Friday, December 13, 2019

The Twilight Saga 4 Breaking Dawn Preface Free Essays

No longer just a nightmare, the line of black advanced on us through the icy mist stirred up by their feet. We’re going to die,I thought in panic. I was desperate for the precious one I guarded, but even to think of that was a lapse in attention I could not afford. We will write a custom essay sample on The Twilight Saga 4: Breaking Dawn Preface or any similar topic only for you Order Now They ghosted closer, their dark robes billowing slightly with the movement. I saw their hands curl into bone-colored claws. They drifted apart, angling to come at us from all sides. We were outnumbered. It was over. And then, like a burst of light from a flash, the whole scene was different. Yet nothing changed – the Volturi still stalked toward us, poised to kill. All that really changed was how the picture looked to me. Suddenly, I was hungry for it. I wanfed them to charge. The panic changed to bloodlust as I crouched forward, a smile on my face, and a growl ripped through my bared teeth. How to cite The Twilight Saga 4: Breaking Dawn Preface, Essay examples

Thursday, December 5, 2019

Food Security and Alleviating Poverty †Free Samples to Students

Question: Discuss about the Ensuring Sustainable Food Security and Alleviating Poverty. Answer: Introduction: The issue of food insecurity is rising to alarming levels globally. Countries in the African continent and other third world countries are experiencing deaths out of starvation and malnourishment. There is a rapid population growth globally and, the number surpasses the amount of food produced. The Food and Agriculture Organization (2013) defines food insecurity as the insufficient food supply, and or the unavailability of a balanced diet to the population. A United Nations report pointed out that approximately 21,000 people die globally out of starvation. According to Gregory, Ingram and Brklacich (2005), the world is witnessing more death out of hunger in the recent years than in the historical years. Moreover, estimated 2.6 million children under the age of 5 years die out of malnourishment globally (Ghosh 2010). The statistics pronounce the grave issue of food shortage globally with the third world countries being the most affected. According to Ghosh (2010), 10 million people we re in dire need of food assistance in the African continent by the year 2010. FAO (2013) claim that approximately 12.9% of the global population is at a risk of starvation. With the world population expected to hit 9 billion by the year 2050, effective and necessary interventions have to be put in place to ensure the countries can feed their citizens. Feeding the estimated 9 billion people in the world by 2050 will be a challenge (Thomas 2010). The evaluation criteria would be the assessment of whether there is enough daily food for a given populace with the assumptions that there is an accurate statistical prediction on population growth and food production. However, the criterion is faced by a constraint of lack of enough data in some section of the world that would aid in the consolidation of food security global statistics. The increase of global outcry on food shortages has received attention from different corners of the world and major stakeholders. Various interventions have been put in place to try and curb the crisis. There has been an increase in monetary donations from multilateral organizations and foreign governments in an attempt to control short-term effects of food shortages and designing long term solutions. In 2008 the World Bank embarked on a $1.2 billion financing program to save the lives of vulnerable groups in starving nations (Stewart, Norton, Madanat and Stewart 2008). The financial aid aimed at immediately solving the issue of hunger pangs among women and children in twenty countries facing food shortage. Additionally, the World Bank through the Global Food Resource program earmarked $651 million to be distributed to eleven countries for different projects such as food imports and securing planting seeds for upcoming planting seasons (Schaefer, Lieberman and Riedl 2008). Thus, the World Bank has been in the forefront with financial aids to help save lives of people facing starvation. Moreover, the institution has been helping farmers in developing countries access funds to buy farm inputs in an attempt to achieve sufficient food supplies in third world countries. In July of 2008, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) flagged off a $21 million financial aid to forty-eight countries to undertake different projects aimed at providing food security to the countries (Stewart, Norton, Madanat and Stewart 2008). The donations targeted to provide seeds and fertilizers to farmers of the affected countries. Different stakeholders have proposed that financing developing countries help them purchase farm inputs during planting seasons goes a wrong way to curb the issue of food insecurity. Moreover, the acting stakeholders have proposed the drafting and implementation of effective policies by the governments of affected countries. Adoption of policies that favor agricultural activities goes a long way to ensuring food security in the country. Creation of policies that supports increased agricultural production will result in sustainable agricultural development (CIDA 2008). Making simple and clear policies on issues such as land tenure and environmental regulations compliance will promote maximum participation of farming activities among the local population. UNCTAD has been helping local governments launch domestic investment through appropriate policies and starting important institutions (UNCTAD 2008). Putting up measures that encourage the local to engage in agricultural activities ensure there is adequate workforce able to generate the required food in the country and enough to export. Additionally, there have been interventions by international players drafting a ppropriate unilateral and supportive government-government policies to help support food production and imports. In adoption to these systems in 2008, Countries such as Ghana eliminated export duties of commodities such as wheat and rice while Guyana supplied planting seeds for free for her citizens (Tagtow 2016). Furthermore, effective international policies on trade led countries such as India removing export bans for rice and China readily availing diesel fuels for use on farm machinery during planting and harvesting (Von Braun 2009). The proposed change of policies or adoption of new policies has led to the individual governments taking responsibilities in ensuring they achieve food security. In response to the alarming food insecurity globally, the stakeholders have proposed the use of biotechnology to help improve food production. Adoption of technology in farming helps eliminate traditional agricultural practices and deals with issues such as weather predictability and depleted soil (Scott 2016). Use of technology and science will come up with useful tools to scan the soils and crops and help customize inputs such as fertilizers for the specific plants. Technology helps farmers using multi-crop machines to plant a variety of crops under many varying conditions (Dobermann and Nelson 2013). The use of technology will allow many farmers in different areas farm sustainably through the planting of various crops on one piece of land and curb pest and disease problems (Wambugu 2014). Being able to what crop will do well in certain conditions will allow farmers know what inputs to purchase. Additionally, being able to farm different crops will avail a variety of nutrients to t he country and fight malnourishment. Moreover, the stakeholders have adopted genetically modified organisms (GMO) in food production to help generate enough food within short times. According to Vergragt (2006) biotechnology in food production will raise the threshold of food suppliers significantly. Using technology to grow genetically modified plants will allow improved nutrients in a variety of crops as opposed to what is found in nature (Floros et al. 2010). Technology in production has proved to be successful for the generation of a wide variety of crops with many improved nutrients. Hence, the stakeholders propose the use of technology to accelerate food production globally and ensure food security. There has been a proposal to increase investment in agricultural-based research to improve food production and enhance food safety. Lee (2007) notes that undertaking adequate and relevant research on farm technologies and how to improve crop will help battle the issue of hunger in the world. The active research will give recommendations on available options to handle issues of pest and notorious weeds, how to produce high yield and nutritious crops and ability to bleed crops for better yields. The farming research will reveal unproductive traditional agricultural practices and paves the way for more improved methods with better results (Smith 2013). Moreover, through research, scientists have been able to come up with a better way of producing foods such as meat. Scientists can grow synthetic meat using the animal stem cells (Godfray and Garnett 2014). The investment in such research projects that result into ways of growing cultivated meat will come up with other effective ways to p roduce enough food for the world. Using a single cell meat, researchers can produce meat equivalent to an annual meat demand. Similarly, the use of research has been proposed to help generate enough food for the world with very minimal resources. The study interventions will contribute substantially to solving food insecurity in the world. In a bid to curb the hunger menace, there has been a proposal to increase food aid to countries at risk of famine. According to Porter et al. (2014), there is a constant need of emergency food today and in future in most third world countries and requires a broader response. Immediate food assistance and nutrition intervention are proposed as a way to handle the crisis and stabilize the situation. The improvements of emergency food aid will ensure efficient, predictable and sustainable food assistant system (Lipper 2014). Thus, having an improved emergency food assistance will help counter the intensity of food insecurity in countries that vulnerable to the crisis. The problem of food insecurity has generated solutions and proposal from various stakeholders such monetary donations to buy farm inputs and import foods and improved policies to help improve local agricultural productions and unrestricted exports. Additionally, the stakeholders have adopted technology in food production and suggested the carrying out of agricultural researches to come up with better ways of farming. Moreover, there is a plea to increase emergency food aid reserved for countries vulnerable to food shortages. However, I would propose the collection and processing of edible wild fruits to be stored and, given to vulnerable citizens at times of hunger by individual governments. Processing wild fruits will ensure that they dont go to waste whenever people have foods and would be limited or unavailable when the country face starvation. The processing and canning will ensure they are stored for a long time. Additionally, fruits have nutritional value and, would not only feed the nation during starvation but prevent malnutrition. Additionally, individual governments should reward farmers with a history of farming on more than one acre of land with an extra acre free of a lease and provide them with free farm inputs with the provision of selling the output to the government. By doing this, the government will encourage people with large trucks land to farm and generate enough food to the country. This is different from simply the incentive of providing agricultural inputs to farmers. The incentives will bring confidence to farmers that there is an agreement with the government to buy their produce and will not worry about the market. This will stop the constructing of houses in huge tracks of lands and encourage farming, Hence, yield a more food secure country. The multilateral organizations in collaboration with the individual government should hire local agriculture experts with proved competencies in their respective product farming. The experts should be trained further before being assigned to particular farmers with large tracks of lands in the country to help them farm the same product for one year. The process will ensure farmers with immense potentials, and land resources have daily help and monitoring and eventually grow their expertise. The expert should be transferred to another farmer after the end of planting season; this will ensure farmers get educations of best farming practices. The process is different from farmers learning from scientific research from the media and lacks support to implement the knowledge. I select the idea of the individual government rewarding farmers in the country with a proved history and consistency of farming in more than one-acre piece of land. The government should give the farmers an extra acre free of a lease and free farm inputs with an agreement to buy their produce. This solution is the best over the others as it directly involves the locals in the production. In this incentive, the government will seek to generate natural food though willing people compared to the collection of wild fruits that will be canned and preserved. Additionally, compared to the involvement of the multilateral organization in training experts, there is the lack of self will from farmers. Hence, the chosen solution capitalizes on the willingness and potential of farmers who lacks enough resources. Using the criteria of history and consistency in farming on one acre, the government will be able to select people who enjoy farming and have potential to produce more food in the country and could only be hindered by the lack of resources. Individuals who have the passion for doing something ensures they give their best towards the task they are carrying out. Similarly, farmers who engage in agricultural activities willingly and passionately will utilize the extra acre to give the country more food. Additionally, the farmers will get free farm inputs and will only invest in labor and skills. The incentive will motivate people with unused tracks of lands to engage in farming activities targeting the rewards from the government. The incentives will ensure people reclaim idol land and minimize constructions of houses in rural areas to participate in a more rewarding agricultural activity. Moreover, the farmers will have an assurance of their produce market. Market availability is one bothering issue among farmers. The certainty of the buyer will bring confidence to the farmers and enabled them to put their best. The move will boost food production in the countries susceptible to food insecurity. The proposed solutions will involve different stakeholders in the implementation. These are the Government, the farmers, farm input sellers and other citizens. The government will raise enough food to secure the Country during starvation period The government will reclaim idol lands and put them to use The government will encourage other farmers with vast tracks of lands to venture into farming The government will create employment in the country Harms The Cost of supporting such incentive is expensive and may halt other developments projects The farmers might not be honest with returns and sell to middlemen The farms might not yield expected returns and might waste the resources Benefits The farmers will make a decent life out of farming. The farmers will be self-employed and will be independent There will be readily available market for the produce The producers will create employment to other citizens The farmers will get local and international recognition for feeding the country The farmers will be more productive with the extra piece of land from the government Harms The farmers might have to spend more time in the lands The unpredictable weather might ruin the farmers hard work The farmers might sell the produce to the government at a lower price during bumper harvests The farmers might not have the power to sell food from their lands to profitable middlemen Benefits There will be an increase in sales of farm inputs There will be constant demand for farm inputs The price of the farm inputs will go up due to increase in demand Harms The government might decide to import farm inputs Benefits The citizens will have enough suppliers of food The cost of farm produce will be cheap No citizen will ever die of hunger There will be employment opportunities for many people There will be possibility of receiving the incentives when they farm in their idol lands Harms They government may never buy their produce There may be housing problems due to lands been used for farming The bureaucratic process used by many governments used to give subsidies in the agriculture sectors has been tedious. Support protocols have led to inputs diversion and being used by the unintended population (Lal, Hansen and Uphoff 2016). The money is received from the government treasury and channeled to the ministry of agriculture. The ministry channel to the cereal boards and local authority who distribute to farmers. However, there is a need for a review for path used to get the support to farmers. The incentives from the national government should be channeled to the ministry of agriculture, cereals board, national farmers representatives, local authority, areas farmer representatives and to farmers. The inclusion of the farmers representative allows for transparency in the process and prevents mishandling of inputs. Rewarding farmers with proved history of constant farming in more than one Acre with an Extra piece of Acre and agricultural inputs will ensure the government work with willing and passionate farmers towards food security. Supporting willing people with enough resources in the process will ensure the country securing enough food for the citizens. The individual government should strive to establish hardworking farmers in the country and provide free farm inputs and extra pieces of land. The farmers possess the will to farm but are challenged by the lack of resources. Supporting the farmers will ensure they attain their maximum potential. The farmers should give their best to ensure the incentive provided yield reasonable returns to feed the country. References Canadian International Development Agency., 2008. Increasing Food Security. CIDAS Food Security Stragety. Dobermann, A. and Nelson, R., 2013. Opportunities and solutions for sustainable food production. Background paper for the High-Level Panel of Eminent Persons on the Post-2015 Development Agenda. Prepared by the co-chairs of the Sustainable Development Solutions Network Thematic Group on Sustainable Agriculture and Food Production. Food and Agriculture Organization., 2013. FAO policy on gender equality: attaining food security goals in agriculture and rural development. Rome, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Floros, J.D., Newsome, R., Fisher, W., Barbosa?Cnovas, G.V., Chen, H., Dunne, C.P., German, J.B., Hall, R.L., Heldman, D.R., Karwe, M.V. and Knabel, S.J., 2010. Feeding the world today and tomorrow: the importance of food science and technology. Comprehensive Reviews in Food Science and Food Safety, 9(5), pp.572-599. Ghosh, J., 2010. The unnatural coupling: Food and global finance.Journal of Agrarian Change,10(1), pp.72-86. Godfray, H.C.J. and Garnett, T., 2014. Food security and sustainable intensification. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B, 369(1639), p.20120273. Gregory, P.J., Ingram, J.S. and Brklacich, M., 2005. Climate change and food security.Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences,360(1463), pp.2139-2148 Lal, R., Hansen, D.O. and Uphoff, N. eds., 2016. Food security and environmental quality in the developing world. CRC Press. Lee, R., 2007. Food security and food sovereignty. Centre for Rural Economy Discussion Paper Series, 11, pp.1-16. Lipper, L., Thornton, P., Campbell, B.M., Baedeker, T., Braimoh, A., Bwalya, M., Caron, P., Cattaneo, A., Garrity, D., Henry, K. and Hottle, R., 2014. Climate-smart agriculture for food security. Nature Climate Change, 4(12), pp.1068-1072. Porter, J.R., Xie, L., Challinor, A.J., Cochrane, K., Howden, S.M., Iqbal, M.M., Lobell, D.B. and Travasso, M.I., 2014. Chapter 7: Food security and food production systems. Cambridge University Press. Schaefer, B.D., Lieberman, B. and Riedl, B.M., 2008. Addressing the Global Food Crisis. Heritage Foundation Background Paper No, 2151. Scott, P., Thomson, J., Grzywacz, D., Savary, S., Strange, R., Ristaino, J.B. and Korsten, L., 2016. Genetic modification for disease resistance: a position paper. Food Security, 8(4), pp.865-870. Smith, P., 2013. Delivering food security without increasing pressure on land. Global Food Security, 2(1), pp.18-23. Stewart, T.P., Norton, S.J., Madanat, J.G. and Stewart, H.E., 2008. The Global Food Crisis: Urgent Need and Emerging Solutions. Sustainable Dev. L. Pol'y, 9, p.31. Tagtow, A., 2016. Food security and urban agriculture. In Sowing Seeds in the City (pp. 11-22). Springer Netherlands. United Nations Conference on Trade and Development,. 2008. Addressing the Global Food Crisis. Key trade, investment and commodity policies in ensuring sustainable food security and alleviating poverty. Vergragt, P.J., 2006. How technology could contribute to a sustainable world. GTI Paper Series, 28. Von Braun, J., 2009. Addressing the food crisis: governance, market functioning, and investment in public goods. Food Security, 1(1), pp.9-15. Wambugu, F.M., 2014. The Importance of Political Will in Contributions of Agricultural Biotechnology Towards Economic Growth, Food and Nutritional Security in Africa. In Biotechnology in Africa (pp. 1-11). Springer International Publishing.

Thursday, November 28, 2019

Women In Educational Administration The Glass Ceiling Is Still There Essay Example For Students

Women In Educational Administration: The Glass Ceiling Is Still There Essay WOMEN IN EDUCATIONAL ADMINISTRATIONTHE GLASS CEILING IS STILL THERESeveral people at the conference dealt with the problems women encounter in getting into administrative positions in schools and colleges and when they do, the obstacles they encounter in making their jobs successful. Their discussions brought home to me the reality of my own mother’s experience. As children we witnessed our mother struggling, summer after summer and during many school years in the evenings, with those courses required for an administrative license. The state gave her that license some twelve years ago, but she is still teaching mathematics in high school. We used to tease her when we were growing up calling her â€Å"principal mom† and â€Å"assistant principal mom† and the like and pretending that she called us into her office for punishment. We do not do that any more because we know it won’t be fun and games any more but it will be a cruel joke if we did that. What made her disillusioned about the career of an administrator in her school system in which she served nearly a quarter of a century?It has to do with what is known as a glass ceiling. Administrative positions are open to all qualified persons. They are up there within everyone’s view. All you have to do is qualify yourself with the appropriate education and skills. The law of the land makes every person eligible for them. All employers proclaim in their policy statements that they are â€Å"equal opportunity employers.† But when women reach for them, the invisible ceiling stops them. A cruel tease indeed!My mother said she would not talk to me about her own reluctance to pursue an administrative career, despite all the efforts she put in to qualify for it. She said I should talk with teachers or other personnel in the school systems who had no personal involvement in order to get objective observations. So I interviewed more than 25 people from Superintendents and Principal s through Vice Principals, Department Heads, Counselors, Teachers and Teachers’ Assistants to Security, Cafeteria and Maintenance Personnel, in two different school systems. My findings were quite revealing of the invisible glass ceiling. We will write a custom essay on Women In Educational Administration: The Glass Ceiling Is Still There specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now Let me start with the lowest level positions in the school systems—maintenance workers, security personnel and cafeteria workers. Strictly speaking, they cannot be called part of the education system. Their jobs do not have anything to do with the educational system, they could be in any other place than the school, but the way the heads of their departments are chosen will show how endemic gender discrimination is to the entire school systems, from bottom to top. In fact, it is ingrained in the culture of the school systems as it is in the culture of many other organizations in the public life. My innocent ears were offended hearing the tale of a woman security officer describe what was going on in the South Bend School Corporation at her level of employment. She has much more seniority than most of the chiefs of security in the school system, but the chief’s position along with all the benefits go to the men who, in her judgement, were less qualified, experienced and conscientious. She pointed out to her own chief, a pot-bellied man who sat by a closet and snacked all day, according to reports, which could not be far from the truth judging from his appearance. â€Å"Only men can handle the tough situations; he does all that sitting in that chair while I do the simple things like breaking up fights, confiscating guns and knives and searching out drug pushers,† she stated. Among maintenance workers there were only very few women. The chief janitor in one school, a fair man who has a couple of women in his staff, a rarity, said that women are intimidated by furnaces and electrical systems, so they don’t sign up for janitorial jobs. But he also added that â€Å"not that they are welcome either; I don’t mind them, but the guys in other schools will hire a women only if they can not even find a dead body.† I asked, â€Å"can a woman ever become the chief janitor?† The answer was a plain and clear â€Å"never.†The cafeteria was a completely different story. Practically all the workers in the cafeterias of all schools are women. I asked the head of the food service department in one high school, who I thought was a fair-minded lady, why it was that all cafeteria workers are women. She said men do not generally apply; cooking and serving food is a women’s job, they think. She also added, â€Å" We don’t want t hem anyway, you can hardly find one who is not sloppy and dirty.† But I observed, and she agreed, that there is no injustice involved. There is no built-in obstacle for men to be hired or promoted in food service. Leaving the support staff level and getting to the heart of the educational enterprise, we come to the teaching staff. Instantly, one notices that the elementary schools are mostly staffed by women teachers. However, the administrators by and large are men. The South Bend School Corporation, for example, has approximately 25 elementary schools. Of these, twenty of them have men principals while nearly 70% of teachers are women. I asked one of the male principals why there is such a disparity between male/female ratios of teachers and administrators in elementary schools. He said that it is the â€Å"mother thing,† women are more suited to teach little children and they are attracted towards the elementary age kids, that is as far as teaching is concerned. The administration, however, is another matter. There you need men. They, according to him, are better organizers, disciplinarians, and of course father figures. A woman principal had a different view. For her it is the †Å"old boys’ club at work. They simply do not want to give women top jobs even in elementary schools,† she said. When you go up to the Middle School level, the disparity worsens. Of the eight middle schools I visited, six had male principals while the teaching staff was fairly evenly divided. From what I could surmise from the conversations with teachers and administrators, there is no good reason for the disparate male/female ratio in the building administration, except the continuing resistance against women. .ub681905b1376466c19880d63548e3083 , .ub681905b1376466c19880d63548e3083 .postImageUrl , .ub681905b1376466c19880d63548e3083 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .ub681905b1376466c19880d63548e3083 , .ub681905b1376466c19880d63548e3083:hover , .ub681905b1376466c19880d63548e3083:visited , .ub681905b1376466c19880d63548e3083:active { border:0!important; } .ub681905b1376466c19880d63548e3083 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .ub681905b1376466c19880d63548e3083 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .ub681905b1376466c19880d63548e3083:active , .ub681905b1376466c19880d63548e3083:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .ub681905b1376466c19880d63548e3083 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .ub681905b1376466c19880d63548e3083 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .ub681905b1376466c19880d63548e3083 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .ub681905b1376466c19880d63548e3083 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .ub681905b1376466c19880d63548e3083:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .ub681905b1376466c19880d63548e3083 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .ub681905b1376466c19880d63548e3083 .ub681905b1376466c19880d63548e3083-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .ub681905b1376466c19880d63548e3083:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: What the difference is between strict and broad co EssayA veteran teacher told me that in all his memory he could not think of one female principal in any of the five South Bend public high schools. In the 1998-1999 school year, however, there are three female principals, a majority! But, they are relatively new appointments, two of them only a year ago and the third just this year, but she is only an acting principal. A female superintendent who is also relatively new made these appointments, though they were not very popular. As a result, one of the regular appointees has tended her resignation, the second is on the verge of doing so, and the acting principal’s fa te is hanging in the balance. One of the school staff related to me the reception the acting principal received when she came to take charge of the school and for a few weeks thereafter. To start with, she was appointed at the last minute, as a last resort when none of the candidates the school system offered the job to accepted it. When she came to the building for the first time, very few faculty persons greeted her. One of the two vice principals, a male who had applied for the principal’s job unsuccessfully, greeted her sitting on his chair and with his feet on his desk. He arrogated the principal’s authority to himself, calling faculty meetings, making policy decisions, addressing the school community through the public address system and complaining to the corporate administration about the acting principal. The department heads, counselors, and teachers also started to set their own rules. Being placed in such a tough situation, a weak person would have been totally broken, but the acting pri ncipal stood her ground, asserted her authority and established discipline within a few weeks. It was a superhuman task. In high schools, between the teachers and building administrators, stand the department heads. My curiosity peaked when I noticed that almost all department heads, other than home economics and special education, were men, in all five South Bend high schools. What I learned was that these were all appointees of men principals, hanging on to their jobs, wielding whatever little authority they could claim over their fellow teachers. The culture of male domination governed this low level of administration as well. Coming to the top level of administration, the South Bend School Corporation never had a woman superintendent in its entire history until five years ago when the present superintendent was appointed. She got the job by default when three outside finalists, all men, declined the offer. She had not been ranked among the finalists despite the fact that she had been a very successful principal in the corporation, with a national reputation as an educator. Being a woman and an African-American were two strikes against her. Her appointment divided the teachers and the community at large along racial lines. A prolonged and bitter teachers strike further divided the community. In spite of her accomplishments in bringing about fiscal discipline and solvency to the corporation, she barley got re-appointed for two short years after the first three-year term. Efforts are mounting to release her even before the two years are up. Resistance against the superintendent by the combined forces of anti feminist and anti-minority groups in the school system itself and the larger community have paralyzed her administration. Lack of discipline and moral within the schools result in the failure of the process of education itself. It is no surprise, therefore, that the South Bend students are among the lowest achievers on the ISTEP. The sad story of South Bend schools is a classic example of how damaging to the public good discrimination against women and minorities can be. It is also important for us to look beyond the local scene to the national picture to see what role is given to women and minorities in the administration of educational institutions. Several recent studies were able to unveil some hidden truths about women and minorities in the educational administration. The 1990 study by Patricia T. Whitfield entitled Status of Access of Women and Minorities to Administrative Positions in Idaho is a case in point. This study focused on the status of women and minorities in administrative positions in Idaho public schools. Statistically Whitfield documented that among administrators of Idaho public schools only approximately 20% were women and only about 7% minorities. She cites the â€Å"old boy network,† family responsibilities, lack of mentors or role models, a late entry into career tracks, and difficulty in gaining credibility as the reasons for this poor representation of women and minorities. As for the possible remedy for this situat ion, Whitfield received different responses from the administrators and members of the women and minority groups. While the administrators indicated that change/progress would come through their efforts, the women’s and minority groups felt that progress will come only through equal opportunity policies and legislation. I am sure that similar responses will be forthcoming from other comparable groups in all parts of the country. (Patricia T. Whitfield, Status of Women Minorities toAdministrative Positions in Idaho. ERIC TITLE NUMBER: ED 323907). It is also important to compare the status of women in administrative positions in higher education with what we have seen in the nation’s school systems. Let me start with a local women’s college, Saint Mary’s College of Notre Dame, Indiana. This is a college founded some 155 years ago exclusively for women by women religious of the Holy Cross Congregation. All major administrative positions were held by the Sisters of the Holy Cross up until 1967. This college was also the sister institution of the larger University of Notre Dame, across the road, founded about the same time exclusively for men by the Priests of the Holy Cross. In 1967, when the then president of Saint Mary’s died and another well-qualified nun was not available to fill the role, the sisters appointed Saint Mary’s first male president, a priest. In 1970, Notre Dame proposed a merger with Saint Mary’s. Fearing the total absorption of Saint Mary’s into larger Notre Dam e, the sisters withdrew from the merger. However, they inadvertently entered into another dangerous situation, the male domination of the school. This happened when they appointed the first layman president of the college, hoping that would bring Saint Mary’s in tune with the modern age. For the next 29 years, the administration of the college passed into almost exclusively male hands. Only in 1999 did they appoint a woman president and a female administrative team, after three decades of male domination. .uf6a157b5b801c4c47d73c2070ca6db5b , .uf6a157b5b801c4c47d73c2070ca6db5b .postImageUrl , .uf6a157b5b801c4c47d73c2070ca6db5b .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .uf6a157b5b801c4c47d73c2070ca6db5b , .uf6a157b5b801c4c47d73c2070ca6db5b:hover , .uf6a157b5b801c4c47d73c2070ca6db5b:visited , .uf6a157b5b801c4c47d73c2070ca6db5b:active { border:0!important; } .uf6a157b5b801c4c47d73c2070ca6db5b .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .uf6a157b5b801c4c47d73c2070ca6db5b { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .uf6a157b5b801c4c47d73c2070ca6db5b:active , .uf6a157b5b801c4c47d73c2070ca6db5b:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .uf6a157b5b801c4c47d73c2070ca6db5b .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .uf6a157b5b801c4c47d73c2070ca6db5b .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .uf6a157b5b801c4c47d73c2070ca6db5b .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .uf6a157b5b801c4c47d73c2070ca6db5b .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .uf6a157b5b801c4c47d73c2070ca6db5b:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .uf6a157b5b801c4c47d73c2070ca6db5b .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .uf6a157b5b801c4c47d73c2070ca6db5b .uf6a157b5b801c4c47d73c2070ca6db5b-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .uf6a157b5b801c4c47d73c2070ca6db5b:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: The Cherry Orchard Lopakhin EssayWhile Saint Mary’s College’s link with the Holy Cross Sisters made it easy for its board to revert to its traditional administration by women, what is happening nationwide in higher education is quite different. A 1982 study by Kathryn M. Moore documents the low status of women in administrative positions in higher education. Moore studied the career issues, educational concerns and the professional, educational and personal backgrounds of 2, 896 senior college administrators from all parts of the United States. The focus of her study was the status of women and minorities in educational administration. She discovered that wom en and minorities represented a shocking 20 and 8 percent of the sample, respectively. Even more disturbing was her discovery that women and minorities held only low level positions such as registrar, librarian, and financial aid director. In contrast, men held positions like President and Chief Financial Officer. Of the 653 deans in the survey only 90 (13.8%) were women. Half of these women deans were in the fields of nursing, home economics, arts and sciences, and continuing education. As for minorities, only 5.5% of them were among the deans. These statistics tell the cruel hoax American society still plays on its female citizens despite decades of equal opportunity enforcement. (Women and Minorities. Leaders in Transition: A National Study of Higher Education Administrators by Kathryn M. Moore. University Park, PA., Center for the Study of Higher Education, Pennsylvania State University, 1982. P.64.). Leaving the broad, nationwide survey, let us now take a closer look at one institution of higher learning, University of New Hampshire, an institution with a relatively high reputation. A 1993 study ordered by the university president on the status of women showed that out of 16 principal administrators (president, vice president, and deans) of the university, only one was a woman and she was only a temporary appointment. At the next level, the Academic Administration level, 27.3% were women. At the executive management level, women held only 21.8% of the positions. But at the management or supervisory level (support staff level) 60.8% of the employees were women. The story becomes even grimmer when we look at the compensation level of employers at the University of New Hampshire. Of those employees making $35,000-55,000, 54% were women. Of those making $55,000-66,000 only 31% were women. Of those making above $65, 000 only a meager 19% were women. When different groupings were emplo yed, the glaring and shameless fact came out, that is out of all the employees making less than $30,000, a towering 83.3% were women!The study also indicated that the situation at the University of New Hampshire was fairly typical of all universities in the country; only much worse in many other schools. (University of New Hampshire President’s Commission on the Status of Women, July 1993). The issues relating to the status of women were placed in a broader, national perspective by the Federal Glass Ceiling Commission in 1996. Rene Redwood, then Special Assistant to the Secretary of Labor, Robert Reich, summarized the findings of this commission in a speech she gave at the â€Å"Working Women’s Summit† held by Women in Technology International (WITI) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in September 1996. The most telling data she included in her speech was that in the top 1000 industrial and 500 service companies in the United States, 95% of senior level managers were men of which 95% were white. Of the 5% of those managers who were women, only 5% were minority women. This translated into a total of 2,100 senior women executives out of the 42,000 top-level executives. She also pointed out the disparity in salary levels between men and women on a national level. While non-Hispanic white males with bachelors degrees received an average salary of $47, 181, the females with bachelor’s degrees in the same ethnic group received only an average of $31, 338. Of those with masters’ degrees, non-Hispanic white males received an average of $57, 371, but females in the same ethnic group with master’ degrees received only an average $38, 391. Reliable statistics about the salary levels of other ethnic groups are not available but it is safe to assume that they are appallingly disparate. While statistics document the injustice of the system, they do not suggest solutions for the problem. Solutions can be found only if men and women of good will come together and seek them out. There are many organizations that address these issues on the local and national level. There are also laws on the book that could be brought to bear when institutions are insensitive to the issues of equality. However, in order to bring about fundamental changes, we have to work at the roots of our culture. This is where educators have an advantage. It is their hands that mold the next generation. They can change the whole outlook of society if they put their minds to it. Let us hope, therefore, in a generation or two, we can make the statistics look very different. NOTES ABOUT MY SOURCES1. For information about women in administration in local schools, I interviewed 25 individuals at various levels of employment, from maintenance staff and cafeteria workers to teachers, principals and Superintendents of South Bend, Mishawaka, and Penn-Harris-Madison School Systems. 2. For information on local colleges and universities, I interviewed 12 professors and administrators at Saint Mary’s College and the University of Notre Dame. 3. For information on the status of women in educational administration on the regional and national level, I used the following sources:a. Patricia T. Whitfield, Status of Access of Women and Minorities to Administrative Positions in Idaho. ERIC TITLE No. ED 323907. b. Kathryn M. Moore, Women and Minorities. Leaders in Transition: A National Study of Higher Education Administrators. ERIC TITLE No. ED 225459. c. University of New Hampshire President’s Commission on Status of Women. University of New Hampshire, 1993. d. Rene Redwood, The Glass Ceiling: The Findings and Recommendations of the Federal Glass Ceiling Commission. Washington, D.C. 1996. WOMEN IN EDUCATIONAL ADMINISTRATIONTHE GLASS CEILING IS STILL THEREANAND PULLAPILLYJULY 30, 1999Social Issues

Monday, November 25, 2019

How To Cold Pitch Your Next Guest Blogging Opportunity

How To Cold Pitch Your Next Guest Blogging Opportunity Guest blogging has had a tumultuous life cycle. Hot one day, and then cold the next–no one seems to know if they should really be guest blogging or not. Wait, didnt Matt Cutts say that it was dead? Yes, for SEO, but that doesnt mean that it is really dead, does it? Matt Cutts called it, or did he? Heres the thing.  Since the beginning, there has always been two different kinds of guest blogging. There is the lame kind that Matts Cutts has declared dead. These are the spammers, the folks that see guest blogging as a tool to build linkbacks to their website and nothing else. Let me remind you about some of the methods they use. They look like this: Free content? How could this be? These arent really guest bloggers. They are blog hijackers. Their emails are lame, their topics are weak, and the writingOh, *od the writing. Matt Cutts is right in that blog hijacking needs to be dead, but did he really have to go and throw all guest blogging into the mix? Guest Blogging Can Be Good. Right? The second kind of guest blogging, as you can imagine, is the good kind. This is the kind of guest blogging that you do. Right? (Right?) This form of guest blogging is about a lot more than a simple linkback to some sketchy site. It is about audience, respect, and the genuine sharing of information that the web has made possible. These writers appreciate a link to their blog, but it isnt why they get up in the morning. They are trying to build an audience, and blogging on someone elses blog helps them do just that. Who can blame them? This kind of guest blogging isnt dead. It is the ideal form of guest blogging, and Matt Cutts is actually saving it. How Matt Cutts Saved Guest Blogging With every good thing there is at least one bad thing that comes with it. Life is full of tradeoffs. With email, we got spam. With the browser, we got pop-ups. With Twitter, we got direct messages. For every channel that can be used for good, there is a way to abuse it and use it for something bad. There are always opportunities for spammers to spread their spam. Matt Cutts is trying to scare them off. He is doing exactly what we need him to do. Since the beginning, spammers have been using and abusing guest blogging because Google was telling them that it would help. Linkbacks were so obviously tied to search rankings, and guest blogging was an easy way to get those linkbacks. Google was, essentially, enabling them. In January, Cutts put a stop to it. He told them that rather than helping them, guest blogging was going to start hurting them. He was trying to scare spammers off, not you.   He was trying to tell you to keep going. He was secretly whispering to you guest blogging isnt really dead, I am just fixing it for you. By scaring away the riff-raff, he is creating a panacea, a solution to the endless emails promising free content for links, a solution for an endless supply of poorly written posts. The spammers will go away, and we real bloggers can finally get back to work. All I can say is thank you, Matt. Thanks for killing guest blogging so that we can finally start fresh. Learning How To Guest Blog, Again So, if the death blow from Google is really more of a starting point rather than an ending point, where should we go next? It only makes sense that we redefine the rules and learn how to guest blog all over again. Rule #1: Guest Blogging Is For Serious People The first step is to realize who guest blogging is for. No longer is it for semi-pro SEOs and link builders. Instead, it is for those who want to better establish themselves as experts in their field. It  is for bloggers who take what they do seriously, and do it for the love of creating and sharing great content. Rule #2: Guest Blogging Is For Building Your Reputation Guest gives us a chance to write in front of a new audience. This gives us the ability to earn their trust and respect directly, by appearing on a blog they already trust. If we blog well, we may be able to keep their attention over the long term on our own blog. Guest blogging isnt about SEO anymore (although  there are still benefits). Now, it is about building trust and reputation. Rule #3: Guest Blogging Is For The Audience The beauty of the guest post is that we are able to take someone elses audience and make it our own. It is the perfect give-and-take. As writers, we get attention and exposure to a new audience, and as blog owners we get fresh content that will hopefully engage and excite our audience. My own guest post about  long-form content,  over on the Spin Sucks blog,  is a great example. I was able to establish my role in content marketing while encouraging a lively debate and discussion. It was a win for everyone. Rule #4: Guest Blogging Isnt For Links If you are only worried about links back to your stuff, then guest blogging simply isnt for you. Move on. Rule #5:  Guest Blogging Should Come With Simple Expectations If we are going to be participating in guest blogging, we need to know what to realistically expect from the experience. Huge traffic? Probably not. Fame and fortune? Certainly not. Trust and value? Yes please. Guest blogging is no longer about the quick win (with super-sized links!!!!). It is now a long-term tactic. It is really about personal brand building more than anything else, and that means that we need to go into it with simple expectations instead of grandiose visions of traffic and Google juice.

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Basic Principles of Curriculum and Instructions Essay

Basic Principles of Curriculum and Instructions - Essay Example Ralph Tyler’s contributions to the rationale came from his experience as a teacher, a maker as well as an evaluator of the curriculum. He was actively involved in designing the methods of measuring changes in learners in relation to efforts by the schools to help learners in developing interests and ensuring their appropriate performance in society. In the manuscript, Tyler formulated questions that he believed that any practitioner in curriculum inquiry should try to answer. Do the questions include what educational purposes the school seeks to attain? What educational experiences are needed for the effective attainment of the purposes? How educational experiences could be effectively organized? And lastly how the determination of whether the purposes are being attained can be effected (Tyler, 2010).  Tyler laid emphasis on educational purposes, on which he meant few targets which are set at high levels of generalizability. Tyler also suggested that the school objectives wo uld be valid enough if their selections are in consideration to information about the learner's contemporary life, psychological interests, and needs, as well as useful aspects of the subject matter in relation to everyone including the discipline specialists. The schools in the selection of the effective and attainable objectives should screen in line with the school's educational philosophy as well as their beliefs about the psychology of learning (McNeil, 2009).  After the formulation of the purposes, highlighting the necessary educational experiences is vital. The learning or educational experiences, according to Tyler, refer to the plan for the provision of learning situations with considerations to both the previous viewpoints and experiences brought to the situation by the learner and the likely response of the learner; emotionally, mentally, and physically in action.  Ordering the goals, objectives or targets to ensure that they share the focus on the same outcome would then be very vital. Tyler was fascinated with how the curriculum could be structured to generate a maximum cumulative effect. This was in line with his efforts to develop a cumulative plan for an organization that would assist students in learning more effectively (McNeil, 2009).

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

The Chemical Detection of Cocaine-Contaminated Currency Essay

The Chemical Detection of Cocaine-Contaminated Currency - Essay Example Hence, the second method is needed for recognition. The additional technique is termed as mass spectrophotometry. A technique avails information of the make-up of the particular constituents of the compound on the note. The combination of these two methods is called GC/MS (Acheson, 1991). The method aids in the investigation of cocaine. Cocaine is a banned substance, hence, law enforcers have to ensure that they find the means of how to detect cocaine in clients if any. According to Acheson(n.d.), cocaine has been use for long. It contains compounds called alkaloids. They are termed as alkaloids as they are basic in acidic media. As a sample, cocaine is interesting as it is said to give a person the feeling of immense power. It also has its many uses in spite of its illegality. Cocaine is obtained from its source as cocaine hydrochloride salt. Why did the study opt for the method and samples used? The study opted to utilize GC/MS technique because it enables of the total identification of the flash (Acheson, 1991). Acheson, E. (1991, 10 16). A Case Study Involing the Chemical Detection of Cocaine-Contaminated currency. Decatur, IL, Kenya. Retrivied from:

Monday, November 18, 2019

Entrepreneurship Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 4

Entrepreneurship - Essay Example Architecture for Humanity is one such institute. It was started in1999 by two individuals, Cameron Sinclair and Kate Stohr, out of their entrepreneurial spirit (Sinclair, 11). The initial concept was to search for architectural remedies to some humanitarian calamities and avail design services to populations in need. They planned to create openings and avenues through which architects and designers all over the globe would respond to humanitarian catastrophes. To achieve this, they planned to work through various forums and organize various activities such as collaborations with other firms and groups, workshops and competitions. However, regardless of various undertakings since 1999, they had not succeeded in building a single structure till after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on World Trade Centre (Sinclair, 11). They had humble beginnings and for four years were working from a small office cubicle in New York that was only 4 sq. ft. Motivated by their vision of responding and alleviating the suffering of people in humanitarian crises, they undertook various activities and ventures most at times they were strained resource-wise. First, they launched a competition to design provisional housing units for refugees in Kosovo in which they planned to build few units for refugees in Kosovo. The plans went well and raised a substantial amount of cash as well as creating awareness and building new affiliations (Sinclair, 13). Though they never constructed the houses for the refugees due to restrictions by the Kosovo government, the money went to charity through another organization- War Child. Other projects they have undertaken venture include outreach program – a Programme to fight HIV/AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa through mobile clinics (Sinclair, 13). Other activities include response to both natural and artificial debacles such as earthquakes, floods, catastrophes caused by war and other human conflicts. Design Corps is