CD for Holden Essay

How have you been? I have actually missed you a lot. The other day, I took a road trip with my parents and I thought of you. I remembered how you told me you wanted me to burn a CD with music for you. Thus, I listened to my iPod the whole way and selected many cool songs that I think you would like. Please get back to me and tell me which ones you liked and all. Also, I know you told me to only put around 10 songs but I could not contain myself and I chose 16 of them. I hope you will like them, because to tell you the truth all of these songs kill me. The first song I chose to put in the CD is â€Å"3 Cigarettes† by The Sleeping. Besides the beat and instruments that are cool as hell, the lyrics really remind me of you. First of all, there are the obvious connections to cigarettes, which seem to be one of your passions. Also when he says â€Å"I have been drinking more and eating less† reminds me of you. It is pretty much all that you have done lately, smoked, drank, and thought of Jane. Just remember that just like they say â€Å"we don’t have to blame ourselves† you should not blame yourself for everything that has been happening. Finally, the line â€Å"Do you care? Are you there? Are you listening?† kills me and I am sure it will kill you too. It is calling for people’s attentions, it is calling all those phonies and it makes me wonder if anyone really cares about me. I am sure it will make you feel the same way too. The next song I chose was â€Å"Through the Glass† by Stone Sour. I think that this song is talking about an insider who became a stranger and now they are looking from the outside back in. This makes me think of you because many times throughout your life you have alienated yourself. You just look from the outside as time passes by and sometimes you feel like going back in, and being an insider again but you don’t. The phrase â€Å"I’m looking at you through the glass; don’t know how much time is passed. Oh God it feels like forever† makes me think of you a lot. Because you are always thinking about how quickly time passes by. It seems like you have been alienating yourself for a long time now, it feels like forever. The next song on your CD is â€Å"Tears in Heaven† by Eric Clapton. I just had to add this one. I know that you are really sensitive about your brother’s death and all, and you don’t like talking about it. However, I think that the sooner you face reality the better it will be for you and everyone. This song was made for his son who died. He was very meaningful to Eric Clapton just like your brother Allie was to you. I know you so well, that I am sure that you have wondered about many of the things that this song is stressing about. Such as if Allie would remember your name, and if it would all be the same. Also, there is a bigger picture to it. I remember about an specific conversation with your sister Phoebe you told me about. She asked you to name one thing you really liked and you said you really liked Allie. I think you should listen to lines such as â€Å"Cause I know I don’t belong here in heaven† and â€Å"Cause I know I just can’t stay here in heaven†. The bigger picture that these lines are showing and I am trying to prove to you is that as much as you love Allie you have to let him go. You are both in different worlds now, and wherever he is, you don’t belong there. At least not yet. Holden, you should really get on with your life and just keep with you all of the good memories you have with Allie but let him go. It is the best thing to do. I am sure you will enjoy quite a lot the next song I picked out for you. It is a classic by the great band Pink Floyd. This one is called â€Å"Another Brick in the Wall†. You might have heard of it already. The meaning of the song is to say that in school they treat us all the same and they do not respect that everyone is a separate and different individual. Pink Floyd is saying that this is all â€Å"false control† and they are putting all the students together and trying to make them all the same, therefore losing their individualities. I can tell that you will agree with these lines, and that they will really kill you. When they say â€Å"All in all it’s just another brick in the wall†, the meaning is that every single one of us students are just a tiny brick of the wall of hypocrisy, superficiality, and shallowness that they are trying to build. â€Å"They† are the ones that you every so often refer to as the â€Å"phonies†. That is what I think this song is criticizing, phonies who try to make everyone be the same. They try to make everyone be like them. Hopefully there are still people out there, like me and you, who are going to fight this and knock down this â€Å"wall of phonies†. The next song I picked is called â€Å"Boys Don’t Cry† by The Cure. It makes me think of you and Jane. When I listen to it, I think of how you like Jane so much and she is the only girl that you truly care about but you won’t tell her. Just like the song is describing, you often say â€Å"I would†¦Ã¢â‚¬  You mention things that you would do, such as give her a buzz, and visit her, and ask her on a date. However, you never do any of it. The line â€Å"boys don’t cry† is obviously making a critic to some boys like you, who would rather hide their feelings and appearing tough instead of telling the truth and possibly crying. I love the line â€Å"I try and laugh about it hiding the tears in my eyes† and the one â€Å"I try to laugh about it; cover it all up with lies†. Both of these lines are very strong. They also show things that you do. You often act all nonchalant and like giving Jane a buzz is just something you would do any d ay. However, I think it is much deeper than that. You are scared of being rejected by her because she is the only one you care about. So, you just act casual and cool about it and lie and hide your feels for her. The next song, â€Å"The Permanent Rain† by The Dangerous Summer follows the same line as the one before. I think that just like the singer is saying, â€Å"I won’t let this die†, you shouldn’t let what you have with Jane die. You and her both have a really strong connection and bond. I think it would be very sad if you did not do anything about it. I think you should go and tell her how you feel. It is really the best thing to do. When he says, â€Å"I know it’s not helping to hear me say: I wish it was me in the car the other day† really makes me think of you as well. Even though you have never actually told her about it, you have wondered for a long time about her and Stradlater in his teacher’s car. You wonder about what happened and you cannot help but wish that it were you with her in the car instead of Stradlater. Finally, when the line â€Å"You know it meant a lot, but I was just a kid† comes up it seems like it was wri tten for you. You were both too young to fully understand the connection that you both had. Now, I think you are old and mature enough to understand it and your relationship with Jane should mean even more if you tell her how you feel. The next song, however, is not about Jane. It is about High School, hence the name â€Å"High School Low† by Say Anything. Just like you, the guy in the song is sixteen. He is also worrying about things such as the whole high school experience, and girls. I find there is even a connection to you when he says, â€Å"My teacher says that I’m brilliant†. It reminds me of how Mr. Spencer would try and get the best out of you. He did not say you were brilliant, however, he acknowledge that you had so much more potential than the one you were showing with your poor grades and test scores. The passage about looking at pictures of himself when he was a child can also be compared to you. I know that you have often thought about how it is such a horrible experience having to grow up and all, but we will get to this topic later. To do with the whole grades issue, he also says â€Å"My grades look pretty damn low. I want to motivate myself, but how the hell am I supposed to work†. This is something that is so similar to you that it could have come out of your mouth. At the same time that you realize that your grades are low and you need to make an effort, you don’t know how to. You are confused about what you should do that would motivate yourself. I remember you told me that when your psychoanalyst asked you if you would apply yourself when you got back to school in September you said you did not know. I mean of course you want to, but as you said it yourself, you are not able to tell how you are going to behave. One phrase that is constantly repeated is â€Å"take me away†. Just like you, this boy wants to run away from these high school days and from all the â€Å"phoniness† and move on to a better part of life; be it the past or the future. Speaking of phonies, this is what my next chosen song is about. It is called â€Å"Mutiny!† by Set Your Goals. This song is clearly criticizing people. In my opinion, it is criticizing the phonies. What leads me to think this way is when things such as â€Å"superior, you are inferior† and â€Å"heroes have betrayed† are said. This is talking about people who think that they are better than other s when they really are nothing special. It is also talking about how people can just betray you and change all of the sudden. Finally, the line â€Å"I will find the line and cross it every time† reminds me of you. It reminds me of how you many times alienate yourself as a form of protection. Therefore, I think that crossing the line is a symbol for you of that crazy red hunting hat you wear. You wear it to prove your point and to show people that you don’t care and you’re fine with being different. This is nothing else but a way of â€Å"crossing t he line†. The next song I chose is called â€Å"Flake† and it is by Jack Johnson. In case you don’t know, a flake is someone who says that they will go somewhere or do something and then they don’t. Am I the only one who sees a resemblance here to you?! Yes, I am going to start talking about Jane again. You seriously have to stop saying that you will call her, unless you are actually planning on doing it. Otherwise, you are just flaking. The strong line â€Å"It seems to me that maybe pretty much always means no† is what I feel sometimes when you start talking to me about her. You say that you might call her if you feel like it. Now, I am starting to see it as something you just have to say to feel good about yourself, to show that you have the power to call her. I think you should not â€Å"flake† Jane. Besides that, it is a great song and I really love the instrumental and the beat for it. I am sure you will love it too! The next song I picked is a slow one. I find it truly beautiful. It is called â€Å"Cannonball† by Damien Rice. It is also a love song. What I think it is talking about is about someone whom he really loves but that he cannot be with for a reason or another. He talks about how he remembers the girl all the time, and the things that remind him of her. I think that the way he feels about this girl is just like how you feel about Jane. It reminds me of how you remember her because of little things such as how she always kept her kings on the back. This song also brings up the issue you have of lying and it claims that the issues he had to face in life when dealing with love are the ones that made him be like that. It also reminds me of you when he mentions that â€Å"It is not hard to fall when you float like a cannonball† because you can often be very â€Å"heavy† and therefore you sink into your issues like a cannonball sinking down in an ocean. My favorite like on this song, however, has to be the last one. It says â€Å"when you know that you just don’t know†. I think it is talking about when people are confused and how it takes courage, to even admit that you are lost. â€Å"Speed of Sound† by Coldplay is also sort of a slow song. The main point to this song is that it is talking about time. I think that Coldplay is trying to show how everything moves so fast, like the speed of sound. Time goes by too quickly, Holden. I know you have already realized that before, considering how you have told me countless times and made me notice that once we notice everything has already happened. This song could have been sung by someone who is waiting on a platform and they are noticing how fast things happen. It also talks about the issues we all have with dealing with this fast-moving time. Be prepared because this next song I am about to introduce to you will kill you. I am serious. It is called â€Å"Forever Young† and it is by Alphaville. It is impossible for me to listen to it and not think of you. The main point to this song is the fact that we all get old. The singer obviously wants to be â€Å"forever young† just like you! You tend to resist the natural process of maturity and growing up. It seems like you want to be forever young without having any responsibilities or having to deal with any problems of adulthood. I think this is mostly because you are scared. You are scared of what awaits for you, and it all sort of mystify you. That is why you invent that you do not want to be an adult because it is a world of phoniness. It is your way of running away from the fact that you are actually scared of growing up because you do not have a clue of what any of it is like. A line on this song that I find really interesting is â€Å"Some are like water, some are like the heat, some are a melody and some are the beat†. I think that this line is talking about the people that make our life what it is. The people that are there for us. I think that water is a symbol for the people that are a bit colder and the heat for the ones who are warm. The people who are a melody are the ones, like Jane, who come every once in a while and they completely change how you were before, just like the melody of a song. The â€Å"melodies† of someone’s life are not always there, but we can never be the same after they leave. Finally, the beat is a symbol for the people who are there to support you in your life constantly, just like the beat in a song. It is also impossible to be the same without the â€Å"beats† of our life, such as Phoebe, because they are the ones that we can call whenever we need. I think you will really enjoy the next song I picked. It is called â€Å"Marching Bands of Manhattan† by Death Cab for Cutie. First of all, the main reason of why it reminds me of you is the whole New York experience. I know how much that city describes you. I am sorry but I will have to bring old Jane up once again. I think that this song is mostly talking about how he wants to be with someone that doesn’t know how they feel. I think that this is your type of song, and I hope you will like it. If you like it, you should look up more songs by Death Cab for Cutie, they all send like this and have wonderful lyrics. Well, this is pretty much all, I hope you enjoyed the songs I chose and you will take some of the advice I gave you. Remember to get back to me and tell me what you thought of them. Oh! Also, I hope you like the cover for the CD! I know how crazy you have been about those ducks on Central Park and I just thought you would enjoy that. Love, Deb P.S. The two other songs I added were songs I found searching on the internet that were inspired by The Catcher in the Rye and I thought that they would be interesting to add.

Education policy Essay

Security, quality education, access to healthcare, prospects of a reasonable job on merit and sound economy are the ingredients to be provided by the state to its citizens to run the state and the society smoothly. Growth of successful nations is denoted particularly to the education. There was a time when people believed that higher education should be available to people of all social classes and, obviously, it was freely available to all who wanted it. The fact that it is not, that public education was once available and now it is very hard to access is indicative of deep problems in Pakistan. Encouraging colleges and universities to raise their own resources by charging higher fees has clearly excluded a significant section of students belonging to poor sections of the society. Education in Pakistan is now so expensive that poor can’t even imagine of their children becoming doctors and engineers. Our education system is passing through a very bad phase now and it is regarded as perhaps amongst the poorest in the world. Cream of the Pakistani brain is either becoming idle due to non-availability of ever rising cost of education or going to other countries. UNITED NATIONS HUMAN RIGHTS Article 1 provides; every child has the right to have equal access to an education, irrespective of their color, creed, nationality, ethnicity, or social and financial status, so they may obtain gainful employment and contribute to the growth of their society, being born free and equal in dignity and rights. Life for a common man in Pakistan in this so called â€Å"democratic† regime has already become difficult owing to the all-round price rise across the country. Inflation, combined with policies of privatization, has caused a complete deterioration in living standards of the people. Frankly speaking, there is no such thing as democracy in Pakistan. This type of â€Å"democracy† has often left the common man in constant struggle for survival. Majority of Pakistanis are living in poverty and unsustainable economic conditions; when they are struggling for their livelihood education loses its utility in their eyes and it becomes far from their desire. But for the riches and powerful corrupt politicians, things are very rosy. Pakistan is suffering terribly for that, with socio-political and economic crises strewn all over the society like a straw hut in a typhoon. Lack of good education and unemployment in Pakistan would contribute many social ills, including crime, prostitution, and the break down in law and order. In Pakistan, providing education to the masses had always been state responsibility. Now there has been a major push for the private provision of educational services. Moreover, corrupt politicians, feudalism, injustice are such problems which have further pressed the most pressed people of the country. Education is a tremendous tool for social change as well as an opportunity out of poverty traps. People trapped in the lower classes have trouble climbing out of it because they lack the tools to do so, because they live in a feudal society that actively works to keep them there, and education can be a form of escape hatch. But Education System in Pakistan In Human development Report Pakistan is placed at 136th position for having just 49. 9% educated population. In addition to that, Pakistan is ranked at 113th out of 120 registered UN members according to the research conducted by UNESCO et. all. Some of the very basic flaws of the education system in Pakistan contribute to the economic, ethnic and sociopolitical crisis within the country. Flaws of Education System in Pakistan Firstly, the education system of Pakistan is based on unequal lines. Medium of education is different in both, public and private sector. This create a sort of disparity among people, dividing them into two segments. Such a distraught infrastructure is a basic cause of high illiteracy rate in Pakistan and high drop out rates in rural areas and public school. Secondly, regional disparity is also a major cause. The schools in Balochistan (the largest province of Pakistan by Area) are not that much groomed as that of Punjab (the largest province Of Pakistan by Population). In FATA, the literacy rate is deplorable constituting 29. 5% in males and 3% in females. The third major cause of flawed education system in Pakistan is gender discrimination. The current primary school ratio of boys and girls is 10:4, which is a cause of huge concern. For the last few years there has been an increase in the growth of private schools. It is believed that Pakistan is among the most prominent states affected by gender discrimination. That not only harms the quality of education in Pakistan but create a gap among haves and have nots. Fourthly, the lack of technical education is a biggest flaw in the education policy that has never been focused before. Therefore, less technical people means low standard of education. Fifthly, the allocation of funds for education are very low. It is only 1. 5 to 2. 0 percent of the total GDP. It should be around 7% of the total GDP. At that budget allocation, the illiteracy rate in Pakistan would not decrease but rather increase. The federal and provincial governments need to cut down their expenditures in other areas and spend a bigger proportion of income on education. Moreover, the quality of education in most of the public schools and colleges is well below par; the teachers in government schools are not well trained. People who do not get job in any other sector, they try their luck in educational system. They are not professionally trained teachers so they are unable to train a nation. Quality of teaching needs special attention in rural areas where the teachers lack in all departments. In America, Europe and most of the developed countries, the emphasis of the states is on developing virtual education systems i. e. provision of education through online networks. The idea of online education is gathering momentum and many online institutions have been set up which offer online courses and online degrees. The Higher Education Commission and Education ministry need to focus on developing a strong online education network so that students through out the country can benefit. Universities such as Harvard, Berkley and MIT are offering online courses and degrees. It reflects the importance of online education in today’s modern high tech world. Finally, Poverty is also another factor that restrict the parents to send their children to public or private schools. So, they prefer to send their children to Madrassas where education is totally free. The government has to make changes to financial infrastructure to improve the situation. Bank loans for education purposes should not be interest based as it discourages the people of Pakistan to acquire loans. Education loans are offered at low rates through out the world and it enable people to acquire quality education. Social awareness regarding all these issues need to be spread and we, the people of Pakistan have to work hand in hand with the government authorities to improve the current system. Our children should not be deprived of their basic right to acquire knowledge. All these issues contribute to high illiteracy rate, which in turn result in economic crisis in shape of high unemployment rate and below-par quality of labor. Moreover, the country suffers on social, political and technological front! There are hundred other problems which need attention but the core-issues need to be addressed as soon as possible. You can read my article Pakistan’s Educational System which is an overview of the education infra-structure within the country. In today’s world, the benchmark for excellence is education. Moreover, if a country has a distraught academic infrastructure, the chances to survive in current competitive world are petite. The illiteracy rate in Pakistan is alarmingly high which calls for critical attention. The federal and provincial governments need to work together towards elimination of flaws of education system in Pakistan. The first time I thought about education and its significance to this society was when I went on a field trip to a school set up by an NGO in the late 1990s. It is now a rightly famous NGO but back then during my sixth grade field trip it just seemed like a project of a group of cranky Karachi businessmen who had decided to spit against the wind of the government’s non-interest in providing education to its people. These rich grouches had  gotten together in the chaos of 1995 Karachi and seeing the government more interested in massacring hard-boiled militants than provide social services, they decided to simply pool their own money and build their own schools. How benevolent of them. I would love to see these rich men’s tax receipts. The citizens of a country shouldn’t be dependent on the benevolent charity of rich men. Through their own democratic political process, citizens must enforce upon their richest members the income taxes necessary to fund an education system that reaches every child in the state. The fact that Pakistanis have not done so points towards the weakness of their political system in dealing with its population’s educational needs. There is no real shortcut from the state actually enforcing a tax system that extracts the adequate revenue needed to fund the creation of a school near every human settlement in Pakistan. The goal I have described of having a school near every human settlement in Pakistan, is what Pakistan is obligated to do under its current international treaties and the simplest and most straightforward way it can be done. It is certainly not impossible. Pakistan has managed to make sure that no human settlement lacks a mosque. The same needs to be done for schools. Where we went wrong Nationalisation of schools, as was done by the Z. A. Bhutto administration, was a shortcut that cannot be used, and was actually instrumental in ruining government schools. The provincial governments that ran education departments became overstretched then to the point of breaking. The schools that were nationalised saw the prospect of future capital and human investment in them pointless, as the former owners were now dispossessed of their old stake in the schools. Good teachers left, rather than become government employees to be posted in far flung places, and the lack of good teacher training colleges, a necessity unacknowledged up until recently, saw little competent replacement. By nationalising the missionary (Christian), faith-based (Muslim) and private schools, an unwieldy, unplanned expansion of Pakistan’s school system reduced the status of government school teachers to the corrupted, incompetent, ineffective place it finds itself in today. Teachers do not come to classes, and if they do, they are ill-prepared to teach. It becomes difficult to weed out and penalise underperforming teachers because their status as government employees prevents them from being penalised as they would be in the private sector. As much as this rhetoric may sound similar to the United States, Pakistan’s teachers’ unions continue to shelter wildly incompetent teachers, who beyond being simply bad at teaching, many times do not even show up. Anti-participatory environment We are not helped either by large class sizes, low teacher to student ratios, non-production of teachers in a sufficient quantity and quality by the low number of Pakistani teacher-training colleges. Central to this remains the criminally low expenditure on education by Pakistan, and the failure to collect or divert enough revenue to the education sector. Taking the education emergency of Pakistan seriously would mean finding means to increase the amounts spent on education in Pakistan, on a war footing. Students cannot themselves push for an effective learning environment. Despite the fact that some students actually do want to learn, the environment that exists in classrooms, does not brook dissent. This discourages students from bringing up flaws in their educational setting. This anti-participatory environment in classrooms is facilitated by excessively large class sizes, which discourages teachers from having more individualised interactions with students. This anti-participatory trend in classrooms is complemented by an anti-democratic trend in schools, where no voting is done to elect new prefects or monitors, rather the relevant students are appointed by the school administration. Giving students an opportunity to actually vote for their school leaders might inculcate democratic and participatory values in them at an earlier age, and teach them the responsibility of making their own decisions. If and when these students reach Pakistani universities, they can adequately recognise the entrenched authoritarianism accumulated in many of Pakistan’s universities over the last three decades. Student politics This persistent anti-democratic trend within Pakistan’s educational establishments has reinforced the low academic quality of these institutions. There is little legitimate input from the student bodies on how their education is conducted. Since the 1980s student union elections have been either banned or delayed, witnessing unrest in a violent country like Pakistan ripple into campuses as violence, as opposed to measured  debate. The situation turned chaotic in the 1990s when the general mayhem of the city of Karachi coincided with violence on the Karachi University campus. The presence of such violence made the students of that decade disinterested in participatory politics. This suited the authoritarian and bureaucratic administrations of varsities, as well as the sclerotic, unelected leadership of Pakistan’s political parties. They did not mind that the students of Pakistan slid into political apathy. However, the importance of student politics was re-kindled in the 2007 lawyer-led movement against the dictatorship of General Musharraf. The importance of student politics was even acknowledged by the government that won against Musharraf in 2008, when it lifted the ban on student and trade union elections. However, the twist in the tale has been the glaring domestic democratic deficit of this government. The anti-participatory atmosphere on campuses has not lifted as no memorable student elections have been held. Neither have any well-publicised trade union elections been held. And most significantly, no internal party elections have been held in any party that maintains a decisive number of seats in parliament. What the lack of student democracy has to do with Pakistan’s state of education is that there is no feedback from students, who are the objects of education. There is no diminishment in the cruel authoritarian atmosphere of Pakistani government classrooms, where teachers, in negligent enough environments can still use sticks to punish students. I never really thought about education in society as a child. That would have been expected of any 11 year old. But when I visited a third grade NGO school classroom in the late ’90s and saw another 11 year old struggling with phrases I would read just for fun, it hit me how serious the problem of illiteracy was for Pakistani society. In a misbegotten decade as that one, beyond the Gordian knot we had witnessed of Karachi’s bloody politics, the reality of children’s mis-education struck me as a crueler fate, a dire issue that had to be resolved immediately. That’s because these ill-educated children would not remain children much longer. They would soon be badly-educated adults. And if this cruel act of omission by Pakistani society was not amended quick enough, then one more generation would see their adulthoods wasting away under the 21st century curse of illiteracy. Tax the rich, teach the kids. We have an education emergency on our hands. The Education System of Pakistan is divided into five levels 1. Primary level (Class 1 to 5) 2. Middle level (Class 5 to 8th) 3. Secondary level (S. S. C) 4. Intermediate level (H. S. C) 5. University level (Graduation, Masters and Research) Another division of Education System in Pakistan according to the School System 1. 1.  Public Schools or Government Schools These schools are managed and financed by the government. Unfortunately, the majority of the schools are in poor condition.  » There is no any merit system; teachers and other staff are appointed by the ministers on their own wishes.  » There is no any accountability; a large number of GHOST SCHOOLS AND GHOST TEACHERS are listed in the documents. They are receiving funds and pays, but, in reality they did not exists.  » In Rural areas, the buildings of public schools are mostly held by Waderas and Feudal. They use them as marriage halls, otaks, bethaks etc. â€Å"Public schools are the nurseries of all vice and immorality. † (Henry Fielding) 1. 2. Elite Class Schools (private schools) Due to badly failure of government in providing the Education, the Elite Class Education System in Pakistan got successes very quickly. Today, even poor prefer to send their child in these private schools but because of high fee structure many aspirants are unable to part this Education System. It is generally accepted that, the standard of Elite Class Education System is more reliable and first-rate than Public Schools and Madarsas. There is accountability, transparency and checking system. Generally, the students of private schools are more competent than those of public schools and Madarsas. The government should take lessons from this Education System. These are successive models for the government i. e. CITY SCHOOL, BEACON SCHOOLS, PAK-TURK SCHOOLS etc. 1. 3. Madarsas Madarsas are the largest NGOs of the world. Today in Pakistan about 8000 Madarsas are working. They provide not only Education but also accommodation and food. They provide Islamic as well as worldlyEducation. Mostly, poor parents who are unable to educate their child prefer this Education System. The government should introduce the reforms for the Madarsas and improve their standard. This will be helpful in two ways. Firstly, it will provide free of cost education to poor child. Secondly, it will lessen the burden the government. Before the 18th Amendment, the EducationSystem in Pakistan was the responsibility of Federal Government. The Ministry of Education at Federal level was responsible for formulating Policies, Planning and Promotion of Educational facilities across the country. But, after the passing of 18th Amendment, the responsibilities of Education System are divided among the Federation and the Provinces. The responsibilities of the Provinces 1. To set the Curriculum 2. To set the Syllabus 3. Standards of Education up to Grade 12 (F. Sc, H. S. C, I. Com, etc). 4. Islamic Education The responsibilities of Federation are following 1. Planning and Policy 2. External Affairs; Signing, implementation and monitoring of Bilateral and Multi-lateral Educational Agreements, Pacts, Protocols, MoUs 3. Controlling of Libraries, museums, and similar institutions 4. Federal agencies i. e. FATA 5. Special Studies 6. Inter-provincial matters and co-ordination. † 7. Legal, medical and other professions. 8. National planning and national economic coordination including planning and coordination of scientific and technological research. 9. National Education Policy and clear cut Domain over the following acts. 1. 1. Centres of Excellence Act 1974 2. Area Study Centres Act 1975 3. Pakistan Study Centres Act 1976 4. National Book Foundation Act 1972 5. Fed. Board of Intermediate & Sec Education Act 1975 6. Federal Directorate of Education Isb. [Article 142 (d)] 7. Federal Supervision of Curricula, Textbooks and Standards of Education Act 1976 8. National Education Foundation Ordinance 2002. Source: http://www. defence. pk/forums/national-political-issues/125588-education-system-pakistan-good-bad. html#ixzz2PKkMjbtM Flaws hovering over Pakistan’s education system Filed under ISSUES 0 According to the reports of Human development our country is placed at 136th with just 49. 9 percent educated population. There is lack of uniform education system. Private and Govt. educational institutions has different syllabus. The flaws in education system lead to sociopolitical, economic and ethical issues in our society. Our education system is based on uneven lines. Even the medium of education is different in private and public educational institutions. This inequality has divided people among two segments. Such a distressed educational infrastructure is a crucial cause of increasing rate of illiteracy in Pakistan. The regional discrepancy is also main reason illiteracy in Pakistan. The schools in largest province of Pakistan Baluchistan are not establish and sparked as schools in Punjab. There is lack of awareness among people about the significance of education. In FATA the literacy rate is very poor constituting 29. 5% in men and 3% in women. The gender discrimination is also one of the major causes of educational flaws in country which is projecting the boys and girls primary schools ratio 10:4 correspondingly. In the last few years many new primacy schools for girls and boys are established but still there is need to establish more and more primary schools to meet the educational needs of increasing population. In the last decade the growth of private sector schools is tremendously increased. The private schools trend not just harms the quality of education but also created a huge gap between rich and poor. The people of lower class couldn’t afford the fees of private educational schools and colleges. In public schools there is lack of quality education. There is also shortage of required facilities like qualified, train staff, furniture and school buildings etc. Our educational policy doesn’t focus on technical education. There are very few technical institutions and less technical trained people in country. The funds allocated for the education are not sufficient the funds are just about 1. 5 % to 2. 0% of total GDP. Although to promote the education the funds must be about 7 percent of total country GDP. With increased education budget the literacy rate in country will surely increased. The provincial and federal Government both need spend a larger portion of their income on promoting education. Author: Rizwan Ghani Posted On: Tuesday, August 02, 2011 Source/Reference: www. pakobserver. net Total Views :1320| After 18th Amendment, improvement of education in Pakistan to international standards can be done with help of international frameworks including Program for International Student Assessment (PISA), National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) and boards like National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME). Federal and provincial governments have to address the issue of teaching language (English, Urdu or regional languages), standardization of curriculum, and dealing with two-track education system- Urdu and English medium to take local and international exams. These tested frameworks can bring the progress of decades in Pakistan while saving billions of dollars. Thus, Pakistan needs to adopt appropriate policies to raise education standards, sustain economy and earn foreign exchange. The political, social and education complexities of teaching language can be controlled with help of international frameworks. PISA does not require the member states to change curriculums, teaching languages and teaching methodologies. It allows governments to periodically monitor outcomes of national education systems within internationally agreed framework. It provides a basis for international collaboration in defining and implementing educational goals and skills that are relevant to adult life (professional and social). PISA reading, mathematics and general science frameworks help bring national education at par with international standards. Around half a million 15-year-olds from 75 countries representing 28 million students, participated in PISA 2009 assessments and surveys. Pakistan can use PISA to improving national education standards in all provincial languages (www. pisa. oecd. org). Teaching in local languages can improve Pakistan’s education standards internationally. According to the 2011 Writing Framework for National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) of America, good writing instruction empowers students to acquire new knowledge and to develop critical thinking skills. This is true of writing in all subject areas, not just English language http //www. state. nj. us/education/assessment/naep/results/writing/2011naep. PISA and NAEP framework rubrics allow student evaluations irrespective of language. Learning and teaching in mother tongue is a universal human right recognized by UN. China, was a top scorers in 2009 PISA testing http //www. nytimes. com/2010/12/07/education/07education. html. It shows education in mother tongue does not affect nation’s international competitiveness and national education standards. Since education is a provincial subject, therefore provinces should be free to impart education in local languages, make English and Urdu as optional languages. Provinces can issue degrees with pass/fail with English/Urdu or both to free the country from politics of language. It will allow students to continue higher education without passing compulsory languages, which is a major contributor to school and college dropouts. It will allow the students to join job market who do not wish to continue with further education. The employer can omit or consider language(s) pass/fail status of candidate at the time of employment. On the other hand, the higher education institutions can keep compulsory languages as part of admission criteria. In line with many American universities, a six months period can be given to first year university students to clear compulsory languages. In terms of syllabus, international frameworks and boards can help Pakistan’s policy makers develop required syllabuses, fulfill demands of local market, and meet national education objectives to bring national and international education at par. They allow improving exam testing and incorporating modern technology in reading and writing. In addition, they facilitate linking of national boards to international boards like NBME (www. nbme. org). NBME model allows state medical qualified doctors to take national level exams, upgrade national education and examination standards and link them to rest of the world. It allows tens of thousands of international medical graduates to take United States Medical Licensing Exam without actually studying in American medical colleges. It is equally true for British, Australian and New Zealand medical boards. This model can help cut cost of professional education and fight poverty in Pakistan. Based on these frameworks and models, federal and provincial governments of Pakistan should collaborate to standardize local education and bring it equal to international standards. Islamabad should hold annual summits with China and western countries in line with reports of annual Indo-US higher education summits planning collaboration of universities in both countries. In addition, Pakistan needs to allow private publishers to print books according to the contents of given courses. It will improve concepts of students, standard of books and education. The existing control of federal government on higher education needs to be changed by allowing provinces complete control of universities, scholarships, hiring, training etc. Federal government needs to become a regulatory body instead of controlling authority and facilitates provinces to standardize higher education, provincial education and bring it equal to international levels. Federal education setup should work with ministry of labor and manpower to identify and develop human resource for interprovincial and overseas market, work with foreign missions to issue annual forecast of overseas jobs and train foreign workers and students. Pakistan needs to organize education to cater to local and international needs, attract foreign investors and earn foreign revenue. Reportedly, America and Britain earned $31bn and ? 8 bn in 2010 from foreign students respectively. China is charging $5333 boarding lodging fee annually for a five-year MBBS and one-year internship. It is also offering seven-year specialization degree programs (5 years MBBS and 2 years specialization) in most medical fields. Beijing has gained international recognition through standardized tuition fees, transparency, qualified staff and allowing foreign students and teachers in local universities (http //www.4icu. org/cn/). The Chinese model can help Pakistan cut prices of professional education by 50 percent and train surplus number of local and foreign students to sustain domestic and international needs. In line with China, Pakistan should also take necessary steps to attract flocks of foreign students, interns and investors. Finally, a debate is going on in China on two-track system- one for national college entrance exam (the gaokao) and other for international exams. Imran Khan’s PTI is deliberating about single education system. Pakistan can overcome challenge of teaching language, two-track system (English and Urdu medium) and bringing local education at par with international with help of international frameworks, NBME and more freedom to provinces. | Pakistan’s Education System and Links to Extremism Author: Jayshree Bajoria October 7, 2009 * Introduction * A ‘Dysfunctional’ System * Government Reform Plans * The ‘Madrassa Myth? ‘ * Reforming Madrassas * U. S. Policy Implications. Pakistan’s poor education system has increasingly become a matter of international concern. Lack of access to quality education, which in turn limits economic opportunity, makes young Pakistanis targets for extremist groups, some experts say. The World Bank says nearly half the adult population of Pakistan can’t read, and net primary enrollment rates remain thelowest in South Asia. Experts say the system suffers from inadequate government investment, corruption, lack of institutional capacity, and a poor curriculum that often incites intolerance. In August 2009, chief counterterrorism adviser to the White House John Brennan, summing up a concern held by many U. S. terrorism experts, said extremist groups in Pakistan have exploited this weakness. â€Å"It is why they offer free education to impoverished Pakistani children, where they can recruit and indoctrinate the next generation,† he said. There have been some efforts by the Pakistani government, Western governments, and the World Bank to reform the system, but serious challenges remain. A ‘Dysfunctional’ System According to the Pakistani government’s National Education Policy 2009 (PDF), three parallel streams in education–public schools, private schools, and Islamic religious schools, or madrassas–have â€Å"created unequal opportunities for students. † Of the total number of students going to primary school (grades 1 to 5), 73 percent go to public or government schools, 26 percent to private schools, and less than 1 percent to madrassas, according to the Karachi-based policy research institute Social Policy and Development Center. Within the public and the private sector, there are elite schools catering to a small minority of students. The majority of students attend low-quality private and public schools with poor curriculum, limited teaching materials, and inadequate number of properly trained teachers, or in many cases absent teachers. â€Å"[N]o Pakistani leader has had the courage to implement serious [education] reforms†- Pervez Hoodbhoy The government-mandated curriculum is a major concern for Western observers who say it encourages intolerance and a narrow worldview. Except in some elite private schools, which do not follow the government-prescribed curriculum, all public schools and registered private schools have been required to teach Islamiyat, or Islamic studies, for nearly thirty years. In addition to Islamiyat, â€Å"many scholars have noted that the government curriculum uses Islam for a wide array of controversial ideological objectives,† writes C. Christine Fair in the 2008 book The Madrassah Challenge. A 2003 report on the state of curriculum and textbooks by the Islamabad-based independent Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI) said that for over two decades.

Mobile Technologies

We are indeed living in a very fast-paced world. Everything seems to be found on the World Wide Web, communication is instant, and there are countless of technologies developed that would make our lives easier. These technologies, or most of them, aimed to make the world connected, so that communication is possible beyond distance, space, location or time. The history of communication would show us the developments and significance of communication in our everyday lives. The need for an efficient communication has led to the technologies that make communication faster. From messengers as a way to deliver the message in the old times to telegraphs and to telephones in the present time, communication has gone a long way. But the fact is that it didn’t stop there. Today, we can communicate through the vast choices of technologies such as cellular phones, pagers and computers. Further developments continue until today. These technologies have become mobile, meaning we can communicate with others, conduct business and be entertained on the go without being confined to one place, as is the case with desktops (Farooq & Carroll n.d.). Thus, we call them mobile technologies. Many studies were conducted about different mobile technologies that can be offered to consumers. One thing those studies have in common is that they showed how important these technologies became, as shown by the demand for them. One significant aspect of mobile technologies is in the area of business. One does not really have to be in his office in front of the computer when conducting business. Even when he eats lunch, he can tie a deal with just a few clicks on his phone or palmtop. It is important to note that with the rise of these mobile technologies, certain things have changed. One example is how we conceptualize things, such as place, locality and physical presence. This paper will try to delve into the role and importance of these mobile technologies and how they affect our conceptualization of place, locality and physical presence. Mobile Technologies on Place and Locality Mobility is fundamentally associated with location (Farooq & Carroll n.d.). The question that arises in connection with this is, how does location bring possibilities for the mobile user? Farooq and Carroll mentioned that location-based or place-based awareness for the users can be augmented by the use of Global Positioning System (GPS). The use of GPS will surely bring research possibilities and richer user interaction. According to the article â€Å"Locality in the Age of Virtual Transcendence,† the people’s experiences of place, locale in particular, are bound with the idea of distance. It adds that locale is a â€Å"human-centric concept† which exhibits a spatial relationship between presence – a mobile, for example – and a â€Å"perceivably stationary place.† Moreover, since humans cannot be at more than one location at a given time, this becomes an existential constraint. Today, however, we all experience transition into the virtual extensions of the physical world. Due to the technological advances, temporal and spatial distances have been overcome. In fact, two subjects can dwell in the same place in sound and image despite the physical distance. They can share a virtual space through avatars (Internet user’s representation of her or him) and can access physical spaces through webcams and satellite broadcasts. The article concluded that being at more than one location at the same time has risks. It says that man’s need to conquer distance and break the boundaries of locality may mean the loss of the possibility for transcendence (â€Å"Locality† n.d.). Meyrowitz (2004) agrees with this. He says that a person cannot occupy two places at the same time regardless of the sophistication the technologies offer. He adds that â€Å"the localness of experience is a constant.† The concept of locality persists in our everyday lives. Our basic needs must be â€Å"met locally.† We are also grateful for the local convenience stores when we need something. Meyrowitz (2004) mentions that although locality plays a role in the way we sense the world, those entities that we sense are not just local. Why? It’s because media have extended our perceptual field. He furthered that with the rise of mobile and immobile technologies, the people near us have less influence as they use technologies to interact with others who are more distant but still are local and accessible. Media have also influenced us in a way that we perceive our community as not just the community but one of the many communities where we could live. Our locality, we realize, is not the center of the universe, nor our physical surroundings the foundation of our experiences (Meyrowitz 2004). With the rise of mobile technologies, or those devices that we can carry around and still be connected to the world, we have conquered the concept of place. We can always communicate with our families or friends no matter where we are (as long as there is a signal). This is probably one of the advantages of these mobile technologies. Unlike desktop computers, radios or bulky devices, handheld and portable ones such as cellular phones and laptops and iPods can be carried around and some can even do business while riding the train. The new technologies have enable people to share information with others who are in different localities. Imagine that long ago, we couldn’t have reached the people who are in far localities in the same way we now do. Mobile, and immobile, technologies have enabled us to have access on our families and friends no matter where we are or where they are. In an article of O’Hara, Brown and Perry (2003), they believed that the concept of place in relation to mobility can afford various possibilities for â€Å"ongoing configuration of relationships with other people, and even for performing actions and for habitual action.† However, the configuration of place means more than just location. Technologies have important roles in making work possible for those mobile workers in different places, and devices such as mobile phone and networked laptop make these possible. The authors also mentioned that mobile workers can transform any place, be it restaurants, cafes or bars, into places of work. These leisure spaces become invaded by the mobile technologies. In fact, a testimony to this is the ring of the mobile phone in any of these places (O’Hara, Brown & Perry 2003). Ito (n.d.) mentioned that â€Å"place and locality is a technology-enabled achievement.† This is probably because with technologies in our hands, place and locality is not a hindrance. We can communicate, do business, and be entertained in places that seemed impossible in the first place. Perlman (2005) added that technologies have made the Internet to be anywhere. In fact, they can even bring the Internet into the streets. When we look around us, we see people holding phones where they can access the Internet, or typing in a laptop. Perlman also said that people used to just view webpage, but now they can also create them. However, Farooq and Carroll (n.d.) countered by saying that users of mobile technologies have no access to peers or resources compared to desktop users. This is because mobile users are in a different contextual situation since everything within the environment has changed. The authors said that this usually leads to uncertainty, or heterogeneity. Moreover, mobile users of these technologies do not have much control over the configuration of their environment. Thus, they do not have much control on the way they manage work. People began to subscribe to these mobile technologies for whatever they’re worth. Today there are cellular phones that can help in tracking another person through location-awareness and presence. There are also phones that can receive information about that house you want to buy through a transmitter. Moreover, some phones today have built-in Global Positioning System (GPS) and outfitted with WiFi (Wireless Fidelity) technology. All of these are created to enhance communication or social networking or business (Smith & Grubb 2004). Meyrowitz (2004) mentioned that through the electronic media (including the mobile technologies), people have become emotionally attached to certain places. Just think that long ago, when we are moving in another locality, we miss our old place along with its people and places and the experiences we have gathered there. But the media have helped us in a way that â€Å"we can now transport most of our nexus interactions with us wherever we go† (6). Smith and Grubb (2004) reported that consumers and businesses using location-aware computing will increase from 150,000 to 42 million in just three years. This was brought about by the 1996 FCC mandate that requires mobile carriers to find any subscriber making an emergency call to within 50 to 100 meters. They added that through location-awareness and presence, both of which enable a device to be geographically located, the way people use networked services will still change. Moreover, designers of such technologies are finding out ways that location-awareness, mobility and presence can further improve each service and application so that they can offer their users superior experience. Mobile Technologies on Physical Presence Through mobile technologies, one doesn’t really have to be with the person he communicates with just to talk with him or send him a message. This is one of the advantages offered by the mobile technologies. Today there are 3G (third generation) phones that enable someone to communicate with another while looking at that person on the phone. Several companies can also do a meeting while on different countries through a screen where they can see each other. It’s almost face to face. Farooq and Carroll (n.d.) believed that a sense of physical presence is associated with a common place wherein people meet and interact. But Harper, Goble and Pettitt (2004) argued that today, the virtual world tends to be more respected than the physical. They have mentioned that people are becoming too reliant on the ‘net’ because it is their gateway to other worlds or their way of communicating with remote people and a better form of self-expression. Moreover, the focus on the virtual distorts our perception in overestimating the importance of these technologies. As a result, the local environment becomes ignored when it comes to information giving. Harper, Goble and Pettitt (2004) added that the virtual and the physical must be connected because the latter is important to realize the full potential and importance of the virtual world. They also suggested that the ‘net’ and the mobile technologies must relate to the users’ physical location and real-world artifacts to be able to arrive at choices and decisions about what information will be useful or required. Smith and Grubb (2004) said that the introduction of the aspect of presence will bring changes in the way we use person-to-person communication media and will influence network service. For instance, when we know the location of a family member in advance, it eliminates the need to send a voice call when the reason for calling is to find out that information. Moreover, if we know the mood and activity of that person, we can determine the method of communication that is appropriate. Another example is that, if we want to call a friend just for a friendly chat, it would be better to know first if he is not busy or in a bad mood. In the same way, if I need to contact an associate about an urgent business decision, I would like for him to know this urgency so that he can let me know what he thinks. Farooq and Carroll (n.d.) commented that handheld devices are now engrained in our everyday lives. But that would mean we should consider the existing application and how the standard will change with the emerging mobile technologies. They added that handheld technologies, which are also mobile in a sense, can create even better interactions and consequences for different users, whether they are in their homes or outside. This just shows that the addition of mobility to the various technological devices will supply more channels of communication that are beyond the exchange of information. Rheingold (2005), along with some friends, has interviewed several mobile technologies users, preferably those who use telephones. Their survey showed that the people of Shibuya, particularly the teenagers, were very much into sending text messages and ring tones and logos. In fact, they are called â€Å"the thumb tribe† (Rheingold 2005). The article also showed that the advent of mobile phones in Japan has freed youth in one way or another. It was mentioned that they are no longer constrained by the landline shared by inquisitive family members. Mobile phones have offered youth privacy, something the landline cannot give them. This is just one of the reasons why the mobile phones started an intergenerational power shift in the country (Rheingold 2005). More and more developments will arise that would further affect how we conceptualize place, locality and physical presence. One thing is for sure: these technological developments are there to help us in making our lives easier and giving us richer experiences. However, as these technological advancements cannot be avoided and must be embraced to realize their full potential, users must bear in mind that they must still appreciate and give importance to the things that would somehow affect them. It is still better to go visit and see our friends and families no matter how far they are and despite that mobile phone in our pockets. And it is still better to treasure the places and the locality that have been a part of our lives. References The Beginnings of Communication. N.d. Swinburne University of Technology. Farooq, U. & Carroll, J.M. n.d. Mobilizing Community Networks. Center for Human Computer Interaction, Department of Computer Science, Virginia Polytechnic and State University. Harper, S., Goble, C., & Pettitt, S. 7 April 2004, ‘Proximity: Walking the Link.’ Journal of Digital Information, Vol. 5, Issue 1, viewed 31 October 2007, . Ito, Mizuko. Network Localities: Identity, Place and Digital Media, viewed 31 October 2007, . Globe Newspaper Company. 2006, The Art of Mobile Technology, viewed 31 October 2007 from Boston.com site. Locality in the Age of Virtual Transcendence. N.d. Viewed 31 October 2007 from Between Man and Place, . Meyrowitz, Joshua 2004, The Rise of Glocality: New Senses of Place and Identity in the Global Village. O’Hara, K., Brown, B. & Perry, M. Mobile Work, 2003, Technology and Place. 18:08 Rheingold, Howard 20, July 2005, The Next Social Revolution. Swinburne University of Technology. Basic Books. Smith S. & Grubb J. 2004, Location and Presence in Mobile Data Services, viewed 31 October 2007 from Boxesandarrows site: .   

Police Corruption Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 2

Police Corruption - Essay Example This way of thinking that concentrates on ritual and continuation of graft creates an environment in which anti-graft, embezzlement, fraud and corruption programs are seen as being radical encroachments on the status quo. Officers may find examples of their morality may be more prone to give an accounting of their personal beliefs than what they see to be a proscribed function of weighing behavior by a set standard. The idea behind the slippery slope is a metaphor—the first step taken on a slippery surface causes problems which tend to snowball, in a relationship that can simply be described as cause and effect. #2 The society-at-large hypothesis assumes that the problems which lead to corruption come from an external source. For example, if a police department is located in a particularly rough city, during a particularly rough time period economically, and there is a lack of leadership and corruption even at the highest offices in the country, the police department becomes a microcosm of a corrupt society. It becomes a reflection of this external corruption. The rotten apple hypothesis states that the police officers hired by a police department are the cause of corruption. The society-at-large hypothesis was external; this is an internal consideration. â€Å"The rotten apple hypothesis is that there is low criterion for the cops hired. This leads to law enforcement’s not being trustable and being bad natured sometimes being a side of the police force. To prevent this, one must do a thorough background screening of the officer being hired† (Buckosh, 2010). The common saying is that â€Å"a few rotten apples spoil the whole bunch.† In other words, a minority of corrupt officers may give the whole department a bad name. The affliction hypothesis is also external. â€Å"The structural or affliction hypothesis is a similar factor to the society at large, where it is forced ethics

Islam communities Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Islam communities - Essay Example Though his message was initially rejected, by the year 630 he had succeeded in gaining control of Mecca, the economic and religious center of the Arabian Peninsula. Muhammed died after two years, this does not stop the Islam religion to spread rapidly. In 750 A.D. Islam spread out in Spain, India, Asia, and Africa. Some of the well known philosophers and mathematician were believed to be Muslim. In the time of the golden era Christianity and Islam clashed, as a result of the so called science of debate or Kalam. Kalam (literally the science of debate) denotes a discipline of Islamic thought which is referred to as "theology" or as "scholastic theology." This discipline involves the political and the religious controversies that engulfed the Islam community in its formative years, it deals with interpretations of religious doctrine and the defence of the interpretations by means of discursive arguments. The introduction of Kalam came to be associated with the Mu'tazilla, a nationalist school that emerged at the beginning of the 2nd century ah and the rose to prominence in the following century. Rationalism was discreted because of the failure of the Mutazilla, leading to a resurgence of traditionalism and later to the emergence of the Ashariyya School. The Asharite School gained acceptability within mainstream (Sunni) Islam. The Sunni comprises the 90% of all the Muslims, their name derived from the fact that they look both to the Koran and to the sunna in establishing proper Muslim conduct. The "sunna" is the behavior or example of Muhammed and of the early Muslim community. Another group arises in the Islam community is the Shiites. It comprises 10% of the Muslim community and usually lives in Iran and Iraq. The word Shi'ite means partisan and they are referred as the partisan of Ali. Ali is the son in law and cousin of Muhammed and one of the early Caliphs or successors to Muhammed as leader of the Muslim people. They believe that the leader of Islam should be among the descendants of Ali. The last of these divinely appointed leaders, or "imams" most Shi'ites believes to be in "hiding" in another realm of existence. The Ayatollah Khomeini was believed to have been a spokesman for this "hidden imam." The third group of Islam are the Suffis who seek a mystical experience of God, rather than a merely intellectual knowledge of Him, and who also are given to a number of superstitious practices. Beliefs of Islam To Islam there is no God but Allah. The early Islamic Arabs were polytheists. Muhammed is the instrument leading the Muslims to devote themselves solely to the chief God whom they called Allah which means God. They believe that Allah has a magical power and to worship others is considered blasphemy. The Islam religion also believes in angels and jinn. Jinn are spirits being capable of good and evil actions and of possessing human beings. The Muslims believed that they are being accompanied by jinn and angels one on the right to record good deeds and the jinn on the left to record the evil deeds. Muslims has great belief to their God's holy book called Koran. Chief among these are the Law given to Moses, the Psalms given to David, the Gospel (or Injil) given to Jesus, and the Koran given to Muhammed. According to Muhammed the Christian scriptures has been tampered and the real bible is the Koran. Difficulties and

Unit 4 Individual Project - Present Risks to ODHS Project Essay

Unit 4 Individual Project - Present Risks to ODHS Project - Essay Example (JordaÃŒÆ'o, B., 2010) This is the point of divergent compared to the role of quality management. Quality management lays emphasis on the standards involved in the process, the process itself as well as the techniques that are involved in to ensure that quality is achieved in the whole process. This brings to clarity the understanding that risk management would portray a more direct focus on potential risk associated with the execution of the project while the quality management is principally concerned with the broader management efforts. This makes quality management to be more of overall determination of the project quality as a whole. This study will try to explore the aspects of the projects management that are relevant and would be important for adoption in the project at hand. To this end, the study will attempt to identify fundamental aspects of risk management and project quality management. This aspect will form the ground for evaluation of Ohio Department of Human Services (ODHS) The basic components of a quality management are quality assurance, quality control as well as quality planning. Quality planning acts as the main way of assisting in identification of quality standards that would be relevant for the project in place. This is the most relevant stage to any organization that intends to implement a project. The case of ODHS would be well managed at this stage. First of all, the project has been able to identify that the project lacks two network engineers and a business analyst who would be responsible for project documentation. They have further identified that the existing budget plan is not able to cover the anticipated 20% increase in licensing for one of the key candidate products under consideration. This is one step that the company would be able to exploit in order to get to the desired goal of delivering it’s services to its clients. First and foremost, lack of business analyst

Racial Disproportionality in the United States Prison System Research Paper

Racial Disproportionality in the United States Prison System - Research Paper Example Information gathered by the Political Research Associates (2005) reveal that the criminal justice system is generally racist. Even as most people in the US feel that we have already overcome our racist history, these practices are still very much apparent in our society today. This is apparent in the fact that, out of the 2.1 million adult men and women in our prisons, about 70% of these are blacks, Hispanics, Asians, and other racial minorities. These people of color are being imprisoned at a rate which is very much disproportionate, and they are not given access to the rehabilitation options which are often given to their white counterparts; they are also more prone to abuse and harassment by various government agencies (Political Research Associates, 2005). Although rates of crime commission are higher among people of color, they are also being disproportionately targeted in terms of unfair treatment within the criminal justice system. Only about 12.7% of the US population is made up of Black-Americans, however, 2003 surveys reveal that they comprise 48.2% of the adult population in federal, state, and local prisons (Prison Activist Resource Center, 2003). In relation to drug abuse, the National Household Survey on Drug Abuse declare that 72% drug users are whites, and only 15% are blacks; and yet, a greater percentage of blacks are imprisoned for drug offences (in Human Rights Watch, 2000). The Latin population makes up only about 11% of the US population, and about 10% of overall drug users in the US; however, 18.6% of the US prison population is made up of these Latinos, and 22.5% of them have been convicted for drug-related crimes (Political Research Associates, 2005). In relation to the death penalty convicts, a significant percentage (42.5%) are African-Americans, and these numbers represent more than three times the percentage for African Americans in the entire US population (Political Research Associates, 2005). Surveys carried out in 2003 also revealed that whites were imprisoned at a rate of 376 for every 100,000 individuals. This is in stark contrast to the statistics for people of color, with Indians imprisoned at a rate o f 709 for every 100,000, Latinos at 997 per 100,000 of their population, and for the African-Americans, at a rate of 2526 for every 100,000 (Political Research Associates, 2005). African-American males already have a 32% probability of serving time at any point in their lives; Hispanics are at a 17% probability; and for whites, they have a significantly lower probability of spending any time in jail at 6% (Political Research Associates, 2005). In reviewing this disproportionate trend in the American prison systems, it is necessary to evaluate the practices in the criminal justice system which has caused this racial disproportion in the American prisons. First of all, among adult drivers, blacks have an 11.2% probability of being pulled over as compared to

Trade Associations Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Trade Associations Paper - Essay Example Today, the association represents a total of 400 companies, 9,000 brands, and over one hundred billion dollars in advertising and marketing. In many ways, the ANA is the prime example of a working regional trade association. The association is headquartered in two distinct locations, where both locations perform two different functions. The first location, in New York City, regulates the practices of marketers and sets forth industry initiatives. The second location, in Washington D.C., manages industry affairs and the relationship between marketers and legislative rights, as well as a focus on public policy. Because ANA membership is open only to client-side marketing organizations, agencies and media companies are not eligible for membership. Joining the association brings client-side marketers several advantages, including marketing/media committees, workshops, national conferences, advocacy initiatives, dedicated research experts, and marketing insights in an online database. Thus, ANA membership is beneficial to all sorts of marketing companies. With 45 companies looking to advance the interests of advertisers and their clients, the Association of National Advertising Managers evolved nearly a century ago in 1910. In 1914, with prominent clients such as Macey Company, Burroughs Adding Machine Company, and Sherwin Williams Company, the trade association adopted the current title of the Association of National Advertisers. Since its creation, the goals of the organization have not changed. The organization set out to support positive relationships between advertisers and agencies and regional and national industries. The association’s purpose is to maintain advertising as a necessary and valuable economic factor, as well as to promote efficiency and responsibility in advertising, which includes advancing the interests of its individual members. At the time of its formation, the ANA was structured to handle industry relationships and the interests

Final Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Final - Assignment Example For instance, the law of the society may just forbid people form lying, but in some cases, for example in a case where one has to lie so as to save his life or the life of other people, the general law of the society forbidding lying may not provide direction of action. For this reason, therefore, people have different moral systems that give them in resolving moral dilemmas. My ethical system is the consequentialist moral system. The consequentialist ethical system is a teleological theory of ethics meaning that the morality of an action is determined by the consequence or the result of an action, i.e. an action is regarded morally right if it yields a desirable effect or consequence; on the other hand, an action is regarded morally wrong if it results in an effect or consequence that is not desirable. This essay will examine the consequentialist ethical system and how the ethical system influences my opinions of morality and ethics. The paper also will give a review of two articles on two ethical issues associated with my future career. Also, the paper gives two examples of concrete ethical dilemmas that I am likely to face in my career and explains how I would resolve the moral dilemmas. The consequentialist theory of ethics is also called the Utilitarian theory of Ethics. As we have just said, the end result of an action is the determinant of the morality of an action in the utilitarian theory of ethics. What this means in essence is that the utilitarian moral theorists do not take into account the motive of the doer of an action or the means used to do an action in determining the morality of action. The utilitarian theory of ethics holds the view that that consequence or the result of an action can justify the means used to do an action (Pollock, 2012). For the utilitarian moral theorist, therefore, it is morally right to use a bad mean so as to acquire a good result. There are two types of utilitarian ethics, act utilitarian and rule utilitarian. According

The Hurricane Disaster Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 17

The Hurricane Disaster - Article Example The information does not dwell on a particular aspect of the disaster hence providing a very detailed report. The information is a lot but clearly presented with supporting evidence from officials handling the disaster rescue and recovery operation. The last article in the USA Today is not clear at all. It had information jumbled up and provides a lot of unnecessary information to the case. The timeliness is effective but the lack of clarity affects the understanding of the length information from the researchers (Cooper & Swanson, 2005). The article by Kay, (2005) can be said to be the most informative. This is so because it provides well-rounded information about the disaster without dwelling on only one area of it or deviating completely from the events of the disaster hence making the information lack clarity. The authors of this article discussed on the human deaths and injuries experienced, the property damages to the infrastructure especially, the financial implications of the disaster as well as seeking verification of the rescue efforts in place as well as other communication details that seem minute but very effective. The fact that the article discusses the disaster based on opinion and facts provided by several officials and not only the governor like in the previous article makes it even more informative. The article in The New York Times is written in informal communication style compared to the other two articles. The informal writing is meant to be understood by all the people without discriminating others from feeling worthy of the news article they are reading. The informal style enables a clearer understanding of the events and connects with the emotions of the audience. An example about reports from survivors â€Å"†¦were left clinging to the remains of their house when a 23-foot surge of water hit it, flexing the roof like a deck of cards (Treaster & Zernike, 2005).†

Imam Ali in my word Essay Example for Free

Imam Ali in my word Essay Imam Alis (p.b.o.h.) stories are so fascinating to read and to hear about. Knowing about Imam Ali (p.b.o.h.) life style and stories is so wonderful. Especially how Imam Ali (p.b.o.h.) saved Islam and won battles for example when Imam Ali (p.b.o.h) slept in prophet Mohammeds (p.b.o.h.) bed so that prophet Mohammed could take his last journey, Imam Ali slept in the prophets bed because the people that wanted to prevent and kill the prophet so to save Islam Imam Ali took . Also to understand how Islam was saved for and passed to us to be Muslims now. All the stories I enjoyed. But the one that I liked most is well is not actually a story but what will happen in the future to Imam Ali (p.b.o.h.). When Imam Mahdi (p.b.o.h.) comes back before Qiyamat and the Imam Ali (p.b.o.h.) comes and slowly the rest of the Imams (p.b.o.h.) come back, I found that so lovely knowing that one day the Imams will come back, and if I live I may see then return to the world and take over. I liked Imam Alis personality how Imam Ali cared for his family dearly by helping out at home and the way Imam played with his two sons: Hasan and Hussain. The way Imam Ali was fair and considerate to other people as in another story about The pomegranate how Fatima (p.b.o.h.) wanted a pomegranate and Imam Ali went to get one but when he got to the shop there was only one left that he could have, but along the way Imam Ali met a old man and gave half to the old man because he was thinking if Fatima but the man asked for the other half so kindly Imam gave, when he got home he was a bit shy to face Fatima as Fatima never asked for any thing but when he found out that send from heaven, Fatima was eating pomegranates.

MyAlert Essay Example for Free

MyAlert Essay Come 1999, the international mobile data services market was ever so expanding and changing rapidly. Jorge Mata was able to hop on the bandwagon early enough to profit from this business venture as this industry was just at the beginning of a new era that would revolutionize how consumers and businesses communicated with each other. More simply stated, MyAlert was a great business idea, developing a more personalized mobile industry. Mata could not actually believe that such a business model had never been thought of in the past, but did not have to think twice before investing in the MyAlert project, becoming the first company to appear and succeed in the mobile services market in Spain. Flash forwarding to a year after its creation, figures are only representative of the huge success MyAlert was facing in terms of the service and content the company offered its customers. Figures were in the black, and more than 200.000 users were registered to the ‘Alert portal’ without even any substantial advertising expense. Another indicator of a good business idea is whether the creator of the company is able to find any potential investors ready to sponsor his project. In this case, Mata is the first to find enough capital (half a million euros) to launch his project. His ex-CEO at BroadVision also wanted to invest in the project, showing us just how serious and well thought of this business plan actually was. Although the initial funds were clearly insufficient to bring MyAlert at the top of the ladder both domestically and internationally, Mata’s strategy is clear-cut in the sense that the first priority was developing a project with â€Å"a top-tier management and technical team and a sound technological platform to make alerts work at the targeted scale† (p. 2). The company could effectively y use its technological platform to provide a personalized service, that at the time, was crucially needed by customers and companies who wished to stay at the top of the information chain. This was the booming time in terms of new technologies and how they could be adapted to the internet and the mobile phone. MyAlert’s business idea was once again great because it could actually provide this ever so needed information to its end users. By valuing the customer and focusing on what the market needed and will need in the future, MyAlert is a perfect example of how they were able to carry out the latter and grasp a changing environment before it was too late. The main competitive advantages that MyAlert benefit from are seen through their timing and their strong technological platform. In effect, the company benefits from a first mover advantage into the mobile data service industry. With this advantage under their belt, it is essential in for MyAlert to develop an on-going demand for their service. The customer base is large and potentially profitable and the company understood this. As I stated previously, instead of focusing itself on the product/service they deliver to the customer, MyAlert’s strategy is to focus on what the customer really wants from the company. The emotional factors that the customers face are very important because they act as an experience on each individual when they decide to sign up for daily alerts on football, or stock quotes for example. My Alert knows that by focusing on the customer base, by offering them a service that is affordable and useful, positive recommendations will then follow placing them at an advantage vis-à  -vis their competitors. While focusing on the demand aspects are vital, it is also crucial for the company to concentrate on the supply scale for the competitive advantage to be sustainable. Basic services such as alerts on business headlines are interesting but MyAlert’s main wish is to expand their supply with a â€Å"†¦ number of services thanks to agreements with other content and service providers† (p. 2). By growing a significant supply scale, a broader demand from not only individual end-users will arise, but also from sources like corporations and large advertising companies. With all the information above, a value chain of MyAlert’s business model is shown through this diagram: A perfect example of this model at work is when MyAlert enters the European major markets. While replicating the entry strategy that had already worked in Spain, the company broadens its supply scale by offering free advertising services to international companies and then pursuing on to develop tight relationships with these companies so that they can offer them business services. This is a clear example of how the company intentionally expands its supply scale to attain an even larger demand (customer) base. After the dotcom bubble crisis, companies focused on new technologies such as MyAlert, take the hardest hit. Their competitive advantage based on a strong  technology is now under threat and the company has to reevaluate its strategy. I believe the merge with Buongiorno is not only positive for both companies, but a must if MyAlert wishes to stay competitive in the long run. Mauro del Rio basically says it all in his statement as he declares that the â€Å"†¦ two absolute imperatives for ambitious European high tech companies [are]: critical mass and positive PL† (p.4). MyAlert could no longer expand through organic growth and so this merger is a fantastic idea in terms of bringing new qualified staff, technology assets and know-how. On the flip side, the position the two companies now hold as a whole, allows them to penetrate new markets and develop synergies. The two companies complemented each other very well in terms of My Alert bringing a strong technological platform to the table and powerful ASP services versus Buongiorno being more present in terms of marketing and advertising services. The strengths of one, replaced the weaknesses of the other. A good example of how the two companies complemented themselves really well is by analyzing the services they sold through various business models. In terms of business services, Buongiorno would lead the way offering companies other marketing services such as brand building and customer loyalty. The product range allowed a higher diversification and greatly benefited the company. The above would not have been possible to realize if MyAlert wouldn’t have merged with Buongiorno because of a poorer marketing penetration. When it came to consumer services however, MyAlert would lead the way by actively investing and developing new apps carefully adapted to their customer base thanks to t heir strong technology. Consumer services were the new hit at the beginning of the years 2000’s and Buongiorno! MyAlert was able to establish itself as a clear industry leader. At first, intensively focusing on consumer services was not a clear target for the newly merged companies. The SMS market was in full evolution but many competitors were focusing on the benefits of developing WAP. The portal worked similarly to the WWW navigation, except it was adapted to cell phones. The main point here is that MyAlert had the necessary technology to develop this project and become a global leader but the management team made a wise decision when they decided to focus more on what the consumer actually wanted. WAP-enabled phones had huge potential, increasing to 23% in  2000, but the alarming factor was that only 3% of those users were actually using the new mobile portal. In effect, the company realized that they were found in a value added service market and that their business would mainly depend on what share they could capture from mobile operators when end-users download a song or a logo via SMS, and which marketing budget their customers could channel throu gh them. More simply stated, the company shifted its competitive advantage from a strong technological base to a market driven, consumer targeted base. This business model change allowed the company to develop its own kind of virtual network, linking them to diverse mobile operators’ message centers. As Nomura correctly states, the company could now benefit from its new position and operate its new value chain by having higher punctuality and lower messaging costs. This diversified network the company had built with all the operators, and the flexible strategy they had put into place to be able to adapt to a changing environment, gave them a â€Å"competitive advantage and barrier to entry for any competitors trying† (p.15) to penetrate the market. The evolvement of the business model was a crucial point for the company as they correctly analyzed the market and customer appreciation instead of focusing on a strong service (WAP) that they could’ve developed. If they had chosen this route, maybe things would’ve not been as smooth and successful for them. In this case though, the company was showing positive results and was in a continued search for new businesses and markets to enter while diversifying both in terms of their products and services. This model can only be sustainable, because as Darwin says it best â€Å"if a being wants to survive in a shifting environment, it must evolve at least as fast as the medium itself.† BuonGiorno!MyAlert is perfectly equipped to do so.

Reviewing Violence By The Dark Figure Of Crime Criminology Essay

Reviewing Violence By The Dark Figure Of Crime Criminology Essay Our society is becoming more and more violent, in recent years dark figure of crime has become a big issue. Today we hear more of criminal, offences often for no particular reason what so ever. We are living in the world of crime. Dark figure of crime affects all towns, cities and countries. Crimes are made every day, but not every crime is reported and recorded that is why the dark figure is in our vocabulary today. In this essay I would like to look into the main reasons why crime goes unreported, what are the most unreported crimes, how its effects our society and what is the best way try to deal with that. The huge amount of crime in our society gets known when it is reported to the police, through public response to victim surveys and studies of offenders who admit committing crime, and when transmitted to other agencies, such as hospital accident wards, battered womens refuge centres and similar ones. Crimes go unreported because nobody realizes that the crime was done of that they done a crime that is so miner that the victim dont care. Other reasons why they  have not been reported are because  the victim knows the criminal and promised not to tell. It was no need to record crimes until late nineteenth century in Britain, because the crimes at this time were very low, the punishment system was different from our days. The law and punishment system changed. The First time crimes were recorded in nineteenth century by British Crime Survey. It is a lot of reasons why crimes goes unreported. Newburn (2009) carried out the main points why people do not report matters to the police including: the victim considers it too trivial; the victims feels the police will not be able to do anything about it; the victim is too scared to report it; the matter is too embarrassing or the victim would prefer to deal with the matter in another way. Rape is the most unreported crime in our society, because the womens are embarrassing or too ashamed to report the matter, feel unsafe and scared and so the vicious cycle continuous. If for example women was raped by her porter she might be frighten to go to the police. Most of the womens feel embarrassing of the questions they have to answer many times in the police station while they give evidence, they are stressed and do not want get the flashbacks because they are asking the full details many times. The big per cent of Teenage girls are especially at risk for date rape. 38% of all rape cas es reported the victims range in ages fourteen to seventeen. This to me is a high percentage for such a small age range. If we look how many children are abused by their parents it is quit shocking, because it is under report. Kids sexually abused by their parents cannot report crime to the police, because they are too young to understand that are frighten and scared of their parents, thinks that police dont believe them or are embarrassed of what happened. Children sexual abused crimes are underreport in our days if we look into statistics we can see that 72 per cent of sexually abused children did not tell anyone about their abused at the time. 27 per cent of children told to somebody later. 31 per cent still had not told anyone their sexual abuse by adults. Slak J (2009) in his article The most violent country in Europe : Britain is also worse than South Africa and U.S. stated Official crime figures shows that in the United Kingdom there are 2,034 offences per 100,000 people, The United States has a violence rate of 466 crime per 100,000 residents and South Africa 1,609. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article It is a many types of violent crime: domestic violence, mugging, stranger violence, aqvouitance violence. Domestic violence includes many types of abuse from family members and relatives including psychical, psychological, sexual, financial, emotional, cultural based abuses. For example if someone making feel scared or intimidated, from pushing and bullying to more serious injuries and extremes that can cause death, forced marriage or taking away financial independence for example by not allowing to work or monitoring how spend money. Most forms of domestic violence are criminal offences these includes : putting somebody in a fair of violence, harassment, threatening to kill, attempting to choke and most of the people did not know that or know and do not want to report it by thinking police is not going to make no differences or give a support. Crimes of violence, on the other hand, are statistically assessed against the overall number of adults in England and Wales . In this case,people who are illegal immigrants and who do not appear in official registers are not included. The table published by the Home Office also contains a definitional bias. One of the most serious violence crimes is homicide. Data recorded by British Survey shows that police recorded 648 incidents of homicide a 17 per cent decrease on the 748 recorded in 2007/2008 and the lowest recorded number in the last twenty years. The number of murders recorded by the police also decreased by seven per cent from 621 in 2007/08 to 575 in 2008/09. Home office statistics shows that here has not been change in the number of violent crimes between 20 06/ 2007 and 2008/2009. It was 903,993 offences of violence against the person recorded by the police 2008/09 and it is six per cent less than 2006/07 and it is the lowers figure since 2003/04. Other issues stem from how the data is collected. Surveys conducted by household, for instance, dont include the victimization of homeless people (Kershaw et al., 2000). Furthermore, crimes in which offenders and victims are consenting parties (for example drug dealing) are largely unreported (Kershaw et al., 2000; Maguire, 1997). Majority of people who one way or the other was victims of the crimes either domestic violence abuse or other thinks that is the best way keep everything to yourself and it is not going to happened again. But and the end of the day if someone attacks in your own home weather is someone you share house with, your family member or your partner people cannot suffering in the silence. Crime affects the whole person and can impact upon the victims health, quality of life and finances. Many need help to cope with their emotions, but the report argues that specialist services for victims are not enough. If people get enough support from the police and other organizations which are supporting victims of crime in our society crimes will be reported more than it is in nowadays. Victims of crime and their families need effective support and understanding in all spheres of life such as education, housing, employment, healthcare and financial services. All public services must recognise their shared responsibility for helping people to cope with crime.

The Dispossessed and Invisible Man :: Invisible Man Essays

The Dispossessed and Invisible Man      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Darko Suvin defines science fiction as "a literary genre whose necessary and sufficient conditions are the presence and interaction of estrangement and cognition, and whose main formal device" (Suvin 7-8) is a fictional "novum . . . a totalizing phenomenon or relationship" (Suvin 64), "locus and/or dramatis personae . . . radically or at least significantly" alternative to the author's empirical environment "simultaneously perceived as not impossible within the cognitive (cosmological and anthropological) norms of the author's epoch" (Suvin viii). Unlike fantasy, science fiction is set in a realistic world, but one strange, alien. Only there are limits to how alien another world, another culture, can be, and it is the interface between those two realms that can give science fiction its power, by making us look back at ourselves from its skewed perspective.    The Dispossessed takes as its novum a general theory of time, illustrated by the paradox of a rock thrown at a tree, a rock that can never reach its target because "there's always half of the way left to go" (Le Guin 26). Shevek, Le Guin's protagonist and formulator of the general temporal theory, sees himself as one who "'unbuilds walls'" (Le Guin 289), as the "primal number, that [is] both unity and plurality" (Le Guin 30) crossing interfaces. Walls abound in The Dispossessed: the wall between Anarres and Urras (Le Guin 1-2), the wall that separates one individual from every other (Le Guin 6), the wall of social conscience (Le Guin 287), the wall between men and women (Le Guin 14-16), the wall of time--Zeno's paradox--the limit that prevents the rock from striking the tree (Le Guin 26).    But as Shevek knows, the rock does strike the tree; that is the joke (Le Guin 27). The wall can be crossed. He crosses it when he leaves Anarres; he crosses it in his love for Takver and Sadik; he crosses it with the Syndic of Iniative, and he crosses it with the Terrans and the Hainish. This need to "unbuild walls" is his "'cellular function,'" his "moral choice," but it is "process" and not "end," a "journey and return" and not merely a "repetitive, atemporal" cycle (Le Guin 290-291). The paradox of sequence and simultaneity is that nothing stays the same; it is not the same river going past the bank, or the same wind blowing through the same tree as last spring.