The korean conflict Essay Example for Free

The korean conflict Essay The Korean conflict had a number of factors that contributed to it. One of the factors although it is not the major one could be the size of Korea as a country which is small in the middle of large countries such as Russia, China and Japan. Because of this fact, each surrounding country wanted to take over Korea to be under their territory, something which Korea had trouble in dealing with. Most of the time, she could find herself under the control of the neighbors like China which controlled her at intervals for over 1000 years. The major cause of the conflict came into play when Japan took control of Korea just like the other neighboring countries had done. They ruled Korea from 1904 until the end of the World War II when the Soviet Union and the United States of America joined forces to drive Japanese out of the Korean territory. They agreed that after the Soviet Union was to rule in the north with the United States taking the Southern Korean. The 38 parallel was to make the dividing line between the North and the South Korea. The two countries ruled for a period of two years after which they both left Korea. The North which was under the Soviet Union leadership was left with a communist government while the south which was under the leadership of the US, a democratic government was left behind . Because of the need for unity between the north and the south, problems started. There were two governments in place: one formed by the southern people which was a democratic government and the other one was a communist government. The northern government formed the democratic people’s republic of Korea which was headed by Kim II Sung as a prime minister and the southern government was led by Syngman Rhee who was their president. The north wanted Korea unified as a communist state with the south advocating for a democratic state. Elections were held to form a single government between the North and the south and were supposed to be supervised by the UN to ensure that they were fair. Elections were held, of which the South was declared to have been undertaken in a free and fair way but the Northern region’s elections could not be accepted because the UN supervisors could not be allowed into the North by the Soviets who were present. As a result, they were declared unacceptable. This led to formation of the separate states. Disputes started to emerge between the two sides with each side becoming more aggressive . The United States pulled out its soldiers from the south from 40,000 who were there to only 500 soldiers and limited the number of weapons they were sending to the region. This was partly because of the fear of the southern president attacking the North and also because of the policy that had been passed in the US concerning Asia (NSC 48/2) . Because of the power that the Soviet and China had developed through military advancement such that by 1949 they already had a nuclear bomb, the US opted for a different way of resolving the conflict other than war . In 1950, the troops from North Korea launched a surprise attack on the south. The UN intervened and called an emergency meeting on the same day but the meeting was boycotted by the Russian security delegation because the UN had recognized Chiang Kai-Shek’s government as the official government in Taiwan and ignored Mao’s communist rule in Beijing. At the meeting, it was claimed by the US that North Korea had interfered with world peace by attacking South Korea. America wanted North Korean troops to back off from the 38 parallel, a view that was supported by nine out of the eleven member countries. On 27th of June 1950, the US suggested that the UN should use force to get the North Korean troops out of the south because of them boycotting the Security Council . The UN formulated its plans in which 16 member states were to provide troops under the joint command of the UN which could support the South Korean army. The UN troops were under the command of an American General MacArthur. The UN troops launched an attack against the North Korean troops in September of 1950 and managed to effectively cut North Korean army into two and managed to push them out of the south. They continued advancing to the North Korean territory despite the warnings from China. This led to an attack on the UN troops by China between 1950 and 1951 managing to push back the UN forces. MacArthur was sucked by President Truman after they had clashed generating the war into a stalemate between the UN and China. They agreed on a ceasefire at Panmunjon in 1953 which still exists to date . The reasons that brought about conflicts between the North and South Korea were not justified. This was not North Korean verses South Korean war but instead it was a war between the US and the Soviet Union. It was the battle for supremacy between the US and the Soviet Union that fueled the conflicts between the two regions. In the first place, they are the ones who brought differences between the north and the south by first dividing them and instilling in them different forms of governance. Because of the effects that the war could have on the people of both the South and North Korea, the Northern troops could have desisted from entering the southern territory. From the start, it was evident that because of the differences that existed between the two, forming a unity government could do them more harm than good hence they should have continued with the separate governments they had formed . The cold war between the United States and the Soviet Union was more or less the same as the Korean conflict because it was still the struggle for supremacy between the Soviet Union and the US led to these wars. It was because of President Woodrow Wilson’s commitment to liberal internationalism that was aimed at promoting democracy together with free enterprise that conflicted with the Soviet Unions’ world wide class revolution which was aimed at bringing a socialist future that triggered the cold war. Differing economic interests between the two is also thought to have brought about the conflict. The US was out to create a new currency stabilizing scheme which the Soviet Union was opposed to because it was based on American capitalism. The issue of military superiority also had a hand in the conflict. The Soviet Union was the second most powerful and the US felt threatened by it. Therefore, it was keen on increasing its military capacity. The two came face to face in their fight for supremacy and had to deal with one another . Looking at the factors that led to the Korean conflict and those that contributed to the cold war, it is evident that the driving force between the two was the battle for supremacy between the Soviet Union and the US. These battles had significant effects to both states. It led to an expensive arms race which involved development of nuclear weapons, brought about alliances between states for and against each of the two and also had economic implications. They also led to propaganda wars and created a military and bureaucracy complex. It was not healthy for both of them and the world at large because of the tensions that it brought with them. Therefore, it is important for measures to be put in place to ensure that there is sovereignty among countries to avoid conflicts. BIBLIOGRAPHY Burton Ira Kaufman. The Korean conflict. Santa Barbara, CA: Greenwood Publishing Group. 1999. Robert Buzzanco, â€Å"What Happened to the New Left? Toward a Radical Reading of American Foreign Relations† Diplomatic History, Vol 23 No 4 Fall, 1999, pp. 575-607 Roger George Stoven. Korean conflict: negotiation vs. armed settlement. Minnesota: Mankato State College, 1972. Mahavir Prasad Srivastava. The Korean conflict: search for unification. New Delhi: Prentice Hall of India (1982). Melvyn P Lefler. A Preponderance of Power: National Security, the Truman Administration and the Cold War (Stanford, 1992). Vladislav Zubok and Constantine Pleshakov, Inside the Kremlin’s Cold War: from Stalin to Khrushchev (Cambridge, MA, 1996)

Crisis Intervention Helpers Qualities Social Work Essay

Crisis Intervention Helpers Qualities Social Work Essay In general, most of us will agree that not everyone is suitable to be a crisis helper because there is no one trade that can suit for all. I personal feel that it is irresponsible to give a conclusion of whether is everyone suitable or not to be a crisis helper before exploring what qualification or characteristic does a crisis helper require. Hence, in this essay, I would like to briefly discuss about the definition of crisis, resources for crisis intervention and the qualities of a crisis helper before giving my conclusion. Crisis Definition Although there are many definitions of crisis, Richard. K. James presented 6 in his book, Crisis Intervention Strategies. They are: 1) Crisis is because people important life goals face obstacles. 2) Crisis results from impediments to life goals that people believe that they cannot overcome through customary choices and behaviors (Caplan, 1964, p. 40). 3) When people know that they have no responses to handle their situation, the situation is consider a crisis. 4) When, due to a situation, one cannot control his life consciously and it immobilizes him, a crisis is formed (Belkin, 1984, p. 424). 5) Crisis is a state of disorganization in which people face frustration of important life goals or profound disruption of their life cycles and methods of coping with stressors. (Brammer, 1985, p. 94). 6) Crisis develops in four distinct stages: (a) a critical situation occurs in which a determination is made as to whether a persons normal coping mechanisms will suffice; (b) increased tension and disorganization surrounding the event escalate beyond the persons coping ability; (c) demand for additional resources (such as counseling) to resolve the event is needed; (d) referral may be required to resolve major personality disorganization (Marino, 1995). Kristi Kanel uses Trilogy definition to reflect the three essential parts of a crisis. The three parts of a crisis are these: (1) a precipitating event; (2) a perception of the event that causes subjective distress; and (3) the failure of a persons usual coping methods, which causes a person experiencing the precipitating event to function it a lower level than before the event. ( Kanel, p. 1) Through Richard and Kristi crisis definitions, we realize that crisis can be a situation that has disrupted a person life cycle or a person having malfunction coping mechanism. Situation that person A has considered as a crisis may not be a crisis to person B because everyones coping ability is different. The situation that causes Person A to be stressful and anxious may not create the same degree of stress and anxiety for person B; hence, for a crisis worker to handle a client successfully, he needs to have sharp analysis and quick reponse. The eventual goal of a crisis helper is to help the client to return to a precise level of functioning. As a result, although anyone who is trained can be a crisis helper, he may not handle the situation well due to crisis versatility. Crisis Intervention Helpers Qualities The first step in cultivating the skills needed to help people in crisis is to construct a definition of crisis. Crisis worker must tune into a clients level of mastering reality in order to set up realistic goals and problem- solving strategies. In Lindemanns (1944) work with survivors of the Coconut Grove nightclub fire of 1943, he discovered that premature cessation of the expression of feelings is harmful. Therefore, it is essential for crisis workers to allow clients to express emotional actions. However, crisis workers must also ensure that the expression of these feelings is not harmful to the client or others. Crisis workers must be aware that whether the expression of emotional reactions to crisis events is it healthy (Myer, 37) Crisis workers must be willing to share the clients pain. Empathy that demonstrates to clients shows crisis workers understand their frame of reference in the crisis situation. (Myer 38) Care must be used to guard against allowing crisis workers personal issues to influence the assessment process. For example, a crisis worker, while a child, may have seen his or her mother abused by the father or another person. As a result, the crisis worker may become angry whenever abuse is an issue. Being a crisis helper, he must not handle the clients situation personally; therefore, the ability of assessing the client thought and action is important. Assessing clients cognitive and behavioral reaction to a crisis can be troublesome for crisis workers. Simply knowing that a client has seemingly done nothing or has made several unsuccessful attempts to resolve the crisis is not enough. Crisis workers must see beyond the content of what clients report to truly understand clients reaction. (Myer 86) Too often, crisis workers have difficulty distinguishing their perceptions from clients perceptions of the crisis. ( Myer 57) After knowing clients cognitive reactions and the life dimension that is affected by crisis, it helps crisis workers target their intervention efforts. However, crisis workers must also evaluate the severity of clients reactions in order to determine if this area should be addressed first and how direct the intervention process should be. ( Myer 73) Ethical and legal concerns are particularly relevant in the assessment of behavioral reaction because during the assessment process clients may disclose information about child or elder abuse, sexual abuse of minors, suicidal ideations, intent to harm someone else, or other equally disturbing material. Crisis workers can be caught off guard hearing this information; once it is disclosed, what are they to do? ( Myer 86) Certain personality traits may interfere with coping and also with accepting intervention. Some people have problems accepting help or being strong. Others are paranoid or avoid conflict. These people present challenges to counselors, in contrast to clients who are open and trusting. According to Kanel, there are factors for a crisis helper to determine whether a crisis presents a danger to his client or his client needs additional help. A trained crisis helper not only needs to be psychologically trained, his personality and experiences can also be a great asset during crisis intervention. Thus, not everyone can be a crisis helper well. Resources for Crisis Intervention Work Not everyone who experiences a stressor in life will succumb to a crisis state and no one is certain why some people cope with stress easily whereas others deteriorate into disequilibrium. ( Kanel, 7). But, Kanel writes that material resources, personal resources, and social resources seems to determine the level of an individual coping mechanism after a crisis. ( Kanel, 7) Material resources are money, shelter, food, transportation, and clothing. Money may not buy love, but it does make life easier during crisis. For example, a poorer woman with minimal material resources [money, food, housing, and transportation] may suffer more in a crisis than a woman with her own income and transportation. A woman with richer material sources has the choice of staying at a hotel or moving into her own apartment. She can drive to work; she can afford to pay for counseling sessions. ( Kanel, 7) After her material needs are met, the woman can begin to work through the crisis. Her personal resources, such as ego strength, previous history of coping with stressful situations, absence of personality problems, and physical well-being will help determine how well she copes on her own and how she accepts and implements intervention. ( Kanel, 7) Ego strength is the ability to understand the world realistically and act on that understanding to get ones needs and wishes met. Many times a crisis worker will be called on to be the clients ego strength temporarily (as when a person is psychotic or severely depressed) until the client can take over for himself or herself. These clients can neither see reality clearly nor put into action realistic coping behaviors. They need someone to structure their behavior until the crisis is managed successfully, often with medication, family intervention, and individual counseling. Social resource Conclusion Some clients may display extreme emotion to a minor incident; others may exhibit an almost undetectable affective reaction to a significant crisis. In addition, people react differently to different crises. Just because a client reacts with anger in one crisis does not mean that he or she will react with anger in another crisis (Myer 52). Client may be overwhelmed by the situation and find it difficult to vocalize any feelings; perhaps, they may vent their anger to the crisis worker. If the crisis worker is not prepared, he or she may be bewildered by the clients display of feelings. Hence, the intensity of the clients emotional expression may result in the crisis worker feeling uncomfortable and out of control (Myer, p. 37) According to Myer, crisis worker need to be prepared to face clients raging screaming or sobbing uncontroably. During crisis intervention, crisis workers must use their knowledge of human behavior, sensitivity to cultural norms, and their clinical experience to make sound judgments. As a result, I agree that it is not everyone suitable to do crisis intervention work because not everyone can handle intensity of the job scope.

Analysis Of Pepsico Vision Statement Business Essay

Analysis Of Pepsico Vision Statement Business Essay PepsiCo is a company which is most successful well-known brands in the world. Pepsi Company is nationally and globally to operating in non-alcoholic beverage industry, soft drink industry, and savoury snack industry. Besides that, PepsiCo offers the worlds largest portfolio of food and beverage brands included 22 different product lines. And the biggest competition from competitor is Coca-Cola in soft drink industry. Analysis of PepsiCo Vision Statement According to vision statement of PepsiCo, I had used seven components to analysis the vision such as directional, graphic, focus, flexible, feasible, desirable, and easy to understand. First of all, the directional component of PepsiCo is target to become a truly sustainable company by using focus on environmental stewardship, activities to benefit society, and a commitment to build shareholder value. From the case, PepsiCo has extensive statements on sustainability, the environment, health and wellness, and diversity. Pepsi Company is nationally and globally to operating in non-alcoholic beverage industry, soft drink industry, and savoury snack industry. PepsiCo is able to expansion market to serve new market segment by provides health and safety product to make consumer more confidence to purchase and become a sustainable company. Besides that, the graphic component of PepsiCo is not appearing in the current vision statement. From the current vision, it has no mention about company management is create and the market position the company is striving to stake out. Moreover, the focus component of PepsiCo is focus on environmental stewardship, activities to benefit society, and a commitment to build shareholder value. According to the PepsiCo case which said that PepsiCo are focusing in projects to increase to use of recycled materials and reduce material used in packaging. It will help PepsiCo build a good brand image, environment friendly and good reputation. When brand image is created, it will increase brand awareness of Pepsi and easy to launch new product to serve new market segment and achieve the commitment of shareholder value. However, once the commitment with shareholder is broken it will bring negative effect to the company such as poor reputation and decrease number of invertors. In addition, the flexible component of PepsiCo is creating a better tomorrow than today. From the statement, PepsiCo is wanted to improve all aspects of the world to create a better future. So, it may help increase more potential profitability due to better than previous year. And, it also assists PepsiCo a step forward to be truly sustainable company. Yet, it also some aspect is uncontrollable such as new competitor and economic downturn. Furthermore, the feasible component is about the reasonable expect to achieve in due time. From the case, PepsiCo is expecting continually to improve all the aspects of the world. PepsiCo is able to achieve this vision due to strong financial and also wide range of distribution network. It also has opportunities capture more market share around the world. However, it needs resources and times to achieve the goal. Additionally, the desirable component is about long term interest of stakeholders. In the vision of PepsiCo, it is commitment to build shareholder value. PepsiCo has long history of delivery strong financial growth for shareholders with the powerful brand and commitment to sustainability and top global talent. Conversely, it also face problem when shareholders may disagree with PepsiCo decision making and may occur conflict belong PepsiCo and shareholder. Lastly, the easy to understand component is about ease to communicate and understand of the vision statement. From the PepsiCos vision statement, it is using a clear language and simple to make customer easy to understand their vision. Analysis of Vision Statements- Shortcomings For the shortcoming of vision statement, I had used five components to analysis the shortcoming such as vague and incomplete, not forward looking, bland, too broad or not distinctive, and rely on superlatives. First of all, the vague and incomplete component is about short on specific or does not provide much indication and how the PepsiCo intend to alter the current product, market, customer, and technology focus. PepsiCo is only mention about improve all aspects of the world in which they operate for their economic, social and environment. But it is missing out to mention about Pepsi product portfolio and how they treat their employees in vision statement. Besides that, the not forward looking is about the company is not concern about the future. From the vision of PepsiCo, it has concern about the future by the sentences creating a better tomorrow than today by using improving the aspects of the world in which they are operated. Furthermore, the bland component is about the company lacking in motivational power. From the vision statement of PepsiCo, it has commitment to achieve shareholder value, so from the commitment will motivate the shareholders to support the company. Next, the component is too broad and not distinctive is about the vision could apply to most any company. The vision statement of PepsiCo is too common and corporate social responsibility can apply to most any company. Lastly, the component rely on superlatives is about the vision too reliant on such superlatives as best, most successful and market leader. From the PepsiCo vision is does not mention is most successful and first choice of customers. Recommendation From the analysis of shortcomings in the vision statement of PepsiCo, I would like to give few recommendations to improve the current vision statement of PepsiCo. First of all, I would like to recommend about the incomplete vision statement of PepsiCo. The vision of PepsiCo should include their company product, market, customer, technology focus, and their employees. So, employee and customer can easy to understand what kind of business PepsiCo is running and what purpose of PepsiCo is targeted. The second shortcomings vision statement is not distinctive. From my opinion, the company vision should be different with other companys vision. PepsiCos vision statement is too broad and it is easy same vision with others company. Therefore, PepsiCo should be more specific its vision statement and make the vision statement more memorable for people. From my opinion, the current vision statement of PepsiCo is good but I would like to overcome the shortcomings appear in PepsiCo vision statement. So, new vision statement will be as below: PepsiCos is underscoring  commitment a truthful desire for product quality and safety from materials, beverage mixing to bottling, and receive excellent services from our employee. Plus, responsibility is to continually improve all aspects of the world in which we operate and creating a better tomorrow than today. Our mission is maximum our shareholders wealth and focus on environmental stewardship and activities to benefit society by making PepsiCo a truly sustainable company. Evaluation of mission statement A mission statement is the current business activities or proposes what we are and what we do. From the mission statement of PepsiCo, I would like to use evaluation matrix to analysis and provides a new description to the PepsiCo. The components use to analysis include customers, products/services, markets, concern for survival, growth and profitability, technology, philosophy, self-concept, concern for public image and concern for employees. The customer component is about the target customer of the company. From the current description of PepsiCo is does not mention about the customer. So, I suggest a new description that PepsiCo should concern, maintain loyalty and listen to customer in the mission statement. Product and services component is about the firms major product and services provides to customer. From the mission statement, PepsiCo is offer convenient foods and beverages to the customer. For example product of PepsiCo offer is Quaker Oats, CapN Crunch cereal, Aunt Jemima syrup, and Tropicana juice. Although there is description in the current mission statement, but I would like to give my recommendation to make PepsiCo mission statement become better by develop a new product line. For example, PepsiCo can develop a new product line Pepsi Green mix with herb and position PepsiCo is an environment friendly company. Market component is about geographically and the places the firm compete. From the current description of PepsiCo is wanted to be the worlds premier consumer Products Company and serve in globally. For the new description, I would suggest PepsiCo increase more vending machine at bus station, train station, or cinema to make customer able to purchase at anywhere and anytime. Concern for survival, growth, and profitability component is about is the firm financial soundness and committed to growth. From the current description of PepsiCo is produce financial rewards to investors as we provide opportunities for growth. For new description, PepsiCo is need for knowledge, producing and distributing valuable information in a way that benefits the customer and employee to serve the global market. Technology component is about the firm technologically current. From the current description of PepsiCo is does not mention about the technology. Therefore, for the new description PepsiCo should spend money to do more research and development and using machines to reduce the production cost and time. Philosophy component is about the beliefs, basic, aspirations, values, and ethical priorities of the firm. From the current description of PepsiCo is striving for honesty, fairness and integrity. For the new description, PepsiCo can share and caring where the people give their time, knowledge, and experience. Besides that, it also empowered people which mean that having a freedom to think in ways and get the job done, while following to processes that ensure management and being mindful of company needs. Self-concept component is about the firms major competitive advantages or distinctive competence. From the current description of PepsiCo is does not mention about the self-concept. However, I would like to recommend PepsiCo to create a competitive advantage strategic. For example, Pepsi can use marketing mix such as product, price, packaging, and distribution to differentiate itself with other company product. And also can excellent customer services to the customer such as delivery product on time. Concern for public image component is about the firm responsive to social, community, and environmental concerns. From the current description of PepsiCo is not appearing in the mission statement. Therefore, the new description for PepsiCo should contribute to the economic strength of society and responsibility of CSR. For example, PepsiCo is fully committed to protecting the earths natural resources through innovation and the efficient use of land, water, energy and packaging in the operations. Concern for employee component is about the employee is valuable asset of the firm. From the current description of PepsiCo is enrichment to the employees, but I would like to enhance it to become better by provides reward and training to the employee. Once the reward system is set up, the employee is put more effect to doing their job and send employee to training it provides an opportunities for growth of business. Following new description, I would like to modifications to the current mission statement to be a new mission statement as below: Our mission is to be the worlds leading consumer Products Company and selling beverages and foods in anytime and anywhere. We serve with high innovation technology to produce new food according customer needs and sending staffs to training for provides high quality of services to sustain customer loyalty. Also, we are responsibilities in CSR, empowered people, and opportunities for growth to maximize shareholder wealth. Conclusion As a business analyst of PepsiCo, I had analysed the vision statement and mission statement of PepsiCo by different component and evaluate matrix. Hence, I had recommended modifications and enhancement to the current vision statement and mission statement. With the new vision statement and new mission statement that has been enchanted will easier to understand and memorable by people. Lastly, by develop a new vision and mission statement, PepsiCo can create a better future and one more step forward be a truly sustainable company.

Michelangelo Buonarroti Essay -- European History Renaissance

Michelangelo Buonarroti There was a time period from 1400 C.E. to 1600 C.E., referred to as the Renaissance. The Renaissance was an age of discovery shown through , architecture, poetry, art, sculpture, and theater based on a Greco-Roman culture. Among the many Renaissance thinkers there was a man named Michelangelo Buonarroti. Michelangelo was an architect, sculptor, painter, poet, and an engineer. He preferred sculpting because he felt he was shaping mankind, which reflected the Renaissance era. The Renaissance encouraged everyone to express their human potential and become a master of their universe. In contrast to the dark middle age ideas of a supernatural orientation to life, the Renaissance encouraged a more natural world and human life orientation. Michelangelo reflected the Renaissance ideals through his works of art; such as, the Sistine Chapel, many sculptures including David and the Pieta, and architecture including Capitoline Hill in Rome. In these forms of art, Michelangelo lived up to being the universal man, which meant developing yourself into an individual genious. Michelangelo reflected the Renaissance in the central panels on the Sistine Chapel ceiling. A particular piece of art showed how Adam and God became members of the same race of super beings, reflecting a mixture of Greek mythology and Christianity. The concept of combining pagan and Christianity is clearly shown in the central panel the Creation of Adam. God’s finger reaching out to Adam is transferring his godly powers to Adam .which depicts the Universal Man. Whereas Medieval art would consider placing man and God as equals to be wickedness, whereas the Renaissance ideal consider art depicting that men as gods was not evil. The Sistine Chapel showed that Michelangelo reflected the Renaissance, because he portrayed his paintings using shadows, boldness, depicting three dimensional objects. Causing the characters on the ceiling to come alive. In contrast to the Medieval age, art consisted of dull, flat without shadow or dimension. The Renaissance created an era where artists could express themselves through lively art. Art during the pre-renaissance era, the Medieval age, was greatly influenced by the Catholic Church forbidding nudity and/or equality between God and man. Michelangelo challenged the church by depicting his work in the nude, yet idolizing God. During the... ...hree dimensional, bold art that depicted man as real and as an god in his own right. . Michelangelo accomplished portraying the Renaissance era as a Greco-Roman culture of art along with the blessings of the Catholic church. The bleak formless Medieval art forms were gladly replaced by Michelangelo’s works of art. BIBLIOGRAPHY Kleiner, Tansey. Gardner’s Art Through The Ages Tenth Edition II Renaissance And Modern Art. Florida: Harcourt Brace & Company, 1996 Ventura, Piero. Michelangelo’s World. Canada: Milan 1989 Cumming, Robert. Great Artists The Lives of 50 Painters Explored Through Their Work. New York : DK Publishing, 1998 Britain Express. "Medieval Architecture and Art". 30 Dec. 2002 This Website is valid because the website states : Students researching articles in our History section have asked about the credentials of David Ross for citing purposes. Credentials include: BA in English History (Memorial University, 1979) Author of "The Essntial Traveler's Companion to Medieval England" (1066 Publishing, 1996) Kren, Emil. â€Å"Creation of Adam†. 12 Jan. 2003 This Website is valid because it had its own sources which it got its information from.

Performance Assessment Essay -- essays papers

Performance Assessment Not since the development of the objective paper and pencil test early in the century has an assessment method hit the American educational scene with such force as has performance assessment methodology in the 1990s. Performance assessment relies on teacher observation and professional judgment to draw inferences about student achievement. The reasons for the intense interest in an assessment methodology can be summarized as follows: During the 1980s important new curriculum research and development efforts at school district, state, national and university levels began to provide new insights into the complexity of some of our most valued achievement targets. We came to understand the multidimensionality of what it means to be a proficient reader, writer, and math or science problem solver, for example. With these and other enhanced visions of the complex nature of the meaning of academic success came a sense of the insufficiency of the traditional multiple choice test. Educat ors began to embrace the reality that some targets, like complex reasoning, skill demonstration and product development, "require"--don't merely permit--the use of subjective, judgmental means of assessment. One simply cannot assess the ability to write well, communicate effectively in a second language, work cooperatively on a team, and complete science laboratory work in a quality manner using the traditional selected response modes of assessment. As a result, we have witnessed a virtual stampede of teachers, administrators and educational policy makers to embrace performance assessment. In short, educators have become as obsessed with performance assessment in the 1990s as we were with the multiple choice tests for 60 years. Warnings from the assessment community (Dunbar, Kortez, and Hoover, 1991) about the potential dangers of invalidity and unreliability of carelessly developed subjective assessments not only have often gone unheeded, but by and large they have gone unheard. Now that we are a decade into the performance assessment movement, however, some of those quality control lessons have begun to take hold. Assessment specialists have begun to articulate in terms that practitioners can understand the rules of evidence for the development and use of high quality performance assessments (e.g. Messick, 1994). As a result, we are well i... ... student performance in specific academic disciplines. If and when such opportunities arise, thorough training is essential for all who are to serve in this capacity. If the teachers issuing this invitation have developed or gleaned from their professional literature refined visions of the meaning of academic success, have transformed them into quality criteria and provide quality training for all who are to observe and evaluate student performance, this can be a very rewarding professional experience. If these standards are not met, it is wise to urge (and perhaps help with) a redevelopment of the assessment. The third and final contact for counselors is as an evaluator of students within the context of the guidance function, observing and judging academic or affective student characteristics. In this case, the counselor will be both the developer and user of the assessment and must know how to adhere to the above mentioned standards of assessment quality. For all of these reasons, it is advisable for school guidance and counseling personnel to understand when this methodology is likely to be useful and when it is not and how to design and develop sound performance assessments. Performance Assessment Essay -- essays papers Performance Assessment Not since the development of the objective paper and pencil test early in the century has an assessment method hit the American educational scene with such force as has performance assessment methodology in the 1990s. Performance assessment relies on teacher observation and professional judgment to draw inferences about student achievement. The reasons for the intense interest in an assessment methodology can be summarized as follows: During the 1980s important new curriculum research and development efforts at school district, state, national and university levels began to provide new insights into the complexity of some of our most valued achievement targets. We came to understand the multidimensionality of what it means to be a proficient reader, writer, and math or science problem solver, for example. With these and other enhanced visions of the complex nature of the meaning of academic success came a sense of the insufficiency of the traditional multiple choice test. Educat ors began to embrace the reality that some targets, like complex reasoning, skill demonstration and product development, "require"--don't merely permit--the use of subjective, judgmental means of assessment. One simply cannot assess the ability to write well, communicate effectively in a second language, work cooperatively on a team, and complete science laboratory work in a quality manner using the traditional selected response modes of assessment. As a result, we have witnessed a virtual stampede of teachers, administrators and educational policy makers to embrace performance assessment. In short, educators have become as obsessed with performance assessment in the 1990s as we were with the multiple choice tests for 60 years. Warnings from the assessment community (Dunbar, Kortez, and Hoover, 1991) about the potential dangers of invalidity and unreliability of carelessly developed subjective assessments not only have often gone unheeded, but by and large they have gone unheard. Now that we are a decade into the performance assessment movement, however, some of those quality control lessons have begun to take hold. Assessment specialists have begun to articulate in terms that practitioners can understand the rules of evidence for the development and use of high quality performance assessments (e.g. Messick, 1994). As a result, we are well i... ... student performance in specific academic disciplines. If and when such opportunities arise, thorough training is essential for all who are to serve in this capacity. If the teachers issuing this invitation have developed or gleaned from their professional literature refined visions of the meaning of academic success, have transformed them into quality criteria and provide quality training for all who are to observe and evaluate student performance, this can be a very rewarding professional experience. If these standards are not met, it is wise to urge (and perhaps help with) a redevelopment of the assessment. The third and final contact for counselors is as an evaluator of students within the context of the guidance function, observing and judging academic or affective student characteristics. In this case, the counselor will be both the developer and user of the assessment and must know how to adhere to the above mentioned standards of assessment quality. For all of these reasons, it is advisable for school guidance and counseling personnel to understand when this methodology is likely to be useful and when it is not and how to design and develop sound performance assessments.

Drama Coursework †Response Phase Essay

As part of our drama course we are studying the play â€Å"blood brothers† by Willy Russell. Blood Brothers is about twins who were separated at birth because their mother could not afford to keep both. As they grow up they meet, become friends and eventually blood brothers. However they both fall in love with the same girl and this conflict ultimately leads to their tragic deaths. First we read the play blood brothers as a class, then our teacher, Mrs O— asked us to choose and then act out three or four scenes which we, as a group thought were most important. In my group were S—, G— and N—. The first scene we chose was when Mr Lyons asks Mrs Johnston to give away one of her babies, we thought this was a crucial moment in the play because in this scene we see how the brothers first got separated. We also see the differences between the middle and the working class people, which was important as it is a main theme in the play. I was playing Mrs Lyons and N— was playing Mrs Johnston. We started our performance with a freeze frame; our freeze frame was useful as it showed the audience what scene we are going to perform. Nicola, playing Mrs Johnston was looking down holding her stomach as if she was pregnant. I was standing on her side holding a bible pushing it towards her. We wanted to show the part where Mrs Lyons was asking Mrs Johnson to make a binding agreement, we used facial expressions to show which characters we were trying to portray. As I was Mrs Lyons, I stood with a smug arrogant look to show that I was the wealthy one, while N— was looking sad, worried and a little scared. Our role-play started with Mrs Johnston working and Mrs Lyons coming in to see how she was doing. As Mrs Lyons I spoke with a posh accent boasting about how big my house is and looking down at N—-. We used thought tracking to get inside the characters mind and see what they are really thinking. When N—- was telling me about how she can stop getting pregnant and I can’t have any babies thought tracking was useful as I got to show the audience how I was actually jealous and thought that the babies would be better off with me. We also used it to show that N— did not like Mrs Johnston showing off and thinking she was better then her. After the visit to the doctors, N—- acted like she was nervous and panicking that the welfare will come and take her children away and worried about how she would cope with two more babies. At this point I used thought tracking to hint to the audience that I was thinking about asking for a baby. When I did ask for a baby I started to act more mean and scary grabbing hold of N—- and begging her to give me a child to show how desperate Mrs Lyons was to have a baby. N—- used thought tracking to show the audience that she was thinking about agreeing to give me a baby and also to show that she was a little scared of me. I was shouting at her doing all I could to make her agree and getting a bible and forcing her to make a binding agreement. We also used hot seating in our performance; this helped the audience to get to know more about the characters. Our teacher, Mrs O— first asked us questions and we had to answer staying in character. The audience got to know about how N—-‘s husband left her and how she has to look after all the kids by herself. We also used it to show that she was considering giving a child a baby to Mrs Lyons, as she could not afford to have any more kids. The hot seating helped me show how Mrs Lyons’ evil side and how she did not care if it was wrong all she wanted was a child and she does not care how she gets it. For our second scene we choose the part when the brothers meet for the first time. This we thought was another key scene as it shows how they meet and become blood brothers, not knowing that they were actually real bothers. G— was playing Edward and S— was playing Mickey. In this scene we see how better off the rich one, Edward is that Mrs Lyons is looking after him. The freeze frame for this scene was when the two boys were crossing fingers and Mrs Lyons in the background. We made it clear what scene they were going to perform was when they first meet because it was the part when they became blood brothers. They were both smiling and happy to have made a new friend while Mrs Lyons stood in the background with her arms crossed looking angrily at the two of them. We added a bit of comedy to this part because they are seven year olds and we wanted to show that. Shikira was sitting on her own making funny gun noises looking very scruffy and G—- walks in acting very posh. When S— taught him swear words he was shocked and amazed at all the â€Å"smashing† things that S— says. We used thought tracking to show how G— had never meet a boy like him but actually liked him. The hot seating gave the audience a chance to see that G—- has not got a lot of friends as they all bully him but not S—-. They audience also got to see that S—- never meet a posh boy like him but they became friends. In the second group were K—, M—, M— and B—-. The first scene they done was when Mrs Johnston gives one of her babies away to Mrs Lyons. K—- was playing Mrs Johnston and M— was playing Mrs Lyons. Their freeze frame was of K—- down on her knees scrubbing the floor and M—- crossing her arms looking down at her. It was obvious what scene they were going to do and what characters they were playing by using body positions and facial expressions. M—- looking arrogant and like a snob and showing how she thinks she is above K—– just because she is richer. Their performance was very well organised and they all knew what they were doing. M—- was very good at acting arrogant and as K—– cleans she was looking down at her and used good thought tracking to show how she felt. K—– did well as Mrs Johnston acting like she is happy to work for her but suing thought tracking show that she secretly did not like Mrs Lyons and that created tension between the two of them. I thought that they lacked thought tracking as the play went on and could have added more towards the end of their performance. Their use of hot seating was good; although I thought when they answered they could have gone into more detail and let the audience find out more about their characters. From the hot seating we learnt that M—– does not think its wrong to take K—-‘s baby and that K—- has no money to look after any more children. I thought that M—– could have improved her performance by added more thought tracking and speaking louder but I thought she did well at showing she was Mrs Lyons by the way that she spoke and her attitude towards K—–. K—– acted confidently, and used good thought tracking to show what she was thinking at the start of the play. She would have improved her performance by adding more detail to her answers in the hot seating and more thought tracking at the end of their performance. In the third group were G—-, T—–, S—- and T——. One of the scenes they acted out was the last scene; this is an important scene in the play because it was when Mickey finds out about Linda’s affair with Edward. Mrs Johnston’s secret deal with Mrs Lyons is also reviled and both brothers end up dead. T—– played Mickey, C—— was Edward and Grace played Mrs Johnston. Their freeze frame was off the end of the play when Mickey and Edward were dead. T—– and C—- were lying down on the floor dead and G—- was standing over them. They did well to show the tragic ending of the play and g—— used good facial expressions to show that she was shocked and upset at what had just happened. She stood with her head slight down and looked like she was crying out in disbelief. They stared with Mickey who was played by T—— going crazy wandering around the stage looking for the pills. She used thought tracking to tell the audience what she was looking for and how she angry she felt that she did not have them. When she found out about Linda and Edward’s affair she acted good and confidently showing how angry and frustrated she was. She used thought tracking telling the audience how she was thinking out killing him when she went to get the gun before storming out to find Edward. C—– playing Edward was doing his job making a speech acting normal when suddenly T—— barges in pointing a gun in his face. The use of hot seating at this moment let the audience know how scared Edward was and how T——- was not thinking straight and how she was just angry. I thought that this group also could have spoken in more detail to explain to the audience how they feel. At this moment G—— runs in trying to stop T——. She used thought tracking to say how she was thinking of telling them the truth. G—– trying to stop Mickey shouts out to not to kill Edward because they are brothers. But this just makes T—- even more angry thinking that he could have ended up like C———- with a good job and a great life. G—- in a final attempt to stop Mickey pushes his hand but the gun shoot and kills Edward. The police then shoot T—— and she falls to the floor, leaving G—– in crying in shock. I thought that in this part they could have been more organised and put more thought tracking in but all in all they had a great performance.

Formal Public Architecture and its Role in Establishing, Reproducing and Maintaining Power

Question 6: Formal public architecture is frequently associated with political and spiritual power, but different theoretical attacks to the subject will concentrate on really different features and methods of analysis. Discourse the major schools of idea on formal public architecture and its function in set uping, reproducing, and keeping power. Illustrate these differences through two illustrations – one from the Old World and the other from the New World. Many thoughts exist on how architecture and the animalism of reinforced environments status interpersonal interaction and prolong political and ideological dealingss. The topic of architecture is of importance to archeologists in that it is frequently a canvas for social or cultural alteration. This treatment explores the different major schools of idea on formal public architecture and its function in set uping, reproducing, and keeping power. By supplying two illustrations separated non merely by clip but besides by location, this paper explores how these different positions and how the archeologists who use them undertake this type of research. On analyzing how power can be established through architecture, many archeologists and research workers have turned to the Ancient Maya. The Ancient Maya had a complex political system, which was surely propagated through architecture ( Weigand 1991 ) . It is argued that exclusionary/network and corporate schemes â€Å"can be connected to specific establishments, frequently associated with formalistic built space† ( Beekman 2013:2 ) . Inclusive group individuality is characteristic of Maya society, and it is maintained through ceremonial and ritual. Formally designed infinites â€Å"have restricted maps in service to the societal hierarchy of a polity† ( Weigand 1991:93 ) . Beekman ( 2013 ) argues for four types of formal architecture ( characteristic of the Teuchitlan Tradition ) that is seen during the Late Formative-Early Authoritative period as methods of political constitution and care: shaft grave, guachimonton constructions, ball tribunals and elect families. Located under great public constructions, shaft graves are seen as an exclusionary scheme from which Maya elites drew attending to the wealth and connection of their line of descent. Beekman ( 2013:4 ) argues that â€Å"the grave in the ceremonial centres therefore demonstrated greater genealogical deepness for group claims to the rubrics or ceremonial places associated with the public architecture†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Guachimontones, which are round pyramid-like constructions, played an of import function in public ceremonials such as banquets, musical public presentations and ceremonial rites. Important ceremonial functions were shared among several higher ranking groups due to their ownership o f sacred cognition: â€Å"Holding a privileged place within the circles and take parting in these ceremonials allowed elect households to roll up increased prestigiousness, reproducing their place and solidifying their societal distance from subjects† ( Beekman 2013:5 ) . Ballcourts in Maya civilization are another premier illustration of power: â€Å"†¦ squads or persons could potentially stand out through presentations of their skill† ( Beekman 2013:6 ) . Last, elect families farther demonstrated group inclusiveness and the overall power of a group. The size and comparative intimacy to ceremonial centres suggests social inequality – that some descendent groups had more entree to resources than others. Concentrating on the Kingdom of Dahomey, which was a cardinal participant in the trans-Atlantic slave trade, Monroe ( 2010:368 ) examines the function of royal castle design in circulating societal and political order: â€Å" [ he argues ] that royal castle design therefore served as a material constituent of broader political schemes deployed by Dahomean male monarchs to anchor a vision of order and societal hierarchy in politically disruptive times.† As the slave trade grew during the 17th century, Dahomean elites gained entree to great wealth. As the land became more and more politically and economically stable, the elites began to raise excessive royal castles. These royal castles materialized political power in a figure of of import ways: â€Å"On the one manus, the constructions themselves materialized the coercive power of the state†¦ On the other manus, these castles served as the phases upon which the one-year ceremonials were performed, and during which huge me asures of wealth were distributed to the public† ( Monroe 2010:378 ) . The distribution of wealth, the public show of human forfeit and the incorporation of coercive symbols of province authorization nowadays in the architecture’s constellation served to foreground both the redistributive and coercive maps of the province. Similarly, historical scenes embedded in the walls of these castles served as a primary tool for bring forthing a sense of historical continuity and case in point for governing persons. The interior infinite set to further reenforce Dahomean elect power: â€Å"It was within such courtyards that most affairs of province were discussed, and certain more private elements of the state’s ritual rhythm were conducted† ( Monroe 2010:379 ) . From exterior to interior, architecture and the infinite it created stood to enforce a political, ideological and societal power over the Dahomey landscape. These illustrations stand as clear grounds that architecture is and can be used as a medium to set up and keep political power. As the survey of architecture in archeology is turning in popularity, there stands this demand to develop specific attacks: â€Å"Instead of being listed and categorized as an artefact, possibly utile for dating or as graphics, constructions are animating new theory and methodological analysis with which to analyze them† ( Drennan 2010:2 ) . The major schools of idea on formal architecture can be divided into three classs: functional ( processual ) , structural ( post-processual ) and societal ( political economic system ) . Advocates of the functional attack embracing a materialist mentality in covering with architecture: â€Å"The functional attack asserts that the significance of objects ( including edifices ) prevarications in their intent or use† ( Johnston and Gonlin 1998:150 ) . Function is defined in economic and societal organisational terms—what a edifice or room is used for. The functional attack to formal architecture is mostly classificatory and descriptive. Buildings are categorized by ‘type’ based on these maps. Function is established by look intoing the formal belongingss of architecture, the presence or absence of characteristics and the composing of artifact gatherings found within them. This attack spawns from colony surveies, which is the relationship between the spacial patterning of colonies on the natural landscape and the ecological determiners of colony ( Willey et al. 1965 ) . In that the processual position looks a natural environment-human behaviour relationship, a displacement in linguistic communication so allows processual thoughts and methods to be applied in look intoing a built environment-human behaviour relationship. Spatial model ing methods, when look intoing architecture, expression at the distribution of architectural signifiers within a site every bit good as spacial distribution within edifices. Space within these constructions plays merely as of import of a function in functional analyses: â€Å"There is a organic structure of social-spatial theory associated with infinite sentence structure that posits a instead rigorous and deterministic relationship among edifices, motion, and societal relations.† ( Smith 2011:176 ) . How infinites within a construction are arranged and related to one another and how a edifice mediates the relationships between its residents and visitants. This perspective focal points on the importance of motion within built environments and the significance of entree ( restricted vs. unfastened ) for societal interaction: â€Å" [ Functional attacks ] work on the premise that the infinite around edifices is structured such that aliens can travel approximately, but merely dwellers and certain aliens ( visitants ) are allowed inside constructions. Inhabitants have an investing of power and are the accountants, while visitants entre or star as topics of the system and are hence controlled† ( Markus 1993:13 ) . That is to state, architecture and the infinite within it functions as a agency of inequality – the effort of power. A figure of designers and authors have held the position that architecture is a symbolically-representative linguistic communication and that edifices can be read as texts The structural attack takes on a different mentality when analyzing architecture. Culture is viewed as an conceptional screen or significance system through which persons conceptualize themselves, others and the universe around them ( Bourdieu 1985 and Giddens 1979, 1982 ) . Cardinal to this position is the premise that persons reproduce and express cultural constructions by ordaining them in day-to-day pattern ( Hodder 1989 ) . Peoples draw from a reservoir of corporal memories accumulated over the class of a life-time: â€Å" [ Architectural design ] is an eminently matter-of-fact human activity, with, to boot inventive, allusory, and less touchable implications† ( Patel 2009:1 ) . It is an extension of a culture’s individuality and of personal individuality. It is world. Architectural design is a procedure whereby societal groups make picks refering several perennial sets of activities. Space solidifies societal significances. Structural attacks are is concerned with the ways in which contrivers and designers design metropoliss and edifices are used to pass on specific messages, typically of a societal, ideologicall and political nature ( Smith 2010 ) . The construct of â€Å"materialization of ideology† ( DeMarrais et al. 1996 ) is closely related to this attack in that formal architecture becomes both a vehicle for communicating of significances and a phase for reproduction of those significances in the context of day-to-day pattern. Formal architecture is perceived as â€Å"‘structuring structures’ – culturally loaded infinites that socialize by promoting patterns consistent with the significances that they encode† ( Johnston and Gonlin 1998:145 ) . Social control as a mechanism of power is encoded in architecture, which serves as a phase where constructions of power, privilege and inequality are created, enacted and re-created. Additionally, a societal attack, which follows much of the dogmas of political economic system, investigates the dwellers or users of a peculiar infinite as socioeconomic entities. It is contended that topographic point devising is an inherently elect pattern: â€Å"†¦ [ it suggests ] that topographic points are needfully programmed and designed in agreement with certain involvements – chiefly the chase of agreeableness, net income, position and political power† ( Dovey 1999:1 ) . Power is non inertly embedded in reinforced signifier, but alternatively actively mediated through it. Social attacks allow for a better apprehension of the political kineticss of topographic point – how stratification of topographic point every bit good as of persons and groups – are established and maintained. As societal units become progressively specialised, artifacts with high symbolic content – particularly built environments – are needed to assist incor porate a society’s disparate parts ( Rathje and Schiffer 1982 ) . There is a demand for both separation and togetherness. In this, architecture refers to the societal circulation of significances, values and pleasances and to the procedures of organizing societal individualities and societal relationships. Architecture is seen as a agency of resource control. By using these positions to the illustrations provided earlier in this treatment, we see merely how archeologists begin to take out architecture’s function in complex behaviour. On the one manus, functionalists would see the Dahomey royal castles every bit working as topographic points of abode every bit good as centres of historical chronology, assembly and distribution. Correspondingly, the architectural signifiers of the Teuchitlan tradition map as centres of entombment, ceremonial, abode and competition/sport. The infinites within these architectural types map as schemes of inclusion and exclusion. These castles served to tag passages between spheres such as inside/outside, sacred/sacrilegious, public/private and elite/commoner. On the other manus, structuralists would see these constructions as active participants in the conditioning of human experience. These construction contain of import information, which is critical for successful wayfinding. At one degree, both illustrationsperformedelite power across urban landscapes, doing symbolic claims to the nature of province authorization and supplying phases upon which historical claims to political legitimacy were expressed. However, no less of import were the ways in which the mundane pattern of political relations was shaped by the internal deferrals of these constructions. This transmutation was marked by an addition in both the segregation of political activities and control over motion within these infinites. These all can be argued as influential factors in how one non merely perceives his universe but besides how one identifies himself. Furthermore, the societal position sees that the Dahomean castles and the constructions of the Teuchitlan tradition speak to a more economic stance on power: entree and control over resources. In that these constructions have cosmogonic undertones and are straight tied to ceremonial rites, the inclusionary and exclusionary patterns suggest control over ritual cognition. By restricting entree to such cognition, we see an effort and support of the power. We see opposition and rapprochement. These architectural constructions and the activities held within them are meant to divide and convey together. In all, architectural surveies within archeology must be able to get by with its rich spacial and communicative facets. Functional attacks are of import, but we must travel beyond this. As Hiller and Hanson ( 1984: 27 ) architecture and its relation to power demand to â€Å"be non so much a byproduct of the societal alterations, but an intrinsic portion of them and even to some extent causative of them.† As laid out by Tilley ( 1996:162 ) , the survey of architecture in archeology genuinely conceptualizes how infinite is used to intercede experience: â€Å" [ Space is ] experient and known through the motion of the human organic structure in infinite and through time.† These positions lend of import penetrations that have aided to the treatment of power as materialized through architecture. We see how map, significance and command all play a portion in the rise and care of power. 1