Thursday, January 30, 2020

Maya Angelou Essay Example for Free

Maya Angelou Essay During this class period you need to complete the following essay. Please type it and use proper formatting. The stories are all posted on your Edline page under assignments. You do NOT need the internet for ANY OTHER REASON. When you have completed the essay you need to do the FRED book assignment below. Comparing Texts Author Study: Maya Angelou Writing a Response to Literature: Biographical Approach Maya Angelou has remarked, â€Å"I’m always inspired by men and women who rise†¦That ability to rise is nobleness of the human spirit. † Write an essay in which you analyze Angelou’s beliefs about the human spirit, as reflected in the four works you just read. Before you begin, consider what Angelou has to say about her work: â€Å"I speak to the black experience, but I am always talking about the human condition—about what we can endure, dream, fail at, and still survive.† Writing Your Essay As you plan, draft, and revise your essay, keep the following tips in mind: †¢In the introduction, or the beginning of your essay, include a specific thesis statement that presents the key point you will prove in your essay. †¢Support your ideas with evidence from the four selections. Be sure to analyze how Angelou’s tone and use of stylistic devices contribute to the expression of her themes or main ideas. †¢Make sure that every paragraph has unity and coherence. All the sentences in the paragraph should relate to one main idea and help develop that idea. †¢End your essay with a conclusion in which you summarize your main points. Include a new, but related, closing insight or reflection. Create a one-page document that shows you have understood the book with the 2 parts below: †¢Part 1: First, think of the symbols in the book. Then, find pictures using â€Å"Google images† or â€Å"Clip Art† and paste them into the document. Then give a 1-2 sentence reason for the symbol. †¢Part 2: Write a book review. Make sure you convince me you have read it thoroughly! It should be no more than 1-2 paragraphs. (If you do not finish in class, send to me via email before the end of the day! [emailprotected])

Tuesday, January 21, 2020

A discussion of the theory that class-based differences in educational

A discussion of the theory that class-based differences in educational achievement are mainly due to familial factors. Throughout the twentieth century, there have been many changes made to the structure of the education system. These include the 1944 Education act which made secondary education compulsory and introduced the tri-partite system of school, though the move to a comprehensive system of schools in the 1960’s, to the introduction of the National Curriculum in 1988. While official statistics have shown that all these measures have served to increase the overall levels of educational attainment (as defined by attainment of qualifications), both official and sociological evidence indicated that class-based inequalities in educational attainment have shown no tendency to decline. It has been suggested that class base differences in educational success are due to home and familial factors: that children from lower social backgrounds are more likely to fail because of what they experience inside the home environment. This approach is based on the belief that those from different social classes have significantly differing home lives. It is possible to split home and family based factors into two categories: material factors and cultural factors. As educational success generally rises with family income, many researches see material deprivation as the major cause of inequality in educational success. Hasley, Heath and Ridge examined the education careers of males, and found that those from higher social backgrounds were much more likely to stay in education past the minimum leaving age than those from working class backgrounds. They pointed out that a major reason for this was the cost of stayin... .... Similarly, Bernstein’s theory of language codes, although regarded as a structuralist explanation of education failure, owes much to primary socialization within the family. It may therefore be argued that family factors are the root cause of other explanation of failure. Finally, it has been suggested that class-based differenced in education attainment are purely to do with the genetic distribution of IQ and therefore family factors (and any other social factors) are irrelevant. In conclusion, there are many different explanations of class-based differences in educational success. However, they are not necessarily isolated, and the factors identified on one theory may be a cause of the factors outlined in another. The reasons for class-based differences may therefore be very complex, and not able to be explained by a single factor in isolation.

Monday, January 13, 2020

Summary of the Film “The Smartest Guys in the Room”

‘Enron: The Smartest Guys In The Room’ Frauds and financial scandals in the business world were before an Enron’s case and will be after it. That’s in human nature. But a chain of events lead to an enormous shock on the Wall Street and went down in history as one of the biggest business scandals. For a long time sequence of events was a basis for articles and books, documental films and analytic researches. Specialties were retold and discussed by analytics. It was real human tragedy.The film ‘Enron: The Smartest Guys In The Room’ tries to answer the questions that all people somehow connected with the business world were interested in: How it could happened? What are the reasons and who is responsible for that? The film tries to lift the veil. From the beginning of the film it is clearly stated that the Enron case is exceptional. Working in a field of energy and power, having reputation of ‘unsinkable’ ship and demonstrating fasci nating financial results, Enron dramatically collapsed almost in a day. But the beginning of this story is bright and ambitious.Enron represents a company of great promise. The first seconds of the film represent an end of it: John Cliff Baxter committed a suicide, being heartbroken with what was happened. And it was a conviction of the fraud that was happened. After this crucial episode, viewers come to the best years of the Enron. It is a seventh largest corporation in America, valued 70 billion $. It is an innovative business with absolutely new business model. But how it starts? It starts with Ken Lay, who comes to the story of Enron from humble roots. His father is a Baptist minister and their life is rather poor.Probably, his background plays an integral role in having huge ambitions to make wealth of him. Ken Lay wants to change a market of power and energy. He convinces that government is not a solution but a problem to the business. In other words, he involves in the idea o f deregulations. Not only he but other participants of a power and energy business share this outlook. A tendency to deregulations starts to develop in 1985 and in this very moment the Enron is founded. Kay Lay thinks that it would be beneficial for his new company that gas prices float with the currents of the market.That is the power of deregulations. An important episode of Enron is a contribution to the presidential campaign of George Bush, who lately helps to secure money in government subsidies and to promote Ken Lay with idea of deregulations. Trading in oil market considers as a very risky business. But Enron always wins. Even then an improbable success gives a rise to doubt about legality of Enron’s business. Illegal actions start with the president of Enron Louis Borget, who takes about 3 billion $ of corporate funds in his personal account with the help of a treasurer Mastroeni and his phony books.When the rumors become too strong, Mastroeni discloses real books an d it becomes clear that all reserves of Enron are gambled away. This tremendous news is hidden by the bluffing of the market and that is how Enron stays afloat. But a little later Enron is forced to disclose the information about those manipulations and all guilt is focused on Mastreoni and Borget. Mastreoni receives a suspended sentence, Borget spends 1 year in a prison. So who will make money now? The second period of Enron’s history is connected with Skilling, who is a person with the biggest ideas of all. He is a great visionary as a Ken Lay.It is he who comes up with a new idea: make energy a financial instrument like stocks and bonds. And it is like an explosion in the industry. Enron becomes a genius of the industry. All employees are proud of being working in Enron. It is worth mentioning, that it is a moment when SEC approved an implementation of a mark-to-market accounting approach, which allows estimating assets of the company by a market price and not by a real. I t also allows booking potential profit as it is already gained before money comes to Enron. That is the first almost unobservable alarm bell to a room for unethical actions and frauds.If to speak about work environment, it is clearly seen that Skilling is an unconstrained leader. Interesting fact of his power is that when he stops wearing glasses, everyone in the company does the same. But the culture that is cultivated is aggressive and tough, like in a wild nature with the basic instincts of survival of the fittest. Skilling is convinced that money is the only thing that motivates people. He wants employees to show him great results, great profit. Therefore, traders are encouraged to gamble. Making money no matter what the methods are used.Skilling also implements a system of evaluation of employees and every employee who does not meet the demand of Skilling’s vision is fired. As a result of this system, turnover index is 15% that is really negatively impressive. Skilingâ⠂¬â„¢s vision of people is based on the theory of ‘People with spikes’. Only extraordinary and exceptional people deserve his attention and respect. The list of people consists of Ken Rice who is a salesman of Enron; John Cliff Baxter who is very talented but prone to depression (as viewers of the film know, that will be a fatal point in his future).The list continued with Lou Pai – a key skilling lieutenant, working in one of the business units of Enron – Enron Energy Services (EES). His activity is wrapped in a mystery; employees even call him ‘Invisible CEO’. Lou Pai is highly motivated by money. When he loses interest in his work in Enron, put another way, when he achieves a marginal profit, he leaves or better to say escapes from Enron with 250 million $ and becomes the 2nd largest landowner in Colorado. The next stage of Enron is connected with its stocks that are being increased significantly day by day.Everyone wants to play in the mar ket because prices go up and up; there is an illusion that it will never end. The heading of this time is ‘A new day a new record’. By all means, these records have a direct impact on a profit of Enron, which gets higher and higher. But how they get these numbers? It is a questionable issue. In the books everything goes perfect but in reality it was quite the opposite. At this time Enron invests in India that is unreasonably risky. And they fails because India could not afford to pay for the power which Enron offers. As it is said in the fim ‘Failure was not an option’. Hence, Enron hides nsuccessful results in India, continuing show artificial bright results. Later, a merger with electrical company makes it possible for Enron to come into a new deregulated market of California. The company shows unrealistic results: stock price are soared by 34% in 2 days. Analysts were blinded to the doubtful information that is already occurred. It is not an unfortunate occurrence, but it will be disclosed only later. Enron diversifies its activities; in particular, it covers a new market of broadband. But it does not work. It is a mark-to-market accounting that helps Enron to book revenues as it is wanted to be.In reality there are not any revenues. And that is the moment when executives of Enron begin to understand a certainty of collapse; they start to sale their stocks. In other words, they leave a sinking ship. The end is coming. In 2001 dotcom companies undergo massive difficulties whereas Enron is a shining star of an American economy. It is named as the â€Å"most admired† corporation by Fortune magazine. But Enron is a black box. Nobody knows how exactly money is made. Suspicions of falsification of financial statements begin to occur. The next key figure in the Enron’s case is Andy Fostow who is a financial officer.He is motivated by a future career. He tries to please Skilling and therefore he hides debts in artificial comp anies and handles finance so that stock prices continue to going up. Moreover, he encourages 96 individual banks to put their money in LGM (Andy’s artificial company) to somehow change Enron’s situation. Why respectful banks do not suspect illegality? Analytics suppose that they do suspect, but agree to give money because Andy Fastow plays on their greed. They are ‘useful idiots’. Actions cross the line when Skilling responds unethically to one reporter.It is already seeable that Skilling starts to lose his countenance. He does not know how to keep stock prices high. Meanwhile, one more illegal chance to keep Enron’s stock prices takes place. It is called ‘California’. Enron produces an energy crisis. Blackouts take plays; as a result a demand on electricity is soared and so do the prices. Consequently, Enron gets money. These manipulations lead to a lot of domestic problems of citizens of California but nothing changes. During this par t, there is a comparison of Enron’s activity in California with Milgram’s experiment which is quite remarkable.Both ‘experiments’ are about how people can be convinced to do something morally wrong if a person in authority tells them it is his responsibility and he will not be blamed. As in the Milgram’s experiment Enron continues to manipulate with electricity and things become worse and worse. People understand that nothing is left to accident, they blame Enron in this; desperate protests take place. In this time George Bush becomes a president of the USA and therefore with the old beneficial relations Enron does have an easy access to the administration.As a consequence, government does not interfere in the Californian difficulties. People stop believe in Enron and its stocks begin to fall. In this moment Skilling suddenly announces that he resigns from Enron. Employees take this is as a betrayal. One of the employees – Sherron Watkins bec omes aware of the fraud that takes place at Enron. She tries to speak with Ken Lay but he does nothing. Meanwhile Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) starts an investigation and discovers that in reality millions of assets are millions of debts. And it is Andy Fostow who is blamed by all Enrons’ executives for falsifications.It is interesting to note that the same situation was with Borget and Mastreoni in the early 1990s. The end comes in 2001 when Enron declares a bankruptcy. Employees feel that they are on the sinking whip without lifeboats. They lose everything. Cliff Baxter commits a suicide 7 months later. Concerning tragic specialities, $ 1,2 billion in retirement funds and $2 billion in pension funds are disappeared in a matter of weeks. 20,000 employees lose their jobs. Ken Lay and Skilling are under a precise look of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The congressional committees launch court proceedings.It is the end of the film ‘Enron: The Smartest Gu ys In The Room’. Enron’s tragedy is often compared with Titanic. And that is not just empty words. In both cases there were a lot of warnings of possible danger but ‘ships’ continue a full-speed running. In both cases there were great opportunities but then a combination of human errors and hubris lead to a fatal meltdown. The fall of Enron is a story not only about people but about whole system, consisting of government, financial and business institutions, conditions and relations. All participants in fraudulent actions have their share of a pie.That is why this story is called ‘a story of synergetic corruption’. I am absolutely fascinated by this film, to be precise, by a scale of greed and addiction to money and power. Understanding that characters of this film are the real people and all actions that were showed really took place makes me fascinated even more. To my mind, Enron case is not an aberration; it is a consequence of way of livi ng. It is a ‘dark shadow of the American dream’ as it is said in the film. Therefore, it can be repeated. And it can be us who would be affected by manipulations. That really boggles the mind.

Sunday, January 5, 2020

Internet Addiction Essay examples - 2066 Words

Research Paper Theme: Social Impact of the Internet 8 October 1997 ABSTRACT The Internet is the largest source of information in the world today. With its web sites and chat rooms, it is a means of communicating with people in places all over the face of the earth. Since its conception in 1973, the Internet has grown at a whirlwind rate. 51 million adults, were on-line as of the second quarter 1997 in the United States alone. Some say that the Internet is so enjoyable that it is almost addictive. The problem is that researchers are beginning to agree with them. Studies are revealing that there may be an actual form of addiction involved with over-use of the Internet. Identifying which category of addiction the Internet falls into is the†¦show more content†¦They argue that the chemicals in marijuana activate the same stimuli as the Internet.5 Most researchers to this date do, however, agree that this is some type of behavioral addiction. People can become addicted to activit ies even when there is no physiological dependence or physiological addiction. Overeating, sex, work, exercise and gambling can be addictive if done to excess.6 Behavioral addiction means (2) that the activity alters your emotional state in some way. The main way to determine if an activity is addictive is if it is having a negative impact on some other important area of your life. The questions to be answered now are, if there is such a thing as Internet addiction, what are the effects of this addiction and why are people falling into this trap? According to Dr. Maressa Orzack of the Computer Addiction Services at Harvard Universitys McClean Hospital in Boston, The single greatest factor in becoming an addict is boredom. Theyre lonely, and the Internet, with its chat rooms and endless information, fills a need.7 The chat rooms, whether they are used for sexual and romantic encounters or just to talk to other people around the world, seem to be the number one temptation. Others incl ude fantasy games and the ability to create false identities of oneself. Although this ability to create a false identity is not one of the main lures, it does play a major role when looking at theShow MoreRelatedInternet Addiction And The Internet1409 Words   |  6 PagesNowadays, the Internet has become a necessity in human life, and has become a sophisticated tool for job, social, and political success. Bill Gates says, â€Å"The Internet is becoming the town square for the global village of tomorrow.† People from different generations use the Internet easily wherever they go, and whenever they want. People use the Internet for many purposes such as checking emails, doing their jobs, or getting help for school-homework. 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The Internet is a socially uniting gadget that additionallyRead MoreInternet Addiction And Its Treatment1163 Words   |  5 Pagesra lians%20digital%20livesFinal%20pdf.pdf ACMA,. (2016). Excessive internet use | ACMA. Acma.gov.au. Retrieved 12 October 2016, from http://www.acma.gov.au/Citizen/Internet/esecurity/Staying-safe- online/excessive-internet-use Amichai-Hamburger, Y. Ben-Artzi, E. (2003). Loneliness and Internet use. Computers In Human Behavior, 19(1), 71-80. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/s0747-5632(02)00014-6 ArÄ ±soy, Ãâ€". (2009). Internet addiction and its treatment. Psikiyatride Guncel Yaklasimlar- Current ApproachesRead MoreInternet Addiction And Its Effects On The Internet970 Words   |  4 PagesInternet addiction can have numerous factors. It can be awarding and the same time harmful. We live in a world that we can gain access to countless terabytes of information right at our fingertips. Many of the popular social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Reddit contribute to the whole internet addiction. Should the innovators of these platforms are who to blame for the ever growing addiction to the internet? Let’s look at this with the social media perspective using Kantianism and ActRead MoreEssay on Internet addiction1725 Words   |  7 PagesInternet and Video Game Addiction Internet addiction is a worldwide disorder that is oblivious to the technological age we live in. Since its inception in 1991 (Livingstone), the World Wide Web has only improved our quality of life. People don’t perceive online technology as a problem but as a solution to make our lives cheaper and efficient. As a working college student, my whole life is run on the internet. I use Facebook religiously to keep in-touch with my friends, I play Xbox Live to competeRead MoreWhat is Internet Addiction?1202 Words   |  5 Pagesimportant products of technology is the internet. The World Wide Web (www) is part of almost everyone’s everyday life. In addition to the uses of computers, we can use our hand held devices to access the internet as well. The ability to have unlimited access to the internet from anywhere at any time has become the cause of a serious addiction that affects about one in every eight Americans; this addiction is referred to as Internet Addiction. Internet addiction is a compulsive behavioral disorder which