African American Women s Assimilation Into White Culture

This quote by Malcolm X was trying to spark deep internal thought to African-Americans, especially African-American women, audience about why African-American hated themselves and wanted to be white. This self-hatred and desire to be white stems from the pressure to absorb and assimilate to white culture, which calls for African-American women to deny their race completely. This is perpetuated by which is proliferated practices and rhetoric that suggest that being African-American is equated to being inferior. Thus African-American women have sustained an inferiority complex , which has become internalized through the consistent measuring of African-American women in comparison to white women. African-American women’s assimilation into†¦show more content†¦Slurs of racism to suggest that one group is superior will not be mentioned, but the undermining of other groups through various systemic practices of standards by visual/verbal rhetoric will be discussed. Problem: Detrimental Psychology As stated above, African-American women have been subjected to measure themselves against white women. White women are viewed, in this society and since the beginning of the concept of race, as the epitome of beauty. Logically, African-American women attempt to emulate the white standard. This creates an inferiority complex, because the epitome of beauty is white woman, than any other race can be deemed as inferior; this deteriorates African-American women’s self-worth. To remedy worthlessness, many body modification techniques have been made to fully mimic white women in terms of beauty. This emulation still is being done and it is continuous, because of the psychological ‘white fantasization . This white fantasization begins with the comparison of the African-American woman to the white woman in countenance who have pale complexions and finer hair, which is directly contrasted with African-American women’s more curly-coiled hair and varying complexions that are darker than those who have mostly a European racial background. To achieve thisShow MoreRelatedMulticultural Perspectives Of Practice : Msw 5531633 Words   |  7 Pagesexperienced spinal cord injury, which resulted in permanent paralyses such as paraplegia or quadriplegia. Ms. Cynthia Jackson was one of my clients that had an enormous impact on me. Ms. Jackson is 55 year old African American. Ms. Jackson served in the United Air force in the late 1970’s post-Vietnam War and was based in Germany. While serving in Air force, Ms. Jackson severely injured her back in tanker truck accident which resulted in paralysis in her lower exterminates. Ms. Jackson is wheelchairRead MoreBlack Cultures And Subcultu res Within The United States1091 Words   |  5 Pagesis a true melting pot of ethnicities and cultures. For many members of minority groups a certain hybridity is readily adopted, but for others, cultural assimilation can be quite difficult. Chicana author, Sandra Cisneros described this phenomenon as â€Å"always straddling two countries†¦ but not belonging to either culture† (Doyle. 54). African American author, Alice Walker shared Cisneros’ sentiment, but focused her attention on the assimilation of black cultures and subcultures within the United StatesRead MoreRace, Hegemony, and Cultural Participation1699 Words   |  7 PagesThere are many experiences and perspectives within a society and a culture. This paper will outline some of the experiences of African American women through American history. The paper connects sociological theories as a way to explain and contemplate hegemony, equality, and social relations. The paper analyzes two quotations from r eal and fictional characters that aptly circumscribe their experience in relation to White American hegemony. The paper concludes that theories such and Hegemony TheoryRead MoreThe Classification Of Native Americans1457 Words   |  6 PagesThe classification of Native Americans by the United States government has long produced tension. Native Americans within the United States are classified using standards that differ from those used to classify other racial or ethnic minorities, specifically African Americans. While, historically, the classification of African-Americans as relied upon the â€Å"one-drop† rule, the classification of Native Americans over the past hundred years has relied upon varying, complicated, and ultimately arbitraryRead MoreSocial Injustice: Invisibility and Suppression Among Minorities1254 Words   |  6 Pagespost-1865 American literature is the recurrent motif of suppression among minority groups in the United States. The literature provided in t he Heath Anthology reflects minority citizens like African Americans, Hispanics, and women. American literature during the 20th century serves as a critical lens to examine the social injustices faced by minority groups. Minority artists use literature to examine and redefine their pre-determined role in society. The critically acclaimed African American scholarRead MoreInterracial Relationships in American Society Essay652 Words   |  3 PagesInterracial Relationships in American Society Interracial Relationships in America should not surprise anyone in today s society, but are they considered ethically Wright. In Websters dictionary the meaning for ethics is Having to do with a group of people who have the same language and culture and share a way of life (Macmillan 1) . Prejudice and Discrimination are an all to common part of our cognitive social being, but many social psychologists believe that it canRead MoreThe Pursuit Of The American Dream1250 Words   |  5 Pagesof the American Dream in A Raisin in the Sun The American Dream embodies the ideals of freedom, equality, and opportunity. However, there are several interpretations of the American Dream because the idea explores the personal values of individuals. The differentiation between priorities and contrasting views of success amongst individuals can often effect how one defines the American Dream. In A Raisin in the Sun, written by Lorraine Hansberry, the play addresses the struggles of African AmericansRead More Becoming American: Maintaining Identity Essay836 Words   |  4 Pages America is made up of every nationality on this planet. There is at least one person of each race and nationality on this continent. Immigrants impact our way of life more than we really know. America is assimilation and a multiculturalism collection of this world’s people. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;When the Americas were first discovered, it was just mere occasions where a fisherman had landed in the Americas and was not aware of what he had found. The actual finding that this was a new continentRead MoreAssimilation of Jews in the Interwar Period1374 Words   |  6 Pagesimmigrants and American born Jews faced increasing ant-Semitism and discrimination. The external pressure of anti-Semitism and discrimination led to many Jews facing internal anxieties and conflicts about being Jewish and fitting into American society. Assimilation during this period meant fitting into the white gentile majority’s standard of appearance, mannerisms, and middle class ideals. Common stereotypical images from the time depict Jews with large noses and curly hair, women were often portrayedRead MoreInterpretation Of Everything That Rises, Must Converge986 Words   |  4 PagesInterpretation of â€Å"Everything That Rises, Must Converge† â€Å"Everything That Rises, Must Converge† by Flannery O’Connor is a short story about a generational gap created by social conflict within 1960s and the Civil Rights Movement. Jillian is a young educated white male who begrudgingly accompanies his once prestigious Southern mother as she takes public transportation to her class at the Y. Julian’s mother is descended from a rich and cultured slave owning family who once owned a mansion. Unfortunately she and

The Failure of Gatsby’s American Dream Free Essays

The Failure of Gatsby’s American Dream In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s famous novel, The Great Gatsby, Jay Gatsby is portrayed as being an admirable, wealthy, kind, and genuinely impressive man. However, that being said, he is also portrayed as pretentious, deceptive, criminal, and most importantly to the plot, completely insatiable. We will write a custom essay sample on The Failure of Gatsby’s American Dream or any similar topic only for you Order Now Even though the novel’s narrator, Nick Carraway, heavily sympathizes with Gatsby, he has many character flaws that ultimately assure the failure of his â€Å"dream†, and even lead to his untimely demise. The first bit from the novel that demonstrates Gatsby’s inability to be content, is the fact that he is not Jay Gatsby. It is learned about halfway through the novel that Jay Gatsby from California is actually a man names James Gatz, who comes from Chicago. The fact that Gatsby fabricated his past and lives his life under an alias shows that he is unable to be content even with his own origins. To go through the trouble of making up an entire past for himself rather than simply revealing the truth shows that either he was too ashamed to tell of his family for his financial background, or as is more likely, he found it to be boring. By very nature, Gatsby craves excitement and adventure. In order to make himself seem more exciting and adventurous, he became Jay Gatsby. After examining that, it’s best to look at Gatsby’s chosen vocation. Although Gatsby claims to have his money from being born of a wealthy family from the West, he is later revealed to have earned his money from the illegal business of manufacturing and selling bootlegged liquor. Seeing Gatsby use criminal means to achieve wealth and the â€Å"American Dream† demonstrates how desperately he wants to be taken seriously. Using his fake persona and fool-proof criminal processes to get wealth and social status means to him that most certainly, he could not be looked down upon or judged for being born of a lower class family and not having any of his own wealth to speak of. Working in the criminal underground also means, however, that he would make very few social connections, and have few true friends, bringing me to my next point. Gatsby desperately longs for personal relationships. This is apparent in everything from the way he desperately clings to his love of Daisy to his willingness to allow Ewing Kilspringer, whom Gatsby barely knows, to sponge off him and virtually live at his mansion. Since the adventure and excitement of his fake persona and his criminal lifestyle are not enough to satisfy Gatsby, he figures that the only way to obtain true happiness would be through interactions with people, who can be around him and always admire his accomplishments and somehow complete him. However, Gatsby is unable to make social connections because of his own social awkwardness, which as becomes more and more apparent, he compensates for with his wealth and possessions. The best example of this is Gatsby’s parties, in which the guests all have an excellent time, and know of Gatsby, but know almost nothing about him, even to the point where nobody seems to know where he even came from. Gatsby’s awkwardness and fear of real people causes him to close himself off even at his own parties, and hope that somehow the good time people have will make them admire him more (which, oddly, seems to work). The desire for intimate personal relationships becomes Gatsby’s own version of â€Å"The American Dream† which manifests itself most strongly in his â€Å"love† for Daisy Buchanan. Daisy and Gatsby were briefly lovers before Gatsby was sent off to the First World War. Having been the last person who Gatsby felt any true emotions toward, Daisy becomes the object of his desire, affections, and now, his energy and will to achieve. Gatsby’s dream however is crushed by the realization that Daisy is not the ideal person who he thinks she is. Since Gatsby is a lover of fantasy and exaggeration, he holds all people to an impossible standard of how he thinks people should be, even himself. The real Daisy is almost too shallow to really love, as is most evidenced by the way she is so emotionally moved by some silk shirts that Gatsby has, calling them the most beautiful things she has ever seen. Despite the fact that Daisy is not who Gatsby wants her to be, he clings to her, either realizing his impossible standard, or so far into his delusion that he is unable to see her as anything but ideal despite her major character flaws. Beginning an affair, the two plot to stand up to Daisy’s abusive husband Tom, and run away together. When the plan finally has the chance to come to fruition, however, Daisy is unable to tell Tom that she does not love him. The reason for this is not because Gatsby is undeserving, but because he is so insatiable, and unstoppably ambitious to the point that he doesn’t know what he truly wants, that he is unable to actually achieve anything that might make a true difference in his life. Tom on the other hand, while rude and pushy and genuinely unkind, knows exactly hat he wants and has no problems in simply taking it. After a car crash kills Tom’s lover, Myrtle, Gatsby attempts one more act of gallantry in order to prove his worth and determination. He takes the blame for Myrtle’s death in an attempt to save Daisy, who was really to blame. As Gatsby stops to finally take in all that he has accomplished, and finally appreciate what he has (symbolized by him f inally using his pool) he is murdered by George Wilson, Myrtle’s husband who then takes his own life. Oddly enough, after Wilson’s murder/suicide, the reader is then struck by the striking similarities between Wilson and Gatsby. They both tired of being taken advantage of, they both loved a woman who was not real, and they both longed for true companionship. The only difference is that one of them was able to achieve greatly on a more worldly level, which despite his large personal shortcomings, made him into that person of his own creation that he had so desperately wanted to be: The Great Gatsby. How to cite The Failure of Gatsby’s American Dream, Papers

The Issue Of The Transgender Essay Example For Students

The Issue Of The Transgender Essay Against Transgenders Transgender is when an individual tries to switch genders. The term â€Å"transgender† is becoming more and more well known throughout the United States. Research has proven that â€Å"†¦65% of Americans said they have a close friend or family member who is homosexual, while 9% said that they have one who is transgender† (Steinmetz 40). Many trans-individuals decide later on in their lives that they want to switch genders, and other people argue that they were born the wrong gender, making it a very controversial topic. â€Å"Living within a trans-identity can be a complicated situation for many different reasons† (Cronn-Mills 60). There are many obstacles that trans-people face throughout their lives. Depending on what state trans-people live in, they are faced with whether or not they are accepted by marriage, religion, surgery, adoption rights, identity documents such as birth certificates, driver’s licenses, and passports. There are many barriers that trans-people face daily such as discrimination, whether it is in the workplace, school, or just in public. Trans-people are denied when they try to serve in the military. There is a lot of debate whether or not trans-people are allowed to participle on sports teams, and which restroom/locker rooms to use. Trans-people have unequal access to health care, and the media shows a poor representation of them. People claim that being â€Å"transgender† is a â€Å"mental disorder† (GID). Forty-one percent of trans-people have reported that they have attempted suicide throughout their lives, compared to less than two percent of the general population (Cronn-Mills 52). How other people treat them, can greatly influence trans-individuals throughout their lives and how they view th. .ed States military has a very bias opinion about trans-individual’s right to serve the country. Trans-individuals have struggles and that have to face everyday. Trans-people are faced with many more obstacles rather than homosexual people. Trans-individuals are reminded everyday of the decision that the made and are often judged/discriminated. Trans-people have others treat them like they are diagnosed with a gender identity disorder. The media discredits and disrespects trans-individuals by believing that one cannot change into a different sex that was assigned at birth. The United States military will not allow trans-individuals to serve. Trans-people have unequal access to health care and rights of public restrooms to add on top of public discrimination daily. How other people treat trans-individuals can influence their lives and how they view the world.

Social Impact Assessment free essay sample

Definition SIA first emerged in the 1970s in the U. S, as a way to assess the impacts on society of certain development schemes and projects before they go ahead for example, new roads, industrial facilities, mines, dams, ports, airports, and other infrastructure projects. It has been incorporated since into the formal planning and approval processes in several countries, in order to categorise and assess how major developments may affect populations, groups, and settlements. SIA is often carried out as part of, or in addition to, Environmental Impact Assessment, but it has not yet been as widely adopted as EIA in formal planning systems, often playing a minor role in combined environmental and social assessments. As to standard definition Social impact assessment includes the processes of analysing, monitoring and managing the intended and unintended social consequences, both positive and negative, of planned interventions (policies, programs, plans, projects) and any social change processes invoked by those interventions. We will write a custom essay sample on Social Impact Assessment or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Its primary purpose is to bring about a more sustainable and equitable biophysical and human environment. (International Association for Impact Assessment) A substantial academic literature has developed around the techniques and the application of SIA, and it is widely taught and practiced. Major consultancy firms offer SIA expertise (which could be offered to developers, governments, or campaign organisations). They, and individual skilled practitioners and academics are often called upon to produce SIA reports, particularly in advance of proposed new infrastructure projects. The academic backgrounds of SIA practitioners are diverse, but may include applied sociology, anthropology, geography, development studies, and planning. SIA overlaps substantially with the current interest in monitoring and evaluation (ME). ME is carried out after a project or development has gone ahead, to assess impacts and to see how well its goals were met. Evaluation is particularly important in the areas of 1. public policy, 2. health and education initiatives, and 3. international development projects more generally, whether conducted by governments, international donors, or NGOs. In all these sectors, there is a case for conducting SIA and evaluations at different stages. There is a growing concern that projects of all types (from large dams to the work of small rural development NGOs), are efficiently conducted, do not disadvantage local people, and do not generate negative social and environmental impacts. Increasingly, there is also a concern that non-experts and local people participate in the design and implementation of proposed developments or programmes. This can be achieved in the process of doing an SIA, through adopting a participatory and democratic research process.

Hamlet Essays (3814 words) - Characters In Hamlet, Free Essays

Hamlet Essays (3814 words) - Characters In Hamlet, Free Essays Hamlet The first part of this scene, between Polonius and Reynaldo, is not necessary to the plot of the play, and is often cut from performances. That's a shame, because it's lots of fun. Polonius thinks he is very wise, and Reynaldo, a sort of superior butler, knows otherwise. Polonius is sending money and notes (maybe more advice) to his son, Laertes, but he's suspicious about what Laertes might be up to. He seems to assume that if Laertes is fooling around, he will lie about it, so Polonius has a plan. His fetch of wit (2.1.38) is for Reynaldo to find some friends of Laertes, and say certain things about him, such as he's very wild, and see what the friends say. (Later, Hamlet, in trying to discover if the King is really guilty of murder, will use a similar device to discover the truth: He'll watch the King's reactions while something like the murder of King Hamlet is shown in a play.) Polonius is quite proud of his plan, because, as he says, Thus do we of wisdom and of reach, / With windlasses and with assays of bias, / By indirections find directions out (2.1.61-63). Of course, when Polonius mentions we of wisdom and of reach, he's thinking of himself, despite the fact that he takes too long to say all of this, forgets what he's saying, and contradicts himself. Reynaldo politely tolerates all of this, and goes about his business. Exit Reynaldo. Enter Ophelia: Just as Reynaldo leaves, Ophelia comes rushing in, badly frightened. Without warning, Hamlet has come into her closet (i.e., her study or sewing-room), seized her wrist, stared at her, sighed, and gone back out, all without saying a word. His clothes were unlaced and unbuttoned, and he had a look so piteous in purport / As if he had been loosed out of hell / To speak of horrors (2.1.79-81). It's interesting and puzzling that she should describe him very much as the Ghost might be described. However, Polonius isn't puzzled. He immediately jumps to the conclusion that This is the very ecstasy of love (2.1.99). He says that he is sorry he misjudged Hamlet, but he is most interested in rushing off to tell the King. Polonius' exit lines, This must be known; which, being kept close, might move / More grief to hide than hate to utter love (2.1.115-116), are not the clearest that Shakespeare ever wrote, but they need to be considered carefully. He apparently means that if he doesn't tell the King that Hamlet is crazy because Ophelia dumped him, there will be more trouble than if he does tell. This implies or assumes a couple of things. First, the King is very interested in finding out what is wrong with Hamlet. And, since this is the first time we've seen any sign of the antic disposition that Hamlet said he might put on, we may assume that the King hasn't seen any sign of it, either. Therefore, the antic disposition is probably not the reason for the King's interest in Hamlet's state of mind. We can guess that Claudius sees Hamlet as a potential political rival, and that Claudius senses danger in Hamlet's continued mourning for his father. Second, the phrase hate to utter love means that Claudius will hate to hear that the daughter of his close advisor has a relationship with Hamlet. This might lead us to guess that Polonius' realthough unstatedreason for putting a stop to the relationship was to make sure that he was on the right side: the King's. Summary of Act 2, Scene 2: The King tells Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to investigate Hamlet's madness . . . Polonius's theory of Hamlet's madness . . . Polonius examines Hamlet . . . Rosencrantz and Guildenstern examine Hamlet . . . The players arrive . . . Hamlet's second soliloquy. Enter King and Queen, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. King: Welcome, dear Rosencrantz and Guildenstern (2.2.1). Exeunt Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. Enter Polonius. Polonius: I have found / The very cause of Hamlet's lunacy (2.2.48-49). Enter Ambassadors [Voltemand and Cornelius]. King: Well, we shall sift him (2.2.58). Exeunt Ambassadors [Voltemand and Cornelius]. Polonius: My liege, and madam, to expostulate (2.2.86). Enter Hamlet.

How Physics Works and Why You We Study It

How Physics Works and Why You We Study It Physics is the scientific study of matter and energy and how they interact with each other.  This energy can take the form of motion, light, electricity, radiation, gravity - just about anything, honestly. Physics deals with matter on scales ranging from sub-atomic particles (i.e. the particles that make up the atom and the particles that make up those particles) to stars and even entire galaxies. How Physics Works As an experimental science, physics utilizes the scientific method to formulate and test hypotheses that are based on observation of the natural world. The goal of physics is to use the results of these experiments to formulate scientific laws, usually expressed in the language of mathematics, which can then be used to predict other phenomena. When you talk about theoretical physics, you are speaking of the area of physics that is focused on developing these laws and using them to extrapolate into new predictions. These predictions from theoretical physicists then create new questions that experimental physicists then develop experiments to test. In this way, the theoretical and experimental components of physics (and science in general) interact with each other and push each other forward to develop new areas of knowledge. The Role of Physics in Other Fields of Science In a broader sense, physics can be seen as the most fundamental of the natural sciences. Chemistry, for example, can be viewed as a complex application of physics, as it focuses on the interaction of energy and matter in chemical systems. We also know that biology is, at its heart, an application of chemical properties in living things, which means that it is also, ultimately, ruled by the physical laws. Of course, we dont think of these other fields as part of physics. When we investigate something scientifically, we look for patterns at the scale that is most appropriate. Though every living thing is acting in a way that is fundamentally driven by the particles of which it is composed, trying to explain an entire ecosystem in terms of the behavior of fundamental particles would be diving into an unhelpful level of detail. Even when looking at the behavior of a liquid, we look in general at the properties of the fluid as a whole through fluid dynamics, rather than paying particular attention to the behavior of the individual particles.   Major Concepts in Physics Because physics covers so much area, it is divided into several specific fields of study, such as electronics, quantum physics, astronomy, and biophysics. Why Is Physics (Or Any Science) Important? Physics includes the study of astronomy, and in many ways, astronomy was humanitys first organized field of science. Ancient peoples looked to the stars and recognized patterns there, then began using mathematical precision to make predictions about what would happen in the heavens based on those patterns. Whatever flaws there were in these specific predictions, the method of trying to understand the unknown was a worthy one. Trying to understand the unknown is still a central problem in human life. Despite all of our advancements in science and technology, being a human being means that you are able to understand some things and also that there are things you do not understand. Science teaches you a methodology for approaching the unknown and asking questions that get to the heart of what is unknown and how to make it known. Physics, in particular, focuses on some of the most fundamental of questions about our physical universe. Pretty much the only more fundamental questions that could be asked fall in the philosophical realm of metaphysics (named for being literally beyond physics), but the problem is that these questions are so fundamental that many of the questions in the metaphysical realm remain unresolved even after centuries or millennia of inquiry by most of historys greatest minds. Physics, on the other hand, has resolved many fundamental issues, even though those resolutions tend to open up whole new types of questions. For more on this subject, check out Why Study Physics? (adapted, with permission, from the book Why Science? by James Trefil).

The Concept of the Ecological Footprint Assignment

The Concept of the Ecological Footprint - Assignment Example At the same time, communities and society need to grow in their concern and understanding about the environment while providing more access to resources that provide sustainability and lower numbers in ecological footprints. There are several concepts and factors that are attributed to the ecological footprint. The main concept is based on the behaviors, social expectations, and trends that are within a culture. The amount of knowledge that one has about the environment also creates a different approach to the ecological footprint that is used. The first factor that determines an ecological footprint is based on the capacity that a human has to use different types of resources and how this directly impacts the environment. The main concept that has to be looked into is based on the amount of resource consumption that an individual uses per year. As economic growth continues to emerge and as rising material standards rise in demand are also problems with ecological deterioration. The more in which one demands to have specific resources available, the more it contributes to environmental changes as a use of resources on the planet (Wackernagel, Rees, 1996). Even though it is required that each individual uses a specific amount of resources, there is also a rising concern with the way in which these resources are impacting the environment. If the ecological resources that are available continue to rise, then it will create unsustainable communities. The first places that are affected are urban settings, which require substantial resources to work with agriculture and to produce resources for different nations. If this increases, then the percentage of resources needed also increase. At the same time, the environmental needs don’t match the number of resources that are needed within a community.  

Development of a Strategy for the College of Business Administration Research Paper

Development of a Strategy for the College of Business Administration - Research Paper Example The paper tells that the authorities of the Arizona State University (ASU) led by its President have declared that their primary objective is to establish the institution as the ideal representative of an American University belonging to the modern era. The institution conducts majority of its educational endeavors to accomplish the three main objectives, which has been enumerated in the University’s Plan documents. ASU’s main objective is to provide higher education to the maximum number of US students that it can accommodate. The University makes its students undergo a standardized curriculum in their respective subjects and also encourages them to pursue research on their own. Finally, the institution ensures that all its academic endeavors are conducted in a way so as to improve the economic, social and cultural welfare of the surrounding social community. These have been identified as the vision of the ASU. The vision statements of the University reflect the inhere nt objectives of the institution. The statements can be further analyzed to provide some useful insight into the ASU authorities’ long-term goals. Most of the elite higher educational institutions have always set very high standards for the students aspiring to secure admission in them. However, the objectives of the ASU have been stated to be quite different in this respect. Instead of aiming to exclude the undeserving students, the University always looks to include the maximum number of students under its educational programs. ... The University makes its students undergo a standardized curriculum in their respective subjects and also encourages them to pursue research on their own. Finally, the institution ensures that all its academic endeavors are conducted in a way so as to improve the economic, social and cultural welfare of the surrounding social community. These have been identified as the vision of the ASU (ASU Vision and Goals, 2011). The vision statements of the University reflect the inherent objectives of the institution. The statements can be further analyzed to provide some useful insight into the ASU authorities’ long-term goals. Most of the elite higher educational institutions have always set very high standards for the students aspiring to secure admission in them. However, the objectives of the ASU have been stated to be quite different in this respect. Instead of aiming to exclude the undeserving students, the University always looks to include the maximum number of students under it s educational programs. Simultaneously, ASU has also concentrated in providing these students with a high standard of higher education. Therefore, the institution has been successful in achieving the twin objectives of making higher education accessible to a larger population of students, as well as securing a good reputation regarding the standard of education offered (ASU Vision and Goals, 2011). The ASU has also declared certain additional aims and objectives which it plans to implement by the year 2012. One such objective is to become a ‘National Comprehensive University’ by the specified timeline. The institution has set its sights in becoming the leading educational center for various scientific disciplines which also

Cebu Philippines - Queen City of the South Essay Example for Free

Cebu Philippines Queen City of the South Essay Cebu is one of the most developed provinces in the Philippines and the main center of industry, commerce, trade and education in the central and southern parts of the archipelago. Cebu-City Cebu-City is also called as the Queen City of the South and has become one of the great tourist destinations in the Philippines. It is the capital and the main city of the island of Cebu and one of the oldest cities of the country Cebu, aside from being a growing city also provides a great quality of life and relaxed atmosphere within a tropical paradise. The people of Cebu The people living in Cebu speak Cebuano but can also speak Tagalog and English. So its easy for you to communicate with them. Cebus people are open minded towards foreigners, hospitable, patient and very friendly. Tourism Holidaymakers come from all over the world to enjoy the long stretches of white sand beaches and clear turquoise waters. The beach resorts of Cebu are unrivaled in the world. Nature Unlike the barren mountainous part of the island, the coastal zones are extraordinarily fertile. Maize, coconuts, bananas und a lot of other fruits grow here, as do the world famos Philippine mangoes. Luxurious vegetation which could not be more tropical anywhere, and countles rivers and lakes form the bizarre, dreamy, sublime landscape of the island. Fiesta Sinulog St. Nino de Cebu Festival Philippines The big annual attraction in Cebu City is the Sinulog Festival,held every third Sunday in January. The Sinulog is Cebus biggest and showiest fiesta in honor of the Infant Jesus or Seà ±or Santo Nià ±o. To the sound of the drums the dance moves two steps forward and one step backward. The 9-day fiesta celebration of sinulog in honor of Santo Nino starts on a Saturday followed by the grand street parade on the next day. The exact route varies every year as the festival grows. Visit www.sinulog.ph for more information. Hotels in Cebu ara usually full during sinulog. Before His grand day the image of the Child Jasus will be leaving His home in the Basilica del Santo Nino and will be stay with His foster father in the St. Joseph Parish in Mandaue City for a day and a night. After these stay with His father, He will be voyaging the way to His mother in Lapu-Lapu. In a glas case decorated with blossoming flowers the Holy Child Jesus will be carried by a spanish galleon toward His destination. The exact route varies every year as the festival grows. Visit www.sinulog.ph for more information. Every barrio and barangay trains its school children for months. And the boys on these days? Its not easy for them to come in the picture. Origin | Page 1 of 3 Sinulog is a dance ritual in honor of the miraculous image of the Santo Nino. The dance moves to the sound of the drums and this resembles the current (Sinulog) of what was then known as Cebus Pahina River. Thus, in Cebuano, they say its Sinulog. More than just the meaning of the word is the significance of the dance. Historians now say that Sinulog, which is of pagan origin, is the link between the countrys pagan past and its Christian present. Lets trace its history. Historical accounts say that before Portuguese navigator Ferdinand Magellan came to Cebu on April 7, 1521 to plant the cross on its shore and claim the country for the King of Spain, Sinulog was already danced by the natives in honor of their wooden idols and anitos. Then Magellan came and introduced Christianity. He gave the Santo Nino (image of the Child Jesus) as baptismal gift to Hara Amihan, wife of Cebus Rajah Humabon who was later named Queen Juana. At that time, not only the rulers were baptized but also about 800 of their subjects. Unfortunately, however, shortly after the conversion, Magellan went into a reckless adventure by fighting the reigning ruler of Mactan, Rajah Lapulapu, with only a handful of men. He died in the encounter. That was on April 27, 1521. The remnants of Magellans men were however able to return to Spain to report the incident and the possibility of conquest. It took 44 years before a new group came and started the formal Christianization of the islands. Miguel Lopez de Legaspi arrived in Cebu on April 28, 1565. His ships bombarded the village and in one of the burning huts, one of his soldiers named Juan Camus found inside a wooden box the image of the Santo Nino lying side by side with native idols. Historians now say that during the 44 years between the coming of Magellan and Legaspi, the natives continued to dance the Sinulog. This time however, they danced it no longer to worship their native idols but a sign of reverence to the Santo Nino which is now enshrined at the San Agustin Church ( renamed Basilica Minore del Santo Nino). Of course, through the years since 1521, the dance was a small ritual danced by a few in front of wooden idols or before the Santo Nino. In fact, at the Santo Nino Church where the image is consecrated, only the candle vendors could be seen dancing the Sinulog and making offerings. During the Santo Nino fiesta which falls on the third Sunday of January, children dressed moro-moro costumes also dance the Sinulog. This was really no big event for Cebu City. In 1980, however, David S. Odilao Jr., then Regional Director of the Ministry of Sports and Youth Development (MYSD), organized the first ever Sinulog parade. He invited the physical education teachers for a meeting to discuss the organization of a Sinulog street dance parade. Nang Titang Diola of Mabolo was invited to give a demonstration at the Cebu Doctors College. The steps were analyzed and further enhanced by steps used by the candle vendors who performed in front of the church– The Basilica del Sto. Nià ±o. With seven schools and universities, the physical education teachers spearheaded the first Sinulog Street Dance Parade. With financial support from then MYSD Regional Director David Odilao and Department of Education Culture and Sports, the schools were given an era to represent the history of Cebu from the primitive times to the present. Member schools of the Cebu Physical Education Association the University of San Carlos, Southwestern University, University of San Jose-Recoletos, University of Cebu, University of Southern Philippines, Cebu Institute of Technology and Cebu Doctors University. The street dance parade started from the Plaza Independencia and caught the imagination of the City of Cebu, which then thought of making the Sinulog a festival that would rival other festivals being held yearly in the country. Thus, under the direction of Cebu City Mayor Florentino S. Solon and through the help of Manuel S. Satorre Jr., the late Juan B. Aquino Jr., also late Xavier Ledesma, Robert Grimalt and Antonio R. Aseniero Jr., Odilao turned over the Sinulog project to the Cebu City Hstorical Committee under Kagawad Jesus B. Garcia Jr. through Garcias committee, the Sinulog organization came into being. The first task of the organizing committee was how to conceptualize the festival and make it a big event. The committee then came up with the idea of having a Sinulog logo that would identify the event yearly if it were to be institutionalized. The group didnt however want to use the Santo Nino image itself because this would have been a sacrilege. And it had to look for something that would identify the project. This was the coat of arms of the Santo Nino, which is quite visible as they are being embossed in the benches, architecture and banners of the old San Agustin Church. The coat of arms of the Santo Nino bears a two-headed hawk, the mark of the House of Hapsburg (Hamburg) in Europe which then ruled most of the known world from the 15th century to 20th century. Spain was under the Hapsburg dynasty when it sent the expeditions out across the globe to spread the Faith and expand the influence of the dynastic house to be unknown lands beyond the oceans. The royal origin of the Hapsburg started with the ruling family on Austria in 1276 and for centuries until the 20th century the house rule most of the kingdoms in Europe. The Hapsburg established the Holy Roman Empire in 14552 and it was at the height of their power under Charles 1 of Spain (who was also Holy Roman Emperor Known as Charles V1) the first expedition under Ferdinand Magellan which discovered the Philippines for Spain was sent initially to look for the Spice Island. His son, Philip 11 who ruled Spain for 42 years from 1556, sent Legaspi the second expedition under Miguel Lopez de Legaspi. In fact, the Hapsburg rulers continued to hold power until 1700 not only in Spain but also in the colonies under the Spanish regime while the Austrian line of the Hapsburg dynasty also ruled Central Europe until about the same time. Thus, the Hapsburg emblem, now the coat of arms of the Santo Nino, was influential in many kingdoms in that time. The two-headed hawk emblem was in some of the banners brought by Magellans men to Cebu settlement in 1521. The same emblem was carried all the way from that time, through the Legaspi expedition of 44 years after Magellan and the others that would come to the country in those days such as Loaisa, Saavedra and the Villalobos expeditions. The emblem of the two-headed hawk at the peak of the power of the Hapsburg dynasty represented the twin purpose of the House, which was to stand as Champion of Catholicism and Defender of the Faith. With the background, the Sinulog committee used a native warriors shield on whose face is imprinted the coat of arms of the House of Hapsburg that now represents the Sinulog logo as interpreted by Ms Olive Templa, who coincidentally is a Cebuana. The native shield figure symbolizes the countrys continued resistance to colonization. It speaks of the Filipinos readiness to defend the country from all forms of foreign incursion and to resist any move that may endanger the countrys self-determination. The coat of arms of the Santo Nino on the face of the shield on the other hand, traditionally symbolizes the countrys acceptance of Christianity as European rulers brought it to the settlements in 1521. Sinulog 81 was then organized. Practically all sectors in the Cebuano community got involved. To distinguish the festival from the popular Ati-atihan Festival in Aklan, the organizers decided to use the parade to depict the history of the Sinulog which, as had been said, is the dance, which links the countrys pagan past and Christian present. Seven floats were created to depict seven different periods of history. Dancers wearing costumes depicting the periods followed each float. They all danced the same beat. The Sinulog parade started at 1 P.M. at the Cebu Provincial Capitol and ended about past midnight at the Fort San Pedro-Plaza Independencia area. And the show continued until the wee hours of the morning. To the credit of the Sinulog Foundation prime movers, particularly Executive Director Juan Dodong Aquino, Jr. the Sinulog Festival always jazzes up every year or so with new features, all meant to invite wider participation. Theres always something in there for everyone, be he a participant or spectator, be she a verbalist or visualist, an artist or symbolist. Government agencies, the private sector, commercial and industrial establishments, academic institutions and barangays can pit their skills in making float, the paper mache higantes on route arches, on-site decors, fluvial contests and photography. Organizations could also compete in discovering pulchritude via the Miss Sinulog 88 now known as Ms. Cebu which was eventually taken as an annual project of the Cebu City Tourism Commission. The quality of participation definitely gets better year after year. In 1983, the Sinulog project was still relatively new. Naturally, it had its complement of dents and scrapes, among which were participants on floats and on the streets wearing highly inappropriate and outspoken costumes. Wisened by that, the judges thereafter fine-tuned the qualifications to avert any form of irreverence. Irrelevance, too, was pre-empted. In the first five years the contingents also included guests who, as the afternoon drew and grew, reveled too much after having one too many. Also kibitizers weaved themselves through, sometimes against, the flow, smearing black paint on the spectators. The former have been weeded out of the parade, and the latter are thinning out in number. An improvised detention cell right smack by the roadside has been an effective deterrent. n the early years, Sinulog the ritual and the beat was a total strangers to young and new participants. Too often, it was mistaken for Aklans Ati-Atihan, complete with painted faces and war-like, martial beat. Too often, therefore, many a would-be winner, while beautiful in execution and precision, eventually got sidelined by such criteria as relevance and over-all impact. To prevent repetitions of such sorry instances, Sinulog workshops and demonstrations have been conducted annually thru the help of the Cultural Center of the Philippines, the National Commission Culure and the Arts (NCCA) and the Philippine Folk Dacne Society. Greatly instrumental in this activity is Ms.Dolores Suzara, another mainstay Sinulog judge, and P.E. instructor/choreographer. The incidences of misplaced contingents have definitely waned since then. For the first five years, judging was a test of true grit lasting 20 hours. So that the contest could begin, judges had to be up with the birds. And so that the results could officially sign for the next days news, the judges had to stay up until 3 or 4 in the morning, bird or no bird. But all judges complained not. They, too, paid homage to the Santo Nià ±o in ways requested of us. The entry of TMXs Engr. Rogelio Q. Lim and naturally, technology introduced system and speed in results identification breathe better. In 1988, the plum prize for first prize winners in the parade participation was only P12,000.00. In the year 2005, it has risen to P500,000. Grand total is close to P8,000,000.00. Contest participants used to be purely from Cebu City. For about two decades now, the Festival has brought forth dramatic performances (and eventual winners) from all over the country, such as Surigao City, San Carlos City, Southern Leyte, Agusan del Sur, Camiguin, Iligan City , Tangub City , Tacloban, Ilo-ilo, Paranaque City, Naga City, Masbate, Sultan Kudarat , Iligan, Butuan among others. Prior to 1986, spectators came from Cebu City and province. Since the Balik-Cebu program in 1986, however, creating direct Cebu-San Francisco flights, the festival has packed in a million pilgrims and thousands of overseas visitors. With the present set up of the Sinulog Foundation Inc. introduced new contest categories such as the search for the Festival Queen (Sinulog lead dancer), the Puppeteers category, Visual Merchandising Contest (malls and department stores), Photo Contest , the Sinulog Short Film Festivals, the See Cebu on Carousel , huge lighted billboards which features various tourism and historical sites in Cebu displayed along the Carousel parade route. . The Foundation also commissioned artists to come up with a distinct Sinulog music, to date, the Foundation has produced varied Sinulog music, from the traditional beat, to techno funky beat and the overture of Sinulog (music provided by the Philippine Peace Philharmonic orchestra). For the past three years, since 2006, the Sinulog Grand parade can now be seen live in international audiences thru live TV broadcast and Webcast, reaching out as far as US mainland, Australia , some parts in Europe and some parts in Asia. Website, sinulog.ph has also been updated regularly and promotional videos uploaded in Youtube and internet. At present the word Sinulog and the logo is now patented and registered in the Intellectual Property Office, the first ever granted to a Festival. Crowd control has been the Sinulog organizers perennial headache. Varied, tried and tested, the approach and strategies have so far been elusive, however. And yet, this could be the dark side of the moon, the light side being that as the crowd swells year after year by millions, the Sinulog parade and activities became bigger and better. This made Sinulog the countrys biggest and grandest cultural festival. What began as a revival of an old dance brought government, business establishments, schools, pilgrims, artists and private individual together like never before. The attempt to enhance cultural awareness gave the Cebuanos a shared passion, a collective identity. In the end the Sinulog did give Cebu a culure. And a name. Pit Senyor! The Sinulog is an annual festival held on the third Sunday of January in Cebu City, Maasin City, Southern Leyte, Philippines and Balingasag, Misamis Oriental[1] The festival commemorates the Filipino peoples pagan origin, and their acceptance of Roman Catholicism. The main feature is a street parade with participants in bright coloured costumes dancing to the rhythm of drums, trumpets and native gongs. Smaller versions of the festival are held in various parts of the province, also to celebrate and honor the Santo Nià ±o. There is also a Sinulog sa Kabataan performed by the youths of Cebu a week before the parade. Recently, the festival has been promoted as a tourist attraction, with a contest featuring contingents from various parts of the country. The Sinulog Contest is usually held in the Cebu City Sports Complex. Festival The Sinulog celebration lasts for nine days, culminating on the final day with the Sinulog Grand Parade. The day before the parade, the Fluvial Procession is held at dawn with a statue of the Santo Nià ±o carried on a pump boat from Mandaue City to Cebu City, decked with hundreds of flowers and candles. The procession ends at the Basilica where a re-enactment of the Christianizing (that is, the acceptance of Roman Catholicism) of Cebu is performed. In the afternoon, a more solemn procession takes place along the major streets of the city, which last for hours due to large crowd participating in the event. Background | This section does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this section byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.(September 2011)| The word Sinulog comes from the Cebuano adverb sulog which roughly means like water current movement; it describes the forward-backward movement of the Sinulog dance. The dance consists of two steps forward and one step backward, done to the sound of drums. The dance is categorized into Sinulog-base, Free-Interpretation. Candle vendors at the Basilica continue to perform the traditional version of the dance when lighting a candle for the customer, usually accompanied by songs in the native language. The Sinulog dance steps are believed to originate from Rajah Humabons adviser, Baladhay. It was during Humabons grief when Baladhay was driven sick. Humabon ordered his native tribe to bring Baladhay into a room where the Santo Nià ±o was enthroned, along with the other pagan gods of the native Cebuanos. After a few days passed, Baladhay was heard shouting and was found dancing with utmost alertness. Baladhay was questioned as to why was he awake and shouting. Pointing to the image of the Santo Nià ±o, Baladhay explained that he had found on top of him a small child trying to wake him and tickling him with the midrib of the coconut. Greatly astonished, he scared the child away by shouting. The little child got up and started making fun of Baladhay. In turn, Baladhay danced with the little child and explained that he was dancing the movements of the river. To this day, the two-steps forward, one-step backward movement is still used by Santo Nià ±o devotees who believe that it was the Santo Nià ±os choice to have Baladhay dance. History | This section does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this section byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.(September 2011)| On April 15, 1521, the Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan arrived and planted the cross on the shores of Cebu, claiming the territory for Spain. He presented the image of the child Jesus, the Santo Nià ±o, as baptismal gift to Hara Amihan, wife of Rajah Humabon. Hara Amihan was later named, Queen Juana in honor of Juana, mother of Carlos I. Along with the rulers of the island, some 800 natives were also baptized to the Roman Catholic Church. At the moment of receiving the holy image, it was said that Queen Juana danced with joy bearing this image of the child Jesus. With the other natives following her example, this moment was regarded as the first Sinulog. This event is frequently used as basis for most Sinulog dances, which dramatize the coming of the Spaniards and the presentation of the Santo Nià ±o to the Queen. A popular theme among Sinulog dances is Queen Juana holding the Santo Nià ±o in her arms and using it to bless her people who are often afflicted by sickness caused by demons and other evil spirits. Arrival of Là ³pez de Legazpi | This section does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this section byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.(September 2011)| After Magellan died on April 27, 1521 on the shores of Mactan, the remnants of his men returned to Spain. The Spanish explorer Miguel Là ³pez de Legazpi arrived in Cebu on April 28, 1565 and occupied the villages ruled by Rajah Tupas. In one of the huts of the burning village, one of Là ³pez de Legazpis soldiers named Juan Camus found a wooden box containing the statue of the Santo Nià ±o lying amongst several other native idols. Historians later said that during the 44 years between the arrival of Magellan and Là ³pez de Legazpi, the natives of Cebu continued to dance the Sinulog but no longer to worship their anitos (god) but to show their reverence to the Santo Nià ±o. The Augustinian friars that accompanied Là ³pez de Legazpi in his expedition proclaimed the statue performed miracles and built a church on the site where it was found. The church was called San Agustin Church, later renamed to Basilica Minore del Santo Nià ±o. Letter to the King of Spain | This section does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this section byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.(September 2011)| After Juan Camus found the Santo Nià ±o in the burning village, Là ³pez de Legazpi was said to have included the incident in his report, entitled Relation of Voyage to the Philippine Islands: Your Excellency should know that on that day when we entered this village (Cebu City), one of the soldiers went into a large and well-built house of an indio where he found an image of the Child Jesus (whose most holy name I pray may be universally worshipped). This was kept in its cradle, all gilded, just as if it were brought from Spain: and only the little cross, which is generally placed upon the globe in his hands, was lacking. The image was well kept in that house, and many flowers were found before it, and no one knows for what object or purpose. The soldier bowed down before it with all reverence and wonder, and brought the image to the place where the other soldiers were. I pray to the Holy Name of his image, which we found here, to help us and to grant us victory, in order that these lost people who are ignorant of the precious and rich treasure, which was in their possession, may come to knowledge to him Today | This section does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this section byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.(September 2011)| Since 1521, devotion to the Santo Nià ±o has grown and has taken root in Philippine popular piety, particularly in the Visayas; pilgrims from different parts of Cebu and the rest of the Philippines make their yearly journey to the church to take part in the procession and festival. Starting in 1980, the Cebu City government organized the Sinulog Festival and eventually gave incentives to tribal dance groups. The first Sinulog parade was held in 1980, organized by Dà ¡vid Odilao, then Regional Director of the Ministry of Sports, and Youth Development. The parade was composed of students dressed in Moro costumes, dancing the Sinulog to the beating of drums. The idea caught and thus, under the direction of the Cebu City Mayor Florentino Solon with the help of several influential Cebuanos, Odilao turned over the Sinulog project to the Cebu City Historical Committee under Kagawad Jesus Garcia. It was the task of the Committee to conceptualize the Sinulog festival and make it into a yearly event from then on. In 1981 the following year, the concept of the Sinulog Parade was actualized involving not just Cebu but also representatives from other provinces in the Philippines . Marking its difference from another popular festival, the Ati-Atihan in Aklan, the Sinulog focuses not on the ritual itself but on the historical aspects of the dance, which, as it has been said, represents the link the countrys embrace of Christian faith. Sinulog coat of arms | This section does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this section byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.(September 2011)| The Cebu City Historical Committee, which was responsible for the conceptualization of the Sinulog as a provincial event, decided to adopt a logo for the Sinulog to identify it as an institutionalized yearly event. They turned to the coat of arms of the Santo Nià ±o which consisted of a two-headed hawk that was the mark of the ruling House of Habsburg in Europe. The emblem represented the twin purpose of the Habsburg dynasty as Champion of Catholicism and Defender of the Faith. At the time when Spain sent expeditions to the Philippines, they were under the Habsburg dynasty. The Sinulog committee then incorporated the two-headed eagle to a native warriors shield. The native shield is supposed to symbolize the Philippines resistance to colonization while the Santo Nià ±os coat of arms printed on its face represented the countrys acceptance of Roman Catholicism.

Pragmatism as a Philosophy :: Skepticism, Rationalism, Metaphysics

I have often heard people use the word pragmatic to describe actions, laws or feelings, but I never really looked at pragmatism as a philosophy before. As we studied this semester I found myself asking one question about each philosophy we covered. We discussed skepticism and the claim that we have no knowledge (Lawhead, W., The Philosophical Journey, 2009, p. 55). We compared rationalism and empiricism which posit that we do have knowledge, but disagree on whether that knowledge comes from intellect or experience (Lawhead, p. 55). Along with that we covered Kant’s attempt bridge the gap between rationalism and empiricism, known as constructivism (Lawhead, p. 120). We moved on to the different varieties of relativism, and I still found myself asking the same thing. So what? In other words, does any of this really matter? Then we got to pragmatism, and I found that it asked the same question. Pragmatism looks for the practical value of a belief. If I look at the oth er subjects we have studied pragmatically, I can determine which ideas have the most value to me. Apart from the epistemological philosophies, another area we have also covered is metaphysics. Within metaphysics we have covered dualism and two forms of monism, materialism and idealism. Each of these beliefs deal with what reality actually is. Idealism claims there is one type of reality and that it is mental or spiritual in nature (Lawhead, p. 97). If, as Berkeley claims, matter is a useless concept (Lawhead, p. 206), it would be useless for us to try manipulating the world around us. Since we do try to manipulate our world, Berkeley’s idealism does not work with how we live. It is not practical. The other form of monism, materialism, more specifically physicalism, may hold more practical value than idealism. In materialism, reality is entirely physical (Lawhead, p. 205). Physicalism is a materialist view that the mind can be completely explained by the physical makeup of the brain (Lawhead, p. 214). This has practical value because it leads to the ability to study the min d, and allows the mind to interact with the rest of the world. This form of monism seems to be the more practical of the two, but monism is not the only way to look at reality. Pragmatism as a Philosophy :: Skepticism, Rationalism, Metaphysics I have often heard people use the word pragmatic to describe actions, laws or feelings, but I never really looked at pragmatism as a philosophy before. As we studied this semester I found myself asking one question about each philosophy we covered. We discussed skepticism and the claim that we have no knowledge (Lawhead, W., The Philosophical Journey, 2009, p. 55). We compared rationalism and empiricism which posit that we do have knowledge, but disagree on whether that knowledge comes from intellect or experience (Lawhead, p. 55). Along with that we covered Kant’s attempt bridge the gap between rationalism and empiricism, known as constructivism (Lawhead, p. 120). We moved on to the different varieties of relativism, and I still found myself asking the same thing. So what? In other words, does any of this really matter? Then we got to pragmatism, and I found that it asked the same question. Pragmatism looks for the practical value of a belief. If I look at the oth er subjects we have studied pragmatically, I can determine which ideas have the most value to me. Apart from the epistemological philosophies, another area we have also covered is metaphysics. Within metaphysics we have covered dualism and two forms of monism, materialism and idealism. Each of these beliefs deal with what reality actually is. Idealism claims there is one type of reality and that it is mental or spiritual in nature (Lawhead, p. 97). If, as Berkeley claims, matter is a useless concept (Lawhead, p. 206), it would be useless for us to try manipulating the world around us. Since we do try to manipulate our world, Berkeley’s idealism does not work with how we live. It is not practical. The other form of monism, materialism, more specifically physicalism, may hold more practical value than idealism. In materialism, reality is entirely physical (Lawhead, p. 205). Physicalism is a materialist view that the mind can be completely explained by the physical makeup of the brain (Lawhead, p. 214). This has practical value because it leads to the ability to study the min d, and allows the mind to interact with the rest of the world. This form of monism seems to be the more practical of the two, but monism is not the only way to look at reality.

Filipinos Then, Filipinos Now Essay

Reaction Paper on the film â€Å"Ganito Kami Noon, Paano Kayo Ngayon?† by Eddie Romero Ganito Kami Noon, Paano Kayo Ngayon is a 1976 film directed by Eddie Romero starring Christopher de Leon and former Miss Universe Gloria Diaz. It’s easy to say â€Å"I am a Filipino†. But when can a person be considered as a true Filipino? In the movie, the word â€Å"Filipino† had different definitions. The word originally referred to a person of pure Spanish decency that was born in the country. However, a travelling Chinese merchant (Lim) born in the country was also considered as a Filipino. Based on these facts, being born in the country is one of the major criteria in order for one to be called a â€Å"Filipino†. Nicholas Ocampo, also called Kulas, was the main protagonist in the film. He was innocently set to find a friar’s son at the peak of the Philippine revolution against the Spanish colonization. He was able to encounter people who influenced hi s way of thinking and his way of living during his journey. He was able to meet different kinds of people; Filipino revolutionaries, Spanish friars, guardia civils, circus folks (where he met Diding, a girl whom he fell in love with), and Filipino elites who identified themselves as the real Filipinos. He was confused on what a Filipino truly is, on who has the right to call himself/herself as a true Filipino. He had no idea of what a Filipino is, or why he was called as one. He asked Don Tibor, a Visayan lawyer, if he has the right to call himself a Filipino, to which the lawyer answered that in order to be a Filipino one must be a worthy and valuable person. Kulas went through a lot of ups and downs during his stay in Manila. He experienced being wealthy, being respected, being bullied, being heartbroken, and being betrayed by the people around him. Kulas, in the end, realized that it is not enough to be born in the country in ordered to be called a Filipino, that being a Filipino doesn’t only mean the physical ties a person has with the land, or with tradition, or even with his or her family. It means recognizing ourselves as the protector of this land, and protector of our fellow men. It is being able to fight a grander cause and being able to fight for what is good for our country. The term Filipino was made because in the past, the people of the Philippines called themselves according to what region or island they came from, for example, the people from Visayas  are called Visayans, people from Manila call themselves Tagalogs, Ilokanos for the people from Ilocos and many more. Since the Philippine archipelago consists of thousands of islands, it created a rift between its people because of their different identities. Because of this, the term Filipino was used to call the people of the Philippines as a whole in order to avoid conflicts among the natives and also to unify the people. According to a study conducted by J. A. Yacat of the University of the Philippines Diliman, there are three factors that are considered in order to have a Filipino identity: a sense of sh ared origins (pinagmulan), growing up in a similar cultural environment (kinalakhan), and a shared consciousness (kamalayan). T he first one, pinagmulan, has something to do with being born in the country, having parents who are Filipinos, residing in the Philippines, or is a Filipino citizen. It basically implies that a person is a Filipino if he or she satisfies the definition of Filipino citizenship as stated in the 1987 constitution. The second factor, kinalakhan (cultural roots) revolves around participation and being immersed in a cultural background acknowledged as Filipino. This includes the speaking of a Philippine language, and other things that differentiates us from foreigners, like the way we see things, the way we look at things, and the way we face every situation that we encounter. The last factor, â€Å"kamalayan† (consciousness), is associated with awareness of the self as a Filipino, acceptance of membership in the category â€Å"Filipino†, and also pride in this membership. The American colonization was helpful in the making of the Filipino identity because of the way they tr eated us in the past, our ancestors thought of a way to distinguish ourselves and put the Filipinos on a classification different than the wicked colonizers. The revolution also helped in shaping the Filipino identity. The revolution unified the people. Without the revolution, we would still be under the hands of the colonizers without having an identity of our own. Though the colonization and Filipino revolution helped in the creation of the Filipino identity, each also brought negative impacts that hindered the Filipinos to create an identity of their own. Because of the booming economy of the United States, there is a noticeably big difference on the physical appearance of the Americans from the Filipinos. This is where the colonial mentality of the Filipinos heightened. Those who had money or were in the upper class of the society  tried hard to dress and act like Americans in order to blend with the colonizers and also to flaunt their newly bought things and their fluency in speaking the American language. Because of this, they believed that they belonged with the Americans, that they are Americans and not Filipinos. In the title, Ganito kami noon , paano kayo ngayon:?, there is a question that needs to be answered. Paano kayo ngayon? What is the state of the Filipinos now? To answer that question, many of the Filipino’s ideas and interests have changed. Technology rises and new trends have been made. Sometimes, the Filipinos now tend to forget what is important and what is significant. Filipinos then were able to think rationally. Filipinos nowadays are simply going with the flow. They go to where they will surely benefit, or to where they can gain much, much more. The sense of Filipino nationalism is in the end forgotten. People patronize more the products that came from other countries rather than the products that were made here in the country. Though Filipinos in the past did the same things, the intensity in this modern era is a lot greater than in the past. Our country is getting more and more liberated. Because of the many colonizers after the Americans, several foreign influences have been adapted as our own. The Filipino culture have been mixed with different cultures from neigh bouring countries like China, Japan, Korea, and others because of intermarriages. The way the government runs the country is becoming worse. The Philippines is now buried in debt. Filipinos nowadays are becoming harder to understand. One runs for election not because he or she wants to serve the country but because he or she wants to make more money. Also, the increasing percentage of crimes involving youth offenders is very alarming. We always ask for reasons why these crimes happened. Maybe because Filipino youth then have good moral attitude than Filipino youth now. The use of â€Å"po† and â€Å"opo† have always been a part of our Filipino culture. We were taught to use these words as a sign of respect to the elders. But now, we rarely hear those words especially from the younger ones. Filipino youth today had become verbally aggressive and delinquent. Another example is, Filipino youth now tend to imitate some characters from different foreign films thinking that it is â€Å"cool† to be violent and aggressive. Unlike Filipino youth then were respectful and God-fearing. Thus, Filipino youth then have good moral attitude than Filipino youth now. We are forgetting our objective, the aim which our  ancestors have passed unto us, which was to protect and fight for what is good for our country. We cannot achieve this goal if we keep on doing these things. It seems that in the present times, the definition of being a Filipino is reduced to just being a citizen of the country. If you are a citizen of the Philippines, then you can already be considered as a true Filipino. I am a Filipino. I became a Filipino because both my parents are Filipinos. I am a Filipino because I speak several Philippine languages. I am a Filipino because I am a citizen of this country. I am a Filipino because I love my country. I am a Filipino and I am proud to be one.

Scarf

MOTIVATION with a SCARF twist The SCARF (an acronym for Status, Certainty, Autonomy, Relatedness, Fairness) model, a brilliant gift of neuroscience invented by Dr. David Rock, is an interesting tool to understand an individual’s social behavior in a group. The model is broadly based on two themes, â€Å"Minimizing threat, Maximizing reward† & â€Å"Correlating several social experiences to primary social needs†. Knowing the SCARF model aids to understanding the drivers that cause a threat or beget a reward response thus enabling an individual to implement the optimized interaction path with others.Though the other two articles on â€Å"Managing the brain† (also sketching out the SCARF model) and â€Å"Six thinking hats† were fairly interesting reads, but reading about the SCARF model really grabbed my attention since I was now able to correlate a lot of management techniques/decisions I have seen in the past to this model. Motivation strategies and the SCARF model have a close tie. Typically motivation is aimed at bringing about some form of reward response from the individual(s).I have sketched a few ‘low-cost’ motivation techniques Organizations may implement during economic turmoil, relating them to the threat and reward responses of the SCARF model. 1. Communication: Threat: Uncertainty – During economic downtimes many Employees fear uncertainty. There is a baseline fear of losing jobs, taking salary cuts or being transferred to other departments. Reward Response: Motivating Employees using the ‘open communication’ tool, giving them the reward response of certainty, minimizes this threat.If an Organization chooses to throttle increments, bonuses or promotions it becomes imperative to clearly communicate its rationale to the Employees. Employees always appreciate a transparent management style in matters that directly impact them. 2. Leadership: Threat: Autonomy – During low performin g quarters Organizations do not want to go wrong anywhere. This fear is at times is converted to micro management, increased rigidity in rules and a so called â€Å"Authoritarian† behavior which is perceived my the Employees as a threat to their autonomy Reward Response: Motivating Employees during these tough times can become even more critical.Targeting Employee strengths and assigning project ownership accordingly can help reduce this threat. Giving the Employees an opportunity to avail of flexi-time can also create autonomy. 3. Appreciation: Threat: Status – In a disturbed economy Organizations face budgetary restrictions thereby making tough decisions of promoting only a handful of Employees. But what about the rest? They too have worked as hard as the others. These Employees certainly face a status threat in the Organization. Reward Response: Employers should take time to appreciate good work.Appreciation can be done verbally during team meetings or via e-mail, m arking a copy to the entire Department. A simple but meaningful â€Å"thank you† via e-mail can prove to be a very effective motivation tool. Employees feel internally rewarded and motivated when they know their work is valued and recognized in the Organization. 4. Low cost events: Threat: Relatedness – Organizations tend to become very competitive during a tough economy. People are faced with competition within the Organization.Often Employees are shuffled between departments to optimize the productivity. People who move to the new departments often face the threat to relatedness, as they in turn are perceived as a threat to the existing members of the department. Information sharing with the new members could be limited. Reward Response: In this situation an Organization should dedicate some time to conduct low cost events to increase the organizational citizenship behavior (going beyond the call of duty) not only inside departments but also outside departments. E. . : Have a ballot box in the office and encourage people to thank each other for any activity from which the other person benefitted (not directly related to work) for e. g. â€Å"Thank you Mary for sharing the sales figures for last month, this helped me come up with the forecasts quicker than expected. † Every Friday call for a â€Å"Thanks giving event† where these papers are read out in front of the organization and each one gets small rewards like chocolates, donuts, pens etc. This will increase the reward response for relatedness and status. 5.Performance Based Pay: Threat: Fairness: It is a challenge for the Employers to be fair in terms of the financial rewards given to the Employees. An Employee often gets demotivated when he/she hears that their colleagues are being paid more than him/her especially when they feel that they are putting in more effort and yielding a greater result for the department. Reward response: To curtail this threat to fairness an Organi zation should have a transparent performance based pay structure. This structure should be known to every Employee to beget transparency.Finally I would like to say that motivating Employees is important for every Employer, at all times. An Organization does not need to invest in expensive trainings, huge increments or even arranging extravagant holiday packages in order to motivate its Employees. Motivation has a strong negative correlation to the threats that an Employees faces in an Organization and if those threats are identified correctly and mitigated using the SCARF principles the overall productivity can be tremendously boosted.

John Locke and Jean-Jacques Rousseaus Views on Private Prop essays

John Locke and Jean-Jacques Rousseaus Views on Private Prop essays In the sixteen to nineteenth centuries, philosophers such as John Locke and Jean-Jacques Rousseau had clearly opposing opinions on the European settlement of the Native American inhabitation; this was due to their very distinctive notions on private property. These settlers found in North America a largely uncultivated and undeveloped territory; here savages lacked an elaborate concept of private property in land. Rousseau believes that even the Native Americans have a deep capacity to become corrupt, for all societies have this tendency. Locke sees the stipulation and function of society to protect property as something sacred to mankind, while Rousseau perceives property as the root of the corruption and ultimate disgrace of society. Locke was in defense of this European settlement and appropriation of land; while Jean-Jacques Rousseau would seemingly oppose the European settlement. Rousseau and Locke both appropriately distinguish the derivation of property to be grounded in m ans natural desire to improve his life, but they differ in their portrayal of the result of such a desire. Although Rousseau addresses fascinating conceptions of private property, Locke will ultimately prove that private property is vital and has a positive effect on mankind. In order to examine either philosophers views on property and its origins, it is necessary to go back to the most primitive human development, and discuss their different conceptions of the state of nature. We must consider what state all men are naturally in, and that is, a state of perfect freedom...A state also of equality, wherein all the power and jurisdiction is reciprocal, no one having more than another. (Locke, Second Treatise, II.4). According to John Locke, man is bound by a distinct law of nature in this state of liberty, which diktats that all men are bound to preserve himself, and...to preserve the rest of Mankind. (Se...

Andrew Jackson, The United States President of the Common Man

Andrew Jackson, The United States President of the Common Man Andrew Jackson was the president of the common man because he greatly improved the economic aspect of life for white men during his presidency. However, some might argue that Jackson was not president of the common man because he continued to allow and encourage the mistreatment of marginalized groups like American Indians. Nevertheless, during his time as president, Jackson vetoed the renewal of the national bank, giving more power to the common man through state banks. In addition, he created the spoils system, giving less wealthy men the opportunity for government jobs, something very uncommon at the time. Jackson also extended the opportunity to vote to property owning white men as it became easier to buy property due to westward expansion. These changes made by Jackson created more economic opportunity and the potential for social climbing out of the lower class. The common, white man benefited greatly from Jackson, supporting the idea of him being the president for the common m an. Jackson eliminated the national bank, giving the state banks more power, benefitting the common man economically. When it came time to renew the charter for the National Bank, the president vetoed the renewal. Jackson believed the bank took money away from the common man as it was run by the wealthier portion of the population, looking to benefit themselves and not the majority of the population. The semi-private bank had investors coming from exclusively the richest class as few commoners could afford to invest in the bank. Jackson saw this consolidation of power in the wealthy as corrupt and dangerous for the common man, the bank and its investors wanted to make money, only benefitting a small fraction of the population (Document B). Shortly before the veto, Jackson withdrew money from the national bank and deposited the money into state banks, also known as â€Å"pet banks†. Pet banks were more apt to loan money to the lower class citizens that needed it, farmers in particu lar. Once Jackson decided to kill the national bank, declaring it unconstitutional (O’Donnell). This worked to the advantage of the commoners because they were able to take out loans as they needed them, controversially whether they could pay them back or not. Through employing people of lower classes in different federal jobs, it not only limited the amount of elites in power but also gave the lower class the chance to earn more money. On the road to Jackson’s presidency, he received help and support from many people and assured them that their support would not go without appreciation. Once Jackson was elected, he removed many elites from their positions in office, only to fill those jobs with the commoners that helped him achieve presidency. Jackson referred to this action as the Spoils System as he distributed his spoils of victory. (O’Donnell). Many of his supporters lacked education and money, as he appealed to the â€Å"common man†, attracting many farmers and other members of the lower class. However, Jackson believed the jobs were easy enough for the common man to carry out. By giving people from the lower class these jobs instead of those from the upper crust of society, he was giving them the chance to earn more money than they would as a farmer or even most merchants. This also provided the opportunity for them to move to a slightly higher social class because federal jobs were held to a much higher standard than most other jobs. The lives of many white men benefited economically and in some cases socially from the Spoils System. Some might argue that Jackson was not president of the common man because he continued to allow and prompt the terrible treatment of American Indians. By forcing them to leave Georgia and Michigan with the Indian removal act of 1830, the American Indians had no choice but to move to Oklahoma; they had no say in this matter. The trek that they made is famously known as the Trail of Tears. While the supreme court did not support Jackson’s decision, he continued with the plan anyways (O’Donnell). Although the American Indians were the group of people being directly affected by the Indian removal act, they did not have the right to vote on this matter or any affair until 1924. Jackson did not improve the quality of life of the American Indians by any standards, if anything, he contributed to the preexisting, unjust treatment they received. However, by obtaining the land in Georgia and Michigan, more white Americans were able to move there and be given an opportunity to own land, something that was difficult in places like the northeast, where land was not as easy to acquire. In many states, white men were allowed to vote if they owned land, and with this expansion, many â€Å"common men† throughout the United States were able to gain voting rights. While this privilege came at the expense of the American Indians homes and lives, Jackson did, in fact, improve the quality of life for what was considered to be the â€Å"common man†. Jackson’s changes to the U.S. during his presidency impacted many people but really only the common, white man profited from these changes. By liquidating the national bank, Jackson was able to put money into pet banks which greatly benefitted the lower class by allowing them to take out loans more frequently than they could have with the national bank. He further benefited the common man by supplying jobs to some of his supporters that helped him become president. By offering these jobs to people in a much lower class than the wealthy that used to hold those jobs, the common men had the chance to not only earn more money but to move to a slightly higher social class as well. Unfortunately, the American Indians did not gain nearly as much as many white men did from the Indian removal act. However, the vacant land provided the opportunities to vote to the common man. The changes made by Jackson that economically improved the lives of numerous common men support the theory that Andrew Jackson was the president of the common man.

How parental depression impact on thier teeenage children between the Dissertation

How parental depression impact on thier teeenage children between the ages of 15-19 years - Dissertation Example Living with someone who has a disease that changes their perception of reality can exhaust a family, leaving the development of children, particularly in their teen years, without a stable foundation. With a disease that is defined by its condition as a mental disease, a child may have to deal with additional feelings of guilt and shame, their lives becoming about the secret of mother or father’s illness. This study was conducted using relevant literature, both primary resources and secondary literature in order to frame the conclusion to the questions posed by the work. Through a qualitative approach, the relevant literature is examined for the experience that has been present in the human condition concerning the incidence of mental illness. Through understanding this experience, the researcher can come to conclusions based upon an understanding of the concept that stretches beyond that which can be quantified. Chapter One Introduction As a child, the development of curiosit y for this condition in parents came from exposure to a friend whose mother suffered from deep bouts of depression. Knowing this girl from the age of eight through high school made a deep impression about the concept of the disease that her mother seemed to suffer from through long torturous months of unpredictable days for this child. The girl, who may or may not have been similarly afflicted, displayed a series of behaviours that were curious and encouraged a need to find an understanding for what she was going through at the time. She horded large amounts of food in her locker at school, always afraid she would go home and have nothing to eat. She gained large amounts of weight, only to lose the same until she was thin as bone. She also began to cut herself when she was sixteen, a secret that was never revealed to any adult. The level of secrecy that her life held and the ways in which she expressed her own anxiety created a high level of curiosity about how much her motherâ€⠄¢s mental disease was affecting her life in comparison to any disease that she might have had on her own. The actions that were in rebellion to her own situation, hording food until it sat in piles of mold in her locker, in comparison to her acts of cutting her skin always created wonder at her own levels of depression, whether from an inherited condition, or from her exposure to behaviours of depression as they were exhibited by her mother. In this qualitative study, the research will be gathered through an investigation of secondary research and primary resource literature in order to understand the historical understanding of depression and the stigma that the disease has developed within society. While society tends to have a compassion for those who are afflicted with depression, there is still a pervasive opinion that it is merely a sadness, a disease that could be controlled if the afflicted would just try harder to not be afflicted. This creates a stigma that proposes that secrecy and silence rule within a family where one of the parents suffers

Exceptional Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Exceptional - Essay Example In this book the authors have mentioned and discussed many important thing regarding creating and maintaining Inclusive classrooms, this also includes how families can deal with disable children’s and make they feel comfortable in the surroundings, identifying a student’s needs, the ways of special education process, teaching students who are gifted and ways & methods of teaching students with Emotional Disorder, Communication Disorder, Sensory Impairments, Learning Disabilities, Mental Retardation, Autism, Traumatic Brain injury, Hyperactivity Disorder, Attention Deficit and other low-Incidence disabilities. Most important of all that this book also includes some very important topic that are Teaching students who are gifted which is our topic, teaching those who are at Risk, with special needs in Elementary Schools and in Secondary School. These are the important Issues, Methods and other useful techniques mentioned in this book which make this book very different and special one. In this assignment we shall discuss about two important chapters in this book i.e. Effective Inclusion Practices and Professional Collaboration which deal with the concept of and teaching students who are gifted, who have extra talent and ways to teach them. We will start our assignment with what is inclusive, importance of inclusive education, effective inclusion practices, about Exceptional and importance of exceptional education. Inclusive means including everything mentioned with in a limit or without respect to a limit, accordingly it means teaching everyone in same classroom whether a student is a disable, normal or an elder person.

Challenges in Auditing Literature review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Challenges in Auditing - Literature review Example According to Power (1997, cited in Free, Salterio and Shearer, 2009) auditing can be described as both operational and programmatic elements. The programmatic elements relate to the concepts and ideas that make practice and policy objectives that are existent in the political arena. Goals are formulated with the practices for the levels of programs. These levels are defined when audits are required by the regulatory agencies. The operational elements refer to the concrete routines and tasks that are practiced by the practitioners worldwide. Review The global audit regulatory system is dynamic that includes a number of organizations, which compete among them. Such competition is reflected in the range of actions from political lobbying process to policy publication papers and submission of those papers to the committees. During the period of financial crisis, it is hard to find papers that are audited by the large firms, national audit boards and the professional bodies. Another probl em related to the financial crisis is that, the process in which the assurance operation is carried out and enacted (Kornberger, Justesen and Mouritsen, 2011). Audits aims at drawing general conclusion from the studies that are made regarding a topic. Thus, there is lack of potential use of the statistical foundations like sampling, which often gave limited information and provided with incorrect results. The qualitative studies carried out by Humphrey and Moizer (1990, cited in Kornberger, Justesen and Mouritsen, 2011) and Fischer (1996, cited in Kornberger, Justesen and Mouritsen, 2011) has suggested that the practice of the financial audit work is socially constructed. Curtis and Turley (2007, cited in Kornberger, Justesen and Mouritsen, 2011) has argued that there are huge business risk in the audit works. They have documented the problems that are related to the translation of new concepts that are developed by the officers at administrative levels, into the real audit techniqu es at the general practitioner level. The auditing profession is related to good consequences as well as bad crisis. But the auditing profession has responded boldly to the financial crisis by implementing a number of communication modes and interacting with the governmental and regulatory bodies. The clarification is needed for specifying the exact role and the obligations of the auditors. According to Woods (2009, cited in Kornberger, Justesen and Mouritsen, 2011) the companies often face downturn, when their financial statements are not audited properly and thus it threats the future developments of the company. According to Cherry, Johnson and Veron (2008, cited in Humphrey, Loft and Woods, 2009) suggested that auditing practices can overshadow the standard of financial reporting. Thus, greater focus is to be provided to the volatility of the accounting numbers than to audibility of the traditional financial statements. The imbalance between the two is noticed during the fair va lue debate. It has been suggested by Ryan (2008, cited in Humphrey, Loft and Woods, 2009) that the duration of the crisis can be reduced, if the practitioner of the auditing functions are exercising the Financial accounting System appropriately. The auditors seek to develop a firm ability to make a judgment related to the reporting of the fair values. Ryan (2008, cited

Effect of Working Practices on Efficiency and Productivity

Effect of Working Practices on Efficiency and Productivity Abstract Aim The aim of this project is to identify why current working practices and procedures are affecting workshop efficiency (class contact time) and productivity (hands on time) during the daily running of an educational motor vehicle workshop. Objective The main objective of the report will be to make recommendations on work area design and workshop layout and the proposal of new working practices and procedures to help improve the efficiency and productivity within the motor vehicle workshop. Chapter 1 Introduction Chapter 2 Background Clydebank College first opened as a technical college in 1965 its aim was to support the training needs of apprentices in the local manufacturing companies and the shipyards. The economic activity in the area has changed over the years so the courses offered by the college have had to change to meet the local employment needs. The original college was in a severe state of disrepair and as a result of this Clydebank College opened a brand new  £34 million campus at Queens Quay on the riverside at Clydebank in the summer of 2007. The college delivers education and training from its main campus in Clydebank, and from community outreach centres in Dumbarton and Faifley. Most of the colleges learners come from areas of high unemployment, where there is a low participation in further education and a lower proportion of school leavers than average progress into higher education. 2.1 Existing Laboratory The motor vehicle workshop at Clydebank College is a single room, open plan, workshop approximately 25 x 20 metres (500m ²) in size. The workshop was designed to accommodate up to 6 classes of approximately 12 students and one lecturer per class. 2.1.1 Workshop Layout The laboratory has work bays laid out for 23 motor vehicles it also has to hold motorcycles, quads, buggies and associated workshop tools and equipment. There are workbenches and lockers situated at various points around the workshop, two communal sinks are plumbed in at one end and a moveable rolling road is installed in the corner of the workshop, cleaning equipment and large workshop tools are also stored in the main workshop area, all these facilities are shared between all motor vehicle classes. Open plan design allows a work area to be easily changed into a different workspace with limited costs should the need arise. The workspace is more adaptable and with no internal walls etc. the initial build costs are much lower. This open plan design of the motor vehicle workshop is a new concept for the college and most of the policies and procedures that are in place have been brought over from the old campus, whilst some of these policies and procedures do work there have been a number of issues develop over the last year as a result of this change in workshop design. 2.2 Automotive Curriculum The motor vehicle courses offered at Clydebank College are as follows: * City Guilds 3901 * City Guilds 4101 (Level 1,2 3) * HNC/D Automotive engineering 2.2.1 City Guilds 3901 Aimed at students with no previous qualification or knowledge of the subject area it is suitable for the 14+ age range. This qualification is ideal for secondary school students or as a pre-entry level to the modern apprenticeship program it focuses mainly on developing students practical skills with some oral questioning to test underpinning knowledge. 2.2.2 City Guilds 4101 Level 1, 2 3 and the modern apprenticeship program is an introduction to the maintenance, repair and diagnosis of automotive vehicles it has routes for tyre fitting, general fitting, light vehicle, heavy vehicle and motorcycle maintenance. The starting point for students with no prior experience of the subject area is Level 1 this level is suitable for 14+ year olds. Level 2 recognises that the learner will now be in a position to carry out routine tasks with a lower level of supervision and Level 3 focuses on developing students diagnostic techniques. 2.2.3 Higher National Certificate/Diploma HNC/D automotive engineering is delivered over 2.5 days per week for 2 years it focuses mainly on the theoretical side of automotive engineering but also has practically assessed diagnostic units. 2.3 Staffing The delivery of the motor vehicle curriculum is carried out by 13 members of staff in total. The motor vehicle section consists of a curriculum leader and assistant curriculum leader, 7 full time lecturers, two part time lecturers, a store person and two technicians. 2.3.1 Course equipment requirements The motor vehicle courses delivered at Clydebank College require various workshop equipments to facilitate the completion of practical assessments. See appendix A for a list of the equipment holding for the motor vehicle workshop. The majority of the workshop tools and equipment are centralised within the motor vehicle store and as such are not part of the problem that this report is trying to address. The equipment that is stored within the main workshop area is only to be considered during this report. 2.3.2 Health Safety Health and safety policies and procedures will not be analysed during this report, any issues found in this area will be passed onto the college HS officer for further investigation. 2.4 Literature Review The Design Council (About: Workplace Design, no date) have identified that there are a number of key challenges faced in developing a more innovative workplace strategy through a change in workplace design. The credibility of new ideas is usually always questioned because most people dont like change, especially people that have been in an organisation for many years. People in this situation have become comfortable with what they know and usually have a mentality of â€Å"what works now will always work† or â€Å"whats the point† or â€Å"if it aint broke dont fix it†. Most people have little idea that the working environment affects our attitudes and performance, (Strange and Banning, ) pointed out that â€Å"although features of the physical environment lend themselves theoretically to all possibilities, the layout, location and arrangement of space and facilities render some behaviours much more likely, and thus more probable than others.† â€Å"Educational institutes should learn to understand that spatial arrangements can support retention and improve student performances; they must also understand that good space is not a luxury but a key determinant of good learning environments.† (Oblinger, 2006) Any proposals to change the spatial arrangements within an organisation should firstly be discussed with the current employees. Management should seriously consider ideas from staff on workplace remodelling before imposing their decisions upon the workforce, it must be remembered that its the employees that have to work in the environment being changed every day of the week. It would also be wise to ask for employees to be involved at various stages of the process to assist in making the changes work. Keeping the facility or equipment in an operational condition can be difficult in a training facility due to an educational establishments varied hours and rates of occupancy. These can impact on the facilities operations and maintenance schedules. A proactive facility management program should be employed to anticipate facility problems rather than reacting to them when they occur (WBDG, 2009). This will ensure optimal long and short term use of the facility and if integrated early enough in the design process can improve productivity and reduce operating costs (Manuele, Christensen, 1999). Maintaining a training facility and its equipment in a clean and tidy condition will promote good engineering hygiene practises in its students. (Strange and Banning) highlighted ways in which the physical appearance of a campus convey a non verbal message, they cited research that links the physical appearance of a space to the motivation and task performance of those working in that space. The (Whole Building Design Guide, 2009) point out that training facilities, courses and timetables vary frequently and that instructors have different and evolving training methods. Flexibility, therefore, should be a huge consideration of any proposed spatial design change and is critical to the continuing success of an enduring training facility. (WBDG, 2009) also recommend strategies to assist in achieving an improved training facility such as clustering instructional areas around shared support and resource spaces and the use of an appropriate combination of stand alone moveable partitions between classrooms and shared spaces. Partitions that can be adjusted in height are a good idea to ensure some visual contact can be kept with the rest of the activities going on around, but a degree of privacy is maintained (Evans and Lovell, 1979). Research into partitioning in the nursery school suggests that young children prefer social contexts rather than the privacy of small activity spaces but as they get older it found they retain this preference but also realise that they need more peace and quiet to think!! It is also important to realise that partitioning can aid the control of the children where their own ability to control themselves is limited; as with younger children or children with learning difficulties. Workspaces should be arranged in line with the educational goals of the training facility but should also ensure a moderate openness but with acoustical privacy; allowing students to hear their instructors clearly but with a low ambient background noise and few distractions. This would be achieved with some form of room partitioning. (Hudson Valley Community College, 2009) agreed that their proposed new automotive training facility would have mini-labs with lab space for three cars as well as two vehicle lifts and an area with work benches and tool storage areas. This facility design, they believe, would improve the educational environment and enhance the students workforce readiness by working in a space that is similar to the space they will experience in the workplace. (Klatte and others, 1997) also emphasized that a standardised, ergonomically designed workspace as the basis for an improvement in working and (Govindaraju, 2001) stated that ergonomic considerations improve human performance. Kletz (1991) wrote that it is difficult for engineers to change human nature and, therefore, instead of trying to persuade people not to make mistakes, we should accept people as we find them and try to remove opportunities for error by changing the work situation, that is, equipment design or the method of working. Like many other organisations, Cisco concluded that their workplace environment was at odds with the way they worked. They believed a flexible, collaborative workspace would improve employee satisfaction and increase productivity. Some solutions that were introduced were unassigned workspaces, small individual workstations, highly mobile furnishings and space dividers and lockers for personal items. (Cisco-Connected workspace enhances work experience) Changes to spatial layouts can be costly, complex and highly disruptive when changing the physical layout or the fabric of the building. This level of cost is not relevant to all organisations and all proposed changes and with some smart thinking design ideas to improve efficiency can be implemented with a prudent level of expenditure. Any changes made to a workplace should be measurable. Deciding on the evaluation criteria at an early stage will allow changes to be measured. Measurement criteria should be sensible and simple, such as staff absences, running costs, replacing damaged/lost equipment, the intensity of space occupancy or error reporting, staff and student morale. (Kuh et al,) discovered that the physical environment is an important characteristic of institutions that do exceptionally well in engaging with their students and that spatial arrangements support learner retention and are a key factor in a quality learning environment. If a superior quality product or result is wanted then it must be designed into new systems and processes (Deming, 1986). Process improvement is a never ending cycle that requires continuous efforts to bring new ideas to improve performance. Changes in customer needs, changes in technology and competitors speed up these efforts (Kumru, Kilicogullari, 2007). Chapter 3 Laboratory Issues The motor vehicle workshop is an extremely difficult area to manage in its current form mainly due to its size, number of staff, the quantity of equipment and the number of activities undertaken within. The assistant curriculum leader is responsible for managing the workshop in its entirety on a daily basis. The ACL must ensure that vehicles are not being damaged and that they are put back together fully following classroom activities; that shared resources are maintained in a serviceable condition and are returned to their correct locations. The ACL must also ensure that the workshop in general is kept in a clean and well maintained condition and is responsible for the health and safety of staff and students within. All these tasks must be done whilst still being committed to a full teaching timetable that very rarely takes place in the workshop. Workshop practical time is at a premium for students and is essential for completing a motor vehicle course successfully. Full time students would expect to receive 9 hours tuition per week in the classroom for technology theory and 9 hours per week tuition in the vehicle workshop on practical tasks and assessment. A typical schools class would normally spend approximately 80 hours per week in the workshop and is assessed on practical competencies only. Students whilst in the motor vehicle workshop can and do spend a lot of time collecting hand tools, finding equipment, finding serviceable equipment, waiting for shared resources to become available, travelling through other classes to find shared resources, rectifying unreported vehicle faults and a lot of time can be spend standing around or misbehaving whilst a lecturers time is spent elsewhere remedying one or more of the above. Student lab time is normally affected by one or more of the problems listed below. 3.1 Work areas There are no designated classroom areas within the workshop, bay allocation is on a first come first serve basis and lecturers must liaise with each other to obtain suitable class workspace. Lecturers can also find it difficult to keep track of their students in such a busy environment with no defined classroom areas, this can lead to health safety concerns and child protection issues given the number of students under the age of 16 years that attend classes within the motor vehicle engineering department. Workshop cleanliness and general housekeeping tends to suffer in or around the common areas currently there is no way of pinpointing who is responsible for the mess. 3.1.1 Mezzanine area The workshop mezzanine area is currently a disorganised storage point for most of the shared workshop equipment this equipment is getting damaged and is eating into valuable class space. Shelving has been ordered to alleviate some of the storage problems although there is no lifting facility to move objects to the upper level of the mezzanine. The mezzanine area is also used to store motorcycles, quads, off-road buggies etc for other specialist classes within the curriculum area, these assets act as a distraction to most students, and are sustaining damage when students ‘play on them. 3.2 Shared resources Most of the shared workshop equipment does not have designated storage points and are currently stored at random around the vehicle workshop; shared resources are not signed for and when finished with have no official storage area to be returned to; all this equipment is used on a first come first serve basis. Staff and students requiring the use shared workshop equipment usually have to travel through other classes to locate often causing a disturbance. When two or more classes within the workshop are using shared equipment such as jacks, axle stands or cleaning equipment there are not always enough units to go around this can leave some classes in a position were they must wait idly for this equipment to become available. Unproductive students can often misbehave or wander around the workshop through other classes causing a distraction trying to find equipment that is no longer being used or has not been returned to its original location. Shared resources also tend not to be reported by students when they become damaged or unserviceable because it is too much of a hassle and they have no responsibility for it. Presently there are four badly equipped tool chests for students and lecturers in the workshop to share. Tools regularly go missing from these toolboxes due to them being left lying around the various work areas or tools can become damaged without being replaced. Workshop vehicle keys are issued from the main storeroom to students as and when they are required; these keys can mistakenly get taken home and cars can get started unnecessarily, sometimes dangerously as most of the motor vehicle students are not competent enough technically or yet hold a valid driving licence. Damage to equipment, unproductive students, class disturbances, HS issues 3.3 Fault reporting Vehicle faults, damaged equipment and work requests to the technicians are passed through a paper based work request slip, only the technician and lecturer requesting the work know that the job exists, there is no way of informing other lecturers that a job on a vehicle has not been completed in time other than by word of mouth this can sometimes lead to a class having to put a vehicle back together before they start their own work or a class expecting to start work on a vehicle but find that the car has been broken and nobody knows about it. There is also no system to inform other lecturers that a vehicle has been set up for an assessment, again, other than by word of mouth. 3.3.1 Welfare Lockers are not issued permanently to motor vehicle students but are issued by lecturing staff at the start of each lesson and keys receipted at the end. There are not always enough lockers for students when the workshop is busy as presently locker keys are owned by lecturing staff and not shared, some lecturing staff have no access to lockers unless they are borrowed from colleagues. 3.3.2 Learner Retention and Pass Rates The problems highlighted can and do affect the students learning experience they stretch workshop resources, reduce the students practical time on vehicles and impact on the lecturers contact time with the class, this will affect learner retention and ultimately student pass rates. Very little has been written on improving efficiency and productivity in an educational vehicle workshop. Work study Method study Motion study Motion economy Time study Work measurement Why are the indentified problems a problem? Poor citing of shared resources, inability to find equipment, lack of fault reporting, etc. all lead to a reduction in efficiency and productivity. What would stop the problems from being problems? Having lecturers take responsibility for areas of the workshop. Better citing of, and designated areas for, shared resources, more classroom resources or better citing of existing classroom equipment. An effective fault reporting mechanism put in place. Equipment in designated areas with workshop plan and equipment lists at each base to easily guide students to equipment location. How are we going to implement or manage the change? Break the workshop down into smaller workshop or classroom areas, equip each classroom individually and assign a lecturer or two to manage each classroom. Colour coded equipment within each classroom for ease of identification. What has happened as a result of the changes? All equipment within each classroom is sufficient to complete tasks within it. Equipment is placed back at its storage point at the end of each lesson. Faults are reported to lecturers as they happen and dealt with or serviceable classroom equipment is compromised. Chapter 4 Preferred Setup It has been proven since the opening of the new college that a workshop of this size cannot be managed effectively without a full time workshop manager in place. This appointment will never happen in an educational institution so other forms of managing the work space must be found. The workshop should be organised in such a way that it is self managing but it must also be able to be used as an efficient reporting mechanism for informing the assistant curriculum leader/curriculum leader of issues arising in the workshop to enable them to be acted upon. Individual members of staff should have a clear understanding of what is expected of them and be accountable for their own and their students actions. The preferred arrangement in any motor vehicle workshop should see that it is adequately equipped and that the equipment is suitably positioned in such a way that it provides an efficient means of working. Where similar workshop tasks are being performed the equipment and mechanisms for management should be identical so that all staff members are clear about what is expected and that there is no ambiguity or confusion when staff are timetabled to work in various areas of the workshop. When part time members of staff are employed there is only one system of work to learn, all advice or questions will be responded to with the same answer as each permanent member of staff will be working to the same set of procedures. 4.1 Proposed Changes to the Laboratory To rectify the problem of workspace allocation it is proposed that the interior of the workshop be split into 6 classroom areas excluding the mezzanine area. The six workshop areas should be timetabled individually from the college central timetabling system. Timetabling each area separately will prevent the workshop from becoming overloaded and will ensure that each class has a designated work area for the duration of their allocated slot. Splitting the laboratory from one large area into six smaller areas will ease the burden of its day to day management. One person will not be required to continually oversee the daily operation of the workshop instead they will only need to be reported to. Each individual lecturer within the department by being centrally allocated a work area will be required to take ownership for it and will therefore be accountable for all that goes on within that area. The six classroom areas should be partitioned by some form of barrier i.e. moveable boards or screens, the barriers will provide a clear indication of classroom boundaries and assist with identifying class areas of responsibility. The barriers will help prevent pupils from straying away from their work areas making it easier for lecturers to keep track of their students. The barriers should also assist in preventing students from disturbing other class lectures. Dividing classrooms within the workshop will assist in the control of school aged pupils; closer supervision is required for these class groups due to their maturity levels and inability to relate to health and safety requirements. Child protection concerns will also be easier to identify and manage. Human traffic, within the motor vehicle laboratory, would be easier to direct onto designated walkways away from the work areas and vehicles further reducing the risk of injury, class disturbance and damage to vehicles and equipment. Classroom barriers would also provide additional space for diagrams or posters and allow electronic lectures or demonstrations to be projected onto. 4.2 Classroom Work Areas Timetabling classes to work areas within the laboratory will introduce a fairer system of workspace allocation. It will ensure that lecturers and students always have a space to work in and vehicles to work on. This system will make lecturers accountable for the space in which they are working and encourage them to ensure students are completing tasks fully, that tools and equipment are always kept serviceable or reported when faults develop, it will ensure that tools and equipment are put away in there designated areas after each class and reduce equipment losses and it will also improve the general housekeeping of the workshop. Any issues arising in the workshop for a specific time period can be addressed by looking up the class and lecturer that were working in the area when the problems occurred. 4.3 Classroom Equipment It is recommended that each classroom area within the workshop is issued with a selection of regularly used tools and equipment. This will increase the time available to students for working on vehicles by reducing the time that they spend looking for this type of equipment in the workshop. It will also provide a means of conveniently being able to perform a daily stock check of equipment and will provide a mechanism for reporting on the condition of tools and equipment within each of the classes. Below is a recommended list of equipment that should be issued to each classroom area within the workshop: * A lecturers locker would enable the secure storage of student folders, lesson notes, specialist, valuable or loaned equipment, etc. * 12-16 lockers for students personal effects * 1x Workbench per vehicle bay * 1x black drip tray for oil per work bay * 2x 3 litre oil filling jugs * 1x green drip tray for coolant/water per bay * 1x vehicle jack per work bay * 4x axle stands per work bay * 1x wheel braces per work bay * 1x watering can per class * 1x wash bucket per bay * 1x dust pan and brush per bay * 2x mop and mop bucket per class * 1x Bench vice per work bay * 1x desk per classroom for diagnostic work; paperwork, laptop citing, projector etc. * 1x rubbish bin per class * 1x shelving unit to store tools and equipment * 1x fault report book 4.4 Technician work area As part of the workshops reorganisation and to assist the technicians with fault rectification and preparation work it is recommended that the motor vehicle technicians be given a vehicle bay as a designated work area; this work area should be situated in the corner of the workshop and allow for easy access into the technicians workroom. This designated bay will enable vehicles, which require work to be done, to be taken out of the class room area and worked on without disruption to students, lecturers and the technicians. This work bay should be screened off, preferably by welding screens, to prevent access by non authorised personnel, to reduce disturbances to both classes and technicians and to allow welding tasks etc. to be carried out at any time of the day. The technicians work bay should be equipped independently of the rest of the workshop with equipment such as: * 1x jack * 4x axle stands * 1x complete tool kit in roller cabinet * 1x complete set of air tools * 1x set of power tools (grinder, drill, etc) * MIG welder and associated equipment * Oxy-Acetylene welding equipment * 1x oil drip tray * 1x coolant drip tray * 1x metal bench with vice * 1x watering can * 1x rubbish bin * 1x soft brush and dust pan * 1x shelving unit to store tools and equipment 4.5 Identifying and Controlling Equipment To help identify and control tools and equipment within the six workshop areas it is recommended that each classroom is designated a colour. All equipment that is issued to and contained within each of the classroom areas should be painted the colour that has been designated to that classroom for ease of identification. All classroom equipment that is able to be shelved should be stored on a colour coded shelving unit. The shelving unit should be labelled with the equipment that is to be stored upon it and a laminated sheet attached as a guide for students as to where each item of equipment should be stored and its quantities. Colour coding will assist both staff and students with daily equipment checks, locating equipment and will improve the reporting of equipment faults or losses. Classroom equipment should only be used within its designated classroom area. Student locker keys should be stored in the main store room in a colour coded container. This will ensure that all lecturers have the ability to issue a locker to each student in their class wherever they are working in the workshop. Lecturers will collect keys from the main store at the start of the morning or afternoon period when work bays are identified and will be returned to the store complete at the end of each slot. Locker keys will be issued to students in exchange for a valid student ID card. Student ID cards will be returned to each student when lecturers are happy that all tools signed out have been returned to the main store and when the locker has been emptied and the key returned, this will accurately identify students that have not returned tools to the store or returned locker keys and will also ensure that student ID cards are brought to college. 4.6 Mezzanine Area The area below the mezzanine should be separated into designated work or storage areas to better utilise the workshop floor space. The individual work areas should be separated by a barrier or partition wall of some kind to act as a clear boundary to make work space housekeeping easier to manage and as somewhere to place posters/instructions/diagrams etc. Work areas should consist of a tyre fitting bay, a bench fitting area, a storage area for removed vehicle parts, a storage area for large shared resources and a recycling/waste area. The tyre fitting bay should contain the workshops tyre removal machine and wheel balancing equipment. Both these items should be secured to the floor to prevent them from moving or tipping whilst students work on them, the items should also be permanently wired into the workshop electrical supply to reduce the risk of electrocution from coming into contact with a 240v mains supply. This area should also be fitted with a dedicated tyre shelving unit to provide a storage solution for the tyre clutter that amasses regularly on the upper mezzanine area. Storing the tyres at ground level will eliminate the need to visit the upper mezzanine area, will allow the tyres to be better managed and reduce the risk of fire. A dedicated bench fitting area will provide students with a place to take components stripped from vehicles to be examined or worked on. It will provide lecturers with a suitable space to teach and develop students basic metal fitting skills prior to working on vehicles. The area should contain workbenches and vices for an entire class to work productively, a bench mounted grinder should be located in this area along with a floor mounted pillar drill and a floor mounted hydraulic press. The pillar drill and hydraulic press should be secured to the floor to prevent them from