Thursday, October 31, 2019

Elements of US Culture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Elements of US Culture - Essay Example Elements of US Culture In other words, for free expression of ideas, there is need of a proper social order. In addition, it can be said that allowing free expression of ideas helps reduce violence to a great extent. When people are allowed to opine publicly, they are less likely to resort to violence or armed agitation which, often, are the ways of the suppressed. Thus, the American society, from the very beginning, believes in liberalism including freedom of speech, freedom of press, equality under law, equality in all governmental provisions including education and health care. Though this freedom of thinking and expression resulted in better individual performance, and thus better overall growth, there are certain areas that witnessed a trend that is in sharp contrast to expectations and thus, having a negative impact on society. The first one among them is the family structure. Looking into the way American families have changed over these years, one can see a rather grim picture of situations. The tr aditional concept of family included a breadwinning father as the head of the family, a caretaking mother and a few children. mother and a few children. The family, in the traditional context, involved a number of basic relationships including biological, emotional, social, and economic relations. People used to turn to their families whenever they wanted physical, economic or emotional support. Thus, families acted as the basic institutions that passed culture and traditions to the future generations. However, the social changes in the twentieth century resulted in a lot of changes in the way families operate. Some such changes are active participation of females in the paid labor, medical advances resulted in effective birth control, and increasing divorce rates due to the general fall in morale. Though almost three quarters of American citizens still live in family setup, the nature of the family is totally different from that of a traditional one. Recent studies reveal that only less than one-tenth of families fit the traditional definition of family In addition, more than half of the families have no minor children; and yet another serious concern is that only twenty percent of total births are out of wedlock (Fraser 1989). Traditionally, women were raised to become dependent housewives and they did not work outside home. They were caretaking wives and the economic safety of the family was the total responsibility of the breadwinning husband. In sharp contrast, in the present generation, most females in the child-bearing age are employed. Yet another surprising trend visible is the decline visible in the employment rate of men. In addition, there are more grandparents than grandchildren for the first time in the history of America. The trend is pointing towards a social situation that is totally contradictory to the traditional concepts. Despite these shortcomings, America is looking forward to a bright future through technology and education. The present situation of education in America is rather grim. It is a tough task for the American youth to join a school or college as they have to go through the tiring task of proving why they are joining the school through essays, tests and recommendations. Furthermore, it is possible for Americans to judge the ethnicity and economic status of a student

Tuesday, October 29, 2019

Sonoco HR Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Sonoco HR - Essay Example The industry’s shift towards a more involved supplier that offers end to end packaging solutions made it hard for SONOCO to compete directly with its competitors until serious change are implemented in the company. In response SONOCOs leadership implemented strategies designed to control cost that is juxtaposed to its new business model of generating top line growth. The strategy involves retooling its consumer packaging divisions to meet the large demands of clients that is sensitive to consumer taste or preferences. The new business model practically granted more autonomy to the General Managers of each division in terms of managing his or her own talent pool despite the new business model’s demand for more cross functional cooperation to respond to the dynamic customer needs. SONOCOs corporate culture is family-oriented, paternalistic, collaborative, and team oriented. Due to its long profitable history the company in its entirety tolerates underperformance so long a s the company can afford it. But the employees are also extremely loyal to the company with majority of them enjoying tenures of more than 20 years. The company’s employees pride themselves of being able to set the phase in the packaging industry. The Issues Cindy Hartley was hired to assist SONOCO to support the strategies of DeLoach the company’s CEO that is aimed at: (1) increasing GMs accountability for talent management; (2) distribute HR talent and support more evenly across the company’s divisions and make HR systems and process consistent; and (3) to optimize HR’s ability to provide customize strategic support to the GMs businesses. These priority areas are designed to align the organization with the dynamic demands of the packaging industry. After conducting a comprehensive assessment of SONOCO’s HR needs, Hartley identified three priorities that she needs to resolve at once to respond to the challenge posed by DeLoach. First, the mechanic al and arbitrary compensation and performance-management systems needed to be linked and made consistent and more accurately reflective of employee contributions to company performance. Second, the company needed to create an employee-development process to refine employees’ skill and to identify and develop deficient skills. Third, develop succession planning to identify and prepare the next generation of leaders was urgent. It would be prudent to ensure that whatever changes and initiatives that will be implemented by the organization it will also change the corporate culture and psyche of SONOCO to sustain its continuous implementation (Devero, 2007). The onus should be geared towards continuous improvement through iterative compliance to dynamic policies and procedure of a learning organization (Senge, 2006). The transformation should also be complete that it will positively influence or impact the correct core values of the organization (Whiteley & Whiteley, 2006). Analy sis of the issues SONOCOs steady growth through acquisition of other companies over the years has contributed to the redundancy of several departments across divisions when the acquired companies were eventually consolidated to their respective divisions (DePamphilis, 2009). One of these departments is the HR department. Operational imperatives or requirements that call for expedient filling of positions to meet orders from customers also contributed to

Sunday, October 27, 2019

Starbucks Expansion to China

Starbucks Expansion to China Our group would like to present Starbucks story in China. Starbucks is one of the largest coffee chains in the World, ranked 631 in Global 2000 list of Forbes. The company has a unique style and atmosphere in their coffee houses. We chose China because it is the worlds most populous country with over 1.3 billion people live there and second-largest country by land area. After 1978, the countrys economy were underwent dramatic changes which involved such relief as permission for entrepreneurs to start up their own business and opening the country for foreign investment. It is obviously that Starbucks managers decided to take advantage of such opportunity to expand their business into new region. To evaluate Chinese market the company used several steps of analyses. The initial screening process helped the company answer the question: who might be interested in buying coffee in China? To introduce the Starbucks brand the company begun to distribute coffee for free to guests in several Beijings hotels in 1994. This initiative indicated that there was a strong demand for their products, particularly among foreigners in China. Local people, who strived to imitate the Western lifestyle, also showed interest for coffee drinking. In addition young generation were enchantment by brands and products from the West. These factors led Starbucks managers to learn and understand more about business climate in that Asia country. Next step for Starbucks was to determine financial and economic conditions of China. Companys managers were aware that Chinese Gross Domestic Product (GDP) continuously grew approximately 9 % on an average and a GDP per capita was US$3.800. All these factors led to rising income of middle class. That was undoubted advantage for entering Chinese market for Starbucks. At the third level of screening Starbucks faced with political restrictions. China is highly bureaucratic country with difficult processes of getting permissions and sanctions to start and run business. In order to avoid these challenges the company built and maintain firm relationship with Chinese local partners as well as government officials. In addition, Starbucks Soong Ching-Ling Foundation received $5 million donation from Starbucks to support education in countrys poorest regions. The fourth level of screening involved socio-cultural forces. It showed the biggest challenges for Starbucks, because of the old tradition of tea drinking in China. At the beginning managers didnt know how to accustomed Chinese to drink and appreciate coffee. To acquaint employees and Chinese executives with coffee drinking experience Starbucks provided different training programs for them in which they learned more about coffee and Starbucks culture. The same way the company taught customers about different flavors and types of coffee. Another aspect was Chinese shopping behaviour which was different from the US market. People in China spent main slice of their monthly budget on foods. This also led to success for the company. The fifth level of China screening was focused on competitive forces. As we mentioned before China is a tea country and the share of coffee was low. Little or no competition for Starbucks was considered as an advantage. Chinese people were familiar only with one international brand which was Nestlà ©s Nescafe. However, Nescafe is not a coffee house like Starbucks. As regards local competitions, it was a well-known Chinese brand Li Shen and Japanese brand Zhen Gou Coffee. Having taken into account all the factors of international market assessment which was done by Starbucks we think that it was right decision to enter that market. Despite of all the risks of Chinese economy and vacillating attitudes toward The West culture, there is no doubt that consumption of coffee in China will continue to grow. As a result Starbucks will benefit from it. Question # 2 Although Starbucks encountered several challenges in the process of entering into Chinese market. Starbucks had successfully expanded its business in over 20 large or medium sized cities of China, and opened about 560 storefronts in these cities by 2012. The astonishing achievement owes to its careful marketing assessment and various marketing strategies in different periods. These strategies mainly refer to 2 different modes of entering foreign markets: licensed agreement and joint venture. Licensed agreement In 1998, Starbucks adopted the mode of licensing agreement to license its Chinese partner (Beijing Mei Da), a wholesale distribution company to supply coffee beans to some selected hotels and restaurants. Starbucks realized that local partners can have the best understanding of local cultures customers and some related laws. and they have already established good relationship with local government, so it was easy to obtain the permissions and sanctions required to start and operate business in a bureaucratic country like China. Moreover, Starbucks could also maintain a high standard on the control of production, and achieve a ideal revenue in Chinese market. So licensed agreement was a optimal option for Starbucks to enter into a booming Chinas market in the mid-1990s. Joint venture A joint venture is a business agreement in which parties agree to develop, for a finite time, a new entity and new asset by contributing equity. Starbucks formed a joint venture with different partners at different times when it entered into Chinese market. Starbucks achieved considerable knowledge about the Chinese market conditions and then began to open Starbucks stores in China. The company adopted a strategy of having three different partners to enter different regions in Chinese market. In September 1998, Starbucks entered China under a licensing agreement with Beijing Mei Da Coffee Co.Ltd, which was as their first partner. In 1999, Starbucks formed a joint venture with the Taiwan based Uni-President Group and opened stores in Shanghai. In 2000, Starbucks entered into a joint venture with Mei-Xin International Ltd, it also called Coffee Concepts Ltd. It managed the operations in the region of Hong Kong, Shenzhen, Macau, Guangzhou, and other parts of southern China. Based on our market assessment, there are some advantages for Starbucks with joint venture to enter Chinese market. First of all, Starbucks choose a good local partner to form a joint venture which can help it better understand the local laws and negotiate better with the authorities. It is beneficial for Starbucks to obtain required permissions and sanctions so that it can be opened easily. Secondly, local partners know Chinese market condition better than Starbucks; therefore, it is effective and efficient method for Starbucks to adopt a few localization strategies to satisfy different regions of customers. Last but not least, joint venture is a good way for Starbucks to reduce operation expenditure, and it also helps to reduce risks in Chinese market. Question # 3 In many ways Starbucks has changed their business strategies while operating in China. We could simply identify those changes from the case study, library sources and other sources.We have described those changes in the following paragraphs. We want our customers to recognize that were not coming to China just to make money, we are coming to China to build an enduring company that they can trust and they can view as one of their own. (Howard Schultz) Starbucks modified their menu and tried to localize its brand name by selling some food items according to the choice of the Chinese people and selling different kind of tea. They also changed their marketing and pricing strategies based on needs for the Chinese market. Our entry into Beijing is about serving people, building global relationships, and celebrating local cultures over a great cup of coffee. That is the heart and soul of the Starbucks Experience. We are excited to be working with our partners, Beijing Mei DA Coffee Co. Ltd., who shares our values and business philosophy. said Howard Behar of SCI When Starbucks started in China, one of the biggest challenges it faced was to make the consumers accustomed to drink and appreciating coffee. Arrocding to analysts, compared to other countries in which Starbucks operated this task was more difficult in China because of the age old tradition of tea drinking in the country, where coffee was seen as nothing less than a kind of Western invasion. Starbucks, like any other multinational company, had to go through the dilemma of choosing whether to follow Chinese traditional tea or take a big risk of following Starbucks culture of promoting premium coffee. The company chose to opt for its own culture and sell the idea of the Coffee drinking experience. Starbucks started by projecting the stores as a place for social gathering. The stores were also larger in area than the ones in the US, as the idea was to make the customers feel at home, relax and spend more time there. Similarly the company took initiatives to teach the customers about the different types of coffees and how to distinguish between flavors. The customers were given some samples to smell as well as sip and then describe their experience. At times if the customers did not enjoy the sample, the store employees asked them to come back again later for another tasting session or they offered them some other drink that they enjoyed. They also spoke to the customers about the positive effects drinking coffee. For example, they spoke about how drinking coffee helped to change their mood and how it was good to have coffee in the morning. On the other hand as Chinese people were accustomed with tea drinking, Starbucks other business strategy was to promote the benefit of coffee drinking to its customers and distributed free samples of coffees. The company also changed its normal store size to project itself as a place for social gathering. Localization Strategies: Normally Starbucks follows a high standard technique to maintain its stores worldwide. But in the case of China it adapted some strategies influenced by local culture and market conditions to gain Chinese peoples trust and confidence. Small changes were made in the texture, menu and store layout just to match with Chinese culture and food preferences. Within few months of opening the coffee stores, the company started observing that coffee culture is different for Chinese people than US, where people are very busy in their daily lives and they just grab their coffee and leave, but in China coffee stores were more like a place for social gathering where they can sit and talk for hours with their friends and families. Therefore, according to the market needs they had to square bigger stores. In the US a normal size of Starbcks store is about 1,200 to 1,500 square feet whereas in China they started opening stores bigger than 2,000 square feet. It was observed that the Chinese also liked to have some food along with their drink. 5 In response to that Starbucks started offering some popular Chinese foods like, curry puffs, moon cakes, and traditional cookies. Starbucks incorporates another localize strategy in every country they go, by modifying the name of Starbucks to suit the local language, like in China they Changed the name to Xing Bake where Xing represents Star and Bake was pronounced as bucks. Starbucks accepted the reality that maximum people in China like tea more than coffee though young generation is more likely to go for coffee. So they decided different menu for different stores in China. In Shanghai and westernized, the stores a standard menu where they served coffee. And in Beijing stores they introduced different tea-based drinks like coffee-flavored milk tea, green tea-flavored frappuccino etc. to attract more people. Promotional and Pricing Strategies: To promote themselves in China the company chose a different way. It was mostly depended on the people to spread goodwill through word of mouth than commercial advertisements and media products. Their knowledge, organized way of business left a good impression on customers mind. The customers were willing to pay a higher price for the brand name. As a result young, urban Chinese, who solely started to associate visiting Starbucks or being seen with a Starbucks cup, as a symbol of social status. They tried to build their reputation in terms of, product quality, customer service, employee relationship, etc. To enhance the name of Starbucks they had different strategies. From professional to students they had different ways to attract them. They started selling latest DVDs, free access of internet and also use to provide different wireless services so people can feel it like their 3rd home. Starbucks uses the highest quality coffee beans from ideal coffee producing climates. They helped Chinese farmers, made good relationships with their workers and they also made a good reputation in the supply market .As a result of good reputation, good quality and high price they were able to attract people and also maintain their luxury appeal. The company priced its coffees at around US$ 6 for a cup, which was considered by analysts as too costly , even though it was too costly by Chinese standards but they decided to continue with it because in China, high price was directly associated with quality.

Friday, October 25, 2019

Racism In The Movies Essay -- essays research papers

Spike Lee’s, Do The Right Thing is a comtemporary look at racism in a ordinary city urban neighborhood. The movie is seen through the eyes of the main character, Mookey, we are shown the multiple relationships and often typical stereotypes of racial groups. This movies is filled with symbolism and imagery that feeds to the story’s plot. Throughout the movie, the scorching heat is always being refereed to. As the movie goes on , the heat rises. I think this is done to represent the increasing racial tension within the neighborhood. The movie uses many situations to paint a picture of the racial tension and inequality.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The main plot of the movie involves the relationship that a black neighborhood has with an Italian owned pizzeria and a Korean owned convenience store. There is a conflict that occurs when one of young men from the neighborhood enters the pizzeria and demands that the owner, Sal, include on his wall of famous Italians, famous Blacks as well. Sal refuses, telling the man that it is his pizzeria and he can have whomever he wants on the wall. The man leaves feeling even more frustrated than before and decides to organize a boycott. To his dismay, he is only able to recruit a single person.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Another conflict occurs between Mookey and one of of Sal’s sons. Sal’s son is an outspoken racist, or so it seems. He is always urging Sal to try to sell the business and leave the neighborhood to get away from â€Å"these† ...

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Term Papers

MADS 6655. 81 Contemporary Issues in Community Policing Herbert F. Pendleton, EdD Final Exam Select one from each chapter and provide a one paragraph response answering the information requested. Chapter 8 1) Discuss in general rationale for learning â€Å"what works† in criminal justice in general, and for measuring (assessing and evaluating) COPPS initiatives in specific. 2) Describe the major differences between assessments (as defined in the S. A. R. A. problem solving process) and an empirical impact evaluation of a COPPS strategy. ) Explain why the accomplishment of an actual impact evaluation is uniquely challenging for the police agency in terms of one’s knowledge, skills and abilities – and some means for acquiring the services of one who can perform such an evaluation. 4) Describe the kinds of knowledge, skills and abilities that a police officer engaged in COPPS must possess, as well as criteria for assessing an officer’s problem solving perform ance. 5) Explain the benefits of using suyveys for evaluation purposes. 6) Describe the benefits of an agency’s employing the CP-SAT system for its COPPS initiatives.Chapter 9 1) Explain the basic schools of thought as per Knowles and Bloom concerning the concepts of adult – and problem based learning, and apply them to training for COPPS. 2) Describe the characteristics of a learning organization, and why it is important for police agencies to become as such. 3) Delineate the unique challenges that are involved with training police officers. 4) Review how knowledge is imparted at the basic recruit academy as well as with the post academy, in-service, and roll call methods. ) List some kinds of technologies that exist in police training. 6) Detail the means for determining officers’ training needs. Chapter 10 1) Explain in contemporary terms what is meant by diversity. 2) Delineate the historical background of police-minority relations. 3) Review whether or not the criminal justice system discriminates against minorities; include the findings by RAND as well as the perceptions of other notable organizations. 4) Define what is meant by bias-based policing (racial profiling), and explain why it is a destructive practice. ) Define the elements of hate crime, and discuss what measures are being taken by the police to address such acts. 6) Describe some of the cultural customs of people in different nationalities, and discuss why it is important for the police to be aware of those different customs. 7) Explain why it is important for a police agency to be diverse, and provide examples of what some police agencies are doing to enhance their ability to recruit women and minorities. Chapter 11 ) Describe the kinds of strategies that may be employed by police to meet the challenges posed by methamphetamine – and the recent â€Å"shake and bake† form of drug lab – as well as some of the methods used and the hazards faced by the police to identify, eliminate, and clean up clandestine drug labs. 2) Review what research shows works and does not work with regard to street-level drug enforcement, particularly as it concerns crackdowns, community partnerships, and problem-oriented policing. 3) Explain how open-air drug markets operate, what challenges they pose, and what COPPS efforts have done to meet those challenges. ) Explain the problem of prescription drugs, particularly pharmaceutical counterfeiting and â€Å"pharming parties. † 5) Explain how COPPS efforts are being directed toward the identification, prevention, and suppression of gangs. 6) Review the extent and purposes for which graffiti exists, some means by which the problem may be addressed, and how graffiti may be used for intelligence gathering. 7) Explain what some large cities are doing about their crimes of violence in general, and why some of those tactics are controversial. ) Explain what the police can do about dealing with disorderl y conduct by youth in public areas. 9) Describe what can be done to address underage drinking. 10) Review some COPPS approaches to school violence any cyber bullying. Chapter 12 1) Describe the nature and extent of identity theft and some of the ways that the police can attempt to prevent and address it. 2) Explain what is meant by the term â€Å"mental illness,† its nature and extent, contributing factors, and what the police can to cope with it. 3) As with mental llness above, describe the nature and extent of homelessness and some means by which the police can try to cope with it. 4) Review the nature and extent of domestic violence, and how COPPS has affected the approaches to reducing its frequency. 5) Define what is meant by neighborhood disorder, how the economy has contributed to it, and ways COPPS can help to address it. 6) Review the problems surrounding prostitution, and list some means for addressing them. 7) List the four types of stalking situations, and how a C OPPS approach would deal with them. ) Explain how the internet has contributed to criminality, and how social networking sites have a part in those crimes; review the challenges for, and techniques of the police for investigating them. Chapter 13 1) Describe how COPPS efforts have been undertaken in large, medium, and small jurisdictions. 2) Explain how federal and state law enforcement agencies as well as universities are engaging in COPPS activities. Chapter 14 1) Discuss the general system of policing in Canada, including the federal, provincial, and municipal systems. ) Describe the structure and functions of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, including its COPPS model, which they termed â€Å"CAPRA. † 3) Explain the police functions and responsibilities in Japan, with particular emphasis on the koban concept. 4) Review the responsibilities of the Australian Federal Police, to include how it serves the rural (ACT) areas. 5) Explain how crime prevention lies at the root of COPPS in both Sweden and France, as well as other similarities of their approach to, and practice of this philosophy. ) Review the role of constables in Great Britain. 7) Explain the five stages in the development of community policing in Hong Kong. Chapter 15 1) Discuss why a futures orientation is important for police executives and supervisors, as well as the national organization that exists to foster the study and practice of that orientation. 2) Provide an explanation of the kinds of â€Å"accelerators† and challenging crimes that the police must be trained to address in the future. 3) Define succession planning and explain why today’s police leaders must engage in that practice. ) Review the concerns of and reasons for some police observers’ beliefs that there is a trend the police to become more federalized and militarized. 5) Explain the authors’ concerns with the language of policing in general, particularly the tendency to use new labels and t o create new eras of policing; include intelligence-led policing and predictive policing in your response. 6) List a summary of the challenges facing the police in the future in order to fully embrace COPPS. Term Papers Additional Questions – Test Strategy Table of Contents 1Purpose3 2About Additional Questions3 3Requirements4 3. 1As-Is and New AQ Features4 AQ As-Is Feature from V14 AQ Additional / Enhanced Feature for V24 ?Create AQ functional Component4 ?AQ FCA linked to Scoring FCA4 ?Create AQ Event by copying an existing event (closed, open, draft & archived)4 ? Invite Supplier4 3. 2AQ High Level Functionality and List of User Stories5 Table below gives the mapping of User Stories against the As-Is AQ Functionality5 Table below gives the mapping of User Stories against the New AQ Functionality5 4Additional Questions Development6 . 1AQ Feature Development in Releases6 4. 2In Sprint Testing (Blue are new AQ features)6 4. 3System Testing7 4. 4In Sprint Testing Dependencies7 4. 5System Testing Dependencies8 1 Purpose The purpose of this document is to give the overview of the Test Strategy (Approach) for Additional Questions Feature which will be developed and Implemented for V2. This documen t briefs about AQ functionality and its requirements, the development approach, this document also discuss about the various levels of testing AQ as its being developed & the dependencies for testing. About Additional Questions Additional Question is an existing functionality of V1 Accelerate application, hence it’s known as As-Is feature for V2. And also have some additional/enhanced features for V2. This Additional Questions (AQ) is a buyer centric functionality and in V1 AQ is not a common feature which is available for all Buyers. It’s a Bolt-On feature, where a Buyer organisation can opt for this feature by making additional payment. AQ functionality has been developed and implemented in V1 in a way it can be configured for any Buyer Organisation.AQ provides an additional edge to Buyer Organisation where they can ask their intended Questions to a specific set of suppliers of their own interest and short list them upon their response. Using this feature member of a Buyer Organisation, who is having permissions to AQ can create an AQ Event which comprises of a template with questions, and the member can search for suppliers and invite them all or a specific set of suppliers to answer the questions, on or before a dead line date set for the particular AQ event by the member.Buyer user can create AQ Events and save it for feature purpose, existing AQ event can be used by some other Buyer Organisation member and the member can use it as it is or can do some changes before inviting the suppliers. Even the invited AQ events can be reused. Buyer User will be able to add or remove questions to an AQ event. A. Q summary is the last stage of draft event in which the user can preview the whole event and also review it before sending it to the supplier users. Supplier needs to respond to AQ and buyer will rate supplier according.Scoring engine will help AQ to rate Supplier. AQ product needs to be configured by C3 user with all required features. AQ will be added as a component which will be inherited by child product (community). * 3 Requirements Requirements developed as User Stories and reviewed by Products & Services team and approved. Both the existing features (As-Is) and the new V2 specific additional / enhanced features are also covered in user stories. The below table will give the bifurcation of Existing and New features of Additional Questions. . 1 As-Is and New AQ Features * AQ As-Is Feature from V1| * AQ Additional / Enhanced Feature for V2| * Create AQ Template | * Create AQ functional Component| * Create AQ Draft event & review of AQ| * AQ FCA linked to Scoring FCA| * Create AQ Event using AQ Template| * Permission to C3 User for AQ| * Create AQ Event by copying an existing event (closed, open, draft & archived)| * Create & use AQ Library * | * Invite Supplier| * Language Support to AQ| AQ view for GBO | * Buyer assigns scoring to AQ Event| * AQ view for Buyer| * Scoring can be manual or automatic * | * AQ view for Su pplier| * AQ alert to buyer when Current Date + 7 >= End Date| * Modification to AQ Open Event | * Reminder email to supplier who has not responded| * Categorisation of AQ Open Event (Responded, Not Responded, Not Interested)| * Clarification asked by Buyer on AQ supplier response | * AQ Reports| * AQ scoring for each supplier| * | * Comparison of AQ with respect to supplier| * | * Buyer rate & email to supplier on AQ Close Event| * 4. 2 AQ High Level Functionality and List of User Stories * Table below gives the mapping of User Stories against the As-Is AQ Functionality Area| Functionality| User Story| GBO| | | | | | | | | Buyer| | | | | | | | | | | | Supplier| | | | | | | | | * Table below gives the mapping of User Stories against the New AQ Functionality Area| Functionality| User Story| GBO | | | | | | | | | Buyer| | | | | | | | | | | | Supplier| | | | | | | | | * 4 V2 Development Strategy 5. 3 Development Approach V2 development is a mix of both Waterfall and Agile development f ramework.The Development of requirements follows waterfall, where as the actual code development will happen in agile methodology. First all the User Stories will be written, reviewed and signed off by the stake holders. Development will follow the high level milestone plan, which comprises of internal releases and Demo Release. Date| 1/Dec/12| 1/Jan/13| 15/Jan/13| 29/Jan/13| 1/Feb/13| 1/Mar/13| 15/Mar/13| 29/Mar/13| Release| Alpha 0. 1| Alpha 0. 2| Alpha 0. 3| Alpha 1. 0| Alpha 1. 1| Alpha 1. 2| Alpha 1. 3| Alpha 2. 0| Purpose| Internal| Internal| Internal| Board| Internal| Internal| Internal| Board|As mentioned above each and every internal release has multiple Iterations for development and the user stories will be allocated to these iterations for development. Within these iterations all the allocated user stories will be developed and tested In-Sprint Testing. 5. 4 AQ Feature Development in Releases As explained above, AQ as feature to be developed for V2 will also follow the s ame development methodology, All User Stories belongs to AQ will first written, reviewed and signed off, and then developed in multiple releases in multiple iterations.The table below will give us the picture of AQ Development in Release and Iteration wise. The Main purpose of the below table is to give clear picture of When AQ feature development will be started and in which release it will developed and delivered 100%. Table below will not give the Start and End dates of either each and every release or Iterations, these dates are available with the development team and ion their plan. Release| Iteration| User Story| Functionality / Area| Internal Release Alpha 0. 1| Iteration 1| | | | Iteration 2| | | | Iteration 3| | | Iteration 4| | | Internal Release Alpha 0. 2| Iteration 1| | | | Iteration 2| | | | Iteration 3| | | | Iteration 4| | | Internal Release Alpha 0. 3| Iteration 1| | | | Iteration 2| | | | Iteration 3| | | | Iteration 4| | | Demo Release 1. 0| Iteration 1| | | | Ite ration 2| | | | Iteration 3| | | | Iteration 4| | | Internal Release Alpha 1. 1| Iteration 1| | | | Iteration 2| | | | Iteration 3| | | | Iteration 4| | | Internal Release Alpha 1. 2| Iteration 1| | | | Iteration 2| | | | Iteration 3| | | | Iteration 4| | | Internal Release Alpha 1. 3| Iteration 1| | | Iteration 2| | | | Iteration 3| | | | Iteration 4| | | Demo Release 2. 0| Iteration 1| | | | Iteration 2| | | | Iteration 3| | | | Iteration 4| | | 5 AQ Test Approach This section describes the test approach for Additional Question by explaining the following. * Testing Scope of Additional Questions * Dependency with other critical V2 functionalities * Integration with Third Party Application Features * Levels of Testing * Test Design & Execution * Test Data Requirements * Functional Automation Testing * Non Functional Testing Scope 6. 5 Scope of Additional QuestionsAdditional Question as feature it spread across all the major areas of V2 application, though it’s Buyer centric feature it’s having scope in C3 (Configuration Control Center), GBO (Global Back Office), SCC (Standard Company Concept) Buyer & Supplier. End to End Perspective From an end to end perspective the AQ functionality testing needs to be started from C3 (may be configuration of AQ – need additional information to complete it) and then SCC-Buyer can create AQ Events and invite Suppliers and then SCC- Suppliers can respond for AQ events.From GBO-User perspective AQ needs to be tested for AQ Dashboard, AQ Reports, etc†¦ (need additional information to complete this section) Non Functional Perspective – Performance Few AQ Features needs to be tested for Performance * AQ template creation with more Questions * Inviting multiple suppliers * Response time of viewing AQ responses * AQ Report Generation for SCC-Buyer & GBO User Multilingual Perspective As Additional Question can be configured for any scheme / community, and we have communities which support more than on e language, AQ needs to be tested in all applicable languages.Cross Browser Perspective As Buyer organisation members and Suppliers can use any browser to access the application, Additional Questions features needs to be tested in multiple browser combinations. Community Specific Additional Questions can be configured for specific communities and as we already have few communities effectively using AQ, all such communities needs to be tested thoroughly AQ feature. Supplier Perspective AQ needs to be thoroughly tested with * Newly Registered Suppliers * Migrated Suppliers 6. 6 Additional Questions Dependency with other Features. AdditionalQuestions is one of the feature in V2 application, this feature has some integration / dependency with some other features of V2 application. This section describes the AQ dependency with such other features of V2. This dependency may play a critical role in AQ testing at functional level and at end to end testing, we may have a work around to bypas s the dependency, where as some feature must be available to test AQ. AQ Feature| Dependent Feature| Dependency level| When This Feature will be Ready| Do we have Work Around| Work Around| Effectiveness of Work Around| Invite Supplier| Search| Very High| ? ? | | ? | | Email Generation| Very High| ? | ? | | ? | | Existing / Migrated Suppliers| High| ? | ? | | ? | All such dependencies for all AQ features needs to be captured in a separate excel sheet and attached to this document. And the Dependencies needs to be discussed with Development team, as we may need their help for some work around or the feature needs to be developed in a priority. This dependency is very critical for test execution. 6. 7 Integration with Third Party Application Features This section needs to be filled in 6. 8 Levels of TestingAdditional Questions will be tested at In-Sprint Testing and System Testing, this section describes what will be covered in In-Sprint Testing and System Testing. In-Sprint Testing In -Sprint Testing is part of development, In-Sprint testing team will work along with Development team for Release and Iterations, user stories assigned to iterations is the scope for development and testing, while development teams starts coding In-Sprint testing team starts test design, when the feature is developed and ready for testing, In-Sprint test team will test the feature and give the result.In-Sprint test team covers Unit, Integration, Continuous Integration and Regression Testing. In-Sprint Unit Testing In unit testing, team checks for the following using Checklists * Field Level Validation of all controls * Boundary Value, Equivalence Partitioning * Page Navigation on Links * Messages (information on control validation, Tool Tips, etc†¦ ) * Page Templates, Company Logo, T&C’s, Copy Right, etc†¦ * Cross Browser – All UI design needs to be validated with all applicable browser combinationsIn-Sprint Integration Testing Team test the features developed integrated with preceded and following features of a feature belongs to same module (Group of requirements, belongs to one user story) within the iteration as the features being developed in iterations. And also the integration of group of requirements developed (one User story) with another group of requirements (another User Story) as iteration is having multiple User stories. In-Sprint test team will write functional test cases to test this integration of features.In-Sprint Continuous Integration Testing Team tests the integration of features developed in multiple iterations, as the features developed across multiple iterations of any release are being continuously integrated together. Team may write separate set of integration test cases for this else they will enhance their existing integration test cases to test this, in an another approach team can group set of individual integration test cases and execute them in an order which covers this continuous integration.In-Sprint R egression Testing Test team executes all the test cases which belongs to earlier release for any successive release, this is to ensure that the new release features are not hampering the existing features already developed and tested and also ensures the integration of features in between two successive release is working fine. Table below gives a picture of Unit, Integration, Continuous Integration & Regression testing for Releases and Iterations.Release| Iteration| User Story| Feature| Testing| | | | | Unit| Integration| Continuous Integration| Regression| Release 1| Iteration 1| User Story 1| Feature 1| Y| Integration of feature 1+2+3+4| Continuous Integration of User Story 1 + 2+ 3| Release 1 TC's Regression Suite for Release 2| | | | Feature 2| Y| | | | | | | Feature 3| Y| | | | | | | Feature 4| Y| | | | | | User Story 2| Feature 5| Y| Integration of feature 5+6+7+8| | | | | | Feature 6| Y| | | | | | | Feature 7| Y| | | | | | | Feature 8| Y| | | | | User Story 3| Feature 9| Y| Integration of feature 9+10| | | | | | Feature 10| Y| | | | | Iteration 2| User Story 4| Feature 11| Y| Integration of feature 11+12+13+14| Continuous Integration of User Story 1 + 2+ 3+4+5+6| | | | | Feature 12| Y| | | | | | | Feature 13| Y| | | | | | | Feature 14| Y| | | | | | User Story 5| Feature 15| Y| Integration of feature 15+16+17+18| | | | | | Feature 16| Y| | | | | | | Feature 17| Y| | | | | | | Feature 18| Y| | | | | | User Story 6| Feature 19| Y| Integration of feature 19+20| | | | | | Feature 20| Y| | | |Release 2| Iteration 3| User Story 7| Feature 21| Y| Y| Y| Release 1 + Release 2 TC's Regression Suite for Release 3| | | | Feature 22| Y| | | | | | | Feature 23| Y| | | | | | | Feature 24| Y| | | | | | User Story 8| Feature 25| Y| Y| | | | | | Feature 26| Y| | | | | | | Feature 27| Y| | | | | | | Feature 28| Y| | | | | | User Story 9| Feature 29| Y| Y| | | | | | Feature 30| Y| | | | | Iteration 4| User Story 10| Feature 31| Y| Y| Y| | | | | Feature 32| Y| | | | | | | F eature 33| Y| | | | | | | Feature 34| Y| | | | | | User Story 11| Feature 35| Y| Y| | | | | Feature 36| Y| | | | | | | Feature 37| Y| | | | | | | Feature 38| Y| | | | | | User Story 12| Feature 39| Y| Y| | | | | | Feature 40| Y| | | | System Testing System testing will be executed by System Testing team, System test design and execution will be done as End to End level. In System test design we will write Test Scenarios and Prepare Test Data to execute the System Testing. Test Scenarios will cover multiple functionalities with all permutation and combination of functionalities to test all possible real time end to end scenarios.System testing will also cover the end to end scenarios for maximum number of suppliers, for example System testing will be executed for inviting 500 suppliers for an AQ event, creating an AQ event with 100 Questions. And to execute the end to end testing for such high volume of suppliers we need support from Automation, because as the V2 application being de veloped right from the scratch, existing suppliers not available in the system, hence we need to first register for 100 of suppliers, registering 100 of suppliers will require high resource count and it’s practically not possible.And also respond to an AQ event sent for 100 of suppliers it take time and resource, if it needs to be done manually, in such scenario we need Automation script to complete the task. 6. 9 Test Design 6. 10 Test Data Requirements 6. 11 Functional Automation Testing 6. 12 Non Functional Testing Scope

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Internet censorship

Internet censorship Introduction Internet censorship is carried out by governments for many reasons to prevent users from accessing certain sites and sharing information. It restricts Internet users from accessing certain information and also controls what can be published or viewed. It can be used in response to riots, protests and elections, since the internet makes it very easy for events like these to be organized. Internet censorship has been going on for the past decade and has caused rise too lot of controversy. It vanes for different countries and has become a big Issue relating to human rights and redeem.Advantages Internet censorship has many advantages. It can protect citizens from inappropriate content, for example a child will be protected from any websites showing adult content Like pornography. It can also help reduce and prevent Illegal activity. For example, illegally downloading music. It has also been initiated to prevent riots and protests, like with the Arab Spri ng. The Internet made spreading the news of protests and riots very easy, leading to more revolutionary acts. This caused Internet in some of these countries to be completely inaccessible at times.Another advantage is that he chance of online identity theft is reduced, which protects citizens from identity theft happening to them. The amount of spam and viruses Is also less which protects your computer. Disadvantages The main disadvantage of Internet censorship is that it restricts access to information. This violates a human right, which is to be able to gain knowledge. This could also Limit educational resources. The freedom of speech and freedom of self- expression Is also restricted, which are also human rights violations.Internet censorship gives the Government power over Its citizens since they can control what s accessible and what is not. This can allow the Government to manipulate and control people. And even if the Internet censorship is seen as good and successful, many p eople are able to bypass the censorship. For example, by making use of proxy servers. This defeats the whole purpose on censoring the Internet in the first place. Although It may not seem as Important, Internet censorship also widens social gaps. It makes It harder for people to communicate.Censorship systems also cost money, and if they can be bypassed by citizens this makes them a waste of money. Businesses can be negatively impacted too due to not being able to access the best resources and not being accessible themselves. Major parties Involved China has the most strict internet censorship in the world. Internet filtering and censorship in China is referred to as ‘The Great Fire Wall'. Anything discussing the Dalai Lama, Fallen Gong and general websites including Faceable, Twitter and Youth are blocked. All pornographic or politically disruptive content is deleted.Even the Internet access of individuals is monitored. They do this because of many anti-Japanese, anti-polluti on, anti-corruption and ethnic riots which have been organized in the past with the use of Internet. China's Internet police has a size of 30,000. However, some users are able to evade the controlling of the Internet by using proxy servers. North Korea Most people in North Korea are not able to get online. A small amount is able to access an internal Intranet that connects to state media, called Agamemnon, which is highly controlled and censored.Only elite members, foreign residents and visitors in special hotels are allowed full access to the Internet. The Government is in full control of all media outlets and all news comes from one source, The Korean Central News Agency. They control the Internet to be able to control the information given to residents about politics and to be able to make the leaders of North Korea (Kim Gong- IL and Kim Gong-UN) look as good as possible. Cuba Only 5% of Cubans have access to the global Internet. This is due to tight control, high costs and slow connections. 23% have access to a government intranet with limited content.Cuban Internet is out of date due to the US embargo, lack of funding ND the Government's fear of freedom to access all information. Cuban citizens get around the censorship by using embassies, coffee shops or illegally purchasing other people's surnames and passwords who are allowed Internet access. Iran Iran blocks many Western sites like Faceable and Twitter and anything that may oppose politics or show anything sexually explicit. A plan was announced that they were going to create their own fully monitored domestic Internet. But many people believe separating a domestic internet from the worldwide Net completely is not possible.

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

Free Essays on God In School

The most obvious evidence of school attempts to accommodate people’s religious beliefs and the one thing which is sure to affect everyone involved, regardless of their religious beliefs, is the decision to simply close a school during a religious holiday. Traditionally, this has only occurred around Christmas, but that is starting to change. The question of closing school is a difficult dilemma for school administrators: if they keep schools open, they risk being portrayed as insensitive to the minority religious faiths in their community; but if they close the schools, they risk being portrayed as trying to show favoritism. This, of course, is a consequence of the tradition of always closing for Christmas - if schools never closed for any religious holiday, there could be no charges of favoritism and little basis for the allegation of any particular insensitivity. Unfortunately, that doesn’t mean that schools can simply refuse to close on holidays like Christmas. Sponsored Links Read "Holy War" For A Critical Analysis Of American Christian Fundamentalism www.InquiryAbraham.com Interfaith Alliance US not Christian nation. One Nation, Many Faiths www.interfaithalliance.org Humanist and Pantheist? If you revere the Universe as well as Humanity, you are a Pantheist www.pantheism.net The fact of the matter is, when there are enough followers of a particular religion in a community, you can be sure that on major holidays there will be a high degree of absenteeism in the schools. It might be reasonably argued that schools would be showing hostility towards religion if they didn’t try help students make up for missed work, but it can be easier for schools to simply close and keep everyone at the same stage of instruction. This has been the reason given by school districts when their closing policies have been challenged and the courts have thus far accepted it as a fair and reasonable argument. School closin... Free Essays on God In School Free Essays on God In School The most obvious evidence of school attempts to accommodate people’s religious beliefs and the one thing which is sure to affect everyone involved, regardless of their religious beliefs, is the decision to simply close a school during a religious holiday. Traditionally, this has only occurred around Christmas, but that is starting to change. The question of closing school is a difficult dilemma for school administrators: if they keep schools open, they risk being portrayed as insensitive to the minority religious faiths in their community; but if they close the schools, they risk being portrayed as trying to show favoritism. This, of course, is a consequence of the tradition of always closing for Christmas - if schools never closed for any religious holiday, there could be no charges of favoritism and little basis for the allegation of any particular insensitivity. Unfortunately, that doesn’t mean that schools can simply refuse to close on holidays like Christmas. Sponsored Links Read "Holy War" For A Critical Analysis Of American Christian Fundamentalism www.InquiryAbraham.com Interfaith Alliance US not Christian nation. One Nation, Many Faiths www.interfaithalliance.org Humanist and Pantheist? If you revere the Universe as well as Humanity, you are a Pantheist www.pantheism.net The fact of the matter is, when there are enough followers of a particular religion in a community, you can be sure that on major holidays there will be a high degree of absenteeism in the schools. It might be reasonably argued that schools would be showing hostility towards religion if they didn’t try help students make up for missed work, but it can be easier for schools to simply close and keep everyone at the same stage of instruction. This has been the reason given by school districts when their closing policies have been challenged and the courts have thus far accepted it as a fair and reasonable argument. School closin...

Monday, October 21, 2019

Martin Luther King Jr. Writing Prompts

Martin Luther King Jr. Writing Prompts This January schools across the nation will honor a true American hero- Martin Luther King Jr. Help students expand their understanding and deepen their respect for this great leader by using these writing prompts. Who is Martin Luther King, Jr?What was his dream?The importance of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s â€Å"I have a dream† speech is†¦What are three of Dr. King’s greatest achievements?How did MLK influence people?What would you say to MLK today if you could meet him?If Martin Luther King Jr. was still alive today, he would think†¦Why do we celebrate Martin Luther King Day every January?What made his â€Å"I Have a Dream† speech so historic?What do you already know about MLK? What do you want to know?Martin Luther King Jr. is inspirational because†¦What is it that we celebrate about Martin Luther King, Jr?Create a timeline of important dates in the life of Dr. King.How does your school celebrate Martin Luther King?How does your family celebrate Dr. King?Dr. Martin Luther King gave a famous speech entitled I Have a Dream.   Write about a dream you have for making the world a better place.Make a list of ten things that you can do to make the world a better place.Brainstorm a list of ways in which people differ and a list of ways in which all people are alike. Imagine that you live in a world where people are separated based on the color of their skin or the color of their hair, or their height, etc. What would it be like to live in such a world? How might it change your friendships and/or your family? How would it make you feel?Write a paragraph explaining how discrimination and prejudice impact our world today.Write a thank-you note thanking Dr. King for his efforts to make the world a better place.Would you participate in a march, a sit-in, or another form of political protest? Write about why or why not.Pretend that you had an opportunity to interview Dr. King. Write three questions that you would like to ask him.Why is there a national holiday in the United States to celebrate Martin Luther King?The message of nonviolence taught by Martin Luther King, Jr. was important because†¦What are civil rights? Why do we need them?Imagine that you have no civil rights. What would your life be like?What is the Civil Rights Act? What does civ il rights mean to you? What kind of leader would you be? Would you be a non-violent leader? Why or why not?Why is peace important in our world?Would you go to jail for something that you believe in? Why or why not?What if MLK didn’t dream of change? What would our life be like now?What is segregation? What if your school was segregated? What would it be like?Why was Martin Luther King Jr’s use of nonviolence so effective?Why is Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. so beloved by the African-American community?I can keep MLK’s dream alive by†¦I have a dream that one day my school will†¦I have a dream that one day our world will†¦When you close your eyes and think of peace what do you see?List five reasons Martin Luther King Jr. is an American hero.Write a Martin Luther Day acrostic poem using the word â€Å"DREAM.†What is your biggest dream for your life? How do you hope to accomplish this dream?

Sunday, October 20, 2019

Cardiovascular control in exercise, the contribution of central command and muscle afferents

Cardiovascular control in exercise, the contribution of central command and muscle afferents Cardiovascular Control in Exercise, the contribution of Central Command and Muscle Afferents The human body has the ability to easily adapt when exercise begins with many of these adaptations occurring in the cardiovascular system. It is well documented that at the onset of exercise heart rate (HR), blood pressure (BP) and muscle sympathetic nerve activity progressively increase to higher levels (Lind et al, 1964). These cardiovascular adaptations are controlled by either central (Central Command) or peripheral (exercise pressor reflex) mechanisms (McCloskey results from a study by Williamson et al (2002) have shown this through hypnosis. Originally an individual’s perceived exertion during exercise was thought to be independent of any force being produced, allowing the magnitude of CC to be seen (Gandevia et al, 1993). Williamson et al (2002) obtained results related to this idea; they found that the level of CC activated was related to an individual’s sense of effo rt independently of any force being produced. Increases in HR were found during hypnosis despite no exercise being performed and increases were therefore independent of feedback from afferents within the active limb.

Friday, October 18, 2019

Book Review on ONE BIBLE MANY VOICES by S. E. Gillinham Essay

Book Review on ONE BIBLE MANY VOICES by S. E. Gillinham - Essay Example 113). Throughout this volume, Gillingham adopts an academic and postmodern approach to studying the Bible, examining its formation, interpretation and overall character. Although the vast majority of authors deal with either the Old Testament of the New, Gillingham deals with the scripture in its entirety (Traina, Bauer & Peterson 2011, p. 124). On the other hand, while other authors deal with either the interpretation or formation of the Bible, Gillingham takes on both of these topics. The aim of this paper is to provide a succinct analysis of Gillingham’s book, One Bible many voices, discovering its essence and inherent message. Gillingham’s volume integrates noteworthy elements of knowledge she acquired while undertaking a long-distance module at St. John’s College, as well as elements she learnt in a theology course at the Oxford University’s undergraduate program. According to Gillingham (1999, p. xv) the book is targeted at adults with a fairly deep interest in biblical studies or theology. From the onset, Gillingham postulates that the core of the modern day is postmodernism comingled with pluralism. She believes that such comingling should also be adopted in the study of the Bible (Gillingham 1999, pp. 4-5). In essence, she attempts to demonstrate the application of pluralism, as a prominent element of postmodernism, is useful in biblical studies. One Bible many voices consists of two segments: Plurality in the making of the Bible and Plurality in the Reading of the Bible. The initial segment consists of four chapters that delve into Gillingham’s outlook concerning the diverse albeit integrated character of the description of the Bible through diverse tests and versions adopted by different groups of people. Across the chapters, Gillingham demonstrates that both the Old and New testaments have been subjected to widespread modifications in order to produce the present version (Traina 2002, p. 219). Gillingham (1999, p. 44) presents the theological, literary and historical approaches to examining the Bible. She notes that these approaches are inherently complementary, in line with the concepts of postmodernism. Gillingham holds the opinion that no biblical text has a single inflexible meaning, and this allows for the constant creation and development of fresh interpretations. Conventionally, theology provides for a single properly controlled approach to biblical studies, arguing that the cannon itself is a crucial control (Barrick 2003, p. 113). However, Gillingham proposes diverse interpretations, opposing the establishment of controls. In fact, she poises that it is impractical to establish controls regarding the inclusion or exclusion of different books. This view opposes the existence of one authoritative cannon. For Gillingham, reading the Bible is the only sure way of understanding it. She poises that the open-ended and pluralist way of reading provides a clear picture of the essence of the B ible (Gillingham 19997, p. 72). In contradiction of the book’s title, the inference of the first segment is that no single standard biblical text, universal cannon and biblical theology exists. Gillingham introduces the second segment of the volume in alignment with the book’s title. It is in the second part that she introduces the diverse approaches to

Communication theory Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Communication theory - Essay Example With clearer concepts and objective understanding of matters, people are in a better position to play their individualistic and collective roles in the development of a civilized society. In most of the organizations in the contemporary age, communication with confidence and authority has become quite critical (Holmes, 2011). The organization in which I work is to much extent, a functional organization where different departments have well defined responsibilities, so people from different departments do not usually interact with one another. In addition to the organization having a functional organization structure, there were several other factors that have played their role in discouraging interaction among employees. Such factors included but were not limited to differences of gender, age and culture. Employees from different culture have had presumed conceptions about their coworkers from different cultures and would not change their conceptions in the organizational context. Al so, employees from opposite genders would hesitate to communicate with one another. This was giving rise to interpersonal conflicts with various employees assuming irrational things about one another as a result of lack of communication until the new project manager brought about some drastic changes in the system of flow of communication within the organization.

My understanding of counselling PCA Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

My understanding of counselling PCA - Essay Example To answer the question in some detail, let us go back to the antecedents of counselling. Traditionally, people suffering from extreme abnormalities in thought and behaviour, unable to live ‘resourcefully’, were seen as mentally ill, and either isolated and/or were treated by psychiatrists using psychotropic medication. However, the vast majority of those identified as suffering from some type of mental disorder did not require hospitalisation, or drug treatment throughout their recovery phase. What they needed was psychotherapy, described as ‘talking cures’, where characteristically psychoanalysis held sway during the early part of the 20th century, until behavioural and cognitive therapies became more prevalent. Increasingly, psychoanalysis could not be justified not only on scientific grounds, but also on cost and length of treatment. It gave way to cognitive behavioural therapies modelled on learning theory based on Pavlovian classical conditioning and Sk innerian operant conditioning. Those who sought or needed such psychotherapeutic interventions were ‘patients’, and, conversely, those who treated them were drawn from the medical profession. In addition to psychiatrists, clinical psychologists in hospital settings also became providers in the care of these patients. Counselling evolved as an intervention outside the medical context offered by practitioners drawn from disciplines other than strictly within the medical establishment. An inability to cope with ordinary everyday life increasingly devoid of traditional supporting mechanisms of family, church (orthodox religion), and community, mostly in industrialised societies, left a growing populace vulnerable to psychological stress. Counselling therefore, happens to be a much broader concept than psychotherapy (or simply temed therapy) which evolved from more existential, philosophical and humanistic roots. Those who sought help from counsellors were not identified as patients. Not only were individuals seeking ‘greater well-being’ catered for, but those seeking help in specific contexts such as careers counselling and marriage guidance counselling meant that there was no longer a stigma attached to counselling. Indeed the origin of the very term counselling is ascribed to Frank Parsons (1909) at the beginning of the twentieth century who initiated help for young people with problems in finding suitable employment. Today, there is a continuum of helping interventions that range from intensive psychotherapy through counselling, to co-counselling, and to life coaching, where practitioners range from medical specialists to those drawn from varied walks of life, but with appropriate and recognised counsellor training. The relationship between the counsellor and the counselled is one of equality. The counsellor does not set him/herself up as an expert. The client is the expert on him/herself. The counsellor explores with the counselled, o ptions elicited during the counselling process. By meeting at regular intervals the counsellor helps the counselled to commit to agreed upon courses of action gently but firmly holding him/her responsible for the outcome. Counselling is a burgeoning profession and the recognition afforded its mainstream practitioners is a testament to its enduring value. It is necessary to look more closely at the theoretical underpinnings of the practice of counselling. A recent analysis of the

Thursday, October 17, 2019

Leadership and Change Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words - 1

Leadership and Change - Essay Example This study discusses that while leadership and change have been analysed and discussed exhaustively using myriad theories and models, it has been widely accepted that no one theory or model is the unique solution. Leadership traits and change management are situation and individual based and being flexible to adapt and execute is the sure-fire way to success. Recognising the power of the mind to dictate the actions and behaviour of the individual, NLP or Neurolinguistic Programming (NLP) is emerging as a method with a lot of promise. This is touted as a method of programming the mind, emphasizing the mind-body-spirit connection. As the essay stresses behavioural flexibility is important because with dynamic situations, the ability to absorb, adapt and absorb are essential to arrive at the goal. Never being afraid to keep changing allows the solution to evolve naturally. The awareness of the fact that people or events cannot be controlled by us but by a self-management, our responses to them can be managed. To achieve this our skill and our ability to manage ourselves directly affect the extent to which we achieve your goals. That is what NLP aims for. Myers-Briggs is popular model used to determine personality types that in turn determine how they react to people and changing circumstances. Bass’s theory of leadership is based on the assumptions that awareness of task importance motivates people and a focus on the team or organization produces better work.

Biometric Authentication Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words - 1

Biometric Authentication - Essay Example herefore designed several technology software which authenticate or grant an individual access to an account by virtue of a physical character such as a fingerprint. This kind of authentication is what is referred to as biometric authentication. The security of a nation is very sensitive and therefore military bases and locations of security valuables need to be under 24 hour surveillance to ensure that there is no breaching in the perimeter. Ministries of defense in various developed countries have therefore employed biometric authentication in their military bases to restrict access to only authorized people and not just anyone. This paper will be assessing biometric authentication in the context of Ministry of Defense and its necessities, alternatives, weaknesses and strengths among other pertinent issues. The biometrics technology does not go without fault as it has been termed as both a promising and disruptive technology. The main reason why a dedicated biometric solution is needed is because the current biometric authentication services are not applicable under certain circumstances. Before a biometric is chosen for use in biometric authentication, it is necessary that a suitability test be performed on the biometric authentication. Jain, Bolle, and Pankanti (1996) have identified several factors which point out to the necessity of a dedicated biometric solution. The first thing that needs to be considered is the universality of the trait; the biometric that is to be used should be possessed by everyone. The biometric needed for authentication should also be unique to a particular person. Another important factor is permanence. This is in relation to the manner in which the biometric changes over time. Role-based access

Wednesday, October 16, 2019

Is There Such a Thing as International Law in the World Today Term Paper

Is There Such a Thing as International Law in the World Today - Term Paper Example Additionally, treaties like the Geneva Conventions may at times require the conformity of national law (De Boer 2001). The implication of this is that there is a world order that all countries abide to but with no clearly drafted international laws that ought to be followed by all nation states. Additionally, certain issues like homosexuality, differences in political ideologies and gender discrimination prevent international laws from achieving legitimacy. International law therefore is a set of laws formed by international treaties, customs, and other organizations that govern the relations between or among different sovereign nations. Here, the international customs refer to the customs that have evolved over centuries. Treaties and international agreements on the other hand are agreements among different nation states. The international organizations and conferences are mainly composed of different sovereign nation states and are normally bound by a treaty, for instance the 1980 Convention on Contracts for the International Sales of Goods (CISG). The Nature of International Law International law is very different from the other areas of law because it does not have a defined governing body or area but instead refers to different set of rules, laws and customs that impact, govern and deal with the legal interactions between different nation states, governments, organizations and businesses. It comprehensively deals with the rights and responsibilities of the involved parties clearly defining and elucidating the procedures to be followed in case of any misunderstandings. International law cuts across many countries and regions which makes it agreeable to all the member states. For this to be possible, it borrows charters (i.e. the United Nations Charter), agreements, accords, and treaties, legal precedents of the International Court of Justice (The World Court), memorandums and tribunals. What makes international law a voluntary endeavor is that it does not h ave a unique enforcing entity and governing body. This means that for any enforcement to exist, all the signatory parties have to consent and adhere to that specific decision and assist the court in the implementation process. A good example of this is the East African Community where the member states have laws that govern them as a unit. The laws that address matters of international concern include both the statutes created by governing bodies (civil law) and the common law (case law) because of the diverse nature of the different legal systems and historical backgrounds of the different countries involved. Under the international law, all the facets of national law are covered and go on to include aspects like substantive law, remedies and procedure. In order to make the laws operable in the signatory countries, there are certain principles or guidelines that are normally followed when it comes to their formulation and implementation (Alam 399). However it should be noted that t hey only work on the basis that there is courtesy and respect between the member states. The principles of International Law The Principle of Comity The principle of comity provides a code of decorum that governs court interactions among the different localities, foreign countries and member states. Under this

Biometric Authentication Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words - 1

Biometric Authentication - Essay Example herefore designed several technology software which authenticate or grant an individual access to an account by virtue of a physical character such as a fingerprint. This kind of authentication is what is referred to as biometric authentication. The security of a nation is very sensitive and therefore military bases and locations of security valuables need to be under 24 hour surveillance to ensure that there is no breaching in the perimeter. Ministries of defense in various developed countries have therefore employed biometric authentication in their military bases to restrict access to only authorized people and not just anyone. This paper will be assessing biometric authentication in the context of Ministry of Defense and its necessities, alternatives, weaknesses and strengths among other pertinent issues. The biometrics technology does not go without fault as it has been termed as both a promising and disruptive technology. The main reason why a dedicated biometric solution is needed is because the current biometric authentication services are not applicable under certain circumstances. Before a biometric is chosen for use in biometric authentication, it is necessary that a suitability test be performed on the biometric authentication. Jain, Bolle, and Pankanti (1996) have identified several factors which point out to the necessity of a dedicated biometric solution. The first thing that needs to be considered is the universality of the trait; the biometric that is to be used should be possessed by everyone. The biometric needed for authentication should also be unique to a particular person. Another important factor is permanence. This is in relation to the manner in which the biometric changes over time. Role-based access

Tuesday, October 15, 2019

Afro-Caribbean Poetry Essay Example for Free

Afro-Caribbean Poetry Essay In this essay I will be studying the various items of poetry from manyAfro-Caribbean poets. One of the poets is Langston Hughes who was  born in Joplin, Missouri on the first of February 1902. He started  writing poetry after moving to Lincoln, Illinois. The poems I will be  studying are Mulatto and I, Too.  The next poet I will be looking at is Grace Nichols. Nichols was born  in Guyana in 1950, she came to England in 1977 this is when she  developed her fiction and verse writing. The poem I will be studying is  Praise song for my mother. The next poet I will look at will be Dr Benjamin Obadiah lqual  Zephaniah, he was born in Birmingham, but he spent most of his  time in Jamaica. After he spent some time in prison he decided to use  his energy for good and educate himself. The poem I will study I love  me mudder.  The last poet work I will be looking at will be John Agard. Agard was  born in Guyana in 1949, the country was still a British colony until  1966. In 1977 Agard moved to England. This is where he became the  light of the new West Indian British dawn of various bardic  compositions. Agard is a poet whom blends calypso styled language  with unique sounding spoken word. The work I will be studying is  Half-caste  I have paired the poems up. The pairs either share the same topic,  tone or language. One of the pairs is Half-caste by John Agard and  Mulatto by Langston Hughes, because they have the same type of  topic and also tone.  Half caste is about weather: the term half-caste can be applied to  any thing else apart from people. John Agard has written a very good  poem witch makes you think about the words we use every day with  out knowing the proper meanings and whether it makes any sense  when you break the word down. I think that many words we use now  are out of date and should be changed for politically correct terms  and alternatives. Agard also uses some stunning references to get you  thinking. The other half of this pair Mulatto tells us about the harsh  treatment black women faced at the hands of their white bosses in  the slave era and how the women were only used as play things, this  is shown in the part Whats a body but a toy?. The word mulatto  means the same as half caste but not as many people use it  nowadays. The boy in the story has a trouble fitting in with black  people and white people and does not have that sense of belonging if  he had been born to parents of the same race. The next pair is Praise song for my mother by Grace Nichols and I  love me mudder by Benjamin Zephaniah. Ive paired these poems  because they share the same topics which is their mothers.  Praise song for my mother is about how Grace Nichols loved her  mother and how she inspired to do the best she could. Its also how  she looked up to her, and how her mother was all the things she likes  such as the sunrise and the fried plantain smell. The poem is set in a  past tense which seems to tell us the readers that her mother has  died. The second half of my pair is I love me mudder. This poem is about  how Benjamin Zephaniahs mother came from Jamaica on a boat  called Windrush. Many people came from Jamaica because they  thought they would have a better life than the one they all ready had.  In black family family (need to delete this) life the figure of the  mother is very strong and is the main rule maker in the house, and  this poem shows how she works so hard just to make sure her familydont go without. The last pair of poems is taint by Grace Nichols and I, Too by  Langston Hughes these two poems have been joined together because  they both have kind of the same topic which shows the pain black  people have overcome but still yet we are strong.  taint is about the treachery that this person has had cast upon  them while they where a slave, the fact that they where stolen by men  the colour of their own skin. This reminds me of the black on black  gang warfare and killings. This person who trusted the people of their  same skin colour was betrayed. This work also shows how these  people where traded like they where animals. The poem has a  message to everyone: to stop fighting and live peacefully together.  The second half of the pair is I, Too which shows how black people  had to eat in a kitchen when company came but they ate well and  became strong. So when company comes no one will dare tell me to  eat in the kitchen and now you are ashamed about what you did to  me when I was mentally weak. This poem has a promise of hope for  Ã‚  change. Hughes suggests that Tomorrow things will be different and  people will see that beauty and equality of all peoples.

Monday, October 14, 2019

Use Of Language Learning Strategies English Language Essay

Use Of Language Learning Strategies English Language Essay The concept of language learning strategy use is important in second language acquisition. Since the first studies conducted in the 1970s, many scholars have revealed the complex processes of developing language competency. Many researchers found that language learning strategy use and successful language learners are correlated. Using this concept, some researchers examined the correlation between language learning strategy use and language proficiency in English as a second or foreign language. These outcomes were different depending on other factors such as age, gender, and nationality. This paper will examine what language learning strategies are used by successful language learners. It also will examine what factors affect favorable language learning use. Introduction Language learning strategies are crucial key for learners and teachers to consider in order to develop students language competency. In the classroom, teachers tend to deal with a group of students at one time, but language learning occurs differently in different individuals. Therefore, one learning strategy works for some students, while that learning strategy may not work for other students. Many researchers have tried to reveal what kinds of factors affect the favored language learning strategy use (Cohen, 1998; Cook, 2001; Macao, 2001; Wenden, 1987; OMalley Chamot, 1990; Oxford, 1990). Different factors, such as age, motivation, nationality, gender and so on, are related to different uses of language learning strategies across individual language learners. However, it is important for teachers to pay more attention to creating the learning spaces for any students in the classroom in order to make them successful language learners. Using language learning strategies not only hel ps students learn the language efficiently and effectively, but also helps teachers use the language learning strategies as a tool in the classroom in order to build their language skills. Once students know their preferred language learning strategy, they can apply this to any situations to accelerate their language competency by themselves. Moreover, knowing what strategy works for particular students may give teachers some ideas for the teaching methods or teaching techniques in the classroom for teachers preparation effectively. Therefore, it is important for both students and teachers to examine what kinds of language learning can facilitate effective learning. Literature Review Definition of language learning strategies The term, language learning strategies, has various definitions according to different researchers. Some researchers stated that learning strategies are processes selected by students in order to improve their learning in their own ways (Cohen, 1998; Cook, 2001; Nunan, 1999; Oxford, 1990). The learners decide to choose which learning strategies to use in their learning. Cohen (1998) emphasized that it is important for learners to choose the elements because those things give them their particular preference learning strategies. In support of the definition of learning strategies, Cohen (1998) added that learning strategies can be actions through the storage, retention, recall, and application of information about that language (p.4). The learning strategies are one of the outcomes from using the language. Moreover, OMally Chamot (1990) argued that the learning strategies are the special thoughts or behaviors that individuals use to help them comprehend, learn, or retain new informat ion (p.1). Therefore, the definition of learning strategies focuses learners on how they are able to learn the language consciously and subconsciously. Types of language learning strategy Research on language learning strategy came originally from the field of the cognitive psychology (Mitchell Myles, 2004). In cognitive psychology, some scholars are interested in the information-processing in learners brains with a first or second language use. At the same time, they also were interested in how learners were able to have control over the information by themselves. By knowing the process that learners would take, language educators and researchers have been looking for the effective language learning strategy demanded by ELLs and teachers in order to make them successful language learners. It is important to categorize language learning strategies. At the beginning of the classification of language learning strategies, Rubin (1981) made two categories of language learning strategies. One category is direct learning strategies, such as memorization, monitoring, guessing and so on. The other category is indirect learning strategies, such as creating opportunities for p ractice, using formulaic interaction and so on. In the same vein, Oxford (1990) suggested her own system of language learning strategies. She classified the language learning strategies into two classes and six groups. In the two classes, she used the direct class and indirect class. As for the direct class, the groups are memory strategies, cognitive strategies, and compensation strategies. On the other hand, for the indirect class, the groups are social strategies, affective strategies, and meta-cognitive strategies. This classification provides a comprehensive organization for understanding language learning strategies. Moreover, it is a useful way to analyze language learning strategy use by teachers and learners. In this current study, Oxfords classification system is used in order to determine the language learning strategies. Studies on language learning strategies Researchers and educators started to explore the language learning strategies in the 1970s (Macao, 2001). In the early research about learning strategies, researchers conducted research in the use of language learning strategies in relation to a good language learner. (Macao, 2001; Wenden, 1987). Studies have shown cognitive and meta-cognitive strategies are used the most among all strategies (Green Oxford, 1995; Hong-Nam Leavell, 2006; Rahimi et al, 2008) However, after a few decades, research studies have started to investigate the use of language learning strategies connected to other factors, such as the proficiency of the language, gender, and ethnicity. In in English in the English as Foreign language (EFL) settings, researchers found that successful learners tended to employ language learning strategies more than less successful learners (Green Oxford, 1995; Lai, 2009). In English as a Second Language (ESL) settings, Hong-Nam Leavell (2006) found that students in the intermediate level used the most language learning strategies of the three different English proficiency levels. It is important to see that learners tend to employ the language learning strategies to develop their language learning both in the EFL setting and in the ESL setting. Moreover, learners at different levels of English proficiency have showed their preferable strategies use (Green Oxford, 1995; Lai, 2009; Hong-Nam Leavell, 2006). The more proficient students are, the more they tend to choose meta-cognitive or cognitive strategies to use. On the other hand, the less proficient students are, the more they tend to use social or memory strategies. The profici ency level is related to the choice of learning strategies made by the learners. Other studies focused on the use of language learning strategies in relation to gender (Green Oxford, 1995; Lai, 2009; Hong-Nam Leavell, 2006, Rahimi et al, 2009, Reid, 1987). Many researchers found that women tend to use language learning strategies more than men. However, Rahimi et al. (2009) found that there was no difference of strategy use between genders. One of the reasons for this could be the participants age. Rahimi et al. used post-secondary students as their participants, while other studies used university students as their participants. It is also important to consider the age factor concerning the strategy use. In addition to this, Hong-Nam Leavell (2006) gave the evidence that gender differences affect students preferable language learning strategies differently. Therefore, there may be some relationship between the language learning strategy use and the gender factor. There are also some research studies about the use of language learning strategies in relation to learners ethnic background. Hong-Nam and Leavell (2006) found that most students preferred to use meta-cognitive strategies. On the other hand, Chinese students preferred to use the social strategy. In the same vein, Macaro (2001) found that Italian students reported social strategy use more than English students. However, it is hard to say that there is a particular favored learning strategy use by different learners nationalities. In addition to this, patterns across nationality or ethnicity may be related to different factors like personal characteristics, culture, and received learning strategy use in the class. The purpose of the study The purpose of this current study is to extend the existing literature to investigate the use of language learning strategies for ESL students in the university level in the ESL setting. In this study, participants have already entered the university as undergraduate or graduate students. The study examines what kinds of language learning strategies are most commonly used by the students in order to succeed in academic classes at universities. This study will use multiple variables, such as age, gender, ethnicity, and the English proficiency level, in order to see some relationship between the use of language learning strategies and the other variables. In addition to this, the study will examine how the use of language learning strategies may be related to the length of time in the United States and the length of time studying in the United States. This study tries to answer these questions. What language learning strategies are used by university ESL students in order to succeed in academic classes at the university level? Are there any different uses of language learning strategies between undergraduate students and graduate students? Are these any different uses of language learning strategies between genders? Are there any differences for the language learning strategy use by each nationality? Does the length of time studying in the United States or the length of time in the United States predict the university ESL students language learning strategy use? Methods This current study used mixed methods in order to identify the use of language learning strategies for English as Second Language (ESL) Learners at the university level. Data were collected by using an online survey site. Sample and Site Selection The study involved 300 international students enrolled at University of Nevada, Reno as undergraduate or graduate students. They came from over 30 different countries and they have a variety of majors. The participants are male (160) and female (140). All the participants are only taking academic classes and are full time students with student visa (F-1) status at the University of Nevada, Reno. In order to take only academic classes at University of Nevada, Reno, all international students need to have a score of at least 61 on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) internet based test for both undergraduate and graduate school. In addition to this, they need to pass the bridge test given by the Intensive English Language Center (IELC). If students do not pass the bridge test, they need to take bridge English classes in order to build their English skills. All the participants in this study passed the bridge test or have taken a bridge classes. Additionally, some students recently arrived at the United State to start the school, while some students have been the United States for over five years. The selected site for this study was at the University of Nevada, Reno. It had a total of 553 international students enrolled on the fall 2010. The number consisted of 217 students for undergraduate school and 336 students for graduate school. They came from 66 different countries to study at University of Nevada, Reno. The school offers over 145 degree programs and three different education levels. Instruments In this study, a participants self-reported questionnaire, short answer questions about the use of language learning strategies, and a background information questionnaire were used. For the participants self-reported survey, the Strategy Inventory for Language Learning (SILL version 7.0 for ESL/EFL) developed by Oxford (1990) was used. According to Oxford and Burry-Stack (1995), Cronbachs alpha for the SILL studies has been .85-.95 in order to show the degree of precision on an instrument. These numbers were high, but it showed that the measurement error is minimal (Oxford Burry-Stack, 1995, p.7). The SILL has 50 strategy items and is divided into six categories: Memory strategy, cognitive strategy, compensation strategy, metacognitive strategy, affective strategy and social strategy. The SILL used a 5-point scale for each strategy item ranging from 1, never or almost never true of me to 5, always or almost always true of me. After rating all the items and adding the score for each category, the reporting score can identify which categories of language learning strategies were used the most by each participant. Looking at the results of the scores, there was a basic scale developed by Oxford (1990). The high frequency rate of strategy use was a range from 3.5 to 5. The medium frequency rate was a range from 2.5 to 3.5. The low frequency rate was a range from 2.4 to 1.0 using this scale Additionally, the qualitative questions about the use of language learning strategies were added by the researcher. These questions focused on when to use, and how to use, learning strategies in their academic context, and how they are used differently in English or in their native language. The background information questionnaire was created by the researcher based on an Individual Background Questionnaire (IBQ) developed by Hong-Nan and Leavell (2006). The questionnaire asked for information about age, gender, nationality, native language, the TOEFL score, time of English study, time in the United States, time of schooling, and rate of English proficiency. As instruments for this study, these three different kinds of questions took 40 -50 minutes of the participants time. Data collection and analysis An online survey with all three components of questions was created using Qualtrics Labs, Inc. software, Version 15877 of the Qualtrics Research Suite. Participants were invited by email to complete the online survey at the middle of the semester. They were asked to take the online survey by the end of the semester. In order to increase the rate of their responses on online surveys, email reminders were sent several times. In the email, the researcher explained the purpose of the study and the data collection procedure to the participants and included the URL link for the survey. Their answers in the online survey will remain completely anonymous. The Data analysis has two different parts in this study: the quantitative and the qualitative analysis. In the quantitative analysis, the Strategy Inventory for Language Learning (SILL) and background information were used to calculate the overall strategy use by looking at the computation of descriptive statistics in order to know which language learning strategies were used most commonly. ANOVA analysis was used in order to find out whether there were any differences between the use of language learning strategies and the other factors . The independent variables were these factors such as, such as age, gender, nationalities, the educational levels, the time spent the United States, and the time studying in the United States, while the dependent variable was the use of language learning strategies. In the qualitative analysis, the short answer questions in the online survey were used in order to support recurrent themes for quantitative analysis. Appendix A. Short answer questionnaire. How do you use learning styles differently  when you study your major in your language and in English? How do you apply learning styles for all subjects that you are taking? Are there any differences depending on the subject? What are your favorite learning styles in your classes that you use in order to be a successful student? Appendix B. Background information Please fill out the most appropriate answer to you. Which student are you? à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Undergraduate student à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ graduate student What is your gender? à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Male à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Female What is your major? Where are you from? What is your native language? How old are you? How long did you study English in your country? How long have you been living in the United States? How long have you studied English in the United States? How long have you been a student in the United States? Could you tell me about your most recent TOEFL score? TOEFL score The date of TOEFL

Sunday, October 13, 2019

The Challenges of Being a Black Man in America Essay -- Racism, Prejud

"Black Lung" is a chronic disease of the lungs mostly associated with coal miners; "Black Magic" is the practice of witchcraft; illegal transactions take place in a a "Black Market"; a "Black Sheep" is a person who does not have the same values or behavior as their family. How does all this pertain to being a black man in America today? These examples indicate that the English language is prejudiced, and the process of learning the language teaches prejudice and passes on racist ideas to children as they learn to communicate. This results is the racist American society which we see today. However, before dealing with the burden of blackness, let us dive into what race really is. Some believe that race is a biological term, understandably so. People with similar physical appearance, such as eye shape or color, could be assumed to be of the same heritage, but this is not always true. According to the authors of Intercultural Competence, "Contrary to popular notions . . . race is not primarily a biological term; it is a political and societal one that was invented to justify economic and social distinctions. . . . One's 'race' is best understood as a social and legal construction" (32). Since race is not inherent or "naturally ordained" but a social and legal construction, the use of this term is subjective. One's "blackness" or "whiteness" is dependent on how society defines it. What are white and black anyway? As people of different origins and of different heritages, the average American is a "mutt" (of mixed ancestry). What defines what "race" the average American is or what race you are? The color you turn out to be? Is Stacy, a person who is ninety-five percent "white" and five percent "black," considered black because th... ...g the meaning to a human being. As the unknown poet said, illustrating how so many others feel: "But in his mind it wasn't lost, the one undeniable fact/That in a land of justice for all, he always would be BLACK." Works Cited Bradshaw, York W., Joseph F. Healey, and Rebecca Smith. Sociology for a New Century. Boston: Pine Forge Press, 2001. DuBois, W.E.B. The Souls of Black Folk. 1903. New York: Bantam, 1989. Gazzaniga, Michael, and Todd F. Heatherton. Psychological Science. New York: W.W. Norton and Company, 2003. Holy Bible: New Living Translation. Wheaton: Tyndale, 1996. Lustig, Myron W., and Jolene Koester. Intercultural Competence. 4th ed. San Francisco: Allyn and Bacon, 2003. Merriam-Webster's Dictionary Online http//www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/thesaurus. Rottenberg, Annette T. Elements of Argument. 7th ed. New York: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2003.