The Education Debate Essay Example for Free

The Education Debate Essay 1. Nielsens (Booms) opinion of a higher education is a very interesting and intellectual opinion that I myself also share. In this text Blooms creates a very strong distinguishment between the education you receive from universities in the sense of book smarts whether then the skills universities lack to teach, which in Blooms opinion is wisdom, and virtue. Bloom suggests these skills are essential in order to follow the path to the good life. In this text Bloom subtitles How higher education has failed democracy and impoverished the souls of todays students,, which in essence is a direct attack at univerisites for not instilling the proper morals and lessons in their students. The skills that the students lack have been extremely noticeable to Bloom, he suggests due to the lack of nobility and morality students no longer fall in love, students deem only for sexual relationships rather than companionship and love. Bloom draws a strong discrepancy between the arts and sciences. He states that non-science undergrads are not required to take any science courses while science inflicted students are required to take 3 of their 20 courses in either science or arts. This allowance for the choice between arts science is something I agree extremely on. Both these areas of education offer such similar however also different skills. Arts, allow for creativity, wonder, insight and inference while science grabs connection to nature, realism and direct intellect. I believe both areas are important for the development of a human, it offers a type of well roundedness and intellectual ability in all aspects of life. Currently our education follows a systematic approach of a one answer, one right type of approach. This limits the ability of creativity, inference and uniqueness. Memorization is absolutely one of the worst skills that school has to offer, instead understanding and conceptualizing is key to the success of education. Educations meaning has been blown out of proportion, while grades do matter extremely the valuableness of other aspects of life have been loss. Everyone knows that one person whoms life revolves around their academic achievements, its all they talk about, its all they do and all they will ever know. While this is not entirely bad it has a large negative effect due to its ability to block humans from the real world. Whole heartedly I agree with Blooms opinion of education, for me its a sense of wonder of the world and taking time and understanding what really occurs in our lives. At times I sit and focus on certain systems in our world, whether it be education, government or the structure of authority I find myself to have a very different opinion then others most of the time. I believe that education needs to be re-evaluated to accommodate the needs of the students of today and the future. However, for now a systematic approach to education in order to reach my goal of intellect is what I will follow. 2. Both the sciences and arts offer a wide variety of benefits. The arts allow for a type of personal and creative development as a person. The different benefits these areas of education have to offer compliment one another ever so dearly. Science allows for the respect and love for freedom, it gives raise to the interest of the universe, and most importantly direct intelligence of our existence and meaning is challenged. I believe Nielsen Bloom argues the need for both science and art due to the combination of skills it can inflict. As stated above I listed some of the skills that can be achieved through each area, with combination these skills can use each other and feed off one another in order to create the maximum benefit. You have the ability to connect to science nature while using your scientific knowledge to relate to arts and other matter. I suspect this balance that these two areas offer is why Nielsen argues them so deeply. 3. Nielsen Bloom uses the three sub-headings, Futile Propaganda, Delusive Openness, and Ignorant Shepherds. Each of these heading relate to the piece of upcoming text in a very disclosed way. A type of intellectual philosophy is used within these headings in order to bring awareness to the argument that is going to be made. The first heading, Futile Propaganda suggests that students are often under prepared for a type of higher education then they receive during their prior years. In our society students have so many more oppurtunities to loose their attention from skills such as reading and homework, but who would want to engage in reading while they are able to watch their favorite television shows during the afternoon. The next heading, Delusive Openness, states that students believe There are no universal and eternal varieties for people to learn and live by, this leaves everyone to think and do as they please. This suggests that the openness we have today leads to ultimately closed mindedness because students lack curiosity.

The Debates on Offshore Outsourcing in America

The Debates on Offshore Outsourcing in America Outsourcing has provided growth to United States corporations and has allowed these corporations to reduce costs and compete more successfully in the global markets. Corporations are saving billions of dollars by replacing American employment with outsourcing to foreign countries at a much lower wages. In the meantime, workers who once made a middle-class living are now being forced to find different types of employment, and live with less money in their wallets. In the twenty-first century, the debate on outsourcing white-collar jobs to low-wage developing countries has picked up significantly. The general assumption is that jobs, money, skills, and experience are being exported to foreign countries, while the American people are losing jobs, money, skills and experience. Americas economic future is at risk due to jobs being outsourced to other countries. What is outsourcing? As simple as this question might seem, most people do not truly know and use assumption to what outsourcing means. When the average person hears the word outsourcing, it is presumed that an American company is outsourcing an American job to a foreign country. This is not necessarily true; outsourcing simply means a company that contracts with another company to provide services that might otherwise be performed by in-house employees, regardless if it is being done by a company in the same country, or outside of the companys country. Words that are commonly used in place of outsourcing are sub-contracting, flexible staff, employee leasing, and offshore. This report is focusing on offshore outsourcing. (Johnson, 1999) What is offshore outsourcing? Offshore outsourcing is when a company contracts with another company or person overseas to provide services that could be performed by in-house employees. Although offshore outsourcing is very close to the same implication of outsourcing, it is very simple to see how people can get confused over the explanation. Its hard to believe, but even the media confuses the two terms. Take for example a recent article published by Business Week: Pakistan, A Popular Outsourcing Destination? This article talks about how Pakistan is becoming a popular destination for companies all over the world to outsource to. Not once in this article does the author refer to offshore outsourcing, even though that is what the article is truly about. (King, 2009) The most common departments that are off-shoring outsourced within a company are Customer Support/Call Centers, Accounting, Human Resources, Manufacturing, legal and IT. These departments are the core departments of any corporate business, but really offshore goes further than the corporate office. Realtors, Oilfield labors, computer programmers, welders, shipping and receivers, and the list continue. The more companies research and find cheaper labors in other countries the more different types of American jobs are going oversea. The single most important tactical reason for outsourcing is to reduce or control operating costs and increase profits. Access to an outside providers lower cost structure is one of the most compelling short-term benefits of outsourcing. Foreign countries offer the talents of a college-educated workforce at a fraction of U.S. salaries. Partnering with an organization with world-class capabilities can offer access to new technology, tools and techniques that the organization may not currently possess; more structured methodologies, procedures and documentation, and a competitive advantage through expanded skills. Competing corporations are outsourcing operations offshore to have the cost advantages over the market and to free up management resources. Although outsourcing has achieved cost savings and has been used to enter key foreign markets, these benefits may not outweigh the long-term impacts on U.S. industries and the economy. Large companies such as American Express, Microsoft, Dell, IBM and SAP all offshore outsource to India. All of these companies are very successful and all have excellent profits. When searching on offshore outsourcing India, there are thousands of articles that claim there is a reduction of at least 40% or more in cost and great quality. There are three main reasons that can be accountable to offshore outsourcing to India: 1. Labor Wages are much lower than American wages, 2. Capital Infrastructure costs are lower in India then America, and 3. Labor Management Outsourcing enables companies to do-away with the expenses on bench labor, as the outsourcing vendor allocates the bench employees to projects for other clients or bears the cost of inefficiency. (Kobayashi-Hillary, 2005) International Business Machines (IBM) is well known for off-shoring their American jobs and helping other American companies to find employees overseas. IBM provides off-shore consultants to deliver highly quality services with lower hourly costs, which reduces operating costs and increases profits for the American company. Although the American company is benefiting from this service, the American people are losing their employment to other countries providing the same services an American provide the company. (IBM, 2008) According to [emailprotected] CWA Local 1701 (IBM union), IBM has laid-off approximately 10,000 jobs in American since the beginning of this year. According to IBMs annual reports, IBM employed the following in the US: 2006 127,000, 2007 121,000, and 2008 115,000. IBM 2009 annual report will not be out until late winter, but Alliance is predicting that 16,000 American jobs will be lost in 2009. While Americans are losing jobs, other nations such as India employment has been increasing. According to IBMs annual reports in 2007 to have 98,000 employees in Brazil, China, India and Russia, by 2008 employment overseas increased by 15% to 113,000, mostly in India. (Thibodeau, 2009) According to United States Department of Labor, from 2006 2016 employment for computer programmers will decrease by 4 percent. In 2006 computer programmers held 435,000 in American, by 2016 the projected jobs to be held is 417,000. One factor that will cause 18,000 jobs to be lost is offshore outsourcing. Computer Programmers are at much higher risk of having their jobs because this job function can be done from anywhere in the world. With todays technology, companies can transmit their programs digitally to anywhere in the world and take advantage of foreign countries lower wages. (Computer Programmers, 2007) â€Å"Every year India produces around 2.5 million university graduates, including 400,000 engineers and 200,000 IT professionals. It is estimated that India has 28% of the worlds IT offshore talent. The cost of an Indian graduate is roughly 12% of that of an American one.† These are just a few of the advantages that India brings to the market, which is why the offshore outsourcing boom continues to grow. This is one of the reasons why American students are not majoring in these fields. Young adults have the assumption that IT jobs are sooner or later going to be sent overseas, so there is not point on getting an education in these fields. (The Economist, 2006) The fear of offshore outsourcing is striking a chord with Americas future employees. Recently, the education system has seen shifts in college enrollment, as college students have begun to shun high-tech fields like computer science and even engineering. With the lack of stability in these fields students are concerned that their jobs could eventually be outsourced internationally and are therefore deciding to focus on their business skills. The war for talent is at its fiercest in high-tech industries which poses a threat to the future of the American technology industry and the overall economy. American companies may be forced to consider outsourcing not only to save costs, but due to lac k of local talent. Studies have shown that the proportion of incoming undergraduates planning to major in computer science is now 70% below its peak in the early 1980s. (The Economist, 2006) High-tech, white collar jobs are being transferred to foreign countries which limit opportunities for highly educated Americans. The U.S focuses so much attention on higher education yet people cannot put their skills to use if their job is outsourced. â€Å"When manufacturing jobs started moving overseas in larger numbers, American workers were told by free trade ideologues not to worry, that the U.S. comparative advantage was in services—especially high-tech and other knowledge-based industries. Displaced workers were told to simply acquire better skills and more education in order to succeed in the changing American economy. Many workers did, but now they find that knowledge and talent cant compete against the chase for higher profits and cheaper labor in the new global marketplace.† If Americans decide not to invest in their education, companies will mitigate their chances of sustaining a strong knowledge-base within the U.S. and induce the risk of international spi llovers. (Dobbs, 2004) According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics between 1979 -1999, Thirty-six percent of employees who lost their jobs to outsourcing found jobs that matched or increased their wages. Although Twenty-five percent of workers were able to find employment, their wages were thirty percent or more decrease in wages. ‘These concerns are real and need to be addressed, says Diana Farrell, the director of the McKinsey Global Institute. But she argues that rather than trying to stop offshoringa practice that she argues increases wealth in the U.S. economyleaders should focus on its distribution and help workers who are disproportionately hit.(Otterman, 2004) â€Å"The $50 billion-a-year offshore outsourcing business was growing at a 29 percent annual rate until the credit crisis hit last fall, Mr. Bourgeois said. But he now forecasts growth in 2009 to be about 10 percent.† And according to Forrester Researcher Inc offshore outsourcing will increase 17 percent annually from now throug h 2012. That is a possible 10 17 percent increase in the already high unemployment statistics. With the possibility of more companies looking at offshore outsourcing, the better chance the unemployment rate will stay around 9%, or even increase in the next few years (Lohr, 2009). Highly paid jobs are being moved to foreign countries at an increasing rate. 500,000 financial jobs and 200,000 engineering jobs are being relocated yearly overseas. That is approximately 54 million square feet of office space vacate. Approximately 8,500 manufacturing plants are being closed each year. These are American jobs that should be staying in America, who would ever have thought these types of jobs would be moved across seas? China and India will soon be the world leaders in manufacturing and technological. (Pollina Ph.D., 2005) US President Barack Obama has proposed new tax laws that would affect American Corporations that operate operations abroad by disallowing deductions for various offshore business expenses; this tax law still needs to be approved by Congress. The new tax law, if approved, is aimed at providing tax cuts to companies that keep employment in America, and give higher taxes and removal of tax benefits to companies that outsource to other countries. President Obama is trying to keep jobs in America; many analysts do not believe this new tax law will slow down or stop offshore outsourcing. Companies are offshore outsourcing because costs are anywhere from 40 to 70 percent lower in foreign countries. (Srivastava, 2009) Corporate America should start â€Å"thinking out-side the box† and finding alterative ideas to off-shoring. It is true companies are saving money and having an increase in profits by off-shoring, but this does not help the average person needing to pay the bills. By looking at colleges in the area and hiring newly graduated students. Graduated students are inexperience and do not require a high wage, they are looking for experience. By hiring a graduate, this provides the person experience, the company is paying a low wage, and the job is staying in America. People who are on assistance are another area to look into. By teaching a person a new skill, this takes them off assistance, provides them experience, and again keeps the job in America. Extensive growth in the practice of offshore outsourcing has raised a number of political and social concerns. On one hand, it helps in creating new employment opportunities within offshore country but on the other hand, it results in cutbacks for white collar jobs within America. In addition to this, it also raises issues pertaining to the quality and confidentiality of specialized and sensitive work that gets outsourced to a foreign country. Offshore outsourcing of jobs, especially white collar jobs to India has emerged as one of hottest issues in United States. Bibliography Dobbs, L. (2004). Exporting America: Why Corporate Greed Is Shipping American Jobs Oversea. New York: Time Warner Book Group. IBM. (2008, February). Retrieved August 12, 2009, from IBM Congnos BI Report Migration Offshore Services: http://download.boulder.ibm.com/ibmdl/pub/software/data/cognos/support/en/products/cognos8/migration/8.4/report_migration_offshore_service.pdf Johnson, M. (1999). Outsourcing in brief. Woburn: Butterworth-Heinemann. King, R. (2009, June 4). Business Week. Retrieved August 14, 2009, from Pakistan, A Popular Outsourcing Destination?: http://www.businessweek.com/technology/technology_at_work/archives/2009/06/pakistan_a_popu.html Kobayashi-Hillary, M. (2005). Outsourcing To India. London: Springer-Verlag Berlin †¢ Heidelberg. Lohr, S. (2009, January 8). The New York Times. Retrieved August 17, 2009, from Troubles of Satyam Could Benefit Rivals and 2 U.S. Companies : http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/09/business/09react.html Otterman, S. (2004, February 4). C ouncil Foreign Relations. Retrieved August 6, 2009, from Trade: Outsourcing Jobs: http://www.cfr.org/publication/7749/trade.html Pollina Ph.D., R. R. (2005). Keeping Jobs In America. Business Xpansion Journal , 1-4. Srivastava, M. (2009, May 6). Businessweek. Retrieved August 7, 2009, from Obama vs. Outsourcing: http://www.businessweek.com/globalbiz/blog/eyeonasia/archives/2009/05/obama_vs_outsou.html The Economist. (2006, October 7). Retrieved August 2, 2009, from The Battle for Brainpower: http://www.amrop.pl/ahgr/PHP/APP/eng/directors/i/p5.pdf Thibodeau, P. (2009, August 7). Computer World. Retrieved August 12, 2009, from IBM union: Layoffs could hit 16,000 by years end: http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9136360/IBM_union_Layoffs_could_hit_16_000_by_year_s_end?taxonomyId=1 United States Department of Labor. (2007, December 18). Retrieved August 15, 2009, from Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2008-09 Edition: http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos110.htm

Essay --

Economic and Strategic Traits of the Industries and Companies Some industry factors to consider between Harley-Davidson and Polaris is their diversification, market growth rate, market size, competitive and corporate strategies. The market of recreational vehicles is very broad and it includes vehicles that are designed for on-road the experience to even off the road experiences. Recreational vehicles include ATVs, snowmobiles, utility vehicles, motorcycles, RVs, campers, boats, jet skis and even trailers. To dominate in all fields of the recreational vehicle industry would be very ambitious and expensive to accomplish. Our diversification in the recreational vehicle market is truly unique. We provided the first ever motorcycle to the consumer and we still are going strong for 110 years. There is three diversification tests we must consider and pass if we were to move on to acquiring Polaris. The industry attractiveness test is all about the opportunity for potential profits and returns in entering the side of recreational vehicles that would appeal to a broader market share could be impactful. The cost of entry test to Polaris’ industry that appeals to off-road, snowmobile and even on-road customers cannot be higher than our potential profit if we acquire Polaris. We must look at the long-term growth of Polaris and even at Harley-Davidson to see if this does make business sense. We must consider potential new competitive start-up companies that may want to try enter our market as well since there will be less competition. With the cost of entry we must consider Polaris as a growing company and it’s the number one seller of ATVs in North America. A growing company also means a higher price to obtain. The better-off test is anot... ...ompany’s corporate strategy is to eventually enter into the other side of the recreational vehicle market and that could be achieved with the acquisition of Polaris. We are looking into opportunities to have strategic fit with a new company to make sure we have better competitive advantage. Here at Harley-Davidson, we do marketing differently and that includes giving people the experience to test drive our motorcycles so they can feel the experience of the ride. We are unconventional in our marketing concepts but it has proven to pay dividends. Polaris’ corporate strategy is to drive down costs in the recreational vehicle market but to also produce high quality, reliable vehicles. They are looking into focusing more globally especially in emerging markets. Polaris is recognized nationally for our superb customer service and this is something they plan to continue. Essay -- Economic and Strategic Traits of the Industries and Companies Some industry factors to consider between Harley-Davidson and Polaris is their diversification, market growth rate, market size, competitive and corporate strategies. The market of recreational vehicles is very broad and it includes vehicles that are designed for on-road the experience to even off the road experiences. Recreational vehicles include ATVs, snowmobiles, utility vehicles, motorcycles, RVs, campers, boats, jet skis and even trailers. To dominate in all fields of the recreational vehicle industry would be very ambitious and expensive to accomplish. Our diversification in the recreational vehicle market is truly unique. We provided the first ever motorcycle to the consumer and we still are going strong for 110 years. There is three diversification tests we must consider and pass if we were to move on to acquiring Polaris. The industry attractiveness test is all about the opportunity for potential profits and returns in entering the side of recreational vehicles that would appeal to a broader market share could be impactful. The cost of entry test to Polaris’ industry that appeals to off-road, snowmobile and even on-road customers cannot be higher than our potential profit if we acquire Polaris. We must look at the long-term growth of Polaris and even at Harley-Davidson to see if this does make business sense. We must consider potential new competitive start-up companies that may want to try enter our market as well since there will be less competition. With the cost of entry we must consider Polaris as a growing company and it’s the number one seller of ATVs in North America. A growing company also means a higher price to obtain. The better-off test is anot... ...ompany’s corporate strategy is to eventually enter into the other side of the recreational vehicle market and that could be achieved with the acquisition of Polaris. We are looking into opportunities to have strategic fit with a new company to make sure we have better competitive advantage. Here at Harley-Davidson, we do marketing differently and that includes giving people the experience to test drive our motorcycles so they can feel the experience of the ride. We are unconventional in our marketing concepts but it has proven to pay dividends. Polaris’ corporate strategy is to drive down costs in the recreational vehicle market but to also produce high quality, reliable vehicles. They are looking into focusing more globally especially in emerging markets. Polaris is recognized nationally for our superb customer service and this is something they plan to continue.

Gothic and Feminist Elements of The Yellow Wallpaper -- Feminism Femin

Gothic and Feminist Elements of The Yellow Wallpaper      Ã‚  Ã‚   Charlotte Perkins Gilman's "The Yellow Wallpaper" has been interpreted in many ways over the years. Modernist critics have applied depth psychology to the story and written about the symbolism of sexual repression in the nursery bars, the chained-down bed, and the wallpaper. Genre critics have discussed the story as an example of supernatural gothic fiction, in which a ghost actually haunts the narrator. But most importantly, feminist critics (re)discovered the story in the 1970s and interpreted it as a critique of a society that subjugated women into the role of wife and mother and repressed them so much that all they could ever hope to be was an "angel in the house." Keeping in mind that "The Yellow Wallpaper" can be - and most often is - interpreted as a feminist text in this way, we must also recognize that it holds its own in the Gothic genre. In fact, Eugenia Delamotte claims that "women who just can't seem to get out of the house [are] the most basic subject of Gothic plots" (207). The Gothic has always been and still is a genre that picks up on the concerns of its day. In the same way that postmodern Gothic (Don DeLillo and John Crowley, for example) concerns itself with late twentieth century technological issues, Gilman's Gothic of a century ago was very concerned with the plight of women in American society. When we recognize "The Yellow Wallpaper" as both a feminist treatise and a Gothic text, we can begin drawing conclusions that might not be obvious had we overlooked this dual nature of the story. Gilman's narrator - who appears to be suffering from postpartum depression - has been diagnosed by several male physicians, including her husband, and... ... Gothic and feminist. It is both classically Gothic and an expression of the position Gilman would like to see women achieve in society. This duality is quite powerful. The Gothic trope of concealed objects is what enabled Gilman to best express her feminist views on the status of women in her suffocating society. Her nameless narrator is representative of all American women who have lost their identity to oppressive and unfulfilling domestic roles.    Works Cited Delamotte, Eugenia C. "Male and Female Mysteries in 'The Yellow Wallpaper.'" Legacy. 5.1 (1988): 3-14. Rpt. in Twentieth-Century Literary Criticism. Paula Kepos. 37. Detroit: Gale, 1991. Golden, Catherine. "The Writing of 'The Yellow Wallpaper': A Double Palimpest." Studies in American Fiction. 17.2 (1989): 193-201. Rpt. in Short Story Criticism. David Segal. 13. Detroit: Gale, 1993   

Army Ants :: essays research papers

A quote made by Lewis Thomas, "Ants are so much like human beings as to be an embarrassment. They farm fungus, raise aphids as livestock, launch armies into war, use chemical sprays to alarm and confuse enemies, and exchange information ceaselessly. They do everything but watch television." I am going to focus this report on the part of the quote, "..launch armies into war..," which sets a metaphor of ants and our armies in today's society. Ants have many tactics, so to speak, that are similar to the way our armies have when going to war. Ants have many different roles in their society. One of the main roles that army ants or soldier ants have is that they forage in masses for food. These masses of ants travel together and are able to overcome and capture other social insects and large anthropoids, they may occasionally kill larger animals but they do not eat them. As the need for food for the larvae increases, food gathering raids become more intense. The hunting raids made by ants are carried out by "armies" of thousands of ants and set out from the bivouac in various directions. They form two or three parties going out simultaneously in different directions for 100 yards or more. In the U.S. army we attack countries in different areas to weaken the force we are attacking. We send out thousands of troops in various directions and try to surround the source of the location being attacked. For instance, if there are several locations that needed to be attacked to weaken the enemy, like their weapon storage or air force base, we send several sets of troops to attack each individual location. This is very similar to the way army ants set out on a hunting raid. They will send out thousands of ants at once in two or three different directions. When ants go out on their raids, a subgroup called Dorgline ants, walk along margins of the trails as though protecting the smaller individuals in the center. Dorglines are large soldiers that broaden the trail where it follows a narrow ledge of bark and twigs or smooth the path where it crosses a rough plate and they do this with their own body. They do this because footing for the large ants is better along the margins than in the midst of dense mass of scurrying ants. When the army wants to invade or occupy a county, they usually will set up aircraft carriers in the surrounding oceans and set up air forces in neighboring countries. They do this to protect the inside forces of troops and Army Ants :: essays research papers A quote made by Lewis Thomas, "Ants are so much like human beings as to be an embarrassment. They farm fungus, raise aphids as livestock, launch armies into war, use chemical sprays to alarm and confuse enemies, and exchange information ceaselessly. They do everything but watch television." I am going to focus this report on the part of the quote, "..launch armies into war..," which sets a metaphor of ants and our armies in today's society. Ants have many tactics, so to speak, that are similar to the way our armies have when going to war. Ants have many different roles in their society. One of the main roles that army ants or soldier ants have is that they forage in masses for food. These masses of ants travel together and are able to overcome and capture other social insects and large anthropoids, they may occasionally kill larger animals but they do not eat them. As the need for food for the larvae increases, food gathering raids become more intense. The hunting raids made by ants are carried out by "armies" of thousands of ants and set out from the bivouac in various directions. They form two or three parties going out simultaneously in different directions for 100 yards or more. In the U.S. army we attack countries in different areas to weaken the force we are attacking. We send out thousands of troops in various directions and try to surround the source of the location being attacked. For instance, if there are several locations that needed to be attacked to weaken the enemy, like their weapon storage or air force base, we send several sets of troops to attack each individual location. This is very similar to the way army ants set out on a hunting raid. They will send out thousands of ants at once in two or three different directions. When ants go out on their raids, a subgroup called Dorgline ants, walk along margins of the trails as though protecting the smaller individuals in the center. Dorglines are large soldiers that broaden the trail where it follows a narrow ledge of bark and twigs or smooth the path where it crosses a rough plate and they do this with their own body. They do this because footing for the large ants is better along the margins than in the midst of dense mass of scurrying ants. When the army wants to invade or occupy a county, they usually will set up aircraft carriers in the surrounding oceans and set up air forces in neighboring countries. They do this to protect the inside forces of troops and

Irving Berlin: His Music, His Life Essay

America has become a home to diverse kinds of music. It epitomizes the diversity of people and culture that live in it. One great American composer that we consider to have a gargantuan contribution to its development as what it is now is Irving Berlin. Although he was born in Russia, he managed to share his melodies and lyrics to people in an era fraught by war, cultural alienation and economic instability. The son of an impoverished Jewish cantor, he was taken to America at the age of five. His father died when he was 13, and a year later he ran away from home, rather than be a burden to his mother. He sang for pennies outside cabarets, became a chorus boy, a stooge in vaudeville, a song plugger and a singing waiter. Berlin had no formal musical training, but taught himself to play the piano, if only in one key, F . He began churning out songs, usually serving as his own lyricist, and finally caught America’s ear with ‘Alexander’s Ragtime Band’ in 1911 (Bordmann, 2001). According to New Grove Dictionary, Berlin’s first complete stage work, â€Å"Watch Your Step† (1914), purported to be the first musical written entirely in ragtime. However, his supporters would argue that that was not strictly so, but cannot dispute that Berlin played a major role in making ragtime popular, just as the real genre was fading away. The show’s hit was ‘Simple melody’. Between â€Å"Watch Your Step† and â€Å"Mr President† (1962) Berlin wrote all or most of the songs for 19 other Broadway shows. As a Jewish, Berlin maintained his ties to his own community. Berlin was very much a part of New York City’s radically multicultural milieu, which encompassed, in addition to his own group, Jews who had been in the United States for several generations; other recent immigrants to the New World from such places as Italy, Sicily, Portugal, and Turkey; Irish, Germans, and Scandinavians who had come over a generation or two ago; Americans of British heritage who had a much longer history in the United States and who had largely shaped the nation’s political, educational, and cultural life; and some blacks, who were still very much on the fringes of American society. Like David Quixando in Zangwill’s play, Berlin had personal and professional association with many people outside his own ethnic group: Chuck Connors, a friend and protector during his early days in Chinatown; his first collaborator, Mike Nicholson; Edgar Leslie, born in Stamford, Connecticut, and a graduate of the Cooper Union; the Irish-American George M. Cohan and the Dublin-born Victor Herbert, who became mentors and friends. He associated as freely as was possible at the time with such black musicians as Eubie Blake (Hamm, 1997, p.ix). Hamm (1997) cited that some of Berlin’s biographers have singled out â€Å"When I Lost You† as his first mature, fully successful ballad. They have related the content of the lyric to the fact that in early 1912 Berlin married Dorothy Goetz, the sister of his friend and collaborator E. Ray Goetz, and that the bride died five months after their wedding of typhoid or pneumonia probably contracted during the couple’s honeymoon in Havana. â€Å"When I Lost You†, published several months after her death, has a lyric lamenting the loss of a loved one. I lost the sunshine and roses, I lost the heavens of blue, I lost the beautiful rainbow, I lost the morning dew; I lost the angel who gave me Summer, the whole winter through, I lost the gladness that turned into sadness, When I lost you. It’s not true that the song is â€Å"unlike any song Berlin had previously written† in being â€Å"an exceedingly simple and stately waltz employing a bittersweet† (p. 162). In 1925, Berlin met and fell in love, for the second time, with Ellin Mackay, the daughter and heiress of Clarence H. Mackay, head of Postal Telegraph. As a devout Irish-American Catholic and a member of an elite New York society, Clarence Mackay recruited his immense power and resources in an attempt to prevent their marriage and, when all other strategy failed, he sent his daughter off to Europe for several months. During her absence, Berlin wrote several of his most poignant love ballads, including â€Å"Always† and â€Å"Remember†. When she returned to New York they were married secretly at City Hall on January 4, 1926, embarking immediately afterwards on a European honeymoon. When news of the marriage leaked out to the press, the newspapers gave much publicity to the romance which had so dramatically broken down social and religious barriers. The event even found its way into music in â€Å"When a Kid Who Came from the East Side Found a Sweet Society Rose† (lyrics by Al Dubin and music by Jimmy McHugh). Although Clarence H. Mackay disinherited his daughter and refused to communicate with her, even after the Berlins’ first child was born, he later allowed a reconciliation to take place, and he remained sympathetic to his son-in-law (Ewen & Ewen, 1962, p. 24-25). Irving and Ellin had three daughters—Mary Ellin, Linda, and Elizabeth, all of whom were raised Protestant—and a son, Irving Berlin, Jr. , who died before his first birthday, on Christmas Day in 1928. As a father, Berlin was absent too much to be a doting father. During World War II, he traveled with his show, This Is the Army. When he wasn’t on the road he worked at night, going to bed at 4 or 5 AM and sleeping until noon. There were three faiths in the house – Ellin was Catholic, Irving was Jewish and the three girls were raised Protestant, largely because Ellin was in favor of religious tolerance (People Weekly, 9 October 1989). Popular songs in the first half of the twentieth century had been touted with the domination of Jewish Americans. More important, their cultural and musical heritage colored their products, giving them a flavor quite different from that of earlier popular songs and bringing yet another ethnic strain to the already diverse style of American song. If a single songwriter were to be chosen to epitomize the era, it would certainly be Irving Berlin. He wrote songs from the very beginning of the period through to the end (and even into the next era); his songs represent all of the various types that characterized these years; and dozens of his songs were among the most popular products of the Tin Pan Alley years. Furthermore, his career and his music point up the strong links between the first and second generations of Tin Pan Alley, and the emergence of a somewhat different song style in the 1920s and ’30s (Hamm, 1979, p. 329). To gain a better perspective on this issue, one must understand the Tin Pan Alley aesthetic. New songs were judged by audience acceptance or rejection, not by abstract analysis of their musical and lyrical components. As Wilder put it, for Berlin and his peers â€Å"a good song and a hit song [were] synonymous (p. 92). † To ensure that their songs would be immediately accessible to their audiences, composers drew on already familiar musical styles, including the most popular songs of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, widely disseminated pieces of the classical repertory, and social dances of the present and immediate past. Berlin himself wrote in the Green Book Magazine for April 1916, â€Å"There’s no such thing as a new melody. Our work is to connect the old phrases in a new way, so that they will sound like a new tune. † During World War I, Berlin served first as a private, then as a sergeant at Camp Upton, a temporary station for troops embarking for Europe. Convinced of the need for entertainment for these troops–and encouraged by the commanding general of the camp, who needed $35,000 for a new service center–Berlin prepared an all-soldier show, Yip, Yip, Yaphank, for which he wrote book, lyrics, and music. This musical, which opened at the Century Theatre in New York City on July 26, 1918, presented various aspects of a rookie’s life at camp in song, comedy, sentiment, dance, and production numbers. Berlin’s best songs were â€Å"Oh, How I Hate to Get Up in the Morning† and â€Å"Mandy. † Yip, Yip, Yaphank eventually netted over $150,000 for the Camp Upton Service Center. However, it is indubitable that â€Å"Annie Get Your Gun† (1946) Berlin’s most successful musical. Based very freely on the life of Annie Oakley, the show was originally to have had music by Kern; he died while working on it, and Berlin replaced him. At the first performance, Ethel Merman sang the title role and Ray Middleton played Frank. Annie has entered the repertory of opera companies in the USA, and the Vienna Volksoper. Upon his return to civilian life, Berlin began to expand his activities beyond songwriting. He formed his own publishing house, Irving Berlin, Inc. –an occasion that inspired an â€Å"Irving Berlin Week,† celebrated throughout the country with performances of his songs in theatres and night clubs. He also embarked on a career as a vaudeville headliner, appearing in performances of his song hits in leading theatres. In 1927, Berlin wrote a ballad, â€Å"The Song Is Ended,† almost as if he had a prophetic glimpse of what awaited him: the uncreative years between 1929 and 1932. During this time he wrote little and seemed incapable of producing anything that either satisfied him or could win public approval. This period of sterility was made even more difficult by the depletion of his fortune during the economic crisis. The hit of his last success, Call Me Madam (1950), was â€Å"You’re Just in Love†. Berlin also created the music for many films. Berlin’s music was always catchy as it kept abreast of the latest in musical fashions and constantly composed memorable, musically inventive songs in the idiom of the moment (Bordman, 2001). Berlin’s rise from poverty to fame is quite inspiring. Starting with nothing on the Lower East Side, sleeping in flophouses on the Bowery, he earned a vast fortune by the time he was thirty and married Ellin McKay, the daughter of one of the richest men in America. Although he never lost his East Side accent, he assumed the privileges of wealth as one to the manner born; his daughter describes a life of quiet, tasteful luxury marred only by her father’s long bouts of depression, during which he would become even more invisible than usual, shutting himself off even from his family (Schiff, 1996). Through his great life we learn that music has great role in our lives and it is difficult to fathom why. Flutes have been found in France dating â€Å"as far back as 30,000 years† (Jensen, 2001, p. 15). This and other evidence implies that music has been used throughout human history. Music has been used by every culture to inspire, tell stories, pass on history, glorify achievements, amuse, relax, and educate. Music is used to express love, anger, despair, and hope. Some admit that music is indeed a universal language. In the United States, we have become culturally diverse in our musical tastes and embrace every genre and style from folk to classical, jazz, blues, rock and roll to rap. Berlin was a prominent figure in a time where jazz tunes reigned supreme. Thus, to share the wondrous life of a musician like Irving Berlin, people could celebrate the unique music of cultures and ethnic groups and we could show younger generations that diversity is something to be respected and treasured Works Cited Bordman, G. â€Å"Berlin, Irving†, The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, ed. S. Sadie and J. Tyrrell (London: Macmillan, 2001). Ewen, David H. , and David H. Ewen, eds. Popular American Composers from Revolutionary Times to the Present: A Biographical and Critical Guide. New York: H. W. Wilson, 1962. Hamm, Charles. Irving Berlin: Songs from the Melting Pot: The Formative Years, 1907-1914. New York: Oxford University Press, 1997. Hamm, Charles. Yesterdays: Popular Song in America. New York: W. W. Norton, 1979. Jensen, E. Arts with the Brain in Mind. (Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, 2001) People Weekly. Irving Berlin: Music and Myth, 32. 15 (9 October 1989):3. Schiff, David. â€Å"For Everyman, by Everyman: In Creating Himself According to the Nation’s Enthusiasm for His Songs, Irving Berlin Helped Create a National Identity. † The Atlantic Monthly Mar. 1996: 108+. Wilder, Alex. American Popular Song: The Great Innovators, 1900-1950 (New York: Oxford University Press, 1972).

Syllabus En301

English 301 Professional Writing & Communication SUNY Canton Spring 2013 Instructor: Eunjyu Yu, PhDOffice: FOB 520| Email: [email  protected] eduPhone: 315-386-7681| Welcome! Professional Writing & Communication is focused on preparing you to enter any workplace and assess communication expectations: Who is my audience for this document or presentation? What is my purpose? How can I best convince this audience to follow my instructions or learn this concept or respond positively? We’ll focus on the wide range of audiences, genres, and contexts that professionals commonly encounter, including the ethical issues that writers need to consider.To help you develop the skills and strategies you need to create successful communication, this course relies on strong interaction among class members. Each assignment builds toward the next: to be successful, you need to stay actively involved in the class, ask questions, and submit assignments on time. I recommend logging on daily Monda y through Saturday to stay on top of your course work. Course Description Professional communication is specialized writing and communication that helps students respond to the challenges of a technical world.In this course, students, as professionals, will analyze needs and concerns for specific workplace situations, organize effective solutions, and prepare and produce the needed memos, reports, presentations, web-sites and/or other items, which will then be assessed and evaluated by other students acting as intended users. Students will create, design, and package these documents, selecting appropriate communication technology to accomplish the task, and will then display the technical data in writing and visually, as well as present such information orally when applicable.Students should be familiar with desktop publishing and electronic presentations. Course Goals By the end of this course, students will be able to: | Course Objective| Institutional SLO| a. | identify what form s and formats of technical professional writing and communication are traditionally used on the job, choose an appropriate style for communicating specific information, analyze audience needs and interests and then present the information in written or oral form| 1. Communication2. Crit. Thinking4. Inter-Intrapersonal| b. develop and establish their credibility as authors by writing directions, memos, e-mails, reports, manuals, and other workplace oriented material, either individually or as part of a collaborative team, as well as evaluate the ethical implications of their own and others’ work| 1. Communication2. Crit. Thinking3. Prof. Competence4. Inter-Intrapersonal| c. | research specific workplace situations/problems that require a written or oral response or solution using traditional (library, surveys, interviews, etc. ) and/or innovative research methodology as necessary| 1. Communication2.Crit. Thinking3. Prof. Competence| d. | design and develop written items that h ave a clear-cut purpose and will be proficient in delivering such information in the appropriate form| 1. Communication2. Crit. Thinking4. Inter-Intrapersonal | At the top of the Assignment Sheet for each unit, I will review the goals specific to that unit and explain how activities will help you reach those goals. Textbook (Required) Kolin, P. (2012). Successful Writing at Work (Concise Third Edition). Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. (The e-book is available for purchase or rent at http://www. engagebrain. com/shop/isbn/9780495901945) Course Expectations This syllabus represents my contract with you for this semester. You will also receive handouts detailing individual writing assignments. You are responsible for reading and understanding all of these documents and for asking questions in a timely manner. Below are some general guidelines for successfully navigating this course. For more information on learning in an online environment, see the folder Your Course Orientation. Al l students are required to adhere to the standards outlined in SUNY Canton’s Student Handbook.Minimum Technology Requirements * Access to a working computer with Windows 2000, XP, or Vista or Mac OS X (10. 3 or higher). The computer should have a minimum 256 MB of RAM and 1GB free hard disk space. * Connection to the Internet (broadband connection such as RoadRunner or DSL is preferred; dial-up users should consult Online Learning Center). * SUNY Canton email address and access to ANGEL (the course management system). * Methods for backing up your work, such as a flash drive. Back-up Plans * Problems happen: prepare now for unexpected snafus and emergencies. Locate another computer (such as a friend or the local public library) you could use to submit your assignments in case your computer crashes or your internet service is interrupted. * Back up all work regularly, using a USB flash drive or other appropriate system. * Keep your virus protection software up to date and use it. Delivery of Assignments * All work should be submitted via ANGEL. Refer to the detailed Assignment Sheet for each unit; instructions for format and delivery are clearly spelled out. * Assignments sent via email will receive a zero. Formal documents must be in MS Word or appropriate compatible format (look for a . doc, . docx, or . rtf extension on the file). Unless otherwise noted, label your work: Yourlastname_AssignmentName. docx Contacting the Professor * Please contact me with any questions or concerns using ANGEL email (click on the â€Å"Communicate† tab). You can expect a response within 48 hours Monday through Thursday. Questions left in an assignment Drop Box or on a Discussion Board may not be noticed in a timely manner. * All email sent for this class must be professional in tone and preparation.Be sure to include an appropriate subject line with the course name (ENGL301). Demonstrate respect for my time and your own ideas by expressing your questions or concer ns in detailed, complete sentences using correct capitalization and punctuation. (See the handout on Netiquette at COURSE DOCUMENTS>SYLLABUS>FAQs for more precise information and examples. ) Demonstrating Respect Online * This class is about communication in professional environments. You are therefore expected to conduct yourself in a professional manner. Treat this like a new workplace where you don’t know anyone—the kind where people don’t wear jeans. In other words, ANGEL isn’t Facebook! ) * Making ourselves understood can be challenging in the best of circumstances. In online environments—from IMs between friends to formal business email—we must be doubly conscious of clarity and tone. (Read the handout on Netiquette at COURSE DOCUMENTS>SYLLABUS>FAQs. ) Attendance and Participation * Class participation is essential to online learning. You are expected to log on daily Monday through Saturday when classes are in session to check for mess ages and submit assignments. Follow the calendar provided below as well as the detailed Assignment Sheets provided. ADA, Family Emergencies, and Other Considerations As in the workplace, it is the responsibility of the student to advise the instructor of any concerns that may impact participation. If you are unfamiliar with course or college procedures, have a documented disability, or are experiencing a family emergency, contact me right away so that we can work out a fair and mutually agreeable solution. Campus Resources The Writing Center The Writing Center isn’t just for standard academic essays.Tutors are available to work with you on all kinds of documents. Located on the second floor of Southworth Library, the Writing Center is available throughout the school year to assist at any stage of the process, from making sense of an assignment to final editing. On campus, call the Writing Center at 386-7308 or drop by to learn more. Online students may access the Writing Cent er via email: [email  protected] edu. Online Learning SUNY Canton’s Online Learning experts are available to help you with the logistics of taking an online course. Check them out at http://www. anton. edu/ol/current. html. If you need technical assistance with ANGEL, go to http://sin. suny. edu/sin_helpdesk. htm. Career Services Don’t wait until you’ve finished your degree to learn about the amazing resources at Career Services! From exploring career options to crafting a resume, they’re the experts: http://www. canton. edu/career_services/. Southworth Library The library is an excellent place to begin your research, with databases and ebooks as well as 24/7 help from reference librarians: http://www. canton. edu/library/. Evaluation and GradingEvaluation criteria for individual assignments will be included on the handout for each unit. Generally speaking, â€Å"A† work begins by fulfilling the basic requirements of an assignment, but also demon strates superior understanding, careful preparation, and creativity. An awareness of audience and purpose is essential for producing quality work. Please note: drafts indicated on the Calendar and Assignment Sheets are required; final work will not be accepted for grading unless drafts are completed on time. Your semester grade will be based on the scale below.Should you have questions about your grade on any assignment, at any point in the semester, please contact me promptly so that we can discuss your concerns. A| Above 90%| B+| 85-89. 9%| C+| 75-79. 9%| D| 60-69. 9%| | | B| 80-84. 9%| C| 70-74. 9%| F| Below 59. 9%| Deadlines and Late Work: Your successful completion of this course depends upon your completing assigned work on schedule. Please consult the Calendar and Assignment Sheets for specific due dates; unless otherwise indicated, work due on a specific date must be properly posted by midnight on that day.Late work will not be accepted unless you can provide a legitimate, d ocumented excuse. If a problem arises that may prevent you from submitting your work on time, contact me right away. Feedback and Revision: I encourage you to seek out additional feedback from me, the Writing Center (see below), or colleagues. Please note: drafts indicated on the Calendar and Assignment Sheets are required; final work will not be accepted for grading unless drafts are completed on time. Rewrites and Extra Credit: There will be no opportunities for rewrites or extra credit.Plagiarism: While this course, with its emphasis on working collaboratively, may challenge traditional ideas about plagiarism, integrity and honesty are just as important in the workplace as in the classroom. Failure to cite sources (including colleagues or information found online) is a serious ethical breach, intentional or not. Work you submit for this course must have been written by you for this course during this semester. If you have any questions or want to coordinate writing for this class with a project you are completing for another professor, please talk to me in advance.Overview of Assignments Below is a brief overview of the assignments you will be expected to complete over the course of the semester. Please refer to the complete Assignment Sheet for each unit (see COURSE DOCUMENTS) and the Calendar below for further details and email me with any questions. Unit I: Communicating with Potential Employers This unit will focus on developing and refining strategies for successfully communicating with organizations you hope will hire you. In addition to quizzes and Discussion Forum posts, you will complete a questionnaire analyzing a job ad, resume, and cover letter.Unit II: Communicating Across Organizations In this unit, you will form teams of three to four members. Each team will be responsible for researching a current issue and communicating that information to two distinct audiences. Each team must produce a series of working documents, including a contract out lining how the team plans to work together and guidelines for resolving possible conflicts. Formal documents will include memos, an informative brochure, and a short report. Course CalendarNote: Please be aware of all relevant deadlines. Assignments must be posted by midnight on the day they’re due. For example, your first Discussion Forum post needs to be submitted by midnight on Sunday. MODULE| ASSIGNMENTS DUE| NOTES| Module 1Week of 1/21| * Read Syllabus, Netiquette, Discussion Forum Guidelines and the Unit I Assignment Sheet by Sunday 1/27 * Discussion Forum 1 (DF1) due Sunday 1/27 * Quiz 1 available until Sunday 1/27 midnight| | Module 2Week of 1/28| * Read Chapters 1 & 5 plus pp. 76-381 in Successful Writing at Work (SWW) by Wednesday 1/30 * DF2 Initial Post due Wednesday 1/30 * DF2 Reply due Thursday 1/31 * Job Ad Questionnaire due Sunday 2/3 (I will grade by 2/10) * Quiz 2 available until Sunday 2/3| | Module 3Week of 2/4| * Read SWW Ch 2 & pp. 381-394; also â€Å"Mi xing and Managing Four Generations† (on ANGEL) by Wed 2/6 * DF3 Initial Post due Wed 2/6 * DF3 Reply due Thursday 2/7 * Quiz 3 by Sunday 2/10| | Module 4 Week of 2/11| * Read SWW Ch 3 & Ch 4 * Resume draft due Sunday 2/17 (expect feedback by 2/24) * Quiz 4 by Sunday 2/17| | Module 5 Week of 2/18| * Read SWW Ch 6 &Ch 10 * Cover Letter draft due Sunday 2/24 (expect feedback by 3/4) * Quiz 5 by Sunday 2/24| | Module 6Week of 2/25| * No class. Winter break (2/23-3/3)| | Module 7Week of 3/4| * Final Resume & Cover Letter due Sunday 3/10| | Module 8Week of 3/11| * Read SWW Ch 7; â€Å"Everyday Writing† (on ANGEL) * Quiz 6 by Sunday 3/17| 3/13-16 CCCC| Module 9 Week of 3/18| * Read SWW Ch 8 & Ch 9 and Unit II Assignment Sheet * Finalize Groups for Unit II by Sunday 3/24—see Discussion Forum! Midterm grades on 3/19| Module 10 Week of 2/25| * Group Contract due Sunday 3/31| | Module 11 Week of 4/1| * Group Proposal due Sunday 4/7| | Module 12Week of 4/8| * No class. Sprin g break (4/6-4/14)| | Module 13Week of 4/15| * Draft of Report due Wed 4/17; expect feedback by 4/24| | Module 14Week of 4/22| * Draft of Informative brochure due Wed 4/24; expect feedback by 4/30| | Module 15Week of 4/29| * Final report due Tuesday 4/30| 4/27-5/1 AERA | Module 16Week of 5/6| * Final Informative brochure due Tuesday 5/7| Final grades available on 5/23|THE INSTRUCTOR HAS THE RIGHT TO MODIFY ANY SECTION OF THE SYLLABUS. EACH STUDENT IS RESPONSIBLE TO READ AND UNDERSTAND THE SYLLABUS. ——————————————– [ 1 ]. ADA is the abbreviation for the Americans with Disabilities Act. Please consult the SUNY Canton website at http://www. canton. edu/accommodative_services/ for more information.