Multiple Intelligence Theory Essay

Many students choose to attend APUS because the University fosters differing educational styles and empowers the students through education. The Student Handbook states, â€Å"The University System fosters an environment that promotes a life of learning for its constituents and uses feedback from its participants and supporters to improve the quality of its teaching, learning, and support†¦ The University System anticipates and adapts to its changing environment and responds to the needs of the organization and its constituencies in manners both appropriate and timely.† In the beginning of College 100, students are introduced to the different learning styles and the theory of multiple intelligences. By becoming familiar with other students learning styles and exploring the multiple intelligences students became more tolerant towards others and were able to strengthen their learning power. Being familiar with multiple intelligence theory, knowing the different learning sty les, utilizing appropriate classroom methods, and exploring the interdisciplinary classroom will empower students towards a lifetime of learning. Recognizing the multiple intelligence theory is the first step in capturing the different learning styles. â€Å"Howard Gardners multiple intelligence theory (Gardner, 1993) proposes the idea that we all have various levels of intelligence across a range of intellectual areas† (Pritchard, 2008). The concept that people learn in different ways, and perceive and learn by different methods is what makes up the theory of multiple intelligences. There are at least nine different intelligences in which people display in varying ways (Pritchard, 2008). The styles are as follows: linguistic, logical/mathematical, musical, spatial/visual, kinesthetic, interpersonal, intrapersonal, naturalistic, and existential (Pritchard, 2008). Student’s particular academic strengths have a direct impact on how effective their learning will be for their overall education. When applying multiple intelligences to the classroom, it is very important to cater to all the types of learning styles. When discussing learning styles in the forums of College 100, every student had a different way of learning that especially worked for them. If every single assignment or activity in a classroom is slanted towards visual learning, then the students who are auditory or kinesthetic learners will be at a serious disadvantage. These students will not be able to express themselves or be able to conform to the teaching style if their learning needs are not met. â€Å"In planning for multiple intelligences, teachers consider the range of activities related to the content of the lesson and the intended learning outcomes will give a range of opportunities to the children’s different intelligence strengths† (Pritchard, 2008). It is very important for a teacher to introduce a range of activities and presentations in order to make the most out of multiple intelligences. A learning style is reflected by a students preferred method of learning, which is a direct result of their type of intelligence. It is irresponsible for a teacher to assume that all of their students will learn in the same manner. The four main styles of learning are visual, auditory, kinesthetic, and extrovert. Every style has strengths and weaknesses. It is crucial in the educational environment to exploit the student’s strengths and protect the weaknesses. A student’s self-worth and esteem can be very much tied up with their learning capability. Teachers must exhibit a range of teaching styles, so that their students learning styles will be compatible. â€Å"Diverse personalities impact relationships, motivation, and ease of learning in classroom and work environments. Where there are diverse personalities within groups, people generally prefer and choose to be with others who are similar to themselves; individuals may even dislike those who have different attitudes and behaviors from their own† (Richardson & Arker, 2010). What Richardson and Arker are implying is that people of different personalities and learning styles tend to stick in the same groups. It would be to the benefit of everyone if individuals of different personalities and persuasions were put together in one group, that way the group will be more powerful and will benefit greatly from the input of everybody. A truly good teacher will ensure that they have designed their curriculum in such a way so that students learning needs are met. Classroom arrangements can be made so that individuals of similar temperaments are brought together in what is called compatibility scheduling. This arrangement will enhance the overall productivity of students as well as teachers† (Richar dson & Arker, 2010). As multiple intelligence theory has developed, advances in classroom methods have also been made. There are at least three different methods that combine multiple intelligence theory with learning styles in order to better the classroom environment. â€Å"Brain-based education supports the need to differentiate instruction† (Richardson & Arker, 2010). Some studies in brain research have shown that there is such a thing as a left-brain and a right-brain. People can be left or right brain dominate, which largely determines the individuals learning style. â€Å"Collaborative learning is a method of teaching and learning in which student’s team together to explore a significant question or create a meaningful project† (Educational Broadcasting Corporation, 2004). This type of classroom learning will serve to help the entire group. The students and teachers will be able to pick out the roles that suit them best, thus serving the group to the best of their ability. Another method that is similar to collaborative learning is cooperative learning. In cooperative learning, â€Å"Students work together in small groups on a structured activity. They are individually accountable for their work, and the work of the group as a whole is also assessed. Cooperative groups work face-to-face and learn to work as a team† (Educational Broadcasting Corporation, 2004). Cooperative learning is becoming a very popular method. It uses individuals best qualities for the betterment of the group. By using these methods in the classroom learning becomes an active process and engages all types of learning styles. The Western world has divided education into blocks, and then further divided the blocks into disciplines. While convenient on paper, it is clear that education and disciplines overlap, the world is a fluid place. Interdisciplinary education is an approach that blends different disciplines and utilizes multiple intelligence theory and varying learning styles. â€Å"The exponential growth of knowledge in the twentieth century revealed how disciplinary cultures and perspectives could discourage inquiries and explanations that spanned disciplinary boundaries. Disciplines, it now seems clear, are powerful but constraining ways of knowing† (Lattuca, 2001). By breaking down the walls of the disciplines, students are empowered to use their differing learning styles. This will result in students having positive experiences with education. Students will then seek out a lifetime of learning, and encourage other to seek knowledge. Recognizing the theory of multiple intelligences and defining each student’s learning style will lead to success in education. By utilizing methods such as brain-based learning, cooperative learning, and collaborative learning teachers can empower students by giving them the educational method that works best for each individual. Combining all of these aspects yields the concept of interdisciplinary learning, leading to a lifetime of successful education, teaching, and learning. References Concept to Classroom: Course Menu. (2004). THIRTEEN – New York Public Media. Retrieved December 2, 2012, from http://www.thirteen.org/edonline/concept2class/index.html Lattuca, L. R. (2001). Creating interdisciplinarity: Interdisciplinary research and teaching among college and university faculty. Nashville: Vanderbilt University Press. Pritchard, A. (2008). Ways of Learning [electronic resource]: Learning Theories and Learning Styles in the Classroom. Hoboken, NJ: David Fulton Publishers. Richardson, R., & Arker, E. (2010). Personalities in the Classroom: Making the Most of Them. Kappa Delta Pi Record, 46(2), 76-81.

M & a of China Automobile Industry Essay

The Researches on Overseas Mergers and Acquisitions of China Automobile Industry in Post-Crisis Period? ZHU Qin School of Economics, Zhejiang Gongshang University, P. R. China, 310018 Zhuqin9871@163. com Abstract: Since the 2008 financial crisis, the overseas mergers and acquisitions (M&A) of China automobile industry have become a topic the world’s automobile market most concerns about. This paper views that the rapid growth of the domestic automobile market, the adjustments in overseas auto industry and much support from government’s policies provide a good background and favorable conditions to overseas M&A of China automobile industry. It also points out that although China’s state-owned enterprises are still the main body of overseas mergers and acquisitions of China auto industry, private enterprises are playing an increasingly important role. Through studying specific cases, the paper proposes countermeasures concerning overseas mergers and acquisitions of China automobile industry in post-crisis period. Keywords: Post-crisis period, the automobile industry, overseas mergers and acquisitions 1 Introduction The rapid growth of China’s economy since the reform and opening, the explosive increase of automobile industry in recent years and government’s supporting policies on the automobile industry altogether offer new opportunities and conditions to overseas M&A of China automobile industry. At present, China has become the largest automobile producer in the global. In 2009, the top ten automobile manufacturing countries were: China (13791000), Japan (7. 935 million), United States (5. 697 million), Germany (5. 206 million ), Korea (3. 513 million), Brazil (3. 183 million), India (2. 628 million), Spain (2. 17 million), France (1.935 million), Mexico (1. 561 million). Large-scale production capacity endows China auto companies with a base to expand overseas. Following the 2008 financial crisis, the global economic downturn has had the international Automotive Group faced with overcapacity problem; meanwhile, the global credit shortage has brought great pressure to the survival and development of the automobile business. Funding gaps emerged in many international auto giants. After the financial crisis, the asset value of many foreign enterprises is seriously underestimated, which gives a good chance for Chinese enterprises to take a shot. Through overseas M&A access to the dreaming international auto brands, the core technology and international marketing channels can be acquired at low costs. At the same time, Chinese auto companies have sufficient capital reserves at the present stage, and with the strong support from the government and national financial institutions, there is a potential for them to become competitive buyers for part of the international Automotive Group’s quality assets. It is worth mentioning that related departments in the Chinese government treat the auto industry as a pillar industry of national economy, giving it much positive policy support. â€Å"The automotive industry restructuring and rejuvenation program†, promulgated in 2009 increased efforts to support the automobile industry. First, the program states that â€Å"it is required to promote the restructuring of the automotive industry, to support M&A of large-scale automobile enterprise groups, to expand the scale of major auto parts enterprises through M&A. † Previously, the major auto companies were not willing to conduct cross-regional restructuring because of too many barriers. â€Å"The automotive industry restructuring and rejuvenation program† can effectively solve this kind of concerns. In related detailed ? [Sustentation Fund]: National Science Fund of China (70703030) , Zhejiang Province Science Fund (Y6080222), Humanity and Social Science Fund of Chinese Ministry of Education (07JA790083, 09YJC790240) 43 M & D FORUM regulations, associated guidelines are made which involve the acquirer and acquiree, such as the source of acquisition financing, tax issues that may arise in acquisition, the asset disposal of acquired companies and employee relocation and other problems prone to cause disputes or already existing barriers. At the same time, it will lift the standard of admitting foreign asset and acquiring related domestic enterprises to (protectively) enhance the competitiveness of domestic auto companies. In addition, in March 16, 2009, the Ministry of Commerce issued † procedures for the administration of foreign investment † to further reform foreign investment management system, promote the facilitation of foreign investment, support Chinese enterprises to â€Å"go out† and participate more in international economic cooperation and competition. These help to raise strong and positive support for overseas M & A of China automobile industry. 2 The Main Body of Overseas M&A of China Automobile Industry Before 2008, although there were many cases of overseas M&A in China automobile industry, such as SAIC’s acquisition of Ssang Yong in 2004, Nanjing Auto ’s acquisition of Rover in 2005 and so on, the overall impact and scale were still limited and attention from the domestic and international was not intense enough. From 2006 to 2008, the scale of M&A China’s major automobile companies has been further reduced, with the total number of only 7. It only covered 19% of the total number of Chinese car companies’ various overseas investment. Other overseas investment approaches were: 21 cases of joint ventures or strategic alliances, accounting for 57%, 8 cases of factory founding directly, accounting for 22%, and 1 case of technology transfer. But after 2008, when the world auto market is still full of financial cold haze, the Chinese auto companies went against the trend. A number of enterprises joined with foreign auto brands in carrying out cross-border marriage. In this short year, both the vehicle industry or parts manufacturers lunched many acquisitions either far-reaching or with extremely high degree of concern. Beijing Automobile Works acquired Saab, Geely acquired Volvo, Beijing West Industry’s acquisition of the U. S. Delphi, Geely DSI bought Australian automatic transmission companies, to name just a few. Overall, in the current automobile industry, China’s M & A main body is evolving towards a diversed boom. China’s automobile companies participating in overseas M & A are no longer confined to state-owned ones. Due to their growing strength and government’s supportive policies, private enterprises have become the new force, injecting new vigor and vitality into the overseas M&A of China automobile industry. However, state-owned enterprises are still the most important main body in cross-border M & A activities [7]. In this M & A wave, the Beijing Automotive, as one of the state-owned enterprises, successfully finished the acquisition of the Swedish brand Saab in December 2009. State-owned enterprises have an advantage of large scale, but often there is a serious deficiency in the governance, a general lack of motivation of in the management. A majority of state-owned operators have an incomplete momentum for cross-border M & A. The private enterprise, with their natural clear property rights, fewer policy constraints, and a flexible structure and mechanism are playing an increasingly important role in the wave of automotive M&A. Thanks to less intervention from the government and following less protection compared with the state-owned enterprises, private enterprises possess stronger self-awareness, risk awareness and a sense of competition. Increasingly powerful private enterprise group is supposed to become an important force in the cross-border M & A in the future [15]. In this M&A wave, the most distinctive representative of private enterprises is China Geely Group. As a leader of China’s private auto enterprise, in March 2010, it successfully reached an agreement with General Motors, purchasing 100% of the shares of GM’s Volvo. 3 A Study of Overseas M & A Cases in China Automobile Industry 44 M & D FORUM 3. 1 Overseas M & A cases of automobile enterprises In the choice of overseas M & A targets, China’s auto enterprises prefer developed regions like Europe and the United States, especially concentrating on world’s top 10 auto-producing countries besides China such as the United States, France and other places. The vehicle industry in these areas has long history, with many powerful brands, more developed economy, higher living standard and stronger consumer ability. In the choice of specific targets, Chinese enterprises are in favor of those enterprises that are of highly well-known brands, a long history, as well as advanced technology and experienced management. However, during this financial crisis, a serious setback in operating performance led some of these companies or brands to great losses or even near-collapse. Geely’s acquisition of Volvo and Beijing Auto’s of Saab is representative ones. They are very typical in this M&A wave starting after the financial crisis. 3. 1. 1 Beijing auto’s acquisition of Saab On December 28, 2009, Beijing Automotive Holdings formally announced the acquisition of relevant intellectual property rights of Saab cars at a cost of 200 million U. S. dollars. By then, Beijing Automotive has gotten the core data of the complete research, production, marketing, quality control system. This international transaction is the first successful case for a domestic automobile enterprise to carry out the acquisition of foreign advanced and complete vehicle power technology since 2009. As one of a few China’s Automotive Groups who not yet have their own brands, Beijing Automotive is very urgent on owning its own brand-related technology. So the successful marriage with the Saab is of great significance for Beijing Automotive to speed up the process of independent R & D and internationalization. 3. 1. 2 Geely’s acquisition of Volvo On December 23, 2009, Ford Motor Company released a statement of reaching a framework agreement to sell its Volvo to Geely. In March 28, 2010, Geely signed a definitive stock purchase agreement with Ford to buy 100% of the shares of Volvo Car at a cost of 1. 8 billion U. S. dollars and then signed a definitive agreement concerning related assets [32]. This saliva battles full of troubles ended with Geely tenaciously achieving its dream of â€Å"snake swallows elephant†. It is a spur for other domestic auto enterprises, also a major step for Geely towards the international market Simultaneously it helps the Volvo brand to further open the Chinese market,. However, it is not easy for Geely to â€Å"digest† Volvo. Whether it is because of the picky European Union, or high operating costs for brand, or cultural integration, especially the integration and management of Volvo’s distributors, factories and suppliers scattering over more than 100 countries and 2,400 regions. There are a series of huge problems. 3. 2 Overseas M & A cases of automobile parts enterprises After the financial crisis, overseas auto parts enterprises were faced with greater difficulties than full-vehicle enterprises. Bankruptcy and M&A happened frequently. Influenced by this round of auto industry structure adjustment, the integration of parts suppliers intensified, and M & A wave aimed at supplier groups resurged. Foreign well-known auto parts enterprises like Australian transmission company DSI, Delphi in the United States and so on occupy pivotal positions in the auto parts industry, and even have a significant impact on the development of the full-vehicle market. Direct purchase of foreign auto parts enterprises is local suppliers’ one way of gaining access to core technology. After the current financial crisis, the M&A cases of auto parts enterprises are quite frequent and also larger and more far-reaching than that of before the crisis. Such as Geely’s acquisition of the Australian transmission company DSI, Beijing West Industry’s acquisition of U. S. Delphi, WanXiang Group’s acquisition of the U. S. DS automobile steering shaft and so on. 3. 2. 1 Beijing West Industry’s acquisition of Delphi On March 31, 2009, Delphi formally agreed to sell its global businesses of braking and suspension to Beijing West Industry. Beijing West was prepared to pay 90 million U. S. dollars in cash to acquire Delphi’s related machinery and equipment, intellectual property and real estate, including its businesses of braking and suspension in eight plants, five technology centers and 14 technical support and customer 45 M & D FORUM service centers which locate worldwide. 3. 2. 2 Geely’s acquisition of DSI. On March 27, 2009 in New South Wales State’s Government Building, the signing ceremony of Geely acquiring Australian Automatic Transmission Company was held. According to a statement from Li Shufu, the Chairman of Geely Group, Geely conducts a wholly-owned acquisition of DSI for it values DSI’s complete designing and manufacturing capabilities accumulated over 80 years. DSI Automatic Transmission Company is an automatic transmission specialist centralizing research and development, manufacturing, and sales altogether. What is more, it is one of the only two global automatic transmission companies that are independent from all automotive vehicle companies. 4 Countermeasures and Suggestions for Overseas M & A of China Automobile Industry 4. 1 The selection of objects for overseas M & A First of all, when making overseas M & A, Chinese auto enterprises need to be careful of those M & A targets who already have no competitive advantage within the industry, and just to sell companies to reject the burden. Therefore, they should be especially cautious in the choice of Objects for overseas M & A and take various factors into consideration. Second, while doing overseas M&A, Chinese auto enterprises can not just focus on targets of low purchase price, but on the potential value of the enterprises after the acquisition. Therefore, the Chinese auto enterprises ought to choose targets that are consistent and coordinated with their own strategic objectives, and can complement their own businesses to achieve synergies; to choose overseas assets with low cost but are able to produce better results through the integration. Finally, in assessing M & A targets, priority should be given to smaller yet high quality objects in accordance with their requirements. M & A are to be done for many times, at small amount and with steady integration. 4. 2 A careful and scientific implementation of overseas M & A After enterprises have determined the strategic premise of overseas M & A consistent with their own development requirements, they need to compare the key links in tactic and carry on related initiatives. First, in M & A planning session, to establish a more comprehensive overseas assessment system; to do a comprehensive and quantitative research with regard to the status of the host country market, national policies and regulations, competition pattern, the main risks; to do further accurate assessment of the target company’s technology, independent intellectual property rights, operation status and potential value, weighing the risks and opportunities. Second, after selecting the target of M & A, a comprehensive understanding of the business-related technology, the details of intellectual property rights should be gained, and the specific items and amounts of M & A be finalized. To maximize benefits at the lowest cost by conducting effective negotiations. Third, after the transaction is completed, to assess comprehensively the differences of both managements in management philosophy, and the differences of staff in culture, values, benefits, remuneration and so on. To orderly propel the process of integration in achieving M & A objects. 4. 3 The implementation of the strategic resource reserves in overseas M & A To obtain opportunities of overseas M&A, auto industry are required to carry out resource reserves in four aspects. First, human resources reserves. The Chinese auto enterprises should consciously reserve all kinds of overseas M & A professionals as soon as possible. Second, M & A experience reserves. By continually accumulating experience through practices, enterprises can learn more about related laws and regulations, operating procedures, and precautions to reduce risks, and then improve the success rate. Third, M & A financial reserves. To fight for access to financial support from the government or large financial institutions. To ensure enough amount of money while minimizing financial costs. 46 M & D FORUM 5 Conclusion During post-crisis period, the China automobile industry is facing an unprecedented good opportunity in overseas M&A. With the support of concerning policies, the China auto industry is adopting an active global strategy. Through the integration of global auto industry resources, the international competitiveness force of China auto industry is enhanced in a great degree. In the process of overseas M&A, the China auto industry needs to actively carry out relevant strategic resource reserves, scientifically select acquisition targets, and carefully as well as scientifically implement specific overseas M & A strategy. Author in brief: Zhu Qin, PHD, Associate Professor, School of Economics, Zhejiang Gongshang University Email: zhuqin9871@163. com. References [1]. Stefano Rossiand Paolo Volpin. Cross-Country Determinants of Mergers and Acquisitions [M]. London Business School, 2002 [2]. Guo Jianhua. The global automotive industry changing situation report [R]. Beijing: Equality in Automobile Research Institute, 2009(in Chinese) [3]. RolandBerger Strategy Consultants. China’s auto industry development, in the current financial crisis the opportunities and challenges [R], 2009 (in Chinese) [4]. State Council Development Research Center of Industrial Economics Research Department, Society of Automotive Engineers of China, Volkswagen Group. China Automotive Industry Development Report [M]. Beijing: Social Sciences Academic Press, 2009. 7 (in Chinese) 47

The Application of Value Engineering in the Saudi Construction Essay

The Application of Value Engineering in the Saudi Construction Industry - Essay Example However, since then all government departments in Saudi Arabia have switched to using value engineering, and the Saudi government has sincerely tried to encourage the construction industry in the nation to benefit from value engineering. Value engineering is even more important today for the Saudi Arabian construction industry because moderate growth forecasts for the GDP rate demand delivery of value under conditions of intense competition and difficulty in raising finance for construction projects. This literature review presents an examination of themes that emerge from published literature about value engineering, the Saudi Arabian construction industry and the application of value engineering in the Saudi Arabian construction industry. In the year 1902, when Ibn Saud captured the garrison town of Riyadh, it was just a dusty oasis in Najd (Businessweek, 2006, Pp. 1 – 2). However, according to the previously mentioned report, a surge in oil prices and a high rate of population growth has since then created a demand for sophisticated design and construction. Today, Riyadh is no longer a dusty oasis, but a beacon to a new age of engineering prowess and the Saudi construction industry has come a long way from the standards of the year 1902. In the year 2005, the construction market in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region, of which the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is also a member, achieved new heights in terms of the construction contracts awarded (AME Info, 2010, â€Å"Kuwait construction industry - hitting new heights†). According to the previously mentioned article, the value of the construction contracts for the GCC region doubled at the end of the year 2006 from the figure at the end of the year 2004 due to a rapid surge in the region’s real GDP following a boom in oil prices in the years 2003 - 2006. However, since then, according to Gulf (2010, Pp. 2 – 3), financing conditions for

Challenges for Military Organizations in Peacetime and Wartime Essay

Challenges for Military Organizations in Peacetime and Wartime - Essay Example This research will begin with the statement that the questions that arise are whether innovations in military organizations are required during peacetime or must they be made during the course of a war. Military innovations refer to conceptual changes in operations of specific combat arms and mutual relation between different combat arms. The idea is to pave the way for a new mission by abandoning traditional missions. Such innovations define war in a new way and restructure the relationship between different factors of the military organization and the enemy. The operations are designed so that they are consistent with the new ideas. Innovations focus is on major military activities based on which war plans are made. Military innovations are subjected to various challenges. The general belief that defeat in war provides an incentive for military innovation is not technically correct. The complexities in the bureaucratic system during peacetimes make innovation extremely difficult. T here are many cases where military innovations have taken place after victory in a war, and not defeat. When officers are incorporated in the army they are prepared to follow orders without question. They become so habituated with the existing concepts that with the passage of years the ideas get deeply embedded within their minds so much so that no amount of reasoning or argument can make them abandon the established ideas. Only by studying the nature of military organizations, the need for innovations can be explained.

Managed care organizations Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Managed care organizations - Research Paper Example According to the official Aenta, Inc. website, the company provides care by providing health insurance for consumers which pays for doctor’s visits, medication, and other procedures (Aenta Inc). Aetna, Inc provides specific plans for individuals and families (Aenta Inc). They also provide special plans for employers to offer their employees. The cost of each plan depends on a variety of factors including pre-existing health conditions, deductibles, and locations. In looking at this particular plan, it does not appear to be as big of a company as other managed care organizations, so I might be less apt to trust it. As a patient, I would choose the individual plan and ensure that my coverage included prescriptions and hospital stays as these would be particularly important to me. Humana Inc, Humana Inc is another managed care organization that offers health insurance coverage to its consumers. As one of the better known health insurance companies, Humana Inc has an extensive are a of health care plans for consumers such as Medicare, individual, dental, vision, veteran, and insurance through employers (Humana Inc).

Master slave relationships in Shakespeares The Tempest Essay

Master slave relationships in Shakespeares The Tempest - Essay Example (I, ii, 519-520). The word ‘slave’ is repeatedly used in the text to refer to Caliban which throws light on the European attitudes towards the people they conquered through imperialism. Similarly, Prospero calls Caliban â€Å"beast† (IV, i, 140), â€Å"devil† (IV, i, 188) and other derogatory terms to refer to his savagery and uncivilised ways. Even though Prospero claims to have imposed penalties on Caliban for violating the honour of his daughter (I, ii, 347-48) one really tends to doubt whether Caliban really deserves all those punishments inflicted on him. Tiffany, in this respect, purports that Caliban’s attempted rape on Miranda â€Å"stemmed from untaught natural impulse than from considered evil.† However, Caliban is destined to suffer from the wrath of his master. However, Caliban is not always submissive or servile. He reacts and yearns for his freedom and rights like a true colonist. His poems display both imaginative and intellectu al capabilities. He is bold enough to state that the island was presented to him by his mother: â€Å"This island’s mine by Sycorax my mother† (I, ii, 331) and thus he expresses his rightful claim to own the island. In the same way, Caliban’s intense longing to take revenge on his master is also evident in the play when he joins with Stephano and Trinculo to plot against Prospero. His revengeful attitude also made clear when he regrets of not being able to molest Miranda. He believes that if he had succeeded in his rape attempt he could have â€Å"peopled..../This isle with Calibans† (I, ii, 350-51) and taken the power back from Prospero’s hands. Thus, Caliban’s character displays feelings of... This paper illustrates that one can find Prospero’s magical powers being highlighted in The Tempest whereas his oppressive nature is depicted as subtle. However, deconstructive critics hold that â€Å"each term in the opposition depends on the other for meaning† and as such it is clear that Prospero masterly position in the play is directly related to Caliban’s servile or beastly existence. A deconstructive understanding of the text shows The Tempest is not merely a story of an island inhabitant and his master; on the other hand, the text aims at breaking the legacy of colonialism or imperialism that underpinned Britain’s history of slavery and empire. It can thus be seen that The Tempest deals with the themes of power and control within a master slave relationship between Prospero and Caliban. Caliban remains a servant to many masters varying from his mother Sycorax, the original colonizer to Stephano whom he takes as his own master to challenge Prospero. One can clearly notice that a number of characters in the play compete for the colonial control of the island and each one has specific colonial ambitions for the island. Even though Prospero succeeds in retaining the control of the island against all conspiracies his rule and the way he treats Caliban who is the rightful owner of the island raises questions of fairness, morality and rights. Thus, it is evident that the play depicts all the necessary tensions, uncertainties and master-slave relations that characterise colonialism and both Prospero and Caliban are signifiers for the greater imperial world order.

Critical Analysis Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Critical Analysis - Research Paper Example The first issue arises when the writer shows no issues associated with the black origin of Armand. To illustrate, the writer evidently points out that Armand had a ‘dark handsome face’ that did not disfigure. It is rather unsound to believe that Armand, in his entire lifetime, had no chance to know about his color, and that he never examined his skin color or compared it with the skin of others. Secondly, a man with such a strong and rather cruel personality did not seem aware about the race his mother belonged to. It is at the end of the story that he comes to know that his mother ‘who adores him, belongs to the race that is cursed with the brand of slavery’. The intention here is very clear; Armand is destined to be portrayed as an irrational human being. In other words, instead of race, the writer is trying to give stress on gender. The second technical fault comes in the fact that despite his ‘dark’ face, Madame Valmonde had no problem in al lowing their marriage. In addition, he had not loved her before, and he started loving her as if ‘stuck by a pistol shot’. Here, he decides to marry Desiree despite her obscure origin, and loves her blindly. Again as the child is born, He stops beating the black slaves he has. Thus, it becomes evident that Armand is presented as a cruel man who used to beat his slaves for no apparent reason. However, as Serafin, Bendixen point out, the birth of a child makes him give up his cruelty; and on the other hand, the female figures, despite his black complexion, started loving and trusting him blindly (188). The third point that hurts the reader is the fact that though Madame Valmonde and the nurse woman Zandrine immediately realize the fact that the child is black in complexion, both the parents; Armand and Desiree seem unaware of the color of the child until the child is three months old. It is rather irrational to believe that all other people except the child’s paren ts identified the issue. Here, again, the story loses its integrity by saying that Armand failed to identify the color of the child which is highly unlikely. For example, the moment Madame Valmonde sees the child she cries, â€Å"this is not the baby!† That means, she is totally surprised by the color of the baby. It is rather surprising that neither Armand nor Desiree could see this. However, for the sake of argument, one can say that while marrying a white woman, the purpose of Armand was to give birth to a white child that would ‘bear his name’. Here, one can make a rather reasonable assumption that though Armand was aware of his color and race, he married a white woman expecting a white boy. However, as he was disappointed by Desiree by giving birth to a black child instead, he loses all happiness. In the case of Desiree too, the negligence towards the color of the child she shows is surprising. Here, instead of claiming that she was unaware of the color, a b etter assumption would be that as she married a black man, she was expecting a black child. So, when the black child was born to a black father, she failed to see any dangers in it. In other words, she was unaware of the unreasonable ambitions of Armand. So, even when Madame Valmonde exclaims â€Å"this is not the baby† , Desiree believes the comment is about the growth of the child; not about the color.

Diagnostic Advertising Profile Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Diagnostic Advertising Profile - Research Paper Example Build a Bear Workshop targets its stuffed toys, outfits, accessories, and other reasonably priced products towards young children between the ages of 6 to 14. The primary purpose of Build-a-Bear Workshop’s advertising campaign is to persuade potential customers in the age bracket of 6 to 14. Its mascot, the Bearemy, is also an adorable looking stuffed animal especially chosen to represent its target audience which consists mainly of little children (â€Å"Our Mascot, Bearemy†, n.pag.). Its persuasive and informative advertising objective focuses on promoting people to buy their products by changing their perceptions about the product’s value. One of its commercials shows a small girl talking about how you can literally â€Å"build a bear† by buying additional accessories along with the bear to fit the child’s own linking (â€Å"Build-a-Bear Workshop Commercial†, 00:20). So far it has been successful in effectively communicating its message of creating a customized teddy bear to suit the linking of every child. Though it did experience a drop in its net income in 2007 when it failed to retain its customers (Farrell, n.pag.). Build-a-bear Workshop has sought the services of various advertising agencies over the past and seeks the promotional services so as to increase its brand awareness, help build technologically advanced retail outlets, and carry out integrated marketing. It has taken the services from agencies like Cannonball (Cannonball, n.pag.), SteadyRain, and even Samsung to put together its interactive and highly technological outlets creating superb brand recognition and value among its young customers. Its Bearville website also plays a critical role in the promotion and sales of its products online (â€Å"What is Bearville†, n.pag.). It sought the promotional services of SteadyRain in order to enhance its brand awareness online (SteadyRain, n.pag.). Since Build a Bear Workshop enables customers to buy o nline, it looked for an analysis of the company’s website. The Search Engine Optimization allowed SteadyRain to evaluate the traffic and the possible sources of organic search that yielded productive visits to the website. Its high tech outlets at various areas provide an interactive environment and digital gadgets to help the children design their customized toys (Kotler & Armstrong, 35; Olson, n.pag.). There are work stations at each stage starting from â€Å"Stuff me† where the child stuffs in fluff inside their teddy bear. The process ends with â€Å"Name me† where the bear is complete and a birth certificate is issued (Kotler & Armstrong, 35-36). Samsung has provided its services to Build a Bear Workshop to create its high tech stores containing interactive work stations and other technologies to enable the company to cater to its customers’ needs (â€Å"Case Study: Build-A Bear Workshop†, 2). Build-a-Bear Workshop’s advertising mainly uses emotional appeals to reach out their target market consisting of young children. Its television commercials often show young children and their product line of assorted teddy bears to inform its young audiences of its attractive option of customizing teddy bears. Most of advertisements aim at appealing the young children using tactics that stimulate the younger children to buy the customized teddy bears. One of its advertisements includes a young girl talking about how she can add different accessories to create her own tailored teddy bear (â€Å"

Air force fume billboard Essay Example for Free

Air force fume billboard Essay Air force fume billboard Introduction   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In 1943 John Garfield, John Ridgley, Gig Young â€Å"The troop of an Air Force† bomber disembark in the Harbor in the outcome of the Japanese assault and is mailed on to Manila to provide a hand with the attack of the Philippines (Suids, 1996).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   There are observable characteristics, which attract customers to the product. Basing our argument on the above film are lifestyles, standards, color, physical appearance, taste, motivations, opinion, and desires. These take account of distinctiveness such as cheerful, preservationist, and safety-cognizant, value-oriented, class-driven. In our case, color attracts ones attention such that the distant-customers move closer.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Color information is supportive in identifying objective. It can be, sometimes, misleading. One of the tribulations with regard to images is the equivalent objects might have dissimilar colors and intensities when the illumination situation changes or there are dimness. It occurs predominantly often in our assignment. The billboard images for patterns were taken independently in a different circumstance from the unambiguous game in the video progression. However, in the live match dissemination, the lighting condition is diverse and they even revolutionize often during the match (Toyoshima, (2008).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Furthermore, there are numerous shadows caused by the players ahead of the billboards. When we to make use of the template color as the sample color and try to come across areas with the related color in the edge. The tolerant level is sky-scraping, a lot of gratuitous area will be incorporated and the diminution in searching area is not very considerable; on the other hand, if the lenient level is low, we have the risk of ignoring the main area. The brightly brown color captures awareness to the customers. The billboards exhibit great advertisements to fleeting pedestrians and even drivers. Characteristically, screening outsized, apparently amusing slogans, and distinguishing visuals. The billboards are exceedingly noticeable in the summit in market places. The bulletins are the leading modern-size billboards. They are located mainly on major highway, expressway and market zones to attract or capture peoples’ attention (Toyoshima, 2008)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   More so, imagery as a stylistic device applies during advertisement. For instance, â€Å"AIR FORCE† here implies war. This is the war of the crew against the Japanese as explained on synopsis. This type of film designed in such a way that it entails different styles. Since it is in a class of luxury has to be standard and specially designed to reach the test of customers. Primarily a good copy communicates to the ideal clients. In this case, the copy creates a great physical impression to the customers. In so doing more, sales are systematical done due to its unique appearance on the customers’ eyes (Suid, 2002).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Addition to that, customers like a description on the product in the market. Therefore, the synopsis contained on the copy gives customer detailed-evidence information in the copy. Furthermore, copywriter includes power words, which are very patting to the clients. ssOccasionally, these words are termed as power words which a very influential to the customer. They are advisable to apply in the language. In the above copy, â€Å"AIR FORCE† is an example of power words. Edges are very noteworthy illustration features in image processing. They are the points with high passion contrast and portray margins of objects contained in an image. Using periphery information of a copy also significantly condenses the amount of data while preserving the essential structural properties of an image. This gives a good impression to sight hence encouraging more purchases (Toyoshima, 2008). References Suid, L. H. (1996). Sailing on the silver screen: Hollywood and the US Navy. Annapolis, Md: Naval Inst. Press. Suid, L. H. (2002). Guts glory: The making of the American military image in film. Lexington: University Press of Kentucky. Toyoshima, Y. (2008). Japanese movie billboards: Retro art from a century of cinema. Tokyo, Japan: DH Publishing Inc. Source document

Meaning Behind Aussie Battler Essay Example for Free

Meaning Behind Aussie Battler Essay The film industry determines the way we view our films. Australian films often backup the idea of the ‘Aussie battler/hero’. A battler/hero is known as someone who fights for what they believe in, their country, their heritage, their family, friends, dignity and pride. A battler’s job is to protect and hold onto what they are fighting for, whether it is for the good or for the bad. The Aussie Battler is known for being a working class citizen who commits there heart and soul into their work, land, culture and family. Many Australian films explore the concept of ‘Overcoming Adversity’ and explore into the idea of the ‘Aussie Battler/hero’. Wonderful examples of films that directly look into this idea of the ‘Aussie Battler/hero’, is Ned Kelly (2003) and The Castle (1997). Ned Kelly is a film based in the 70’s/80s about a group of young men, Ned Kelly (Heath Ledger), Joseph Byrne (Orlando Bloom), Dan Kelly (Laurence Kinlan) and Steve Hart (Philip Barantini), also known as ‘the Kelly gang’, fighting to preserve their heritage and remain true to their family. The director of Ned Kelly ‘Gregor Jordan’ has contributed the idea of how overcoming adversity can be problematic and difficult, but can also change society. The Castle a film directed by Rob Sitch is about a man, Darryl Kerrigan (Michael Caton) facing the authority because he believes in fighting for his right to not lose everything he has worked for, for unnecessary government requests. The film industry determines the way people view films. Australian films often backup the idea of the Aussie Battler. An Aussie battler is referred to as someone who fights for what they believe in, their country their heritage, family, friends, dignity and pride. A battlers job is to protect and hold onto what they believe is worth fighting for, whether is is for good or bad. The Aussie battler is known to be a working class citizen who commits their sweat, blood and time into their work, land, culture and family. Many Australian films explore into the concept of overcoming adversity, and look deeply into the understanding the idea of the Aussie battler. Wonderful examples of films that directly look into this concept of the Aussie Battler’ is Ned Kelly (2003) and The Castle (1997). Ned Kelly is a Film based in 1880s about a group of men (Ned Kelly (Heath Ledger), Joseph Byrne (Orlando Bloom), Dan Kelly (Laurence Kinlan) and Steve Hart (Philip Barantini), also known as The Kelly Gang. The gang’s objective is to fight, preserve their heritage and change how the authority treats the Irish. The director of Ned Kelly, Gregor Jordan has contributed the idea of how overcoming diversity can be problematic and difficult, but can also change society’s views and ways. The Castle, a film directed by Rob Sitch, is about a man, Darryl Kerrigan (Michael Caton) facing the authority because he believes in fighting for his right to not lose something that is a big part of his life and something he has worked for his whole life. The events that arise in both films revolving around the characters, reiterate this idea of ‘Over coming Adversity’ and the ‘Aussie Battler/hero’ is emerged through a variety of techniques incorporated from their respective directors. In the first scene of Ned Kelly he is portrayed as a great contribution to society by saving his class mates life from drowning in a river. He received a green hero’s sash. Another scene that also really shows Ned as a battler is where he is chasing one of the authorities through the bushes. Ned shoots the authority multiple times and once he finally stops Ned tells him ‘he would not have shot if he hadn’t kept running’; he also tried to stop him from bleeding but in the end couldn’t and was forced to put a bullet through his heart. A scene where Ned’s image is turned around is where he steals the horse and gets caught from the authority; Ned loses it and threatens the authority which then lands him in jail and from this point on Ned falls into the role of ‘The Aussie Battler’. Ned Kelly belongs to an Irish heritage that immigrated to Australia for a better life, but not realizing what laid ahead for them they were pushed low down in society and struggled to keep an income. The Kelly’s were given a piece of land by the selectors where they were allowed to grow their own crops, producing their own food and founder animals for income. The authorities in Ned Kelly were self-centred and, self-indulged. The way the authority treated the Irish was different to how they treated their own. That’s where the Kelly Gang and the authority differed. Ned was pleasant to everyone he came across, he didn’t chose to harm them, gave them respect and the rights they deserved wether they were his own people or not. The events that arise in both films revolving around the two main character ‘Ned Kelly’ and ‘Darryl Kerrigan’, reiterate this idea of ‘overcoming adversity’ and the ‘Aussie battler’ is emerged through a variety of different techniques that have been incorporated by their respective directors’. In a scene towards the start of the film that shows Ned as a battler is where he is hunting a policeman through the bush lands because he ran. Ned finally guns down the policeman and finds the man lying on the ground in immense pain. Ned tells the policeman ‘he would not have shot him if he had not run’. This scene shows the battler side of Ned because further on in this scene Ned is forced to kill the policeman because there was nothing he could do to save him. The Castle is a classic Australian film the stereotypes the Aussie image but also conveys the message that Australians are tough and fight for right. The Kerrigan family is an admirable representation of the average Australian family. They are tight-knit, willing to help and passionate about sticking together as a family. There is a scene that particularly shows off the characteristics of a battler/ fighter within the castle. This scene is were Darryl is at his court hearing. When the Jury goes on break, Darryl sends out his message to his lawyer who then uses what he says in his debate. By Darryl really expression his true emotions, they win. Darryl Kerrigan resembles the typical Australian father. Although his family isn’t well off and don’t particularly live in a great spot (beside an airport), its home, it all comes from the heart. Darryl is a battler; he supports everyone’s opinions but in the end makes his decisions based upon his beliefs. He doesn’t particularly have a high status in society with him working as a tow truck driver but still manages to stay positive because he doesn’t care what people think of him, he’s a proud Australian. He works and fights for the things he needs and can appeal to ones emotions. He uses his power to battle against the bad to win the good. The directors of both Ned Kelly and The Castle have incorporated a variety of different cinematic techniques that make both films memorable in their own manner. Techniques that come under the branch are Setting, Dialogue, and Costuming, Camera angles and movement and sound. Ned Kelly desires the affect for its audience to become entangled within the films story line and to do this the film must include a range of different and somewhat unusual techniques to gather attention. The setting for Ned Kelly is rather stereotypical to the era the film is set in. Most scenes where the Kelly gang do major work is set on the authority’s side. This is the brighter, more classic, rich side, whereas most other scenes such as fighting and war is done in the bushlands, outback where the Kelly’s feel safe and indulged in their own culture. The lighting in Ned Kelly is very much so leaned to low key lighting. If you notice high key lighting comes into play when the Kelly’s are in the authority’s territory and low key lighting for the rest. The dialogue used in Ned Kelly is very traditional and formal. The authority take on a different role in there dialogue as they used different words, words that come off more offensive and cruel. Costuming is also another very outmoded label. The Kelly’s customarily wore old, scrawny, filthy unwashed clothes. They also were mostly seen in dark long pants and jackets, not a lot of skin was shown which contributed to the aspects of low key lighting. The outcast side of people had scrawny hair, beards and were dressed in dirty clothing. Whereas the upper-class side were dressed in clean cut, brighter coloured clothing that resembled there place in society. In both Ned Kelly and the Castle similar camera angles and movements were used. High Angles where used to show power i. e. the authority standing over Ned making him look weaker and more vulnerable. Particularly towards the start of both films you notice low angles and high angles being used to show authority, but as the films progressed you start to notice the change in angles and where the cameras are positioned. Throughout both films you will notice an establishing shot being used at the start of most scenes followed by either a close up or mid shot, depending wether the scene was to include dialogue where then they would need a close up or just a mid-shot. There were many cuts during dialogue which also showed great importance in what the characters were saying. The castle resembled typical Australian dress standards for that time (Flannelettes, Jeans and bowl cuts). The Authority seemed to be dressed in smart clothing the reminded you of control and responsibility. Dialogue in The Castle was stereotypically an Australian accent. The slang, the way the words are slurred and how the pronunciations of words are carried out. The authority defiantly takes on another type of channel of communication, they talk more proper, formal and tend to shorten their words to sound like they aren’t slurring. The setting in the castle is bright and cheerful. It creates a friendly environment that also shows a real Australian household. They do this by creating a rundown house, not much money and living right next to an airport. The lighting the frames this film is high key. Even when darkness controls the time of the scene light still manages to be the key element to the shots. Both films show and encourage messages about Australia in two completely different but similar ways. Ned Kelly shows a message that stealing is wrong and fighting is not the answer, but fighting for what you believe in, fighting for the right to not let others contradict your life is ok. On the other hand the message about The Castle is exactly the same but carried out differently. The castle shows the fact that Australians are not very materialistic and in general are quite simplistic and positive. Both films also conveyed the message that family is important and supporting that idea of love and trust is what makes life worth living for. Ned Kelly chose reveal the idea of using violence, crime and death to portray its message, whereas The Castle did not. The Castle showed its message through family values, gratitude and reverence. Both of these films had the authority against them, they stuck together and became united as one. By the end of both films we were left with the feeling of knowing and understanding how both families’ fought together. If one was going down they were all going down. What was also so great about these two films is that we could watch them grow from battlers into heroes. Ultimately both films were devised to create a sense of understanding about the Australian culture. For certain message and concepts to be conveyed a range of different techniques had to be used, from characterization, to cinematography. The plots direction leaded to the audience grasping different emotions and challenged the audience to experience a film unlike most modern productions.

History Of Crime And Punishment

History Of Crime And Punishment Crime is defined as an act that the law makes punishable and is often called an offense. It is an offense against the public, as compared to a tort, which is a wrongdoing against an individual and gives rise to an action for damages. Crimes produce two kinds of injuries: Social and Personal. Social injury pertains to the State and it is repaired through the imposition of penalty prescribed by law, and Personal injury pertains to the offended party and it is repaired by indemnification which is civil in nature. It is precisely because of these deleterious effects that the State is empowered to make penal laws and compel its people to follow them in order to maintain peace. Crime has been in existence for a long time, although it was not called as such. In the Bible, Adam and Eve disobeyed the Lord by eating the fruit of the tree of knowledge despite an express prohibition to do so. Some may regard what they did as a crime, although against a different being. Biblical passages found in the first five books of the bible, collectively called Torah, have referred to the principle of an eye for an eye as basis of the imposition of penalty. The earliest codified set of crimes or offenses with corresponding punishment was the Code of Ur-Nammu dating back in 2050 BC. It was written in the Sumerian language and contained a list of prohibited acts with their corresponding penalty if violated. The Code had provisions on dismissal based on corruption, protection of the poor, and significantly, a system of punishment wherein the punishment for the crime committed is fair. Its name, Ur-Nammus Code, is actually a misnomer, because historians are of the opinion that his son, Shugli, is the actual author of the Code. In 1700 BC the Babylonian King, Hammurabi developed a code of laws with the principle, lex talionis (which literally means the law of retaliation), which was called the Hammurabis Code. This principle enshrined in ancient law, simply means that the offended party may return the same offending action to the origin of such act. For instance a person from one tribe kills a member of another tribe; the law allows the imposition of the same and equal penalty to the offending party, which means the offender shall be put to death. Lex talionis embodies the principle of exact retaliation. The penalty for the violation of the code was cruel, barbaric and inhumane. Theft was punished by cutting off a finger or the hand. The tongue was cut off if a person commits defamation. The judiciary is headed by a single person or a group of persons deciding on a case, not on merit or law, but on the basis of customs and tradition. In some cases, an accused was made to dive in the River Euphrates to find out if he is innocent or not. If the offender floats, it means he is innocent, therefore, he keeps his house and the accuser is put to death. However, if he drowns, it means that he is guilty and the accuser gets his house. In Ancient Greece, the penal law is described as being draconian, derived from Draco, the first Greek legislator. Laws were singled out as being merciless. Capital punishment or death was imposed for crimes, even for minor offenses. Ancient Rome had offered a more systematic system than Ancient Greece. However, the basis of penalty remained to be retribution and it was made incumbent upon the victims family to serve such punishment. Philippine Setting A system of government was already in place before the Spaniard conquered the Philippines in 1565. It was called barangay which came from the Malay word balangay which in turn meant boat. Why it was named as such is not clear, however, some historians opine that: It may be inferred that the seafaring Filipinos, to give name to their nostalgic memories as they sailed in the high seas towards the Philippine archipelago, named their villages after boats which brought them safely across the seas until they reached the Philippine Islands. The Datu was the head of the barangay. If the community was bigger, their leaders were called Rajahs. The Datu exercised Executive, Legislative and Judicial powers. Like today, both Oral and Written Laws existed. Historians had generally agreed, that the first codified set of laws in the Philippines is the Code of Kalantiyaw dating back from 1433, written by Datu Kalantiyaw. Instead of the word law, it consisted of the following orders: First Order. Ye shall not kill; neither shall ye do harm to the aged; lest ye incur the danger of death. All those who disobey shall be condemned to death by being drowned in the river or placed in boiling water. Second Order: Ye shall obey; let all your debts with the chief be met punctually. He who does not obey shall receive for the first one hundred lashes. If the debt is large, he shall be condemned to thrust his hand in thrice into boiling water. For the second time, he shall be condemned to be beaten to death. Third Order. Ye shall obey; let no one have women that are very young nor more than he can support; nor be given to excessive lust. He who shall not follow this order shall be condemned to swim for three hours for the first time, and for the second time, he shall be lacerated with thorns. Fourth Order. Observe and obey; let no one disturb the quiet of the graves. When passing by the caves and trees where they are, give respect to them. He who does not observe this shall be killed by ants, or beaten to death with thorns. Fifth Order. You shall obey; he who exchanges for food, let it be always done in accordance with his word. He who does not comply, shall be beaten for one hour, he who repeats the offense shall be exposed for one day among ants. Sixth Order. You shall be obliged to revere sights that are held in respect, such as those of trees of recognized worth and other sights. He who fails to comply shall pay with one months work in gold or in honey. Seventh Order. These shall be put to death; he who kills trees of venerable appearance; who shoot arrows at night at old men and women; he who enters the houses of the headmen without permission; he who kills a shark or a streaked cayman. Eighth Order. Slavery for a doam (a certain period of time) shall be suffered by those who steal away the women of the headmen; by him who keep ill-tempered dogs that bite the headmen; by him who burns the fields of another. Ninth Order. All these shall be beaten for two days: who sing while traveling by night; kill the Manaul; tear the documents belonging to the headmen; are malicious liars; or who mock the dead. Tenth Order. It is decreed an obligation; that every mother teach secretly to her daughters matters pertaining to lust and prepare them for womanhood; let not men be cruel nor punish their women when they catch them in the act of adultery. Whoever shall disobey shall be killed by being cut to pieces and thrown to the caymans. Eleventh Order. These shall be burned: who by their strength or cunning have mocked at and escaped punishment or who have killed young boys; or try to steal away the women of the elders. Twelfth Order. These shall be drowned: all who interfere with their superiors, or their owners or masters; all those who abuse themselves through their lust; those who destroy their anitos (religious icons) by breaking them or throwing them down. Thirteenth Order. All these shall be exposed to ants for half a day: who kill black cats during a new moon; or steal anything from the chiefs or agorangs, however small the object may be. Fourteenth Order. These shall be made slave for life: who have beautiful daughters and deny them to the sons of chiefs, and with bad faith hide them away. Fifteenth Order. Concerning beliefs and traditions; these shall be beaten: who eat the diseased flesh of beasts which they hold in respect, or the herb which they consider good, who wound or kill the young of theManaul, or the white monkey. Sixteenth Order. The fingers shall be cut-off: of all those who break anitos of wood and clay in their alangans and temples; of those who destroy the daggers of the catalonans(priest/priestess), or break the drinking jars of the latter. Seventeenth Order. These shall be killed: who profane sites where anitos are kept, and sites where are buried the sacred things of their diwatas and headmen. He who performs his necessities in those places shall be burned. Eighteenth Order. Those who do not cause these rules to be obeyed: if they are headmen, they shall be put to death by being stoned and crushed; and if they are agorangs they shall be placed in rivers to be eaten by sharks and caymans. 1433. Despite Historians belief that the Kalantiyaw was the first codified set of laws in the Philippines, in 1968, William Henry Scott, proved that it was a forgery actually made in the 20th Century. However, such fact notwithstanding, there is a consensus among them that the ancient penal laws were similar to what was allegedly written by Kalantiyaw, if not the same, cruel, inhumane and barbaric. Penalty was disproportionate to the crime committed. Disputes, whether criminal or civil, were settled either by the head of the barangay, the council of elders or through arbitration. The ancient principle of lex talionis, which had a very narrow definition of, an eye for an eye, was very much alive in the early history of the Philippines, very much like in the other parts of the world at that time. Being a colony of Spain for more than three hundred years, the laws of the Philippines are combination of common and civil laws, which were a product of the lengthy period within which the country was under the Spanish regime. Political and commercial laws follow a common law direction, and, civil and criminal laws, follow the civil law. Although long before the Spaniards came, the Philippines had a judiciary, headed by the datu, it was the conquerors who gave as an organized system. The Royal Audencia was established to function as the Supreme Court during the Spanish Colonization of the Philippines, which had the power to settle controversies, and to check the abuses of the Governor General in the Philippines. On the side of the law, the Spanish Codigo Penal was extended to the Philippines by virtue of Royal Decree of 1870. This was eventually replaced with the Spanish Penal Code of 1848, by the Comision Codificadora de las Provincias de Ultramar, which was put in place by Spanish authorities, and took effect in the Philippines in July 14, 1876. The Spanish Penal Code contained two important innovations, which our old penal system did not have: incarceration, as a form of punishment, and parole, as a form of reward for good behaviour while incarcerated. Incarceration or imprisonment is the most relevant innovation that the Spanish colonizers introduced in our penal system. It was used to detain a person under suspicion of committing a crime, and to punish, incapacitate the offender, deter from committing an offense or rehabilitate him, upon conviction. Incarceration replaced the barbaric and inhumane penalties of olden times. The capital punishment, however, remained in the penal system, but was reserved for the most gruesome crimes, such as murder. The Spanish Penal Code remained in effect during the American colonization of the Philippines. However, seeing the need for penal law change, authorities formed a Committee on Revision, the primary function of which was to revise the Penal Code put in place by the Spaniards. The 1927 Commission on Revision headed by Anacleto Diaz, Quintin PAredes, Guilermo Guevara, Alex Reyes and Mariano de Joya, as members. The Committee based the revised code on the Spanish Penal Code of 1848. On December 8, 1930, Act No. 3815 or the Revised Penal Code of the Philippines took effect; however, it did not undergo important change of orientation or structure. The Revised Penal Code remain in effect today, with substantially the same list of crimes and same fines, as the Spanish Penal Code of 1870. Punishment Punishment is an allowed and a desired form of social control, provided that it complies with the basic limitations provided for by municipal laws and relevant international laws. It is allowed to be imposed to preserve social order, which represents that state of peace and tranquillity, where individuals and groups are in keeping with the overall scheme, lending predictability to social institutions. More, importantly punishment is imposed to achieve justice. Ancient civilizations have based their concept of justice, primarily, on vengeance, retribution, and compensation. Punishment must be equal to the offense committed, such that if a person kills another, he shall be put to death as punishment for his crime. Punishment is imposed for various reasons, such as: to avenge the wrong doing against the offender, to instil fear in penalty if an offense is committed, to incapacitate the offender by keeping him detained so that he will not do any more crimes and, lastly, to reform the offender by individualizing his penalty which will, hopefully, lead to rehabilitation. These are the four philosophies of Punishment: Retribution, Deterrence, Incapacitation and Rehabilitation, respectively. In most parts of the world, retribution is the primary justification in imposing penalties. However, with the increasing respect for human dignity, restorative justice is gaining speed. Following the Enlightenment period, the value of human dignity surfaced. Immanuel Kant had said that not everything must be determined by value, dignity he says is the absolute inner value. The rising importance and awareness of human dignity resulted in the reduction of severe punishment infliction and paved way for the more modern systems of punishment such as incarceration and payment of fines for most minor offenses. The new millennium brought about divergent views on criminology. German philosopher Frederick Nietzsche in his book, The Birth of Tragedy, said, Mans highest good must be bought with a crime and paid for by the flood of grief and suffering which the offended divinities visit upon the human race in its noble ambition. Following the rise of criminology, many different views on punishment and its bases arose. In the 20th century, French philosopher and historian, Michel Foucault in his book, Discipline and Punish, made a study of criminalization or punishment as a coercive method of state control. He said that there are two types of punishment: Monarchical and Disciplinary. He said in his work that the purpose of penalty was an indefinite one, the problematization of the criminal behind his crime, the concern with a punishment that is a correction, a therapy, a normalization, the division of the act of judgement between various authorities that are supposed to measure, assess, diagnose, cure, transform individuals. According to Focault, this more modern concept of penalty being a form of correction is one of the bases of penalty. In modern times, punishment is said to be imposed for the purposes of: Retribution, Deterrence, Incapacitation and Rehabilitation. Retribution has gone a long from its ancient and very narrow definition of an eye for an eye. Such principle had since then evolved to mean, proportionality of the penalty to the gravity of the offense committed. The imposition of punishment is also seen as a deterrence in committing crimes. It is believed that by imposing a penalty for a wrongdoing, other people will not be committing crimes because of fear of having to suffer punishment. Incapacitation, on the other hand, means lessening the likelihood of the offender perpetrating an offense so you commit him in an institution. Lastly, rehabilitation is said to be one of the rationale behind the imposition of penalty. By rehabilitation it is meant that punishment must be used as an opportunity to make some positive change in the offender. Amongst the four philosophies behind the imposition of punishment, retribution is the most common justification in the imposition of penalty. Majority of the countries in the world adhere, primarily, to retributive justice, such as the Philippines, wherein retributive justice is the norm. However, due to increasing concern for human dignity, restorative justice is gaining popularity. In fact the present Constitution recognizes the need to preserve human dignity, thus: Section 11. The State values the dignity of every human person and guarantees full respect for human rights. The Philippines has, likewise, adhered to such principle, imminent from its more recent legislation such as the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act of 2006, which explicitly provided for restorative justice principle. The imposition of punishment is brought about by the mandate in the constitution which provides: Section 5. The maintenance of peace and order, the protection of life, liberty, and property, and promotion of the general welfare are essential for the enjoyment by all the people of the blessings of democracy. In order to maintain peace and order within the territory, the State is empowered to make laws. However, such authority is not unbridled because the Constitution itself provides for a proscription on the imposition of cruel and unusual penalties, excessive fines and passing of an ex-post facto law. The same proscriptions are mirrored in the United Nations Universal Declaration on Human Rights, International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, to which the Philippines adhere to. Retributive justice vis-a-vis Restorative justice Retributive justice has been the primary justification of imposing punishment in most countries. It pertains to the old adage let the punishment fit the crime made popular by Cesario Beccaria or to the more popular an eye for an eye, the dominant principle during the ancient times. Retributive Justice deals with proportionality of the crime to the penalty to be imposed upon an offender. Restorative Justice, on the other hand, deals with individualizing the penalty given to a wrongdoer, keeping in mind that something must be done for the offender in order to reform him and keep him from doing crimes and to effectively reintegrate him to society. Rehabilitation, reformation and reintegration are basic premises. The rising interest on Restorative justice is brought about by the increased valuation and respect for human dignity. The fundamental premise in a retributive paradigm is that crimes are injuries against the state, while restorative justice emphasizes that crimes are more than offenses against the state, but primarily are violations against people and relationships. In the retributive model, a determination of blame and administration of blame is involved. On the other hand, in restorative justice, the interested parties, namely the offender, offended party and the community, action, reconciliation and reassurance. In retributive system, determination about whether a crime was committed, who did it and how should he be punished are the basic questions. It focuses on the offender and the crime that was committed and the penalty that the state must impose. Similarly, restorative justice is concerned with accountability, albeit primarily to the offended party and the community, and not to the State. Statement of the Problem Between the Retributive justice principles and Restorative justice paradigm, which is better suited for the Philippines? What is more in keeping with the general welfare? Which between retributive and restorative justice effectively addresses the value of human dignity despite it being a punishment? Consequently, will the new paradigm work, if there is indeed a shift from retributive paradigm to restorative justice? II. Objectives of the Study The objective of this study is to re-examine the retributive justice theory as the primary justification of imposing penalty, in light of the constitutional obligation of the State in affording the utmost respect for human dignity and human rights. Also, this study aims to determine, by comparing their values and principles, which between Retributive Justice and Restorative Justice is a better fit, as basis of imposing penalty, in light of the constitutional provisions as well as international instruments to which the Philippines is a signatory. Lastly, to determine the effectivity of using Restorative Justice, as basis of penalty, by examining countries which have adapted its principles. III. Significance of the Study The re-examination of the philosophies of punishment embodied in our penal laws will determine whether the current legal framework complies with the changes in the relevant laws which it is dependent upon. Upon the determination of compliance or non-compliance, necessary penal law reforms may be suggested to best conform to the changes. IV. Scope and Limitations The study will focus only on Retributive and Restorative Justice principles, concerning criminal matters only. The study will focus on the 1987 Constitution, specifically the provisions on the duty of the state to maintain peace and order, respect human dignity and proscription on cruel and unusual penalties and excessive an only and several fines, applicable penal laws , such as: the Revised Penal Code, the Death Penalty Law, Indeterminate Sentence Law, Probation Law and Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act, respectively. The study will make use of Supreme Court decisions, pronouncements which have touch upon Retributive and Restorative principles. To better understand the development of Retributive and Restorative justice, the use of foreign materials, American jurisprudence and International laws shall be extensively used. Non-legal books and other reference materials were utilized. V. Methodology/Organization of Thesis The proponent primarily used the library in the Ateneo Professional Schools, the Rizal Library in the Loyola Schools, as well as that of the Miguel de Benavides Library of the University of Santo Tomas in Manila. Materials from the Internet were also used, as well as Academic Papers, Journals and legislative documents or papers. Interview with a reputable authority in Criminal law was also conducted. This thesis shall be organized by chapters. The first chapter shall be the introductory chapter, which contains the background, objectives and significance of the study, the scope and limitations, and the methodology or the organization of the thesis. The background provides a brief discussion of the factual milieu of the study, which is done by providing a historical background and the current state of things. The objectives and significance will catalogue what the proponent seeks to achieve and what impact it will bring to the society. The limitations will set forth the constraints and applicability of the study. The second chapter is fully devoted to the purpose, scope, limitations, and sources of Criminal Law in the Philippines. A discussion of crime, punishment and the Revised Penal Code was also done. The third chapter contains an in depth discussion of the Retributive Justice Paradigm. The fourth chapter contains an examination of the Restorative Justice Philosophy. The fifth chapter contains the analysis of the author, after taking into consideration the relevant laws, international instruments and other material documents. Finally, chapter six contains the authors conclusion and recommendation. VI. Definition of Terms As found in the study, the following shall mean: a. Code: when used in a sentence shall pertain to the Revised Penal Code. b. Crime: for the purposes of the discussion, crimes shall be used synonymously with felony or offense. c. Felony: for the purposes of the discussion, felonies shall be used synonymously with offense or crime. d. Law: when used in a sentence, it shall pertain to the Revised Penal Code. e. Offense: for the purposes of the discussion, offenses shall be used synonymously with felony or crime.

Who is the monster - Frankenstein or his creation? Essay -- English Li

Who is the monster - Frankenstein or his creation? "Frankenstein" written by Mary Shelly, was first published in 1818. The book has sold millions of copies and has become deeply rooted in today's society by films and other versions of the books. The main bulk of the story is about Victor Frankenstein's horrendous adventure. However there are sub-plots throughout the story, Robert Walton's journey to the North Pole, and the time the monster spends with the DeLacy family. The definition of a monster is, "something of unusual size or appearance, a huge terrifying creature or an evil person." [Chambers School Dictionary] All of these definitions can be related to both Frankenstein and the creation. To the creation, a huge terrifying creature and of unusual size and appearance, and to Frankenstein an evil person, powered by his hatred of the monster. Mary Shelly's life was very similar to the story of "Frankenstein". Her child, also called William, died at a young age. Her mother died at childbirth and possibly gave the sense of abandonment felt by the creation, "My person was hideous and my stature gigantic. What did this mean? Who was I? What was I? Whence did I come? What was my destination? These questions continually recurred, but I was unable to solve them." This showed that the monster was confused about himself, yet had nobody to ask and to confide in. Much like Mary Shelly. When Mary was writing Frankenstein she was reading a book called Emile by John Jacques Rousseau. In this text, Rousseau argued that men are by nature harmless, (i.e. children are naturally innocent) but are made cruel by society, thought the things they have done to them. Rousseau's quote was, "Men become monsters because... ...e a second monster, the bride for the creation. However half way through Frankenstein destroyed the corpse and thus angered the monster further, when Frankenstein could have had the monster out of his life for all eternity. This is also a good example of Frankenstein's selfishness as it shows that he was only thinking about himself as he believes that the creation well use this second monster to reek havoc upon the world, "Three years before, I was engaged in the same manner and created a fiend whose unparalleled barbarity [Once again we see that he is being biased towards the monster as he never tried to reason with the monster and any time.] had desolated my heart and filled it forever with the bitterest remorse. I was now to form another being of whose dispositions I was alike ignorant; she might become ten thousand times more malignant that her mate".

The French Revolution Essay -- European Europe History

The French Revolution The French Revolution is one of the major revolutions in European history. The revolution marks a turning point in French history and in world history in general. Forms of government, morals, ideologies, and social development were greatly affected by this event in all Europe and even in the United States. The beginning of the French Revolution is generally dated from June, 1789. However, the crisis in political and economic affairs in France in that period was so great that social unrest, rioting, and rebellion were common for two years before. The end of the revolutionary period was marked by the establishment of the Empire by Napolean in 1804. The basic causes of the French Revolution were rooted in the rigidities of French society in the 18th century. Lines of distinction between classes were tightly drawn, and opportunites for social advancement were very few. The economy was not growing as fast as it should have been. Then needs of an increasing population were not being met. Governmet was inefficient and unrepresentative. Economic problems made the heavy tax exempt but neary so, while the peasents and middle classes were subjected to greater and greater burdens. Crops falied, and trade was stagnant. The people could no longer be taxed, but the government faced bankruptcy unless new revenues were found. The only soulution was to tax the privileged classes. But they were jealoous of their privileged posistion. Altought they were not completely unwilling to contribute some additional taxes, they never understood how grave the economis crisis was. They say the crises as only some form of financial corruption that could be explained away by firing the king's finac... ...tion of his enemies and was rampant, war was at the doorstep, and bread riots were common. The tide turned in another direction, and a stronger executive power in the form of the Dierctory (1795-1799) was set up. A five-man committe ruled the country. Meanwhile, Napolean was making his name famous by his military success. Napoleon allied with two directors in the Directory and with his btoher Lucien, who was president of the Council of Five Hundred, and assembly under the Directory. On Nov. 9, 1799, in the Coup d'Etat de Brumaire he overthrewthe government. A form of government modeled on the old Roman type was established. Napoleon was elected first consul for ten years. By 1804 Napolean assumed the title of emperor, and absoulute monarachy was revied. Bibliography Microsoft Encarta, 1997 Sucdus Som Sibro Universal World Reference Enclopedia

GE Turbines and Balanced Scorecard Essay

A balance scorecard is essential for developing a healthy business growing place. It is a vital key for defining the goals and targets of a company as well as the vision, mission and the SWOTT Analysis. A balanced scorecard is, â€Å"A set of measures that are directly linked to a company’s strategy: financial performance, customer knowledge, internal business processes, and learning and growth† (Pearce & Robinson, 2013, p. 194). This company will relate the in-building turbines values, mission, vision and SWOTT Analysis with the four perspectives of the scorecard (financial performance, customer knowledge, internal business process, and learning and growth. Financial Perspective/Shareholder Value A strong and well defined vision and mission statement will facilitate this company to achieve its target. The objectives of the in-building turbines should be implemented as a daily routine so as to increase the performance of the company. The first and foremost responsibility of a company is to seek its customer satisfaction, benefit utilization, increased net revenues and also to achieve financial stability. GE being a financially stable company already gives this new product line a head start for the investors to trust this product. In order to evaluate the financial stability of a company, one should calculate the Operating cost, Earnings per share, growth revenue & return on interest and capital. The shareholders of GE should be very excited for this new line because if it is as successful as hoped for, the stock for the shareholders could see multiple splits happening for GE stock in the near future. These splits will double the already invested, as well as lower the cost per share for new investors. Customer Value Perspective The customers will determine the success of the company. Customer satisfaction must remain at the top of the list for this company in order to see it grow in both demand and profitability for GE and their shareholders.  With the approach of letting the customer have constant monitoring capabilities during the fabricating process of their turbine orders, the more the customer will be engaged with the company and satisfied with the product. This type of approach should also increase the image for the turbines in the market. there must be consistency in the value & quality of the product. It’s the responsibly of GE and their new division to generate awareness in the public and should also offer benefits to those customers who believe in the product during its infancy. The in-building turbine company will also implement a survey board on the website in order to constantly better themselves based on the customer’s desires. The company will monitor their stock share value in the market constantly. By doing this it will allow for GE to offer special promotions on the turbine purchases, with discount percentages for all customers if the shares are constantly moving upward. This will be a way to gather the attention of new customers by introducing this program to them. When the new company and employees’ performance reviews by the customers are favorable for a long enough period of time, it could mean the turbine company is strong enough to hold its position alone in the market and do nothing but strengthen GE’s already established position there. If the reviews from the survey system are poor, the turbine company will have a chance to address the issues and still have to lean on GE for support with their structuring and financing. Process/Internal Operations Perspective Strategic planning is necessary to deliver the turbines to the customers. It should be done in accordance with the customer’s needs for energy conservation and desires of lower energy bills. In order to improve the business efficiencies, market value as well as the current position; one should have an effective strategic management team to overcome all the resistance from the energy providers. The most important thing is to define the purpose or intention of the strategy, this will lead a company smoothly towards its goals. The goals highlight the vision and mission statement of the company. GE’s plan with this new company is to show the world they are the new innovation in green energy through normal daily routines. For the satisfactory outcome of the company the strategic objectives and goals should be monitored on a daily basis. The company will set its objective, as  well as start down a path to be followed while keeping in mind the values and interest of the customers without fail. There will be a tool or set of measurements which may be used to measure the targets, public interest, share value in the market, and budget in hand. In the company’s strategic planning, the surveys will be done constantly so they will be able to change daily to critique their new company to the desires of the customers. GE will be providing excessive financial aid to this company to constantly monitor and aggressively attack the market with this new product through marketing, distribution, and any other means necessary. These turbines will make paying for energy easier on every customer who desires lower bills. GE feels that with this new product, all it will take is for the first customer to experience the difference they can make in attacking inflation. Learning and Growth Perspective The learning and growth process is considered as an extremely important aspect in the balance scorecard, this perspective focuses on the growth and prosperity of the company as well as the learning of internal and external public needs. â€Å"Learning† in accordance with this turbine company is to learn about the attitudes of the internal employees and external customers. This technique of Balance Scorecard will help the company to maintain its position in the market and also bring technological changes. The technological changes are being implemented from the initial launch of this product. GE is able to use their influence to create a technology that hopefully will take the competition years to catch up with. The surveys will provide valuable information to achieve the organization’s mission to constantly learn and improve their product and how the company is operating. The strategic planning should focus on employee training to have competent employees who constantly develop their skills and ultimately provide benefits to the company. For the in-building turbine company, the strategic objective will bring constant improvements in the company. The improvements will be in the form of new technology in the company, constant recruitment of the deserving candidates with retaining the highly skilled workers, as well as letting the customers know the company is always working on the suggestions they provided to increase the organization’s trust and customer circle. The organization will develop a strategy in order to provide more benefits to the customers such as online purchasing and billing for the turbines, letting the customer overlook the fabricating process, constantly introducing new advancements with the products and services, and introducing attractive packages and offers like the discounts for the customers for helping keep the shareholders interested in this type of energy production. The success of the company depends on its vision and mission statement. The best way to attain the targets and goals of the company is to have a strategic plan which can effectively explain and deliver the objectives of the company. The achievements and goals of the company will be easily measured. The well-balanced business will develop the balance scorecard, which is the most significant technique to achieve all targets for GE’s new organization. The balance scorecard’s four perspectives defined here are: Financial perspective, Customer perspective, internal process, and Learning and Growth. With each perspective, the company will define the strategic objectives, performance measures, targets and initiatives. References: Budget. (2014). In Dictionary.com. Retrieved from http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/budget Buhrman, M. (2014). Energy rates could increase after storm. Retrieved from http://russellville.thv11.com/news/news/111997-entergy-rates-could-increase-after-storm Lorette, K. (2014). Importance of Product Packaging in Marketing. Retrieved from http://smallbusiness.chron.com/importance-product-packaging-marketing-648.html Product Focus. (2014). Retrieved from http://www.productfocus.com/pricing_how_to_price.php What is Carbon Fiber? (2014). Retrieved from http://www.dragonplate.com/sections/technology.asp Strategic Management Insight (Sep 03 2013). Retrieved from http://www.strategicmanagementinsight.com/mission-statements/general-electric-mission-statement.html Balanced Scorecard Institute (2009) Balanced Scorecard Basics. Retrieved Sept. 19, 2014 from http://www.balancedscorecard.org/BSCResources/AbouttheBalancedScorecard/tabid/55/Default.aspx Pearce, J. A. & Robinson, R. B. (2013). Strategic management: Planning for Domestic and Global Competition (13th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.

My essay, “The Long Road to Opportunity”

My essay, â€Å"The Long Road to Opportunity,† is designed to convey details about my childhood in Mexico to the reader. By using real anecdotes from my past, I attempt to show the reader my hunger for knowledge and the obstacles I had to overcome to achieve my goals.  I believe the strongest points in the essay are my thesis, which sets the reader up for the general theme of the essay to follow, and my examples of my father’s deeply held beliefs.Citing examples of specific things he said or did illustrates why it was difficult for me to act against his wishes. I also believe my essay has a good, natural flow. It begins with a broad look at the main idea, and then works through the story in chronological order, culminating in the present. I feel that the information on Mexican culture also works well.  One weakness of the essay would be that it is difficult to tell a detailed story in such a short space. Ideas and stories must be condensed in order to cover all of t he main points I wish to address. With more space, I could develop each anecdote more completely, and do a better job of showing rather than telling.â€Å"The Long Road to Opportunity†When I was five years old I knew I would one day go to school and become an engineer. The road to where I am today has been long and difficult. I was born and raised in a small rural town where the most important activity in life was the harvest of the fields. Agriculture played an important and central role in everyone’s lives; everything else was seen as secondary and a waste of time. An interest in going to school was seen as an excuse to avoid responsibilities on the family farm. My father held these beliefs sacred, and as such proved to be a formidable opponent in my quest for education.I grew up the youngest of my eight siblings in a town called Dolores Hidalgo in Guanajuato, Mexico. My father farmed over 600 acres of land, divided into two parts; one part was used to raise cattle a nd the other part to grow corn and beans. My father believed that after God and family, the most important thing was the land. He believed a person’s character was manifested in his harvest. If one loved and respected nature, She would return that love and respect with an excellent harvest.Growing up on the farm, I enjoyed working in the fields and tending to the cattle. However, my first love was school. My father didn’t understand the passion I had for learning. When I was 4 years old, my father sent me to school with my sister Maria, who was six years old and scheduled to start first grade. My dad did not want my sister to walk to school by herself. When I got there, the teacher, Mr. Mendez, allowed me to sit in the classroom alongside my sister. After four weeks of classes, Mr. Mendez asked my father to visit the school. I was so scared Mr. Mendez was going to tell my dad that I could not go to school with Maria. When my father arrived at the school, Mr. Mendez adv ised him that I was the best student in his class and that he was going to speak to the principal about formally accepting me into school.My dad, who appeared to be in shock, was not happy with the news. He told the teacher the only reason I was sent to school was to escort my sister. He further stated that school would take away from my chores around the farm. I begged my dad to allow me to go. Furthermore, I promised to get up early and tend to the cattle before school and to continue with the farm work upon returning home in the afternoon. To my surprise, my father finally gave in. I was the happiest boy on earth – I would have access to more books. However, it never got easier. Every year for the first six years was a constant battle with my dad.My father believed the only persons that should attend school were the ones willing to serve God as a priest or nun. People living on farms should dedicate themselves to taking care of the land, he said. He claimed that previous g enerations of our people had all been farmers and had lived well without the need for proper education. Rural schools have been an important part of Guanajuato since the beginning of the rural school program. In these schools, teachers put an emphasis on the concept of nationalism to ensure that all students have a strong sense of what it means to be Mexican. In the classrooms, teachers become valuable resources for students, making them think more deeply about their identities and examine their culture.In class, Mr. Mendez would tell stories about the post-revolution decline in education throughout the country, caused by the conflicts and insecurity of the time. The influence on rural education was very important because it was the center of cultural life in the 1920s and 1930s. Rural education could be seen as a legitimate byproduct of the Mexican Revolution, allowing social justice programs to spread throughout all corners of the country. Rural schools began with the premise that through education, people would learn to