Virtual Management for Accenture

Q. 1 What are the advantages of working in a enviornment like the one created by accenture? Ans1: What are the disadvantage? Ans. Advantages of working in avirtual environment is useful to business organisations as it helps them in following ways:1) virtual environment helps develop and improve the performance of the organisations. 2) operating virtually helps them to gather and share information easily even when they are far from each other. 3) virtual environment helps make decisions quickly and reliable. 4) easy access to global conferences. 5) helps in reducing overhead expenses. Disadvantages:1) face to face interaction is not possible.2) may require heavy cost of, to maintain information system. 3) if system fails then working of the organisation also fails which leads to many inconveniences. Q:2 would you like to work in a company like Accenture? Why or Why not? explain your answer. Ans 2 :Yes, I would like to work in a company like Accenture. Because Accenture people are some of the most creative, forward-thinking people in the business world. They come from a wide range of cultural, educational and geographic backgrounds and are able to work in a dynamic and professional environment that values each person’s perspective.The different points of view they bring lead to superior business solutions for Accenture and our clients. We proactively capitalize on business and technology opportunities that enable higher levels of performance. Q. 3 What kinds of companies could benefit from being run virtually like Accenture? Could all companies be run virtually like Accenture? Ans 3: Companies whose major part of their working depends uponoutsourcing, who has workforce diversity and companies who provide their customers value based quality services with shared knowledge through internet would be benefited.No, all companies can't be run virtually like Accenture as this is not an easy thing to do. It requires a good co-odination between the employees heavy i nstallation cost of information system etc. which might be difficult for many organization to implement with. Q. 4 According to Accenture, how does information technology help create high-performance organization? Ans: Accenture research indicates that high-performance businesses view IT as a strategic asset—a source of both operational excellence and competitive advantage.Our Strategic IT Effectiveness (SITE) experts help top management adopt that mindset and achieve greater business value from IT. We have a clear perspective: IT is not merely a cost but a critical contributor to the business, focused on improving business value and performance. Our professionals are experienced with bold, value-creating approaches to IT, bringing boardroom-relevant criteria to IT investments and helping high-performance businesses to â€Å"think bigger† about IT's ability to improve operating results Virtual Management for Accenture Q. 1 What are the advantages of working in a enviornment like the one created by accenture? Ans1: What are the disadvantage? Ans. Advantages of working in avirtual environment is useful to business organisations as it helps them in following ways:1) virtual environment helps develop and improve the performance of the organisations. 2) operating virtually helps them to gather and share information easily even when they are far from each other. 3) virtual environment helps make decisions quickly and reliable. 4) easy access to global conferences. 5) helps in reducing overhead expenses. Disadvantages:1) face to face interaction is not possible.2) may require heavy cost of, to maintain information system. 3) if system fails then working of the organisation also fails which leads to many inconveniences. Q:2 would you like to work in a company like Accenture? Why or Why not? explain your answer. Ans 2 :Yes, I would like to work in a company like Accenture. Because Accenture people are some of the most creative, forward-thinking people in the business world. They come from a wide range of cultural, educational and geographic backgrounds and are able to work in a dynamic and professional environment that values each person’s perspective.The different points of view they bring lead to superior business solutions for Accenture and our clients. We proactively capitalize on business and technology opportunities that enable higher levels of performance. Q. 3 What kinds of companies could benefit from being run virtually like Accenture? Could all companies be run virtually like Accenture? Ans 3: Companies whose major part of their working depends uponoutsourcing, who has workforce diversity and companies who provide their customers value based quality services with shared knowledge through internet would be benefited.No, all companies can't be run virtually like Accenture as this is not an easy thing to do. It requires a good co-odination between the employees heavy i nstallation cost of information system etc. which might be difficult for many organization to implement with. Q. 4 According to Accenture, how does information technology help create high-performance organization? Ans: Accenture research indicates that high-performance businesses view IT as a strategic asset—a source of both operational excellence and competitive advantage.Our Strategic IT Effectiveness (SITE) experts help top management adopt that mindset and achieve greater business value from IT. We have a clear perspective: IT is not merely a cost but a critical contributor to the business, focused on improving business value and performance. Our professionals are experienced with bold, value-creating approaches to IT, bringing boardroom-relevant criteria to IT investments and helping high-performance businesses to â€Å"think bigger† about IT's ability to improve operating results

Health Promotion: Primary, Secondary, and Tertiary Levels

Health promotion is composed of three levels. Primary is the initial level of health promotion and prevention of diseases. The next level is secondary which involves early detection of a disease and prompt intervention to prevent the progression of the disease. Tertiary, the final level, is when a disease is permanent and the goal is to return the individual to the best possible level of functioning (Edelman & Mandle, 2010). According to American Diabetes Association website, the 2011 diabetes statistics in America is 25. 8 million of the population has diabetes. This paper focuses on the health promotion in primary, secondary, and tertiary levels of patients diagnosed with diabetes. Health promotion can affect many factors of a patient’s life from progression of a disease to loss of school or work days therefore loss of education and income to increase in healthcare. O’Donnell (2009) defines health promotion as: â€Å"the art and science of helping people discover the synergies between their core passions and optimal health, enhancing their motivation to strive for optimal health, and supporting them in changing their lifestyle to move toward a state of optimal health. Optimal health is a dynamic balance of physical, emotional, social, spiritual, and intellectual health. Lifestyle change can be facilitated through a combination of learning experiences that enhance awareness, increase motivation, and build skills and, most important, through the creation of opportunities that open access to environments that make positive health practices the easiest choice. † Patient’s active participation is a main part of health promotion. Patients have to take an active role because education provided to patients is to empower them to make better decisions in their healthcare. Primary interventions include making changes to the individual’s diets, activity levels, motivation, and knowledge. These interventions were utilized in a study to decrease the development of diabetes. The participants were selected by having diabetic risk factors including hypertension, obesity, increased blood sugar, hypercholesterolemia, or family history of diabetes (Penfold, 2013). Diet and nutrition advice was given to individuals. They were educated and demonstration provided on how to make healthy changes in their meals that was within a limited budget. Exercise sessions were also used as a preventative measure in which the individuals were encouraged to participate in cardio activities. The program encouraged the individuals to continue with the exercising by offering free classes. The participants of the study had a positive outlook as they progressed with the new healthy changes. Follow up will be a main factor in this fairly new study to determine if primary intervention was successful. Once an individual is diagnosed with an illness, intervening without hesitation is the key to the secondary level of health promotion. The cause of gestational diabetes is not completely known. Gestational diabetes occurs during pregnancy in women who did not previously have diabetes, but certain risk factors such as obesity can increase a women’s chance of developing it (Webb, 2013). Secondary preventions include prevention of further complication and treatment of a disease to decrease complications (Edelman & Mandle, 2010). The women should be educated on how to take blood glucose, targeted blood sugar levels and to contact providers with abnormal readings. Treatment of the gestational diabetes is also aimed at patients modifying their lifestyles with diet and exercise. If blood sugars remain uncontrolled Webb reports according to National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (2008) recommends metformin for treatment of gestational diabetes in spite of successful evidence. Patients that are not compliant are at risk of progression of diabetes. Primary and secondary prevention continue into tertiary level of health promotion. â€Å"Tertiary prevention focuses on rehabilitation to help people attain and retain optimal level of functioning regardless of their disabling condition (Edelman & Mandle, 2010). A patient can suffer from many complications of diabetes such as eye complications, foot complications, hypertension, kidney disease, neuropathy and depression. Patients are encouraged to have a satisfying lifestyles and function with their diseases. In an article about health and lifestyles of diabetic adolescents â€Å"Diabetic adolescents had healthier eating habits and more positive attitude towards their satisfaction with life, but their health perception is less positive than that of other adolescents (Serrabulho, Matos & Raposo, 2012). In the study diabetic adolescents had similarities of inactive activities and social support to adolescents without diabetes. The care of diabetic patient from a health promotion point view involves diet, exercise, medication, and knowledge. Involvement of experts in the fields and communities can assist the patient in awareness of diseases. When nurses and patients are educated on primary, secondary, and tertiary levels of prevention care, they develop a mutual respect and responsibility in assisting patients to have successful healthy lifestyles.

Populist Party’s Platform

The Populist Party commonly refereed to as the peoples party was a relatively short lived political party within the United States during the 19th century. It was particularly popular within western farmers since it was directly opposed to the gold standard system of international trade. However the party did not last long in United States politics. Regardless of this fact the party’s ideas or manifestos have been employed in United States politics even to date. In essence the party grew out of an agrarian uprising especially after the collapse of agricultural prices in 1873. It arose from a farmer’s alliance of farmers who had an economic target of collective action against merchants, brokers and rail roads as well as an integrated nation wide policy. Most importantly the driving force towards the creation of the party arose from the refusal of both the democrats and the republicans to accept the farmers’ alliance idea of the use of silver as the national model of coinage. SHORT HISTORY: The Populist Party or the people’s party was formed by the farmers’ alliance in collaboration with the knights of labor. This initial formation took place between the years 1899 and 1890. The actual realization of their dreams was in 1892 when the party held its annual convention in Nebraska. This is the time that the party actually nominated members for the first time for national elections. In 1896 the democrats incorporated ideas of the people’s party 1892 platform and this negatively impacted on the party’s progress. In addition the ensuing collaboration between the democrats and the Populist Party did not auger well with the already existing relation between the populists and the republicans in the south. This marked the onset of the party’s decline in United States politics. THE 1892 PARTY PLATFORM: The Populist Party’s 1892 platform was commonly refereed to as the Omaha platform since it w3as held in Omaha Nebraska. In this platform the Populist Party demanded the following; Complete overhaul of all national banks. This was aimed at reducing the risk to citizens of excessive exploitation by these corporations. Immediate Imposition of direct election of senators within the United States was demanded as well. This was directed at reducing the prevalence of corruption and bribery in the voting system. It was also aimed at increasing public participation in the electoral process, as well as to reduce instances of insider trading within the big parties. The platform also sought immediate introduction of civil service reforms. In the preamble of the manifesto the party claimed that the time had come for the railroads to own the people or the people to own the railroads. For the later to happen there was need to introduce constitutional amendments to make sure that the government would not use the power of the employees to intimidate the people. Thus civil service reforms and regulations had to be introduced to prevent this. The platform also demanded the introduction of a national wide graduated income tax system. The introduction of a legal eight hours working day and the introduction of government control of all railroads. The platform also demanded the introduction of unlimited coinage of silver and gold at the existing ratio of 16 to 1. The platform also demanded that the state introduce postal savings banks for the interest of all citizens in order to facilitate foreign exchange. The platform also claimed that land and any other natural sources of enrichment remains the people’s heritage and thus should not be monopolized or misused and further alien ownership of this should not be entertained. ANALYSIS: The Omaha platform was well received throughout the United States. This was mainly due to the fact that most of the party’s ideas were overly practical and implemental. In addition the party was trying to prevent a scenario of continued dominance by the democrats and republicans for what the party called political power and plunder. The party also sought to return power to the people by reducing the vices inflicted by the capitalists on laborers by reducing the dominance of gold in trade. The Omaha platform also sought to return the powers of the government to the â€Å"plain people† from where the powers actually originated. The purposes of the platform the party claimed were to be identical to the purposes of the national constitution. Despite its decline in popularity in United States politics, some of its ideas have come to be endorsed in mainstream governance and politics. A good example of this is the abolition of the gold standard. In this field the party’s 1892 platform highly demanded the abolition of this sys tem but it was not until the 1970s that the gold-standard was actually abolished as the common exchange system. In earnest we can thus argue that the demands put forward by the party were not only progressive in nature but also widely visionary, since it has taken more than a generation for the other political party’s to adopt/implement these policies. In addition the party’s platform could be described as having been Progressive in the sense that the introduction to the manifesto detailed splendidly the causes that made their demands justifiable. Among these issues included; the fact that the party claimed that there was widespread corruption compounded by political and moral degradation within the American public. CONCLUSION: Although the people’s party 1892 manifesto contained quite progressive ideas the party was quite short-lived in American politics. By 1896 during the next national elections, the Democratic Party took most of the people’s party ideas and incorporated them in their platform. In addition the party nominated a democrat (William Jennings) as their presidential candidate. After this scenario the party started to decline in popularity within national politics. In the year 1984 plans were already underway to revive the Populist Party. These efforts did not bear fruit due to internal party conflicts. In 2002 a new group emerged â€Å"the populist party of America† emerged. It is actively opposed to the bush administration especially on the issue of the war in Iraq. It also advocates for strict adherence to the bill of rights as well as direct democracy. It has yet to field presidential candidates. REFERENCE: http://www2.wwnorton.com/college/history/eamerica/media/ch22/resources/documents/populist.htm   

Revenue Strategy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Revenue Strategy - Essay Example With its Corporate head quarters in Bentonville Arkansas, Wal-Mart operates 99 distribution centers and transport offices in USA to service the operations of its 5,246 Wal-Mart stores out of which 1,587 are located internationally. Over 138 million customers per week are catered to by Wal-Mart stores across the world. 82% of American households have made at least one purchase at Wal-Mart during an annum. Such sustained performance over the years have been driven by a series of well crafted business strategies, which are targeted at generating revenue and profitability through the Wal-Mart operations as well as providing the company with significant competitive advantage over its rivals. At the heart of Wal-Mart’s revenue generation strategy lies the focus on attracting new customers and retaining existing ones by offering value that is unparrelel to what its competitiors are offering. Its marketing campaigns are firmly hinged on the slogan, â€Å"everyday low prices† where the company offers certain products at 25-30% less than the normal market prices. With its massive operation volumes the company enjoys economies of scales, that are translated in to low prices, which in turn is used as the main revenue generation tool. The company also pressurize its supply chain in to cutting costs and improving their own productivity so that low prices can be secured at supply cha in level, and passed on to customers while maintaining Wal-Mart’s profitability. The company has utilized many channels to reach different customer segments by differentiating its stores formats and product range to suit locations and different communities. Wal-Mart stores fall in to 5 categories as Wal-Mart Discount Stores, Wal-Mart Super centers, Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market, Sams Club and Wal-Mart International. The company also operates Wal-Mart Online Store to capitalize from the increasing popularity of Internet

Performance Lab Report Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Performance - Lab Report Example The other factors which help in motivating the employees of the facility are abstract to say the least but a sense of duty and the positive feelings associated with doing something that matters seem to play a big part there. However, this does not meant that the people working there do not need rewards or recognition since that is an important part of working and remaining motivated to work. To handle this aspect of motivation, the presentation moves towards discussing a leadership program at the facility which is presently non-existent. The presentation highlights why this is important for motivating and getting more productivity out of the employees working at the facility by extolling the values of training and knowledge management. The issue of knowledge management comes from the idea that there are four generations of individuals who are present in the facility and they have very different knowledge bases which come with different approaches to the management of the organization. These differences in approaches are then discussed in detail with regard to the leadership program that could be created at the facility. DDI Leadership is one organization which could help in the development of a good system for the leadership program which is based on a performance appraisal system created by the company. Performance appraisal would have its own criteria for various departments and various aspects of the work which is performed at the facility but the overall objective of the performance appraisal system would be to spot and earmark those individuals who can come up as the future leaders of the organization. Individuals can also respond to the performance appraisals given to them and appraise their managers based on their own opinions of their leadership abilities and performance. Finally, the presentation gives some key

The Film Avatar as the Highest Form of Imaginative Art Research Paper

The Film Avatar as the Highest Form of Imaginative Art - Research Paper Example To digress a bit, it is necessary to note that James Cameron is first and foremost a top special effects director. He had learned the techniques while holding himself out for part-time jobs just so he can enter the film making industry. However, he was greatly interested in one aspect of movie-making – special effects. He made big efforts to learn and master techniques in special effects and his reputation rose on this unique, special ability in movies like â€Å"Escape from New,† followed by â€Å"Galaxy of Terror† and then â€Å"Android.† He was the special effects director of these films but his first feature-length film was the â€Å"Terminator† which became an instant global box-office hit even with a relatively small budget. His working philosophy for films is that science and art can be merged successfully in films. Theme – the main theme of the movie is rather philosophical, that of a morality play in which people from Earth would wan t to take over a planet for its precious minerals. A good moral of this compelling storyline is that people can live in harmony with Nature and enjoy a good life of abundance only if they take good care of nature's resources. There are plenty of metaphors used in the story to make an ordinary story into something of an extraordinary line. The peace-loving Na'vi people are depicted to sharply contrast the violence that people here on Earth often inflict on one another. A sub-theme was the usual romance story that developed between an earthling and a native of that planet which complicated matters a bit.

Viktor Lowenfeld's developmental Stages of Art Essay

Viktor Lowenfeld's developmental Stages of Art - Essay Example The acts of scribbling are just simple records of enjoyable kinesthetic activity and were not meant to visualize something. The scribbles are characterized by irregular patterns of lines and curves as shown by the sample work below. The pre-schematic age occur between ages 4-7. Arts in this stage ranges from simple forms of circles and lines that visualize something to a clearer representation of symbols and schema of something from the environment. There is no understanding of space and figures are just placed haphazardly. The figures below are typical of an early pre-schematic stage art and a transition from scribbling stage to pre-schematic stage. Between ages 7-9 the child's arts are a little conscious about space already. Minor details are present such as the arms and feet, and the arts are aware on the use of baseline. The schema this time is a definite way of portraying the subject but tends to exaggerate on something the child wanted to emphasize. More often objects come in groups and not just a single figure as a show of the child's social development. The stage between ages 9-11 is characterized by expression of arts with more realistic details. The use of three-dimensional space is now apparent with perspective characteristics. Details as to sex, age, and sizes are more pronounced.

Grammatical information from the Lexicon is fundamental to sentence Essay

Grammatical information from the Lexicon is fundamental to sentence syntax - Essay Example These assumptions might also change what is thought to be involved in lexical and phrasal processing. As we discuss below, these assumptions imply a notion of lexical processing that bears considerably more responsibility for the combinatory analysis of language. Psycholinguistics has not been alone in this focus on the lexical aspects of combinatory process. Syntactic theory has increasingly moved detailed combinatory information into the lexicon, where individual lexical items are associated directly with their syntactic combinatory options. The field of applied parsing in computational linguistics has also seen a shift toward lexicalization. Many have recognized the effectiveness of coding these syntactic options as tendencies. In doing so, statistical natural language processing systems have begun to be able to recover the grammatical structure of novel sentences with astonishing accuracy. These movements in linguistics and computational linguistics touch on many of the same issues that have given rise to the development of constraint based lexicalist theories of parsing in psycholinguistics. ... Some of the best support for this view has come from on-line studies of reading, which have shown that the sub categorization and thematic role tendencies of individual verbs can guide the resolution of local syntactic ambiguity. For instance, Garnsey examined readers' abilities to resolve temporary syntactic ambiguities involving classic direct object/sentence complement ambiguity. The use of lexical priming techniques in psycholinguistics has arguably been a highly effective tool for studying both the content of lexical representations and the time course with which such information is activated. For example, priming has been used to map the time course of activation of phonological and orthographic information during word recognition as well as the activation of the alternative meanings of ambiguous words. In most cases, however, the tasks used in these studies to measure participants reaction to target words are unlikely to be influenced by any hypothesized co activation of sub categorization or thematic role information, because such information is typically not relevant to successful execution of these tasks. Moreover, tasks that are sensitive to this sort of information, such as collection of reading times on individual words during sentence comprehension, have not been amenable to lexical priming techniques because the introduction of consciously perceiv ed prime word, mid sentence, would catastrophically disrupt the ongoing comprehension of the sentence as a whole. In the early 1990's, however, Rayner and colleagues introduced a covert lexical intervention technique, dubbed fast priming, which allowed for the study of lexical priming

Fat Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Fat - Essay Example He tries to convince his readers that society should not take responsibility for the unhealthy behavior of others, and that everyone should strive to be healthy. He is of the opinion that it is wrong for the American government to try and fight obesity by manipulating consumer in the variety of food options that they should use (Balko, p 159). In another text, Paul Campos says that society should not pressure individuals to be thin. He claims that being fat is fine and that there has been no scientific proof that being thin means being healthier. He says that it is all propaganda by the diet industry to get money from people. Campos notes that many people tend to think that being thin means being healthy. He asserts that thinner people are not healthier than fat people, and they should not believe that they are because that is mere propaganda (Campos, p 209). Susie Orbach points out that beauty and physical fitness have become the goals of almost every woman today. She further argues that most women have made the names of diet foods their vocabulary. Issues of food and being fat have preoccupied most people to the extent that they are usually taken for granted. However, these problems present very painful and serious experiences to most women (Orbach, p 200). Susie Orbach further notes that society creates an image that should be followed by women, for them to be appealing. These images keep changing and hence add pressure on women to keep up with the trends (Orbach, p 203). She writes that, in all the changing images, the one thing that remains constant is that women are portrayed as thin. In the last article used in this analysis, David Zinczenko, in his essay, don’t blame the eater, writes that the weight problem faced by society is not only the consumers’ problem; it is largely fuelled by the food industry itself. He says that fast food restaurants play a significant role in weight gain

The Relationship of Marijuana Accessibility & Substance Abuse Essay Example for Free

The Relationship of Marijuana Accessibility Substance Abuse Essay Abstract A growing concern in the medical and mental health field is the relationship between marijuana use and further illicit drug abuse. Due to the recent state laws passing in Washington and Colorado, there has been a need for a study to address the accessibility factor in relations to the â€Å"gateway hypothesis† to marijuana. The fear is that the increase in accessibility of marijuana will result in an increase of substance abuse and dependency. Therefore, this study is intended to address the following research question: Is the increased accessibility of marijuana correlated with the increase use of marijuana and other illicit drug use. Additionally, this proposal will address the gap in the literature, sample and instrument used, and the findings. The Relationship of Marijuana Accessibility Substance Abuse A growing concern in the medical and mental health field is the association of marijuana use and further illicit drug abuse as well as whether the increase accessibility of marijuana will result in the increase of substance abuse (Yacoubian, 2007). In the United Sates, researchers and professionals have observed the controversial gateway hypothesis of marijuana for the past 30 years (Hall Lynskey, 2005). Hall and Lynskey provide the following operational definition for the gateway hypothesis: â€Å"Drugs whose use in some unspecified way is a cause of the use of later drugs in the sequence† (p.1). During this time, a variety of studies have been conducted and have discovered empirical support to suggest that marijuana is commonly associated with the use of other illicit drugs (Lessem, 2006). A previous study found that 90% of cocaine users had used marijuana prior to cocaine (Fergusson, Boden, Horwood, 2006). In another study, researchers discovered that 33% of occasional and 84% of daily marijuana users reported using other illicit drugs (Fergusson, Boden, Horwood, 2006, p. 2). Currently, marijuana is a hot topic in the media due to the United States having the worlds largest single market for illicit drugs (Yacoubian, 2007).  In addition, research shows that marijuana has been discovered as the most prevalent illicit drug within the American households (Yacoubian). Out of the estimated 19 million people using illicit drugs in American households, the majority of patients admitted to treatment facilities are adolescents and young adults for marijuana abuse (Lessem, 2006). This research significantly affects the mental health field due to the high demand of professionals trained and qualified to work with and treat patients with substance abuse and dependency issues. In terms of policy, during the 2012 election the state of Washington and Colorado passed laws that legalized the recreational use of marijuana (Healy, 2012). To date an estimate of 12 states have decriminalized marijuana and 18 states as well as Washington, DC permit medical marijuana use (Healy). However, under the Federal law there is no such thing as â€Å"medical† marijuana (McCarthy, 2004). This is due to the Drug Enforcement Administration’s criteria and the Controlled Substance Act which classifies marijuana as a Schedule 1 drug based on the following three factors: (1) its high potential for abuse, (2) having no significant means for medical use, (3) lack of accepted safety for use of the drug (McCarthy). Additionally, the Department of Justice clearly states that marijuana is illegal under Federal Law despite state policies and acts (McCarthy). Yacoubian (2007) addresses the debate between criminalization versus decriminalization by comparing and contrasting drug regulation and policies within the United States and the Netherlands. Research found that de facto legalization, permitting coffee shops, in the Netherlands led to a significant increase of marijuana use among Dutch youth (Yacoubian). Yacoubian concluded that research suggests that an increase accessibility of marijuana will result in the increase of drug use. For the purpose of this study, the operational definition of accessibility will align with Yacoubians, which is based on state policies and regulation. For example, legalization policies suggest a high accessibility of marijuana (Yacoubian). Specifically, in regards to the present study the following three states define the level accessibility: Colorado’s legalization policies and recreational use (high accessibility), California’s decimalization policies and medical use (limited accessibility), and Virginia’s illegal policies and no permitted use (no accessibility) (Healy, 2012). Due to the conflict of recent state laws passing and Federal Laws not changing there has been a  necessity for further research regarding the illicit drug marijuana and its effects (Healy, 2012). Researchers have found a significant relationship between regular and early marijuana use and further drug use such as cocaine, heroin, pills, etc. (Hall Lynskey, 2005). However, previous studies concluded that there is a gap within the research because there may have been an overestimation of results suggesting the â€Å"gateway hypothesis† known as the frequency of marijuana use and later involvement in other illicit drug use (Fergusson, Boden Horwood, 2006). Lessem (2006) mentioned some of the limitations to research were the inability to measure drug dependency as well as the issues of causality. In addition, most current research studies are out dated and prior to the recent laws. This research study was designed to fill the specific gap portrayed within the current research. According to Fergusson, Boden, and Horwood (2006) their study resulted in overestimation of date; therefore, this specific study was formatted to ensure the data is precisely and accurately analyzed to prevent complications of overestimations. Additionally, this study uses a valid and reliable assessment to measure drug abuse and dependency, which satisfies the limitations previously mentioned in Lessem’s (2006) research study. It is a concern that as marijuana becomes more accessible, there will be an increase in substance abuse and dependency across the nation (Hall Lynckey, 2005). This study is intended to address the following research question: Is the increase accessibility of marijuana correlated with the increase of marijuana use and substance abuse and dependency. Therefore, the research hypothesis for this study is that with the increase of accessibility there will an increase in substance abuse and dependency. The overall purpose of this research study is to cover several presenting factors. First, it is to increase awareness of the epidemic of marijuana use and further drug abuse within our nation. Second, it is to educate the public on the significance of the relationship between marijuana and drug abuse. Lastly, this research proposal is designed to gather and analyze data from states in which recent laws were passed permitting increase in accessibility and use of marijuana. Method Participants The sample for this study consisted of 450 subjects from the states of  California, Colorado, and Virginia. A sample size of 150 was used from each of these states, 75 participants were students from state universities and another 75 participants were patients at rehabilitation and drug treatment centers. The mean average age of participants within in the sample was 22.23. Among the total sample size, 64% (n=288) were male subjects and 36% (n=162) were female subjects. In terms of ethnicity, 42% (n=189) of participants identified as white, 22% (n=99) as African American, 20% (n=90) as Hispanic, 16% (n=72) as Asian, and 4% (n=18) as other. The sample was first divided into the following three pre-existing groups according to state accessibility of marijuana: California participants (decriminalized marijuana/limited accessibility), Colorado participants (legalized marijuana/high accessibility), and Virginia participants (illegal marijuana/no permitted accessibility). Participants were then separated into one of the three subgroups based on their drug use and abuse. The participant’s score on the Drug Abuse Screening Test assessment determined their placement in one of the following three subgroups: non-existing/mild, moderate, and severe. Instrument The Drug Abuse Screening Test (DAST) was the instrument used to assess the sample in this specific study. The DAST is a 20-item psychometric instrument that is purposed to measure an individual’s drug use and abuse (Corcoran, Fischer, 2007). The manual indicates that a higher total score suggests an index of problem severity (Corcoran, Fischer). The DAST is scored by the total sum of all 20 items with range of scores being from 0 to 28 (Corcoran, Fischer). For the purpose of this study, participants scores are estimated by mild (scores: 0-6), moderate (scores: 7-13), severe (scores: 14-20). Refer to Appendix A for a sample of the full instrument presenting all 20 items. The DAST indicates that psychometric instrument has both excellent reliability and validity (Corcoran, Fischer, 2007). The estimated internal consistency reliability was calculated with an alpha of .92; however, the manual does not provide any data of test-retest reliability (Corcoran, Fischer). The DAST manual shows both a good discriminant and concurrent validity for the instrument. In terms of discriminant validity, the instrument’s total score accurately and significantly distinguished between the groups with mainly alcohol-related problems from the groups with drug  problems (Corcoran, Fischer). The DAST concurrent validity was examined by its significant correlation of the DAST’s background variables, frequency of drug use within a 12-month time frame, and indices psychopathology (Corcoran, Fischer). Procedure The participants of this study were recruited by two different approaches based on their institutional setting. At state universities, the psychology departments recruited participants through a research database that required all students in a PSYC 101 course to participate in at least 3 studies in which this study was an option. Additionally, faculty and staff at state university counseling centers recruited students whom were receiving counseling services. At the substance abuse rehabilitation and treatment centers, staff recruited current and new patients to participate in the study at their consent. After participants were recruited through their institutional setting and consent, they received two separate emails from the researcher of the present study. The first email was a confirmation email for the individual’s participation. The second email contained a testing packet for the research studying which included the following three components: study consent form, personal questionnaire (age, race, gender, and institutional setting), and the Drug Abuse Screening Test (DAST). Participants were asked to complete the entire testing packet and return by email to the research of the study within a week time frame. Once the researcher received the completed testing packets from participants via email, the packets were examined and separated by pre-existing groups based on state accessibility. For example, all participants from the state of Virginia were separated into the no accessibility group. Participants were then additionally divided in to one of the 3 subgroups based on their score on the DAST. The three subgroups were determined based of the following range of scores on the DAST and the individual’s degree of drug use and abuse: mild (scores: 0-7), moderate (scores: 7-14), and serve (scores: 14-20). For the purpose of this study the data was converted to nominal with mild=1, moderate=2, and severe= 3. Once the data was collected  and converted, it was inputted into the IBM SPSS ® 20.0 software to analyze the statistical relationship between marijuana accessibility and drug use/dependency. Results The statistical analysis conducted was a coefficient of contingency in order to analyze the correlation and statistical significance of marijuana accessibility and drug use/dependency. The coefficient of contingency was conducted two separate times examining the statistical significance between no marijuana accessibility (Virginia) to limited marijuana accessibility (California) and then again no accessibility (Virginia) to high accessibility (Colorado). Additionally, analyzing the relationship between each accessibility level and drug use/dependency. Before running the statistical analysis, a frequency table was made to organize the data. The table portrayed how many participants scored in one of the three subgroups (mild, moderate, severe) under each state. Therefore, it was discovered that in the state of Virginia 47 participants fell in the mild, 61 in moderate, and 32 in the severe subgroups. The state of California had 37 participants were in the mild, 66 in the moderate, and 47 in the severe subgroups. Lastly, in the state of Colorado 29 participants were in the mild, 62 in the moderate, and 56 in the severe subgroups. The coefficient of contingency was calculated after the frequency table was formed. The first statistical analysis of Virginia and Colorado computed a contingency coefficient of .716 and statistical significance of .00. The second analysis of Virginia and California computed a contingency coefficient of .775 and a statistical significance of .00. Discussion In conclusion, the results of this study can be interpreted as supporting the researchers purpose and design for this specific study. The frequency table demonstrates that in the state of Virginia which has no permitted accessibility to marijuana that there were more participants who fell in the mild subgroup and fewer participants within the moderate and severe subgroup compare to the two other states. In the state of California, limited accessibility, there were more participants in the moderate subgroup and fewer participants in the mild and severe subgroups. Lastly, in the state of Colorado, high accessibility, there were more participants in the severe  subgroup and fewer participants in the mild and moderate. The two statistical analyses results conveyed additional statistical support for the hypothesis of this study. It was hypothesize that there this a relationship between marijuana accessibility and drug use and dependency, which translates that with an increase in accessibility there will be an increase in use or dependency. Therefore, the statistical analysis of Virginia and Colorado portrayed that there was a .716 correlation that was statistically significant by .00. The analysis of Virginia and California found that there was a .775 correlation that was also statistically significant by .00. Concluding that the null hypothesis was rejected and the research hypothesis was statistically significantly supported. Several suggestions can be made for future research due to the limitations of the present study. First, future studies should attempt to acquire interval data to run a more robust statistical analysis of the collected data. Second, it is suggested that future research studies use multiple assessments to measure both accessibility and drug use. Specially, the researchers recommend the Adult Substance Abuse Subtle Screening Test-3 (SASSI-3) that measures an individual’s probability to abuse or depend on substances. Lastly, a significant gap in the research conveys that there is a need for longitudinal case studies with individuals from states where policies permit recreational use of marijuana in order to accurately discovered whether these individuals are likely to use and/or abuse substances. Appendix A References Corcoran, K., Fischer, J. (2007). Measures for clinical practice: A sourcebook (4th ed., Vol. 2). Oxford University Press. ISBN: 0195314905 or 9780195314908. Fergusson, D. M., Boden, J. M., Horwood, L. (2006). Cannabis use and other illicit drug use: testing the cannabis gateway hypothesis. Addiction, 101(4), 556-569. Hall, W., Lynskey, M. (2005). Is cannabis a gateway drug? Testing hypotheses about the relationship between cannabis use and the use of other illicit drugs. Drug Alcohol Review, 24(1), 39-48. Healy, J. (2012, November 6). Voters Ease Marijuana Laws in 2 States, but Legal Questions Remain. The New York Times. Retrieved from  http://www,nytimes.com Lessem, J. K. (2006). Relationship between Adolescent Marijuana Use and Young Adult Illicit Drug Use. Behavior Genetics, 36(4), 498-506. McCarthy, K. I. (2004). Conversations about Medical Marijuana between Physicians and Their Patients. Journal Of Legal Medicine, 25(3), 333-349. Yacoubian, G. S. (2007). Assessing the Relationship between Marijuana Availability and Marijuana Use: A Legal and Sociological Comparison between the United States and the Netherlands. Journal Of Alcohol Drug Education, 51(4), 17-34.

Capital budgeting techniques: Sensitivity and Scenario analysis

Capital budgeting techniques: Sensitivity and Scenario analysis Graphically show and explain the following terms, how you could link them to capital budgeting techniques in your decision making (1000 words) Sensitivity analysis Scenario analysis Sensitivity Analysis Sensitivity analysis is a ‘what if’ tool that examines the effect of increase or decrease in a company’s net profit. Sensitivity analysis can help in answering question like ‘What would be the forecasted net income if sales are increased or decreased by 30%, 20% or 10%. Sensitivity analysis is frequently used in capital budgeting for determining how sensitive an NPV analysis is to changes in variable assumptions. While conducting analysis, each variable is fixed except one and by changing this one variable, the effect on NPV or IRR can be viewed. The first step in performing a sensitivity analysis is building a base case scenario. This is typically the NPV using assumptions which are believed to be accurate. From this point various assumptions can be changed which had initially been based on potential assumptions. NPV is then recalculated and the sensitivity of NPV based on the change in assumptions is determined. Scenario Analysis Scenario analysis is a process of analysing decisions by considering alternative possible outcomes. Scenario analysis is designed to see the consequences of an action under different set of factors. Scenario analysis takes sensitivity analysis a step further. Rather than just looking at the sensitivity of the NPV analysis to changes in the variable assumptions, scenario analysis also looks at the probability distribution of the variables. Like sensitivity analysis, scenario analysis starts with the construction of a base case scenario. From there other scenarios are considered known as the ‘best case’ and ‘worst case’ scenario. Probabilities are assigned to the scenarios and computed to arrive at an expected value. Capital Budgeting and Use of Sensitivity and Scenario Analysis Capital budgeting is the process of analysing a company’s investment decisions such as investing in new equipment, machineries, plants, projects and products. This process involves the estimation of the expected cash flows, the calculation of the Net Present Value (NPV) and the calculation of the Internal Rate of Return (IRR) of the investment. NPV is defined as the present value of all cash inflows minus the present value of all cash outflows. If NPV is positive, the investment is making money and is thus viable. IRR is defined as the discount rate that makes the NPV zero. If IRR is greater than the opportunity cost of capital then the investment is feasible. There are two obstacles involved in the capital budgeting process. One involves the correct estimation of expected cash flow. The other is the use of correct discount rate also known as the project cost of capital. Capital budgeting is by definition, forward looking. When dealing with expected resources and demands, uncertainty is a major factor. Sensitivity analysis is a statistical tool that determines how consequential deviations from the expected value occur. Capital Budgeting example XYZ Water Filtration Plant needs to construct a new water filtration plant to filter 20 million litre water and deliver to consumers. An assessment should be carried out to evaluate the economics of the project and determine which parameter is sensitive to investment value, also to establish a sales price. Market price of water is $4 $5 per litre therefore, four different water price scenarios would need to be analysed to reach the best economic parameter, they are: $4, $4.25, $4.5 and $4.75. The selection criteria would be based on: NPV Cost of Capital 15% IRR Analysis and Comparison of Alternatives Preliminary data and estimation Table 1: Project Information Table 2: Baseline Cash flow calculation Baseline cash flow and NPV are calculated as follows: Table 3: Sensitivity Analysis Calculation In sensitivity analysis, each variable is changed one at a time to analyse its impact on the end result. In this case the impact of 10% increase or decrease in revenue, capital investment and operational cost is considered on the NPV. From table 3, a sensitivity graph can be plotted as follows: Based on above sensitivity analysis, it is evident that the revenue by terms of price is the main variable that is affecting NPV. Hence the economic optimization and evaluation will be based on parameter water price. Using formula in the spreadsheet, following can be obtained: Table 4: Water Sales Price Scenario Selection of preferred alternative From table 4, we can conclude that best scenario is at water price $4.74 per litre, refer to criteria NPV, IRR and Payout Time. Then the project is worth doing, with the water price $4.75 per litre resulting NPV>0, IRR>MARR and payout time less than five years. Benefits of using Sensitivity Analysis Sensitivity and scenario analysis in useful in capital budgeting techniques for a number of reasons, including: It supports decision making or the development of recommendations for decision makers such as testing the robustness of a result. Financial model makers can effectively communicate with the decision makers for example, by making recommendations more credible, understandable and compelling. Increases understanding of relationships between input and output variables. It helps the investor to maintain their risk comfort level. Once projections are made concerning a specific investment, it can be decided whether risk should be taken for the worst case scenario. SOURCE http://businessplanhut.com/what-sensitivity-analysis-example-and-components-involved Source: Boundless. â€Å"Scenario Analysis.† Boundless Finance. Boundless, 03 Jul. 2014. Retrieved 27 Apr. 2015 from https://www.boundless.com/finance/textbooks/boundless-finance-textbook/the-role-of-risk-in-capital-budgeting-12/scenario-and-simulation-assessments-99/scenario-analysis-427-7232/ http://www.assakkaf.com/courses/ence 627/lectures/chapter5.pdf http://www.spreadsheetml.com/finance/capitalbudgeting.shtml http://www.slideshare.net/ranasingh0820/sensitivity-amp-scenario-analysis https://kristal2011aace.wordpress.com/2011/09/22/w2_adi_the-gas-plant/#comments

How Important is the Encryption Debate? Essay -- Encryption Market Ess

How Important is the Encryption Debate? The encryption debate is intense and heated in certain circles, but is of no major concern to the vast majority of people in the United States. Most of the people I talk to regard its regulation to be of little consequence, or too complicated to take a position on. Indeed, the prevailing opinion I encounter is that is an area best left to the experts who understand its capabilities, uses and dangers. While no one really trusts the government, in the face of the sundry bogeymen evoked by law enforcement agents as a rationale for protecting the people, most people are hard pressed to stand up and speak of the inviolability of their privacy rights. How can I justify my concerns over personal privacy when faced with the specters of kidnappers, terrorists and drug lords? Why get worked up about it if you have nothing to hide anyway? Why insist to uphold seemingly inconsequential principles in the face of national security concerns? The reason is that the principles fostering this heated d ebate are some of the core principles that formed our nation. This nation was created by the will of revolutionaries who challenged the principles of government (or lack thereof) that was imposed upon the colonies. After fighting a bloody war to secure independence, the colonies were forged into a nation of states upon federalist principles. It was a government of limited powers and sovereignties that bore the stamp of the framers distrust of an over-centralized government. The Bill of Rights was added to further confirm those federalist principles and to ensure the rights of the people before their government. These rights are the cornerstones upon which the United States was built and has flourished. ... ...affic analysis that could be even more significant than census information. Where are the people going next? This is how the Government stays one step ahead, instead of trying to shape policy through polling us, it notes our patterns of choices and plans accordingly. What does free market encryption really give us in response? The power to communicate as freely as we did before technological advances undermined those abilities. The Fourth Amendment was designed to be a limitation on the power of government to intrude on the privacy of its citizens, not a grant of privilege to law enforcement. Much as the framers of the Constitution expected to be free from surveillance in their papers and communications, the power of encryption can help regain the balance. And once it does, maybe we will realize that we had more in common with Paine and Jefferson than we think.

societhf Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn And Society :: Adventures Huckleberry Huck Finn Essays

Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn And Society "All modern American literature comes from one book by Mark Twain called Huckleberry Finn," according to Ernest Hemingway. Along with Ernest, many others believe that Huckleberry Finn is a great book, but is the novel subversive? Since this question is frequently asked, people have begun to look deeper into the question to see if this novel is acceptable for students in schools to read. First off subversive means something is trying to overthrow or destroy something established or to corrupt (as in morals). According to Lionel Trilling, " No one who reads thoughtfully the dialectic of Huck's great moral crisis will ever again be wholly able to accept without some question and some irony the assumptions of the respectable morality by which he lives, or will ever again be certain that what he considers the clear dictates of moral reason are not merely the engrained customary beliefs of his time and place." Trilling feels that Huck Finn is such a subversive character that th is will not make people believe in something totally again, because they will fear being wrong like the society in Huckleberry Finn was. I believe this and I think the subversion in the novel is established when Mark Twain begins to question the acceptable morality of society. Twain uses humor and effective writing to make Huckleberry Finn a subversive novel about society in the 19th century. Huck Finn, a boy referred to as "white trash," is a boy that has grown up believing totally what society as taught him. This passage shows an example of how society teaches him. "...And keep them till they're ransomed." "Ransomed? What's that?" "I don't know. But that's what they do. I've seen it in the books, and so of course that's what we've got to do." "Well how can we do it if we don't know what it is?" "Why, blame it all, we've got to do it. Don't I tell you it's in the books? Do you want to go to doing different from what's in the books, and get things all muddled up?" (8-9) This is a conversation between Tom Sawyer and his gang of robbers. This shows how the boys are influenced by society and believe they most follow exactly what is in the books, because that is the right way to do things.

Sharpie Brand Report Essay -- Business Analysis

Sharpie has been putting its mark on society as well as a variety of other surfaces since its inception in 1964. Today, Sharpie is the most popular choice of permanent marker in the world, available in over 20 countries. In the recent digital age, Sharpie was predicted to struggle as physical printing methods fell out of favor in exchange for keyboards and touch screens. However, parent company Newell Rubbermaid has taken some creative and unique marketing approaches to keep the Sharpie brand as a household name. New advertising methods, as well as embracing social media outlets such as Facebook have led to Sharpie becoming more popular than ever. Sharpie’s media purchases over the last decade have been very interaction oriented. Since 2009 Sharpie has shifted a large amount of their advertising attention to social media outlets, as well as many other non-media connectors. Sharpie has been getting up close and in touch with its consumers for most of the last decade, using professional athletes from various sports to promote their brand. While working with Paragon Marketing Group Sharpie sponsored the Sharpie 500 from 2001 to 2009. The Sharpie 500 was one of the most popular races on the NASCAR circuit. Sharpie was also the main sponsor of Kurt Busch and his No. 97 Ford from 2001 to 2006. Busch had a highly successful career whilst driving for Sharpie, even winning the first ever NASCAR Nextel Cup Championship in 2004. The exposure paid off according to Paragon, as Sharpie’s sales increased a minimum of 15% per annum. Sharpie also tried their hand on the links with the Sharpie Mini Tour. Working with the Professional Golfers Association, Sharpie held a nationwide, four event putting competition giving one fan a chance to play ... ...e 25 June 2009. Web. . Neff, Jack. "Think Ink Is Dead? Sharpie's Success Is Writing on the Wall: New Video Ads, Strong Facebook Presence Prove the Pen Is Still Mighty in the Digital Age." AdvertisingAge. ProQuest Research Library. Web. 17 Apr. 2012. Paragon Marketing Group "Sharpie 500." Paragon Marketing Group, LLC. 27 Aug. 2005. Web. 04 May 2012. . Sharpie Press Release. "Sharpie ® Mini Tour Swings Into Chicagoland For Cialis ® Western Open." www.sharpie.com. Newell Rubbermaid, 29 June 2005. Web. 04 May 2012. . "Sharpie :: Stained Brand Invention." Tris3ct. Web. 04 May 2012. .

Romanticism Analysis

To a Mouse†- Robert Burns (Handout) Let life run its course The poem denotes the narrator of the poem is plugging his field when he cuts through a mouse nest. The poet shows regret and apologizes to the mouse before he goes on a tangent which reveals the deeper meaning of the poem. The connotation is that in life, we plan and do everything to make the future sweet Just like a mouse, yet luck can come and ruin it in one second. Life is unpredictable, and while preparing for the unpredictable future we aren't enjoying the present moment – which the souse seems to be able to do.The narrator reminisces on ‘prospects dreary', I. E. Bad events that have happened in the past which in some ways prevent him from moving on. Furthermore, some say that he is very fearful of the future and that these two reasons do not allow him to enjoy the present. He is also hinting that we ‘humans' aren't very empathic or sympathetic towards animals and nature like this mouse, but bot h species prepare for the future hoping for nothing to affect our smooth lives. He asks, so what if the mouse steals our corn it still has to survive – and this is the same or humans: so why are we so apart?Burns is talking about dreams and how there's no difference between mice's dream or a man's dream. He's saying that dreams are useless that they only leave you in pain and grief. â€Å"The Lamb†- Blake (712) Lamb represents goodness kindness and Jesus The poem begins with the question, â€Å"Little Lamb, who made thee? † The speaker, a child, asks the lamb about its origins: how it came into being, how it acquired its particular manner of feeding, its â€Å"clothing† of wool, its â€Å"tender voice. In the next Tanta, the speaker attempts a riddling answer to his own question: the lamb was made by one who â€Å"calls himself a Lamb,† one who resembles in his gentleness both the child and the lamb. The poem ends with the child bestowing a blessi ng on the lamb. â€Å"The Tiger†- Blake (712) Good and evil come from the same source? Did lamb creator create tiger? The poem begins with the speaker asking a fearsome tiger what kind of divine being could have created it: â€Å"What immortal hand or eye/ Could frame they fearful symmetry? † Each subsequent stanza contains further questions, all of which refine this first one.From what part of the cosmos could the tiger's fiery eyes have come, and who would have dared to handle that fire? The speaker wonders how, once that horrible heart â€Å"began to beat,† its creator would have had the courage to continue the Job. Comparing the creator to a blacksmith, he ponders about the anvil and the furnace that the project would have required and the smith who could have wielded them. And when the Job was done, the speaker wonders, how would the creator have felt? â€Å"Did he smile his work to see? † Could this possibly be the same being who made the lamb? The world s too much with Us†- Wordsmith (733) Man is so out of tune with nature and so obsessed with the materialistic things in life. The writer would rather be pagan than suffer seeing how man is attached. At least Pagans are intact with nature as he is very angry with man. â€Å"Chimney Sweeper†- Blake (Handout) Argument against child exploitation The poem â€Å"The Chimney Sweeper,† in both Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience, protests the living conditions, working conditions, and the overall treatment of young chimney sweeps in the cities of England.Little boy soothing other ho is crying due to loss of hair as someone shaved it. No hair no dirt no problem innocent view. Having a dream about heaven that if he does his duty then all will be alright and he will move to heaven â€Å"London†- Blake Harsh conditions of England through the French Revolution The poem was published during the upheavals of the French Revolution, and the city of London was suffering political and social unrest, due to the marked social and working inequalities of the time.An understandably nervous government had responded by introducing restrictions on the freedom of speech and the manipulation f foreign mercenaries. The City of London was a town that was shackled to landlords and owners that controlled and demeaned the majority of the lower and middle classes. Within the poem that bears the city's name, Blake describes 18th century London as a conurbation filled with people who understood, with depressing wisdom, both the hopelessness and misery of their situation. The Sick Rose†- Blake (714) Love destroyed by Jealousy possessiveness Alternatively the poem may suggest that all beauty is susceptible to destruction or itself has the power to destroy. It is a reminder that there is a good and evil side to all things – love can be both Joyful and painful, and all life is proceeded by death. â€Å"l Wandered Lonely as a Cloud†- William Wordsmith (735) The memory of daffodils remains imprinted in the tellers mind as it is beautiful The speaker says that, wandering like a cloud floating above hills and valleys, he encountered a field of daffodils beside a lake.The dancing, fluttering flowers stretched endlessly along the shore, and though the waves of the lake danced beside the flowers, the daffodils outdid the water in glee. The speaker says that a poet could not help but be happy in such a Joyful company of flowers. He says that he stared and stared, but did not realize what wealth the scene would bring him. For now, whenever he feels â€Å"vacant† or â€Å"pensive,† the memory flashes upon â€Å"that inward eye / That is the bliss of solitude,† and his heart fills with pleasure, â€Å"and dances with the daffodils. † â€Å"Solitary Reaper†- Headwords (Handout) Girl speaking in dialect.Although can't understand still hears songs playing in his head for which he is grateful even as he hears no more â€Å"The Solitary Reaper† begins tit the speaker instructing us to look upon â€Å"Yon solitary Highland Lass† who is â€Å"Reaping and singing by herself†. Thrilled by her song, the speaker compares the girl to a nightingale whose â€Å"melancholy strain† welcomes â€Å"weary bands / Of travelers† to â€Å"some shady haunt, / Among Arabian sands†. Yet he does not understand the words of her song (presumably they are in the Scottish Gaelic language), and impatiently cries, â€Å"Will no one tell me what she sings? He wonders if the subject is of â€Å"battles long ago† or of commonplace and universal things (â€Å"familiar matters of to-day†), reaps â€Å"some natural sorrow, loss, or pain. † Then he dismisses his own musings â€Å"Whatever the theme,† he says, â€Å"the Maiden sang / As if her song could have no ending† -and refocuses his attention on the song. He listens, â€Å"moti onless and still†, before finally mounting the hill and leaving the solitary reaper, still singing, behind. Though his ears cannot hear the song anymore, the sound of the Highland Lass's music will forever be a fresh and evocative memory in his heart. The Rime of the Ancient Mariner†- Coleridge Mariner has to tell a story- when he has an agony feels he must let it out by telling Tory. First he tells it to wedding guests- admits to shooting albatross for no reason and that nature will punish him, the albatross hangs around his neck as a burden until he blesses the sea creatures and continues towards penitence for remorse. Eventually it falls off. The wedding guests learn that all creatures regardless of size great and small, are made equal in Gods eyes and that none is to harm one over the other. â€Å"Ode to the West Wind†- M. Shelley Wind is both a destroyer and preserver.West Wind Blows leaves off tree only to cover up seeds to allow them to grow. Spring Wind â €Å"Commanding†- Shelley (782) Traveler tells story of irony that he witnesses in the desert. A broken statue that has inscribed king of kings, look on my works, but in reality there is nothing but vast desert surrounding him. Egyptian attempt towards eternal life. â€Å"Bright Star WSDL I Were Steadfast As thou Art†- Keats (804) Man addressing star. He longs to be like the star as it is steady and unchanging. But does not want to resemble the loneliness, lone splendor and doesn't want to look down on life by himself. Ode on a Grecian Urn†- Keats (799) Images inscribed onto urn prove to be story. His imagination wonders and he embraces a love so close to kissing the women but would rather hold back in order to always have that wondrous feeling of what it would feel like. Beauty and truth are only things that actually last for ever. â€Å"When I have fears that I may cease to be†- Keats (803) Keats describes fears of death through what the narrator wishes t o accomplish through life. He fears death because he will miss the great things such as love, fame, and writing.This poem reflects Keats worst fears; to die too soon† When I have fears hat I may cease to be†. The speaker in Keats poem actually reflects what is going on in Keats' mind†¦ Keats knew that he will die too soon because of his disease, and what hurts him the most is not being able to write his poems which will lead him to fame, and the loss of his beloved one†¦ Keats recognizes the fact that death is inevitable but he doesn't want to die before he writes his poems†¦ And before his â€Å"pen has gleaned my teeming brain†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ He is afraid that he will never be able to look at his â€Å"fair creature of an hour†.

Auteur Essay: Tarantino and Lee Moulding Emotions Essay

A common goal for most modern directors is to engage the audience emotionally. It’s a seemingly simple task that is often left by the wayside, half finished and ineffective. Those directors that do achieve this task, tend to make better movies. Two such directors are Ang Lee and Quentin Tarantino. The ways that they manipulate their audience’s emotions are completely different yet they are both effective. Where Tarantino’s manipulation of tension is unmatched in the modern world, Lee’s grace and subtlety often leaves audience’s with a sense of awe and wonder. The manipulation of an audience’s emotions is often a difficult task but Lee and Tarantino achieve it in their own unique ways. Suspense, defined by the Oxford dictionary, is a state or feeling of excited or anxious uncertainty about what may happen. Quentin Tarantino’s manipulation of suspense and tension in a scene is unmatched in today’s world. Like the former â€Å"Master of Suspense† himself, Alfred Hitchcock, Quentin Tarantino leads the audience to a the point of near exhaustion, through the pent up pressure in his trademark lengthy scenes. These scenes serve to focus every ounce of mental and emotional energy on the situation, instead of cutting away to an inter-related subplot elsewhere and releasing the pressure, as is conventional. In the film â€Å"Inglourious Basterds† (2009), Tarantino leaves the audience gasping for breath right from the opening scene. The scene, in which a German â€Å"Jew Hunter† is questioning a farmer about the Jews hiding on his farm, is built up over nearly twenty minutes of pure dialogue between the two, as the German manipulates the farmer into telling him where the fugitives are. As the scene progresses, it grows increasingly obvious that the German is playing a horrible game with the farmer and the audience. As the farmer is slowly reduced to tears, the music escalates, the ticking of the clock grows louder and the camera circles the pair, making the audience feel trapped and vulnerable. It’s despair the audience feels as the Jews are finally gunned down through the floorboards amid the screams of frantic violins and only then does Tarantino release his choke hold on the audiences emotions, letting the pressure off slightly. However, the masterful effect achieved here is that the audience is almost glad that the scene was resolved, however heinous it was. It lets the audience know that the ride is only starting and that they’d better buckle up. In the same movie Tarantino again demonstrates his ultimate control over the audience. The scene is another tense, pressure filled affair, as a group of undercover allied spies are trying to work their way out of a conversation with a Gestapo agent in a French bar. The manipulation of mis en scen is excellent as every element is used to full advantage. The audience is made to squirm in discomfort as the bar gets quieter and quieter and the Gestapo agent asks more threatening questions. The ambient lighting of the set serves to make the audience feel calm and safe but as the situation progresses the lighting seems harsher and brighter as the scene grows more tense. The scene itself, which is about twenty minutes long, starts off relatively light hearted with a game of cards between a group of enlisted Germans who are celebrating a comrades new baby. Strangely the camera stays with this group for longer than really necessary, to make the audience feel attached to the group especially the new born father. The reason why this was done becomes clear later as all his friends are slaughtered and he is left bargaining for his life, which adds yet another emotional sub-plot to the scene that the audience must deal with. In both these examples Tarantino manipulates sound to build the tension in the scene and escalate the suspense. Put simply, Tarantino â€Å"moulds† his audience throughout a scene, showing his absolute control over mis en scen, the editing process and the audience. The way in which Ang Lee conducts a scene is completely unique in today’s world. Contrasting to Tarantino’s â€Å"moulding† of the audience, Lee concentrates on making the scene â€Å"beautiful† in both the emotional and physical sense. This in fact is Lee’s own version of â€Å"moulding†, except his does so in a much more subtle fashion to connect to the audience on a higher level. In his Academy Award winning film â€Å"Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon† (2001), every single movement has a gentle, graceful feel. This is exemplified in the first combat scene, where Yu and Jen are fighting over a stolen sword. The quick, yet elegant style of movement makes the scene flow far better than a traditional fight passage where the viewer is wrenched through fast paced camera angles and shots coupled with gratuitous violence. In this scene, camera angles and shots are sparing and well used and the gentle way in which the characters manoeuvre, leave the audience feeling not an adrenaline rush but strangely calm and at ease. Similarly in â€Å"Brokeback Mountain† (2005) Lee strives to communicate beauty on multiple levels. In the scene where Ennis is visiting Jacks parents, he goes to Jacks bedroom. In this powerful scene, there is no dialogue or interaction between other characters. The camera follows Ennis as he tenderly caresses the clothes in Jacks cupboard and sits wistfully by the window with tears in his eyes. This scene is significant because it demonstrates how even though there was no interactions or dialogue it still is deeply affecting and meaningful. Ang Lee seeks to reveal the beauty of all his scenes no matter how different and diverse that beauty is. In conclusion, even though Ang Lee and Quentin Tarantino differ greatly in their techniques, they both achieve something that modern directors rarely accomplish. They connect with their audience and as a result control their emotions. From Tarantino’s masterful use of suspense, to Lee’s ballet-like grace and control over a scene, they both affect the audience in ways that compliment both the scene and their film. These two directors prove that if you control the audience’s emotions you control their outlook on the film and ultimately how successfully it is.

Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper” and Steinbeck’s “The Chrysanthemums Essay

â€Å"The Chrysanthemums† by John Steinbeck and â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper† by Charlotte Perkins Gilman are short stories which have a female protagonist struggling through a suffocating marriage and living in a society that says that women can not exist outside of marriage. â€Å"The Chrysanthemums† written by John Steinbeck is a story about a woman worn and oppressed by a male dominated world. A world which breaks a woman’s will, strips away their humanity, and obscures who they really are and what they really want out of life. Eliza, a married woman forgotten by her husband and the world, has found a bit of happiness in her garden. It is here that she finds solace and comfort. The flowers are her companions. Similarly, in The Yellow Wallpaper, written in the century before The Chrysanthemums, is also about the oppression of women in society by men. On the surface it was the story of a woman who has a child and suffered from depression. Her husband, who is also her doctor, prescribed the â€Å"The Mitchell Treatment†. This was a standard treatment for all mental disorders during this time which consisted of isolation and rest. The woman, the main character, was placed in an attic for a month of recovery. Her only companion was the peeling yellow wallpaper. In the end, both women find, brief as it may be, freedom. Though written decades apart, both Steinbeck and Gilman use symbols and character development to develop a theme of female oppression and survival. The major symbol in Steinbeck’s short story is the Chrysanthemum flower. Chrysanthemums are hearty flowers which need specific care, patience, and tending. Like children, they must be cared for daily, treated with delicate and gentle hands. Within her garden paradise she hides herself, as a woman. Steinbeck describes her as a woman that wears â€Å"a man’s black hat pulled low down over her eyes, clodhopper shoes, a figured print dress almost completely covered by a big corduroy apron†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (1). Eliza, who is childless, takes pride and comfort in her ability to grow these amazing flowers. They represent for her the children she was never able to have. She is extremely protective of these flowers caring and feeding them like mother nursing her baby. She creates a â€Å"crib† of wire to ensure that â€Å"[n]o aphids, no sowbugs or snails or cutworms† are there. â€Å"Her terrier fingers [destroy] such pests before they [can] get started† (1). Like pointy corners of tables and light sockets, Eliza protects her â€Å"children† from the hazards of life. She cares for this flowers like she wishes someone had cared for her — gentle fingertips caressing her own blooms. These flowers inspire the only intimate moments that occurred between Eliza and her husband in the entire short story. He husband stops by her garden and tells her how lovely her flowers are. She blushes and Steinbeck observes â€Å"on her face there [is] a little smugness†(1). Eliza gives â€Å"birth† to these amazing creatures which bring so much beauty to the world, and supplies Eliza with her only taste of motherhood (Demott 3). Similarly, Gilman uses the symbol of yellow wallpaper. The Yellow Wall-Paper† is a small literary masterpiece. For almost fifty years it has been overlooked, as has its author, one of the most commanding feminists of her time. Now, with the new growth of the feminist movement, Charlotte Perkins Gilman is being rediscovered, and â€Å"The Yellow Wall-Paper† should share in that rediscovery. The story of a woman’s mental breakdown (Gilman 37). A major symbol in ‘The Yellow Wallpaper’ is the wallpaper itself. The â€Å"Yellow wallpaper was a familiar character in realist fiction and was often found to be distasteful.† (Roth). The narrator is annoyed and eventually repulsed by her only companion, the yellow patterned wallpaper. The evolution of what the wallpaper symbolized parallels the mental state of the narrator. When the narrator first settled down to her month’s worth of rest in the attic of her house, it is the wall paper she hated most. It was old, tattered, and a dirty yellow color. She commented that the worse part of the wallpaper was the dull pattern. She pondered about the wallpaper : It is dull enough to confuse the eye in following, pronounced enough to constantly irritate and provoke study, and when you follow the lame uncertain curves for a little distance they suddenly commit suicide–plunge off at outrageous angles, destroy themselves in unheard of contradictions. The color is repellent, almost revolting; a smouldering unclean yellow, strangely faded by the slow-turning sunlight (Gilman 24). The pattern became the focus of much of the narrator’s time. She attempted on many occasions to figure out what the pattern was with no success. â€Å"She is mad, of course, by this time, reduced to a paranoid schizophrenic who writes, â€Å"I’ve got out at last †¦ in spite of you and Jane. And I’ve pulled off most of the paper, so you can’t put me back!† (36).†(Bak). After several days of trying she began to see a sub pattern which can only be seen at certain parts of the day depending on the amount of light being filtered through the windows. She decided that the sub pattern is that of a woman who is creeping along the floor on her knees, not even being able to stand. She states â€Å"There is a recurrent spot where the pattern lolls like a broken neck and two bulbous eyes stare at you upside down† (Gilman 25). This woman was imprisoned by the main pattern and wished only to escape her cage. The main pattern became clear to the narrator. She believed the main pattern were heads of those women who attempted to escape but were caught between the bars. It was clear that as the month passed the mental state of the narrator became increasingly unstable. The wallpaper and it’s pattern also represented the societal chains (treatment, family, and marriage) which have imprisoned her for so long. The yellow wallpaper has become synonymous with the domestic bars which trapped women in their inferior roles as wives and mother in the 1800s. Through the use of both symbols, Steinbeck and Gilman track the internal conflict of their respective protagonists. In Steinbeck’s short story, it is the Chrysanthemum which are indirectly responsible for Eliza awakening. The chrysanthemums create a situation in which Eliza meets a man which stimulates and re-ignites her female sensuality, that has been long forgotten. Steinbeck describes Eliza stripped of her female side and like her home, that she was â€Å"hard-swept and hard-polished† (1). Henry fails to notice and takes for granted the feminine qualities which Eliza brings to the relationship. His love for her did not exist anymore. The couple lives like strangers. Eliza, submissive and loyal, does not addresses her discontent with her husband and their relationship remains empty. He remarks, to her about her chrysanthemums, â€Å"I wish you’d work out in the orchard and raise some apples that big† (1). She is resentful and unhappy which causes her to hide in her garden. One afternoon while she is attending to her flowers she meets a traveling salesman who stops and admires her flowers. Steinbeck describes the stranger in the following way: Elisa saw that he was a very big man. Although his hair and beard were graying, he did not look old. His worn black suit was wrinkled and spotted with grease. The laughter had disappeared from his face and eyes the moment his laughing voice ceased. His eyes were dark, and they were full of the brooding that gets in the eyes of teamsters and of sailors. The calloused hands he rested on the wire fence were cracked, and every crack was a black line. He took off his battered hat. (1) When he flirts with her indirectly, she melts. She is thirsty for the attention a man gives to a woman. The stranger visually caresses the flowers, commenting that the flowers were like delicate â€Å"quick puff[s] of colored smoke,†(243) and she can feels his fingers like they were on her skin. Chrysanthemums represent Eliza long last sensuality and her need to be fulfilled physically and emotionally. Eliza quickly responds and â€Å"[tears] off the battered hat and [shakes] out her dark pretty hair†(1). The cold Elisa suddenly becomes the image of perfect femininity soft and flowing, contrasting against the strong male. She is attracted to him and offers him the only gift she can, a singe red chrysanthemum — a symbol of her sacred femininity. Through this stimulation, Eliza is inspired to again get in touch with her body and soul (Wilson 34). After a dinner eaten in silence with a man who does not love her, Eliza is forced to endure the car trip home. Weeping, and staring out the window she sees her bloody red chrysanthemums tossed on the side of the road, and she feels her soul die once again. Gilman utilizes her symbol of the yellow wallpaper in the same way, her protagonist is first imprisoned and then awakened by the wallpaper. Gilman actively asserts through her use of symbolism and the mental deterioration of the narration that women, at the turn of the century, suffering from mental illness were mistreated. Her husband, who is also her doctor, prescribed the â€Å"The Mitchell Treatment† (Hume). This was a standard treatment for all mental disorders during this time which consisted of isolation and rest. The woman, the main character, was placed in an attic for a month of recovery. Her only companion was the peeling yellow wallpaper. Slowly the unnamed narrator slipped into deep depressive psychosis. It is not until she shirked off the treatment and the invisible societal chains that she becomes well again. The theme of oppression is overwhelmingly present in both short stories. Eliza’s gift of the chrysanthemum represents the physical interaction between a man and a woman. After the stranger leaves, with quicken breath, she almost floats into her house and draws herself a hot bath. She finds her â€Å"little block of pumice† and literally scrubs her body — â€Å"legs and thighs, loins and chest and arms, until her skin was scratched and red†(1). She urgently washes, symbolically bringing blood back into her lifeless body and soul. She dresses slowly finding her best lingerie and dress. She applies makeup and prepares to go out on a â€Å"date† with her husband. She patiently awaits for her husband to come in from the fields. She hopes her husband will feel romantically toward her again. She hopes that he provide her with the same sensual stimulation that those few brief moments with the stranger. Unfortunately, her hopes are not fulfilled. When Henry finally sees his wife, he casually comments â€Å"You look strong enough to break a calf over your knee, happy enough to eat it like a watermelon† (1). Eliza laments her husband’s lack of charm, as if he is intentionally trying to crush her soul. She slowly loses the woman that she had found hours before. After a dinner eaten in silence with a man who does not love her, Eliza is forced to endure the car trip home. Weeping, and staring out the window she sees her bloody red chrysanthemums tossed on the side of the road, and she feels her soul die once again. Gilman’s narrator is also mistreated by her husband and society in general. John, her husband, a â€Å"wise† man of medicine, inflicts a loutish and gender-biased â€Å"cure† on her–and this tale, as Gilman claims, exposes such boorish barbarism. However, Gilman’s mad narrator unveils not only the ills of the rest cure treatment and a repressive domestic culture filled with Johns and Jennies, but also her hatred for a domestic (and maternal) role she has no desire to assume. â€Å"The Yellow Wall-Paper† not only rejects, as Gilman intended, the gender-biased rest cure of the nineteenth-century, but also indicts, less successfully, gender-biased definitions of mental illness. Married women during this time were â€Å"’freed’ from the necessity of contributing to society outside the home, presumably because marriage befit her for motherhood and motherhood required all of her energies.†(O’Donnell). Despite her triumphant unmasking of medical (predominantly male) gender bias in this tale, Gilman’s narrator falls apart so completely in the end that she tends, unfortunately, to reinforce the common nineteenth-century gender stereotype of the emotionally and physically frail nineteenth-century woman. Steinbeck through the use of chrysanthemums asserts that women are oppressed and imprisoned by world that was built for men. Through intricate detail, wit, and symbolism Steinbeck breathes life into the story of a woman completely controlled by her husband, and suffocated by world. She experiences momentary awakening during a brief interaction with a stranger. Steinbeck uses chrysanthemums evoke the feeling of rebirth, renewal, autonomy, and femininity. Eliza completely broken down and she crumbles â€Å"crying weakly-like an old woman†(X). Her husband takes her granted and does not notice that she is woman with needs and desires. Not only does her husband ignore her but so does the world. The stranger which seemed to admire all of Eliza’s qualities represents the world. Just as that man tossed away Eliza’s beautiful flowers because they were unnecessary. Steinbeck’s point is that is exactly the male dominated world views and treats women. Society is oppressive to women, allowing them not to â€Å"bloom†, keeping women submissive and docile. Eliza is not valued by the world because she is female. She meant only to exist for her husband and family. Eliza tries to be a woman in world where her womanly charms are ignored by her husband and the world in general. To survive she forgets about who she truly is and finds happiness in her garden. When she is briefly re-awakening, she attempts again to find her true self. However, her husband and the world will not let her and she must once again, for the last time, suppress who she is and what she wants. Through the use of similar literary devices the theme of female oppression and liberation is explored differently in â€Å"The Chrysanthemums† and â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper.† The oppression of women in a male dominated world has plagued society for centuries. The stories of women are often left untold and considered unimportant. To fully explore this theme both authors use symbolism and careful character development. The main symbol found in The Yellow Wallpaper is that of the decaying yellow wallpaper that is in the attic where the narrator is sent for isolation. It’s decay parallels the decay of the narrator. In addition, Gilman details this decline and explores the inner workings of the narrator through the character development leading up to the narrator’s decision that she did want to live. Similarly, Steinbeck uses the symbol of the Chrysanthemum to represent Eliza’s life, isolation, liberation, and emotional death. There is only a small set of literary tools available to authors, of any genre, through which themes like oppression can be examined. It is through the unique manipulation of these tools, and the intense expertise of great American authors that such a varied approach to survival can be interrupted, demonstrated, and shared. Works Cited Bak, John S. â€Å"Escaping the Jaundiced Eye: Foucauldian Panopticism in Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper.†.† Studies in Short Fiction 31.1 (1994): 39+. DeMott, Robert. Steinbeck’s Typewriter: Essays on His Art. Revised ed. Troy, NY: Whitston Publishing, 1997. Gilman, Charlotte Perkins. The Yellow Wall-Paper. Revised ed. New York: Feminist Press, 1996. Hume, Beverly A. â€Å"Managing Madness in Gilman’s â€Å"The Yellow Wall-Paper†.† Studies in American Fiction 30.1 (2002): 3+. O’Donnell, Margaret G. â€Å"A Reply to â€Å"Charlotte Perkins Gilman: Reassessing Her Significance for Feminism and Social Economics.† Review of Social Economy 54.3 (1996): 337+. Roth, Marty. â€Å"Gilman’s Arabesque Wallpaper.† Mosaic (Winnipeg) 34.4 (2001): 145+. Steinbeck, John. â€Å"The Chrysanthemums.† Literature: An Introduction to Reading and Writing. Ed. Edgar V. Roberts and Henry E. Jacobs. 4th Compact ed. New York: Prentice Hall, 2007. Wilson, Edmund. The Boys in the Back Room: Notes on California Novelists. San Francisco: Colt Press, 1941. Questia.

National Push for Accountability in Schools

The pace of change dictates that schools should provide high quality learning standards to students. It requires that the school system should improve their learning approaches to enhance academic achievements of students. In this connection policymakers at the federal, state, and local levels have worked to increase accountability of the school system on the premise that the same plays a vital role in improving learning standards of students and society as well. This then pave the way to the recognition of evaluation of school performance to improve standards of learning and achievements of students.The system of accountability requires schools to define what students should know and be able to do and to measure progress and gaps in students’ achievement. It facilitates the attainment of the desired education standards anchored on quality content and high learning standards. Developing appropriate content and student achievement standards are accordingly important part of sho wing policymakers and the public a return on their educational investment. However, accountability of schools for students learning and achievement is impossible without a clear, focused road map on the achievement standards and what and how well students are to learn from kindergarten through graduation.Many states have developed content and achievement standards without involving stakeholders and teachers. They also have not considered how their standards are to be implemented, measured and tied to accountability. Developing content and student achievement standards without considerable contribution and input from a variety of sources is fatal as there is no sense of ownership as well as responsibility from the stakeholders and agencies not represented. The standards set are then viewed as bias and one-sided thereby defeating its purpose and rendering weak implementation of the system.Accountability system utilizes results from standardized tests to evaluate performance of student s and schools, and provide sanctions, rewards or interventions for schools, educators or students. This system involves consistent monitoring and evaluation of the students’ and schools’ performance that it requires active participation of the educators, parents, stakeholders, and policy makers. The ripple effect of the system requires that these concerned people and stakeholders should be consistently committed to the purpose, implementation, and evaluation in order to keep track of students and schools’ performance and eventually facilitate desired continuous improvement of schools’ performance standards.According to Kate Nolan (2002), â€Å"it is not enough to believe that all children can learn. All elements of the system must be held accountable for the success of all children†.   The effect of the accountability system in school is all encompassing that Kate Nolan further noted that, â€Å"the improvement in school performance requires imp rovement in all stakeholders’ performance†. Thus change in the system should not be an isolated case for the school sector but also on the part of the stakeholders as accountability requires their active participation and commitment for the system to work.It is noted that the accountability system is designed to be a tool for instituting changes in schools that would positively benefit the students, parents, community and the country in general. This system provides opportunities and avenues for joint effort of all people and agencies concerned to raise the standards of the education system thereby improving school performance and learning of the students. The intention of the program is indeed noble and reflects an effort to bring education system to respond to the fast changing demands of the learning community, yet a lot of areas need thorough consideration and re-evaluation.According to Chuch Poochigian, â€Å"the education system reforms undertaken in the past yea rs have greatly enhanced the ability of the parents to monitor the performance of their children as well as of the school where they are enrolled, however, the only way that the drive for accountability in education will be truly successful is if parents utilize the new tools offered to them to ensure that their children receive quality education.† This statement should give one an idea that accountability should not be limited to the school sector only.According to Douglas B. Reeves (2002), â€Å"accountability must be viewed in a different way. It must consider and address the issues in congruence of the objectives and the strategies, specificity, relevance, respect for diversity, continuous improvement, and focus on achievement, not norms.† Accountability system is highly complex and involves a range of interconnected issues and design as well as technical issues on the implementation and evaluation aspect that needs further thorough study and reconsideration.Also it must be noted that no matter how enlightened or elegant the assessment devices, if the focus is limited to gathering and reporting data rather than skillful use of those data for learning and achievement enhancement of students, little improvement to school performance will result. Thus, the best way to know whether an accountability system is working is to see whether the school system it accounts for is moving from where it was to where it wants to be. From its first implementation, an accountability system requires not only internal implementation but also external monitoring.Indeed the national push for accountability dignifies the need to improve standards of school performance and would greatly benefit the students but the approach is insufficient and has undesirable side effects. Schools do not per se reject accountability as the same is an intrinsic responsibility, but an authentic approach to accountability must be formulated. A new set of principles must be created to gui de the reconstruction of accountability systems to better meet the needs of education and students, and to avoid the dangers often associated with current accountability systems. Further, collaboration and supportive effort of the school, stakeholders and policymakers must be promoted.Reference ListNolan, K. (2002). Excerpts from using accountability to build strong schools. EducationCommission of States. Retrieved February 20, 2007 from http://www.ecs.orgPoochigian, C. School accountability reforms. Retrieved February 23, 2007 fromhttp://www.reasons.org/pb34.pdf.Reeves, D. (2002). Accountability based-reforms should lead to a better teaching andlearning-period. Harvard Education System. Retrieved February 20, 2007 fromhttp://www.edletter.org/past/issues2002-ma/reeves.shtml.