The Relationship between pupil expenditure in high and low capacity school districts and community variables

Across the nation, the public, lawmakers and educators have become deeply concerned with finding ways to measure the effectiveness of schools and school systems. Politicians and educators have been struggling with developing useful yardsticks for school effectiveness that are honest, accurate and easily comprehended. The initial stages of this effort have often resulted in evaluations that assess, judge and even mete out consequences to schools who’ve been measured by a small set of benchmarks that often do not reflect the context of the individual school.Many states, including Rhode Island, have published annual state achievement results. People have used these results to rank order districts and schools on the basis of those results as if the schools were competing on a level playing field. While valid for certain purposes, these methods encourage the public to draw sometimes unfortunate conclusions about the value of a school or school system because the yardstick itself is not sensitive to differences in school contexts, to other information about school practices, or to achievement results which are not part of the formal state assessment program.In this study we will undertake the analysis from the financial perspective and study the relationship between pupil expenditure in high and low capacity school districts and community variables. A multiple regression model will be used in order to statistically evaluate the relationship (Information works, 01) 2- LITERATURE REVIEW A hypothesis (H) is an unproven statement or proposition about a factor or phenomenon that is of interest to the researcher. It may, for example, be a tentative statement about relationships between two or more variables as stipulated by the theoretical framework or the analytical model.Often, a hypothesis is a possible answer to the research question. Hypotheses go beyond research questions because they are statements of relationships or propositions rather than merely question to which answers are sought. Whereas research questions are interrogative, Hypotheses are declarative and can be tested empirically. An important role of a hypothesis is to suggest variables to be included in the research design (Malhotra, 77). A literature review will be undertaken in order to develop hypothesis which will be tested in the study.In our study we will use the same variables as Gaudet used in the study of performance of the MCAS tests. Using these variables we will test the relationship with the pupil expenditure in school districts. These include level of educational attainment of school districts, income level, percentage of households above the poverty line, its percentage of single-parent families, its percentage of non-English-speaking households, and its level of private school enrollment in school districts. 3- REASONS FOR CHOOSING THIS TOPICThe fundamental reason for choosing this topic is that having searched literature I found that very few works have been c onducted concerning the relationship between pupil expenditure in high and low capacity school districts and community variables. Since most of the studies have been focusing the students’ performances as the indicator of the success of the school systems. This fact has encouraged me to do this piece of work in order to contribute to the existing knowledge about this subject by adding a new point of view.Another reason is that most people who are involved in the evaluation of the school systems have poor background in finance, so it is so difficult for them to understand the pros and cons of the financial aspects of the school systems. In addition to that analysts and common people should understand the relationship between pupil expenditure in high and low capacity school districts and community variables. They should not only concentrate on educational tools but also address the community variables while designing the educational expenditure policies in order to improve the performance of the school system in the United States.

Importance of Leadership

Chapter 1 The Importance of Leadership D. Quinn Mills Leadership How to Lead, How to Live  © 2005 D. Quinn Mills. All Rights Reserved. Leadership: How to Lead, How to Live Few things are more important to human activity than leadership. Effective leadership helps our nation through times of peril. It makes a business organization successful. It enables a not-for-profit organization to fulfill its mission. The effective leadership of parents enables children to grow strong and healthy and become productive adults. The absence of leadership is equally dramatic in its effects. Without leadership, organizations move too slowly, stagnate, and lose their way. Much of the literature about organizations stresses decision-making and implies that if decision-making is timely, complete, and correct, then things will go well. Yet a decision by itself changes nothing. After a decision is made, an organization faces the problem of implementation—how to get things done in a timely and effective way. Problems of implementation are really issues about how leaders influence behavior, change the course of events, and overcome resistance. Leadership is crucial in implementing decisions successfully. Each of us recognizes the importance of leadership when we vote for our political leaders. We realize that it matters who is in office, so we participate in a contest, an election, to choose the best candidate. Investors recognize the importance of business leadership when they say that a good leader can make a success of a weak business plan, but that a poor leader can ruin even the best plan. 10 The Importance of Leadership Who Will Gain from Leadership? Do you want to be a leader? Or, if you’re already a leader, do you want to improve your leadership? Do you want to affect what other people do—to help them accomplish important goals? Do you want to point the way in your organization? Do you want to climb the promotion ladder to positions of higher authority and greater pay? Leadership will make these things possible. You should read this book if: †¢ †¢ You are interested in leadership and how it affects you. You plan to lead an organization or are already in a leadership position. You are interested in developing yourself to meet the challenges you will confront in a leadership role. You wish to make a difference in the world through leadership. †¢ †¢ The Meaning of Leadership What is leadership? It is a process by which one person influences the thoughts, attitudes, and behaviors of others. Leaders set a direction for the rest of us; they help us see what lies ahead; they help us visualize what we might achieve; they encourage us and inspire us. Without leadership a group of human beings quickly degenerates into argument and conflict, because we see things in different ways and lean toward different solutions. Leadership helps to point us in the same direction and harness our efforts jointly. Leadership is the 11 Leadership: How to Lead, How to Live bility to get other people to do something significant that they might not otherwise do. It’s energizing people toward a goal. Without followers, however, a leader isn’t a leader, although followers may only come after a long wait. For example, during the 1930s Winston Churchill urged his fellow Englishmen to face the coming threat from Hitler’s Germany. But most Englishmen preferred to believe that Hitler could be appeased—so that a war could be avoided. They were engaged in wishful thinking about the future and denial that the future would be dangerous. They resented Churchill for nsisting that they must face the danger. They rejected his leadership. He had very few followers. But finally reality intruded—Germany went too far and war began. At this point Churchill was acclaimed for his foresight, and became prime minister of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. During this period almost all Englishmen accepted his leadership willingly. True leadership is sometimes hard to distinguish from false leadership, which is merely a form of pretending. Winston Churchill was a real and great leader. But there are also people who wish to appear to be leaders, but aren’t actually. They say that they are leading others; they posture as if they are setting direction and inspiring others. Yet often they are merely pretending. There’s an old saying that the way to become a leader is to find a parade and run to the front of it. We refer to a person â€Å"leading† a parade, but walking at the front isn’t really leadership unless the person in front is actually choosing the direction! If the person isn’t choosing the direction, then being at the front of the line is merely a way to pretend to be a leader. 12 The Importance of Leadership Leadership can be used for good or ill. Hitler seemed to be a leader of the German people, but he set an evil direction. He had great leadership skills, but put them to terrible uses. Sometimes people in business use leadership skills to exploit others. Sometimes people in charitable organizations use leadership skills to benefit themselves rather than the people they are supposed to help. Leadership skills can be perverted to pursue bad ends. The Importance of Ethics The danger that leadership will be perverted is why ethics are so important to good leadership. Ethics are the inner compass that directs a person toward what is right and fair. Only if a person has an inner ethical compass can he or she be sure that leadership qualities will not turn to evil ends. Learning to lead with good objectives is the only purpose of this book. So let us say that those who do harm are not leaders at all; we recognize that they may be influential and persuasive, but we will not think of them as leaders. With confidence that you, good readers of this book, will put leadership to noble ends, we go forward. The Work of the Leader Taking a leadership position means several things: A leader must have a vision of the future for the organization and its members. 3 Leadership: How to Lead, How to Live EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1-1 TAKING A LEADERSHIP POSITION Taking a leadership position means: †¢ †¢ Having a vision about what can be accomplished. Making a commitment to the mission and to the people you lead. Taking responsibility for the accomplishment of the mission and the welfare of those you lead. Assuming risk of loss and failure. Acc epting recognition for success. †¢ †¢ †¢ A leader must be able to express his or her vision clearly and in a compelling manner so that others are engaged by it. (See Executive Summary 1-1. A leader has to make a commitment to his or her vision, to the organization, and to the members of the organization. A leader can’t be committed one day and uninterested the next. People will judge a leader by his or her commitment, and will commit themselves no more than the leader does. A leader assumes a considerable amount of responsibility— not just for the mission that he or she urges others to accept, nor just for the organization he or she heads, but for his or her followers, their lives and efforts, as well. 14 The Importance of Leadership A leader assumes risk. If there is no risk, little leadership is required. If the effort is easy and certain to succeed, anyone can, and probably will, â€Å"lead† it. But where the effort entails a risk of failure, then many people will quail before the challenge and leadership is necessary to get people to make the commitment and the effort to succeed. In most organizations, one associates high levels of leadership with high levels of authority. The chief executive of a company usually plays more of a leadership role than people at lower levels of the hierarchy in the firm. It is the same in notfor-profits and government agencies. The higher on the job ladder a person is, the more she is expected to exhibit leadership. In the military, however, the opposite holds true, and for a very good reason. In the military the greatest leadership challenge is to get other people to risk their lives in combat. Generally, the higher one goes in the chain of command, the less exposure he has to the battlefield, and the less exposure to men and women who are in combat. The officers who have responsibility for commanding soldiers in combat have the greatest leadership challenge, for they must get others to risk their lives. Michael Jordan’s brother is an army sergeant major leading a deployment in Iraq in which he is responsible for more than 2,000 soldiers. Offered an opportunity to leave his assignment in combat, he chose to stay with his unit in harm’s way. In so doing, he accepted one of the military’s most significant leadership challenges. 15 Leadership: How to Lead, How to Live The first responsibility in a position of leadership is to have a vision. (See Executive Summary 1-2. ) The visionary leader must create his or her concept of what the organization can accomplish. A business leader may be leading a few people in a department or an entire company; a military leader a small squad or an entire army. The vision may be smaller when the group of people is small; and much broader when the group of people is large, but it must be forward-looking and exciting in either case. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1-2 VISIONARY LEADERSHIP Visionary leadership requires: †¢ †¢ Creating a vision, a mission, and a strategy. Communicating the vision/mission/strategy and getting buy-in. Motivating action. Helping an organization grow, evolve, and adapt to changing circumstances. †¢ †¢ The leader must also provide a mission—what needs to be done—and a strategy, a path, for how to accomplish the mission and achieve the vision, a way for the group to get there. But having an exciting vision, an exciting mission, and a careful strategy is not sufficient. A leader must clearly communicate them. Only if people grasp the vision can they commit to it, and buy-in is crucial to motivating action. Finally, a vision cannot be rigid and unchanging; it must adapt 16 The Importance of Leadership to changing circumstances, growing and evolving. Otherwise it becomes outdated and obsolete, and loses its power to excite and motivate people. Leaders versus Administrators and Managers Leadership is not the same thing as being in a position of authority. It is possible to be a boss in a company without being a leader. A boss can be more of an administrator than a leader. Conversely, an administrator can be effective in his job without being a leader. The administrator is a bureaucrat— whether in government or in business—a person who keeps careful records and sees that things are done according to the rules. On the other hand, a leader can be effective without being an administrator—leaving rules, regulations, and their enforcement to others. Administration is not as exciting a topic as leadership, but it is almost as important. The success of organizations depends to a great degree on how well they are administered. A manager is often thought to be primarily an administrator. But a manager is not an administrator; management requires a special set of skills of its own. And being a manager is different from being a leader, as we shall see below. So there are three roles: administrator, manager, and leader. A manager has the broadest role, and a good manager has much of an administrator and a leader in him or her. A manager needs to set direction and inspire others to get work done (leadership functions) and he or she needs to keep records and see that rules are followed (administrative functions). 17 Leadership: How to Lead, How to Live The manager is a necessary combination of leader and administrator. (See D. Quinn Mills, Principles of Management, Waltham, MA: MindEdge Press, 2005. ) But leadership is the most important of the three roles. Administrators What does an administrator do? (See Executive Summary 13. ) An administrator applies rules and regulations generally developed by top executives of an organization. In the government, the key rules and regulations are often issued by legislative authorities like the U. S. Congress). He or she keeps records and fills out forms necessary to take administrative steps (like getting employees paid or reimbursing an employee for travel expenses). EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1-3 ELEMENTS OF ADMINISTRATION The elements of administration are: †¢ †¢ Making rules and regulations Making decisions that apply and interpret rules and regulations Keeping records Filling out forms †¢ †¢ 18 The Importance of Leadership Managers What does a manager do? See Executive Summary 1-4. ) He or she makes plans and creates budgets that set forth in great detail how something will be accomplished and how much money and other resources (e. g. , people, office space) are necessary to accomplish those plans and budgets. He decides who is going to be assigned to the necessary tasks and how they will fit into the organization. She supervises the actions people take, ensuring that they are doing the right things, that no money is being misappropriated or wasted (we call this â€Å"controlling†), and when problems arise she helps to resolve them. Finally, by combining these tasks into a coherent whole, the manager makes the organization operate efficiently. Running an organization effectively requires administration, management, and leadership. Leadership is ordinarily in shorter supply than administrative or managerial competence. Leadership is more important and more demanding for most people. Fewer people are able or willing to be leaders, so it tends to be a higher calling than administration or management. There is a large literature discussing the differences between leaders and managers. There is also an important distinction to make between leaders and administrators. In general, a leader takes a broader view and points an organization toward necessary, even critical, change. The core of the criticism in the literature is that organizations of all sorts (corporations, government agencies, and not-for-profit organizations) tend to be over-managed (and/or over-administrated) and under-led. Because of over-management and overadministration, organizations are slow to make necessary changes and achieve less than what they could. This is a substantial criticism that points to the importance of leadership. 19 Leadership: How to Lead, How to Live EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1-4 ELEMENTS OF MANAGEMENT The elements of management are: †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Planning and budgeting Setting direction Organizing and staffing Aligning the efforts of many people Controlling Decision-making and problem solving Motivating and inspiring people The Nature of Leadership True leadership is special, subtle, and complex. Too often we confuse things like personal style and a position of authority with leadership. †¢ Leadership is not primarily a particular personality trait. A trait closely linked to leadership is charisma, but many people who have charisma (for example, movie actors and sports figures) are not leaders. Leadership is not primarily a set of important objectives. It involves getting things done. †¢ 20 The Importance of Leadership †¢ Leadership is not primarily a formal position. There have been great leaders who did not hold high positions—for example, Martin Luther King, Jr. and Jeanne d’Arc—and there are people who hold high positions who are not leaders at all, but administrators who don’t want to rock the boat. Leadership is not primarily a set of behaviors. Many leadership manuals suggest that what defines leadership is things such as delegating and providing inspiration and vision; but people who are not leaders can do these things, and some effective leaders don’t do them all. †¢ Many discussions of leadership confuse any and all of the above— personality, important objectives, formal position, specific behaviors—with leadership. (See John P. Kotter, What Leaders Really Do, Boston: Harvard Business School Press, 1999. ) But leadership is more than any of the above characteristics. It’s a process by which one influences the thoughts and behaviors of others in a substantial way. It may involve charisma, important objectives, a formal position, and a particular set of behaviors, but it is not limited to any of them. Effective leaders are often very complex people. Writing about Oliver Cromwell, the Lord Protector of England during the English civil wars of the seventeenth century, a foremost historian marveled at the complexity of his personality. â€Å"There was no single Cromwell, â€Å" he wrote, â€Å"—that is, a clear-cut individual†¦Instead, there was a multiplicity of Cromwells, each linked to the other by his enormous vitality†¦Firstly, there was the very human, simple and compassionate man, a visionary and a romantic. Secondly, there was a violent, boisterous and irascible bully. Thirdly, there was the resolute and iron-willed general†¦Fourthly, the calculating politician, the man of expedients who had no guiding principles. 21 Leadership: How to Lead, How to Live And lastly, there was†¦the Cromwell†¦who, as the interpreter of God’s will, was capable of committing any atrocity. † (J. F. C. Fuller, A Military History of the Western World, Volume 2, New York: Funk & Wagnalls, 1955, p. 110. Because leaders can be so complex, we must be careful in our generalizations about leaders and their personalities. But not all leaders are such complex personalities, which is good for most of us who aspire to leadership. Examples of Leadership Leadership in Business In the 1980s Harley-Davidson was almost knocked out of business by competition from other firms. To survive, it needed to change dramatically. Rich Teerlink, the company’s leader, was able to save the firm financial ly, but with the pressure off, the challenge of continuing to improve seemed even more daunting. Could Teerlink get his managers and employees to make the significant, and to many of them inconvenient, changes necessary? He did it by building a different company, one driven from the bottom up by employees rather than from the top down by managers. It’s a story of successes and failures, advances and setbacks, dead ends and breakthroughs, ending in a much stronger company than before. (Read the inspiring story in Rich Teerlink and Lee Ozley, More Than a Motorcycle: The Leadership Journey at Harley-Davidson, Boston: Harvard Business School Press, 2000. 22 The Importance of Leadership Leadership in Government When Charles O. Rossotti became commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in 1997, the agency had the largest customer base—and the lowest approval rating—of any institution in America. Mired in scandal, caught in a political maelstrom, and beset by profound management and technology problems, the IRS was widely dismissed as a hopelessly flawed an d dysfunctional organization. Rossotti— the first businessperson to head the IRS—transformed the much-maligned agency. In the glare of intense public scrutiny, he effected dramatic changes in the way the IRS did business—while the agency continued to collect $2 trillion in revenue. Through heated congressional hearings, encounters with Washington bigwigs, frank exchanges with taxpayers and employees, and risky turnaround strategies, Rossotti demonstrated leadership against daunting odds. (Read this enlightening story in Charles O. Rossotti, Many Unhappy Returns: One Man's Quest to Turn Around the Most Unpopular Organization in America, Boston: Harvard Business School Press, 2005. ) 23

Management Planning Paper Essay

The Boeing Corporation is the world’s leading aerospace company and is the largest manufacturer of commercial jetliners as well as military aircrafts. Boeing has teams that manufacture missiles, satellites, defense systems, and communication systems. NASA turns to Boeing when they need something and Boeing operates the International Space Station. Boeing has a broad range of capabilities and skills, which is probably the reason they are the world’s leading aerospace company. With the Boeing headquarters in Chicago, more than 170,000 people in 70 different countries find themselves employed with the corporation and most of them hold a college degree (Boeing Corporation,  2012). It takes many hard working employees and managers to make Boeing a successful corporation. This paper will discuss the planning function of management, analyze the influence of legal issues, ethics, and corporate social responsibility and their effects on management planning. I will also analyze factors that influence the company’s strategic, tactical, operational, and contingency planning as they relate to the Boeing Corporation. The planning function of management is the process of setting goals within the corporation that are expected to be achieved over a set period. Therefore, Boeing got to be the world’s leading aerospace company by setting such goals. The Boeing Corporation has engineer departments, sales departments, mechanical departments, and product testing departments among a few others. Each individual department will have set goals put in place by corporate and guidelines regarding how they should achieve the desired goal for each project. Each goal is designed for each department to become the most efficient in their levels. There are six steps in management planning. The steps listed in provided course materials are situational analysis, alternative goals and plans, goal and plan evaluation, goal and plan selection, implementation, and monitor and control (Thomas S. Bateman, Scott A. Snell,  2009). Step one gathers and summarizes information that is in question. It examines current conditions with an attempt at forecasting future conditions. Step two generates alternative goals that may be used as an alternate if the first desired plan does not ork. Step three evaluates the potential of the alternative goals and prioritizes/eliminates ones that might or might not work. Step four in management planning is the selecting of goals believed to be most appropriate and feasible by the managers. Step five implements the goals and plans into action by managers. Goal achievement is likely to be linked to the organizationâ₠¬â„¢s reward system to encourage employees to achieve the goals and implement plans properly (Thomas S. Bateman, Scott A. Snell,  2009). Step six is essential in making sure goals and plans are met. If the goals and plans are not monitored and controlled managers would not know if they were ever met successfully. Boeing the huge corporation that it is has had its fair share of legal issues. The corporation has to pay special attention to detail when it concerns obeying the laws and regulations in regard the manufacturing of aircraft. The planes must be tested for safety and flying ability before they ever hit the mainstream public. Notices on the aircraft tell passengers when they should be buckled and when it is considered safe to unbuckle. Engineers have to provide manuals for the aircrafts in case any issues may arise when in use. Ethical issues come into play when Boeing makes bids to other corporations like the military or NASA. They are not allowed to charge prices that people believe to be unfair or make any changes after things have already been agreed upon. This means that the sales department has to plan how much they want to sell their product for. The main corporate social responsibility that Boeing has is safety. They have to engineer items safe for the public to be on/use. With Boeing being the world’s leading Aerospace Corporation, millions of people rely on the use of their products. That means that engineers have to know the latest safety information and managers have to make sure that they put the safety information to use. Strategic planning is used by the Boeing Corporation when making new aircraft and other items. They have to figure out how to market their item just right so that buyers will be interested in it. This planning has led Boeing to make planes more efficient and comfortable for passengers to ride on. Tactical planning is organized for competition, such as Airbus and demand for product. Boeing is a competitor of Airbus, which is another aerospace engineering corporation. Boeing has to be aware of competitor’s new products and when they will be released. This means that they have to formulate and release products either better or more efficient than the competition’s. Operational planning identifies the specific procedures and processes required at the lower-levels within an organization (Thomas S. Bateman, Scott A. Snell,  2009). So within the Boeing Corporation this would be those who deal with the delivery schedules and human resources departments. Every plane that takes off or leaves an airport has to be scheduled and the arrival/departure times displayed so that the public is aware. Human resources is responsible for the hiring/firing of Boeing’s many employees and any issues consumers may have with a product or service. If someone believes that they did not have a good experience in the flight he or she would call the resource department, and the department would most likely do everything in his or her power to make the person feel better. Contingency plans are put in place in case of any challenges that may arise when making their products. A good example of Boeing’s contingency plan is in 2008 they were trying to produce 40 aircraft a year but the United States hit an economic crisis. This meant that Boeing had to cut back their number of aircraft being created so they did not feel the effects of the economic crisis. So Boeing did not become the world’s leading aerospace corporation by doing nothing. It took hard work, planning, and management. There are six steps in management planning that corporations follow to try to ensure their survival in a competitive world. Boeing has had its fair share of legal and ethical issues and tries to abide by the rules and regulations for safety set forth by the goverment. Boeing tries to keep a strategic plan when creating new products and a tactical plan on how to market their items.

Media Audiences Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Media Audiences - Essay Example Stuart Hall defines culture as, "actual grounded terrain of practices, representations, languages and customs of any specified society (Hall, 1996)." By this definition, western culture is its own society, but when referred to, the regions most commonly thought of as embodying western culture are Europe and the United States. The most significant aspect of western culture has to do with the ideology of the hegemony in charge. In western culture this would be the business moguls especially those that own media companies, majority members of government Hall defines representation as "How the world is socially constructed and represented to and by us (Hall, 1996)." The representation is key because it dictates how a group of people will interact with their culture and also how other cultures will preconceive and then receive members of a certain society. Highly acclaimed French Sociologist Pierre Bourdieu has done much work on culture and its influence on decision making. He finds that the public has no genuine representation in democratic societies. When people tend to watch media coverage of certain events and they see the results of polls and statistics, they perceive the information from the perspective of a rational choice theorist. Most people based their decisions on the grounds of believing this theory, but Bourdieu is in opposition to it. Rational Choice theory is the belief that human beings naturally choose a given path dependant on whether it is the best means to achieve their goals. It is a belief in methodological individualism; this meaning it adopts the belief that social situations, and group behavior is solely the result of individual action. Within this theory, corporations and national governments are viewed as individual operators as well. The problem that arises with this theory are the certain assumptions. Thi s theory assumes human beings are aware of certain information, of which they aren't always aware, and it assumes that individuals consistently make mental calculations to determine their next decision. He points out how this belief contributes to the human tendency to conform when he argues that, Doing one's duty as a man means conforming to the social order, and this is a fundamentally a question of respecting rhythms, keeping pace, not falling out of line. 'Don't we all eat the same wheat cake Don't we all get up at the same time These various ways of reasserting solidarity contain an implicit definition of the fundamental virtue of conformity. (Bourdieu, 1977) He later goes on to show that conformities only other opposition is eccentricity, which becomes natural for those intrigued by it irregularity. the opposite of which is the desire to stand apart from others. Working while the others are resting, staying in the house while the others are working in the fields, traveling on deserted roads, wandering round the streets of the village while the others are asleep or at the market - these are all suspicious forms of behavior. The eccentric who does everything differently... (Bourdieu, 1977) Bourdieu believes that society cannot just be analyzed in terms of economic classes and ideologies, but that individual education and culture must be applied as well. Bourdieu does not separate people based on class and then analyze them, but groups everyone into what he calls a field/ social arena. This contradicts classic Marxism, as well

The Differences Between Alexander the Great and Napoleon Essay

The Differences Between Alexander the Great and Napoleon - Essay Example Either way, they were both men of great power. By comparing their differences in personality and ambition, it becomes clear what traits are dominant among those who wish to lead and rule, and what traits are merely quirks of the person. Alexander the third, more commonly known as Alexander the Great of Macedonia, was not the first in his family to be a warrior. His father, King Philip the second had also been a great warrior, bringing together the country of Macedonia. (Brown). For him, conquest was inevitable, as was the taming of his great horse, Bucephalus. Believing himself to be one of the Gods, Alexander took over his father's empire at the age of twenty, when his father was killed. Alexander won conquest after conquest, eventually being named Pharaoh of Egypt. (Brown). Yet as he pushed his men on, they grew resentful, and eventually refused to continue. It was not long after that he because very ill, and died. For Alexander, his ambitions were actually small, but they took on a large meaning. At the time, to be truly the best was to be Greek. Yet he was from Macedonia, a land the Greeks despised. Alexander the third, more commonly known as Alexander the Great of Macedonia, was not the first in his family to be a warrior. His father, King Philip the second had also been a great warrior, bringing together the country of Macedonia. (Brown).   For him, conquest was inevitable, as was the taming of his great horse, Bucephalus. . Believing himself to be one of the Gods, Alexander took over his father’s empire.... force the land and power necessary to become someone great, and indeed, near the end of his conquests he was called the "Lord of Asia" and had conquered many countries. His motivations and ambitions were clear, wealth, fame, power. He also wanted to finish the work of is father, and destroy the Persians, whom the Macedonians thought to be horrible, filthy people. As for his personality, there is much to be seen in some of his earliest moves a nd actions. Bucephalus, his horse, was tamed by him at the age of twelve, when no other man could tame him. Not only was his intelligence clear, but also his sheer determination. When none of the king's men could tame the horse, Alexander said that he could or would pay the cost of the horse. Easily, he noticed that the horse was not unwilling, but his own shadow was scaring him. Turning him into the sun, Alexander easily tamed and rode the horse. It was at this point that his father told him "Oh my son, look thee out a kingdom equal to and worthy of thyself, for Macedonia is too little for thee." (Lamb) The death of his horse some eighteen years later was tragic to Alexander, and he buried his horse in a tomb near a town he named Bucephala, to honor his horse. His kindness to his animals was important; as was his kindness to the people he conquered. Although, like others, he sold women and children into slavery, he was remarkably good to those who did not oppose his rule, and did n ot rape and murder the women, as other leaders might have. He wanted power, but in many ways, it is clear that he also wanted respect. His intelligence is also clear in his ability to understand and learn from Aristotle, one of the greatest philosophers in history.  

The function of design and how graphic design speaks to society and Essay

The function of design and how graphic design speaks to society and affects human experience in in a broad spectrum - Essay Example Paul Rand’s quote above illustrates the essential nature of communication as it relates to graphic design and the design process as it impacts numerous different forms of the public exchange of ideas. In â€Å"Declaration by Design: Rhetoric, Argument, and Demonstration in Design Practice† (1985), Richard Buchanan wrote, "If one idea could be found central to design studies, it most likely would be communication." (Buchanan, 1985)Thus, design affects the human experience by creating an expanded vocabulary of expression to relate the varying degrees of subjective experience to an audience, and further reflects the need of human beings to express themselves in ever more complex thoughts. Simplicity, in this aspect, can be seen as a design tool that cuts through conceptual elaboration to present an archetypal structure or form. The goal of design is to create new words that are not words but symbols, signs, and images which express a message to society through a language t hat both references and transcends common, everyday speech. In this regard, design can be seen as â€Å"stylized language† and speaks of the complexity of social communication while conveying the message or theme of the designer. Design ultimately is a form of art, yet it can be approached scientifically to determine the characteristics which define it and govern its operations culturally. Martin Buber’s theory of knowledge is based upon the analysis of social forms of communication, and in this theory the symbolic aspects of communication are distinguished from signs that merely describe or point directions as a function of communication by the nature of transcendence. Buber creates a number of social relationships as models showing the importance of communication referencing the subjectivity of the â€Å"other† in its means of taking the individual beyond the self into a transcendent state of understanding and shared experience. As this is the intimate, spirit ual nature of communication that we represent in art, it is rare in practice and the actual functional communication in society is often sign oriented in that it only seeks to inform or direct but not provoke a transcendent experience. As Maurice S. Friedman writes in his book â€Å"Martin Buber: the life of dialogue† (2002): "Subject-object, or I-It, knowledge is ultimately nothing other than the socially objectivized and elaborated product of the real meeting which takes place between man and his Thou in the realms of nature, social relationsm and art.† (Friedman, 2002) Buber’s theory of knowledge is important in understanding the social aspects of communication as they relate to design. For example, social communication that is directed or mediated by the sign can be expected to be functional, utilitarian, and descriptive, designed for the facilitation of personal operations in daily life but not particularly concerned with the transcendent as subject matter. Symbolic communication, in contrast, takes as its subject matter and intention the symbolic aspects of expression that relate to the communication of Truth and the communicator seeks to create a higher state of awareness or understanding in the other. Thus, the design and graphic art process should be evaluated first to determine whether the form of social communication is using a language based on signs, which point to other objects, or of symbols, which transcend themselves in shared subjectivity, when

Older Adults in Society Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Older Adults in Society - Assignment Example According to the study ageism â€Å"legitimates the use of chronological age to mark out classes of people who are systematically denied resources and opportunities that others enjoy, and who suffer the consequences of such denigration, ranging from well†meaning patronage to unambiguous vilification’. They further state that it may also give rise to various inherent negative beliefs concerning older people as well the whole process of ageing in general, beginning with well-intentioned benefaction to unequivocal disparagement.From this paper it is clear that  the concept of Ageism, contrary to popular beliefs is a far wider concept and encompasses wider range of issues as compared to mere discrimination on the basis of age. Such beliefs are created socially, which are then reinforced and assimilated within our societies, and are experienced in our social lives.  The term ageism is mostly used to describe the various prejudices and stereotypes which exist in our socie ties today, with regard to older people on the grounds of their age. It also describes the behaviour which is directed towards the older population either directly or indirectly.  The author has identified various types of age related discrimination. While differentiation on the basis of age is a consequence of deep rooted understanding and perception of individuals and mostly occurs as a result of a considerate acknowledgment of the age-related differences.   ... It also describes the behaviour which is directed towards the older population either directly or indirectly (Ray et al., 2006). The author has identified various types of age related discrimination. These include under representative i.e. passive or indirect form of discrimination; positive or protective discrimination which includes giving extra or special treatment to the said age group; and negative or overtly harmful discrimination, which is also known as direct discrimination. Direct discrimination occurs when any individual is given differential treatment on the basis of his/her age, while in case of indirect discrimination although care is provided it is offered in such a way that the older people cannot exploit the services offered for their ultimate benefit, and instead have to suffer due to disproportionate provisions of services (Roberts and Robinson, 2000). According to Adams et al (2006), indirect discrimination occurs when the medical practitioners or organizations res ponsible for providing health care services adopt ageist attitudes with respect to decision-making and service provision. The policies thus implemented in such a way have little or no regard to the needs and requirements of the older section of the population, as their health care needs are given lower priority than required. Thus, due to such an attitude of the health care providers, the aged people find themselves with very few alternatives to seek health care. Such type of ageism, although quite common and rampant, is difficult to challenge and address, especially given its discreet or covert nature. According to Hagestad and Uhlenberg (2005) ageist attitude is related to various factors