Essay --

During the Meiji Restoration, Japan transformed into a strong industrialized nation by adopting the Western political, cultural, and technological ideas. Japan was the â€Å"only non-Western country to industrialize in the nineteenth century and that, moreover, she did so in an extremely short time† (Sugiyama 1). Japan’s social, political, and economic aspects were all affected by the Western technologies to transform Japan into an industrialized nation (Wittner 1). By adopting the Western ideas during the Meiji Restoration, Japan has turned into a powerful industrialized nation by becoming an â€Å"international political player in the 1880s† (Wittner 1). Prior to the Meiji Restoration, the Western powers viewed Japan as the backward nation because â€Å"in terms of military strength and economic development, Japan was indeed far behind the Western nations† (Hane and Perez 84). The Meiji government feared that Western nations would colonize Japan because they had already done it to other Asian countries by using military forces (Hane and Perez 84). The Meiji government’s fear came out to be true when the Western powers imposed unequal commercial treaties on Japan. Because of these unequal treaties Japan was â€Å"deprived of the right to regulate tariffs, and Western residents in the treaty ports were granted the privilege of extraterritoriality† (Hane and Perez 84). However, these unequal treaties were significant to the Meiji Restoration because they became the foundation of Japan’s industrial revolution by providing Japan with the access not only to Western technologies but also to political, cultural, and social ideas (Hane and Perez 82). Moreover, the treaties were important to Japan’s economic future because they increased the Japan’s econom... ...Restoration was the telephone. Iwadare Kunihiko established Nihon Denki (Nippon Electric Co., also known as NEC) by teaming up with the Western Electric (WE) of the United States (Odagiri and Goto 161). Kunihiko and NEC adopted WE’s technology and communication equipment, which helped expand the production of telephones (Odagiri and Goto 162). The telephone production was important for Japan’s industrialization because communication became easier. Many people were able to keep in touch with their friends and families who live far away by simply calling them. The telephone was also important for business because it sped up the commercial transactions. As more people are using the telephone, more private owned telephone companies were operated to raise profits. The American telephone technology brought industrialization in Japan by increasing the telephone production.

The Metamorphosis as a Depiction of Franz Kafkas Life Essay -- Kafka

The Metamorphosis as a Depiction of Franz Kafka's Life The Metamorphosis is said to be one of Franz Kafka's best works of literature. It shows the difficulties of living in a modern society and the struggle for acceptance of others when in a time of need. In this novel Kafka directly reflects upon many of the negative aspects of his personal life, both mentally and physically. The relationship between Gregor and his father is in many ways similar to Franz and his father Herrman. The Metamorphosis also shows resemblance to some of Kafka's diary entries that depict him imagining his own extinction by dozens of elaborated methods. This paper will look into the text to show how this is a story about the author's personal life portrayed through his dream-like fantasies. Franz Kafka grew up in a financially secure Jewish family in Prague. He spoke German and was neither a Czech nor German due to his Jewish upbringing. Born in 1883, he was the eldest child and the only son. He lived his life in the shadow of his dominating father under constant pressure to take over the family business. Kafka's father viewed Franz as a failure and disapproved of his writing because he wanted Franz to become a business man like him. This obsession with wanting Franz to become a businessman led Herrman to beat his son. Franz Kafka died on June 3, 1924 from tuberculosis of the larynx. From the moment we meet Gregor Samsa's father we are shown how short tempered he is. He "came on, hissing like a wild man" when Gregor first exited his room in his new state as a bug. Gregor's father chased after him with a cane and newspaper making a hissing noise that annoyed Gregor. Just this passage here shows how alike Mr. Samsa and Herrman Kafka are. Kafka was... ...appened so often during the times he was trying to write, it happened unknowingly. When comparing Franz Kafka and his personal life to The Metamorphosis it is obvious in more ways than one that he was writing a twisted story of his life. The emotional and physical abuse Gregor goes through are similar to what Kafka went through in real life. They were both abused and neglected by their fathers when they were disappointed with them. Kafka uses Gregor transforming into a bug as a way of exaggerating himself, trying to express his feelings and point of view. When writing, Kafka felt as if he was trapped in his room which he referred to as "the noise headquarters of the apartment". Gregor was an exaggeration of this because he could not leave the house to escape the noises and abuse. Works Cited: Kafka, Franz. The Metamorphosis. Mattituck: Vanguard Press, 1946.

Berlin Crisis of 1961 from Perspective of Realism Theory Essay

Berlin Crisis of 1961 was the most dangerous moment of the Cold War. This conflict was mainly about the occupational status of Berlin. Berlin Crisis initially emerged in 1958 by the provocation of the Soviet Union. Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev threatened to conclude a separate peace treaty with East Germany unless the western powers recognized the Germany Democratic Republic (GDR) (I. W. Trauschweizer, 2006). However, the escalation of tensions began after the Vienna Summit in June 1961, where the USSR again raised the issue of ultimatum, which gave the United States six months for the withdrawal of Western armed forces from West Berlin. Berlin Crisis was not the only crisis during Cold War. Through the whole history of humanity there has always been a question why do wars and conflicts occur? In order to give an answer to this question we should explain some factors which made the war to occur. Crisis and especially Berlin Crisis can be understood from several perspectives, but in this paper it will be explained from realism theory perspective. As a famous representative of realism theory, Waltz asked himself the question why do wars occur? Waltz’s question is as old as war itself, possibly because â€Å"to explain how peace can be more readily achieved requires an understanding of the causes of war† (Waltz, 1959: 2). By the time Waltz posed this question, many answers to it already existed. These answers fell into three categories (or as IR theorists came to define them, were found at the three â€Å"levels of analysis† or in the â€Å"three images†). These three categories/levels/images are: the individual, the state, and the state system† (C.  Weber, 2009, p. 17). These main causes of conflict will be represented in detail in the main body of the paper by the example of Berlin Crisis. Although Waltz’s three categories of the causes of war explained many processes in the Berlin Crisis, there are also important points in the theory of realism, which typically explain Berlin Crisis, one of those points is the issue of bipolarity or multipolarity of the world. Morgenthau, an American academic and journalistic writer, in contrast to Waltz saw the stable world in multipolar rather than in a bipolar system. From his perspective bipolarity was dangerous for the world’s stability, because as we will see next, Berlin Crisis was the result of bipolar system, where two great powers tried to dominate the others, by increasing their power and authority. As Waltz said, each great power sought to survive. Thus, realism theory explained Berlin Crisis from many points of view. In order to better understand Berlin Crisis of 1961 from realism theory perspective, I will present the main points of realism theory. After, I will give a short historical background of Berlin Crisis and to summarize all these, I will illustrate how well realism theory explained the Berlin Crisis. The Realism Theory The most dominant theory throughout the Cold War was realism. Realism had a negative viewpoint concerning to abolishment of conflict and war. It described international relations as a struggle for power. The domination of realism during the Cold War was due to the fact that it gave simple but powerful explanation for war, alliances, imperialism, obstacles to cooperation, and other international phenomena, and of course, the competition was mainly related with the features of the American-Soviet rivalry (S. M. Walt, 1998). However the realist thought developed during the Cold War. †Classical† realists such as Hans Morgenthau considered that states, as human beings, had a wish to dominate others, which brings about a war. Giving advantage to multipolarity, Morgenthau considered that the bipolar rivalry between United States and the Soviet Union was very dangerous (S. M. Walt, 1998). â€Å"In contrast to â€Å"classical† realism, the â€Å"neorealist† theory, advanced by Kenneth Waltz, ignored human nature and focused on the effects of the international system (S. M. Walt, 1998, p. 31)†. He claimed that international system included great powers, which were seeking to stay alive. In contrast to Morgenthau, Waltz considered bipolar system more stable than multipolarity. When there are more than two poles, things get trickier. Balances are harder to strike and therefore risks increase, which brought about the wars (C. Weber, 2009). One of the most important features of realism is a theory of offence-defense. It was developed by Robert Jervis, George Quester and Stephen Van Evera. â€Å"When defense had the advantage and states could distinguish between offensive and defensive weapons, then states could acquire the means to defend themselves, without threatening others† (S. M. Walt, 1998, p. 31). â€Å"Defensive† realists thought that all states were seeking to survive and in this case, by creating alliances and adopting self-protective military position, great owers could solve their security problems. And as an example, Waltz and other neo-realists thought that the United States was protected and secured during the Cold War. Realists and neo-realists agreed that the prime aim of states was to survive and the increase of their power is the only way to guarantee their survival, because states with less power might fear of those with more power and therefore the possibility to attack them was the minimum. Besides, realists and neo-realists agreed that there was no possibility to get out from international anarchy. However there was one thing they disagree about: the issue of human nature. For example, Morgenthau argued that the nature of a man (and he meant the gender exclusive term â€Å"man†; see Tickner, 1992: Chapter 2) was defective and international politics would remain anarchical and conflictual because of the nature of man. Neorealists, of whom Kenneth Waltz was the first, disagreed with this consideration. â€Å"They argue that instead of looking to â€Å"natural† causes of conflict, we need to look to â€Å"social† ones (C. Weber, 2009, p. 16). ’ Waltz thought that the organization of social relations and not the nature of man determined there was a war or not, because states go to war as they are in a bad social organization. So, for realists, international anarchy was just the environment in which sovereign nation-states acted. For neo-realists, international anarchy described the social relations among sovereign nation-states, which explained why wars arise. By the end of the Cold War, realism had moved away from Morgenthau’s gloomy human nature and was taken on a little more positive stage (S.  M. Walt, 1998). Historical Background of Berlin Crisis After World War II Germany was divided– first into four sectors, with American, British, French and Soviet, and then into two, as the three Western sectors coalesced to form the new Federal Republic of Germany, leaving the Soviet sector to turn into the German Democratic Republic (John P. S. Gearson, K. Schake, 2002). And during this period Germany had two major cresses, but the 1961 Berlin crisis was generally perceived to be more dramatic and dangerous than its 1958 predecessor. The Kennedy Administration was more inclined than its predecessor to consider East–West disagreement over the Berlin crisis. President Kennedy gave a speech to the nation about preparing for war and began a $3. 4 billion military build-up in the summer of 1961. Both the US and the Soviet forces had a dramatic confrontation at a military checkpoint in Berlin. â€Å"Initially, The Berlin Crisis began in 1958, when Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev threatened to conclude a separate peace treaty with East Germany unless the western powers recognized the Germany Democratic Republic (GDR) † (I.  W. Trauschweizer, 2006, 206). However, the main crisis heated through 1961. It escalated at the Vienna summit between Khrushchev and Kennedy in June 1961, when Khrushchev again raised issue of his ultimatum. Kennedy left Vienna shaken and expected the worst from the Soviet leader. He decided to increase the personal strength of US armed forces in Europe. However, the first step of aggression did the Soviet Union. On 13 August, East German police units closed the border between the Soviet sector and the three western sectors of Berlin. The construction of the Berlin Wall in August 1961 was one of the defining moments of the Cold War, and heightened the sense of tension. It was the moment when the crisis was stabilized. Even as it became increasingly apparent that Berlin was unlikely to provide a hot war, it provided the Cold War with its most conspicuous symbol, a regular stop for any visit to the city, a chance to stand and look over into a grey east and compare it with the wealth behind (John P. S. Gearson, K. Schake, 2002). The division of Berlin and building a wall was a shock for the Kennedy administration. Most of the United States government officials were expecting that the crisis would revolve, but there were some in the administration who thought that the East German government would take measures to stop the flow of refugees from East Germany, and they believed that the border closing might reduce tensions rather than lead to escalation. In order to enforce his influence in Western part of Berlin Kennedy decided to appoint Clay, who was a chairman of the Continental Can Company in New York, as his Special Representative in Berlin with the rank of Ambassador. Kennedy considered sending Clay to Berlin for the duration of the crisis in order to boost morale in the city, but also to create conditions that would persuade Soviet leaders to join in serious negotiations (I. W. Trauschweizer, 2006). The stand-off of Soviet and American tanks in the heart of Berlin in October 1961, constituted the most dangerous moment of the Cold War in Europe and it was one of the last major politico-military incidents of Cold War. As per standing orders, both groups of tanks were loaded with live munitions. The lert levels of the US Garrison in West Berlin, then NATO and finally the US Strategic Air Command were raised and both groups of tanks had orders to fire if fired upon. Clay was convinced that using US tanks as bulldozer to knock down parts of the Wall would have ended the Crisis to the greater advantage of the US and its allies without drawing out a Soviet military response. His views, and corresponding evidence that the Soviets may have backed down following this action, supported a more critical assessment of Kennedy’s decisions during the crisis and his willingness to accept the Wall- as the best solution. After, Kennedy and Khrushchev agreed to reduce tensions by withdrawing the tanks. One by one the tanks withdrew and Clay returned to the United States in May 1962. Anyway, there was no doubt that the Berlin Crisis and in general, the Cold War was really over when the Wall came down in November 1989. Berlin Crisis from Realism Theory Perspective As the most dominate theory during the Cold War was the realism we easily can view Berlin crisis from the perspective of this theory, because Berlin crisis was one of the major conflicts during the Cold War. Realism explained many processes of Berlin Crisis, but there were some miscalculations concerning to it. All about these will be represented in this part of the paper. The main competition in the world realism theory saw between the United States and the Soviet Union. Realists claimed that bipolar system of world was very dangerous and gave an advantage to multipolarity. Thus, the bipolar system was very typical during Berlin Crisis, but from the neorealism perspective the bipolar world was more stable. Here neorealists had a miscalculation, because during Berlin Crisis bipolarity dominated in the world and history shows that tensions were more escalated than ever. Thus, from this point of view realists’ thoughts more corresponded to reality, than that of the neorealists. From the perspective of realism theory states must have power in order to survive. United States and Soviet Union tried to do so by strengthening the power in Europe. According to Morgenthau human beings sought to get power and to dominate others. The Berlin Crisis was good example for this idea. Both the United States and the Soviet Union were doing everything to get more power in Europe and to dominate each other. After Vienna’s summit, tensions came obvious and the first reaction of both great powers was how not to lose power over Berlin. The result was the Berlin conflict. The building of Berlin wall can be described by the wish of great powers to survive in this situation and the increase of power was the main guarantee for survival. From the perspective of realism theory fear also made these two great powers to dominate in Berlin. Both the United States and the Soviet Union took actions from fear of losing a power. After Vienna summit Kennedy was shocked and expected everything from Soviet Union. And the fear of not losing a power made Kennedy to turn to drastic actions by increasing the power over Berlin. Berlin Crisis was a result of using force. Here is the good example of Acheson’s report â€Å"The Soviets would provoke a crisis in Berlin to take advantage of US conventional force inadequacies and humiliate the new Administration† (John P. S. Gearson, K. Schake, 2002, p. 31). In the Realism theory there was another important element of aggression during the Cold War. This kind of behavior we can see from the United State’s side. National Security Adviser Mc. George Bundy endorsed the Acheson report, urging the president that â€Å"Berlin is no place for compromise and our general friendliness and eagerness for improvement on many other points really requires strength here in order to be rightly understood† (John P. S. Gearson, K. Schake, 2002, p. 31). The aggressive tone of the Acheson approach and its support in the Administration contrasted with the political compromises President Kennedy wanted to be in Berlin, but Khrushchev’s belligerent behavior at the Vienna summit convinced the president of the Acheson argument. However, whatever the positions of both sides were â€Å"The Berlin crises of 1958 and 1961 suggested that the range of political choice was defined less by military capabilities than by the nature of the political conflict that gave rise to the use of force and by the willingness of adversaries to accept risk in order to achieve their political goals† (John P. S. Gearson, K. Schake, 2002, p. 38). However why did this crisis occur? Waltz asked himself a question like this one: why do wars occur in general? The answers to this question fell into three categories: the individual, the state, and the state system. Waltz argued that the major causes of war could be found at each of these categories and none of them alone could explain why wars do or do not occur. He came to this conclusion by beginning to look at the first category- a man. From the first category Waltz explained the war like this â€Å"the locus of the important causes of war is found in the nature and behavior of man. War results from selfishness, from misdirected aggressive impulses, from stupidity†¦ If these are the primary causes of war, then the elimination of war must come through uplifting and enlightening men or securing their psychic-social readjustment† (Waltz, 1959: 16). This idea is common with the behavior of Kennedy and Khrushchev during Berlin Crisis. In the basis of this conflict a nature and behavior of both Kennedy and Khrushchev can be found. They both had an aggressive behavior. Explanation of war of â€Å"men behaving badly† is very typical for Khrushchev, when in June 1961 Khrushchev again raised the issue of his ultimatum, which claimed an immediate withdrawal of US armed forces from Berlin. â€Å"Man behaves badly because he is bad by nature. He acts unreasonably or he prioritizes selfish goals over communitarian goals, and this is why conflicts and wars occur† (C. Weber, 2009, p. 17). As we already know for Waltz man alone cannot causes wars. He thought that man’s nature was too complex to be the direct and main cause for war. For the Berlin Crisis we can conclude the same. Even the great players of this crisis were the United States and the Soviet Union leading with Kennedy and Khrushchev, only their nature and behavior were not enough to incite conflict. Thus, we can look to social and political institutions to complete our understanding of why wars occur and especially why Berlin crisis occurred. Waltz asked whether the occurrence of wars could be explained by the internal organization of states and societies. Second category theorists argued that there are good and bad states, because of their formal governmental arrangements: for example, democratic vs. autocratic or their less formal social arrangements, who owned the means of production. Second image theories claimed that bad actors (this time states) make war, and good actors preserve the peace. However, there is no common answer which is a bad one and which is good, because some suggested good states would be democratic, others say they should be monarchical, others still say socialist. Waltz suggested, even if second image theorists could agree on what a good state was, there was still no guarantee that a world of â€Å"good states† would be a peaceful world. From this viewpoint realism theory could not explain which kind of state was good or bad, and we cannot say the democratic America or the socialist Soviet Union were the causes of the risis. Waltz concluded that this level of analyses was incomplete. For the third category he gave linkages between anarchy, state actions and conflict. â€Å"In anarchy there is no automatic harmony†¦ A state will use force to attain its goals if, after assessing the prospects for success, it values those goals more than it values the pleasures of peace. Because each state is the final judge of its own cause, any state may at any time use force to implement its policies. Because any state may at any time use force, all states must constantly be ready either to counter force with force or to pay the cost of weakness (Waltz, 1959: 160)† (C. Weber, 2009, p. 18). Waltz called bad social organization international anarchy. International anarchy is the permissive cause of war† (C, Weber, 2009, p. 16). From this viewpoint realism described the social organization of states and the cause why crisis started. Taking into account the ideas of Waltz, that in the world there was international anarchy, we can say that Berlin crisis was the result of it. These can bring about the idea that both United States and Soviet Union were in bad social organization. Waltz concluded that wars occur, because there is nothing to prevent it. So, for Waltz, international anarchy explained both why wars may occur and why there are limits on cooperation among states in the international system. Waltz argued that only international anarchy has the power to explain why wars may occur, if individuals and states have nothing to fear from one another, then they have no cause to fight with one another. This idea can be linked with the fear of Kennedy, when he left Vienna. He was expecting anything from the Soviet Union and the fear made him to strength the military personal of US armed forces in Berlin. He wanted to survive by maximizing power. Waltz believed that we need to look at â€Å"social† causes of conflict rather than on â€Å"natural†. He explained that good men behave badly in bad social organizations, and bad men can be stopped from behaving badly if they are in good social organizations. States go to war, then, because they are in a bad social organization. From the realism perspective the United States also had bad social organization, because the Kennedy Administration did not understand the 1961 crisis in these political terms. They viewed Soviet pressure on Berlin as a military challenge to declining US superiority, and concentrated their efforts on military responses. The Administration began a series of defense improvements and public commentary that exacerbated the instability of the East German regime and raised US–Soviet tensions. They abandoned this confrontational approach in August of 1961 when the Berlin Wall was constructed, opting instead to reduce US–Soviet tensions by supporting the long-term division of Germany (John P. S. Gearson, K. Schake, 2002). â€Å"While it is questionable whether the Kennedy Administration, new to office and without Eisenhower’s war fighting credibility, could have succeeded with the Eisenhower approach to Berlin, the stridency with which the Kennedy Administration approached the crisis exacerbated the problem, both with the Soviet Union and among the Western allies. The US failure to follow through on its hard-line approach when the Berlin Wall was built raised serious questions about the practicality of the Kennedy Administration’s new military strategy and the reliability of the US for its European allies† (John P. S. Gearson, K. Schake, 2002, p. 22). As we can see the main purpose of this conflict was to get power. Morgenthau said that â€Å"The struggle for power is universal in time and space† (Morgenthau 1948: 17) (J. Donnelly, 2004, p. 10). Waltz also shared an opinion concerning to power â€Å"The daily presence of force and recurrent reliance on it mark the affairs of nations† (Waltz 1979: 186) (J.  Donnelly, 2004, p. 10). Structural realists give predominant emphasis to international anarchy. For example, John Herz argued that international anarchy assures the centrality of the struggle for power â€Å"even in the absence of aggression or similar factors† (Herz 1976: 10; compare Waltz 1979: 62–63) (J. Donnelly, 2004, p. 10). The Berlin Crisis was vivied example of sharing the the power between two great powers and the thought of Waltz that states need a power in order to survive is very typical for Berlin Crisis. Conclusion To summarize all above mentioned I would like to say that the realism theory, which was the dominant one during the Cold War, explained many processes of Berlin Crisis. In general it gave important answers about Berlin Crisis. Realism emphasized the constraints on politics imposed by human nature and the absence of international government. Together, they make international relations largely a realm of power and interest (J. Donnelly, 2004, p. 9). All realists emphasize the egoistic passions and self-interest in politics. The realists put emphasis on power and claimed that states need the power in order to survive. In case of Berlin Crisis, United States and Soviet Union maximized their power in order to get a dominant role in Europe. At the same time fear also made them to turn to radical actions. Especially United States increased the US armed forces in Berlin. So the combination of the wish to have more power and a fear to lose a power can be viewed as the causes of conflict. From the realism theory perspective there were also elements of aggression through Cold War, especially during Berlin Crisis. The aggression can be found in both United State’s and Soviet Union’s actions. However, the main reasons why this conflict occurred were described by Waltz. He represented the conflict by three categories. For him the three categories combined can made war to occur, but in general the first and the second categories can explain the Berlin Crisis. The third one, even cannot distinguish which is good state and which one is bad: in the case of Berlin Crisis we cannot say United States was good and Soviet union was bad or vice versa. Anyway, Waltz argued that good men behave badly in bad social organizations, and bad men can be stopped from behaving badly if they are in good social organizations. States go to war, then, because they are in a bad social organization (John P. S. Gearson, K. Schake, 2002). The only thing Waltz had miscalculation about was the multipolar system, because he saw the stabile world within the framework of bipolar system, but in reality, during Berlin Crisis bipolar world was very dangerous. We can conclude that realism theory managed to explain the Berlin Crisis from many points of view. There were some issues during Berlin Crisis, which realism theory could not cover, but the main aspects of it can be easily described from the realism theory perspective. To summarize the thoughts of major thinkers of realism and neorealism theory, which characteristically explained the Berlin Crisis, we can say that for Waltz the state’s interest provides the spring of action and the necessities of policy arise from the unregulated competition of states and calculation based on these necessities can discover the policies that will best serve a state’s interests. For Morgenthau, politics is governed by objective laws that have their roots in human nature and the main mark that helps political realism to find its way through the landscape of international politics is the concept of interest defined in terms of power. Thus, power and interest are variable in content (J. Donnelly, 2004).

Tracy Foote Week Three Discussion Questions

David Rivers MKT/421 Tracy Foote Week Three Discussion Questions †¢Select a product with which you are familiar. What stage is this product at in the product life cycle? Provide rationale for your answer. The chose Apples IPhone and currently it is the Maturity phase of the product life cycle. The IPhone is very popular and is often copied or remanufactured to look like and perform the same as the original.Apple is creating new features, products, and apps to allow users to do a lot more than ever before. Based on your knowledge of the product life cycle, what types of changes will occur to this product as it continues through the product life cycle? Apple is going to face tough competition as it tries to hold on to market share and maintain revenue. How will this affect marketing of the product? Once the IPhone it the market it took off like a rocket.The market wanted to get it in the action and flooded the market with so-called smartphones. It is my opinion that Apple will hav e to reduce the price of the phone and better serve the its customers with continued upgrades and apps. †¢Select a product or service. Then, select three different organizations that provide your selected product or service and compare the prices associated with it. What is the difference between the prices among the different organizations?What is the rationale for this difference? The IPhone, the Verizon HTC phone, and the Windows phone are in the ballpark as far as price goes, the difference will be in the plans selected to run each phone. Each of the competitors is trying to build a better mousetrap and price out the competition. However, technology is not cheap and the cost reduction will have to occur somewhere in the manufacturing process for one company to surpass the rest.

Full Day Kindergarten Essay

Full day kindergarten should be mandatory and of no extra cost for all of the elementary schools. This will boost the children’s academic achievement. The children that are exposed to full day kindergarten will learn more in literacy and mathematics than those in half-day kindergarten. The students that are in a full day program get to spend more time on their math, writing, and reading activities. The full day students also get the advantage of being able to participate in gym, art, and music classes. The half-day students do not get to experience gym, art, or music class. I have seen results first hand because I chose to put my son in a full day kindergarten versus the half-day. I chose to bring my son to a school that is located in Fridley so that he could receive the benefits of the full day kindergarten. The half-day program that Blaine offers has a very undesirable schedule for parents who work. The half-day schedule for Blaine elementary school is full days Mondays, Wednesdays, and every other Friday. I think that the earlier the educational intervention begins the higher the impact and the more likely the effects will be retained. Other than the health of a child, I think that nothing should be more important than their education. Giving children the opportunity to be in a full day kindergarten program gives them opportunities that the half-day students do not receive. One of the opportunities is being able to spend more time on reading, writing, and math. The teachers also have more time to sit one on one with each student one or in small groups and work on these skills. They also have a different theme for each month that they focus on. Some examples of the themes are the solar system, U. S.  presidents, maps, and the celebrations around the world. Children also absorb things more easily when they are younger. Being a mother of a full day kindergarten student, I see the results of the extra reading, writing, and math that the teacher does with him. My son is one of the youngest in his class and he is reading at a first grade level. As for his writing, he attempt to write big words using phonics. For example, I came home one day a few months ago and he had written on his dry erase board â€Å"I see a red ladebug†. He also brought home a worksheet that he had written about his favorite fruits. On this worksheet, he had written â€Å"watrmlon†. As far as his math goes, he is always measuring things in the house with a kid’s yard ruler. The themes that they work on each month give the students the ability to know what is going on in the world around them. My son came home from school one day and told me that there was a planet that was not considered a planet anymore. I did not know this and I was in complete awe. According to Debra Ackerman, â€Å"Children in full day kindergarten programs score higher on their achievement test than those in half-day programs. Full-day kindergarten advocates suggest that a longer school day provides educational support that ensures a productive beginning school experience and increases the chances of future school success. In both full-day and half-day programs, kindergartners spend most of their class time working on reading, language arts, and math activities, but the total number of minutes teachers devote to specific subjects differs. For example, 80 percent of full day but only about 50 percent of half-day programs devote more than 30 minutes each day to mathematics instruction. Sixty-eight percent of full day but only 37 percent of half-day classrooms dedicate at least 60 minutes to reading instruction each day. Perhaps most striking, 79 percent of full-day teachers read aloud to their students every day, compared to 62 percent of half-day teachers. Reading aloud is a critical activity in helping to develop children’s reading skills. Additional research shows children’s literacy learning is enhanced in full-day programs, as the full-day schedule provides a more intensive, ongoing, enriched language and literacy experience for the young child. † (Ackerman) Children in full day kindergarten programs score higher on their achievement test than those in half-day programs. I asked my son’s kindergarten teacher, Ms. Janssen, what the average for reading was for her class. Ms. Janssen stated that the majority of her students are already in the first grade reading level as of the end of the second trimester. As said by the Indiana Association of Public School Super Intendants, â€Å"Full day kindergarten programs are associated with greater reading achievement gains during the kindergarten year than half day programs†. (Plucker, 6) The students are graded on their writing and math abilities as well. According to the Kalamazoo Public Schools reports, â€Å"The group of kindergartners advanced in 2010 to first grade at Kalamazoo Public School, where 60 percent tested at or above the 50th percentile in reading on the Iowa Test of Basic Skills last April. That’s a 7-point increase compared to Kalamazoo Public School first-graders tested in April 2009, Rice said. On the Iowa Test Basic Skills math test, 52 percent of first-graders tested at or above the 50th percentile last spring, a 12-point jump over spring 2009. The Iowa Test of Basic Skills are administered in schools nationwide and is a norm-referenced test, which means scores are based on how students perform compared to other test-takers. The Kalamazoo Public School results show that 60 percent of Kalamazoo students are in the top half of first-graders nationwide in reading and 52 percent are in the top half in math. † (Mack) Children who are in full day kindergarten have better social and behavioral effects than those who are in half-day kindergarten. When children are in school for the full day they have more time to get to know the other students. They get more time to interact together socially and they are learning while they are interacting. The students also get to go to specialists and they go with their classmates. Some of the specialists that Hayes Elementary offers are music, art, Spanish, and gym. Going to the specialist is something that the full day kindergarteners get to do and the half-day kindergarteners do not get to do. These students also get to spend more time with the teacher. This means that they will be less hesitant to approach their teacher. According to Clark, â€Å"Some researchers have examined social and behavioral effects. According to researchers, a clear relationship emerged between the kindergarten schedule and children’s behavior. Teachers rated children in all-day kindergarten programs higher on 9 of the 14 dimensions; there were no significant differences on the other 5 dimensions. Other researchers who have studied social and behavioral outcomes found that children in all-day kindergarten programs were engaged in more child-to-child interactions and they made significantly greater progress in learning social skills†. (Clark) In the kindergarten classrooms of Hayes Elementary, the students get into groups called centers. During this center time, the teacher takes a group of five students to a table to do independent reading and the rest of the students go to a center. The centers are groups of three or four students and the students get to interact socially while doing something educational. Some examples of the centers are writing center, listening center, leapster center, and art center. The writing center is where the students can write freely. The listening center is where the students put on headphones, listen to directions, and write down what they hear. The leapster center is where the students get to play a handheld learning game that integrates math, reading, and spelling in the games. Finally, the art center is where the students get to draw and color what they want. When the time is up the students clean up as groups. A full day of learning offers many social and emotional benefits to kindergarteners. As stated by NEA, â€Å"They have more time to focus and reflect on activities, and they have more time to transition between activities. When children are taught by qualified teachers, using age-appropriate curricula in small classes they can take full advantage of the additional learning time—social, emotional, and intellectual— that a full day allows. Further, research finds that children adjust well to the full-day format. † (NEA) The full day kindergarten teachers plan and use the extra time in class well. The time in class is spent differently in both the full day kindergarten and the half-day kindergarten. According to the research that the Indiana Association of Public School Superintendents, â€Å"The research provides evidence that time in full day kindergarten programs is different both quantitatively and qualitatively from how time is used in half day programs† (Plucker, ii). Full day kindergarten offers benefits to teachers. Teachers prefer the full day program to the half-day program. If there is a child that is struggling with something, the teacher has the ability to find time to help that student. There is also more time to finish activities. According to Ms. Janssen, â€Å"With the full day program I am able to get through four reading groups versus two reading groups in one day. With the full day program we are able to go more in depth on our unit that we focus on in class. † (Janssen) According to the NEA, â€Å"Switching to full-day kindergarten gave teachers more time to plan the curriculum, incorporate a greater number of thematic units into the school year, and offer more in-depth coverage of each unit. † (NEA) In the half-day programs there is less time for multiple activities. According to Dr. Martinez, â€Å"Many kindergarten teachers favor full day kindergarten because they find it difficult to balance cognitive activities and affective social activities in the short kindergarten day. † (Martinez, 2) Teachers also prefer full day kindergarten because there is more instructional time than that of a half-day kindergarten program. As stated by the Indiana Association of Public School Superintendents, â€Å" Across all of the schools in the Indiana sample, the proportion of instructional time is similar across program types, resulting in much greater instructional time in full day programs, representing approximately 40-50% more instruction in full day programs than half-day programs†. (Plucker, ii) Teachers also have the benefit of getting to know the students and their parents better. According to Dr. Martinez, â€Å"Teachers state that they have a chance to know children and parents better, to do more individualization of instruction, and to expand the curriculum horizontally. † (Dr. Martinez) There are so many benefits for the children. A very important benefit is that the full day kindergarteners have the opportunity to an easier transition into the first grade because they are already used to the full day schedule. The time that the students get to spend with the teacher is a great benefit as well. The extra time that is spent with the teacher is as much beneficial for the teacher as it is for the students. According to the research from Dr. Martinez, â€Å"Teachers thought children developed closer relationships and were more relaxed in the full-day program and felt more a part of the school. Teachers indicated they were able to give more individual attention to students and that children had more time to develop both academic and socialization skills. Teachers noted they could work more on the continuing development of each child and felt children showed more advancement. Teachers indicated they felt closer to the children and that they got to know both child and family better. Some indicated in the full day they felt more flexible, were more relaxed and spontaneous, and felt better prepared to meet with parents. † (Dr. Martinez, 6) The time that the students get to spend on activities is another great benefit. According to NEA, â€Å"in a study evaluating teachers’ views on full-day kindergarten, teachers reported a number of benefits for themselves as well as children and parents. Participating in full day eased the transition to first grade, helping children adapt to the demand of a six-hour day. Having more time available in the school day offered more flexibility and more time to do activities during free choice times. Having more time actually made the kindergarten program less stressful and frustrating for children because they had time to fully develop an interest in activities. Participating in  the full-day schedule allows more appropriate academic challenges for children at all developmental levels. Children with developmental delays or those at risk for school problems benefited from having more time to complete projects and more time for needed socialization with peers and teachers. † (NEA) Full day kindergarten offers more benefits to the students that are at risk and children that come from educational and economical disadvantaged homes. If the full day kindergarten programs cost money, as most do, they cost around 3000 dollars per child for the year. The 3000 dollars is charged to the parents of the child. The children that come from the educationally and economically disadvantaged homes would not be able to attend because of the cost. These children are the ones that benefit from the program the most. According to the Indiana Superintendents, â€Å"Students at or below the poverty level enrolled in full day kindergarten scored statistically significantly higher in math and reading than their half day counterparts. Poor children enrolled in full day kindergarten programs tested statistically significantly above half day pupils on reading, spatial, and verbal skills, naming colors and letters, and identifying numerals. †(Plucker, 6) Parents prefer full day kindergarten as well. I as a mother prefer the full day kindergarten program to the half-day program. One of the advantages is that I do not have to figure out childcare and who would bring my son to the childcare. Trying to figure out childcare and school between my job schedule would be undesirable. As said by Dr. Martinez, â€Å"Full-day kindergarten saves parents day-care problems, while providing children a comprehensive, developmentally-appropriate program. Parents said that children often feel more stress when they have to go from a school situation to a day-care environment, where different rules and philosophies apply. Therefore, parents favor a full-day program, which reduces the number of transitions kindergartners experience in a typical day. † (Dr. Martinez) Full day kindergarten also takes a huge cost out of many parents’ monthly budget including mine. Even though some people would be against this and say, â€Å"Why would I have to pay for your childcare? † I would say that many parents including myself pay taxes too. Their parents wanted them to have the best education that they could have gotten. Most importantly, I know that my son and many other children are getting the best out of their day while they are in school. They are having fun while they are learning. My son enjoys being in school. If he had a choice, he would go on Saturdays and Sundays. Children attending full day kindergarten spend the day learning instead of watching television or playing video games. Full-day kindergarten provides parents with better support for their children. According to NEA, â€Å"For parents who work outside the home, full-day kindergarten means that children do not have to be shuffled between home, school, and childcare. For all parents, there is more continuity and less disruption in the child’s day and more time for focused and independent learning. One study of parent attitudes found that after the second year of a full-day kindergarten program, 100 percent of full-day parents, and 72 percent of half-day parents noted that, if given the opportunity again, they would have chosen full-day kindergarten for their child†. (NEA). In conclusion, having full day kindergarten should be mandatory. There are many benefits of the full day kindergarten program. The benefits are not limited to the students. Teachers and parents also get great benefits out of the full day program. According to MaryBeth, â€Å"Research has shown that it is important to begin learning early in life. School systems that have implemented the academically based full day kindergarten are finding it to be successful. † (Calvin) If I had to choose again if a child of mine was going to go to full day or half-day kindergarten, I would not even have to think twice. A child’s education should be one of the most important things to think about. These children will be the future and they need a great education to get there. * Works Cited Calvin, MaryBeth. Expectations for Kindergarten in 2010. 3 February 2010. 3 March 2011. Clark, Patricia. Recent Research on All Day Kindergarten. 2004. 4 March 2011. Debra J Ackerman, W. S. Making the Most of Kindergarten. March 2005. 4 March 2011. Janssen.

The Influence of Intellectual Capital on the Types of Innovative Research Paper

The Influence of Intellectual Capital on the Types of Innovative Capabilities - Research Paper Example Such a project will provide insights to organizations on how different knowledge management strategies create opportunities for organizations to achieve innovations through the use of intellectual capital (Boer and During, 2001, p. 102). Particular emphasis will be on how strategies on human resource management influence a firm’s level of innovation.   Innovation refers to changes in organizational processes or existing products aimed at creating a competitive advantage in the market. Basically, it involves the identification of opportunities and utilizing them with the intention of creating new products, services or work processes (Daft and Weick, 2004, p. 450). Research studies indicate that organizations with higher innovative capabilities have higher chances of succeeding in response to changes in their business environment. There are different forms of innovation but the most common forms include organizational innovation, process innovation and product innovation (Subr amaniam and Youndt, 2005, p. 460). Organizational innovation refers to the development of new structures and management practices. Product innovation relates to the development of new products whereas process innovation involves the development of new technologies used in the production process. The various forms of innovations have different definitions but they all have a common theme. Their common theme is that of the use of knowledge to create competitive advantages by meeting the needs of customers. The fact that innovation involves the identification and utilization of opportunities, it means that there is a continuous process of pursuing new and unique knowledge (Subramaniam and Youndt, 2005, p. 455). Literature materials on the topic of innovation emphasize that knowledge is the most important element that can ensure the success of organizations pin developing new products, technologies, and processes. The main source of innovation is attributed to be the unique knowledge po ssessed by human capital (Daft and Weick, 2004, p. 244). Human capital is also recognized as the main driver of change within the business environment. In the study of the process of innovation, numerous research studies indicate that there is a close link between the management of knowledge and people and innovation. According to Boer and During (2001, p. 122), there exist a lot of research studies that focus on the contribution of organizational knowledge on various forms of innovation. However, most of the research studies only focus on the outcomes of generic innovations such as technology patents and sales revenues from new products. Such studies tend to ignore on studying how knowledge management is connected to innovation. A number of researchers address the topic of innovation in radical and incremental terms. This, therefore, implies that there need to be further research studies on incremental and radical innovations (Subramaniam and Youndt, 2005, p. 453). This is to ensur e there are adequate literature materials on the differences that exist between radical and incremental innovations.

Executive compensation as a Macroeconomics topic Essay

Executive compensation as a Macroeconomics topic - Essay Example As for the advocates of free market economy, business cycles are normal (McConnell and Brue 134). But during the past years, its ability to correct itself is being put to question and so the need to apply other agents’ help was seen. Macroeconomic fluctuations affect corporations’ performance through demand and cost conditions (Oxelheim, Wihlborg and Zhang, par.1). These days, CEOs and high-level managers are being hired by companies to assist them in their operations. Of course, their services will not be free of charge, as a matter of fact, they are well paid. But problems arise because they are now seen as contributing factors to the large cost for companies causing disequilibrium. Many believe that U.S. executive compensation is badly out of equilibrium (Paulin 1). This is because of the very high compensation that these managers charge in relation to their services rendered to the companies. The equilibrium in the market is being disturbed by the widening gap in th e rate of executive compensation and other people doing the same jobs in other parts of the world as well as the rank and file employees. If in the first place, CEOs and managers are employed to help solve the imperfections of the market but because of the too much cost of compensation they ask which is also believed to be out of equilibrium, they are adding up to the failures of the free market system.