Small Objects: a Literary Analysis of Lullabies for Little Criminals

Small Objects: A Literary Analysis of â€Å"Lullabies for Little Criminals† In â€Å"Lullabies for Little Criminals,† there are many small objects that are relevant to Baby’s life. Objects can have remarkably profound effects on a person’s life, whether they are of sentimental value or another form of personal meaning, they have an impact on us. An object can mean many things to different people. An abandoned doll in a trash bin could be seen as old and ugly to an average person, but to the person who originally owned the doll; it could have been particularly special.In the novel, Heather O’Neil illustrates the effects of such objects on Baby and their symbolic meaning. In â€Å"Lullabies for Little Criminals,† there are three objects that represent Baby’s growth and change throughout the novel: the ragdoll, the knee- high socks, and the toy mice. When introducing her new friend Lauren to her room, Baby reflects on her rag doll,  "It was a doll that my mother had bought for me when she was pregnant . . . The doll also made me feel sweet inside, too, because it made me feel that at some point, even before I existed, I had been loved† (O’Neill 97-98).This illustrates Baby’s longing for a loving mother figure, which is a reasonable expectation from a 12 year old girl. Loving care is a critical need of any child. Baby does not have that feeling of being loved; therefore, she finds comfort in the fact that she was once loved. The doll is also representative of her current state of mind. Such as her wishes to be normal: have normal friends, normal parents, normal family; a normal life. When Jules destroys Baby’s rag doll out of anger, it is symbolic of a lost childhood.Her last reminder of the love her mother had for her had been torn away. Baby says, â€Å"Now I was nothing, a real nobody (O’Neill 119). The destruction of her doll meant that her sense of belonging, that she was once part of a family, was now gone. She seems as if she is being pulled into adolescence without having any real sense of true childhood. When the character Alphonse begins to take an interest in Baby, his first attempt to make Baby take an interest in him is to give her a gift. The gift is a pair of dainty knee-high socks.Baby wants nice things, and these socks were, according to baby, â€Å"the first pretty things I’d ever owned† (O’Neill 155). This gift is exhilarating for her. It is an acknowledgment from someone who believed she was attractive, especially coming from Alphonse. According the others in the neighborhood, it was known that Alphonse only looked out for good looking women, so if he took notice of someone, it meant something (O’Neill 148). It is particularly clear to the reader that Alphonse likely has ulterior motives, but to baby Alphonse is simply someone who likes her.The socks remind Baby that she is pretty, and she is proud of the fa ct that an older man found her attractive. In turn, this causes baby to trust Alphonse and fall for his manipulation, leading towards what could be a life of prostitution. The socks are symbolic of Baby being forced into adulthood. Baby is still young and naive; she has no way of understanding what Alphonse is attempting to do. Therefore, the socks may also represent Baby’s vulnerability and lack of ability to judge character.At this point in the novel, Baby has not had a proper childhood or even learned any of what it means to be a teenage person, and now she is already being pushed into adulthood. After Alphonse dies in the hotel room, Baby does not know what to do. She is lost without an adult. She realizes, â€Å"Even though I was making all the money, it seemed that since he was the adult, he was the only one who could get us a place to stay and food to eat† (O’Neill 309). It is clear that Baby is still mentally and physically a child, but has taken on the role of an adult.Since there is no longer an adult in her life, she is immediately overwhelmed. She does not think seeing Jules is a good idea (O’Neill 311), however, for some reason she is compelled to go to the shelter in which he is residing in. It seems that Baby’s situation may be hopeless. Baby’s arrival to the Mission seems to be the crucial turning point in the novel. She is presented with a family of toy mice, which baby believes to be â€Å"by far, the best gift I’d ever gotten† (O’Neill 317). An innocent and beautiful gift, which is exactly what Baby needs, something she has not had in an exceptionally long time.The mice are given along with the knowledge that she will be living Jules’s cousin from now on. The mice represent the possibilities of positive change in Baby’s life. They are symbolic of hope; the possibility that she will find what she needs. In â€Å"Lullabies for Little Criminals,† the use of obje cts to create symbolic meaning is abundantly evident and illustrates the roles Baby assumes as the novel progresses. She does not experience growing up in the same way most children do. She seems to go from child, to adolescent teen, to adult, in approximately a year.The roles she assumes show her growth in a manner that is unnatural to the reader, and the use of symbolism to show how this process is forced onto her is profound. The symbolism of the toy mice representing change shows Baby’s final step towards becoming a â€Å"normal† person. The author’s use of this immediately after the seemingly darkest point in the novel serves to create an emotional uplift for the reader; ultimately allowing the reader to realize that the character is going to be alright. The narrator states, â€Å"Then Janine stepped over to me and squeezed me hard.I could feel my heart beating when she hugged me against her, but now it felt fine . . . Her big blue eyes looked just like Ju les’s, and I guess mine too. Her green winter jacket smelled like rain† (O’Neill 330). The final paragraph of the novel shows that Baby will likely get exactly what she wanted: Love, a caring person, family, belonging, and most importantly, the opportunity to find herself. Work Cited O’Neill, Heather. Lullabies for Little Criminals. 1st ed. Toronto: Harper Perennial, 2006. Print

Hrm Case Essay

Case Summary Randstad, employment agency, has taken a distinct approach in staffing its personnel into partnership teams. Employees are partnered up into teams of two, typically one from Generation X and the other from Generation Y. The extreme age gap between team members has proved to be a success for the organization, because both individuals can learn from one another. Despite the fact that one team member may have more experience than the other, all members of the team are each other’s equal. The members’ tasks are constantly alternating, â€Å"each week one person is out making sales calls, and the other is in the office interviewing potential workers and handling paperwork† (Noe, Hollenbeck, Gerhart, et al, 2010, p. 264). As a result, this team based of approach of staffing older experienced personnel with younger developing staff members has increased the organizations retention rate and productivity levels (Noe, Hollenbeck, Gerhart, et al, 2010). Questions 1. Personnel selection decisions typically are based on the fit for one person for one job. In what way does Randstad’s use of partnership teams alter the typical way one might think about selection decisions? While other organizations are looking for particular characteristics in an individual for a single position, Randstad is looking for meticulous characteristics and qualities that are going to be complimentary with the other member. In addition, Randstad must also ensure that candidate has the proper qualities and skills to successfully complete the position’s tasks. Randstad has to look at the selection process as fitting two puzzle pieces together, finding the proper fit. Just because an individual is good for the position doesn’t mean that he or she will be a good pair with the member. The human resources staff must carefully find the proper â€Å"ying and yang† to each team that is set up. 2. What are some personal characteristics that might be viewed positively when staffing a single job, but that might actually be viewed negatively when staffing partnership teams? When staffing a single job, a positive characteristic to look for is an individual who regularly uses â€Å"I† in his or her statements (Noe, Hollenbeck, Gerhart, et al, 2010). This type of response indicates the individual possess some form of accountability which is imperative for an employee who will be working alone. However, this characteristic isn’t necessarily functional for staffing partnership teams where communal behaviors are necessary to be successful. In addition, an aggressive competitor might be ideal for a single position because it shows that the employee will be productive and eager to achieve and exceed goals. This characteristic is not ideal for a partnership position that works together as one unit. Because an individual is naturally competitive by nature, he or she might not be willing to stand back and be lead by the other team member. 3. Randstad deliberately creates variance in age when forming partnership teams. In what ways might younger workers and older workers be in a position to uniquely support each other when working in sales teams? Having a variance in age when formulating partnership teams creates an advantage and allows both individuals to uniquely support each other. The experience and wisdom of Generation X can be shared with Generation Y. There are many obstacles that the team member can guide their partner through because they have encountered similar situations and issues in the past. In addition, the younger individual can incorporate a sense of modernization into the team. The case study touched on a particular situation where Benjamin suggested they begin to use the electronic payroll system (Noe, Hollenbeck, Gerhart, et al, 2010). This example illustrated a scenario where the younger team member was able to bring a efficiency to the team. In addition, the case study mentions that the partnership allows younger team member to see the â€Å"corporate world more personal, approachable† (Noe, Hollenbeck, Gerhart, et al, 2010, p. 264). 4. Other than age, what other types of traits or abilities might one want to see when creating variance in partnership teams? Besides age variance as being the distinct characteristic in a partnership team, there are a few other traits or abilities that can be used to create variance in a team. Culture is a great foundation for setting up successful teams. Diversity in culture can have many positive influences in a team environment. The distinction in mannerisms and values can be shared between teammates. Background experiences can be another bases for establishing partnership teams. Teammates that have different experiences and knowledge can assist one another in accomplishing goals successful. For instance, one team member might be very knowledgeable in areas of technology and the other individual might be well informed with the company’s policies and procedures. Both individuals together can be a unique and complimenting arrangement. References Noe, R., Hollenbeck, J., Gerhart, B., & Wright, P. (2010). Human Resource Management: Gaining a competitive advantage 6th Ed. New York, USA: McGraw-Hill

A Midsummer Night’s Dream

1. The actions of the character ‘Puck’ in Shakespeare’s ‘A midsummer night’s dream’ affects the comedy of the play directly and completely reflects the Shakespearean world. Shakespeare portrays humor in numerous ways in his plays and this makes most of his plays successful. ‘A midsummer night’s dream’ is a cautious mixture of humor and love. There are two types of humor, one is plain humor that is added with the help of artisans in the play and the other is inferred humor, which is seen because of a funny character, Puck in this play. The artisans are not intelligent but they pretend to be and they mess up ith grammar and spelling, which results in mere confusion. By making silly mistakes of words they change the meaning of the sentence completely and in this way the audience enjoy the simple and plain comedy in the play. Shakespeare has made use of inferred humor with the help of a character Puck, who is a hyperactive child and gets into mischief every now and then. 2. Shakespeare has made use of the fools a lot in his plays and they are not only portrayed as jesters or fools but they are mediators and sometimes seem to be much more intelligent than the so-called masters. These fools add buoyancy to the story, humor at times of erious situations and also help to lighten the shadow of confusion caused by others. They have fewer dialogues but whatever they say has meaning and they say it with wit and sense. There are two fools in Shakespeare’s ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’, namely Mishra 2 Puck and Bottom where Bottom is portrayed for plain humor, Puck is for inferred humor. Also Puck is very mischievous and creates lot of confusion when he mistakenly puts the love juices in the eyes of Lysander instead of Demetrius. A. ‘A midsummer night’s dream’ is one of the most popular plays of Shakespeare and is idely acted upon worldwide. It is actually a romantic comedy and the story is about the adventures of four Athenian lovers with a group of amateur actors. There are some supernatural powers and the effects of their mischief and above all the confusion created by them. Shakespeare has made his female characters enjoy much more freedom than they actually posses. Helena and Hermia escape into the woods where they do not come under the laws of Theseus or Egeus. Hermia elopes with her lover Lysander and Helena also follows her with Demetrius whom she loves a lot. So women are seen using courage nd guts in Shakespeare’s play for their love but the ultimate refuge and happiness for them is marriage. Mainly there are three plots in the play that are interlocked and the main confusion is caused because Puck mistakenly puts the love juice in the eyes of Lysander who falls in love with Helena instead of Hermia. Because of all this, the four lovers quarrel with each other and in order to stop them from killing each other, Oberon orders Puck to keep them off from each other and re-charm Lysander for Hermia. When Oberon gets what he had asked from Titania, he releases her, Lysander is freed from the magic enchantment and Puck relieves Bottom from the ass’s head. But the magic is allowed to remain on the eyes of Demetrius so that Helena gets her lover in the end. As the whole night is spent in mere confusion and refuge in a forest full of supernatural powers, the lovers are made to think Mishra 3 the whole thing as a dream. In the end everyone retires to bed and Bottom awakes and thinks that he also had a dream. B. Puck, in Shakespeare’s ‘A midsummer night’s d ream’ is in the real sense a fool, i. e. , a jestor whose job is to entertain the Fairy King, Oberon. He is practically involved in the ngoing functions of the play and is seen making some intelligent observations regarding life and love. Puck is introduced to audience in ‘Act II Scene I’ with his encounter with one of Titania’s fairies and this interaction gives the audience an idea how mischievous and playful he is. Puck is given an assignment by Oberon in order to punish the Fairy Queen, Titania because he is angry with her. Oberon asks Puck to put the love juices in Titania’s eyes so that when she wakes up she falls in love with the first creature she sees. Also, Oberon wants to put right love problems of the lovers that are seen running about in he forest and so orders Puck to put some love juices in Demetrius’ eyes. Here Puck makes a mistake and puts the love juices in Lysander’s eyes which further causes lot of problems. Both, Lysander and Demetrius become madly in love with Helena and not with Hermia. All these confusions and comic situations in the play are just because of the foolishness of Puck. C. Puck, in fact, does not take life seriously and believes in fun and mischief. He is also not serious in performing his duties and has airy and light attitude towards his responsibilities. While all the other characters are serious and busy dealing with problems nd confusions, Puck is almost relaxed and is enjoying everything, pulling pranks and dancing around. One of such example is when Puck puts an ass head on Bottom, which is just fun and nothing else. Puck is having fun and is playful throughout the play except in Mishra 4 the end when he sorts out all the problems and makes all believe that they must have experienced a dream. In the end Puck makes a direct speech to the audience and apologizes for anything that must have hurt somebody's feelings and even suggests the audience to take everything as a dream. His speech is, If we shadows have offended, Think but this, and all is me nded, That you have but slumber’d here While these visions did appear. And this week and idle theme, No more yielding but a dream, Gentles, do not reprehend: If you pardon, we will mend: And, as I am an honest Puck, If we have unearned luck, Now to ‘scape the serpent’s tongue, We will make amends ere long; Else the Puck a liar call; So, good night unto you all. Give me your hands, if we be friends, And Robin shall restore amends. (Act V. Scene I) Mishra 5 Thus it is seen that throughout the play Puck is seen making fun, pulling pranks and dancing around like a fool but in the end he ties the audience with the play by just elivering one speech. He is quite intelligent and is totally aware of other’s feelings and understands love and life more than anyone else in the play. In fact Puck’s job is to entertain the Fairy King, Oberon with his tricks, pranks and jokes. His real name is Robin Goodfellow and his character in this play is a little bit similar to the mythological figure, Puck. Just as all the confusion and problems arise due to Puck’s silly mistakes he sorts them out by creating fog and putting more of the flower in Lysander’s eyes which would reverse the effect. So in the end he succeeds in making all the others believe that they had ust experienced a dream and nothing that happened was in reality. Shakespeare used humor in his plays with the help of these jesters and clowns. In fact the fools in Shakespeare’s plays are a mixture of clown and the courtly fool or jester, that has both the qualities as to entertain the king and others with his foolish activities and to say truth in a witty or satirical manner. Where all the other people hesitated to point out King’s mistakes or misjudgment, Shakespearean fools spoke the truth without any fear. They were characterized as very intelligent and sensitive but they pretended to be as fools ost of the time. This is seen in Shakespeare’s ‘A midsummer night’s dream’ in which Puck is a character whose job is to entertain the Fairy King and obey his orders. He actually has not much power in his hands and just carries on the orders of Oberon. He is typical of Shakespeare’s fools and is foolish and mischievous and at the same time intelligent and sensitive too. He is also made to parody the actions and speeches of other characters of the play towards the end of the play during the great fog just to carry on the Mishra 6 light humor a little more until the confusions are sorted out. A Midsummer Night’s Dream Judging the various thematic expression of the play in the light of these lines, it is illustrated that sometimes imagination leads to wholesome results and sometimes leads to absurd consequences. The quintessence of A Midsummer Night’s Dream reveals that the quick fervor, the inconstancy, the quirky work of caprice, the illusion, the fictitious idealism, the delusions, love-idiocies become personified in the play and creates a world of its own. This imaginative world seems as real and living as those which are visited by the warmth of love in the play by the lovers. This creates the whole atmosphere in a way that every far-fetched thing is uniformly existent and incredible. One may label it as the fictitious idealism i. e. production of mere imagination but seems real to lovers as Theseus does in these lines. These lines further corresponds to another thematic expression that is subsidiary to the main theme is love vs. reason. The final pairing in the play accords with the choice which the two girls (Hermia and Helena) have faithfully adhered to; but the choice and the fidelity have not been dictated by reason. Evidently, love is not based upon any rational judgment and imagination has a role to play in the corridors of love. Imagination is liable to err but it has its creative function too. Theseus not only dwells on the misleading consequences of the exercise of the faculty of imagination but also eulogize its higher and creative aspect. In the amorous affairs, everything is led, guided and controlled entirely by the imaginative faculty. Titania’s infatuation for Bottom the ass is an aberration of love; so is the Lysander’s infatuation for Helena. These infatuations are product of this imagination whereas the four love affairs that create a world of intense ardor are also a production of imagination. So these lines encircle the main theme of the play and a sense of dream-reality persists due to imaginative effect in the life of characters as well as in the play. A Midsummer Night’s Dream Judging the various thematic expression of the play in the light of these lines, it is illustrated that sometimes imagination leads to wholesome results and sometimes leads to absurd consequences. The quintessence of A Midsummer Night’s Dream reveals that the quick fervor, the inconstancy, the quirky work of caprice, the illusion, the fictitious idealism, the delusions, love-idiocies become personified in the play and creates a world of its own. This imaginative world seems as real and living as those which are visited by the warmth of love in the play by the lovers. This creates the whole atmosphere in a way that every far-fetched thing is uniformly existent and incredible. One may label it as the fictitious idealism i. e. production of mere imagination but seems real to lovers as Theseus does in these lines. These lines further corresponds to another thematic expression that is subsidiary to the main theme is love vs. reason. The final pairing in the play accords with the choice which the two girls (Hermia and Helena) have faithfully adhered to; but the choice and the fidelity have not been dictated by reason. Evidently, love is not based upon any rational judgment and imagination has a role to play in the corridors of love. Imagination is liable to err but it has its creative function too. Theseus not only dwells on the misleading consequences of the exercise of the faculty of imagination but also eulogize its higher and creative aspect. In the amorous affairs, everything is led, guided and controlled entirely by the imaginative faculty. Titania’s infatuation for Bottom the ass is an aberration of love; so is the Lysander’s infatuation for Helena. These infatuations are product of this imagination whereas the four love affairs that create a world of intense ardor are also a production of imagination. So these lines encircle the main theme of the play and a sense of dream-reality persists due to imaginative effect in the life of characters as well as in the play. A Midsummer Night’s Dream A Midsummer Night’s Dream is one of the many works of William Shakespeare. It is romantic comedy that is said to have been written around 1595 or 1596. It tells the story of young Athenian lovers and their encounter with the Duke and Duchess of Athens and as well with fairies and actors of a play for the Duke’s wedding.The story tells of how far someone would go in order to find themselves. It also shows the reality of sexual bias in our society, how male dominates and other sexual conflicts. It also shows the power of the gods, how they are able to dictate human lives like in the story of Oedipus Rex wherein the story shows that no one can change their destiny that the gods are in control but in the case of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, fairies had been able to control/play with the human characters in the story.The story teller in the play was Puck, also a character in the play. He is a fairy and servant of Oberon (the king of fairies).The story took in Athens in the time of Theseus and Hippolyta. The conflicts in the story started in the Duke’s place and continued in the woods where the king of fairies and his wife were and some other fairies as well. Several conflicts follow in this setting.There had been theories which tries to explain the reason behind the creation of the story although there is no concrete evidence that are found to support these theories. It had been said that there had been numerous aristocratic wedding that took place during 1596 and it was said that it is for these occasions that play was written. Also, another theory says that the play was written for the Queen and for the celebration of Saint John’s feast day.What is missing in the story is a tragedy. Although there had been some confusion and conflicts in the play, the ending can be considered a happy ending unlike Romeo and Juliet. Life is also full of twist and turns and as well as tragedies. Also, the ending seems to have been in favor with every character in the story, well, just as Puck said, consider it a dream. Still, tragedy could have been also present but is not easily seen. Well the ending of the story could just really be plain comedy or a hidden tragedy.The last scene also provides the readers view about reality and as well as imagination. It is also through good imagination that we can enjoy a play or a story. It is what makes these things interesting and really worth our time, money and effort in watching or even reading a play. It requires good imagination and our ability to distinguish what is reality and what is not.I believe that what makes A Midsummer Night’s Dream similar with several stories that I know (watch, read, or heard) is that it tells how far someone would go for their love. Many stories had also been written that tells of several conflicts that are about to be faced by the characters in order to be able to rest the arms of their loved ones.The same thing goes for Shakespeare’s othe r plays like Romeo and Juliet. For me, the story tells of the reality that in life, there are so many trials and obstacles that we must faced before achieving happiness. We cannot have everything that we want and definitely there will be times that we must compromise our happiness for something or someone else.The story also showsI believe that everyone will benefit from the play. It teaches some lessons that are applicable to our daily lives. Everyone will really see something in this story that will surely help them or change some of their views and how they perceive some things in their lives. I also enjoyed the story together with the conflicts that arises. It also help me realize that I must respect others decisions, beliefs etc.Just like in the story, every parent must respect their sons and daughters decisions especially when in comes to matters regarding their feelings. Respect is a very important factor in developing your relationship with other people. Also, it should be a very important part of your personality. If we do not respect others, we should not expect that they will respect us back.ReferenceSky-McIlvain, E. (2004). A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare. RetrievedNovember 19, 2007 fromhttp://www.leasttern.com/Shakespeare/Midsummer/Dreamhome.htm

Economics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words - 1

Economics - Essay Example The author argues that global success of various products and brands despite the vast cultural differences among the countries are the proof that the markets are getting more integrated. It mainly speaks about the need of having the products exposed to global markets. Richard E. Caves, 1980. Industrial Organization, Corporate Strategy and Structure. Journal of Economic Literature, 18(1), pp. 64-92. The above resource is a great contributor to the area of strategic management. The study mainly focused on the impact of a strategic choice on company’s behaviour and performance on the markets. Toder, Eric J., Cardell, Nicholas Scott., Burton, Ellen, 1978. Trade Policy and the U.S. Automobile Industry. United States: Praeger. The above book focuses mainly on the importance of scale of operations. It makes a comparison between U.S. and Japanese automobile industry. It clearly describes how in the 1970’s U.S. automobile industry suffered due to low scale of operation. Chapter 17 Brian, Arthur, 1996. Increasing Returns and the New World of Business. Harvard Business Review. July/Aug 1996. p. 2-10. This is an article that examines the theories laid out by Alfred Marshall and other fellow economists. This article makes a contrast between the diminishing returns concept passed on by the economists and increasing returns concept of the present century. The author says that the concept of diminishing returns is valid only in a bulk processing economy of Marshall’s age. He says that in today’s world of technology driven business, the concept that will determines success is ‘increasing returns.’ Chapter 18 Yip, George, 2000. Global Strategy in the Twenty-First Century. United States: Prentice Hall. The author stresses on the importance of companies to go global. The chapter begins by saying that in the 1980’s globalizing the business was a matter of debate and discussion. But when it came to 21st century companies restrain from globalizing only if they have valid reason for doing so. The author says that today’s multinational companies can be classified as internationalist, federalist and global maximizer. The main theme of the article is that companies should become as global as possible and at the same time should localise their products to be successful globally. This article is one of the greatest contributions to the field of globalization. Internal strengths of Motorola Brand Image: The first and foremost strength of Motorola is that it is one of the best brands in the world. Motorola is a brand that is being recognized for reputation, quality and innovation. Motorola is one of the largest used gadgets in most developed countries though it is just an establishing brand in developing countries. Pioneer of Technology: The second major strength of Motorola is that it is the pioneer in various technologies in the telecommunication industry. It was Motorola which introduced the world’s first hand held cellular phone. Motorola was the first company to introduce push-to-talk system in a mobile phone. The company’s latest innovation is the digital high definition television. Product range: The next major strength of Motorola is its wide product range. Apart from wireless handsets, Motorola is also a competing player in wireless accessories, digital entertainment application, voice and data communication systems, wireless access systems and enterprise mobility

Unit VIII Assessment MC Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Unit VIII Assessment MC - Essay Example She filed a claim under the ADA. (4) Bob Hughes is 57 years old and was employed by the state as a school bus driver. He had an exemplary record, with no accidents in the 27 years he was employed by the state. Bob was replaced by a younger man, age 31. He filed a claim with EEOC for age discrimination. (6) Carlos, age 24, and Samuel, age 47, are employed as security officers for Jackson Security Co. In an effort to retain qualified officers and to be more competitive with the salaries offered by the police department, Jackson developed an incentive plan which provided for higher raises for younger officers. As a result, Jackson gave Carlos a higher raise than Samuel. Samuel filed a claim for age discrimination. (7) Gibson Foods, Inc. and Thompson Foods, Inc. have merged to form a new corporation, Better Food, Inc. In the process of consolidating the business, management decides that a reduction in force is necessary to avoid duplication of positions and generally streamline the running of the new company, thereby lowering the operating costs. Paul is a production manager and his job is eliminated. He is 51 years old and believes that he was targeted because of his age. (8) Catherine, aged 59, was employed as a make-up artist with a local department store. The company hired a new manager. He fired Catherine and gave her job to Katrina, age 42. Catherine is alleging age

Predicting healthpromoting lifestyles in the workplace Essay

Predicting healthpromoting lifestyles in the workplace - Essay Example Pender's Health Promotion Model is in a unique position to detect individuals who are at risk for diseases in workplace and to implement family-oriented life-style variations that promote health at workplace. Nola J. Pender's health promotion model has four magnitudes: clinical health, role performance health, adaptive health, and eudemonistic health. The model has developed a tool, Laffrey's Health Conception Scale that confines these constructs. Individual perceptions and adjusting factors influence people at work place in their need for obtaining information and making subsequent decisions regarding health-promotion activities (Pender, pp 13-15). Pender classified employees, unable to care for them as a component of a reliant care system. Health promotion at workplace must focus on the caregivers and family as well as the individuals. In the practice of health nursing, the nurse cooperates with the individual and the caregiver to evaluate the current state of health, determine shared health goals, and recognize the knowledge and skills necessary to improve self-care and health-promotion activities. Pender (1988) assessed health features of older adults in comparison with young and middle-aged adults.

Consider how a currency appreciation might affect national income Essay - 2

Consider how a currency appreciation might affect national income - Essay Example If an economy of a nation presents a favorable environment for investments that are relatively better than other nations, then the nation will experience inflow of capital. With flexible foreign exchange rates, this capital inflow will tend to increase the value of the country’s currency. Factors such as relative product prices, monetary policy, inflation rate differences and income changes influence the appreciation of a country’s currency (LIPSEY & CHRYSTAL, 2011 p 167). The effects of these factors are discussed below: Suppose that the income of major trading of a country increase to a greater margin, there will be greater increase in domestic income which is associated with increased consumption of the imported goods. The nation’s trading partner demand for the local goods will increase; thereby the demand for local currency will exceed quantity supplied hence appreciation. Deflation is always associated with appreciation. Suppose the price levels of a nation’s commodities decreases while that of its trading partner remains the relatively stable. The local goods will seem cheap to foreigners hence increasing the demand for local goods. This will increase the demand for money hence appreciation of the local currency. Countries that implement restrictive monetary policies will be decreasing the supply of their currency hence currency appreciation. The appreciation of a country’s currency is relative to the currencies of its trading partner. Higher rates of interest make it more attractive to save in a nation. This is because there is a better rate of return on saving accounts. Therefore there will be inflow of money in country hence appreciation of the currency. Stronger economic growth tends to cause an appreciation in the forex market. This is so due to the fact that with higher economic growth, there is likelihood that the nation might experience increase in interest rates (DAÃŒ ¨BROWSKI 2001, p 10).

Johann Pachelbel's Canon Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Johann Pachelbel's Canon - Essay Example Pachelbel in his youth was taught music by Heinrich Schwemmer. He was quick to grasp the gist of music and his talent was eminent. He portrayed outstanding music abilities in his early days and this encouraged his early teachers to nature the talent in him. He went to primary school at the Auditorio Aegediano and in St. Lorenz Hauptschule in his birth town of Nuremberg. He was a quick learner and performed brilliantly in school. He later on went to the University of Altdorf where his family was unable to raise the school fees for his education midway in his course and he was compelled to quite school. On sporting his talent and academic ability, he was offered an opportunity for further education where he joined Gymnasium Poeticum which is in Regensburg where he studied on a scholarship. He did not disappoint as he performed exceptionally well and was among the top students. He was in fact offered an admission in the school to be a surplus in the number of students as the school had already filled its maximum capacity number. Pachelbel got married twice with the first marriage ending by a plague which killed his wife and only son at the time. It was a very tragic event which put him under a lot of stress and even threatened his career in the music industry. Barbara Gabler died in October 1683 only two years after their marriage and leaving him a devastated man. Pachelbel got married to Judith Drommer ten months after the death of his first family as a way to reinvent himself and fill the gap that was so deeply intrenched into his heart. In this second marriage this time he bore two girls and five boys. This was seen as a way to keep an insurance for himself just in case such an event as that of the plague took place again then he would have someone dear to him to live with and to gain emotional support from when he needed it. He fortunately lived a happy life and got to be celebrated widely for his music. He finally died on the 3rd of March 1706 while working a s a church organist and was laid to rest at the St. Rochus Cemetery in his birth place, Nuremberg, Germany. II. Historical Information Pachelbel lived during the historic era of the reign of the Habsburg empire and the Baroque era. It was an extensive empire at the time (17th Century) which had its capital at Vienna. The empire had most of its culture and its taste of music being influenced by predominantly by the Italian culture and this in a major way influenced the music of Pachelbel to have a flare of Italian touch. He grew very famous in the empire and was so fond of the capital Vienna that he spend more than one quarter of his entire life living and practicing music in Vienna. The musicians during the time of Pachelbel made a living almost entirely out of music alone. There were quite a number of job opportunities for anyone who was good in music. Pachelbel is one of the veteran musicians of the time and he spent his life making a career out of music till his death at the age of 53. In fact at some point in time Pachelbel was offered jobs but he declined. He already had a job at a church where they considered him a very important part of the society and his departure will would leave a huge gap in the community. This led to the church offering him an increase of salary and he opted to stay on in the church for another four years. Musicians at the time worked as court organists, church organists, tutors in

Positioning Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Positioning - Research Paper Example n any organization by providing increased convenience, flexibility and controlling the users as well as influencing their service delivery options being offered, such as easy mobile accessibility at any time. The positioning strategy statement will provide guidance and the commitment by providing unrestricted and multi-channel access paths to information’s to the members of the society. Further, the provision of operational coverage and service capacity with respect to iPhone and network delivery will be ensured (Ortnes, 2011). The organization, on the other hand, appears unique since it provides the commitment to the growth of the technological infrastructure that provide users with the freedom to work with the iPhone mobile device of their choice compared to other organizations. Positioning is a powerful tool in marketing that creates an image of the organization. Best business positioning doesn’t limit opportunities and choices. Some of the primary elements of positioning that the organization aims at include affordable prices of the iPhone that will enable customers to purchase without complaint (Kotler & Keller, 2012). However, the iPhone quality is expected to be high. In connection to this, as the rate of competition is gradually increasing, the organization is required to offer customer-friendly guarantees, return policies and warranties that are not being provided by other competitors. The organization is also expected to provide customized and customized services to the customers (Webster, 2011). The channel of distribution of the iPhone should be strategized. In consideration of the prices, quality, distribution, and services, the organization will automatically capture most customers compared to other organizations in a competitive environm ent. Having visited various places around the market, I realized that the majority of entrepreneurs in the field of marketing selling iPhone models were majorly selling the iPhone, 5c model. Through this, I

Journal Article Analysis Essay Example for Free

Journal Article Analysis Essay Current views of the world, desires, dreams, goals, and the demands placed upon society are constantly transformed by present epistemological beliefs. Schommer-Aikens and Hutter (2002) investigated the relationship between an individuals’ belief about knowledge, learning or epistemological beliefs and how this relates to average conversational issues (Schommer-Aikens , Hutter, 2002). Using a study group of 174 adults ranging in age from 17 to 71, Schommer-Aikens and Hutter (2002) posed questions assessing beliefs of knowledge and the speed control of learning. Feldman addressed how assumptions become scientific knowledge by stating â€Å"Sometimes we know things by reasoning or inference. When we know some facts and see that those facts support some further fact, we can come to know that further fact. Scientific knowledge, for example, seems to arise from inferences from observational data† (Feldman, 2003, p. 3). Understanding how assumptions move into scientific knowledge it becomes apparent how these assumptions are qualified in research. The authors used regression analysis to quantify the assumptions of the participants as they relate to knowledge, learning, multiple perspectives, and ultimately the development of epistemological beliefs. This analysis will further identify philosophical assumptions underlying the research; explain the practical significance of these assumptions and their effect on its applicability to other authors and post-positive thinkers. Philosophical Assumptions Underlying the Research Feldman (2003) stated that epistemology, the theory of knowledge is a philosophy that looks into the questions about knowledge and rational. Epistemologist`s tend to focus or concentrate on questions of principal aspects involving knowledge and how those beliefs regulate coherent belief. Those within the field are less concerned about the validity of knowledge or  coherent belief, be it correct or incorrect but focus more on causes (Feldman, 2003, p. 1). To that extent Schommer-Aikens and Hutter (2002) conducted a survey of 174 participants, including 120 women and 54 men. The ages of the participants ranged from 17 to 71 years of age and included various personal and educational backgrounds. Through the Schommer epistemological questioner participants, including chemical engineers, clerks, homemakers, factory workers, pharmacists, and teachers of both genders. These participants were asked a number of questions that incorporated religious, educational, societal and personal belief s. Questions were ranked in a likert- type scale ranging from strongly disagrees to strongly agree (Schommer-Aiker, Hutter, 2002). Philosophical Assumptions Schommer-Aikens and Hutter state â€Å"The results coming from epistemological research suggest that individual`s beliefs about the nature of knowledge and learning are linked to their comprehension, metacomprehension, interpretation of information and persistence in working on difficult academic tasks† (Schommer-Aikens, Hutter, 2002, p. 6). The authors contend that individuals who believe knowledge is isolated into segmented bits and not taken as a sum total perform more poorly in the compression of mathematical, physiological, and medical textbooks (Schommer-Aikens, Hutter, 2002). This statement confirms that knowledge or epistemological commitments are a collection of data and understanding and not segmented or isolated bits of information. The assumption is those who tend to segregate knowledge and who do not attain a higher degree of education have difficulty in their own epistemological commitments. This is further evident in the writings of Quine and Kuhn as these authors beleive science is a continuation of common-sense (Delanty Strydom, 2003, p. 22). According to these authors common, everyday decisions made by the common man and woman play a significant role in the creation of science. Whereas the purpose of the epistemological study was to extend epistemological beliefs to an individual’s everyday life, it was also designed to reflect on academic studies. This particular article using the Schommer epistemological belief survey makes several assumptions. Those assumptions state those with a higher level of education are more likely to take on multiple perspectives,  withhold decisions until information was available, acknowledge the complexity of everyday issues and were willing to modify thought processes or thinking (Schommer-Aikens, Hutter, 2002). The inference is those who take knowledge as a collection of data, not as segmented bits along with the attaining of a higher level of education were equipped for complex or critical thinking. This enabled each to understand the complexity of life, make crucial decisions, understand varying viewpoints and able to adapt as understanding grew. These assumptions have a practical significance and affect research. The Practical Significance of Assumptions and Their Effect on Research Inferences and practical assumptions are drawn during the research of this article, and one could argue some of the assumptions made were drawn before the research study ever began. Through personal epistemological beliefs society has long held the conviction those who attain a higher level of education are able to deal with the complexities of life. The practical significance of assumptions and their effect on the research conducted are visible in the work of Johnson and Duberley as they state â€Å"both within and outside of our organizations our behavior is internally motivated, and internally justified, by what we believe about â€Å"the World† (Johnson Duberley, 2000, p. 2). Often in preparing for such a survey the focus group of participants used along with the questions themselves distort the data and thus the results to achieve a desired result. While in this case the participants have diverse backgrounds and have achieved differing degrees of education, making such assertions could distort data. Assumptions and Research Methodology Kuhn preferred historical science and by building upon prior knowledge Kuhn (2012) believes this research and evidence was already available enabling that data to be tested using deferring mechanisms to either prove or disprove a current or prior theory. While not opposed to the empirical testing, it was his belief that details must be obtained for research. It is through this historical science and data that assumptions within society and within science about our understanding of epistemological belief have come into existence. Popper states the empirical method makes good use of a  criticized approach to the method (Delanty Strydom, 2003). The empirical method tests each system ensuring the best system moves forward after all methods have been tried, tested, and proved. Schommer-Aikens and Hutter (2000) used questions, including â€Å"You never know what a book means unless you know the intent of the author† and â€Å"Its a waste of time to work on problems which have no possibility of coming out with clear-cut and unambiguous answers† (Schommer-Aikens, Hutter, 2000). These answers along with others were used as a measurement in epistemological belief comparing their answers and their level of education to gauge how those answers compared with historical norms (Schommer-Aikens, Hutter, 2000). This data was then taken and a regression model developed to extract the stated research and ultimately assumptions made. Schommer-Aikens and Hutter (2000) in turn came to the same assumptions and epistemological commitments already held within social and physical science to date. The research quantified and validated the assumptions held by historical science that one’s epistemological beliefs are shaped and re-shaped by the ability to link through learning, multiple perspectives, and ultimately the development of epistemological beliefs. The ability for humans to use successfully address complex issues, attain paradigm shifts in their understanding of the world and develop are inevitably linked with thought processes and knowledge gained through high er education. Conclusion A person’s thoughts, feelings, emotion, and beliefs often shape ones decision-making process. Other components, including perception, memory, introspection, and reasoning also assist in the formation of opinions, shape our knowledge, and transform an individual’s viewpoint (Feldman, 2003, p. 3). Perception is how one sees the world around them, the sights, sounds, smells, and other senses creates an understanding of the external environment creating a mental image and often places an attachment to it. Through their research Schommer-Aikens and Hutter (2002) investigated the relationship between and individuals’ belief about knowledge, learning or epistemological beliefs and how this relates to average conversational issues (Schommer-Aikens , Hutter,2002). Using the regression model the authors quantified the beliefs and assumptions the conclusion of which is a culmination of historical science supported by this recent research. While  post-positive thinking like Kuhn, Quine, and Popper may differ in view about the empirical method, testing, and paradigm shifts as theories change over time the core belief of epistemological commitment remain comparable. A sentence sums up this article and the accompanying research as it pertains to epistemological belief. Those with a higher level of education are more likely to take on multiple perspectives, withhold decisions until information was available, acknowledge the complexity of everyday issues and were willing to modify thought processes or thinking (Schommer-Aikens, Hutter, 2002). References Delanty, G. Strydom, P. (Eds). (2003). Philosophies of Social Science: The Classic and Contemporary readings. Philadelphia, Pa: Mcgraw-Hill. https://ecampus.phoenix.edu/content/eBookLibrary2/content Feldman, R. (2003). Epistemology. Prentice Hall. The University of Phoenix. https://ecampus.phoenix.edu/content/eBookLibrary2/content. Kuhn, T. (2012). The Structure of Scientific Revolutions. Chicago, Il. University of Chicago Press .https://ecampus.phoenix.edu/content/eBookLibrary2/content. Schommer-Aikins, M., Hutter, R. (2002). Epistemological Beliefs and Thinking About Everyday Controversial Issues. Journal Of Psychology, 136(1), 5.https://ecampus.phoenix.edu/content/eBookLibrary2/content. Johnson, P. Duberley, J. (2000). Understanding Management Research: An Introduction to Epistemology. Thousand Oaks CA. Sage Publishing. Prentice Hall. https://ecampus.phoenix.edu/content/eBookLibrary2/content.

Relationships Between Risk And Criminology

Relationships Between Risk And Criminology Explore the relationship between risk and criminology. To what extent, if any, have ideas about risk influenced our concepts and management of crime? This essay will explore the relationship between risk and criminology. In doing so, it will examine arguments surrounding a modern day society of risk, to demonstrate a strong intrinsic link between the two. This argument will show the direct link by highlighting how crime prevention approaches seem to control and manage the opportunities for crime. It will shown how arguments and the foundations of risk communication (Beck, 1992: 4; Denney, 2005: 82-103) have helped shape the modern day view of crime management, by presenting examples formulated from a perspective of risk management. Early theoretical attempts to crime management, as suggested by Foucault (1977), revolve around the individual where rehabilitation or conformity is obtained from the individual via controls, such as surveillance (Denney, 2005: 114-6). Prisons are particularly relevant, where Foucault progresses theses ideas of attempting to regulate the individual into an accepted behaviour. Foucault (1977: 25) was suggesting that society had developed technologies of power which were then used to discipline and punish individuals who strayed from what society felt tolerable. Furedi (2002: 12) states: an enlightened society recognizes that human beings need to take risks and that in so doing, they will sometimes experience an adverse outcome. Risk is part of life and a society that adopts the view that preventing injury is an end in itself will have to ban a variety of creative and challenging activities. By offering this definition, Furedi was accepting that we live in a risk society as described by Hardy (2006: 41) as technical factors outweigh social ones and risk analysis is increasingly developed in relation to technological domain and therefore demonstrates how technology has been used in society to determine risk within that society. Thus offering evidence of high risk areas utilising insurance models, as endorsed by the Home Office, to construct crime reduction strategies. OMalley (2009b) also highlights that risk society is an integral part of modern day life and connects risk management techniques to most problems, including criminology. OMalley (2003: 449) eludes to the fact that there has been a noticed shift from crime management of individuals where behaviour control was the kingpin, drawing on actuarial and insurance based approaches. Cohen (1985: 82) was the first to highlight the fact that there was a rapid change to crime prevention involving situational crime prevention, which involved mapping out opportunities for crime and reducing the risk of its occurrence. Feeley and Simon (1994: 175) view risk as the use of statistical models of prediction to reduce harm, whilst Rose (2000: 322) claims that risk involves the use of non-statistical models to minimise risk based on models of uncertainty. Criminologists appear to favour a mixture of both since Haggerty (2003: 193-194) points out that crime prevention techniques seem to involve the management of risk with little reference to statistical models but involves encouraging members of the community to keep a watchful eye over their surroundings, i.e. Neighbourho od Watch. Risk is viewed by people in many different ways for example, victims view risk in terms of the fear of crime a factor becoming more focused by the Government and the actual risks that a criminal is prepared to take in order to achieve their goal or reward. OMalley (2009a: 2) highlights two reports published in the 80s: The Floud Report (1982) and the Greenwood Report (Rand Corporation 1982) which brought in a new approach to crime management by recommending that risk considerations should be embedded in to the Criminal Justice System. OMalley (2009a: 2) writes that recommendations from the Floud Report included implementation of protective sentences which he argued could restructure risk and would not focus on the individual but on the size of the community most at risk from the offender. Likewise, he states that the Greenwood Report argued that the use of statistical models to identify high risk offenders would be an efficient way to allocate longer sentences in order to minimise the risk they present to the community. The resultant was that a few Criminologists (Cohen, 1985; Feely and Simon, 1992; OMalley, 2003) began to shift from correctional theories to develop predictive models to manage crime. Feeley and Simon (1994) pushed the idea of actuarial justice for decisions on sentencing durations by displacement due to incapacitation, thus managing the offender via the Criminal Justice System. A working example of this is the Prolific Priority Offender (PPO), where an individual is categorised and then receives enhanced attention via the Criminal Justice system, (Home Office, 2008). Generally, this approach has been met with criticism (Rose, 2000: 333) where predictive models may criminalise and incapacitate individuals who may not re-offend. There is also a danger of creating further offenders via the labelling theory (Vold et al, 2002: 210-216; Newman and Marongiu, 1997: 158-9). Both the American three strike rule and fact that within the UK convicted sex offenders must inform the Police of their address in order to be risk managed signalled a move within the Criminal Justice System where risk assessment was a part of the whole process. Baumann (2000: 208-10) identified the use of risk management within the pe nal system creating two separate groups the high risk ones who are not given much rehabilitation and the lower risk groups who are viewed with high suspicion regarding their ability to reform and are then excluded from society. Feeley and Simons (1994) research goes a long way to corroborate Baumanns position as it found that predictive models of actuarial justice appeared to target Black and Hispanic working class people in America. Risk management within the Criminal Justice System attempt to minimise the opportunity for criminals to re-offend. As part of risk management, the UK Government has expanded its Protective Services and ensures that agencies work closely together in order to manage specific risk offenders. The probation Service leads DMAPP and CMAPP meetings where an offender on licence can be judged to be a risk to the community and if so may have some draconian powers utilised to restrict and control them. As pointed out by OMalley (2003: 450) situational crime prevention is not concerned with causes of crime and does not encroach on rehabilitation or incarceration of the offender. Instead, it is concerned with how to manage the risk of crime. OMalley recognises the actuarial characteristics of situational crime prevention is more aligned with neo-conservative, rationalist and the New Right whose beliefs are concerned with population management, increased punishment for offenders and displacing the risk to help reduce the fear of crime and enhance societies economic status. Previous theories identified opportunities such as open windows as a high crime risk, situational crime prevention goes further and introduces the concept of the offender having a rational choice (Vold et al, 2002: 203). Cornish and Clarke (2003: 43) allude to prompts and suggest that situational cues are what can trigger criminal behaviour. Therefore, whilst situational crime prevention is concerned with risk manag ement, it introduces the concept that the offender chooses to offend for specific reasons. Rational choice (Vold et al, 2002: 203) suggests that the offender weighs up the risks associated with committing the offence against the benefits from successfully completing the actions to see if the crime is worth committing. Therefore, OMalley (2003) proposes that actuarial justice draws heavily from rational choice theory by doubting the reasons for the offence and constructs the individual as abstract, universal and rational (OMalley, 2003: 451). In the same way that individuals feel they have a right to freedom, rational choice allows such freedoms to do good and therefore when an individual chooses to do harm, then they must be judged accordingly. Foucault noticed that the Criminal Justice System was created with a notion that there were other factors responsible for crime, thus reducing the opportunity for responsibility (Foucault, 1977: 252). OMalley (2003: 451) maintains that the criminal abstract, using an arterial justice framework, the issue of responsibility and its place within the Criminal Justice framework is once again prominent and matched by the New Right philosophy of punitive and just deserts sentencing framework. Incapacitation seems to be the main argument used by supporters of situational crime prevention because they feel it removes the offender from the opportunity of committing further crime and indeed the prison population in the UK and America are at an all time high. Race, class, gender are not routinely a considered factor within situational crime prevention and when they are, OMalley (2003) states: If bothered with at all, they are taken to be predictive of behaviours, not explanatory of meaningful actions (OMalley, 2003: 452). Situational crime prevention brings the victim back to the centre of crime management and criminal justice techniques, placing public safety at the forefront. Although situational crime draws from rational choice theory to explain the behaviour of the offender, it does the same for the victim. This model is about the victim also taking a lead role and being part of the crime prevention model by being aware of any vulnerabilities they are exposing by the surroundings or their actions. This thinking, as proposed by Cohen and Felson (1979) are the foundations of Routine Activity Theory. They claim that criminology concentrated on the offender and paid little attention to the criminal act itself. They increased the argument that lifestyle changes, such as employment, leisure and education influenced the occurrence of crimes and that individuals needed to evaluate these risks and make rational decisions, thus making them less likely to be targets. Cohen and Felson (1979: 593-7) concentrat ed on the location where the crime actually occurred and the surrounding conditions that contributed to making the crime viable. Routine activity theory articulates that a crime can only happen when one or more criminals are motivated and the individuals see an opportunity to commit the crime. The associated argument that managing risk is part of routine activity theory further supports the fact that the criminal must be able to observe few preventative barriers that would make the commission of the crime unsuccessful. From these arguments, Cohen and Felson (1979: 588) highlighted that changes in the way property and valuables are dealt with would have an impact upon the opportunity for crime. The impact of risk analysis, according to Cohen and Felson (1979: 588) is significant, as the risk of crime can be reduced by implementing preventative measures which make the commission of the crime unattractive to the criminal. Smith, Clarke and Pease (2002: 75) highlight research that shows crime prevention initiatives often have anticipatory benefits. These benefits broadly surround change, but are ultimately connected to communication a risk to the potential offender. These principle ideas on managing risk have had a tremendous influence on how crime is policed. Interestingly, Felson (1987) extended his application of routine activity theory to include white collar crime and organised crime. With the development of situational crime prevention Felson (1987) hoped to prevent crimes that were caused by changes in routine activity. Situational crime prevention sees the offender calculating the risks associated with committing the crime, for example, the likelihood that they will not be apprehended. By causing this, the consequences are a reduction in crime by reducing the opportunities. Therefore the risk considerations for both the victim and offender are significant in crime prevention strategies such as improved street lighting (Farrington and Welsh, 2006: 209-224) and the installation and use of closed circuit television (CCTV) (Welsh and Farrington, 2006: 193-208), together with more police patrols (Poyserm, 2004). Policing is increasingly using situational crime prevention strategies and techniques through risk assessment to study crime patterns and implement intervention. As part of the analysis, police use crime data together with environmental and social factors in vulnerable areas to identify who are likely targets and for what reasons. By utilising these techniques they are able to develop bespoke crime reduction strategies for that specific problem. Hamilton-Smith and Kent (2005: 423-5) explain have situational crime prevention techniques have been tailored to target dwelling burglary. They recognise and acknowledge that there have been many models developed to help achieve the reductions and management, but specifically highlight a recognised model by Cornish and Clarke, which is called the 25 techniques (Hamilton-Smith and Kent, 2005: 423; Cornish and Clarke, 2003: 42). Jones (2005: 471) utilises the Oxford English Dictionary (1989) to give a suitable definition of surveillance, which appears quite appropriate: Watch or guard kept over a person, etc., especially over a person, a prisoner; or the like often, spying, supervision; [à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦] supervision for the purpose of control, superintendence. [à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦] of devices, vessels, etc., used in military or police surveillance. Modern crime fighting techniques have positively developed from new forms of surveillance, starting with the prison which was the focus of Foucaults (1977) gaze and saw authorities monitoring the behaviour of prisoners in a structured manner. Braithwaite (2000: 224) took inspiration from Foucaults (1991) reference to the term governmentality and suggested that the state had developed many technological models to manage the risk of deviant behaviour and ensure order is kept to that considered acceptable by general society. These technologies concentrate on the management of risk to control crime and maintain social order. These methods are usually directed at crime control in order to affect social order. The management of some technologies are governed by legislation such as Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000, (OPSI, 2000), yet they can still be abused, which can taint public perception (Big Brother Watch, 2009). Rose (2000) progresses the theory of modulation where the behaviour of social members is controlled by various agencies. Rose believes that this is also a form of risk management aimed at reducing deviance. Rose states: Control society is one of constant and never ending modulation where the modulation occurs within the flows and transactions between the forces and capacities of the human subject and the practices in which he or she participates. (Rose, 2000: 325) The view of Rose supports that of Deleuze (1995: 3-7) who states we live in societies of control. Basically, both commentators hypothesis that prison is no longer the sole place where deviance and risk are controlled, but where the use of digital technology are an important part of the risk assessment toolbox in order to monitor behavior and reduce crime through analyzing risky situations. Melossi (2000: 296-7) argues that the representation of the criminal is not static and therefore surveillance methods and crime control have to change to reflect this contextual dynamism. It is for this reason that continuous risk assessments of hot spots, vulnerable areas and criminal behavior is touted by supporters of situational crime prevention as necessary in order to maintain public order, protection of the public and to control the fear of crime. A relatively new concept in policing is the introduction of hotspots which are used to enhance the service and reduction of crime in a cost effective manner. Hotspots (Braga, 2006: 179-190) are usually busy urban areas, low level crime but high frequency or a pocket of heavy crime occurrence. Risk management is not without its issues and when things go wrong they can have a significant impact on the publics confidence with agencies designed to prevent such failings (BBC News, 2008; BBC News, 2010). The Police service is reacting and learning from these and similar failings and by using risk management techniques has brought a new term in to their daily assessment process, this being People Susceptible to Harm (PSH). Sherman and Weisburd (1995: 634) feel that strategic work around hotspots is more successful than general beat patrolling. They suggest that the police often do not have enough resources to adequately offer sufficient patrols, therefore by concentrating on hotspots, this will give the police a greater chance of observing the hotspot areas and increase the risks for the criminal, thus reducing their likelihood of committing a crime. This argument was supported by their research in Kansas, United States, where they analyzed the influence of police presence in hotspot areas. They found that the increase in patrols in hotspot areas reduced crime which was attributed to criminals apprehension of being caught. Risk has also contributed to the development of community policing within the UK. The success of community policing is based on the ethos that individuals who belong to a community are more likely to be attentive to reducing crime opportunities in their area. It also encourages the community to work with the police to improve crime prevention and their environment, such as lack of good street lighting, overgrown shrubs in alleyways and Neighborhood Watch Schemes. Skogan (2006: 29-31) proposes that community policing incorporates three factors that help police manage the risk of crime: community involvement, problem solving and decentralization. By depending upon the public to provide information to help the police in order for them to reduce the risk of crime, it is clear that modern policing shows how important managing the risk of crime is. Community Forums, where the community members are invited to help set policing priorities and together with other agencies, help tackle crime i s now well embedded in to all areas of the UK (Communities 2010). The application of the broken windows theory within policing has influenced crime management. According to the broken windows theory, consistent public disorder within a community that goes unchecked will lead to more and more serious crime and a downward spiral of urban decay (Kelling and Coles, 1996: 20). Drawing from situational crime prevention, the UK police encourage the community members to report litter, damage, graffiti and broken windows since it is thought that if they are left unchecked this would contribute to the deterioration of society and contribute to crime. The increased use of CCTV is further evidence of risk management influencing crime prevention. The use of CCTV may deter crime due to the increased risk the criminal will be aware of (Brown, 1995: 1-2). This point is extended by Edwards and Tilley (1994: 12) who demonstrate that the use of CCTV reduces crime due to its ability to provide evidence to help convict the offender. Not only does it act as a crime deterrent, but it also acts as a sign for potential victims who are then more aware of the need for them to take preventative steps to reduce potential opportunities for crime. An example of CCTV being used as a risk management tool to reduce crime is in publicity and visibility of the cameras, such as in many public car parks and trains. Such use of CCTV has significantly assisted in the reduction of theft and robberies on the transport system (Laycock and Tilley, 1995: 535). Hayden, Williamson and Webber (2007: 298-304) demonstrated how Nottinghamshire police used risk assessment methods to identify youth offending and correlated post codes to highlight areas of high anti-social behaviour among young people in specific locations for targeting. They show how police in the UK employ the use of geodemographic classifications, alongside statistical and operational data gathered from the police crime reports, and analyze the data using GIS system. There has been a significant increase in the use of GIS in many parts of the UK to map crime and use spatial analysis to identify hotspots for many kinds of crime and therefore inform policing measures to counter these occurrences. The increased effort to manipulate environmental factors which could cause crime and to encourage safer communities is directly linked to the polices use of risk management. Community crime prevention is a major part of social justice and community cohesion in the UK. The implementation of community prevention initiatives, such as Safer Cities, Safer Communities, Sure Start programmes are examples of how risk considerations have influenced crime prevention in the UK (Home Office, 2004). While they do not wholly employ a risk model, by rejecting socio-economic circumstances of offenders, they rely on risk management principles to identify areas which need policing and individuals who are at risk to commit crimes. Ekblom and Tilley (2000: 377) highlight that the police concentrate on the origin of the offence and distribute resources accordingly to make committing an offence more complex for the offender, which is another example of how risk management has influenced crime reduction. Crime prevention technologies, such as electronic tags (Denney, 2005: 128; McDougall et al, 2006: 123-4) and how police have increased their technology to monitor receivers, demonstrates the modern day crime prevention strategies in identifying and managing various risks of crime to occur. Installing and maintaining adequate street lighting is a technique used to enhance the belief by the offender that they are more likely to be observed and apprehended. Painter and Farrington (1999: 80-83) conducted research in to street lighting as a method of crime prevention which reported some success. Their case study of street lighting improvements in Stoke-on-Trent found that crime was reduced in areas which had lighting u pgrades. The theory of using street lighting to control the commission of crime is based on the theory that the offender will form the opinion that there will be a reduced reward and increased risk of being caught. A knock on effect is reducing the fear of crime within the community which has the effect of improving community cohesion (Painter and Farrington, 1999: 82). Likewise, the introduction of electronic entry/exit systems to hotspot areas such as estate buildings and problematic car parks increases the publics awareness and encourages them to burglar proof their dwellings and park their cars in garages as often as they can is evidence of risk management influencing crime control policy. The basic philosophy being that of reducing the appeal of potential targets to potential offenders. More recently, particularly after 9/11, risk management led crime prevention measures have contributed to intelligence led policing and how the crime authorities are able to prevent and respond to terrorism (Birkland, 2004: 186-89). The speed in which the London bombers were apprehended demonstrates the successful use of intelligence led policing (Denny, 2005: 136-138). Risk management strategies were effective in intercepting terrorist activities, especially via the use of CCTV. This is an example demonstrating that risk analysis of situational circumstances open to terrorists for crime have assisted policing in this area. Intelligence led policing is informed by problem oriented policing which seeks to analyze crime patterns to minimize the motivation of likely offenders and also to analyze and assess the police response to crimes committed and their effectiveness. In this manner, the policing of crime is constantly being improved in response to changing environmental and motivatio nal factors for crime (McGarrell et al, 2007: 143). Despite this, critics such as Hobsbawn (1994: 53) point out that increased risk assessments aimed to prevent situational crime has not reduced the crime rate. The UK is currently seeing its highest rate of prison population and this is expected to continue to increase further. One explanation for this increase in the recorded and detection of crimes is the rate of technological advancements, especially in relation to surveillance and intense policing. Hobsbawn (1994: 570) deliberates that modern day society is now in the crisis decades, whereby disorganization has reached unthinkable excesses. Melossi (2000: 314) contends that what we see today is the state increasing its control and risk technologies to temper the seemingly fractured and disorderly watched masses, while the imprisoned population increase and crime continues. It is clearly evident that there is now an intrinsic link between risk and criminology as the use of actuarial risk analysis methodologies is now an essential crime management tool within policing. Risk analysis in criminology is entrenched in the belief that man has a rational choice and the freedom to decide to do what is right or wrong. While risk methods have not being fully employed to secure incarcerations, measures such as Megans law in the United States the three strikes law, and the necessity for convicted sex offenders to report their addresses to police indicate that risk is being used to prevent crime. Furthermore, the prevalence of technologies such as CCTV, tagging, GIS to determine crime hot spots and increased street lighting initiatives demonstrate how actuarial models of risk are being employed effectively within criminology on a daily basis. Likewise situational crime prevention models are also being used on a daily basis to evaluate the risks of crime and reduce their opportunities.

Principal Component Analysis for Numerals

Principal Component Analysis for Numerals Recognition of Off-Line Handwritten Telugu Numerals Based On Principal Component Analysis Manubolu Sreenivasulu, Prasenjit Kumar Das Abstract India is a multi-lingual multi-language country but there is not much work towards off-line handwritten character recognition of Indian languages [1]. In this paper we have proposed principal component analysis (PCA) for feature extraction and used Probabilistic Neural Network (PNN) based model for classification and recognition of off-line handwritten numerals of telugu script. Principal component analysis is one of the important method for identifying patterns in data and expressing the data to highlight their similarities and differences. In high dimensional data it is difficult to identify patterns, where the luxury of graphical representation is not available, principal component analysis is a good method for analysing data. The performance of the Probabilistic Neural Network classifier was computed in terms of training performance and classification accuracies. Probabilistic Neural Network gives fast and accurate classification and is a promising model for classification of the characters [9]. Keywords   PCA, PNN, Classification and Recognition, Handwritten Characters I. INTRODUCTION Character recognition (CR) is the important area in image processing and pattern recognition fields. The various applications of character recognition are includes library automation, banks, defense organizations, reading aid for the blind, post offices, language processing and multi-media design. Hence the research in character recognition is very popular. To recognize Hand-Written Characters (HWC) is an easy task for humans, but for a computer it is an extremely difficult job. This is mainly due to the vast differences or the impreciseness associated with handwritten patterns written by different individuals. Machine recognition involves the ability of a computer to receive input from sources such as paper and other documents, photographs, touch screens and other devices, which is an ongoing research area. Handwritten character recognition (HWCR) can be divided into two categories, namely, Offline Handwritten Character recognition where the image is sensed â€Å"off-line† fr om a part of a document and â€Å"Online† Handwritten Character recognition where the movements of the pen/tip can be recorded â€Å"on-line† as used in the pen based computer screen systems. Off-line recognition usually requires imperfect pre-processing techniques prior to feature extraction and recognition stages [3]. Telugu is the most popular script in India. It is the official language of the southern Indian state, Andhra Pradesh. The Telugu script is closely related to the Kannada script. Telugu is a syllabic language. Similar to most languages of India, each symbol in Telugu script represents a complete syllable. Officially, there are 10 numerals, 18 vowels, 36 consonants, and three dual symbols [1]. There are five major stages in the HCR problem: Image pre-processing, segmentation, feature extraction, training and recognition and post processing. Several works had been done on feature extraction for character recognition. The feature extraction method includes Template matching, Identification of similarities and differences, Histograms, Zoning, Graph description etc. II. DATA COLLECTION AND PREPROCESSING Data collection for the experiment has been done from different individuals. Currently we are developing data set for Telugu. Earlier we had collected 250 Telugu numeral samples from 50 different writers. Writers were provided with a plain A4 sheet and each writer asked to write Telugu numerals from 0 to 9 at one time. Recently, we have again collected 150 Telugu numerals by 30 different writers. In this paper the data set size of 300 Telugu numerals is used. The database is totally unconstrained and has been created for validating the recognition system. The collected documents are scanned using the Canon-Lide scanner jet, which is usually a low noise and good quality image. The digitized images are stored as binary images in the BMP format. A sample of Telugu handwritten numerals from the data set is shown from figure 1. Figure 1: Handwritten Telugu Numeral Samples Pre-processing: Figure 2: Pre-processing Pre-processing includes the steps that are necessary to bring the input data into an acceptable form for feature extraction. The initial data is depending on the data acquisition type, is subjected to a number of preliminary processing stages. The pre-processing stage involves noise reduction, slant correction, size normalization and thinning [2]. For noise removal we used median filter. For better understanding the function of median filter, we added the salt and pepper noise artificially and removing it using median filter. In character classification/recognition correcting the skew (baseline deviation from the horizontal direction) and the slant (average near-vertical strokes deviation from the vertical direction) is an important pre-processing step. The slant and slope are introduced by writing styles. Both corrections can reduce handwritten word shape variability and help the later operations such as feature extraction, classification and recognition [4]. Normalization is required as the size of the numeral varies from person to person and even with the same person from time to time. Thinning provides a reduction in data size; it extracts the shape information of the characters. Thinning is the process of reducing the thickness of each line of pattern to just a single pixel [5]. Here, we have used the morphology based thinning algorithm for better symbol representation. Thus, the reduced pattern is known as the skeleton and is close to the medial axis, which preserves the topology of the image. Figure 5 shows the steps involved in our method as far as pre-processing is considered. III. FEATURE EXTRACTION USING PRINCIPAL COMPONENT ANALYSIS In this paper, the principal component analysis (PCA) is being used as an extraction algorithm of features. The PCA is a very successful techniques which has been utilized in image compression and recognition. The sole purpose of PCA is to decrease the big dimensions of data [9]. In this way we can identify patterns in data, and express the data in such a way as to present their differences and similarities. Because the patterns in data is hard to find in high dimension data, where the usefulness of graphical representation is not present, principal component analysis is a very good tool for analysing the data. The other advantages of PCA is that when you have found the patterns in data, and then you compress the data, i.e. by reducing the dimensions, with negligible loss of information [6]. Algorithm Step 1: Get input as pre-processed image   Step 2: Subtract the mean In order for the PCA to work correctly, it is needed for you to subtract the mean from each of the dimensions of data. The subtracted mean is the average in each dimension. Step 3: Calculate the covariance matrix The data is 2D, the covariance matrix will be 22.the definition for the covariance matrix for a set of data with n dimensional is: Cn x n = (ci,j, ci,j = cov(Dimi,Dimj)) Step 4: Compute eigenvectors and eigenvalues  of the covariance matrix Because the covariance matrix is square, we are able to calculate the eigenvalues and eigenvectors for this matrix. The eigenvectors and eigenvalues will give us useful information about our data. Step 5: Component choosing and creating a  feature vector In this step the notion of reduced dimensionality and data compression comes into it.When you look at the eigenvalues and eigenvectors from the previous section, you will be able to notice that the eigen values are quite not equal values. The fact is that the eigenvector with the highest eigenvalue is the main component of the data set. In fact the eigenvector with the larges eigenvalue was the one that pointed down the middle of the data. It is very important relationship between the dimensions of data. Generally, when the eigenvectors are found from the covariance matrix, the next step is to order the eigenvalue from highest to the lowest. This will give you the components in a very significant order. Now it is required to form a feature vector, that is just a name for a matrix of vectors. It is constructed by taking the eigenvectors that you want to keep from the eigenvectors list, and creating a matrix with those eigenvectors in the columns. Feature Vector = (eig1 eig2 eig3 .. eign) Step 6: Deriving the new data set It is the last step in principle component analysist. When we have choosed the components or the eigenvectors, that we want to keep in our data and create a feature vector, we would take the transpose of that vector and will multiply it on the left of the true data set, transposed. Final Data=Row Feature VectorXRow Data Adjust Here the Row Feature Vector is the matrix of the eigenvectors in the columns transposed so that the eigenvectors will be in the rows, with the most important eigenvector at the top, and the Row Data Adjust will be z wiullthe mean-adjusted data transposed, ie. data items will be in each column, with each row holding a dimension which is separate[6]. IV. CLASSIFICATION AND RECOGNITION USING PRABABILISTIC NEURAL NETWORK Probabilistic neural networks (PNN) can be utilized for problems of classification. PNN is adopted for it has many advantages. Its training speed is many times faster than a BP network. PNN can approach a Bayes optimal result under certain easily met conditions [7]. The most important advantage of PNN is that training is easy and instantaneous. Weights are not â€Å"trained† but assigned. Existing weights will never be alternated but only new vectors are inserted into weight matrices when training. So it can be used in real-time. Since the training and running procedure can be implemented by matrix manipulation, the speed of PNN is very fast. The network classifies input vector into a particular class since that class has the highest probability to be correct. In this research paper, the PNN is of three layers: the Radial Basis Layer, the Input layer and the Competitive Layer. Radial Basis Layer calculates vector distances between input vector and row weight vectors in weight matrix. Those distances were scaled by Radial Basis Function not in a linear fashion. Then the Competitive Layer will find the shortest distance among them, and will then find the training pattern which is near to the input pattern depending on their distance. The network structure is illustrated in Figure 3. The symbols and notations are adopted as used in the book Neural Network Design [9]. These symbols and notations are also used by MATLAB Neural Network Toolbox. Dimensions of arrays are marked under their names. Input Radial Basis Layer Competitive Layer Q x R P Q x 1 R x 1 n a d c Q x 1Q x 1 K x 1 K x 1 K x Q R Q x 1 Q K Figure 3: Network Structure 1) Input Layer: The input vector, denoted as p, is presented as the vertical bar in Figure 3. Its dimension is R Ãâ€" 1. 2) Radial Basis Layer: In Radial Basis Layer, the vector distances between input vector p and the weight vector made of each row of weight matrix W are calculated. Here, the vector distance is defined as the dot product between two vectors [10]. Assume the dimension of W is QÃâ€"R. The dot product between p and the i-th row of W produces the i-th element of the distance vector ||W−p||, whose dimension is QÃâ€"1, as shown in Figure 3. The minus symbol, â€Å"−† indicates that it is the distance between vectors. The transfer function in PNN has built into a distance criterion with respect to a center. In this paper, it is defined as radbas (n) = Each element of n is substituted into Eq. 1 and produces corresponding element of a, the output vector of Radial Basis Layer. The i-th element of a can be represented as ai = radbas(||wi-p||.*bi) Where Wi is the vector made of the i-th row of W and bi is the i-th element of bias vector b. 3) Some characteristics of Radial Basis Layer: The i-th element of a equals to 1 if the input p is identical to the ith row of input weight matrix W. A basis neuron which is radial along with a weight vector near to the input vector p will produce a value close to 1 and then its output weights in the competitive layer will pass their values to the competitive function. It is also possible that several elements of a are close to 1 since the input pattern is close to several training patterns. 4) Competitive Layer: There is no bias in Competitive layer. In Competitive Layer, the vector a is firstly multiplied with layer weight matrix M, producing an output vector d. The competitive function, denoted as C in Figure 3, produces 1 corresponding to the largest element of d, and 0’s elsewhere. The output vector of competitive function is denoted as c. The index of 1 in c is the number of numeral that the system can classify [9]. V. EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS The data set was divided into two separate data sets, the training data set and the testing data set. The training data set was used to train the network, whereas the testing data set was used to verify the accuracy and the effectiveness of the trained network for the classification of characters. .The PNN was tested in more than 350 samples of telugu numerals and we have obtained an average recognition rate of 97%. Table 1 shows the performance of PNN. Number of Samples PNN 15 96.3% 50 96.8% 100 97.7% 125 97.6% Table 1: Recognition Rate in Percentage VI. CONCLUSION In this paper the PCA for feature extraction and the PNN for classification and recognition have been implemented. The performance of Probabilistic Neural Network classifier was calculated in the terms of classification accuracies and training performance. Probabilistic Neural Network gives fast and accurate classification and is a promising tool for classification of the characters. REFERENCES U. Pal1, T. Wakabayashi2, N. Sharma1 and F. Kimura2, â€Å"Handwritten Numeral Recognition of Six Popular Indian Scripts†, Manubolu Sreenivasulu, Prasenjit Kumar Das, Mr. Rishi Mathur, â€Å"Numeral Recognition of Four Scripts: Bengali-Assamese, Gujarati, Oriya, Nepali†, First International Conference on Innovative Advancements in Engineering and Technology (IAET), 2014. Panyam Narahari Sastry, Ramakrishnan Krishnan,â€Å"Isolated Telugu Palm Leaf Character Recognition Using Radon Transform – A Novel Approach†, 2012 World Congress on Information and Communication Technologies, 978-1-4673-4805-8/12/2012 IEEE. Jian-xiong Dong and Dominique Ponson and Adam KrzyËâ„ ¢zak and Ching Y.Suen,â€Å"Cursive word skew/slant corrections based on Radon transform†. Rafael C. Gonzalez, Richard E.woods and Steven L Eddins, â€Å" Digital Image Processing using MATLAB†, Pearson Education, Dorling Kindersley,South Asia,2004 Lindsay I Smith,â€Å"A tutorial on Principal Components Analysis†, February 26, 2002. D.F. Specht, â€Å"Probabilistic Neural Networks† Neural Networks, vol. 3, No.1, pp. 109-118, 1990. M. T. Hagan, H. B. Demut, and M. H. Beale, Neural Network Design, 2002. Mohd Fauzi Othman, Mohd Ariffanan Mohd Basri,â€Å"Probabilistic Neural Network For Brain Tumor Classification†, 2011 Second International Conference on Intelligent Systems, Modelling and Simulation.

Role of Prisons in Reducing Recidivism Essay -- Argumentative Persuasi

Role of Prisons in Reducing Recidivism The role of prisons and prison wardens in reducing recidivism is a major concern today. With programs initialized in the prison systems, recidivism rates still have stayed about the same for forty years. Almost two-thirds of prisoners will be arrested after their release, and of those, half will return to prison for a new crime. The obstacle faced by professionals to change behavior is a multi-layered complex problem that needs to be addressed in our society today. Different views and opinions are given, and they do not lesson the impact of each other, but a multi-dimensional program should be utilized to achieve the goal of recidivism. Professor Alex Holsinger of the University of Missouri states that each individual has a responsibility for his or her behavior and not to look at the penal system for absolute rehabilitation. The recidivism studies tend to clump entire criminal behavior into one study and do not look at all the different criminal offenses separately. For example, chronic drunk driving behavior and shoplifting behavior s...

Essay --

Markus Zusak Markus Zusak was born on June 23rd, 1975 in Sydney, Australia. His mother is German, and his father is Austrian. When he was just a boy, his parents told him stories about what happened during world war two, and these stories would eventually inspire him to write The Book Thief. He even included specific events that he learned about from his mother, such as the parade of Jews, and when Munich was bombed. He began writing when he was but a teenager, and stated that his inspiration came from The Old Man and the Sea, and What’s Eating Gilbert Grape. Importance of Setting The Book Thief is set in a small fictional German town called Mulching, which is said to be right outside of Munich. The story begins in the midst of the troubles of world war two, when Hitler has been in power for a decent amount of time. Zusak wanted to portray the story of the German side of things, showing how information about what Hitler was doing was not commonly known. He wanted to show the struggles that can happen in even the smallest towns, emphasizing Nazi influence throughout the book. Some Germans full of pride, others with regret, even more with fear. This is just a small town, but even what they do has consequences, and this shows how much of an actor you had to be to stay alive if you disagreed with the Gestapo. List of Characters Death The introduction of death is an oddity that should be expected, as a spiritual superstition given form should always have some sort of mystery about them. Death is the narrator of The book Thief, telling the readers the tales that he finds interesting while supplanting seemingly meaningless interjections of facts and other such trivial things. In the beginning of the book, he tells us o... ...t. She makes money by doing the laundry of the rich people in Mulching, but secretly hates it and them. Her love for her husband Hans is great, and enjoys Liesel’s company just as much, even if she doesn’t show it. Max Vandenburg A Jew who has been living in secret with the Hubermanns in their basement. He befriends Liesel and has been steadily learning how to read with her help. With Liesel’s inspiration, he starts to draw and write his own books, basing them off his life and his visions. He titles the two books â€Å"The Standover Man† and â€Å"The Word Shaker†. Hitler is a recurring thought for him, as he imagines himself fighting him in a fist fight, which makes sense considering that Max was always ready and willing for fighting other people when he was younger. Max is forced to leave after Hans makes a mistake and shows his compassion for people. Rudy Steiner

A synthesis and discussion of Robert T. Jimenez’s article “A delicate balance”

The challenge for every ESL class teacher is to build literacy, develop written expression ability and enhancing English language of students. The article describes effective reading instruction for ESL students based on observations conducted in various classrooms over a period of two years.The approach to the observation and the framework for analysis were based on (a) the research on second language learning and bilingual education, (b) the contemporary research base on effective literacy instruction, and (c) general principles of effective instruction for low-income students.The researchers integrated these three knowledge bases with what they observed in the classrooms and the result is a framework of constructs for effective instruction for language minority students. This construct consists of the following: challenge, involvement, involvement, success, scaffolding/cognitive strategies, mediation/feedback, collaborative/cooperative learning, techniques for second language acqu isition/sheltered English, and respect for cultural diversity.These constructs, according to the researchers, are useful when considering practices and strategies in teaching and promoting literacy among ESL students. For instance, knowledge on scaffolding when introducing new vocabulary to ESL students would increase retention and subsequent use of these new words.Instead of simply defining a word, the teacher could use several of the techniques mentioned in the article like focusing students’ attention on character clues and using these clues not just in understanding the new word but comprehension of the text, too. The variety would make vocabulary learning an enjoyable experience for students.Another example by which the research could be applied and make a difference in real-life teaching is the idea that the teacher should try to incorporate all areas of literacy instruction while using one text lesson. The article indicates that the teacher should crisscross the instru ctional landscape in a wide range of oral and written activities. This would ensure that students not only thoroughly practice their language and literacy skills, but keeping the focus on one text would increase the chance of retention.