Today I Learned in Science (TIL)

The Decline Of American Education - 1251 Words

Jessica Hollis Mr. Wichmann English III, Period 4 17 November 2014 The Decline of American Education The future of society depends on the education of the children in the present generation. The American board of education means well by setting standards for the students in the nation. However, is it more important for students to be excellent test takers or excel in the classroom? Is it more important to accept average work as the standard or to push students to surpass their potential? The downfall of American education is a result of the narrow minded focus on standardized testing, the nation’s lazy culture, and rising poverty levels. The dependence on standardized tests has depreciated education by taking attention away from school curriculum. These mandatory tests, unfortunately, â€Å"are being used in high-stakes ways to evaluate and punish teachers† (Strauss). Standardized tests create quotas that are required to be met and force teachers to teach students how to pass tests rather than learn the material of the subject. It is n ot enough these days that a teacher’s students perform well in the classroom; teachers also have to worry about the same students performing well on a standardized test. Schools are also affected by these tests because their rankings are based on their students’ scores. Consequently, this puts pressure on teachers to make sure students have good test taking abilities in order to score well on these standardized tests. This obsession with gettingShow MoreRelatedComprehensive Preparation For A Complete Life1068 Words   |  5 PagesCurrently, there are two forms of education focused on reducing teen pregnancies: abstinence-only education and comprehensive sex education with birth control. However, sex education and birth control are clearly the superior option, due to its effectiveness and the futility of abstinence-only education. Comprehensive sex education with an emphasis on birth control is a much more effective educational tool to prevent teen pregnancy than abstinence-only education. Fortunately, teen pregnancy ratesRead MoreSocial Mobility and Stratification Essay980 Words   |  4 Pageshigh degree social mobility in American culture. Many are not improving from their parent’s positions, and few maintain it if not falling below. There are several factors including income inequality, family background and lack of opportunity for mobility that contribute to this decline. What are the disadvantages will we suffer as Americans you ask? I will outline the trends and evidence to support the decline and future effects as it continues. The apparent decline in social mobility is contraryRead MoreDecline in America 1437 Words   |  6 PagesDuring the Cold War, Soviets and Americans raced to be the best at everything. From the â€Å"Space Race† to economies to education and technology, the feeling in both countries was that the loser would be annihilated. Since the end of the Cold War, the drive to be the best is no longer fueling such determination. As a result, over the past two decades or so, Americans are increasingly aware and afraid of decline. There is a raging debate as to the current state of America both compared to where itRead MoreBaseball And Its Impact On Baseball1736 Words   |  7 Pagesdiscovered and created many controversies that prevented many colored players from playing the game because of their skin color. This could be part of the reason why in today’s culture, you do not see many black Americans playing the game of baseball. The steady decline in black Americans playing b aseball could also be contributed to other sports like basketball and football started to become more popular and they just simply lost interest in baseball. The integration of baseball all started in 1947Read MoreSex Education And Sexual Education948 Words   |  4 Pagesreason behind this decline is comprehensive sex education taught in schools. One the other hand, the opponents believe that the reason for this decline is the sex education classes that teach about not having sex. Even when most schools are teaching abstinences only sex education about sixty-six percent of high school students says they are sexually active. Which concludes that the abstinences only sex education is not working and is not the proper way of teaching sex education in schools. Not teachingRead MoreDo You Speak American? Essay1096 Words   |  5 PagesUnited States of America, small in history but large in diversity continues to face new challenges with language as time continues to turn. In the documentary â€Å"Do You Speak American?† Robert MacNeil analyzes the English language and reveals many dialects that culturally defines us. Regional dialect is one of the many strongholds of all cultures and now it has reached its’ zenith and today it is slowly declining because it does not possess the human nature of advancement. Optimistically, it allowsRead MoreMandatory Conscription In The Military895 Words   |  4 Pagesconscription has left a bad taste in the mouths of Americans since the Vietnam War. In modern day society, it can be seen as slavery and Americans today have become accustomed to the voluntary army system we currently have. For some, the perceived loss of freedom also means not being able to achieve educational and occupational goals, but that is definitely not the case. 2. Reason to Listen: 1. In fact, there are many educational and occupational benefits for American soldiers. Many citizens of the United StatesRead MoreUs a Declining Superpower? Essay800 Words   |  4 Pagesbecame a superpower. Its strength and status reached another peak in the mid and late 1990s as the Cold War ended: it accounted for about 30 percent of global economic output. However, after it entered a new economic cycle from 2000 to 2001, the American share of the world economy has gradually dropped. At the same time, certain situations, including the â€Å"weakening of advantages compared to other countries,† have appeared in some main areas of the United States national power. This trend alreadyRead MoreExamination of the Education System in Idiot Nation, by Michael Moore 1351 Words   |  5 PagesIn his essay, â€Å"Idiot Nation,† Michael Moore directly conveys the horrid truth behind American education when he utters the sheer words, â€Å"the knowledge (students) acquire in school is not going to serve them throughout their lifetimes. Many of them will have four to five careers in a lifetime. It will be their ability to navigate information that will matter† (Moore 141). According to Moore, American education today is by no means preparing students for the real world of work. In fact, he infers thatRead MoreBOP Statistics : Average Inmate Age870 Words   |  4 Pagesincarceration from impoverish urban communities. Chapman, T. (2010). Encyclopedia of African American education (pp. 651-654). K. Lomotey (Ed.). Los Angeles, [Calif.: SAGE. This encyclopedia portion by T. Chapman gives statistics and discusses various problems with urban education. The credibility is pertinent to the idea of my paper, the accuracy is high and this reference breaks down various issues with urban education. This source relates with the information given with the Nations Report Cards. Both

Communication in Organisation for Emotion - MyAssignmenthelp.com

Question: Discuss about theCommunication in Organisation for Emotion. Answer: Introduction: Interpersonal communication is the way people exchange information and communicates with each other. It is the way one exchanges his or her feelings, emotion and meaning through verbal or non-verbal means. Face to face communication is the best suitable communication means to communicate with people. However, in the contemporary situation of technological advancement, the communication process has become more linear and easier (Knapp et al. 2014). The purpose of this report is to identify the communication issues identified in an organization and analyze the issue with respect to a number of communication models and theories. Based on the analysis, certain recommendations will be made that would help the restaurant to combat against the challenges that the organization is facing in the contemporary time. Communication Issue Identified: The interviewer revealed that he is the owner of a hotel and he is responsible for all kinds of activities that take place in the hotel. However, he is not the only member but there are three other partners of the business as well. They have 5 restaurant in the country branched in Sydney and Canberra. Therefore, the responsibility for them is huge. In order to get the work going on, it is equally important to carry out communication in the right way and on a regular basis. However, the issue that has been identified in the lack of proper communication in the organization that at times leads to the situation where the organizational activities hamper. In addition to this, lack of proper communication also creates major dispute among the members as well. Methodology of the Research: The methodology selected for the purpose of this study is both primary research and secondary research. For the secondary research, the findings of the study rely on the relevant concepts and theories of interpersonal communication. Deductive research approach has been undertaken for the purpose of carrying out the study because the research is based on the already existing theories and concepts on interpersonal communication (Taylor et al. 2015). The analysis research design has been selected where an in depth analysis of the existing theories have been conducted in order to understand the perspective of the theories (Flick 2015). For the primary research, interview has been taken of a restaurant owner. The interview was the main element of the research based on which the complete discussion has to be made. Thus, a mixed research methodology has been undertaken for the purpose of the research. Relevant Theories: As stated by Fussell and Kreuz (2014), for the success of the organizational activities, it depends on communication among the people. If the scenario of the organization facing communication issues is taken into consideration, it has to be said that the partners of the organization do not live in the same place and thus, there remains the chance that communication issues would occur (Goodboy and Kashy 2017). In this respect, the Uncertainty Reduction theory can be discussed. According to this theory, it is important to communicate with people in order to reduce uncertainty among the people (Berger 2014). The theory asserts that at the time of interaction, people need to gain information. In order to predict the behavior of the people, it is important to communicate with them. If the communication process is not developed in the right manner, there might take place certain cognitive stress as well. Relational dialectics is the interpersonal communication theory that highlights the relationship between two contrary personalities. It is the value based version of the philosophical dialectics. According to this theory, there are a number of assumptions that are undertaken during the communication process (Connor et al. 2016). It is an important point of consideration that contradiction in the communication is a common phenomenon and the process of communication should focuses on the part that would create better opportunities for the people to communicate with each other. Findings: As it has been evident from the interview that the partners of the organization do not reside at the same place and this is the reason that at times, they face communication issues. As evident from the intercultural communication theory as well, it is important to communicate properly in order to avoid any kind of uncertainty in terms of behavior or cognition. Therefore, it is highly recommended to improve the interpersonal communication with the people of the organization. As argued by Mojzisch et al. (2014), that in order to carry out effective communication in the organization, it is equally important that the members should also have the proper inter personal communication skills as well. Interpersonal communication skills enable a person to communicate with others easily and reduce the chances of any uncertainty that creates problems and issues in an organization. Interpretation and Analysis: With the overall analysis, it can be said that the business of the hotel has been running smoothly but there are certain lack of communication that is creating hindrance in achieving the major organizational goals and objectives (Guerrero 2014). Therefore, the partners need to focus on the communication process. Major organizations always focus on the communication that takes place in an organization. Therefore, it shall be the primary concern for nay organization. In the process of communication, contradiction is also common but it shall depend on the individuals to consider the various factors that actually hamper the overall communication activities. It is expected that if the organization undertakes the right approach, it would prosper in its organizational functions. Conclusion: It has been clearly evident that the organization has been doing well in terms of its business. However, at many times they face communication related issues because the partners of the hotel reside in different places that make it challenging for them to communicate with each other. A detailed analysis on the major communication theories and models has also been conducted. It has been found that major scholars and researchers have the similar view that one of the major components of organizational activity is high level of communication and it is when one fails to communicate properly, the organization has to suffer. Therefore, keeping the various situations into consideration, certain useful recommendations can be made. Recommendations: It has been found that the people of the organization have organized themselves well considering the situation. However, at times the partners face communication issues. Therefore, certain recommendations can be made in this respect. Primarily, it is important that the members call for meetings at least once in a week. For this purpose, video calls and conference methods can be used. Each of the members is responsible for presenting their point of view towards a particular issue. It is when the members clear out their part of concern it is expected that others would participate in the communication process and a particular decision can be made. Aaprt from meetings, it is important that whatever steps one take, that should be communicated to other partners as well in the least possible time to avoid any kind of confusion among them. The partners could frame a companys policy related to the communication that each of the partners should have to communicate irrespective of any kind of i ssue and that if any member fails to attend the meeting without proper reason, the person can be penalized as well. References: Berger, C.R. ed., 2014.Interpersonal communication(Vol. 6). Walter de Gruyter GmbH Co KG. Connor, P., Harris, E., Guy, S., Fernando, J., Shank, D.B., Kurz, T., Bain, P.G. and Kashima, Y., 2016. Interpersonal communication about climate change: how messages change when communicated through simulated online social networks.Climatic Change,136(3-4), pp.463-476. Flick, U., 2015.Introducing research methodology: A beginner's guide to doing a research project. Sage. Fussell, S.R. and Kreuz, R.J., 2014.Social and cognitive approaches to interpersonal communication. Psychology Press. Goodboy, A.K. and Kashy, D.A., 2017. Forum: Interpersonal Communication in Instructional Settings: Interpersonal Communication Research in Instructional Contexts: A Dyadic Approach.Communication Education,66(1), pp.113-115. Guerrero, L.K., 2014. Interpersonal functions of nonverbal communication.Interpersonal Communication,6, p.53. Knapp, M.L., Vangelisti, A.L. and Caughlin, J.P., 2014.Interpersonal Communication Human Relationships. Pearson Higher Ed. Mojzisch, A., Kerschreiter, R., Faulmller, N., Vogelgesang, F. and Schulz-Hardt, S., 2014. The consistency principle in interpersonal communication: Consequences of preference confirmation and disconfirmation in collective decision making.Journal of Personality and Social Psychology,106(6), p.961. Taylor, S.J., Bogdan, R. and DeVault, M., 2015.Introduction to qualitative research methods: A guidebook and resource. John Wiley Sons. Wood, J.T., 2015.Interpersonal communication: Everyday encounters. Nelson Education.

ONE Considerable Advantage That Arises From Philosophy, Consists In Th

ONE considerable advantage that arises from Philosophy, consists in the sovereign antidote which it affords to superstition and false religion. All other remedies against that pestilent distemper are vain, or at least uncertain. Plain good sense and the practice of the world, which alone serve most purposes of life, are here found ineffectual: History as well as daily experience furnish instances of men endowed with the {2} strongest capacity for business and affairs, who have all their lives crouched under slavery to the grossest superstition. Even gaiety and sweetness of temper, which infuse a balm into every other wound, afford no remedy to so virulent a poison; as we may particularly observe of the fair sex, who tho' commonly possest of their rich presents of nature, feel many of their joys blasted by this importunate intruder. But when found Philosophy has once gained possession of the mind, superstition is effectually excluded, and one may fairly affirm that her triumph over th is enemy is more complete than over most of the vices and imperfections incident to human nature. Love or anger, ambition or avarice, have their root in the temper and affection, which the soundest reason is scarce ever able fully to correct, but superstition being founded on false opinion, must immediately vanish when true philosophy has inspired juster sentiments of superior powers. The contest is here more equal between the distemper and the medicine, {3} and nothing can hinder the latter from proving effectual but its being false and sophisticated. IT will here be superfluous to magnify the merits of Philosophy by displaying the pernicious tendency of that vice of which it cures the human mind. ([editor's note] 1) The superstitious man says Tully2 is miserable in every scene, in every incident in life; even sleep itself, which banishes all other cares of unhappy mortals, affords to him matter of new terror; while he examines his dreams, and finds in those visions of the night prognostications of future calamities. I may add that tho' death alone can put a full period to his misery, he dares not fly to this refuge, but still prolongs a miserable existence from a vain fear left he offend his Maker, by using the power, with which that beneficent being has endowed him. The presents of God and nature are ravished from us by this {4} cruel enemy, and notwithstanding that one step would remove us from the regions of pain and sorrow, her menaces still chain us down to a hated being which she herself chiefly contributes to render misera ble. 'TIS observed by such as have been reduced by the calamities of life to the necessity of employing this fatal remedy, that if the unseasonable care of their friends deprive them of that species of Death which they proposed to themselves, they seldom venture upon any other, or can summon up so much resolution a second time as to execute their purpose. So great is our horror of death, that when it presents itself under any form, besides that to which a man has endeavoured to reconcile his imagination, it acquires new terrors and overcomes his feeble courage: But when the menaces of superstition are joined to this natural timidity, no wonder it quite deprives men of all power over their lives, since even many pleasures and enjoyments, {5} to which we are carried by a strong propensity, are torn from us by this inhuman tyrant. Let us here endeavour to restore men to their native liberty, by examining all the common arguments against Suicide, and shewing that that action may be free from every imputation of guilt or blame, according to the sentiments of all the antient philosophers. ([editor's note] 2) IF Suicide be criminal, it must be a transgression of our duty either to God, our neighbour, or ourselves. -- To prove that suicide is no transgression of our duty to God, the following considerations may perhaps suffice. In order to govern the material world, the almighty Creator has established general and immutable laws, by which all bodies, from the greatest planet to the smallest particle of matter, are maintained in their proper sphere and function. To govern the animal world, he has endowed all living

Where My Mind Wanders essays

Where My Mind Wanders essays My car slows as it approaches a stoplight. I take this opportunity to allow my mind to become engulfed with my surroundings: the bright, fierce red of the traffic light, the brilliant blue sky with its specs clouds, and the mass of hurried people. The four corners of the intersection are filled with people who are preoccupied with their fast-paced lives to notice the little things, such as animals and anxious cars awaiting the traffic light. My thoughts vigorously put all of the information that my mind has gathered from the intersection to order. My mind eagerly involves itself by engulfing my surroundings and giving them some meaning. The office workers, too busy to pay attention to the life that surrounds them catch my eyes first. They seem to be apathetic robots, preprogrammed to start at one location and go to another. They pay little attention to any detail unless it has to do with them. I chuckle at the automated behavior of these robots. Once my mind has come to a conclusion about the workers, this small little squirrel sitting on its hind legs eating a juicy apple catches my attention. Sitting there on the corner of the intersection, minding its own business, the squirrel devours the apple. Once done with its apple the squirrel throws the core to the side and remains there for a bit. My mind temporarily comes out of its lapse and I wonder if this squirrel is analyzing me, too. The neck of the squirrel seems to be a second hand on a clock, tick tock. It moves a bit then stops, then again moves continuing until it can no longer move its neck. A 1996 Ford Mustang next to my car revs the engine, and my mind loses interest in the squirrel and moves to the cars next to and opposite of me. There are two cars, a BMW, and an old pickup truck; the name is not visible. You can see the eagerness of each car; the impatience in these cars is more than of child the day before their birthday. These cars remain perpendicular to the lan...

See details below Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

See details below - Essay Example pp2-3) in which the project is either accepted or rejected based on its value addition to the firm and the shareholder wealth. The author showed that the cost of capital of a project is marginalized to maximize the shareholder wealth by including rate of interest, the required rate of return to stock holders, corporate marginal income tax rate, debt to equity ratio and lifetime of the proposed project and the weighted average cost of capital. In a paper written by the same author later (Beranek. 1980. pp404-405) claimed that the Net Present Value rankings of the investment opportunities do not match equity market value unless the projects are of one period duration or are solely equity financed. He established the widely used criteria of accepting a project only if its Present Value is greater than zero and recommended that the project among multiple Mutually Exclusive projects having highest Present Value should be chosen. However, Beranek (1975. pp17) warned of some practical chall enges in implementing this technique in capital budgeting due to uneven cash flows, non-straight line income tax & other depreciations, varying methods of repaying the debts, different treatment of shareholders between capital gains & dividends, errors in calculation of weighted average cost of capital in finite lived projects, etc. His fears were not unreasonable in those years given the current sophistication of capital budgeting procedures that takes into account complex metrics like risk analysis (both systematic & non-systematic), computerized simulations & stress tests, inflation, etc. In fact Pike (1984. pp95) carried out a broad level research on relationship between sophistication of capital budgeting and firm performance to conclude that higher sophistication of capital budgeting impacts firm performance negatively. Overall, Net Present Value has remained the most trusted method to evaluate capital budgeting decisions due to its shear advantage of evolving the "time value of money". Majority of expansions, new operations or replacement decisions are based on NPV technique (Sun & Queyranne. 2002. pp528). Although NPV has some pitfalls especially when the inputs to the NPV calculations (like interest rates, risk perceptions, etc.) vary considerably, it is the most effective technique to evaluate the true value of capital budget when evaluating the returns from a project. It may however not give a complete picture of returns from an accepted project and hence the Internal Rate of Return (IRR) technique should be used along with the NPV technique. Cash Flow Estimation under Capital Budgeting - Issues and Resolutions Most of the analysts associate larger risks with projects that are of longer durations. This is because the speculations of risks, interest rates, inflation, etc. become more unpredictable for longer durations. The NPV technique is perfect for a single duration project but if the inputs vary too much (like interest rates vary considerably within a short span of time), the project can no-longer be treated as single duration. Beranek (1980. pp404) presented an empirical

The effects of alcohol drinking Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The effects of alcohol drinking - Essay Example This paper will elaborate on the noxious effects of drinking on physical health, mental and psychological well-being and education that later lead to adverse consequences to society as a whole. Effects of Drinking It should be pointed out that alcohol drinking among youths has increased tremendously in last 15 – 20 years primarily due to peer influence, excessive drinking of family members, portrayal of exaggerated images of fortitude / bravery of actors in movies, continuous persuasive and reminder advertising of alcohol beverages. Kremer and Levy (2008) have highlighted that frequent / occasional alcohol drinking is common among students who share similar rooms with other alcohol drinkers. Nevertheless, the academic performance of such drinkers is significantly lower in comparison to non-drinkers. Usually, students end up with poor grades and low CGPAs as an outcome of their drinking habit (addiction to alcohol). Drinkers are found addicted to life-threatening drugs and narc otics. The second most dangerous effect of alcohol drinking on youths is behavioral misconduct and aggravation of thinking and understanding abilities (Snyder et al, 2006). ... As a result, unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases take place, which negatively affects health of male and female students. For instance, the situation becomes grave when male students get indulged in sexual harassment, ‘dating violence’ and physical abuse to their female counterparts, which then lead to disciplinary violations and lack of harmony within premises of educational institutions (Miller et al, 2006). Other serious behavioral issues with youth drinkers include carelessness / recklessness / wildness in driving and aggressive moves towards other students; the outcomes of which are nothing but grisly accidents (life-long disabilities and financial losses) and unnecessary (baseless and avoidable) combats between / among rival individuals / groups. The worst outcomes of frequent alcohol drinking (especially the case with addicts) include lack of emotional stability / control and obvious personality weaknesses, which then leads to ‘suicides an d homicides’ as highlighted by Duncan et al (2005). For instance, emotionally unstable (and drunk) youths when become hopeless at a certain point in their life then they commit suicides, thereby considering any unfavorable outcomes and events as an end of the world. Similarly, when drunk youths are unable to satisfy themselves through aggression and physically torture towards their rivals, they select homicide as an appropriate option and assassinate their enemies. Conclusion I would now like to end up this analysis by summarizing the facts that alcohol drinking is not only detrimental for a drinker’s mental and physical health but also may lead to conflicts among people, suicides and murders. Society, as a whole, is affected because emotionally