The Stupidest Angel Chapter 3

Chapter 3 HOSED FOR THE HOLIDAYS Tuesday night. Christmas was still four days away, and yet there was Santa Claus cruising right down the main street of town in his big red pickup truck: waving to the kids, weaving in his lane, belching into his beard, more than a little drunk. â€Å"Ho, ho, ho,† said Dale Pearson, evil developer and Caribou Lodge Santa for the sixth consecutive year. â€Å"Ho, ho, ho,† he said, suppressing the urge to add and a bottle of rum, his demeanor more akin to that of Blackbeard than Saint Nicholas. Parents pointed, children waved and frisked. By now, all of Pine Cove was abuzz with expat Christmas cheer. Every hotel room was full, and there wasn't a parking space to be found down on Cypress Street, where shoppers pumped their chestnuts into an open fire of credit-card swipe-and-spend denial. It smelled of cinnamon and pine, peppermint and joy. This was not the coarse commercialism of a Los Angeles or San Francisco Christmas. This was the refined, sincere commercialism of small-town New England, where a century ago Norman Rockwell had invented Christmas. This was real. But Dale didn't get it. â€Å"Merry, happy – oh, eat me, you little vermin,† Dale grinched from behind his tinted windows. Actually, the whole Christmas appeal of their village was a bit of a mystery to the residents of Pine Cove. It wasn't exactly a winter wonderland; the median temperature in the winter was sixty-five degrees Fahrenheit, and only a couple of really old guys could remember it ever having snowed. Neither was it a tropical-beach getaway. The ocean there was bitterly cold, with an average visibility of eighteen inches, and a huge elephant seal rookery at the shore. Through the winter thousands of the rotund pinnipeds lay strewn across Pine Cove beaches like great barking turds, and although not dangerous in themselves, they were the dietary mainstay of the great white shark, which had evolved over 120 million years into the perfect excuse for never entering water over one's ankles. So if it wasn't the weather or the water, what in the hell was it? Perhaps it was the pine trees themselves. Christmas trees. â€Å"My trees, goddammit,† Dale grumbled to himself. Pine Cove lay in the last natural Monterey-pine forest in the world. Because they grow as much as twenty feet a year, Monterey pines are the very trees cultivated for Christmas trees. The good news was you could go to almost any undeveloped lot in town and cut yourself a very respectable Christmas tree. The bad news was that it was a crime to do so unless you obtained a permit and planted five trees to replace it. The Monterey pines were a protected species, as any local builder could tell you, because whenever they cut down a few trees to build a home, they had to plant a forest to replace them. A station wagon with a Christmas tree lashed to the roof backed out in front of Dale's pickup. â€Å"Get that piece of shit off my street,† Dale scrooged. â€Å"And Merry Christmas to all you scumbags,† he added, in keeping with the season. Dale Pearson, quite unwillingly, had become the Johnny Appleseed of the Christmas tree, having planted tens of thousands of seedlings to replace the thousands that he had chain-sawed to build rows of tract mansions across Pine Cove's hills. But while the law stated that the replacement trees had to be planted within the municipality of Pine Cove, it didn't say that they had to go in anywhere near where they had actually been cut down, so Dale planted all of his trees around the cemetery at the old Santa Rosa Chapel. He'd bought the land, ten acres, years ago, in hope of subdividing it and building luxury homes, but some hippie meddlers from the California Historical Society stepped in and had the old two-room chapel declared a historic landmark, thus making it impossible for him to develop his land. So in straight rows, with no thought for the natural lay of a forest, his construction crews planted Monterey pines until the trees became as thick around the chapel as feathers on a bird 's back. For the last four years, during the week before Christmas, someone had gone onto Dale's land and dug up truckloads of live pine trees. He was tired of answering to the county about having to replace them. He didn't give a damn about the trees, but he'd be damned if he'd put up with someone siccing the county watchdogs on him over and over. He'd fulfilled his duty to his Caribou buddies of passing out joke gifts to them and their wives, but now he was going to catch a thief. His Christmas present this year was going to be a little justice. That's all he wanted, just a little justice. The jolly old elf turned off Cypress and headed up the hill toward the chapel, patting the thirty-eight snub-nose revolver he'd stuffed into his wide black belt. Lena hefted the second Christmas tree into the bed of her little Toyota pickup and snuggled it into one of the ten-gallon cedar boxes that she'd nailed together herself just for that purpose. The underprivileged were only getting four-footers this year, maybe a foot or so taller once in the box. It had rained only once since October, so it had taken her nearly an hour and a half to dig the two saplings from the hard, dry ground. She wanted people to have live Christmas trees, but if she went for full seven-footers she'd be out here all night and only get a couple. This is real work, Lena thought. By day she did property management for vacation rentals at a local realtor, sometimes putting in ten- or twelve-hour days during the peak seasons, but she realized that hours spent and actual work were two different things. She realized it every year when she came out here by herself and got behind her bright red shovel. Sweat was pouring down her face. She wiped her hair out of her eyes with the back of a chamois work glove, leaving a streak of dirt on her forehead. She shrugged off the flannel shirt she'd put on against the night chill and worked in a tight black tank top and olive drab cargo pants. With her red shovel in hand, she looked like some kind of Christmas commando there at the edge of the forest. She sank the shovel into the pine straw about a foot from the trunk of the next tree she'd targeted and jumped on the blade, pogoing up and down until the blade was buried to the hilt. She was swinging on the handle, trying to lever up the forest floor, when a bright set of headlights swept across the edge of the forest and stopped with a stereo spotlight on Lena's truck. There's nothing to worry about, she thought. I'm not going to hide, I'm not going to duck. She wasn't doing anything wrong. Not really. Well, sure, technically, she was stealing, and breaking a couple of county ordinances about harvesting Monterey pines, but she wasn't really harvesting them, was she? She was just transplanting them. And†¦ and she was giving to the poor. She was like Robin Hood. No one was going to mess with Robin Hood. Just the same she smiled at the headlamps and did a sort of â€Å"oh well, I guess I'm busted† shrug that she hoped was cute. She shielded her eyes with her hand and tried to squint into the headlights to see who was driving the truck. Yes, she was sure it was a truck. The engine sputtered to a stop. A slight nausea rose in Lena's throat as she realized that it was a diesel truck. The truck's door opened, and when the light went on Lena caught a glimpse of someone in a red-and-white hat behind the wheel. Huh? Santa was coming out of the blinding light toward her. Santa with a flashlight, and what was that in his belt? Santa had a gun. â€Å"Dammit, Lena, I should have known it was you,† he said. Josh Barker was in big trouble. Big trouble indeed. He was only seven, but he was pretty sure his life was ruined. He hurried along Church Street trying to figure out how he was going to explain to his mom. An hour and a half late. Home long after dark. And he hadn't called. And Christmas just a few days away. Forget explaining it to his mom, how was he going to explain it to Santa? Santa might understand, though, since he knew toys. But Mom would never buy it. He'd been playing Barbarian George's Big Crusade on the PlayStation at his friend Sam's house, and they'd gotten into the infidel territory and killed thousands of the ‘Rackies, but the game just didn't have any way to exit. It wasn't designed so you could ever get out of it, and before he knew it, it was dark outside and he'd forgotten, and Christmas was just going to be ruined. He wanted an Xbox 2, but there was no way Santa was going to bring it with a home long after dark AND a didn't even bother to call on his list. Sam had summarized Josh's situation as he led him out the door and looked at the night sky: â€Å"Dude, you're hosed.† â€Å"I'm not hosed, you're hosed,† said Josh. â€Å"I'm not hosed,† Sam said. â€Å"I'm Jewish. No Santa. We don't have Christmas.† â€Å"Well, you're really hosed, then.† â€Å"Shut up, I am not hosed.† But as Sam said it he put his hands in his pockets and Josh could hear him clicking his dreidel against his asthma inhaler, and his friend did, indeed, appear to be hosed. â€Å"Okay, you're not hosed,† said Josh. â€Å"Sorry. I'd better go.† â€Å"Yeah,† said Sam. â€Å"Yeah,† said Josh, realizing now how the longer it took him to get home the more hosed he was going to be. But as he hurried up Church Street toward home, he realized that perhaps he would receive an emergency reprieve on his hosing, for there, at the edge of the forest, was Santa himself. And although Santa did appear to be quite angry, his anger was directed at a woman who was standing knee-deep in a hole, holding a red shovel. Santa held one of those heavy black Maglite flashlights in one hand and was shining it in the woman's eyes as he yelled at her. â€Å"These are my trees. Mine, dammit,† said Santa. Aha! Josh thought. Dammit was not bad enough to get you on the naughty list, not if Santa himself said it. He'd told his mom that, but she'd insisted that dammit was a list item. â€Å"I'm only taking a few,† said the woman. â€Å"For people who can't afford a Christmas tree. You can't begrudge something that simple to a few poor families.† â€Å"The fuck I can't.† Well, Josh had been sure the F-word would get you on the list. He was shocked. Santa pushed the flashlight in the woman's eyes. She brushed it aside. â€Å"Look,† she said, â€Å"I'll just take this last one and go.† â€Å"You will not.† Santa shoved the flashlight in the woman's face again, but this time when she brushed it away, he flipped it around and bopped her on the head with it. â€Å"Ouch!† That had to hurt. Josh could feel the blow rattle the woman's teeth all the way across the street. Santa certainly felt strongly about his Christmas trees. The woman used the shovel to brush the flashlight out of her face again. Santa bopped her again with the flashlight, harder this time, and the woman yowled and fell to her knees in the hole. Santa reached into his big black belt and pulled out a gun and pointed it at the woman. She came up swinging the shovel in a wide arc and the blade caught Santa hard in the side of the head with a dull metallic clank. Santa staggered and raised the pistol again. The woman crouched and covered her head, the shovel braced blade up under her arm. But as he aimed, Santa lost his balance, and fell forward onto the upraised blade of the shovel. The blade went up under his beard and suddenly his beard was as bright red as his suit. He dropped the gun and the flashlight, made a gurgling noise, and fell down to where Josh could no longer see him. Josh could barely hear the woman crying as he ran home, the pulse in his ears ringing like sleigh bells. Santa was dead. Christmas was ruined. Josh was hosed. Speaking of hosed: three blocks away, Tucker Case moped along Worchester Street, trying to exercise off his dinner of bad diner food with a brisk walk under the weight of a large measure of self-pity. He was pushing forty, trim, blond, and tan – the look of an aging surfer or a golf pro in his prime. Fifty feet above him, a giant fruit bat swooped through the treetops, his leathery wings silent against the night. So he could sneak up on peaches and stuff without being detected. Tuck thought. â€Å"Roberto, do your business and let's get back to the hotel,† Tuck called into the sky. The fruit bat barked and snagged an overhead limb as he passed, his momentum nearly sending him in a loop around it before he pendulumed and settled in upside-down attitude. The bat barked again, licked his little doggy chops, and folded his great wings around himself to ward off the coastal cold. â€Å"Fine,† Tuck said, â€Å"but you're not getting back into the room until you poop.† He'd inherited the bat from a Filipino navigator he'd met while flying a private jet for a doctor in Micronesia; a job he'd only taken because his U.S. pilot's license had been yanked for crashing the pink Mary Jean Cosmetic jet while initiating a young woman into the Mile-High Club. Drunk. After Micronesia he'd moved to the Caribbean with his fruit bat and his beautiful new island wife and started a charter business. Now, six years later, his beautiful island wife was running the charter business with a seven-foot Rastafarian and Tucker Case had nothing to his name but a fruit bat and temporary gig flying helicopters for the DEA, spotting marijuana patches in the Big Sur wilderness area. Which put him in Pine Cove, holed up in a cheap motel room, four days before Christmas, alone. Lonesome. Hosed. Tuck had once been a ladies' man of the highest order – a Don Juan, a Casanova, a Kennedy sans cash – yet now he was in a town where he didn't know a soul and he hadn't even met a single woman to try to seduce. A few years of marriage had almost ruined him. He'd become accustomed to affectionate female company without a great deal of manipulation, subterfuge, and guile. He missed it. He didn't want to spend Christmas alone, dammit. Yet here he was. And there she was. A damsel in distress. A woman, alone, out here in the night, crying – and from what Tuck could tell by the headlights of a nearby pickup truck, she had a nice shape. Great hair. Beautiful high cheekbones, streaked with tears and mud, but you know, exotic-looking. Tuck checked to see that Roberto was still safely hanging above, then straightened his bomber jacket and made his way across the street. â€Å"Hey there, are you okay?† The woman jumped, screamed a bit, looked around frantically until she spotted him â€Å"Oh my God,† she said. Tuck had had worse responses. He pressed on â€Å"Are you okay?† he repeated. â€Å"You looked like you were having some trouble.† â€Å"I think he's dead,† the woman said. â€Å"I think – I think I killed him† Tuck looked at the red-and-white pile on the ground at his feet and realized for the first time what it really was: a dead Santa. A normal person might have freaked out, backed away, tried to quickly extract himself from the situation, but Tucker Case was a pilot, trained to function in life-and-death emergencies, practiced at grace under pressure, and besides, he was lonely and this woman was really hot. â€Å"So, a dead Santa,† said Tuck. â€Å"Do you live around here?† â€Å"I didn't mean to kill him. He was coming at me with a gun I just ducked, and when I looked up – † She waved toward the pile of dead Kringle. â€Å"I guess the shovel caught him in the throat.† She seemed to be calming down a bit. Tuck nodded thoughtfully â€Å"So, Santa was coming at you with a gun?† The woman pointed to the gun, lying in the dirt next to the Maglite â€Å"I see,† said Tuck. â€Å"Did you know this –  » â€Å"Yes. His name is Dale Pearson. He drank.† â€Å"I don't. Stopped years ago,† Tuck said. â€Å"By the way, I'm Tucker Case. Are you married?† He extended his hand to her to shake. She seemed to see him for the first time. â€Å"Lena Marquez. No, I'm divorced; â€Å"Me, too,† said Tuck. â€Å"Tough around the holidays, isn't it? Kids?† â€Å"No. Mr., uh, Case, this man is my ex-husband and he's dead.† â€Å"Yep. I just gave my ex the house and my business, but this does seems cheaper,† Tuck said. â€Å"We had a fight yesterday at the grocery store in front of a dozen people. I had the motive, the opportunity, and the means – † She pointed to the shovel. â€Å"Everyone will think I killed him.† â€Å"Not to mention that you did kill him.† â€Å"And don't think the media won't latch onto that? It's my shovel sticking out of his neck.† â€Å"Maybe you should wipe off your prints and stuff. You didn't get any DNA on him, did you?† She stretched the front of her shirt out and started dabbing at the shovel's handle. â€Å"DNA? Like what?† â€Å"You know, hair, blood, semen? Nothing like that?† â€Å"No.† She was furiously buffing the handle of the shovel with the front of her tank top, being careful not to get too close to the end that was stuck in the dead guy. Strangely, Tuck found the process slightly erotic. â€Å"I think you got the fingerprints, but I'm a little concerned about there where your name is spelled out in Magic Marker on the handle. That might give things away.† â€Å"People never return garden tools if you don't mark them,† Lena said. Then she began to cry again. â€Å"Oh my God, I've killed him.† Tuck went to her side and put his arm around her shoulders. â€Å"Hey, hey, hey, it's not so bad. At least you don't have kids you have to explain this to.† â€Å"What am I going to do? My life is over.† â€Å"Don't talk like that,† Tuck said, trying to sound cheerful. â€Å"Look, you've got a perfectly good shovel here, and this hole is nearly finished. What say we shove Santa in, clean up the area a little, and I take you to dinner.† He grinned. She looked up at him. â€Å"Who are you?† â€Å"Just a nice guy trying to help out a lady in distress.† â€Å"And you want to take me out to dinner?† She seemed to be slipping into shock. â€Å"Not this minute. Once we get this all under control.† â€Å"I just killed a man,† she said. â€Å"Yeah, but not on purpose, right?† â€Å"A man I used to love is dead.† â€Å"Damn shame, too,† Tuck said. â€Å"You like Italian?† She stepped away from him and looked him up and down, paying special attention to the right shoulder of his bomber jacket, where the brown leather had been scraped so many times it looked like suede. â€Å"What happened to your jacket?† â€Å"My fruit bat likes to climb on me.† â€Å"Your fruit bat?† â€Å"Look, you can't get through life without accumulating a little baggage, right?† Tuck nodded toward the deceased to make his point. â€Å"I'll explain over dinner.† Lena nodded slowly. â€Å"We'll have to hide his truck.† â€Å"Of course.† â€Å"Okay, then,† Lena said. â€Å"Would you mind pulling the shovel – uh, I can't believe this is happening.† â€Å"I got it,† Tuck said, jumping into the hole and dislodging the spade from Saint Nick's neck. â€Å"Call it an early Christmas present.† Tuck took off his jacket and began digging in the hard ground. He felt light, a little giddy, thrilled that he wasn't going to have to spend Christmas alone with the bat again.

Element of Law

Malaysian parliament system is derived from the Westminster System which that is the parliamentary system of government that has been adopted in the United Kingdom (U. K. ) as well as many parts of the Britain Empire. Westminster System consist few characteristics. In U. K. , the three organs of the English legal system, which is name as the Legislature, the Executive, and the Judiciary is lead by the sovereign, or the monarch and it also known as a constitutional monarchy. Her Majesty the Queen is the representative of the people and the Head of the State in the same time although the powers of the sovereign have been diluted by the effect of the Bill of Right 1689. Yet, the throne still passes on from generation by generation in the Royal Family by succession. Besides, the supreme power of authority in the Westminster System is hold by the head of state. The head of state can impose and collecting taxes, applying laws and forming treaties in commerce with foreign countries. Read Essay In Westminster Abbey Analysis In an election, the leader of the winning party will directly become the Prime Minister of that country and also the wide power wielded by the head of state or the Prime Minister which is become a characteristics of this system. The Prime Minister also can hold the mandate of the people. The Executive branch will form by the remaining party members and known as the Government for the country. Examples of Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak has been appointed as the Sixth Prime Minister in Malaysia since 3rd April 2009, and his leading party National Front are form the Executive branch of Malaysia. The party is obtains the second highest number of votes in the elections are known as the opposition party. This party is function to forming an effective check-and balance mechanism to achieve transparency in the Legislature for the benefit and to prevent abuse of power. Furthermore, they also can compel the resignation of the government when existing government are meet with the motion of no confidence. The Westminster System also characterized by its bicameral system in the Legislature or Parliament, which is means it is consists two Houses- the House of Lords and the House of Commons. The House of Lords is constituted by legal experts in the country such as lawyers and academicians for the usage of draft legislation which is to be implemented in the country whereas the House of Commons is formed by the people who are winning in the election of the country. The new law will be process in these two houses. Moreover, Parliamentary privilege is also a special characteristic in the Westminster System, where members of parliament are given the opportunity to speak and debate freely about the matters in the country in ordinary parliamentary proceedings. Members may not arrest and not legal action will be taken against any statements in Parliament under the Act of Parliamentary Privilege 1987. Hansard is for use to record the parliamentary debates and it is an invaluable source of information. Government Process Malaysia was independent since 1957. Our Malaysia’s government system has furnished institutional ballast and stability to a country. As we known, Malaysia government system and process are mostly like as British ‘Westminster’ and ‘Whitehall’ models. The valid functioning of the Malaysian government system is attributable to the monarchy, and nevertheless to the three main branches of government which is the legislature, the executive, and the judiciary. The doctrine of the separation of these three ‘powers’ is guaranteed by the Federal Constitution. The interplay of every branches of government is testimony to an orderly political process in which the government’s writ is large and regarded as indispensable. Certainly, Malaysia has an authoritative and working government system once the role of police, civil service, and armed forces are taken into account. Undeniably, Malaysia is a country of constitution monarchy. The Yang di-Pertuan Agong or Paramount Ruler is an elective position which signifies national unity and stand for the Malay underpinning of a multi-racial nation. At the federal level, House of Representatives are form by the representation of the people and supported by the Senate. However, in the Malaysian context it is the apportionment of executive responsibility to Minister in the Cabinet that in practice forms the core of the political system whereas the judiciary represent the third pillar of the government system. The head of the executive of government is the Prime minister. The prime minister of Malaysia is the embodiment of elective political power and of the ambition of the body politic. The Prime Minister is the important role for the nation’s political, social fabric and economic of that country. Example of first Prime Minister in Malaysia- Tunku Abdul Rahman, he is the first and only Chief Minister of Federation of Malaya from 1955 to scramble the Independence of Malaya and Malaysia was successful to independence in 1957. Besides, he and his successors have had their own personality and ideas to stamped on the various phases of the country’s development. Political Process In the political process, election of the nation and state levels are to decide the government mandate that contributed to Malaysia’s overall political development. Elections also decide the representation in Parliament, and those parties are won the majority seats in Parliament to forms the government for the five years and that can help to peaceful political change within all political parties. Besides, the manner in which political parties have flourished is conspicuous feature of the Malaysian political process. This is important to the spirit of democratic governance and helps some post-colonial countries to achieve independence and reduced the military dictatorship or single party with supreme power. There are three factors caused the party system need to endured. First, in the past of roots of the colonial, where liberal-democratic ideas were injected into society. Second, the communist threats to the Alliance government following Malaya’s Independence strengthen the domination coalition’s undertaking to democracy. The last is a party system allowed for pluralism in a multi-racial society in order to all races to be one of represented in government. It has been the ability to coalesce competing ethnic demands by mediation between political parties that show Malaysia’s political process was success. In the success, the power-sharing formula forged through the Barisan Nasional to guide the Alliance to won in the eleven general elections since 1957. In the BN, the United Malays National Organization (UMNO) was the party that lead to seek for independence but it has share power with the Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA), the Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC), Parti Bersatu Sabah, the Sarawak United People’s Party and other BN components parties that has gather the power or ability to win in election to control the Parliament and the various convocation. As we seen, political tensions in Malaysia become serious now. There are many action taken by someone and political party. First, our Malaysian 13th general elections should be take place by March 2013 but our Prime Minister delayed until 03 April 2013 only announced the dissolution of Parliament and general election held on 05 Mei 2013. Many opposition party parliamentary have complain about this issue but they have not right to control the Prime Minister to decide when to dissolve the Parliament even the Judiciary hard to intervene. Besides, the sodomy case of the leader of opposition party, Anwar Ibrahim, has cast a shadow over the whole political process even the case was thrown out of court on 9 January 2012, but not more than 10 days the attorney general had lodged an appeal on this case. Because of this, the political tensions escalate again and the efforts of Prime Minister to reforms have been slander. The range of reforms included the repeal Internal Security Act that allowed for detention without trial has been negates due to the decision to appeal. The decision to appeal against Anwar case allowed the Malaysian and most international observers consider as a politically motivated. If the government had not appealed Anwar’s acquittal, opposition has more power to beat the BN government due to most worrying issues today such as economy, inequality, crime inflation, immigrant workers and corruption. But this all are stop by the existing government and hard to appeal in the court. Opposition party have claim out electoral reforms request. But most of the term in the list of electoral reforms have rejected by the BN government and only one term are adopted in the 13th general election but it has failed and costly to adopted this term. This matter has made the many Malaysian very angry and disappointed on it. This all things are control by the BN government and not one can intervene in this issue and also hard move this issue into court. On my opinion, I think that the separation of power is not functional in Malaysia. This is because all the things are control by the government and Prime Minister even the judge are appointed by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong but is advised by Prime Minister that show the Prime Minister has supreme power to decide anything and we have not power or little power to refute it.

Kodak Essay

Foreword During 2011, Kodak was under intense pressure to survive in the digital imaging business. As professor Burley describes, ‘Kodak was caught in a perfect storm of not only technological, but also social and economic change’ (Neate, 2012). As of Thursday 19 January 2012, Kodak filed for bankruptcy protection (Neate, 2012) and has until 2013 to reshape its business and exit out of the bankruptcy plan (Business Spectator, 2012). Introduction Eastman Kodak (Kodak) was once a leader (Finnerty, 2000) and legendary brand in the photographic film industry (Associated Press, 2011b). It used the catchy slogan â€Å"You press the button, we do the rest† (Kodak, 2011) to successfully market its digital camera products. It employed as many as 145,300 people and sales as high as $16 billion when it monopolized the US photography industry and became number one in the industry in 1988 (Dobbin, 2011). Recently, Kodak lost 90 percent of its market value (Weiss, 2011) and is facing the threat of extinction (Associated Press, 2011b). In this case study, we propose and defend a recommended strategic direction for the company to implement in the next three to five years based on a balanced assessment of the company’s options. We first conduct a detailed analysis of Kodak’s internal and external environments to understand the opportunities and threats facing the company. Analysis Kodak has tried to transform itself from an aged old film technology business into a fast and digital cultured business but has failed as a result of decline in sales in the United States (Deutsch, 2004). It is still trying to play catch-up with rivals (Associated Press, 2011b) such as Canon, Sony and HP for the past 15 years. Its current products and services span across digital cameras, inkjet printers, sensors, retail kiosks, workflow and business process services and software through to consumer, professional photographic film, paper processing chemicals and industrial materials such  as films for printed circuit boards (Kodak, 2010). Through the help of drug and discounts stores, Kodak was able to add self-service kiosks to encourage people to print their own digital photos (Deutsch, 2004). Kodak formed strategic joint ventures with companies like Sanofi, AOL online (Grant, 2005), and most recently in 2007 Cinelabs (Beijing) Ltd (Kodak, 2007). It has tried to acquire several s maller successful companies such as Ofoto and Practice works to fill in the missing pieces of technology and markets that it did not have capabilities in (Deutsch, 2004). Strengths Kodak has several strengths to distinguish itself from rivals. Kodak has superior brand recognition (Aaker, 1992; Deutsch, 2004; Grant, 2005) as compared to rival brands such as Agfa based on US consumer reports (Simonson et al., 1994). Its brand was supported by its massive worldwide distribution presence through retail photography stores, film processors and professional photographers which provided Kodak with the competitive advantage (Grant, 2005). Kodak leads in the higher-end photo quality camera segment (Smith, 1999) where it launched its major innovations in imaging (Grant, 2005). Traditionally, Kodak has strengths in photofinishing services and consumables such as paper, ink and chemical technology (Grant, 2005). This is derived from a rich portfolio of 11,000 patents (Associated Press, 2011b) derived from a strong R&D investment during the early 1980s (Grant, 2005). Kodak was financially secure with cash flows flowing from its existing photography business during the early 1990s (Grant, 2005). Weaknesses On the other hand, Kodak has weaknesses. Kodak avoided taking risks, they were not innovative enough and relied on existing procedures and policies to maintain standards (Gavetti et al., 2005). They were slow to bring new products to market (Grant, 2005). Its retail network of stores was a depreciating asset due to the increase use of home computers, email and print technologies (Grant, 2005). Kodak focused too heavily on the extremely competitive entry-level market and failed to develop innovative products fast enough (Grant, 2005). Its product development and sales departments were fragmented and scattered over many divisions (Gavetti et al., 2005). Subsequently, Kodak’s middle managers were resistant to change and did not understand the digital world (Gavetti et al., 2005; Lucus & Goh, 2009).  Kodak managers ignored analysis work based on information gained from Kodak’s eroding market share (Gavetti et al., 2005). Kodak managers lacked vision and strategy (Gavetti et al., 2005). Opportunities A few opportunities exist for Kodak. It can build consumer trust in digital that Kodak already has in film (Smith, 1999). Kodak could focus on its core business and develop new technologies (Gavetti et al., 2005) and new products (Deutsch, 2004). Threats However, Kodak will suffer long term threats to its core franchise in the film business if it does not extend its brand name to digital (Smith, 1999). IBISWorld forecasts the demand for physical photographs would fall due to improvements in digital technology (IBISWorld, 2011). Kodak has been in battles with other competitors such as Sony over patent infringements (Deutsch, 2004; Associated Press, 2011a). It has been struggling with a price war between strong competitors such as Fuji Photo Film (Smith, 1999) in the photographic film industry. Industry analysis – Porter’s five forces Threat of Entry An analysis of the industry using Porter’s five forces shows that threat of new entry is moderate. Significant investment in capital would be required to enter a new industry (Select Knowledge, 2001) such as the digital imaging and photography industry. Printing equipment such as hardware, software, photographic paper and chemicals is estimated to be 45.7% of purchases versus wages at 26.8% of revenue (IBISWorld, 2011). New entrants would lack experience and knowledge in key areas of digital imaging and photography such as technical and business knowledge (Greenwood, 2008). Buyer power The buying power of consumers is high especially for consumer electronics (Skoloda, 2009). Buyers are given a range of differentiated digital camera products from a number of companies (IBISWorld, 2010). They expect better offerings and customization of goods and services (Fraser, 2007). Supplier power Supplier power is low. A lot of the suppliers are located around the world  both locally and internationally. Kodak has several supplier contracts spanning one to three years (Kodak, 2010). However, there are single or limited sources of finished goods manufactured and purchased by the company’s third party suppliers which may pose a risk for the organization (Kodak, 2010). Unique suppliers can reduce industry profitability (McGuigan et al., 2010). Threat of substitution The threat of substitutes is high. Companies are quick to match specifications, features and pricing (Select Knowledge, 2001). There are minimal switching costs between brands or substitutes as buyers can change to new updated models based on reasonable buyer perception (Select Knowledge, 2001). Competitive rivalry Competitive rivalry is high. Kodak’s faces intense competition from rivals such as start-ups (Grant, 2005; IBISWorld, 2010; Smith, 1999;) and major competitors are Canon, Fuji Photo Film, Hewlett Packard (HP), Nikon and Sony (Gavetti et al., 2005). Similarly, Kodak is competing in similar segments with rivals – Hewlett-Packard (HP) to provide digital printing technology to consumers and commercial businesses (Weiss, 2011). Kodak (2010) states that competitive pricing and rising commodity prices has contributed to the negative results for 2010 across its prepress solutions, digital capture and devices, and entertainment imaging (Kodak, 2010). External Analysis There are several external (political and legal, economical, socio-cultural and technological) factors which impact Kodak’s business model. Political and legal  Laws and government environmental regulations have an impact to the way Kodak operates in several different countries. For example, U.S federal legislations such as the Toxic substances control act, clean air and water act etc. impact the way Kodak manufactures products and process waste for proper disposal (Kodak, 2010). In 2003, it needed to form a committee to reduce odours which descended towards nearby neighborhoods (Kodak, 2006). Economical From an economical view, the decline in prices has made it affordable for  consumers to purchase digital cameras (IBISWorld, 2010). However, forecasts show that standalone digital cameras have reached a state of market saturation with little room for future growth (IBISWorld, 2010). Socio-cultural and Technological Digital cameras became an integrated and standard feature in mobile phones (IBISWorld, 2010). Increasing trends show that consumers are taking and sharing photos on mobile phones daily (Okabe, 2004). The archiving and exchange functions for photos have been facilitated by online communities and social practices (Scifo, 2009), such as Facebook (Upbin, 2011), and mobile social-media applications (Naaman et al., 2005). Intense competition between rivals is expected for new 3D camera technology on mobile phones (AFP, 2010). Strategy, approaches & implications In order for Kodak to sustain a competitive advantage, it needs to strategically transform its entire business model around to capture new and unique growth opportunities. There are several options which Kodak can explore to achieve this strategy. The options below focus on structural changes in the industry and resources (skills and capabilities) in the organisation. Business Process Re-engineering (BPR) Kodak can reconstruct the organisation using business process re-engineering practices. Its current traditional photographic business is vertically integrated (Grant, 2005). The organisation can be redesigned from a vertically to a horizontally integrated organisation through process-oriented organizational restructuring, offering a more low-level flat organisational structure (Wu & Li, 2011). The result gives improved efficiency and business simplification (Wu & Li, 2011) for Kodak to compete effectively in a tough competitive environment where it needs to quickly deliver innovative products out to market. Kodak can focus on its real core competencies in film chemistry, production and processing (Garrett, 2010), so that it can create new markets, products and services. BPR gives obvious benefits such as the reduction in complex bureaucracy in the organisation (Wu & Li, 2011). However, as cited by Greenberg (2002), there are limitations in BPR such as resistance to change, lack of ma nagement support etc. (Schniederjans & Kim, 2003). Rebranding Other opportunities exists for Kodak, it can change its name from Eastman Kodak Company to say Kodak Communication (Deutsch, 2004), or as Hopelain suggests, it will need to establish a separate Kodak Technology brand (Deutsch, 2004). An organisation’s strategy and operations will be potentially impacted by the scope of corporate rebranding (Burke et al., 2011). Stakeholder commitment needs to be achieved for the revised brand to be successful (Burke et al., 2011). It will involve staff in planning for proposed changes and training employees for changes (Burke et al., 2011). Any rebrand will impact the value of the brand (Davis & Baldwin, 2006). Rebranding will involve a lot of communication and stakeholder involvement (Davis & Baldwin, 2006). Poor corporate rebranding can be a high risk (Davis & Baldwin, 2006) for the organisation where core values may not integrate well into the new brand (Burke et al., 2011). Leadership and organisational learning Kodak will need to train staff, especially managers in weak areas on vision and strategy (Gavetti et al., 2005). For example, managers can be taught ‘design methods’, to generate growth, evolve, and react as the marketplace (Rahim & Rahim, 2009) and user needs changes so that the business model can evolve to bypass extinction (Fraser, 2007). Similarly, Apple evolved with the user to new opportunities, it did not live to the constraints of its current business model (Fraser, 2007). Subsequently, Kodak will need to discontinue some of its products, especially in saturated markets such as digital cameras (IBISWorld, 2010) where profit margins are low (Pride & Ferrell, 2007) and competition is fierce. It can better utilise its resources and real core competencies (Garrett, 2010) to make it difficult to imitate its products (Prahalad & Hamel, 1990) and demonstrate leadership. However, leaders would need to be able to influence teams indirectly through climate and culture in t he organisation (Kaiser et al., 2008). Technology enabled transformations will affect the importance of organisational culture (Lucus & Goh, 2009) where hierarchy and standards provides resistance to disruptive technologies (Lucus & Goh, 2009). Joint ventures and outsourcing Kodak can form joint ventures with other companies. It can create new emerging industries or new value propositions, alliances and collaboration – to be form by complementing and adding to its capabilities and resources (Camillus, 2000). It can capitalise heavily on its existing patent portfolio (Deutsch, 2004). Kodak will need to outsource a lot more of its manufacturing (Deutsch, 2004), while part-time and casual staff can lead to the reduction of labour costs (IBISWorld, 2011). Extreme care needs to be taken where processes of high strategic importance should not be outsourced (Sounderpandian & Sinha, 2007). The result will allow Kodak, to develop new competencies for future developments and sustain the importance of long-term success (Utterback, 1995). Recommendation To sustain competitive advantage, Kodak needs to strategically transform its entire business model around to capture new and unique growth opportunities. It is recommended that Kodak, take the BPR and organisational learning approach, to improve efficiency and simplify the organisation; leadership to communicate and influence vision and change (Bolman & Deal, 2008); to capture new business models and better match user needs and economic value (Fraser, 2007). Larsen & Leinsdorff (1998) research suggests that BPR and organisational learning work well together (Larsen & Leinsdorff, 1998). Though, developing a coherent strategy is not going to be easy for a digital imaging business (Grant, 2005) like Kodak. It will be Kodak’s last chance to ‘reinvigorate their human capital to get ahead of the curve’ (Fraser, 2007, p.67).

How do diplomacy,economic policies and military action work together Research Paper

How do diplomacy,economic policies and military action work together in the United States foreign policy - Research Paper Example To date, we consider the US as the strongest economic power on the global sphere as well as the strongest nation in the entire world in terms of wars. She has the most sophisticated machinery and military personnel’s than any other country in the world. She has as well the strongest army in the world. Above all, the economy of America has overtaken any economy in the entire world at present. The world’s economic base is pegged on the dollar monopoly whereby the US dollar is used as the world’s medium of exchange and for business transactions across the entire globe. It is only the United States currency which has been accepted as the medium of exchange for all international business transactions and not the other currencies. Even though the European pound is also used for international business transactions, it is the US dollar which dominates the global market. The European pound has only been used to a limited scale especially among the nations making up the Eu ropean Union and a few of her colonies. Heo and Karl (2004) argue that the stability of the United States monopoly of the world has however been threatened by some other rising world economies (Heo and Karl 2004). These other small economies which have been rising to keep at purr with the US economy include that of Japan and China. These economies however have not reached the levels of being able to control the world economy as the United States has managed. There is power in the extent or the area of land and the total population commanded by a state to be considered powerful. The small economies mentioned above have not been able to make it to the global sphere because of their small land sizes as well as their small populations. In terms of military specialization and war dominations, the world has been looking forward to the development of nuclear weapons for purposes of war. Many nations considered to be among the strongest nations in the world have developed very technical and sophisticated war machines. Wang has listed some of these such as South Korea among others. These countries have as well developed very lethal nuclear weapons which have been considered a major source of threat to the entire world (Wang 1999). As a result there have been rumors of wars as well as some other wars fought between various nations of the world. The rumors of wars are what the political analysts and war experts refer to as the cold war and begun some years ago. In order to maintain the economic, political and military power, the united states knows very well that she has to employ certain techniques to enable her survive in her position. This paper will investigate how the United States of America has been using her political, economic and diplomatic mechanisms in her foreign policies to rue the entire world and to establish herself as the world’s super power. 2 The monopoly of the US economy and military power has been threatened by some countries today forcing t he US to revise her stand on how she controls and rule the world. Some of the states which have posed threats to US of late include Iran, Syria among others (Kegley 1998). These are mostly the Arab nations. These countries have made America to realize the need to strengthen her missions abroad and change the overall process of monitoring the world’

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Infromation Systems for Healthcare Management - Technology Role in Healthcare - Essay Example Technological advancements continue to climb, as the new generation i.e. youth shows curiosity in grabbing and exploring these new technologies for a new and bright future prospect. The current trend is leading information technology towards an essential skill that will make itself similar to writing, reading and the new skill called as ‘computing’ (CEO's guide to health care information systems.1997). The trend is affecting all sectors including the health care. As healthcare facilities are now equipped with integrated health care information systems including application software, network and data communications, access and data management, information processing, Wide Area Network, Local Area Network and Clinical decision support systems. Moreover, there are other network components including switches, bridges, hubs and routers. Before incorporating a network, system architecture is essential, as it will define the nature of data communication i.e. client / server arc hitecture or mainframe architecture. The second key consideration is the legacy system sustainability and integration. For instance, there are old systems that that cannot be removed instantly instead; data can be migrated gradually to the new systems, while the old system must also be operational. The third key consideration is the central data repository (CDR), as healthcare information systems interact with CDR to extract patient records, it will not be possible to replace the CDR completely (Clinical information systems for integrated healthcare networks). In order to integrate all the remote medical facilities, client/server architecture is the best option. The client/server architecture will incorporate a centralized interface engine connected to a central data repository. The implementation will be conducted on the nearest centralized medical facility. The computer network installation of client/server architecture will incorporate switches, bridges, hubs and routers. However , in order to make a centralized network operational, LAN architecture installation is required for each location. The installation includes CAT 5 cables, the quantity of a network switch depends on how many users needs access to the system. Moreover, Wide Area Network (WAN) device, which will connect each location. WAN is defined by network dictionary as â€Å"A Wide Area Network (WAN) is a computer network covering multiple distance areas, which may spread across the entire world. WANs often connect multiple smaller networks, such as local area networks (LANs) or metro area networks (MANs).† However, bandwidth requirements vary and depend on the core healthcare application. The legacy system integration in terms of organizing data is essential, as these systems do not share data with other sites. The solution for this issue is to collect the data in a portable device and store it in a central data repository (Clinical information systems for integrated healthcare networks). In order to integrate legacy systems on the new LAN architecture, an Ethernet card and system software installation is required. However, the installation process is not time consuming. The central data repository is a centralized location on the network. In order to connect each medical facility with the CDR, network connectivity is vital. If any of the workstation disconnect, the required data cannot be achieved. As previously, employees do not face such issues due to data availability on

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Human Activities on Environment - Essay Example Human global population has tripled since 1936. The increase of population and growth of technology have jointly given rise to globalization. Human activity is the main cause of the current decline in the biosphere's rich diversity and productivity that support all life on earth. The global economy has sapped the meaning, value and significance of constraints of nature. Strawberries can be purchased in the mid of winter, thus we do not have to wait for the summers to come. In big cities, the ecosystem services of cleaning air and water, and decomposing sewage are controlled by humans with economical power. The sense of local has been destroyed by the globalization of telecommunications and politics. The lack of natural constraints has allowed humans, the superspecies to grow beyond the nature’s capacity. In the later half of the 20th century, the notion of environmentalism emerged with the increase of environmental pollution of all sorts caused by human activities. Proposed so lutions required humans to decide what to remove from and what to restore in the environment and make regulations accordingly. Much of the human perception about science is shaped by the results of lab experiments that are mere imitations of reality and can not imitate the context in which things happen in the nature.

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Final exam - international relation - Essay Example However, environmental decay has overtaken the world in the recent years, owing to the poor interaction of the herein stated forces. The discussion in this paper investigates the difference between floating and fixed exchange rates and the impacts of each style to a particular country in terms of benefits. The study of the guns vs. butter argument and what is meant by a peace dividend in International Relations is found crucial at this juncture to enhance the understanding of international relations. An overview of what sustainable development will also be provided in addition to relevance of three warning signs of environmental decay that has international consequences. What is the difference between floating and fixed exchange rates? How might each style benefit a particular country? Provide examples The value for money for utilization in distinct countries is determined by the exchange rates. The exchange rates entail the utilization of interconversional figures from a value in on e country, for ease of use in another country. Two main types of exchange rates are in existence, whose determinants are the usage terms and regulations. The currency amount that is set in advance prior to its reception is often identified as the fixed rate. The exchange rate termed as floating currency is often dependent on the exchange time and season, hence not fixed. The fixed currency exchange rate is also termed as pegged from in that the government via the central bank sets a particular value and formalizes it for official use, such that no alterations can be made in regards to that currency. On the other hand, the floating rate is also referred to as a self-correcting rate, since its value is dependent on the supply and demand ratios in the private market. Secondly, a fixed exchange rate creates room for certainty and predictability for those people involved in trade and other business activities. The floating rate has no room for certainty or predictability since the market forces often determine the value for exchange at a particular time or season. The sustainability aspect is also observed when a country has managed to fix its rates of exchange while the aspect is not really considered in the floating exchange since markets demands and supplies can shift at any time depending on the availability of goods and customers. The fixed exchange rates can only be regulated by a an authoritative body for instance the government via the utilization of the central bank while the floating rate can also be determined by the international corporations depending on movement of international products in and out of the market (Heakal, 2011). The fixed currency exchange rate is quite beneficial in a particular country due to its sustainable aspect. The fact that it is never affected by the market dynamics is vey crucial in the growth of the economy since it is until the other parties change their currencies for concession with the available currency. The business en tities in the country are at all times assured of certainty in the exchange rates, hence a factor for the boost of their production morale. Stability of currency is also a crucial component that is promoted via the fixed rates since no fluctuations are expected to occur at any time. The floating rate on the other hand is beneficial in its inclusion of compensation dynamics. The fact that demand and

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Technology in the Tire Sector - Essay Example The industrial age of the early 20th century is rapidly giving way to the age of technology, which has also brought with it, added conveniences and freedoms which would never have been possible before. The most noticeable sphere where this phenomenon may be observed is in the transport industry. When Charles Goodyear invented vulcanized rubber way back in 1844, little did he realize that he was sowing the seed that would endow man with â€Å"wheels on his feet† and herald his entry into a world of freedom of movement with an ease that he would never have imagined. The very same vulcanized rubber is the standard material for tires today – those tires that help man to move around in the vehicles of his choice. Today, tire technology has evolved to such a point that they even contribute to lowering the pollution that is present in the atmosphere. Technology has made it possible for tires to be so engineered that they lower emissions from cars and thereby enhance fuel econo my and reduction of toxic pollutants of the atmosphere.[Fraschini, 2005]. These new tires are ecologically friendly because they work on the principle of lowering rolling resistance, which essentially means that the friction between the tires and the road is reduced. The tires have a lightweight high strength construction which aids in smooth rolling on the roads, producing a more fuel efficient engine and less emissions.[Fraschini, 2005]. Industrial development has already taken a toll on nature and the alarming increase in pollution levels due to vehicle emissions is a serious issue today. Therefore, developments in technology such as the ecologically friendly Potenza RE92 and the Bridgestone Ecopia tires[Fraschini, 2005] are welcome, because they represent an acceptable compromise between man’s urge to be on the move and the need to conserve the environment. Therefore, this is one instance where technology is beneficial and such

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The Divergence of U.S. and UK Takeover Regulation - Essay Example who decides the rules of takeover in both countries. Rules of takeover in the UK are the outcome of the self regulation where interests of institutional investors play an important role while on the other hand the US judicial setup holds the responsibility of takeover rules and thus, limiting the influence of shareholders over making of rules. In the UK, shareholders’ perspectives play an important role in deciding about takeover bids and thus, takeover regime is â€Å"privatized†. Easterbook and Fischel proposed limited capability of managers to defend takeovers which did not become part of practice in the US after its dismissal by the Delaware Court and takeover decisions are still based on decisions made by those who manage businesses and they are allow to undertake several types of defense actions such as the â€Å"poison pill† or shareholder rights plan to undermine bidder’s stake. These tactics are prohibited in the UK and without the consent of shar eholders managers cannot maneuver any tactic in defense. However, in the UK managers are allowed to make use of â€Å"embedded defenses† which may involve issuance of dual-class voting stock or several other ways to take action before any bidder takes an offensive position (Armour and Skeel). Takeovers do not always result in higher returns for shareholders therefore it seems more appropriate to leave the decision in case of takeover to shareholders as in the UK. However, it is noted that the number of takeovers in the US has been greater than the UK. There could be several reasons including the veto power of directors who may feel that they are not entitled to sufficient incentives from the shareholders. In the UK, bidder can lodge a protest against managers’ actions to the Takeover Panel comprising of representatives from LSE, BOE, major banks and institutional investors. There is a greater flexibility in dealing of this Panel and limited

Sheila Bair's Bank Shot Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Sheila Bair's Bank Shot - Essay Example She sounded the warning bell on an impending crisis, she lead FDIC in managing troubled financial institutions and provided one of the most significant arguments in the policy reform at the aftermath. From Nocera’s perspective, Bair’s position on FDIC’s role on regulation and several policies in the financial industry has been effective and correct, but often left unheeded and unappreciated. Two of the most significant of these is: 1) her insistence on greater regulation long before policymakers and experts started to preach it; and, 2) her position that banks in trouble are not necessarily needed to be bailed out. The article, hence, underscore the importance of listening to this lady in the context of averting possible reoccurrence of similar crisis in the future. Charles Kindleberger’s theory and analyses of financial crises are descriptive and it provided the general basis for Nocera’s agreement with Bair’s position on regulation and the 2008 financial crisis. Kindleberger’s model describes an exogenous shock to the system also called as displacement. The causes of such displacement are varied and could provide diverse degree of crisis severity. The tendency to speculate as well as the inevitable complacency that comes with a stable and growing financial economy on the part of regulatory bodies are crucial elements in aggravating such displacement. These run parallel with actions taken by Bair before the 2008 crisis struck. She has started warning about the explosive growth of subprime mortgages, demonstrating traces of the principles behind the Kindleberger model on financial crises. One of the most important contributions by Bair, which could enhance the Kindleberger’s model, is in the area of crisis cont rol. One of her most forceful positions was that banks do not necessarily need to be bailed out in order to stop the onslaught of the financial crisis. This is contained in her position on the larger issue about the too-big-to-fail financial institutions. For instance, Bair vehemently opposed the federal government’s rescue of Bearn Stearns. The article’s focus on FDIC inevitably tied it with the theme of lender-of-last resort. The organization is mandated to rescue and manage failed financial institutions and regulate banks’ soundness, among other functions by virtue of its mandate to safeguard the interests of depositors and of consumers. With Bair at the helm of FDIC during the financial crisis of 2008, these functions had been highlighted and that the manner by which the organization is and should function as a lender of last resort has been clearly defined. Bair’s traditionalist position has played a significant part, particularly in reinforcing FDIC ’s power and influence today, which in the early years of her tenure as chairperson, appeared to have been largely symbolic, with weak regulatory power, clipped by the federal government, with low budget allocation. In my opinion, Bair’s position on the financial crisis is sound, with particular emphasis on the crisis management and the reforms that should take place afterwards. For example, if a huge financial institution fails, the government could further aggravate the economic landscape by infusing more funds that come from taxpayer’s money. The too-big-to-fail policy does not make sense in the long-term. First, failing financial institutions mean bad management, structure and practices. Rescuing them is more painful than having the market start over with another better managed institution rather than dumping money and implementing reforms that may never really be effective considering the sheer size of the institution. In addition, it seems to be unfair to

Disproportionate Representation of African American Students in Special Education Essay Example for Free

Disproportionate Representation of African American Students in Special Education Essay Abstract In 2011 there is still disproportionate representation of African American Students in special education classes. This can be defined as conflict in the education environment because, government legislation mandates that No child be left behind, yet African American students, males in particular, are disproportionately being just that, left behind. The purpose of this study is to discuss disproportionate representation. What it means and who it affects most will be identified. Contributing factors such as socioeconomic status and race and ethnicity will also be discussed. Possible solutions in the form of equity and early intervention will be discussed as well. Lastly with these factors identified, it is the hope that feasible and probable solutions can be reached or at least recommended. Review of Literature For more than 40 years the topic of Disproportionate representation has been addressed by scholars. The data collected has been qualitative and quantitative. According to Bollmer, Bethel, Garrison-Morgen, and Brauen â€Å"The issue of disproportionate identification and placement of racial/ethnic minorities in special education has been investigated extensively (Bollmer, Bethel, Garrison-Mogren, Brauen, 2007). † They go on to share that the risk ratio, which is used to compare one racial/ethnic groups likelihood of receiving special education and related services to all other students is one of the most useful tools in this research (Bollmer, Bethel, Garrison-Mogren, Brauen, 2007). Sometimes referred to as disproportionality, disproportionate representation covers both over and underrepresentation. Overrepresentation happens when the percentage of students from one group is larger than expected based on their numbers in the general population. Underrepresentation is occurring when a specific group of students are involved at a lower rate than their numbers in the general population. According to Beratan â€Å"The disproportionate representation of minority students in special education is as clear of a racist outcome as one can find. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 (IDEA) formally recognizes such disproportionate representation as a problem in special education (Beratan, 2008). † He goes on to share the following thoughts and statistics: A) Greater efforts are needed to prevent the intensification of problems connected with mislabeling and high dropout rates among minority children with disabilities. B) More minority children continue to be served in special education than would be expected from the percentage of minority students in the general school population. C) African-American children are identified as having mental retardation and emotional disturbance at rates greater than their White counterparts. D) In the 1998-1999 school year, African-American children represented just 14. 8 percent of the population aged 6 through 21, but comprised 20. 2 percent of all children with disabilities. E) Studies have found that schools with predominately White students and teachers have placed disproportionately high numbers of their minority students into special education (Beratan, 2008). Disproportionate representation not only speaks to the overrepresentation of African-American students labeled as learning disabled, but also to the gross lack of African-American students being labeled gifted. Bonner and Jennings share â€Å"According to the literature, African American males have been disproportionately place in special education classrooms and underrepresented in gifted and talented programs (Fred A. Bonner I. M. , 2007). † Bonner and Jennings go on to say that â€Å"The story of the African American male in gifted and talented programs is one of widespread underrepresentation (Fred A. Bonner I. M. , 2007). † Bonner and Jennings further share that lack of instructor referrals, substandard performance on standardized norm-referenced test scores and student and family choice contributed to the underrepresentation of African American males in gifted programs (Fred A. Bonner I. M. , 2007). The  authors continue to expound on this phenomenon by stating â€Å"Due to the potential for underachievement among African American students in first, second, and third grade, a time in which most identification processes for these programs are implemented, these students often go unidentified (Fred A. Bonner I. M. , 2007). † Artiles and Bal maintain that African American males and Native American students appear to be the most affected groups at the national level (Artiles Bal, 2008). While disproportionate representation has touched all minority groups, African American males in particular have continually been identified as the most over represented population in Special education. Several factors are said to contribute to the disproportionate representation of minority students in Special Education. Yolanda Anyon shares: Barton and Tomlinson (1981) argue that the identification of students with learning disabilities and subsequent placement in special education is a form of social control to minimize problem behaviors in mainstream classrooms. Other researchers have documented that teachers and principals refer children for special needs assessment who are causing the biggest problems in the classroom be it passivity, failure to learn material or aggressiveness (Anyon, 2009). She further goes on to share â€Å"in this way, special education primarily serves social control functions in schools as it legitimizes the removal of â€Å"deviant† students from regular classrooms (Anyon, 2009). † Socioeconomic status is said to increase the likelihood that student will be placed in special education. It is also said that race and ethnicity of students can be a large variable that causes excessive amounts of students of color to be referred and placed in special education. Skiba and fellow scholars share: Among the most longstanding and intransigent issues in the field, the disproportionate representation of minority students in special education programs has its roots in a long history of educational segregation and discrimination. Although national estimates of disproportionality have been consistent over time, state and local estimates may show varying patterns of disproportionality. A number of factors may contribute to disproportionality, including test bias, poverty, special education processes, inequity in general education, issues of behavior management, and cultural mismatch/cultural reproduction (Skiba, et al. , 2008). They further go on to say that â€Å"special education was born out of, and owes a debt to the civil rights movement†, alluding to the fact that both the inspiration for and the strategies used by those whose work resulted in the initial national special education legislation came from the civil rights movement (Skiba, et al., 2008). They also maintain that â€Å"concerns about racial inequity were central to litigation that led to the promulgation of the first special education legislation (Individuals With Disabilities Education Act, IDEA) (Skiba, et al. , 2008). The scholars aptly point out the irony of racial disparity rates of special education service remaining one of the key indicators of inequity in our national educational system (Skiba, et al. , 2008). An additional contributing factor that they share is â€Å"A second factor that might contribute to a disproportionate rate of representation in special education among students of color are sociodemographic factors associated with economic disadvantage (Skiba, et al. , 2008). Skiba, et al, give this insight into the role of poverty in disproportionate representation: In order to directly assess the contribution of poverty to the disproportionate representation of African American students in special education, Skiba et al.(2005) studied the relationship of special education enrollment, race, socioeconomic and demographic factors, and test score outcomes in a sample of 295 school districts in a Midwestern state. Across ordinary least squares and logistic regression equations, poverty made a weak, inconsistent, and often counter-intuitive contribution to the prediction of disproportionality across a number of disability categories (Skiba, et al. , 2008). While there are no definitive causes of the issue of disproportionate representation the above named ones come up in study after study which lends ample credence to them as real and possibly surmountable issues. â€Å"It might well be expected that the students whose educational opportunities are limited will be more likely to be referred for special education services (Skiba, et al. , 2008). Another point expressed by Skiba and fellow scholars is: Of the possible links between general education practices and special education disproportionality, however, only the proportion of culturally consonant teachers in the teaching force has been directly investigaed. Serwatka, Derring and Grant (1995) found that as the percentage of African American teachers increased, overrepresentation of African American student in the emotionally distrubed category decreased. Similarly, in a cross-state comparison, Ladner and Hammons (2001) found that the discrepancy of African American and white rates of eligibility for special education rose in direct proportion to the percentage of the teaching force that was White, especially in districts with a White percentage of more than 60% (Skiba, et al., 2008). Just as there are no definitive causes identified, there are not any fool proof solutions laid out for correcting the issue of disproportionate representation. There are varying thoughts about strategies such as the following: If disproportionality in special education is multiply determined, no single intervention strategy can be universally relied on to reduce racial disparity. Rather, complex causality clearly suggests the need for comprehensive and multifaceted assessment and intervention plans. In particular, the possibility that the determinants of disproportionality are locale-specific suggests that remediation plans must be driven by local needs assessment capable of identifying unique local patterns (Skiba, et al. , 2008). Early intervention approaches are said to possibly reduce disparities to the level that economic disadvantage is at work (Skiba, et al. , 2008). â€Å"Early intervention would not be expected to address systemic failures or bias and would hence fail to address disproportionality that is due to institutional inequity (Skiba, et al. , 2008). † Researchers are beginning to look at the problem of disproportionate representation within the arena of equity studies (Artiles Bal, 2008). According to the authors â€Å"researchers, practitioners, and policy makers continue to debate this problem and critical questions remain unanswered (Artiles Bal, 2008). They go on to question the ability to, or lack thereof, explain how the phenomenon of disproportionate representation consistently remains in existence. Artiles and Bal have raised the following questions â€Å"How have researchers approached the study of this problem, and what are some key gaps in this knowledge base? Does the problem exist in the United States only (Artiles Bal, 2008)? † These scholars have chosen to conduct research on â€Å"the problem of disproportionate representation as related to equity concerns in educational systems’ responses to difference (Artiles Bal, 2008). Artiles and Bal share the following about equity in the United States educational system: Educational equity in the United States has aimed historically to enhance access and participation for students considered different. For instance, programs were created to address the educational needs of students who have different ability levels or whose proficiency in English is limited (i. e. , special education and bilingual education, respectively) (Artiles Bal, 2008). They further go on to share that special education in the United States was created as an answer to some of the issues of difference: The creation of special education was a landmark achievement in the attention of students considered different on the basis of ability. Special education legislation entitled these students to free and appropriate public education, individualized educational programs, due process, and education in the least restrictive environment. Interestingly, an increasingly louder debate has emerged in the past 40 years in the United States about the disproportionate representation of ethnic minority and poor students in special education (Artiles Bal, 2008). Laws that require states report placement data as it pertains to socioeconomic and racial lines to stay abreast of the problem of disproportionality have been imposed. States and school districts that find themselves faced with the issue of disproportionate representation are required to take remedial actions to address it (Artiles Bal, 2008). If equity is the solution and special education was designed to level the playing field, why then the issue of disproportionality? This same question is posed by Artiles and Bal, â€Å"But why then is placement in programs that purportedly address equity issues for students with different ability levels considered a problem when it involves other groups of different students, namely, ethnic minorities and poor students (Artiles Bal, 2008). † While that is a very rational and valid line of questioning, it is far too complicated to answer without factoring in the historical issues that plagued African American students long before special education legislation was implemented. Conclusions Disproportionate representation of African Americans in special education is not a new phenomenon. It has been studied and researched for well over 40 years. Whether it is referred to as disproportionality or disproportionate representation, the terminology covers both over and under representation within a group. While most of the research addresses overrepresentation, there is some out there that speaks to the underrepresentation of African Americans in gifted programs, more specifically African American males. There are no concrete reasons for this phenomenon, but several different factors have been considered contributing factors. Socioeconomic status and race and ethnicity are often the most discussed contributing factors. Special education having roots that stem back to civil rights legislation lends a great amount of credence to the belief that those two factors are probably the leading cause of disproportionate representation. The research shared a very specific accusation of how racism plays a very real part in disproportionate representation. Examples to that end were that studies have found that schools with predominately White students and teachers have placed disproportionately high numbers of their minority students into special education and African-American children are identified as having mental retardation and emotional disturbance at rates greater than their White counterparts. In regards to equity Skiba and fellow scholars give this advice to educators in regards to making effective interventions: Thus, educators and policy makers seeking effective interventions to close special education equity gaps must be willing to openly discuss and address issues of race, ethnicity, gender, class, culture, and language. Moreover, processes chosen to address inequity must have at their core a mechanism to ensure that the perspectives of all stakeholders, especially those of historically marginalized groups who have been the recipients of unequal treatment, are represented when interpreting data on racial and ethnic disparities (Skiba, et al. , 2008). As educators we must take heed to the information shared about disproportionality. Though this information is not new, it must continue to be shared as if it was. While this resarch was specifically about African Americans, other minorities are affected by disproportionate representation. I will be more cognizant of how I determine whether or not to suggest a student be tested for special education services. It is so easy to refer them, before taking the time to investigate the reasons behind the undesireable behavior. Works Cited Anyon, Y. (2009). Social Theories of Learning Disabilities: Understanding Racial Disproportionality in Special Education. Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment, 44-57. Artiles, A. J. , Bal, A. (2008). The Next Generation of Disproportionality Research Toward a Comparative Model in the Study of Equity in Ability Differences. The Journal of Special Education, 4-14. Beratan, G. D. (2008). The song remains the same: Transposition and the disproportionate representation of minority students in special education. Race, Ethnicity and Education, 337-354. Bollmer, J. , Bethel, J. , Garrison-Mogren, R. , Brauen, M.(2007). Using the Risk Ratio to Asess Racial/Ethnic Disproportionality in Special Education at the School-District Level. The Journal of Special Education, 186-198. Fred A. Bonner, I. M. (2007). Never Too Young to Lead: Gifted African American Males in Elementary School. Gifted Child Today, 31-35. Skiba, R. J. , Simmons, A. B. , Ritter, S. , Gibb, A. C. , Rausch, M. K. , Cuadrado, J. , et al. (2008). Achieving Equity in Special Education: History, Status, and Current Challenges. Exceptional Children, 264-288.

Industrial Relations Case Essay Example for Free

Industrial Relations Case Essay Of all the case studies and ethical dilemmas that students are asked to consider, this weeks is the most relevant to current challenges facing the manufacturing sector. The Oz Clothing case relates to clothing and textile but is could equally relate to automotive, white goods and even construction sectors. This weeks case asks that you consider the role of a number of key stakeholders in Industrial Relations and importantly the role of Fair Work Australia (FWA) does or could play in industrial relationships and strategic directions for companies OC to Oz clothing Question 5 To discuss the effect of FWA on industrial relations at Oz Clothing can entry with the element of IR. Firstly industrial relations have covered several aspects of industrial life as trade unionism, collective bargaining, workers’ participation in management, discipline and interpretation of labor rules and code of conduct (Christopher 2012). As the globalization, economic downturn and legislative change raised all these contributors have shaped the IR outlook with a re-examination of way it placed. Fair Work Australia is the national workplace relations tribunal that was established under the Fair Work Act 2009 which carries out a range of functions relating to norm of wage and employment conditions, enterprise bargaining, industrial action, termination of employment and other workplace matters. From one side it set out series of legislation and regulations transition about dismissal applications. Once the employee was dismissed for the reason of draining payroll accounting which was harsh and unjust, if there was no case of genuine redundancy the FWA may get involved to deal with that for general protection (Scott 2009). This mean the strategic direction for Oz is tough to make over its manufacturing sectors and dismiss the rest of workers. Also in the case study Oz Clothing intend to shut down the low-skilled, labor-intensive manufacturing industry. This would hard to implement as forced by FWA function of facilitating collective bargaining and enforcing good faith bargaining (Stone 2010). Federal government agreement as prescribed by international trade treaties and free trade protection is going to slash the advantage of local textile industry that there is no rely  on any assistance such as tariff protection (Nelson 1997). So the manager had to handle the higher company tax and maintain operation of manufacture by their own force. On the other hand according to Roberts (2005) stated the Rudd labor government arrangements with a greater priority provided for trade union interests. For the Clothing Worker Union against the risk of employment turn-off that will prevent agreements ending and Transport Workers Union can stop Oz form business sell off to the other trading nation. The remuneration politics is difficult to handle and would influence organizational strategy Meanwhile in terms of awards and award modernization program, the FAW has the authority to adjust minimum wages and award condition with Fair Work Ombudsman. By making and varying awards in workplace relations system, this function would impact Oz Clothing on their cutting operation of Australian manufacturing because the massive remuneration package cannot been covered by executive decision. Reference Christopher C, Steven R 2012 ‘Industrial Relations a Journal of Economy and Society’, Regent of the University of California, vol 51. Issue 4 Nelson, L.G 1997 ‘Managers and enterprise bargaining’ Asia pacific journal of Human Resources, 35 p.54 Roberts, C. 2005 ‘Me Inc’s challenge’, BRW, 20-25 oct, pp.16 Scott, S 2009 ‘Gillard gets tough with states on IR’, Australian Financial Review, 29 January, p.7 Stone, R J 2010, Managing Human Resources, 3rd edn, John Wiley Sons Australia Ltd, Milton QLD

Development of New University Sports facility

Development of New University Sports facility 1.0 Introduction Before the day, the sport is no more joining by the students because they put most of the effort to their class study, and the sport facilities only was important to the minority of applicants who hoped to play in university teams. Although the sport not making interest for student to join at pass time, but nowaday, that has changed, many student was take part in regular physical activity since the benefit of healthy was attach important now. So a University was require the University sports executive in relation to their project for developing a new University Sports facility. The executive is impressed with most of the work that has been done but has concerns about the viability of the project. It has a problem that these students who study in University may use other facilities nearer their home rather than join the new University facility, because more of them live at home than University hostel. This problem may make University bear a high expensive because of lack of member going join their new sport facibility, so they need to investigate a potential secondary segment of clients for the sports facility other than the full-time students for incerease their revenue to recover the high expensive. For this goal, the University sport executive need to make a reseach or report of detail and justification of secondary segment, the specific macro environmental issues in the market which will bring the opportunities or threats. Beside that, the promotion and offering of the new University Sports facility is need to plan for attract the new member from outside of the University and also giving a reasonable price to new member for this new University Sports facility . 2.0 Content 2.1 Detail and justification of the secondary segment Since the University worry about there may lack of their student to joining their new University sport facilities, so they wish can aim to the second segment to rises thier revenue for it.The second segment is target to the ppl who are age 38-56 years old, adult.This is target to the person who are on the way to retire or already retired. This kind of people are very take care for thier healthy at life after their retire and the following life, and since they were reaching a high salary with working many year for their company.So, they willing to pay for the product or service that can improve their healthy. The new University sport facilities can satisfying their need and provide the profesional coach to train thier strenght and health by teach them using the new sport facilities to exercise. 2.2 Macro environmetal Issue The company and all of the pther actors operate in a larger macroenvironment of forces that shape opportynities and pose threats to the company.(Kotler,Armstrong 2004) The macroenvironment include demographic environment, economic environment, natural environment, technological environment, political environment, and cultural environment. Demography refers to the study of the human populations in terms of size, age, race, occupation, density, location, and density. It is very important to undestand the demographic environment because it is very helpful in deivide the human populations into the market segment and how they going target into which market. For example, according to the born of the years,we can saw there have 3 generations before this, such as baby boomers, who are born between 1946 and 1964, generation X, who are born between 1965 and 1976, and generation Y, who are born between 1977 and 1994. The generation of the baby boomers are the larger number of this 3 generation. So if the marketing segmatation can include this generation and that may bring a high revenue for the market because they are become mature nowaday and getting a stable job and may reaching they higher income earning in this many year they work before. They would like to spend and making purchases when thier income is getting high than ot her new generation. According to all of this, they also treat their healthy very important because of the larger age and willing to pay for their health care, so if the new Universitiy sport facibilities can segment to this generation and it will bring a opportunities for the University. Economic environment refer what is the way that make the potential consumer would like to make purchases and willing to pay for the products or services. Change in major economic variables such as income, cost of living, interest rates , and savings and borrowing patterns have a large impact on the marketplace.(Kotler,Armstrong 2004) For example, if the personal income of every worker is rising then their purchasing power will increasing and would like to make payment for the products and services, it is provide opportunities to market. In other hand, if the economic fall down and getting bad,such as increasing of the unemployment rates, then the money will be hold by the consumer to survive and reduce the purchasing power. Natural environment is about the natural resources that a company uses as inputs and the possible of their marketing activities may cause pollution to the natural or no. Threat for this enviroment will bring to the firm or company when their marketing activities are increasing the pollution, cause the shortages of raw materials seriously and increasing governmental intervention because of the complaint from the public sector. All of this will affect the companys reputation and make it hard to getting their goal or mission because the intervention of the government to their business activities. The technological environment is one of the fastest changing factors in the macroenvironment and no one can ignore this. That is very important to understand the changes of technological because competitors will exploit it sooner or later, with implications for your product and its market. (Brassington, Stephen) Technological advance in a company can help and give opportunity for them to create the new markets and new uses for products and maximum their profit in market. Another advantages that getting technological in advance are can negotiating the right of the skill or technological right and development of the marketable product with successful from it before the competition. The political environment is strongly affect the marketing decisins and it include the laws and regulation set by the government that limit the business action in social. That is very important for the company to be aware of these restrictions in this market.It always cause the threat for the company since the law and regulation often limit thier activities and they need to making decision for a long time period to fulfill in the right situation. 2.3 Outline of the new university sport facilitiess offer The benefits that the new university sport facilities going to offer to the member can attract the interest of the people to join whether the main objective of it is improvement of healthy. The offer provided just is a activity that influece and increase the motivation of them to join the new universitiy sport facilities. Here are the offers that provide to the new members: Bonus for introduce of new member Lastest model of sport facilities provided Free professional coach teaching Security Free safety insurance Free try for a day Discout of member fees 2.4 Pricing strategy In this new University sport facilities, the amount of the fees to the new member is very important because it may decide how many people willing to join depend to the price. The pricing strategy that use must satisfying the consumer need and enable to pay from every one. The market-penetration pricing can using for it and it is setting a low price with provide high quality of the product and service. It bring advantages to attract larger amount of the consumer to join and also gain larger market share. The lower price setting also can bring the opportunity to consumer to choose the new Universities sport facilities as their first choice. In other hand, it also will have the threat that seeting the lower price.Some of the consumer will treat the lower price will just provide the low quality product or service and they may no willing take risk to try, so in this case, it is need to making communication with them for provide the clearly information from the promotion.

The Great Plague Of Europe Essay -- Diseases/Disorders

The Great Plague killed nearly half of the European population during the fourteenth century. A plague is a widespread illness. The Illness was also known as the â€Å"Black Death†. Most of the European people believed the plague was the beginning of the end of the world. They were scarcely equipped and unready for what was to be entailed. It was by far one of the worst epidemics yet to be seen in those times. The Great Plague of Europe made its way all throughout the continent and its population. The plague started on the western side of Europe; off the coast of Italy. It arrived by sea between the fall of 1347 and through early spring 1348. Italy was affected so hard that only one out of seven victims would recover in those parts. The plague reached Spain, France, England and Russia before making its way to the East within three years. The medieval pandemic swept through Asia as well, China was most affected as it lied in the center of travel. The Black Death was caused through various transmissions. The most common cause was through rodents. Rodents such as rats had been seen all over the cities. These rats carried excessive amounts of fleas with them. The fleas itself are what caused the actual spread, from the rats to the human populations, by ingesting the infected blood from its host. The pandemic then spread from one area of Europe to the next, by trade routes, after the rats boarded upon merchant ships and traveled down the rivers. The most common water way used was the black sea. The disease spread from the port cities to the surrounding countryside. A few ports tried to stop all ships from entering in hopes of not getting infected, but instead it just spread more when they turned to an inviting port near by. It spread ... ...dren.about.com/od/theblackdeath/a/death_defined.htm>. Wattenburg, Ben. "Human extermination." Gadsden Times [Alabama] : A4+. Web. 20 May 2012. . "black death." History.com. A&E Television Networks, LLC, 1996-2012. Web. 20 May 2012. . "Killing Game." Blogspot.com. N.p., 27 Dec. 2006. Web. 8 May 2012. . "Plague the black death." national geographics 1996-2012: 1+. Web. 4 May 2012. "The Black Death, 1348." eyewittnesstohistory.com. eye wittness to history, 2001. Web. 27 Apr. 2012. .

Importance of Fear in The Lord of the Flies Essay -- Lord of the Flies

Importance of Fear in The Lord of the Flies   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The boys in the book, The Lord of the Flies, are controlled by their fear of the beast.   This fear is not of the beast itself, but of the unknown. It comes from not knowing whether or not a beast exists.    The children start as one united group.   They are a community in their own.   Slowly, rules started to get broken, individuals began to leave, and the group broke apart.   The one thing that causes this break-up is the beast. The beast means different things to everyone, but each boy is afraid of it.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   All of this fear starts at one of the very first assemblies when a littlun says that he saw a beastie in the forest.   "Now he says it was a beastie" (35).   Everyone is already a little afraid of being on the island alone, without any adults, but this makes them even more scared.   Ralph, the chosen leader, feels this fear and notices it among the other boys.   He tries to reassure the others as well as himself with, "You couldn't have a beastie, a snake-thing, on an island this size.   You only get them in big countries, like Africa, or India" (36).   He continues trying to ease the fear by ending the conversation of beasties with, "...I tell you there is no beast" (36).   In addition, Ralph tries to have an optimistic look on rescue, and talks of fun on the island to help the children stay calm.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Jack and Ralph continue discussing the issue of fear, without the littluns present, to avoid frightening them further.   Mostly they discuss how the littluns scream out in their dreams because they are so afraid.   Simon joins in on one of their conversations on page 52:      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   "'As if it wasn't a good island.'   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Ast... ...      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   By the end of the novel, it is not the beast that has driven the boys to savagery; it is their fear of the beast.   Most of the boys try to deal with their fear by pushing it away, but it is always in the back of their minds, controlling every move they make.   They do not know whether or not there is a beast on the island.   They are afraid of the unknown.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚   Works Cited. Baker, James R. "Why It's No Go." Critical Essays on William Golding. Ed. James R. Baker. Boston: G.K. Hall & Co., 1988. Golding, William. Lord of the Flies. London: Faber and Faber, 1958. Hynes, Samuel. "William Golding's Lord of the Flies." Critical Essays on William Golding. Ed. James R. Baker. Boston: G.K. Hall & Co., 1988. Moody, Philippa. Golding: Lord of the Flies, a critical commentary. London: Macmillan, 1964.         

Japanese Education Essay examples -- Essays Papers

Japanese Education Japan is a country that takes education very seriously. This may be understood by the remarkable achievement that has been made. Japan=s education system played a major role in enabling the country to meet the challenges presented by the need to quickly understand Western ideas, science, and technology in the Meiji Period. It was also a key factor in Japan=s recovery and fast growth in the years that followed World War II. We can=t assume that education is the only thing that shaped the country, but can we say that it was a major influence in prosperity and welfare. Despite what may have happened before, it is clear that the education reform was necessary to build back up Japan=s prosperity in the years to come. History of Japan's Education Education has always existed one form or another. The first system of education was during the Tokugawa Period, which placed a high sense of learning. They learned benevolence, justice, courtesy and individual integrity. These were the most stressed systems of thought. The men also had to learn education and the ways of war. The founder of this method was Tokugawa Ieyasu, he issued a law saying Aarts of peace@ (10) which meant learning and also to learn the arts of war. He felt that both were of equal importance and should be mastered by all. After this system was applied, by the 1860's much of the curriculum was found in more than 300 schools across Japan. This soon changed by1868, when one of the top students from the Tokugawa education, suggested that Japan can compare with other Adeveloped nations@(11) of this time. After this suggestion Japan accepted many of the Western ideas. They wanted to modernize their country and by doing th... ...dation, 1982. Beauchamp, Edward R. AEducation and Schooling in Japan since 1945.@ New York & London. Garland Publishing, Inc, 1998. Walberg, Herbert J., and Leestma, Robert. AJapanese Educational Productivity.@ University of Michigan, 1983. Japan=s Education System. December 5, 2003. November 5, 2003. Japan=s Education System. September 30, 2003. November 5, 2003. Japan Access. December 1, 2003. November 5, 2003. Japanese Education and Literacy. August 1, 2003. November 5, 2003. Role of Education in Economic Development in Japan. September 23, 2003. November 5, 2003.