Reggio Emillia Essay

‘A Reggio pre-school is a special kind of place, one in which young human beings are invited to grow in mind, in sensibility and in belonging to a broader community. ’ (Learning and teaching Scotland, 2006) For this case study I am going to look at the four themes of the Early Years Foundation Stage, also known as the EYFS. The EYFS sets the standards that all early years providers must meet to ensure that children learn, develop well, and are kept healthy and safe. It promotes teaching and learning to ensure children’s ‘school readiness’ and gives children the broad range of knowledge and skills that will provide the right foundation for good future progress, throughout school, and adult life. (Hutchin, 2012) I will be highlighting links between the EYFS’s four main themes; A Unique Child, Positive Relationships, Enabling Environments and Learning and Developing, and discussing how the Reggio Emilia Approach supports these themes. The Reggio Emilia Approach is focused on preschool and primary education, originally set up in the northern Italian town of Reggio Emilia. It has a reputation for forward thinking and excellence in its approach to early childhood education. It is an approach where the expressive arts play a central role in learning and where a unique reciprocal learning relationship exists between practitioner and child. (Tornton, 2006) According to Locke and Rousseau children are born as â€Å"blank slates† completely free of any predisposition or vulnerabilities, and that everything the child would become was due to the effects of their environment. (Moyles, 2010) Though within the Reggio Emilia approach they see children as slightly different, they believe children are empty vessels waiting eagerly to be filled with knowledge. Reggio educators believe strongly that a child has unlimited potential and is eager to interact with, and contribute to the world. (Learning and Teaching Scotland, 2006) The way the Reggio Emilia Approach views their children is much like the Early Years Foundation Stage. The EYFS states ever child is a unique child who is constantly learning and can be resilient, capable, confident and self-assured. (EYFS, 2012) Both the EYFS and the Reggio Emilia Approach see children as individuals; this is conveyed throughout the EYFS, as one of its main themes is : A Unique Child. The EYFS states practitioners should understand and observe each child’s development and learning, assess progress, and plan for the next steps. (EYFS, 2012) The Reggio Emilia approach tackles this in a very different way in relation to the UK. Children’s work is documented throughout the year on walls to display a story of the child’s learning; it is not something that is made after the child has finished working. Educators observe, document and analyse children’s learning journeys, they are able to make informed hypotheses about how to guide children in their learning. It is obvious then that documentation is far removed from photographic displays of completed project work. (Learning and Teaching Scotland, 2006) Throughout the Reggio Emilia buildings there are many long, child height mirrors. This is designed to support children to help them develop a positive sense of their own identity and culture. This is one of the practices of the Unique Child theme in the EYFS. Another way the Reggio Emilia Approach supports children finding their own identity is ‘pedagogy’ this means that art is seen as another way of communicating and expressing ideas. Children are also encouraged to raise their own questions and answers, and this re-enforces the child’s opinion that their thinking is valued. Education is based on relationships. Reggio Emilia teachers are seen as partners in learning, (Tornton, 2006) for example pupils and teachers work together aiming towards a common purpose: the building of a culture. This respects childhood as a time to explore, create and be joyful. Participation begins even before the children have started school, through a comprehensive integration programme. This involves meetings between children, parents and teachers to build an image of the child as an individual. This often involves the child doing a task such as making a ‘holiday booklet’ of photographs and favourite nursery rhymes; this can be used as stimulus for discussion between child and teacher. (Learning and Teaching Scotland, 2006) The teacher`s working with the child links to one of the four themes within the EYFS- Positive Relationships. The EYFS states you should be supportive of the child’s own efforts and independence (EYFS, DATE). By the teacher being a partner in learning, suggests that children could have the freedom to convey their thoughts and ideas more freely. To give an example: The teacher strives to support and encourage the child on the learning journey, encouraging them to reflect and to question. In this sense, the role of the teacher is not to dispense information or simply to correct. Rather, the teacher is like a tool that the children use when most needed. (Learning and Teaching Scotland, 2006) This also links to Jerome Bruner’s theory of scaffolding, this is the idea that you can give children support in their learning. Froebel also stressed the significance of building positive relationships within an educational environment; his most important gift to children was the classroom, symbolically viewed as an extension of a lovely, thriving garden. This enabled the teacher to take on the role of a loving, supportive parent. (Bruce, 2012) This shows that from a personal view he thought teachers should be like an empathetic parent. Environment plays a key role in supporting and extending a child’s development. Vygotsky believed that we learn from our environment and the people around us. (Vygotsky, 1978) His view is much like the teachings of the Reggio Emilia Approach, for example one of their fundamental principles says the environment is the third teacher, the environment is recognised for its potential to inspire children. (Tornton, 2006) Kerka (1999) suggests that an environment that nurtures learning provides the necessary resources and time for investigative play and experimentation. It is one in which children are free and motivated to make choices and to explore for answers without feeling intimidated. (Cited, Danko-Mcghee, 2009) Within the Reggio Emilia settings children have lessons outside in the community, making great use of the Piazza’s, which are squares within the town, where children can learn alongside the community, as well as making the most out of the outdoors. This also has an impact on positive relationships between both the community and the children, which links to the enabling environment within the EYFS. Reggio Emilia buildings and spaces link to what the EYFS suggests practices should offer, stimulating recourses, relevant to all the children’s cultures and communities. Reggio Emilia settings, buildings and spaces reflect their relationships and view of the child. There are lots of long windows, this is so that the children can interact with the outside community, and also it reflects the idea that education is not just what you learn in the classroom. It is seen as less restricting to have long windows, and lets a lot of light into the setting creating a more natural airy environment. Within the setting there are a lot of natural materials used, from the children’s toys and equipment to the building and furniture inside. This is much like Steiner’s view, in his schools all toys are made from natural materials, this is because simple toys stimulate and encourage imagination, as children can interoperate natural materials to be anything they want. Throughout this assessment I have been linking the key themes of the EYFS and relating them to the Reggio Emilia Approach, I am now going to discus whether or not the approach can be taken from Italy and brought to the UK. As I have mentioned above a big aspect of the Reggio Emilia approach is the environment, I believe this may be a problem as many of our English calendar months can be wet, cold, and miserable. Children spend the majority of time indoors during the winter months, even sometimes on dry days – largely due to protests from parents that the damp weather is bad for the children. Though in Italy they do not have this problem, if it is wet or cold they just see this as an opportunity for children to wrap up warmer. I do believe it is counter-productive to wrap children up in cotton wall, I think that sometimes it is good for children to be taken out of their comfort zones. This will benefit a child’s emotional development by trying and exploring new things and gaining self-confidence. Maybe we need to look at our cultures upbringing of our children and let children explore the different seasons. Even though the outdoors isn’t a major part of the Reggio Emilia is it still highly valued, as they like to encourage a lot of natural materials and bring the outdoors in, whilst exploring the different environments. Also we lack in open out door spaces within the community for example in Italy they have plazas Bringing this approach to the UK may cause some trouble for children who do not have a secure home setting; this is because going to school creates a secure environment. Whereas, with the Reggio Emilia approach, children may find their education too unstructured. Instead of choosing their learning methods, they might prefer a setting with secure guidelines and learning outcomes. Furthermore I think the transition from the Reggio Emilia Approach to mainstream higher education may be difficult as the children, as they are so used to the freedom and the scaffolding of the teachers, that they might not be able to settle into the strict curriculum. I believe this quote sums up my opinion perfectly, ‘It is a mistake to take any approach and assume like a flower you can take it from one soil and put it in another one. That never works. We have to figure out what aspects of that are most important to us and what kind of soil we need to make those aspects’ (Gardner, 1993)

buy custom Irish History essay

buy custom Irish History essay This essay will be organized into three main parts: Introduction, body and the conclusion. The Introduction is a brief cross sectional look into the history of Britishs invasion of Ireland. It is in the main body that the essay captures the works of Theobald in relation to Ireland republicanism, his life and his works in politics. In the conclusion, the relevance of relevance of Wolfe Tone will be clearly illustrated. Introduction The Great hunger of Ireland was the turning point of Irish history. It was caused by the continual failure of the potato which was the staple food and the crop on which the entire population relied upon which was risky at the time. It is estimated that at least one million people died of starvation and disease in the late 1840s and another one million from the famine that followed. This hardened the resentment that already existed against the British, The death of so many of their own made the nationalist party gains a lot of sympathy from the Irish immigrants who had immigrated to America. The anger from the death of so many people under British rule be can be said to be the birth of nationalism. It was shown by secret societies groups of farmers and workers who secretly gathered to implement their ideas on justice against land owners who were settlers. These groups had existed before but they were now more aggressive now since it was now clear that the British government was only i nterested in its own interests and not those of the Irish people. The domination of Ireland by England started in the twelfth century through King Henry II securing Lordship over some part of the country and later designating the Lordship to his son. Only part of the country was under the British that is the Dublin and its environs however this changed with the onset of the Tudor monarchs, namely King Henry VII and Elizabeth l who took control over the entire country. The British governed the legal, administrative, civil service and the military, which reduced the Irish to subjects in their own country. The Tudor monarch plantation policy led to dispossession of land from the Irish, to the investors who had supported the invasion, and they also made attempts to Anglicanise the locals which was composed largely of a Catholic society . As a result, parliament became biased due to the low number of Catholic members despite having a predominantly Catholic population and was mainly composed of nominees by the settlers. This sparked the activities of var ious nationalist who sought after the reestablishment of an Irish parliament and some self autonomy through peaceful means. With the threat of invasion of Ireland by France the British, not knowing they will be cooking themselves in their own fat so to speak, asked for volunteers to defend against the French, thousands joined and formed the Irish Volunteers who then used their newly acquired position to force the hand of the British crown into granting them permission to vote. The Irish patriot party under the leadership of Henry Grattan was in the forefront to push for greater enfranchisement for the people which saw some laws passed in which Catholics were allowed to vote. However others such as Theobald Wolfe did not see this feat as one that could be achieved through peaceful means but through the use of physical force. The political turmoil in Ireland that would mark the 19th century actually began in the 1790s, when a revolutionary organization, the United Irishmen, began to take shape. Leaders of the organization, most notably Theobald Wolfe Tone, met with Napoleon Bonaparte who was well known for his military tactics against his enemies in revolutionary France, seeking help in overthrowing British rule in Ireland. This did not go unpunished as the British took action against the rebels and anybody thought to be affiliated to then several Irishmen were captured tortured and killed, including Wolf who was captured and while in captivity gave an articulate speech on the need to continue with his work he was sentenced to hang although he requested to be shot and die like a soldier, his petition was denied and was sentenced to hang. He later died of wounds after an attempted suicide to avoid being branded a traitor for his involvement in the 1798 Irish rebellion. This made him a martyr and hero in th e eyes of the Irish people. The Works of Theobald Wolfe Tone Since the end of the 15th century, Ireland was chiefly governed by the Anglican protestant though the group was a minority which constituted members of the established church loyal to the British crown. The discrimination faced by the majority Irish Catholics and the non Anglican Protestants as well as the success of the American Revolution inspired the liberal elements among the ruling class to achieve some reforms that would make Ireland autonomous. Some of the grievances were the that the Irish Catholics as well as the non Anglican protestants were barred from voting as they did not possess a property threshold which was as a result of dispossession of land during the invasion by British in earlier centuries when the Tudor monarchs were in power. In addition to that, the fact that Ireland was sovereign kingdom governed by the monarch and a parliament on the island was a mere mirage. In reality, the English had veto power over the Irish law through the Poyings law of 1491 and the B ritish was given the right to legislate for the kingdom by the Declaratory act of 1720, these acts acting together reduced Ireland to nothing but a colony with even less autonomy than Britishs North American colonies. The Irish were forced from their lands and acted as a source of labour for the up and coming industries. England still had mercantilist practices and despite all, they still regulated the ability of Ireland to turn into a competitive commerce industry. This made the members of the Ulstrs nascent bourgeoisie to immigrate to America. With the success they saw of the American Revolution this helped them to fuel their own anti colonial revolution. This birthed the beginning of capitalism and subsequently two classes: the bourgeoisie and the proletariat. The advance of capitalism changed the temperament of Irish resistance of British rule giving rise to Irish republicanism. The ground breaking organization of Irish republicanism was the Irishmen Society led by an Ulster protestant Theobald Wolfe Tone who was from the capitalist class and had ties with the Ulster proletariat as well as the Irish peasants these went a long way in gaining support from both sides as the British were heavily r elying on the differences that existed between the Catholics and the a protestants of Ireland. Theobald therefore acted as the needed missing link to start an insurrection Theobald was born in Dublin 20th of June 1963. He studied law at Trinity College and qualified as a barrister at the age of 26. He came into the limelight in 1790 when he wrote a pamphlet attacking the Marquees of Buckingham followed by an essay titled the A Northern Whig in which differed with the elements constitution that Henry Grant had shaken down from the British, Grants constitution did not address the continued differences among Catholics and the Protestants . He wanted the union of all religions in Ireland and total emancipation from the British, a country cannot be granted independence when it is still ravaged by sectarian divisions. In his bid to put his ideas into practice Theobald in conjunction with others such as Thomas Russell and Nappy Tandy formed the Society of United Irish Men. It is impossible to talk of this society without mentioning the French revolution. This society came into being in the backdrop of the French revolution, whose effects were being felt all o ver Europe in the 1700s, and whose views challenged the traditional way of thinking by using scientific rationale it was championed by Rousseau. It saw everyone as being equal. The United Irishmen fashioned relations with the Jacobean regime and sought for help from the directory government of France where they borrowed ideas from the French who had dissociated themselves with the followers of Babeuf which at the time was opposing the French directory government, this gave them perspective on how to deal with the British government which was determined to continue its hold on Ireland. The recollections of the events of the crush of the Gaellic civilization; which was the way of life of the Irish people before the invasion of the British, by the British, the confiscation of land and the exile of native rulers remained to the Irish descendants of the eighteenth century. The descendants of the Irish Catholics suffered under the penal laws which were meant to maintain powers in the hands of the settlers, by excluding the Catholics from seats of power such as parliament. Despite owning large tracts of land many of the settlers lived in England and only visited Ireland, mean while the Irish Catholics lived as peasants in abject poverty. The Protestants also faced grievances though not as severe as those faced by the Irish Catholics. They (Protestants) suffered legal from legal handicaps and showed antipathy towards the fact that the British used Ireland as a colony to further its interests and the Irish wanted to be an independent country with its own government. The Irish Volunteers attempted to address these injustices but failed due to sectarian divisions. Naturally, the British thrived on this and saw it as an opportunity to continue with its rule using the divide and rule policy that was very common in British colonies, as now the British regarded it as a colony. They incited the Protestants by telling them that they would lose their lands and suffer religious persecution if the Catholics were to gain equal rights, this caused sectarian violence between the Catholics and the Protestants. This is where the Society of United Irishmen came in order to try and unite the different sects to from a sovereign but unified Ireland that was divided along sectarian lines. Many young nationalist attributed all the strife facing Ireland to British occupation. The Society of United Irish men was the brainchild of Theobald and to be able to adequately see the relevance of his work on Ireland, one has to look at it achievements and failures in depth as is common with any organization, union or political party that plays a major role in the attainment on independence of any country but in this case the development and growth of nationalism and republicanism in Ireland today. The United Irish men wanted to abolish the penal laws and the system of government that allowed for the landed English aristocrats to have their own appointees to the Irish parliament, they wanted to see reduced interference in Irish affairs by the English parliament as well as changes in the ownership of land to bridge the gap that was so clearly evident in the ownership of land. This societys vision would culminate to a country as that outlined in Tom Paines book The Right of man. Obviously these activities would not go down well with the British as the democracy of Ireland could spread over to Britain and an Irish only Parliament would reduce British interest in Ireland therefore after only three years of existence they outlawed the group and the Society of United Irish Men. This did not dampen the efforts of Theobald. The first attempt by Wolfe tone was in 1776 when he went to France to seek help to overthrow the British as it had become evident that constitutional efforts and diplomacy were not going to succeed in his efforts to liberate Ireland. However, this attempt was thwarted by bad weather where the French troops only got as far as the shore with no real physical confrontation taking place. Secret societties continued to emerge throughout Ireland made up of both Protestants and the Catholics. Wolfe and his group distributed pamphlets as well as copieis rights of man as a way of informing the people. These efforts went a long way as peasants now started to push for the freeing of Catholics, abolition of tithes and the redistribution of land as well as lower rents and an end to evictions these was the very outcome that the British did not want to happen because in Ireland Sectarian rows had always led to the downfall of the up risings. With a Unifi ed Ireland, British rule was threatened. The British realized this and retaliated with brutal force and the country was placed in the hands of the military. Troops were brought in from England and a crusade of terror was launched: towns were raided, men were whipped and tortured, men were half hanged this was done so that they could censure anyone involved in the societies activities, in short they tried to instill fear so as to reduce the involvement in the activities of the Irish society. Despite all this the Society remained strong especially in areas of Leignster and Connaught and culminated in a rebellion in 1798. It resulted in the following: the in 1801 the Act of Union was forced upon Ireland which crushed the efforts of the rebellion and religious sectarianism was established. The United Irishmen did not swayed but continued to flourish and brought together native Ulster settlers in a national rebellion, the colonialists tried to crush it again by claiming religious narrow-mindedness. The Orange order was founded to as a response to the United Irishmen and to date has continued to propagate sectarian violence by calling for holy wars against the Catholics as well as to encourage the domination of Ireland by England at the time it also provided the English Government with the necessary information on the activities of its enemies. Theobald was unshaken by the Orange boys and he only viewed them as a puppet of the British and believed that with proper organization of government their propaganda would easily be ended. In any case, this was not to be as ever since the orange boys have managed to shatter all hopes to end sectarian rows this was important to the British as continued sectarian divisions and the continued oppression of the Irish Catholics would ensure their continued rule. The bashing of Catholics led to Catholicism being the face of Irish nationalism which went ahead to bear fruit that saw the repeal of the penal code, it turned Catholicism into a force to be reckoned with in the Irish society. Conclusion The efforts of Theobald tend to orient towards Republican ideologies. Republicanism form of government may ideally mean a government in which power rests with the people as opposed to the monarch but it goes beyond this to mean a way of life in which people have an interdependence whose success or failure depends on the social framework they inhabit. It is not a perfect way of life. Therefore the questions posed to republicans in general are how to attain this freedom? And what constitutes this freedom that is how to define it? However, all republicans agree that this freedom is fragile and must be jealously guarded by those that the people themselves elect into power. For this freedom to be achieved it requires political equality through active citizenship and self governing citizens who have some control over the direction of their lives rather than complete self sufficiency. With this in mind the relevance of Theobald Wolfe Tone is obvious. By asking the French for assistance he s aw the French not as an enemy which was in contrast to how the Britain viewed the French. He viewed as an ally from whom he could not only borrow ideas but a military which was renown throughout Europe. At the time the French would help the people of Ireland become free of English rule. Though his efforts did not succeed he had made attempts that continued to instill a sense of nationalism in the people which was important for any country that hoped to be free from the reigns of colonialism. Theobald, wanted to see a society without preference and an end to ascendancy as well as the end of the connection between the church and the state, there was need for a society where those who came to power were competent persons who could run a country. Through the Society of Irishmen he campaigned for protection of personal property for all citizens and condemned anybody who would support continued British rule. It was important that Irish people saw the need for independence as opposed to forcing the idea of sovereignty down their throats. He recommended that it is the people who should suggest those they want to see in the legislature, people who would represent their needs not those who used the seats in power to further their own interests as was the case with the settler appointed nominees where corruption was rampant. These very persons should be elected in the basis of courage zeal and ability as opposed to wealth, accordingly, the people should organize themselves in order to form a Government to administer the affairs of Ireland and seek to further the interests of the state. This was not going to be achieved when Ireland was still under the rule of the British Monarch. It was the efforts of the united Irishmen that brought to the forefront the grievances of the Irish people. Theobald Wolfe Tone can therefore be credited with being the father of Irish Republicanism. His effort enabled the ordinary people of Ireland to realize they had rights and Ireland should be a democratic, egalitarian society devoid of interference from the British and sectarian divisions. The work of the United Irish men did not continue long after the death of Thobald, and after the Act of union of 1802 where the Irish parliament was abolished and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was formed. Buy custom Irish History essay

The evacuation of dunkirk Essays

The evacuation of dunkirk Essays The evacuation of dunkirk Essay The evacuation of dunkirk Essay but I have a believe it was written by an Italian as it is an Italian cartoon. It was published just after the evacuation and therefor it is a primary source. This a form of Italian propergander because it is trying to influence the Italians that they are joining the war on the stronger side. It is reliable from the Italian point of view but biased from the British point of view. Source 4 This source again tells us that the British were defeated in the military war, but it has a swing on it as it tells us the it was a victory for the British in the form of propergander in the newspapers. This source is a secondary source because it was written in 2000 on the 60th anniversary of Dunkirk by a BBC media correspondent for the BBC show on Dunkirk. I feel that this source is very reliable because it was written by the BBC who are always very factual. They are showing how the British newspaper could influence the British people. Source 5 this source is a picture of the beach that the British troops were evacuated from. It shows us the all the British military belongings that were left on the beach. I do not feel that this source is reliable because this could of been a section of the beach where the photographer made look worse than it actually was but it is reliable in some ways because it is a photograph that I feel has not been edited. The source is a primary source because it was taken in the early days of June 1940. But I feel the picture has some value to it because it was never published in Britain. Conclusion. Although the idea of this being a disaster is backed up well with the sources with more than one view and the fact that I feel the sources that are backing up the theory of a miracle all point at the one conclusion of Most men were evacuated I still feel it as a miracle for good reason. The evacuation proved that the unity of the British people could not be broken and the moral could not be lowered by any nation. I feel that the fact that Britain managed to evacuate all those people is a miracle in its self, although I do feel there was a bit of luck in the fact that Hitler chose bot to attack, even when the British were like sitting ducks. There were some elements of the evacuation that were a disaster which were the fact that they lost men, and artillery and the faith that other countries put in them to stop the torrid forces of Hitler and Germany. But Britain had time to rebuild there army and artilleries after the evacuation to overcome this defeat to win the war. I think that although they were defeated it could have been much worse. They could have lost many more men, ships, tanks and other artilleries. So my conclusion is that it was a miracle that they rebuilt themselves after this defeat, it was a miracle they got all there men out of there alive, but it was the biggest disaster in the history of British war in the fact that they were crushed and sent straight back from the powers of the German forces.

Jokes About Engineers and Engineering

Jokes About Engineers and Engineering Browse this collection of engineering jokes, engineering riddles, and other engineer humor. Definition of an Engineer What is the definition of an engineer? Answer: Someone who solves a problem you didnt know you had, in a way you dont understand. Scientist Versus Engineer A scientist can discover a new star, but he cannot make one. He would have to ask an engineer to do that.- Gordon L. Glegg, British Engineer, 1969. Engineers and Glasses The optimist sees the glass as half full. The pessimist sees the glass as half empty. The engineer sees the glass as twice as big as it needs to be. Engineers: Wife or Mistress? An architect, artist, and engineer were discussing whether it was better to spend time with their wives or mistresses. The architect said, I like spending time with my wife building a firm foundation of a marriage. The artist said, I enjoy the time I spend with my mistress because of all the passion and energy. The engineer said I enjoy both. If you have a wife and a mistress, both women think you are with the other so you can go to work get more done. Engineering Joke A girl asked her boyfriend, an engineer, Dont you want to see where I was operated upon for appendicitis?The engineer replied, Oh, I hate to see a hospital. It Takes One to Know One Engineer and Mathematician (males) were given the opportunity to compete for a very attractive woman. But there was one condition: You can only run half the remaining distance between you and the lady. Eng. sprinted forward while Math. didnt. Why arent you running? Asked members of the Committee. Because, by definition, I will never be allowed to reach my target. And you Eng. why are you running? Dont you know the same? Yes, said Eng. my learned friend is correct. But I will get close enough for all practical purposes. Engineer Priorities An engineering major sees classmate riding up on a new bike and asks when he got it. I was walking back from the computer lab when the most beautiful woman I had ever seen rode up on this bike, stopped, took all her clothes off and said to me Take what you want! Good choice, the friend replies. The clothes probably wouldnt have fit you. EE Humor I keep trying to find a phone number in Atlanta, but all the websites keep returning Not Found errors. (Explanation: The area code for Atlanta is 404 as in HTTP 404, the error code for File Not Found) Engineering Degree Joke A graduate with a Science degree asks, Why does it work? A graduate with an Engineering degree asks, How does it work? A graduate with an Accounting degree asks, How much will it cost? A graduate with a Liberal Arts degree asks, Would you like an apple pie with that? Mechanical Engineers, Civil Engineers and Chemical Engineers What is the difference between Mechanical Engineers and Civil Engineers? Mechanical Engineers build weapons; Civil Engineers build targets. Chemical Engineers are engineers that build targets that explode really well.

Main Stream Rap causes social problems in minority communities Essay - 1

Main Stream Rap causes social problems in minority communities - Essay Example Have the lessons of the historical struggles of the African Americans to tide over slavery and gain civil rights gone in vain as the current trends in hip-hop are out to promote drugs, sex, violence, disrespect to authority and crimes? The overall opinion is against the mainstream rap and it is making the African American youth directionless and destination-less, and instead of mitigating, it adds to their woes. I have tried to argue in this paper that in the initial stages, the protest of the African Americans was vocal that in due course evolved into a political struggle. Simultaneously they also protested through literature and religious platforms. The whites continued to dominate the African American community and were not willing to give any concession to them, until slavery was legally abolished. The problems of the African Americans did not end there. Issues like poverty, lack of education, integration with the mainstream society, fight against segregation, employment opportunities continued to confront them. In this paper I have made an attempt to make a passing reference to all such issues. Measures needed for reformation and rehabilitation of the African American youth have also been discussed. Another i mportant problem confronting the African American society is the issue of single mother households. Even with the legal abolition of slavery, racism still casts its evil influences overtly and covertly and creates hurdles in the path of progress for the African American youth. Undoubtedly, mainstream rap is the enemy of the youth viewed from many angles. It promotes unhealthy social values, though music itself cannot be singled out for spreading bad values. It holds the mirror of present societal values and presents what is going on in the American scene. Objectification, lewd music, immodest lyrics have become the characteristics of mainstream rap. It also encourages violence. Through

Evaluate Porter's concept of the 'Diamond' as a tool for analysing the Essay

Evaluate Porter's concept of the 'Diamond' as a tool for analysing the competitive advantage of nations, assessing its theoretic - Essay Example Moreover, America succeeded in getting the UN permission in attacking Iraq and Afghanistan as part of war on terror strategies. America was able to convince United Nations on all these issues because of their superior competitive power. Globalization has intensified the competition between nations and organizations because of the huge opportunities available in the international market at present. Competitive power of a nation or organization depends on many parameters. Former Harvard university professor Michael Porter and his associates have identified four different parameters for achieving competitive power which is known as Porter’s diamond model for national competitive advantage. â€Å"Porter's diamond model suggests that there are inherent reasons why some nations, and industries within nations, are more competitive than others on a global scale† (What is Michael Porter's Diamond Model?, 2010). Porter identified; Firm strategy, structure and rivalry, supporting industries, demand and factor conditions as the four major parameters which can affect the competitive power of a nation or a firm (Diamond model-Michael Porter, 2011). He was able to put all these parameters in a diamond shape as illustrated in the diagram given below. This paper analyses various features of diamond model and its role in achieving competitive power. Porter’s Diamond model for national competitive advantage (Martin & Porter, 2000) Strategy, Structure and Rivalry Strategies can make or break a nation. Poor strategies will never help a nation in increasing their competitive power whereas better strategies always helpful increasing the growth or competitive power of a nation. For example, when globalization initially entered the global arena, China distanced themselves from it because of their concerns about some hidden agenda at the back drop of globalization by capitalist countries. China and America were engaged in fierce rivalry before the introduction of gl obalization because of the different political ideologies prevailing in these countries. Most of the American and Chinese strategies before globalization were aimed at destabilization or destruction of their opponent. However, globalization forced them to change their strategies and currently America is one of the largest trading partners of China. Both China and America succeeded in increasing their competitive power in global market because of the changes they implemented in their strategies even though the political system and rivalry remains the same. India is another country which succeeded in achieving better competing power as a result of changes in strategies. In 1990’s India made lot of reformations in the economic circle in order to attract more foreign direct investment. They have made some changes in their foreign polices also in order to gain more competitive power in the global market. Earlier, India was more polarised towards former Soviet Union in strategic an d military cooperation. But India changed their strategies immediately after the destruction of Soviet Union and they established closer ties with Untied States in order to gain more competitive power. India has realized that the political structure in India and America are almost the same and it is easy for them to establish smooth business relationships with America. Thus America became a prominent trade partner for India at present.

Bill Clinton and Globalization Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Bill Clinton and Globalization - Research Paper Example Clinton’s main focus was on handling the instability across the world through globalization. The other factors among the list of priorities were innovation and technology, decision making and finance. Integration of the world economy has been one of the prime concerns of Clinton. But the concept of transformation of the globalization into a unified and homogenous structure driven by free trade and capitalism was confronted with serious opposition also. It was said that the entire world has not been able to benefit from globalization and bringing the civil society in the scene was the only way of dealing with the problems. The project tries to bring forth the steps taken by Clinton in initiating outsourcing as a major step towards globalization (Weier-a, 2008). Bill Clinton chaired the â€Å"Global Fairness Initiative (GFI)† (Global Fairness Initiative, 2003, p.1) which was an organization created to introduce and enhance free trade which would simultaneously preserve th e labor, environmental and human rights standards in the world. The promise made by Clinton was to implement responsible investment and trade which would create economic opportunities and jobs across the world and would lead to the improvement of millions of lives while protecting the human rights, environmental and labor standards (Global Fairness Initiative, 2003, p.1). The promotion of outsourcing was one of the major steps towards globalization by Clinton. Outsourcing was considered to be inherent to free trade. Outsourcing was considered to be a new variant and a budget balancing tool which required farming out whenever possible. Clinton recognized that outsourcing would allow firms to provide service at a low cost at a higher quality that which the Government would produce. In the recent years outsourcing has evolved as a positive business evolution which moved towards flexibility and nimbleness Bill Clinton and Globalization It was Bill Clinton’s assumption that global ization was something inevitable. He encouraged the concept of free trade which was a major step towards globalization. He believed that low process would lead to low prices, increased exports and this would eventually build a stronger economy. â€Å"The economic benefits of the tariff reductions we negotiated during the Clinton administration represent the largest tax cut in the history of the world† (Klein, 2003). In 1998, the economic transition which he had predicted long back was actually taking place. The economy was appearing and functioning in such a way that seemed to be beyond imagination few years back. Unemployment rates were falling significantly and the inflation rates seemed to remain at historically low rates. Prosperity was appearing and increasing at all levels of income. The average household income increased by an amount of 35% during the span of eight years that Clinton has remained in office. Technology had changed the conventional notions of time, space and borders. Globalization was able to change the traditional and regular routines of the middle class family. This was a significant transformation according to Clinton (Klein, 2003). He said the globalization would yield a global economy which would have profound effects on workers, their works and their wages. It would