Hamlet the Passive Intellect

The actions and events in Shakespeare’s Hamlet revolve around Hamlet’s inactivity. Without Hamlet's hesitation, constant thought, and internal deliberation, the plot would proceed directly from Hamlet’s meeting with the Ghost to his murder of Claudius. Hamlet’s philosophical strifeheightens the complexity of his life issues and intensifies the depth of his dilemma. Hamlet’s over-intellectualization coupled with his passive tendencies paralyzes his ability to act, locking him in an inescapable prison of his own inner consciousness. Hamlet's over-intellectualization begins with his questioning of the ghost's identity. When first told by Horatio that the ghost of his father haunts the battlements, Hamlet interrogates him obsessively to obtain every relevant detail to satisfy his intellectual curiosity. He  fires  a volley of questions at Horatio, ranging from whether his countenance is â€Å"pale or red† to how long it â€Å"fixed eyes upon [Horatio]† (1. 2. 250). His desire to dispel uncertainty and further his knowledge escalates in the physical encounter with the ghost. Rather than accepting his vision for granted, Hamlet examines the validity of his perceptions by debating whether the ghost of â€Å"a questionable shape† is â€Å"wicked or charitable† (1. . 45-46). Hamlet initially pronounces to the ghost that he will â€Å"wipe away all trivial, fond records, all saw of books, all forms, all pressures past, that youth and observation copied there,† declaring his resolution to act (1. 4. 108). However, when he reconvenes with his friends, he entreats them â€Å"never make known what you have seen tonight† (1. 5. 160). Instead of seeking for an immediate collective action to avenge his father’s â€Å"unnatural murder,† he chooses to prolong the process to devise an elaborate scheme within his own mind. He forestalls action—be it his friends’ or his own—to contemplate the implications of his experience. He concludes by cursing the fact that he â€Å"was born to set it right†Ã‚  Ã‚  (1. 5. 211). The ghost’s revelation places him in a position where he must be the agent of action, whose filial responsibility is to affect justice and kill Claudius. Hamlet’s dilemma, then, stems from the need to become an avenging son while being a naturally passive intellectual. Hamlet addresses his dilemma in greater depth by engaging in a rigorous, intellectual process, which ironically perpetuates the vicious cycle of inactivity. In his conversation with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, he confesses, â€Å"thinking makes it so. To me it is a prison† (2. 2. 270). Hamlet finds himself imprisoned by his intellect, as he â€Å"must like a whore unpack [his] heart with words† (2. 2. 614). He cannot act by heart because he is bound to â€Å"unpack† his actions with reason first. He berates himself as â€Å"a rogue and peasant slave† and â€Å"John-a-dream, unpregnant of my cause, and can say nothing† (2. 2. 576-595). Hamlet recognizes that he is not taking any decisive action to dutifully avenge his father’s death in staying within his comfort zone of intellectualism. As he articulates and explores his conflict of conscience, he concludes, â€Å"Thus conscience does make cowards of us all and thus the native hue of resolution is sicklied o’er with the pale cast of thought, and enterprises of great pitch and moment†¦lose the name of action (3. 1. 91-96). Hamlet reaffirms that his constant moralizing and philosophizing stymie the very action he strives for. The inexorable clash between his predisposition for sedentary contemplations and the filial imperative to actively seek revenge results in such strong feelings of self-loathing that he considers â€Å"shuffl[ing] off the mortal coil† (3. . 75). Committing suicide would proactively end his suffering, but he problematizes even that possibility as an unacceptable transgression against â€Å"[God’s]  canon ‘gainst self-slaughter! † (1. 2. 136). Ironically, this very soliloquy devoted to meditating on his passivity epitomizes his inaction; rather than coming u p with pragmatic solutions to end his dilemma, he explores and wallows in self-pity, which in turn exacerbates the intensity of his conundrum. Hamlet is so preoccupied with the enormous intellectual activity in his head that he closes himself off from all action in the external world.

Greek Mythology Essay

Expository Essay Greek mythology started over 2000 years ago and it is still influencing our world of today. Traveling the world or just being more conscious of the area that you live in you will be seeing many names or things and guess what, many of those came from Greek mythology. For example, Olympic games or many movies like â€Å"Wrath of the Titans† or games like † god of war† derive from Greek mythology. Those and many others explain how Greek mythology continues to play role in our world of today.The articles, â€Å"You already know Greek myths Greek and Roman mythology in daily life† by N. S Gill, â€Å"Genesis of Greek mythology and Greek gods† by Rachel Ann, and â€Å"Greek influences today† explain how Greek mythology plays a role in the world we live in today. Many things are related to Greek mythology. According to the article â€Å"You already know Greek myths Greek and Roman mythology in daily life† N. S Gill states that, †000 figures behind the name of your car like Saturn or mercury, or names of planets were Greek gods names†.He also included that Space missions and one very famous â€Å"Apollo† is named for the god of music and prophecy. The author states† petroleum company whose logo is the winged horse Pegasus†, and â€Å"A moving company is named for the Titan†, and there are much more companies whose logo or names come from Greek mythology. Some plants or expressions or similes are related with Greek mythology for example the author claimed â€Å"The Narcissus flower was originally a vain young man†. It may not make a difference to quality of life but knowing the real origin of things and names that are around you will give you insight into our cultural heritage and understanding† N. S Gill claimed. The earliest Greek mythology gave a life style for many people who desire to grasp the universe began. According to the article â€Å"Genesis of Greek mythology and Greek gods† Rachel Ann states that â€Å"Early Greeks had faith that gods ruled the earth, so they built statues and cities that are named after gods and some of them remain to the day of today†.There are many good stories about Greek mythology and some of them are true, there were stories about Olympic games or how zodiac signs works and there are real Olympic games and we do use the zodiac signs now days as the Rachel Ann claims so in her article. The Greeks also have influence on our world of today in a major and simple things. According to the article â€Å"Greek influences today†, the author claims that â€Å"Greeks had a lot of educational and social influence on us†.The author also explains that, Greeks created the first idea of democracy and they were first monarchy, but with time there has been invented new, better way of ruling, it was a direct democracy. It has been improved in these days for representative democracy of cours e. The author states â€Å"They were first civilization to use alphabet and our alphabet partly originate from it†. At time when part of Egypt was part of Greek empire. The author included facts like that, the general ordered to build first in the world library with scrolls of knowledge and also in Egypt the first huge lighthouse was built.Additionally the ancient Greeks excelled in mathematics and science, they calculated and theorized many things like earth is revolved around sun or how stars move or developed Pythagorean Theorem. We also use Greek architecture now days, those huge pillars and Greek flowers styles on a buildings. Greeks and their mythology have good influence on our world of today, our society and education is developed thanks to them. It is good to know where some things first started and to know even a bit of Greek mythology makes life more interesting as it makes it more cultural.

Implication of Extinction of Bengal Tigers Assignment

Implication of Extinction of Bengal Tigers - Assignment Example The Bengal tigers were once very common across Asia from Turkey to the west to the Eastern coast of Russia but have greatly reduced in the past 100 years and now remain in few Asian countries like India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, and Indonesia where they still face constant threat of extinction (Bhattarai & Kindlmann, 2012). Some cultures in Asia believe that powdered tiger bones have medicinal value and this has been one of the reasons for the poaching of tigers in India to get their bones. The other reasons for poaching of Bengal tigers is to get their Skin, teeth, skin, and claws which are in great demand in Asia. The tiger habitat is also at great risk due to human activities including conversion of forests into agricultural land, commercial tree logging and human settlement, which is greatly affecting the survival of tigers. Depletion of prey is also a factor contributing to the extinction of Bengal Tigers, as there are increased tiger attacks on livestock and humans resulting to into lerance of tigers from the surrounding communities in India (Borthakur, et al., 2011). The extinction of Bengal Tigers in India will, however, have strong and far-reaching consequences on biodiversity in India. This is because the disruption or elimination of one element from a fragile ecosystem causes an imbalance that not only affects the food chain but also the local communities and also other species that share the tiger habitat (Bhattarai & Kindlmann, 2012). Kindlmann, 2012). This is in agreement with what the Nobel laureate and environmentalist, Prof Wangari Mathai, once said that nature is very unforgiving and if you destroy nature, it will destroy you. The tiger being a carnivore is at the top of the food chain in all its habitats and helps to keep the population of its prey, most of which are vegetarians, such as the deer, antelopes, and wild pigs in check. If the tigers get extinct, the population of these animals will grow uncontrollably resulting into an imbalance (Chapr on et al., 2008). The increased population of these vegetarian would ravage the vegetation in the forest and this would make the place inhabitable for small animals and insects. The insects would then move to the farmland, which would greatly effect on vital food sources that human beings depend on for survival thus negatively affecting on human population. If vegetation can no longer grow in the jungle, the soil in the jungle would soon lose its fertility and eventually the jungle would lose its life to become a wilderness. The extinction of the Bengal Tigers in Indian forests will also lead to co extinction of other species in the forests. First, the tiger being on top of the food chain helps other animals such as birds and reptiles get food when it catches a prey. When a tiger has eaten its fill for instance from a prey, it abandons the rest which become food to the scavengers and other animals suc

N2 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

N2 - Assignment Example The skills and talents can be honed and developed to contribute to the care of the patient, while the personality of the person has to be taken into account when making decisions of a person’s role in patient care to maximize the good that person can do. The job factor is all about finding the right task for the right people. It means matching up jobs that require certain skill to someone proficient in that skill. It makes the job easier and more effective for everyone. To do this, one must know about the person taking care of the patient as well as the patient himself/herself. Fitting the job to a person’s strengths is not just a matter of making it easier. It is a wise use of resources which would be invaluable, especially in a hospital where lives are at stake. The organization is the interactions and the standards set between the health care staff. It is composed of the health and safety culture, the leadership system, and the communications of the health care providers. This is important because even if the right people are available for the right jobs, a lack of coordination from the organization could undo such advantages. Taken as a whole, The field of Human Factors are variables that define the relationships between people, work, and the systems governing them in a specific area (Carstens, 2005, p. 83). The effective manipulation of these factors in a hospital setting is matters of life and death, thus are sound candidates for careful scrutiny and application. In the medical-surgical setting, we can see many instances where human factors contribute to the welfare of patients. Sadly, mistakes are unavoidable, and it is here where we find the limits of the human factors, as well as areas to find improvement. Surgical practice is one of the best situations wherein human factors are apparent, and the effects are immediately appreciable. The

Network Management Group and Individual Project Essay

Network Management Group and Individual Project - Essay Example My aim is to design and manage this infrastructure in such a way that this network provides intranet facility to staff of the three departments and internet facility for information site for public. The intranet for the three departments will provide the access to staff only, with the ability to access and download files, with each department having its own section of the intranet. It is my responsibility to select such services and tools that are helpful in facilitating the overall management of this web hosting process. I have conducted a detailed study for establishing Web Hosting Solutions for the Payland’s government. This report emphasizes on the quality of services for management of this project. Our team has got the project to upgrade the information services and web facility for the Payland’s government departments. In this project, I am responsible for the implementation and designing for the Web Hosting services for the given departments. We have to establish the department’s intranet that must be part of a whole company’s intranet. I have decided to establish several levels of information access for the staff that will provide the different access rights to the intranet; all this includes the rights criteria to the network administrators and other employees. In this process, we are going to host the official governmental website in which, potential growth is strongly expected, so we have to reserve adequate web space available for the potential growth of sites. We also keep in mind the expected access intensity of this site because thousand staff members and general public will access our network so we have to be concise regarding the choice of the bandwidth. Network security is also an important factor for this network so we have to incorporate the log in and network firewall facilities. So, it was a little background of my project, I have enlisted the main factors and requirements

Designing a Cover Book Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Designing a Cover Book - Essay Example Richardson and P. Parnell, with illustrations by H. Cole. It is a book based on the real life of Silo and Roy two Chinstrap penguins, both male, in Central Park Zoo, New York. Their life is followed in the book, which trails their six-year partnership during which they are given an egg to raise (Justin et al 15). While winning numerous awards, it has been mired in many culture wars and censorship debates on adoption, same-sex unions and animal homosexuality. It was announced to be the book most challenged from 2006-2010 by the ALA. The page cover is set against a sky blue backdrop, with a few patches being lighter than the dominant color. This is appealing to the target since this is a reflective and dreamy color. The lighter patches show enlightenment and possibility of further existence, and meaning, underneath the backdrop. At the bottom of the cover are bread remains, as in most zoos where animal lovers throw food at penguins, with the bread being concentrated to the center right , though traces are seen still strewn around the completely lower part of the cover. Standing amidst these breadcrumbs are two Chinstrap penguins of similar size and stature to show similar sex, aligned more to the left of the cover, facing the viewer. Behind them is a chain link fence. Their body covering dark in color, they both spot white miniature bow ties, holding wings and looking down at an egg peeking from under the penguin on the right. Between the peeing egg and the right margin of the cover is the title in purple in purple with gold margins. The penguin on the right points at the egg with his free wing, a look of bewilderment on his face, while the other penguin has his free wing holding his left cheek, a look of pure terror on his face. To the right of the cover, further in the background are two penguins, different in size and stature to show different sex. They are deep in conversation with the larger one apparently jabbing his hand at Roy and Silo. The female however has a look of pure contentment and relief, since two eggs overwhelmed her, and another egg can be seen under her feet. The sky above them is full of faceless doves (Richardson et al 8). The back blurb reads: Silo and Roy, plucked from their ideal and wonderful world, have been thrust into a world that cares not about them, but what they bring to this place they have made them call home. Catapulted into the middle of a world they had never even dreamt of, the zookeepers pounce on their apparent affinity for each other. With no prior experience, they find a new guest thrust on them, memories of their fun day’s just ashes in the wind. As they become the center of attention for a world pre-occupied with feelings, allergic to thought and reflection, every day brings them closer to the truth. Number 3! 2. And Tango Makes Three Book Cover for Retired Armed Forces Men and Women. The page cover will be set against a dark cloudy backdrop, with flashes of lightning and barely visible ra indrops. This should show the turmoil and mistrust at all the attention that must be going through Silo and Roy’s minds. The bottom of the cover shows soggy and splashy ground from all the rain, with both Roy and Silo’s feet barely visible in the mud. Silo and Roy are both of the same size and stature denoting similar sex. Both are pencil drawings in blue with a creamish-colored egg visible beneath one of them. They are both standing in the rain holding hands, smack in the

In pregnant patients, does the use cabbage leaves decrease the Research Paper

In pregnant patients, does the use cabbage leaves decrease the incidence of breast engorgment as well as the application of brea - Research Paper Example However, this paper intends to analyze the effectiveness of swift nursing interventions along adequate patient teaching in relieving engorgement compared to the use of binders. After the comparison, the paper will highlight the best alternative for relieving engorgement. Research Question The research question in this case was to analyze whether the swift action from nurses in offering support pregnant patients before and immediately after delivery can help them in handling engorgement. On the other hand, the paper will analyze the efficiency of breast binders in minimizing the pain brought about by the condition. Mothers face a lot of anxiety after birth, and often need reassurance from informed nurses that they can handle the breastfeeding experience. The action from nurses also involves highlighting the crucial breastfeeding tips to mothers. Therefore, the intervention from nurses must come along adequate patient teaching. This research seeks to examine whether both medical and no n-medical support from nurses is more efficient in reducing breast engorgement in comparison to the advocated use of breast binders. The Search Process The EBSCO database proved to be a reliable source because it provides a wide range of resources. However, it was essential to customize the advanced search settings in order to get access to the most relevant range of articles. Therefore, limits for results included full text research articles, peer reviewed and from journals. Moreover, other limits included customizing the geographical setting to United States of America and limiting the search to articles dated 2007 to 2012. The search words were ‘breast engorgement’. Numerous articles addressing this issue appeared. Among these articles, five proved relevant to the issue and served as reliable sources for this search. The use of CINAHL database proved very resourceful because of the vast collection of nursing articles from renowned journals. How Engorgement Results In the first few days after birth when the baby begins to breastfeed, the milk may not flow easily. In this initial phase of the breastfeeding process, colostrum flows out to supply the baby with both nutritional and immunological components. However, its flow presents irregularities. At first, the mother may not succeed to feed the baby despite her efforts. However, with time the milk may flow to the breast in large amounts. The sudden inflow may cause the breast to swell and become tender. For many mothers, the breastfeeding experience ranging from the anxieties to the pain of engorgement may prove unbearable. Strong (2011) highlights that the pain of engorgement may extend for the initial six days under normal cases, but pain occurring beyond the first week of breastfeeding has other causes. A pregnant patient will require this knowledge prior to delivery. Critical understanding of the causes and remedies of engorgement is an important aspect to each pregnant patient. The pregnant patient requires relevant information concerning the implications of both natural birth and caesarian option concerning engorgement. Nurse Interventions and Adequate Patient Teaching According to Martucci (2012), the entire procedure of initiating breastfeeding can be a lot easier if nurses present the mothers with relevant informat

The Marketing Macroenvironment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

The Marketing Macroenvironment - Essay Example This is defined as one of the central ideas and concepts of marketing (Moore and Pareek 2006). But what is marketing exactly? Well, for one, marketing as a word has many definitions. For the common and layman’s terms, it is associated with selling or advertising. However, it has more meanings to it than that. For one, it is the process of creating, distributing, promoting and pricing goods, services or ideas in order to foster a satisfying relationship between manufacturers or other sources of goods, and the customers (Pride and Ferrell 2012). Also, one of its goals is to maintain this relationship as favorable as possible in order to facilitate more exchanges, not just with the buying customers but also other stakeholders as well, This would include other people that may not be necessarily buying the goods or services, but have financial input in the product or firm. This may also include people that do not have any direct interaction with the company itself, but may have pot ential as customers or stakeholders in the future. Another definition of marketing is defined by the American Marketing Association in 2005 as: â€Å"an organizational function and a set of processes for creating, communicating, and delivering value to customers and for managing customer relationships in ways that benefit the organization and its stakeholders† (Ries and Trout 2006). Also, in the realm of marketing, it is said that the customer holds the key as to whether the company or firm would be able to thrive or even become successful in terms of profits and development. Therefore, in order to become successful, a firm or company must be able to give satisfaction to their customers, and this lasting positive relationship between them would define the company as a whole (Silk 2006). The whole concept of marketing has many aspects as well as other deciding factors in the course of action of a firm or company. These would very well depend on the marketing environment. It is defined as the environment surrounding a company and its organization which can have an effect on its profits or even its reputation (Petzer, et al. 2006). For example, in the law of supply and demand, if there is low supply and a large demand, all competing companies would have a chance to create relationships to all customers, and by creating better services than the competition would make the company successful. However, if there is a large supply coming in from different competing groups of companies, the competition would be tougher since there would be more opponents to face, as well as the large market being divided among the competitors. Thus, being able to stand out among the rest would really make or break the company as a whole, as compared to only having a few competitors at hand (Petzer, et al. 2006). The marketing environment also has different factors that can affect it. These can be either be the microenviroment or the macroenvironment. The microenvironment is found in the company organization itself. The influence of the organization

Book Review Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 3

Book Review - Essay Example Humanity is not only made with the capacity of free will, but also have a soul that brings humanity closer to attaining the perfection and intellectual design. This is not a new approach, but adds further scientific backing for the belief in God, but also introduces the notion of faith being driven by the science and genetics of mankind: â€Å"The power of myth lies beneath its literal interpretations, in the ability of its universal symbols and themes to connect us with the most essential parts of ourselves in ways that logic and reason alone cannot" This argument is that the reality of God is driven from human emotions and the biological make-up of the brain. However this does not mean that religion and God is in the mind of the believer; rather this view of religion is the extension of these subjective human emotions, i.e. they point to the reality of God in the individual’s mind but do not come from God. â€Å"Any idea might trigger a myth if it can unify logic and intuition, and lead to a state of left-brain / right-brain agreement. In this state of whole-brain harmony, neurological uncertainties are powerfully alleviated as existential opposites are reconciled and the problem of cause is resolved†. This scientific approach of Newberg gives a rational explanation of the long traditional of mystical thought, which has been scorned for its subjectivity. Rumi is an Islamic example of a mystic who supports the mystical union of the believer and God. This mystic approach was in response to the over rationalizing of mainstream Islamic thinker’s on the nature of God and enforcing rules on human’s (Rumi, 1996). Rumi’s approach is a personal approach to God and as Von Schlegell argues is â€Å"to correct the view of Sufism as "counter." [to legalistic] "culture." At the same time, as the work under review shows, efforts to de-mystify Sufism, and to portray it at work as but one among many social forces in Islamic history would be going too far in

Evolution of the Ipod Essay Example for Free

Evolution of the Ipod Essay Personalized music took a big leap towards what we call the Ipod generation today , way back in 1979 when Sony introduced its audio cassette player Walkman. When we see the original Walkman today it does seem outdated and for many a piece of junk. But 30 years back it was a breakthrough in terms of technological advancement and an instant sensation worldwide which continued for decades. WALKMAN: Walkman is a portable audio cassette player which introduced a change in listening habits and providing people an opportunity to listen to the music of their own choice, which seemed a distant dream before its inception when transistor radios were the only option for the masses. Origin and History: The first original Walkman was launched by Sony that went on sale on 1st July 1979, in Japan. It was launched subsequently under different names in many countries for instance, In US it was launched under the name Soundabout . In Sweden it was launched under the name Freestyle.. In UK it was launched under the name Stowaway. The device was built in 1978, by an audio division engineer Nobotushi Kihara who worked for Sony. Sony’s co-chairman Morita who wanted to listen operas during his frequent plane trips requested for such a device and therefore Nobotushi came up with the Walkman. Although Morita hated the name Walkman and insisted on changing it , but accepted later on when junior executives told him that a campaign had been started and changing the name now would cost the company dearly. (Sony History) Cassette-based Walkman: The first and original Walkman was a blue and silver cassette-based model TPS-L2. It came with one set of headphones and had limited features of play, stop and forward with no record function. In 1984, Sony presented its memorable model Walkman Professional WM-D6C. It was comparable in audio quality with most non-portable audio cassette decks.. Among the standard play,stop functions it also introduced the record function which made it famous. Later on, Toshiba’s Walky , Aiwa’s Cassette Boy and Panasonic’s Stereo-To-Go were giving stiff competition to the Walkman. Therefore in 1989, Sony launched its famous and unique playback only model WM-DD9, this model attracted a niche following with hardcore Walkman fans making it a must in their collection. It featured auto-reverse and had improved power consumption requiring only 1 AA battery with optional AC adapter input. Moreover it had superior sound quality as compared to its predecessors. Although the cassette based walkman had started losing its appeal probably due to increasing competition from Sanyo and emergence of CDs as a better storage medium in all respects, Sony still kept launching new models every 5 years uptill 2000, these models not only continued to represent features of previous models but also had some new ones of their own for intance, WM-701S which also came out in 1989 was more user-friendly as it came with a remote control and slim silver plated body. After which cassettes had reached technological obsolence and any future production of cassette-based models had to be stopped. (Sony Design- 1980s) PORTABLE CD PLAYERS: Portable CD players took personalized music to a further new level from portable cassette players. These players used audio CDs instead of cassettes , not only CDs were lighter than cassettes but they could store considerably more than multiple cassettes could or could record in a much better audio format which would give a superior sound quality than cassettes. History: CDs as a storage medium were introduced in the early 1980s. Once again Sony created history in 1984 when it launched its CD-based Walkman (which was a first of its kind portable CD player) D-50. Although it was also known as D-5 in some markets but its official name was Discman. Discman was considered a marvel , its size was just a little more than that of a CD case which made it very handy. Moreover it had additional features and better sound quality as compared cassette-based walkman but still they managed to gain momentum till the late 1980s because CDs were quite expensive prior to that and CD players didn’t had anti-shake protection feature which caused CDs to damage since they were delicate. (Discman) Evolution of CD Players: Portable CD players had the basic features of a cassette player besides that it also had some new features for instance hold, toggle in later versions and portable CD players in the present age are capable of supporting numerous audio formats as well . In the mid-nineties these players also featured a LCD display also. Since Sony was continuing to face increasing competition from Panasonic in the late 1980s, it improved its own design of Discman and came up with a new model D121 which had additional features from its predecessors. The competition is still ongoing with Sony, Panasonic, JVC, Bose, Coby etc. coming up with new portable cd players after every few months. Although Ipods are the in thing these days but still portable cd players continue to survive probably because CDs haven’t gone into obsolence like cassettes did. However they don’t enjoy the same popularity they did in late 1980s and mid 90s. MINI-DISC PLAYERS: Mini disc was a magneto-optical disc. It could store upto 80 minutes of digitized audio almost that of CD quality. Mini-disc players were capable of playing these storage media. The reason MD was launched was because they had the anti-skip feature which prevented disc-skipping even under the most extreme conditions and was unlike CDs which used to skip on the slightest of vibration and shocks and used to annoy users. History: Sony launched its first MD Player in 1992 named MZ1 along with the Mini-disc itself. However many other companies for instance JVC, Sharp, Pioneer and Panasonic launched their respective mini-disc players as well. MD Players were initially launched as an alternative to Philips analogue cassette system which was quite popular at that time. Moreover till the mid-nineties MD players were popular in Japan and Asia but largely unknown elsewhere. (Music on the move: Minidisc) Evolution of the Mini-disc and the Mini-disc player: nitially when Sony introduced the Mini-disc it was based on ATRAC audio data compression but later it was based on linear PCM inorder to give CD quality audio. Although MD Walkmans when launched by Sony were multi-featured i. e. they could play and record on MDs from both digital and analogue sources for example, live audio from their microphone inputs ; but were somewhat large and couldn’t be placed in a pocket. Therefore, Sony released a new model MZ-R2 which was quite compact. MD Walkmans gradually improved over the years for instance, when MDLP(Mini-disc Long Play) was introduced in MDs in 2000 which allowed MDs to record 4 times of what they initially could MD Players were enabled with this feature and many in the following years for example, Net MD, Hi MD. (Sony MZ RH1) MP3 PLAYERS: MP3 players are also technically known as Digital Audio Players. It is a device that stores, organizes and plays audio files. MP3 players were a breakthrough in their own right since they didn’t require CDs or cassettes to be inserted into them , common features of an MP3 player were a flash memory drive or a miniature hard drive, an embedded processor and an audio codec microchip which would convert digitally compressed sound into analogue form which was then played through the speaker jack. The user can store hundreds of songs on the flash memory drive/mini hard drive. History: The first MP3 player came from a Korean company SaeHan Information Systems which in collaboration with Eiger Labs US launched in 1998 the first solid state digital audio player named MPMan . It featured 32 Mb of RAM which could hold 8 average length of tracks( i. e. 32 minutes of music). (World’s 1st MP3 Player) The same year Diamond Multimedia lauched its version of MPMan named Rio PMP300. However its sales were better than expected initially but later had a fall from grace probably due to lawsuits. (Collecting MP3 Portables) In 1999, Compaq developed the first hard-drive based mp3 player in collaboration with HanGo Electronics and named it PJB-100(Personal Jukebox). The player had a capacity of 4. 8 GB and it was extensively advertised that it could hold 1200 songs! (Net Audio) Evolution Of MP3 Players: Initially MP3 players supported only the . mp3 format but in the following years MP3 players started supporting multiple formats for example , AAC, WMA, WAV, Ogg Vorbis. Flash-based MP3 players: These are solid state devices that store audio files on internal flash memory. Initially internal memory of these players was in a few MBs and users couldn’t store any more than on a CD but soon makers got notice of this and today we see internal memory in GBs which is capable of holding hundreds of songs. (World ‘s 1st 32 GB Flash based PMP) Similarly, internal memory couldn’t be extended by users however in a couple of years removable flash memory was made available better known as memory cards. Moreover with the passage of time , these players became more resilient and required less power consumption as compared to portable CD player or a hard-drive based mp3 player. Hard-drive based Players: These devices are also known as Digital Jukeboxes. Initially their capacity was 4-5 GB but these days players are available with capacity upto 250 GB. This loosely means that thousands of songa could be stored on a single player. (Wolverine ESP 250 GB) MP3 CD Players: With the growth in popularity of MP3 players and mp3 format itself . Many portable CD players started supporting playback for CDs which had MP3 files stored on them. iPOD REVOLUTION: iPod is a popular brand of portable media players which are designed by Apple Inc. Apple has produced a number of models over years iPod Classic, iPod Nano to name a few. iPods have become a sensation for this generation and seems to be for the following ones too just like Walkman was in the 1980s. As per stats upto September 2008, 173 million iPods have been sold worldwide which has made it the best selling portable music player ever. History: In early 2000, Apple had started making software for the growing market of digital audio players. The company found that the MP3 players were either too big (those that were hard-drive based) or too small (those that were flash-drive based) and had mediocre user-interfaces. Apple’s CEO Steve Jobs took the initiative, he decided that Apple would make their own PMPs(personal music players). Therefore Apple’s hardware engineering head Jon Rubinstein assembled a team including hardware engineers Tony Fadell and Michael Dhuey and a design engineer Jon Ive, however Apple didn’t make the product completely on in-house instead they used Portal Player( a semi-conductor company) platform based on 2 ARM cores. Nevertheless the product within an year and was unveiled on 23rd October 2001, it was a Mac-compatible product with 5 Gb hard-drive and could hold upto 1000 songs. The name iPod was suggested by Vinnie Chieco a freelance copy-writer. iPod Models: iPod Classic: It was the iPod that was launched originally. Uptill now six generations have been produced of this model and is the only model that is hard-drive based. iPod Mini: Its first generation was launched in 2004. However it was discontinued after its 2nd generation. Its storage medium was based on mini hard-drive. iPod Shuffle: iPod Shuffle was first introduced in January 2005. Due to it smaller size and sleeker look it became an instant hit. Its flash-drive based PMP. Uptill now 2 generations have been produced of this model. iPod Nano: iPod Nano was also a flash-drive based model. It was also launched the same year Shuffle was launched . What separated Nano from Shuffle was its greater storage capacity and coloured display. iPod Touch: It is the latest in the iPod family and was launched in 2007. It was also a flash drive based model similar to Nano and Shuffle . But Touch is way ahead of all of its predecessors. It was the first iPod with Wi-Fii and Multitouch interface. Moreover it featured the Safari browser and wireless access to iTunes Stores and YouTube. (Identifying Ipods) Software: Initially when Apple introduced its iTunes software it was only compatible with Mac OS but later on Apple a Windows version of it as well. iPod first generation models although various audio formats, image formats and video formats but only worked with Mac-OS. However when Apple launched its second generation models the software within those models was compatible with MS Windows. Apple developed alternatives for various formats which were previously not supported by it for example, Microsoft’s WMA audio format was not supported earlier so they provided a converter along with their Windows version of iTunes. Adding further open source formats like Ogg Vorbis, FLAC were previously not supported however these formats can be played now on installing a firmware onto the iPod for example, Rockbox User-Interface: All iPods have colour displays which incorporates anti-aliased graphics and text with sliding animations. Moreover except iPod shuffle and iPod Touch all other iPods have 5 buttons and second generation onwards buttons have been integrated on the click wheel. Click-wheel is an innovation that brings refineness and clarity to the interface. The buttons given perform the basic play,stop etc. functions as for scrolling the click-wheel is used in a rotational manner. In its later models Apple made some changes for instance, iPod Touch doesn’t have a click wheel instead it has a 3. 5 inch touchscreen and in addition to it a home button , a sleep/wake button and volume up/down button. Hardware: A typical iPod comprises of the following chipset and electronics: Microcontroller Audio Chip Storage Medium Batteries Different iPods have used different microcontrollers along their different generations for example, iPod Nano used a variable-speed ARM in its first generation model however it has continued to use Samsung System-On Chip second generation onwards. iPod Classic has a hard-drive based storage medium and has been since first generation however the capacity has increased considerably i. e. from 10 GB in its first generation model to 160 GB in its sixth generation model. Similarly, iPod Mini was based on the Mini Hard-drive however Apple discontinued it after its 2nd generation model. Moving on iPod Nano, Shuffle and Touch are flash-drive based and there capacity has also increased considerably with newer models. Connectivity: Originally Apple used a Firewire connection was used to the host computer and for charging battery. Third generation onwards, Apple allowed both Firewire and USB connectivity. This allowed for better compatibility with PCs. Therefore 5th generation onwards Apple dropped Firewire for data transfer and made complete transition to USB 2. 0 in an attempt to reduce cost . CONCLUSION: From Walkman to iPod people have seen a great advancements in personal music players. Walkman ruled 1980s which continued till the mid-nineties. However , after that advancements were made very speedily and we saw MD players, MP3 players and finally the iPod in 2001. iPod completely redefined infact revolutionised portable entertainment. Infact in these 8 years since its inception it has made record breaking sales and won several awards for engineering excellence , it has acheived much more than what the Walkman in a decade and a half. But then again, Walkman has its own place in history and iPod is making its own. ? REFERENCES: Sony Global, n. d. , â€Å"Sony History† retrived from : http://www. sony. net/Fun/design/history/ Sony Gobal, n. d. â€Å"Sony Design- History 1980s† retrieved from: http://www. sony. net/Fun/design/history/product/1980/wm-2. html Walkman Central, n. d, â€Å"Discman† retrieved from: http://www. walkmancentral. com/list/discman Minidisc Org, n. d. â€Å"Sony MZ RH1† retrieved from : http://www. minidisc. org/manuals/sony/Sony_MZ-RH1_user_manual. pdf Van Buskrik, Eliot, n. d. â€Å"Introducing the World’s first MP3 Player† retrived from: http://reviews. cnet. com/4520-6450_7-5622055-1. html Menta, Richard, n. d. â€Å" Collecting MP3 Portables-Part 1† retrieved from: http://www. antiqueradio. com/Dec04_Menta_mp3pt1. html Yoshido Junko, n. d. â€Å"OEMS ready to roll on jukeboxes for Net audio† retrieved from: http://www. eetimes. com/story/OEG20000818S0035 Creative, (2007-12-03), â€Å"Creative inroduces World’s 1st 32 GB Flash based PMP† retrieved from: http://asia. creative. com/corporate/pressroom/releases/welcome. asp? pid=12867 Wolverine Data, (2008-01-02), â€Å"Wolverine ESP 250 GB† retrieved from: http://secure. serverlab. net/shop/merchant. mvc? Screen=PRODProduct_Code=5250Category_Code=ESPStore_Code=T00107 â€Å"Identifying Ipod Models† retrieved from: http://docs. info. apple. com/article. html? artnum=61688

Management A Universal Phenomenon Commerce Essay

Management A Universal Phenomenon Commerce Essay Management is a universal phenomenon it is very famous and mostly used term every where. All organisation either they are political cultural or social involved in management. Because its only a management which directs actions into success. According to Harold Koontz Management is an art of getting things done through and with the people in formally organized group. It is an art of creating such a environment in which people can perform and co operate towards achieving the goals. according to FW Taylor Management is an art of of knowledge what to do when to do and see that it is done in best and cheap way. Management is such a purposive activity which leads the whole groups effort into success and pre defined goals attainment. Its a process of working with others as a team and effectively achieve the goals of organisation with the help of limited resources. These goals may vary from one organization to another organization. Management also involve creating an internal environment it is a management which put many factors of production. Thats why its the responsibility of management to create such a situation which are conducive to maximum effort so that members of management can perform their task that is fitting the square pegs in square holes and round pegs in round hole. Success factors: for any organisation certain factors will be critical to the success of that organisation in the sense that if objectives associated with the factors are not achieved the organisation will fail perhaps catastrophically so. Following an example of generic critical success factors. New Product Development Good Distribution and Effective advertising Following are the types of critical success factors. Industry critical success factors resulting from specific industry characteristics. Strategy critical success factors resulting from the chosen competitive strategy of the business. Environmental critical success factors resulting from technological or economic Temporal critical success factor resulting from internal organizational needs. Each of these success factors should be measurable and linked to achieving the goal of organization. You have no need to exact measure to manage. Basic measure also should include the critical success level like numbers of transition per month or in case where specific measurements are more difficult main goal should be specified. Critical Success factors: an element of organisational activity which is key element to its future success. Critical success factors can be change from time to time. And may include item such as product quality employee behaviour manufacturing flexibility and brand awareness. Any of the aspects of a business which are identified as a vital of successful targets to be reached and maintained. Critical success factors are normally identified in such areas as production process, employee and organisation skills functions techniques and technologies. Employee Motivation employee motivation is one of the main success factor. Because employee play an important role in the success of whole organisation. With out employee manager or organisation cant achieve their goals. Employees are backbone of any organisation. Some time its very hard to get goals and employees need some motivation for getting that goals thats why employees motivation is very important factor. Its enhance their commitment level with the organisation and make them more strong and boast their moral. Only those organisation can be successful in the businesses who motivates their employees. Its a key of getting good result and to achieve its targets. As its saying that you can horse to water but you cant force it to drink it will drink only it is thirsty. Similarly employees will do what they want to do. Weather it is to excel on the workplace or in the ivory tower they must want motivation or driven to do it. Either by themselves or through others. Managers can motivate its work force by different ways like Job Enrichment It gives opportunity to employees to maximise utilization of their skills by assigning them assignments. By the job enrichment you can expand the tasks set that employee has to perform. You provide more interesting work that enhance the variety and challenge to work force daily routine. By this it leads to the work force more control on their work. By this factors you can design the job that can be helpful in motivation Skill variety Identification of task significance of task Autonomy Feedback There is also availability of option in job enrichment like Rotate Jobs It gives option to the work force to get the different sort of skills and show their performance in different sort of woks. This is the easiest way to get this by the help of rotation of job. Combine Tasks By working in a team its gives more challenging and complex work assignment. This can significantly enhance the identification of task because work force can see job from beginning to end, this can be cause of maximum utilization of skills which can make workers or employees more meaningful, others factors also include Identify project focused work force Develop autonomous work team Participative Management Redistribute Power Increase Feedback Pygmolian Motivation by this management can set a high standard of expectations can relise their workforce that this is what we want from you and you are calibre of this Motivation is a necessary skill which must be learnt. This is very essential for the success of business. Those organisation adopting the policy of continuously motivation of its employees can easily get their goals so its shows that motivation of work force is also a success factor of business. Risk Management: Risk management is an other important factor for the success of business organisation. Those businesses who undertake risk and forecast for unseen future problems. Its an integral part of managing business. Companies face different types of risk. Some may be external in nature which are not under the direct of the management. Like political environment the changes in exchange rates or fluctuation in interest. Some may be internal threat as well like in nature which the management can control to great extent for instance risk is linked with the non compliance in financial reporting or non compliance with the laws of labour. So its better to undertake the risk management because if unfortunately organisation has to face any problem in future there would be some substitute option for any problem. By this business organisation can avoid to suffer from heavy loss in future and this can company or organisation can get advantage on its those competitors those do not adopt this. So this is very important factor in today business environment. Risk management is a proactive process its not a reactive process. We can explain it with the example of Shell Oil which has a lot of offices in the New Orleans region but deal with Katrina and Hurricane weather well do to the risk management that it has in place. Risk can be transferred but it can not be eliminated, business organisation can contract with those companies who are willing to take risk like buying an insurance policy risk can be transferred. Or it can be reduced by taking some extra steps for control. Committed and Focused Leadership: leadership and power is linked with each other very closely. Its nature that people tend to follow those who are in power. And because of others follow the person who posses the power he be become leader. Leaders have power because the are experienced in their field or they are the members of the admin. And leadership is very important for the success of any business organisation. Because leaders leads the work force and work force lead to organisations success. Good leader is who deal from the front .And deal with the problems very smartly. Leaders give directions and road map to its work force who utilize their skills and play an active role in the achievement of the goals. So those organisations who have good leaders they are getting their targets easily. As much leaders are committed as they are going very well in business and management. Work force or individual can not lead organisation to success until unless they have committed leader in them. Its the only leader who take the organisation on peak with the help of its or leader who can cause in the failure of the organisation. So leaders role is very important role in organisation. Leader must engage all team in work and keep motivated to its team because with the help of motivation. He should collaborate and keep work force on process. The attribution theory in leadership show that people characterize that a leader who has such traits as intelligence he possess the outgoing personality he should also have strong communication skills. So a leader who possess these skills he would be an asset of the organisation and can play his role in the achievement of the organisational goals. Now organisations are looking for the transformational leadership qualities in leaders. They want such a leader who has the strong vision. And obviously a true leader is only that one who shows a good behaviour at the right time. And effective management now a days must develop trusting relation ship with those they are looking for that they are going to lead in future. Main Obstacle to effective organisation : There are different obstacles in todays management which effect the performance and create hurdles in the achievement of the organisation. So before this organisation must has to identify what are those obstacle and then they can find out solution to it. So its very important to find out the obstacle in the organisation. Powers and Politics Power refer to a capacity that some one has influence the behaviour of some one so that he can act in accordance with the wishes of the leader. Power may be exist but its possible might not be used. So it is capacity and potential that some one have but dont utilize. There are different basis of power like Formal power coercive power Reward power Legitimate Power Personal Power Expert power Referent Power. These can effect organisation performance if its miss used. Organisational Politics There has been shortage in the definition of organisational politics. Its about some one use of power to effect the decision making in any organisation or it can be used on the behaviour of members those are self serving organisationally non sanctioned. We can define by others word some one try to influence in decision which is not required as a part of any ones formal role in the organisation but its influence. Legitimate Political behaviour. Its normal routine day politics like complaining to the supervisors by passing the chain of command developing the coalition, not following the organisation policies contacts out of the organisation. Illegitimate Political Behaviour. Its about the violation of implied rule of the game. Its about some one pursue such extreme activities as its described some individual play hard ball. The main part of political action based on legitimate variety. The main reason of pragmatic. Reality of Politics. Organisation is made of individual and group with different sort of values targets goals and interest as well. Resources in the organisation are limited which often lead potential conflicts into real conflicts. If resources are were abundant then all the different then all the department with in the organisation can be satisfied but in reality its limited so no one interest provided for. And also true are not gains by any individual or group are often perceived as being as the expense of others with in the organisation . Conflict management: conflict is a natural occurrence all groups and organisation because it is inevitable the human relation school advocated acceptance of conflict. It cant be eliminated from the organisation even some time its good for the organisational group work. Because due to conflict there is a lot of point raised in discussion and people knowledge increase regarding the issues and different angels comes out for the single issue. But some time it can cause to slow down the process of organisation and can also stuck the work. Its occur some time due to misunderstanding and perceptions. Different of opinion in same organization

The Importance of Education Essay -- importance of education, 2015

Education is important in any society. Parents, teachers and even political leaders encourage education in our society. Many people do not understand why there is so much emphasis placed upon obtaining a good education. This is why some people do not put in as much effort as they should. It is important that everyone understand the many benefits of education aside from getting a job and earning a salary. This knowledge will help you to develop an attitude that is conducive to learning. You will enjoy the true benefits of education. This essay will explore a number of reasons why education is so important. Exposure to a New World You should not live in a cocoon of what you already know. People in the past only knew their neighborhoods. This is quite unfortunate because an entire world exists beyond the limits of our neighborhoods. You cannot hear or learn of this world without education because education exposes you to different cultures. It helps you understand and appreciate the connectivity of our global environment. It opens your eyes to science, ideology and human passion. Yo...

Comparing Good and Evil in Tolkien’s The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rin

Comparing Good and Evil in Tolkien’s The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings Imagine yourself in a pre-industrial world full of mystery and magic. Imagine a world full of monsters, demons, and danger, as well as a world full of friends, fairies, good wizards, and adventure. In doing so you have just taken your first step onto a vast world created by author and scholar John Ronald Reuel Tolkien. Tolkien became fascinated by language at an early age during his schooling, in particularly, the languages of Northern Europe, both ancient and modern. This affinity for language did not only lead to his profession, but also his private hobby, the invention of languages. His broad knowledge eventually led to the development of his opinions about Myth and the importance of stories. All these various perspectives: language, the heroic tradition, and Myth, as well as deeply-held beliefs in Catholic Christianity work together in all of his works. The main elements of Tolkien’s works are Good versus Evil, characters of Christian and anti-Christian origin, and the pow er of imagination. In Tolkien world, evil is the antithesis of creativity, and is dependent on destruction and ruin for its basis. Conversely, goodness is associated with the beauty of creation as well as the preservation of anything that is created. The symbolic nature of these two ideologies is represented in the Elven Rings, which symbolize goodness, and the One Ring, which is wholly evil. A main theme of "The Hobbit", then, is the struggle within our own free will between good will and evil. "Early in the (Lord of the Rings) narrative, Frodo recalls that his uncle Bilbo, especially during his later years, was fond of declaring that†¦ there was only one Road; that it was lik... ...Pity 2. Self-sacrifice B. Evil 1. corruption (Gollum) 2. greed (Smaug) II. Characters, Christian and anti-Christian A. Christian 1. Comparing to Christ a. Bilbo b. Gandalf B. Anti-Christian 1. Satan a. Saruman b. The Ring III. Power of the Imagination A. Creates secondary belief B. Escape through imagination Works Cited  · Tolkien, John Ronald Reuel. The Hobbit. New York: Ballantine, 1982.  · Wood, Ralph C. "Traveling the one road: The Lord of the Rings as a "pre-Christian" classic." The Christian Century Feb. 93: 208(4).  · "Eucatastrophe." Time September. 1973: 101  · Evans, Robley. "J. R. R. Tolkien" Warner Paperback Library. 1972: 23-4, 41-2, 202  · Urang, Gunnar. "J. R. R. Tolkien: Fantasy and the Phenomenology of Hope" Religion and Fantasy in the Writing of C. S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and J. R. R. Tolkien. United Church Press, 1971

Book Analysis: No Matter How Loud I Shout: A Year in the Life of Juvenile Court Essay

A Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter Humes dedicated a year of his life researching California’s juvenile justice system His book, â€Å"No Matter How Loud I Shout: A Year in the Life of Juvenile Court† is inspired from this experience. Humes has written a moving account of California’s juvenile justice system and the children who pass through it. This carefully researched book chronicles the arrests of seven teenagers and their experiences both in juvenile court, and while serving time. The book also describes the legal processes and interactions between prosecutors, public, private defenders, and judges that decide the fates of these teenagers The book begins by shedding light on the development of laws for Juvenile Delinquents. In the 1960s sentencing for juvenile offenders was entirely left to the mercy of the judge since as minors they were not granted the same legal rights as an adult However this practice allowed an Arizona Judge to sentence a teenager to six years in jail for making just an obscene phone call. Three years later when the Supreme Court overturned the conviction it ruled that juvenile delinquents could not face sentences more severe than adults This particular ruling, though safeguarding delinquents from the whims of an overzealous judge has also allows those who have committed serious juvenile offences to receive sentences which are more lenient than those warranted by the severity of the crime. This ruling and its consequences in shaping the life of Juvenile delinquents forms the cornerstone of Hume’s book . When Hume’s wrote his book the law in California allowed only offenders sixteen years old and up to be tried in adult court. This has proved to be an arbitrary and extremely infuriating cut off for both the prosecutors and the Judges. The reason for contention is that this law often allows a delinquent who is just a few months short of a sixteenth birthday being given a lesser sentence for a crime quite severe in nature while a delinquent who is just barely a few months over sixteen is a given a longer sentence for a crime of a less severe nature In his book Hume’s illustrates the injustice that delinquents have to suffer as a result of this ruling. He follows the case of 15-year-old Ronald Duncan from a middle class family with no prior criminal record. Duncan was accused of double homicide when he shot his employers at point-blank range. The motive for the crime: a few hundred dollars and revenge for a petty reprimand by his employer on being late for work. But because Ronald was still a few days short from his 16th birthday at the time of his crime the maximum sentenced he received was eight years and would be released by his 25th birthday– with a clean record. The author draws a parallel between this case and Geri Vance another case he has been following. This 16-year-old was forced to participate in a motel robbery by two drug dealers. When the robbery was botched Gerri ended up getting arrested because he took his wounded partner to hospital and sacrificed a chance to flee. Geri lacked a pre-meditated intention to commit this crime, a determination to reform, an excellent record in juvenile hall, the fact that he had not fired his gun and that he had taken a wounded man to hospital. How can they charge me with murder? I never even fired my gun at anyone, Geri tells the Intake Officer, which is perfectly true — and, legally at least, completely irrelevant. â€Å"I was forced to take part in that robbery. I didn’t want to do it, but I gave in. I know I have to do some time for that, I understand that. But I’m no killer. † (Humes 1997, 13) But despite all this he still ended up facing potential life imprisonment when his cohort died of his wounds because he had already turned sixteen and was treated like an adult. This is definitely a much severer penalty than the one imposed on Duncan who deliberately shot two people with the intent to kill them. However Gerry did get lucky on a plea bargain and his sentence was reduced to 12 years, still longer than the time served by Duncan â€Å"Geri Vance, the would-be motel robber — the murder defendant who killed no one — faces life in prison without possibility of parole, and will almost certainly get it. Ronald Duncan, the shotgun killer, can serve no more than eight years, and probably will do less. He can never see the inside of a state penitentiary. After his release, his record will be wiped clean, as if it never existed, the files sealed by state law, so that he can move freely, run for office, own a gun. † (Humes 1997, 15) In his book Hume tries to establish that three out of four juveniles who are arrested under the age of 16 walk away with minor punitive action. This has resulted in an increasing incidence of repeat offenders. He states that in California, repeat offenders account for almost 16 percent of the total crime committed y juvenile delinquents. However these repeat offenders only get serious and deterring punishment when their offences progress to the most serious levels. Until that happens the juveniles are not actually deterred from committing a crime because of the lax punitive measures. In his book Humes mentions that an experienced judge can predict the punishment meted out to a juvenile just by looking at the size of the file. â€Å"When a file is a sixteen of an inch, it will almost certainly end in probation. A quarter to a half inch, add some time in the hall†¦. An inch or so in thickness and the likely sentence is one of the county’s two dozen juvenile camps. And over two inches, the kid is probably a Sixteen Percenter. â€Å"(Humes 1997, 35) Another major issue: that Hume discusses in his book, is the fact that juvenile offenders with financial resources receive much more lenient sentences. He states that rich kids get their sentences tailored according to them while the poor kids receive sentences tailored to their crimes. He cites that this injustice occurs because rich kids and their parents can hire lawyers who prove to the judge through character witnesses that the rich kid is a law abiding and morally righteous and that his criminal behaviour is a deviant occurrence which can be corrected through rehabilitation and does not warrant a long sentence. However the poorer kid cannot prove the case for rehabilitation and ends up with a longer prison sentence. Hume discusses the need to reform the young offender. Offenders should be caught early at the age of 13 or even before that when they first start to cut school and commit their first offence or right after they join their official gang. â€Å"And, finally, when I was growing up, I learned how to load bullets into a gun. I learned how to carry it and aim it, and I learned how to shoot at the enemy, to be there for my homeboys, no matter what† (Humes 1997, 17) Currently the system doesn’t focusing on reforming those who are caught early because it is too overburdened in punishing those that it has allowed to become repeat offenders and commit serious crimes. Hume sites that there is a lack of proper rehabilitation facilities to accommodate those who can benefit and reform as a result. Rather than release young juvenile offenders parole send them to rehabilitation camp can prove to be a greater deterrent that can cause them to abandon their life of crime and escape serious punitive action in the future. Hume ends his book by advocating that that early prevention programs targeting kids with high-risk profile can yield positive results and reduce the incidence of absenteeism from school, first time drug use and repeat offences. He also notes that there is greater support to change the Law and have all juvenile delinquents be treated as adults and warrant serious punishments attributable to their crimes. Though this would definitely ensure that the Ronald Duncans of the world get what they deserve it would also mean turning a blind eye on the countless kids who could have been reformed through a rehabilitation program.

A reasoned evaluation of the strengths and weaknesses in Marxism, Functionalism and Feminism

A sociological theory is a set of ideas that provide an explanation for human society. In undertaking an accurate interpretation of three sociological perspectives, I will make a reasoned evaluation of the strengths and weaknesses in Marxism, Functionalism and Feminism. From the three chosen sociological perspectives I will also look at their individual views on religion and the family. SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES MARXISM Marxism named after its founder Karl Marx (1818 – 1883) is very famous and influential. Marx regarded people as both producers and the products of society, he believed since people made society, only they can change it. He argued that ‘man makes his own history'. Marx believed that the rich would get richer (bourgeois – ruling class) and that the poor would get poorer (proletariat – subordinate /working class). He proposed that the proletariat would revolt in anger, leading to a revolution, resulting in the disappearance of the social class system and that people would live in a more equal society. Max Weber (1864 – 1920) agreed with Marx, however he also stressed the importance of status and power (i.e. an individual may be poor but have high status, such as a teacher). His views on religion differed to that of Marx too, arguing that it could be a source of conflict and change rather than a source of stability or social control. Key Names: Mark, Eng els, Young and Taylor. FUNCTIONALISM Society is viewed as a system, that is, as a set of interconnected parts that together form a whole. Functionalists believe that society has basic needs, which must be met if it is to continue to exist. It believes the concept of function i.e. the function of the family is to ensure the continuity of society by reproducing and socializing new members and the function of religion is to integrate the social system by reinforcing common values. Key Names: Durkheim, Merton, Murdock, Malinowski and Parsons. FEMINISM The basic assumption shared by all feminists is that women suffer certain injustices on account of their sex. Feminist sociology, stresses the importance of gender divisions in society and it portrays these divisions as working to the overall advantage to men. Although feminists are united by their common desire for sexual justice and their concern for women's welfare, there is actually a wide spectrum of ‘feminisms' (Mitchell and Oakley, 1986). These can be divided into four broad ‘tendencies': liberal, radical, Marxist/socialist and Black. STRENGTHS MARXISM Critical of Capitalism. In favour of the average person in society. Economic base or infrastructure and Political/Ideological superstructure. Social Structure (Macro Approach). FUNCTIONALISM Functional Imperatives: Goal Attainment, Adaptation, Integration and Latency. Functional sub-systems: Economic, Political, Family and Religion. FEMINISM Has done a lot to improve things for women over the years. Focuses on male/female relationships. Looks at laws needed/ used to ‘redress' male/female power balance (equal legal protection and social rights). WEAKNESSES MARXISM Too many inconsistencies and interpretations of Marx's work. Unscientific (the ‘Faith of Marxism' – Popper). Conspiracy theory (especially aimed at instrumental Marxists). Communism does not appear about to happen. Forms of (non-economic) conflict (gender, ethnic group) ignored in favour of economic conflicts. Left Functionalism (‘Marxism is little more than a form of Functionalism that replaces the interest of ‘society' with ‘ruling class' – Jock Young). Modern society is more complex than Marx predicted. Comparatively dated theories. Critics: Popper, Weber, Young (‘Left Idealism'), any New Right Theorist, Social biologists and Radical Feminists. FUNCTIONALISM Functionalists find it hard to explain rapid social change. They believe that ‘if something exists it has a function. It has a function because it exists'. The belief that non-human things like ‘society' can have human qualities such as ‘needs and purposes'. Over-emphasis upon the ‘beneficial' aspects of institutions and structures. Believing that society revolves around family unit – but not willing to recognise that not all people worldwide – belong to a family unit – yet function well. Critics: Marxist Sociologists, Radical and Marxist Feminists. FEMINISM Women – like working class men – are at a fundamental economic disadvantage; although Feminists refuse to see that. Legal changes mainly benefited middle class women. Legal equality not the same as status equality. Ignores study of social structural factors (e.g. class). Feminism geared towards middle class feminists (Bourgeois). Men are seen as the ‘enemy' (Marxist Feminism). Critics: Radical Feminists and New Right of Liberal Feminists and New Right, Marxist/Socialist Feminists of Radical Feminists. STRUCTURAL VIEWS ON RELIGION AND THE FAMILY Religions, families and societies have been around for a very long time. Unsurprisingly, we find family units and religions present in all known societies, and consequently, families and religion have a social impact. Everyone has their own view of what religion and the family consists of. These pre conceived ides are mostly to do with our own backgrounds, culture and life experiences. There is a lot of disagreement among sociologists about the roles of religion and the family within society; we will look at three sociological perspectives: RELIGION MARXISM In Marx's view, ‘Man makes religion, religion does not make man'. In other words, religion is the self-conscious and the self-feeling of man who has either not found himself or has already lost himself again. ‘Truly liberated individuals have no need of religion'. Thus, if the alienation and exploitation associated with the classes are eradicated, and people are freed to develop their human potential and find themselves, as in a truly socialist society, religion will no longer be needed and will cease to exist. Marx and Engels believed that religion represented a protest against a dehumanising social world and human alienation, it also leads people into false hopes and direction, along with the ‘solutions' it promises that are illusory. It obscures and distorts the true nature of reality in ways that benefit the ruling class. Marx anticipated that when a classless society was established, religion would disappear. FUNCTIONALISM Whereas Durkheim sees religion as an expression and celebration of people's sociality. Religion creates order and stability in society; it can be an agent of socialization and create a sense of social solidarity. Malinowski accepted like Durkheim that religion creates social solidarity but he believed that religion is a response to peoples needs during stress (e.g. birth and death). Parsons believed the role of religion served two functions, one to provide guidelines (behaviour in society) and the other is to answer ultimate questions. FEMINISM Religion is seen as an instrument of oppression, as a product of patriarchy rather than a product of capitalism. Religion is used by oppressors (men) to control the oppressed group (women), and it also serves as a way of compensating women for their second-class status. In most typical religions of the last millennium women are subservient and secondary to men (i.e. Catholic church and Muslims). THE FAMILY MARXISM The Marxists position asserts that the nuclear family is not universal but a product of capitalism and that the family is an exploitative institution. Murdock's theory is critised because he didn't consider that other social institutions could have performed the functions and he does not examine other alternatives to the family. In Engels theory he suggested that the main reason that the family developed was to solve the problem of inheritance, also that the family was the most efficient device for insuring legitimacy of the proposed heirs. Engels theory was largely based on a flawed interpretation of the family by Anthropologist, Lewis Morgan (1900). FUNCTIONALISM A strong supporter of the family is the Functionalist. Their belief is that the family is the ‘cornerstone of society'. A study was conducted on the family, studying 250 societies by George Murdock (Social Structure 1949). In his study, he concluded that the ‘nuclear family is a universal human social grouping †¦. It exists as a distinct and strongly functional group in every known society'. Murdock identifies four basic functions that the family performs: sexual, reproductive, economic and educational. Fellow functionalist Talcott Parsons would largely agree with Murdock's theories of the family. FEMINISM Feminists' criticise the family as the focus on the exploitation of women by men, they argue that men dominate family relationships. Radical feminists argue that in it's most extreme form this means oppression and violence (Russell Dobash, 1980). Evidence to suggest that women are dissatisfied in their family life is portrayed in the rise of divorces filed by women. Parson's theory of the family being a safe haven is more myth than reality for families today. Feminist Margaret Benson focuses mainly only the point that women are a source of cheap labour, as the housewife is unpaid for her work. In the family women are primarily seen as a housewife and mother, and in this environment men are given the control over women's sexuality and fertility. EVALUATION The different aspects of religion have a social impact and must be measured. Through out history there is considerable evidence to support Marx's ideology, that religion maintains the existing system of exploitation and reinforces class relationship, thereby keeping people in their place (consider the Islamic world). However, conflicting evidence suggests that religion does not always legitimate power (Catholicism – Pope – Rome). Whilst Feminism implies that religion and belief systems are an instrument of manipulation for men to use on women; although I believe this theory to be the case for some religions but not all. It can vary from religion to religion, for example women cannot become priests in the Roman Catholic or Greek and Russian Orthodox churches, but in the Jewish faith women can become rabbis and do not sit apart from men. Contrary to Marxist views that religion suppresses people' attempts to change their situation, religion can sometimes provide an impetus for change (Queen Mary – Catholicism and Queen Elizabeth I – Protestant). The Functionalist perspective of belief systems and religion does not vindicate for the dysfunctional aspects that the unruly force of religion can manifest (i.e. war in the name of ‘Religion'). The subject of the family and how it is defined is extremely difficult to determine. Marxists position asserts that the nuclear family is not universal but a product of capitalism and that the family is an exploitive institution, and that it was the simplest solution for insuring legitimacy of proposed heirs. Whereby Functionalism is a strong supporter of the family, believing it to be the ‘cornerstone' of society. Feminists' criticise the family as the focus on the exploitation of women by men, they argue that men dominate family relationships. CONCLUSION Everyone has their own view of what religion and the family consists of. These pre conceived ideas are mostly to do with our own backgrounds, culture and life experiences. I find it difficult to subscribe to one theory over another as Functionalist, Marxist and Feminist theories can be interpreted in many different ways. Consequently each theory's perspective will work for their interpretation of religion, the family and society. The three theories are not too dissimilar to the three main Political Parties (Labour, Conservative and Liberal) in Britain; each has it's own agenda, but are all are equally as devious! I am more inclined to opt for the Feminist and Marxist theories as they seem more plausible and are more comparative to past history and present day findings. I also believe that as societies cultures change through time, so will our definition of family, religion and society.

Media Portrayal of Blacks in an Ever-Changing Society

They are ingrained In our minds In some form or another, and many times are subconscious. Tolerance is the 21st century answer to this issue, UT that was not always the case, even In the media, an establishment Intended to entertain the public as a whole. This paper will discuss the following question: why is priming still used to stereotype black culture In American media when we live in a time where egalitarian norms have made it unfavorable to appear prejudiced? In essence.I want to understand why the media still portrays blacks to fit their historical stereotypes, even though we live In a colliding nation. It is an important question because this stereotyping contradicts the values and beliefs of the majority of American citizens and the way we want to advance as an open-minded society. History of Stereotyping To begin answering this question, we must first look at the history of how black stereotypes were used in the media, beginning with entertainment.Nineteenth and early twent ieth century plays featured black characters, played by white actors, and usually took the part of a few major stereotypes: the caretaker, or black woman who took care of household chores of whites, the Incompetent buffoon who had difficulty assimilating in a white society because of his stupidity, and the aggressive and sordidly black who disrupted the peaceful white society (Dixon). More often than not, these stereotypes fit the culture of the south rather than the north, simply because of geographic and economic factors.Even In literature. Blacks were portrayed as dimwitted, lazy creatures that lacked morals and standards (Wilson). One of the most famous ways blacks were portrayed in the media In the nineteenth and twentieth century was the application of black makeup to white actors, who acted as one of the aforementioned roles in performances. â€Å"Blackjack† as It was allied, was used up to World War l, when black actors began taking the stage, although limited to the roles they could play (Blatant). Up until the sass's, blacks were still heavily stereotyped in the media.This early priming set the stage for new mediums to depict these stereotypes, mainly in television and advertising. Blacks in Advertising We are now able to look at how priming was and still is used in television advertising, beginning in the offs when television became a mass medium. Although we sometimes do not realize it, stereotypical advertisements are quite prevalent in days media. Take one look at Aunt Jimmie. The Infamous maple syrup lady. She clearly represents the â€Å"mamma† stereotype; a polite, calm, down home southern maid who merrily lives to serve others.The marketers goal Is to prime us to Imagine a 1 OFFS sweet tempered mother Teller serving us Dreariest when we think AT pancakes Ana maple syrup. Quaker Oats is not the only conglomerate that is priming us with stereotypes through advertisements. Before the black civil rights movement, it was commonplace in the south to call an older black man â€Å"uncle† as a sign of disrespect Weatherperson). Uncle Ben's rice products feature a grinning elderly black man with a suit and a bow tie. Uncle Ben represents the stereotypical post-civil War well dressed subservient attendant who catered to the every wish of his white overseer.In this instance, the advertisers of Uncle Ben's Rice Bowls prime the public to believe we are being served by Uncle Ben because the meal is quick easy to make. Based on stereotypes we have learned throughout our lives, this image and label strengthens our predispositions, and makes us think of the black elderly servant that Uncle Ben is meant to be. It is not Just fictional characters illustrated as logos that prime us to think of black stereotypes when exposed to advertising.Frito-Lay, Storage, and even MAT are among dozens of corporations that prime its audiences to assume black stereotypes with their messages. Argued as one of the funniest commercials in the 2010 Superpower, the infamous Traitors commercial was perceived by many people as stereotyping blacks and black culture. In the commercial, a black man walks into his date's house, where an attractive black woman answers the door, saying that she will e ready soon. She introduces him to her young child, who is playing video games.When his date turns and walks into the next room, the man obviously stares at the woman's buttocks in admiration, and picks up a Traitor from the boys bowl. Upon seeing both of these actions, the little boy slaps the man across the face, and says, â€Å"Keep your hands off my mama, and keep your hands off my Traitors. † This commercial portrays a few age old stereotypes of blacks, and some fairly new black American stereotypes. First, the stereotype of the highly sexually aggressive black ale comes into play when the black man clearly checks out the black woman's behind.Although this stereotype is common among young male adults of all races in A merican culture, it reinforces the overlapping historical stereotype of the sexually aggressive black man. In addition, this ad depicts the relatively new stereotype of the single black female mother. In 2000, the percentage of black single mothers reached 62 percent (Raspberry). In lower class black families, the percentage is even higher. Another stereotype that exists in this commercial is the defiant, insubordinate black hill. With increased exposure to ghetto customs due to pop culture, black children have been stereotyped as being disobedient and unruly.Especially now that ghetto culture is being glorified in pop culture, black children could potentially feel the need to fit this â€Å"positive† stereotype and act in accordance to what is expected of them in this society. This stereotype is especially detrimental to young black males because that culture places a negative connotation on academic success, and at such a crucial point in one's life, it can be unfavorable f or these adolescents to accept this reconciled notion of unruliness and petty criminal activity.Priming in the Music Industry It is quite clear to anyone who watches MAT or follows the hip-hop scene that the major themes presented in the songwriting and music videos are the following: making money, having sexual (and sometimes violent) relations with women, doing drugs, Ana Delve Involved In criminal actively Rap music, wanly was primarily created in the Bronx by blacks and Latino, â€Å"became the cry of ghetto pain and ultimately their great hope for a way out. † Evidently, MAT focuses on the hip-hop genre to be the rug of its music videos and television shows.Because hip-hop is undisputed governed largely by black rappers who weave tales of the difficulty of ghetto life, gaining money through drug/gang related activities, and sexually exploiting women, MAT is priming its audiences of millions of teens to associate hip-hop and the ghetto life with black people. It is necess ary to skew slightly off topic but stay relevant to my original question by making the bold assertion that MAT plays a large part in maintaining and promoting the racial differences between blacks and the rest of the American community that eave existed for centuries.In the article Predicting Cognitive and Behavioral Effects of Gangs Rap, it is stated that â€Å"a number of prominent African American leaders, the National Black Women's Political Caucus, and eminent African American scholars have been highly vocal in their outrage over the music (industry), labeling it as racially popularizing and, ultimately self destructive† (Hansen). Teens are the single most suggestible age group, and are inclined to emulate popular icons based not only on their accomplishments in their certain field, but also their apparent inference, which the majority of teens tend to lack based on social norms and biological changes.There has been a history of arrests in the hip-hop world among the mos t prominent artists in the genre, including Ill Wayne and Outpace Shaker (Martinez). Both were sentenced for involvement in criminal activity. These celebrities should not be emulated for their involvement in crime, but since their entire image is based around this lifestyle, it makes teens think delinquency is acceptable or even admired.This long standing stereotype of the black criminal is only being reinforced y MAT and the hip-hop genre, which promotes criminal activity and the mistreatment of women, as well as primes the public to perceive lower class blacks as involved in crime. Ultimately, commercials prime us to subconsciously digest racial stereotypes, and many times we do not realize it simply because of our inherent and ingrained beliefs about certain cultures.These specific cases reveal how priming is still used to stereotype black culture in advertisements even though we live in a time where egalitarian norms have made it unfavorable to appear prejudiced. The Power of I mplicit Racial Messages The crux of my question lies within the theory of implicit racial appeals. How is it that the media can influence the public through racial messages in a society where the norm is to reject any form of racial segregation? According to A Theory of Racial Appeals, whites will accept implicit racial messages if two circumstances are presented.They want to appear to be completely color blind and not reveal their inherent prejudices to society, but they also wish to remain above blacks as a culture in society. While these circumstances can be argued to be true or false on an individual level, they remain true as a whole for the white population in America. Many people also feel that it is unacceptable to think of oneself as a racist, which contradicts their wish to keep blacks down in society. Implicit racial messaging mainly occurs in politics, where the Job of politicians is to code words and phrases in order to Innocence.In one Instance, In a 1 House Tate auto Violent creme Control, Republicans argued against a piece of legislation granting money for a midnight basketball program meant to offer inner city youths recreational activities. Republicans mockingly argued that â€Å"hugs for thugs† was not necessary for these youths. Democrats ended up charging the Republicans as being racist, and using coded language in the bill an implicit racial message, designed to influence the decision in their favor (Hurwitz).The Power of Explicit Racial Messages Just as implicit racial messages influence by using encoded language to reveal the underlying racial implication, explicit racial messages need not use code words or phrases to veil its fundamental inference. Essentially, the point of an explicit racial usage is to make a clear statement that points out an obvious claim that would be considered racist among the majority of the population. One way explicit racial messaging is used in the media is through comedy shows such as Family Guy and South Park.In one episode of Family Guy, a black man and a white man are in a bowling alley, and the black man mentions how he â€Å"feels a strange satisfaction when the black ball knocks over the self righteous white pins. † The white man responds that it is not the white pins' fault for being self righteous because the black ball is in their neighborhood uninvited. The black man then responds that the black ball has done nothing wrong, to which the white man responds that if the black ball is innocent it has nothing to fear.This type of comedy is considered an explicit racial message, about how a group of whites are stereotypically uncomfortable and unwelcoming to a black person who enters into the vicinity. In addition, it demonstrates how whites believe that blacks are always up to no good. This type of messaging is considered detrimental in a serious tone, yet only considered crass or crude when presented in a comedic light. This type of message indeed primes the audien ce to consider stereotypes when observing the media presented.The Importance of Our Cultural Backgrounds While it is clear that priming is used in the media to influence the public perception, many believe that these subtle influences are wrong. Many people believe that cultural priming shows racial differences in a negative light, and that the media should make sure that race or culture does not come into play when advertising. However, different cultures make life more colorful, and our differences should be celebrated, not shunned. One's cultural heritage is something to be proud f, not hidden or masked.In the case of the Aunt Jimmie maple syrup, a black person should not be offended that a black mother like figure is the logo of a company. History is history, and even if the company came out and explicitly stated that the intention of this logo is to represent a motherly figure that was commonplace in the American south during the nineteenth century, why should anyone be mad? Th at is like saying that a pizzeria is prejudiced for having a ceramic statue of a man with a moustache and an olive complexion holding a pizza outside the restaurant.People would be celebrating their culture heritage and their cultural history, not trying to pretend the bad or embarrassing parts did not occur. While many people argue that equality is what our founding fathers based our declaration of independence on, it can be argued that our society has become too sensitive when it comes to race and culture. The media has been attacked numerous times for not being â€Å"sensitive† enough toward certain groups. It Is now commonplace to read In ten news Tanat a reporter was fired for saying â€Å"lynching,† or a politically incorrect term is being banned from television and print.Conclusion Ultimately, there is not one answer to explain why priming is still used to stereotype black culture in American media when we live in a time where egalitarian norms have made it unfa vorable to appear prejudiced. However, if we forget these stereotypes or any other cultural stereotype due to the increasingly exaggerated sensitivity and politically correctness we as Americans seem to have adopted, we will lose a part of history that has had great significance in who we are today, how we live and how far we have come as a society in accepting or rejecting certain customs.

High School and School Teachers Essay

Abstract The report underscores the importance of the â€Å"skills that are most essential and associated with career and college readiness,† [Paul Weeks] says. Since many secondary school teachers aren’t familiar with the skills that have been identified as the most essential to succeed in college, high school educators cover a breadth of skills. â€Å"Postsecondary instructors would rather see more depth, not a broad range that are only an inch deep,† asserts Weeks. For example, two students can pass algebra but have vastly different experiences and their knowledge can vary greatly. Colleges review class titles but rarely evaluate the essential skills mastered in the class. â€Å"Now we know what skills lead to college and career readiness,† suggests Weeks. â€Å"And the more high school teachers are aware of those skills and can teach them, the better their graduates will perform in postsecondary education. † Boone County schools also are collaborating with Northern Kentucky University to develop basic math programs. â€Å"We want to make sure that every student is at that level of mastery. It drives everything we do,† [Karen Cheser] says. To prepare students to be college ready, it requires â€Å"conversations, transparency, and a willingness to put out data. It takes community-will and providing resources,† she remarks. Publication Title The Hispanic Outlook in Higher Education Publisher The Hispanic Outlook in Higher Education Date 08/2013 Study Explores Why many High School Graduates Are not Ready for College by Gary M Stern Content Type Journal Article Abstract The report underscores the importance of the â€Å"skills that are most essential and associated with career and college readiness,† [Paul Weeks] says. Since many secondary school teachers aren’t familiar with the skills that have been identified as the most essential to succeed in college, high school educators cover a breadth of skills. â€Å"Postsecondary instructors would rather see more depth, not a broad range that are only an inch deep,† asserts Weeks. For example, two students can pass algebra but have vastly different experiences and their knowledge can vary greatly. Colleges review class titles but rarely evaluate the essential skills mastered in the class. â€Å"Now we know what skills lead to college and career readiness,† suggests Weeks. â€Å"And the more high school teachers are aware of those skills and can teach them, the better their graduates will perform in postsecondary education. † Boone County schools also are collaborating with Northern Kentucky University to develop basic math programs. â€Å"We want to make sure that every student is at that level of mastery. It drives everything we do,† [Karen Cheser] says. To prepare students to be college ready, it requires â€Å"conversations, transparency, and a willingness to put out data. It takes community-will and providing resources,† she remarks. Publication Title. The Hispanic Outlook in Higher Education Publisher The Hispanic Outlook in Higher Education Date 08/2013 Study Explores Why many High School Graduates Are not Ready for College by Gary M Stern Content Type Journal Article Abstract The report underscores the importance of the â€Å"skills that are most essential and associated with career and college readiness,† [Paul Weeks] says. Since many secondary school teachers aren’t familiar with the skills that have been identified as the most essential to succeed in college, high school educators cover a breadth of skills. â€Å"Postsecondary instructors would rather see more depth, not a broad range that are only an inch deep,† asserts Weeks. For example, two students can pass algebra but have vastly different experiences and their knowledge can vary greatly. Colleges review class titles but rarely evaluate the essential skills mastered in the class. â€Å"Now we know what skills lead to college and career readiness,† suggests Weeks. â€Å"And the more high school teachers are aware of those skills and can teach them, the better their graduates will perform in postsecondary education. † Boone County schools also are collaborating with Northern Kentucky University to develop basic math programs. â€Å"We want to make sure that every student is at that level of mastery. It drives everything we do,† [Karen Cheser] says. To prepare students to be college ready, it requires â€Å"conversations, transparency, and a willingness to put out data. It takes community-will and providing resources,† she remarks. Publication Title The Hispanic Outlook in Higher Education Publisher The Hispanic Outlook in Higher Education Date 08/2013.