On Being Isolated

I have been a doctor for two decades now, always ready to aid people who are in need, to heal them in the most impossible way that a man can, to cure others who asked of me over and over in the most isolated provinces in this wounded nation. But all of these can disappear from an instant blink of an eye. The whole nation is desperately in need of healing, to be quite frankly. It is hard to think of a proclamation of Jesus that is harder to understand – or believe – than â€Å"blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven' because truthfully, from whereI am standing, I don't quite see it at all. Vive seen death in everywhere I go, pre-school children died from being exploded by a bomb of the ABA Safe conflict in Sambaing, a sick mother who died after giving birth to a twin because his husband who happens to be a conductor in a bus company can't afford a proper three-day meal for the family despite his almost 24- hours shift. And Just like last week, Vive seen a woman who was stabbed by her own sister-in-law out of Jealousy.I bring this up in the context of considering that poverty is everywhere, that no matter how much we think about the did an Dana' it won't bring the Filipino people in good condition. I believe, as a Doctor, health is one of the most important elements in society. It takes a great deal of effort to come up with plans and proposal to keep the nation in balance with health. The President Just stated his State of the Nation a few days back, and it is sad that promoting good health and proposing for cheaper medicines and health benefits doesn't seem like its included in his flagships.True, that the administration is still on its process of rehabilitating what was lost in Samara-Letter regions, but in ejaculating all of the medical assistance is by far most unknown in his propaganda. Thankfully enough, we are living by the hands of the foreigners. All of the countless relief's we received are from all over the wo rld. It is also quite considerate when Peons cabinet members and Local Government Officials are working hard for the safety of everyone, but why it seems that everyone is still coping up with the devastation.It has almost been a year since it happened, but why are these dreams seems to be washed out by the typhoon? You see, I am Just a Doctor, who can't even help himself, because I am being dragged y the system and by the looks of it the government can't even help its people. I wish all those people who made decisions could come down to see what the consequences of their decisions would be like. But really, who are those' people in the first place? Tobacco executives who market a carcinogenic product? Conglomerate food industries that contribute to obesity (and poor dental health)?Insurance companies that leveraged debt in credit default swabs and contributed to global inflation? Even if I help myself in building a hospital, do you think the government would support me on that? How would I even know that all of hose pain and effort in helping people would really pay off? No matter how much I think about going abroad and dedicate myself in contributing to the nation's rising economy (even though it doesn't seem quite felt), it would reflect on me, and the media will use its persuasive power to kill people like us (doctors, nurses, therapists) like we are the most gruesome professionals in the world.The clinic that I usually attend to in Panamanian, every time Vive visited it, is about as anti-Aquinas as it gets, so it is hard for me to reconcile the claims that insurance (since when does every Filipino has insurance and I wish everyone can) and co-pays should be under IPPP with the insistence that whatever our misfortunes might be, they are the product of unfair treatment at the hands of power and privileged. In the President's speech he talked about preparing for future disasters and even focuses on how his administration carry over responsibilities in all of those who are affected.I was one of the Doctors that immediately went to see how wrecked the place was, but a one single official was never really there to go and look in many far- lung areas. Relief's were distributed almost three days after that typhoon. There used to be several health centers in Tactical (where I was assigned) but last January, it stretched to the limit. People cannot even walk to the main health center in Tactical. There are trees everywhere and they have essentially been cut off.We set up in the destroyed former health clinic and received a lot of patients. It was non-stop and people were happy that my team arrived. And in everyday was the same, we went to another remote village and the patients did not stop coming. It is clear that there is a massive need. As a freelance Doctor, I cannot save the whole country, but many people are currently surviving without medical care and we will try to fill that gap until services are restored. Till when can I accept this tragic fact?Back in Tactical, we are mainly treating respiratory infections, and we've also seen some patients with diarrhea. Without proper shelter and being exposed to the elements, a lot of people have colds and fevers, especially the kids. Vive also encountered people who have been affected mentally by the typhoon. They are resent with physical symptoms that you can't really pinpoint, but often we see that this indicates psychological distress. It's common to see this after such a traumatic event, so psychological care is in need to.As I continue my distress over the things I saw back last November when the Typhoon was out in the Philippine Area of Responsibility, I was drawn to more facts about this illness of my country in providing deserved health benefits. Equipment and facilities are still not up to the standard of private institutions. Government hospitals remain largely ill equipped and have offered years due to the decline of government spending on health care. Accessibi lity to public healthcare still remains a contentious issue, particularly in more rural areas.Ideally, everyone is entitled to health care through Philately, but the problem still is, some are discouraged to pay for this because they still choose ‘Panamanian Eng than' over health care and not all medical procedures are covered by the Philately scheme and often the balance for medical expenses is to be paid by the patients. The other day, Budget Secretary Butch Bad presented the 201 5 proposed budget of PA. 06 trillion ($60 billion), 15% higher than the previous year. For health, the government wants a APP. Billion budget for the upgrade of 1,242 bargain (village) health stations, 587 rural health stations, 128 local government unit hospitals, and 1 1 treatment and rehabilitation centers. The government also seeks a PA. 3 billion budget to minimize 2. 2 million children and to provide pneumatically vaccines to 1. 4 million senior citizens and 429,000 infants. Big money is allot ted in Health. If only the President would consider this, a plan where he can control the distribution of budget appropriately for everyone.Although, he dispensed an allotted amount in covering future calamity funds and increase in providing the National Health Insurance Program from APP. 3 billion ($810 million) to APP. 2 billion ($850 million); increase in coverage from 14. 7 million to 15. 4 million beneficiaries, it would be quite enough to sustain what the nation needs, but the big question here is that if the administration can provide this fairly and legitimately. As a Doctor, I am not enraged by how the administration works. I am furious on how they manage everything.I am not against to those who are now in the position, I believe they are placed there for a reason, a reason that neither of us would know. But to be quite honest, my heart goes to the people who deserved a better life. A life of happiness, stability, and even the most taken for granted acts. I am not taking si des in considering that the Philippines is not a choice anymore; I won't want to believe that. It is probably one of the reasons why I still keep myself flowing as much as possible, helping those poor; I believe that social protection and social services should be given a much more credit, a bigger perspective to end this misery.But for now, I'll keep my hopes up. I will definitely wait for the right time. But I won't lose my hope in this administration and in this passion in serving others. I challenge the President in helping and promoting us, especially those who are in the medical world, in healing our nation's wounds. It might be hard, it is not easy, but there's no need to worry, it will be all well and right, if we all keep ourselves closely knit, together, hand in hand.

Race and ethnicity in the United States Census Essay

Race is a biological entity, but it has been proven that the concept of race can be constructed or manipulated by societies that even though since an anthropological and biological perspective the barrier between races is very clear. Ethnicity isn’t a societal concept founded by the color of skin, since everyone knows individuals of the identical race have variations of skin color. For example in European circles, Middle Easterners such as Arabs, Jews, Iranians (Indo-Europeans or Aryans); North Africans like Berbers and Arabs; Latin Americans of pure Caucasian descent and Northern Indians and Pakistanis are not considered Caucasian or white, even though anthropologically and genetically they are. People can deny kinship or invent their kinship to people of other genetic markers if this makes them keep their status or way of life; this has to do with issues like migration, religion and the like. Race refers to the bodily and biotic features for specific sets of individuals. For example: anyone may recognize an individual’s ethnicity founded up skeleton construction, predominantly the cranium, since the various races have distinctive, skeleton structures. Diverse ethnicities have diverse bone concentrations. Afro-American’s have the thickest bone because they need to stockpile â€Å"calcium and vitamin D in their bones† because of the dusky color that does not allow the sun to simply infiltrate and produce the vitamins to protect their skeletal frame (Comer, 1972). White and Asian ethnicity produce smaller skeletal density since light skin permits the sun to infiltrate into the skin easier. This makes it easier to take up vitamin D from the sun. There are a large number of variations within ethical groups than may be condensed to tinier clusters of ethnic clusters. However, ethnic groupings are not unsubstantiated and illogical societal tags. There is a plethora of fabrication concerning race around, and most 19th century anthropology scientists that studied race were mistaken concerning many facts, however the entire theory should not be trashed. Even Darwin made mistakes concerning many facts, however it should not require the complete Theory of Evolution should be trashed as well.. A societal structure may function as an instrument of organization that sustains the domination of specific ethnic races and the subservience of other races. Race is described as being â€Å" ‘Race’ is first and foremost an unequal relationship between social aggregates, characterized by dominant and subordinate forms of social interaction, and reinforced by the intricate patterns of public discourse, power, ownership and privilege within the economic, social and political institutions of society† (Commer,1997). Ethnicity merely turns out to be genuine when societies act in other habits that cause subservience to last. It converts actual once society acts toward one another that maintain the subservience. Race often causes ethically emotional discourse which includes constant practices of displacement and ethnic suffering. Principles and individuality are also societal structures (permanent. The description of individuality by Sarikaya: â€Å"†¦identity is not only a story, a narrative which we tell ourselves about ourselves, it is stories which change with historical circumstances. And identity shifts with the way in which we think and hear them and experience them. Far from only coming from the still small point of truth inside us, identities actually come from outside, they are the way in which we are recognized and then come to step into the place of the recognitions which others give us. Without the others there is no self, there is no self-recognition† (Sarikaya, 2011). It is similar to a camera, the controlling scrutiny changes an individual to thing and â€Å"†¦the normalizing gaze [is] a surveillance that makes it possible to qualify, to classify and to punish, and it establishes, over individuals a visibility through which one differentiates and judges them† (Foucault,1991 pg. 25). Race has the capacity to change anyone into a historic minute outside of that which a person is unable to step out of. Race adopts the theory that there is a pattern of regularity and accurate, each person separate from this pattern should be conveyed to the pattern – the normalcy is considered to be a young, Caucasian, Christian, man. The societal imagination is a broad area that groups is now created, made-up, placed and formed by dominate dialogues and governing society. There is no social justice or injustice of classifying or not classifying people according to the race they belong to, some can say racial classifications are harmful to the unity of the group, that it causes racism, etc. It should not be something bad or something to be afraid of or something to avoid, there should be not prejudice in the concept of race, and everyone should be happy with their ancestry and celebrate their phenotype and genotype and not suffer prejudice from society for being descendant of certain people. References: Comer, J. P. , (1972). Beyond Black and White. New York, NY: Quadrangle Books. Retried from: http://kcmo. ent. sirsi. net/client/en_US/NKCPL/search/results/? ln=en_US&q=Beyond+Bla ck+and+White&rt=&rw=0. Foucault, M. , (1991). Discipline and Punish The birth of prison (2nd ed. ) New York, NY: Random House, Inc. Sarikaya, D. (2001). The Construction of Afro-Caribbean Identity in the Poetry of Linton Kwesi Johnson. Journal of Caribbean Literatures, (Spring 2011, Vol. 7, Issue 1, p161-175, 15p). Retrieved from: http://av4kc7fg4g. search.serialssolutions. com. ezproxy. apollolibrary. com/? ctx_ver=Z39. 88-2004&ctx_enc=info%3Aofi%2Fenc %3AUTF-8&rfr_id=info:sid/summon. serialssolutions. com&rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:jo urnal&rft. genre=article&rft. atitle=The+construction+of+Afro-Caribbean+cultural+identity+in+t he+poetry+of+Linton+Kwesi+Johnson&rft. jtitle=Journal+of+Caribbean+Literatures&rft. au=Sar ikaya %2C+Dilek&rft. date=2011-01-01&rft. pub=Journal+of+Caribbean+Literatures&rft. issn=1086-01 0X&rft. eissn=2167-9460&rft. volume=7&rft. issue=1&rft. spage=161&rft. externalDBID=n %2Fa&rft. externalDocID=338524281¶mdict=en-US.

Coaching Model Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Coaching Model - Assignment Example The task each employee undertakes plays a huge part in the realisation of an organization’s objectives. Perspectives in this case refer to factors such as values and motivations that drive the employee to perform the delegated tasks diligently. Apparently, in an organization where workers lack motivation from the top management fails to meet its target objectives compared to an organization that boasts of motivated employees. Process refers to the manner that dictates performance of tasks such as working as a team with an intention of improving performance. An employer must ensure that his or her employees exhibit a sense of purpose and understand their delegated roles within the organization. Gray (2010) substantiates that employees with a sense of personal direction usually exhibit high performance levels. Managers need to embark on improving workers motivation such as offering fringe benefits to them because high motivation levels translate to greater employee productivity. Lastly, a manager must develop effective process within the organization such as in service training of employees because highly trained employees usually exhibit high productivity within the

Crime Data Sources Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Crime Data Sources - Assignment Example For UCR program, crime data is collected in two ways: traditional summary reporting and National Incident-Based Reporting held at state level where all local agencies report to their respective state UCR programs. These two methods capture data from a myriad of primary and secondary sources. Information acquired is accessible to the public, researchers and the media on the existing crime levels in the US. The UCR is vital in key policy issues as it captures data for multiple years on different crimes (FBI, nd). These surveys collect data on a sample representative of the nation on personal and domestic victimization in the US. The survey has been ongoing from its inception in 1973. The sample size is estimated at 40000 households with an average population of 75000 where each household is surveyed twice in the year the household is selected, but a household can be interviewed for a period more than one year but not exceeding 3 years and limited to 7 interviews (BSJ, nd). The surveys target to gather information about crimes and their consequences; estimate unreported crimes; provide measures to curb selected crimes; and allow comparisons between different geographical areas over time. The survey is important as it provides data used to estimate probability of victimization for the population as a whole plus other interest segments like racial groups, geographical locations etc. NCVS also provides a national platform for victims to describe the effects of crime and profile violent offenders. These surveys are sponsored by the justice department through the Bureau of Justice statistics (Fisher& Lab, 2010). The international victimization survey provides worldwide information on crime victimization, allowing for contrast and evaluation between countries. The survey is administered by the United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute (UNICRI) and aspires to set the standard for victimization reporting. The survey is conducted through

Textual Analysis about Your Fate Hurtles Down at You Essay

Textual Analysis about Your Fate Hurtles Down at You - Essay Example despite these circumstances, those who are left have to learn to survive and find the reason for their existence, or at least will be lead by fate to that reason. â€Å"Your Fate Hurtles Down at You† reflects more of the life that is comparable to the sting of cold in an icy setting. The setting of the story may not just have been a chance choice for the author to develop what he wanted to communicate to his readers rather has been carefully considered to put emphasis on his points. First, Davos is a place which is perfect for the research about ice and snow because of its geographical make up. Although some important parts of the story did not occur in the same area, the settings are similar in that, they are prone to avalanches. This circumstance is what the author uses to emphasize the title of the story, used as a metaphor. As an avalanche falls anytime without warning, fate hurtles down inevitably on people, whether they like it or not. The narration of the death of the storyteller’s twin brother, Willi, is a strong demonstration of how fate hurtles down on a person. He did not like to die, he was young and in love with Ruth who was pregnant with their child. Nevertheless, he was destined to die young and as his death came suddenly and unexpectedly, this event and the cause of death portray the suddenness of how fate could hit an individual. On the other hand, the fate of Willi’s brother is to love the same woman he adored, Ruth. Despite the fact that Ruth showed interest on Willi more than his twin brother, the other did not stop loving her. This, is the author’s fate. To love the woman who loved his brother and just cannot learn to love him despite his brother’s demise. This fate could be different to that of Willi’s but it is comparable to it. If the cause of Willi’s death is an avalanche, the cause of his brother’s end to loving other women is Ruth. Willi’s brother was competing with Bader for the affections of an Alsatian widow but he

Legal Rights of Students with Disabilities Term Paper

Legal Rights of Students with Disabilities - Term Paper Example IDEA incorporates six key components (Mash & Barkley, 2006). Firstly, IDEA provides that each disabled child have access to â€Å"Free and Appropriate Public Education† (FAPE), where the parent is not obliged to contribute financially. This ought to be in the normal public schools. However, the child can receive the care in other specialized schools or at home, due to the fragility of his health. Additionally, a child suspected to have a disability ought to undergo an appropriate evaluation by a team of trained personnel. Besides, the multi-disciplinary team ought to employ various relevant sources in the appraisal process. The child should not undergo unwarranted tests that have a racial and cultural bias. Additionally, the evaluators should gear their tests towards scheduling for the child’s suitable education (Mash & Barkley, 2006). The concerned personnel should be able to determine the child’s eligibility, once they conclude these tests. Evaluation is impera tive, since it helps in documentation of the child’s disability. Therefore, all children suspected of any disabilities ought to undergo the process despite the way it is apparent. The parent should also recognize the usefulness of the information. Moreover, after the evaluation, the child ought to receive personalized education, owing to their exceptional needs. As such, a team of experts places the child under â€Å"Individualized Education Program† (IEP). Besides, if a child is below 3, the multidisciplinary team as well as the parents arranges for an â€Å"Individualized Family Service Plan† (IFSP), where he or she receives exceptional care within their home settings. Additionally, the parents are equal constituent of the team, and they ought to be actively involved in all processes of the program. In addition, IDEA aims to ensure that the disabled child has a favorable environment for education, which should be free from restrictions. This improves the child ’s learning capacity, thereby reducing chances of being disadvantaged. Besides, experts recommend that children with disabilities should opt for normal school system as their first choice and interact with other children without disabilities. Moreover, IDEA advocates for LRE, where the child with disability learns together with others for the longest time possible. The act explicitly provides for all learning institutions to educate all children, disregarding their disabilities nature. It is unlawful to discriminate children with disability. Before IDEA implementation, children with disability encountered such discrimination that hampered their development. The fifth principle of IDEA implies that parents and the disabled student (where possible) should actively become involved in the formulation of decisions concerning the education plan of the student (Mash & Barkley, 2006). In addition, parents or caregivers ought to receive notice from these trained personnel in cases whe re teachers and other trained personnel change the education plan for the child. The parents and guardians have the obligation to play a part in all meetings and thereby contribute fully in all decision-making processes. The last principle champions for both the parents’, as well as the child’s rights in provision of care and education to the disabled

Summary of the narrative life of frederick douglass, An american slave Essay

Summary of the narrative life of frederick douglass, An american slave - Essay Example His mother died without him knowing her well. At the age of seven, his mother's body was found dead in one of Frederick master's farm, near Lee's Mill. Having no slight intimation with his mother, he accepted her death like an ordinary death of a stranger, with no spark of pain in his heart. His first master was Captain Anthony. People by his time say that his master is his father by which he did not confirm to be a fact. Captain Anthony is a clerk and superintendent of Colonel Edward Lloyd. This man owns from three to four hundred slaves in his plantation. Every month the slaves receive their monthly allowance of food - eight pounds of pork or fish, and one bushel of corn. Aside from this, they also receive a yearly clothing of two coarse linen shirts and one pair of shoes. Just when he thought he is going to spend his entire life under the agony of slavery, suddenly hope came his way upon knowing that he was allowed by Captain Anthony to stay in Baltimore with Mr. Hugh Auld. He was between the age of seven and eight that time. By the time Frederick reached Mr. and Mrs. Auld's house, he had felt the warmest welcome he had ever experienced in his entire life. This was the first time he had ever seen the most pleasant faces of slaveholders. The city slave, unlike the slaves in the plantation, is almost a freeman. His stay to this place gave him the opportunity to learn the basics of English alphabet, through the help of Sophia Auld, his new mistress. But then, when her husband found out what she was doing, she had been forbidden to teach Frederick, for the reason that according to him, "learning would spoil the best nigger in the world." Frederick this time has to learn reading in his own perseverance, and to bring his dream into reality, he made friends with the white boys whom he encountered in the street that later on helped him succeed in learning to read. At the age of ten or eleven, he returned to his hometown, Holmes Hill Farm. This is because his master, Captain Anthony, died and all the slaves, including him have to be divided between his master's children, Mrs. Lucretia and Mr. Andrew. During this process, slaves were scrutinized before the division. No one wished to be a slave for Mr. Andrew for he is cruel and merciless like all other masters. Lucky enough, Frederick was chosen to be a slave for Mrs. Lucretia's and was sent back to Baltimore. Upon reaching the age when he could give dates, Frederick has left Baltimore to live with Master Thomas in March 1832. This time, he was sent to a guy named Mr. Covey. This guy claims to be religious, but has no heart for his slaves. He finds pleasures in whipping them all the time, and Frederick, being one of the slaves, did not escape this. He was beaten almost everyday until the time he thought it would be a benefit to take his own life. But the Ganadores 3 hope of freedom still lingers in his mind that stopped him from committing

Managing Financial Resource and Performance Assignment

Managing Financial Resource and Performance - Assignment Example Different stakeholders have competing and sometimes even conflicting interests with the company. It is the job of the company to ensure that a proper balance is strike between the two types of interests (Reeve, Warren and Duchac, 2012). Government: The government is concerned with the compliance o food grade standards and production quality maintenance of Coca Cola Company. Coca cola has to make sure that the food produced is of highest quality and complies with the adherence standards of the regulatory norms. Creditors: for the benefit of its creditors which include company distributors and vendors, the company organizes creditor meetings and also conducts regular surveys through distribution satisfaction survey. Training programs educate on the manner of sales and distribution is conducted at regular intervals by the company at its various head offices (CCI, 2010). Suppliers: for the benefit of suppliers and for engagement in sustainable relationships with the suppliers and contractors of the company, Coca Cola Company conducts Improvement Audits on a regular basis. It also organizes regular training programs among its suppliers for proper and standardised sourcing of ingredients for its produce. Plant visits educate suppliers about their quality standards and compliance level expected off them. Media: For the media, the company has regular publications of annual reports, press releases and CRS reports. The analysts can also come to investor conferences and analyst meetings when they are held. On any occasion the media can contact the company of the CCI Corporate Website and put their queries through the Online Feedback forms. Regulatory Bodies: the regulatory bodies are concerned with the environment friendliness of the production and waste disposal processes undertaken by the company. The production line and waste management teams of the operations department at Coca Cola have to assure that all

PEST Analysis for Bank Muscat Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

PEST Analysis for Bank Muscat - Essay Example 1. History and growth of Bank Muscat The Bank Muscat is a commercial bank of Oman, founded on 30th April 1982. It has strong operational presence in sectors including corporate banking, investment banking, retail banking, and private banking. Currently, the Bank Muscat is the largest banking network in Oman with over 130 branches and assets worth more than US$18 billion (Bank Muscat). It has presence in overseas countries including Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait with a branch each and possesses a representative office in Dubai and UAE. The Bank Muscat is being continuously rated as the ‘best bank in Oman’ over the last several years and it has been awarded the Hewitt recognition as ‘the Middle East’s Best Employer 2009’ (Hewitt 2009). 2. PEST analysis of the company The PEST analysis is a potential tool to analyze the macro-economic environment of a business industry. This tool can be used to assess the market for the Bank Muscat. Political factors The political framework of Oman is in the form of an absolute monarchy where the Sultan of Oman acts as the head of government as well as head of state (Al-Azri 2012, p.1). The court system in Oman has three levels including Elementary Court (lowest level), the Court of Appeal (middle level), and the Supreme Court (highest level). Since Oman is an absolute monarchy, it has clear long term policies regarding the banking development in the country. The recent global recession has persuaded the Sultanate of Oman to focus more on sustainable banking development. Therefore, the Oman government greatly supports Bank Muscat’s efforts to strengthen its market position and to expand its banking business. The strong government assistance benefited the Bank Muscat to become the first company from Oman to be listed on the London Stock Exchange. In addition, Oman maintains better diplomatic relations with US and India; and this strength is likely to contribute to the Bank Muscat’s future growth. Economical factors Oman is a Middle East country which has been achieving significant GDP per capita growth rates for the past half a century (Gonzalez 2008, p.154). The country has significant oil and natural gas reserves and they appear to be the main source of revenues for the country. As studies indicate, the intense modernization efforts taken by Oman to improve its people’s living standards and to attain a significant position in the global marketplace are also promoting the operations of the Bank Muscat. Since Oman is one of the Middle East countries with no national debt, investors view Oman as a stable economy and they are willing to invest in the country (Doing business in Oman). This favorable economic situation greatly assists the Bank Muscat to attain the trust of investors and hence to promote their banking operations easily. As of the quarter ended on 31st March 2009, the net profits of the Bank Muscat nearly doubled to â€Å"OMR 48.42 million f rom OMR 26.54 million in 1Q08 (GCC First reaction paper 2009). Finally, competitive interest rate set by the Bank Muscat would safeguard the interests of its clients and the situation in turn may assist the bank to raise huge operating funds. In total, the country’s economic spectrum offers a prosperous future for the organisation. Social factors With the failure of a number of banks across the globe, Oman’

Reading and Books Essay Example for Free

Reading and Books Essay Despite the vast, growing and active educational reforms continuously being modified and implemented in today’s Philippine Educational System such as MTB – MLE and K+12 education curriculum, there are still 6. 2 million Filipino youth who does not receive proper and formal education in the classroom, which includes the Out – of – school children and youth. Specifically, according to the 2010 Annual Poverty Indicators Survey (APIS) of the National Statistics Office (NSO) released November 2011, one out of eight Filipinos aged between 6 and 24 is an out- of- school youth(OSY). Current estimates further indicate that 7. 8 million Filipinos or 16. 2% of the population are not functionally literate. About 3. 9 million of them are out of school youth. The Philippine government defines an out –of- school youth (OSY) as someone who is not attending formal education and/or not gainfully employed in the case of youth 18 to 24 years old who have not finished college or even a technical vocational course. The government further explains that the primary reasons for these out of school youth for not attending school is poverty and lack of personal interest. On the other hand, out- of- school youth are vulnerable people who have special needs too. Nobody can deny the hard fact that education is still an extremely important factor for bringing change in the lives of these individuals. It has universally been recognized as the most powerful instrument and pre – requisite for gearing up the socio – economic development of a nation. This is why investment in education is considered to be so vital for human resource development and enhancement of the quality of manpower. In the history of humankind, there is an established fact that a certain level of literacy in population is an essential pre – requisite for precipitating the process of development in a country. It is emphasized therefore that the most active part in the socio – economic development of any country or region always consists of the adolescents. Moreover, many people have a misleading impression of the abilities and capacities of â€Å"out – of – school youth†. It is generally assumed that this group needs to re – do and re – learn the most basic literacy skills. Hence, they are marginalized and ostracized. In fact, out – of- school youths do have some experience of learning within the formal system. In addition, many of them have gained rich learning experiences from their environment and culture. Thus, basic literacy does not necessarily mean teaching literacy in its most basic forms. However, the acquired skills and knowledge need to be recognized, tapped into and enhanced. Out- of- school youths may have failed to complete their education in the formal system due to various reasons, such as socio – economic or health issues, urbanization, teacher – teaching factors or curriculum problems but UNESCO still has enumerated and emphasized the basic literacy for out – of- school youth development which involves the acquisition of the basic skills needed to cope with the complex and technological world, including IT and computer skills, communication skills listening, speaking, reading, writing, viewing, critical thinking and many others. Moreover, developing the literacy of OSY’s is a complex process, which involves enhancing the knowledge and capacities that they have gained over the years and providing them with access to challenging learning opportunities. The Philippines through the initiative of the Bureau of Alternative Learning System formerly called the Bureau of Non – formal Education (BNFE) is responsible for contributing to the improvement of the poor including the out – of school youth and drop outs through literacy and continuing education programs. Its aim is to focused basic services to the more disadvantaged sections of the population to improve their welfare and contribute to human resource development. This was done to respond to the need of a more systematic and flexible approach in reaching all types of learners outside the formal school system. The Alternative Learning System (ALS) is a parallel learning system that provides a viable alternative to existing formal education instruction. It encompasses both non – formal and informal sources of knowledge and skills. Certification of learning for out – of –school youth and adults , aged 15 years and over, who are unable to gain from the formal school system and who have dropped out of formal elementary and secondary education , is ensured through the Alternative Learning System Accreditation and the Equivalency (ALS A E) System. The system of certification is done through successful completion of the ALS and A E test at two learning levels – elementary and secondary. Those who pass the test have to undergo counseling to explore their oppurtunities, be it a return to the formal school system or the option to enter the world of work. (UNESCO Bangkok, 2009). The ALS eSkwela program has five main learning strands: Communication skills, critical thinking and problem solving, sustainable use of resources and productivity, development of self and a sense of community, and expanding one’s world vision. Since ALS is a module-based learning system, students come in on a set time and choose a module to read. A quiz is given after each module to test their learning. Instead of teachers, facilitators are always present to answer any questions and sometimes lecturers would discuss a certain module. Apart from the major aim and objective of the system, the ALS Project was conceived to respond to many grassroots learning needs and at the same time fulfill the following key social development objectives of EFA: †¢Functional Literacy: Current estimates indicate that there are 7. 8 million Filipinos or 16. 2% of the population who are not functionally literate. About 3. 9 million of them are out of school youth. †¢Family Literacy: Many parents want to develop functional reading, writing and numeracy skills and knowledge so that they can help their children do their homework. †¢Community Participation: †¢ Continuing Education: Many people who have obtained literacy skills and want to continue learning should be given the means and tools to return to formal schooling or go on learning on their own. †¢Empowerment: Out-of-school youth and adults living in economically depressed communities need to develop communication, problem solving, critical thinking, and learning-to-learn skills and competencies which will directly help them raise their standard of living and improve their quality of life. Functional basic education should empower them with better health practices, better food, increased income, improved family life, more direct civic and community participation and more opportunities for wider life choices. It is noted that the ALS learning modules constructed by SEAMEO Innotech experts are freely chosen, used and read by the students. It is true therefore that through the skill called reading, any idea or module given to them are enlightened. On the other hand, observations show that are still many problems and issues encountered along the Reading performance and proficiency of the out – of – School Youth which includes vocabulary, comprehension, study skills and others. Even the (UIS, 2011) stated a very alarming issue that seven hundred and seventy-five million adults all over the world cannot read. Many of these OSY’s too are unemployed, underemployed adn lacks basic English language literacy skills specially reading and writing. In addition, UNESCO also emphasized that the basic English literacy skills development is too considered as a means of widening the experiences of learners and allowing them to communicate effectively in their everyday life as well as in their future lives as responsible citizens and professionals. Accordingly, woven into the framework of the basic English Literacy skills is also the development of critical thinking skills. Thinking critically would mean grasping the complexity of the world and questioning how others think in order to clarify and improve one’s own understanding. Although, schools and learning institutions clearly neglect the development of critical thinking, there is much evidence to show that students’ reading and writing abilities are linked to their ability to question facts and information. Literacy is briefly defined as the â€Å"ability to read and write†. When we think of literacy, we think of reading. But being able to read does not mean someone is necessarily a literate person. In the 21st century, literacy encompasses the skills youth and adults need to be functional in the society, including numeracy and reading and writing skills. Most learning is dependent to reading. As the learner advances in the educational ladder, more complex reading skills are required of him. Effective reading requires from an individual the ability to locate keywords in a sentence, locate the topic sentence in a paragraph and understand and interpret what is read. Reading, therefore is an important skill a child must developed in order to cope to the very fast, changing and difficulties the world offers. Of many skills it is cited that it is one of the first skill a literate person must acquire. Likewise, there were many studies and projects that responded to the many goals of ALS and UNESCO in general, specifically along the communication skills strands. One of which is the Project EASE. This study made use of a Reading Comprehension and writing composition test to assess the basic communication skills of the students. Unfortunately, there were only few qualifiers for the said program the rest did not qualify. Most of the non – qualifiers came from the lower sections where the pressure to earn was much stronger. The non – qualifier was given another chance. They were administered with an alternative cloze type of comprehension test carefully made by the SEAMEO Innotech experts. The program such as EASE was pronounced. (add facts) Another is a study on the Attributes of High School Student – qualifiers in the Accreditation and Equivalency Program (AEP) which was done as Basis for a proposed Action Program by Rarang in (1999). The study made use of the public high school students in the fourth congressional district of Pangasinan during the school year 1997 – 1998. The study was done for the purpose of creating appropriate action programs that could increase the probability of prospective PEPT examinees to qualify for promotion or year level acceleration. The result of the study revealed that out of the 86 respondents who took the 1997 PEPT only four qualified for the acceleration or promotion to the next higher level in high school. Furthermore, the research made use of the Descriptive Method with a pre and post enrollment attributes of the student – qualifier in the AEP as data gathering instrument. It was found out that there was more male drop – outs that females and their dropping age ranged from 13 to 17 years old and that before the respondents dropped out from school, the last level they completed was Grade VI. The findings of the study also revealed that the main reason for the learners dropping out is due to financial difficulty. They also vary in their performance in the last year level they attended with 89. 13% as the highest average grade and the lowest grade at 68. 25%. More so, the study discovered that the contributory factor in the acceleration and promotion of the students to the next level are their reading activities done during their free time like reading magazines, newspapers, books, pocketbooks and even their old notes. Accordingly, reading is the most important factor in achieving promotion and acceleration. Many reading researches have shown that learners and OSY’s reading skills literacy performance is always at risks. Firstly, in the second Readership Survey made by SWS survey commissioned by NBDB floated all over the Philippines revealed that reading has slightly declined in our country. Only 92 percent of the 1,200 respondents say that they read, down to two percent from the first Readership survey done in 2003. In the literacy field, comprehension is primarily identified as the goal of (Duke Pearson, 2002; Duke, Pearson, Strachan, Billman, 2011). While many agrees comprehension is of utmost importance, many still argue that in this many classroom context, focusing on students’ fluency did not limit students’ development as readers, particularly for those who were asked to read aloud. The findings of this study also pointed out the importance of teachers examining the learners own perceptions about reading and reading instruction (Edwards, Martin, Protacio, Razali,2010). Furthermore, (Biancarosa Snow, 2006; Joftus, 2002) exclaimed that even among students who do graduate from highschool, inadequate reading skills are a key impediment to success in postsecondary education (American Diploma Project, 2004). Students who struggle with reading of ten lack the prerequisites to take academically challenging coursework that could lead to more wide reading and thus exposure to advanced vocabulary and content ideas (Au, 2000). The 2006 report by ACT, Inc. , Reading Between the Lines: What the ACT Reveals About College Readiness in Reading, describes even more troubling trends. Only 51% of students who took the ACT test in 2004 were ready for college-level reading demands (ACT, Inc. , 2006). The reading skill levels of the out-of-school youth population have remained  low, especially in comparison to the rising skill demands of employers. Although this report cannot summarize the changing qualifications, a number of indicators suggest a serious shortfall between the skills of out-of-school youth and job requirements. Dropouts and other out-of-school youth are reported to be unable to attain basic levels of math and reading proficiency are certainly much higher. White Paper further explains that young people leaving the educational system at 16, or more likely 19, must at least have the requisite literacy and communication skills to be employable and to be effective in life. Since reading is linked to writing, students write about what they read. Young and adults who are behind in reading and writing simply have not had as much experience reading and writing as young adults who are proficient readers and writers. Moreover, out – of- school youth who are behind have also not leaned the strategies that proficient readers and writers use to understand text and communicate their ideas in writing. This means that explicitly the strategies that proficient readers and writers use and providing guided practice are the keys to improving these skills. It has been proven that Out – of- school youth possess a broad repertoire of knowledge and skills that simply needs to be recognized, tapped into and enhanced in order for their abilities to improve. Indeed, there is a need to place a greater emphasis on developing and enhancing quality English language literacy skills training, programs and instructional materials for Out – of – School youth development. The conception of the ALS program or the Alternative Learning System is a great endeavor that caters to the needs and improvement of Out –of-School youth in the City Schools Division of Dagupan City. The ALS DEpED Dagupan City Division is one with the government in the active fulfillment of its task to reach and educate the OSY’s in the City. In fact, there have been many OSY’s who benefited from the program. Latest report says that ALS students in Region I show positive interest in this endeavor. Dagupan City Schools Division is composed of five Districts. From all over the city, there have been many Out – of –school youth coming from the 31 barangays of the city who enrolled in the said program. With the initiative of teachers and volunteers who facilitates the program, the actual teaching and learning is collectively done with the help of the module based learning materials. Furthermore, in the case study conducted by the Accreditation and Equivalency System of the Non – Formal Education Project clearly encourages service providers like educational institutions to identify and make use of variety of enriching materials both print and non – print in addition to the prescribed NFE and A E Learning modules provided by the SEAMEO – INNOTECH. With the encouragement of the BNFE or the ALS calling to different service providers to respond and create instructional materials that the OSY’s can benefit, the researcher will study on the present Reading Comprehension Skills Levels of the Dagupeno OSY’s particularly on the Reading Comprehensions Skills Level of the ALS students presently registered and attending the regular Eskwela ALS program in the City schools division of Dagupan during the calendar year 2013– 2014 and envisions to create a Self – Learning Reading Material that will better improve and enhance the Reading Comprehension and in general proficiency of the ALS learners. STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM This study aims to analyze the Reading Comprehension Skills Level of ALS students in the city schools division of Dagupan. Specifically, it will answer the following questions: 1. What is the performance of the ALS students in the reading Comprehension Test in terms of the: a. Total scores they will obtain from the Reading Comprehension Test? b. Specific scores they will obtained in the following reading Comprehension levels: Literal Reorganizational Inferential Evaluational Appreciational? 2. What is the extent of performance of the ALS students in the reading Comprehension test in terms of: a. Total scores they will obtain from the Reading Comprehension Test? scores they will obtained in the following reading Comprehension levels: Literal Reorganizational Inferential Evaluational Appreciational? 3. What instructional material will be proposed to address the reading comprehension inadequacies of the ALS students? SUBJECTS The subjects of the study will be the ALS students of the city schools division of Dagupan enrolled in the five districts of the division. There is a total of 447 ALS students in the division and they will be randomly selected from among the districts of the division. The respondents of the study will be elementary drop – outs, secondary drop – outs, non- passer of previous ALS AE Test/s, Learners/Completers of the ALS programs and Youth and adult drop – outs. RESEARCH HYPOTHESIS/ Assumptions The study will be anchored on the following assumptions: 1. The total test scores and the scores in the specific skills areas of the ALS students will reflect their reading comprehension performance. 2. The ALS students’ responses to the items in the test must truthful and accurate SCOPE AND DELIMITATION The study will be conducted to determine the reading comprehension performance and skills of the ALS students of the city schools division of Dagupan during the S. Y. 2013 – 2014. The respondents of the study will be elementary drop – outs, secondary drop – outs, non- passer of previous ALS AE Test/s, Learners/Completers of the ALS programs and Youth and adult drop – outs in general. A constructed Reading Comprehension Test will be used as instrument in gathering data pertinent to the study. The Reading Comprehension test will be carefully validated, tabulated and interpreted to arrive at accurate and precise results that will help as basis for the creation of a self- learning reading material for ALS students. Definition of Terms The following terms are carefully defined in the context of the study to provide a common understanding and frame of reference between the researcher and the readers: Reading both a process and a product and it involves bringing the individual’s entire life experiences and thinking patterns to understand what the writer has written (Aukerman, 1981). Reading Comprehension refers to the ability to understand text read by means of constructing meaning with the use of some clues in the text and the schema or background knowledge of the reader about the text. Reading Comprehension Abilities, also referred to as reading comprehension skills, refer to the five(5) reading levels (Toffelson, as cited by Tuvera, 1993) of reading comprehension, which include (1) Literal Level;(2) Reorganizational Level; (3) Inferential Level; (4) Evaluational Level; and (5) Appreciational Level. Specific Comprehension Skills refers to the specific skills that make up the different reading levels. Literal level of reading refers to the reading level that enables the students to recognized and/or recall details, main ideas, sequences, comparison, cause and effect relationships, character traits and recall author’s organization and explicitly stated information in the reading selection (Toffelson, as cited by Tuvera, 1993). Reorganizational level of reading refers to the reading level that enables the student to classify or group, outline or specify, summarize and synthesize text that has been read (Toffelson, as cited by Tuvera, 1993). Inferential Level of reading refers to the reading level that enables the student to infer supporting details which require the making of a hypothesis on an information that might have been included in the text; infer the main idea; infer a sequence which requires the student to make a hypothesis about what might have occurred in addition to the already explicitly stated events and making a hypothesis in events beyond completion of the text. Other skills also included are inferring, comparison, cause and effect relationships, charater traits,  author’s organization, figurative language and predicting outcomes (Toffelson, as cited by Tuvera, 1993). Evaluational level of reading refers to the reading level that enables the student to make a judgment of reality and fantasy and judgment between fact and opinion (Toffelson, as cited by Tuvera, 1993). Appreciational level of Reading refers to the reading level that enables the student to have emotional response to the text and determine an author’s purpose, mood, tone and point of vies (Toffelson, as cited by Tuvera, 1993). Performance is defined as a manner of functioning: the manner in which something or someone or somebody functions, operates, or behaves (Microsoft Encarta 2006. 1993 – 2005 Microsoft Corporation). In this study, it refers to the number of correct answers of the ALS students an all the specific levels of the reading comprehension test to reflect the students’ reading comprehension abilities. Extent of Performance refers to the reading comprehension abilities of the students based on a scale of scores to describe the level of reading comprehension of the ALS students. The scale will consists of three (3) levels: High , for scores equivalent to 75 percent – 100 percent; Moderate, for scores equivalent to 50 percent – 74 percent; and Low, for scores equivalent to at most 49 percent of the total point and of their points in the different specific reading comprehension skills areas. Total Scores obtained refers to the raw scores of the students which will correspond to the number of the correct answers of the ALS students in the reading comprehension test. Specific scores obtained refers to the raw scores of the learners in the different specific skill areas which correspond to the number of correct answers of the students in the specific skill areas. Self – Learning Reading Activities are activities involving processes which will enhance the reading performance and improve the five levels of reading comprehension of the ALS students . It also encourages students to gain more interest in reading with the aid of the designated activities. Analysis refers to the process of categorizing the performance of the students in the reading comprehension test in its totality and in the specific reading skills according to the extent of their performance. Out – of School Youth ALS ALS Learners ALS Implementers Conceptual Framework The objective of all readers should be comprehension of what they read. Comprehension is understanding. Understanding involves abilities to explain, interpret, apply, have perspective, empathize, and have self – knowledge (Wiggins and Mctighe,1998). Reading is both a process and a product ant it involves bringing the individual’s entire life experiences and thinking patterns to understand what the writer has written (Aukerman, 1981). When good decoders have problems with comprehension, they need help in developing language proficiency and listening comprehension. Teachers can help them develop the corresponding skills by combining vocabulary and comprehension strategy instruction with encouragement to enhance their reading of different materials Dymock, 1993). Reading comprehension can be effected by background knowledge. This concept is proved that when readers possess rich prior knowledge about the topic of a reading material, they often understand the reading material better than readers with low prior knowledge. That said, readers couldn’t always relate their world knowledge to the content of a text because they are not able to, even when they possess knowledge relevant to the information it presents. Often, they do not make inferences based on prior knowledge unless the inference are absolutely demanded to make sense of the text (Mckoon % Ratcliff, 1992). The study is anchored on the core concept that reading difficulties encountered by learners can be addressed by an appropriate learning material in the form of a self – learning reading material which will address their difficulties to be assessed using the reading comprehension test. Research Paradigm Figure 1. Paradigm of the study Figure 1 above illustrates the prerequisites in the development of a Self – Learning Reading Materail to improve the reading comprehension ability of ALS learners in the city schools division of Dagupan. CHAPTER II Review of Related Literature and Studies This chapter presents studies and literature which are seen to be significant that can give light to the completion and conduct of the research. FOREIGN Educational research has become a global enterprise, with researchers recognizing the need to be aware of educational practices in other countries. Burbules (2002) notes that this international context makes possible the sharing of knowledge and experience gained in relation to reform and evaluation in different countries. Recent studies show that seven hundred and seventy-five million adults cannot read (UIS, 2011). According to the study conducted by Glewwe and Kremer, (2006 ) a major factor in the poor reading problem is the poor quality of public schools in developing countries. Many peoples understanding of the educational production function, however, is still limited. Providing resources to schools with no other inputs rarely improves overall student performance and that if resources are paired with a larger array of inputs, students’ test scores do improve, he exclaimed. Unfortunately, the exact kind of additional support is necessary to make additional resources effective. For reading in particular, a number of studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of large comprehensive changes. Banerjee et al. (2007) studies an Indian remedial education program. The intervention itself causes students’ reading skills to improve, but because the intervention changes the educational environment along multiple dimensions – additional teachers, new pedagogical methods, new curriculum, changes to organization of the classroom, and additional resources – it is impossible to identify which components are necessary. In addition, a Case Study of Reading Instruction in a Philippine Classroom was also conducted by Protacio and Sarroub, (2013) where the reading practices in a public and high-achieving 6th grade English classroom in the Philippines were used as subjects of the study. The study utilized a four resources model, the different roles that students assume in this classroom was also clearly discussed. The students in the class are describe mainly as code breakers and text users and have limited opportunities to assume the other two roles of the four resources model. The study also provides a different view of reading, specifically a view of a culture of reading wherein higher status is given to oral reading performance rather than comprehension. The results of the study further revealed that reading is perceived as an oral performance activity by Filipino students because reading aloud is used frequently to negotiate the lack of resources in Philippine public schools. Comprehension does not matter as much to these students; rather, they are concerned with how they are perceived as oral readers in English, which is their second language. The case study findings provide a different view of reading, specifically a view of a culture of reading wherein higher status is given to oral performance rather than comprehension or fluency. The data also reveals that the predominant emphasis on oral performance satisfies only two roles or family of practices in the â€Å"four resources model of reading†: code breakers and text users. All of the students in the pilot section were not afforded opportunities by the teacher to fully engage with the four resources, as the class focused mostly on oral recitation as the main indicator for reading well. Students in this class infrequently assumed the role of meaning-makers and text analysts (Luke Freebody, 1999; Underwood, Yoo, Pearson, 2007). Instead, both students and teacher privileged correct pronunciation and reading correctly aloud—getting the accent right determined who the best students were in the class. Though, Philippine literacy scholars have commented on the emphasis on performance and reading aloud. Maminta (1982) discusses how reading as a subject was relegated to the background as the curriculum emphasized speech improvement with most of the class time being spent on pattern drills, mimicry, and memorization. Even though Maminta’s article focuses on speech improvement as being the emphasis three decades ago, it seems that it still characterizes classroom practice in the Philippines today. In the pilot section, the students themselves seemed to be the ones placing the emphasis on speech improvement. In the literacy field, comprehension is primarily identified as the goal of reading (Duke Pearson, 2002; Duke, Pearson, Strachan, Billman, 2011). While many agrees that comprehension is of utmost importance, many still argues that in this classroom context, focusing on students’ fluency did not limit students’ development as  readers, particularly for those who were asked to read aloud. What we do feel strongly about is the importance of providing all students opportunities to assume the role of readers in this classroom by giving all students a chance to read aloud in class. However, we noticed that, sadly, this was not the case. The findings of this study also point to the importance of teachers examining their own perceptions about reading and reading instruction (Edwards, Martin, Protacio, Razali,2010). Moreover, Reading fluency is the point at which beginning readers rely less on the phonemic decoding to recognize individual words and begin to recognize whole words, allowing for an increase in reading speed and comprehension. Meyer and Felton (1999), for example, define fluency as â€Å"the ability to read connected text rapidly, smoothly, effortlessly, and automatically with little conscious attention to the mechanics of reading, such as decoding. † Also, a study on the Effective Reading Programs for Middle and High School synthesized by Slavin, Cheung, Groff and Lake was published in 2009. This is a collection of many reading programs that systematically reviewed research on the achievement outcomes of four types of approaches to improving the reading of middle and high school students: specifically on the (1 ) reading curricula, (2) mixed-method models (methods that combine large and small-group instruction with computer activities), (3) computer-assisted instruction, and (4) instructional-process programs (methods that focus on providing teachers with extensive professional development to implement specific instructional methods). The collective synthesized study found out that students who enter high school with poor literacy skills face long odds against graduating and going on to postsecondary education or satisfying careers.

Political Rhetoric Within The Current Times Politics Essay

Political Rhetoric Within The Current Times Politics Essay Aristotle described three major rhetorical means of persuasion; ethos, pathos and logos. Ethos uses trust to persuade the audience. A politician uses his or her respective reputation and what is perceived and said about them; however there is a close connection between reputation and reality. Credibility depends both on expertise and how this is portrayed. In order to persuade the audience, you must first believe in yourself. Pathos does not directly involve the argument itself; instead pathos relies on the emotions of the audience. An efficient way to move the audience is to appeal to their values. Logos is Greek for logic and is used to persuade the audience by demonstrating the truth and is based on scientific facts. Logos is also used to appeal to the intellect of the audience, and is considered an argument of logic. PRESENT-DAY POLITICAL RHETORIC 4 The use of rhetoric is very apparent in political speeches and the outcome is measured by a vote placed by each member of the audience. Aristotelian rhetoric assumes that you believe the politician, and disbelieve all other politicians that have different views. The persuasiveness or manipulation of a speech not only depends on the nature of the speech, but also on the believability of its origin and beliefs shared by the speaker and the audience. The audience is attracted to the integrity, passion and reasoning of the speaker. The speaker must find the proper balance of the aforementioned qualities in the debate in order to be effective. In the end the audience is persuaded because they sense that the speaker is an expert on the topic based on his or her substantial confidence and the amount of emotion involved. Rhetoric used in the past The foundation of the modern approach to society, including the entirety of the modern political system, is fallout from the medieval rediscovery of Aristotles work; during the Crusades, Europeans re-discovered Latin translations of Aristotle in various libraries throughout the Islamic world. When rhetoric is applied to political speech, therefore, it may be concluded that the politician is attempting to sway the publics opinion in a manner that is unjust and false. Today political parties in the United States play an integral role in political elections, local, state and national. Parties have become a vehicle for exerting the ideas and agenda of large and collective groups of citizens. However, political parties in colonial American and the early Republic were viewed negatively, by both early politicians and philosophers. Even the founding fathers had issues with political parties. Parties were thought to divide Americans. Also, thinkers of the time thought that forming parties would result in spawning a winning side and a losing side in elections, which would further split Americans. People in society today are greatly influenced by what they read. The articles in the newspapers skew peoples beliefs of political affairs and current events in the same way that biased articles in popular magazines seem to shape the way the general public views different types of cultural aspects. Keeping this in mind, it is especially important to note that during the 1800s, the people lacked other forms of media and communication that people in modern times are influenced by. Instead, they relied heavily on literature to entertain themselves, most of which shaped the way they viewed culture, politics, and life itself. Consider how politicians use rhetoric to promote their policies. We focus on a particular type of rhetorical appeal-those based on emotionally charged predictions about policy consequences. For politicians, we emphasize maximizing and strategic behavior, reflecting their full-time employment in politics and large personal stakes in political outcomes. Political leaders want to win policy debates and they employ rhetoric in an effort to move public opinion to their respective sides. The very reason for public political debate between parties is to sway those preferences in one or the other direction. Politicians often try to shape citizens beliefs about current conditions and the likelihood that particular outcomes will occur if a policy is or is not put into law (e.g., Jerit, 2009; Lupia Menning, 2009). Politicians can attempt to form and change such beliefs, fundamentally, because of the role of uncertainty in policy decisions. There is always considerable and sometimes enormous uncertainty about the impact of proposed policies (see, e.g., Riker, 1996).1 Not even experts really know the consequences of a policy in advance. We agree that value-based arguments are an important part of politicians rhetoric. If politics were solely about values, each side would assert its values early, and citizens would line up on one side or the other. Politicians say many things during the course of a policy debate, and so the first task is to identify the forms that political rhetoric and argument can take. From the perspective of politicians seeking to persuade citizens, the three potentially most valuable forms are assertions of core party values and principles, predictions of future states,3 and factual descriptions of current circumstances. All three forms of political rhetoric are motivated by party leaders desires to sway opinion in the preferred direction, although each form has its own purpose. If parties can shape beliefs, and thus preferences, by taking advantage of uncertainty and strategically using rhetoric, then winning elections and winning policy debates through rhetorical persuasion are both possible, if not mutually reinforcing. Political rhetoric will not evolve in precisely the same way across different policy debates. We have offered several propositions about how politicians should behave when they believe they can shape citizens beliefs. They also show that neither politicians nor the media seem to provide citizens with reliable, readily identified cues to help distinguish those that are worth taking seriously from those that are just hot air. Under such circumstances, what can we reasonably expect from citizens who are asked to render political judgments? Speculations on Citizens Responses to Political Rhetoric To address citizens responses to predictive rhetoric, we first comment on two important perspectives in political psychology that appear to suggest grounds for expecting quite competent performance. test is crucial to understanding the uses of predictive rhetoric and its consequences for citizen competence. Unfortunately, we are about to navigate largely uncharted waters. 11 Citizens Assessments of Asserted Links in Predictive Arguments Assuming that citizens care about the outcome, they will consciously or unconsciously consider the claimed link between the focal policy and that outcome. Does an important causal linkage exist? To avoid effort, and lacking expertise in the policy area, citizens will limit their answers to a simple categorical question: Is there a genuine, significant link of the sort claimed, or is the claimed link minimal or nonexistent? Unlike experts, ordinary people generally will not bother with refined distinctions, for example, attempting to distinguish between a very important and a somewhat important link. To avoid being manipulated, unaligned citizens will not take politicians at their word, but rather will try to assess the validity of an alleged link independently. In searching for independent corroboration, they will employ simple heuristics, including the following three in particular. We concluded that rhetorical predictions about the consequences of policies create obstacles for citizens who seek to make reasonable decisions. Conclusion In this very exploratory chapter, we have considered the political logic of policy rhetoric; the prominence of appeals that rely on extreme and mostly negative predictions and seek to elicit an emotional response; the processes that citizens use in determining their response; and the consequences of those processes for the competence of individual and collective decisions about policy. To put our findings simply, the information environment in which citizens make decisions about policies presents a constant stream of dramatic, emotionally salient predictive claims, covering a wide range of outcomes, and presented largely without supporting evidence or other diagnostic information. The highly partisan cope with this constant stream by adopting the party line. The unaligned have no such luxury, and thus must try to make sense of the political rhetoric. Sometimes the dire predictions elicit some form of corroborating information-a pertinent schema, an example from daily life, or the like-in the minds of these citizens, thus ringing a bell with them. There is little reason to suppose that the predictive appeals that ring a bell in this way correspond at all closely to the considerations that would prove decisive in an environment that encouraged deliberate judgment on the basis of realistic claims and the best available diagnostic information. But, then, there is no reason to believe that taking party cues does, either.

What is Wisdom? Essay example -- essay on wisdom

Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary defines the word wisdom as â€Å"the quality of being wise; power of judging rightly and following the soundest course of action, based on knowledge, experience, understanding, etc.; good judgment; sagacity (penetrating intelligence and sound judgment).† In this paper, I will present my interpretation of one instance of how wisdom is obtained and hopefully passed on. I perceive wisdom as the ability to make the best decision or select the best course of action according to the current situation with respect to prior similar situations and their outcomes. Wisdom is what I like to call acquired knowledge over time and experience. Wisdom is often associated with a formal education. On the other hand, you may not be formally educated, but still considered wise. As wisdom is acquired, situations are looked at in a different light. Let’s use children as an example. As babies and small children, we view our parents as role models. We emulate them as we get older. When most children reach adolescence, they think they are grown, know everything, and their parents don’t know anything. They can’t wait to get out on their own so they don’t have to follow any of those constricting rules placed upon them by their parents while they live under their parent’s roof. For the children that venture out on their own and either without their parent’s help or with just enough help to get set up, reality hits rather quickly. Out on their own, children start to see ju...

herody Essay on Homers Odyssey: Odysseus and the Heroic Cycle :: Homer Odyssey Essays

Odysseus and the Heroic Cycle in Homer's Odyssey "The hero with a thousand faces" written by Joseph Campbell, describes the path a person takes as he journeys through the heroic cycle. Throughout the Odyssey, by Homer, Odysseus is portrayed as a hero. Odysseus fulfils the requirements of the Heroic Journey. "A hero ventures forth from the world of common day into a region of supernatural wonderâˆÂ ¦The hero comes back from his mysterious adventure with the power to bestow boons upon his fellow man"(J.C.30) Odysseus accomplishes the heroic cycle through the steps of Departure, Fulfillment, and Return. Odysseus departure from Troy is the beginning of his long heroic adventure. "What of those years of rough adventure, weathered under Zeus?"(895) This quote depicts the rough times Odysseus will have on his journey, but also reveals that Zeus will watch over him. "The call to Adventure signifies that destiny has summoned the hero and transferred his spiritual center of gravity from within the pale of his society to a zone unknownâˆÂ ¦"(58) Odysseus will cross the threshold and go places no one has returned from before. On the island of the Cyclops Odysseus exhibits his abilities, as he developed a plan to escape the Cyclops' cave. "âˆÂ ¦I deemed it would be the best plan to do as follows. The Cyclops had a great club which was lying near one of the sheep pens;âˆÂ ¦ I went up to this club and cut off about six feet of it;âˆÂ ¦ lastly I brought it to a point myself, charring the end in the fire to make it harder. When I had done t his I hid it under dung, which was lying about all over the caveâˆÂ ¦"(book IX) Odysseus has this plan and utilizes it. He and most of his men escape the cave unharmed. This symbolized the escape from the "belly of the whale". Throughout his journey, Odysseus receives some help from supernatural powers, which aid him to fulfill the heroic cycle. Aeolus, the god of winds Presents Odysseus with a bag, filled with all the bad winds. "âˆÂ ¦When I said I must go, and asked him to further me on my way, he made no sort of difficulty, but set about doing so at once.

Marxist Feminism :: essays research papers fc

Marxist Feminism The objective of my paper is to examine the connection between Capitalism and women’s both social and economical inequality. Marxist feminism explores this question by laying out an economic theory that shows a correlation between the emergence of capitalism, production and private property and the continued oppression of women. Other theorists argue that this oppression is due to an already existing patriarchal society. Is the exploitation of women in the home through an unfair division of labor a result of the beginnings of capitalism? Is this exploitation in the home a cause of other inequalities, mainly those in the wage labor market? Is capitalism bolstered by already existing patriarchal social relations, or is capitalism continuing to reinforce patriarchal systems? Finally is it possible to liberate women and reach true equality in our current capitalist economy? These are the main questions I will examine throughout my paper. These questions and the objective of my paper are significant to explore because they will help me to better understand my current status as a women in our capitalist economy. Understanding the origin of women’s economic oppression, and other inequalities, is a part of reaching an idea of how to remedy our current situation as women. It is important to me to answer the questions I have laid forth in order to take small steps in personally and possibly publicly, changing the current position of women. BIBLIOGRAPHY Booth, Janine, Rosie Woods, â€Å"Women, Capitalism & Socialism† Worker Liberty Magazine, no. 58, Oct. 1999. Braunstein, Elissa, Nancy Folbre, â€Å"To Honor & Obey: Efficiency, Inequality & Patriarchal Property Rights, Feminist Economics, Vol. 7, no. 1, Nov 2001. Engels, Frederick. The Origin of the Family, Private Property and the State, 1972 (original date 1884). Hartmann, Heidi â€Å"Capitalism, Patriarchy, and Job Segregation by Sex† in Zillah Eisenstein (ed.) Capitalist Patriarchy & the Case for Socialist Feminism, New York: Monthly Review Press, 1979. Hartmann, Heidi â€Å" The Unhappy Marriage of Marxism & Feminism: Toward a More Progressive Union† in Lydia Sargent (ed.

American Foreign Relations before 1913

The American Foreign Relations also referred to as the foreign policy of the United States of America is the adopted policies that the country uses in its interaction with other countries. As of now, the United States is the most influential country in the world on the basis that it is the only remaining superpower after the collapse of the Soviet Union which led to the end of the Cold War.As of now, the economy of the United States is the world largest and this helps the country in its global outreach. The country nowadays has set is foreign policies agendas and objectives as the creation of a world which is more secure, democratic and economically powerful of the benefit of the American citizens as well as the international community (Gardner, 1984).During the Bush administration, the American country has been faced by many international threats and enemies. This is because the administration is thought to have overstepped its foreign relations especially in the country's quest to bring about world peace and democracy to all nations around the world.However, it is important to relate to the historical overview of the United States of America from the time it gained independence to the beginning of the First World War (John, 1935).From 1776 to 1898The United States gained its independence from Britain in the year 1776 and this was brought about by the American Revolution. It is important to note that from that time, America began its relations with some of the superpowers of Europe at that time, key among them being France.However, from the time of American Revolution to the time of Spanish-American War, the United States foreign relations focused mainly in the regional relations rather the international relations (Engerman, 2000).During the American Revolution, the United States of America developed ties with major European powers at that time. This was necessary because it main rival and colonizer, Britain was a very powerful force at that time. The United S tates could not have defeated Britain without the help of some powerful countries.This was the reason that necessitated America to establish ties with Spain, Netherlands and France and it is important to note that the country needed the countries for their intervention in its war with Britain[1]. Britain at that time was a mutual enemy of the three European countries and the United States as well.The intervention of these three countries saw to it that America attained its independence and also assumed the status of a sovereign state (Gardner, 1984).After its war with Britain, the United States also continued to cultivate its ties with Britain and this was enhanced by the signing of the Olive Branch Policy. The United States made various efforts to restore peace and also resume its important trade with Britain. French having contributed so much in the American Revolution was also not left out of the picture.To this end, the United States continued its relations with the French Repub lic and an important evidence to this is the French presentation of the Statue of Liberty to the United States in the year 1886 (Foner, 1970).[1]  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Gilbert, Felix. To the Farewell Address: Ideas of Early American Foreign Policy. Princeton, N.J., (1961): 236 – 267

Examine the factors affecting the domestic division of labour among couples Essay

The Division of Labour refers to the range of tasks within a social system. This can vary from everyone doing the same thing to each person having a specialised role. The division of domestic labour is the tasks given to each person in a house unit. For example the wife may do the housework, whilst the husband goes out to work. The division of domestic labour can also include childcare and emotion work, two things that previously were completely down to the wife but now are becoming more evenly spread between family members. Cultural factors that affect the division of labour are aspects like lagged adaptation. Jonathan Gershuny said wives who are in paid work do less housework (men do 27%), but the tasks are still sex-typed: men focus on DIY where as women cook. His explanation was there are gradual changes in values- known as lagged adaptation, and that over time parental role models will show children that men do housework too. Different ethnicities have different family structures- in many American families especially, the man is still the breadwinner and head of the household, while the wife cooks, cleans, and bears and raises children. Conjugal (marital) roles will vary depending on culture, if the society around a family typically has the man working then spending his leisure time with colleagues, that’s how that family will function because they are socialised that way. Some legal factors influence the division of labour, for instance it’s now easier and more socially acceptable for couples to get a divorce, so in a way there’s more pressure on men to keep things civil in the household. If the wife is unhappy, she can just leave. On the other hand, men and women don’t always have equal pay, which affects the division of labour as a popular belief in families is that the highest earner should do the least domestic work. Economic factors have had a significant impact on the division of labour,  ¾ of married/cohabiting women in the UK make money, which has resulted in ‘The New Man’. This is the idea that since women are bringing in an income, men are more willing to do domestic work. Rosemary Crompton pointed out that men do more in the home when the woman’s economical power increases (though the DOL is still unequal). However, women only earn  ¾ of what men earn, so men can never do quite as much housework based on their wives income. Feminists on the other hand feel that instead of a change in men, all that has altered is that women now bear a dual burden; this is the combination of paid work and domestic work. They believe modern men are benefiting from their wives’ financial income on top of them doing the housework and looking after the children. Lydia Morris found that even when the male partner is unemployed, the woman still does the domestic work as the male suffers a crisis of masculinity, so they refuse to demean themselves with housework. Women’s working hasn’t impacted on the division of childcare either; fewer than 4% of men were deemed the main child-carer in 1996. Additionally, Hochschild defined the concept of emotion work as a job where you manage someone’s emotions (for example an air stewardess). Feminists say women are working, looking after children/domestic labour, and are emotionally supporting the family. Jean Dunscombe and Dennis Marsden call this a triple shift (emotion work + domestic labour + paid work). So, in reality, the division of labour hasn’t changed through economic factors as much as perhaps it should have done. Many technological advances have made domestic labour easier, including effective contraception (the pill, implant and condom) as modern families are often smaller than in previous years. Most births are planned, and so the household is well prepared for the extra work. In addition, labour saving devices, like the Hoover and dish washer have resulted in men being more likely to help with housework as it’s now less time consuming and strenuous. Social factors that have influenced the division of labour include the lack of stigma attached to cohabiting couples; consequently they feel no pressure to get married. This could mean that gender roles aren’t as strictly enforced. Another important consideration is that in recent years, religion has become a less prominent aspect of life, a lot of families now won’t be religious at all and therefore don’t feel the need to treat each other a certain way as dictated by religion. Most social interaction of the current day can be traced back to religious codes of conduct, it’s possible than non-Christian societies expect wives to be treated differently to Christian ones. Theoretical perspectives such as functionalism and the new right support the division of labour. They state that families need segregated conjugal roles because it’s biological instinct and that it benefits everyone, they feel these marital roles help to organise the family. One functionalist, Talcott Parsons believed that males should take on an instrumental role; they should work and will be the ones to achieve success, while females should assume the expressive role (looking after the children, and catering for the emotional needs of the family). A popular view in right-wing politics, functionalism and the new right is that couples shouldn’t be equal, as the male should be the head of the family, while retaining the role of breadwinner. March of Progress sociologists (like Elizabeth Bott, Young and Willmott) argue the family is becoming more symmetrical with joint conjugal roles. These joint roles have become typical of working class life, in Young and Willmott’s opinions. Feminists like Ann Oakley disagree and say that segregated conjugal roles are socially constructed by men to benefit men as we still live in a patriarchal society. Her research found that men only have to do a small fraction of the domestic work for the household to qualify as symmetrical. This shows that although the UK advertises itself as a modern society, sexist views of the past are a frequent occurrence in our families. (A.N: This was marked by my AS-level Sociology teacher and was given 18/24 marks, making it a Grade C essay. Some tips she gave- Use AO2 phrases to show evaluation, and cite evidence to support perspectives. It is written in UK English. Apologies for any spelling errors and incorrect Sociologist names.)

Best Buy Essay

The key factors that lead to Best Buy’s success include: Growth in the consumer electronics retail sector and the internet boom: Constant growth in the demand for consumer electronics has grown over the previous decades which has supported Best Buy’s successful turnout into the top consumer electronics store. The internet also played a significant role in increasing the sales of Best Buy as it had already ramped up its computer product offerings prior to 1995. The internet boom positively affected the consumer electronics industry in general. Knowledgeable sales staff: Best Buy’s salespeople did not work on commission which helped creating a low pressure shopping experience for the customers and built a consumer friendly environment. This also lead Best Buy to attract a well read sales force which would guide the customers to make the choices more customized to themselves and helped the buyers in decision making. Also merchandise was arranged by brand name instead of by price range. Both of these were unusual practices in the superstore industry but worked well for Best Buy. Focus on customer service (Geek Squad): Best Buy’s belief in offering outstanding customer service through product warranties, personal services and at-home delivery helped Best Buy to differentiate itself from other competitors in the space. This also helped Best Buy in gaining trust and building a strong customer base. Acquisition of the Geek Squad to service computers 24Ãâ€"7 differentiated Best Buy as an excellent product and service provider. Customer-Centricity: Target market segmentation by Best Buy’s Customer-Centric approach and extensive research and analysis of its customer base helps Best Buy in configuring its stores and training its work force to cater to the individual needs of its market segments which encourages customers to revisit for multiple purchases. Also the approach to customize the store at times in terms of some local requirements helps Best Buy in increasing its sales significantly. Risks going forward include increased competition from other retailers and wholesalers like Wal-Mart , Costco, Target etc who also have a very strong distribution network and customer base. Best Buy has to decide whether to spend money on its sales force and customization strategies or to compete in terms of price with these other retailers especially in this low margin growing industry. Best Buy also has to decide to enhance its online sales and product offerings in order to compete with the like of Amazon and Ebay in the online electronic sales market which is growing rapidly. Stores like Wal-Mart are growing tremendously fast in the retail segment and Best Buy has to compete with them in terms of opening new retail outlets as well. Another important risk Best Buy faces is investing in the international markets looking at the current economic scenario or to maintain strong hold in the local US market. . Looking forward Best Buy can compete against Wal-Mart and online companies in the following ways: Continuing to differentiate itself as an excellent customer oriented business Best Buy offers the latest technologies at its stores and to attract and hold customers who are technology savvy it is essential for Best Buy to dwell on its approach of customer service because in the space of advanced technology, nothing can replace the in store experience of actually intera cting with knowledgeable salespersons. Developing the online product offerings: Best Buy must also focus a little more on its online business in order to avoid being overtaken by Amazon and Ebay which are growing their business extensively. In order to keep up to its customer oriented approach, Best Buy must offer more detailed view of its product offerings than any other online competitor. It must increase its online product offering to a wider range and variety of products to grow in the online segment. Increase international presence: At the moment, Best Buy is majorly dependent on the local US market. The international markets are growing fast and competitors like Wal-Mart are growing their business wide, therefore Best Buy must increase its international presence quickly to avoid losing out to its competitors in the international markets and also in order to hedge the risk of being completely dependent on the US market. Also labor expenses being less in a number of international markets, Best Buy can afford to maintain its excellent customer service and enhance its brand value. SWOT Analysis for reference: Internal| Strengths| Weaknesses| 1. Strong market presence 2. Knowledgeable workforce 3. High quality technical support service 4. Strong financial performance 5. Financial resources to spend money on advertising ;amp; promotion, introducing new products. 6. Increased market share and strong brand presence. | 1. Low margins 2. High dependence on local (U. S) market. 3. High costs of maintaining stores and employees. | External| Opportunities| Threats| . Growing global computer and electronics retail sector 2. Customer centric operating model 3. Expansion in the international consumer electronics retail market. 4. Strong private brand potential. 5. Failure of competitors like Circuit City ;amp; CompUSA has opened gates to improve market share. 6. Online sales| 1. Rising competition from lower price outlets like Wal-Mart and Costco. 2. Online competitors like Amazon, Ebay. 3. Economic slowdown 4. Rising labor wages|

Customer Is Always Right

A business’s keeness to put customers first Important to reach a business’s objectives and goals Customer is the main source of revenue Important to follow the policy in order to retain customers To retain company’s image and reputation Avoid bad public relation Avoid customer desertion Avoid law suits Leads to higher profitability 10. Satisfied and happy customers will promote your products or services 11. Having your customers as ambassadors help you expand your business quickly 12. Helps company to operate more efficiently in long run 13. Listening to complaints or feedbacks will help a business to identify and ammend its weakness. 14. Customers whose complaints are attended to are more likely to be returning customers. 15. Lowers employees’ morale 16. Unfair to employees 17. Reduces a business’s profitabilty 18. Demanding customers are a waste of time and resources 19. Time used to deal with over-demanding customers can instead be used for potential good ones instead. 20. Employees should be well equipped with training to improve customer service. 21. Customers who are angry and unsatisfied will resort to a business’s rivals. Argument 2 : Obtain higher profitability in the long term. Argument 3 : It helps the business to operate more effectively in the future. Counter Argument 2 : It creates unhappy employees, lowers employees morale and motivation to work. Thesis Statement : Is is important for businesses to always have the policy that the customer is right because it will retain a company’s image, uphold its reputation, leads to a higher profit and enables the business to operate more effectively. Topic Sentence 1 : Retain a company’s image and reputation. Supporting statement: 1) It will be quicker to reach a business’s objectives and goals. ) Avoid unwanted situations such as negative publicity, desertion by customers and legal suits. Topic Sentence 2 : Obtain higher profitability in the long term. Supporting statement: 1) Customers whose complaints are attended efficiently will most likely be returning customers; there will be brand loyalty. 2) Unhappy customers are most likely t o tell their unsatisfaction to others and the business will risk losing potential clients to their rivals. Topic Sentence 3 : It helps the business to operate more effectively in the future. Supporting statement : 1) Negative feedbacks can be used as constructive criticism for improvement. ) Customers will remain loyal if their feedbacks are taken into consideration and they will not defect to a business’s rival. Topic Sentence 4 : Some customers are more troubles than they are worth. Supporting Statement : 1) In the midst of satisfying customers, business profitablity will drop due to the need to rectify problems and givecompensations. 2) Some customers are just wasting your time and resources. Topic Sentence 5 : It creates unhappy employees Supporting statement : 1) It lowers employees’ morale. 2) It lowers employees’ motivation to work. Refutation : ) Although the policy will cause businesses to spend more time and resources in dealing with demanding customer s, it will garner higher customer loyalty and expand the consumer base. 2) Despite that the policy may create unhappiness among employees, it is their job to ensure that customer satisfaction comes first above others. Conclusion: Thepolicy is important to all businesses because it not only generate higher profits but also maintain it’s image and reputation alongside to an effective opperation Topic Sentence 1 : First of all, it will retain the company image and reputation. ) It will avoid negative image of public relation. 2) Save cost as possible legal suits can be prevented. 3) Desertion by the customers can be avoided. *Topic Sentence 2 : Second*ly*, it wil*l increase profitability. Supporting statement : 1) Brand loyalty will exist and customer can be retained. 2) Happy customers will help to advertise and promote your company. 3) Unsatisfied customers will persuade others to stop the purchase of goods and services from your company. Topic Sentence 3 : However, maintainin g this busine*ss policy will eventually makes *the employees unhappy. Supporting statement : *Topic Sentence 4 : In addition, *it gives abrasive customer an unfair advantage. Supporting statement : 1) Company is forced to compensate and this increase cost. 2) Similar incidents will happen again if is not handled properly. At this point, one may wonder if we should maintain this policy or dispose it, but in order for a company to survive, this policy should be followed by every company to avoid profit declination and due to the reason that satisfying employees’ needs will eventually ignore the customer satisfaction. Introduction : In today’s competitive world, a business must always have the policy that the consumer is right because it does not only retain a company’s image and reputation, it also leads to higher profitability in the long term and helps the company to operate more efficiently in the future. *Topic Sentence 1 : *The policy will retain and strengthen *a company’s *image and reputation, making them a step quicker at reaching their objectives and goals. Supporting statement: 1) Good customer service is important for a company to be different from others. ) Avoid unwanted situations such as negative publicity, desertion by customers and legal suits. *Topic Sentence 2 : *It is undeniable that higher profits are obtained in the long term by these businesses as well. Supporting statement: 1) Customers who have their complaints and suggestions attended efficiently are most likely to be your returning customers. 2) When a client becomes dissatisfied, you risk losing t hat business plus potential business if negative comments about your company are passed along. Topic Sentence 3 : It helps the business to operate more effectively in the future. Supporting statement : 1) Negative feedbacks can be used as constructive criticism for improvement. 2) Customers will remain loyal if their feedbacks are taken into consideration and they will not defect to a business’s rival. Topic Sentence 4 : Some customers are more troubles than they are worth. Supporting Statement : 1) Company begins to suffer from having a bad seed on your client list and this will cause profit to drop. ) Some customers are just a waste of time because they will never be satisfied. Topic Sentence 5 : It creates unhappy employees Supporting statement : 1) It lowers employees’ morale. 2) It lowers employees’ motivation to work. Refutation : 1) Although the policy will cause businesses to spend more time and resources in dealing with demanding customers, it will garner higher customer loyalty and expand the consumer base. 2) Despite that the policy may create u nhappiness among employees, it is their job to ensure that customer satisfaction comes first above others. In today’s competitive world, a business must always have the policy that the consumer is right because it does not only retain a company’s image and reputation, it also leads to higher profitability in the long term and helps the company to operate more efficiently in the future. Businesses must be aware that their consumers are the essence of their company. Without consumers, the business would cease to exist. The phrase, ‘The customer is always right’ can be explained as the trading policy that states a company's keenness to be seen to put customers first (Martin, 1996). It was originally coined by Harry Gordon Selfridge in 1909 and often used by businesses to convince customers that they will receive good service or convince employees to deliver good service. Many businesses argue that there are customers who are just plain wrong and unreasonable while others are mostly just seeking advantage. However, in this current economic climate, companies cannot afford to neglect their customers’ wants and needs if they are planning to stay in business for the long term. Therefore, it makes perfect sense that the said policy encourages a company’s growth despite lowering employees morale and giving abrasive consumers an advantage. Businesses which implement the policy will retain and strengthen their image and reputation, making them a step quicker at reaching their objectives and goals. James Kocsi (2006) says, â€Å"To be competitive, you need to analyze what makes your company different from others in your industry. Pricing and quality are always the key factors, but do not overlook the value of customer service. † Clearly, this shows that customer service means delivering satisfaction to all your clients even if they are wrong or irrational. In short, your consumers are always right and this meant making an adjustment to satisfy them even when your company is not at fault. It helps minimize negative image of public relation being passed around when customers are unsatisfied with your product or services, avoid desertion by them and most ultimately, save your company from the complications of possible legal suits (Witzel, 2005). It is undeniable that higher profits are obtained in the long term by these businesses as well. Customers who have their complaints and suggestions attended efficiently are most likely to be your returning customers. The policy indirectly creates brand loyalty among them and they become your product ambassadors. In Josh Hall's (2009) view, engaging with unsatisfied customers and exceeding their expectations can frequently result in a positive business outcome from a potentially damaging situation. This can be done by sending a letter of apology or similar gestures to help solidify a positive impression in the customer’s eyes. Rombel (2004) points out that bad customer service can cost you a long-time client. He added that the customer scorned is likely to tell everyone he knows about what happened to him. When a client becomes dissatisfied, you risk losing that business plus potential business if negative comments about your company are passed along. Witzel (2005) states that disgruntled consumers tend to defect to rival businesses. He suggests accepting responsibility than to argue with customers where responsibility lies. This is due to the fact that there is little profit earned and more damage being done regardless of whom is at fault. Besides that, business will operate more effectively in the future upon having the policy that the customer is always right. Rather than taking negative feedbacks as criticism, they should have the mindset that their customers are always right and use it for improvement to provide better products or services. Daud (2009) stated that pleasing customers is fundamental and it should be at the forefront of our minds when we work and gaining new ones as the ultimate incentive for improving service. He further explains that shoppers read reviews prior to making purchase decisions. Positive reviews are beneficial as a form of effective form of advertising while negative ones can be used as constructive criticism to fix weak areas. According to Morisson (2008),complaints usually come from loyal customers, rather than disloyal ones. He added that loyal customers tell you what is wrong in the hope that it will improve the situation, so that they do not have to defect to your competitors, and it gives your business a valuable opportunity to identify and fix problems, make amends and retain a possibly lost business. Granted, the policy that the customer is right is vital to a business’s wellbeing but however, in reality, some customers are just more troubles than they are worth. There are times where a customer is not always right, especially if your company begins to suffer from having a bad seed on your client list (Brodsky & Mitchell, 2007). According to Brodsky and Mitchell, living by the policy may cause businesses to overlook or excuse a customer's bad behavior due to the need to satisfy any client that pays. These customers are usually your regular clients, but despite attempts to rectify their dissatisfaction, they constantly complaint that you are not up to their expectations. This clearly gives abrasive customers an unfair advantage, and as a result, the company will need to compensate them in terms of monetary, refunds, exchanges and discounts which will all lead to a lower profitability. Besides that, repetition of similar incidents will happen if it is not dealt with in a proper way. For example, Brown (2009) argues that bad customers are a waste of time and resources because the costs of serving them will outweigh the benefits you will receive from them. Furthermore, businesses need to decide if they are to side with a emanding and unreasonable customer or their loyal employee. The act of trying to please your customers, even if they are at wrong, will create unhappy employees and this will eventually lead to lower morale and less motivation to work. Forcing employees to deal with obnoxious, unrealistic and abusive customers reduces morale (Brown, 2009). It gives employees a mentality that they are not valued by the company and they should not have an y respect for the customers. She adds that, â€Å"The time that you spend trying to satisfy the impossible customer decreases the benefits you can provide to the good ones. Your most demanding customers are not your profitable ones. Rewarding them reduces your resources without a return on investment. † ING Direct, a finance institution, reported that there was a 45% of increase in profits between 2002 and 2003 when they started getting rid of overly demanding customers (Esfahani, 2004). Although the policy might cause a business to spend more time and resources in dealing with demanding customers, it has been proven that it garners higher customer loyalty and greatly expands consumer base. A survey conducted by Retail Council of Canada proved that store loyalty increases dramatically when customers enjoy a great shopping experience. This is because of the high likelihood of returning customers and those who spread their great shopping experiences to others will help boost business sales (Retail Council of Canada, 2009). Kent (2004) points out that good customer service should be emphasised above all else, even when it comes to customers who may simply waste time with never-ending, pointless calls. He quoted that employees are employed to satisfy every customer and therefore, customer satisfaction comes first above all else. They should therefore be equipped with training programs to provide better services and deal with demanding customers effectively. In conclusion, the policy that the customer is right is a fundamental rule to all businesses because it retains a company’s image and reputation, leads to higher profitability in the long term and helps the company to operate more efficiently in the future. Brown, P. B. , 2009. â€Å"Know When to Fire a Customer. New York Times, September 16. Avaliable from: http://www. proquest. com/ [Accessed on October 16, 2009] Daud, N. , 2009. The Power of Online Customer Feedback. Available from: http://www. businesswings. co. uk/articles/The-power-of-online-customer-feedback [Accessed on October 18, 2009] Esfahani, E. , 2004. â€Å"How To†¦ : Get Tough With Bad Customers. † Business 2. 0, 5, no. 9: 52. Available from: Business Source Premier. [Accessed on October 16, 2009] Hall, J. , 2009. â€Å"How To Deal With Customer Complaints and Profit. † Real Business, [internet] Septenber 20. Available from : http://www. realbusiness. co. uk/news/sales-and-marketing/5692676/how-to-deal-with-customer-complaints-and-profit. thtml [Accessed on October 15, 2009] Kent, S. , 2004. When is enough, enough? Personnel Today. Available from: http://www. proquest. com/ [Accessed on October 18, 2009] Kocsi, J. , 2006. â€Å"What Makes You Different from the Rest? † NJBIZ, September 4. no. 36:10. Martin, G. , 1996-2009. The customer is always right. Available from: http://www. phrases. org. uk/meanings/106700. html. [Accessed on October 15, 2009] Morrison, R. , 2008. Spinning Straw Into Gold:Turn Customer Feedback Into Business Success. Available from: http://www. customerthink. com/article/spinning_straw_gold_turn_customer_feedback [Accessed on October 18, 2009] [Accessed on October 18, 2009] Rombel, A. , 2004. â€Å"Who Says The Customer Is Always Right? † Business Journal (Central New York) 18, no. 50: 24. Available from: Regional Business News [Accessed on October 15, 2009] Witzel, M. , 2005. Keep your relationship with clients afloat. FT. com, January 30. Available from: http://www. proquest. com/ [Accessed on October 15, 2009]