Curricula of ACARA and VELS in LOTE Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Curricula of ACARA and VELS in LOTE - Essay Example LOTE is a subject of languages other than English, taught to students based on the designed curriculum of ACARA and VELS (Amery, 2000). Curriculum of both these systems for LOTE has some basic similarities and differences. Part A: Focus Answer: 2) ACARA and VELS’ curricula for LOTE subject seem to focus on the development of students’ skills in terms of additional knowledge about different language. Along with the vision, focused content does also have some similarities as both curricula have divided languages into categories, namely Aboriginal languages, Roman alphabetical language, Non-Roman alphabetical languages, Character languages, Sign language, and Classical languages (VELS, 2009). These six types of languages are offered in VELS systems, while ACARA curriculum offers Australian languages, world languages, classical languages, and Australian sign language. Answer: 3) VELS and ACARA curricula are closely related to each other in LOTE domain as both these learning curricula focus on preparing students for later years, by teaching some international languages and keep on enhancing their language skills with passing years. This focus is made believing that learning different languages can foster reflective, profound, and critical thinking in particular manners (VELS, 2009). It is noticeable that with the designed curricula students have to learn these languages for some years, which polish their language skills and even if they do not want to continue in the future. They would have sufficient knowledge to communicate successfully in professional grounds particularly in global organizations, where workforce belongs to diverse ethnic backgrounds (Robertson, 2012). Part B: Messages Answer: 1) VELS curricula include an aspect of history in this domain as the professional working to teach students different languages along with the knowledge of history, geography and shopping aspects of the language spoken in particular regions (VELS, 2007). VELS c urriculum offers a wide range of voices and settings to strengthen written and oral language skills; students are given opportunities to refer to simple history, stories, legends, rhymes, and songs of different language. Also, students following VELS curriculum are encouraged to discover other specific features, natures and tools of the languages. On the other hand, ACARA curriculum also offers similar opportunities with some distinct attributes such as in the ACARA system vocabulary and grammar are highly focused on with a great variety of information through print and electronic sources (ACARA, 2011). Unlike VELS, this curriculum does not simply help students learn about different languages and their cultural belongings, but ACARA also focuses on providing knowledge about values and laws differing from culture to culture (ACARA, 2011). Answer: 6) Both these curricula explicitly highlight the importance of learning

Controversial Nature Of The Subject Of Sufism Religion Essay

Controversial Nature Of The Subject Of Sufism Religion Essay Before tenth century there had been started a new emphasis began to develop within the religion of Islam. This emphasis was a reaction against the prevailing impersonal and formal nature of Islam. For many Muslims the sharia, while seen as necessary, failed to satisfy their deepest spiritual longings and desires. The search for deeper meaning led to the development of the popular mystical side of Islam known as tasawwuf or Sufism. The controversial nature of the subject of Sufism becomes evident when one realizes that this short introduction already reveals a viewpoint which the Sufi would strongly disagree with. For, if the Sufi spiritual quest is to be viewed as legitimate, even within Islam itself, it must be rooted in the Quran and the Sunna of Muhammad. (p.b.u.h) In defense of Sufi legitimacy, some Muslims argue that it was simply a response to the growing materialism in the Islamic world. However, this argument skirts the basic reason for Sufism, as during early Islamic times under Muhammads (p.b.u.h) leadership, wealth was enjoyed and served as a great motivation for the military expansion of Islam. Muslims, at the time, followed a legal system allowing unbridled materialism, though they were fully observant of the present religious doctrine. The formal and legal nature of the Islamic system never addressed the issue of materialism, and as a result was seen as inadequate by those who became Sufis in their search for deeper spirituality. Sufism has inclined many Muslims, and is, especially in the West, represent and regarded as a valuable and legitimate part of the Islamic faith. Fazlur Rahman, in his work Islam, says that considerable ink has been spent by modern scholarship on the origins of Sufism in Islam, as to how far it is genuinely Islamic and how far a product, in the face of Islam, of outside influences, particularly Christian and Gnostic. Rahman seems to hint that some of this ink has been wasted, as he concludes that outside influences must have played an accessory role and these no one may deny, but they must have supervened upon an initial native tendency. However, aside from a vague reference to the ideas of trust in and love of Allah as being a result of developments within the intellectual and spiritual life of the community, In reaction to critics, Sufis argue that tasawwuf has been present from the very initial stages of Islam, and profess to find evidence for their claims in the Sunna and the Quran. On this basis they state that tasawwuf is the batin aspect of Islam. According to Sufi principle a number of verses in the Quran provide clear support for their mysticism. Perhaps the most often quoted as a proof is Surah 24:35, Allah is the Light of Heaven and Earth! His light may be compared to a niche in which there is a lamp; the lamp is in a glass; the glass is just as if it were a glittering star kindled from a blessed olive tree, {which is} neither Eastern nor Western, whose oil will almost glow though the fire has never touched it. Light upon light, Allah guides anyone He wishes to His light. Sufism does throw in in the means of spirituality to the religion of Islam. Mounting out of the weakness of the Islamic system of faith and practice, it, however, added a aspect which has varied and further destabilized the structure of Islamic belief and practice. Reflecting on the authentication presented, and ending given, we see that to suppose Sufism, with its important concepts, is a rightful part of Islam introduces definite problems for anyone who then challenge to try to defend Islam as a logically consistent set of beliefs. For Sufism not only points to a lack of spirituality in Islam, but also contradicts orthodox Muslim teachings in the process clearly opening the door to all the worlds religions There have been a lot of aspects which should be discussed and reconsidered regarding this aspect of orthodox teachings of Islam, so I can write it is to be continued Reference Notes: Sufism, Reformed Internet Ministries Andrew Rippin, Muslims: Their Religious Beliefs and Practices (New York: Routledge, 1990), 118, 119, 120 Fazlur Rahman, Islam (London: Weidenfeld and Nicholson, 1966), 131, 148,149 Seyyed Hossein Nasr, Sufi Essays (London: George Allen and Unwin Ltd., 1972), 11-12, 15, 137, 138, 139, 147, 149 Tara Charan Rastogi, Islamic Mysticism Sufism (New Delhi: Sterling Publishers Private Ltd., 1982), 1.. Titus Burckhardt, An Introduction to Sufism (Wellingborough: The Aquarian Press, 1990), 15, 16 In Arabic Inna liLlahi wa-inna ilayhi raji un. Martin Lings, What Is Sufism? (London: George Allen Unwin Ltd., 1975), 28,32 Haqiqa refers to the inner Truth or inner Reality that Sufis believe is at the heart of Islamic revelation. William Stoddart, Sufism The Mystical Doctrines and Methods of Islam (New York: Paragon House Publishers, 1986), 41, 66,67,83,74 Eisegesis, or the practice of interpreting meaning into a passage, bears a striking resemblance to Sufi methods of Quranic interpretation. Orthodox Muslims opposed to Sufism argue that Sufi interpretations are indeed eisegesis in other words the Sufis are ascribing an inner meaning which the verses themselves do not contain. Fazlur Rahman in his work Islam states, the Sufis, in order to justify their stand, formulated (ie. verbally invented) statements, sometimes quite fanciful and historically completely fictitious, which they attributed to the Prophet. Rahman, 132,133,134.. J. Spencer Trimingham, The Sufi Orders in Islam (Oxford: The Clarendon Press, 1971), 246.. Rahman, 140. Other authors also agree with Rahmans position on this point. A.J. Arberry argues that Abu Hamid al-Ghazali brought about Sufisms reconciliation and assimilation with orthodox Sunni theology and religious law, through a number of writings consolidated in the Ihyaulum al-din, which was written between 1099 and 1102 A.D. A.J. Arberry, Sufism An Account of the Mystics of Islam (London: George Allen Unwin Ltd., 1950), 74. . Ibn al-Arabi (1165-1240 A.D.) was one of the great Sufi masters of all time and is referred to as The Greatest Shaikh (al-Shaykh al-Akbar). Muslim opinion has always been split about Ibn al-Arabi: for some he is a great heretic; for others, a great saint. Ian Richard Netton, A Popular Dictionary of Islam (London: Curzon Press, 1992), 110.. Elliot Miller, Sufis The Mystical Muslims, Forward (Spring/Summer 1986), 17-23.. Martin Lings, What is Sufism? (London: George Allen Unwin Ltd., 1975), 84, 85, 99.. Dara Shikoh (also spelled Shukuh) was a Sufi of the Qadiriyyah order and a devout Muslim according to Seyyed Hossein Nasr. Shukuh believed the Upanishads to be the Hidden Books to which the Quran refers (lvi. 77-80) and wrote that they contain the essence of unity and they are secrets which have to be kept hidden. Nasr states that it is enough to read Shukuhs translation of any of the Upanishads to realize that he was not only translating words into Persian but also ideas into the framework of Sufism. However, as usual Nasr follows up with a statement denying that this is an attempt to syncretize, once again revealing a blatant disregard for the evidence presented, not to mention a complete lack of logical thought. The members of one popular order (the Mawlawiyya) begun by Jalal ad-Din Rumi (d. 1273) are the origin of the Western term whirling dervishes John Alden Williams, ed., Islam (New York: George Brazillier, 1962), 155-156.. Idries Shah, Reflections Fables in the Sufi Tradition (Baltimore: Penguin Books, 1972), 1.; Miller, 20..

Tupac Shakur :: Art

Tupac Shakur Tupac Shakur, in my thoughts, is the best rapper there is. Tupac Amaru Shakur was born on June 16, 1971. He was born in New York. Tupac Amaru are Inca words. Tupac Amaru means a "shining serpent." Shakur means "thankful to God," and that came from the Arabic language. When Tupac was 12 years old, his first performance was a play "A Raisin in the Sun." In that play Tupac played Travis. In June of 1986, Tupac’s family moved to Baltimore from New York. That is where Tupac wrote his first rap. 3 months later Tupac attended Baltimore School for the arts. That is where he studied ballet and acting. About two years later Tupac moves west of the United States to Marin City, California. He moved in with a neighbor and then he began to sell drugs. In 1990 Tupac joins Digital Underground a record label where he was a dancer and a rapper. At the beginning of 1991 Tupac makes his album debut on his new label Digital Underground. In November of 91 2Pacalypse Now was released. Shortly after his 2Pacalypse release. Tupac charged a lawsuit of 10 million against an Oakland Police for brutality after being arrested for jaywalking. On January 17, 1992 Tupac makes his first movie appearance in Ernest Dickenson’s Juice, where he played a betrayal role of Bishop. On September 22nd, Vice President Dan Quayle accused that Tupac’s 2Pacalypse Now "has no place in our society." Next year on February 1, 1993 Tupac came out with another album. Once it was released it went platinum. It went platinum on April 19, 1995 along with 2Pacalypse Now but that went gold only. On July 23, 1993 Tupac makes his second movie appearance on John Singleton’s Poetic Justice. Just before filming the movie Janet makes 2Pac take an HIV test before kissing him in any scenes. On Halloween of 93’ 2Pac gets arrested for shooting two-off duty police officers from Atalanta. 2Pac said that he was harassed as a black motorist. The charges were dropped. During the end of November 94’ while 2Pac is on trial for sex and weapons he was robbed $40,000 of jewelery and was shot five times. The $40,000 worth of jewelery was stolen in a recording studio in Times Square. The robbers had stole 2Pac’s $30,000 diamond ring and $10,000 of gold chains. They left his diamond-encrusted gold Rolex. Tupac Shakur :: Art Tupac Shakur Tupac Shakur, in my thoughts, is the best rapper there is. Tupac Amaru Shakur was born on June 16, 1971. He was born in New York. Tupac Amaru are Inca words. Tupac Amaru means a "shining serpent." Shakur means "thankful to God," and that came from the Arabic language. When Tupac was 12 years old, his first performance was a play "A Raisin in the Sun." In that play Tupac played Travis. In June of 1986, Tupac’s family moved to Baltimore from New York. That is where Tupac wrote his first rap. 3 months later Tupac attended Baltimore School for the arts. That is where he studied ballet and acting. About two years later Tupac moves west of the United States to Marin City, California. He moved in with a neighbor and then he began to sell drugs. In 1990 Tupac joins Digital Underground a record label where he was a dancer and a rapper. At the beginning of 1991 Tupac makes his album debut on his new label Digital Underground. In November of 91 2Pacalypse Now was released. Shortly after his 2Pacalypse release. Tupac charged a lawsuit of 10 million against an Oakland Police for brutality after being arrested for jaywalking. On January 17, 1992 Tupac makes his first movie appearance in Ernest Dickenson’s Juice, where he played a betrayal role of Bishop. On September 22nd, Vice President Dan Quayle accused that Tupac’s 2Pacalypse Now "has no place in our society." Next year on February 1, 1993 Tupac came out with another album. Once it was released it went platinum. It went platinum on April 19, 1995 along with 2Pacalypse Now but that went gold only. On July 23, 1993 Tupac makes his second movie appearance on John Singleton’s Poetic Justice. Just before filming the movie Janet makes 2Pac take an HIV test before kissing him in any scenes. On Halloween of 93’ 2Pac gets arrested for shooting two-off duty police officers from Atalanta. 2Pac said that he was harassed as a black motorist. The charges were dropped. During the end of November 94’ while 2Pac is on trial for sex and weapons he was robbed $40,000 of jewelery and was shot five times. The $40,000 worth of jewelery was stolen in a recording studio in Times Square. The robbers had stole 2Pac’s $30,000 diamond ring and $10,000 of gold chains. They left his diamond-encrusted gold Rolex.

Starbucks Going Global

â€Å"Starbucks – Going Global Fast. † I. Saturation of Home market and existence of Foreign Untapped markets Starbucks is a well respected brand of coffee that is known globally. As they dominate the market in United States, they have realized the potential growth in overseas markets and open its doors to going global. However, competing internationally is not easy for every company that’s why Starbucks has encountered certain challenges and issues as it enters foreign markets and grows globally. II. Problems Major Problems: Employee DiscontentEmployee discontent is very far from the image that Starbucks obtains or would like to uphold. Dissatisfied employees could greatly affect the service that they provide to the customers. The company is focused on enthusiastic, happy baristas and friendly service. If employee morale dropped it could have an extremely negative effect on Starbucks’ image and sales as well. As stated in the case, 470 California stores s ued Starbucks for refusing to pay legally mandated overtime pay. This is due to overworked and underappreciated workers. The salary Starbucks provide doesn’t match the workload that is required by the company.The employees, especially the store managers feel exhausted and employee morale goes down. The employees are feeling less connected with the company mission and it affects the quality of service and products that they provide. Local challenges in Foreign Market Entry The influence of economic and political environment to its entry and operation in foreign countries is one of the challenges it faces. As Starbucks continue to open up stores in foreign markets, it also faces different challenges as local imitators try to steal market share.In Japan, they expect loss for the full year. Aside from local competitors offering products with the same price, the economic depression in Japan affected the customer’s income and buying behaviour. As a result the company is losi ng rather than gaining profit due to coffee pricing. In addition to political environment, Starbucks need to adapt into France’s regulations and generous labour benefits which is legal and compulsory for them to enter the market. Another problem is the entry to foreign markets that has strong local coffee culture.The company is still in its stage of assessing the right strategy to enter markets like Italy. Since it is struggling on its food and non food items, the competition in this market will be difficult due to the existence of anti-globalization movement and strong national responsiveness of local consumers to its own products. Minor Problems: Specified Target Audience Starbucks used the â€Å"Youth appeal† as a strategy to enter foreign markets and gained success, but in the home market attracting the next generation of customers seems to be an issue.The result of the market study made the company aware about the image that it has with its target customers. Young er coffee drinkers can’t afford to buy coffee at Starbucks or the reason they go there is not mainly because of coffee or its products but their peers working. The value associated with brand at some point doesn’t convince the young people in embracing the brand itself. It depicts a pretentious environment for social climbers or yuppies. Aside from trying to reach a specific target market, the company eventually ended up in different markets as it grows rapidly.Venture to Food and Non food items To keep up with competition and increase sales, Starbucks should not solely rely on coffee as its main product but other products they can take advantage of as well. As Starbucks wants to continually increase sales, it started offering food and other non food items to sell inside their stores during the late 90’s but it seems to be a challenge because it still struggles in this area. The company started offering sandwiches and desserts, CD’s and packaged coffees b ut growth rate doesn’t seem to rise.The company still has to work on the right approach as it continues to improve in this area. III. Solutions: A. Employee Discontent Employees are very important in the success of any company. They are considered as the first customer in every business. Satisfying employee needs is essential so that the company can achieve its goals and deliver proper service. Starbucks needs to be sensitive to their employee needs. They must equally match the compensation to the workload of the employees. Since the company is also going global, there are challenges in human resource that they need to focus on.They have to be aware of the employees’ local culture and needs to satisfy them. They should also conduct a survey internally to be aware about the employees’ needs, wants and feelings towards the company. This will help them properly design employee compensation and benefits. There will be adaptation towards the company’s approach in managing employees in overseas branches. They should take into consideration the legal environment of each local branch so that they can address specific needs and concerns as they manage the business across different cultures.Happy and satisfied employees will result to quality in service and products. B. Local Challenges in Foreign Market Entry Starbucks should conduct marketing research and environmental scanning as it enters foreign markets. They have to take into account the importance of economic and political environment and how it can greatly influence the operation of its business. They should be aware of the economic situation of the market and assess how it can affect the purchasing power of the market. They must be aware of the legal factors that would affect the way it operates its business overseas.They should also conduct a different marketing strategy for different markets since one strategy in one market will not guarantee the success in another. There will be a daptation in marketing approach and local operations to cope up with the foreign market’s needs and external environment. C. Specific Target Audience Since the company intended to reach a specific target market, it ended up catering to different markets as it grows rapidly. As they continually use the â€Å"Youth Appeal† because it gained success as they enter foreign markets, it cannot still be considered as a global strategy to enter the market to other countries.Starbucks should make a study about coffee culture before it enters the market and formulate a strategy that would simply meet the demands of the potential market. They should carefully position the brand in accordance to what they want the market to perceive. As with the case of Starbucks to its home market, the brand was associated with being pretentious. They should associate positive and sophisticated value with the brand. D. Venture to Food and Non Food Items Limitation to product choices restricted the business growth of Starbucks and there is a tendency that customers might get bored and switch to other others.As Starbucks is going abroad they should not focus only to their core products but also find ways on how to improve the quality of their coffee, the services and their environment. This will be very helpful especially if they want to capture the market in France and Italy. They can also venture into bringing some new products especially food and non food items to its menu that would help fulfil the current and local demand of the market. IV. Recommendations A. Employee Discontent * Employee Survey Starbucks needs to conduct an internal employee survey to know the needs of their employees and what makes them content.They should also initiate personality test to all employees especially with their branches abroad. This may be costly but if the results will be interpreted in the right way then the company could address the needs of the employees. This will also help them mana ge human resource despite the difference in culture and will help them appropriately design compensation and benefits to the employees. * Corporate Communication of Company Vision and Mission Since the employees feel less connected with company mission, Starbucks should promote awareness within the employees about the company’s Vision and Mission.This will make the value the corporate values set by the company. The importance of achieving the company Vision as it delivers quality service and product. This will make them brand hearted and will have this sense of connection with the mission of the company. B. Local challenges to Foreign Market Entry * In-depth Marketing Research and Environmental Scanning The company should be knowledgeable to all the factors in Macro and Micro Environment that could affect, influence and help them in their business operations. The company should always be updated with the data so that they could be prepared with the changes that may happen. Do mestically designed Marketing Mix To avoid the errors to Ethnocentrism, the company should adapt to local cultures and needs of their foreign market. They should be able to use the approach as they communicate with their customers while implementing their market strategies. As for the case in France and Italy, the company should also create products that would suite the local taste of the market and recognize the market’s own unique culture. C. Specified Target Audience * Marketing Research Starbucks should be able to properly address the demands of the local market they have in various countries.The company should not only focus one approach as it enters foreign markets. In some countries, â€Å"Youth appeal† worked, but in other countries the target market of Starbucks are adults. They have to sensitive with the target market that they serve in every country because for some Starbucks is unaffordable and pretentious. They should know more about what attracts the loca l market, purchasing power, buying behaviour. In other countries, pricing is not a barrier but they are more on value, ambience and status. Others are more on practicality and benefits. D.Venture to Food and Non Food Items * Adaptation to local culture, demands and tastes Starbucks should introduce new products either food or non food items that would cater to the local demands of the market. They should blend with the local taste of the market. They could also recognize the culture of the market and include it on its menu. One example is in Italy, they could launch one product like a local espresso as part of the menu so that local customers would feel that it’s not just an American coffee, Starbucks are also sensitive to their local taste.

Solar Heated Grill

Solar Heated Grill ABSTRACT This study aimed to find out if an old shoebox  and a thick tin foil can be converted to amore useful piece of cooking equipment. The feasibility of reflective solar heated grillthat is built from a cardboard box, tin foil, and  posterboard as an alternative cookingequipment  was studied  in this  research project. The cardboard box  was cut  andshaped. the tin foil is settled in the middle making it looks like a slide. we go outside inthe heat of the sun. the  barbeque sticks were placed in the  spot where reflection of thesunlight focuses  on the hotdog . just like a  real skewer  the hotdog were cooked therefor minutes. asted it. and voila. real hotdogs on stick  just like mom used to cook. General Objective: This study thru physics aims to find out if an old shoe carton box can be useful to makean alternative cooking machine. Materials/Equipment: 1. Two pieces of heavy cardboard (like the side  of a cardboard carton). The fi rst piecemust be at least ten inches squareand the second smaller piece must be  at least four inches by five inches. 2. A piece of light posterboard eight inches wide  and sixteen inches long. 3. Twelve-inch wide aluminum foil. (You will use about 32 inches of the  material. ) 4. Some masking tape. You may experiment with other types of tape. ) 5. Nine inch long sticks about 1/16 inch in diameter. You may also use lengths of heavywire. Procedure Select a long narrow box; the longer the  box the more heat  collection is possible. Choose a focal length between 5†³ and 10†³Ã‚  and design a parabolic curve as seenin the picture. One template could be  used for all the cookers. Trace the curve onthe open end of the  box so that it is centered and straight2. Cut out the curve with a utility knife. Stress the importance of being exact. Measure and cut a piece of posterboard that will fix flush against the opening tothe box.Attach this with tape beginning at the cen ter and working toward toedges. Cover the curve with white glue and apply  aluminum foil shiny side out. Start inthe middle and smooth toward the edges. Try not to wrinkle or fold the foil; youwant it as smooth as possible Use two scraps of cardboard taped to each side as supports. Using the sun or aprojector light, test the focal point. There should be a  bright spot where light isconcentrated; mark this spot and punch  a hole for the skewer. Use a section  of acoat hanger from which the paint has  been removed for a skewer

Example of Two Sample T Test and Confidence Interval

Example of Two Sample T Test and Confidence Interval Sometimes in statistics, it is helpful to see worked out examples of problems.   These examples can help us in figuring out similar problems.   In this article, we will walk through the process of conducting inferential statistics for a result concerning two population means. Not only will we see how to conduct a hypothesis test about the difference of two population means, we will also construct a confidence interval for this difference.   The methods that we use are sometimes called a two sample t test and a two sample t confidence interval. The Statement of the Problem Suppose we wish to test the mathematical aptitude of grade school children.   One question that we may have is if higher grade levels have higher mean test scores. A simple random sample of 27 third graders is given a math test, their answers are scored, and the results are found to have a mean score of 75 points with a sample standard deviation of 3 points. A simple random sample of 20 fifth graders is given the same math test and their answers are scored. The mean score for the fifth graders is 84 points with a sample standard deviation of 5 points. Given this scenario we ask the following questions: Does the sample data provide us with evidence that the mean test score of the population of all fifth graders exceeds the mean test score of the population of all third graders?What is a 95% confidence interval for the difference in mean test scores between the populations of third graders and fifth graders? Conditions and Procedure We must select which procedure to use. In doing this we must make sure and check that conditions for this procedure have been met. We are asked to compare two population means. One collection of methods that can be used to do this are those for two-sample t-procedures. In order to use these t-procedures for two samples, we need to make sure that the following conditions hold: We have two simple random samples from the two populations of interest.Our simple random samples do not constitute more than 5% of the population.The two samples are independent of one another, and there is no matching between the subjects.The variable is normally distributed.Both the population mean and standard deviation are unknown for both of the populations. We see that most of these conditions are met.   We were told that we have simple random samples.   The populations that we are studying are large as there are millions of students in these grade levels. The condition that we are unable to automatically assume is if the test scores are normally distributed. Since we have a large enough sample size, by the robustness of our t-procedures we do not necessarily need the variable to be normally distributed. Since the conditions are satisfied, we perform a couple of preliminary calculations. Standard Error The standard error is an estimate of a standard deviation. For this statistic, we add the sample variance of the samples and then take the square root. This gives the formula: (s1 2 / n1 s22 / n2)1/2 By using the values above, we see that the value of the standard error is (32 / 27 52 / 20)1/2 (1 / 3 5 / 4 )1/2 1.2583 Degrees of Freedom We can use the conservative approximation for our degrees of freedom. This may underestimate the number of degrees of freedom, but it is much easier to calculate than using Welchs formula. We use the smaller of the two sample sizes, and then subtract one from this number. For our example, the smaller of the two samples is 20. This means that the number of degrees of freedom is 20 - 1 19. Hypothesis Test We wish to test the hypothesis that fifth-grade students have a mean test score that is greater than the mean score of third-grade students. Let ÃŽ ¼1 be the mean score of the population of all fifth graders. Similarly, we let ÃŽ ¼2 be the mean score of the population of all third graders. The hypotheses are as follows: H0: ÃŽ ¼1 - ÃŽ ¼2 0Ha: ÃŽ ¼1 - ÃŽ ¼2 0 The test statistic is the difference between the sample means, which is then divided by the standard error. Since we are using sample standard deviations to estimate the population standard deviation, the test statistic from the t-distribution. The value of the test statistic is (84 - 75)/1.2583. This is approximately 7.15. We now determine what the p-value is for this hypothesis test. We look at the value of the test statistic, and where this is located on a t-distribution with 19 degrees of freedom. For this distribution, we have 4.2 x 10-7 as our p-value. (One way to determine this is to use the T.DIST.RT function in Excel.) Since we have such a small p-value, we reject the null hypothesis. The conclusion is that the mean test score for fifth graders is higher than the mean test score for third graders. Confidence Interval Since we have established that there is a difference between the mean scores, we now determine a confidence interval for the difference between these two means. We already have much of what we need. The confidence interval for the difference needs to have both an estimate and a margin of error. The estimate for the difference of two means is straightforward to calculate. We simply find the difference of the sample means. This difference of the sample means estimates the difference of the population means. For our data, the difference in sample means is 84 – 75 9. The margin of error is slightly more difficult to compute. For this, we need to multiply the appropriate statistic by the standard error. The statistic that we need is found by consulting a table or statistical software. Again using the conservative approximation, we have 19 degrees of freedom. For a 95% confidence interval we see that t* 2.09. We could use the T.INV function in Excel to calculate this value. We now put everything together and see that our margin of error is 2.09 x 1.2583, which is approximately 2.63. The confidence interval is 9  Ã‚ ± 2.63. The interval is 6.37 to 11.63 points on the test that the fifth and third graders chose.

Jazz in New York and Chicago During the 1920s essays

Jazz in New York and Chicago During the 1920s essays New York and Chicago During the 1920's The 1920's was a huge decade for the phenomena known as "Jazz". Due to the closing of the seaport in New Orleans, musicians were forced to travel up the Mississippi to find work. Two of the cities most affected by this move were Chicago and New York. Chicago was home primarily for New Orleans traditional music during the 1920's. From this New Orleans style came four major types of jazz: Boogie-Woogie, Chicago Jazz, Urban Blues, and Society Dance Bands. Because of the ever-growing popularity of nightclubs during Prohibition, these styles of jazz thrived so musicians were guaranteed jobs. The popularity of the phonograph also provided a huge boost to the music industry during the 1920's. Boogie-Woogie was a style of improvised piano music played during the '20's in Chicago. It got its start in the mining areas of the Midwest. The rolling, repetitious style was the beginning of the Midwestern shuffle style. The second type of jazz popular during this time was Chicago Jazz. It was played mostly by white musicians. Chicago Jazz tended to be very aggressive and usually ended abruptly. Since Chicago had more nightclubs than New York, it held a bigger attraction for musicians. It was only after the stock market crash in 1929 that New York replaced Chicago as a jazz capital. This style of jazz was tighter and more rehearsed than others. The next kind of jazz to emerge during the 1920's was Urban Blues. This was played primarily in an area known as the "bucket of blood." This referred to an area along the South Side of Chicago. The clubs there were known to hire the "who's who" of blues musicians. The last major style of jazz to emerge from Chicago during the '20's was Society Dance Bands. These bands were usually big with plush arrangements. They were located downtown and were slower paced and had no improvisation. They were designed mainly for dancing. They had a more ...

Definition and Examples of Understatement

Definition and Examples of Understatement Definition Understatement is a  figure of speech in which a writer or speaker deliberately makes a situation seem less important or serious than it is. Contrast with hyperbole. Jeanne Fahnestock points out that understatement (particularly in the form known as litotes) is often used for self-deprecation on the rhetors part, as when the heavily decorated war hero says I have a few medals, or someone who has just won on American Idol observes I did OK (Rhetorical Style, 2011). See Examples and Observations below. Also, see: EmphasisEuphemismIronyLitotesMeiosisTop 20 Figures of Speech Examples A soiled baby, with a neglected nose, cannot be conscientiously regarded as a thing of beauty. (Mark Twain)I have to have this operation. It isnt very serious. I have this tiny little tumor on the brain.(Holden Caulfield in The Catcher In The Rye, by J. D. Salinger)Last week I saw a woman flayed, and you will hardly believe how much it altered her person for the worse.  (Jonathan Swift, A Tale of a Tub, 1704)The graves a fine and private place, But none, I think, do there embrace. (Andrew Marvell, To His Coy Mistress)I am just going outside and may be some time. (Captain Lawrence Oates, Antarctic explorer, before walking out into a blizzard to face certain death, 1912)Vance: My, we are certainly in a good mood this morning.Pee-wee: That, my dear Vance, is the understatement of the year. Everything seems completely different to me today. The air smells so fresh. The sky seems a brand-new shade of blue. I dont think Ive ever noticed the beauty of this leaf. And Vance, have you always been so handsome?  (Wayne White and Paul Reubens in Big Top Pee-wee, 1988) This [double helix] structure has novel features which are of considerable biological interest.(Opening sentence of the Nature article announcing Crick and Watsons discovery of the structure of DNA)Last night, I experienced something new, an extraordinary meal from a singularly unexpected source. To say that both the meal and its maker have challenged my preconceptions about fine cooking is a gross understatement. They have rocked me to my core. (Anton Ego in Ratatouille, 2007)The new EU member states of Poland and Lithuania have been arguing this week for the summit to be called off, and criticizing the German preparations. For historical reasons, the east Europeans are highly sensitive to any sign of Germany cutting deals with Russia over their heads. (The Guardian, May 17, 2007)Well, thats cast rather a gloom over the evening, hasnt it?(Dinner guest, after a visit from the Grim Reaper, in Monty Pythons The Meaning of Life)The adjective cross as a description of his Jove-like wrath that consumed his whole being jarred upon Derek profoundly. It was as though Prometheus, with the vultures tearing his liver, had been asked if he were piqued. (P. G. Wodehouse, Jill the Reckless, 1922) British Understatement The British are feeling the pinch in relation to recent terrorist bombings and threats to destroy nightclubs and airports, and therefore have raised their security level from Miffed to Peeved. Soon, though, security levels may be raised yet again to Irritated or even A Bit Cross. Brits have not been A Bit Cross since the Blitz in 1940 when tea supplies all but ran out.(anonymous post on the Internet, July 2007)Understatement is still in the air. It is not just a specialty of the English sense of humour; it is a way of life. When gales uproot trees and sweep away roofs of houses, you should remark that it is a bit blowy. I have just been listening to a man who got lost in a forest abroad for a week and was scrutinised by hungry wolves, smacking their lips. Was he terrified? - asked the television interviewer, obviously a man of Italian origin. The man replied that on the seventh day when there were no rescuers in sight and the sixth hungry wolf joined the pack, he got a bit worried. Y esterday, a man in charge of a home where 600 old people lived, which was found to be a fire risk where all the inhabitants might burn to death, admitted: I may have a problem. (George Mikes, How to Be a Brit. Penguin, 1986) Observations Understatement is a form of irony: the ironical contrast inheres in the discrepancy between what one would be expected to say and his actual refusal to say it.(Cleanth Brooks, Fundamentals of Good Writing: A Handbook of Modern Rhetoric. Harcourt, 1950)The use of understatement is something that satirists have a mastery of, but as a rhetorical device, we can use it to try to persuade someone by rewording a sentence in less offensive terms. For example, suppose we believe a persons idea to be in error and wish to point this out:I think there may be some additional factors that you may not have accounted for.Your analysis is far too simplistic. No one will take such an idiotic theory seriously. There are many other alternatives we could use, but consider that if we want to convince the person that they are mistaken then we need to pitch our objections accordingly. Perhaps the idea really is idiotic ... but is saying as much likely to incline them to change their opinion? For the second suggestion, it may depend on who we are talking to: a friend, say, may welcome the criticism but a stranger may not appreciate his or her thought being called simplistic, even if it is. Some people might still take offense at the first version, but the determining influences include what we want to achieve and whom we are talking to or writing for. How likely is a person to listen to our critique if they suspect we are talking down to them or dismissing them? (Heinz Duthel, History and Philosophy of Science. Lulu, 2008) Pronunciation: UN-der-STATE-ment Also Known As: litotes, diminutio

Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress Cases Case Study

Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress Cases - Case Study Example No because while the statute does not definitively require due diligence on the part of defendants, plaintiff did receive and pass psychological testing before engaging in the reality program and therefore defendants will likely not be held responsible. A lounge singer and Sacramento native, Mr. Muerton is currently unable to work because he suffers from recurring panic attacks, clinical depression, and paralyzing stage fright. He claims that these serious conditions are the result of Barnett Productions' duping him into participating in a reality television show called "Regular Guy," where, during the show's taping, he was forced to partake in humiliating school-yard contests while a group of athletically gifted "hunks" ridiculed his limited physical abilities. According to the client, show producers revealed, as they pulled up to beach front property which was directly across from the school which was the situs of Mr. Muerton's bullying, that the show was going to be called "The In Crowd Now" and that it would be about men who had been unpopular kids and had transformed into well-liked, successful adults. Only then did, Merton, as he was being prepared for the taping on a new segment based upon bullying learn the show was actual ly called "Regular Guy," and would be about 15 average-looking roommates competing for the affections of one beautiful woman, named Clarissa. Mr. Muerton claims that Barnett knew he would experience a negative psychological reaction to these staged events, which mirrored emotionally scarring grade-school bullying that he had experienced as a child. Prior to the taping of the show, Barnett was completely informed that Muerton that he had been abused while in grammar school. Disclosures included but were not limited to being targeted at recess by large cruel jocks; whippings during games of dodge balls; and verbal taunts such as "Watch the little loser run home to mommy after I nail him," and "I wish the ball was harder so it could crack your skull." As a direct result of the bullying, he was home schooled. Further, Merton stated "when they told me I would be cast in the show pending a background investigation and psychological testing. I passed both." During the taping of the recess segment, Merton was told by the hunks "They shouted insults. I remember, one of them said to another, "What a bunch of losers. These guys look like 14-year-olds. We should kick their asses." And another one said, "See these babies squeal I bet they're about to go in their pants." Originally scheduled to air on the Fox network this fall, the debut of "Regular Guy" has been postponed indefinitely. In sum, the issue is whether there would be a sustainable cause of action for intentional infliction of emotional distress DISCUSSION This memorandum encompasses three cases applied to the facts presented. Against that backdrop, pursuant to Yurick, a cause of action f

Tlatelolco Massacre Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Tlatelolco Massacre - Essay Example The incident clearly violated the human rights of this century as it killed many innocent people of the subcontinent. Massacres have taken place through out the world at different instances. At some instances the governments of states itself has been involved in carrying out the massacres. In other words massacres can also be defined as the mass killing of people without any concrete reason. Furthermore the causes of some of the mass massacres which have taken place in the history of this world are yet to be known. One of the massacres of such intensity is known as Tlatelolco Massacre. This took place in the city of Mexico on the date of October 2, 1968. It is known to be the deadliest of massacres which took place over a century in the city of Mexico. This essay would further analyze the massacre from all view points and would further examine the role of CIA in response to the massacre which happened. The incident of Tlatelolco took place in October 1968 at Plaza de las Tres Culturas. It was an armed incident which took place in the response of student demonstrations in Mexico. The year 1968 marked different demonstrations of students taking place all over the world which inspired the Mexican students also. Furthermore the students started having different rallies all over the city to get some of their demands accepted. The students further started to threaten the authorities of dire consequences if their demands were not met. The students had different demands which in totality wanted abolition of certain authorities and wanted to get some officers dismissed. The students also had other demands which were not being accepted by the government. At that time the President of Mexico was Gustavo Diaz Ordaz. He was determined to end the student demonstrations through out Mexico through different means and he even took aggressive methods to end it up. Till October the demands of the st udents were yet not met and they threatened the event of Olympics which were to take place in Mexico 1968. This took the authorities with surprise and it is reported that the government asked for support from the US to stop any mishap from happening in the Olympics. The rallies of the students extended to such a number that it became alarming for the authorities and on the eve of October 2 at Plaza de las Tres Culturas aggressive means of methods were used against these students to make them finish their demonstrations. However after the massacre it was till 2003 not established as to who was responsible for the massacre. The government at that time claimed that some of the students hiding in other buildings had started firing on the security forces and in response the security forces did the same. Although different stories have been put up by the State department, FBI and CIA the view points of CIA would be emphasized more in this essay. The State department which was being informed by different sources about the incident is still not having clear claims as to how the incident occurred all the authorities have contradictory views as to from the first shot took place. The army is not blamed at by the authorities as the general of army was trying to disperse the crowd when the first shot was fired. The Federal Bureau of Investigation also had no prior knowledge as to how the inc

Credo essay Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Credo essay - Coursework Example Although we might not always be able be in a position to see the foundations of grand skyscrapers, we know that there has to be one because without it, the tall skyscraper would collapse when faced with the smallest gust of wind. For me, my family is essentially this foundation, it is my biggest supporter when I need to be encouraged and assured, and it is where I run to when things do not work out and I feel insecure. Family is of great importance and has an influence on the individuals we turn out to be, we cannot hide our true feelings from our families as they can always see right through us. My family has been instrumental in teaching me how to relate and interact with others. From my family, I have managed to gain a number of strong role models, ranging from my father who is always strong in the face of any calamity and never runs away from bravely confronting any challenges in life, to my grandmother whose special brand of affection is truly one of life’s greatest treas ures, my small sister whose openness and vivacity is quite infectious to my mother endless love that we constantly draw upon. There is nothing as good as the joy that is shared all round when a family sits down to enjoy each other’s company and laugh together. At times families do tend to experience difficulties that cause them to close ranks and cry, but this is ultimately overshadowed by the certain morning that is sure to eventually breakout as the family overcomes the challenges in their paths and are able to once again able to enjoy the joy of sunshine after a dark moment and laugh together. My family comforts and helps me to deal with life’s challenges; whether it is something as relatively small as not finding a favorite pair of shoes to wear when I want to go out, or something as monumental as the cold touch of death. I go through life with the quite assurance that in the face of calamities and challenging situations, I can always look up to my family for support and

Has no topic Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Has no topic - Essay Example It is noted that once these European powers entered a given country, they imposed their rules and policies on the people of that country or territory. This implies that everyone in the country that the European powers took control of were to follow the laws and rules of their colonizers. In fact, history tells us that the European powers were once in control of all the third world colonies, particularly in the 19th and 20th centuries (Marker par. 3). The existence of the European colonies in the third world countries had both positive and negative impacts. Nevertheless, it can be argued that the overall effect of colonialism on the colonized was positive and transformational. This discourse explores the extent to which the colonial rule transformed the world, with particular emphasis on third world countries. It is worth stressing that colonial rule did have negative impacts on many countries colonized by the European powers. However, the positive impacts of the colonial rule cannot be underrated. In most African countries, for example, colonial rule helped in bringing education to the locals that enhanced the literacy level of most Africans. Melber notes that in most countries that the European colonies entered, they established schools, and colleges, where for the natives (17). African people also used these schools to learn. This helped improve the literacy level of most Africans who had no basic education. Research indicates that Europeans taught Africans how to read, write, and do arithmetic. In Kenya, for example, the British colony established a number of schools for European children in some areas and African schools in other areas. Some of the European schools started by the British in Kenya include Nairobi School and Lenana School (Marker par. 5). These schools helped transform Kenya into an enlightened country. The colonial rule also transformed most colonies by improving the health and standards of living of people by establishing hospitals with exp erienced personnel. Research indicates that prior to the entry of European colonizers in the third world countries, such as Africa, most people depended on herbs and divine healing for diseases. Others went to witch doctors to intervene in their situation. However, this did not help much resulting in high mortality rates. In fact, tropical diseases, such as malaria became prevalent due to lack of drugs. However, soon after invading third world countries, the European colonizers embarked on building hospitals and clinic where they could be treated for diseases such as malaria, yellow fever, sleeping sicknesses and small pox, just to name but a few. These hospitals were also used to treat Africans whenever they fell ill. In addition, the hospitals were also used to train Africans on drug use. The establishment of the hospitals helped reduce mortality rates, as well as improving the standards of living in third world colonies. It also transformed third world colonies from over dependen t on herbs and divine intervention to seeking treatments in hospitals from specialized trained doctors and nurses (Hrituleac 13). Sanitation and live expectancy are another area that the colonial rule had a huge impact. Sanitation used to be very poor in most third world countries before the entry of colonizers. However, their entry brought significant transformation by improving the state of sanitation by educating Africans on the importance of

Book report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 2

Book report - Essay Example However, the Chinese artistic traditions were usually only partially valued in the Western world. For example, researchers more often studied Chinese sculpture and paid little attention to such a valuable form of art in China as calligraphy. In this regard, in his book Clunas attempts to compensate for such a one-sided traditional approach to the study of art in China, as for one he describes the mentioned virtual omission by Western scholars of calligraphy as an art form in favor of painting, and even points out that the cognomen "Chinese Art" is mostly a Western concept. In reality, as we learn, for the most period of its history in China artistic sphere was closely connected with its functions, be they decorative, religious, or political in nature. Now contrast this with the notion of a kind of an isolated museum exhibition that may arise from the Western approach to the study of art, and we may understand why Chinese art has not been fully appreciated in the West and what potenti al benefits the approach of Clunas may offer. With the mentioned innovative approaches to his investigation Craig Clunas apparently manages to penetrate deep within his subject of study due to his organic combination of study of Chinese arts in their proper contexts with attention to all their essential aspects, starting from tomb artifacts and up to the Mao Zedong era. Interestingly, with these observations in mind we can also think of Clunas`s book as simultaneously a critical investigation of the Western perception of Chinese art. Let us see how the author tackles the task that he has set before him. This can already be seen from an introduction where, instead of attempts to superficially describe the most important artists and works of art of different periods of history, Clunas rather chooses to elaborate on the plausible historic context that accompanied works of Chinese art. As we learn, it turns out

Journal opinion article Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 2

Journal opinion article - Essay Example This is used to measure the firms’ price changes which they receive by offering their goods and services. However, the declining energy prices along with controlled inflation were mutually agreed upon by 0.1%. There are few economists who rather than accepting that they couldn’t forecast well, put the blame on Labor Department. However, in order to foresee the price pressure expected to build on the economy, PPI is used which shows the sign of inflation. Traditionally it is not monitored so closely as compare to personal consumption and consumer price. Since January, The Labor Department has started including prices for their services along with the goods prices so that they can be able to keep a track of economic activity. As per their one of the economists, this revamped measure increased the PPI coverage but now they feel that their efforts of keeping everything transparent with respect to economy are something they are achieving at the fullest. This also shows that they need to adopt some volatile actions particularly for trade services. There were some changes experienced in sub-index profit margins at retailers as well as whole sellers. On the other hand one of the biggest jumps of 1.5% on record was observed in October. The economist somehow also missed seasonal adjustments, which are a statistical technique used to eradicate the weather impact, holidays etc. All distortions will be removed by the passage of a complete calendar year pertaining to poor seasonal adjustment, and on a monthly basis the seasonal adjustment process over or make the corrections in the raw price changes will result strangely. The Chief Economist quoted that this jump reflects technically and does not indicate and twist in the trend. He also said that he believes that due to statistical quirk they are experiencing increase in trade services. One of the factors causing this scenario might be slim profit margins, due to which minimal boost in profits

Book report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 2

Book report - Essay Example However, the Chinese artistic traditions were usually only partially valued in the Western world. For example, researchers more often studied Chinese sculpture and paid little attention to such a valuable form of art in China as calligraphy. In this regard, in his book Clunas attempts to compensate for such a one-sided traditional approach to the study of art in China, as for one he describes the mentioned virtual omission by Western scholars of calligraphy as an art form in favor of painting, and even points out that the cognomen "Chinese Art" is mostly a Western concept. In reality, as we learn, for the most period of its history in China artistic sphere was closely connected with its functions, be they decorative, religious, or political in nature. Now contrast this with the notion of a kind of an isolated museum exhibition that may arise from the Western approach to the study of art, and we may understand why Chinese art has not been fully appreciated in the West and what potenti al benefits the approach of Clunas may offer. With the mentioned innovative approaches to his investigation Craig Clunas apparently manages to penetrate deep within his subject of study due to his organic combination of study of Chinese arts in their proper contexts with attention to all their essential aspects, starting from tomb artifacts and up to the Mao Zedong era. Interestingly, with these observations in mind we can also think of Clunas`s book as simultaneously a critical investigation of the Western perception of Chinese art. Let us see how the author tackles the task that he has set before him. This can already be seen from an introduction where, instead of attempts to superficially describe the most important artists and works of art of different periods of history, Clunas rather chooses to elaborate on the plausible historic context that accompanied works of Chinese art. As we learn, it turns out

Performance Management (paraphrase) Human Resource Management Class Essay

Performance Management (paraphrase) Human Resource Management Class - Essay Example Starbucks works hard at providing a great working environment for each and every one of its diverse employees. Along with providing full healthcare benefits for both part and full time employees, the organization thoroughly trains each new staff member through 24-hr in-store training programs for at least 2-4 weeks (Hammers, 2003). This allows them to successfully learn their individual tasks and customer needs while becoming familiar and comfortable with their environment. Starbucks recognizes the fact that every one of its staff is an important â€Å"partner† in helping it to stay true to its mission statement: â€Å"to establish Starbucks as the premier purveyor of the finest coffee in the world while maintaining our uncompromising principles as we grow† (Austin & Reavis 2004). All partners, right up to the board of directors, are given a specific performance standard and code of conduct to abide by. This is effectively communicated through regular partner meetings, memos, and training (Hammers, 2003). When evaluating employees, supervisors, and managers the same appraisal techniques are used to ensure fairness to everyone.

Prevent From Engaging In Premarital Sex Theology Religion Essay

Prevent From Engaging In Premarital Sex Theology Religion Essay In Malaysia, premarital sex is still a big NO-NO in our culture for various reasons. Sex comes with responsibility. Thus it does not matter if it is premarital sex, extra-marital sex, marriage sex or even unconsented sex. If you engage in premarital sex, be prepared to take all consequences including dealing with your God, pregnancy, the potential gossips and condemnations from the world, etc. Sexuality is not an instrument of enjoying lustful pleasure for human beings, at least. In premarital sex, many a times, immature human beings explore the sexuality, jut out of curiosity, and might be are unaware of the consequences. Society has forbid premarital sex from the very outlook that adolescence is the time to form oneself as mature and responsible human being and not at all a time to procreate. We have to start saying No! to premarital sex. We should keep in mind that engaging in premarital sex is not the best way to convey your love towards the one you loved. We should push the thought to the back of our minds and remember that we would definitely feel sorry later if we engaged in premarital sex. One of the ways to prevent premarital sex is to start from education. Sex education should begin at home and as early as possible in a childs life. The parents must have a close relationship with the child to make him feel comfortable to talk about his anxiety and concerns. From the healthy discussion between the parents and the child, the topic of premarital sex can be brought up easily. The parents may give the child piece of advice on dealing with the relationship between couples. Keep an open mind and be ready to answer any questions openly and honestly. Learning the truth about sex is much better then learning false info from peers. The parents have to help their child when their child is in a relationship. The parents should not get panic and freak out when their child is in a relationship. They should help the child in avoiding temptation. For example, the child can go on supervised group dates and invite the partner over when an adult is home where premarital sex is less likely to happen. One-to-one time with the partner alone should be strongly discouraged as this may lead to unwanted accidents to happen. The child should be aware of the serious consequences of premarital sex such as unwanted pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases like AIDS. Currently, there is no known cure for AIDS. Though most parents may know this information, keep it in mind when discussing sexual behaviours with children. Educate your children with this information. It may mean life or death. Luckily, parents are not the sole providers of sex education. Schools can lend a hand by helping parents teach children about sex. Both of them should work hand in hand in handling this problem. The children and teenagers should be taught to protect themselves from premarital sex. They must understand that nobody can force them to do anything that they feel not comfortable with. They must realise how important it is to respect themselves, not using their bodies to fulfil the sexual desires of their partner. The school and the parents should tell the children to say No! firmly. The teenagers must remember, If you dont walk away, you will be sorry. The teenagers should strictly refrain themselves from reading, listening or viewing to those unsavoury media culture such as pornography and movies with sexual scene. Instead, they should choose something which is pure and healthy. For instance, they can involve in various healthy activities and sports which can build up their self-esteem. They should draw a line wisely to set limit on the expressions of affections. The girls should never give out false signals by wearing tight and revealing clothes which may cause them to fall into sexual immorality. The boys should always refrain themselves from making any rash decisions and they should always think of the consequences they may face after involving in sexual immorality. You must lead your heart rather than letting it to lead you. The teenagers should always be careful about the uses of alcoholic beverages. They may lose their inhabitations under the influence of the alcohols. If the couples find themselves uncomfortable with the intimate situation, they must do something that breaks the mood. It is difficult to avoid premarital sex from happening, but with a bit more effort it will become easier. Never compromise to your principles and say No! firmly to premarital sex. Conclusion Is premarital sex good or bad? Well actually, that depends on us to decide it. We can tell that premarital sex is against God, and it is unsafe physically and emotionally. Although sex is pleasurable, it is designed by God to be enjoyed by two married people. Sex is a holy gift from God wherein we celebrate it after marriage. A person should think long and hard before involving in premarital sex. Premarital sex seems to be a norm in nowadays. This should not be allowed among the teenagers. They should be aware of the bad sides of premarital sex. In a pleasure of a moment, they are being blinded by the sexual desire. In the moment of lust and passion, their future is destroyed. In the moment of foolishness and self-gratification, they will fall into the dark abyss. Sexual desire is like a fire and wont stop until it burns itself. Sex is for married couples and when done out of marriage it cause a lot of harm to the doers. The effects are not immediate but later in life they are devastating. The scars of premarital sex are painful and difficult to get rid of. They will leave an indelible mark in your life and it will always follow you even in your marriage. They will shame you, degrade you and interfere with your life. Imagine meeting your previous sex partners whilst with your husband and children. How would you feel? You will wish to hide but youll have no place to do so. So, think about it before it is too late. Premarital sex should strictly be banned from teenagers life. Parents have great responsibilities in educating their children about the essence of marriage and proper sex education should be given to the children. Parents should make an endeavour in teaching their children about sex, letting them know that it can be pleasurable, but there are so many risks involved sexually transmitted diseases, AIDS and HIV, and unwanted pregnancy all which can be prevented. The teenagers will be in matured mind. As a result, the teenagers will know that marriage is not only about having sex, but having a harmonious family and a heavy responsibility as well. Teenagers should always keep in mind that, if a boy or girl truly loves you, they will want the best for you. They will not want you to suffer fear of disease, unwanted pregnancy and the psychological difficulties of premarital sex. They will want to experience love with you only in the very best place of all the love nest of marriage. So, say No! to premarital sex before it is too late.

Narrativity, Modernity, and Tragedy: How Pragmatism Educates Humanity :: Argumentative Persuasive Philosophy Essays

Narrativity, Modernity, and Tragedy: How Pragmatism Educates Humanity ABSTRACT: I argue that the modernist notion of a human self (or subject) cannot easily be post-modernistically rejected because the need to view an individual life as a unified 'narrative' with a beginning and an end (death) is a condition for asking humanly important questions about its meaningfulness (or meaninglessness). Such questions are central to philosophical anthropology. However, not only modern ways of making sense of life, such as linear narration in literature, but also premodern ones such as tragedy, ought to be taken seriously in reflecting on these questions. The tradition of pragmatism has tolerated this plurality of the frameworks in terms of which we can interpret or 'structure' the world and our lives as parts of it. It is argued that pragmatism is potentially able to accommodate both the plurality of such interpretive frameworks-premodern, modern, postmodern — and the need to evaluate those frameworks normatively. We cannot allow any premodern source of hu man meaningfulness whatsoever (say, astrology) to be taken seriously. Avoiding relativism is, then, a most important challenge for the pragmatist. 1. The idea that "grand metanarratives" are dead is usually regarded as the key to the cultural phenomenon known as postmodernism. We have been taught to think that the Enlightenment notions of reason, rationality, knowledge, truth, objectivity, and self have become too old-fashioned to be taken seriously any longer. There is no privileged "God's-Eye-View" available for telling big, important stories about these notions. The cultural hegemony of science and systematic philosophy, in particular, is over. Nevertheless, as even some postmodern thinkers themselves keep on insisting, we still have to be committed to the grand narrative of our individual life. (1) We cannot really dispense with the modernist notion of self, and the one who says we can forgets who she or he is. From the point of view of our own life, no postmodern death of the subject can take place. On the contrary, my death transcends my life; it is not an experienceable event of my life — as Wittgenstein also famously pointed out at Tractatus 6.4311. Most (perhaps all) of us feel that one's own death is hardly even conceivable from within one's life. On the other hand, somewhat paradoxically, death must be postulated as the imaginary end point, the final event, of the story of my life. If there were no death (i.e., the annihilation of my self) to be expected, I could not even realize that I am leading a specific, spatio-temporally restricted human life.

Theoretical Issues Related to Human Resources :: Human Resources Essays

This essay will discuss the theoretical issues related to human resource management strategies, human resource planning, employment relations, diversity management and recruitment and selection. The essay will compare the differences in human resource management between two airlines, American Airlines and Southwest Airlines. Finally the essay will put forward recommendations to the two airlines in the human resource area. The human resource needs of today’s organisation need to be continually analysed due to constant changing conditions. This analysing is known as human resource planning (HRP) and it ensures that the right number and type of people are available at the right time for the organisation (Dessler et al 1999). There are many factors that contribute to HRP and trends that influence the organisation’s external environment. These factors are workforce diversity, outsourcing, globalisation, technological development, new organisational structures, casualisation and the shift from manufacturing towards service and knowledge-based work (Dessler et al 1999). Workforce Diversity Workforce diversity is divergence from an assumed norm or set of expectations. The government have created legislations confirming the right of all members of society to experience comparable life and work opportunities, irrespective of difference of sex, age, sexual orientation, religion, physical abilities or whether they belong to the dominant culture or language group (Human Resource Management Study Book). The reasons that these legislations were introduced were due to the changing of the workforce. More women joined the workforce as did people of differing ethnic origins. The workforce has become older because of the legal ruling of voluntary retirement age (Human Resource Management Study Book). Due to these changes and legislations employers have had to re-think their employment policies and procedures in areas such as selection, training and promotion (Human Resource Management Study Book). Some forward thinking organisations have looked beyond the government’s requirements and have used the changes to benefit themselves in the long term. These organisations have taken this opportunity to better understand and serve the wider community, to gain a competitive advantage over more traditional organisations. They have also tried to gain more knowledge of the needs and preferences of specific groups in society and discovered the things that might help to make the workplace more productive and satisfying for all their employees (Human Resource Management Study Book). Outsourcing. Outsourcing is where organisations use external providers for those activities that are either non-essential or demand an injection of management resources and capital. This allows the organisation to focus more on the core of the business operations (Dessler et al 1999). Outsourcing is extremely important where HRP is concerned. It can be used as a strategy when skilling of resources will be expensive and time consuming and it can also make forecasting easier if the

Research Notes on Comparison Between Romeo

Research Notes On Comparison Between Romeo + Juliet's And Benedick + Beatrice's Relationship's †¢Benedict jests he only takes Beatrice for pity whereas Beatrice claims to only accept him for she is under the belief that he is in consumption, suggests that their married life years will continue to be full of lively conversations and wit so that hopefully neither should have to ‘sigh away’ their ‘Sundays’ or bear the horns of a cuckold. †¢Romeo and Juliet’s relationship: had it been given time to grow and mature more steadily, their love may have grown into the most beautiful flower of all. A key difference, which can be noted between Romeo and Juliet and Beatrice and Benedict, is the speed in which their relationship advances. Romeo and Juliet’s whole relationship takes place in a matter of three days whereas in much ado about nothing the audience gets the impression that Beatrice and Benedict have known each other a long time, perhaps having been involved in a romantic relationship some time before the beginning of the events in the play.In act 1 scene 1 Beatrice says ‘I know you of old’. To ‘know’ somebody in Shakespearean times often suggested you knew that person in a sexual context. †¢In contrast, Beatrice and Benedict appear to be in no rush to get married. Both reveal apprehensions about it during the play. Beatrice likens marriage to a five step jig describing the initial part as ‘hot and hasty†¦ and full as fantastical’.The words ‘hot and hasty’ suggest that Beatrice sees the first part of a relationship as passionate and exciting; the words ‘full of fantastical’ seem to be suggesting that this part of the relationship is almost like a fantasy, an illusion, not real. Beatrice could be suggesting that at first you don’t really know somebody and what might seem perfect at first may turn out to be a disappointment. This may ha ve been how Beatrice felt when she first met Benedict. She seems to hint that he has let her down in some way offering only a ‘single heart’ for her ‘double one’ , and that he won it with ‘false dice’.The illusion of gambling perhaps suggests that Beatrice sees a potential relationship a risky game and one she might not win. Considering this, one can return to Romeo and Juliet and how well they really knew each other when they decided to get married. Only hours before meeting Juliet, Romeo had been in live over a girl called Rosaline. His love for Juliet does not appear deeper and more real, yet how confident can the audience be that this love would stand the test of time

A Reflection on the Violence of the Current Times Essay

Wars and revolutions have been considered over the years as the most destructive choice that many nations have pushed through for the sake of fighting for their ideologies and interests. Just like the most aggressive natural disasters such as tsunamis, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions, wars can end the lives of millions of innocent people in just a snap. All those ruthless bombing, deafening shootouts, and inhumane treatments among fighting nations are killing the world in such worse ways than natural disasters. This makes war as one of the most hated, resented, and feared concepts. However, it has also become one of the most tackled topics and themes in literature, allowing those who never experienced it to see a glimpse of its nature and reality. In James William Gibson’s article, Warrior Dreams, he talks about the feeling of being â€Å"unnamed† by a war that never became victorious. In the face of challenges and obstacles, this man who has been weakened by the fight seems to have formed illusions of invincible warrior heroes like Rambo, Dirty Harry and Jack Ryan (Gibson 625). An average and normal man would understand completely that the reality of being unmanned can be compared to a distressing situation in a man’s life where his greatest natural ability and strength are taken away: â€Å"Feeling unmanned by a war lost and by the rewriting of gender codes in the wake of the sexual revolution, millions of American men [†¦] began to dream, to fantasize about the powers and features of another kind of man who could retake and reorder the world† (Gibson 625). This would most certainly leave that person weak in his own awareness and belief; therefore, he will need something or someone—even an imaginary hero—from whom he can gain strength and an inspiration of invincibility. This, Gibson notes, can be one of the most potent roots of ruthless violence and inhumanity. Like many literary artists and sociologists who explored wars and revolutions in their works, Gibson admits that wars are practically naturally occurring events. He even claims that wars have divine histories as well — that during the ancient societies, even gods used wars as a way to set up the deified order of things: â€Å"These cosmogonic, or creation, myths posit a violent conflict between the good forces of order and the evil forces dedicated to the perpetuation of the primordial chaos. After the war in which the gods defeat the evil ones, they establish the ‘sacred order’† (Gibson 633). This claim, together with most of the academic claims about wars, implies that generally, wars are something which is innate in the tendencies of human beings and that war and violence appears to be never-ending exhibition of power by the humans—a power that they think they own. There are a lot of current issues and happenings that can be related to Gibson’s perspective on war and violence. Aside from the seemingly unending wars and violent acts rooted in religious conflicts and ideological clashes, Gibson’s discussion on the nature and reality of war and violence can also be exemplified in the case of a ruthless shooting in school done by mere adolescent boys rattled the entire nation — a nightmare that they never imagined to ever occur. It was a perfect spring morning in the fields of the Columbine High School in Jefferson County, Colorado. As the investigation revealed, the deaths of 13 innocent people were indeed done by two boys by the name of Eric Harris, 18 years of age and Dylan Klebold, 17 (Bradley). The two started packing their rigging weapons and bombs in their duffel bags on the morn of April 20, 1999. After preparing their weapons and god-knows-what, they headed to Columbine High School. It was past 11 in the morning when the first set of gunshots were heard by the students from the cafeteria and they immediately scooted under the table to protect themselves from what they cannot deny as danger. What followed next was a series of pointless, cold-blooded shooting and bombing by the two young gunmen. The police were immediately present in the area; however, they were not able to protect the lives of 13 innocent people who fell dead. After the shootings and bombing, when the police and the SWAT were finally ready to enter the campus, the gunmen, Harris and Klebold, ended their own lives. This was just one of the most gruesome and distressing violent acts the whole of America has witnessed over the years. However, what disturbed most Americans about this incident was the involvement of two young people as the gunmen themselves. After the incident, a lot of harsh critics passed the blame onto the media industry for their irresponsible broadcasting and insufficient monitoring and control with the messages and content they convey. A lot of parents not just grieved but also blamed every possible medium which they think has contributed to the growth of violent materials in the mass media industry and consequently affected the behavior of children. However, even to this date, no one can be really certain about what went on in Harris and Klebold’s minds to do such a thing. But considering Gibson’s discussion on the nature and reality of wars and violence, one could infer that these two boys just had an urge of power exhibition in false knowing and understanding that they can control and change the order of the world. Works Cited Bradley, Ed. â€Å"What Really Happened At Columbine? † CBS News. 17 April 2001. 9 July 2009. . Gibson, James Wilson. â€Å"Warrior Dreams. † Title of the Book. Ed. First Name Last Name. Location: Publisher, Year. 625–633.

Leadership In The Military

There is surely no more talent nor more hope for the future than right here in this room. I envy you and I wish I could trade places with you, but at the same time, looking at all of you I am supremely confident that here among you sit the future great captains of our military and that we can all be very confident about tomorrow. And I am convinced that if he were alive today, Gen. Marshall would be right here, for there is nothing that that great soldier loved more than to talk about service and to talk about leadership.As he himself once said on a similar occasion, looking across a room full of future leaders, â€Å"You're young,† he said, â€Å"and you're vigorous, and your service will be the foundation for peace and prosperity throughout the world. † Certainly as I look at you the same is true this morning. Truly you here in this room are our future. And it is most fitting for us to come together right here in these very halls where George Marshall once walked to h onor him and to reflect on his great contributions and to share some thoughts on leadership.If you were to think back over this century, you would realize very quickly that our Army has produced some truly remarkable military leaders. I am confident that if I were to ask all of you to take pen to paper and to write down the names of the great Army leaders of this century, you would be at it for a very long time, and when you were done, the lists that you produced would be very long. Just to name the most famous, there was, of course, Black Jack Pershing, Omar Bradley, George Patton, Dwight Eisenhower, Douglas MacArthur, Lightning Joe Collins and most recently two of my former bosses, Norman Schwarzkopf and Colin Powell.Each of these officers was remarkably gifted. But if you study them closely, you realize that each was very different, that the fame they acquired had very different roots. Omar Bradley — simple, unadorned, humble, but of them all he was the soldier's soldier à ¢â‚¬â€ loved by his subordinates and considered by Eisenhower to be the boldest and most dogged of his Army group commanders. Or there was Eisenhower himself, a leader of incalculable depth, intricacy and complexity.Some say his outward appearance and reputation were those of an officer who compromised easily, and who others thought was only thinly grounded in the knowledge of war fighting, but one with a keen sense for what it took to maintain cohesion within our W[orld] W[ar] II coalition. But if you were to look closer, you would discover that these were the traits Eisenhower wanted others to believe, for he was surrounded by huge egos, both among the talented commanders in his theater and among the nations that comprised our alliance.Quite contrary to these assertions, he held deep convictions, and he never ceded or compromised any point that he felt important. Our campaign to seize Europe from the Nazis was the very campaign he visualized at the start of the war back in 1942, a plan for which at first there was only lukewarm support among American leaders and nearly total opposition from our British allies.Yet when it was done, it was Eisenhower's approach we executed, and it was militarily brilliant. And any study of our great generals must include that incredible warrior, George Patton, a tenacious and hard-bitten fighter who felt the pulse and flow of the battlefield in his veins, who had an innate knack for inspiring soldiers to fight beyond all limits of their endurance, but also a soldier with a renowned appetite for fame and approval.And we could talk about so many others, for our Army has produced such a rich abundance of talented leaders. But there is one giant who stands above them all. That officer was, of course, George Catlett Marshall. More than any soldier of this century, I'm convinced Marshall epitomized the qualities that we want in our leaders. He had MacArthur's brilliance and courtliness. He had Patton's tenacity and drive. He had Br adley's personal magnetism, the  ability to inspire confidence and deep affection from any who came into his presence.But more than that, Marshall had the organizational skills that in a few short years converted an Army of only several hundred thousand, with only a handful of modern weapons and no modern battlefield experience, into an Army of over 8 million — the best equipped, the best fighting army in the world, an army that defeated the two most powerful empires of its time.More than that, he had a rare intuition, a nearly flawless inner sense for other men's strengths that allowed him to see the spark of leadership in others, and when he saw that spark, to place such men into key assignments and then to fully support their efforts. He did that time and again, hundreds of times, with remarkable accuracy. And as we learned after the war, he was as well perhaps the greatest statesman and visionary of his age.All of us should remember that the occupations of Germany and J apan were commanded by military officers, but we should also remember that the architect of these occupations was Marshall. But even beyond this, in 1948, with a few words uttered in a speech at Harvard, Marshall put in motion the plan that would rebuild Western Europe, that would recover its people from enormous poverty, that would reweave the entire tapestry of nations from the conflict-addicted patterns of the past to what we see today: a Western Europe poised on the edge of becoming a cohesive union of nations.What an accomplishment! It is staggering to think of what this one officer accomplished in his career of service to his nation. But most humbling is to realize that to his death Marshall remained an entirely selfless man, a man who returned to service even from a well-deserved and long-sought retirement because a president requested him to do so, a man who never, ever exploited his reputation for any personal gain. If we were to ask a sculptor to produce a bust of a great leader and  described to that sculptor all of the traits and qualities that that bust should reflect, I have absolutely no doubt that that bust would look exactly like Gen. George C. Marshall.And so for those of us like you and I, who make soldiering our way of life, it is always instructive to take the time to reflect on Gen. Marshall's career, for by so doing we are reminded of much that we should try to emulate. But you are here for a different reason. You are here because I think you worry about these next steps for you, which will lead to a gold bar of a second lieutenant.I doubt very much that you are searching for answers about how to mobilize for war, how to free an enslaved Europe or how to rebuild a destroyed nation, although some day your country may ask just that from you. If you are like I was when I waited to pin on my lieutenant's bars, your thoughts are more about the challenges of a platoon leader than those of a general. The other week while a guest on Larry King 's show, Larry asked me when I first thought of becoming a general and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs. The answer was very simple.I told him that when I was a private my ambition was to become a good one so someday I could become a good corporal. And when 36 years ago, in 1959, the year that Gen. Marshall died, I was commissioned a second lieutenant and shipped off to Fairbanks, Alaska, and became a platoon leader in the mortar battery of the 1st Battle Group of the 9th Infantry, my thoughts were certainly not on becoming a general or colonel or major or even a captain!My thoughts were on becoming a good platoon leader, about being up to the challenge of leading my soldiers, about not making a fool of myself in front of Sgt.1st Class Grice, the platoon sergeant of that first platoon of mine. And I was right to concentrate on the job at hand, for the job of a lieutenant is a tough one — in many ways, perhaps, the toughest one — but it is without a doubt also the most important, and if you take to it, also the most rewarding. I was very fortunate, because I had Sergeant Grice to guide me and to teach me. And teach and guide me he did, without ever making me feel inadequate and without ever permitting me to be ill-prepared, because he was the best!And if there is one thing I wish for each and every one of you, it is a Sergeant Grice to teach you about soldiers, about leaders, and the responsibilities and joys of soldiering together. Not everyone is as blessed as I was; not everyone finds his Sergeant Grice, and many don't not because he isn't there, but because unknowingly and foolishly they push him away. Don't do that. Look for your Sergeant Grice; NCOs have so very much to teach us. Well, what did I learn from Sergeant Grice?Certainly more than I have time to tell you here, and also because many helpful hints have probably by now faded from my memory. But what I learned then and what has been reinforced in the 36 years since is that good leader ship, whether in the world of a lieutenant or in the world of a general, is based essentially on three pillars. These three pillars he taught me are character, love and care for soldiers, and professional competence. Oh, Sergeant Grice didn't exactly use these terms, but what he believed and what he taught me fit very neatly into these three pillars.He used to say that if the platoon ever sensed that I wasn't up front with them, if they ever believed I did something so I would look good at their expense, I would very quickly lose them. How right he was. Often he would say, â€Å"Look down. Worry about what your soldiers think. Don't worry about looking up, about what the captain thinks of you. † He never said it, that's not the kind of relationship that he and I had, but I knew that if I ever said something to the platoon or to him that wasn't the absolute truth, he would never trust me again and I would be finished as a platoon leader.I would be finished as a leader. Someone once said that men of genius are admired, men of wealth are envied men of power are feared but only men of character are trusted. Without trust you cannot lead. I have never seen a good unit where the leaders weren't trusted. It's just that simple. And it isn't enough that you say the right things. What counts in a platoon is not so much what you say, but what they see you do. Gen. Powell, speaking here a few years ago, put it this way: â€Å"If you want them to work hard and endure hardship,† he observed, â€Å"you must work even harder and endure even greater hardship.†Ã¢â‚¬Å"They must see you sacrifice for them,† he said. They must see you do the hard things, they must see you giving credit to the platoon for something good you did, and they must see you take the blame for something they hadn't gotten just right. But Sergeant Grice also understood that hand in hand with character, with this inner strength that soldiers will want to see, they will also want to know and see that you really care for them, that you will sacrifice for them, that you simply enjoy being with them. Words won't get you through there, either.If you don't feel it in your heart, if you don't love your soldiers in your heart, they will know it. How often Sergeant Grice would prod me to spend the extra time to get to know the members of the platoon better, to know who needed extra training and coaching so he could fire expert on the rifle range the next time around; to talk to Pvt. Taylor, who just received a â€Å"Dear John† letter; to visit Cpl. Vencler and his wife, who had a sick child. Every day you will have soldiers who will need your care, your concern and your help.They expect and, I tell  you, they have the right to expect, 150 percent of your time and best effort. And how well I remember those evenings in the field when Sergeant Grice and I would stand in the cold, with a cup of coffee in our hands trying to warm our frozen fingers, watching the p latoon go through the chow line. Grice taught me that simple but long-standing tradition that officers go to the very end of the chow line, that the officer is the last one to eat, that the officer will take his or her first bite only after the last soldier has had a chance to eat.This tradition, as you so well know, is founded in the understanding that leaders place the welfare of their people above their own, that the officer is responsible for the welfare of the troops; that if mismanagement results in a shortage of food to feed the entire unit, that the officer will go without; that if the food gets cold while the unit is being served, that the officer will get the chilliest portion. It is a tradition that surprises many officers from other nations, but it goes to the core of the kind of leadership we provide our soldiers. But caring for our soldiers does not stop at the chow line.Nor, for that matter, does it stop with the soldiers themselves, for you know that our units are fa milies, and a soldier must have the trust that you will take care of his family, particularly when he's away from home. But caring for soldiers actually starts with making them the best possible soldiers they can be. Their satisfaction with themselves, their confidence in themselves and in the end, their lives will depend upon how well you do that part. And that perhaps is your greatest challenge as a lieutenant. It is hard work, and make no mistake about it, there are no shortcuts.But what a joy it is to watch or to talk to young men and women in uniform, who know that they are the best because a Sergeant Grice and his or her lieutenant cared to teach them and to work with them and to make them reach for the highest standards. Which brings me to the third pillar I spoke of, and that is your professional competence. As we look back on Marshall and on Patton and on MacArthur and all of the others, we realize that the skills and qualities and knowledge that made them great generals to ok decades of training, of experience and of evolution.For all of the differences between these leaders there is one thing that they had in common. Their careers were marked by a progression of difficult assignments and intense study. Always they were a snapshot of a masterpiece still in progress, still in motion. From the beginning of their careers to the end, each of them was continually applying new brushstrokes to their knowledge and to their skills. And Grice understood that very well, although he had different words for it.He knew that if our platoon was going to be good at occupying a position and firing our mortars, at hastily leaving our position should enemy artillery have found our location, at the countless things that would make us a finely honed war-fighting machine, then he had to show me, he had to teach me and to practice with me, so that when I walked that gun line the soldiers would know that I knew more than they; that if I asked them how to cut a mortar fuse, th ere was no doubt that I would know the answer, just as I would know if there was too much play in the sight mount on that mortar.And I had to feel confident that knew before they would feel confident with me. In every good leader I have met in my years of service there always was the evidence of these three qualities: character, love for soldiers and professional competence. And because they possessed these qualities, they managed to inspire their soldiers to have confidence in them. And you know, the truly great ones like George C. Marshall did not only inspire soldiers to have confidence in their leaders, but they also inspired their soldiers to have confidence in themselves.With that, let me close. As I told you in the beginning, I am deeply envious of each of you. Since the days when I first put on my uniform, I fell in love with soldiering and with soldiers, and it has been for me, by any measure, a great passion. If I could start all over today, I would not hesitate for a sing le second. I would go out and I would find old Sergeant Grice and we would be ready tomorrow morning! Good luck to you all. I envy you. Leadership in the Military There is surely no more talent nor more hope for the future than right here in this room. I envy you and I wish I could trade places with you, but at the same time, looking at all of you I am supremely confident that here among you sit the future great captains of our military and that we can all be very confident about tomorrow.And I am convinced that if he were alive today, Gen. Marshall would be right here, for there is nothing that that great soldier loved more than to talk about service and to talk about leadership.As he himself once said on a similar occasion, looking across a room full of future leaders, â€Å"You're young,† he said, â€Å"and you're vigorous, and your service will be the foundation for peace and prosperity throughout the world.† Certainly as I look at you the same is true this morning.Truly you here in this room are our future. And it is most fitting for us to come together right here in these very halls where George Marshall once walked to hono r him and to reflect on his great contributions and to share some thoughts on leadership.If you were to think back over this century, you would realize very quickly that our Army has produced some truly remarkable military leaders.I am confident that if I were to ask all of you to take pen to paper and to write down the names of the great Army leaders of this century, you would be at it for a very long time, and when you were done, the lists that you produced would be very long.Just to name the most famous, there was, of course, Black Jack Pershing, Omar Bradley, George Patton, Dwight Eisenhower, Douglas MacArthur, Lightning Joe Collins and most recently two of my former bosses, Norman Schwarzkopf and Colin Powell.Each of these officers was remarkably gifted. But if you study them closely, you realize that each was very different, that the fame they acquired had  very different roots. Omar Bradley — simple, unadorned, humble, but of them all he was the soldier's soldier â⠂¬â€ loved by his subordinates and considered by Eisenhower to be the boldest and most dogged of his Army group commanders.Or there was Eisenhower himself, a leader of incalculable depth, intricacy and complexity. Some say his outward appearance and reputation were those of an officer who compromised easily, and who others thought was only thinly grounded in the knowledge of war fighting, but one with a keen sense for what it took to maintain cohesion within our W[orld] W[ar] II coalition.But if you were to look closer, you would discover that these were the traits Eisenhower wanted others to believe, for he was surrounded by huge egos, both among the talented commanders in his theater and among the nations that comprised our alliance. Quite contrary to these assertions, he held deep convictions, and he never ceded or compromised any point that he felt important.Our campaign to seize Europe from the Nazis was the very campaign he visualized at the start of the war back in 1942, a p lan for which at first there was only lukewarm support among American leaders and nearly total opposition from our British allies. Yet when it was done, it was Eisenhower's approach we executed, and it was militarily brilliant.And any study of our great generals must include that incredible warrior, George Patton, a tenacious and hard-bitten fighter who felt the pulse and flow of the battlefield in his veins, who had an innate knack for inspiring soldiers to fight beyond all limits of their endurance, but also a soldier with a renowned appetite for fame and approval.And we could talk about so many others, for our Army has produced such a rich abundance of talented leaders. But there is one giant who stands above them all. That officer was, of course, George Catlett Marshall. More than any soldier of this century, I'm convinced Marshall epitomized the qualities that we want in our leaders. He had MacArthur's brilliance and courtliness. He had Patton's tenacity and drive. He had Bradl ey's personal magnetism, the  ability to inspire confidence and deep affection from any who came into his presence.But more than that, Marshall had the organizational skills that in a few short years converted an Army of only several hundred thousand, with only a handful of modern weapons and no modern battlefield experience, into an Army of over 8 million — the best equipped, the best fighting army in the world, an army that defeated the two most powerful empires of its time.More than that, he had a rare intuition, a nearly flawless inner sense for other men's strengths that allowed him to see the spark of leadership in others, and when he saw that spark, to place such men into key assignments and then to fully support their efforts. He did that time and again, hundreds of times, with remarkable accuracy.And as we learned after the war, he was as well perhaps the greatest statesman and visionary of his age. All of us should remember that the occupations of Germany and Japa n were commanded by military officers, but we should also remember that the architect of these occupations was Marshall.But even beyond this, in 1948, with a few words uttered in a speech at Harvard, Marshall put in motion the plan that would rebuild Western Europe, that would recover its people from enormous poverty, that would reweave the entire tapestry of nations from the conflict-addicted patterns of the past to what we see today: a Western Europe poised on the edge of becoming a cohesive union of nations. What an accomplishment!It is staggering to think of what this one officer accomplished in his career of service to his nation. But most humbling is to realize that to his death Marshall remained an entirely selfless man, a man who returned to service even from a well-deserved and long-sought retirement because a president requested him to do so, a man who never, ever exploited his reputation for any personal gain.If we were to ask a sculptor to produce a bust of a great leade r and described to that sculptor all of the traits and qualities that that bust should reflect, I have absolutely no doubt that that bust would look exactly like Gen. George C. Marshall.And so for those of us like you and I, who make soldiering our way of life, it is always instructive to take the time to reflect on Gen. Marshall's career, for by so doing we are reminded of much that we should try to emulate.But you are here for a different reason. You are here because I think you worry about these next steps for you, which will lead to a gold bar of a second lieutenant. I doubt very much that you are searching for answers about how to mobilize for war, how to free an enslaved Europe or how to rebuild a destroyed nation, although some day your country may ask just that from you.If you are like I was when I waited to pin on my lieutenant's bars, your thoughts are more about the challenges of a platoon leader than those of a general.The other week while a guest on Larry King's show, L arry asked me when I first thought of becoming a general and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs. The answer was very simple. I told him that when I was a private my ambition was to become a good one so someday I could become a good corporal. And when 36 years ago, in 1959, the year that Gen. Marshall died, I was commissioned a second lieutenant and shipped off to Fairbanks, Alaska, and became a platoon leader in the mortar battery of the 1st Battle Group of the 9th Infantry, my thoughts were certainly not on becoming a general or colonel or major or even a captain!My thoughts were on becoming a good platoon leader, about being up to the challenge of leading my soldiers, about not making a fool of myself in front of Sgt. 1st Class Grice, the platoon sergeant of that first platoon of mine.And I was right to concentrate on the job at hand, for the job of a lieutenant is a tough one — in many ways, perhaps, the toughest one — but it is without a doubt also the most important , and if you take to it, also the most rewarding.I was very fortunate, because I had Sergeant Grice to guide me and to teach me. And teach and guide me he did, without ever making me feel inadequate and without ever permitting me to be ill-prepared, because he was the best!And if there is one thing I wish for each and every one of you, it is a Sergeant Grice to teach you about soldiers, about leaders, and the responsibilities and joys of soldiering together. Not everyone is as blessed as I was; not everyone finds his Sergeant Grice, and many don't not because he isn't there, but because unknowingly and foolishly they push him away. Don't do that. Look for your Sergeant Grice; NCOs have so very much to teach us.Well, what did I learn from Sergeant Grice? Certainly more than I have time to tell you here, and also because many helpful hints have probably by now faded from my memory.But what I learned then and what has been reinforced in the 36 years since is that good leadership, wheth er in the world of a lieutenant or in the world of a general, is based essentially on three pillars.These three pillars he taught me are character, love and care for soldiers, and professional competence.Oh, Sergeant Grice didn't exactly use these terms, but what he believed and what he taught me fit very neatly into these three pillars.He used to say that if the platoon ever sensed that I wasn't up front with them, if they ever believed I did something so I would look good at their expense, I would very quickly lose them. How right he was.Often he would say, â€Å"Look down. Worry about what your soldiers think. Don't worry about looking up, about what the captain thinks of you.†He never said it, that's not the kind of relationship that he and I had, but I knew that if I ever said something to the platoon or to him that wasn't the absolute truth, he would never trust me again and I would be finished as a platoon leader. I would be finished as a leader.Someone once said that men of genius are admired, men of wealth are envied men of power are feared but only men of character are trusted. Without trust you cannot lead. I have never seen a good unit where the leaders weren't trusted. It's just that simple.And it isn't enough that you say the right things. What counts in a platoon is not so much what you say, but what they see you do.Gen. Powell, speaking here a few years ago, put it this way: â€Å"If you want them to work hard and endure hardship,† he observed, â€Å"you must work even harder and endure even greater hardship.† â€Å"They must see you sacrifice for them,† he said. They must see you do the hard things, they must see you giving credit to the platoon for something good you did, and they must see you take the blame for something they hadn't gotten just right.But Sergeant Grice also understood that hand in hand with character, with this inner strength that soldiers will want to see, they will also want to know and see that you really care for them, that you will sacrifice for them, that you simply enjoy being with them. Words won't get you through there, either. If you don't feel it in your heart, if you don't love your soldiers in your heart, they will know it.How often Sergeant Grice would prod me to spend the extra time to get to know the members of the platoon better, to know who needed extra training and coaching so he could fire expert on the rifle range the next time around; to talk to Pvt. Taylor, who just received a â€Å"Dear John† letter; to visit Cpl. Vencler and his wife, who had a sick child. Every day you will have soldiers who will need your care, your concern and your help. They expect and, I tell you, they have the right to expect, 150 percent of your time and best effort.And how well I remember those evenings in the field when Sergeant Grice and I would stand in the cold, with a cup of coffee in our hands trying to warm our frozen fingers, watching the platoon go through the chow line. Grice taught me that simple but long-standing tradition that officers go to the very end of the chow line, that the officer is the last one to eat, that the officer will take his or her first bite only after the last soldier has had a chance to eat.This tradition, as you so well know, is founded in the understanding that leaders place the welfare of their people above their own, that the officer is responsible for the welfare of the troops; that if mismanagement results in a shortage of food to feed the entire unit, that the officer will go without; that if the food gets cold while the unit is being served, that the officer will get the chilliest portion. It is a tradition that surprises many officers from other nations, but it goes to the core of the kind of leadership we provide our soldiers.But caring for our soldiers does not stop at the chow line. Nor, for that matter, does it stop with the soldiers themselves, for you know that our units are families, and a soldier must have the trust that you will take care of his family, particularly when he's away from home.But caring for soldiers actually starts with making them the best possible soldiers they can be. Their satisfaction with themselves, their confidence in themselves and in the end, their lives will depend upon how well you do that part. And that perhaps is your greatest challenge as a lieutenant. It is hard work, and make no mistake about it, there are no shortcuts.But what a joy it is to watch or to talk to young men and women in uniform, who know that they are the best because a Sergeant Grice and his or her lieutenant cared to teach them and to work with them and to make them reach for the highest standards.Which brings me to the third pillar I spoke of, and that is your professional competence. As we look back on Marshall and on Patton and on MacArthur and all of the others, we realize that the skills and qualities and knowledge that made them great generals took decades of training, of experience and of evolution. For all of the differences between these leaders there is one thing that they had in common. Their careers were marked by a progression of difficult assignments and intense study. Always they were a snapshot of a masterpiece still in progress, still in motion.From the beginning of their careers to the end, each of them was continually applying new brushstrokes to their knowledge and to their skills.And Grice understood that very well, although he had different words for it. He knew that if our platoon was going to be good at occupying a position and firing our mortars, at hastily leaving our position should enemy artillery have found our location, at the countless things that would make us a finely honed war-fighting machine, then he had to show me, he had to teach me and to practice with me, so that when I walked that gun line the soldiers would know that I knew more than they; that if I asked them how to cut a mortar fuse, there was no doubt that I would know the answer, just as I would know if there was too much play in the sight mount on that mortar. And I had to feel confident that knew before they would feel confident with me.In every good leader I have met in my years of service there always was the evidence of these three qualities: character, love for soldiers and professional competence. And because they possessed these qualities, they managed to inspire their soldiers to have confidence in them.And you know, the truly great ones like George C. Marshall did not only inspire soldiers to have confidence in their leaders, but they also inspired their soldiers to have confidence in themselves.With that, let me close. As I told you in the beginning, I am deeply envious of each of you. Since the days when I first put on my uniform, I fell in love with soldiering and with soldiers, and it has been for me, by any measure, a great passion.If I could start all over today, I would not hesitate for a single second. I would go out and I would find old Sergeant Grice and we would be ready tomorrow morning!Good luck to you all. I envy you.