Crimes and Misdemeanors Essay

â€Å"Crimes and Misdemeanors† Woody Allen’s, â€Å"Crimes and Misdemeanors†, film paints a realistic picture of the real world in which we all live. His film brilliantly portrays the lives of how a large amount of people across this globe live their own life and does not attempt to â€Å"sugarcoat† any event that occurs in the movie; he merely tells it how it is and provides information for what people should expect in todays world. Allen takes on the issue of the human races’ true beliefs of morality and what actually happens in he real world, in contrast to what typically takes place in movies. Allen transpires different events throughout his movie that create a lingering question for his audience on the thoughts of morality in a â€Å"godless† community. Adultery, lies, and murder were only a small sum of the crimes that were committed in Allen’s movie. However, the question becomes how the characters reacted to their own acts of immorality. The most in depth storyline in this movie was that of Judah Rosenthal, who comes to the conclusion that in a world devoid of godly resence, all acts are permissible, even adultery and murder. Once a person erases their belief on certain morals and values, it is much easier for them to erase crimes or immoral acts they have committed from their mind as being immoral. Judah does an extraordinary Job at showing this in the movie when he finds out that someone else was arrested for the murder of Dolores; he automatically knew he was off the hook and made himself believe he did no wrong. By doing this he was capable of going on and living his life. Another main character in Allen’s movie, was one layed by him himself. Throughout the movie Cliff embarked on new ideas and experiences because they were his passion and what he believed, however at the end of the movie we watch as Cliff loses everything he believed in from his love, his career, and his family. Many may question why Cliff would lose everything if he had so many good strong beliefs and how Judah can move on with his life even after being involved in a murder. However, the answer according to this movie is simple. We as the human race, define ourselves by our choices, with the absence of god. In he issue concerning Cliff losing everything he believed in, it wasn’t necessarily a punishment, but in all actuality shows how it can be relevant to real life. Not all times, does a person with good morals get what they want. In addition, Judah was going to move on with his life no matter if he had a religious background or not. Judah saw the world as, once God is gone all things are permissible, which shows his true morals and values as a person. His character depicts the life of one who has done wrong and escaped punishment in their life at some point, which again can be pplied to the real world on a daily basis. Regarding the different situations that occur all across this movie, it is shown that there can be a sense of morality in our world without the belief of a certain religion. This movie portrays many types of religious beliefs within the characters and then goes on to show that even people who do not necessarily believe in God, still have morals they might Just value certain areas more than others. God is essentially a the absence of god, anything anyone wants to make permissible to their own self can be made permissible.

Gender Socialization and Consumer Culture

An article â€Å"A ‘Real Man's Ring': Gender and the Invention Tradition† by Vicki Howard (2003) published in the Journal of Social History defined the role of gender stereotypes, their development and changes in forming consumer culture through describing the invention and adoption of double ring ceremony in twentieth century America.Howard tells the history of grooms’ wedding bands and double ring ceremony, explaining the bonds between economical, cultural and social aspects of the first sixty years of the twentieth century.The author explained that the double ring ceremony emerged because of the cultural tendency in family life Howard called â€Å"masculine domesticity†, when, in the middle of twentieth century, spending time with wife and kids, performing household chores became â€Å"synonymous with prosperity, capitalism, and national stability†. In fiftieth the new type of family became widespread,   a so called â€Å"companionate marriageà ¢â‚¬ , where both spouses shared responsibility for psychological and emotional well-being of their family, and a double ring ceremony reflected these new type of relationship.Howard adds that World War Two made double rings wedding custom even more popular, as than it had to do with â€Å"wartime sentiments†. Wedding ring symbolized ties a soldier had with his wife, with his family and kids; it was a sign for him that someone was waiting for him at home, a symbol of everything he defended.   And, according to Howard’s writing, while in 1940 two rings wedding hadn’t been a custom,   in yet in late fortieth-early fiftieth it appeared in the wedding ceremonies held by Catholic, Unitarian, Baptist, and Methodist churches, the most influential ones.Getting man used to the thought that grooms wedding ring was a good idea took lots of time and efforts from the sellers. Howard described some of the techniques that were used by U.S jewelry stores, like establishing a separate â€Å"groom room† for men not to feel embarrassed when shopping for wedding rings; the other idea was to hide grooms rings in slide drawers beneath the feminine rings, and showing them only after bride’s rings had been already purchased. Meantime, years passed, and social apprehension of man wedding rings changed due to numerous advertising campaigns, Hollywood productions, marriages of public persons etc.Of course there were other factors that played their role in popularization of double ring ceremony. One of the crucial ones was the â€Å"teenage marriage boom†, which began in fortieth, when the average age of marrying has lowered dramatically.Howard supposed that having a double ring ceremony was important for young couples to differentiate them from their parents. Wearing a ring helped young girl to feel herself protected, not being afraid to become an old maid, while for man wedding ring was the proof of maturity, masculinity, ability to suppor t his wife, and, what was also important, heterosexuality.Howard noted that one more factor to conduce the popularity of double ring ceremony was emergence of middle class in the U.S. People moved to suburbs, where they could allow purchasing a house. As economy grew more, more people earned enough money to provide their families with all the middle-class attributes.This period was characterized by â€Å"physical and psychological separation of public and private†, of work and family, and double ring ceremony became a symbol of the new family, built in that environment. The situation was different for working class. Men often were dissatisfied with the idea to wear a ring, as it symbolized the obligations they took, while for women grooms ring was a sign of claim bride has for her husband.

Dil Tuh Bacca Hai Ji

versation require for operation. Quality assurance and control: Quality assurance and control is effective elements of operation management as quality consider as important ingredients for production system. Total quality assurance and control ensure service standards, inspection, control of quality , performance testing etc. Production planning and control: The planning of production is the system that specify the procedure of production to obtain the output desire within a given time at optimum cost in conformance with specified quality standard and control is important to make sure that manufacturer takes place in the manner in a plan.Apart from that some other important elements of operations management is facilities location, plants layout and handling, inventory control, work study and job design that plays effective role within OM. Importance of operational management elements in Microsoft corporations product and service; Within Microsoft corporation elements of operation man agement plays important role as through OM Microsoft corporation can explores production and distribution of services and goods.Side by side the importance of OM elements in Microsoft corporation is that; it can ensure significant competition, shorter service and products life cycle, better and quality conscious consumers as well as capability of technology to improve productivity along with high quality service and products. According to Rama (2010) â€Å"operation management is important to an organization;s manager for at least two reasons. First, it can improve productivity, which improves an organizations financial health.Second, it can help organizations meet customers competitive priorities†. so, as a corporation Microsoft should ensure effective use of operational management's element in order to improve their service by customers priorities and products by improving productivity. 1. 2: The extant that corporation can enhance its competitive capabilities by producing safely, timely, to cost, to quality and within the law: In order to get competitive advantage within the market producing safely, timely, to cost, to quality and within the law help organization in various way.How these element help business to enhance its competitive capabilities is discussed below; Producing safely: Safe production help business by increasing confidence of customer on organization. If any organization produce their product safely than consumer would more likely to buy their product rather than other company that does not produce their product safely because if organization produce their product safely that means they are following heath and safety rules for both staff and customer. Producing timely: Organization like Microsoft can enhance their brand image by producing timely.If Microsoft ensure availability of their stock all time than they can retain customer as well as they can increase their brand image. It will help them to get competition advantage. Quality: Another factors that help Microsoft is producing product with high quality. High quality product can ensure high competitive advantage to Microsoft as the kind of product is Microsoft is producing that providing by other similar organization so, in order to enhance the competitive advantage Microsoft can concentrate on their quality of products.Cost: In order to get competitive advantage cost is effective for Microsoft. By focusing on production cost Microsoft can ensure overall price of product is acceptable for buyers. Following law: The most important factors that help Microsoft to get competitive advantage is following various legislation. If Microsoft do anything that does not meet the requirements of law that the organization will suffer and it also reduce their brand image. . 3: importance of operation management to the corporation's strategic planning and corporate objectives: Operation management is very important for business or organization as its control the system of o rganization. There are various importance that operation management have towards Microsoft ‘s strategic planning and corporate objectives and that are discussed below; Improvements of the system:The importance of operation management is its deals with various design, operation and improvements of the system that helps organization like microsift in order to implement strategic planning as well as achieve corporate objectives by target market. Sustain efficiency and effectiveness: By using OM microsoft can sustain its effeciency and effectiveness within the corporation. Effeciency and effective in microsoft concerned with how good resources such as human expertise and inputs are use in order to achieve purpose they deployed within th ecorporation.Improve productivity: In order to set strategic planning and achieve corporate objective OM plays important role within microsft corporation. As OM improve overall productivity within corporation so it will help corporation to adopt pr oper strategic plan as well as achieve corporate objective. Customer competitive priorities: As OM helps organization to ensure customer competitive priorities so that its important for the corporation to implement straegy in effective way to achieve their goal and objectives.

The Peer- Reviewed Journal Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The Peer- Reviewed Journal - Research Paper Example This journal admits that supply chain management is a business philosophy that deals with all activities in the business. The main emphasis here is teamwork for both the customers and the suppliers to achieve the competition available in the market  (Beamon, 1999). The capacity of this journal involves wide coverage on all the aspects of the delivery process, and theoretical contributions from the social sciences relating to the developed and the developing countries. This journal is unique as compared to other journals. It is based on covering marketing, logistics, information technology, management, and organizational behavior in relation to the chains of supply in all sectors. This journal aims at promoting the development and completion of supply chain systems, which accomplish higher levels of service and savings in costs. The key benefits of this journal involve seeking a promotion of dialogue between academics and business members in the supply   chain management field The journal promotes awareness of new theoretical initiatives in the community. It creates a forum where academics can present their ideas. Its coverage involves contractual relationships; data interchange, efficient consumer response, logistics, organizational behavior, and risk management (Lohman et al., 2004). This journal is beneficial to academics and the libraries, industries, manufacturing companies, service industries like IT, transport and distribution, and the provision of public services such as health care and defense.

Safe evacuation from multi tenanted buildings Essay

Safe evacuation from multi tenanted buildings - Essay Example This will minimize the risk of fire accidents. The probability of fire accidents can be reduced only if the normal people are taught to use the fire extinguishers. If an efficient method is used to educate people regarding the fire accidents, it would reduce the number of fire accidents. People must also be taught to safeguard themselves from such accidents. Fire accidents generally occur at multistoried buildings and residential apartments. People find it still more difficult to evacuate themselves from such fire accidents. Since the number of people will be more in such accidents, evacuation procedure is certainly difficult. Evacuations from multi tenanted buildings are also equally difficult. In this case, safe evacuation is more important. (Dennett, 2004).Safe evacuation can be done only if the people are well informed about the consequences of the fire accident. They must be careful enough to safeguard themselves in such situations. Any minor mistake might cost a life and people must be efficient enough to handle these situations. Safe Evacuation Self evacuating equipments also form a part of the safe evacuation program. Safe evacuation equipment lends a helping hand at times of fire accidents. By using these equipments, the severance of the fire accidents can be reduced to a certain extent. ... The safety exit must be clearly specified and people must have an access to the exit routes. They must be taught not to use elevators and during a fire accident. Self evacuation is more dangerous in case of severe fire accidents were the fire has spread to all parts of the building. In such situation, they must incorporate any method to get out of the building. The primary task is to use the available fire extinguishers to minimize the spread of fire. If it does not work in an effective manner, then they must try to come out of the building. The situation becomes tough if disabled people also reside in the same building. In this case, wheel chairs and other mobility equipments must be used to save them. People must be confident enough to handle the situation, since even a minor issue might lead to a severe problem. (Grant, 1994). Before implementing any of these self evacuation operations, the residents must intimate the fire and rescue service to help them in case of any emergency. This would enable them to help the people who are caught up in the upper floors of the building. Safe Evacuation Procedures Multi tenanted buildings are more prone to fire accidents. Since the numbers of housing units are more, the possibilities of fire accidents are more. The severity of fire accident might also be more, since the number of people to be evacuated will eventually be more when compared to other buildings. (Kramer, 2009).The initial step in the self evacuation procedure is to use the fire alarm system immediately. In case a fire identified, the residents must intimate the fire service. Once this is done, they must seek the help of other residents to move out of the building. Evacuation Plan An evacuation plan must

Process improvement plan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Process improvement plan - Essay Example Any company or person operating a business needs the best operational processes to avoid time and resource wasting to ensure maximization of profit. Steps in attaining this process should be identified and recorded according to their performance. It should be noted that proper data collection will enhance effective data analysis towards improving the quality of data management. In a span of 5 weeks, cash flow was recorded showing all the processes involved during the day and the time it takes for each step. Metrics were established towards creating a flowchart that recorded the entire process that was created. According to the data, the process began on Monday and lasted for a period of five weeks. Metrics of the outcome was used to determine the control limits, intervals, and seasonal effects. Process Boundaries Process boundaries is usually established where a process begins and ends with input and output. The process of depositing many is sub-divided into: handing the cash flow pa ttern from the facility to the bank, ensuring figures indicated are of true reflection of the business activities, signing the form, heading to the bank, being served by the relations manager, confirmation of the deposit slip by the manager, head back to the firm and final preparation of the next day`s work. Therefore, this activities constitutions a process boundary since it began and ended and also has input and output. process configuration process metrics A metric is a measure that allows the project team or individual to evaluate various performance constraints within a process; hence, ensuring that monitoring can be done on the processes to check the quality and effectiveness (Guha & Kettinger, 1993). Control limits and processes metric will be used to guide the process improvement plan. The metric used to measure the process's flow was the time flow metrics. This test measures the alignment of the time allocated for each stage with the factors that may disrupt the flow of the process. In order to run a business successfully, it is important to know what is going on with the financial aspect of the business and make sure there is appropriate cash flow. Daily routine is heavily affected by Traffic jams, this cause interruption; 0On the other hand, driving to the bank and from the bank will also a factor to both processes. A process can be delayed if the owner wants to set up a meeting with other workers under his supervision, checking and proper clearance of account books to see if there are missing details. These factors disrupt the time schedule as allocated to each phase. (Wood, 1999) After a successful collection of the data needed the upper control limit, lower control limit, mean and standard deviation were computed. The mean is the average on record of the partaker`s action time. . The mean is from the data given is 93.75 Class limits Frequency Class limits Class limits-mean F2 80-89 2 84.5 -9.25 171.125 90-99 17 94.5 0.75 9.5625 100-109 0 104.5 10 .75 0 110-119 4 114.5 20.75 1722.25 120-129 1 124.5 30.75 945.5625 Standard deviation =2, 838.5/25= 10.89 Accepted mean = (25+10+15+10+30) = 90 minutes The accepted mean from the table is 90 minutes improved performance In the whole process to improve, the owner needs to understand the current state of the process and where he wants them to be in the future. Even if the process is

Statement on company's activity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Statement on company's activity - Essay Example The various categories of users mentioned above lead to a real problem in preparing the report. Any annual report is mainly addressed to the members of the board, but also to other shareholders and business partners, to any financial analyst, employees, and, of course, the competition and journalists. This is one of the reasons many managers rather present only the very simplified information, as required by law, and nothing more. Of course, as a downside, companies are oftentimes accused that they use different communication and readability tools in order to draw the attention on the good parts and minimize, on the other hand, the bad ones. Indeed, the thematic structure of a report can be a very important element: it can emphasize some parts while leaving the others partially undeveloped or simply in the shadow. Still, as different categories of users look for different facts, the danger of neglecting some points of view is real. Although many think of the annual report as a financial one, this is only one of the points that need to be addressed in the statement. Among the other points of interest, an annual report should include the company's activities, important issues, challenges, goals, long and short term strategies. These details are important, as they help not only the stockholders, but also the potential customers, to understand the effectiveness of past plans, but also the degree of credibility of other future ones. In fact, this is also helpful for the companies themselves; as a research conducted in UK shows, "those companies which most clearly communicated their strategy and market opportunities in 2006 outperformed the FTSE 100 in the subsequent 12 months". In fact, everybody expects to hear clear stated purposes and achievements, as honesty and straight forwardness are the real guarantees of the company's credibility and success. The importance of the annual report is obvious and undisputable; this is why, in order to be effective, it has to be coherent and credible, highlighting all the important elements of the business. As no company can really exist on today's market without proper planning, the market strategies have to be clearly stated as well. It is only obvious that the way this information is presented to the audience is of a huge importance; even so, different groups of audience are likely to have very different reactions to it. For example, no investor would even take into consideration working with a company that hasn't got its market strategy clearly stated; on the other hand, this information can be used as a weapon against the company itself, by the media or by the concurrence. Even if we leave aside all the exterior dangers, there is, still, an inside major one: that of preparing and presenting this part of the report in an unfavorable or inconsistent manner. A coherent presentation will allo w the investors to understand what is the company really using the money for, but it is also a way of proving the company's abilities to break through on the market. As the annual report reflects the company's success, it is only normal that the managers try to make it look as good as possible. Oftentimes, financial analysts accuse the companies of issuing "too many bland statements", action that makes their annual report

Baha'i - distinct, universal religion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Baha'i - distinct, universal religion - Essay Example In accordance to Bahaullah, God had set historical forces which were collapsing conventional and customary barricade of ethnic group, rank, article of faith and nation which would help to give rise to universal civilization. The main challenge confronted by the humanity is to recognize and acknowledge unification and to assist in its promotion. Bahaullah gave particular emphasis on the issue of bias and partiality. The heart of his message was to call for communal harmony and companionship among different and diverse states, cultures and people (Perkins & Hainworth, 30). Three primary teachings constitute the foundations for Bahai teaching and doctrine which are the oneness of God, unification of religion and unification of entire humanity. God’s message is revived and revitalized in humanity through the use of several people. These people have the wisdom and guidance to improve the morality of human beings. Religion is an evolutionary process according to the Bahai faith as the requirements of the different ages stress the need for moral schemes. The Bahai faith describes God as beyond understanding and considered to be a great entity. The Creator is Greatest and the creation cannot know about Him because there is something that surpasses the grasp of human mind. To assist human beings so that they learn about God’s nature, manifestations are sent to them (Miller, 65). The Bahai faith incorporates the belief that God send these manifestations to instruct and alert humanity. The Bahai writings in particular recognize Abraham, Moses, Muhammad, Zoroaster, Buddha, etc as manifestations (Miller, 84). Bahai Faith claims that God is the creator of the world and everything present within it is His reflection and attribution. The Bahai scriptures define the human soul as eternal and have characteristics of all God’s qualities but these qualities live only potentially until and unless they are developed.

Carrybacks and Carryovers Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Carrybacks and Carryovers - Essay Example Net loss operating carrybacks is taken to be each for two taxable years that are prior to the taxable years of incurring such a loss. Carryovers are for twenty years that follows the year of tax the loss accrued (Irs.ustreas.gov, 2011). To each category, the amount of unused foreign tax will be the amount in which the qualified taxes that are cleared or accruing exceeds the specific category limit. The amount that will exceed the limit in each category is the amount of qualified taxes that have been paid or the accrued qualified taxes that is above the limit. In 2011, there is an unused foreign tax of $200 to be carried to the other years. It is considered that the unused foreign taxes have been paid in 2010 which is the first preceding year and this will be up to excess limit in the year of $100. The remaining $c100 which is referred to as unused tax is carried forward. Sometimes a debt can be canceled because of the insolvency of a person or being bankrupt. In such a case the carryovers of unused foreign tax are reduced to or from the year of income of the debt cancellation using the formula; for each $1 of canceled debt that is excluded from the gross income, reduced by 33.333%. The estate of the bankrupt may make this reduction if it is deemed to have acquired the carryovers of the unused foreign tax. It is not permitted to carry back any foreign tax that is unused to a year preceding the year of bankruptcy.

Feasibility Study on schweppes Australia taking PASSIONA to Hong Kong Essay

Feasibility Study on schweppes Australia taking PASSIONA to Hong Kong - Essay Example The making of the passion fruit cordial by Spencer Cottee was motivated by the fact that he needed something to do with the passion fruits that had been in excess supply to himii. The cordial that was produced by Spencer Cottee was then sold off to a different party. Because of the limitation of resources to him by then, Spencer Cottee could not do anything else that was productive with the cordial that he had extracted from the passion fruits. He was therefore forced to sell the cordial to Lismore family’s company. The company which was referred to as William Bryant & Sons by then was the main recipient of the raw form of passion juice that was directly from Spencer Cottee’s level of productioniii. It was now at this point in place that the William Bryant & Sons company really created more utility for the cordial that they purchased from Spencer Cottee (Hendry 79). At this point of production, the cordial mixture was simply carbonated so as to have the taste sensation that has lived to be celebrated to date in the name of ‘Passiona’iv. The sift drink which is passion flavored is currently only available in the mother country of its production which is in Australia. Passiona is proudly manufactured by Schweppes Australia, a company which is also located in Australia. ... Also in the past history, the trademark ‘Passiona’ had been already been used by Geo. Hall & Sons manufactures who also existed in Norwood which is found in the South Australiavi. Corporate Vision, Mission Statement and Corporate Goals of the Company The corporate vision of the company which is to provide consistently the best quality of passiona juice to the faithful customers has been very much effective in ensuring that the company remains consistent in its production. Despite the fact that very many companies have come up with the production technologies and products in the market, passiona juice still remains a favorite to the many customers of soft drinks in Australia (Simmons 58). This is due to the fact that despite the changing times and advancements in technology, Passiona production still remains to be highly customer orientedvii. The effectiveness of passiona in the market has been backed by the fact that the mission statement of the company is very supportiv e of the company’s vision. The company that has been recorded and recognized for their impressive record of performance and accountability has had a very positive relationship with the work force it employs (Orsborn 140). As a matter of fact, it has been argued that the very impressive human resource management that has been displayed by the passiona company could be heavily the factor that is influencing the company into such high and consistent levels of success in the local market in Australiaviii. The mission statement that the company operates from is â€Å"..commitment to providing not only a productive but also a positive working workplace where the ideas of the human resource are not only contributed

Students Overcoming The Odds Essay Example for Free

Students Overcoming The Odds Essay Needs Assessment and Program Planning A comprehensive study found that students from low-income backgrounds often score low in college entrance exams.   A solution has been introduced called, Students Overcoming The Odds or SOTO.   This program is designed to tutor low-income students toward greater success in the SAT/ACT entrance exams while potentially providing greater opportunity for obtaining scholarships.   The program will be conducted through the recruitment of volunteers to tutor these students to greater success. Job Development and Design   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Permission has been attained to conduct tutoring sessions at local libraries.    The cost for use of these spaces is none.   Local civic leagues have agreed to donate SAT/ACT booklets to students at no cost.   A similar organization has agreed to pay the cost for these students to take the necessary exams.  Ã‚  Ã‚   There should be no more than 5 students during a tutoring session.   Each tutor shall choose a section of the exam they feel most confident in teaching.   In this way students can be introduced to different instructional designs and methods. Recruitment   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   One means of recruitment is through local universities, either with active or retired professors.   These professionals having dedicated their careers to higher education would be ideal candidates for tutoring sessions.   Another means of recruitment is through the community itself.   Unquestionably, education is key in individuals building a better life for themselves and thus returning knowledge to the community. Interviewing and Matching   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Without question background checks will be conducted.   The expertise of the volunteers, will be placed in their area of strength to tutor students.   A teaching background in routine classroom environments is strongly desired and encouraged. Orientation and Training   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Diversity will be a focus during orientation.   This idea will be furthered during training.   Sensitivity to the students backgrounds will be emphasized.   If necessary, as the ACT/SAT tests change, refresher courses will be provided. Supervision and Management   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Volunteers should know their role clearly, which is to guide these students toward success.   Supervision and management are to guide and encourage volunteers to the best of their ability.   A key to managing volunteers is reminding them of their sheer necessity to the program, without volunteers there would be no program. Recognition   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   A kind word of encouragement is always welcome to volunteers and staff alike.   A suggestion would be recognizing a volunteer from each division on, at the least, a quarterly basis.   This can be done through a special thank you during a planning meeting.   As the program grows and success is realized larger rewards, such as gift certificates could be awarded.   Costs have been kept to an absolute minimum at this time and a budget for rewards needs to be integrated into the program. Evaluation   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Success of the students is likely the most valuable evaluation tool.   Another means to this could be peer evaluations as tutors instruct their students.   This method of evaluation is routine in most, if not every university. Liability/Risk Management   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Parents must sign a contract not holding SOTO liable for the failure of an exam.   Express permission should be given as to the beginning and end of tutor sessions, as well as location.   Should the student be over the age of 18, the student shall sign the same clause. Role of Staff   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The role of staff should be one of guidance and encouragement.   Volunteers do not have to make the sacrifices they do.   Staff should always be aware that among their most valuable assets are volunteers, the very people themselves that make up and support the program. References: Babbie, Earl. (2006). The Practice of Social Research.   Belmont, CA:   Thomson-Wadsworth.

The Fragmented Authoritarianism of the Chinese State Essay Example for Free

The Fragmented Authoritarianism of the Chinese State Essay Asoke Kumar Mehera ([emailprotected] com) (Ex-Teacher of La Mart College of Technology, Sydney) In post-reform period, Chinese state is creating and sponsoring NGOs in order to transfer to them certain functions that it used to perform itself under the command system of the socialist era. NGOs in reform-era China represent both challenge and continuity in state-society relations. It is easy to observe the semi-official nature of some NGOs and the state’s tight formal control of the sector demonstrates the evidence of continuity. The officially organized NGOs are comprehensively dependent on the state agencies that created them and behave more like subordinate units of the agencies than independent entities. Actually, Private entrepreneurs are depended on official patronage for access to bureaucratically allocated resources, political protection and socio-political legitimacy. On the other hand, It is also easy to notice a change in the predominantly popular culture of the other NGOs and a certain degree of autonomy (regarding marginalised interests like HIV, same-sex relationships etc. ). There are genuinely bottom up NGOs that set their own agenda and seek to influence government policies and try to bring important issues to public attention. The arbitrary use of administrative power by the state agents, bureaucratic control over the resources, constant fluctuation in government policies and an ineffective legal system, have all contributed to an uncertain environment for NGOs in China. Many popular NGOs have engaged in entrepreneurial activities with their contacts in the government. The state’s failure to discipline the agents and bureaucrats; whose protection and complicity enable NGOs to evade supervision and engage in inappropriate activities to generate finance. Actually, a vast majority of NGOs are interested mainly in finding ways to exploit state-controlled resources for their own benefit, rather than playing the political role conventionally ascribed to civil society. There are various ways for NGOs to advance their interests, such as forging patron-client ties with officials, operating through networks of personal relations that cut cross the state-society divide or providing political support to the state in exchange for its sponsorship. The self-serving entrepreneurialism of the NGOs (sometimes as part of sponsoring agencies) has apparently been a fairly common problem. Although scholars are still debating about the nature of the Chinese state entrepreneurialism and corporatist state control over NGOs in post-reform era; but the nature of state- civil society interaction can be summarized as â€Å"dependent autonomy†. As per â€Å"fragmented authoritarianism†, the state has retained its dominant role in socio-economic sphere and the authority below the very peak of the system has become more fragmented and disjointed as a result of economic reform. A research on the NGOs carried out in 2000 shows that popular NGOs active in the field of women’s rights, tries to hide the cases from mass media because it would directly criticize the local authorities and police, whose goodwill is important for their existence. Many NGOs consider their relationship with government agencies and officials as the most important of all their relationships. Many officially organized NGOs at local levels are simply tools for local government agencies to create agency slush funds. Various qualitative and quantitative studies of China’s political culture have identified a number of features that are not conducive to collective action and civil society activism. These include elitism, fatalism, and lack of cooperative spirit and group solidarity. Individual NGOs need to pool their resources and join hands with other likeminded people and organizations to challenge government policies which prioritize economic growth over environmental protection. It is not unjust to apply â€Å"macro† political theories such as civil society and corporatism for explaining the actual behaviour of NGOs. Actually, we need to relate NGO studies to such issues as state capacity, political culture, and the evolving state-society relations in China. The growth of autonomous NGOs in China will not necessarily result in the development of a thriving civil society, which needs a competent state structure and impartial legal system. The unethical alliance between local officials and entrepreneurs is basically for the mutual benefit and above all, at the expense of the policies of the central state and the interests of other social groups. Public interest has not been served properly as the state lacks the capacity to enforce rules within the welfare sector largely comprised by NGOs. Actually, the state apathy to civil welfare is depicted by the fact when the central government orders all state agencies to de-link themselves from the economic entities. It is not a good foundation for a healthy civil society. Dependent autonomy is not a type of state- society relations that favours the interest of the state (Yiyi Lu, 2012).

The growth of the banana market in Australia

The growth of the banana market in Australia The bananas market in Australia has been expanding since 1993 to 2008. In 20 March 2006, a Tropical Cyclone Larry has caused a damage in banana industry and affected the bananas market. The explanation of effects happened will be provided by looking into price equilibrium, price elasticity of demand and supply and price ceiling imposed by government. In a perfectly competitive market, there is no government intervention in the market. The price is usually established when the equilibrium price and quantity is achieved (Jackson,J Mclver.R 2007). Equilibrium means that consumers are willing to buy at this price and producers are willing to supply. By referring to the graph Figure 1, we can see the equilibrium is at the intersection point between demand curve and supply curve. Pe means the price equilibrium and Qe means quantity equilibrium. In an equilibrium state, problems like shortage and surplus will not happen in the market because the quantity demand and quantity supply are in balance. Shortage will usually happen when the price is below the price equilibrium, we can see that when price drops from Pe to P0, the quantity supply will decrease because suppliers are willing to supply at this price where they have low revenue while quantity demand will increase because consumers find bananas is really cheap and they should buy it. Demand exceeds supply. Surplus will happen when the price is above the price equilibrium. From the graph, when price increase from Pe to P1, the quantity demand drops because consumers find it very expensive and the bananas doesnt worth that price while quantity supply increase because the suppliers are willing to supply as much as they could as the high price of bananas would help them to generate more revenue. Demand exceeds supply. The natural disaster, cyclone has caused the supplies of bananas to decrease tremendously. The price elasticity of demand in bananas market is said to be inelastic when we look into the determinants. First of all, Bananas are Australias No.1 selling fruit, it means there is a huge demand for bananas in Australia.(ABGC n.d) Bananas industry appears to be one of the largest fruit growing industries in Australia and also an important contributor to the economies. Bananas are among Australias top 10 supermarket lines. First determinant would be the availability of substitute goods and for bananas, there is lack of substitutes for it. Apparently the demand would be inelastic when there is no substitutes. Second determinant is proportion of income. Bananas price has shot up from around $3 per kg to $15 per kg (ABCG n.d). Consumption of bananas would be still a small fraction of income although the price has increased. Therefore, consumers are not sensitive towards the price changing. Third is Luxury versus necessity. Bananas can be considered as a necessity in Australia because people still consume bananas although the price has increased. According to the Australia Banana Growers Council, they estimated that 28 million of bananas are consumed each week, which means a person consume 60-70 bananas and is around 13kg averagely (ABCG n.d). Fourth determinant would be time. The time would be in a short run because consumers are difficult to change income and preference immediately right after the cyclone. People would still think that the price is acceptable and they will still buy it in short run. It would be an elastic supply for bananas market because there are around 800 banana growers in Australia (mainly from Queensland and New South Wales) that are estimated to produce about 23 million 13 kilogram cartons of bananas (ABCG n.d). When there are a lot of supplies, its price elasticity of supply would be elastic and long run. However, the supply has decreased as the c yclone has caused a critical damage on banana farms. The price has shot up because there is a shortage in bananas market. Banana consumers will tend to compete and bid up the market price for bananas. As the supply curve shifted to left, it shows that the price has gone up from P0 to P1 and quantity demanded has decreased from Q0 to Q1.(refer to figure 2) It then moves to the new price equilibrium from e0 to e1 and it shows that a large change in price has resulted a small proportionate change in quantity. Quantity demanded falls means many customers cant afford the new equilibrium price. Total expenditure on bananas is equal to total revenue gained by sellers. From the graph, the R1 shaded area means revenue gained, R2 shaded area means revenue loss. Since the demand is inelastic, the revenue gained will be more than revenue loss when the price increases. Therefore, the total revenue of sellers increased. In economy, whenever the supplies is found limited and couldnt satisfy all the demands in market, suppliers would tend to increase the price as high as possible to maximize their profit. It would be a benefit to suppliers but a disadvantage for the consumers. In such situation, government intervention is needed to set up a price ceiling in the market of bananas. Price ceiling means a maximum legal price level that suppliers can set for the goods they are selling Jackson,J Mclver.R 2007). Price ceiling for this case would be a protection for the consumers as they dont have to pay for unreasonable high price set by suppliers. However, putting a ceiling price in the market doesnt settle the problems. It may cause a bigger shortage. The shortage would cause difficulty in rationing the limited supply of bananas. From graph Figure 3, we can see that quantity supply is falling further from Qe to Qs and Quantity demand has increased from Qe to Qd. Apparently, the quantity supply contributed more to shortage compare to consumers. Besides that, black market price will increase further. Setting a ceiling price is actually encouraging black market. All these consequences such as black market and shortage will cause the market efficiency to become inefficient. Supplier will not be happy to supply because they have low income selling bananas at ceiling price. The government will receive less sales tax from banana industry as well. In conclusion, there are pros and cons if government intervenes the market by implementing price ceiling. However, the price ceiling would only have short-term effects because the supply could recover in within 6months to 12 months period. Reference Lists Australian Banana Growers Council Inc. (ABCG) n.d, Media Kit, available through www.australianbananas.com.au/public/media/downloads/media_kit.pdf, viewed at 2 September 2010. Jackson,J Mclver.R 2007, Microeconomics , 8th edn, McGraw-Hill, Australia.

Airline Industry Problems and Suggested Solutions Essay -- Business Ma

Airline Industry Problems and Suggested Solutions The airline industry has over the past few months gradually been going into recession. This has been due to a number of factors, all affecting the industry in a negative manner at the same time. This has resulted in low profits and poor performance. The decline in the industry sharply increased after the terrorist attacks on the United States, increasing the urgency to clearly identify the causes of the problems faced and to find any solutions available to overcome them. One of the factors contributing to the poor performance has been the global economic slowdown whose effect has not been limited to the airline industry but has extended to many other industries. The effect of this economic slowdown on airlines has been to cause a slowdown in air travel. The terrorist attacks on America have also done a great deal in causing a further decline in air travel, as consumers lose confidence in the airline industry, after fears of low security and becoming targets of terrorists. However, airlines have also been suffering from a number internal conflicts. The most important of these has been the recent bad relations they have had with pilots. Pilots of several companies have gone on strikes and threatened further strikes in demand of higher pay. These strikes have resulted in delays for passengers and congestion in airports. Such actions have lead to huge falls in the level of revenue expected by many airline companies....

Uncle Tom’s Cabin and the American Civil War :: Uncle Toms Cabin Essays

Uncle Tom’s Cabin and the Civil War   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Uncle Tom’s Cabin played a big role in starting the only war that was fought entirely on American soil. There were many factors that led up to the Civil War, but Uncle Tom’s Cabin turned the anger caused by the fugitive slave act into moral outrage which was then fueled by cases such as John Brown and Dredd Scott.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Fugitive Slave Act was seen by many Northerners as a violation of their personal freedoms. Why should any Northerner be forced to miss work and leave their family to take a runaway slave back to their master? Unfortunately they didn’t have a choice unless they wanted to go to jail and/or pay a $1000 fine. Uncle Tom’s Cabin included a slave family (Eliza, George, and Harry Harris) that was running away in order to keep their son. This made Northerners mad because they didn’t want to leave their life anyways and to leave it to destroy another family was completely against their will.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Most Northerners saw slave owners as lazy because they didn’t do their own work. With new ideas about human rights, dignity, and the sanctity of motherhood brought about by the social reforms caused by cult of domesticity. Harriet Beecher Stowe showed that slaves were people too through Tom and his role all of the plantations that he worked on. By humanizing slaves many the North saw the freedom of slaves as an issue worth fighting and dying for. John Brown started an uprising at Harper’s Ferry. His goal was to get the arms and ammunition at Harper’s Ferry and arm slaves to start an uprising, but the uprising was crushed and Brown was hung for treason. Brown became a martyr for the fight against slavery and caused the tension between The North and The South to reach a new high.

Stanlislovskis System: Concepts On Acting :: essays research papers

Stanlislovski's System: Concepts on Acting The Elements of Style, as described by Sonia More in her simplified view of the Stanlislavski System, are clear rudimentary concepts designed to help actors achieve a profound and truthful portrayal of their character on the stage through personal connection with their character. These concepts are designed as tools for the actor so that he may connect to a character or situation on the stage that he otherwise would not be able to connect with. As Sonia Moore put it, Stanlislovski knew that an actor's mind, will, and emotions must participate in the creation of a live human being on the stage. He also understood that it is impossible for people to turn their thoughts and emotions on and off as if by a switch. He also knew that no actor coming on stage without any reason for experiencing emotions would be unable to do so without some connection, or bridge, to the personal and emotional response of their character. So Stanlislovski designed tool for the actor to use to help him connect with the emotional and physical world of his character. Such concepts as The Magic If is a clear example of a tool an actor could use to connect himself the life of the character. The Magic If, simply guides the actor to ask the simple question: "What would I do if I were in my character position?" By asking this question of himself the actor can personalize the given circumstances of the character. The situation of the character becomes more personal, and the stakes much higher, because the actor has divulged some particular issues of himself into the character. Due to these particularities the actor will work out the given circumstance of the character in a much more truthful manner. Even in acting the old saying goes: "You cannot really know someone until you walk a mile in their shoes." This concept of The Magic If also plays a big part in another Element of Action -Imagination. Imagination is another tool that allows the actor to build a substantial relationship with his character by creating the very universe in which his character resides. Through this artistic imagination the actor can create the past, present, and future of the character. The actor, in essence, could play God wherein the character is concerned apart from given circumstances or the circumstances that exist within the play. This artistic imagination is being used to give thoughts and feeling to the character being portrayed by simply infusing honesty and truthfulness into the actor's performance. There are other Element's of Actions that guide the actor to form

Southern Gothic Fiction

Sean Tinsley Eng 151C-33 3/08/2013 Southern Gothic Fiction is a genre of literature unique to the American south. Major influences of the genre itself were the culture, religion, and economic standing of the south at the beginning of the 20th century. Many who read southern gothic are transported into a grotesque fantasy world where ideas of death, good versus bad, and god are all prevalent. Many American authors were greatly influenced by the ideas of southern gothic literature such as â€Å"Harper Lee, Flannery O’Connor†¦William Faulkner, Truman Capote, and to a lesser extent, Eudora Welty. (jenksps. org) The culture of the south is riddled with strong beliefs in different sects of Christianity; mainly Presbyterians and Baptists with a passionate group of Evangelicals as well. Because God plays a large role in most southern gothic literature, the idea of morality is also of huge importance. Many protagonists will be juxtaposed by a moral less antagonist; usually the ep itome of evil. Along with that comes the idea of a crumbling landscape; desolate almost. I believe this represents how the south was struggling economically at the time due to the crumbling of the antebellum era. jenksps. org) For this essay, I chose to analyze â€Å"This Is the Only Time I’ll Tell It† by Doris Betts. This story hits all the main topics of southern gothic literature; the idea of death or the grotesque, the concept of good versus bad, and God as well. The concept of good versus evil drives the overall moral of the short story â€Å"This Is the Only Time I’ll Tell It†. In fact, this theme provides the first instance of conflict. The narrator, a man by the last name of Coney, describes to the reader a woman, Zelene, who noticed a disturbance at the Jamison household.Upon further investigation she noticed Tom Jamison trying to drown his nine month old baby girl. Fortunately, she saved the baby and â€Å"when she had brought back breath and s creams, Zelene opened her clothes and fixed that naked baby flat against her naked breasts and†¦ran yelling into my store. †(Christ Haunted Landscape, 232) Shortly thereafter, Zelene grabs one of Mr. Coley’s axes of his shelf and simply states, â€Å"I’m going back and kill him[Tom Jamison]. †(Christ Haunted Landscape, 233) Mr.Coley made no objection to her claim, and when she didn’t find him, he noted the other 20 townspeople who â€Å"had been heard to declare it was a shame Zelene had not drove home her ax. †(Christ Haunted Landscape, 233) The interesting take on good versus evil shows itself in the characters’ response to unspeakable crime. All the townspeople were upset Tom Jamison hadn’t been brutally murdered. The attitude of the characters towards him, including Mr. Coley, fester inside them throughout the remainder of the story ultimately culminating in Mr.Coley killing Tom Jamison with an ax upon his return to the store; the irony being that it was inside the store when Zelene first said she would kill him. Because the justice for the unspeakable crime of attempted murder on a baby was carried out by a normal citizen, this speaks highly for the overall theme. Although other elements of southern gothic fiction are prevalent in â€Å"This Is the Only Time I’ll Tell It†, good versus evil, and, more importantly, how evil should be treated, is the engine that drives this story. God, the uniting or divisive factor in the south, also plays a huge role in the story.More importantly, the difference between what is deemed moral in God’s eyes, and what the characters perceive as justifiable sin. Mr. Coley mentions the town’s resistance to telling the truth about the next of kin. â€Å"But we had 37 lifetime Presbyterian mouths gone flat against their teeth until judgment day†¦Ã¢â‚¬ (Christ Haunted Landscape, 233). The way a person believes in God is also important in this short story. For Mr. Coley, Baptists are a bit weaker than his people, Presbyterians. â€Å"My wife’s people, Baptists, are a lot more soft-headed; one of them would have read his Commandments wrong and weakened someday. (Christ Haunted Landscape, 233). There were many grotesque and macabre aspects of this short story as well. For example, the first point of conflict deals with the attempted murder of a nine month old baby. Secondly, the way Tom Jamison was murdered, brutally by ax, would churn most people’s stomachs. Also, a valid point could be made that Zelene is grotesque. She is described as â€Å"pitiable herself. She was 38, and built like a salt block. † (The Christ Haunted Landscape, 233). She was not entirely attractive, by any means, and she lived in relative squalor compared to the rest of the townspeople. This is The Only Time I’ll Tell It† is a perfect example of southern gothic literature. First of all, the overall theme of the story was good versus evil, and what should be done about it. Secondly, the aspect of what should be done with evil is related directly to the characters’ views on God, and the morals they’ve received from Him. Last but not least, it was overall creepy. To imagine a man trying to kill his nine month baby is enough to put fear into anyone’s heart. Although there are frightening parts to it, the story does a good job of making the reader ask themselves what they would do in Mr.Coley’s position. The answer to that problem also relates directly to the audience’s religious views. Whatever God they may believe in, good versus evil is always prevalent, and that is why this story connects with many people. So, what would you do? Would you strike a man down for a crime that happened over 16 years earlier? Could you? These questions create intrigue in the reader, which is why this short story is so popular today. http://www. jenksps. org/pages/uploaded_files /CAMPsouthern%20gothic%20elements. pdf The Christ Haunted Landscape

Harriet Beecher Stowe Essay

Harriet Beecher Stowe (1811-96) was an American writer born in Litchfield, Connecticut, the daughter of a preacher, Lyman Beecher. Young Harriet grew up in a deeply religious atmosphere. In 1832, she moved with her father to Cincinnati, Ohio where he had charge of a seminary. There she met and married Calvin E. Stowe, a widower and a professor in the school. They had seven children. Cincinnati, just across the Ohio River from Kentucky, was in the very midst of the controversy over slavery. She sometimes talked to fleeing slaves, and once she even visited a Kentucky plantation whose slaves were used as models for her novel. In 1850, her husband was called to Bowdoin College and she was happy to be back in the more congenial air of New England. That same year the Fugitive Slave Law was passed. It infuriated the abolitionists, including the Beecher family. This led her to write Uncle Tom’s Cabin, the novel that was said to have started the Civil War in the United States. This writer was selected over the other writers because of the great impact her novel made on America’s perception over slavery and the events that followed after its publication. Without doubt, the Civil War would have come in any case. Just the same, the tremendous moral force of the book made many people, who might otherwise have been lukewarm, take a firm stand against slavery. At current time, Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin has been relegated to the list of required reading which made it lose some of its appeal. I thought it would be best to look at the context of its creation and what better way but to look closely at its creator, her background and her influences. There are numerous books and articles that can be found about the life and works of Mrs. Stowe. I have chosen two to be used as the major references. The first is from Twayne’s United States Authors on Harriet Beecher Stowe, Chapter 1: The Early Years. This chapter detailed the childhood of Harriet and how it was like growing up in the Beecher household ruled by the Calvinist preacher, despot and father, the Reverend Lyman Beecher. Orphaned from their mother at an early age, the Beecher siblings were brought up by their father under a strict Calvinist upbringing. Every day was a religious experience. He dominated the household with his sternness and terrorized his children with his preaching of damnation and hellfire. He believed in man’s fallibility and sought to remind and humble his children of this fact every chance he got. It was said that â€Å"within his home Lyman was a bully of the worst stripe, a benevolently intentioned and systematically complete bully† (â€Å"The Early Years,† 1). However, Harriet also suffered from neglect simply because she was female. The patriarch heaped his attention on his sons whom he successfully groomed to become preachers like him. She, on the other hand, was sent off to Hartford to her sister Catherine who was twelve year her senor, to get an education. Her sister was an impressive intellectual, establishing the Hartford Female Seminary. She was deeply religious and once suffered from near mental collapse because of her fear that her dead fiance will go straight to hell since he was not able to convert before he died. Quite domineering, she badgered Harriet into assisting her which the young girl found unbearable. She stayed with her sister for eight grueling years. Regardless, she was able to travel and mingle with people her own age. This proved to be her salvation as she was able to form her own beliefs regarding religion that was centered on the mercy of Jesus rather than the certainty of hell. Then the Beecher clan all moved from Boston to Cincinnati as her father accepted the post of president of the Lane Theological Seminary. Now, Harriet had to contend with both her sister with whom she still served as assistant and her father to whom she had to go home. To escape, she turned to writing. She also met the widower Calvin Stowe whose proposal of marriage she accepted. The only thing they had in common at that time was their shared affection for Eliza, his dead wife. Between 1836 and 1850, she gave birth to eight children. With such a big family, she was bound to the home more than ever. In order to augment the household income, she used her writing skills into a money making venture by submitting magazine sketches. Calvin Stowe’s appointment to the faculty of Bowdoin College which allowed them to move to Brunswick, Maine was a turning point for Harriet. Among others, she was going back to New England and would be free from the grasp of her father and sister. Her life until then was unremarkable. She was a housewife who was concerned mostly with chores, frustrations and debts. Though she lived in tumultuous times she did not participate in it. This was due to reasons as follows: Her private duties as obedient daughter and wife had demanded almost more energy than she had to give, and she had taken refuge from overwork in the consolation of heavenly love; to mistrust the world, to accept it as the abode of cruelty and injustice, was the philosophy by which she lived (â€Å"The Early Years,† 7). This was about to change with the publication of Uncle Tom’s Cabin, the novel which led President Abraham Lincoln to greet her as â€Å"the little lady who made this big war. † This remark was cited from the second reference used for this paper, the article on Harriet Beecher Stowe by Ken Wolf from the Dictionary of World Biography: The 19th Century. For the first part, he gave a brief account of her early life and for the second part, he concentrated on her life’s work. Uncle Tom’s Cabin first appeared in 1851-52 as a serial in an abolitionist paper. The anti-slavery sentiments were already at its peak at that time. The Fugitive Slave Law was just passed where all citizens whether they are from the north or south are obliged to return fleeing slaves to their owners or face criminal charges. The disagreements between the abolitionists and moderates were turning physically violent such as pro-slavery mobs attacking abolitionists print shops such as the one in Connecticut near the residence of the Beechers. The publication of Uncle Tom’s Cabin in 1852 was indeed timely. On that year alone, it already sold 300,000 copies. Harriet’s message was clear. Slavery was wrong, the novel argued, because it was un-Christian. More specifically, slavery tore children from their mothers and thus threatened the existence of the Christian family (Wolf, 2). This book was a personal one for the author. All that she believed in were embodied in the novel. She even used the name of Calvin Stowe’s deceased wife and her good friend, Eliza, as the main female character. While the main protagonist was male, that being Tom who had kindly masters but still got sold off twice and eventually ended up being beaten to death, the novel was filled with strong female characters. A main theme was the recurring circumstance of slavery separating families and the attempts of the slave mothers to prevent it. We see Eliza jumping on ice floes to effect her and her son’s escape. We see Cassy who preferred to kill her newborn herself than allow it to be sold off later. There was Eva who persuaded her father to free Tom, but both unfortunately died before they did. There was also Mary Bird who †shamed her husband†, Senator Bird of Ohio into helping Eliza even if he was violating the Fugitive Slave Law which he helped pass. Her novel was most effective in arousing sentiments of anti-slavery because the author approached her arguments using the religious zeal that her father bestowed upon them stressing that â€Å"Christianity began at home with a strong family. Any institution that undermined the family was necessarily unchristian† (Wolf, 2). This struck deep at the conscience of the American people. Her succeeding novels likewise had female characters playing prominent roles. She believed that women are the purveyors or morality. She was not an advocate of female equality and continued not to participate in the suffragists movement or the equal rights for women. She believed in the family and the role women play within it. She also continued to write her novels based on characters she is most familiar with such as Dred: A Tale of the Great Dismal Swamp (1856) regarding a slave rebellion attempt, The Minister’s Wooing (1859) which was a jab on the inflexible dogma of her father’s Calvinism. This novel was also partly historical. Her next novel is likewise historical, Agnes of Sorrento (1862) about the Florentian social and religious reformist monk, Gironalo Savonarola. The Pearl of Orr’s Island (1862), Oldtown Folks (1869) and Poganuc People (1878) are childhood reminiscences of New England. Uncle Tom’s Cabin is the only one of Harriet Beecher Stowe’s that aimed at direct reform. Though it sparked a war, as literature, it is not great. It is overly sentimental and the picture it draws is exaggerated. In spite of these flaws, it remains one of the most powerful novels ever written to right a wrong. Her other novels published after it had none of the appeal of Uncle Tom’s Cabin, but she continued to be one of America’s popular writers at that time. Her other greatest contribution to history was her depiction of women as being in the same level as men in terms of intellect, bravery and morality. She was able to put across her message of empowerment across in a society dominated by men of the importance of women’s and mother’s role in the family and in society as regards moral regeneration. Before I conducted this research, I was under the impression that Uncle Tom’s Cabin was written more as a reaction against the peculiar institution of slavery. Reading about the life of Harriet Beecher Stowe, it became evident that though her book came out of indignation against slavery, it also owed something to her Puritan conscience. Her belief’s and childhood experiences come across into her books such as her belief on women’s equality which she never did experience having been subjected to neglect because of her gender. While she persistently believed that the role of women is confined within the walls of the home, she was successful in opening a new perspective of women. Admittedly, I have not read any of her other works however, given her background that I know now, it would be interesting to read The Minister’s Wooing to gain a better idea on how it was to live with a severe Calvinist minister and how and if she was able to relate it to her own experiences in growing up with one and make it comical.

Education in India Essay

Takshasila was the earliest recorded centre of higher learning in India from at least 5th century BCE and it is debatable whether it could be regarded a university or not. The Nalanda University was the oldest university-system of education in the world in the modern sense of university. [2] Western education became ingrained into Indian society with the establishment of the British Raj. Overall System Education in India is provided by the public sector as well as the private sector, with control and funding coming from three levels: central,state, and local. Education in India falls under the control of both the Union Government and the State Governments, with some responsibilities lying with the Union and the states having autonomy for others. The various articles of the Indian Constitution provide for education as a fundamental right. Most universities in India are controlled by the Union or the State Government. The National Policy on Education (NPE) is a policy formulated by the Government of India to promote education amongst India’s people. The policy covers elementary education to colleges in both rural and urban India. The first NEP was promulgated in 1968 by the government of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, and the second by Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi in 1986. It emphasizes three aspects in relation to elementary education: * universal access and enrolment, * universal retention of children up to 14 years of age, and * a substantial improvement in the quality of education to enable all children to achieve * Revival of Sanskrit and other classical languages for contemporary use. Today education system in India can be divided into many stages. * Pre- Primary – It consists of children of 3-5 years of age studying in nursery, lower kindergarten and upper kindergarten. At this stage student is given knowledge about school life and is taught to read and write some basic words. * Primary – It includes the age group of children of 6-11 years studying in classes from first to fifth. * Middle – It consists of children studying in classes from sixth to eighth. * Secondary – it includes students studying in classes ninth and tenth. * Higher Secondary – Includes students studying in eleventh and twelfth classes. * Undergraduate – Here, a student goes through higher education, which is completed in college. This course may vary according to the subject pursued by the student. For medical student this stage is of four and a half years plus one year of compulsory internship, while a simple graduate degree can be attained in three years. * Postgraduate – After completing graduation a student may opt for post graduation to further add to his qualifications. 10+2+3 pattern [. * The central and most state boards uniformly follows the â€Å"10+2+3† pattern of education. [11]:3 In this pattern, 10 years of primary and secondary education is followed by 2 years of higher secondary (usually in schools having the higher secondary facility, or in colleges),[11]:44 and then 3 years of college education for bachelor’s degree. [12] Distant Education * National Open University (IGNOU), New Delhi is one of the mega open universities in the world and caters to around 1 million students around the world. Vocational Education. Vocational Education at Certificate level are offered by 1500 vocational institutions in the country in the areas of agriculture, business, commerce, health and para-medical, home science and humanities in addition to engineering trades. Primary Education in India The World Education Forum, held in 2000 set an ambitious goal: universal primary education by the year 2015. Schooling all children until they reach young adulthood is recognized as important because it leads to many substantial positive effects: better family health, lower birth rate, higher productivity, higher earnings, and improved economics of the country as a whole. Globally, however, more than 115 million children of primary school age do not attend school. The Indian government lays emphasis on primary education up to the age of fourteen years, referred to as elementary education in India. [14] The Indian government has also banned child labour in order to ensure that the children do not enter unsafe working conditions. Further, education has been made free[14] for children for 6 to 14 years of age or up to class VIII under the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act 2009. [18] Current status of primary education in IndiaAbout 20% of Indian children between the ages of six and 14 are not enrolled in school. Even among enrolled children, attendance rates are low and 26% of pupils enrolled in primary school drop out before Grade 5. The situation is worse in certain sectors of the population Despite a vibrant emerging economy and a string of excellent colleges that produce high caliber professionals, India has not made the grade yet on primary education. Hurdles in primary education (double it as general problems as well) Shortage of resources and lack of political will. High pupil to teacher ratios,(shortage of teachers –one teacher schools) Shortage of infrastructure and poor levels of teacher training. (toilet for girls etc. ) The National Curriculum Framework for Teacher Education of 2009 recommended longer preparation for teachers, but the B. Ed curriculum structure continued to be for a single year. There is also a lack of enough skilled trainers and preparation to develop skills, abilities and attitudes to teach students. Poverty and illiteracy of the parent Gender Issues(girls cannot study). Social Issues like caste system (some castes are not allowed) Several efforts to enhance quality made by the government. (primary education) The District Education Revitalization Programme (DERP) was launched in 1994 with an aim to universalize primary education in India by reforming and vitalizing the existing primary education system. [19] 85% of the DERP was funded by the central government and the remaining 15 percent was funded by the states. [19] The DERP, which had opened 160000 new schools including 84000 alternative education schools delivering alternative education to approximately 3. 5 million children, was also supported by UNICEF and other international programmes. [19] . [19] Significant improvement in staffing and enrollment of girls has also been made as a part of this scheme. [19] The current scheme for universalization of Education for All is the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan which is one of the largest education initiatives in the world. Enrollment has been enhanced, but the levels of quality HERE first Write to improve all the above negative issues. Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA)/Right to Education (RTE). Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (Education for All Movement) is a programme by the Government of India aimed at the universalization of elementary education â€Å"in a time bound manner†, as mandated by the 86th amendment to the Constitution of India making free education to children aged 6–14 (estimated to be 205 million in number in 2001) a fundamental right. The programme was pioneered by Atal Bihari Vajpayee. SSA is being implemented in partnership with State Governments to cover the entire country and address the needs of 192 million children in 1. 1 million habitations. In FY 2009-10,60% of SSA funds came from GOI. This has now been revised to 65%. The programme is looking to open new schools in those habitations without schooling facilities and to strengthen existing school infrastructure through provision of additional class rooms, toilets, drinking water, maintenance grant and school improvement grants. SSA is now the primary vehicle for implementing the Right to Free and Compulsory Education Act (RTE). National Programme for Education of Girls at Elementary Level (NPEGEL) The National Programme for Education of Girls at Elementary Level (NPEGEL), is a focused intervention of Government of India, to reach the â€Å"Hardest to Reach† girls, especially those not in school. Launched in July 2003, it is an important component of SSA, which provides additional support for enhancing girl’s education over and above the investments for girl’s education through normal SSA interventions. The programme provides for development of a â€Å"model school† in every cluster with more intense community mobilization and supervision of girls enrolment in schools. Gender sensitization of teachers, development of gender-sensitive learning materials, and provision of need-based incentives like escorts, stationery, workbooks and uniforms are some of the endeavors under the programme. The future of primary education in India The importance of universal primary education has now been widely recognized by everyone involved. Policies and pledges are easy to make but implementation can be difficult and goals hard to achieve, especially in a vast and populous country such as India. International agencies, the government of India, and the numerous NGOs will have to work together with will, wisdom and tremendous energy to make their desire for universal primary education by 2015 a reality in India. Secondary education. For several decades, it has been argued in the literature that secondary education needs to be expanded both as a response to increased social demand and as a feeder cadre for higher education, giving little emphasis to its other important functions. It is also argued that investment in secondary education yields considerable social and economic returns, making it crucial for national development India is following a service-led growth model and striving hard to survive the global competition, in these conditions it is being increasingly recognised that secondary education, is the most critical segment of the education chain. Apart from the bottom-up pressure (i. e. arising from the growth of primary schooling) and the top-down pressure (as the source of potential intakes for higher education) for its expansion, there is a need to pay greater attention to secondary education as it caters to the needs of the most important segment of the population – adolescents and youth, the source of the future human and social capital of a nation. Secondary education covers children 14–18 which covers 88. 5 million children according to the Census, 2001. Features * A significant feature of India’s secondary school system is the emphasis on inclusion of the disadvantaged sections of the society. * Professionals from established institutes are often called to support in vocational training. * Another feature of India’s secondary school system is its emphasis on profession based vocational training to help students attain skills for finding a vocation of his/her choosing. [27] * A significant new feature has been the extension of SSA to secondary education in the form of the Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan[28] Integrated Education for Disabled Children (IEDC) programme was started in 1974 with a focus on primary education. [7] but which was converted into Inclusive Education at Secondary Stage[29] The government started the Kendriya Vidyalaya project in 1965 for the employees of the central government of India to provide uniform education in institutions following the same syllabus at the same pace regardless of the location to which the employee’s family has been transferred. [7] Policy Initiatives in secondary education After independence, the first step towards improving policy planning for development of secondary education was the setting up of the Secondary Education Commission in 1952(also known as the Mudaliar Commission). The primary objective of the Commission was todiagnose the growth pattern and suggest measures for reorganisation and improvement ofsecondary education. The commission’s major recommendation was to develop a 3-yearnational system of secondary education after 8-years of elementary education (8 + 3 systemof school education) to make it a complete stage. The commission also recommended thereconstruction of the syllabus to provide a wider and more balanced course and adopt mother tongue as the medium of instruction (Kabir, 1955). Nearly one-and-a-half decades after the Mudaliar Commission, the Kothari Commission(1964-66), while articulating goals and objectives at all stages of education in the context ofnational development priorities, recommended for a 4-year secondary education system anddiscontinuing the practice of ‘streaming’ up to Grade X. It may be noted that, ten years afterthe commission submitted its report; education was placed in the Concurrent List States and the centre responsible for its development. This changed the policy context fordevelopment of secondary education. The National Policy on Education (NPE), of 1986 subsequently reiterated the views of the Education Commission to implement a 4-year secondary education system across the states and UTs. 23 The NPE emphasised improving equitable access to secondary education and the enrolment of girls, SCs and STs, particularly in science, commerce and vocational streams (Para 5. 13 of the NPE, 1986). The NPE and the Programme of Action (POA), 1992 while recognising secondary education as a critical instrument for social change, called for its planned expansion. The NPE, (as modified in 1992) specifically laid emphasis again on increasing access to secondary education with particular focus on participation of girls, SCs and STs; increased autonomy of Boards ofSecondary Education to enhance their ability to improve quality; introduction of ICT inschool curriculum for coping with globalisation; renewed emphasis on work ethos and valuesof a humane and  composite culture in the curricula; And vocationalisation through specialisedinstitutions or through the refashioning of secondary education to meet the manpower requirements of the growing Indian economy Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA) This scheme was launched in March, 2009 with the objective to enhance access to secondary education and to improve its quality. The implementation of the scheme started from 2009-10. It is envisaged to achieve an enrolment rate of 75% from 52. 26% in 2005-06 at secondary stage within 5 years of implementation of the scheme by providing a secondary school within a reasonable distance of any habitation. The other objectives include improving quality of education imparted at secondary level through making all secondary schools conform to prescribed norms, removing gender, socio-economic and disability barriers, providing universal access to secondary level education by 2017, i. e. , by the end of 12th Five Year Plan and achieving universal retention by 2020. Inclusive Education for the Disabled at Secondary Stage (IEDSS) The Scheme of Inclusive Education for Disabled at Secondary Stage (IEDSS) has been launched from the year 2009-10. This Scheme replaces the earlier scheme of Integrated Education for Disabled Children (IEDC) and would provide assistance for the inclusive education of the disabled children in classes IX-XIITo enable all students with disabilities, after completing eight years of elementary schooling, to pursue further four years of secondary schooling in an inclusive and enabling environment. Higher education India’s higher education system is the third largest in the world, after China and the United States. [32] The main governing body at the tertiary level is the University Grants Commission (India), which enforces its standards, advises the government, and helps coordinate between the centre and the state. [33] Accreditation for higher learning is overseen by 12 autonomous institutions established by the University Grants Commission. [34] In India, education system is reformed. In future, India will be one of the largest education hub. After passing the Higher Secondary Examination (the grade 12 examination), students may enroll in general degree programmes such as bachelor’s degreein arts, commerce or science, or professional degree programmes such as engineering, law or medicine. [31] As of 2009, India has 20 central universities, 215 state universities, 100 deemed universities, 5 institutions established and functioning under the State Act, and 33 institutes which are of national importance. [33] Other institutions include 16,000 colleges, including 1,800 exclusive women’s colleges, functioning under these universities and institutions. [33] The emphasis in the tertiary level of education lies on science and technology. [35] Indian educational institutions by 2004 consisted of a large number of technology institutes. [36] Distance learning is also a feature of the Indian higher education system. [36] Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), have been globally acclaimed for their standard of undergraduate education in engineering. [36] The IITs enroll about 10,000 students annually and the alumni have contributed to both the growth of the private sector and the public sectors of India. [37] Several other institutes of fundamental research such as the Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science (IACS), Indian Institute of Science IISC), Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), Harishchandra Research Institute (HRI), are acclaimed for their standard of research in basic sciences and mathematics. Government programs on Education Rashtriya Uchattar Shiksha Abhiyan[. The Rashtriya Uchattar Shiksha Abhiyan is a centrally sponsored flagship umbrella scheme aimed at providing strategic funding to State higher and technical institutions. States will develop comprehensive state higher education plans that utilize an interconnected strategy to address issues of expansion, equity and excellence together. Central funding will be linked to academic, administrative and financial reforms of state higher education. The Rashtriya Uchattar Shiksha Abhiyan proposes to put a ceiling of maximum number of colleges to be affiliated to any university at two hundred . [17] Higher Education and Eleventh Plan (2007-2012) With the objectives and proposals of the Plan as the basis, the report mentions that the private sector has played an instrumental role in the growth of the sector. Private institutions now account for 64% of the total number of institutions and 59% of enrollment in the country, as compared to 43% and 33%, respectively, a decade ago. The Government has also given the required thrust to the sector in its Five Year Plans. During the Eleventh Plan period (2007–2012), India achieved a Gross Enrollment Ratio (GER) of 17. 9%, up from 12. 3% at the beginning of the Plan period. India’s higher education system faces challenges on three fronts: Expansion:India’s GER of16% was much below the world average of 27%, as well as that of other emerging countries such as China (26%) and Brazil (36%) in 2010. Excellence:Faculty shortage – there is 40% and 35% shortage of faculty in state and central universities, respectively. Accredited institutions – 62% of universities and 90% of colleges were average or below average in 2010, on the basis of their NAAC accreditation. Low citation impact – India’s relative citation impact is half the world average. Equity – There is wide disparity in the GER of higher education across states and the Gross Attendance Ratio (GAR) in urban and rural areas, and gender- and community-wise Drawbacks of Indian Higher Education System * Besides top rated universities which provide highly competitive world class education to their pupils, India is also home to many universities which have been founded with the sole objective of making easy money. * Regulatory authorities like UGC and AICTE have been trying very hard to extirpate the menace of private universities which are running courses without any affiliation or recognition. Indian Government has failed to check on these education shops, which are run by big businessmen & politicians. * Many private colleges and universities do not fulfill the required criterion by the Government and central bodies (UGC, AICTE, MCI, BCI etc. ) and take students for a ride. * Quality assurance mechanism has failed to stop misrepresentations and malpractices in higher education. At the same time regulatory bodies have been accused of corruption, specifically in the case of deemed-universities. [39] Road Ahead in Higher Education * Merit-based student financing: This should ensure admissions to meritorious students independent of financial background * Internationalization of education: This would entail aligning different aspects of education (curriculum, faculty, etc) to international standards * Enabling a research environment. This would involve creating adequate means of research funding and practical application of research * High quality faculty: The need of the hour is to create a conducive environment and provide incentives to attract and retain high quality faculty. * Improved technology for education delivery: Leveraging technology for enhancing the teaching-learning experience will ensure better outcomes * Employability: Making education-industry relevant and practical would be the right way to ensure a highly employable talent pool India’s higher education system can be expected to be better aligned to industry and global practices, and be more transparent and inclusive by the end of Twelfth Plan period, provided the Government is able to create an enabling regulatory environment and put in place robust implementation, monitoring and quality assurance mechanisms. * Legislative support. One of the most talked about bill is Foreign Universities Bill, which is supposed to facilitate entry of foreign universities to establish campuses in India. * Private Sector-The private sector can be expected to play an instrumental role in the achievement of these outcomes through the creation of knowledge networks, research and innovation centers, corporate-backed institutions, and support for faculty development. Saakshar Bharat (Saakshar Bharat)/Adult Education. The Prime Minister of India launched Saakshar Bharat, a centrally sponsored scheme of Department of School Education and Literacy (DSEL), Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD), Government of India (GOI), on the International Literacy Day, 8th September, 2009. It aims to further promote and strengthen Adult Education, specially of women, Education Governing Bodies he Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE): This is the main governing body of education system in India. It has control over the central education system. It conducts exam and looks after the functioning of schools accredited to central education system. * The Council of Indian School Certificate Examination (CISCE): It is a board for Anglo Indian Studies in India. It conducts two examinations ‘Indian Certificate of Secondary Education’ and ‘Indian School Certificate’. Indian Certificate of secondary education is a k-10 examination for those Indian students who have just completed class 10th and Indian school certificate is a k-12 public examination conducted for those studying in class 12th. * The State Government Boards: Apart from CBSE and CISCE each state in India has its own State Board of education, which looks after the educational issues. * The National Open School: It is also known as National Institute of Open Schooling. It was established by the Government Of India in 1989. It is a ray of hope for those students who cannot attend formal schools. * The International School: It controls the schools, which are accredited to curriculum of international standard. * Classification of Colleges. Colleges in India come under four different categories. This categorization is done on the basis of the kind of courses offered by them (professional/ vocational) / their ownership status( Private/ Government) or their relationship with the university (affiliated/university owned). University Colleges These colleges are managed by the university itself and situated mostly in the university campus. Government Colleges The government colleges are few, only about 15-20 percent of the total. They are managed by state governments. As in case of other colleges, the university to which these colleges are affiliated, conducts their examination, lays down the courses of studies and awards the degrees. Professional Colleges The professional colleges are mostly in the disciplines of medicine, engineering and management. There are few for other disciplines too. They are sponsored and managed either by the government or by private initiative. Privately Managed colleges About 70% of the colleges are founded by the privately owned trusts or societies. But these institutes are also governed by the rules and regulations of the university they are affiliated to. Though initially started up as a private initiative, the state government also funds these college Private Education What is it? What is the need for it ? What are benefits? What are problems with it? What can be done to streamline it? India saw the largest increase in literacy rate in the decadeof 1991–2001 — from about 52 per cent to 65 per cent. From 2001 to 2011, the literacy rate increased by 9 per cent to 74 per cent (Planning Commission 2011). The 13 per cent increase in 1991–2001 has been the largest for any 10-year period in the history of the country. Private investments and the emergence of budget private schools was the main cause for this.! As parents began to earn more in the post-reform era, they began to invest in their children. As better employment opportunities arose, the value of education became more apparent to parents. This increased demand for education was met by a rapid expansion of budget private schools The biggest success story of literacy in India has been written withprivate initiative — parents’ willingness to pay and the edupreneur innovation of an aff ordable school. In post-liberalisation India, the importance of the private sector in economic growth is well understood and appreciated. For economic growth, the state’s role is primarily to enable the private sector as a facilitator, prudent regulator, impartial enforcer of contracts, and at times as a financier Incentives for efficiency are also weak. Government employees have little incentive to minimise costs, fi nd and correct mistakes, innovate, and acquire necessary information about resources and consumer demand. The high teacher absenteeism in government schools is just one indicator of poor incentives. . High prices in terms of tuition fees, donations andlong queues for admissions are signs of the shortage of quality educational institutions. The same paucity of supply existed for consumer goods before the 1991 liberalisation. The license-permit-quota raj still exists in our education system. Schools and colleges need to be made accountable not to education bureaucrats (licensors) but to parents and students (customers). The government policy should be to increase choice and competition in education as it has been done in many areas of the economy — facilitate, not control. The core competency of the private and public sectors should be combined. The private sector should be allowed to produce education — manage schools and colleges — and provide it to all who can aff ord to pay. For those who cannot aff ord to pay, the government should finance their education through scholarships, education vouchers and loans. Instead of focusing on the inputs to education, the government ensures the output — meaningful, high quality learning. This approach combines the efficiency and accountability of the private sector with the equity and independent supervision of the public sector. . Governments and Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) should evaluate schools and colleges and publish the results so that parents can make informed decisions. One key goal of global reformers is to increase the accountability of schools towards parents — restructure the system so that schools are at least as much accountable to parents as they are to the education offi cials. There are many ways to achieve this goal: put parents on school boards or district education councils, give powers to parent-teacher associations, create something like our village education committees . One new idea in this bucket is that of school vouchers. Several countries have undertaken pilot projects. The voucher is a tool to change the way governments finance education, particularly of the poor. It is a coupon off ered by the government that covers full or partial cost of education at the school of the student’s choice. The schools collect vouchers from the students, deposit them in their bank accounts and the banks then credit the school accounts with equivalent money while debiting the account of the government. Section 12 of the RTE requires private unaided schools to reserve 25 per cent seats in the entry-level class (nursery or Class I) for socially disadvantaged and economically weaker sections. The government would provide private schools with reimbursements equal to their fees or the per student cost in government schools, whichever is lower. EDUCATION REFORM Just as in economic reforms, the list of education reform ideas could be quite long. This paper suggests that two principles should be the focus of reforms in the education ecosystem — effi cient use of public funds and the promotion of equity and quality through choice and competition. Achieve Efficient Use of Public Funds. (a) Fund students, not schools (school vouchers, charter schools, conditional cash transfers); (b) Convert state funding to per student basis and link it to performance; (d) Give poorly performing state schools to private parties on learning outcome contracts; (e) Hire teachers at the school level, not at the state level; Promote Equity and Quality through Choice and Competition: (i) Apply the same standards to both private as well as government schools; (ii) Annual independent learning outcome assessment across all schools; (iii) Decentralise and depoliticise syllabi and textbooks; (iv) Open Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) and state board exams to all students, not only for students who study in CBSE or state board affiliated schools.