Executive Summary on Bee Farming Business

I. Executive Summary A. Type of Business Nature The nature of the business is bee farming. The proponents’ primary purpose is to examine the impact of interventions in bee-keeping. Beekeeping (apiculture) does well in a wide range of agro-ecological zone and fits into a broader category of diversification of agricultural activities. The intervention provides an avenue for increased income. Name The proponent chose â€Å"BAMBU BEE FARM† as a business name. It’s because the word BAMBU came from the first letter of the partners’ last names.The location of the business will be Agbuacan, Agsungot, Cebu City. Products/Services The proposed business revolves on bees and the production of honey. B. Management, Marketing & Financial Highlights The business is a sole proprietorship. It does not need to have a complicated business venture to have a successful beekeeping business. In the marketing aspect, the businesses that require the use of honey are: bakeshops as an alternative for sugar, fast food chains (i. e. McDonald’s, Jollibee, etc. as syrups for breakfast meals, skin clinics as facial masks or treatments, and households for personal use. As there are lesser producers for organic honey which is the main product of the proposed business than processed honey, competition is not that high so the business is not that risky. In financial aspect, it shows the financial activities and its profitability in operating the business. With only a little capital, the return on investments will be fairly high. C. Socio-Economic ContributionsMankind has been interested with bee farming/beekeeping for centuries even before the use of sugar cane has been discovered because of honey – use as a primary sweetener. This golden, sweet treat is from the nectar of the flowers, gathered by the bees. As a result, agriculture has recognized the primary participation of bees in the pollination of the different fruits and flowers around us. Many would suffer if bees would stop in their pollinating activities – crops will die, flowers will wither, trees will bear no fruit and most of the entire ecosystem will fall.The rewards of beekeeping to mankind is not just the sweet, succulent honey but also other products such as royal jelly, propolis and beeswax that could serve as food supplements and medicines to some illnesses. Even the pollen that they harvested can be a good source of protein for a healthy diet. Honey and propolis have antibacterial qualities. Royal jelly (the substance that is secreted from glands in a worker bee's head and is used to feed brood) is loaded with B vitamins and is widely used overseas as a dietary and fertility stimulant.Pollen is high in high protein and can be used as a homeopathic remedy for seasonal pollen allergies. Apitherapy  is the use of bee products for treating health disorders. Even the bees' venom plays a vital role here — in bee-sting therapy. Venom is administered with s uccess to patients who suffer from arthritis and other inflammatory/medical conditions. This entire area has become a science in itself and has been practiced for thousands of years in Asia, Africa, and Europe.

Jack London: The Law of LIfe Essay

LALAJack London: The Law of Life Culture is the expression of our nature on how we live, interact, believe, where we gain our knowledge, and it also distinguishes people from another in divergent societies. The culture of Native Americans is so history rich and storied cultured that it cannot be easily misinterpreted by anyone that is foreign of their way of life. In â€Å"The Law of Life,† Jack London describes the culture of the Native Americans and their proclivity towards life as it revolves around Naturalism and The Survival of the Fittest. We can describe â€Å"The Law of Life† as the circle of life. The circle of life begins when a man is born and ends with his or her death. â€Å"Koskoosh thinks of the leaves turning in autumn from green to brown, of young girls that grow more and more attractive until they find a man, raise children and slowly grow ugly by age and labor (London, 389).† The cycle of life and death is always indisputable in life. Death is a natural cycle as is birth; the distinction is how death occurs and affects a living creature. In the â€Å"Law of Life,† by Jack London, the law becomes acceptable to the tribe due to the nature of their survival in the harsh conditions in the artic regions. For example, deep and heavy snow may make it harder for hunters to bring back food for the tribe, or animals may go into hibernation to keep their young safe when they are vulnerable. Whenever necessities are scarce, the tribe migrates from one area to another for food, shelter, medicine, livable weather conditions, move to habitats that are more hospitable, and the elderly and disability people are left alone so that they will not be a hindrance on the migration and the survival of the tribe. The availability of food and water can change throughout the year. When I first read Jack London’s short story â€Å"The Law of Life† for my assigned literature reading for English class, I was deeply impressed by Jack London’s writing style. Jack London’s sense of observation made his stories deeply realistic as if they were happening right before us as if we were in the characters shoes; therefore, the entire story gave us a mouth full of food for thought of what could possibly develop next. Jack London’s short story was based around how Naturalism affects everyone in their lives. Naturalism plays a magnificent part on the tribes that are faced to whatever situations in life that their heredity, social conditions, and environment prepare them to encounter. â€Å"Naturalism in literature is explained as an attempt to be true to nature by not writing unrealistic stories about what life is like (Weegy).† Naturalistic writers try to show that man’s existence, is determined by things over which he has no control over and about which he can exercise little by if he has any choice. Man can only do nothing to prevent nature from taking a certain course; however, man does have the ability, to create protection from inclement weather, by way of: shelter, clothing, and supplies. Man is equal with all life and nature. We all eat, sleep, live, and eventually die. Many of Jack London’s stories talk about the constant struggle of surviving and staying alive. As discussed in class, nature doesn’t care who you are or where you come from; it is something that is continual and non-stopping. Man and the environment are both together in the struggle to compete for life. The aim is survival. Darwin’s Theory of the big fish that eats up the small fish, explains The Survival of the Fittest. Man and environment are both confronted between infinite, irrational Mother Nature and irrational human beings. The arctic region weather is harsh and endless. In the horrid, cold weather, the man act like the wild animal; however, the wild animals live a less troublesome life of what the tribe members have to encounter. For example, the animals survive exceptionally by their natural instincts by avoiding any type of danger. Man usually is fated to death when they cannot support the tribe any longer. After death, man became part of the nature and joined the endless and everlasting process of nature. Unfortunately, an older man named Koskoosh is strongly affected by naturalism. He is slowly growing older and is losing his ability to keep up with the tribe as the days go by. The seasons are changing and therefore, the tribe has to migrate for food and Koskoosh is too impaired to make the trip and he may hold his family back. He understands that those who are weak, old and are not able to take care of themselves must move on with their lives and give up a place to the healthier and younger, livin g human beings. Koskoosh knows what is in store for him since he has disabilities and won’t be able to benefit the tribe. He sits aside observing the tribe pack up making sure he isn’t a burden to them while they prepare for migrating. In the distance he listens to his granddaughter give commands to break camp. He only wishes for her to at least say goodbye to him. â€Å"Life calls her, and the duties of life, not  death†. Koskoosh understands that if she slows down to visit with him it will jeopardize the health of the tribe, because they must follow the caribou. Koskoosh can also hear the cries of little Koo-tee who in his mind is a fretful child, and not over strong.† â€Å"He feels as though the child would die soon, again he is internally enforcing to himself that death will come to everyone (London, 389-390).† Despite the law, he still somewhat anticipates for an exception to himself since his son is the leader of the tribe. â€Å"He hears a soft footstep o f a moccasin in the snow, and then feels a hand rest on his head. His son, the current chief, has come to say good-bye. Not all sons do this for their fathers, and Koskoosh is quietly grateful and proud. The son asks, â€Å"Is it well with you?† The people have left, the son explains, and they are moving quickly because they have not eaten well for some time. Koskoosh assures him that all is well, that he knows he is old and near death, and that he is ready. He compares his life to that of â€Å"last year’s leaf, clinging lightly to the stem. The first breath that blows and I fall. My voice is become like an old woman’s. My eyes no longer show me the way of my feet, and my feet are heavy, and I am tired. It is well (London, 890).† â€Å"The son walks away, and now Koskoosh is truly alone. He reaches out his hand to check his woodpile and thinks about how the fire will slowly die out, and he will slowly freeze to death (Overview).† Koskoosh is expected to freeze to death, most likely, to starve, or to be killed and eaten by animal predators. It was a continuing tradition that he could not prevent. â€Å"It was easy,† Koskoosh thinks, all men must die (Overview).† It is the law of life. To abandon the weak was not only understandable but it was helpful to the existence of the whole tribe. While he did not complain about his fate, he became sympathetic to other living beings that were abandoned when the group agreed that they were no longer needed in the tribe; however, in his childhood he would not have given a second thought on l eaving an old tribe member behind to fend for him or herself. â€Å"He remembered how he had abandoned his own father on an upper reach of the Klondike one winter, the winter before the missionary came with his talk-books and his box of medicines (London 392)†. Left in the frozen weather where the snow and whole land is covered by an endless blanket of snow, he recalls doing the same thing to his father decades ago, throwing him away like a piece of trash. In his final moments, Koskoosh commemorates of a time when he was young with a  friend, Zing-ha, and witnessed a moose fall down and fight his way back to standing ground where the moose succeeded in stomping one of the wolves to death. The moose fought until it was exhausted and overpowered by the pack of wolves. Koskoosh concludes that nature did not embrace whether a man lived or died; the continuing of the species was all that was to be substantive in â€Å"the law of life†. All things have a certain task to maintain in life, and all things after completing this task must die. The moose which fought to the very end is a symbol of foreshadowing of what happens to all living creatures; that all men must die and that this is what life is supposed to be. While recapping those memories of when he was younger, he feels the cold, wet nose of the wolf on his bare, cold skin. His mind flashes back to the wounded, bloody moose from long ago that was taken down by the same creature. This time, more horrific memories are being brought up in his mind. The blood, the big yellow eyes and the barbed fangs of the pack, and the way they enclosed slowly on the moose, slowly easing up on their prey until the opportunity came to attack. His instinct for survival was to maneuver a flaming branch at the wolf to make him back away. The wolf retreats, but calls out to his pack, and suddenly there are many wolves gathered around Koskoosh in a pack. Koskoosh remembers the moose, remembers that death will come whether he fights against it or not. As content with death as he seemed to be, he is now fighting for his life, knowing he’s about to die. Koskoosh finally realizes what he is doing and that he probably really doesn’t stand a chance. â⠂¬Å"What did it matter after all?† â€Å"Was it not the law of life?† â€Å"Why should I cling to life (London, 394)?† He then drops the stick into the snow and rests his tired head on his knees and waits for death to take him. In conclusion, all human beings eventually face eternal rest regardless of our cultures; it is the irrevocable of death. It is impossible to change or turn back life; it is like a river, no one can stop its flow. This is unfortunate, but nature is unforgiving, powerful, and knows no compassion. Koskoosh goes through his memories of his own life’s trials and misfortunes to try and give him an understanding of why he is sacrificing his life as an individual. He believes we are all going to face death and we will always strive to survive, no matter the odds in our favor. Works Cited Main Theme of â€Å"The Law of Life†. Weegy. 19 March 2013. http://www.weegy.com/home.aspx?ConversationId=70DA70B3. â€Å"Overview: ‘The Law of Life’.† Short Stories for Students. Ed. Sara Constantakis. Vol. 35. Detroit: Gale, 2012. Literature Resource Center. Web. 14 Apr. 2013. London, Jack. â€Å"The Law of Life.† The Bedford Anthology of American Literature Vol 2. ‘Ed’ 2008. Susan Belasco and Linck Johnson. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2008. Pp. 388-394.

Traditional Chinese Culture on the Influence

Traditional Chinese culture on the influence of the enterprise culture construction in China Name: Wang Shuyun (Sophie) Any business, its survival and development with its own cultural conditions and cultural environment are inseparable. Enterprise culture is the basis of survival, the standard of behavior, a guarantee of success. My article focuses on the traditional culture, Confucianism, Taoism two ideas on the positive role of enterprise culture, but also a brief analysis of the traditional culture of negative impact of enterprise culture.China’s enterprises in creating organization culture should absorb the essence of traditional culture, discard the dross, the traditional culture in building of enterprise culture to play its due role. Enterprise culture refers to the business philosophy, value systems, historical traditions and work style, performance for the whole spirit of enterprise members, common value standards, precipitation of habit, certain moral norms and cultu re quality.It not only can play the guidance and constraint role to the thought and behavior of staffs, motivate their creativity, enhance the cohesive affinity of enterprise, but also can be more clearly to distinguish this enterprise and the competition, so that it is convenient for consumers to identify enterprise, and then produce identity Enterprise culture is the foundation of the enterprise existing, criterion of performance, and the guarantee of success. The formation of enterprise culture theory began in the 1980 s in the United States.At that time, the whole international economic situation has undergone great changes, Japan in just 20 years, it became the world’s second developed capitalist countries from a defeated country, and became the major competitors of American enterprises, which makes people rethink the phenomenon deeply. After a deep analysis, in the process of enterprise competitions, is the enterprise culture makes Japanese rapid rise, is the enterprise culture plays a major role on Japan's economic development. So the western business US-Led opens a wave create enterprise culture boom.When we explore the Japanese enterprise culture, and found that the Japanese enterprise culture was influenced by Chinese traditional culture. Therefore, when Chinese enterprise is creating the enterprise culture and improving competitiveness, in addition to learning and introducing advanced enterprise culture of eastern and western outside, still necessary to learn from Chinese traditional culture in the ideological treasure. Chinese traditional culture on the influence of positive aspect, about the positive influence of Confucianism and TaoismI The positive influence of Confucianism The representative figure of Confucianism is Confucius, Confucius' thought often is used by the enterprise. There is a ‘the father of the modern industry â€Å"who is called Shibusawa Eiichi, he established the enterprise for the whole life, operated hundreds of business enterprise for example, Prince paper, Oriental textile, and Ishikawajima-Harima Heavy Industry, the enterprise has been founded more than one hundred years, they are still prevalent.How does he do the enterprise so well, Shibusawa Eiichi explained by himself, is† the analects of Confucius and abacus â€Å", it is Confucian moral and interests are the interoperability of pursuit in the production and business operation, also the moral and economy are the one, or call justice, we consider the ethical moral when we aspire interest factors, we aspire interest factors when we consider the ethical moral. Confucian explanation and couterfacture explanation,made Confucian ideas gain the new strength.The analects of Confucius and the thought of Confucianism are very available for the enterprise culture construction in China, this article mainly from the â€Å"benevolence†, â€Å"faith†, â€Å"justice† and â€Å"harmony† several aspects to discuss Confucianism on the influence of the enterprise culture construction in China. The thought of â€Å"Benevolence† â€Å"Benevolence†, kindheartedness, â€Å"benevolence† is the core of Confucius' thought, is the essence of the Confucian. the word of enevolence appeared 109 times in The Analects of Confucius ,had a variety of explanation, one of the most common and the most important explanation is † love the people,† Confucius answered for several times when Xushen who is his student asked him, did explain:† benevolence is intimate â€Å". In the business management of enterprise in China need to respect their staffs, understand them, trust and tolerant them, and care about them, thus it is effective that enterprises foster employees Loyalty and trust of employee, if the enterprise must consider employees, it can arouse the enthusiasm of employees fullyThe thought of â€Å"Trustworthiness † â€Å"Trustworthiness † is words and dee ds are the one, mentioned trustworthiness for many times in The Analects of Confucius; Analects  · government-funded said: â€Å"people who have no faith do not have to recommend him, â€Å"The Analects of Confucius ·YanYuan† said â€Å"people who have no faith do not have any space to stand â€Å". Faith is a neutral concept, does not contain the class, any person must stress trustworthiness when dealing with people and handling affairs, people who have no faith do not have to recommend him, people who have no faith do not have any space to stand.The enterprise must stress the trustworthiness to make the enterprise success. â€Å"trust† is the positive thought in the Confucian, also is the important model of exchange moral principle in China. It is worth for us to learn and use for reference in the enterprise culture construction today. Because the good faith, externally, first of all, good faith can greatly reduce transaction costs, improve business efficiency ; Secondly, the good faith can set a good reputation for the enterprise to develop a broader market space, thus get more benefit.Internally, only on the basis of good faith, the internal enterprise can achieve the mutual trust, the harmonious interpersonal relationship of mutual understanding, then minimize the internal friction, give full play to people's biggest potential. An entrepreneur with strategic vision should understand these: the enterprise survival is not a day or two days, but the long career. Some enterprise implementation of the principle of bad faith, they will be kicked out the fierce marketing competition quickly. The thought of â€Å"Righteousness† â€Å"Righteousness† is about the moral and socialist.Confucius said, â€Å"One has not lived in vain if he dies after he is told of the way†, the enterprise must set up the correct moral as their action creeds in the cultural construction, and fight for it. Especially, when the righteousness and in terest conflict are contradicting, we must keep a clear head and the right values. Confucius said, â€Å"a gentleman is always moral, vile people just focus on the only gain† († The analects of Confucius, benevolence â€Å"), â€Å"Riches and position without are to me as the floating clouds†, he also put forward the thought that â€Å"Consider righteousness when seeing benefits†.Advocate people to do it when seeing the righteousness, sacrifice for justice, pay more attention to the righteousness and be careless benefits, No matter what to do, don't forget the righteousness. Make personal behaviors conform to the righteousness and moral, and don't care about the utility or material interests. In the enterprise culture construction in China, should set up the correct â€Å"merit† as an important content, when making staffs consciously aware that stress â€Å"justice†, should admit that â€Å"benefit† of necessary, when meeting the purs uit of â€Å"benefit†, need to accept the constraint of â€Å"righteousness†.So, can achieve â€Å"use the righteous to estimate benefits†, â€Å"With a moral to develop interests†, adjust and regulate the action that the enterprises in the economic activity, and make the enterprise obey the law, legitimate the business in a correct way to make money, treating making money as a way, not a destination, Consciously let making money associate with the national prosperity and interests, do charity donations for the education, make benefits reward the society, embody the value orientation of traditional Chinese culture.The thought of â€Å"harmony† Confucian culture emphasizes â€Å"harmony†, Confucius said â€Å"highly summarizes the basic spirit of ritual† harmony is the most precious† is the history of several thousand years of interpersonal relationship, national culture, social relations’ traditional principles. Use the w ay of seeking more common grounds while reserving differences, to coordinate the part of people's interests and requirements. To achieve the overall coordinating, harmony is the Chinese society long-term stability of the important cultural pillar.The Chinese nation strong cohesion also is the result of the tradition of â€Å"harmony†. For the enterprise culture construction is concerned, the relatively popular approach is using three harmony to manage the enterprise , three harmony s are harmonious people,harmonious objectives, and harmonious benefits, namely, the enterprise management need to make people' relationship harmonious, enterprise production and environmental harmonious, the enterprise competition and cooperation get together organically .The Confucian ideas from different aspects in the construction of enterprise culture plays a role, is the enterprise' lubricant of operation. Therefore, the enterprise should with extraordinary grand vision, pay attention to absor b excellent Chinese traditional culture reference to educate staffs and develop employees, make them love their work, solidarity and cooperation, the spirit of harmony, the competitiveness of the enterprises can strengthen. II The positive influence of Taoism The representative figure of Taoism is Laozi, Zhuangzi. The respectively writings are â€Å"Laozi â€Å", â€Å"Zhuangzi†.Enterprise culture construction can absorb reasonable nutrition in China. 1. The thought of â€Å"The nature of the Tao, govern by non-interference. † â€Å"The Taos† is the center thought of the Taoist . Laozi ‘said † The nature of the Tao, govern by non-interference. † means things have its development rule, people should do something according to rules, shall not act just as you please. In applying the enterprise culture construction, firstly, the leader behavior should conform to the natural development rules, and set legal system according to the rules.Secondly, the enterprise should consider its own characteristic and the surrounding environment totally when involving enterprise reform, don't take it for granted. Thirdly, for leaders, should be good at stressing the important issues. the routine affairs are made decentralization to subordinates, so the duty and right are clear, exhaust its power each, leaders seem be at leisure, actually,the work is in the perfect order, it is â€Å"inaction and without exception† 2.The thought of â€Å"Dialectical to things, dialectical at all things†. This is the Taoist thought and essence. Laozi thought, all phenomena are in opposition to each other, such as new and old, filled with failure, high and low, long and short, fortune and misfortune, and so on, and the opposite relationship is also can be changed. Focus on present enterprise, the market is like the battlefield, there is success,also there is fill, in the face of the fierce competition, the enterprises should have a clear underst anding.When the enterprise is in the management difficult period, the enterprise should not be discouraged, through unremitting efforts, have the difficult situation improved and developed in the opposite direction , which is succeed; When the enterprise is in prosperity, also should recognize that the enterprises still exist some problems, which is likely to be hidden, and at the same time, the enterprise competition rises rapidly on barely detectable speed ,the enterprise will fall behind, even may be eliminated carelessly.The thought of dialectical to things to know things, manage the enterprise, is also one of magic weapon that many enterprises win the game to success or avoid arrogance and keep lead. 3. Thought of † The beginning of crumbs† Laozi thought, all the great things of the world, start from the trifle deeds. He said: â€Å"The close columns are born in Baekho wood; the platform of nine layers of begins tired soil; A journey of miles begins with a single s tep. † This has a great enlightening significance for enterprise culture construction.Each enterprise has one dream, the constant development and growth. In order to o realize this dream, it will have to start from scratch, however many enterprise doesn't do this, they are anxious for success, expect them to compare blindly, expand the scale recklessly, introduce foreign capital, ignore its own conditions, also regardless of what are the procedure and regularity, result in appearing management difficulty, funds are wasted, the increase in liabilities and so n a series of unhealthy phenomenon. The enterprise of world Top 500 enterprise, Which enterprise is not clear about the history of hundreds of years? Which enterprise does not rise abruptly based on its accumulated strength? Then they achieve the brilliant achievements. Taoism, broad and profound, it educate today's enterprise has dialectical view of success or failure, conform to rules to manage the enterprise in a thought of â€Å"The nature of the Tao, govern by non-interference. † at the same time, look upon the business enterprise growth in a thought of † beginning of crumbs†, causes the enterprise to sustainable development. The negative influence of Chinese traditional culture Everything is split into two, there is no absolute good or completely bad, when seeing the excellent traditional culture, also should see its negatives, here is the simple analysis of the Chinese traditional culture on the influence of negative aspect 1. The doctrine of the mean impartial, the maintenance arts of harmonic fold Wood show in the forest, the wind will destroy them†, â€Å"shoot the bird which takes the lead†, these proverbs advise Chinese not to be the world's firstly will affect the enterprise competition consciousness of first-class , also greatly affect the enterprise internal personnel selection, training and the use. Governor General of Canada, Wu Bingzhi's father educate d his kids, â€Å"if you don't want to pick the stars in the sky, so you even the dust of the ground also can't get†.In the age of globalization now, the business is more competitive, is full of risk, who is too timid and overcautious, everything is not dare to do it firstly, or competition consciousness is light , no desire to make progress, and do the industry in â€Å"muddle through †mind, I'm afraid the enterprise is difficult to live forever. When former general electric CEO jack Welch talk about general enterprise culture, Had one well-known saying is â€Å"competition, competition, and competition again†. 2. How do you view the success or the failure.How to evaluate the person who often fails. No one dares to say that he will never fail. Modern scientific education research indicates that people learn from mistakes, so, to a certain extent, successful people are the failure of more than others. As a modern merchant, must be not afraid of failure, only the person is not afraid of the failture, who would know failure, will distinguish which is the success through failure, which is the failure of forever, so as to avoid the failure in the key problems.In the traditional Chinese culture, the evaluation of a person is often not see who makes it so many things, but more is to see how many he made the mistake, against many people, how many times he has failed. In this standard, the kind of person who doesn't care no fame, only request no faults, the person who takes care of a good relationship is in the ascendant, but the person who has the big momentum, who is careless of the relationship, who plunges into the affairs often suffer more loss. Long-term since, the enthusiasm of employees will be hit, the harm to the enterprise is self-evident. . Pay more attention to the history, experience, authority and the thought of ranking. â€Å"Don't know the ancient, no righteousness. † I had passed a bridge more than the path where you had w alked . † A big officer's saying is more virtuous than small officer, as if all the leaders are wiser than subordinates in all the problems . The experience of past, were not completely intact are used to guide today's real life, The experience of the past, were not completely intact used to guide today's real life, many experiences for today's often are only core thought about.Above in the role of thought enterprise culture construction, will only make enterprise feudal breath is strong, it is difficult to develop for the Long time. 4. The trend in thought, to pay attention to â€Å"the metaphysical† of the research, and neglected the â€Å"physical† quest, cause â€Å"pay attention to traditional culture, neglect art† bad tendency. In the Confucian culture dominant, formed a very bad idea: advocating â€Å"principles†, despised the â€Å"skill†, People has always attached great importance to â€Å"learn the traditional culture†.This kind of idea and further encourage â€Å"the value of intolerance. The idea for the enterprise culture construction, easy to cause the enterprise just talking morality, no material technology pursuit, in science and technology is the first productivity of modern society, ignore technological innovation is dead, must avoid this narrow traditional culture. Overall, as the traditional Chinese culture running in Asian for the thousands of years, is a complex culture on both sides of the body.Speaking from the positive aspects, it plays the positive role in the construction of enterprise culture, is the enterprise culture innovation, the basement to continue to progress; Speaking from the negative aspects, it also can form the block role in the construction of enterprise culture, is a heavy burden of history. We should see the positive aspect, also need to see the negative aspect, take the essence and discard the dross in order to service modern enterprise culture construction.

FMLA this is a Human Resoures class Research Paper

FMLA this is a Human Resoures class - Research Paper Example However, if a company is a public agency, including all private and public schools, it must provide FMLA regardless of the number of employees. The FMLA allows eligible employees to take off up to 12 work weeks in any 12 month period to take care of a new child in the family whether by birth, adoption or by placement in foster care; to care for an immediate family member (spouse, child, or parent) with a serious health condition; or if the employee himself is unable to work because of a serious health condition (USDOL,n.d.). An employee can be eligible to FMLA if he is unable to perform his essential job function. The FMLA regulations guarantees time-off but it is up to the employer if he will pay the employee and provide benefits while he takes a leave. The continuous, intermittent and reduced schedules are the three different kinds of FMLA leave. The continuous leave is when an employee is absent for more than three consecutive business days and has been treated by a doctor. The in termittent leave is when an employee takes time off in separate blocks. It can either be in hourly, daily, or weekly increments. This type of leave is usually taken by an employee who undergoes ongoing treatment.

Consumption and Environment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Consumption and Environment - Essay Example Human habitats are being plundered of their natural resources base. Air and water pollution is rampant in all industrialized cities of the world. PPM (particulate matter per cubic meter of air) is alarmingly high, and is no more fit for human breathing. The COD, BOD levels in fresh water streams are quite low for survival of plant and animal life in waters. The soils are being badly damaged by excessive cropping. The precious animal and plants species are endangered. The CO2 level in the atmosphere is alarmingly high. Results are the global warming and climate change. Therefore unnecessary lust of a few people for consumption of food, clothes, fuel, energy and other scarcest resources has been resulting into poverty disease and death for many other fellow human beings. The rivers are gutted with filth, the air is laden with poisonous gases and soils are boiling with toxic materials. This situation is only due to greedily exploitation of forest, fossil fuels and food-based resources. The solution lies in finding the alternate resources that are cleaner in production, cheaper and efficient. Recycling projects are one of the solutions. Recycling Project: The sea beaches are always littered with different foodstuffs and their containers. This is called garbage or solid waste. This waste can be collected, separated and recycled for further use. The recycling project includes three main activities. Collection of organic wastes like wood, paper, food remains, plastic bottles, metal cans, glass, and bones. The collection needs proper gloves and storage containers. The separation includes, segregation of metal, glass, bones and food/paper stuff in separate containers. In this way you separate organic from inorganic waste. The organic waste is put in an airtight container and mixed with yeast. After 90 days the stuff converts into manure (natural fertilizer) and the liquid part of this can be used as a pesticide. The organic wastes are crushed and used in the factories for recycling.How is it connected to me I live an oil rich economy of a gulf state. Oil has become scarce fossil sources for exploitation. War on terror imposed by America on Iraq is in fact a desperate war for the oil resources in the gulf. This war has been doing more harm to the environment than any other factor. A lot of fossil oil has been burnt. Seas are filled with the oil spillage and fish have been dead. This is very cruel. I feel sorry to see the vast exploitation of these resources. A recycling project can save the environment. Vast beaches on the red sea are suitable for the recycling project. How is it connected to my culture Bahrain is an oil rich economy, a small gulf state surrounded by red sea. People per capita income are quite high. Therefore their consumption patterns are also quite unreasonable People do not care about wastage of energy. The use cars and fuel base appliances excessively. This situation irks me a lot. I want to give the better shape to mother earth. Since child hood I see that people are spendthrift. This is causing degeneration to our water resources. This situation must be reversed. Recycling project can help this situation. This alternate solution of energy production is strange to my people. They can become used to it as they experience these windmills by themselves. What specific

Balance scorecard Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Balance scorecard - Essay Example The Balance Scorecard is a framework or tool for measurement of sustainability of an organization which acts as a decision support system for the management for taking necessary action in order achieve sustainability of business operations in the long run In order to maintain sustainability of business, it requires constant monitoring of business operation which needs to be measured and quantified as per certain parameters that are preset. The various perspectives, with the help of which the performance of an organization are measured are namely financial perspective, customer’s perspective, internal perspective and learning perspective (Niven, 2005, p.49). The performance in these internal and external areas supported by proper funding and training of human capital are essential for sustainable growth of business of a company. Each perspective of growth of the company is assigned a metric and a target value against which the performance of the company is measured. The financi al objectives of the company are growth of revenue, growth of operating profits and solvency of the company in short term as well as long term (Olve and  Sjostrand, 2006, p.43). The fulfilment of these objectives is essential in order to achieve sustainability in business operations. The revenue growth is measured by an annual rate of growth and a target value is assigned against which the actual growth rate is measured. The growth of operating profits is measured by the amount of earnings before interest and tax as a percentage of sales. The metric for short term solvency is the current ratio and for long term solvency is the long term debt-equity ratio. The actual performance of the companies in any industry is measured against these metrics and the achievement of these metrics against the target values. The performance on sustainability of the company from customer’s perspective is measured by the average transaction size of customers, annual rate of increase in customer base and percentage reduction of customer complaints. The measurement of the company’s performance against the target values of these metrics supports the decision making process of the management. The internal performance of the company is measured by evaluating the performance to fulfil the objectives of product innovation, quality of service, sustenance of domestic market share, etc. These are measured by the metrics namely, the percentage of expenses for research and development with respect to the revenues earned, average turnaround time, percentage of market share, etc (Kaplan and  Norton, 1996, p.79). The actual performance of the company against the target value of these metrics helps the management to take decision to attain sustainability of the organization. The final perspective is the learning perspective which helps the companies in any industry to retain their employees and train them for sustainable operations and development. The learning performance of th e companies could be measured with the help of metrics like employee turnover, annual hours of training of the employees and average compensation. The comparison of actual values of these metrics against the target values helps the business to take decisions on sustainability (Blokdijk, 2008, p.88). The Balance Scorecard provides insight to the management on the different areas of business management and also allows them to take necessary steps for ensuring sustainability of business. Strengths and Limitations of Balance Scorecard The balanced scorecard is an important strategic performance measurement tool and semi-standard structured report that helps the managers to keep track of several activities executed by the staffs. In addition, this tool effectively monitors the consequences arising from several organizational actions. This part of the essay will determine several

Since ethics and profit are actually not related, what reasons are Essay

Since ethics and profit are actually not related, what reasons are there to apply ethical standards to business at all - Essay Example First of all, it ensures that the company survives in the long term as it increases profitability and sustainability. However, the common consensus, most of the time, is that profit and ethics are opposed to one another, and hence, if a company is ethical, it cannot think about profits. In addition, many believe that in order for a company to be profitable, it should necessarily be unethical. In other words, this school of thought gives legitimacy for businesses to be totally unethical to make profits. There are instances in the history that make people believe that ethics and business are totally opposite entities. A perfect example is the Ford Pinto of Ford Motors. In 1978, three people died as the gas tank of the Pinto they drove exploded as it was hit in the rear. It was proved that the company knew that placing the tank in the rear end was vulnerable. However, the expenditure involved in changing the gas tank was $ 11 per car; an amount that is considerably less than the amount the company would have to pay in compensation for the few people who die as a result of explosion. So, the company decided not to change the position of the gas tank. In addition, law declared the company not responsible for the deaths. This incident clearly reveals how company can aim at profit totally neglecting what is ethical. In addition, such incidents generate the opinion that profit and ethics are alien to each other. ... Thus, the first and foremost ethical obligation for a company is to make profits for its stakeholders. In other words, its ethical duty is to meet the expectations of its stakeholders including employees and creditors. In addition, only a profitable company can fulfil its social responsibilities and welfare commitments. Though it is very evident that making profit is in no way against profitability, as Bandyopadhyay points out, there certainly are ethical questions about the methods adopted to make profit, and also about the amount of profit being made. A look into the business world proves that there are many large organizations that have successfully adopted ethical practices according to socially accepted norms. A look into World’s Most Ethical Companies Rank list helps learn how these companies turned ethical; according to this, UPS, one among them, reveals that ethics is the company’s business strategy (World’s Most Ethical Companies Ranking 2008). They clai m that being a good corporate citizen is an important element that keeps the company successful. The company that has operations in more than 200 countries does have an ethics program that meets international demands. The company has written ethics policies and a culture that reinforces the written policies. Another company that deserves attention at this stage is Google. Within 10 years of its establishment, the company is into a number of programs aimed at reducing its environmental impacts. As a part of this step, the company addresses challenging issues like climate change, poverty, disasters and disease. In addition, the company encourages its employees to participate in such initiatives. In addition, there are many companies like Xerox,

Na Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Na - Research Paper Example It appears that they are standing under a shade and their faces seem to be exposed to light rather than their backs because their shadows appear behind them. A clear-cut shape is the key to good composition in photocomposition. A frame affects the inside border but leaves the outside shape of your photo intact. From observation, it takes a while notice the color of the coat the man third from the left is putting on. The photographer seems to have not been steady while taking the photo resulting to a dull image. Ones eye is motion led by a figure in the content of the image that is going or pointing in a certain direction for example a glance in a certain direction. The photograph appears to be colored. Exposure lightens or darkens your whole photo. Using Exposure will create the effect of over- or underexposing your photo, and therefore is best for strong lightening or darkening. Overexposing your photo will brighten it until the lightest area of your photo is all white; underexposing it will darken it until the darkest area is all black. Be aware that using exposure will cause you to lose detail in the brightest or darkest areas. Mid-tone brightness lightens or darkens the middle tones of your photo while having relatively effect on the brightest and darkest tones. To avoid this, try using Mid-tone Brightness instead. Adjusting the mid-tone brightness effectively changes the slope of the transition between dark and light areas, without modifying these extremes. If the exposure of your photo is right, this is the best effect for lightening or darkening the image, since it will not lose any image fidelity when used moderately (Dickens, 9-12). Color Photos is the best since it gives us clear sense of feelings and also enable us to realise all the characteristics that is behind as far as the above picture is taken into account. Reviewing well this photo, I realise that it clearly represents my Family dynamics well

Land Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Land Law - Essay Example It can be seen that Piers’ behaviour is lawful given that he lawfully entered into a contract with Rupert where an agreement of sale of the house was reached between the two. A contract can be loosely described as a legally binding agreement between two parties (Gibson, 1988). Certain elements need to exist in the formation of a contract. In order for a contract to be legally binding, there should be an agreement between the two parties involved. According to Harvey v Facey [1893] AC552, every contract should consist of an offer made by one party and accepted by the other. If it involves buying and selling, the seller agrees to sell something and the buyer agrees to pay for the goods or products being sold. Thus, sale of goods or property is regarded as a legally binding contract. After buying the Sun House, Piers became the legal owner of the place and is entitled to full control of it hence his behaviour is legal when he makes the changes described above. This agreement of s ale is silent about the existence of a tenant, Heather who has a legal two year contract of renting the place. However, this agreement was made between her and Rupert, the previous owner. In actual fact, it is Rupert who was supposed to redefine Heather’s contract since he was selling the property to another new owner. Rupert could also have raised the issue with the new owner of the place if he was willing to accommodate this sitting tenant at the premises. However, this is not the case so Piers has the right to enjoy freedom at his newly acquired property. Indeed, this action can affect Heather who is unaware of what is happening but it is advisable to Piers that his behaviour is legal. On the agreement of sale of the house it is not stated that there is a tenant living there so there is no way Piers can be sued for something which he is not part of. By virtue of ordering Charlotte not to use his front drive, it is also advisable that his behaviour is within the legal confi nes of the law. The law of the land states that every person has a right to ownership to property and owners are protected by the laws of trespass to land. This can be supported by the case of Winder v. DPP [1996] 160 J.P.R 713, where the defendants were charged and convicted of aggravated trespass for intentionally disturbing a fox hunt on private property. As the new owner of the Sun House, Piers has a right to enjoy freedom without interference by trespassers hence his behaviour can be said to be lawful. Charlotte has to abide by the rules of the new owner of the place and she has to find another alternative route. In case of Jude who contributed 33% when the Sun House was initially purchased, it can be noted that Piers also has the right to tell him to leave. In the agreement of sale of the house, it was clearly spelled that Rupert was the sole owner of the place. In fact, it is Rupert who misrepresented the facts so this may not be a problem of the new owner of the house who bo ught it in faith on the basis of information he obtained from the seller when they entered into this particular agreement. A critical analysis of this case shows that Piers’ behaviour is lawful though it has a negative impact on the other parties affected as discussed above. 2. When Kevin the property developer finished renovating the previously dilapidated houses he bought, he

Strategic role of information system in contemporary business Essay

Strategic role of information system in contemporary business - Essay Example It goes ahead to consider some marketing strategies that companies can adopt to gain competitive advantage over the other competing organizations, and how they can use information systems to achieve this. A practical look is given to how Microsoft has managed to beat competitors using information systems Strategic role of information system in contemporary business Introduction The knowledge of information systems and its applications in business is of important consideration for managers in the current business world owing to the increased use of technology ((Kotsoukis & Mitra, 2003, p.3). The staff in the organization as well as the other available human resource should have the basic knowledge necessary for the incorporation of these technologies, which is now a necessity, into their operations. There are several uses of information system in business organizations. They are used in organizing the business processes and its operations. It is also used to assist the organization du ring complex decision-making processes using the necessary application software. Information systems can also be used by the companies as strategies to compete and beat their competitors in the market. This can be achieved using information technology to advertise or market the products of a company. However, it is also important to consider that in as much as the use of such systems are of importance in businesses, there are associated challenges that it poses to the management of the organization, which may impede their adoption. Information systems in business- conceptual framework The use of information system is increasing in business and other organizations. Regardless of the type of organization considered, there are always many sets of data to be managed or manipulated (Kotsoukis & Mitra, 2003, p.3). The use of information system in business ranges from simple applications like the calculation of wages to the more complex techniques like the use of application of software th at can be used to aid operations or decision-making process of the organization. Its extensive use will enable the business organization to survive in a market with many competing firms. Michael Porter had suggested that there are five forces that influence the operations in a given business industry (Strategic Management, n.d). These forces are the supplier’s power, barrier to entry, threat of substitutes, the power of the buyer, and the degree of rivalry among the competing firms. The management should consider the possibility of other firms getting into the business as well as the reputation of existing alternative products. Every company then needs to have a competitive advantage over the rival firms. Identifying the power and opportunities that a form has for investment, as well as the needs of the customers is fundamental in ensuring organizational success. The firms should identify the competitors and strategize their operations to beat them. The use of information sys tem can help an organization to obtain this competitive advantage. How an organization keeps the data that pertains to its operations as well as its employees will determine the success in managing the organization. A proper and efficient means of data storage and retrieval will facilitate the achievement of an organization’s objective. Mutilated sources of data call for approximation or estimation that can result into wrong course of action being taken by the management. It can also lead to losses in the event that financial data like pay roll is poorly retrieved. Organizations will thus

Case 2 Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

2 - Case Study Example The firm had a profound financial standing while it enjoys a drastic market across the world. It is worth noting that G.E has a comprehensive system of operation that reduces wastage while promoting optimal utilization of organizational resources. The firm also benefits from a thorough company culture that attracts wide and detailed talents from all occupations. The firm enjoys an extensive facility development commitment in the end. The political environment presents an ideal stability for GE to conduct business. The challenges in the worlds environmental status present opportunities for the firm to achieve much. The technological environment allows the firm to generate innovative solutions benefiting its society and customers (Reed & Neubert, 2011). However, the legal environment poses much risk for the firm in terms of legal fees and litigation processes due to the Ecomagination policy. It is for this reason that GE has a vision and commitment of harnessing its global capabilities, market knowledge, and technology leadership while taking on the worlds tough struggles and accelerating company growth. The turbine expertise acts as the strength of the company and enhances quick moves towards renewable energy. However, one of the weaknesses of the company is the poor outlay of the communication channels set. The environmental sustainability campaign by government succeeds in presenting GE with an opportunity to engage in environmentally and socially responsible actions.In addition, the company meets the consumer’s future and current needs (Reed & Neubert, 2011). However, a threat coming with these efforts is that the public may mislead the intentions of the company leading to decline in the company’s reputation. The firm, has launched healthymagination and ecomagination as branding initiatives that highlight the commitment of the company towards social responsibility and

Homeschool vs Public School Essay Example for Free

Homeschool vs Public School Essay In this paper I plan on describing education and how it has shaped me. How education effects everyone depending on their situation, whether they are rich, poor, white, black, healthy , or disable . There is a type of education for everybody. In all three essays the authors taught us through the characters they used, the hardships and discrimination that they insured trying to seek an education if they were not considered in the right classification in society. They have taught us that nothing can stop us and we can reach to the stars for anything we want to do as long as we  have the will power. As you read my essay you will see some of my own mothers hardships that she went through for us so we could get a good education. The essay tells you how you should go about to choose your education too. It proved in the essay Finishing School by Maya Angelou, how hard it was to be poor and black and get an education or be recognized in society. Even though her Mistress tried to dishonor her by changing her name and disgracing her in front of her friends Angelou had no intention on standing still for it. She might be black but she was not to be put down . She was just as smart or smarter as her mistress as far as she was concerned and no one had any right black or white , rich or poor to discriminate or change anything about her. This was a lesson Angelou taught us to do standing up for ourselves no matter how hard it may be Our education is well worth it and so are we. In the essay Indian Education by Sherman Alexie, he had it hard on the reservation. First he was picked on in school by his peers,,which is something a lot of us go through. As he got older he turned the tables and went through many hardships in his education. Finally to succeed and going to public school. He had to change his ways and get a proper education in order to become something in life. Alexie learned from discrimination and peer pressure. He learned what he had to do to make his life better and how to improve it . All the hardships Alexie, Angelou and Smith-Yackel went through did not stop any of them, they kept going and that is what is I think what makes our education the same Teachers have a way with teaching as told in the essay The Banking Concept of Education by Paulo Concept of Education (Home School vs. Public School 3 Friere. As told in the essay Friere points out how Four times Four is Sixteen can just be words unless put to use by the student . It is not just up to the teacher to teach us but up to us to take in what the teacher is trying to teach us. However, at the same time it goes without saying if a teacher knows only one way of teaching which may be memorization then that may be the only way a student can learn . So as student I think it is up to us to learn as much as we can. The teacher can only do so much, we have to do the rest . I think that is what Friere is also trying to point out to us. It is not only up to the teacher but up to us as the student too. The essay written by Bonnie Smith-Yackel My Mother Never Worked, is the one that really touched my heart the most. This is my favorite one. My mother was like Martha in many ways. Although my mother had epilepsy all of her life she volunteered to do everything for everyone. My mom was on disability but did not let that keep her down. It was society that tried to keep her, down but she refused to let them hold her back. She was a stay at home mom and did everything for us . She babysat for neighbors, friends and family. She was there at a moment’s notice if anyone had a sick child and needed her. She was a wonderful mother and wife. She went to college for child development and got her associates degree. When we started school she went to school with us every day and volunteered from eight in the morning till we got out of school each day. My moms dream was to be a teacher but because of epilepsy and disability she could not. She could still volunteer though but not get paid for her services. This did not bother my mom. To her she was still fulfilling her job as a teacher. \ When I was a child I went to public school. I learned a lot while in elementary school and some of middle school. As I got older I cared less about my education and more about fitting in. I grew up in Michigan and went to school there until the middle of the eighth grade. Starting in about the seventh grade school started being more about who was more popular and who likes who, or look at those cheap shoes that girl is wearing. For me I was more concerned about being cool and Concept of Education (Home School vs. Public School) 4 fitting in, than caring about my education. In the middle of eighth grade my family moved to Arkansas. This was very hard on me. I missed my friends very much and didnt want to start a new school. My grades did improve for a while, but that was only because I didnt have any friends to focus my attention on. I focused more on my school work. However this did not last long. I didnt fit in because it was a very small town and I was a shy kid. I then started skipping school. When my mom found out she decided to put me in home school. Education was important to her and my dad. She always wanted to make sure I succeeded in life She got me up every morning just like as if I was going to school. I had the same hours as any other student in public school. My vacations were based around the public school. If the public school had a snow day or holiday I was allowed to have that day off. Home school was good for me because I had one on one teaching which I did not have in the public school. I needed that because of me being so shy and at times I would not raise my hand if I had questions. In home school I had my mom and dad to help me. I could focus better on my school work because I was not distracted or afraid of not getting anything done . I had hands on  learning with my mom, and my dad incorporated projects to go with her lessons. I remember my dad and making a computer out of sugar cubes and Styrofoam , volcano, castles out of toilet paper rolls and a lot of other projects. I was never really good in English although believe it or not my mom was very good . My mom taught me the basics of school work, while my dad taught me about cars , how to plant a garden, and taking care of animals such as pigs, chickens, cows. We had a garden with fruits and vegetables, I learned to cook for large family. I was in FFA and I won the BBQ chicken semi- finals. I learned how to live in society. I worked and had a job too. My mom taught me much more then what you can learn in a book . She taught me lives lessons just like Martha taught her children in My Mother Never Worked. She gave me the skills I needed. I learned to use those skills and so here I am today working at Lakeland Hospital now for 10 years Concept of Education (Home School vs. Public School) 5 and finally going to college and studying for a nursing Career. Audience Analysis With education comes how we the parent, teacher and student will educate or be educated. One of the toughest decisions that youre going to face as a parent is that youre going to have to decide where to send your kids to school. However, most parents at least consider the choice to choose either private school, home school or public school. You as a parent can weigh the options of what you think would be better for you and your childs education. To do this you and your child might want to weight the factors that play a part in the pros and cons of public school and home school and what is best for you and your child. As a parent you may feel that public  schools have too many peer problems. Kids may argue with peers or pick up bad habits in public schools. There are so many children to one teacher it is hard to give one on one to the child that is quiet and needs help but wont ask and they get lost in the school system. Your child may have health issues, like diabetes or other disabilities therefore when lunchtime comes it is hard for your child if he or she has diabetes or foods he or she can not have and is forced to eat what there or just take a sandwich from home and be the outsider. As a parent or student you need to weigh what is  best for the both of you. Home schooling may be the answer in this case. Home schooling is a great way to bring a family closer together, but you have to make sure your kids (and you) are getting the social interaction they need. You can set a school schedule that suits your family, travel together when its best for all of you and enjoy more family and life together. You also need to make sure you have the type of relationship with your child to listen to instruction from you as a teacher instead to a parent, You as a parent have the option to teach your child anything  from bible (which most public schools do not allow) to the basics school book skills to life skills. As a working parent public school is probably better . Transportation is provided, so there is no need Concept of Education (Home School vs. Public School) 6 to worry about having a car. School buses will pick up your child to and from school. For some parents the choice is easy because of the funds and the availability of the parents time. Public schools provide the kids with an opportunity to great activities , this is important to many of you as parents and as students . Many of you want your children in activities and  think this is important. Public school gives you this option , so this you might want to take into consideration also. All around development is easier in public schools. If you are worried about feeding your child at school and you are low income, they have low cost or free breakfast and lunches for your child too. So basically it is up to you on the education of your children. There are pros and cons. In Conclusion: Some kids do best when they are able to combine different options to complete their education. In order to choose the right type of school, you need to weigh all of the options  open to you. My sister Amy went and graduated from public school with honors. My sister Christal received a GED. , she choose to work. School was hard for her. I have an adopted sister Janice who was in special ed , she went to public school but was in special classes and received a special diploma . Now days you can do both of two worlds my sister (Chasity) has PCOS and Diabetes which made her miss a lot of school so she is doing through Coloma High School , a Coloma Virtual Academy which is a home school but works with the public school too. . She goes  to school to pick classes, participates if she wishes, can graduate with her class, but her Doctors appointment’s and her health problems will no longer prevent her from her education. So my mom is home schooling her in a different way than she did me. They made a different choice of education for her. They both were good choices but for different reasons. That is why you should look into the situation before deciding what to do. As a parent your child is not the same as anyone else so they may require a different type of education just like my sisters and I did. It is you and your childs choice.

Reviewing The Culture Of Homelessness In America Cultural Studies Essay

Reviewing The Culture Of Homelessness In America Cultural Studies Essay The homeless culture of people in America has reached epic proportions due to the downward spiral of the economy, mental illness and lack of affordable housing. I chose the homeless culture of people for research and field observation to find out first-hand how this culture of people actually live and survive under such horrific conditions. I wanted to get a first hand perspective on the reasons these people are homeless, what they do to survive on the streets and what, if anything, that they think their futures may hold. Yes, the experience was painful to me, but it was, I believe a valuable experience. I found the situation of the homeless to be both shocking and sad. The living conditions of this culture of people was deplorable. To cope with these feelings I always tried to look for the cloud with the silver lining. Dealing with culture shock was difficult, but I kept an open mind, remained flexible and didnt spend excess energy on the things that were beyond my control. I utilized cultural relativism in this field observation, as I accepted this culture of peoples values and beliefs and did not judge them based on my own values and beliefs. (Miller, Barbara D.) I also utilized participation observation methods for gathering research data in the field. Prior to embarking on this field study, I researched and compiled a list of free services that one can obtain if they are in a homeless capacity, to give to the homeless culture, in the form of flyers. Robert Reosenheck conducted the very first study which observed homelessness as a real national paragon in our society. This study could quite possibly be the first study of its kind to come close to the real extent of this phenomenon in this culture of people. The major findings in the homeless study revealed that 744,000 United States citizens experienced homelessness between 1985 1990. Today these numbers are at an astonishing 1.6 million and rising. The homeless in America pose a very serious health threat to society. Tuberculosis and other communicable diseases such as HIV infection, AIDs and Hepatitis Type B are rampant in the homeless culture. A new finding in Rosenhecks research , was the study challenging the insight that homelessness is confined in its reach. Homelessness appears to be no greater among one race than another. Previous studies of this nature were typically conducted in larger cities, however Rosenhecks study was observed from the nation as a whole. We have learned from this study that homelessness may be of a much greater magnitude than was first thought. Impressive action is needed especially in the areas of health care, housing, as well as educational and employment opportunities. If something is not done sooner rather than later, the health and welfare of our nation is at great risk. ( Rosenheck, R.) There has been a sharp rise from the stereotypical transient homeless male (hobo) to homeless families in the past 15 years and is the fastest growing component in the population of the homeless culture. The typical homeless family in our society today consists of a single mother, with an average of 3 children, with the eldest child being around 5 years of age. Most of these families are not new to homelessness and most have never rented or owned a home, instead living with family or friends. The undereducated and unemployed make up the vast majority of homeless people. Most have worked at some point in their life, but there are many that have never worked. 59% of the homeless receive some type of public assistance ( TANF, WIC and etc. for their children. 49% of the homeless in our nation stated that they became so, due to cuts in public assistance. Appallinglymany of our homeless are United States veterans of foreign wars. The causation of homelessness is complex in nature and varies widely from area to area. (Nunez, R. Fox, Cybelle). I spent the weekends of July 2010 observing and interacting with the homeless in Dallas, Texas. Dallas is the third largest city in the state with a population of 1.3 million people. Over 8,000 of this population is homeless. (USA Today) I encountered three distinct types of homeless people on the streets of Dallas. The first type was those who were homeless due to the loss of a job in the face of the tough economic times that we are suffering, or a devastating illness that wiped them out financially. I also encountered a lot of homeless individuals and families that are refugees from hurricanes Katrina and Ike. The second type of homeless people was those that have been in and out of homelessness for years. Most of these homeless people are runaways, high school drop outs, teen mothers, abused wives and the chronic alcohol and drug abusers. The final type of homeless people that I encountered are those with varying degrees of mental illness, the elderly and the infirm. Most of these people need some level of supervision in their daily lives, and even institutionalized in some cases, either in a nursing care facility or psychiatric facility. On July 10, 2010, I took a step into a world that was totally new to me and that I could only have imagined. I believed that I was prepared for what I would see, but in actuality I was not. I met many homeless people, with varying circumstances and stories to relate, but due to space and time allotments, I have prepared a condensed version of my field study. Upon entering the new and potentially hostile environment, my first thought was, Can I do this? and my second thought was, If these poor people can live this way everyday of their lives, then yes, I can and I will. Culture shock hit hard but I managed to rally and go forth with my field study. The temperature in Dallas ,Texas was forecast to be 101 degrees with a heat index of 108 degrees. It was 5:30 in the morning and the first family that I encountered was in the process of rolling up their sleeping bags, having slept in a local store front. I introduced myself and explained that I was conducting a field observation for my Cul tural Anthropology final research paper. John, a Caucasian male aged 42, (last name withheld by request) Personal INTERVIEW, 10 July 2010 , replied You about scared me to death, I was thinking you were a cop or something! Sleeping in a public place is a criminal act in Dallas, Texas. The homeless are accustomed to being roused by city workers, police and etc. Hate filled words and actions are used toward the homeless to accomplish this task. John, continued to tell me about a homeless man named Lester, who had just recently been ousted from a store front. Lester was treated inhumanely by a member of a city crew, who roused him from sleep with a vicious kick to the ribs. Adding insult to injury, the work crew then destroyed all his belongings. John related that Lester told him later that he was homeless but he was still a human being and a member of society. John and his family (consisting of a wife and two children aged 9 and 11 have been living on the streets of Dallas since hurricane Katrina in 2005.They were from New Orleans and lost their home and all their belongings. John stated, I didnt even have a job to go back to. We had nothing man. John and his family use McDonalds and other nearby facilities of its type for hygienic purposes. They spend their days in a public park. In inclement weather they stay in an abandoned building. They consume one meal a day at a local soup kitchen and dumpster dive at fast food restaurants for other meals and snacks. Johns wife (name undisclosed) stated that the restaurants wouldnt even give them water without money. She further stated that when it rained they collected rain water to drink. John also related the fact that many fast food businesses have stopped the homeless from using the restrooms in fast food establishments by erecting signs on the door, For Customers Only. If the homeless go into these restrooms, they take a chance of getting arrested, on the other hand if they void or defecate in public they stand the same chance of going to jail. Its a catch-22 situation. The next homeless person that I interviewed was Fredrick (last name withheld by request) ,personal INTERVIEW 10, July, 2010. Fredrick is a 50 year old Caucasian male who contracted bone cancer and lost his right leg in 1995. He stated that he has been homeless since 1995. As he became progressively ill he subsequently lost his job and his home. John stated that he only had 10 years left to pay on his home when he became ill, but the chemotherapy, and amputation wiped him out financially forcing his family and himself into the streets. John said, Sure I receive $ 700 a month in disability payments, but you cant even rent an apartment here for that. Fredrick went on to state that at the time they were forced into homelessness, his family consisted of a wife and four children aged 4-10. They immediately contacted a homeless shelter for assistance. The homeless shelter was going to separate the family due to a lack of room for the whole family. In order to keep their family intact, they deigned to sleep in the streets. During my observation of the homeless culture I noted that many of the homeless flew cardboard or placards asking for a job or money for food. This is illegal on private property, which puts the homeless person in danger , because they are forced to stand in dangerous intersections ,to prevent getting arrested for this violation. I also noted that several homeless people were playing guitars, performing magic tricks and etc. for what they refer to as tipping money. As night approached more and more homeless people appeared on the streets. I observed that this culture had several modes of sleeping. Many simply unrolled sleeping bags or threw down blankets or old rags to sleep on. These people slept in store fronts at night. Most of the homeless were single, however there were several families observed in the area of my observation. Some of the homeless slept inside dumpsters. I encountered that most of these people would talk to you at night, but refused to give even their first names, or any personal information related to their being homeless. I surmised that this occurrence was most likely the result that the homeless didnt believe that I was really a college student, but instead some type of local authority. I spoke with one gentleman (name and age withheld) who related to me that he had previously slept in the local bus station, sitting in a chair, but sleeping ( even for people waiting for a bus) was no longer allowed. He further stated that this was to prevent the homeless culture from spending time in the bus station utilizing the climate controlled environment. This culture of people, (the homeless) are unique. These people have had their lifestyle radically changed and have found a way ) albeit terrible) to survive. Some of the homeless that I met have paying jobs, but the wages they receive are not conducive to providing shelter and other nec cessities. Most of these people are seen as unsuitable for employment due to their way of life. Many of these people commit minor crimes purposely to get sent to jail for the procurement of food and shelter, especially in extremely cold or hot weather. Many of the homeless do not have appropriate identification and cannot have access to social services such as food stamps, food pantries or even emergency shelters. (Shewmaker, H. Wajda, S.) The homeless are also at an increased risk of both violence and abuse. Homeless people suffer a vast amount of hate crimes from people who blame them for their circumstances that they are in, and group them as people to both fear and loathe. I spoke to a man named Carl, (last name withheld upon request) personal INTERVIEW 17, July, 2010. Carl is a 60 year old African American male who related his story to me of being hit in the face with an unopened can of Alpo. The can of dog food was thrown from the security of a car passing by, as he was standing at the entrance to a shopping center flying cardboard which said, I will work for food. Carl lost two teeth and received a busted lip from that incident, and was called a worthless bottom feeder, by the occupants of the car as it sped away. Carl still has the scar and the missing teeth to verify his story. Panhandling is just one of many identifiable targets for hate among the homeless culture of people. (Wachtolz, Sandra) Candy, ( last name withheld upon request) is a 16 year old Asian/ American, who has been living on the streets of Dallas for two years. She was abused by her stepfather at home until she couldnt take it anymore. She freely admitted to selling sex as a means of survival. Sitting inside a make shift, card board box shelter, Candy still has hopes and dreams of becoming a veterinarian someday Arlene, (last name withheld upon request) Personal INTERVIEW 18, July 2010 is a 35 year old Caucasian female. Arlene is another victim of abuse, (in her case) at the hands of an abusive alcoholic husband. With no where to go, no education, no job and no income she became a street person nine years ago. Arlene related to me that on the streets was the safest place she had ever been. Having been abused as a child, she continued to be abused as a young wife. She shamefully admitted to aborting herself with a knitting needle, shortly after becoming homeless. She stated that she almost died from the self inflicted abortion, but she was glad that she didnt bring an innocent life into this mess. Ernest, (last name withheld upon request) Personal INTERVIEW 18,July 2010 is a 60 year old African American male. Ernest is a self confessed abuser of both drugs and alcohol. He told me that he has been homeless for 20 years. He gathers aluminum cans, stuff from dumpsters and etc. to sell to secure money for drugs and alcohol. He stated that he ate when he thought about it and hits the soup kitchen when he gets the notion to eat. He further stated, I will die out here, and theres no one who cares. Ernest lost his wife in a tragic automobile accident. Through the years he has somehow managed to keep a photo of her. He related that he began to drink to ease the pain of losing his wife, lost his job, his home, and even his automobile. Ernest stated, I lost it all, and here I am. I have no where to go and no way to get there if I did. His parting words to me were words of encouragement. Ernest told me, Keep up the good work kid, dont ever find yourself in a mess like this. In my weekend field observations I noticed four people whom I considered mentally ill to a degree that I did not feel comfortable approaching. These people bothered no one, basically stayed to themselves and seemed quite happy to be in solitude. As far as I could determine, these people did not appear to pose a threat to the safety of the general public. I noted that many of the mentally disturbed homeless people were actually veterans of our country who had fought in previous and also present wars. U.S. homeless veterans are growing at an astounding rate today. Many suffer PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder), the effects of Agent Orange, ( a defoliant used in Vietnam) and etc. An excess of 200,000 U.S. veterans are homeless nationwide and have absolutely no place to go. ( dallas.fed) This pains me greatly as these veterans put their lives on the line to preserve our freedom. The last two interviews that I conducted included a homeless U.S. veteran. Harold (last name withheld upon request) is a 59 year old Caucasian male, who is a veteran of the Vietnam war era. Harold related to me that he had been homeless for 35 years and that he returned home from the war suffering from the effects of Agent Orange. At that time the U.S. government refused to acknowledge that Agent Orange was indeed a causative factor in many of the illnesses that the soldiers arriving home were suffering with. Harold couldnt keep a job because of excessive absenteeism, and any sudden noise would send him running in any direction available, as hard as he could run. The U.S. government refused to give Harold service connected disability and likewise the Social Security Administration denied him also. Harold further stated that if you cant pay your rent, you get evicted, that thats how I wound up out here on the street.Eventually, the government did recognize that Agent Orange was a dir ect cause of Harolds illness. He gets a very small SSI check and an even smaller Veterans disability check. After combining both of these meager allotments Harold said Rent is so damn high, I cant afford it. In fact, everything is too damn high. At least, out here, I can afford my medications, seasonal clothing and eat pretty good at least for a little while every month. Harold also helps out when he can with diapers and other necessities for the little ones in his area. These are the ones I feel sorry for, I have no kids of my own, so these are all my kids, Harold stated with tears in his eyes. I then interviewed an elderly female, Dora (name withheld upon request),aged 89, an African American female, personal INTERVIEW, 25, July 2010. I observed her pushing a shopping cart, loaded down with old rags, bottles, cans, a few old apples and etc. I surmised that this is what one would probably recognize as a bag lady. Dora was of a cheerful nature and told me that she had been on the streets for 40 years. Dora stated, My husband Sam died out here, the city hauled him off. Dora doesnt even know what became of Sam and stated that she would like to be able to visit his grave, that is if he has one. She believes that he was probably cremated. Dora stated, They burned him up like garbage, thats what they think we areà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦..garbage.Dora related to me that she and her husband Sam wound up homeless and on the streets due to Sams lengthy illness (diabetes) and his resultant kidney transplant. Financially, they were wiped out and the cost of the anti rejection drugs for his new kidney was astronomical. Dora further related that she and her husband did what they had to do, in order to live. Laughing aloud, Dora stated, I dont know why I got these apples. Somebody stole my dentures. Guess they needed them more than I do. Maybe, I can trade them for something I can chew. I watched Dora as she slowly ambled down the street, pushing her cart, and I couldnt help it, tears came into my eyes. I wondered why God would allow innocent children, old ladies like Dora, and etc. to suffer a life such as they do. Then a Bible verse came to my mind. I will lead the blind by a road they do not know, by paths they have not known. I will guide them, I will turn the darkness into light, the rough places into level ground. These things I will do, I will not forsake them. ( Isaiah: 42:16). The majority of the homeless culture that I encountered seemed very appreciative of the flyers that I passed out among them. Many did not know that these services were available to them at no cost. I can only hope that I have given someone an outlet to perhaps see a doctor or dentist, get an extra meal, or a much needed medication. Most of these people are good people that got down on their luck with no other resources available to them. In conclusion I have learned that the majority of the homeless are so, due to the downward spiral of the economy, mental illness, or lack of affordable housing. I also found that there is no great difference between the number of homeless people from one race to another. This field observation has resulted in my attaining a broader perspective of the plight of the homeless. My only hope is that a day will come soon, when all the homeless in America will be off the streets and safe and secure in a comfortable habitation.

Engaging In Comparative Education Education Essay

Engaging In Comparative Education Education Essay Introduction It is in the very nature of logical activity to make comparisons. Comparing is a elementary part of thought process which enables us to make sense of the world and our experience of it. Indeed, it can be said that only by making comparisons can we properly defend our position on most questions of importance which requires the making of the judgments. Comparing causes us to make statements to the effect that one thing is intellectually or morally preferable to or more effective or better than the other, and this can be clearly exposed in the education field, where the quest for improvement for doing things better is always compelling. In a world which is mainly focused on intense global economic competition and growing beliefs in the key role of education as the source of potential advantage, governments have become increasingly obsessed with the international rankings of measured educational outcomes. Educational policy is increasingly driven by national attempts to copy the perceived advantage associated with the educational strategies and techniques of other countries. Margret Brown argues that documenting practices in high-scoring countries that give ideas for change are very important (as cited in Broadfoot 2000, p.361). It would be at least as important to find out why similar projects have not been successful in other countries. (Shorrocks-Taylor Jenkins 2000, p.16) It is crucial to assess any suggested practices from one country to another. Teachers and the general public need to be informed about the problems of putting something borrowed into practice and reform ideas from other countries to our own system. The increasing international importance of a policy discourse of learning in relation to conventional educational institutions such as schools and universities, reflects the contemporary understanding of the implication of the knowledge society (Broadfoot 2000, p.358); It is of great potential and inevitability for the whole population to be capable and disposed to take advantage of the new methods for accessing new knowledge that information and communications technology is making available. This also reflects the growing recognition that learning is not equivalent with teaching. Todays growing concern is lifelong learning which is powerfully described in a recent European Commission report: The Treasure Within. (Broadfoot 2000, p.358) Different perspective of comparative education by different scholars Antoine Jullien de Paris in 1817 saw comparative education as an analytical study of education in all countries with a view to perfect national schooling systems with adaptation and changes from which policymakers can borrow ideas to implement in their own-country (Bray 2007, p.1). In Hans view the utility of comparative education was that type of education which analyzes comparative law, comparative literature or comparative anatomy in order to highlights the differences in the forces and origins that create the differences in the educational systems (C.S. Oni 2005, p.244). Lewis approached the issue of comparative education in terms of an Island formation. Lewis asserted that, no country is an island; that each is a part of the world; therefore, no educational system anywhere in the world is worth anything unless it is comparable to some other systems in the world.(Quoted from C.S. Oni 2005, p.244). Comparative education for Blishen is the branch of educational theory that has to do with analyzing and interpreting the educational practices and policies in different countries and culture (C.S. Oni 2005, p. 244). Le Thanh Khoi believed that comparative education is a multidisciplinary area when he said that it is not strictly a discipline, but a field of study covering all the disciplines which serve to understand and explain education (quoted from Bray 2007, p. 35). In addition to learning about other people and cultures, comparative education also helps the researcher to know about oneself. As George Bereday puts it: It is self-knowledge born of the awareness of others that is the finest lesson comparative education can afford.(Quoted from Kubow Fossum 2003, p. 11). With the enhancement of nationalism and the increasing importance of the nation states in the beginning of the 19th century comparative education was pushed ahead. The objective was to learn useful lessons from foreign countries, especially concerning education systems. This contained a very colonialist view of the western societies on the foreign countries. School systems were seen as a resource of new educational ideas, which could be borrowed to improve the own school system. Comparative education transferred itself from highly pure description level to a more sophisticated analysis. With the rise of the social sciences in the 1950s the historical aspect became insignificant. Instead comparative education was introduced as a true science by using statistical techniques and more quantitative methods. The main approach was structural functionalism. The aims of comparative education: The aims of comparative education are to describe educational systems, processes, and ending products as well as to assist in the development of educational institutions and practices. It also highlights the relationships between education and society and establishes generalized statements about education that is valid in more than one country. Comparative education also deepens our understanding of our education and society; it can be of great aid to policy makers and administrators; and can be of great asset in the education of teachers (Bray 2007, p.15). Comparative research also helps us understand better our own past; locate ourselves more exactly in the present; and see more clearly what our educational future may be. Comparative education gives the researcher the ability to describe what might be the consequence of certain courses of political and economical action, by looking at experience in a range of countries. From the theories mentioned above extracted from different sch olars, we can see that comparative education facilitates the researchers to learn from the accomplishment and faults that other countries have made in the process of solving similar educational problems. The focal point of comparative study in education is the collection and categorization of information, both descriptive and quantitative. As Sadler stated in one of his lectures delivered in 1900: In studying foreign systems of education we should not forget that the things outside the schools matter even more than the things inside the school, and govern and interpret the things inside. We cannot wander at pleasure among the education systems of the world, like a child strolling through a garden, and picking flowers from one bush and some leaves from another, and then expect that if we stick what we have gathered into the soil at home, we shall have a living plant. A national education system of education is a living thing, the outcome of forgotten struggles and of battles long ago. It has in it some of the secret workings of national life. (Quoted from Philips in Alexander et. al 1999, p.19). On Comparing The comparative education researcher should go far from the familiar to see the unfamiliar to make the familiar strange, in order to broader the principles, geographical and epistemological view (Broadfoot 2000, p.363). When comparing in education researchers are producing a variety of descriptive and explanatory data which differ from micro to macro comparative data analysis, allowing us to see various practices and procedures in a very wide context that helps us to throw light upon them (Sultana as cited in Borg 2009, p.21). While less developed countries have a tendency to look at more developed countries to learn from them, more developed countries tent to look at countries that are on the same economic and educational level to make cross-national comparisons. Examples of this are number of countries that looked at USA as their model. Switzerland in mid-1990 apart from looking up to USA, it also hired American consultants to develop a reform package for schools (Steiner- Khamsi 2002, p.76 as cited in Bray 2007, p.18). On the other hand, America learned also from other countries (Levin 2010, p.96 in www.kappanmagazine.org) like East Asia, (Bray 2007, p.21-22) where the US department of education made an intensive study of Japanese education and came out with 12 principles of good practices. Educators and policy makers went to Finland, which is the top-performing country in the first three rounds of PISA, in order to find the key to education success to achieve high marks in PISA. Private companies like Cisco and McKinsey, are issuing reports on the quality of education around the world. Comparisons across time provide information about improvement or decline over the years like comparing the different periods in the history of education. These comparisons though are limited in the nature of the reference groups or criteria used: that is they are usually limited to school systems similar to those being evaluated. When policy makers look at the past to learn for the future as the British policy makers used to do in 1980s to make comparisons with their own past rather than with other countries. Sometimes the reason to compare with the predecessors is to see how the society has developed as well as to learn from the mistakes that were done in the past (Bray 2007, p.23, Bradburn Gilford 1990, p.2). Comparisons with other localities or between states, provincials and regions compare similar local educational systems within the same state, or with those in other states or the nation as a whole. Comparisons with other states or the nation as a whole have the advantage of comparing between educational systems that are broadly similar. They provide information on particular nations level of achievement in education to the much broader area of the worlds education system (Bradburn Gilford 1990, p.2).Example of such comparison is the comparison between the education systems of Hong Kong (Bray 2007, p.131) or the education systems of Macao (Bray 2007,p.134). When comparing the researcher has to identify the areas; countries or places, and cannot be generalised. As Le Than Khoi (in Sultana as cited in Borg 2009, p.16) gave the example of the Mediterranean. There are too many differences in the region that we call the Mediterranean to make it the object of comparative analyses. Culture is an important factor when comparing places. An example of this is the result that Finland got in the PISA in 2002 compared to other places which was based on the reading competences. Finland achieved well as it has centuries of cultural tradition that long promoted the reading ability (Bray 2007, p.167). A comparative education researcher must try not to be prejudiced either on political, national, religious, racial, gender or ideological aspects. It is crucial that the paradigms used are relevant to all geographic areas and nations that are included in the study. Differences between inter and intra-national research present challenges in comparative research that must be recognized. Such differences are often significant resource of cultural variation (Bradburn Gilford (1990), p.21). The contribution of developing countries in international studies adds information to the development of local research capacity and also widens the sample of participating countries. Third-world participation develops North South dialogues as well as East- West linkages as it serves as a good source for building trust and co-operation (Bradburn Gilford (1990), p.22). As the economic sector is increasing its value and the importance of having a sound education system, the business and industry sector may consult comparative educational studies in their international planning. Textbook publishers, developers of educational software and other educational traders use comparative education to categorize the needs and markets for new products. So the question raised is In whose interests do the education system and decisions taken, work? (My lecture notes). Though comparisons in education are of great benefit there are also who is sceptic and critic about it. There is the belief amongst these that comparative research will lead to a homogeneous-world approach to education that impede proper attention to each countrys unique history, culture, and people.(Bray 2007, p.178). This idea comes from experiences with international institutions that forced economic policies that had negative consequences in less-developed countries. It is vital for policy makers to keep in mind that not all the methods of any country can or should be put into practice in other countries. (Lavin 2010, p.96 in www.kappanmagazine.org, Stromquist 2002, p.87) It is important that insiders and outsiders work collaboratively in order to research and development work that is more sensitive to local, social constructions of reality. (Crossley 2002, p.82) Education research projects and organizations: As global economic competition increases, increases also the beliefs in the education as the source of marginal advantage, governments have become increasingly obsessed with the international rankings of measured educational outcomes. However the issue and impact of power on the educational institutions differentiate form in society to another. It is becoming important more than ever as the decision making in education is changing considerably. The main actors are no longer those most affected by education like the students, parents and the teachers but rather private agencies and international financial institutions (Stromquist 2002, p.87). International agencies compare patterns and results in different countries in order to improve the advice that they give to national governments and policy makers. The UNESCO, World Bank and OECD are amongst international agencies each emphasising their own aims varying from pedagogy, curriculum, economic and financial matters, which play an important part in the education arena. Their aim is to assist countries in designing and implementing successful policies to address the challenges that the educational systems are facing. They also create schemes for promoting lifelong learning in relation with other socio-economic policies (Bray 2007, p. 31). New ideas gained from international studies such as PISA, TIMMS and Survey -Lang can be tried to see if they will improve the education system and to understand why the performance of students in different countries differs (Shorrocks-Taylor Jenkins 2000). Since the late 1950s with the founding of the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA) such large scale comparative studies have taken on considerable significance in education. From the beginning the IEA has been committed to studying learning in the basic school subjects and to conducting on a regular basis survey of educational achievement. Over time, these outcome data have been increasingly linked to analyses of the effects of curriculum and school organization upon learning and the relationship between achievement and pupil attitudes (Shorrocks- Taylor 2000, p.14). There are different methods on how to measure the comparative aspect which differs from theoretical grounded studies intended to build or test complex models of educational systems to descriptive studies whose purpose is to monitor different features of educational systems, practices and outcomes. The purpose of theoretically oriented studies is mainly to examine relationships among variables and look for casual explanations. It is designed to examine links between school achievement and such characteristics as curricula, teaching methods, family expectations and funding levels. These highlight the level of differences between schools or classes as well as on differences between students as the unit of analysis. (Bradburn Gilford 1990, p.5) Belatedly, the intensification of international competition, spurred on by globalization, neo-liberalism and marketizing, has major implications for cross-national studies of educational achievement, for those engaged in or dealing with the powerful influence of national and international league tables, and for the theoretical frameworks that we employ in our analyses. If the funding of research is increasingly linked to commercial interests, for example, the potential for critical theory, or for alternative cultural perspectives to influence the construction of new knowledge, may be increasingly challenged. Questions of power and whose knowledge counts?, in the process of development arise, perhaps, more strongly than ever before ( reference from my lecture notes). As Sultana stated, comparative education should go further than the concern with comparing like with like (Sultana as cited in Borg 2009, p.9). It focuses more on finding a particular point from where educational and related social phenomenon can be seen from different perspectives; create a deeper understanding of the dynamics as well come up with new ideas. Comparative education provides insights on higher education, educational innovation, teacher education, power and education researches each bringing the experience of the researchers country, or the country or the countries that researcher has studied and came together in order to share these issues in debating sessions. Comparative education and globalization: In a globalise world, schools have come under greater national enquiry regarding the ways they can contribute to or delay a national progress. Claxton (1998) has described the rapidly-changing times we are living as the Age of Uncertainty in which it is impossible to predict the state and shape of the world in few years time (as cited in Broadfoot 2000, p. 358). The educational world today encounters systems which may eventually prove to be a revolution in what is to be taught, to whom and how, since, as Edmund King implies, all its established systems were developed for a world that no longer exists (quoted in Broadfoot p.267). Accountability and educational transformation rose questioning on the education process itself. The heightened interest in and concern over education has encouraged educators to re-evaluate in the light of new global realities, the purpose of schooling, the underlying theories about the relationship between education and development and questioning about educator professionalism. (Watson as cited in Crossley 2002, p.81) The ways in which educators in different countries view these issues and the strategies employed to address them must be understood in the light of different cultural, social and political context in each country. By viewing the educational issue from the perspective of two diverse countries the researcher can identify factor that might be missed when viewing the issue within the context of own country alone. If the research area is related to researchers own cultural environment, it is not always easy to perceive its special characteristics. The case may appear too understandable and non-problematic. A fish cannot see that it is living in water (quoted in http://www2.uiah.fi/projects/metodi/172.htm). Multiple cultural perspectives thinking and analytic frameworks from a multiplicity of disciple the research would provide an international context as well as tools for opening perspective to enhance the way of seeing education. Critical thinking on Comparative education: Comparative education and the critical perspective taking that comparative inquiry, help the researcher to go into a deeper analysis of the relationship among society, development, education and the role that citizens either directly or indirectly play in the education process. Through the development of comparative thinking skills researchers should be able to undertake analyses of their home cultures and systems with a more understanding of the various cultural factors at play. Comparative education encourages both researchers and educators to ask questions like: What kind of educational policies, planning and teaching are appropriate and for what kind of society? The field of comparative education focuses attention on what might be appropriate and inappropriate policy while encourage awareness of philosophies underlying educational policies and encourages interdisciplinary critique. (Klein 1990, 1996, Epstein 1983 as cited in Kubow Fossum 2003, p.7). Comparative education is beneficial and necessary not only for scholars and policy makers but for education practitioners as well. As Gutek said, teachers function in two dimensions: as citizens of particular nation-states, they foster students national identity; and second as citizens of a global society, they recognize that possibilities of humans growth and threats to human survival going beyond national boundaries (Gutek 1993 as cited in Kubow Fossum 2003, p.251). Teachers must learn to look at other equivalent classroom and school practices throughout the world. As Stake (1978) said we observe that people intrinsically pursue the general by looking at the specific. People make sense out of the new circumstances they encounter by comparing that particulars to the universe that includes their own frames of reference. We have named the process of performing cross-cultural investigation and then deriving insights from these investigations the skills of comparative perspective takin g (quoted in Kubow Fossum 2003, p.252). Schools are compared with arenas which constitute tension and combination of forces. In order to understand and control such condition, involves critical skills and the ability to understand the political underlining of societal and educational circumstances (Kaplan 1991 as cited in Kubow Fossum 2003, p. 252). These kinds of critical thinking can promote critical questions like: What is the intention of schooling? What are the equitable education and who decides? What is the appropriate balance between educator authority and accountability? What factors reinforce or hinder teacher professionalism? (Quoted from Kubow Fossum 2003, p. 252). The field of comparative education continues to define its identity and significance in the new thinking about education, society, colonialism and development. Ideas from post-foundational thinking, post-modernism, post-structuralism and post-colonialism, are of great importance in comparative research because they deal with common metanarratives of progress, modernity, dominance and subordination that there have been the fulcrum of the main ideas in comparative education.(Mehta Ninnes 2003, p.238), Crossley 2002, p.82). Examples of Case studies: Case study 1: Comparing literacy The usefulness of comparative education is seen in the number of different case studies. An example of a case study is Literacy skills in Maltese-English bilingual children by Rachael Xuereb (2009). The study examines the reading and phonological awareness skills in English and Maltese of children whose mother tongue is Maltese and second language English. A sample of 50 typically developing Maltese children aging between 8 years 0 months to 10 years 5 months was chosen to participate in this study. The children acquired Maltese as a first language within the family and later acquired English as a second language through Kindergarten and/or the early school years. The participants in this study attend a church school situated in the south-western part of the island. Since children star going to school at the age of 5 years, the children have been learning to read in Maltese and also in English. For the purpose of this study, Maltese reading and reading-related tests were created to parallel the UK and US standardised assessments. All the children sat for the novel tests and the standardised tests. According to the results found by Xuereb, Maltese children read better in Maltese than in English, which is the language of instruction in most of the subjects. Each child was tested on the following measures in both languages: word and non word reading, non word repetition, spelling, segmenting words and non words elision, rapid naming of letters, numbers and colours, forward memory for digits. Increasing research has addressed this issue for bilingual students, in relationship to whether phonological awareness in the first language predicts phonological awareness in the second language (Quiroga, Lemos-Britton, Mostafapour, Abbott Berninger, 2002). Studies comparing first language and second language decoding skills in readers of different orthographies suggest that these skills are positively correlated and that individual differences in the development of these skills can be predicted on the basis of underlying cognitive and linguistic abilities such as phonological skills, memory, orthographic knowledge and speed of processing (Geva Wade-Woolley, 1998 as cited in Xuereb 2009, p.331). This study aimed to find answer for how do Maltese-English bilingual children perform on reading and phonological tasks and to verify whether prior findings of cross-language transfer from first language phonological awareness to reading or to second language phonological awareness be replicated in this sample of Maltese-speaking students. Case study 2: Comparing the role of gender and age on students perceptions towards online education. This study conducted by Fahme Dabaj, and Havva BaÃ…Å ¸ak, was conducted in order to question and analyze the perceptions and attitudes of the students to online distance education by means of email and the World Wide Web as the method of delivering instruction through on-line diploma programs offered by Sakarya University in Turkey with respect to their age and gender. The research was based on a questionnaire as a mean of data collection method. The findings of the analysis explained that although the students registered to the online program by will, they preference was for the traditional face-to-face education due to the difficulty of the nonverbal communication, their lack of ability in using the technology required, and their belief in traditional face-to face learning more than online education. The research methodology of this study used the quantitative statistical methods and techniques such as significance differences, correlation and the cross-tabulation distribution to find out if there is a significant relationship between the independent and the dependent variable questions, measuring the role of age and gender of students towards their perceptions regarding distant education. The quantitative data was collected by survey questionnaire and was analyzed via quantitative statistical methods. All the students enrolled in the distance education programs and the online courses in the autumn term of the 2005/2006 Academic Year took part in the research. Regarding gender, the results proofed that the female students have a better awareness of the online education contrasting to the male students. Regarding age, the results showed that the older the students preference moves towards attending face-to face classes. Case study 3: Comparing different Art methodologies. I also attempted to make a small comparative study in which I compared Art methodology adopted in a state school compared with that adopted by the Verdala International School. The Verdala International is a co-ed international school in which foreign students resident in Malta can attend. The Art department in this school in based on two Art Programs; the IG which is equivalent to O level exam and the IB which is equivalent to the A level exam. My research was aimed at bringing out the difference in teachers and students approach towards the subject. The first difference which I pointed out was the level of organization in the state schools Art room in comparison with the organized chaos that ruled in the Verdala International. Both teachers response to my comments about the Art room environment was that it reflects the methodology they adopt towards the subject. Art lessons in the state school are more structured; students have to follow rules which hinder them from using their imagination freely. In both schools the lessons where introduced in the same manner there was a lot of teacher talk with the teacher orchestrating the whole thing. The children were only asked to participate when the teacher asked them for suggestions. The two lessons differed in the way they developed while in the state school, the students followed the traditional method by copying the teachers examples from the whiteboard and were very limited in experimentation, at Vedala international the students were much freer to experiment and be creative. The reason was that although the Art syllabi of both schools are very similar, the methodology adopted is different. The teacher at the state school believes that in order to break the rules in Art first the student has to learn them by using the traditional method by copying. While Art lessons at the state school are more exams oriented, although at Verdala International they do have an end of year test, the focus is more on helping students develop creative ideas. During my observation sessions at the state school, which were carried out in the beginning of November, the teacher consistently reminded the students about the exam. On the other hand at Verdala International the final test was never mentioned. At the Verdala International I also tried to compare Maltese students who have been to a state school and are now attending Verdala International with foreign students who had been attending to Art classes in their own countries are now at Verdala. The aim of such comparison was to identify students perspectives of the methodologies used for the teaching of Art in Malta and abroad. The foreign students interviewed were from Italy, USA, Sweden, Germany, Russia and England. From the response given it resulted that the conservative Art methodology used in Maltese state schools is very similar to that in Russia and in the early years of the middle school in Germany. Lessons at Verdala International are more similar to those in Italy where the students are active participants and able to take decisions on what they should do. While in state schools every lesson planned out by the teacher following the syllabus that is to be covered, at Verdala International the lesson is in the form of a group discussion. Each student decides on a theme that he/she would like work on and the teacher will facilitate his learning. This way, different students might be working on different projects unlike in state schools where everyone would be doing the same thing. Maltese students prefer more the methodology used at the Verdala International than the Art methodology used in the state school. The research methodology of this study consisted of observation sessions, interviews with students both on individual bases and in groups, and interviews with four teachers (one at Verdala International and 3 at state school). The number of students that took part in this study was 45 students (22 at Verdala International and 23 at state school). Conclusion The comparative education area is composed by what researchers declare about its nature, origins, purposes, futures, by the truths people support and by the struggle over what made true comparative education (Mehta Ninnes 2003, p.240). The significance in studying this area using intellectual accuracy, the working and foreign systems of education will result in our better fitted to study and understand our own w