Primary Research Paper on the Canterbury Tales and Their Historical

Primary on the Canterbury Tales and Their Historical References - Research Paper Example onal accounts, designed to pass the time on the journey but real people, including authors and kings, and real places such as Flanders, France and of course Canterbury, and a few significant events are mentioned which allow us to fix the work in its time and place. In addition to those verifiable details, it is possible also to read between the lines and see how many of the stories do in fact link to actual historical events, even though they do it through indirect means such as parody or allegory. The choice of Canterbury is significant, and the destination of the pilgrims points to the historical figure of Archbishop of Thomas Becket (1118-1170) who was killed on the orders of King Henry II, largely for resisting royal influence on Church affairs. Tensions between Church and State are a feature of the fourteenth century, and this pilgrimage is dedicated to his memory. One major event in the history of that period casts its shadow on the work: a pandemic of bubonic plague, often called pestilence or â€Å"The Black Death† which raged across Europe in 1348-1349 and killed a third of the population of Europe. Chaucer was born around 1340 and so his memory of this would be a factor in his world view, and certainly he witnessed the devastating effects of the plague on the people around him. The Pardoner’s Tale, the Summoner’s Tale and the Physician’s Tale all speak of disfiguring illnesses and fear of death via this means was a very real fact of life in that time for all those who survived the pandemic. One consequence of the decimation of the population was a sudden change in the economic conditions of the time and even more significantly a re-adjustment of the social structures. The beginning of the century saw periods of over-population and famine, where the landed gentry controlled all the resources but the Black Death changed all that : â€Å"The plague shifted the balance of power dramatically and hastened the end of feudalism as a social and economic

Early Childhood School Essay Example for Free

Early Childhood School Essay Education To Be More was published last August. It was the report of the New Zealand Governments Early Childhood Care and Education Working Group. The report argued for enhanced equity of access and better funding for childcare and early childhood education institutions. Unquestionably, thats a real need; but since parents dont normally send children to pre-schools until the age of three, are we missing out on the most important years of all? B A 13-year study of early childhood development at Harvard University has shown that, by the age of three, most children have the potential to understand about 1000 words most of the language they will use in ordinary conversation for the rest of their lives. Furthermore, research has shown that while every child is born with a natural curiosity, it can be suppressed dramatically during the second and third years of life. Researchers claim that the human personality is formed during the first two years of life, and during the first three years children learn the basic skills they will use in all their later learning both at home and at school. Once over the age of three, children continue to expand on existing knowledge of the world. C It is generally acknowledged that young people from poorer socio-economic backgrounds tend to do less well in our education system. Thats observed not just in New Zealand, but also in Australia, Britain and America. In an attempt to overcome that educational under-achievement, a nationwide programme called Headstart was launched in the United States in 1965. A lot of money was poured into it. It took children into pre-school institutions at the age of three and was supposed to help the children of poorer families succeed in school. Despite substantial funding, results have been disappointing. It is thought that there are two explanations for this. First, the programme began too late. Many children who entered it at the age of three were already behind their peers in language and measurable intelligence. Second, the parents were not involved. At the end of each day, Headstart children returned to the same disadvantaged home environment. D As a result of the growing research evidence of the importance of the first three years of a childs life and the disappointing results from Headstart, a pilot programme was launched in Missouri in the US that focused on parents as the childs first teachers. The Missouri programme was predicated on research showing that working with the family, rather than bypassing the parents, is the most effective way of helping children get off to the best possible start in life. The four-year pilot study included 380 families who were about to have their first child and who represented a cross-section of socio-economic status, age and family configurations. They included single-parent and two-parent families, families in which both parents worked, and families with either the mother or father at home. The programme involved trained parent ¬educators visiting the parents home and working with the parent, or parents, and the child. Information on child development, and guidance on things to look for and expect as the child grows were provided, plus guidance in fostering the childs intellectual, language, social and motor-skill development. Periodic check-ups of the childs educational and sensory development (hearing and vision) were made to detect possible handicaps that interfere with growth and development. Medical problems were referred to professionals. Parent-educators made personal visits to homes and monthly group meetings were held with other new parents to share experience and discuss topics of interest. Parent resource centres, Located in school buildings, offered learning materials for families and facilitators for child care. E At the age of three, the children who had been involved in the Missouri programme were evaluated alongside a cross-section of children selected from the same range of socio-economic backgrounds and Family situations, and also a random sample of children that age. The results were phenomenal. By the age of three, the children in the programme were significantly more advanced in language development than their peers, had made greater strides in problem solving and other intellectual skills, and were Further along in  social development. In fact, the average child on the programme was performing at the level of the top 15 to 20 per cent of their peers in such things as auditory comprehension, verbal ability and language ability. Most important of all, the traditional measures of risk, such as parents age and education, or whether they were a single parent, bore little or no relationship to the measures of achievement and language development. Children in the programme performed equally well regardless of scio-economic disadvantages. Child abuse was virtually eliminated. The one factor that was found to affect the childs development was family stress leading to a poor quality of parent-child interaction. That interaction was not necessarily bad in poorer families. F These research findings are exciting. There is growing evidence in New Zealand that children from poorer socio-economic backgrounds are arriving at school less well developed and that our school system tends to perpetuate that disadvantage. The initiative outlined above could break that cycle of disadvantage. The concept of working with parents in their homes, or at their place of work, contrasts quite markedly with the report of the Early Childhood Care and Education Working Group. Their focus is on getting children and mothers access to childcare and institutionalised early childhood education. Education from the age of three to five is undoubtedly vital, but without a similar Focus on parent education and on the vital importance of the first three years, some evidence indicates that it will not be enough to overcome educational inequity.

Current Writing Pedagogy Essay -- English Writing Teacher Student

The student who is preparing for preservice or inservice teaching in any field must answer two crucial questions: â€Å"What is learning?† and â€Å"What is teaching?† The student preparing to teach writing must also answer the question, â€Å"What is the purpose and the value of writing?† Writing is a subject area in which the teacher cannot easily state why writing itself is valuable or what purposes are served by learning the â€Å"art and craft† of writing, except as a tool for communication in other subject areas. In his article â€Å"Who’s Afraid of Subjectivity,† Robert P. Yagelski (1994), offers some answers to these questions about knowledge, education, and writing, as well as addressing related questions concerning individuality. Current writing pedagogies value writing and writers in different ways. Yagelski compares the underlying epistemology of expressivist approaches with postmodern epistemological theory. Expressivist theories claim that knowledge is found within the individual, and writing is a form of self-discovery. â€Å"Process-oriented† writing instruction is connected with this pedagogical approach. Postmodern theorists define knowledge as the fluid, shifting, and selective perceptions of reality that are tied to particular times, places, and cultures. Proponents of postmodern theories claim that expressivist practices reproduce ideologies that conceal both power structures and the position of students within these structures. Such practices are also thought to reduce awareness of social differences related to gender, class, and race between individuals in the classroom. By encouraging only constructive criticism and harmonious group work, expressivist teachers avoid confrontation over rea l-world issues. For postmodernists, writing is... ... rather than, in Keats’ words, â€Å"remaining content with half-knowledge,† and I think that an epistemology and a pedagogy that embraces paradox is rather well suited to the postmodern world. References Keats, John. Letter dated Dec.21st, 1817. Cited in The Penguin Dictionary of Literary Terms and Literary Theory (1991) by J.A. Cuddon. New York: Penguin. Kluth, Paula. 2000. â€Å"Community-Referenced Learning and the Inclusive Classroom† Remedial & Special Education 21.1 (Jan/Feb): 19-26. Macrorie, Ken. 1988. The I-Search Paper. Portsmouth,NH: Boynton-Cook Phelps, T.O. 1992. â€Å"Research or Three-Search?† English Journal 89.1: 76-78. Yagelski, Robert P. 1994. â€Å"Who’s Afraid of Subjectivity: Postmodernism and the Composing Process.† Taking Stock: The Writing Process Movement in the 90’s, edited by Lad Tobin and Thomas Newkirk. 203-217. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

Acadamic Misconduct

Academic misconduct is described as academic integrity violation for the unfair advantage of oneself or unfair academic advantage or disadvantage to others in academic community, academic misconduct can be a plagiarism, cheating, and collusion but not limited. The other academic misconduct activities such as not obeying academic staff directions regarding assessments and group work submissions, falsifying reports, having/spreading examination materials without unit teacher permission, arranging someone to do assessment work all these included as academic misconduct.If an allegation arises towards a student and if it’s proven in an investigation then student has to face penalties under student academic misconduct policy. In this essay we going to discuss in brief about plagiarism, cheating, collusion and academic misconduct procedural process depending on minor or substantial misconduct when allegations arise and appeal for the student.As per UWS policy Plagiarism is defined as an â€Å"act of presenting material as one’s own without appropriate acknowledgement that constitutes plagiarism, not the intension of the student when doing so†, for example when student submits work in which words or ideas are presented as their own as intentional or unintentional without proper acknowledgment of the original author such as website, other students work, lecture, journal article or book.Cheating is described as any attempt to give or obtain assistance in a formal academic exercise such as examination, without due acknowledgment such as speaking to other students during examination, carrying any information materials such as textbooks, using electronics devices such as mobile, Bluetooth any other items which are prohibited by examination supervisor. Collusion is where two or more people engage in plagiarism, cheating or encourage others to do so.According to UWS Academic misconduct policy there are Minor misconduct and substantial misconduct. A Minor misconduct is determine by the university as a minimal threat to integrity of the student assessment in writing such as lack of referencing or academic requirements. A substantial misconduct is determine by the university as a major threat to integrity such as, when a student repeats minor misconduct activities intentionally, any allegations in the examination and any allegations related to collusion.In the process of investigating the allegations unit teacher, unit coordinator, Dean, school academic committee and student academic committee will be involved. in the first stage of Investigation process and hearing of academic misconduct, If unit teacher or examination supervisor believe that there is any academic misconduct happened, and they have evidence or reasons to support, teacher of the unit will report to unit coordinator with relevant documentation by signed copy or email, then with in five working days unit coordinator will send copy of allegation to the Dean.The dean, will advise unit coordinator to do investigation, and then unit coordinator and unit teacher decides to do further investigation, unit teacher will notify the student and invite for meeting in writing by post and email. Student can attend meeting with fellow student or university academic staff member or a student welfare officer. Meeting will be organised between 8 – 15 working days after on invitation letter despatch date. Student must respond to the invitation with in seven working days date of despatch whether he / she will attend the meeting or not.The decision will be made on the allegation even in the student absence. If unit coordinator decides that the allegation is not substantial he / she will dismiss it. Other penalties like refer to academic counselling, student require to re-submit assessment task after re-submission unit coordinator makes a decision on the marks and grades student may get zero marks. If the unit coordinator determine its substantial he/ she will be referred to relevant dean for decision.After going through all the process as discussed earlier in which case the unit coordinator will send the invitation letter to student for meeting with dean. After meeting if dean decides it’s not substantial dean will dismiss the allegation. When dean decides the allegations substantial then dean can penalise student such as recommend to counselling, ask for re-submission of work, if required student has to sit for exam again, dean will decide marks and grades. If dean judges that the allegation very substantial or too serious then dean refers that allegation to SAC (student academic committee).After going all the process as discussed above, student will have meeting with SAC members. After meeting if SAC decides if allegation are true it will take any action of dean penalties or combination of them, or suspend the student from university minimum period of 6months not more than 12 months, or dismiss the student for minimum of 12 months not more than 24 months in this case student has to apply for readmission or SAC can suspend the student permanently from the university.A student can appeal against the unit coordinators decision when student considers that the decision was made against the procedural fairness or when student not agreeing with allegations or when student considers that there is a substantial new evidence which was not available previously to unit coordinator or when student considers the penalty imposed by unit coordinator was too severe. Student must appeal within 15 days with evidence in writing to dean from the date of the letter advising of unit coordinators decision.It is the responsibility of every student to respect and obey the policy of UWS for academic misconduct to maintain academic integrity among academic community, when allegations were proven the student has to face severe penalties imposed by university academic committee besides the appeal options for student, The best option for students is to work hard on their own and get help when needed from academic teachers before submitting any academic work.

Resilience: Problem Solving and Child

Explain why resilience is so important CYP 3. 3 6. 2 SCMP2 1. 3 CYP 3. 3 6. 1 CYP 3. 3 6. 4 CYP 3. 3 6. 3 What is resilience? Resilience is the ability to adapt to adversity and cope with living in spite of stresses. Building resilience is building the ability to bounce back and adapt to all kinds of adversity, including trauma, tragedy, threats, setbacks and stress.Children at some time in their lives will experience stress and trauma, but by building resilience, children are better able to manage stress and feelings of anxiety and uncertainty. Resilience is important because it is the human capacity to face, overcome and be strengthened or even transformed by the adversities of life. And adversity affects us all at some time in our lives. Resilient children: find ways to solve their problems xercise control over negative thoughts and take responsibility for choosing how to act and feel are more likely to have people to talk to and confide in when something worries them have inner s trength, social and inter-personal skills, and skills in communicating effectively require parents and carers to model resilient behaviours and help promote resilience through words, actions and the environment, in which they are being raised like to try new things, enjoy a challenge need supervision, support and boundaries feel they can succeed ersist with a task and persevere have a sense of optimism believe their contribution can make a difference to an outcome like helping people possess a sense of fun. Ways we can raise a childs' confidence, resilience and well-being Resilience draws on aspects of a child's characteristics including temperament and the environment in which they are raised and supported. It also includes people and opportunities that help build resilience, for  example independence, autonomy and problem solving. Strategies for building resilience can be learned over time.Learning to think positively and in perspective means a child can not only cope with probl ems and setbacks. It also means children have opportunities to learn how to build strengths that protect and promote well-being. To overcome adversity and build resilience, children ideally require: unconditional love and acceptance some autonomy over their lives trusting relationships with significant adults feelings of independence secure relationships and strong role models to help foster friendships and commitment a safe and stable environment self-confidence and faith in themselves and their world.All these things help to build resilience. Helping to promote resilience A child's ability to build resilience is dependent on their age and stage of development. Babies and toddlers have limited physical and emotional competence compared with eight-year old. However, helping a child to feel secure and confident can begin at birth. For babies and toddlers: Provide safety, security, stability and nurture–physically, verbally and emotionally. Rock, stroke, soothe and cuddle often . Use words of comfort to calm. Allow babies freedom to explore in safety. Encourage toddlers to calm themselves.Model optimistic and resilient behaviour. Talk with toddlers and preschoolers about what adversity and setbacks mean. Reinforce a child's faith in their own problem solving skills. Set limits for behaviour and label the behaviour, not the child. Offer explanations regarding rules and discipline. Praise the accomplishment of tasks and milestones. Encourage independence. Help your child to recognise feelings and develop language to express emotions. Build on the security of trusted relationships. Source appropriate picture books from your local library. Know and work with your child's temperament.Help your child stick to a daily routine. For preschoolers and older children: Give unconditional support, nurturing and encouragement. Encourage and help your child practise calming strategies. Model self-esteem, confidence and optimism. Talk about appropriate behaviours. Encourag e independent thought and action. Build on developing an emotional vocabulary and how to label feelings. Help your child to understand their own temperament and why they might react in a certain way to a particular situation. Practise effective ways to resolve conflict at school or in the playground.Talk about ways that a child can seek help and assistance if needed. Spend time every day talking, discussing and sharing what's happening in your child's life. Model and teach attitudes of empathy and ways of caring. Explain that all behaviour has consequences. Provide comfort in stressful situations. Praise completed tasks, work well done, perseverance, desired behaviours. Discuss accepting responsibility for behaviour and why discipline is imposed to limit some behaviours. Clarify expectations, rules and regulations (especially for school).Accept that failure happens and talk about ways your child can overcome feelings of failure and try again. Discuss and support emerging independenc e and autonomy as your child develops, and how this balances out with age-appropriate limitations. Be flexible with routines so that your child has time and opportunity to be creative. Teach your child how to focus on something else if they are worried or upset. Discuss what it means to be a friend and help your child to make friends. Explain the importance of eating properly, resting, exercising and self care.Help your child to see that their individual accomplishments contribute to the well-being of the family as a whole. Why is important to teach them skills to keep them safe? Resilience is coping with change, and for many young children change can be stressful and scary. Helping a child to keep things in perspective and understand why change is an inevitable part of life, will help them to navigate and bounce back from tough times and move forward to better times. Wherever possible, ensure that children have unconditional support and stability from their family or caring network .

3 Uncommon Ways To Get Team Buy In Every Time

3 Uncommon Ways To Get Team Buy In Every Time You probably already know a few of the tips and tricks to getting team buy in to new ideas, processes, or change. When it comes to influencing your peers, though, it can be a delicate dance. Because you lack positional authority, you cant pull the, Well, thats the way were going to do it, card. (Not that you ever would 😉) But these three off-beat tactics Im sharing will work for you. Today. Well lay some groundwork first. But if you wanna jump ahead, be my guest. Each strategy will work for peer or team buy in. Table of Contents: The Problem: Why We Resist Change? The Solution: What Does Leading Change Look Like? Step 1: Take the Marketing Cholesterol Test Step 2: Start With the Problem Step 3: Script the Critical Actions Required3 Uncommon Ways To Get Team Buy In Every Time via @ Did Isaac Newton Already Figure Out Why We Resist Change? Neurologically, were hard wired to maintain things as they are via our ingrained habits. Were comfortable in the rut of status quo. And any threat to it is perceived as discomfort - which humans avoid tooth and nail. Said psychologist Ralph Ryback: Inertia, or a tendency to do nothing or to remain unchanged, is at the headwinds of any change that we make in our lives. Wildly enough, Isaac Newtons principle of inertia applies to our psychology as well as the world around us. One of the best places to validate this is in the world of software - in both simple and complex ways. Remember when Spotify changed its hue of green a few years ago? Millions of us were used to their funky green. It wasn’t beautiful, but it was normal. Then, they warmed up the color in favor of the vibrant lime green. Thousands of users whined at the ugly new color scheme. I’ll admit, I didn’t like it at first either. Oh yeah†¦ then there’s the Snapchat UI updates that just about broke the internet. People hated the updates so much, there were riots in the streets! Okay, not quite that bad. But, the backlash was so intense, 1,257,640 users signed a petition on Change.org to get the old UI back. On a societal scale, people are change averse. We often have negative initial reactions to both functional and visual changes. This means â€Å"different† is often perceived as â€Å"bad.† The perception that different = bad often blocks positive organizational change. Learn how toThis isn’t simply a mob-mentality issue, either. It’s a human phenomenon at scales both large and small. As Mark Twain famously quipped: Im in favor of progress; its change I dont like. What Does Leading Change Look Like For Marketers? In user experience design, this is known as change aversion: Change aversion is the negative short-term reaction to changes in a product or service. This happens in the non-digital world, as well. And is a force we marketers have to battle when leading change (especially within our own companies). Now, lets learn how to go out with the old and in with the new. One of the most important changes marketers should make is killing makeshift marketing. Makeshift marketing has become the normal way marketers do things today. Its the pain of using one tool for social media scheduling Another tool for analytics A spreadsheet for tracking Endless email threads for collaboration and communication A task management tool (or multiple ones if everyone on your team uses something different) We get caught in a mess of using tons of different productivity tools that end up strangling our output rather than boosting it. Another force at work is that complicated tool stacks are actually celebrated with awards. To bring it a little closer to home, lets ask a question. You’re executing marketing today How’s that going? Staying organized is really hard. You’re missing deadlines, your team is disgruntled, your boss is wondering what’s happening, and stakeholders like your sales reps are constantly asking where their projects they requested three months ago are at. You can’t blame them. If you worked with another team, you’d expect things to roll forward smoothly, too, right? The thing is†¦ if you don’t change anything, you’ll keep experiencing these same side effects of â€Å"good enough-ism.† And that means†¦ You’ll continue to be frustrated†¦ You’ll continue making your peer managers frustrated†¦ You’ll burn yourself out with the trivial minutia of consistently missing deadlines Overcoming Change Aversion In Your Team However, everyone is used to the way things are. So, if youre going to overcome the forces allied against you as a leader, youve gotta be armed with the right strategies. So lets tackle three off-beat ways to overcome change aversion. Obliterate the status quo. And become a more influential leader while youre at it. #1. Take The Marketing Cholesterol Test To Get Team Buy In To start, you might need to prove that change is actually required right now. When you create urgency, at least people can agree that, We need to do something. One ingenious assessment for your organizations need to change appeared in the Harvard Business Review, and is called the Corporate Cholesterol Test. You can check out the original test in the article Change For Changes Sake. But heres an adaptation for us marketers to use. The tests purpose is to assess how well your teams (or team members) are working together. Thus Measuring how high your collaborative cholesterol is 😠· How high is your marketing cholesterol? Find out what that means and learn the answer viaTo do this, you can use Google Forms  to create a survey. Each of your peer managers should get the questionnaire to fill out. The test starts the buy-in process by helping your peer managers see for themselves if change is needed. Youll create three sections. Each with three yes or no answers. How well do we communicate? How well do we work together? How are our collective results? Pro Tip: To get honest answers, you can nix requiring first and last name. And simply make answers anonymous! Section One: How well do we communicate? In section one, youll ask these three yes or no questions: Do our teams interact only with people in their own group? This questions identifies the presence of silos.A silo mentality occurs when several departments or groups within an organization do not want to share information or knowledge with other individuals in the same organization.Basically its a problem of key info staying stuck in one group rather than shared with others it could help. Are there breakdowns in communication caused by silos? If there are silos, this will be a big fat yes 😕This is a great opportunity to understand it as a source of frustration. And you can position your change as a cure. Has fluid collaboration between our teams decreased over the past 6 months? This is an easy way to gauge how well your teams have worked together. If this is a Yes, its another sign that the winds of change should be blowing! How can marketers know theyre influencing positive organizational change? Find out via @Section Two: How well do we work together? In section two, youll ask these three yes or no questions: Are any people on your team uncomfortable with change? Now, admittedly, this question is a double-edged sword âš”ï ¸ After all, change is uncomfortable for pretty much everyone. But, as Sujan Patel writes, this is crucial to success.The crux of this question is to bring to mind the proverbial roadblocks to changeThe people on their team whose automatic answer is, No. Do we have processes, workflows, and tools that align with one another? I know this is buried in the middle of the survey But its my favorite question.This digs into the heart of a central problem for marketers today. We call it makeshift marketingand think of it as the temporary, sub-optimal solution for getting your marketing sh*t together. This is not #fakenews.I cant tell you how many marketers Ive met whose solution for â€Å"keeping their sanity† involves spreadsheets organizing spreadsheets.Who’ve decided endless meetings to â€Å"get on the same page† is par for the course.Who’ve succumbed to â€Å"on the fly† project management because that’s just the nature of the job?!And who’ve settled for a cobbled mess of one-trick tools becausewell†¦?Thats just how marketing works 😠¢In fact, this is one of the biggest problems solves (you can snag a free 1-on-1 demo to learn how it can help you do this!).Teams pay a HUGE productivity tax for misaligned processes, workflows, and tools.If this is a yes, its a red flag 🚠© Do your teams resist collaborative projects with other teams? Heres a newsflashIf people on your peer managers team resist collaboration, its prolly not because theyre bad people. Or employees.Did you know that 85% of most workers time is spent in email, meetings, and being on the phone?So maybe they resist working with other teams because they have so freaking much to do and not enough time!^^^ Sound familiar to you?If this is the case, its time to get efficient and make better use of peoples time.After all, who would resist: Here, would you like less stress while getting your time back and feeling more valued?If youre leading the right change, this can be exactly what youre giving them.What if collaboration could be a source of excitement and growth rather than a drain? Section Three: How are our collective results? In section three, youll ask these three yes or no questions: Has your team hit 80% or more of its KPI goals in the past 3 months? Simply put, if teams arent hitting their goals for more than 3 months in a row - somethings gotta change.This is a chance to highlight how your suggested change can help everyones tide rise. Have your teams collaborative projects proven positive ROI? This is an interesting one. Because some of your peer managers might say, What collaborative projects?Again, this could stem from silo issues Or signal a breakdown in teams working together.For instance, nearly every modern marketing teams should be working with developers (who are often outside their team) regularly.Next, if they have worked with other teamsWell, has it worked?Are there more dollars, email signups, or whatever else they were looking for because of the joint venture? Does anyone on your team (including you!) experience significant stress or anxiety when executing a new project? I absolutely love this question.While there is always *some* amount of stress kicking off a new project - it shouldnt be consistently significant.Scientifically, we know significant stress reduces productivity. It also promotes negative behaviors like procrastination. So if new projects give your team a panic attack, something major is broken.Now is the time to fix it. How To Score Your Marketing Cholesterol Test (In GIFs) Alright, heres the final reveal Score your test responses as follows: 0–2 yes answers Youre good and probably rock at getting your peers to buy in. 3–7 yes answers Right now is the perfect time for change! Saddle up and get it done. 8–9 yes answers Panic. It was time to change yesterday but today is good too. You got this  Ã°Å¸ ¤Ëœ #2. Start With The Problem To Get Team Buy In Next,  to overcome change aversion with your peer managers, start with the problem you’re trying to solve and the benefits your solution offers to them. Yes I’m encouraging you to market change to marketers. #inception Software has more to teach us, here. Intercom recently revamped the design of their products inbox - a place their customers spend a lot of time in. The new interface looks like Evernote and Intercom had a baby And its one cute baby. They got ahead of change aversion by focusing on problem their change was geared at solving. Often, change is resisted with statements like this: We dont need to change for changes sake! If you begin with the problem, though, you sidestep this as an issue altogether. When theres a genuine problem to be solved, you arent changing for changes sake. Your changing for growths sake. Huge difference. Trying to influence positive change within your marketing department? Start with the problem first. Start With The Problem First, specifically outline the problem you want to solve and the harm its causing. Outline the problem as specifically as you can: Right now, were using six different tools to manage our marketing. Because of the constant shuffle, details are getting lost, were dropping balls, and not hitting deadlines. Outline Your Solution Propose your solution, address the cost of switching, and focus on the benefits: If we consolidate our tools, these problems will evaporate. We each lead talented, competent teams. So its a simple thing to give them a better way to do their jobs. Yes, this will mean adapting our workflows to a fresh way of doing things. And it will mean a new way of collaboration among our teams. But the gain in productivity and organization will pay dividends in results, reduce stress, and improve communication. When you focus on the problem, your proposed change isnt the focal point. Admittedly, Im assuming the change you want to lead is truly an issue. If it is, you can position any resistance to be against the benefits your solution offers. This keeps the conversation focused on, How do we solve this  real problem. #3. Script The New Actions The Change Requires To Get Team Buy In A third way to  get your peer managers to buy in comes from Chip and Dan Heaths fantastic book,  Switch: How To Change Things When Change Is Hard. Its a way to get ultra-specific about what needs to happen next. The catchphrase analysis paralysis turns out to be a real thing. It even happens to LeBron James. When people are presented with too many options, we get stuck. When people are presented with too many options, we get stuck.Analysis Paralysis Is A Real Thing In the book  Switch, the authors share how this same phenomenon happens to doctors. A medical doctor and a psychologist devised a test to see how well the average doc make choices. The test involved two similar groups asked to make a decision on the same case. The only difference was that Group A made a choice between two options. While Group B had three. Check out the scenario The patient in the test was an older gentleman with hip trouble. Group A had to decide between a hip-replacement surgery and a simple medication that hadnt yet been tried. Almost 50% of the doctors from Group A chose the non-surgical path. Group B had a similar choice. Only instead of one non-surgical option, there were two. Thats it. That was the only variable. These doctors had to decide on surgery, medication 1, or medication 2 Logically, two non-surgical options seem even better than one, right? Well, only 28% of Group B docs opted for the non-surgical option. ^^^ This is analysis paralysis at work.

Controversial Supreme Court Case Roper V. Simmons Essay Example

Controversial Supreme Court Case Roper V. Simmons Essay Example Controversial Supreme Court Case Roper V. Simmons Paper Controversial Supreme Court Case Roper V. Simmons Paper Essay Topic: Controversial The Death Penalty is a controversial topic on its own. However, if you add the possibility of a minor receiving the death penalty it gets even more interesting. The Supreme Court case of Roper v. Simmons was a perfect example of that. Roper v. Simmons presented the Supreme Court with two questions: 1) whether or not the execution of those who were sixteen or seventeen at the time of a crime is cruel and unusual punished and 2) does is violate the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendment. The main audience for this particular case is the general American population, and specifically affects the juvenile population. Christopher Simmons, seven months shy of his 18th birthday, planned and implemented the murder of an innocent woman. Descriptions of the murder are thoroughly chilling. Reports exposed that Simmons and an accomplice bound the woman in tape and dropped her off a bridge, drowning her in the waters below. Simmons later confessed to the crime and even participated in a videotaped reenactment of it. If he had been an adult at the time of the murder, Simmons’ case would not raise any constitutional questions. But due to his age, the issue before the court was whether the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments allowed the United States to â€Å"execute a juvenile offender who was older then 15 but younger than 18 when he committed a capital crime. † Justice Kennedy affirmed the previous ruling in the Missouri Supreme Court. As a result, Simmons could not be considered for the death penalty due to his age, and his sentence remained at life in prison without parole. Justice Kennedy went on to say, â€Å"it is the court’s reasoning that makes this case controversial, due to evolving standards of decency† (ROPER v. SIMMONS, (03-633) 543 U. S. 551 2005) since the ruling in Stanford v. Kentucky (1989), the Court has grounds to rule against the juvenile death penalty. In the Stanford ruling, the Court held that juveniles under the age of 15 could not be executed, â€Å"due to views that have been expressed by respected professional organizations, and leading members of the Western European community. † (STANFORD v. KENTUCKY, 492 U. S. 361 1989) The Court later ruled in Atkins v. Virginia (2002) that, â€Å"mentally retarded persons were exempt from the death penalty as well, a further sign of society’s changing standards. † (ATKINS v. VIRGINIA, 536 U. S. 320 2002) The decision in Atkins explained that due to their impairments, â€Å"it is highly unlikely that such offenders could ever deserve capital punishment. † (ATKINS v. VIRGINIA, 536 U. S. 320 2002) The reasoning in Atkins is applied to the Simmons decision. Kennedy argues that because individuals under 18 are categorically less culpable than the average criminal, they should not deserve the death penalty. Kennedy adds that there are three differences between juveniles under 18 and adult offenders. First, â€Å"juveniles often lack the maturity found in adults, a trait that is understandable among the young and adolescents are overrepresented statistically in virtually every category of reckless behavior. † (ROPER v. SIMMONS, (03-633) 543 U. S. 551 2005) The second difference is, â€Å"that they are more vulnerable to negative influences or outside pressures and this could lead to deviant behavior. † (ROPER v. SIMMONS, (03-633) 543 U. S. 51 2005) Lastly, Kennedy asserts that â€Å"the character of a juvenile is not as well formed as an adult and that personality traits in adolescents are transitory. † (ROPER v. SIMMONS, (03-633) 543 U. S. 551 2005) Moreover, because of the comparative immaturity and irresponsibility of such people, Kennedy logically notes that nearly every state bars people under 18 from voting, serving on juries or marrying without parental consen t. If this is the case, they should also be exempt from the death penalty, since juveniles have a greater claim than adults to be forgiven of circumstances that can lead to crime and deviant behavior. In addition, the defense introduced psychological and neurological evidence showing that adolescents, including sixteen- and seventeen-year-olds, lack sufficient brain and behavioral development to possess the requisite culpability. Though the Court recognized that juveniles are less experienced, educated, and intelligent than adults in Thompson, the Roper Court is, â€Å"unlikely to find the deficiencies of juveniles as great as those of the mentally retarded. † (THOMPSON v. OKLAHOMA, 487 U. S. 15 1988) Furthermore, Stanford’s explicit disapproval of scientific proof suggesting that juveniles are less culpable indicates that the Court is likely to find retribution can be sufficiently served. Finally, â€Å"juveniles will likely be found to be suitably deterred by the threat of the death penalty, especially since the same cognitive and behavioral abilities at issue in Stanford are under consideration in Roper. † (ATKINS v. VIRGINIA, 536 U. S. at 320. Pp. 5-17) Ju stice Stevens agreed with the majority pinion, but felt compelled to note that because our understanding of the Constitution does change from time to time, the Court could rightly examine the change in standards to interpret the Eighth Amendment. Yet Justices O’Connor and Scalia felt that there were obvious problems with the Court’s blanket ruling. They were especially concerned that the Court felt a â€Å"national consensus† against the juvenile death penalty existed. A large number of the American population are anti death penalty and even more passionate against it when it comes to juveniles facing this sentence. According to Justice Kennedy, 30 states now prohibit the juvenile death penalty – 12 that have eliminated capital punishment altogether and 18 that exclude juveniles from its reach. Yet Justice Scalia blasts this argument noting, â€Å"that none of the Court’s previous cases that dealt with alleged constitutional limitation upon the death penalty has counted states that have eliminated the death penalty entirely. † (ROPER v. SIMMONS, (03-633) 543 U. S. 51 2005) Justice O’Connor adds that the â€Å"halting pace of change† in this situation is far different from the â€Å"extraordinary wave of legislative action† that preceded the court’s ruling in Atkins. This gives the dissenters â€Å"reason to pause,† because the national sentiment does not seem as concrete as Justice Kennedy asserts. However, the 5-4 Supreme Court decision in Roper v. Simmons now prevents anyone under the age of 18 from being executed. The dissenting opinions also focused on the Court’s reasoning that juveniles are â€Å"categorically less culpable than the average criminal. Both Justices disagree with this reasoning, and Justice O’Connor points out that though a 17 year old murderer is normally less responsible than an adult, does not mean he could be sufficiently culpable to merit the death penalty. O’Connor points out that Simmons bragged he could â€Å"get away with murder† because of his age. Showing a sign that he was not deterred by the idea of capital punishment. The fact that every detail was planned in advance explains how Simmons possesses a consciousness materially more depraved than that of the average murderer. Justice Scalia cites an amicus brief by the American Psychological Association, which argued, â€Å"Adolescents possessed effective skills in reasoning about moral dilemmas and understanding social rules and laws†¦ and could make decisions like having an abortion without parental approval. † (APA 2004) Surely, if juveniles are mature enough to decide on an abortion, they can be mature enough to commit murder. Furthermore, Scalia discussed the amici briefs describe, â€Å"Additional examples of murders committed by individuals under 18 that involve truly monstrous acts. (APA 2004) While juvenile executions are rare, Justices O’Connor and Scalia believe that it was a mistake to ban them completely. In their mind, not only are some adolescents capable of heinous acts, they should be punished accordingly. References American Psychological Association. Roper. D. P. v. Simmons, C. (2004). Brief from the Psychological Association, Missouri Psychological Association. as Amici Curiae supporting respondent July 2004. Retrieved May 20, 2011 from apa. org/about/offices/ogc/amicus/roper. pdf ATKINS v. VIRGINIA, 536 U. S. 320 (2002) Retrieved May 20, 2011 from FindLaw: http://caselaw. findlaw. com/va-supreme-court/1427407. html ROPER v. SIMMONS, (03-633) 543 U. S. 551 (2005) 112 S. W. 3d 397, affirmed Retrieved May 20, 2011 from law. cornell. edu/supct/html/03-633. ZD1. html STANFORD v. KENTUCKY, 492 U. S. 361 (1989) Retrieved May 20, 2011 from FindLaw: http://laws. findlaw. com/us/492/361. html THOMPSON v. OKLAHOMA, 487 U. S. 815 (1988) Retrieved May 20, 2011 from FindLaw: http://laws. findlaw. com/us/487/815. html

Social Media Optimization Increase Traffic Visibility - CoSchedule

Social Media Optimization Increase Traffic Visibility Are you familiar with social media optimization? If so, are your social media profiles and strategy optimized to help your content  rank in search and drive traffic to your blog? Its okay if your answer is I dont know. We wanted to know more about social media optimization and so we rolled up our shirt sleeves (not literally) and dug into some deep research. In this post, well share what weve found, and how to put some of that information to use. How To Increase Visibility With #SocialMedia Optimization via @bensailer What Is Social Media Optimization? The answer to this question is a little more complex and less obvious than what we expected to find. Marketer Rohit Bhargava is credited with coining the term back in 2006. According  to Bhargava, we can define social media optimization (SMO) as: The concept behind SMO is simple: implement changes to optimize a site so that it is more easily linked to, more highly visible in social media searches on custom search engines (such as Technorati), and more frequently included in relevant posts on blogs, podcasts and vlogs. Using this definition, SMO is similar to search engine optimization, in the sense that your goal is to maximize visibility and traffic to your site or blog from social media.  That sounds straightforward enough, but we also need to keep in mind that this definition is nearly ten years old. If SMO is anything like SEO,  then we can expect that some of those tactics which were relevant a decade ago, may no longer be relevant today. Our questions led to more questions before we started to find some real answers. We'll dig into optimizing your social channels in a bit, but there's something else we need to touch on first. Recommended Reading The Simple 10-Step-Guide To Better Search Engine Ranking For Writers How To Write Headlines That Drive Traffics, Shares, And Search Results Why Is Social Media Optimization Important? You have a few social media channels set up for your blog or business. You're posting content on a consistent basis (and you might even be using to help manage that process). There's always more you can be doing to make sure you're earning as much visibility  on social media as possible (and we say that because  we can always do more). Like with all things social media, once you stop moving, you start to sink. You have to keep active. Always crossing your T's and dotting your I's every single step of the way. When you stop moving on #socialmedia you start to sink. Be consistent! #blogging More specifically, SMO is  important because: Your social media profiles can rank for branded search terms, helping you hog more search result space. Paying attention to all the small aspects of SMO can add up and make a big impact. If you're not following these best practices, you may actually be hurting your social media presence and losing out on valuable referral traffic little by little. Once you've read this post, you'll be prepared to tackle the following goals: Increase the visibility of your social media profiles in searches. Drive more traffic to your blog or website from your social media platforms. Most of these recommendations pertain to small changes you can make on your  blog, website, and social media profiles. The focus here is on technical mechanics, rather than on the art and craft of creating content. Now, let's get to work. How To Make Your Blog Or Website Social Media-Friendly The first place to start with social media optimization is directly on your blog and/or website. This entails that you have a handful of items in place to make sure your site or blog displays content attractively when shared on social media. You'll also want to make sure it's easy and intuitive for users to share your content as well. You'll want to make sure your site or blog displays content attractively and is easy to share on social media. Add Social Sharing Buttons To Your Site Blog Posts If your site or blog doesn't have them already, it might be time to add social sharing buttons. While there is some debate over  the best placement for social media buttons on blogs, or whether people actually use them, they do make it easier for users to share your content. Need a plugin to add social sharing buttons to your blog?   Monarch  (paid) Social Warfare  (paid) Shareaholic  (free) Add Linkable Content To Your Static Website Pages Blog posts are inherently shareable on social media. If you didn't think your post was worth sharing, you probably wouldn't have written it in the first place. Static website pages  are pages on your blog or website that are static (like an "About Us" or "service" page). It can be difficult to make static pages interesting enough for people to share. And that isn't because they aren't important. It's because, there typically isn't much on those pages that make folks want to like, share, tweet, or pin them. What's the solution then? The solution is to  add value to your static website pages with linkable content. That means adding valuable content that can easily  be linked in social media posts. This provides something of value that people are likely to share with their followers. What can you add to your static pages to draw social media attention: White papers or e-books Videos Infographics Contest signup forms Create content that adds value to a page and gives readers a reason to share it. You could even consider creating hub pages with a ton of downloadable content all in one place. Our own Resource Library is just one example of what this idea can look like in action. Recommended Reading:  21 Social Media Engagement Tactics That Will Grow Your Audience Add Buttons In Your Blog Posts Adding a click-to-tweet button in your blog posts can  help give your content an extra push on Twitter. Pro Tip:  Pull interesting quotes or statistics that readers will likely find interesting and put them in click-to-tweet boxes so your readers can share them quickly. ClickToTweet is a simple web service that lets you create click-to-tweet links that you can copy and paste into your posts. Alternately, you can also use the awesome  Click-To-Tweet WordPress plugin  built by our very own team at . Here's what they look like in action: Are you doing social media optimization the right way? Find out here. #SMOAdd Twitter Cards And Facebook Open Graph Markup To Your Website, Blog, And Blog Posts Adding Twitter Cards and Facebook Open Graph markup to your web pages and blog posts can help you control how they appear when they are shared by others online. What Are Twitter Cards? Twitter Cards are simply a few lines of HTML that allow you to specify photos, videos, and other media that appear  when a page is shared on Twitter. There are four different types of cards you can choose from: Summary Cards: These include a page title, description, image thumbnail, and an @ attribution to your Twitter account. Summary Card With Large Images: These are the same as Summary Cards, but with a bigger image. App Cards: These feature a direct download link for a mobile app. Player Cards: These include a media player for video or audio content. Here's an example of what a Summary Card with a large image  can look like: What Is Facebook Open Graph Markup? In short, Facebook open graph markup is code that is added to your blog or website to help control how pages and posts appear on Facebook when people share them. It lets you control the image, title, and description that appears when a URL is shared on the platform. How To Implement Twitter Cards Facebook Open Graph Data On Your Home Page Twitter Cards are easy to implement on WordPress sites using the Yoast SEO plugin. Follow these steps to set yours up: Install the Yoast plugin,  if you haven't already. Find Yoast SEO in the WordPress dashboard on the left-hand-side navigational bar. Scroll down to Social and then select Twitter. Here, you can add Twitter card data to your site. You can also set it up to use a Summary Card or the Summary Cards with Large Images in your default option. Now that you've enabled the Twitter Card functionality, you'll need to specify which data and images you want to appear. For this step, we'll need to open the Facebook tab and fill out the Open Graph data. This information will be used when your home page is shared on both Facebook and Twitter, so you're knocking out two birds with one stone here. How To Add Twitter Cards And Facebook Open Graph Data To Individual Blog Posts Yoast also allows you to add Twitter cards to individual blog posts. Just scroll to the bottom of your blog post in WordPress, find the Yoast box (it should be easy to spot), and then click the button shown below  to find social media options. You'll be brought to a screen where you can add or edit the Open Graph data for Facebook. You'll also be able to create a card for Twitter here. That's all it takes. Pro Tip: For additional assistance on how to implement Twitter cards in WordPress, please visit Twitter's official Twitter Card support documentation. You'll find information for other content management systems there as well. How To Optimize Your Social Media Channels For Maximum Visibility Now that we know what social media optimization is, and we understand why it's important, it's time to get down to brass tacks and start implementing some tactics and best practices. Let's get started with one social media platform (Facebook, Twitter, Google Plus, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Instagram, and Youtube) at a time. How To Optimize For Facebook Let's get your Facebook page looking its best. Even if you've already filled out your profile, there is always room for improvement. Optimize Your Cover Photo There's more to having a good cover photo than just slapping something in there with your logo. Make your cover image 851 pixels wide by 315 pixels tall. Choose an image that clearly communicates what your blog or brand is about. If you want potential followers to give their email address or to visit your promotion that's currently running, consider swapping out your cover photo to promote it. Include A Relevant Call-To-Action Button Facebook gives you seven different call-to-action button options  that you can use. These include: Book Now Contact Us Use App Play Game Shop Now Sign Up Watch Video Here's an example of what these call-to-action buttons can look like: See the signup button? It takes users straight to our homepage, where they can choose to sign up for a 14-day free trial with . (P.S. Do you see how we used the cover photo to point to the sign up button?) You could share a link to: An email signup form. A customer service page. An app download. E-commerce page, or anything else that may be applicable. To get the most from your cover photo: Use a visually appealing graphic with a snappy headline. Include a visual indicator pointing towards your CTA. Write a strong image description for your cover photo (If you'd like, you can even include another link there as well). Add A Comprehensive Bio Section To Help Your Profile Get Found Don't skimp on filling out your bio (or the rest of your profile). Be comprehensive and include as much information as you can to help your audience. Make sure your biography includes relevant keywords (much like you'd use to describe your business on your website, or your About page on your blog). Be descriptive and show your personality. Being thorough in completing your profile can help your Facebook company page rank in the search results. Make Sure Your URL And Contact Information Are Up-To-Date If you have a business with a physical location, make sure the address and phone number on your Facebook page match your website. Also  make sure your website or blog URL is correct. I know, these might really seem like minor details, but you'd be surprised how often these are omitted or left incorrect. Sometimes the devil is in the details and if you aren't careful those small things will group together into something larger. Are you including links in your #Facebook image captions? #bloggingInclude Links In Image Captions This is sometimes overlooked, but remember image captions  offer another place to add a link. It's a small detail, but it can help add a bit of traffic back to your blog or website. This goes for your cover photo too. Here's an example from our Facebook page (and in case you missed it, yes, we really did give pizzas away! :) Upload Video Directly To Facebook Video is growing in importance for content marketing, with YouTube dominating as the online video platform of choice. Facebook has  taken steps to be more competitive as a place to find prime video content. For this reason, Facebook prioritizes and favors video posted directly into Facebook, versus video shared from YouTube (or somewhere else). To get the most reach from your video content on Facebook: Try posting video files directly into Facebook. Even if you usually share videos on YouTube, you still can (and should) like usual, but consider sharing that same video directly to Facebook. Pro Tip: For tips on how to upload video, follow Facebook's official support documentation. Embed Video From Facebook Into Your WordPress Posts This is another great way to increase the  reach of your Facebook video content. For tips on how to embed Facebook video into WordPress, check out this video tutorial: Here's what an embedded video from Facebook could look like on your blog: //

PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT FOR LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT -REFLECTIVE Essay

PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT FOR LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT -REFLECTIVE ANALYTICAL ACADEMIC LEVEL 6 - Essay Example In this regard, I have organized social and business systems effectively to achieve set goals and objectives in particular organizations (Marquis & Huston 2009, 23). This paper describes my personal reflection about the development process that I undertook towards my leadership and management during my work placement time in the medical field, where I worked in the surgical ward, helping patients in various ways. Over the months, I have appreciated the fact that leadership is not necessarily a positional affair. Personal leadership has to be understood and adopted by people in order to enable them manage their lives effectively. Often, people always want to associate with those that understand themselves and take steps to improve their lives in the right way. In order to be a successful leader, I have polished my qualities and skills in people management, besides knowing how to manage their lives. I undertook the work placement exercise at the time I was in third year in my undergraduate nursing course. During this time, I was in charge of a team that ensured that we discharged our duties effectively towards achievement our departmental targets. In most cases, the reflective process is taken to describe the action of reflecting on certain actions in a process that often leads to persistent learning (Wolfensberger, 2010, 715). In this definition, the actions in the reflective practice involve giving focus to practical values as well as various theories that inform daily actions. This is through the process of doing the reflection in a reflexive process, thus leading to development of proper insight (Copley 2011, 17). In making this analysis, the main objective in the learning plan was to demonstrate an effective understanding of delegation in leadership and management. During my placement time, being a team leader meant that have to direct a team and give instructions about how certain tasks were to be

Guns, Germs, and Steel Movie Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Guns, Germs, and Steel - Movie Review Example For instance, if Eurasians develop resistance to common diseases like typhoid; it is because of geographical influences surrounding these people. The resistance is not in any way associated with the inherent Eurasian genomes. The preface commences with a conversation between Yali a politician from Guinea and Diamond. The dialogue is about the differences in technology and power. These differences are between the people of Yali and the Europeans who have dominated their land for two decades (Diamond 12). Diamond explains that these differences are not in any way associated with the genetic make up of the Europeans. The Europeans do not have superiority genes, but they dominate many regions because of their environmental differences with other people. Yali asks why white people develop a lot of cargo (manufactured goods and inventions) and bring to Africa whereas the Africans possess little cargo of their own (Diamond 4). This question made Diamond relate it to Eurasian people. According to Diamond, Eurasians have dominated wealth and power of the world for a long period of time whereas other people own little power and wealth despite the fact that they are no longer captivated in colonial powers (Diamond 15). This documentary’s title refers to various means used by farm-based societies to conquer and dominate other nations. Although these dominating nations were sometime outnumbered by the natives of the land, they had superior weapons like guns; which gave them military superiority. Diseases attacking Eurasian people made them weak and sometimes killing them. This simplified the Europeans work because they maintained control over the Eurasians who were germs. Steel is the durable mean of transport used by Europeans to travel around the world. Efficient travelling enabled them to achieve imperialism (Diamond 122). According to Diamond, environmental characteristics and climatic conditions favored the early development of

The Issue of Virtue or Citizenship for the New Republic of Antarctica Essay

The Issue of Virtue or Citizenship for the New Republic of Antarctica - Essay Example As a preliminary matter, it is essential to define precisely what is meant by the notion of civic virtue or citizenship. The main idea is that citizens are bound to place certain larger civic goals above their more particularized personal desires. Implicit in this concept is the notion of sacrifice. The citizen, while to be protected and respected as an individual, is also expected to behave in ways which promote the larger interests of his state or country. In this way, citizenship implies certain fundamental obligations. The virtue is behavior which conforms to these expectations. The important question, therefore, becomes what expectations ought the New Republic of Antarctica create for its citizenry The nature of virtue is a question which deserves serious attention. Some have argued that virtue is to be closely aligned with austerity. The pursuit of luxury and personal fame is to be discouraged. Larger social goals should be the guiding goals of citizenship. Others have argued that virtue need not be so limiting on a personal level. This line of reasoning is more liberal, and suggests that individual achievements will contribute to the development of the country. Thus, personal gain ought to be encouraged so long as the fundamental objectives of the government are not endangered. In the final analysis, the virtue to be explored in this report refers to the role and the function of individuals within the New Republic of Antarctica. This raises questions of political conformity and the nature of the individual's influence within the republic. 1.2 Alternative Models The manner in which virtue is to be incorporated into a republic is variable; to be sure, there are different models to consider. First, there is the notion of a direct democratic republic to be considered. This model extends a vote to its citizens, according to a formula prescribed by law, and effectively operates on the basis of majority rule. This model is something of an all-win or all-lose system. The majority dictate representatives as well as an overarching civic conscience. The minority, meanwhile, is entirely subject to the whims of the majority. A second model is the constitutional republic. This model is motivated by a philosophical desire to protect minorities from majority rule. A constitution is interposed between the government and the citizens. It functions to state general and specific principles of virtue. The goal of the constitutional republic is to temper the potential extremes and abuses of the majority model. In addition to the direct and constitutional models, there are also questions pertaining to the centralization or the fragmentation of our governing system. The federalist model assumes a strong national government with subsidiary state governments. The states are possessed with governmental functions; however, they are subservient in many cases to the larger interests of the national government. An alternative model, the confederacy, envisions a more fragmented system of government. In this model, individual states reserve a fuller sovereignty over their own affairs; in this scheme, states function almost as separate governments unbeholden to

List of topics attached Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 6000 words

List of topics attached - Essay Example The ethnic conflicts which appeared immediately after the cold war resulted in the disintegration of Sviet Union, Czechos...lovakia and Yugoslavia. There exist various different ethnic, racial, national, linguistic and cultural groups in most of the countries today. Majority of countries on the world map are composed of more than one ethnic group and thus there is diversity in almost all the countries of the world (McGarry and O’Leary, 1993). At times some of the ethnic groups of the society which are in minority do not get recognition and thus equal rights from the other ethnic groups and in such scenarios the minority ethnic groups are practically thrown out of the society which leads to ethnic conflicts. In a state ethnic conflicts are born in circumstances when there is an identity crisis and conflict between various ethnic groups leading to internal conflict in a state. Other types of conflicts are also related to ethnic conflicts, these include ideological conflicts, gov ernance conflicts, racial conflicts and environmental conflicts. The most commonly observed reasons behind the emergence of differences between various groups living in the same country are religious, tribal, linguistic and ethnic differences. These differences very often incolve a mixture of identity and the search for security where prime contention concerns the devolution of power. Ethnicity is sometimes defined as the division of people living in an area into identity groups. Ethnic groups are historically given collectivities and psychological communities, these things can be observed very clearly in Iraq where the total population of the country is not only divide between groups on the basis of racial and ethnic differences, the country has also been divided over various sectarian conflicts i.e. between Shia Muslims and Sunni Muslims. The conflicts going on in Iraq and in some parts of Afghanistan can be classified as ethnic conflicts. Thesis Statement Eversince the beginning of war on terror and the ivasion of Iraq and Afghanistan by the international security forces, a series of conflicts have been observed in these areas which are primarily due to the imposed instability which was caused by the War on Terror. The media reports generated by unbiased agencies and the various researches which have been conducted in Iraq and Afghanistan, a basic difference have been observed to exist between the situation of sectarian conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. It has been observed that sectarian violence and extremism is more pronounced in Iraq than in Afghanistan. There are a number of factors which can be stated as the reason behind

Personal Philosophy Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Personal Philosophy Paper - Essay Example the difficulties that they are going through in life, and also by giving advice to the counselee on how to overcome the difficulties that they are going through in life. Question 4: Appropriate and Inappropriate goals of counselling. I view the following two gaols of counselling as appropriate,(a) assisting the counselling to discover themselves more so as to be able to overcome the difficulties that they are going through, (b) giving advice to the counselee on how to overcome and to adapt to the difficulties that they are going through in life (Goals of Counselling, web.). The two inappropriate goals of counselling are, (a) expecting the counselee to immediately overcome the difficulties that they are going through, (b) expecting the counselling to view the difficulties that they are going through as you view them. Question 5. The two important functions of a therapist are (a) helping the counselee to discover themselves more so as to be able to handle, in a better way, and to overcome the difficulties that they are going through in life, (b) to give counselees pieces of professional and practical advice on how to overcome the difficulties that they are going through in life. Question 6. Essential characteristics of an effective client/therapist relationship. The three main characteristics of an effective client/therapist are, (a) the relationship is based on trust (b) the relationship is open, in that the client and the therapist are open to each other (d) the relationship is cordial and friendly. The relationship between client and therapist is quit important in counselling because it determines the effectiveness of counselling. Question 7. The following are the three main values that I live by, (a) honesty, (b) respect, (c) confidentiality. These values will influence me as a counsellor because counselling requires that the counsellor or the therapist should be honest in his/her dealings with the counselee, the counsellor also should respect the counselee,

The Value of Pair and Group Work for Second Language Learning Essay

The Value of Pair and Group Work for Second Language Learning - Essay Example But some teachers are not yet ready to change and accept change. Besides, they are unconvinced about the value of using pair and group work in the classroom environment. From another angle of view, the mindset of student community towards pedagogical innovation deeply influences its effectiveness in the classroom environment. This view has been supported in the work of Hinkel (2005, P. 141). The value of pair and group work in the classroom environment is that it helps learners gets enough opportunity to practice the language. For instance, pair and group work help the learners to have enough time for oral practice. Besides, less confident learners get exposure to put newly acquired language skills into practice. Pair and group work in classroom environment leads to less dependence on a teacher, helping and learning enhances language acquisition. Pair and group work change the traditional role of the individual teacher in the classroom environment. Group work is helpful for the learners to share their ideas with their peers. In addition, learning experience in classroom environment under the supervision of teacher enhances the learning process. Dividing the class into different groups consist of gifted, fast learners, average students and below average students is helpful for the student community to develop their language skills. Besides, pair and group work helps the teacher to provide individual attention to each and every student. Grouping the students by considering their ability or language proficiency is not democratic but it leads to the failure of classroom instruction on and tasks formulated by the teacher. This view has been supported in the work of Genesee (1994, p.186). The traditional mode of classroom instruction based on the teacher is not democratic. In this situation, the teacher is lecturing and the students are mere listeners.

Personal Philosophy Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Personal Philosophy Paper - Essay Example the difficulties that they are going through in life, and also by giving advice to the counselee on how to overcome the difficulties that they are going through in life. Question 4: Appropriate and Inappropriate goals of counselling. I view the following two gaols of counselling as appropriate,(a) assisting the counselling to discover themselves more so as to be able to overcome the difficulties that they are going through, (b) giving advice to the counselee on how to overcome and to adapt to the difficulties that they are going through in life (Goals of Counselling, web.). The two inappropriate goals of counselling are, (a) expecting the counselee to immediately overcome the difficulties that they are going through, (b) expecting the counselling to view the difficulties that they are going through as you view them. Question 5. The two important functions of a therapist are (a) helping the counselee to discover themselves more so as to be able to handle, in a better way, and to overcome the difficulties that they are going through in life, (b) to give counselees pieces of professional and practical advice on how to overcome the difficulties that they are going through in life. Question 6. Essential characteristics of an effective client/therapist relationship. The three main characteristics of an effective client/therapist are, (a) the relationship is based on trust (b) the relationship is open, in that the client and the therapist are open to each other (d) the relationship is cordial and friendly. The relationship between client and therapist is quit important in counselling because it determines the effectiveness of counselling. Question 7. The following are the three main values that I live by, (a) honesty, (b) respect, (c) confidentiality. These values will influence me as a counsellor because counselling requires that the counsellor or the therapist should be honest in his/her dealings with the counselee, the counsellor also should respect the counselee,

Do you believe the world since the end of the Cold War in 1989 has Assignment

Do you believe the world since the end of the Cold War in 1989 has become more peaceful and stable or less peaceful and stable - Assignment Example According to Kennath Waltz’s argument the world becomes more stable and peaceful when it is dominated by few superpowers. In other words, unipolar world is more stable than multipolar world (Lundestad & Jakobsen, 2013). However, considering ongoing conflicts in the Middle East, Eastern Europe, and Africa, growing economic and political crises, growing international and domestic terrorism, emerging multipolar system, and weakening dominance of the US, present world has become less peaceful and more instable than the Cold War era. The purpose of this paper is to highlight the growing instability and potential threats to the security and peace in the world by means of various examples and facts. The concept of unipolarity is used to define the global power system which is mainly dominated by one superpower. After the end of Cold War, there wasn’t typical West vs. East conflict as it was in the 20th century. Due to lack of real challenges, the US enjoyed the status of most influencing power in the world. It allowed the US to interfere or involve in the global issues that often didn’t reflect the national interests (Lundestad & Jakobsen, 2013). According to power structure analyzers, unipolarity is volatile and unstable because it always advances towards multipolarity as other emerging powers attempt to overthrow the dominance of one nation in global system. Though the superpower can curb such progress, at least for the short period, its dominance will eventually be lowered as a result of constantly emerging new powers (Lundestad & Jakobsen, 2013). Since the oil embargo of 1973, the US has maintained aggressive policies towards Middle-eastern countries in order to control vast oil reserves in the region. Under the quid pro quo deal, the US provides defense security to Middle-eastern states in return of oil (Cran & Barker, 2012). For

Pros & Cons of Television Essay Example for Free

Pros Cons of Television Essay For most people, watching television Is an enjoyable way to spend time. It Is an undemanding activity that passes the time and there are very few families that dont own at least one television. Since so many people now own a television, there has been a proliferation in the number of channels available and shows to watch, so that you can quite easily find yourself spending hours in front to the television. Consequently, you may neglect other activities that need doing. Thus, although television may help to ease boredom. Here are also some negative aspects associated with watching television. Breaking news shown live on your TV Global news network allows the latest global events to be aired worldwide and beamed directly to your living room. Examples (from top-left, clockwise) include September 1 lath attack, 2004 Tsunami in Indonesia, 2008 HINDI outbreak and 2011 earthquake In Japan. Pros of watching television The positive aspects of watching television include that you have something to talk to friends and relatives about. There are certain programs which are more popular than there and If you watch them you feel Included and that you have something In common with the people around you. Television can help to foster a sense of national identity, since a significant proportion of the population will be exposed to the same kinds of news programs and television shows, so that people feel that they belong to a wider community. Plus, television can also be Informative and educational, opening peoples eyes up to the world outside. Educational TV programs Educational TV programs provide priceless information that not only educate but also pens up your mind. Most of these programs teach and educate people on subjects that you may otherwise will not know and are never taught in schools. Non-educational TV programs However, there are also a lot of television shows that are not very educational, and could even be considered trash. Reality shows, for Instance, offer nothing of any worth to the audience. Yet people still tune in. People get hooked on shows which are poorly produced and concentrate mostly on issues of sex and violence. Although here is no conclusive evidence that watching violence on television makes children tofu people would become desensitizing to it, and that this could make it easier for children to engage in violent activities. Watching too much TV can lead to weight gain, poor social skills and lower academic results Unsupervised children spending too much of their time in front of a TV can have a big impact on their life. Obesity, lack of social skills and poor academic results are Just some of the effects TV have on children. Some psychologist believe that too such TV time can have a major effect in the psychology of the child. Children are suppose to interact and play, not sit and watch. Poor parenting and weight gain It is also evident that many people spend too much time watching television, so that parents dont bother to spend any time playing or talking with their children. It is far easier to stick them in front of the television, rather than taking them to the park. It cant be a coincidence that so many people are now overweight when they spend much more time watching television than they would have done years ago. People seed to be a lot more active, but now television is the most convenient way for individuals to keep themselves occupied. Thus, they burn hardly any calories while most probably consuming an excessive amount of calories. Its addictive Even though there are many negative aspects associated with watching television, many people enjoy television far too much to reduce the amount they watch or to avoid watching television altogether. People enjoy not having to think for themselves and to be able to sit down and watch something that helps them to relax, so why would they change?

The Great Gatsby- Do s really love cars and money? :: essays research papers fc

The Great Gatsby- Do s really love cars and money?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, Gatsby attempts to be obtain his American dream with conspicuous consumption. Fitzgerald uses symbols of conspicuous consumption in money, cars and houses to show that the American dream of wealth and possessions doesn’t necessarily ensure happiness.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The concept of conspicuous consumption is greatly exemplified in The Great Gatsby, by all of the characters being in possession of excessive amounts of property and money. Money is the get-all give-all in Gatsby’s version of the American dream. If one can obtain lots of money to impress the women, then he must have it made; Realists disagree with this mindset. ‘â€Å"[Gatsby] wants her to see his house,† she explained. â€Å"And your [Nick’s] house is right next door (84).†Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ Gatsby wants to display his wealth to Daisy, so she will be impressed with him. The different eggs represent the standings of people’s money. Gatsby in on the West, which is the people who don't have any real standing, even when they have lots of money. The West Egg represents the new money, or the money that was earned, not inherited. Daisy, the woman that Gatsby has always wanted, lives on East Egg. This is Gatsby displaying conspicuous consump tion towards Daisy. Not only Gatsby displays this trait, however. Referring to Mr. Wolfshiem’s cufflinks, which were â€Å"composed of oddly familiar pieces of ivory. ‘Finest specimens of human molars,’ he informed me (77).† This is a display of someone who has bought cufflinks merely for the reason of buying, using the excess money he has. This conspicuous consumption get a man nowhere but in awe of equally lost people. People who are stuck in spending money also display their level of social status with their car.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The automobile has always been a kind of status symbol in the United States. Expensive cars are associated with the possession of great wealth. Gatsby's car is described as the ‘epitome of wealth.’ Gatsby bought his car in order to convey his material success. This is the vehicle that kills Myrtle and indirectly leads to Gatsby's own . The automobile is stressed again and again throughout the story and is used in the end to prove that a dream based on materialism alone will in the end be destructive. Gatsby saw â€Å"...me [Nick] looking with admiration at his car. ‘It’s pretty, isn’t it, old sport?’ He jumped off to give me a better view.

Technology in Teaching and Learning Essay -- Education Technology

Educational technologies are being utilized in every way shape and form, from inline gaming to numeracy, literacy and painting by numbers. From learning to leisure we have embraced the internet, in online chat rooms we communicate, interact and move into future learning through educational programmes and technology that lets us learn virtually. Instruction and directions are sent across cyberspace which change perceptions and give us an insight into different cultures far away across the other side of the world .The enigma that is cyberspace has the capacity to change our way of thinking, learning and teaching, and it is this teaching aspect that most interests me. As classroom based beings, teachers and the technological movement ebb slowly toward each other as interactive learners push educational boundaries into virtual reality. This assignment will attempt to show the importance of internet connections for interactive learners. As communication is the main aim of any interface, society in the main has accepted these progressive technologies and as our willingness to integrate this mechanically driven entity into our lives draws education into our very living rooms, for some though the challenge of engagement continues, especially for those with learning difference. Developing learning for students with difference has always confronted society with a dilemma; nevertheless the technological age of interactive education has increased access to learning for all those who are willing to take up the challenge. Traditional teaching methods have taken a backwards step and the cyber spaced virtual reality of online has in my view, rightfully taken its place at the classroom. In the Community Engagement Department where I teach a... ... of Inquiry into Higher Education, (NCIHE) (1997) Dearing, R. Higher Education in the Learning Society. Report of the National Committee of Inquiry into Higher Education. London: NCIHE Publications (HMSO). Ehrich, R, W., Reaux, R, A., (1998) PCs for families: a study of early intervention using networked computing in education, Journal of Educational Computing Research, 19(4), p.383-410. Stefani, L., Nicol, D., (1997) From teacher to facilitator of collaborative enquiry, in: Armstrong, S., Thompson, G., and Brown, S., (Eds) Facing up to Radical Changes in Universities and Colleges London: Kogan. Tapscott, D. (1998). Growing up digital: The rise of the net generation. New York: McGraw-Hill.(p.16) York, M. (2003) Formative assessment in Higher Education: moves towards theory and the enhancement of pedagogic practice, Higher Education, 45(4), pp.477-501.

Nursing Field

Christina Leach Term paper November 9, 2010 English 8 Credit Recovery I. Introduction A. Why I have chosen this career? 1. Interested in this field 2. The helping of others II. The job A. Requirements 1. Schooling 2. Volunteer hours B. Expectations 1. Practice III. Different fields & pay rates A. Kinds of nurses B. There requirements (what extra classes they may need to take) C. The pay rates for different fields of nursing. Becoming a nurse or helping people has always been something I’ve enjoyed most, this is why I’ve chosen nursing as an interest in my life.The thing that made me interested in this field, I would have to say: the parts of making someone feel better; I especially would like to work with elderly, and disable people, and children. Something else that may have persuaded me in this direction would have to be my older sister, this is something that she enjoys doing as a career and she tells me how she enjoys making a difference in people life and helping e lderly and disable people.Another reason is that I have worked with a disable person before as a part time job and this was something I liked doing because you never know what to expect out of a days work and there’s something new that you learn day by day. There are many types of nurses in the field, to name a few they are: practice nurses, clinical nurses, specialists, nurse anesthetists, nurse-midwives and nurse practitioners all these nurses require a master’s degree. The type of nurse I would like to become or that I am interested in are the ones I am going to write about here starting with a CNA (Certified Nurse Assistance). University of Phoenix 1). What is a certified Nurse Assistant? A Certified Nurse Assistant is a nurse assistant or nursing aide who has undergone training programs and successfully earned a certificate. Upon completing this program, a certified nurse assistant is placed on the state’s registry of nursing aides. CNA provides direct pati ent care both medical and non0medica; they are also supervises by registered nurses and often by assists LPN (Licensed Practical Nurse) in a hospital setting.A certified nurse work duties may include the following: taking vital signs, helping with some medical procedures, assisting patients while walking or using the rest room, tidying patients rooms, answering call lights, making beds, delivering messages, mentoring patient and reporting changes in the patients mood or the different way they may act, collecting samples for setting, providing patient hygiene, feeding or dressing the patients and also record the patients in and out put. They may work in different kinds of facilities like hospitals, out patient facilities, long term care facilities, and clinics and in home care.One of the other types of nurses I would like to talk about is LPN (Licensed Practical Nurse). An LPN are the certified healthcare providers who are responsible for providing basic patient care, working under t he supervision of the physicians and registered nurses. Both provide services in all kinds of health care facilities such as private and public hospitals, offices of doctors, small healthcare settings and many other places like this. Something else that they are required to do is carry out their job duties under the supervision of either an RN or a certified doctor.An LPN has to collect information from the patients to admit them; regarding medical records, medical insurance details and any other pretreatments formalities. A LPN is the one who records health details of the patients, which usually comprise blood pressure, body temperature, respiration and heart beat rate and other vital signs. The next one I would like to talk about is an RN. Registered nurses work duties but may vary depending on the specialty; however in most cases the nurse is responsible for the daily care of any admitted patient.This can include medication settings, IVs, giving shots, updating records, providing educational support, basic diagnostics, and any other patient procedures. Physically nurses could be a major taxing career because of the requirements in this field, such as working, lifting patients, stretching, bending, and also it may require long days and varies different schedules. Another thing is that the nurses that are employed by the hospital or extended hours the facilities that frequently working twelve hour shifts or are on call duties. They may even have to work night, weekends or maybe even holidays. University of Phoenix2) The education that is required to become a CNA is Medical and Health Professions Studies, Nursing Assistant or Patient Care Assistant Studies and Nursing profession. The minimum eligibility requirements must be a high school graduate or have completed the GED. (University of Phoenix2) There are different types of degrees, there’s a masters degree which would involve taking a Master of Science in Nursing, MS in Nursing- Family Nurse Practiti oner, MS in Nursing-Informatics, MS in Nursing and Health Administration, MS in Nursing and Health Care Education MS in Nursing and MBA in Health Care Management.For a bachelor degree which would involve taking BS in Health Administration, LPN to BS in nursing, LVN to BS in nursing, RN to BS in nursing. For an associate you would need just an AA in Health Care Administration. And for non degree you would need to take a Post Masters certificate-Family Nursing practitioner, Nursing Health Care Education Certificate. (LPN programs1) The way to start out with becoming a LPN is to finish a training program, which can be found in vocational schools or community colleges.This training can take up to one year and would require a GED or high school degree. The programs that you want to enroll in need to be approved or accredited by your state’s Board of Nursing so that you can be qualified to practice the professions after graduation. The (LPN prgrams2) LPN programs can take up to 1-2 years, which also includes training at any community hospital or health care facility. The courses that you would be taking will include a CPR class, psychiatric nursing, and nutrition, medical surgical nursing, medical calculation, pediatric nursing, physiology, and anatomy.After you complete your LPN Degree Requirements, you will need to pass a certified exam called NCLEX-PN. (BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS5) As for an RN there are three different paths: Bachelor’s of science degree in nursing (BSN), and associate degree in nursing (AND), and a diploma. The BSN programs are offer by colleges and universities, which can take up to 4 years to complete. As for AND program, which is offered by community and junior colleges can take up to 2 or 3 years to complete.And as for the diploma program, you can administer in hospitals and this can take up to3 years to complete. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS6) to obtain a license in this area you must pass the National Council Licensure Examinat ion or is also known by the NCLEX-RN test. Now salary wise and CNA makes $8 to $16 an hour. The median wage that a CNA can make is $12 an hour but hospitals in major cities often pay more than facilities in smaller centers. For an LPN can earn 16. 48 per hour and the median wage they can earn is 19. 1 per hour but the most that an LPN can make an hour is 22. 85 per hour. And as for a RN, an RN can make 25. 54 per hour. The median wage that an RN can make per hour is 30. 70 and the most would be 37. 05 per hour. Each level of nursing makes different amounts hourly depending on how experienced you are in the career. I chose this career because I enjoy helping others and it’s a career that will always be around no matter what and nurses will always be needed. Work Cited Rios, Samantha J. Personal Interview. 27, Oct. 2010

Prison Term Policy Recommendation Essay

As the criminologist advisor to a member of the Pennsylvania state legislature, I have been selected to conduct research for a bill that would double the maximum prison term for anyone convicted of armed robbery. The bill is popular however it is unknown if it will do much good. It is my job to make recommendations in regards to whether the bill being voted on will be beneficial to everyone in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The prison term policies are sentencing guidelines that are created by Congress and the State Legislature to provide judges with bases for sentencing those individuals found guilty of committing a crime to ensure that each person is treated equal without discrimination (sentencing guidelines, 2010). There are four offenses that make up what is known as violent crime which are murder, forcible rape, robbery, and aggravated assault. According to the Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program a violent crime is any crime that involves force or threat of force to others (Department of Justice, 2006). Currently the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania’s prison terms for armed robbery are as follows: for the first offense of a violent crime a minimum of five years, for a second offense of a violent crime a minimum of 10 years, and for the third offense of a violent crime a minimum of 25 years total confinement or life imprisonment which is accordance with 42 Pa. C.S.  §9714 (Pennsylvania Commi ssion on Sentencing, 2008). Pennsylvania’s Uniform Crime Reporting tracks all forms of Robbery together. According to the Pennsylvania Uniform Crime Reporting System, in 2008 there were 18,751 reported robbery offenses which is equivalent to 51 per day or one every 28 minutes and 2 seconds (PA UCRS, 2008). These figures showed a decrease of 2.5% from 2007 which had 19,239 reported robberies (PA UCRS, 2008). Robbery made up 5.4% of the crime index and 37.2%  of the violent crime index in Pennsylvania in the year 2008 (PA UCRS, 2008). The reported robbery rates in Pennsylvania in 2008 were 150.6 per 100,000 inhabitants (PA UCRS, 2008). Recidivism is defined as a habitual relapse into crime, which is a problem that is faced within the criminal justice system. Pennsylvania tracks information on inmates released in order to find the recidivism rates. In 2002 Pennsylvania Department of Corrections released 1,711 inmates charged with robbery and within three years 46.6% returned to prison, which was a decline from 2000 when 1,776 inmates charged for robbery were released and 52.8% of the inmates returned within three years (PADOC, 2006). A study was conducted in Italy in 2006 when the Collective Clemency Bill set all inmates with less than three years remaining on their sentence free however if the inmates were convicted of another crime within the next five years, the remainder of their sentence would be added onto the new sentence. This allowed studies to be conducted to see if longer prison terms would deter criminals. Studies showed that increasing the sentence by 50% should reduce recidivism rates by about 35% in seven months (Crime/Punishment, 2010). With inmates comes a bill to cover the housing, feeding, and medical costs of each inmate. The cost to house a prisoner in the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections (PADOC) is $ 69 per day (Barnes, 2010). In July 2010 the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections housed 51,281 inmates, at $69 per day that amounts to $3,538,389 per day or $1,291,151,985 per year (PADOC, 2010). There are multiple benefits of the bill being passed to double the maximum prison term for those convicted of armed robbery. The study that was conducted in Italy shows that longer prison sentences lowers the recidivism rates among offenders, which over time would reduce the population of the already over populated prisons. The criminals would be off the streets for a longer period of time preventing them from committing future crimes. Longer prison sentences could be a deterrent for some criminals. Robbery is one of the top two violent crimes committed in Pennsylvania and the longer sentence imposed on those criminals may lower the rate of armed robbery however it could cause an increase in other crimes. If the bill were passed and new prisons built to accommodate all inmates there would be more jobs available such as corrections officers, nurses, doctors, dentists, psychologists, and office personnel. These job openings would not only assist with job market, but also with having mo re  tax payers to assist with the money needed for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania budget. There are also multiple disadvantages to the bill being passed to double the maximum prison term for those convicted of armed robbery. Pennsylvania prisons are overpopulated as it is and by imposing longer sentences the problem is going to continue to get worse. As discussed earlier the prison population in June 2010 was 51,281 however the occupational bed capacity of the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections is only 43,872 (PADOC, 2010). The prisons are already operating at 116.9% of capacity and by passing this bill those rates are going to increase at a more rapid pace than they already are (PADOC, 2010). As discussed earlier the cost to house an inmate in Pennsylvania Department of Corrections is $69 per day which if this bill is passed a much larger budget is going to be required because inmates are going to be housed for a longer period of time. The need may arise for more prisons due to the longer prison terms which would require a much larger budget. With more prisons comes the need for more employees to operate those prisons which also is going to have an effect on the prison budget. Where is the money going to come from to meet the increase in the budget? The tax payers are the ones that are going to have to suffer to make the funding available for the prison system budget. Other crime rates may rise as a domino effect because criminals may turn to other crimes that are known to carry a lighter sentence if they are caught. If the bill is passed it is not required that judges sentence those convicted of the crime to the maximum sentence. Judges are required to look at mitigating and aggravating circumstances when sentencing individuals found guilty of committing crimes. Judges look at prior criminal history, personal life situation, was anyone hurt during the crime, or sometimes the remorse the person shows toward the crime they committed. This bill could be beneficial in the cases of habitual offenders because there would be stricter sentencing for the first offense rather than having to wait until the second or even third offense. As we all know with anything there is pros and cons. There appears to be more cons in this situation than there are pros which should make the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania legislature take a second look into whether or not passing this bill is going to be the most beneficial thing for the Commonwealth as a whole. I would find that it would not be beneficial to double the maximum sentence for those individuals  charged with committing armed robbery. The evidence shows that it would cost the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania more money to double the sentence for armed robbery. The evidence also proves that close to 50% of people convicted of armed robbery are going to reoffend which is going to bring them back to the criminal justice system and with one offense already committed they will receive a longer sentence the second time around. This also allows for those who are actually capable of being rehabilitated to have the chance to prove themselves without having to spend 10 years in pri son. References Barnes, T. (2010). Post-Gazette. Pa. sentencing guidelines eyed. Retrieved on August 31, 2010 from http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10002/1025303-454.stm Crime/Punishment (2010). Do stiffer sentences act as a crime deterrent? Retrieved on August 31, 2010 from http://crime.about.com/od/prevent/a/deterrence.htm Department of Justice Federal Bureau of Investigation (2006). Crime in the United States 2004. Violent Crime. Retrieved on August 31, 2010 from http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/cius_04/offenses_reported/violent_crime/index.html Pennsylvania Commission on Sentencing (2008). Retrieved August 31, 2010 from http://pcs.la.psu.edu/guidelines/sentencing/sentencing-statutes-and-programs/related-statutes/mandatory-minimum-sentences/SentMandMin122008.pdf Pennsylvania Department of Corrections (2010). Monthly population report June 2010. Retrieved on August 31, 2010 from http://www.cor.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt/community/research___statistics/10669/monthly_population_reports/568195 Pennsylvania Department of Corrections (2006). Recidivism in Pennsylvania State Correctional Institutions 1999-2004. Retrieved on August 31, 2010 from http://www.cor.st ate.pa.us/portal/server.pt/community/research___statistics/10669/annual_reports/567085 Pennsylvania Uniform Crime Reporting System (2008). Annual Report Robbery. Retrieved on August 31, 2010 from http://ucr.psp.state.pa.us/UCR/Reporting/Annual/AnnualFrames.asp?year=2008 Sentencing guidelines (2010). Retrieved August 30, 2010 from http://www.willdefend.com/CM/Custom/TOCSentencingGuidelines.asp