psy 2315 unit 2 essay Essays - Psychology, Adjustment, Milliradian

Jacari Gentry, PSY 2315, Spring 2019 Unit 2 Explain how the lyrics relate to adjustment How does the lyrics relate to adjustment? In the psychology, the term adjustment refers to when individuals are able to balance their needs or desires when they are challenged by obstacles in their environment. Adjustment is a process that humans have to face regularly, because we often transition through many phases throughout our lifetime. These can be changes in where one lives, their occupation, or even with friendships and relationships. Although it may prove to be difficult for some, learning how to cope with adjusting could prove to be beneficial for one's overall happiness with their life. These lyrics written by Irving Kahal show an individual who has accepted the adjustment that he has to make in life. The lyrics tell a story of a relationship that has a strong bond between two individuals that will have to adapt to not being to see each other for the foreseeable future. The writer uses the environment around him to help with accepting the adjustment. The lyrics explain how old familiar places, such as a small cafe and the neighborhood park, help the writer remember old memories that were shared with his partner. The writer also uses nature to describe the feelings he has for his partner. Chestnut trees are used to describe the time of the year, and Kahal uses that to express how the little things are used to help with adjusting. Kahal also references the sun and the moon to resemble night and day. When he looks at each one, it continues to remind him of his partner. After reading these lyrics, it helped me understand that adjustment can be easy to deal with if one chooses for it to be. One has to be willing to adapt to sudden changes and use the tool around them for the process to go smoother. I do believe that using the environment around us is the best way to cope with adjusting. Reference: Kahal, I. (1938). I'll be Seeing You.

high expectations yield high performance and respect Essays

high expectations yield high performance and respect Essays high expectations yield high performance and respect Essay high expectations yield high performance and respect Essay high expectations yield high performance and respect BY B00h004848 High expectations yield high performance and respect. Expectations hold immence value in various spheres of life such as society, polity and education. For example we can shed some light on the current Indian political situation in which a newcomer, Arvind KeJriwal, has become a political hero. Arvind KeJriwal who does not belong to a political background managed to outshine political leaders who have spent a lifetime in politics. He alongwith his party members was successful because people ad put their faith in him. They had high expectations from him, which gave him a push towards success. Expectations allow people to know on what basis they are going to be measured and it gives them a sense of direction. Historical and mythical fgures such as GandhiJi and Arjuna were successful because people expected them to be successful. Gandhi] managed to free India from British rule because people had hope from him. They supported him as they expected him to achieve his goal. Arjuna was successful in defeating the Kauravas because Krishna had high xpectations from him. Infact he had so much faith in Arjuna that he expected and persuaded him to fght his brothers. Expectations convey confidence and a sense of trust. Once the expectations are met then people get more confident, which then leads to higher performance in the future. Having high expectations for individuals may result in a positive feedback and consideration from them, but we have to take a few respective preconditions such as age, talent, interest and aptitude into account or else we would have to face negative consequences. One cannot expect a seventy year old person to do the same amount of work as a thirty year old person would do. A seventy year old person is aged, therefore requires more rest. Whereas, a thirty year old person could work for nine hours without rest. When a person works with high expectations of others, he or she might lose focus on the real cause of the expectations. He or she would work to prove their worth and not for his or her own improvement and achievement. Therfore the purpose of expectations is often efeated in the completion of a given task. I would like to conclude by saying that one should fill a pitcher keeping its shape and size in mind. Incase one overlooks that then water may end up overflowing from it. This means that one should place his or her expectations on a person according to his or her interests and aptitude. If one fails to do that the he or she may end up as a failure which would get them frustrated in life. They would get under-confident and may end up disrespecting and disregarding you.

The Negative Effect of Social Media Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The Negative Effect of Social Media - Essay Example The psychological and social impacts of social media are surfacing as the usage of social media is increasing our lives. Social media impacts on different aspects of our lives including emotional state, identity development and even the direction of our lives in some cases. Of these, the emotional impacts of social media are perhaps the most discussed negative implication. Social media has been criticized for the effects it has on the psychological state of its users. According to Lippy Copeland, ‘Facebook appears to exploit an Achilles heel of human nature’ (Copeland). Social media has created a culture where everything a person does is posted on Facebook. This has become an addiction and a burden for the users. Often users post information that becomes a source of envy or depression for their friends. When users see their friends having fun in their lives, they feel a sense of loneliness or depression. The excitement in the pictures may be fake or just a small part of the friend’s life but it creates a feeling of envy in the user. Even the user’s friends who post happy and exciting pictures online are not immune to the negative effects of social media. Information that a user posts online is being used to develop a profile of the user. This process also referred as data mining is used to develop aggregate information about the user using his social media information across different websites. This information is then sold to employees, insurance companies, and other interested parties. According to Lori Andrews, ‘our application for credit could be declined not on the basis of your own finances or credit history, but  on the basis of aggregate data’ (Andrews). Facebook users, as a result, may be robbed off a certain job because of what they posted online; or their insurance premium may rise when they start showing more interest in dangerous sports. While

Korean shamanism Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Korean shamanism - Research Paper Example It could be argued that shamanism embodies the oldest human religion, for the most adventurous of archaeologists provided evidence of shamanistic practices among homo sapiens. Its prevalence all over the world as well indicates that in several ways shamanism is the perfect example of human religiosity. It continues to be extremely important at present, less often clearly as in the case of Haiti than totally as in the case of the Pentecostal.2 The word shaman has a Siberian origin and a shaman is a person who arbitrates the connection between the natural world and a dynamic supernatural dimension or realm of spirits for the goal of obtaining some control over or wisdom of natural phenomena. The practice is indicative of situations in which individuals either had extremely little control over their fate as in ancient societies or whose individual power is inadequate in a world that appears overpowering or menacing as under contemporary capitalism. To obtain a union with a power that is mystical, the shaman is mounted by a spirit after having freed his/her mind from innate limitation. This emancipating process is frequently attained through drugs such as sot-weed or tobacco, whirling or dancing, thumping or singing yawning tones.3 The word shaman is not just Siberian in origin, but Northeast Asia appears to have been a key center of later transmissions of the spiritual practice into the Americas, particularly Native America, and later all over Eurasia, as in ancient Southeast Asia. For the reason that the deepest origin of Korean culture and civilization rest in the Altaic province of Northeast Asia, it is not astonishing that shamanism had a fundamental part in Korean civilization, as it as well does in the case of Tibetan. When the Yamacek, or also called the Tungusic people, moved to the Korean Peninsula at the advent of first millennium B.C., they pioneered a deeply shamanistic culture.4 Among the Yemacek-Tungusic society’s manufactured bronze

Comparison & Contrast Between Two Online Holiday Companies Essay

Comparison & Contrast Between Two Online Holiday Companies - Essay Example This report stresses that lowcostholidays.com is essentially targeting the middle class families who look forward to travelling but have a very limited budget for the same. Kuoni.co.uk, on the other hand, has a different approach and a different feel to the website. The moment we get into the website, it gives a rich appeal and talks about luxury destinations, which clearly implicates their target market. Kouni.co.uk targets the upper class by offering luxury holidays packages with premium pricing which is not affordable by the average middle class families. This paper makes a conclusion that they are still successful with their physical promotion and presence and attract many customers who are looking for relaxations by travelling to some exotic locations. Lowcostholidays.com, on the other hand, is successful in their own way by doing significant online promotions and launching their exclusive application on facebook with the help of Betapond. They have successfully established themselves as low cost solution for travelers worldwide. Sticking to their current market and trying to capitalize on their target customers would help them to continuously be successful in their respective areas. The author of the report approves that since customer feedback is quite essential for the process, there is a rating prompt after every chat to enable the visitor comment on the level of service. This is very important for quality assurance purposes. It is also interesting to note that the company’ website is able to provide online booking and qu ote services. As a result, one does not have to visit Kuoni’s offices to be able to book for his or her preferred destination.

Getting it Right for Every Child (GIRFEC) policy

Getting it Right for Every Child (GIRFEC) policy Social Work as a profession is heavily influenced by political rhetoric and ideology albeit there has been a shift in governmental philosophy from the beginnings of the profession. Due to Neo-Liberal ideas commonly adopted by the main political parties in the United Kingdom, social work services are beginning to be based on free market principles. Social work and social care services have seen an increase in privatised quasi markets. The role of the social worker in all of this is one that can be contested and is certainly not static; it is a profession that I believe should attempt to be diverse and fluid. The aim of this essay is, to discuss too what extent there is a social work role beyond ‘the rationing of scarce services and managing of poor people’ (Ferguson and Lavalette 2013:108) This will be achieved by looking the Getting it Right for Every Child (GIRFEC) policy and what it means for social workers in a statutory children’s and families team before draw ing a conclusion. I intend to highlight the importance of early intervention as laid out in GIRFEC and what this means for social workers. GIRFEC also emphasises the importance of joint up working and I intend to highlight some of the failings of this and the tensions this creates for social workers on the front line. Finally, I will look at how GIRFEC is being put into practice by drawing on research from the Institute of Research and Innovation in Social Services (IRISS); Changing how we work: a case study in East Lothian. Firstly, however it is important to briefly explore the beginnings of policy implementation and how todays austerity measures effect policy being put into practice. Social work services go back over one hundred and fifty years but it was during the late 1960s that it became apparent that a framework of legislation was needed. This resulted in the Social Work (Scotland) Act 1968. The Kilbrandon report 1964 was a major driver in this act along with the white paper Social Work and the Community 1966. The Kilbrandon report called for the introduction of children’s hearings and ‘introduced a new way of dealing with what were described as children who were in need of compulsory care’. (Fabb and Guthrie 2007:150) Smith and White (2008:21) add that ‘the thinking of the Kilbrandon Committee was strongly educational, reflecting longstanding views that social wellbeing and social cohesion through education should be the ambition of the system.’ The Kilbrandon report is still one of the most significant policies in relation to social work practice. Ferguson and Lavalette (2013) highlight how austerity measures and welfare reform mixed with the marketization of social work services is impacting on the social work task. Neoliberalism is an ideology now adopted by the main political parties in the United Kingdom and is a take on classic liberal beliefs such as ‘free trade and the free market’ (Hoffman and Graham 2009:) Neo-liberal theorists believe that the role of welfare should not lie with the state and they ‘question the need for the majority of publically funded, state delivered, or state regulated institutions that, taken together, comprise a welfare state.’ (Ellison 2012:) This can be seen in society today in many ways, for example, with the introduction of universal credit and benefit capping both making an attempt to reduce welfare costs. This could also explain the ever growing involvement and use of the voluntary or third sector in social work services. GIRFEC: The aims of the policy GIRFEC was introduced by the Scottish Government in 2008 in an attempt to improve the way in which work is undertaken by professionals working with children and their families. The policy was developed after a string of recommendations and reports surrounding child protection, one of which being It’s everyone’s job to make sure I’m alright Report of the Child Protection Audit and Review(2002: 1) which highlighted the importance of ‘a Scotland in which every child matters’. Another significant report was my turn to talk? (Scottish Executive 2006:), which highlighted that ‘child-related professionals and decision makers across Scotland have both moral and legal obligations to encourage and support children’s participation.’ I believe that this push for child participation will in turn promote active citizenship for children. From these reports and others it was clear that new policy guidance was necessary and so GIRFEC was adopted. GIRFEC aims to co-ordinate the services’ children receive as well as managing the consistency in the delivery of these services. The Scottish Governments guide to getting it right for every child (2012:6) states that ‘it is the bedrock for all children’s services’. Putting the child at the centre of the services they receive is high on the agenda throughout and the policy puts a high emphasis on multi-agency working and the importance of early intervention. The policy was created in respect to ten core components and has a strong set of values that were developed from the Children’s Charter 2004 which ‘reflects the voice of children and young people and what they feel they need, and should be able to expect, when they have problems or are in difficulty and need to be protected.’ (Scottish Government 2004) The wellbeing wheel, my world triangle and resilience matrix, together known as the National practice model, are assessment tools used within GIRFEC to effectively manage and analyse the information required for a child’s plan. The wellbeing wheel consists of eight indicators of wellbeing that ‘are the basic requirements for all children and young people to grow and develop’ (Scottish Government 2012:10). These are: Safe, Healthy, Achieving, Nurtured, Active, Respected, Responsible and Included. (SHANARRI). Deep rooted in this, is the four competences from the Curriculum of Excellence: a successful learner, a confident individual, a responsible citizen and an effective contributor. I consider the combination of well-being and the curriculum for excellence to be a strong indicator for the push for multi-agency work that is evident throughout the policy. GIRFEC: A drive for early intervention and multi-agency working and the tensions these bring. Early intervention is one of the key themes running throughout the policy. The Changing Lives Report of the 21st Century Social Worker Review illustrates a four tiered approach to early intervention, incorporating the social workers role. (Scottish Government 2006:31). It stresses how social workers are involved in the early stages of intervention and how as crisis situations develop, other universal services step back. I wonder how involved we really are at tiers 1 and 2 and believe this will vary between local authorities. The Scottish Government(2006:31) state that, ‘social workers have a significant contribution to make at tiers 1 and 2, supporting and informing the delivery of services both within social work and across partner agencies.’ However, McGhee and Waterhouse (2011:1097) contradict this by arguing that: ‘for social work, early intervention has taken on a different meaning from that at tiers 1 and 2 †¦ early intervention begins at tier 3 and concerns individuals who already present significant vulnerability and risk and who are beyond the remit and capacity of universal services.’ This points out that early intervention may frequently be the responsibility of health professionals and education. However, early intervention at tiers 1 and 2 is perhaps what social work should be about it with its professional values pushing towards social justice. The Highland ‘s children services practice guidance (2013:11) ‘emphasises the critical part played by health and education services in supporting the development of all children. Difficulties or concerns are identified at an early stage and steps taken to ensure that additional help is available when needed. Help is given as quickly as possible and in consultation with children and their families.’ This backs up what McGhee and Waterhouse argue early intervention is like for social workers; their idea that social workers are not involved at tier 1 and 2. Another Key theme to shape GIRFEC is that of the importance of multi-agency working. Although GIRFEC calls for a push towards a better system of multi-agency working it is not something that is new to the literature. (Wilson et al 2011) Multi-agency became high on the political agenda after the death of Victoria Climbie who ‘was slowly tortured to death despite the involvement of four social service departments, three police child protection teams, health agencies and voluntary agencies.’ (Marinetto 2011:1164) An inquiry into Victoria’s death highlighted the breakdown between professional organisations and called for better co-ordination between services and organisations. With the importance of professionals working together and sharing information stressed here it is no wonder that it is such a key feature in policy documents. The principle behind multi-agency working sounds simple; ‘professionals with different backgrounds, from different intellectual dis ciplines and with different roles work together to provide care and support to service users and people around them.’ (Payne 2007:146) However, for social workers there are tensions to be considered. Atkinson et al (2005) looks at research carried out into multi-agency working and highlights eight challenges; fiscal resources, roles and responsibilities, competing priorities, non-fiscal resources, communication, professional and agency cultures, management and training opportunities. Some of the problems identified within these areas were that there was no financial support and many workers did not know what was being asked of their individual role between them and the rest of the multi-agency team. There were often different primacies amongst the different professions leading to conflict. As a social worker it is imperative that I aim to overcome these tensions and difficulties. In regards to GIRFEC, I expect that the introduction of the named person will help coordinate the multi-agency approach although lack of funding and resources is something that is always going to be a threat to the smooth running of a statu tory children and families team attempting to work alongside other professionals under the GIRFEC framework. The Audit Commission (2009:3) states that ‘Effective joint workingneeds active leadership and purposeful relationship management.’ The report highlights how working together in multi-agency teams is not without risk and that difficulties can arise if the agencies have not developed effective relationships. Strong leadership seems to be a key theme throughout the literature. The Scottish Government (2010) states that ‘Partnership working requires leadership at all levels and across services. In order to make partnership working effective, leadership needs to be the responsibility of everyone.’ If this is adopted and everyone is clear on what their roles and responsibilities are it should enable an effective way of working. How can we implement GIRFEC into practice? In October 2012, IRISS worked alongside East Lothian Council to enable them to implement GIRFEC. The sub group working together involved social workers, police, child protection, the third sector, education and health. Collins (2013:) states that she had ‘initially conceptualised this project as a means to help an organisation reflect on and improve their use of evidence, however, as the project progressed it became evident that the lessons really centred around how a multi-disciplinary team can learn to work together well and change the way they work.’ So here we have a positive example promoting the practice of multi-agency working, however, arriving at this conclusion was not easy. The study points out that in the beginnings people were reluctant to the prospect of the group – ‘We don’t even have the same beliefs.’ (Collins 2013:5) The next problem to address was that when it came down to it, people didn’t fully understand the best way to comprehend GIRFEC- ‘The problem is interpretation of GIRFEC. Some people are putting ‘safe’ at the top of the pyramid. But safe is not the only thing. It doesn’t have to be the most important.’ (Collins 2013:7) These difficulties are only to name a few, but as the group moved onward planning strategies were implemented, based comprehensively on reflection which the group named ‘the action research cycle’ (Collins 2013:16), with successful results. Conclusion Going back to Ferguson and Lavalettes quote, it would be ethically undermining to say that social work is about rationing limited resources and welfare management and that the GIRFEC policy aims to tackle every aspect of a child’s well-being with a multi-agency approach. Although as previously highlighted, the importance of multi-agency working is not new to the literature, within GIRFEC there is a drive for a more effective method in which universal services can work together in partnership with a thrust towards early intervention, although it may be argued that social workers are being locked of this. To an extent, I agree with this and believe that austerity measures are influencing this and together with welfare reforms and an ever growing number of families living in poverty then at present social workers roles may be changing but I am uncertain at present as to say to what extent. What I am certain of is that the service users within a statutory children’s and fam ilies team will be effected whether it be through the ever increasing cost of living and proportion of them relying on low income wages or through local authorities having to cut funding to specialised services and protects.

Shays Rebellion :: American History

Shays Rebellion 1) Shays' Rebellion, the post-Revolutionary clash between New England farmers and merchants that tested the precarious institutions of the new republic, threatened to plunge the "disunited states" into a civil war. The rebellion arose in Massachusetts in 1786, spread to other states, and culminated in an abortive attack on a federal arsenal. It wound down in 1787 with the election of a more popular governor, an economic upswing, and the creation of the Constitution of the United States in Philadelphia. Shay's Rebellion was the first armed uprising of the new nation. It was caused by the absence of debt relief legislation in Massachusetts. When the Revolution ended, merchants and creditors lobbied for high taxes and against paper money. They were successful. These procreditor polices underminded farmers' finances. The legislation, including foreclosure laws, were extremely taxing to farmers and caused many to go into great debt. Many farmers were dragged to court where they faced high legal fees and threats of imprisonment because of their debt. In 1786, farmers in Massachusetts attended extralegal meetings where they protested against high taxes and aggressive eastern creditors. Bands of angry farmers joined together to close law courts with force and freed debtors and fellow protesters from jail. Resistance to the legislation climbed to a full-scale revolt. John Adams, president at the time, answered with the Riot Act, which outlawed illegal assemblies. The rebellion was suppresse d by military force. The rebellion prompted leaders with national perspective to redouble their efforts and create a stronger central government. 2) Economic crisis: high taxes, mounting debt A series of tax revolts by Massachusetts farmers against the Massachusetts legislature in 1786-1787. After the Revolutionary War, the Massachusetts legislature imposed high taxes to pay war debts. Rural farmers could not pay their taxes and faced forfeiture of their farms. Resentment of the taxes increased to the point that the farmers began to break up court sessions to prevent judges from ruling that specific farms should be sold to pay tax bills. These minor acts of rebellion turned violent in January 1787 when Daniel Shays, a farmer and Revolutionary War veteran, led 1200 people into Springfield to seize weapons from a national government arsenal. Massachusetts State military troops quickly put down the rebellion, but the event shocked the nation at the time. Shays' Rebellion hinted that law and order were seriously breaking down across the new United States to the extent that the national government, under the Articles of Confederation, could not even protect its own arsenal.

I Believe That Every Thing Happens for a Reason Essay

But now I have learned that it is true. I can’t really explain how I came to realize, because I don’t really know. I guess it was just through my parents and through me becoming more mature and understanding as I grew older. I have learned through my own experiences and struggles of accepting things that happen in my life that I didn’t expect. In my opinion, there is no such thing as luck. Everything that God does has its own special purpose in each of our lives. Acceptance is a very difficult concept to gain. For people who have lost a loved one or had something tragic happen to them, they don’t want to go around saying that there is a good reason that happened, because it doesn’t make sense to them. They don’t understand how something good could come out of all of their trouble and heartache. But God doesn’t make mistakes. Maybe this struggle will help them to understand their purpose in life; something that they never would have realized any other way. He knows what is right for you, even if you don’t think its right for you at the time. Through our experiences and the things that we think go wrong in our life, God reveals things to us. He shows us our weaknesses and the things we need to work out in our lives. Sometimes, God puts us in these situations to bring us closer to Him; so when things don’t go the way we planned, even if we are upset at first, we will run to Him for comfort and strength to get us through it. A lot of times, we don’t see clearly God’s reasons for the things that he does. And we may never know! Maybe it was to create a relationship with someone that you would have never met, or maybe something bad, in your eyes, happens to create something better in the long run. The things that go on in your life create a chain reaction; everything that you say and do leads to something else, which leads to something else. Everything that God does in your life fits in to that process somewhere, even if you don’t understand why. You have to remember this when things do go the way you had planned, because there is probably a really good reason why things happened the way they did. It’s a lot easier to understand through smaller situations. If you don’t get accepted into the college that you were hoping to get in to, maybe it’s because you are going to meet your future husband/wife somewhere else. Sometimes you may think that just because your parents won’t let you go to a party or spend the night at your friend’s house, your life is ruined, but you are wrong. Maybe God laid that on your mom’s heart to avoid you from getting in trouble with the police or in a serious car accident. You will never really know the true reasons for why these things happen, but all you have to do is remember that he has a reason for everything and have trust. If you put your trust in the Lord, you don’t have to question things in your life. You just know that he will take care of everything. Every day, I apply this to my own life. I pray that things will go according to His plan and that I will accept the things that happen and learn from the experiences I have as a teenager, and even as I become an adult. Although my beliefs get me through my struggles, I still have problems with the acceptance of situations sometimes. Sometimes our selfish human nature makes us want to question God and ask him why things happen the way they do. But he is the one who knows what is best for us and his way will be a lot better for you in the long run.

Foreign Policy Under Thomas Jefferson

Foreign Policy Under Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson, a Democrat-Republican, won the presidency from John Adams in the election of 1800. Highs and lows marked his foreign policy initiatives, which included the spectacularly successful Louisiana Purchase, and the horrid Embargo Act. Years in Office: first term, 1801-1805; second term, 1805-1809. Foreign Policy Ranking: first term, good; second term, disastrous Barbary War Jefferson was the first president to commit US forces to a foreign war. Barbary pirates, sailing from Tripoli (now the capital of Libya) and other places in North Africa, had long demanded tribute payments from American merchant ships plying the Mediterranean Sea. In 1801, however, they raised their demands, and Jefferson demanded an end to the practice of bribe payments. Jefferson sent US Navy ships and a contingent of Marines to Tripoli, where a brief engagement with pirates marked the United States first successful overseas venture. The conflict also helped convince Jefferson, never a supporter of large standing armies, that the United States needed a professionally trained military officer cadre. As such, he signed legislation to create the United States Military Academy at West Point. Louisiana Purchase In 1763, France lost the French and Indian War to Great Britain. Before the Treaty of Paris of 1763 stripped it permanently of all territory in North America, France ceded Louisiana (a roughly defined territory west of the Mississippi River and south of the 49th Parallel) to Spain for diplomatic safe-keeping. France planned to retrieve it from Spain in the future. The deal made Spain nervous as it feared to lose the territory, first to Great Britain, then to the United States after 1783. To prevent incursions, Spain periodically shut down the Mississippi to Anglo-American trade. President Washington, through Pinckneys Treaty in 1796, negotiated an end to Spanish interference on the river. In 1802, Napoleon, now emperor of France, made plans to reclaim Louisiana from Spain. Jefferson recognized that French reacquisition of Louisiana would negate Pinckneys Treaty, and he sent a diplomatic delegation to Paris to renegotiate it. In the meantime, a military corps that Napoleon had sent to reoccupy New Orleans had run afoul of disease and revolution in Haiti. It subsequently abandoned its mission, causing Napoleon to consider Louisiana too costly and cumbersome to maintain. Upon meeting the US delegation, Napoleons ministers offered to sell the United States all of Louisiana for $15 million. The diplomats did not have the authority to make the purchase, so they wrote to Jefferson and waited weeks for a response. Jefferson favored a strict interpretation of the Constitution; that is, he did not favor wide latitude in interpreting the document. He abruptly switched to a loose constitutional interpretation of executive authority and okayed the purchase. In doing so, he doubled the size of the United States cheaply and without warfare. The Louisiana Purchase was Jeffersons greatest diplomatic and foreign policy achievement. Embargo Act When fighting between France and England intensified, Jefferson tried to craft a foreign policy that allowed the United States to trade with both belligerents without taking sides in their war. That was impossible, given that both sides considered trade with the other a de facto act of war. While both countries violated American neutral trade rights with a series of trade restrictions, the United States considered Great Britain to be the biggest violator because of its practice of impressment- kidnapping US sailors from American ships to serve in the British navy. In 1806, Congress- now controlled by Democrat-Republicans- passed the Non-Importation Act, which prohibited the import of certain goods from the British Empire. The act did no good, and both Great Britain and France continued to deny American neutral rights. Congress and Jefferson ultimately responded with the Embargo Act in 1807. The act, believe it or not, prohibited American trade with all nations- period. Certainly, the act contained loopholes, and some foreign goods came in while smugglers got some American goods out. But the act stopped the bulk of American trade, hurting the nations economy. In fact, it wrecked the economy of New England, which relied almost exclusively on trade to support its economy. The act rested, in part, on Jeffersons inability to craft a creative foreign policy for the situation. It also pointed out American arrogance which believed the major European nations would cave in without American goods. The Embargo Act failed, and Jefferson ended it just days before he left office in March 1809. It marked the lowest point of his foreign policy attempts.

The History of the Cabbage Patch Kids Dolls

The History of the Cabbage Patch Kids Dolls During the 1983 Christmas season, parents in the United States frantically searched everywhere for the coveted Cabbage Patch Kids dolls. While many stores had extremely long waiting lists, others had a first-come first-serve policy, which led to shocking, vicious fights between potential buyers. By the end of the year, approximately three million Cabbage Patch Kids dolls had been adopted. The Cabbage Patch Kids frenzy of 1983 was to be the first of many such holiday-season, toy frenzies in the years to come. What Is a Cabbage Patch Kids Doll? In 1983, a Cabbage Patch Kids doll was a 16-inch doll, usually with a plastic head, a fabric body, and yarn hair (unless it was bald). What made them so desirable, besides the fact that they were huggable, was both their supposed uniqueness and their adoptability. It was claimed that each Cabbage Patch Kids doll was unique. Different head molds, eye shapes and colors, hair styles and colors, and clothing options did make each one look different than the other. This, plus the fact that inside each Cabbage Patch Kids box came a birth certificate with that particular kids first and middle name on it, made the dolls as individual as the kids who wanted to adopt them. The official Cabbage Patch Kids story tells of a young boy named Xavier Roberts, who was led by a Bunnybee through a waterfall, down a long tunnel, and out into a magical land where a cabbage patch grew little children. When he was asked to help, Roberts agreed to find loving homes for these Cabbage Patch Kids. The real Xavier Roberts, who invented the Cabbage Patch Kids dolls, had no trouble adopting out his dolls in 1983, for real kids around the country vied to be one of the few whose parents were able to buy them one. The Real Story Behind the Cabbage Patch Dolls The real history of Cabbage Patch Kids dolls had little to do with Bunnybees; instead, the real story began with 21-year-old Xavier Roberts, who, when he was an art student, came up with the beginning doll idea in 1976. By 1978, Roberts joined up with five of his school friends and started a company called the Original Appalachian Artworks, Inc., which sold the entirely plush, hand-made Little People dolls (the name was to change later). Roberts would travel to arts and craft shows to sell his dolls, which already had the signature adoption aspect to them. The dolls were a hit even with the first buyers and soon orders started to pour in. By 1981, Roberts and his dolls were being written about in many magazines, even appearing on the cover of Atlantic Weekly. In 1982, Roberts and his friends were unable to keep up with the orders and thus signed a contract with Coleco, a toy manufacturer, who could mass produce the dolls, which were now to have plastic heads and be called Cabbage Patch Kids. By the following year, Coleco couldnt keep up either. Kids were demanding the doll, causing a buying frenzy at the end of 1983. A Few Things You Dont Know About Cabbage Patch Kids Dolls Later, when Hasbro took over manufacturing (1989 to 1994), the dolls shrunk down to 14 inches tall. Mattel, which manufactured Cabbage Patch Kids from 1994 to today also kept the smaller, 14-inch size. On the left-side of every dolls tush, you can find the signature of Cabbage Patch Kids inventor, Xavier Roberts. However, what you might not know is that just about every year the dolls were made, the color of the signature changed. For instance, in 1983, the signature was black but in 1993 it was forest green. If you are an avid fan of Cabbage Patch Kids, you can go visit the Babyland General Hospital and see the birth of a doll. Located in Cleveland, Georgia, the large, Southern-style house holds thousands of Cabbage Patch Kids dolls. Be forewarned, it is highly unlikely that you could bring kids here and escape without buying them a doll. Do you have a Cabbage Patch Kids doll in your garage that youre hoping will eventually bring you lots of money? Check out the Doll Collecting site at About.com to find out if what you have is worth anything.

SCHOOL FINANCE BUDGET REDUCTION PLAN AND JUSTIFICATION Essay

SCHOOL FINANCE BUDGET REDUCTION PLAN AND JUSTIFICATION - Essay Example It is the duty of the principal to go back to their respective campuses and then collaborate with their school leadership teams in order to develop a comprehensive plan regarding how to accomplish such budgetary reductions from their existing operating budget. The objective of the study is to plan the budget cut from given information and justify the items chosen to remove or reduce from the school budget in order to meet the district requirements. Budget Reduction Plan The most challenging task of budget cut is to determine the primary sources of revenues and expenditure and then to allocate scarce resources according to requirements. It is general that in a high school, the majority of school budget is allocated towards the benefits and compensations of their staff. In such a scenario it is very important to keep in mind that any significant reduction in the compensation of core teachers and most important staff might lead to de-motivation of staffs and unrest in the campuses. In order to avoid such disputes, the rest of the budget allocations have to be re-planned and prioritized in such a manner so as to help the districts meet goals and standards of the students’ academic performance (Williamson, 2011, pp.1-5). The annual budget is a statement of expenditures and revenues that are likely in a high school during the fiscal. It has to be determined at a prior stage whether the school would have enough funds to pay for the necessary activities by ensuring optimum resource allocation matching school priorities. The budget has to be realistic in the sense that all items of reduction have to be justified to respective departments when cuts will be introduced. All minute details must be highlighted such as any probable error in estimating teaching staff requirements in case any staff leaves the school. Also, it must be ensured that all regulatory and statutory requirements have been complied with. A realistic school budget will ensure financial stability by lowering financial crisis risk during the year; educational excellence by hiring the best teachers available at attractive packages; and reputation and image of school reflected from the relationship between the authority, pupils, and staffs. T he first stage of budget reduction plan is to identify the primary sources of revenues and expenditures (Hechinger Institute, 2011, pp.1-9). Identification of Primary Sources of Revenues The expenditures of a high school are generally divided into three categories namely, salaries and employee benefits, materials and supplies and capital expenditures. In addition, the states also collect expenditure data of school by transportation, operations, debt service and maintenance. It is important to note that the schools hire instructional staffs, custodians, and cafeteria workers in addition to licensed staff members such as administration and teaching staffs, librarian, counselors, etc. Thus, the biggest expenditures in a school are consumed by the personnel. During the 1950s, the teachers’ constituted almost 74% of total school staff and the numbers have been reducing since then as the percentage of instructional staff has been increasing. In the 20th century the percentage of te achers dropped by almost 33% and they have been replaced by instructional aides. The teachers’ salaries are compensated by most districts under single salary schedule where teachers are compensated on the basis of their educational level and total years of experience in teaching profession (Serwach

Indian Ocean Tsunami Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Indian Ocean Tsunami - Essay Example Proper building strategies should have promoted buildings with escape routes, cautionary system and safe places. Construction of physical barriers or dykes around the sea could have greatly reduced the effects of tsunami. Mitigation approaches could also have been applied to correct the situation. Such measures involve analysis of possible destructions from other similar occurrences. Such measures would also involve an analysis of seismic triggers to establish areas prone to an earthquake. Communication between the authority, seismologists, and the society could have helped to improve the situation as well. Such communication would be followed by recommendations and possible correction measures for any possible occurrence. Authorities in the affected areas could also have applied early warnings to the people. Such warnings would encourage the people to vacate the affected areas for safer grounds. This required the region to have a well-established transport and communication system. Physical developments on the land could also have reduced the effects of tsunami. Physical elevation of the ground, building barriers in high risk areas, drainage systems and onshore and offshore barriers might have helped to prevent damages and reduce a number of victims