Dell and Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Dell and Management - Essay Example Attentive approach to potential markets evaluation and effective realization of management ideas directing the efficiency and sales growth make Dell computers one the best managed companies in the world. In addition to that, Dell management always have full database of current and fulfilled operations - it provides the management's ability to foresee the situation and analyze it properly and deeply. Anther interesting feature of Dell management is that executives, as well as other specialists of the company, work in groups (so called "two-in-a-box" approach), so members of a group can improve work efficiency by mutual analysis and help. High efficiency, speed and discipline differs Dell from many other world famous corporations. All these management approaches and their realization provide Dell computers as one the best managed companies in the world. 2. There are some management functions which are realized best in the company. One of these functions is direct control of business processes in the company. The CEO has a full range of sales promotion database and all the information needed for business operating: "In the office, he reserves an hour in the morning and one each afternoon to do nothing but read and respond to e-mail, according to one former executive (The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc, p.6)". One another management function best realized in Dell is active sales promotion strategies providing - they direct to sales and production quality growth. In addition to that, different forms of cooperation with other leading companies are provided, such as brands use and other companies' managers recruiting. Dell management's purpose is not only to achieve high rates of profit and sales growth, but it tries to monitor long-term success and profitability. So, different sale and price approaches and strategies are maintained, and these management's methods provide long-term success and customers' trust in Dell services and production. These approaches also provide money saving policy which is very important for any successful company. One of the Dell top managers underlined that "There are some organizations where people think they're a hero if they invent a new thing. Being a hero at Dell means saving money (The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc, p.3)". Effective combination of different types of management also provides high efficiency of all business operations in Dell. 3. The management functions indicated above are performed because of high targets which Dell managers have, and only effective realization of these functions can provide long-term success of the company. There are some ways of these functions performing. The managers of Dell use such effective sales method as direct sales which provide high volume of sales. Direct sales method also provides low cost services and production - it helps to enter new markets successfully and for a long time. The CEO encourages accountability among employees, and it provides high level of efficiency and responsibility. The function of control is also provided by "two-in-box" method which allows two managers to work

Marketing in the Wine Industry Essay Example for Free

Marketing in the Wine Industry Essay There’s more in a glass of wine than meets the eye, or the palate. Wine isn’t just for the rich and affluent anymore. Everyone can enjoy wine, whether it’s a five dollar bottle or a five hundred dollar bottle. Winemakers and wine distribution companies have come up with new and exciting way to market their wines to people of every tax bracket and all walks of life. (Manda) Marketing in the wine industry is changing. Traditionally, consumers looked to opinion leaders like Robert Parker and the Wine Spectator to find the best wines on the market. While those methods are still effective, winemakers and wine enthusiasts have discovered a new way to spread the word about particular wines. Social media has become the new, hot trend in marketing in just about every industry out there right now. And the wine industry is no exception. Corkd. com is a website for wine drinkers and enthusiasts where users can create their own wine journal, wine cellar, shopping list, and connect with online drinking buddies. This website is one way the wine industry as stepped up to the plate and utilized the opportunities of the internet in marketing. â€Å"Cork’d is your pulse on the wine world and an online playground for all things wine. By collaborating with some of the smartest wine drinkers and industry figures, Cork’d is providing you with the most comprehensive, fun and exciting wine content available. Whether you’re a winery looking for exposure or an events company looking to promote or host a tasting, Cork’d wants to talk to you. Our mission is to breakdown the stereotypes, myths and pretenses surrounding wine culture to help you discover and drink better wines. † (corkd. com) Another factor changing the wine industries marketing strategies is where consumers are buying wine. Chain stores and supermarkets have taken over wine distribution from wholesalers. Costco has become one of the largest wine retailers in the United States. According to Michael Roberto, â€Å"Theres no question that a seismic shift is occurring at the retail and wholesale level. The number of alcoholic beverage wholesalers in the U. S. has decreased by 75 percent since the 1960s. At the retail level, wine sales are increasingly shifting to supermarkets, wholesale clubs, and the like. For instance, Robert Mondavi now sells 10 percent of its wine in unit terms through Costco. These changes in the retail and distribution channels present substantial challenges for wineries, of course, because these powerful players such as Costco have much more clout and bargaining power than small liquor stores. Smaller vineyards often can find it more difficult to secure shelf space, and all wineries find themselves facing pricing pressure from the retail and distribution channels. † Even though many wineries do not like the changes and small retail shops are suffering because of this shift, many consumers are actually profiting from these changes. Winemakers have found another fun way to market their wines simply with their labels. The new â€Å"trend† in the wine business is a funky label. Traditionally, wine labels were simple and to the point. The label had the name of the vineyard, the year, and basic information about the wine in a simple fashion. Recently, winemakers have started to get creative with the names of their wines and the design of their bottles and labels. Now, when you walk down an aisle in a store filled with different wines there are many different bottles that stick out because of loud colors, wild pictures, or crazy names on the label. This is a great form of marketing to use for wine because the bottle itself is a great marketing tool. Many consumers will buy a bottle of wine just because they like how the bottle looks or maybe they are giving it as a gift and the title is something catchy that conveys some type of message that relates to the person who is receiving the wine. For example, there is a wine called â€Å"Bitch† wine. The wine itself is not bad, but its nothing to rave about. One of the main reasons that particular wine is so popular is because of the name. The label is black with pink script font with â€Å"Bitch† printed on the front, and on the back it just repeats the name of the wine over and over again. This wine is marketed to women and is a perfect gift to give a friend as a joke they can enjoy. Women have become a hot target market for wine makers. According to the 2006 Adams Wine Handbook, Men prefer beer; women prefer wine, Many women are emerging as winemakers and marketers are realizing the potential for profit in female consumers. â€Å"Women make up 52 percent of the adult population and purchase 57 percent of the wine consumed in the United States. 1 They represent a huge market with great purchasing power that until recently has been overlooked. According to experts, women are less influenced by wine ratings, as they tend to judge the entire product. Although the wine quality is important to women, so are the label design, the bottle shape and the philosophy of the winery. † (Wine Institute) While there are many new ways to market wine, the traditional methods are still widely used. Promotion in the wine industry is all about putting the name of the winery on everything from wine keys to wine bags to key chains to hats. Wine distribution companies have always been know to give out free merchandise with the name of the wines they sell everywhere. This is a great way to advertise. Consumers love to receive free things and that opens up a great opportunity for wineries to advertise with little cost. California former governor Arnold Schwarzenegger proclaimed September as â€Å"Wine Celebration Month†, also known as California Wine Month. This is another great way for wineries to get their name and wines out in the public. DiscoverCalifornaiWine. com states, â€Å"September is California Wine Month, and that makes it a fine time to enjoy a glass of California wine and a visit to wine country. September is harvest time in California and California Wine Month celebrates the state’s ideal climate for wine, beautiful wine country landscape, our talented and ingenious winemaking families, our celebrated lifestyle and cuisine; and our commitment to sustainability and the environment. † Another trend in the world of wine is sustainability and organics. Many vineyards around have become 100 percent sustainable and the numbers are growing. The new world culture is all about reducing our carbon and ecological footprint. So many wineries have actually capitalized on this idea. Wineries have begun to include their efforts at social responsibility in their advertising. Which caters to a growing market of consumers, as many people nowadays will only buy organic. Tolosa is a winery that has recently dedicated itself to sustainability and creating wine without harming the environment. One if their brochures stated that, â€Å"In August 2009 Tolosa converted to solar electrical generation. This system will provide the winery’s electrical energy for the next 25 years. CO2 emissions reduced by over 500 tons. This is equivalent to planting nearly 100 acres of trees. † Tolosa is one of the many wineries’ that has begun to capitalize on sustainability. The times have changed and so have marketing strategies of the wine industry. The wine industry is booming more than ever. Success in the wine industry is possible whether a company uses new or old marketing techniques. In this new age, the marketing department should focus on women and social media. As Tinckenell and Tincknell, a wine consulting and marketing firm, have written on the front page of their website MarketingWine. com, â€Å"If it doesnt come from the heart, the message will be hollow. If you dont imagine it first, someone else will. If it isnt inspired and creative, it wont get noticed. Each link in the marketing process the heart, the mind, and creativity communicates your story to the world. † Works Cited About Cork’d  « Corkd Content. Corkd Content. Web. 20 June 2011. http://content. corkd. com/about/. Discover California Wines : California Wine Month. Discover California Wines : Welcome to Discover California Wines. Web. 20 June 2011. http://www. discovercaliforniawine. com/learn/california-wine-month. The Changing Structure of the Global Wine Industry (2004). Michael Roberto. Salls, Manda. Marketing Wine to the World — HBS Working Knowledge. HBS Working Knowledge Faculty Research at Harvard Business School. Web. 20 June 2011. http://hbswk. hbs. edu/item/3910. html.

Comparing Satire in Canterbury Tales, Pride and Prejudice and The Rape

Use of Satire in Canterbury Tales, Pride and Prejudice and The Rape of the Lock Jane Austen and Alexander Pope had had a myriad of writing styles and techniques from which to express the desired themes of their works.   Satire, however, seemed to be the effective light-hearted, yet condescending, tool that enabled them to surface the faults and follies of their moral and elite society.   In Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, satire is used to the full extent in revealing the glutton within a pious and sacrificing nun, the vain hunter within a poor and meditative monk, and the vulgarity within a honorable woman of society.   In Pride and Prejudice and The Rape of the Lock, Austen and Pope use contrasting forms of satire to obtain the same result as Chaucer:   to ridicule society's hypocritical and supercilious   manner by forcing it to see the absurd truth of what society pretends to be and what it really is.   In order to create satire in their literature, Austen and Pope must place an ironic, mocking language in an environment, and allow the la nguage to transform its surroundings into a parody of human moral regression.   The essence of satire in Pride and Prejudice and The Rape of the Lock begins with the writer's mocking use of diction, and then spreads to how the characters, tone, and theme of the literature are heightened to a level that identifies with supercilious society.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Characters in Pride and Prejudice and The Rape of the Lock are necessary tools in establishing satire within the stories.   Austen uses a range of different character types in order to highlight the absurdity of society.   For example, Elizabeth Bennet differs greatly from her other sisters and young ladies of Hertfordshire because h... ...rning within society to undermine its flaws.   Austen and Pope were great writers and observers of their time, and though they have passed, their writings continue to reveal the hidden follies of humanity.   Humanity has not made any extremely valuable changes beside the obvious advancements that are expected through time.   However, there will always be literature to magnify humanity's growth and regression, urging its readers to never hide from the truth. Works Cited: Austen, Jane. Pride and Prejudice. Ed. Donald Gray. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 1996. Chaucer, Geoffrey. The Canterbury Tales. Norton Anthology of World Masterpieces. Ed Mack, Maynard et al. W. W. Norton and Co. New York, NY. 1992. Pope, Alexander. "The Rape of the Lock". The Norton Anthology of English Literature. Ed. M.H. Abrams et al. 6th ed. Vol. 1. New York: Norton, 1993.

The Road to Success

Success is a quite easy attempt; however, only for the most determined ones, those who comprehensively believe in themselves. Those whom I believe can withstand any kind of restraint to make their dreams reality. What do you think they follow that makes them persistent, a life manual, or a road map? It's more than that, a body organ that we tend to neglect when ever we are down and despaired, the heart. The heart that is the building block of the road we are to hit, the road to success.The eminent book writer, Paulo Cello once said, â€Å"Listen to your heart. It knows all things, because It came from the soul of the world, It will always guide you on the right track†. Now allow me to introduce to your knowledge a new well-guaranteed strategy that will surely take you on the safe road of success.. First, I would like you to: Learn from the bare bones of our history Gandhi, Aristotle, Martin Luther King, Dry. Aimed Joel, and many other eminent figures have shaped a very success ful history of humankind.All of each recall a time In their lives when they were considered a failure at one pursuit or another: that dad many of them feel that their previous failures taught them valuable lessons and led to their successes. Those whom I certainly believe sought the safest road to success. Now it is time to visualize: 2) When you imagine the ‘road to success', what sort of picture do you see in your mind? Do you imagine a long road that eventually leads you to your desired destination? I would like to share with you a slightly different picture of the road to success.When you understand this picture, you will be much better prepared for your journey. When you first set out on the road to success, it looks something like this: You can see your goal glistening In the distance and It almost seems within your reach. You are excited about heading down the road and making your dream a reality. However, a strange thing napes as soon as you take your TLS step clown te n road to success. A brick wall appears out of nowhere and blocks your progress. Where these brick walls come from nobody knows, but for some reason they always appear.One of the main reasons people fail to reach their goals in life is that no one has ever old them about the brick walls! Many people are so surprised by the appearance of the wall that they simply stop and give up on their dream. When you are faced with a brick wall on the road to success, you have two options: either to sit down and give up on your dreams, or get up and find a way over, under, or through the wall. No matter what your goal is, it is important to realize that as soon as you begin your Journey down the road to success, you will encounter a series of brick walls.Bricks are Just temporary objects that you can get over as soon as you legalize their presence. Consequently, you reach your objectives. Always know that obstacles will always conquer your way to reach success and your ability to overcome them is the rudiment to success. This reminds me of a famous saying by John Heresy: â€Å"success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm†. Failure is the backbone of success, without failure, you can never reach success. It can be your mischievous nemesis; however, it eventually becomes your favorite enemy.Life has taught me many lessons, and most importantly is the ability to overcome my fears and defeat failure by bravely persisting on my goal and striving to achieve it. In addition to that, is applying the above-mentioned life changing strategy that was started by Dry. Anthony Fernando, the author of the book Dare to Dream. Apply it and know the bare bones to success and goal achievement. Today, I can open my eyes to a life with all my goals crystal clear set before my blistering eyes. Ala Tare [email  protected] Com

Woolf and Mcewan: How the Modern Became Postmodern

Ian McEwan’s Atonement draws inspiration from and alludes to a vast number of 20th century modernist authors and works, both stylistically and thematically. For a novel to be considered a successful culmination to the reading of a large body of works, however, it must not be content with merely echoing the themes, styles, and forms of the past. Rather, it must extend them, add to them creatively, and attempt to pull them into contemporary readership.While his thematic and stylistic allusions to 20th century greats such as Virginia Woolf show his intellectual knowledge of and debt to 20th century modernist writing, it is McEwan’s ability to transform these stylistic and thematic elements and mold them into a postmodern classic that makes Atonement a more than adequate culmination to the readings of a 20th century British Literature course. Stylistically, McEwan draws most heavily from the works of Virginia Woolf for the opening portion of Atonement.The slow pace of the o pening, allowing for the painstakingly detailed description of nearly every scene, in addition to the examination of the psychological motives of multiple main characters, closely mirrors the style of Virginia Woolf, which she incorporates into the majority of her works. To quote a characteristically slow paced, though psychologically enriched, passage from the opening of Woolf’s Between the Acts, â€Å"Mrs. Manresa bubbled up, enjoying her own capacity to surmount, without turning a hair, this minor social crisis—this laying on of two more plates.For had she not complete faith in flesh and blood? and aren’t we all flesh and blood? and how silly to make bones of trifles when we’re all flesh and blood under the skin† (Woolf 39). The passage, to one unfamiliar with the stylistically innovative style of Woolf, seems to meander under the weight of an overly descriptive narrative and, more prominently, under the psychological musings of a character that , until a few pages previous, was nonexistent to the reader. The majority of Between the Acts contains passages of a similar style, of which this is only one randomly chosen example.As is true of many of the passages that can be found in any Woolfian novel, advancing the storyline is secondary to fleshing out the motives, thoughts, and feelings of the characters. With the plot safely set behind in-depth psychological examination in rank of importance, Woolf is free to experiment with a stream-of-consciousness style narrative in which psychological elements of the story feature more prominently than physical elements. In addition to the stream-of-consciousness for which she is well known, there are other characteristics common to much of Woolf’s work.For example, she has the tendency to describe a scene, more often than not, a natural scene, in painstaking detail, reluctant to add action that would too quickly further the narrative. Another passage from Between the Acts provid es and adequate example of this, reading, â€Å"Here came the sun—an illimitable rapture of joy, embracing every flower, every leaf. Then in compassion it withdrew, covering its face, as if it forebore to look on human suffering. There was a fecklessness, a lack of symmetry and order in the clouds as they thinned and thicked.Was it their law, or no law they obeyed? † (Woolf 23). This description of nature essentially is of no consequence to the narrative yet the full passage describing the weather proceeds for almost a full page. The flowing, exceptionally detailed descriptions coinciding with an apparently lacking story line and an in-depth psychological view that the reader is privy to as a result of the stream-of-consciousness style, are all aspects of Woolfian literature that McEwan attempts to draw from and mold to his own postmodernist designs.While McEwan draws inspiration from Woolf in a way that would be just as simple for an author of less talent to do, his a ims are far deeper reaching than an author who simply wishes to garner a comparison to Virginia Woolf. McEwan does borrow quite clearly from the stylings of Woolf, even commenting it upon it himself, writing, â€Å"we wondered if it owed a little too much to the techniques of Mrs. Woolf† (McEwan 294). Rather than be content with merely keeping her modernist conventions intact, however, he completely alters their meaning within the context of his own novel.In the opening portions of Atonement, for example, McEwan, in quite a similar way as Woolf, attempts to gain entry to the psychological depths of his characters. With the exception of a few broad passages required to move the story forward through dialogue or action, the majority of the opening is devoted to the internal monologues of the characters and an examination of their needs, desires, and feelings. This is clearly defined in the earliest pages as the ovel provides passages such as, â€Å"She wanted to leave, she wan ted to lie alone, facedown on her bed and savor the vile piquancy of the moment, and go back down the lines of branching consequence to the point before the destruction began† (McEwan 14). This passage, one of many in a similar style throughout Atonement, attempts, in a stream-of-consciousness in the classic Woolfian sense, to examine the inner psyche of the character rather than force any sort physical, tangible action to occur. In this way, the story’s narrative may seem slow paced while the characters’ motives become more well known to the reader.This borrowing stylistically from Woolf is not necessarily important or groundbreaking, and is certainly no deciding factor in whether this novel should be viewed as a classic in coming decades. There have been many authors who have devoted the entirety of their works to the stream-of-consciousness fiction that Woolf helped to pioneer. As mentioned above, what makes McEwan an author deserving of longevity in his works is that the allusions are not merely presented, but are completely altered from their original meaning by the context of Atonement.He takes deeply alluded to modernist conventions and makes them Briony’s primary source of inspiration, seen most clearly when she ponders the new school of authors and realizes, â€Å"She no longer really believed in characters. They were quaint devices that belonged to the nineteenth century†¦Plots too were like rusted machinery whose wheels would no longer turn†¦It was thought, perception, and sensations that interested he, the conscious mind and how to represent its onward roll† (McEwan 265).There is a certain depth and complexity in the fact that McEwan represents these modernist conventions not as his own, but as those of a thirteen year old girl, the central character of his metanarrative. What McEwan does next with these modernist principles of writing is attempt to show that they too are vestiges of the past, doomed to f all in the face of a more ethical and moral fiction. Just as Briony rejects the realism of the authors of the nineteenth century, McEwan is rejecting the modernism of the 20th century in favor of a postmodernism.One of Briony’s internal monologues to which the reader is privy, begins, â€Å"The interminable pages about light and stone and water, a narrative split between three points of view, the hovering stillness of nothing much seeming to happen—none of this could conceal her cowardice† (McEwan 302). These characteristics, all of which have been shown to influence Woolfian literature, have all failed Briony’s attempt to hide what she knows she has done.The monologue continues in a similar vein with, â€Å"Did she really think she could hide behind some borrowed notions of modern writing, and drown her guilt in a stream—three streams! —of consciousness? †(McEwan 302). Her guilt and the moral and ethical implications of what she has done cannot be fixed through some outdated ideas of modernist fiction, which has no ethical consequences. There are allusions from dozens of modernists authors sprinkled throughout the length of Atonement. Unfortunately, the scope of this paper can give only one of the most prominent.In a similar fashion as with the Woolf example, however, McEwan nearly always thoughtfully engages the text to which he is alluding, but is not content to merely allow these allusions to sit idly in the novel with no sense of purpose. Rather, each of his numerous allusions has some greater purpose in Atonement as McEwan artfully transforms them into something that fits the overall scope of what he attempts to accomplish. Still, the question remains whether or not this book is an adequate culmination of all the readings in a 20th century British literature course.The fact that Atonement not only draws from modernist writers, many of whom are the focus of the aforementioned course, but attempts to extend them creatively and transform them from the 20th century modern to the 21st century postmodern makes Atonement an excellent novel and a fine culmination of a semester of 20th century British literature. Works Cited McEwan, Ian. Atonement. New York: Anchor Books, 2001. Woolf, Virginia. Between the Acts. New York: Harcourt, 2001.

Marketing essay Essays

Marketing essay Essays Marketing essay Essay Marketing essay Essay Describe the different roles in a business buying center. Then identify each member of the buying group in a medium-sized company that purchases components and assembles small household appliances? In a business buying center there are five different roles. The first role are the users. These are the people who will be use the good or product. They influence the buying decisions because ultimately they will be the ones using the product. The second role are the gatekeepers. These personnel are the ones that give product data. They control what information the members of the buying center will review. The third role are the influences. They are usually specialized staff that break down what the pros and cons are for a product. The fourth role are the deciders. These arent necessarily the ones that have the formal authority about what product is going to get bought. The last member is the buyer. This is the one that has the formal authority to buy a product. In a medium sized company that purchases components and assembles small household appliances the user would be the ones that are using the appliance. The gatekeeper would be the one in the business that provided the CEO or logistical with the different types of trials that they could use to build their small appliances. They would break down different suppliers data and cost of supplies on a data sheet. The influences would be the engineers because ultimately they are the ones designing the small appliances. They would give their expert opinion on what material would work best and why. The decider would be the CEO or someone appointed by him. The buyer would be a salesperson or logistical because they have the formal authority to buy for the company. Imagine that you are a marketer for one of the following companies: Amazon. Com, Apple Computer, Struck, Burger King, or a nationally agonized company of your choice. Decide whether your company will expand internationally into Mexico, India, or China. Write a brief report outlining and describing the issues your company must consider regarding each of the following environmental areas: economic, social-cultural, technological, and political-legal.? The company that I would associate myself with would be Struck. I would tread the waters of global expansion and would first expand with our neighbors to the south, Mexico. Some of the economic issues that I would run into would be the low income revenue that families in Mexico face. The infrastructure in Mexico is well developed in major cities but that is about it. Other cities have poor to non-existent infrastructure. The way I would mitigate these issues would be place my businesses in tourist cities (I. E. Puerco Valletta, Cancan, Quintal ROR, Monterrey, and Etc. And international airports. The social-culture difference that I would have to take into consideration are that many Mexicans only speak English. I would have to get bilingual workers that spoke both Spanish and English. I would also take into consideration the Marco-culture that they are currently living in. Many drug gangs are running the country and I would have to mitigate that so my workers would be safe. Technological issues would be minimal. Mexico is well off when it comes to internet technology. Almost every home in major cities now have Wi-If connection. My business would also be able to provide this service. They also have cell-phone service readily available in these major cities. I would have minimal political-legal issues. That is because of the North American Free Trade Agreement. I would be able to easily import different that I would need to successfully run my business. I think with the outline that I have set and the environment that I chose to go into the business would be a success. What are several pluses for businesses that use outsourcing techniques? What are several minuses? What can companies do to make the best of these widespread practices? Outsourcing is the practice of a business that uses and outside vendor to provide a business that was used to be provided by that business. The pluses to this practice are the business is able to concentrate all their resources to their main product. An example of this practice is outsourcing the IT department. A business no longer has the need to have an onsite IT department, because of technological advances many IT personnel can Just remote into a computer to see what the issues a user is having. It is also a way for a business to save money. Some minuses or cons to this practice is the fact that the company is entrusting a third party to have access to confidential material. Usually IT personnel sign paperwork saying they will not look at this information but if no one has oversight of them they can look at what they please. Another minus is sometimes outsourcing could lead to additional time lost before a system is restored. When you have an IT department in house an employee can walk over to the department and ask for assistance. Companies can first make sure that the business is a trusted and known business. One company that I would trust with my IT department would be Hewlett Packard, or HP, because they are a well-known and have been trusted with other businesses IT departments before. Businesses should also shop around to ensure they get the best rate possible. If that business is going to pay for outsourcing more than they would in house then that would not be practical.

Department of Homeland Security essays

Department of Homeland Security essays America home of the free, brave and protecting our land. We have evolved our lands, culture and diversity. Starting, July 4, 1776,with our Independence. The American Revolution War was the war we wanted our people to have control of our freedom, not another nation ruling over us. Protecting our land, of what we have created. In 1775, Revolutionaries seized control of each of the thirteen colonial governments, establish the Second Continental Congress, and generated a Continental Army. The beginning of homeland security as we know it today. Over the years, there were no threats to the American people from the period of the American Revolution, until in the 1900s. Yes, there were battles and wars, but in gaining more grounds and access to our new country. Thus, showing our national security, starting with the Continental Army, as we know today, The U.S. Army; have been successful in protecting our nation and helped shape our nation. In 1915, there were seven air strikes to London, UK, by the Germans. A new threat to the world and to our nation was presented. The United Sates government, saw this potential threat, and realized we need to be stronger, for our nation is not protected in such ways. August 29, 1916, the Council of National Defense was created under the Army Appropriation Act. The Council was a presidential advisory board that included the Secretaries of War, Navy, Interior, Agriculture, Commerce and Labor...Its responsibilities included coordinating resources and industries for the national defense and stim ulating the civilian morale. This was during the time of WWI; where allies were defending each other in declaring war after one another. Many more reasons are to be noted of causes and effects. A year later, after the CND was created, America went into war, and CND went hard at work. They were asked to apply their specialized knowledge in mobilizing the military, governmental, commercial, ...

Google Services Privacy and Security Concerns

Google Services Privacy and Security Concerns Insecure Digital World In today’s digital world, the debate surrounding privacy and security cannot be stressed further. Internet users are at a constant risk of privacy and security violations by technology companies. Google Inc. is among the biggest tech companies today with billions of people around the world using its services. Nonetheless, these services have developed numerous concerns surrounding privacy and security. Google services such as Street View does not just take pictures but collects email and WIFI information from unsuspecting users nearby. These warring revelations illustrate an increased concern for privacy and security of users. Numerous Google services continue to violate privacy and security rights of users by not informing them that their information is being collected without their consent. Google Collects Info from People Who May Even not Be Using Their Services Google services violate privacy and security rights by accessing and collecting data from people who may even not be using their services. Rosenfeld states that Google admitted to collecting data and personal information from computers inside homes and buildings using their Google Street View cars that were thought to only take pictures for the service. The type of information collected included private information, emails, and passwords all from unsuspicious users. This tends to be a form of security concern since Google does not seek the consent of users before accessing their information. Moreover, it violates privacy rights as well as acts in an unethical manner by illegally accessing and collecting information from users who are even not using their services. Moreover, Google’s Gmail service was also found to be violating federal wiretap regulations. This is because the email service evaluates the content of all emails on its network using the information to sell it as of fshoots to advertisers. For instance, it is possible if one sends frequent emails about cars they are likely to get advertisements related to cars. Google did not make a point of informing Gmail users that it would collect and create individual profiles and target them with adverts. Again, even people who were sending messages to Gmail addresses did not agree for Google to analyze and use their messages for target advertising. Analyzing each and every message is a clear violation of privacy rights since each person is entitled to his/her privacy. Furthermore, by analyzing all kinds of emails, it is not clear how secure the services are since other people be it Google employees may access sensitive information. The Internet Has Been Overly Commercialized Google is also notorious for illegal tracking of its users who access the Internet. In 2012, Google was exposed for using an illegal code to by-pass anti-tracking abilities of Apple’s Safari browser. The secret and illegal code exposed millions of Safari browser to tracking without their knowledge even if they had turned on the anti-tracking abilities. Eventually, Google was found to have committed a privacy violation and fined $22.5 million by the Federal Trade Commission. The idea of well-respected multinational using secret codes just to track users clearly raises concerns in terms of security and privacy. Google clearly acted unethically in using secret codes without users being aware of tracking their online activities. This means that the company can go to any lengths to pursue its business objectives at the expense of user privacy rights and security. Illegal Collection of WIFI Passwords An additional issue is the illegal collection of WIFI passwords from millions of Android phone users. The company was exposed for collecting WIFI passwords for Android users who backed up their phones and allowed the Google service to restore their new phones. This means that Google knows nearly all WIFI passwords in the world. This is a clear violation of privacy since passwords and other vital information is deemed private and may indeed result in privacy and security concerns when accessed by companies such as Google. In its defense, Google has cited that the company was exploited by top U.S spymasters who illegally collected information without user consent. However, these are mere allegations that have no evidence, but the evidence of privacy and security violations can be proven beyond reasonable doubt. In conclusion, Google services continue to violate privacy and security rights of users by not informing them that their information is being collected without their consent. Some Google services can spy, pry, and secretly track information and user activities online. This tends to create increased concern for privacy and security of users. These issues may be far from resolving as even more advanced Google services are being launched. All stakeholders and mostly users have the obligation to determine where the red line lies to address privacy and security concerns.

PhD Finance - Effects of Corporate Governance Assignment

PhD Finance - Effects of Corporate Governance - Assignment Example 55), most of these techniques are implemented by organizations since they believe that they add value to the overall organization. According to, good corporate governance entails a much more soporific structure aimed at improving the process of decision making whilst creating appropriate avenues for shareholder’s engagement (American Law Institute, 1997, p. 272). Therefore, the concept of good corporate governance does not merely entail the creation of a governance structure or decision making. There are a number of good corporate governance techniques that an organization can adopt in a bid to increase the firm’s value. These techniques may include analyzing and disclosing the various risks facing the organization, choosing and compensating the management team, enabling the shareholders to vote on board elections and efficiently dealing with employee and management compensation issues (Tully, 2005, p. 18). Implementing these techniques will not only boost the employees’ morale to work at full efficiency but also enable the investors to be optimistic in terms of the investment returns. Whereas the practices of good corporate governance may vary from one organization to another, there is developing agreement on what the various ideal practices of good corporate governance are. The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), has come up with an ideal good corporate governance model that can be adopted by organizations (Goldin & Reinert, 2012, p. 261). However, apart from this model, many organizations have developed good corporate governance models which can be adopted by other companies thereby enabling them to maximize their firm’s value. Therefore, the models of good corporate governance are significant in the general performance of the organization since they create a highway of value maximization. American Law

Current Events with Leadership Challenges Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Current Events with Leadership Challenges - Essay Example owing an investigation that found Co CEO Mark Hurd culpable for having a relationship with the company’s contractor who was paid irregularly he had to resign. The investigations also revealed misuse of company resources totalling $ 20,000 as well as violating company policies. However, instead of firing him, the company still allowed him to resign and take home over # million despite having presented inaccurate expense reports concealing his actions. Considering that investigation had found the CEO to have mismanaged the company the company further made an ethical mistake by allowing him to resign (Gregory, 2010). Hurd should have been fired, made to account for his unethical behaviour, pay the company money he misappropriated and prosecuted. This was not the case; instead he was paid handsomely on his resignation. Such a message being sent to employees and the general public could further work to the detriment of the company. The public could form a negative opinion of the company and this would have substantial business implications. As a giant in the computers sector, the company has since lost significant market share to other firms such as Lenovo. This underscores the need for ethical leadership in today’s business

Domestic Terrorism Paper Term Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Domestic Terrorism - Term Paper Example As a result, the disintegration of political, economic, and social functions occurs (McCann, 2006). Domestic terrorism continues to plague the USA because of the difference in perspectives between individuals partaking in acts termed as acts of terrorism and victims of these acts. Those involved in such acts use their ideologies as a basis of justification; however misguided their actions might be, they do not consider themselves terrorists. On the contrary, they view themselves as heroes ascribing heroic qualities to their actions. Despite this disagreement, all parties agree on the forms terrorist acts take, which include systematic or nonsystematic warfare covertly displayed. However, in some extreme cases, the display of warfare occurs openly, for example, in the cases of suicide bombing. Moreover, people also agree on the role played by political, religious, and, social ideologies as being the driving force behind acts of terrorism. This essay analyzes the historical context of domestic terrorism in America; compares and contrasts domestic and international terrorism and addresses the psychological impact of domestic terrorism (McCann, 2006). 2. Domestic Terrorism in America. ... stitution of the Declaration of Independence in 1776, the official introduction of the American dream happened and with this came the introduction of hope among citizens. However, as time elapsed, many begun to distrust the core values outlined by the Declaration of Independence (Don, 2010). This happened when individuals noted the disparities in equality compounded by the differences in race, religion, and, political ideologies among other factors. Increasing levels of distrust resulted in acts of domestic terrorism. People resorted to inhumane warfare tactics with the aim of raising awareness on their frustrations. The acts of terror can be classified according to the period in which they occurred. These include; post civil war, 1920s communist and anarchist violence, and, domestic terrorism (1960s & 1970s). Post-civil war acts of terrorism begun as early as 1622 when Native Americans waged war on the Jamestown colony, where they ended up killing 30% of the population. The Powhatan Native Americans rebelled because of the encroachment and forceful eviction of their population by White settlers. Their actions served to highlight their displeasure with the White settlers who showed little regard for the ancestral occupants of the land. However, the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) formed in 1967, represented the first officially recognized terrorist organization in the USA. Led by former Confederate Nathan Bedford, the KKK initially sought to represent social issues, however, their goals got misdirected in 1868, whereby, its followers turned to violence. The KKK represented white supremacist ideologies, which looked down upon Black Americans. The 1920s saw the communists, and anarchist acts of terrorism spread through the USA. The USA’s ideologies are individualistic in nature,

Second Language Teaching Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Second Language Teaching - Research Paper Example Acquisition of second language is facilitated by speaking; in fact, engaging in conversation through which the student gains control of over the topic of discussion, this offers a chance for participants to express their ideas, thereby providing substantial intake. In this case, this involves activities in classrooms, which are natural interesting and comprehensible (Archibald, 2000). On the other hand, teaching programs, which offer comprehensive input in classrooms in a way that attributes in the classroom, are considered to be the best for acquisition of second language to the intermediate level. Nonetheless, the perfect input, which facilitates the acquisition of second language, resembles the input acquired by students in the elementary school. Therefore, the comprehensive, necessary input is based on their instantaneous interest, which is not complex and not graded with stringency. On-going, specific, and immediate feedback Feedback is offered to students in the process of lear ning after an evaluation, or when they make mistakes, and this becomes an object of attention; for instance, feedback evoked by a mistake by the students in the elementary school is immediate, whereby the educator is expected to ensure that the student has recognized the mistake and corrected it (Folse, 2004). On the other hand, an educator can issue specific feedback, whereby a recast is involved as a form of negative feedback whereby learners are likely to ignore. Ongoing feedback involves learners asking questions in the learning process, whereby they seek classification as they provide feedback and teachers are expected to tune their input in the necessary level in order to facilitate effective acquisition of second language (Folse, 2004). Feedback is considered to a crucial way of involving and consolidating students in the learning process. In fact, this is a process that is utilized in identifying areas of second language teaching that need improvement. Moreover, feedback has been considered a fundamental element in the second language teaching, whereby it is a product, process and genre through which teachers apply crucial components of their instructional repertoires. Grouping structures and techniques Grouping structures and techniques are based on the structure of language and descriptive linguistics; in fact, this involves isolating grammatical and syntactic elements in the process of teaching the second language (White, 2000). In this case, these structural groups are used either deductively or inductively for predetermining the sequence of the learning process, and on the other hand, there is a need for meta-linguistic content in the learning process that facilitates learning. Building background and vocabulary development Students in the elementary school are influenced by academic background knowledge in the learning process of second language. Therefore, educators are expected to understand the way to build’ students’ background knowledge and vocabulary development through direct teaching of specific vocabulary in a given way (Folse, 2004). In this case, teachers in elementary school apply research based steps of vocabulary instruction model to assist students that are struggling to increase their confidence and acquire second language. In addition, there is a need to focus on particular strategies applied in this step while introducing words in a way that is not intimidating them (Folse, 2004). Apparently, this allows students to process the words based on multiple

Abortion Rights American Legal System Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Abortion Rights American Legal System - Essay Example The affect of the decisions attributed, often vary in many aspects. Some decisions adjudged by the court affect only the party concerned, while there are certain prominent decisions that potentially affect the rights, benefits, and legal principles of virtually all the Native Americans. There are in stances when Americans welcome a certain ruling, while there are also cases that receive that disapproval and protests of the American citizens. However, the notable fact is that all American citizens accept the legitimacy of these decisions, and also of the courts role as the final interpreter of the law. It is certain that the citizens of America place their faith in the rule of law, and also cast their vote of confidence on the legal system of United States of America (State, 2001, p.6). Abortion rights in the American legal system The United States of America portrays an emerging trend where the freedom of choice is used to presage the freedom from responsibility. However responsibili ty is required from the fruitful exercise of any freedom. The abortion rights and the decisions rendered by the American legal system on the abortion rights of the Native Americans had a significant and widespread impact on the lives of the citizens across the United States of America. The rulings in abortion rights cases have given birth to more intense emotions in the American citizens.... It is essentially noted that the outset that this â€Å"freedom of choice† is exercised not only by the women of the country, but also by the men’s in the state. It is an often scenario that men, influence their wives and several other to undergo abortion so that they can be free from accepting the con sequences of their action. It is obvious that when a woman conceives, the action is a result of the process that involves willingness of both the man and the woman (apart from the instances of rape) (Bullock, 1994, p.1). The case of Roe vs. Wade Jane Roe was a fictitious name attributed to Norma McCorvey. She was an unmarried pregnant woman, an inhabitant of Dallas, Texas. Joe wanted to opt for abortion, and filed a suit in the year 1970, to prevent the Dallas county prosecutor Henry wade from imposing the antiabortion laws in her case. Although by the time the case was brought during the year of 1971, rose had already delivered her baby and put it up for adoption. Althou gh roe was no longer pregnant, the United States court rejected the claims that the case was debatable, arguing that Joe might get pregnant again, and other women similarly situated would become pregnant. Justice Blackmun acknowledged the fact that, â€Å"pregnancy litigation seldom will survive much beyond the trial stage, and appellate review will be effectively denied† if a case became moot as soon as the pregnancy ended (Jburroughs, 2003). Blackmun declared that it would be unfair towards the women if the law in the states would be so rigid. He found that pregnancy serves a good reason for an end of non-mootness. The court focused on the merits of roe’s claim. Justice Blackmun considered the antiabortion legislation, as well as other various ethical, philosophical, and religious writings on the

Second Language Teaching Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Second Language Teaching - Research Paper Example Acquisition of second language is facilitated by speaking; in fact, engaging in conversation through which the student gains control of over the topic of discussion, this offers a chance for participants to express their ideas, thereby providing substantial intake. In this case, this involves activities in classrooms, which are natural interesting and comprehensible (Archibald, 2000). On the other hand, teaching programs, which offer comprehensive input in classrooms in a way that attributes in the classroom, are considered to be the best for acquisition of second language to the intermediate level. Nonetheless, the perfect input, which facilitates the acquisition of second language, resembles the input acquired by students in the elementary school. Therefore, the comprehensive, necessary input is based on their instantaneous interest, which is not complex and not graded with stringency. On-going, specific, and immediate feedback Feedback is offered to students in the process of lear ning after an evaluation, or when they make mistakes, and this becomes an object of attention; for instance, feedback evoked by a mistake by the students in the elementary school is immediate, whereby the educator is expected to ensure that the student has recognized the mistake and corrected it (Folse, 2004). On the other hand, an educator can issue specific feedback, whereby a recast is involved as a form of negative feedback whereby learners are likely to ignore. Ongoing feedback involves learners asking questions in the learning process, whereby they seek classification as they provide feedback and teachers are expected to tune their input in the necessary level in order to facilitate effective acquisition of second language (Folse, 2004). Feedback is considered to a crucial way of involving and consolidating students in the learning process. In fact, this is a process that is utilized in identifying areas of second language teaching that need improvement. Moreover, feedback has been considered a fundamental element in the second language teaching, whereby it is a product, process and genre through which teachers apply crucial components of their instructional repertoires. Grouping structures and techniques Grouping structures and techniques are based on the structure of language and descriptive linguistics; in fact, this involves isolating grammatical and syntactic elements in the process of teaching the second language (White, 2000). In this case, these structural groups are used either deductively or inductively for predetermining the sequence of the learning process, and on the other hand, there is a need for meta-linguistic content in the learning process that facilitates learning. Building background and vocabulary development Students in the elementary school are influenced by academic background knowledge in the learning process of second language. Therefore, educators are expected to understand the way to build’ students’ background knowledge and vocabulary development through direct teaching of specific vocabulary in a given way (Folse, 2004). In this case, teachers in elementary school apply research based steps of vocabulary instruction model to assist students that are struggling to increase their confidence and acquire second language. In addition, there is a need to focus on particular strategies applied in this step while introducing words in a way that is not intimidating them (Folse, 2004). Apparently, this allows students to process the words based on multiple

International Economic History Since 1870 Essay

International Economic History Since 1870 - Essay Example The industrial and manufacturing base was strengthened with electrification and military expansion contributing towards strengthening the country’s economy through the development of a strong domestic base. The strength of Japan’s institutions played a significant role in the strength of its economy, so that even after the Second World War and subordination to the Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers, Japan was able to re-emerge as one of the strongest economies of the world (Allen 1981). Japan’s economy has demonstrated a remarkable rise as compared to other countries, and the period of significant economic growth has been marked by three spurts in growth in the 1910s, the 1930s and 1960s. There have been several reasons that have been proffered for the meteoric economic rise of Japan. Perhaps this can best be summed up in the words of one Japanese economist, â€Å"Japan is an example of a fantastically creative response to defeat†¦.[which] brought about †¦.a far greater scale of devastation in the economy of Japan, necessitating a fresh renovating start in almost every aspect.† (Tsuru, 1993, p 67) The long period of Tokugawa rule could be viewed as an isolationist state, or as some researchers have postulated a period of peace and stability that fostered initiatives by the State to improve economic conditions within the country (Ohkawa and Rosovsky, 1973). During the period of enforced isolation, the economy of Japan was inextricably linked with politics and the culture of the shogun and daimyo ensured that a strictly regulated internal system flourished within the country, which enabled sustained domestic growth. The role of the State in fostering economic growth has also been supported by Mosk(2001) and Minami (1994), who have highlighted the achievements of the Togukawa era , when there was a high level of urbanization

Companies and the education Essay Example for Free

Companies and the education Essay It is no denying the fact that globalization is evil, in the real sense of the word, for countries like India, Pakistan and many other developing countries. Globalization is good among the developed countries- like America, Canada, Europe etc. because here the competition is on equal terms. Globalization is also fair among the developing countries, like India, Pakistan etc. But it cannot be said that globalization or competition is fair and on equal terms between developed countries on the one hand and the developing countries on the other hand. It does not make sense that Pakistan will be able to compete on equal level with America. The outcome of this competition can be forecasted easily i. e. all the benefits will definitely go in the pockets of the multinationals of the developed world and the developing ones will suffer greatly in this bargain. It can be said that globalization is a modern method of enslaving the third world countries. In the name of globalization the Western world is dictating the developing countries to open their markets and reduce expenses on social causes, the likes of education and health, while on the other hand the developed countries themselves are subsidizing their farmers, multinational companies and the education. This kind of globalization does not make any sense. But yes it can be called as Westernization. Globalization is the modern face of colonization. In globalization the poor and developing countries are to provide cheap raw materials for the developed world in return for expensive manufactured goods. Thus the developing countries will never be able to produce goods as cheap goods as the all-pervasive multinationals will be producing. They will just provide cheap labor. The supporters of globalization say that globalization has actually decreased the global poverty. They say that no doubt most countries have seen lower income growth but the world’s two largest countries china and India have experienced the opposite. They also say that it is only those countries that increasingly integrate them with the world economy that have managed to grow fastest and reduce poverty the most. Thus it is suggested by them that only those countries who open themselves very much to the world can be benefited in this bargain. Now let us check these arguments of the supporters of the globalization. â€Å"Economists agonize about capital flows but often overlooks the social disruptions, cultural clashes and political changes that globalization brings. † (Mott. 2004. p. 33) It is no doubt that exports and foreign investment played integral role in China’s development. China is able to buy the capital equipments and the other modern tools for its modernization by selling its home-made products in the length and breathe of the world. The managerial and technical expertise of china is also increased by the increase in foreign investment. Now take a close look and we discover that china’s economic policies violated almost all the rules and regulations according to which the supporters of globalization want to play their game. China joined the World Trade Organization only a year or two back and they also did not liberalize their trade policies to a great extent. Their economic policies are the most protected policies in the world. China opens its financial markets to the world just a little time back. Chinese know that the solutions to their problems must be the one suitable to the local conditions. Thus they developed and progress immensely not by following the hard and fast rules of globalization but by will, dedication and nicely built policies suitable to the local environment. On the other hand many countries that open themselves up to the world without taking care of the local demands and conditions suffer financially and functionally. For example, Latin America followed the principles of globalization with great zeal and gusto in the 1990sis suffering from increasing inequality, low economic growth rates, and heightened.

Fitness Industry and Social Media Dangers

Fitness Industry and Social Media Dangers Could The Fitness Industry Be More Harmful Then Helpful? Introduction Health can be defined as â€Å"the state of being free from illness and injury†. However looking further into the word â€Å"health† gives you synonyms such as â€Å"well-being; fitness; good condition; good shape†. These words generate concepts regarding the relationship of the fitness industry to the sense of well being and good health. Since the First World War the focus on physical fitness has been a primary focus of the Health status and conversation around health issues in Canada and the United States. In Canada Health Canada and The Canadian Food Inspection Agency, and The Food and Drug Administration in the United States, are responsible for the nutritional labels on the food we consume. These labels along with the appropriate food guidelines of nutritional intake are supposed to be the gold standard for an individual to maintain a level of healthy eating one aspect of a healthy lifestyle. With a healthy diet, exercise, and adequate sleep, should in theory, enable a very healthy and long life. But what if the foods, the substances being consumed, aren’t exactly what they said they were? Or what if something marketed with one health goal, losing weight, actually destroyed and damaged your kidneys in the process? In the Health Consumables Market the issue is whether Canada and the United States’ fitness industry’s have become counterproductive to the maintenance of health. One major issue are the regulations and guidelines for nutritional information on products that are directly correlated with the fitness industry, such as protein, Branch-Chain-Amino-Acids, creatine and fat loss products are too relaxed and often go untested[1]. An even greater detriment to the fitness industry is that the people who promote these various fitness supplements on their social media platforms create unrealistic body images and thus further health issues. Body issues and eating disorders further fuel the unregulated supplement industry creating a cyclical beast that may promote health in some but in turn does the opposite in others. What is needed to tame this beast are tighter regulations and standards for supplement products and a system to control the promotion of these â€Å"Instagram stars† and their products. Could the fitness industry ever become an industry worth believing in? CURRENT SUPPLEMENT REGULATIONS Currently supplements and health products are governed by Health Canada. The Food and Drug Regulations operate on a â€Å"test if needed† basis rather than on a mandatory food-testing basis. The Food and Drug Regulations have a voluntary submission requirement. The company submits their nutritional label and product information to Health Canada and they ensure it follows the nutritional guidelines of what is allowed in products[2]. If a product makes a claim of either nutrition content or disease risk reduction then the product itself will be submitted for testing to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA)[3]. Once submitted to the CFIA they will determine whether the claim of a nutrient value is present in the product so that the label is reporting the correct health contents. Disease reduction is also monitored and measured by CFIA to see if the product claims are accurate i.e. â€Å"Cheerios reduces heart disease†[4]. When determining the safety and the health claims of each product there are a number of critical issues: Industry is responsible for ensuring that nutrition labelling and claims are compliant with the  Food and Drug Regulations  and that label values accurately reflect the nutrient content of the product.A suitable compliance test for the accuracy of declared nutrient values must take into consideration the inherent variability of nutrients in foods and the variability of the laboratory method using appropriate statistical analysis.The  CFIA  compliance action will take into consideration not only laboratory results, but also the health risk to the public, economic loss to consumers, past compliance history of the product and the companys quality control over the manufacturing and labelling processes.[5] Interestingly CFIA and health Canada exempt some foods from this rigorous process and the requirement of having to submit their product for health claims review. Exceptions include meal replacements, nutritional supplements, mineral nutrients and/or amino acids. The United States reviews are conducted by a sub-section of the Food and Drug Administration entitled Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN). CFSAN operates very similarly to the Canadian equivalent, CFIA, in that the majority of testing is done on a random not mandatory basis.   The manufacturers are asked to submit the product test results as outlined in the â€Å"Manufacturers Responsibility† criteria: â€Å"FDAs continuing policy since the 1970s assigns the manufacturer the responsibility for assuring the validity of a product labels stated nutrient values. Accordingly, the source of the data used to calculate nutrition label values is the prerogative of the manufacturer, but FDAs policy recommends that the nutrient values for labeling be based on product composition, as determined by laboratory analysis of each nutrient. FDA continues to recommend the use of the Official Methods of the Association of Official Analytical Chemists International (AOAC), with non-AOAC Official Methods used only in the absence of appropriate AOAC validated methods. For each product that is included in a nutrition-labeling database submitted to FDA, the agency requests that the developer include a table identifying proposed analytical methods that were used in the analysis of each nutrient, with accompanying information containing validation of the method used by the onsite or commercial laboratory for the matrix of interest.†[6] However the FDA’s regulations allow for a choice by each manufacturer to use the non-AOAC Official Methods that gives them the ability to â€Å"prepare† their numbers. The manufacturer must also comply with Title 21 of the Code of Federal Regulations, which breaks down consumables into different classes of nutrients according to the FDA[7]. There are three different classes of nutrients: Class I: are those added in fortified or fabricated foods, these nutrients are vitamins, minerals, protein, dietary fibre, or potassium[8]. Class I nutrients  must be present at 100% or more of the value declared on the label; in other words, the nutrient content identified by the laboratory analysis must be at least equal to the label value[9]. Class II: are vitamins, minerals, protein, total carbohydrate, dietary fibre, other carbohydrate, polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fat, or potassium that occur naturally in a food product[10]Class II nutrientsmust be present at 80% or more of the value declared on the label[11]. Class III: nutrients include calories, sugars, total fat, saturated fat, cholesterol, and sodium[12]. However, for products such as fruit drinks; juices; and confectioneries; that have sugar content of 90 percent or more of total carbohydrate. To prevent labeling anomalies due in part to rounding, FDA treats total carbohydrate as a Class III nutrient instead of a Class II nutrient[13]. For foods with label declarations of Class III nutrients, the ratio between the amount obtained by laboratory analysis and the amount declared on the product label in the Nutrition Facts panel  must be 120% or less. The label is considered to be out of compliance if the nutrient content of a composite of the product is greater than 20% above the value declared on the label[14]. For example, if a laboratory analysis found 8 g of total fat/serving in a product that stated that it contained 6 g of total fat/serving, the ratio between the laboratory value and the label value would be (8 / 6) x 100 = 133%, and the product label would be considered to be out of compliance. Like the CFIA the FDA have dietary supplements under a different category legislated under the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act 1994(DSHEA)[15]. These supplements are required to follow these rules outlined below: â€Å"Federal law requires that every dietary supplement be labeled as such, either with the term dietary supplement or with a term that substitutes a description of the products dietary ingredient(s) for the word dietary (e.g., herbal supplement or calcium supplement). Federal law does not require dietary supplements to be proven safe to FDAs satisfaction before they are marketed. For most claims made in the labeling of dietary supplements, the law does not require the manufacturer or seller to prove to FDAs satisfaction that the claim is accurate or truthful before it appears on the product. In general, FDAs role with a dietary supplement product begins after the product enters the marketplace. That is usually the agencys first opportunity to take action against a product that presents a significant or unreasonable risk of illness or injury, or that is otherwise adulterated or misbranded. Dietary supplement firms must report to FDA any serious adverse events that are reported to them by consumers or health care professionals. Dietary supplement manufacturers do not have to get the agencys approval before producing or selling these products. It is not legal to market a dietary supplement product as a treatment or cure for a specific disease, or to alleviate the symptoms of a disease. There are limitations to FDA oversight of claims in dietary supplement labeling. For example, FDA reviews substantiation for claims as resources permit†[16]. The regulations from the DSHEA actually allow companies to manipulate and alter their product and nutritional labels to secure granting and limit investigation by the FDA or CFSAN. It also creates a system where CFSAN and the FDA are required to go out of their way to find new-to- market products in order to start an investigation process if needed. The FDA states it is committed to working with all interested parties in order to achieve reliable nutrition labeling as economically as possible[17]. The agency acknowledges that following all of the recommendations/guidelines in their manual could pose economic hardships. Therefore, in certain instances, FDA may accept a proposal to â€Å"develop a database† over several years to help defer costs[18]. By deferring the testing even longer this can only add to the problem at hand. Although limited in the previously mentioned areas of inspection, the Canadian and United States systems have a number of successful and positive parameters. Health Canada and the Food and Drug Administration both have independent testing bodies. The CFIA and CFSAN both have good, unbiased structures for testing and the type of tests they use are considered industry gold standards. They also have correctly identified the differences in regular â€Å"grocery store† food and what would be considered food from the â€Å"supplement† or â€Å"fitness† industry. The Fitness Industry The fitness industry is an ever-changing entity that has continued to evolve over the past several decades. Following the First World War, especially in Canada, physical fitness started to become an area of focus of government. In the 1950’s in North America the fitness focus was on rhythmic exercises, jumping jacks, calisthenics and the â€Å"Five Basic Exercises† (stretching, sit-ups, back extensions, push-ups, running in place) the first type of circuit training[19]. The hula-hoop was the main trend in fitness selling over 100 million units in the United States. The 1960’s brought us massage belts and diet trends. The massage belts were supposed to massage away fat in unwanted areas, and eating â€Å"healthier† meant drinking diet soda and artificial sugar[20]. The 70’s brought into the fitness industry jazzercise and bodybuilding. Both of these trends would last longer than the decade due to the enigmatic figure behind it, Arnold Schwarzenegger one of the most decorated bodybuilders of all-time[21]. The addition to the 80’s fitness culture was Jane Fonda and her aerobics videos[22]. The 1990’s fitness trends included: Taebo; boot camps; and extremely popular -celebrity workout videos [23]. The boot camp and fitness video trends have definitely stood the test of time as they still are still widely used by fitness participants worldwide. The 21st century heralded in a new attitude of â€Å"Staying fit† including: Pilates, kickboxing and weightlifting exercises for women[24]. The focus switched to heart rate to determine the effectiveness of a workout [25]. The trends of the fitness industry today focus on: High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT); the use of social media; and the â€Å"super-hero body†. HIIT programs consist of workouts under the brand of Cross Fit, which is quickly becoming one of the fastest growing fitness trends. It emphasizes strength components interspersed with sprints and long bouts of cardiovascular fitness. Along with intense training like HIIT the industry has started to incorporate and profit from the use of social media. There are YouTube fitness bloggers and now most recently â€Å"Instagram Stars†. Both use social media and have become one of the primary sources of income for todays fitness personality. Blockbuster movies have created the â€Å"ideal† body image modelled after the â€Å" incredibly- in-shape† superheroes such as Superman, Thor, Wonder Woman and Captain America. The presence of social media in the fitness industry although a new phenomena in the last decade, has really exploded in the last 5 years. The creation of highly viewed YouTube content used to reap monetary rewards for the creators, which is why fitness professionals created content on this platform. Now however, it has evolved into something much more. As the fitness industry grows instead of a part-time hobby it has become a lucrative occupation. A individual involved in this industry can include: competing in their respective fields (bodybuilding, weightlifting, Cross Fit, etc.); personal training; online coaching; selling workout plans, nutrition; in person training; sponsors (which can be promoted through their respective social media platforms); and personal business endeavours (clothing lines, supplement brands, operating own gym). All of these add revenue to the individual and are often cyclically attached, so one generates customers for the other. Like with anything the more that see you and your accomplishments the more profitable you can become which is why a person’s social media platforms have become so important in building one’s brand. As mentioned these fitness personalities usually have supplement sponsors as most of these athletes are in the top one percent of all people in terms of body aesthetics and performance. When you are in the top one percent of athletes the nutrition and supplementation you take can give you the slight advantage you need to be just that much better than your opponent creating the dependence on these sponsors by all athletes in this industry. However, as is the case in this primarily unregulated industry they are â€Å"playing† with their health and careers. It is hard to believe that an individual who cares so much about their body would put so little research into what they are taking and more importantly what they are promoting. Fitness Industry Supplements The most often-used supplement for any athlete is protein powder. Having a protein powder supplement allows an individual to increase their protein intake while not upping the rest of the macros (protein, fats, and carbohydrates) in their daily consumption. However, in a recent 2010 study done, by Consumer Reports not-for-profit magazine run by U.S. Consumer Union, of the top 15 brands in the industry[26] found at least one product from each brand tested contained detectable amounts of toxic substances.   The toxic substances included cadmium, arsenic, lead and/or mercury. The three most toxic brands contained heavy metal poisoning over the safe allowable amount[27]. These named companies fought back against the report by taking their product line to NSF a non-profit International non-governmental organization, which conducted their own tests. These products passed NSF’s American National Standard for Nutrition/Dietary Supplements testing but Consumer Reports counters that t here is significant variation between samples in a product line and one passed test doesn’t mean every product is safe. The major concern is that prolonged exposure to heavy metal toxicity can cause body toxicity, which can result in further medical issues down the road[28]. The National Science Foundation is an independent subsidiary of the World Health Organization reports there are still many issues with these testing processes. NSF International has legitimate testing which some companies submitted to for independent testing, but they only scored adequately which is also concerning. T Consumer Reports states that the testing of one product doesn’t mean that all the others would be adequate. The alarming truth of these results of high metal toxicity is consumers dont seem to care continuing to buy the products. Statistics show that in 2012 the supplement industry had revenue of roughly $32 billion US and the industry is trending to grow to about $60 billion US by 2021[29]. According to a registered United Kingdom dietician Maeve Hanan there are some benefits to the consumption of protein supplements. Such benefits include helping athletes hit increased protein requirement goals, it is also highly convenient, and it can often be cost efficient as most athletes get their protein supplements through sponsors[30]. However according to Hanan there are far more cons than pros to consuming this form of protein. She includes: an investigation done by UK Medicines and Healthcare Regulatory Agencies where eighty four tested brands contained dangerous ingredients including steroids, stimulants and hormones that can cause kidney failures, seizures and heart problems[31]. There is also evidence that the prolonged use of protein can cause osteoporosis and several gastrointestinal diseases[32]. As well, Hanan found that the supplement may not actually contain the level of protein advertised, a product said to be containing seventy percent protein in fact had only seven percent[33]. It appears that the issues Maeve Hanan unearthed in protein supplements could be addressed with better testing by the regulating governments. Protein supplements are not the only supplements that fitness professionals take to build muscle. BCAA’s or Branch Chain Amino Acids have also become a go-to for many of the top one-percenters in the industry. These BCAA’s while promoted as a key fitness component for a healthier life, like protein supplements there are negative side effects that arent publicly acknowledged by the athletes and the companies promoting these products. In a study by Luigi et al. it was shown that decreased BCAA consumption improved metabolic health[34]. While improving the metabolic health of the test subjects it also showed to decrease Body Mass Index (BMI) and decrease fat mass of an individual, a goal of the â€Å"fitness personality† low body fat percentage[35]. Although the BCAA’s in this study was dietary BCAA’s found in food, it still applies here. Companies in this industry promote products like BCAA without doing the research needed to prove their effectiveness., The consumer continues to purchase due to the aesthetically appealing people promoting the product are seen as â€Å"believable†. Beautiful people are trustworthier, right? The product that could potentially be the biggest sham and the most harmful to health, are weight loss products. One of the biggest brands in the weight loss industry is Hydroxycut. In 2008 there was a study of Hydroxycut by the World Journal of Gastroenterology analyzing its toxicity. They performed a case study with two confirmed users of Hydroxycut and the symptoms they showed when admitted to hospital. They compiled the results from the two current cases and from the previous literature written about the product and found that there was a correlation between prolonged use of Hydroxycut and heptatoxicity[36]. Both of these test subjects and previous cases exhibited that the prolonged use of this product eventually lead to hepatitis and other liver health issues. The absence of testing of the product that falls under the supplementation guidelines led to negative health implications. Although governments have guidelines, they allow products to avoid testing until after they are on market, which is often too late. Social Media and The Fitness Industry One of the leading researchers in Health Law and particularly this area of Fitness and Social Media is Professor Timothy Caulfield. Professor Caulfield has written numerous books on this subject including The Cure For Everything: Untangling The Twisted Messages About Health Fitness and Happiness and Is Gwenyth Paltrow Wrong About Everything. Both of these books discuss the popular health trends, whether they are diet or fitness trends, and how celebrities promote these. Some of the trends consumers have been following even though there is no scientific evidence of their efficacy. These include:   Juice Cleanses, Colon Cleanses and Gluten Free diets. While juicing has no negative side effects it has also been shown to do no good as it is not a more effective way to get the nutrition from fruits and vegetables and does not flush toxins from the body[37]. Now a trend like colon cleanses while they may make you feel lighter they can actually be quite harmful to the body by causing naus ea vomiting and even infection[38]. Going gluten free is a trend that has really taken off but again no scientific proof that eliminating gluten has any health benefits, while actually some studies have shown that going gluten free can actually lead to weight gain[39]. So why would consumers buy into these fads if there is no scientific proof behind them? The answer is simple because celebrities promote them, and the consumers have no reason not to believe them. Celebrity endorsement might just be the biggest negative in the fitness industry. If there are fitness icons or personalities who promote an untested product it causes the same issue as the diet trend promotions. However in the case of health products promoted by these fitness personalities it is much more harmful due to the elevated heavy metal present in the products. The promotion of these unregulated products is also tied into the celebrity’s unrealistic bodies. Many people forget that these people have full-time jobs devoted to looking amazing. These celebrities are seen as the definition of being healthy and attractive so if one doesnt look like them can create serious body image issues. Instagram is quickly becoming the most popular form of social media. This app has been noted to sharing over 40 billion photos since its creation with about 80 million a day[40]. The purpose of the app is to curate and edit photos and posts with how we want the public to â€Å"view† that particular user. This creates a potentially dangerous atmosphere to those who may be susceptible to an eating disorder. Users need to be educated that users of Instagram may utilize filters, angles and lighting to look as desirable as possible distorting the real image[41]. This not only creates a false reality for the followers of that user but for that user themselves[42]. According to Crystal who is a Masters Level Registered Dietician and a Certified Intuitive Eating Counselor there are certain things to monitor when using Instagram in order to protect against negative self-image, eating disorder, or body issues: What Kind of accounts are you following?Are you preoccupied with food and or/fitness on Instagram in a way that is obsessive or unhealthy?Do you find yourself following certain diet trends or dieting recommendations because of someone or something you found on Instagram?[43]   Instagram personalities not only promote or influence diet trends they also endorse unregulated supplement products, which can add to unhealthy choices. In response Instagram has been tagged with â€Å"creating its own eating disorder†.   According to University College London states that Instagram is the leading cause of Orthorexia Nervosa[44]. Orthorexia Nervosa is an illness focused on an obsession with eating healthy. Symptoms can include: eating excessive fruits and vegetables; cutting out certain food groups; and excessively exercising[45]. While this may seem like just healthy lifestyle choices this illness is related to the severity of the dietary restrictions, leading to malnutrition and social isolation[46]. The reasons given for the Instagram connection is the people followed expose the follower to a extreme health pictures, and social media personalities are seen as authority’s on health and appearance[47]. The Supplementation of the Regulations There are clear issues today that stem from the growth of the fitness industry, but there doesn’t have to be. In the United States and Canada there exists already a structure to properly test all of the supplements that go to market, before the product is released. It is clear that the methods of testing and the standards for this industry are sound, but just not fully implemented. However there should be a complete ban on products leading to heavy metal poisoning.   The amount of testing for each product would increase significantly industry standard of 10 there will need to be an increase of jobs to accommodate for the amount on tests for each product and the amount of lead case workers. Government may consider a number of issues when considering implementing changes: the creation of government jobs versus the lost jobs from supplement companies who can’t comply with new proposed industry standards; the inevitable burden of unhealthy citizens versus a healthier coun try with healthier citizens. Companies like BioTrust seem to be one of the industry standards for the production of healthy products. Tim Skwiat and Shawn Wells directors at BioTrust endorse: Right way: the right people who are formulators (use the right ingredients that work the best rather than look good)Cost of ingredient and the product will be higher because they do studies on the ingredients (healthy human studies, in peer reviewed journals)Take the stuff that we know works and make a product from that.Ingredients are natural (no soy product)Ingredient testing (they never stop testing and letting the product out of their hands)[48] While changing the regulations and possibly the growth of a company like BioTrust will help change the supplementation industry for the better, there doesn’t seem to be a simple fix for the social media issue. There has been extensive research on the relationship to food restrictions at a young age and developing an eating disorder or becoming overweight later in life. According to a study done by Eisenberg & Neumark-Sztanier a survey of adolescents in grades 7–12, 30% of girls and 25% of boys reported teasing by peers about their weight. Such teasing has been found to persist in the home as well  Ã¢â‚¬â€œÃ‚  29% of girls and 16% of boys reported having been teased by a family member about their weight[49]. Neumark-Sztainer also co-wrote a paper on the effect of this teasing on the children which increases their chances of 1.5 to develop a form of an eating disorder[50]. These trends however are not limited to children being teased it also stems into the perceived norms from social culture or mainstream media. According to a study by Abramovitz & Birch children learn (unhealthy) mainstream attitudes towards food and weight at a very young age, this study looked at five-year-old gi rls and a significant proportion of girls associated a diet with food restriction, weight-loss and thinness[51]. There needs to be more education from the governments around food and healthy ways for kids to eat, which is simply without rigid structure. The rigidity adds to the desire to get attractive or stay thin with extra presence from mainstream culture or social media (Instagram) which encourages the excessive use of supplementation which ends up often making the individual even more unhealthy. This has become a very cyclical and overwhelming problem which needs to be addressed by the governing bodies. If the new structure can’t be implemented then simple education could go a very long way. There needs to be a priority of everyone in the â€Å"industry† to instead of coercing people to get fit, get them healthy instead. Bibliography Abramovitz, B. A. & Birch, L. L. (2000). Five-year-old girls’ ideas about dieting are predicted by their mothers’ dieting. Journal of the American Dietetic Association, 100 (10),    1157-1163. Canadian Food Inspection Agency, â€Å"Nutrition Labelling Compliance Test† (9 September 2014), Canadian Food Inspection Agency (website), online: . Danielle Isbell, â€Å"Fitness Trends of the Last Six Decades† (4 June 2015), Spry Living (blog), online: . David Lariviere, â€Å"Nutritional Supplements Flexing Muscles As Growth Industry† (18 April 2013), Forbes (blog), online: . Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994, 21 USC s 7 (1994). Eisenberg, M. E. & Neumark-Sztainer, D. (2003). Associations of Weight-Based Teasing and Emotional Well-Being Amond Adolescents. Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, 157(6), 733-738. Food and Drugs, 21 CFR tit 21s s 170.3 (2012). â€Å"How Instagram can encourage eating behaviour disorders†, (3 March 2017), Eating disorder hope(Blog), online: . Ian Kenney, â€Å"Protein Powder Toxicity† (3 October 2017), Livestrong (blog), online:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   . Lauren Pelley, â€Å"Timothy Caulfield debunks celebrity health trends, from gluten-free diets to colon cleanses†, (8 January 2015), The Star (Newspaper), online:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   . Lily Dara, Jennifer Hewett & Joseph Lim, â€Å"Hydroxycut Hepatoxicity: A Case series and review of liver toxicity from herbal weight loss supplements† (2008) 14:45 World J of Gastroenterology 6999. Luigi et al. â€Å"Decreased consumption of branch chain amino acids improves metabolic health.† (2016) 16:2 HHS Public Access 520, online: . Maeve Hanan, â€Å"Protien Supplements: Weighing up the Pros and Cons†, (18 October 2015), Dietically Speaking (Blog), online: . Neumark-Sztainer, D. R., Wall, M. M., Haines, J. I., Story, M. T., Sherwood, N. E., van den Berg, P. A. (2007). Shared Risk and Protective Factors for Overweight and Disordered Eating in Adolesecents. American Jounral of Preventative Medicine, 33(5), 359-369. Office of Dietary Supplements, â€Å"Dietary Supplements for Exercise and Athletic Performance† (4 October 2017), National Institutes of Health (websites), online:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   . Skwiat, Tim Wells, Shawn. â€Å"The Truth About Supplements† (2018) Biotrust Radio (ITunes Podcast). Vanessa Chalmers, â€Å"Is Instagram making you sick? Study explains why photos of breakfast bowls and #fitness inspiration can drive you to an eating disorder.†, (19 May 2017), Daily Mail(Newspaper), online: . [1] Office of Dietary Supplements, â€Å"Dietary Supplements for Exercise and Athletic Performance† (4 October 2017), National Institutes of Health (websites), online: . [2] Supra note 1. [3] Canadian Food Inspection Agency, â€Å"Nutrition Labelling Compliance Test† (9 September 2014), Canadian Food Inspection Agency (website), online: . [4] Supra note 3. [5] Supra note 3. [6] Supra note 3. [7] Food and Drugs, 21 CFR tit 21s s 170.3 (2012). [8] Supra note 7. [9] Supra note 7. [10] Supra note 7. [11] Supra note 7. [12] Supra note 7. [13] Supra note 7. [14] Supra note 7. [15] Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994, 21 USC s 7 (1994). [16] Supra note 15. [17] Supra note 15. [18] Supra note 15 [19] Danielle Isbell, â€Å"Fitness Trends of the Last Six Decades† (4 June 2015), Spry Living (blog), online: . [20] Supra note 19. [21] Supra note 17. [22] Supra note 17. [23] Supra note 17. [24] Supra note 17. [25] Supra note 17. [26] Ian Kenney, â€Å"Protein Powder Toxicity† (3 October 2017), Livestrong (blog), online: . [27] Supra note 24. [28] Supra note 24. [29] David Lariviere, â€Å"Nutritional Supplements Flexing Muscles As Growth Industry† (18 April 2013), Forbes (blog),   online: . [30] Maeve Hanan, â€Å"Protien Supplements: Weighing up the Pros and Cons†, (18 October 2015), Dietically Speaking (Blog), online: . [31] Supra note 28. [32] Supra note 28. [33] Supra note 28. [34] Luigi et al. â€Å"Decreased consumption of branch chain amino acids improves metabolic health.† (2016) 16:2 HHS Public Access 520, online: . [35] Supra note 32. [36] Lily Dara, Jennifer Hewett & Joseph Lim, â€Å"Hydroxycut Hepatoxicity: A Case series and review of liver toxicity from herbal weight loss supplements† (2008) 14:45 World J of Gastroenterology 6999. [37]Lauren Pelley, â€Å"Timothy Caulfield debunks celebrity health trends, from gluten-free diets to colon cleanses†, (8 January 2015), The Star (Newspaper), online: . [38] Supra note 35. [39] Supra note 35. [40] â€Å"How Instagram can encourage eating behaviour disorders†, (3 March 2017), Eating disorder hope(Blog), online: . [41] Supra note 38. [42] Supra note 38. [43] Supra note 38. [44] Vanessa Chalmers, â€Å"Is Instagram making you sick? Study explains why photos of breakfast bowls and #fitness inspiration can drive you to an eating disorder.†, (19 May 2017), Daily Mail(Newspaper), online: . [45] Supra note 42. [46] Supra note 42. [47] Supra note 42. [48] Skwiat, Tim Wells, Shawn. â€Å"The Truth About Supplements† (2018) Biotrust Radio (ITunes Podcast). [49] Eisenberg, M. E. & Neumark-Sztainer, D. (2003). Associations of Weight-Based Teasing and Emotional Well-Being Amond Adolescents. Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, 157(6), 733-738. [50] Neumark-Sztainer, D. R., Wall, M. M., Haines, J. I., Story, M. T., Sherwood, N. E., van den Berg, P. A. (2007). Shared Risk and Protective Factors for Overweight and Disordered Eating in Adolesecents. American Jounral of Preventative Medicine, 33(5), 359-369. [51] Abramovitz, B. A. & Birch, L. L. (2000). Five-year-old girls’ ideas about dieting are predicted by their mothers’ dieting. Journal of the American Dietetic Association, 100 (10), 1157-1163.

Educational Goals and Philosophy :: Teaching Education Essays

Educational Goals and Philosophy As an Elementary Education major I have learned that an educator’s job is not just to teach the student/s about basic curriculum such as reading, writing, geography, history and mathematics. However, is to also instill basic views of society into the student to create an over-all, well- rounded adult and because of this course I have developed some definite views and opinions about education and the many expectations of a teacher. During this course I have been exposed to many different views, opinions and theories concerning education and the role of the teacher, and I especially relate to the philosophical views of Rousseau. In fact, I agree with just about every aspect of Rousseau’s theory. I believe that the child is born innocent and if it is exposed to a certain environment will remain innocent. But, not all children are able to remain innocent, they may have issues at home or even personal issues that can or will corrupt him/her. This corruption may influence the child’s learning process once he/she enters into school. I also feel that students truly do have the desire to learn and know the truth and that over-all humans are good- natured. The environment that the child is exposed to however has a very high influence upon the child and how the child handles the pressures and demands of education and learning. Knowledge, in my belief, is relative. Therefore I think, this places a lot of responsibility upon the teacher. The teacher should be in control of the classroom at all times and if the teacher allows actions to go on that may be distracting to some students then those students, due to the distractions, may not do as well in this chaotic classroom environment. However, if the same students were placed in a classroom environment that was not quite as distracting and much more orderly then the same students would probably succeed at the same material that they had struggled with in the chaotic environment. Once again the learning environment is very crucial to the success of the student and depending upon each student and how the classroom in conducted this may be the deciding factor in a student’s success. Once I become a teacher I hope to conduct my classroom in manner in which my students feel comfortable and excited to learn. I hope that the material that they learn from me will be carried with them for the years ahead and this knowledge will become the solid building blocks that is used daily by a successful adult.