Tuesday, April 28, 2020
Sink or Float free essay sample
Use the following graphic organizer and pictures to help students keep track of which objects float and which objects sink. You may want to create your own larger graphic organizer to include more items. 1. Using the page of pictures, ask students to predict whether each item will sink or float. . Ask students to cut out the pictures of the things they are testing. If you are using additional items, provide a similar sheet with pictures of those items or ask students to draw each item on the finished piece. 3. Once students have tested an item, they should glue or tape the picture of that item in the appropriate place above or below the water line. Some objects will float at the top of the water, some will be partially submerged, and some will sink to the bottom. We will write a custom essay sample on Sink or Float or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page . When students have finished, they should have a piece of paper with pictures of things that float at the top of the water line, things that are partially submerged, and things that sink to the bottom. The graphic organizer should reflect where each item falls along the water line. 5. Ask students to think about why some things float and other things sink. â⬠¢ What do the items that float have in common? â⬠¢ What do the items that sink have in common? What did they learn about things that sink and things that float?
Thursday, March 19, 2020
Essay Sample on the Mission of the Community College
Essay Sample on the Mission of the Community College South Carolina. Minority students represent 6 to 8 percent of all students enrolled in higher education, yet they constitute nearly 60 percent of the total enrollment in community colleges. These enrollment trends have been consistent over the last 25 years (Nora 1993). Attrition rates of both minorities and non-minorities continue to be a serious problem in most community colleges. Figures on the persistence rates of community college students reported 10 or even 20 years ago are no different today than those cited in earlier studies. In a national study of minority and non-minority student populations in both two and four-year institutions, attrition rates for all groups are still high. While the attrition rates at certain institutions may imply that students are not dropping out as much as in the past, the researchers note that the withdrawal trend at community colleges is still widespread, especially with regard to minority students. Attrition rates for minority students in two-year colleges is at about 60 percent and in some instances is as high as 80 percent (Nora and Rendà ³n 1998). It has been argued that students enrolled in community colleges are not often part of middle and upper-middle-class America. Instead, they are often members of minority groups, and typically are less academically prepared in high school, do not have a high aspiration to achieve academically, do not aim for a college degree, and are less likely to be enrolled full-time (Cohen 1989). These characteristics contribute to the high dropout rates of community college students ( Tinto 1987). Dougherty (1992) has found, however, that even when controlling for background, ability, high school record, and aspirations, students at community colleges are 10 to 18 percent more likely to drop out of college sometime during the first two years than students at four-year colleges with similar backgrounds, abilities, and aspirations. Student characteristics alone have not explained, and do not explain, the high dropout behavior of community college students. It has also been stated that the mission of community colleges is driven by a strong commitment to occupational, remedial, and community, and adult education. Cohen (1988, 398) notes that For the past 25 years, occupational education that leads to direct employment has been high on the priority list of these institutions. One would not expect that the number of community college students graduating with an associate degree in liberal arts would constitute the majority of associate degrees earned in two-year colleges. Furthermore, this view, along with the fact that more than 60 percent of minority students are enrolled in community colleges, may lead one to assume that a larger proportion of associate degrees earned in occupational fields would be conferred on minority students. This is not the case. Sixty percent of associate degrees earned mainly in occupational fields are awarded to non-minority students. Even in those two-year institutions in which the majority of students enroll ed were minorities, the vast majority of all degrees were earned by white students (Nora and Rendà ³n 1998). While community colleges have always prided themselves with having an open-door policy intended to serve those underrepresented in four-year colleges and universities, enrollment figures for high-tech and other occupational programs reveal that minority students continue to be underrepresented in those areas (Dougherty 1992). The idea that the door is open to all groups in all programs at community colleges may be open to discussion. So how exactly are minorities affected by the admissions process? Recent court decisions such as the Hopwood case and later interpretations by university administrators and boards will not have an impact on two-year colleges. The exclusion of race in the admissions process, a process that is unfairly biased against minorities , will only work to lower the acceptance rates of this part of the population at research universities. Lowering the number of minorities at research universities, along with corresponding high attrition rates and low transfer rates, could ultimately exclude minorities from fully participating in society. Access to higher education will fall on two-year institutions as the only segue into four-year institutions, in order for minorities to obtain an undergraduate degree. The future of the representation of all members of our society in graduate and professional schools is greatly affected by the lack of a baccalaureate degree. It has been stated that community co lleges are allied with the democratic principles of equal opportunity and open access (Cohen and Brawer 1990). Valadez (1996) argues, however, that although community colleges provide access they have not necessarily provided opportunity for lower socioeconomic groups to achieve social mobility (391). Pascarella and Terenzini (1998) addressed the challenges students and faculty will face in the next century by stating, Shifts identified in the profile of the undergraduate student body and in the economic and political climate in which higher education finds itself are accompanied by a rapidly emerging and expanding array of computer and information technologies (159). Community Colleges are being urged to utilize and teach as much new technology as possible for two reasons. First, for students attending two-year institutions, who are not planning to transfer and earn an undergraduate degree, the ability to get a job will be adversely affected by not having the technological skills to compete and succeed in the labor market. Second, the role of community colleges is central to the retention of our country as it is today. Those individuals who are in a position to lose their jobs because machines, technology, and the economy have replaced them must find a way to prepare themselves to get back into the workforce. As the only means of access to higher education for many, community colleges must continue to keep their admissions process as painless as possible. Businesses examine the wants and needs of their customers in order to better serve them. Maybe community colleges should ask their students, and potential students once what they see as the mission for community colleges.
Tuesday, March 3, 2020
Abbreviations in Science and Technology
Abbreviations in Science and Technology Abbreviations in Science and Technology Abbreviations in Science and Technology By Mark Nichol Because of the bewildering variety of abbreviations for scientific and technological terms and the inconsistency of treatment, writers and editors are advised to consult with publications like The Chicago Manual of Style or a handbook specific to a scientific discipline or to an industry to confirm standard modes of abbreviation for specific terms. This post provides an assortment of examples that demonstrate the seemingly chaotic nature of scientific and technological abbreviation. Abbreviations for scientific and technological terms generally do not use periods; an exception is physical dimensions for nonmetric quantities such as gr. for grain, qt. for quart, and bbl. for barrel and temporal abbreviations such as sec. (second), hr. (hour), and mo. (month). Note, too, that unlike abbreviations for physical dimensions, those for durations of time include an s when they are plural: ââ¬Å"15 mins.,â⬠ââ¬Å"5 yrs.,â⬠etc.). Abbreviations of metric units are almost invariably lowercased; an exception is mL for milliliter, so that a lowercase l is not confused for the numeral 1. The format of abbreviation of US units of measure is inconsistent. Sometimes, abbreviations may consist of the first two letters of a word (for example, mi. for mile); in other cases, the abbreviation may be formed from the first and last letters (as in yd. for yard). Rarely, an abbreviation of a foreign term is used, as with lb. instead of po. or pd. for pound, while the abbreviation oz. for ounce is based on the medieval Italian form onza. Just as these abbreviations are usually appropriate only for charts and tables, not for what is called running text (the prevailing content in a publication distinct from display copy- headlines, captions, and the like- and graphic elements such as charts and tables), symbols are usually avoided in running text, but the percentage symbol (%) is occasionally used there, especially in statistically dense content, as are symbols for minutes and seconds in time or distance. However, these should be style as primes (â⬠²) and double primes (â⬠³), although some publications use straight, or dumb, quotation marks ( or ) or even curly, or smart, ones (ââ¬â¢ or â⬠). Capitalization of scientific and technological terms is variable, sometimes even for terms in the same category. Just as the first letter for the abbreviation of tablespoon is capitalized to distinguish Tbsp. from the abbreviation for teaspoon (tsp.), Bps (for ââ¬Å"bytes per secondâ⬠) and bps (for ââ¬Å"bits per secondâ⬠) are distinguished by initial capitalization of the former but not the latter, and abbreviation of megabit and megabyte are distinguished as Mb and MB, though kilobit is abbreviated kb, while kilobyte is shortened to KB (or simply K). The first letter of the abbreviations for ââ¬Å"kilobyte per secondâ⬠(Kbps) and ââ¬Å"megabyte per secondâ⬠(Mbps) is also capitalized. Abbreviations of scientific units named for scientists have initial capitalization, though the spelled-out terms themselves are lowercased- for example, Bq (becquerel), Da (dalton), and J (joule). This is true of abbreviations of words based on surnames, such as F for farad (an abbreviation of Faraday) and V for volt (from Volta). And because the -bel in decibel is in honor of Alexander Graham Bell, that segment of the word for a unit of measurement of sound is capitalized in abbreviation to dB. Likewise, the first letter in Btu is capitalized because it stands for British. (The other letters stand for thermal and units.) Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Style category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:30 Synonyms for ââ¬Å"Meetingâ⬠Deck the HallsPersonification vs. Anthropomorphism
Sunday, February 16, 2020
The uniform Commercial Code Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words
The uniform Commercial Code - Essay Example The UCC is used by every jurisdiction in the United States except for Louisiana. Article 2 of the statute only governs a contract for the sale of goods (movable property only)2, and is most often used to resolve contract disputes of that nature. Other types of transactions are governed by the different Article in the UCC. The statute is governed by TARR, which refers to tender, acceptance, rejection and revocation. When a buyer intends to purchase goods, he is entitled to reject such goods, if the goods do not meet the conditions set out in the contract (tender stage). A buyer may accept the goods in such belief, that the manufacture will repair the problems, which are under warranty (acceptance stage). However, if a buyer finds a problem with the goods, he may reject the goods within the reasonable time (rejection stage), or during the revocation stage. The provisions of UCC are applicable to the sale of goods in the United States; however, it is subject to United Nations convention for the international sale of goods if parties to a contract choose not to be governed by the statute. Applicability of the UCC Sections Relative to Zabriskie Case In this case, Mr. Zabriskie purchased a new car 1966 Chevrolet Biscayne and gave a check for payment. Later on he went for a drive with the said car on the same day, it got spoilt within 2.5 miles away, and he immediately gave instructions for the said check not to be paid. The dealer argued that he (buyer) could not reject the car as he had taken a test drive and was satisfied vehicle. He also argued that it was a reasonable opportunity for him to inspect the product. The court held that: Driving for a few miles was significant to the buyer, since it was his reasonable opportunity to enjoy his new vehicle and to see if it conforms to the agreement. How long the buyer may have driven the new car under the guise of inspection is not an issue as it is within the ambit of a reasonable opportunity to inspect. If the consumer has used the new car for a long period of time, article 2 of the UCC3 provides that a buyer may refuse to accept the goods if the defects impair the goods too much. The article also provides this when the buyer has accepted the goods without discovery of non-conformity because it was difficult to discover, or if he was assured that non-conformity would be repaired. In explaining the reasoning, the court defined non-conformity substantially impairing the value of the vehicle as: 1) Having many small defects whose cumulative value added up to a big impairment- This is the ââ¬Å"shake faithâ⬠doctrine first stated in the Zabriskie case. 2) One that includes a failure or refusal to repair the goods under the warranty- Substantial non-conformity and lemon laws often defines what may be considered a substantial impairment. Public Policy Consideration That Support the Decision in the Zabriskie Case and Other Cases like It Courtsââ¬â¢ main function is the administration of justice to all who come seeking justice. In doing so, they are guided by the principles of fairness and reasonableness in delivering judgments. When it comes to contracts, courts may refuse to enforce contracts containing unconscionable clauses at the time of formation or only enforce the remainder of the contract without the unconscionable clause to prevent oppression and unfair surprises to buyers; this principle was considered in the Zabriski
Sunday, February 2, 2020
Unemployment Rate or GDP OR CPI Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words
Unemployment Rate or GDP OR CPI - Research Paper Example Thus, since GDP is a full representation of economic growth and production, it has a relatively large impact on nearly every aspect in the economy. When a certain economy is considered healthy, there are a number of related characteristics; low rate of unemployment and an increase in the level of wages as many businesses demand more labor in order to cater for the ever growing economy (Brezina, 20). Any slight change in the level of GDP is significant to a given economy since it affects the entire stock market. Economists have always argued that any bad economy is always associated with lower profits which implies that there are lower prices o stock in the markets. Thus, many investors in any economy will ever worry about the negative growth of GDP as it is a sole factor used to determine if an economy is on recession or not. A recession is associated with declining revenues in businesses, unemployment and layoffs (Lochner, 3). Moreover, when the growth rate of GDP is relatively fast, most Federal Reserve raise the rates of interest in order to stem inflation or rather the increasing prices in an economy. This could imply that the loans which are meant for homes and cars will become more expensive and thus businesses will experience high cost of borrowing. GDP is an extremely important measure in any countryââ¬â¢s economy. Despite the fact that GDP cannot be easily determined, its value represents so many aspects in any given economy. This measure is significant to overall spending of a nation since depressions and recessions of a particular country are largely caused by the overall rate of spending. Furthermore, GDP is a measure of confidence since when the government, companies and individuals spend; it is a likely indication of a growing economy. However, when no one is spending, it is a likely indication of a contracting economy. Therefore, this
Saturday, January 25, 2020
Approaches to Manpower Planning Process in Construction
Approaches to Manpower Planning Process in Construction Introduction Man power planning is concerned with coordinating, motivating and controlling of the various activities of the people within the organisation. An effective manpower planning requires a careful assessment of the future needs of the organisation and it is a procedure used in organisation to balance future requirements for all levels of employee with the availability of such employees. Manager has to reasonably predict future events and plan out the production. The plans need to be supported by all the members of the organisation. Managers are required to estimate the business needs of the organisation and plan for the resources needed to realise the business goals. Manpower Planning Process The process of man power planning is reviewing current resources, predicting future requirements and ensuring that the demand and supply of people and skills is balanced. With understaffing, the organisation loses projects, economies of specialisation and scale and profits. Overstaffing results in losses in terms of salaries and competence. Analyse existing manpower in the Organisation Personnel planning begin with a clear understanding of the current Personnel situation in the company. An analysis of current employment categories, the number of employee currently in post, knowledge and skills available of them are important steps in the manpower planning. An assessment of the training development potential of existing employees and analysis employee turnover rate in the organisation also include the process. Forecast future requirements of manpower Forecasting is typically anticipates future staffing requirements. Strategies are formulated to not only anticipate their needs over time, but to consider optimal solutions for the long term and under challenging economic conditions. Organisations with a plan in place, and a keen understanding of their long-range objectives, may instead decide to weather the economic changes and keep trained, talented, and dedicated staff in place for the inevitable business uptrend. Job Analysis Job analysis is the process of studying and collecting information relating to the operations and responsibilities of a specific job. The immediate products of this analysis are job description and job specification. Before the recruitment takes place it is essential to determine, the duties, responsibility and requirement of a particular job and relationship with other jobs and positions within the organisational hierarchy. 3.4.0 Job evaluation Job evaluation is an attempt to determine and compare demands, which the normal performance of a particular job makes on normal workers without taking into account the individual abilities or performance of the workers concerned. The aim of job evaluation is to determine systematically a jobà ¢Ã¢â ¬Ã¢â ¢s relative worth. It is a formal and systematic comparison of jobs to determine the worth of one job relative to another and eventually results in a wage or salary hierarchy. 3.5.0 Recruitment and Selection Employee recruitment forms a major part of an organisations overall resourcing strategies, which identify and secure people needed for the organisation to survive and succeed in the short to medium term. Recruitment and selection are usually considered as one process. Recruitment needs to be carefully planned in order to attract the right type of applicant. Ultimately, this increases the chances of making a suitable selection and appointment. Recruitment activities need to be responsive to the ever increasingly competitive market to secure suitably qualified and capable recruits at all levels. To be effective these initiatives need to include how and when to source the best recruits internally or externally. 3.6.0 Training and Development of Employee After the recruitment and selection of an employee, is to provide the employee training and development facilities. New employee usually, is not fully fit at the time of procurement some training is always essential. The organisation, along with the individual, is responsible for training for specific jobs or positions according to their level. Development can occur formally or informally, as people grow and learn to adapt by using their education and training. Training programmes will be based upon extent of diversification, expansion plans, development programmes etc. Training programmes depend upon the extent of improvement in technology and advancement to take place. It is also done to improve upon the skills, capabilities, knowledge of the workers. 4.0.0 Barriers of Manpower Planning and Practical solutions Manpower planning is a key to successful management practises, which is link to business strategies of the organisation. However, there are some problems with manpower planning both short term as well as long term. 4.1.0 Economy Downturn For example, according to various sources, in the past recent years there was a boom at UAE, more development projects, infrastructure projects and real estate project was stared. The sharp increase in construction, along with other key factors, has meant the industry was seeing a lack of skilled construction staff. The demand for certain categories of employees and skill is also influenced by changes in social structure in an economy. Firms employing in construction have greatly enhanced the worth of technicians, surveyors and engineers during the last couple of years. In contrast the present climate of economic and labour market in UAE is downturn therefore Companies operating in fields compel to reduce their workforce due to high competition and short of new construction and development projects. This type of economy changes is occurring confusion of proper manpower planning. Solution The huge boom of construction and development field in UAE now over, while the present it going to down little by little but various source of news says [TopNews Arab Emirates] it expect to recover in near future. The boom time there was shortage of skill workman like Engineers, surveyor and Technicians in the firms but now excess. In some situations even after implementing some of the above cost saving initiatives, redundancies can still become inevitable and this can pose significant challenges for an employer as many complex issues need to be addressed including legal, labour union, compensation, natural turnover of workers of the company and future economic changes of the region. The practical way to approach the current situation is to preparation of well designed profile of employees of organisation. It will help to identify employeeà ¢Ã¢â ¬Ã¢â ¢s information not directly related to on the job skills and performance. The overall profile of the workforce generated is a vital aid to management decision making on things like redundancy. It can highlight impending problems, such as the retirement of employees, and the need for fresh recruitment training and developments. And it will help to analyse the sort of workforce envisaged at the end of the exercise, the utility of retraining, redeployment and transfers, what the appropriate recruitment levels might be. Such an analysis can be presented to senior managers so that the cost benefit of various methods of reduction can be assessed, and the time taken to meet targets established. 4.2.0 Changes in Technology Past years of time, the technology changes are more rapid and pervasive than ever before in the context of the organisation and its interface with the environment. Such changes in technology make manpower planning redundant or obsolete and ineffective. For example, Speed house group of companies [http://www.speedhouse.com/about-us.htm] well reputed House Construction Company in UAE recently utilisation of advance computer base systems to design such as current and future programme needs, home schedule and budget constructions to give facility for their customers. Utilisation of advanced technology is generally accompanied by less demand for low skilled workers and more demand for knowledgeable workers. Computerisation programs for office work and modern machinery in construction sites may reduce demand in some job categories (eg. clerks, book keepers and who had less knowledge to operate the computer prgrammes) while increasing it in another like workers with sound knowledge to opera ting modern high-tech tools and computer base programms. High technology with all its attendant benefits may compel organisations to go lean and downsize workforce suddenly. Employment planning under such situations becomes complicated. Solution Rapid changes in technology are cause serious mismatches between the jobs that are available and the number of people with the necessary skills to fill those jobs. In addition, rising levels of education have brought with them rising expectations among employees at all level. Some jobs are held by individuals who have more advanced skills or training than is needed. Sometimes the task can be done by a lower-level worker, rather than, an example is university educated employee. The manager should bring this situation to the attention that has the authority to make the necessary changes and thus relieve what seems to be a skills shortage. In addition, redesign job will help to reducing boredom and monotony, and increasing comfort, often increases productivity. As a result, positions for which skills are in short supply may not require more personnel, as more productive and skilled individuals produce more. 4.3.0 Workforce in and out fluxes within the Organisation Demands of workers are influence the internal in and out fluxes of the employee through retirement, termination, resignation, leaves and absence etc. This factors are effect how much workers will be required given work of different type of employee and the expected volume of business activity. Solution Economy downturn is occurring less demanding labour market in the region. The company might have excess workforce but still labour turnover creates unnecessary expense and reduces efficiency to the firms. When a manager identifies high turnover in a specific department, the quality of training and supervision in that department should be looked into. As a part of the human resources function, the manager would contribute to the decision on what steps should be taken to remedy the turnover situation, such as training, pay and incentive improvements, and the like. Perhaps company may have shortage of skill workers in some departments. The best practical way to approach this situation if present is to look within the organisation among its workers first. Until and unless the opening is not related to immensely diversified field of which the existing workforce might not posse requisite skills and the cost of training may be working out to be high. It is easier to go in for an internal source for recruitment. Becourse it is cost saving in many ways to utilize what is already available to the organisation and for instance are there imbalances where transferring people would avoid redundancy problems and solve recruitment one. In addition moving people between regions becomes nearly impossible when individuals canà ¢Ã¢â ¬Ã¢â ¢t get new mortgages or sell their existing homes. Alternatives to consider include focusing on accommodation or other essential facilities what they need or new recruiting area to a reasonable commuting distance. 4.4.0 Organisational Decision and Planning Process Organisational decision and planning processes seek to address the implications that a change in one input can have on the corresponding output. The evaluation and process evaluation that comprises part of the change management approach seeks to measure and anticipate the effect strategic decisions will have on company resources and labour. For example, ready-mix concrete Supply Company in UAE expects higher demand for their products in next couple of years. Likewise, if they try to venture into other lucrative fields such as supplying precast concrete product. For instance, the effect of the economy downturn in UAE, whereby product demand in the short term were low, downsizing staffs of organisation structures were the trend. The sudden changes in market conditions will obviously affect the demand for labour in general or for particular skills. Even proposed expansion, contraction or diversifications of the organisationà ¢Ã¢â ¬Ã¢â ¢s activities are complicating the man power pr ocess. Solution Manpower plan need to account the rest of the organisational plan, sales and production forecast and new venture to be more accurate. Estimating changes in product or service demand is basic forecasting concern, as it anticipating changes in national or regional economics. Furthermore, where plans are changed, the effect of the changes must be estimated. This may be estimated by market research, competitive analysis, trends in technological advances and so on. 5.0.0 Why should know Manpower Planning? The human resources are the most valuable asset of any organisation as they contribute to the realization of its business objectives. It is the human resources who contribute their time and expertise to the welfare of their organisation. Thus, the process of manpower planning and staffing is crucial to the business development of an organisation. The future Managers should know and follow the Manpower planning and it techniques to take the proper decision for their organisation. So then, it will ensure optimum use of available human resources and creates healthy atmosphere of encouragement and motivation in the organisation. The good manpower planning generates facilities to educate people in the organisation and opens possibility for workers for future promotions, thus providing incentive. If Manpower Planning techniques are ignored, decisions will still be taken, but without the benefit of understanding their implications. For example graduate recruitment numbers will be set in ignorance of demand, or management succession problems will develop unnoticed. It is surely better if decision makers follow this maxim in the way they make and execute resourcing plans. 6.0.0 Conclusion Employee resourcing is a wider issue than recruitment and selection. In this report is discussed the approaches to manpower planning process in construction oriented business with consist of series of activities such as determining current manpower or situation of the organisation, forecasting future demand and supply, Job analysis, Job evaluation recruitment and selection, training and development of employees in the organisation. In addition this report is explored the barriers that exist the proper manpower planning in the organisation with discussion of essential practical solutions. Discussion includes redundancy, employee training and development, proper movements of employee within the organisation that determine the extent of organisation performance, competence and ability to cope with dynamic forces of completion in business environment.
Friday, January 17, 2020
Democracy & sacred term Essay
Democracy is a sacred term associated with freedom. Freedom is an issue that has been fought for by a lot of nations worldwide. Freedom is a result of being independent, of possessing self-respect and dignity. Democracy is associated with freedom and vice versa. A true democracy is said to exist when the people of a given country are not deprived of their rights to vote, to express their feelings with the use of proper channels and when they can freely chose their leaders. The people sitting in government have a responsibility to its people, most especially to those who are oppressed and uneducated. It is often the case that during election time politicians gives out promises about the programs that they want to implement such as providing education for the poor. But, once these candidates are already proclaimed as winners they forget about their promises and do nothing about fulfilling them. There is an underlying reason for this and it is worse than what people think. In most third world countries, the reality is that politicians do not exert too much effort in alleviating the plight of the poor because they are afraid to educate the poor or make them literate. When these voters become literate or have gained knowledge, they would be able to vote wisely and this would mean that some politicians would not be put into office. The votes of the poor are the only things that matter to them and most of the politicians do not have a real concern about these illiterate people. The number of illiterates equate to the number of votes by which a potential candidate can use for his candidacy. The poor or the illiterate are segments in society that candidates and politicians alike would never give up on because they know that these people could help a lot in ensuring their success in elections. Thus, it can be said that there cannot be a true democracy if the people who compose the government are illiterate. (Bove, Carol. 2008. The Educational Theory of Jonathan Kozol. Retrieved from website http://www. newfoundations. com/GALLERY/Kozol. html). The reason for this is that these illiterate are deprived to choose the best people who would govern them. Education and knowledge are very important tools to the success of a nation. A government which deprives its constituents of the opportunity to learn cannot call themselves as living in a state of democracy. Instead, the opposite is true that without knowledge and education the government is destroying the lives of its people. The lack of education brings about many untold sufferings in a society and it is also the root cause of many problems. For one, the lack of knowledge or good education is the cause of poverty. Poverty is the evil that destroys the lives of many because many people use this problem as an excuse to commit crimes. This is the reality that gives life to the quote given by James Madison saying ââ¬Å"A people who mean to be their own governors, must arm themselves with the power knowledge gives. A popular government without popular information or the means of acquiring it, is but a prologue to a farce or a tragedy, or perhaps both. â⬠It is very important for any government that seeks to impose democracy to breath life and meaning to it. A democratic government should start by investing in the education of its people so that it can really be said that the former is a government for the people and by the people. The people and the government should work together if a true democracy really exists. The government should show that it is giving utmost importance to the participation of its people by taking into consideration the suggestion of the latter in making laws, rules, or other important functions. Douglass and Kozol are both correct in their observations and opinions that the cost of illiteracy is high and the damage are great. As already pointed out earlier, the problem on illiteracy deserves more consideration and in-depth study of how it would be addressed. An educated person is given endless possibilities in life to become the best that they can be, this privilege and opportunity is taken away from the illiterate who merely depend on what others tell them out of fear or desperation. Thus, these people who are illiterate are deprived of the freedom to live out their life as they please because they lack the knowledge on how to maximize their full potential. Kozol was correct in saying that ââ¬Å"democracy is a mendacious term when used by those who are prepared to countenance the forced exclusion of one third of the electorateâ⬠since the educated and powerful people use the weaknesses of the illiterate to their advantage. The reality existing in society today is that good education is available only for those who can afford to pay for it. The government of the United States provide for free or low cost education which is not of good quality. Private schools in the country are very expensive thus the students enrolled therein are given the best that money can buy. Although the state provides for public education it is not as good as those being received by the students enrolled in private schools. Thus, there is an inequality at this level. The argument of Kozol that there should be a shift in the quality of education in that it should be made at par with those of private schools is within the concept of ââ¬Ëmalign neglectââ¬â¢. In essence, ââ¬Ëmalign neglectââ¬â¢ wants to give out the message that there seems to be neglect in the quality of education being received by the students of public schools. There should be equal opportunity of education to be received by all. (Kozol, Jonathan. May 23, 2002. Malign Neglect. Retrieved on May 6, 2009 from website http://www. thenation. com/doc/20020610/kozol. ) A high quality of education would help the government and the society to produce better individuals who can compete globally for the advantage of everyone concerned. The quote by Kozol saying that ââ¬Å"This is the society which most of us did not create, but which our President and other leaders have been willing to sustain by virtue of malign neglectâ⬠is very accurate because the problems on illiteracy and poor education has been in existence for a very long time. Therefore it is a great challenge today to try to change the way on how things are at present as a result of the mistakes committed in the past. But, it can be done. If only the government would cooperate and listen to the needs of the people, changes could be proposed and implemented for the good of the society. It is not impossible to educate the illiterate or to give quality world class education to all children. It is not unknown to many that a lot of countries worldwide have fought for democracy to the point of shedding thousands of lives to achieve freedom and independence. A country which calls itself as a democratic nation should live by the true meaning of the word ââ¬Ëdemocracyââ¬â¢. There is true democracy if the government is composed of people who were chosen by its people because they believe in their officials and not because they were lured by the latter to vote them as a result of false promises brought about by their illiteracy and poverty. Another aspect that deserves consideration is the need to upgrade the quality of education being received by students. There should be a proposal for the government to provide for an adequate budget for a good education for everyone without regard as to the social status of an individual. Without these aforementioned criteriaââ¬â¢s, democracy remains to be a word that exists only in theory. ââ¬â Reference: 1. Bove, Carol. 2008. The Educational Theory of Jonathan Kozol. Retrieved on May 6, 2009 from website http://www. newfoundations. com/GALLERY/Kozol. html. 2. Kozol, Jonathan. May 23, 2002. Malign Neglect. Retrieved on May 6, 2009 from website http://www. thenation. com/doc/20020610/kozol.
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