Argumentative Essay Essay

Every body loves the triple bacon cheeseburger from Wendy’s, extra bacon. Or the brand new Iphone that has just been released and you suddenly feel that daunting desire to be holding it in your hands. America is all about living for excess. People live for what is easily accessible no matter the cost. In reading of a Buy Nothing Day implemented and imposed on Canada, to increase the awareness of excessive consumerism, we must ask would this be beneficial to the United States? I must agree that it would be beneficial to some in raising awareness. Though I agree, I must also strongly negate the idea of a â€Å"Buy Nothing Day† due to the low participation amongst our society in America, and the difficulty in implicated such a day. First, I agree with the idea that our nation could use a â€Å"Buy Nothing Day† and it could be very beneficial in raising the awareness of our excessive consuming. Having the opportunity to travel to a poverished country myself, I have found myself with an increasing awareness of my consumerism. I distinctly remember walking out of the â€Å"Barra Payan† sandwich shop with a grin on my face, excited to devour the sandwich I had spent no more than 3 dollars on. As I continued to walk out, a young boy approached me, and in his broken English asked if I would give him just a bite of my sandwich. He had no shoes on, a shirt that had been worn to the seams and swim suit meant for a toddler, though he managed a crooked little smile as he asked. The disparage on his face was eminent though, and he wavered my heart. Haphazardly, I preceded to hand him my entire sandwich. Hugging me, he ran off devour the sandwich I had just bought. Being down in the Dominican Republic for a week, I found myself aware of my extensive consumerism I display on a day to day basis, while people can hardly have enough food to survive. Though having a singular day in America may not be to this extreme, I strongly feel that it would be an important way of helping raising the awareness of this problem in America today. Though on one hand I feel it would be a positive idea to establish an annual â€Å"Buy Nothing Day†, I must negate the idea of it. As is, America is nothing but nation living for excess and ease. No matter where we drive, or wherever we may go, there is that unsaid rule that you must aim for the best. I am sure you have had that memorable experience of driving by the cherry red Ferrari and with a little jealousy you envy to have that car. Or you go into Five Guys to get a burger and you see the guy in front of you ask for every topping on his burger. So you say to hell with it, I am doing what I want, and all those toppings will be on my burger. I have seen this countless times. In a nation where we squander countless hours shopping and impulse buying, there is no way a vast amount of people would participate in a day such as purposed. With that stated, I must strongly negate the idea of an annual â€Å"Buy Nothing Day†, simply due to the fact of it is nothing our culture is accustomed to. Correspondingly, we as Americans are extremely narrow minded and would not be willing to integrate such a day. Consequently, I must negate the idea of integrating a day such as this due to how consumer dependent our society is. You can hardly drive a mile these days without seeing something you can buy. I live in a town by the name of Castle Rock Colorado, and in our town we have a Home Depot, and a Lowes just a mile down the road. Why our town needs two home improvement stores is beyond me. Maybe it is the completion between each company, or possible which has more inventories. This is a classic example of what our culture is here in America. Same goes for gas stations. There is one intersection with 3 gas stations. All of which, trying to entice you with slightly lower gas prices, or the world’s best selection of junk food. Competition is what drives our economy and in pushing to try to encourage a day to not buy anything, completely degrades the idea of our moral values as Americans whether I agree with them or not. Since our society singularly runs mostly on big business, the idea of this day exalts the things we hold so dearly as Americans. Alongside this, the first time trying to implement such a day is near impossible, and would be strenuous to all people who live in America. In looking deeply into imposing a â€Å"Buy Nothing Day† in America, I strongly agree with the fact that for some it may raise some awareness temporarily. Though I agree, I must also negate the implementation of this day because it would be hard to gain participation as well as the strenuous tasks of difficulty in integrating a day such as this due to how consumer dependent our society is.

Satyajit Ray’s First Original Screenplay

The film was first conceived to take place in a large mansion, but Ray later decided to film it in the famous hill town, using the many shades of light and mist to reflect the tension in the drama. An amused Ray noted that while his script allowed shooting to be possible under any lighting conditions, a commercial film contingent present at the same time in Darjeeling failed to shoot a single shot as they only wanted to do so in sunshine.. † fact remains that Ray shot this film with masterfully chosen available light conditions(read:no reflectors,you morons! to depict the subtle interplay of light and shade to blend in with progress of the storyline! (as an aside ray recounts the sad story of a Bollywood film crew who arrived in Darjeeling at the same time as ray's team,and were still waiting for the elusive sun to arrive so they could begin shooting by the time ray had his whole film in the can and packed up to go home! ) the climactic scene of the kanchenjungha suddenly makin g a brilliant appearance at the penultimate hour never fails to bring out goosebumps! efinitely recommended. The single most noteworthy feature about this movie is the equivalence of real time (total time of the day being depicted in movie) and movie time (total screening time). At least among the Indian movie makers, Ray is the first one who had done such experiment and of course, he succeeded comprehensively. It depicts a real time event of 100 minutes on screen. So, in order to understand ‘the drama' it's recommended to understand his language to the extent possible.It comprise snapshots of various human characteristics like pride, simplicity, carnal desires, thoughtlessness, romance, heroism and above all triumph of human spirits over conventional, social idiosyncrasy. All this happens in the hill station of Darjeeling, in the lap of nature with the picturesque eastern Himalayas in the backdrop. It is mentionable that the background of all the above characters, their thoug ht process and behavioral traits have been brilliantly presented through series of well conceived dialogues. Yes, only dialogues. No third person narratives. No visual manifestation in terms of flash back, dream sequences etc.In fact, the master storyteller has been able to generate such an evocative dialogue sequences that at the end of the film, the audience acquire full capacity to judge each and every character in the light of respective rationale. It is also noteworthy that Ray's characters never surpass the humane status quo. They reflect relevant cognitive behavior and contextual influences. Be it â€Å"Siddartha† in Pratidwandi or â€Å"Arindam† in Nayak, one can never expect Ray's protagonists molded in typical ubermanesque image in stark contrast to the so-called Heroes of Hollywood and Bollywood.It is also noteworthy that Ray's characters never surpass the humane status quo. They reflect relevant cognitive behavior and contextual influences. Be it â€Å"Sid dartha† in Pratidwandi or â€Å"Arindam† in Nayak, one can never expect Ray's protagonists molded in typical ubermanesque image in stark contrast to the so-called Heroes of Hollywood and Bollywood. Kanchenjungha substantiate that. The elitist, urban Mr. Banerjee asserts boastfully about his professional and materialistic achievements. He even confesses about his clandestine foreign affairs while wooing his ladylove Monisha.This refined gentleman also depicts a prosaic approach towards conjugality and life in general. Towards the end he displays an extremely liberal and tolerant attitude, which is commendable in the realms of dominating, patriarchal association. Any write-up on Kanchenjungha would remain unfinished if it doesn't mention the incorporation of ‘nature' that accentuated the varied moods of the film — An overcast evening to suggest unfavorable circumstances, mist to render underlying tension and sunshine to portray agreeable settlement.Finally th e mighty Kanchengha with all its splendor depict celebration of hope and aspiration. However, Ray has managed to remain an aloof and neutral presenter throughout the process of the film, which adds to the aesthetics of this cinematic masterpiece. This Ray film is fraught with imagery, symbolism, metaphors and weaves in a few independent stories together to culminate into an understanding of the human psyche.Coming to Kanchenjunga (the name belongs to the world's third tallest mountain peak which is said to be elusive to human eye as it's perennially clouded due to fog), the film follows a group of tourists on vacation in Darjeeling, a hill station – the first thing that comes to your mind is just how fraught the film is with metaphors- linking the human mind and attitudes to nature's marvels- thereby the dense fog which prevents our protagonist (played mesmerisingly by Chabi Biswas) from seeing Kanchenjunga clearly is symbolic of his myopic opinions and it is lifted in the la st scene where fter stripping himself away from all his erstwhile prejudices, he is able to view Kanchejunga for the first time. But, in the end, Kanchenjunga remains a film about human emotions which also talks about the socio- economic divide and dwells into the complex inflexible minds of some of us. The appropriate use of the natural lighting & weather conditions (may be the best in Ray's career).

Can Give Rise To Psychological Issues

Explain Can Give Rise To Psychological Issues? Withholding of the truth about Amy can give rise to psychological issues and have an impact on her quality of life. Her physical inabilities as difficulty to find words and repetition during a conversation and lack of concentration are contributing to her psychological distress, as she is unable to understand the reason of her sudden change in behaviour and memory. Withholding the information can have a negative impact on the patient’s attitude. It would reduce her coping ability, cause mood disturbances and anxiety and reduces her ability to prepare for the future(Kelley & Morrison, 2015). The withholding of life limiting illness about Amy also has serious negative impact on her family. Her mother is in her 80’s and witnessing such a change in behaviour and mood in Amy can have psychological impact and extremely painful. Her son Erik finds it difficult to conceal the truth of her life limiting illness from Amy and that might affect her end-of-life care and her compliance with the treatment and medication. This puts her family members in a hard situation and her family members face ethical dilemma whether to inform her or not. This situation raises ethical dilemma for me. Although, Amy and her family members wants to withhold her life limiting illness as posed by the family, the primary concern is to disclose the illness to her in culturally sensitive manner. This ethical dilemma can affect her end-of-life care and response to treatment. As she has limited English speaking ability, it is important to convey through family members or interpreters. The considerations include using of plain language, addressing of one piece of information at a time and ask about Amy’s worries, thoughts and understandings after illness disclosure through culture centred communication (Katz & Johnson, 2013). The care provided to Amy should include her cultural practices and spiritual needs and directed towards culture-centred care. It is important for the staffs to learn about her beliefs, cultural attitudes meanings of illness, health and symptoms. As she is diagnosed with life-limiting illness, it is important to recognize the unique cultural aspects of the care provision at the end-of-life (Wittenberg, et al., 2015). Knowing about cultural values of Amy would help the staffs to understand, grapple and navigate through the limiting illness. Integration of Amy’s cultural needs would help staffs in delivering her end-of-life care. Staffs need to understand that cultural factors and their integration into healthcare would influence her healthcare seeking behaviour, medical and clinical decision-making and finally health outcomes. Therefore, culture-centred end-of-life care act as driving factor in delivering culturally competent healthcare to Amy. By providing culture-centred, care to Amy would help her and family to respond to the end-of-life care and have a positive impact on their psychological well-being. The cultural consideration and specific spiritual needs of Amy would be fulfilled in her terminal diagnosis, as the staffs would provide culturally appropriate care that improves her and family situation. As a graduate health professional, I would like to spend time to develop an understanding of her feelings and specific needs to address anxiety and point of disagreement in providing end-of-life care. I will try to develop an empathetic relationship with Amy and her family in providing culture-centred care. For this culture-centred communication, principles are important through interpreters to understand Amy’s true preferences for receiving illness information. As she has limited English speaking ability, it is important to be cognizant about how her cultural factors and beliefs might affect her end-of-life care. This sensitivity to Amy’s individual and cultural preferences would help to avoid stereotyping and in making incorrect assessments in providing her end-of-life care (Moir, Roberts, Martz, Perry, & Tivis, 2015).   Katz, R. S., & Johnson, T. G. (2013). When professionals weep: Emotional and countertransference responses in end-of-life care. Routledge. Kelley, A. S., & Morrison, R. S. (2015). Palliative care for the seriously ill . New England Journal of Medicine,  373(8), , 747-755. Moir, C., Roberts, R., Martz, K., Perry, J., & Tivis, L. J. (2015). Communicating with Patients and their Families about Palliative and End of Life: Comfort and Educational Needs of Staff RNs. International journal of palliative nursing,  21(3), , 109. Wittenberg, E., Ferrell, B., Goldsmith, J., Smith, T., Glajchen, M., Handzo, G., & Ragan, S. L. (2015). Textbook of Palliative Care Communicaiton. Oxford University Press.

Circles in a Circle by Vasily Kandinsky Term Paper

Circles in a Circle by Vasily Kandinsky - Term Paper Example The essay "Circles in a Circle by Vasily Kandinsky" explores the work of art Circles in a Circle by Vasily Kandinsky. The paper also considers how Circles is not an offbeat experimental work within Kandinsky’s broad oeuvres. He developed a unique style, whereby, he tried to reign in his artistic imagination within the structure of geometry. The work has several features that were deemed novel upon their introduction. One of the prominent features is the usage of perfect geometric forms. Conventional aesthetic sense had it that mellifluous and obtuse curves comprised the grammar of the art. But what Kandinsky’s art achieved was to open up a new idea of aesthetic. Under this new sensibility, the precision of mathematics is shown to have a place in visual arts. When we search for socio-cultural analogies, there are parallels to the compositional technique of Johann Sebastian Bach. Experts widely accede to the mathematical element behind the composer’s technique. One could read Circles within a Circle as a tribute to the musical genius from the Baroque era. At once, it is also an experiment to test if an idea could be transposed across art forms. Given the rich legacy of appreciation that Kandinsky’s Circles has drawn over the centuries, it is fair to claim that the experimentation has been a success. The great Italian polymath set forth an intellectual tradition wherein science and art were closely connected. Circles is also strikingly representative of Nicholas Copernicus’ illustrations of the order of the Universe.

Uprisings of Soviet Union Satellite Countries Essay

Uprisings of Soviet Union Satellite Countries - Essay Example In the 1960s Czechoslovakia, though still a satellite of the Soviet Union was starting to display a certain degree of independence from the Soviet Union. By early 1968, the reformers had gained sufficient strength in the political apparatus to install Ludvik Svoboda as President and Alexander Dubcek as head of the Communist Party. These two took Czechoslovakia onto a path of economic reforms and provided greater press and travel freedoms, and as a result, Czechoslovakia became the most liberal Communist state in the world, with the people enjoying the newly available freedoms. This state of affairs was not to remain for long, as this state of affairs in Czechoslovakia, was alarming to the Soviet Union. Through negotiations, an agreement was reached between Czechoslovakia and the Soviet Union to slow down the pace of reforms in the country, in an attempt to reduce the alarm of the Soviet Union. However, on August 20, 1968, the Soviet Union and the Warsaw Pact countries of East Germany , Poland, Hungary, and Bulgaria struck with lightening speed and massive force, so that within a week there more than half a million of these forces spread all over Czechoslovakia. Against this massive military might, the people of Czechoslovakia responded not through military means, but through nonviolent resistance. The Soviets responded with political manipulation and economic pressure that saw the Czechoslovakian leadership gradually give way. The intense initial resistance against the Soviet Union slowly eroded to a disgruntled complacency.

International marketing plan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

International marketing plan - Essay Example The cost of competitor toothpaste companies in the country will also be a determining factor as the company must set a price that will ascertain that it stays above of their competitors in terms of customer base. The retail price will factor in the cost of production and distribution and a price that ascertains profitability will be set. A price of $3.8/50mg, which consists of 60 tablets, is recommended for launching the toothpaste, and 1,000,000 units will be produced at a cost of $2.5million. Compared to competitors such as, Archtek’s Toothpaste Tablets, Lush and Chewable Toothpaste Tablets Berry by Childlife, Kauen chewable toothpaste tablets will have a lower price as they all have set an average price of $4.5/50mg. Only two middlemen will be used, and these are wholesalers and retailers, hence this assures that the price is not set exceptionally high before the product gets to the consumers. Distribution will be through company trucks, which will operate on a daily basis and this expense will be factored in on the cost of the toothpaste in the market. Wholesale price for Kauen chewable toothpaste tablets will be at $3.5/500mg, price to retailer 3.6/50mg, and retail price will be a maximum of $3.8/500mg. The retail price is set at a cost that retailers are willing to pay as it is far below the prices of competitor chewable toothpaste tablet companies. The price will ensure that the company stays above its competitors as it is aimed at attracting new customers and retaining them. The retail price also considers the low income earners as it is set at an average level, which ensures that consumers are willing to pay for a quality product, which is sold at a low

The Impact of Structural Adjustment Programs on Women in the Essay

The Impact of Structural Adjustment Programs on Women in the Philippines - Essay Example Under the first SAP implemented for the Philippines in 1981, the objective was to reshape a largely protectionist regime under the Marcos dictatorship into an export-led economy through trade and financial liberalization and tight credit policy. However, subsequent events proved the SAP strategy wrong, as evidenced by the depreciation of the Philippine peso by 10 percent in 1983, double-digit inflation and unemployment, declining wages and the unimproved quality of exports due mainly to low production costs and cheap labor. During these years, political opposition to the martial law government of Marcos was escalating, which became a nationwide disturbance when top opposition leader Benigno Aquino was assassinated in 1984 by suspected Marcos hit men. This led to massive capital flight that forced Marcos to call a snap election in 1985, in which the widow of Aquino emerged victorious. As the GDP began to grow by a moderate 5.6 percent under the second IMF-WB program undertaken for the Aquino government (Lim & Montes, 2001), the economy suffered one setback after another as Marcos loyalists held disruptive rallies and renegade soldiers separately staged a series of military coups from 1987 to 1989. This paper examines how SAP failed the Philippines, specifically how and why its required policy reforms marginalized women in the Philippines in terms of meeting their rights to education, health and livelihood. 2. How SAP Worked Against Philippine Women The SAP requirement for an export-led strategy of economic growth created shifts in the use of land and other resources, reorganized production processes, and changed production relations as well as existing social institutions (Sparr, 1994). This was generally how SAP worked to the disadvantage of Philippine women. On land use, for example, one of the main thrusts of SAP is to remove subsidies from agricultural production intended for local consumption and to re-channel the funds instead to the production of cash crops for the export market (Sparr, 1994). Rural women in the Philippines augment the meager income of their farmer-husbands by engaging in the backyard production of crops that can be sold in the local market. Moreover, women share farm work with their men especially in seeding and harvesting. When the incentives for growing crops with a ready market were taken away, the women lost an important source of income to the detriment of her family (Elson, 1995). The problem was that government promoted export production although world prices were extremely low (Lim & Montes, 2001). In the Philippines, land was transferred from the traditional crops of rice and corn to the production of sugar cane, bananas and pineapples with a concomitant increase in the size of holdings and greater mechanization but also a rise in the number of landless households (Elson, 1995). The main result was to further marginalize women in crop production as they are largely excluded from sugar cultivation. Rural women in the Philippines farm for home production and the local markets and rarely is it done for the export

Criminological Theories A comparison Between Control Theories and Essay

Criminological Theories A comparison Between Control Theories and Scocial control Theories of Crime - Essay Example The social control they describe is not through Laws, but through Beliefs and societal Norms. However, these norms could later evolve into Laws, ethics, Etiquettes and Customs . The Control is effected through establishing conformity and compliance to these norms. SOCIAL CONTROL THEORIES are viewed along two perspectives. The Macro social and Micro social perspectives . The Macro Social Perspective examines the Formal Control Systems which include the Legal systems, Law enforcers, lobbies which influence laws, which exercise control over the society. Micro Social Perspective, studies the INFORMAL control systems. exercised by Families, religious and educational institution and peer groups. This Informal control manifests as Bonding ,Re Integrative Shaming, Attachment, and Learning through Role Models. The control theories focus on a person's Relationship to their parents, teachers, parish priests and coaches who act as agents of socialization -.A child's Effective interaction with these agents translates into bonds with society.(Hirschi1960) Control Theories study the internalization of Moral codes and the stakes and ties in the community the individuals develops, which make them to voluntarily limit their deviant behaviour.These are Informal controls exercised by social and familial bonds. It is more a "self concept". The most influential among the Control Theories are, John Bolwlby 's Attachment Theory, Travis Hirschi's Social Bonds Theory , the Age Graded Life course Theory of Sampson and Laube and the General Theory of Crime by Gottferson and Hirschi (1999) The Control Theory of Delinquency was presented by Travis Hirsche in 1969. It emerged from the Social Disorganisation Theory (Western Criminology Review)which was slowly losing its prestige at that time. Hirschi took his cue from this theory which held that Disorganised communities generate crime as informal social controls have broken down.It was John Bowlby who first floated the emotional aspect in social control in his Attachment Theory in 1969.Hirschi synthesizes both these perspectives . Hirschi's Control Theory posits that it is not so much the Individual's personality, but his social Relationships and social bonds which determine the deviance or conformity of his Behaviour. Absence of Control exercised by those bonds left him free to weigh the profits against risk . Attachment to others make him less likely to be deviant. Both Hirschi and Bowlby stress Parental upbringing in instilling socialization. The accrual of emotional investment by parents develops Empathy in the individual , which heightens his control and help him to Desist from acts violating the conventions. .The other Control theories, The General Theory of Crime, The Age Graded Life Course Theory that followed, acknowledged the SELF concept .They explained how at a Micro perspective, Informal social bonds which are at first external, become internalized . Gottferson and Hirschi (1990) , and later,Sampson and Laube (1993)in their Age Graded Life Course Perspective said that there is a relationship of causes between the later deviant behavior and the

Strategic marketing and its operations in UK hotels and restaurants Dissertation

Strategic marketing and its operations in UK hotels and restaurants - Dissertation Example According to the research findings in any business or organization related to hospitality industry, the basic intent or desire of the management officials is to achieve desired goals and objectives. These goals and objectives can only be achieved when a company considers the needs and demands of the consumers, internal and external environments, and business opportunities while designing the business strategies. The hospitality industry includes all such businesses that provide accommodation services, tourism services, and food service to the people. Among all types of business strategies, marketing strategies hold key importance in the progress and development of the hospitality industry of a country. In order to attract and retain the customers through customer centric marketing strategies, a business faces many challenges. For this purpose, the business officials need to implement appropriate strategic marketing plans not only to overcome the marketing challenges but also to provi de tourism and food services to the customers in an appropriate manner. Strategic marketing improves productivity of a company. Productivity of a company depends on some critical factors, such as, customer satisfaction and employee retention. If we talk about hospitality industry, if the customers will be satisfied from the food and beverages provided by any specific restaurant, they will work as a source to attract more people towards the restaurant, which will ultimately increase the levels of productivity and profitability of the restaurant. ... pitality companies use to create effective plans that not only satisfy the customers’ needs and demands but also help the companies increase productivity and profitability. Almost all companies find strategic marketing planning a necessity (Samli 1998, p. 2). Strategic marketing improves productivity of a company. Productivity of a company depends on some critical factors, such as, customer satisfaction and employee retention. If we talk about hospitality industry, if the customers will be satisfied from the food and beverages provided by any specific restaurant, they will work as a source to attract more people towards the restaurant, which will ultimately increase the levels of productivity and profitability of the restaurant. It is a well-known fact that when a company makes a customer, it makes one customer, but when a company loses a customer, it loses a hundred customers. In case of hospitality and tourism industries, quality of foods and services is the main factor whic h attracts customers and improves customer satisfaction level for a company. So, a company should create and implement a marketing plan, which should not only reach target customer but also should increase customer satisfaction for the company. 3. Impact of Strategic Marketing in UK Hotels and Restaurants While talking about strategic marketing, we should also discuss the basic purpose of strategic marketing for the UK’s hotels and restaurants. So talking about the main purpose of strategic marketing, we can say that it helps hotels and restaurants improve their performance by attracting more customers and retaining old ones. In UK, hotel managers make use of effective marketing methods not only to reach new customers but also to make them realize their value and importance for the business.

Education in the United States Essay Example for Free

Education in the United States Essay Education in the United States of America is governed by the Department of Education. There are three different levels of control and funding for public education: federal, state, and local. In the United States school is mandatory from Kindergarten through High School, consisting of thirteen different grade levels. Students can obtain an education by attending a public school, a private school, or a home school. In order to ensure that all students obtain the academic knowledge needed to progress through the grade levels, standardized tests are given regardless of where a student obtains an education (United States Department of Education, 2005). Education in the United States is governed and funded mainly by local jurisdictions, with the state and federal governments supervising educational activities and ensuring that all local jurisdictions are administering standardized tests and obtaining the funding needed to operate adequate educational facilities. The Tenth Amendment to the United States Constitution states that all powers that are not assigned to the federal government by the United States Constitution are reserved to the people or the individual states. As per the Tenth Amendment, the individual states control public education. Most states are divided into local jurisdictions that have elected school boards that oversee the individual school districts within its jurisdiction. The local school districts own and operate the public schools within its boundaries and are responsible for obtaining funding for each of the public schools they control (United States Constitution, Tenth Amendment, 1787). The majority of the funding for public education in the United States is obtained from local taxes and state governments. The federal government only provides 8. 5% of the funds for public education (National Center for Education Statistics, 2008). There has been some controversy over the No Child Left Behind Act passed in 2001 which allows the federal government to withhold funding if a state or local school district is not complying with the standards set forth in the No Child Left Behind Act. However, the funding withheld for non-compliance is not a significant amount (No Child Left Behind Act, 2001). There is a larger controversy over the local school districts obtaining funding primarily from local taxes. Local jurisdictions can impose many different types of taxes on its citizens. In the commonwealth of Massachusetts there has been controversy over the imposition of excise taxes and corporate taxes. Excise taxes are taxes that are not property taxes or taxes that are imposed based on statutory law. Corporate taxes are imposed on corporations within a certain jurisdiction that are paid to the local government. These taxes are in addition to any federal or state taxes that the corporation is responsible for. Businesses in the commonwealth of Massachusetts are required to pay quarterly excise taxes on an accelerated basis due 15 days prior to the end of each quarter. The first quarter payment is 40% of the required annual excise tax, the second and third payments are 25% each, and the fourth payment is 10% of the excise tax. The minimum amount of corporate excise tax required of all corporations operating within the commonwealth of Massachusetts is $456 per year regardless of whether or not the corporation made a profit that year (The National Federation of Independent Business, 2007). Chapter 70 Part 1, Title XII, Chapter 70 of the General Laws of Massachusetts regulates the financial disbursements awarded to each public school district throughout the commonwealth. The legislative intent of Chapter 70 is to assure fair and adequate minimum per student funding for public schools in the commonwealth by defining a foundation budget and a standard of local funding effort applicable to every city and town in the commonwealth (Chapter 70). Chapter 70 sets up rules on how to allocate the money. These rules set standards on how the money will be distributed if it is below a base amount or higher than a base amount. For example, in Section 13, Part B, the law states that â€Å"if the amount appropriated is more than the base amount, funds shall first be allocated to ensure that the state school aid for each municipality equals the base amount† (Chapter 70). This part tries to ensure that an equal distribution is set to each school. Although this is only occurs when more money is available, it still sets the standard that each school will at least get its base amount before other funds are distributed. In the event that there are not enough funds to cover the base, a formula has been established to attempt to make the distribution fair. The amount is reduced by a constant amount per student. The rate is found by the difference between the base amount and the actual amount divided by the total enrollment of the state (Chapter 70). Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge, Massachusetts is a city right outside Boston, Massachusetts. Cambridge is famous for its two prominent universities: Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The public school system in Cambridge is controlled by the Cambridge Public School District which consists of twelve elementary schools, of which eleven extend through eighth grade. There is only one high school in the Cambridge Public School District, Cambridge Rindge and Latin School. The Cambridge Public School District educates over 5,500 students every year with a project enrollment of 5,790 students for the 2008-2009 school year. The Cambridge Public School District has a proposed budget of $130,704,170. 00 for the 2008-2009 school year. This proposed budget has increased 2. 36% from the previous year. 75% of this proposed budget will be allocated to the individual schools within the district. The remaining 25% of this budget will be spent on administrative costs such as maintenance and security. The Cambridge Public School District is funded through a variety of sources in addition to local taxes. The Cambridge Public School District receives funds from thirteen federal grants awarded by the commonwealth of Massachusetts, eleven private grants, eleven revolving funds, ten state grants, two district federal grants, and one state-circuit breaker reimbursement. These grants account for $13,714,499 of the total funds needed to operate the schools within the Cambridge Public School District. The Cambridge Public School District also receives an average of $1,076 per student from Chapter 70 financial aid each year (Action Public Schools, 2006). Newton, Massachusetts Newton, Massachusetts is a suburb of Boston that consists of thirteen small villages. The Newton Public School District controls the fifteen elementary schools, four middle schools, and two high schools that are located in Newton, Massachusetts. The Newton Public School District educates an average of over 11,000 students each year throughout its twenty two public schools (Newton Public School District, 2008). The Newton Public School District has a proposed budget of $171,377,580 for the 2008-2009 school year. This proposed budget has increased 10. 5% from the previous year. According to this budget, the Newton Public School District spends $14,743 per student every year (Newton Public School District, 2008). The Newton Public School District is funded through a variety of sources in addition to local taxes. The Newton Public School District receives 55% of the revenue generated by the City of Newton. The Newton Public School District also receives over $8. 6 million dollars from federal, state, and private grants. Over $3 million dollars of the Newton Public School District budget is received from a program called Circuit Breaker which allocates special funds to school districts for additional special education courses. Federal, state, and private grants and the Circuit Breaker program account for almost $12 million dollars of the annual budget (Newton Public School District, 2006). The Newton Public School District also receives an average of $846 per student from Chapter 70 financial aid each year (Action Public Schools, 2006). Conclusions Allocating funds for public education in the United States is a complex process. Wealth and more funds do not necessarily lead to greater achievement by the students enrolled in the school district. Federal, state, and local jurisdictions must determine the most beneficial methods for allocating the educational funds available. These allocations are not equal and usually result in the more industrious neighborhoods receiving less funding from these sources, and incurring higher corporate taxes. The Newton Public School District receives less funding from external sources, and its businesses pay more corporate taxes. The allocated budget in the Newton Public School District is higher than the budget in Cambridge due to the fact that although the populations are similar, Newton operates twice as many educational facilities. . The Newton Public School District does not need the extra funds from external sources in order to reach its budget. Although the dollar amounts indicate an unfair advantage for the residents of Cambridge, both school districts are able to meet their budgets and educate their students adequately. Although the corporate tax system and excise tax system in Massachusetts may seem unfair to its businesses and residents, the public school districts within Massachusetts (including Newton and Cambridge) are able to meet the budget requirements due to the Chapter 70 allocations. The purpose of Chapter 70 is to create equality amongst the school districts and ensure that the cities that receive less corporate and excise tax are still able to operate successful public school districts so that every child within the commonwealth of Massachusetts has the opportunity to receive a quality education. REFERENCES The United States Census Bureau (2006). American FactFinder. Retrieved April 1, 2008 from http://factfinder. census. gov/ Action Public Schools (2006). Chapter 70 Aid Per Student High to Low. Retrieved April 1, 2008 from http://ab. mec. edu/about/Chapter70Aid/CH70PerStudentFY06. pdf Newton, Massachusetts (2008). 2008 Property Tax Rates. Retrieved April 1, 2008 from http://www. ci. newton. ma. us/Assessor/taxrate. htm Cambridge Massachusetts (2008). 2008 Property tax Rates. Retrieved April 1, 2008 from http://www. cambridgema. gov/CityOfCambridge_Content/documents/FY2008_Property_Tax_Update_Newsletter. pdf Newton Public School District (2008). General Information. Retrieved April 1, 2008 from http://www. newton. k12. ma. us Cambridge Public School District (2008). General Information. Retrieved April 1, 2008 from http://www. cpsd. us/index. cfm

How Important Are Sex Education Practices Young People Essay

How Important Are Sex Education Practices Young People Essay Sex education is a broadly used term that can be used to describe education about human sexual anatomy, sexual reproduction, sexual intercourse, reproductive health, emotional relations, reproductive rights and responsibilities, contraception, and other aspects of human sexual behavior. Some of the common avenues for sex education are parents or caregivers and school programs. The question this essay is going to assess is whether sex education be allowed to be taught in primary schools, this is because nowadays young people do not have a clear understanding about Sex education, therefore the government is now trying to introduce sex education in primary schools .Sex education is about helping to develop young people skills so that they make informed choices about their behaviour, and feel confident and competent about acting on these choices. This essay is also going to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of sex education by looking at parents views on the topic as well as research that has been conducted regarding sex education. First I will start with the aim and strengths of sex education and then move on to its weaknesses. It is important for sex education to begin at an early age and also provided that it is sustained giving young people basic information from an early stage in their lives to offer the foundation on which more complex knowledge is build up over time, for example , when they are very young , children can be educated about how people grow and change over time , how to manage their emotions and the physical changes to their bodies in childhood and how they progress from different stages in their lives, therefore this provides the basis on which they understand more detailed information about puberty provided in the pre-teenage years, they can also at a young age be provided with information about viruses and germs that attack the body , this provide the basis for talking to them later about infection that can be caught through sexual contact. Sex education aims to reduce the risk of potentially negative outcomes from sexual behaviour such as unwanted or unplanned pregnancies and infections with sexually transmitted diseases such as HIV/AIDS. Studies show that many teenagers become sexually active before the inclusion of the educational classes. Early inclusion of classes has proven to help students remain either abstinent or to at least be responsible if they are active. It also aims to contribute to young people positive experience of their sexuality by enhancing the quality of their relationships and their ability to make informed decisions over their life time. Effective sex education develops younger peoples skills in negotiation, decision making, assertion and listening. Other important skills include being able to recognize pressures from other peers and to resist them, dealing with and challenging prejudice and being able to seek help from adults including parents, and professionals, through the family, community and health and welfare services. Sex education if taught at early age can also help equip young people with the skills to be able to differentiate between accurate and inaccurate information and discuss a rage of moral and social issues and perspectives on sex and sexuality including different cultural attitudes and sensitive issues like sexuality, abortion and contraception. Sex education also do provide young people with an opportunity to explore the reason why people have sex, and to think about how it evolve emotions, respect for one self and other people and their feelings, decisions and bodies. People who have been in favour of sex education are for example, Jim Knight, the Schools Minister, who said that making time in the national curriculum for these classes, as part of a new personal social and health education (PSHE) syllabus would ensure that young people were better equipped to navigate the complexities of modern life. He insisted, however, that very young children would not be given sexually explicit lessons. We are not talking about five-year-olds being taught about sex . . . What we are talking about in Key Stage 1 (when children are aged 5 to 7) is children learning about themselves, their differences, their friendships, how to manage their feelings. Having to teach sex education to young people can be a disturbing experience as they are still young and their understanding is not yet fully developed. Controversies are abundant when dealing with such delicate issues and there are many disadvantages to sexual education being taught in primary schools. It seems that most parents are either strongly against or strongly in favour of sexual education classes, but very few parents are in the middle ground. And, in fact, there are more parents that are in favour of sexual education classes Some of the difficulties primary teachers might face are that first of all they are not always trained how to properly teach sexual education courses and may transgress their own beliefs or morals into the subject matter rather than stick with the facts. Which will lead to confusion later in life because it might be that secondary teachers are more trained therefore they stick to the facts; this results students to be bewildered about what is actually the right and wrong. Often, sexual education can go against an individuals moral or religious beliefs. Many schools do not teach abstinence only but teach how to have intercourse safely, whereas many religious and family values stress marriage before intercourse. This will result in parents withdrawing their children from classes, especially when it concerns girls; parents tend to be more strict than towards boys. An example of this is from The Times newspaper as a mother explains why she if removing her daughter from sex education classes For her, the horror began with a childbirth video last summer term. I have no idea how graphic it was neither does Ruby, because she buried her head in her hands as soon as she saw the womans face, which was, in Rubys words, twisted in pain. The womans cries scared her and Ruby came home in tears, doubting that she would ever have children. Several ashen-faced boys said that they were sure glad they werent girls. Then came the animated stick people having sex, comple te with zoom- in diagrams. These classes also tend to be gendered due to the fact that their central focus is teenage pregnancy, which means most of the advice they have to offer is on contraceptives. Also the sex education field is mostly dominated by females and as a result boys do not have role models to teach them about everything or have people who have previously experienced what they are experiencing now. Consequently due to the lack of males in the sex education field boys will start to think it does not concern them therefore they will start to lose interest especially at a young age students may still suffer from embarrassment or get excitable by the topic matter. This can cause for out of control classrooms if students take to giggling or making inappropriate remarks. Furthermore, while information about contraception and safe sex is discretionary and discussion about relationships is often neglected teenagers tent to grow up without knowing much about relationships therefore they lack knowledge on how to maintain or work on relationships. In addition some teachers usually discuss students issues in the staff room for example in a 2000 study by the University of Brighton, many 14 to 15 year olds reported disappointment with the content of sex education lessons and felt that lack of confidentiality prevents teenagers from asking teachers about contraception In a 2008 study conducted by YouGov for Channel 4 it was revealed that almost three in ten teenagers say they need more sex and relationships education. The Guardian Unlimited: (2009) Having assessed sex education through its pros and cons, it is however clear that this topic has more weaknesses than strengths. Nevertheless it is also clear that sex education can have both positive and negative effects on peoples lives. For example using the extract from The Times, the child could have come how crying because her knowledge on sex education is not fully developed therefore, for her to see those images scared her. However it could be positive in a way that that video had prepared her for the future, whenever she comes into contact with that circumstance again she will would have already known about it. To conclude it all comes down to how the topic is taught, if it should be taught at age 5 as Jim knight the school minister said then they should be shown the very basic of sex education not too much graphics however the knowledge can gradually be built up as time goes on. Referencing The Guardian Unlimited: (2009) Children under 15 can be withdrawn from sex education(Accessed 14 Dec 2009) Ann Moore (2009)Times, The (London, England) Too much, too young As the Government sets out new rules for sex education , Anna Moore explains why she is removing her daughter from the classes (Accessed 14 Dec 2009) http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/education/article4998206.ece