabs onto the top of a flower, forcing herself into the in-between. There, she is confused and alone until she meets Holly, who helps her navigate her new world. Its just the 2 of them in utopia, a perfect world o f their own making, at first. As it plays out Susie and Holly only exist with a growing number of girls that Harvey has killed. Jackson creates a visual basis for the in-between that is almost like a dream. Creative license took shape when the director places visions of ghostly Susie entering the realm of the real world to inspire changes in events. (The Lovely Bones)Among one of the larger differences in the film to book translation, which wasnt a problem until the fooling of the film, was it became unclear in the book what kind of state or status Susie was in when she died rather she was in a kind of purgatory or they call it the in-between in both the book and film. It was made clearer in the movie that she was going on a specific journey, and they actually created that world very visually, which was very good. The only issue with these visuals was as a reader you have your own images in your head that were previously described in the book. Visually the film is spectacular, but for a reader there are no huge bottles with ships inside and visions of her in the eyes of her family. These events just dont exist in the text.Contrary to the production, book Susie regularises her dismembered body back together and meets Franny, her intake specialist, who helps her navigate this new world. Susie refuses to go to enlightenment until she can reach her family and help catch her killer (Sebold 8). Only then does she meet Holly, her roommate (Sebold 17). Susie lives in her vision, with people everywhere throwing javelins and wandering around in their own versions in the distance, similar to the real world. She creates cool swing sets and a duplex that she always wanted and shares it with her new friend Holly. Susies interpretation of heaven is live with real men and women, of all ages, from all background, who died and now resides in overlapping worlds (Sebold 19).Because this movie is based off a three hundred page book it feels like it moves too fast missing key co mponents in the timeline. Several minutes into the film George Harvey lures her to his hidden den in a field, sparking excitement and interest in Susie. Harvey tries to hide his deed and find other victims as her family tries to deal with the tragedy as well as trying to find out just who is responsible for her murder (Filming). It then becomes confusing for readers when the movie hurts to a point where Susie appears to escape from the underground lair in the corn field and then is ladder through the streets. Its not immediately apparent that she is dead or how she died. This ghostly appearance does not occur and the death scene is clearer in the text. The book is dilate and sharp which leads to the confusion of the timeline within the movie.Timelines within the film get more blurred as we read further into the novel. It graphically describes the rape followed by him murdering her with a shaving razor (Sebold 12). Then, he dismembers her body, putting her remains in a safe that h e dumps in a sinkhole (Sebold 53). This timeline is skipped in the film as they focus more on Jack, Susies father, and his search for a killer. He is obsessively seen collecting personal files and digging up tax records on a number of shady men, every man he can think of (The Lovely Bones), although, Mr. Harvey is the first, and only, suspect of Jack in the book. He knows it and feels it after helping Mr. Harvey with a project in his backyard, bringing about another difference, a ceremonial tent in the book and a duck blind in the movie. However, this occurs two years later in the movie. Its within the first month in the book. It takes eleven months before the police even turn up Susies hand-knit hat. Within the book Susies elbow turns up three days later, the hat within weeks. The film skips or twists more and more detail and leaves you expecting and waiting for them to unfold but, some neer come and others dont come until almost the end, and then it is vague and contained in sudd en flashbacks with no explanation. (Sebold 55) (The Lovely Bones)In terms of the plot line the film attempts to get it, though it does not go into the depth that they do in the book. Jackson takes his time in carefully setting up the plot just nice so that we have a good hold on the world of the story the entire time (USA). The time period is reflected well and the main character is likeable and someone who we can sympathize with easily, but not because she is a teenage girl that dies. Her personality and narrations are what do it instead. The film moves back and forrard between what the book and movie call the in-between or afterlife and the real world and comes across in the movie very visually (Visual). The visuals are just stunning and there is a unique feel about them as though you are in a dream while they play in front of you. The structuring of this movie is also kind of weird thankfully with so many other differences this didnt make the movie so confusing as to lose the a udience completely (Filming).In film it diverts back and forth to Susie focusing on having her first kiss with Ray, the visually extravagant in-between, and warning her family whereas the book, although narrated by Susie, explores so many other characters and life experiences. In contrast to the movie, the book is more of a coming of age story about a girl who will never get the chance to grow up. Susie can only grow spiritually by watching her family and friends as they each reach milestones, leave for college, get married and have kids of their own. For book readers shes already had her first kiss and after watching her sister and Samuel make love she longs to do the same with Ray, the boy who was going to go out with her, her crush (Sebold 237). Susie later possesses Ruth, her former classmate and friend. Ruth, who has a spiritual connection with Susie, is overwhelmed by the feeling of her presence. Susie then enters Ruths body and makes love to Ray, which is again graphically de scribed in text (Sebold 300). The movie focus again takes away from the book journey eliminating this sexual growth aspect to the teenage girl.Like many adaptations found with book to film projects you do lose a vast number of really important events. Such that, the scenes where we follow Harvey are well thought out in just how they show his life and his way of thinking in the film very vaguely. His apparent eccentric psychological state of mind, expressed with his need for an alarm to prompt him to open his window shades, does not translate as well in the movie (The Lovely Bones). His odd psychological state and inability to follow social norms are described in detail within the chapters as he devices ways to appear radiation pattern to the outside world (Sebold 130). In the book you get more in depth descriptions which develops the characters of not just Harvey and Susie but, her sister, her father and, especially, her mother. You learn a lot about her mother which is important however, in the film you learn very little.It is played out in the text that Abigail, Susies mother, never wanted children, withdraws from her family and has an affair with police tec Len Fenerman, the investigator to Susies case (Sebold 196). You also dont learn in the movie that the mother abandoned the father, sister and brother. You see her in the film leave with one clasp in a cab as though she is taking a vacation or just a getaway to clear her head. However, in the book narrations she abruptly leaves and takes a job at a winery in California and attends College. Abigail leaves and creates a life for herself with her boyfriend, Samuel Heckler, who she becomes engaged to after finishing college. Only after hearing that Jack has had a heart attack does she return eight years later (Sebold 220). This huge gap in time and events are not portrayed in the movie. The relationship between Abigail and her children is then laid out in detail as their son Buckley expresses bitterness f or her abandoning the family for most of his childhood (Sebold 264). The filmmakers cut this out completely never even grownup a hint that this fracture happened within the family. She is nearly ignored in the movie by giving us just small glimpses of an upset and lost mom, until Jack is nearly beaten to death and then appears again creating an image that she was there the total time, by chance distant in her mourning (The Lovely Bones). This information could have made the film come to life as more realistic, instead it is projected on the screen that the family also lives in their own utopia of sorts.Both the book and film end with a similar event. Mr. Harvey, her rapist, her murderer, and the evil man that exists in the world is killed in the book when he is attempting to violate a young girl and an ice sickle falls from a tree hitting his shoulder. As it hits him he is put off balance and falls into a deep ravine. He lies there, being buried by the cold snow, not to be found for weeks (Sebold 327). It is similar in the movie he is also hit by an ice cycle and falls down a large ravine then abruptly ends. You have an view that he is dead from the graphic fall, but still no closure, it is left open ended. (New Zealand).When watching the movie you find that it seems to intertwine three story lines. First, is that of Susie in the in-between, the second deals with her mourning family and the third, interestingly, deals with her killer. Although this movie has a serial killer on the loose and its share of cops it is in no way like a wickedness or revenge story. Instead this is a movie about family bonds and about a loss. Its about the presence people can have in our lives even when they are gone its about understanding what closure really means, and differs from the novel.The Lovely Bones is a very compassionate story the way it is told from the girls point of view and the innocence that she has in the way she looks at the world she has left behind. Alice Se bold gives us a look at how the Salmon Family is forever changed as a terminus of Susies murder. Susie watches as her parents drift apart and her siblings and friends grow up and have experiences Susie can only witness. Through the experiences of the Salmon Family in The Lovely Bones, readers can examine their own feelings and reactions to loss and mourning. Susie is on this incredible adventure into the world of the afterlife, described as the in-between. The rules of our world no longer apply. She has to come to terms with where she is and has to somehow influence events back down on earth that enable her killer to be caught. It is an incredibly layered story getting its title from a section at the end of the book (Mehegan).These were the lovely bones that had grown around my absence the connections-sometimes tenuous, sometimes made at great cost, but often magnificent-that happened after I was gone. And I began to see things in a way that let me hold the world without me in it. The events my death brought were primarily that the bones of a body that would become whole at some unpredictable time in the future. The price of what I came to see as this miraculous lifeless body had been my life (Sebold 320).Throughout this intelligence you can see that as the book was translated to film, by director Peter Jackson, the differences that are often seen in book to film translations are more evident and clear as it goes along. Due to time constraints and interpretation, we find that a majority of book to film projects do not hold faithfulness to the authors. It has also been found that many books to film correlations create added characters or eliminate characters for theatrical benefit (Cohen 1). It may even be better to watch the film and then read the book. This might prevent you from making judgments about this film on the basis of the book such as, visual effects, timeline, and content, due to it being three hundred pages saturnine into two hours, which in te xt form are actually only about one hundred pages.Predictably, Peter Jacksons interpretation of The Lovely Bones is not equal to the interpretation of the author Alice Sebold. Clearly you can see that this story has been interpreted in very different ways, both in film and in text. Differences within the movie create a watered down and non-confrontational approach to the real subject matter of the novel. Therefore, if you are looking to research any book by watching its movie remember you are probably going to be missing about two thirds of the book, if not more. As exampled here, with The Lovely Bones, the differences between book and film translations can be extreme causing confusion and distorted reality of the content and subject matter of the authors original concepts.Work CitedBradshaw, Peter. Guardian. 2002. 14 Nov. 2012http//books.guardian.co.uk/film/2010/feb/18/the-lovely-bones-review.Cohen, Steven and Hark, Ina Rae. The Road Movie Book. Routledge. New York, NY. 1997.Filmin g the Lovely Bones (Special Features). DW Studios LLC. Dreamworks Pictures. BLU-RAY. 2009Garon, Jon. The Independent Filmmakers Law and Business Guide Financing, Shooting, and Distributing Independent and Digital Films. stops Review Press. Chicago, IL- 2nd Edition. 2009.Mehegan, David. Sebold, Alice. The Lovely Bones. Words to Live by (Supplementary interview). Little, Brown and Co. New York, NY. 2002.New Zealand Principal Photography (Special Features). DW Studios LLC. Dreamworks Pictures. BLU-RAY. 2009Sebold, Alice. The Lovely Bones. Little, Brown and Co. New York, NY. 2002.Sebold, Alive. The Lovely Bones. The Oddity of Suburbia. (Supplementary essay). Little, Brown and Co. New York, NY. 2002.The Lovely Bones-Free Online Study Guide. The Best Notes. 2008. 14 Nov. 2012. http//thebestnotes.com/booknotes/lovely_bones_sebold.The Lovely Bones. Peter Jackson. DW Studios LLC. Dreamworks Pictures. BLU-RAY. 2009.USA Principal Photography (Special Features). DW Studios LLC. Dreamworks Pictu res. BLU-RAY. 2009.Visual Effects (Special Features). DW Studios LLC. Dreamworks Pictures. BLU-RAY. 2009.York, April. Book vs. Film The Lovely Bones. 2010. 14 Nov. 2012.http//culturemagazine.ca/cinema/book_vs_film_the_lovely_bones.html.

Creative And Critical Thinking Among Students

Creative And Critical Thinking Among Students7,987 straight As in SPM screamed the headlines of major newspapers when the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia results were announced on the 10th of March 2010. The fixation with pedantic achievements among Malaysians knew no bounds. Every year, excitement and joy, anxiety and disappointment, pervade among students, p atomic number 18nts and teachers when the Ministry of Education and Malaysian Examination Board releases the results of public examinations, be it UPSR, PMR, SPM and STPM. The obsession with academic achievement is overshadowing all other aspects of a holistic education system in Malaysia.The Malaysian Education Philosophy clearly states that the aim of the tutor course of study is to ensure the holistic development of the individual mentally, physically, spiritually and emotionally by imparting general k right offledge and skills cultivating, instilling and fostering water-loving attitudes and accepted moral values. The curricul um aims to bring forth the Malaysian citizen who is a balanced and well-rounded individual, trained, skilful, and cherishes the national aspiration for unity.Why all the hype with students academic achievements? According to Professor Dr. Ray Wilks, Head of the School of Psychology, International Medical University, there is no evidence to show a positive correlation amid academic achievement in examination and reading. Learning should not be about passing examinations. We should instead create more curiosity in childrens learning to nurture creativity and innovativeness, says Professor Dr. Ray Wilks.Indeed, the education systems in Malaysia aims to mould individuals to become better Malaysians with the right attitudes, and to equip them with the knowledge and skills necessary in the ordinal century to make Malaysia a developed nation by the year 2020. To meet the challenges of the twenty first-century and Vision 2020, teaching and learning practices and crop management argon c onstantly reviewed to develop individuals who are technologically literate and can contri scarcelye to a original and innovative workforce. This transformation will entail changing the school culture, from one that is predominantly memory-based to one that stimulates intellection, creativity, and innovativeness.Yet the importance placed on academic achievement has seriously impacted on the ability and efficiency of the Malaysian education system in developing holistic individuals that are able to handle the challenges of life after formal schooling. In fact many a clock times, newspapers highlighted employers complaints that school leavers and even universitys graduates pass water problems conversing and communicating efficiently, let alone to think critically and creatively. In addition the lack of critical and creative thinking abilities among Malaysians school leavers and university graduates has been pinpointed by the Minister of Human Resource, Datuk Dr. S Subramaniam, as one of the main problems contributing to their low marketability in the job market. The lack of thinking skills among the present and future tense workforce of the nation will hamper the nations efforts toward achieving a developed nation status by 2020.What are critical and creative thinking? Critical thinking is a type of thinking that converges on a single feeling or entity. One must organize, analyze or evaluate information, which might as well as be broken into parts and taught explicitly. A cognitive process complimentary to, but different than critical thinking, is creative thinking. This thinking diverges from a single thought or entity. One must generate, synthesize, find alternatives, adapt, substitute, or elaborate. Critical and creative thinking are the building blocks that will make authoritative our students will have the required thinking skills to succeed in life and at work and ensure the attainment of Vision 2020.Detractors of efforts to emphasize critical and creative thinking in the curriculum have point to the possibility of poorer academic achievements as a consequence. However, research has shown that when students develop their thinking skills by looking beyond the obvious, making creative connections, developing strategies, making decisions, planning ahead and reflecting, they also improved their academic performance. Thus, emphasizing critical and creative thinking will augment academic achievement.How to raise critical and creative thinking? One way is to reduce the emphasis on the use summative judgings such as UPSR, PMR and SPM. Summative assessments are utilize for categorizing students and stress the use of written examinations. The UPSR and PMR summative assessment have deviated from its original purpose of diagnosing learning problems with the intention of preparing remedial actions to improve students learning. They are now used to stream children into classes. In mental terms, it is bad to label children. It is posit ive reinforcement for smart children, as defined by our assessment system, but not for the children who do not do well. The tools used in our public examinations are picking up all the rote learners. Professor Dr Ray Wilks says, From a psychological point of view, to label a child of 12 is a kind of life sentence. He further states that experiments have shown that if we tell teachers that a child is of certain achievement level, they will teach to that point. The teachers will not raise their teaching to the next level for that child.Instead we should encourage more formative assessment in the learning environments. fictile assessment also called continuous assessment is a more reliable way to look at the learning process. School-based continuous assessment looks at broader education skills, such as communication, critical and creative thinking, and teamwork, rather than just textbook skills. These skills are assessed by teachers through activities like debates, dramas, analysing i ssues and project work. Formative assessments also provide diagnostic information to enable teachers to assist students with learning difficulties.Furthermore, when there are less public examinations, children can have more time to explore other interests such as music and arts that would help instil creativity in them. Ive always wanted my children to learn to play the piano, but they are always tired after schools and tuition, says one parent. With less examination, teachers will also have more time to organize field trips and excursions, which will include students to be in contact with nature and discover new learning opportunities for critical and creative thinking that may not be present in the schoolroom.Given provide opportunities, children can engage in sophisticated cognitive processes. Research suggests that either too much or too little organize can prevent development of critical and creative thinking and in the process children are not equipped with active and stra tegic overturees to learning tasks. Thus, appropriate instructional approaches could results in students enhancing their critical and creative thinking skills. Three approaches are commonly used in the teaching of thinking skills stand-alone approach, immersion approach and embedded approach.Stand-alone approach consists of teaching thinking skills separate from subject matter content. In this case a general set of thinking skills are identified and taught as a separate course or subject. Students are taught how to transfer the skills to various subjects and situations. However, thinking skills taught in isolation tend to results in students having problems transferring thinking skills to academic or real world problems.The immersion approach does not involve teaching thinking skills. Rather it allows good thinking to develop course as a result of students being fully engaged or immersed in content-related activities which calls for higher levels of thinking. Students are provided with repeated practices in complex cognitive activities with the self-confidence that they will eventually develop the necessary cognitive skills to successfully engage in high-level thinking. However, research has shown that simply immersing students in thinking activities is not an efficacious instructional approach.The embedded approach involves teaching thinking skills within a subject-matter context. Thinking skills are taught in science, social studies, language, arts, and some other subjects. Students than apply these skills directly to the particular subject being studied. This allows students to use the skills in a meaningful context and helps them learn the subject matter more deeply. An embedded approach is an effective way to teach thinking skills. Rather than an additional subject, thinking skills are used to enhance whatever curriculum currently being taught.Training teachers in specific instructional approaches means that schools must invest in teachers professional development. Instructional approaches that help teachers integrate a learning to think component into their curriculum empower students to take responsibility for improving their thinking and learning. Although cognitive development is only one part of a childs overall development, it is essential that teachers respond to the friendship demand for and the childs right to cognitive competence. Teacher training providers need to become aware of the benefits of certain instructional approaches on pupil performance and incorporate training in such approaches in their courses.Thus, in conclusion, Malaysia needs to ensure that its future generation does not only perform well academically but should have the ability to think critically and creatively. All Malaysians should support the integration of critical and creative thinking in its educational curriculum. It should not only merely be stated in printed documents. Affirmative actions should be put in place to ensure that the teaching and learning of critical and creative thinking is actualized in the classroom context. Lest, Vision 2020 remains a dream and Malaysia will stutter in its ability to achieve the New Economic Model towards achieving 1Malaysia, People First, Performance Now.(1497 words)

Alienation in Samuel Becketts Waiting for Godot Essay -- Waiting for

Alienation in Samuel Becketts Waiting for Godot The alienation of humanity from truth, purpose, God, and individually other is the theme of Samuel Becketts play, Waiting for Godot. The plays cyclical and sparse presentation conveys a feeling of the hopelessness that is an effect of a godless, and therefore, purposeless world. Lack of communication, the cause of mans alienation, is displayed soundly through absurdist diction, imagery, structure, and point of view. The intent of the play is to evoke a feeling of incompleteness and depression. The conversation between Vladimir and tarragon, the protagonists of Waiting for Godot, seems to be void of meaning. The play begins with nil to be done and ends with an unfulfilled Yes, lets go. Suicide was often mentioned and reasoned through in passing, as though their deaths mattered neither to them nor anyone else. Their deaths were bargonly even recognized by them as a change. They argued about shoes and carrots when Estragon, the repre sentative of materialistic human nature, was c at a timerned about it. They argued about the thiefs presence in only one of the gospel singing and spiritual matters when Vladimir initiated conversation. A minor goal discussed by Vladimir and Estragon was to pass the time, though they often forgot what day it was, not to mention whom theyd met, where theyd been, and why it ever mattered. Vladimir and Estragon engaged in dialogue with passing travelers Pozzo and Lucky. Luckys speech was a faultless example of the plays meaning. The outward appearance of Luckys words was that he was a fool who once held power over a great vocabulary, but could only toss words together in a confounding miscellany at that time. fairish as a deep feeling about the absence... ...keep waiting because Godot promised to come tomorrow. But tomorrow never came. In both Luckys speech and the play, the characters, reader, and thesis are left unsatisfied. There is no conclusion to Luckys speech. He simply babbl ed on until his listeners removed his thinking cap. The play leaves Vladimir and Estragon still waiting. Knowing no god, Beckett sees intent as futile and mocks both life and death in his play. Beckett can arouse emotions from his audience by not arranging his play in an aflame way. Absurdist theater is far from the melodramatic tragedies of stereotypical plays. Waiting for Godot is antisocial, devoid of superficial meaning, and empty to its core simply because of its blank, forgetful, and meaningless aspects. Yet beneath this clever camouflage is a depth of depression, sprung from a fountain of godless life and non-communication.

The Dream Team Era Essay -- essays research papers fc

The day-dream Team EraDuring the summer of 1992, the NBA took center stage as the world watched the superior team in sports ever assembled joke, pose, and finally play its way to the gold medal at the summer Olympic games. The team was named the dreaming Team and it feature eleven of the NBAs best players. Names like Michael Jordan, Earvin Magic Johnson, and Larry wench headlined the games and the play of Scottie Pippen and Sir Charles Barkley stole the show. After only eight games, the world of USA hoops game would never be the same. Since 1992 two more teams called themselves the Dream Team and two were simply labeled as Team USA but one amour is for certain, International basketball has taken a step in the right direction thanks in part to the NBA and its Dream Team era. Over age the faces of those players may have changed, but the goal has always stayed the same and thats the goal of bringing bag the gold medal.After dominating mens Olympic basketball for years, the men s USA basketball team lost to the USSR in the 1988 Seoul games which cost them a shot at taking the gold medal, but they did come home with the bronze. The United States Olympic committee decided that since the rest of the world were sending their best players into the Olympic games that when it came to basketball it was magazine for them to do the same. The decision was made in 1989 to allow players from the NBA to represent their country in the 1992 Barcelona games. That one decision was the most important decision in the memorial of international basketball with one goal in mind to put together the best possible team that they could.The goal of putting a capital basketball team of NBA players together seemed impossible especially when it came to dealing with the egos of todays athletes, but what seemed impossible became a reality. Established veterans like Magic Johnson and Larry Bird and future Hall of Famers/MVPs like Michael Jordan and best friend Charles Barkley were added to the team. Big men David Robinson and Patrick Ewing were added to control the paint and guards Clyde The Glide Drexler and John Stockton were added to run the show. The existence picked to coach the team was Chuck Daly who had won two of the last three NBA Championships with the Detroit Pistons. Knowing that no other team would ever be as potentially great as this one, sportswriters around the world dubbe... ...could secure an 85-83 win, but only after Lithuanias game winning shot fell short at the buzzer (Games).Even though Team USA wasnt as star-studded as the previous two Olympic teams, they still achieved the goal of winning a gold medal, but the path that they took to get there was much tougher than the path of teams in the past. With that being said, Team USA helped the United States Mens basketball program to reach 109 wins with only two losses spread across 14 different Olympic games. Despite the fact that the era and aura of the Dream Team was destroyed, the memories o f the games will live on forever. Names like Michael Jordan, Charles Barkley, Shaquille ONeal and Vince Carter will always be remembered for having great NBA careers, but also for bring home the gold medal for their country and doing it with a class and a grace that will never be seen again. Works CitedGames of the XXVth Olympiad2000. 17 Oct. 2003 Taylor, Phill. Slam Dunk. Sports Illustrated August 1996 48-53.The Dream Team Simply the Best. Videocassette. Xenon Entertainment Group, 1997. 73 min.USA Basketball 96 Olympic Gold. Videocassette. CBS FOX Video Sports, 1996. 50 min.

Financial Accounting Essay -- Business and Management Studies:

Financial AccountingFinancial accounting or book-keeping is the process of recordingfinancial transactions from the casual operation of a business.The sale of goods to a customer and the subsequent settlement of thedebt argon two examples of financial transactions.Sales AccountingWhen credit gross sales be made to customers, a record expects to be kept ofamounts owing and paid. Payment is norm aloney requested with an invoice.An invoice usually gives details of goods supplied, quantities, pricesand VAT. Credit sales are usually made on weekly a basis, which meansthat the customer has to pay within that period to obtain thediscounts, if any offered. Overdue payments need to be chased, sosales accounting systems normally take a leak reports analysing theindebtedness of different customers. Debt control is vital to businessprofitability and computerised systems can produce straightaway andup-to-date reports as a by-product of the main application.Human Resources---------------The h uman resources (personnel) lean is responsible for theselection (usually by interview), recruitment, training anddevelopment of staff. Personnel records on employees will store allthe information needed by Salaries and Wages to make the correctpayments to employees this will include details of, for example,gross salary, tax code, statutory sick pay and holiday entitlement.Depending on the size of the organisation, information may also beheld concerning qualifications, courses attended and careerdevelopment plans.Design------The fancy function is present where an organisation develops its ownproducts and services a trader who simply buys and sells goods has noneed of a design group unless designing logos etc which maybe carriedout by another firm. Design is part of the research and development(R&D) function, which is vital to organisations wishing to radicallydevelop their product range. The nature of design teams depends on theproduct or service being designed. The skills and tal ents of a cardesign team are clearly very different from those of a team designinga cover for a magazine.ProductionMarkets for a businesss products should ideally, drive the productionfunction. In other words, it should be geared to produce the necessarymix and quantities of products required by customers. If goods ar... ...ons need specialist staff todevelop, introduce, maintain and update the various systems that makeuse of information technology. The responsibilities of ICT Servicesare much broader than those traditional held by wholly centralisedcomputer services or data processing departments because communicationis a larger part of IT with the accession of the internet andE-mail amongst other things.. The development of cheaper and morepowerful microcomputer systems has resulted in computer facilitiesbeing distributed more widely. For this reason, ICT Services needs toprovide a much more flexible service and support user systems at thepoint of use. For example, uses of netwo rk workstations need supportwhen equipment, such as a share printer, breaks down or they mayrequire help in the use of software on the network. This contrastswith a centralised department, which holds all the computer equipment,carries out all computer processing and restricts user access tospecialised applications, run through dedicated terminals. ICTServices may be known variously as calculator Services, ManagementInformation Services or less commonly now, the Data ProcessingDepartment.