Politics of and Without Difference Essay -- Politics Political Multicu

Politics of and Without Difference The sociological concepts of "Politics of Difference" and "Politics Without Difference" are more similar than their names suggest, but they are at the same time extremely different. Both political ideals come from progressive civil rights principles beginning during the Enlightenment in Europe and evolving throughout The Civil Rights Movement in the United States in the 60's. The fundamental basis of the two concepts is that all people are created equal, and that all people should have equal political and civil rights. The disagreement between proponents of these two concepts begins with the question "Is it possible that the ideal of equal treatment of all persons under the law and the attempt to eliminate group differences under the law in fact perpetuates oppression of certain groups?" (Harris, 1995). Supporters of the ideal of "Politics of Difference" argue that the answer to this question is yes. Without minimizing the value of the concept of assimilation central to the "Politics Without Difference" ideal, the supporters of "Politics of Difference" feel that it has at times prevented full equality for some oppressed groups. By definition, the ideal of "Politics Without Difference" is a concept of total assimilation of every group so that no readily identifiable majority is evident. Supporters promote the equal treatment of all groups as the primary way to achieve justice. This concept asserts the equal moral worth of all persons (regardless of their group characteristics) and the right of all to participate in the institutions of society (Harris). Supporters of "Politics of Difference", while conceding the value of the ideal, contend that it has not truly liberated some oppressed g... ...ferences will always be a major factor in Texas school policy development. South Texas must lead the way for the rest of the state in truly including every group and overcoming cultural differences. Stakes are higher here than in any other region in Texas. The futures of generations of children in Texas are our legacy whether we win or lose in our efforts to meet everyone's needs. References Astuto, T. A., Clark, D. L., Read, A. McGree, K., Fernandez, L. P., (1994). Roots of reform: Challenging the assumptions that control change in education. P. 26. Phi Delta Kappa Educational Foundation. Bloomington, Indiana. Kerchis, C., Z., and Young, I., M., (1995). Social movements and the politics of difference. In D. A. Harris (Ed.), Multiculturalism from the margins: Non-dominant voices on difference and diversity (pp. 1-28). Westport, Conn., Bergin and Garvey.

Animal Farm and A Modest Proposal Essay -- Animal Farm A Modest Propos

Animal Farm and A Modest Proposal Although 'Animal Farm' and 'A Modest Proposal' were written over two hundred years apart, and one is non-fiction and the other is not, there are distinct similarities between the two. Both of the pieces are political, with 'Animal Farm' based on the Russian Revolution, and 'A Modest Proposal' based on the situation of homelessness in Ireland. Also, both of the pieces are satirical. Animal Farm ridicules the ordinary Russian people for being gullible, and 'A Modest Proposal' mocks politicians who ignore sensible suggestions and come up with extreme ones. In the build up to his speech, Old Major first clears his throat, to gain all of the animals' attention. The fact that all he has to do is clear his throat to do this, gives the impression that he is authoritative, and in control. We are given the idea that the other animals respect him. In the following paragraph, Old Major mentions a dream, but he says "I will come to the dream later". The dream is the whole reason the meeting has been called, and by saying that he will talk about it later holds all of the animals in suspense. They are willing to listen to what he has to say, to hear about the dream. He also mentions his imminent death, which will gain the audience's sympathy, and again make them listen. To guarantee that the animals are going to listen to him, he says that he will "pass onto to you such wisdom as I have acquired". This makes it seem like everything he is going to tell them is wise, true and worth listening to. In the third paragraph of his speech, he is brutally honest, and works up the animals, to get them angry. He tells them "our lives are miserable, laborious and short". This is the 'problem'. He then tells them the 'sol... ...ing their bastard children; alas!" Again though, Swift uses a lot less exclamation marks than Old Major. This is mainly because his piece is meant to be formal. Both Old Major and Swift use alliteration in the pieces to make themselves sound stylish and eloquent. In one part of his speech, Old Major says " as sure as I see this straw " The repetition of the 's' makes certain words in that sentence stand out, making his message more clear. Swift says "Four females". Although Old Major's speech and 'A Modest Proposal' were written over two hundred years apart, they both use very similar techniques and development of their argument to get their point across. Both of the pieces are politically based and satirical, both use formal and emotive language, differing sentence types and structures and in sparse amounts, alliteration. This makes their arguments fairly similar.

Looking for a hotel where kids are welcome? :: Essays Papers

Looking for a hotel where kids are welcome? GRAPH The well-known comic The Family Circus by Bil Keane, which is run in over 1500 newspapers, shows the hectic life of an American family, giving meaning to the saying, "Kids will be kids." It is based on the actual life of Bil Keane’s family and his experiences as a child. The most commonly noted features of his comic are the circular shape he often encloses the pictures in, and the dotted line that follows the children around, giving away their every move. Many other cartoonists try to capture the Family Circus mood by incorporating these features into their own works. GRAPH The Wyndham Hotels & Resorts advertisement uses this technique to show the path your child may take around the room of a hotel, where there is nothing else for them to do. It describes the creative and active characteristics of children, who require near constant entertainment that keeps them busy and uses their developing mind. At Wyndham hotels, they understand that keeping your children entertained is a challenging task for you, the parent, which is why they provide an activity package for your kids. The disapproving glare from behind the desk that is sometimes given to parents as they walk into a nice hotel with their three young children is often mirrored to pet-owners, which I can relate to. This gives you a feeling of insecurity and makes you feel unwelcome. I know I appreciate when the hotel at which I am planning to stay has a special feature for pets because then I know not only am I welcome, but that they also welcome my dog. The feeling is similar with parents wanting their children to be welcome. You know from watching Nickelodeon and Nick Jr. with your kids, how much they love Spongebob Squarepants. Moreover, you know that sleepovers are fun. Wyndham Hotels & Resorts also know this, which is why they are advertising this Spongebob Squarepants sleepover party package.

“High Fidelity”- Character anaysis Essay

Rob is a morose person who needs this excuse to always complain. He’s a very pessimistic person, who can’t seem to find a positive outlook in anything. Rob is also a very self-conscious person who is not content with himself. He believes that he lacks in the areas he views as important in his life. He depends on his woman to keep him happy, and judges his life according to the woman he’s with. He simply can’t manage to be happy without one. His unhappiness drives him to be very critical and judgmental to the world around him. He makes a jerky remark to everything he notices. All and all Rob has a weak character which depends on other things rather than himself to be happy. Rob seems to be a very pessimistic person. He sees everything in a negative fashion because he is not content with his life, and assumes it is impossible for things to improve. Once Rob returns home after seeing Marie sing with another man, he feels depressed and turns to his records for some sort of reassuring escape: Is it so wrong, wanting to be home with your record collection? It’s not like collecting records is like collecting stamps, or beermats, or antique thimbles. There’s a whole world in here, a nicer, dirtier, more violent, more peaceful, more colorful, sleazier, more dangerous, more loving world than the world I live in; there is history, and geography, and poetry, and countless other things I should have studied at school, including music. (Hornby, 83) Rob seems to feel as though his records are the only thing he can rely on. Everyone has some sort dependence on certain sentimental things, be it a pet, friend or family member. In Rob’s case, his music is the only constant that will never let him down. He sees a whole different world inside his music, one which doesn’t value the real world’s standards or values. It brings him somewhere else for a bit, somewhere which doesn’t remind him of the depressing things in his life. It seems to me that with those discouraging thoughts it drives him to be very pessimistic. Without even  talking to Marie he assumed right off the bat that she was going to hook up with the man she was singing with. He didn’t even try to show he cared in the least. His pessimism led him to give up on Marie very quickly, without even looking at the possible positive side. These actions show he has a very pessimistic outlook on life which is driven by his low self-esteem. Rob also seems unsatisfied with himself. Too inadequate to be happy in a world where he feels he doesn’t belong. I’m here , in this stupid little flat, on my own, and I’m thirty-five years old, and I own a tiny failing business, and my friends don’t seem to be friends at all but people whose phone numbers I haven’t lost. And if I went back to sleep and slept for forty years and woke up without any teeth to the sound of Melody Radio in an old people’s home, I wouldn’t worry that much, because the worst of life, i.e., the rest of it, would be over. And I wouldn’t even have had to kill myself. (74) Rob looks at every aspect of his life and feels so insufficient that he doesn’t even see the reason for living. He feels like he has no substance in his life. From having no true friends, to a failing job. All the characteristics that he values to be a person worth living, have failed him. I think his mother plays an important role in Rob’s low self -esteem as she even degrades him and offers him no support. She doesn’t even comfort him after the break-up with Laura, yet just criticizes and tells him that she â€Å"would have left [him] to get on with it years ago.† (48) She demeans his job, and adds to his low self-confidence. Parents are supposed to be supportive in times of unhappiness. Parents are the people who are supposed to love unconditionally, but in Rob’s case it seems that they only regard the negative aspects of his life which definitely cannot improve his situation. He feels so inadequate because he has no one to turn to or depend on. He wants to â€Å"run [himself] down, feel sorry for [himself], celebrate [his] inadequacies†. (72) Rob depends on a woman to keep him happy. He believes his woman defines him as a person, and each time he is without one he is miserable. Sometimes it seems as though the only way a man can judge his own niceness, his own decency, is by looking at his relationships with women- or rather, with prospective or current sexual partners. (68) He judges himself according to the woman he’s affiliated with. He doesn’t see himself as a full person without a woman. He believes that â€Å"women are going to save [him], lead [him] through to a better life, that they can change and redeem [him].† (63) Rob is basically willing to be whatever his woman wants of him. Even his relationship with Sarah Kendrew was one of convenience because he had no one else, and wanted to feel equal to his companion. Charlie had made him feel inadequate and less of a person than her, so his relationship with Sarah was one where he had someone to lean on through his time of getting over her. Sarah made it easier for him because she was going through the same situation. They were just staying together to have someone to lean on, and not be alone. He was her moment just as Charlie was mine, and when they split, Sarah had sworn off men for a while, just as I had sworn off women. It made sense to swear off together, to pool our loathing of the opposite sex and get to share a bed with someone at the same time. Our friends were all paired off, our careers seemed to have hardened into permanence, we were frightened of being left alone for the rest of our lives. (29) Rob just couldn’t handle being alone. It was easy for him to make the relationship with Sarah work because she felt the same, and had the same problems he did. His weak character leads him to depend on woman to keep him happy and satisfied. Rob was also a very judgmental and critical person. His views on music could not be challenged, as he also evaluated woman according to their musical interests and favorite movies. His views were a little harsh sometimes, and he believed he was quite educated in certain areas, which therefore lead to his many judgments. I’d say there were millions like me, but there aren’t, really: lots of blokes have impeccable music taste but don’t read, lots of blokes read but are really fat, lots of blokes are sympathetic to feminism but have stupid beards, lots of blokes have a Woody Allen sense of humor but look like Woody Allen. Lots of blokes drink too much, lots of blokes behave stupidly when they drive cars, lots of blokes get into fights, or show off about money, or take drugs. I don’t do any of these things really; if I do OK with women, it’s not because of the virtues I have, but because of the shadows I don’t have. (28) Rob makes a comment on every possible singer, songwriter, actress/actor he can. His critical attitude makes him look like a jerk. He acts above the people he criticizes to make him feel better about himself. He has a judgment on everything. Besides being critical to himself, he’s critical to the world around him because he is miserable. He sees the negative in everything which makes him as opinionated as he is. His frustration makes him angry at everything and everyone around him. All and all, Rob’s depressive, dependent, self-conscious and critical attitudes demonstrate that he has a weak character. His pessimism leads to his depression, as his low self-esteem leads to his criticisms. He has a very miserable life because he doesn’t even live up to his own standards. He depends on a woman to make him happy, which is completely unrealistic. Rob will never manage to be happy because he always manages to criticize and demean everything that’s going on around him.

Properties of Solutions Essay

A solution is a mixture of materials, one of which is usually a fluid. A fluid is a material that flows, such as a liquid or a gas. The fluid of a solution is usually the solvent. The material other than the solvent is the solute. We say that we dissolve the solute into the solvent. Some solutions are so common to us that we give them a unique name. A solution of water and sugar is called syrup. A solution of sodium chloride (common table salt) in water is called brine. A sterilized specific concentration (0.15 molar) of sodium chloride in water is called saline. A solution of carbon dioxide in water is called seltzer, and a solution of ammonia gas in water is called ammonia water. A solution is said to be dilute if there is less of the solute. The process of adding more solvent to a solution or removing some of the solute is called diluting. A solution is said to be concentrated if it has more solute. The process of adding more solute or removing some of the solvent is called concentrating. The concentration of a solution is some measurement of how much solute there is in the solution. It might initially offend your sensibilities to consider a solution in which the solvent is a gas or a solid. The molecules of a gas do not have much interaction among them, and so do not participate to a large extent in the dissolving process. Solids are difficult to consider as solvents because there is a lack of motion of the particles of a solid relative to each other. There are, however, some good reasons to view some mixtures of these types as solutions. The molecules of a gas do knock against each other, and the motion of a gas can assist in vaporizing material from a liquid or solid state. The fan in a ‘frost free’ home freezer moves air around inside the freezer to sublimate any exposed ice directly into water vapor, a process clearly akin to dissolving. Solid metals can absorb hydrogen gas in a mixing process in which the metal clearly provides the structure. True solutions with liquid solvents have the following properties: PROPERTIES OF SOLUTIONS 1.The particles of solute are the size of individual small molecules or individual small ions. One nanometer is about the maximum diameter for a solute particle. 2.The mixture does not separate on standing. In a gravity environment the solution will not come apart due to any difference in density of the materials in the solution. 3.The mixture does not separate  by common fiber filter. The entire solution will pass through the filter. 4.Once it is completely mixed, the mixture is homogeneous. If you take a sample of the solution from any point in the solution, the proportions of the materials will be the same. 5.The mixture appears clear rather than cloudy. It may have some color to it, but it seems to be transparent otherwise. The mixture shows no Tyndall effect. Light is not scattered by the solution. If you shine a light into the solution, the pathway of the light through the solution is not revealed to an observer out of the pathway. 6.The solute is completely dissolved into the solvent up to a point characteristic of the solvent, solute, and temperature. At a saturation point the solvent no longer can dissolve any more of the solute. If there is a saturation point, the point is distinct and characteristic of the type of materials and temperature of the solution. 7.The solution of an ionic material into water will result in an electrolyte solution. The ions of solute will separate in water to permit the solution to carry an electric current. 8.The solution shows an increase in osmotic pressure between it and a reference solution as the amount of solute is increased. 9.The solution shows an increase in boiling point as the amount of solute is increased. 10.The solution shows a decrease in melting point as the amount of solute is increased. 11.A solution of a solid non-volatile solute in a liquid solvent shows a decrease in vapor pressure above the solution as the amount of solute is increased. These last four of the properties of solutions collectively are called colligative properties. These characteristics are all dependent only on the number of particles of solute rather than the type of particle or the mass of material in solution. OTHER TYPES OF MIXTURE Take a spoonful of dirt and vigorously mix it with a glass of water. As soon as you stop mixing, a portion of the dirt drops to the bottom. Any material that is suspended by the fluid motion alone is only in temporary suspension. A portion of the dirt makes a true solution in the water with all of the properties of the above table, but there are some particles, having a diameter roughly between 1 nm and 500 nm, that are suspended in a more lasting fashion. A suspended mixture of particles of this type is called a colloid, or colloidal suspension, or colloidal dispersion. For colloids or  temporary suspensions the phrase dispersed material or the word dispersants describes the material in suspension, analogous to the solute of a solution. The phrase dispersing medium is used for the material of similar function to a solvent in solutions. As with true solutions, it is a bit of a stretch to consider solids as a dispersing medium or gases as forming a large enough particle to be a coll oid, but most texts list some such. A sol is a liquid or solid with a solid dispersed through it, such as milk or gelatin. Foams are liquids or solids with a gas dispersed into them. Emulsions are liquids or solids with liquids dispersed through them, such as butter or gold-tinted glass. Aerosols are colloids with a gas as the dispersing medium and either a solid or liquid dispersant. Fine dust or smoke in the air are good examples of colloidal solid in a gas. Fog and mist are exampes of colloidal liquid in a gas. Liquid dispersion media with solid or liquid dispersants are the most often considered. Homogenized whole milk is a good example of a liquid dispersed into a liquid. The cream does not break down into molecular sized materials to spread through the milk, but collects in small micelles of oily material and proteins with the more ionic or hydrophilic portions on the outside of the globule and the more fatty, or oily, or non-polar, or hydrophobic portions inside the ball-shaped little particle. Blood carries liquid lipids (fats) in small bundles called lipoproteins with specific proteins making a small package with the fat. Proteins are in a size range to be considered in colloidal suspension in water. Broth or the independent proteins of blood or the casein (an unattached protein) in milk are colloidal. There are many proteins in the cellular fluids of living things that are in colloidal suspension. Colloidal dispersants in water stay in suspension by having a layer of charge on the outside of the particle that is attractive to one end of water molecules. The common charge of the particles and the water solvation layer keep the particles dispersed. A Cottrel precipitator collects the smoke particles from air by a high voltage charge and collection device. Boiling an egg will denature and coagulate the protein in it. Proteins can be fractionally ‘salted out’ of blood by adding specific amounts of sodium chloride to make the proteins coagulate. The salt adds ions to the liquid that interfere with the dispersion of the colloidal particles. Colloids with liquid as a dispersing agent have the following properties: PROPERTIES OF COLLOIDS 1.The particles of dispersant are the between about 500 nm to 1 nm in diameter. 2.The mixture does not separate on standing in a standard gravity condition. (One ‘g.’) 3.The mixture does not separate by common fiber filter, but might be filterable by materials with a smaller mesh. 4.The mixture is not necessarily completely homogeneous, but usually close to being so. 5.The mixture may appear cloudy or almost totally transparent, but if you shine a light beam through it, the pathway of the light is visible from any angle. This scattering of light is called the Tyndall effect 6.There usually is not a definite, sharp saturation point at which no more dispersant can be taken by the dispersing agent. 7.The dispersant can be coagulated, or separated by clumping the dispersant particles with heat or an increase in the concentration of ionic particles in solution into the mixture. 8.There is usually only small effect of any of the colligative properties due to the dispersant. CONCENTRATION The concentration of a solution is an indication of how much solute there is dissolved into the solvent. There are a number of ways to express concentration of a solution. By far the most used and the most useful of the units of concentration is molarity. You might see ‘6 M HCl’ on a reagent bottle. The ‘M’ is the symbol for molar. One molar is one mol of solute per liter of solution. The reagent bottle has six mols of HCl per liter of acid solution. Since the unit ‘molar’ rarely appears in the math of chemistry other than as a concentration, to do the unit analysis correctly, you will have to insert concentrations into the math as ‘mols per liter’ and change answers of ‘mols per liter’ into molar. Molality is concentration in mols of solute per kilogram of solvent. Mol fraction is the number of mols of solute per number of mols of solution. Weight-weight percent (really mass percent) is the number of grams of solute pe r grams of solution expressed in the form of a percent. Mass-volume concentration is the number of grams of solute per milliliter of solution. There are other older units of concentration, such as BaumÃÆ'ƒÂ ©, that are still in use, mainly in industrial chemicals. Normality is the number of mols of effective material per liter. In acid-base titrations, the hydroxide ion of bases and the hydrogen (hydronium) ion of acids is the effective material. Sulfuric acid (H2SO4)  has two ionizable hydrogens per formla of acid, or one mol of acid has two mols of ionizable hydrogen. 0.6 M H2SO4 is the same concentration as 1.2 N H2SO4. We say that sulfuric acid is diprotic because it has two protons (hydrogen ions) per formula available. Hydrochloric acid (HCl) is monoprotic, phosphoric acid (H3PO4) is triprotic, and acids with two or more ionizable hydrogens are called polyprotic. Sodium hydroxide (NaOH) is monobasic, calcium hydroxide (Ca(OH)2) is dibasic, and aluminum hydroxide (Al(OH)3) is tribasic. Where ‘X’ is the number of available hydrogen ions or hydroxide ions in an acid or base, N, the normality, is equal to the molarity, M, times X. The normality system can be used for redox reactions, but the effective material is now available electrons or absorption sites for electrons. Consider the following reaction, #43 in the redox section. In a sulfuric acid solution potassium permanganate will titrate with oxalic acid to produce manganese II sulfate, carbon dioxide, water, and potassium sulfate in solution.

Education in America vs. Education in Third World Countries

Education in America vs. Education in Third World Countries A few weeks ago, I was walking downtown, when this random came up to me and said â€Å"You in school? That’s good, that’s good. Education is important. † From the state of her hair and clothes, and the smell of her breath, I assumed she was homeless. I didn’t really pay much attention to her, because homeless people are so common in downtown Atlanta. I was just hoping that she wasn’t going to ask me for any money! After a while, I started thinking about what the homeless woman had said; â€Å"Education is important. Growing up, I had always been taught that people who lived in the streets had been afforded the same opportunities as I had, but they had simply chosen to ignore them. So, if this woman had basically thrown away her life, why was she here preaching to me that education was important? How far had she gotten with her education? Was she like my great-grandmother, and lacked the sk ills to read and write? Literacy isn’t something that I spend a lot of time thinking about, mainly because all of the people that I surround myself and the people they surround themselves with are all capable of reading at proficient levels.Of course, I was always aware that some people had disabilities that made it harder to read, like dyslexia, but it never occurred to me that some of them allowed for the hindrance to completely turn them off to reading. Is it possible that I have been taking my literacy skills for granted? In this paper, I plan to explore literacy in America, and how it compares to the value other nations put on literacy and even our own country before public schools were instituted. Being literate is defined as any person over the age of 15 that can read and write.The United States had a literacy rate of 99% in the year 2003, according to the CIA census. 99%; almost our entire population is capable of reading and writing at a proficient level. Who does th e least 1% represent? The homeless? Or the dyslexic people who are too embarrassed to admit they need help reading? Every person in America is offered the opportunity to receive an education, admittedly some educations are not the same quality as others, but everyone is definitely offered an education.While 99% of the country is literate, a test conducted by National Assessment of Adult Literacy 14% of US residents have increased difficulty reading at their level. According to the afore stated definition, these people can be classified as illiterate, because they don’t met the standards of what is considered literate, since they have difficulty reading at their proficiency level. Is the lack of literacy due to lack of focus in class while the foundation for reading and writing were being laid, or does 1% of the United States Population that are classified as illiterate completely comprised of people who live with dyslexia?I can’t imagine that the government would knowi ngly incorporate people with documented learning disabilities when it comes time to calculate our nation’s literacy rate. That would be almost intentionally miscuing the results, because you’re including people who have hindrances that keep them from reading and writing at a level equal with their age. It’s also just downright insulting. Can you imagine not only having the s disability that makes you work twice as hard, but to be called illiterate for something you have no control over?Centuries ago, the idea of being able to read and write was a mere parlor dream among the majority of our population. The skill was reserved only for the kings and queens and the other extremely wealthy people of that time period. The commoners who truly wanted a better life for their children would probably have sold everything they owned if it meant their child would have the opportunity to learn to read and write. In today’s society, however, such sacrifices are not nece ssary to make. Our government ensures that an education is made ready to every child in the country.Education is such an available resource in our country that we don’t even think twice about it. We are inevitable taking it for granted. When did such knowledge become common place to us? There are times when I visit my great-grandparents house, and they start telling me all sorts of stories about how they didn’t even get to complete more than a third grade education, because they had to stop going to school in order to support their families. That was their reality; not having that education as available to them as other kids did.The richer, white families of that time period where the only ones who could afford to send their children to school on a daily basis, some even going as far as to ensure that their child received a quality college education. It often came down to that; money. In the end, it will always be the richer families, or even the richest countries that can afford to educate their youth. In lower-income developing nations, going to school is nowhere near a reality. The idea of buying money enough to buy school clothes, shoes, books, paper, encils, and any other supplies necessary for the learning environment is non-existent, because there just isn’t enough money for them to afford it. These are the absolute poorest places in the world; particularly Africa . Every time I turn on a television, regardless of what channel I may be watching, I am almost guaranteed to see a commercial about a charity trying to raise money to support the children in Africa . It’s heartbreaking, to say the least, to see the sad expressions on their sallow faces. I think to myself, that’s not what I was doing when I was 5 or 6. I was outside, playing in the yard, or stuffing my face with ice cream.I wasn’t worried about where my next meal would come from, or whether or not my only water source was toxic enough to kill me. The sa ddest thing I can remember about my younger days is when my parents forced me off the jungle gym to do my homework, because I like any other kid my age, hated reading and writing. Not because it was hard, or even that I was being required to do it; I hated reading and writing because that’s what we always did. Every day, for most of my day, the teacher had us reading directions aloud and writing spelling words and sentences over and over and over again.However, had I switched places with one of those sad-faced kids in Africa , they would have never complained about the amount of reading and writing required of them. They would have relished every single second of the knowledge that they gained in hopes of one day using it to help their families get to a better place. In those types of countries, literacy is to them as it was to us back when the only people who could afford to learn where the ones who didn’t have to work from sunrise to sunset in order to keep their fam ilies from starving.There, education is one of the most valuable resources, because so few have access to it. I remember learning in an economics class that the less you had of a product, the more valuable it became, like diamonds or oil, and vice versa; the more you have of a product, the less valuable it becomes. That’s what happened to our value on literacy in America . Before, when only a few people were awarded the privilege of learning how to read and write, everyone wanted it. I guess you could almost compare it to fads in today’s society.Whenever we see our favorite A-list celebrities wearing this bag or that hat, we rush out to the nearest boutique, and pay whatever ridiculous price they ask for it. Maybe that’s it. Since literacy and education have become so common place in our society that we have moved on another aspect to occupy our attention. Think about it for a moment. How many people in the United States have a Bachelor’s degree? A Master ’s degree? According to U. S. Census Bureau more than 40% of people 25 years and older in the United States has either a Bachelor’s or a Master’s degree.There’s a saying, â€Å"When everyone is one thing, then no one will be. † Well, in this case when everyone is smart, then no one will be. Since a large enough portion of our population has these degrees, they are slowly starting to lose their value. Even some fast food restaurants are beginning to require that people over a certain age have to have at least a Bachelor’s degree in order to work at their establishment. What does this say for our future? Will we eventually reach a point where even a Doctorate degree holds no value in our economy?What will that mean for the homeless people, or those individuals with learning disabilities, or even people who just have a genuinely hard time keeping up with their course load? Will they be weeded out as Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution s uggests â€Å"Only the strong survive†? But in this case, the strongest are defined by their intelligence. Will they all eventually starve due to the fact that they can’t find a job, because standards are set so high? If the current trend continues, I think it’s definitely possible that eventually even the Doctorate degree will hold no real value.Especially with the way our counselor’s motivate us. They tell us that it’s not just enough to get an â€Å"old-fashioned† 4-year degree anymore, because that’s what everyone has already. No, if we want to compete in the job market, we have to set ourselves above that bar. Logically, that supports my hypothesis. Just think about it for a second. You’re telling an entire generation of kids that the generation that came before them did the now-average-thing by attending four-year institutions.Now we have to go up and beyond that, by obtaining our graduate degrees, and if we really want t o raise the bar, going as far as to earn our Doctorate. Where does that leave the generation that comes after us? In the same position we find ourselves in now. The problem with our country is not that we take literacy for granted. On the contrary, we are steadily improving and bettering ourselves by pushing each generation to do better than the last. Our problem lies with the fact that eventually; there will be no more up to go.

Human Resources Practice Essay

1. Introduction The HR Profession Map was developed using the following design principles: †¢ It describes what you need to do, what you need to know and how you need to do it within each professional area at four bands of professional competence. †¢ It covers behaviours as well as the technical elements of professional competence required in the HR profession. †¢ It is organised around areas of professional competence, not organisation structures, job levels or roles. †¢ The scope of the Map will cover the breadth and depth of the HR profession, from small to large organisations, from fundamental to sophisticated practice, local to global, corporate to consulting, charity to public sector, traditional to progressive. †¢ It has the versatility to be used in part, or viewed as a whole, with the core professional areas acting as the key or centre that is relevant to all. 2. Activity 1 Summarise the HRPM The Profession Map captures what successful and effective HR people do and deliver across their specialist profession, and sets out the required activities, behaviours and knowledge. Covering 10 professional areas and eight behaviours, set out in four bands of competence the Map covers every level of the HR profession, from band one at the start of an HR career through to band four for the most senior leaders. The Map has been designed to be relevant and applicable to HR professionals operating anywhere in the world, in all sectors and in organisations of all shapes and sizes. Professional Areas 1. Insights, Strategy and Solutions 2. Leading HR 3. Organisation Design 4. Organisation Development 5. Resource and Talent Planning 6. Learning and Development 7. Performance and Reward 8. Employee Engagement 9. Employee Relations 10. Service, Delivery and Information Behaviours 1. Curious 2. Decisive Thinker 3. Skilled Influencer 4. Personally Credible 5. Collaborative 6. Driven to Deliver 7. Courage to Challenge 8. Role Model (www.cipd.co.uk) 2.1Insights, Strategy and Solutions Human Resources professionals work from a deep business, contextual and organisational understanding to develop actionable insight, and prioritise HR strategies that make the most difference at any given time. You develop insight-led solutions, prioritised and tailored around a good business, contextual and organisation understanding – identifying opportunities and risks and acting on them. Business Vision and strategy of the organisation Products/services and customer profiles Financial and non-financial performance information Contextual Your sector and related regulations/legislation Political, economic, social, technological and environmental issues. Organisation Structure, processes, governance Culture, values, behaviours Key relationships, stakeholders, how decisions get made This understanding – and the resulting insights – allow us to create prioritised and situational HR strategies that make the most difference and build a compelling case for change. Includes these topics: Building a picture Developing actionable insight Delivering situational HR solutions that stick Building capacity and capability -Working with agility Organisation context determines the influence and priority of stakeholder roles and individuals, it also determines how readily new systems/ applications or methods can be adopted, and whether we can get there. If customers / principal stakeholders come from different contexts, this may systematically shape the goals and requirements 2.2 Leading HR Resourcing Band 1 Human Resources Professionals need to have a good knowledge of the principles and procedures for organisations recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits of labour relations and personnel information systems. A sound knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, modelling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources. Motivating, developing, and directing people, as they work, identifying the best people for the job also been able to identify potential for succession planning. . 3. Activity 2 Timely and Effective Service With any organization, we will typically find the customers HR supports are within recruiting, employee relations, training, etc, all pretty much the same, regardless of department, our customers are anyone who uses the HR services we provide we interact with supervisors, managers, employees, external candidates, and external organizations. The way that HR interacts with each of these groups is different depending on what is being delivered, but in the general sense, our customers are all as important as each other. 3.1 Employees Employees want professional HR support from real people and HR need to be responsive and clear about what services we offer. HR need to be easy to contact and able to respond quickly and effectively. Obviously employees require accurate pay and benefits, on time. They also want to be given the opportunity for training and development. 3.2 Managers Managers want an HR function which understands the workforce and can help management balance employee and business needs. They want a proactive HR function which identifies issues before they happen and works with managers to address them. They would like HR to help them with their most challenging people issues including motivation, change and skills development. An HR function which does not understand the business and the workforce completely loses its value. The needs of both employees and managers are sometimes be conflicting. For example, managers require a higher level of production and sometimes longer working hours whereas employees tend to want more time off and more focus on a work/life balance. A good HR department needs to work with both groups to find the best balance. A way of resolving these conflicts is to focus on the overall needs of the organisation, ensuring that the right employees are recruited and retained will help this. The skills and abilities of all employees need to be aligned to their job role and as HR we need to provide development and training to ensure productivity is reached and to manage turnover of employees. Coaching and counselling employees will also help and providing an effective reward and recognition system. 3.3 Recruitment Agencies HR and recruitment agencies are committed to developing and maintaining closer relationships, the outcomes for both parties are more positive, and from a strategic perspective, it’s the formation of these stronger partnerships that bring mutual business benefits and added value. Good reasons why an organisation would use recruitment agencies Gain access to job-seekers (both active and passive)  source candidates from more specific talent pools and match them to an  organisation’s vacancies reduce the time and in-house resources dedicated to recruitment use a range of specialist skills offered by recruitment experts Access specialist services such as screening, filtering and profiling of candidates Gain flexibility in recruitment to meet cyclical/ market demand Get expert opinion about and knowledge of current recruitment legislation Benchmarking purposes – access to salary data and local market knowledge. However in past experience working with some recruitme nt agencies it can become an expensive option as they tend to charge anywhere from 12.5 percentage of the starting salary upwards and a finders fee if the candidate does become permanent. 3.4 Communication Communication Type Advantages Disadvantages Email Easy to send Fairly quick to send Can send 365 days of the year Can send to a group of people at once Email can get stuck in spam and not received Attachments could contain viruses Internet could go down and may not receive mail for sometime Phone call Calls can be made 24 hours a day 7 days a week Get your message across and gain feedback immediately You cannot see each other’s body language Things could get mis-interpreted Costly Fax Can send exact copies of documents Easy to train how to use No immediate response Could misdial number sending documents to wrong person Poor quality of received document 3.5 Effective Service Delivery An effective HR services for all employees is seen as be supportive, not to dilute the responsibility of people management. Also have the ability to coach line managers, especially around managing performance. 3.6 Delivering Service HR should obtain thorough feedback from internal customers, line managers, senior managers and employees. This should cover both what they need from HR, and their user experience of current services. Such feedback could generate a clear and more effective HR function within the organisation. It can provide fresh insights and help the HR function to focus its efforts in these areas could add value to the business. 3.7 Difficult Customers Assuming that the employee provides value to the company and possesses redeeming qualities, there are ways to deal with difficult employees. Most often, managers will simply ignore problematic staffers. Managers who live by this rule hope the problem will just go away; that these people will somehow turn themselves around or stop being troublesome. Ignoring the situation is the wrong solution to what could likely become a progressive problem. It is important to take action as soon as the negative behavior pattern becomes evident when left untouched, this problem will only escalate. (http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/201950#ixzz2h4AjsnQf) 3.8 Resolving Complaints Employee complaints alert us to potential problems within the business Depending on the type of complaint that comes in you’re going to want to keep relevant portions of your staff appraised of it while simultaneously safeguarding the privacy of the individuals involved. It’s important to be transparent in these situations because â€Å"employees are probably going to know this on the office gossip vine anyway,† says Kelly. â€Å"They want to see that management is aware of it too and that management does take action and demonstrates a commitment to a higher ethical standard.† (http://www.inc.com/guides/2010/04/handle-employee-complaints.html/1)