Study Of Direct Subsidy Scheme

Study Of Direct Subsidy Scheme In 1988, the Education Commission Report No.3 proposed the Direct Subsidy Scheme (DSS). The first DSS scheme was set up in 1991. The scheme aimed at developing a strong private school sector by providing high quality schools other than government and aided schools and to give parents a greater choice in looking for suitable schools for their children. So, what is Direct Subsidy Scheme (DSS)? It is a means to enhance the quality of private schools in Hong Kong at the primary and secondary level (Education Commission Report No.3 June 1988). Non-governmental secondary schools which are attained a sufficiently high educational standard to join the DSS by providing subsidies in order to enhance the quality of private school education since the 1991-92 school year. The government set up the Direct Subsidy Scheme in primary and secondary education in Hong Kong with three rationales. The first one is to set up a qualified private education provision sector. The scheme allows DSS schools to charge tuition fees on their own willingness. Some schools may charge higher tuition fees, so that they purchase better equipment and have extra resources. As a result, the DSS schools can improve their teaching qualities. Besides, the schools under DSS can operate with greater autonomy. The schools can recruit more teachers so that the teacher to students ratio can be lower. Then, students can learn better. Another rationale is that DSS allows more diversity in different schools as there is less restriction and schools can freely decide on their own to operate. For example, schools can design the curricula, school tuition fees and selection criteria. Schools can also tailor made their syllabus to meet the interest and abilities of their students. As a result, our education system will be more diverse and more schools with different styles and specialties would exist. The third rationale is to increase the variety of choices for parents and students. As schools can identify their own strengths specialties (as the above mentioned), there will be more options (different types of schools) for parents to choose. Choices can be made based on the needs and interests of the children and it will be beneficial to the students. Schools joining Direct Subsidy Scheme is quite different from those government schools, aided schools and private schools. Here are three features of the Direct Subsidy scheme. The first one is that the scheme allowed the school to charge tuition fees. The government has little control over the tuition fees levels. For instance, the tuition fees is $28,000 per annum for Diocesan Boys College Form one students while the tuition fees is $48,000 per annum for St. Pauls Co-educational College Form one students. The second feature of the scheme is that the DSS schools can receive subsidies, which depend on the numbers of students enrolled in the schools, from the government. The schools are free to spend their grants for educational purpose. Enjoying high autonomy is another feature of the Direct Subsidy Scheme. Schools joining the scheme can have their own selection criteria and selection processes. It means that the selection processes is regardless districts, which is different from the centrally allocated system. Another aspect of autonomy that the DSS schools can enjoy is that they are free to design the syllabus and curriculum. Take Diocesan Boys School as an example, it adopts International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IBDP) for overseas study. After setting up the Direct Subsidy Scheme in Hong Kong, how is the scheme affecting the primary and secondary education? Now, there are 83 schools (including 62 secondary schools and 21 primary schools) in total joining the Direct Subsidy scheme. DSS schools now account for more than 6% of secondary schools and 1.2% of primary school. Although the ratio seems to be relatively low, there is a trend to increase in the future. It especially refers to some elite schools with prestigious reputation such as the St. Paul Co- educational School and the Diocesan Boys School. It is because joining the Direct Subsidy Scheme, schools can acquire extra resources and autonomy for their future development and teaching visions. For the well-perceived schools, they can take advantages out of the scheme and able to improve their teaching and learning experience. They can organize more enrichment programs such as overseas tours, cultural trips and outdoor learning activities with the extra funding and freedom gain. The schools can also hire extra teachers and assistants. As a result, the schools can make their teaching process more effective and reduce the working pressure of teachers. Take St. Paul Co- educational School as an example, it employed 10 more teachers into its own teaching team (with 108 teachers). However, in normal government- aided schools, there are only 60 to 70 teachers. For some less famous schools, they can better cater the special needs of their original students, have new sources of applicants and featuring their custom curricula and syllabus. They tend to have students from South-Asian, New immigrants from Mainland China and under-performed in terms of academic studies. And their school fees are generally more affordable compare with those elite schools joining DSS. The general effect is that there is a trend for both secondary schools and primary schools in Hong Kong to turn to DSS schools in the future. As the above mentioned, it is believed that there will be more and more schools joining the Direct Subsidy Scheme in the future. So, the scheme must have its pros to attract those schools to join in. Let us first analyze the pros of the scheme from schools view. Being a DSS schools, schools can enjoy high autonomy. Schools are free to decide their own school fees, curriculum and student admission policies. AS schools can set their own selection criteria, they can control the standards of their students. Some schools will even establish their own cultures and styles. For example, La Salle College has its own spirit The Lasallian Spirit: Faith and Zeal. Besides, DSS schools can also get more operating funds by charging higher school fees and receiving government subsidies. As a result, schools can have abundant funds to provide additional and better quality facilities. From the view of parents and students, the advantages of the Direct Subsidy Scheme are that the DSS schools have high teaching quality, so it can enhance students with good learning experience. Besides, as DSS schools usually offer small- group teaching for major subjects, so that the students-teachers ratio will be lower. Then, teachers may have a better teaching and caring on each student. So, students can benefit from a better learning environment. From teachers view, working in a DSS school, they will be benefit from a lighter workload. As DSS schools usually employ more teachers and offer small- group teaching for major subjects, the students-teachers ratio will be lower. As a result, each teacher can then focus on fewer students. Besides, teacher may establish deeper relationship with students as teachers only need to focus small class of students. Therefore, the teachers- students relationships may become better. As every coin has two sides, everything has both positive and negative sides. Direct Subsidy Scheme also has some cons from the view of schools, students, parents and teachers. From schools view, they may worry that the schools competitiveness is weaken due to the higher school fees compare to other schools. Some families may not be able to afford the higher school fees. When the quality of a DDS school and a non- DSS school has no big different, those families will probably not consider DSS schools as a choice. Schools may also worry the risk of insufficient of students. As the government subsidies received by DDS schools depend on the numbers of students enrolled in the schools, so schools may need to face the problem of insufficient funds if there are not enough students. It may then lead to lacking of resources for facilities and continuous development. In the long term, the school may need to lower its admission requirement. Form the view of students and parents, there is inequality in school admission process. It is because students need to pay higher school tuition fees to enter DSS schools compare to those students enter non- DSS schools. School tuition fees may be a burden for some poor families, and these families may not be able to afford the higher school tuition fees. Apart from the admission process, unfairness may also occur in the educational process. As DSS schools usually have more funds for better facilities and resources, students study in DSS schools may enjoy better facilities and better learning environment. It may be not so fair to those non- DSS schools students. From the view of teachers, they may have worries of wage cuts. As DSS schools tend to employ more teachers, teachers salary will increase the expense of the schools. Some may worries that schools will have wage cuts in order to reduce the expense on teachers salary. Besides, as some parents are still not very familiar to the Direct Subsidy Scheme, teachers may have to spend extra time explaining the policy to parents. It may then increase the workload of teachers. After discussing both the pros and cons of the Direct Subsidy Scheme, I think that the cons of the Direct Subsidy Scheme far outweigh the pros. I oppose the scheme for these reasons. First of all, Direct Subsidy Scheme violates the spirit of Education for all walks of life. Education should treat all students equally but not select students by criteria such as family background or wealth. However, as DSS schools enjoy high autonomy and they can set their own selection criteria and admission process, many of the DSS schools tend to choose the elite students only and exclude those poor students from joining. For example, a student who has his father or brothers studied in the Diocesan Boys School will be added marks in the admission process of the Diocesan Boys School. The school tends to give advantage to the alumnis children. It is obvious that DSS schools are selecting students by their family background. It is unfair to the other students. It violates the principle of equal educational opportunities. Moreover, the scheme hinders the social mobility. The principle of equal educational opportunities suggest that students should be selected according their academic results instead of their family background or the ability of paying the schools tuition fees and even low- class students who have outstanding academic results can enter the universities and become middle class in the future. However, the Direct Subsidy Scheme violates this principle and hinders the social mobility. Poor students are restricted from entering the DSS schools. DSS schools lead to stratified society. On the other hand, Direct Subsidy Scheme leads to inequality in the educational system as DSS schools take both the advantages of aided schools and private school. DSS schools can receive the subsidies according to the numbers of students from the government, which is the advantage of aided schools. DSS schools can also enjoy a high autonomy on school curriculum, students selection and designing syllabus, which is the advantage of private schools. Apart from taking both the advantages of aided schools and private school, the DSS schools can also receives extra income from charging schools tuition fees. It is a kind of unfairness to the subsidy schools and private schools. In conclusion, Direct Subsidy Scheme was set up in purpose of providing high quality schools to give parents and students a greater choice in looking for suitable schools. After evaluation, it can be seen that there are both advantages and disadvantages of the scheme. The disadvantages of the scheme seem to outweigh the advantages. However, it is obvious that there is a trend for both secondary schools and primary schools in Hong Kong to turn to DSS schools in the future. While more and more schools become DSS schools, the effects of DSS bringing to Hong Kong education will be much more evident. To stop creating unfairness and hindering social mobility, the government should really think of some new policy to improve the Direct Subsidy Scheme to perfect the Hong Kong educational system.

BRIC Relevance And Vision In New World Order

BRIC Relevance And Vision In New World Order 19. The 21st century is the century of BRIC nations (Brazil, Russia, India China) as was the 20th century of America. However one should not forget that there was a period of recession during the early part of 20th century. As per the studies carried out by the experts, there wont be continuous growth every year without any disruption. In fact, the economist were surprised by the occurrence of events in 2008-09. However, they were not surprised that such a thing has happened, as it is a cycle that repeats sooner or later in the world economy. But the fact remains that just because there was an economic crisis in 2008, the relevance of BRICs does not end. In fact it has become more relevant as the emerging economies of BRIC are now driving the world economy.  [7]  The state of the world economy in the coming decade will be largely dictated by the turn of events in the BRIC countries Brazil, Russia, India and China. As all are with large population, hungry for growth, they are alr eady influencing the global commerce and they have the potential to redefine and influence it even further. The BRIC countries have large, young populations base to further exploit this growth potential. The growing importance and influence of BRIC economies is largely due to rapidly growing market due large middle class population which offers lucrative markets for the world industries. 20. The very fact that BRIC economies have shown consistent economic growth over the last decade and their increasing role in the economic activities in the world, Goldman Sachs who first introduced the term has now become more confident on the relevance of BRIC. German economy has already been taken over by China in 2008, and Japan in 2010. As per estimates of Goldman Sachs, Chinese economy will overtake US by 2035. As per reports, India is among the first 10 of the 30 fastest-growing areas in the world, thus it is likely to influence world economy in a major way and faster than expected by the experts.  [8]   21. The leaders of BRIC nations have gained influence over the last decade as their economies have registered faster growth than those of developed countries. The BRIC countries along with the other emerging economies from the developing world have started playing important role in the decision making at various forum of trade, banking and climate change. The relevance of the BRIC economies in the present world order can be gauged from the following facts :- (a) The BRIC economies is more than 22 % of the world economy. (b) The real economic growth of China have consistently averaged at 9.75 percent since 1999, 7 percent in case of India and Russia, and 3.3 percent for Brazil. The global financial crisis of 2008 saw contraction of Russian and Brazil economy in 2009. However India and China continue to remain on a growth path, thus driving the recovery of world economy. (c) As per the experts, the BRIC economies are expected to register further growth in the coming years, thus attracting industries and FDI. (d) Brazil, being an dominating player in agricultural and mining sector, will be a major player in the world market after exploiting its oil reserves. After a period of rapid for last five years, though, its economy has gone into recession in early 2009 but has revived strongly and registered a healthy growth of 9 % in 2010. (e) Russia, being one of the worlds major oil and gas producer, has been affected by the economic slowdown of 2008, in spite of the economic slowdown its economy has registered a healthy growth of about 4 % in 2010 which is largely assisted by recovery in oil prices. (f) Indian economy is emerging strongly and is likely to grow at the rate of 8 %. The government and consumer spending is likely to further boost the growth. (g) The BRIC nations are trying to build consensus on reducing the dependence on U.S. dollar as a global reserve currency, the options of basket of currencies or a system of drawing rates has been suggested by the forum. (h) The BRIC nations have increased their influence at various forum of trade and banking and are dictating terms at these international forums, thus ensuring that their interests are addressed. (j) India and Brazil, both being considered as strong contender for permanent seat in United Nations Security Council, however a lack of consensus among the nations in UN on the issue of UNSC reforms has long stalled the reform process. (k) The BRIC economies have developed a common position on global climate negotiations, however there are differences among them on the issues of carbon footprints. Russia, has already ratified the Kyoto protocol in year 2004. However developing countries like India and Brazil are not agreeing to legally binding targets of emissions being enforced from 2013. (l) Chinese economy has already overtaken Germany and Japan in 2008 and 2010 respectively and is likely to overtake US economy by 2035. (m) As per experts, India will achieve its highest economic growth rate in next few years which will be higher than that of China and will overtake Japanese economy by 2030. (n) As per economic experts, the currencies of BRIC countries will be appreciating upto 300% in next three to four decades, thus likely to be the favourite destination for investment in future this will give further boost to BRIC economies in coming future. (o) In next three to four decades, the BRIC economies, taken together will overtake the economies of United States and the developed economies of Europe. (p) In BRIC countries, a population of about 200 million with incomes above $ 15,000 is likely to get added in the world economy, giving boost to the global economic growth. This is equal to the populations of UK, Germany and France taken together. (q) The BRIC countries together represents almost 42% of the worlds population; This offers a lucrative market of about 2.7 billion people to the world industries, thus making them a favourite destination for investment. These market also represents enormous future purchasing power, which is yet to be tapped. (r) Reduced reliance on foreign debt. The consistent growth rate registered by BRIC economies over the last few years has helped them repay loans taken during the period of previous economic crisis, however with the increasing FDI in these countries, the reliance on foreign debt is getting reduced. (s) Riding the roller coaster. The BRIC economies have registered consistent economic growth rate even during the economic crisis of 2008, however experts wonder that how long these economies can register positive growth rate without a dip and why these economies have not been affected by the slowdown. The world-wide slowdown in economic activities could not have a significant impact on investments in these countries. The reason identified by the experts is that as these are emerging markets with strong economic status and purchasing power, thus they have become the favourites FDI destinations, boosting their economic growth rates and increasing economic activities in these countries. 22. As per studies carried out by Goldman Sachs which predicts that India and China, respectively, will remain major global player for considerable time as suppliers of services and manufactured goods, while Brazil and Russia would emerge and established themselves as major suppliers of raw materials. Thus the BRIC economies are complementing each other with Brazil and Russia together forming the natural commodity suppliers to Indian and Chinese industries. The economic analysts at Goldman Sach released a follow up report which is further to its initial report of 2004 on BRIC. As per this report,  [9]  the number of people in BRIC countries with an income of $3,000 and above will get doubled within next three years and reach a figure of 800 million by 2020. This rise in people with an income of $ 3000 and above represents a massive increase in the middle class in these countries. This rise represent further rise in demand of commodities which will not be restricted to only basic commodities but also have an impact on the demand of expensive goods. The analysts further predicts that between 2007 and 2020, per capita GDP in Indias will quadruple in terms of US$. It further predicts that the Indian economy will overtake US economy by 2050 and BRIC nations as a bloc will overtake economies of G7 nations taken together by 2032. Vision 25. India and China both are driving the world economy, thus helping in recovery of world economies from the effects of the economic crisis and being close neighbours, have become major trading partners. The BRIC nations have exploited the global economic crisis, as a means to improve their economic relationships and co-operation with the poorer developing countries. The BRICs have considerably increased their economic presence in the African countries as well as granted loans to African countries. India has provided loans of more than $200 million at the same time China has invested approximately $4000 million as foreign direct investment. Russia and Brazil has invested more than $3000 and $4000 million in Africa. Through huge economic assistance, the BRICs are not just providing aide to these countries, but also showing their capability to provide financial help to the developing world. This has helped in improving trade ties and getting access to the markets of the poorer economie s which are likely to evolve more strongly in coming future. 26. The globalization and ever growing demand for energy and other raw material, along with the trend of outsourcing helped stimulate the BRICs economic growth. India dominating in service outsourcing sector, termed as back office of the world. Brazil and Russia have vast energy and mineral resources, and China has emerged as worlds manufacturing plant, being termed as shop floor of the world by experts. Indian economy is presently growing at the rate of 8.5% a year, and Chinas at more than 10.5%, and the combined GDP of BRIC countries is US $ 5.2 trillion in 2006 and is growing even stronger day by day. 27. The BRIC thesis proposed by Goldman Sach suggests that, India and China will emerge as the leading players in the field of services and manufactured goods, respectively, similarly Russia and Brazil will become key suppliers of raw materials thus complementing India and China. Thus BRIC countries have the potential to form a dominating economic bloc in which all members complement each other thus boosting each others growth. The BRIC forum in present form cannot be considered as a political alliance or a formal trading association. The leaders of BRIC nations have taken steps to further increase political and economic co-operation, with a view to increase their influence on major trade accords, or as a means of gaining political concessions from the US, civil nuclear deal between India and US is an apt example of success story of this policy. 28. Goldman Sachs  [10]  suggests that the economic potential of BRIC countries has the potential of making them the four most dominant economies in next three to four decades. The BRIC thesis was first proposed by Jim ONeill, global economist at Goldman Sachs. The BRIC countries together accounts for almost 40% of the population and encompass 25% of land in the world. Taken together they hold a combined GDP of approximately 16 trillion dollars. As given above, in almost every field, the BRIC countries are emerging as the leading players in the world. These countries are among the fastest growing economies and emerging markets. 29. The opportunities that the BRIC have for further economic integration in various sectors are evident. Brazil and Russia will continue their leadership roles in developing and trading natural resources, while India and China will remain global leaders in manufacturing, services and technology. All four economies have bounced back from the recession and are now sustaining the global recovery. On current trends, the groups combined share in global gross domestic product should reach 60 percent by 2050. The countries growing economic weight has turned BRIC into a formidable bloc in the new multi-polar world order. 30. The rapid expansion of the emerging economics and BRIC in particular, present both opportunities and challenges in the new world order. There are significant opportunities to form new alliances as BRIC economies present potential growth which will spread the benefits of their development and robust economy to other regional economies as well. However the BRIC economies have to maintain the sustained growth rate to catch up with the more developed economies of the world. 31. The BRICs are becoming superpowers in the economic world. There is no doubt, that they have become much more important today than ever before. But whether they would surpass the expectations is to be seen in near future. However the fact remains that BRIC economies will be playing a key role in global efforts to tackle climate change. Though, it is true that today developed economies are responsible for the majority of greenhouse gases (GHG) already in the atmosphere, however developing countries are expected to account for 75% of GHG emissions over the next 25 years. Owing to its rapid industrialisation and growth, China has emerged as the worlds second-largest emitter of carbon dioxide, and is likely to be the highest emitter by 2020 surpassing US. As per experts, its in the BRICs own interest to reduce their emissions and pollution, and to pursue a cleaner path of development. The BRICs already face a number of environmental problems, including air and water pollution, rising strains on water supplies and resource depletion. 32. Though the BRIC countries have differences on various issues, however economic experts feel that they will play a important role in international politics in near future. As the debates on the implementation of emission control by developing countries and Kyoto Protocol are still on, it is believed that the BRIC countries are the ones who will be most affected in future, and therefore should play an essential role in the new developments on these issues. But the question remains whether these countries will be able to develop an alternate world order? Will they be able to reduce the level of US presence in their own region? BRIC has successfully taken its toddler steps and it will depend on the participating countries to develop it further. 33. Indias membership of BRIC bloc and India Brazil and South Africa, IBSA bloc and its effort for a permanent seat in the United Nations Security Council is part of grand strategy for the evolving multi-polar world order. India has a tremendous potential to shape and influence the emerging multi-polar world order as well as playing dominant role in it, through its strategy of multi-alignment. However, it will have to be less ideologically driven and more strategically savvy to achieve this goal.

Economic Injustice Essay -- essays research papers fc

Economic Justice Between Classes We live in a country today misrepresented by its own peoples' perception. The consensus that we live in the greatest nation in the world is not so much a feeling of nationalism as it is a forgone conclusion in the minds of millions of Americans. What a great many of these millions do not realize is that they are the victims of a government set up by our founding fathers to uphold a class system based on a very unproportional distribution of wealth. As the old saying goes, you need money to make money, and this is never more true than it is in the United States, the land where the rich stay rich and the poor stay poor. Howard Zinn asks, "What is economic justice?" There is no clear answer, except to say economic justice simply does not exist. Founding Fathers Promise Equality One might ask when all this came about. The nation started under the greatest of pretexts. A nation of democracy, equality, and freedom. But freedom from what? Taxation without representation? Or maybe just taxation. The argument has been made that our country was started by land and slave owning men who did not want to pay their taxes. But the truth is the nation was started by a group of very wealthy men, who did not intend for "all men are created equal" to apply to the distribution of wealth. True, times were very different then. But many ideas and laws from the late 18th century that have no place in the 21st century still apply in situations today. Look no further than the recent election. An old system of choosing the nations leader by electors, created in fairness to southern slave-owners who counted each of their "possesions" as two-fifths of a person, is preventing the nation from electing the majority's choice as president. The debacle that is now being called "Indecision 2000" should be a wake up call to Americans living under laws past in another age for a much different nation. No one denies that poverty is a problem in the United States, and even more so globally. Lack of sufficent food, decent education, proper housing, and sufficent medical coverage are all very apparent. The constitution guarantees life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, while these basic necessities of life are being denied to millions of families in the United States. The Laissez - Faire Approach Some are actually a... ...nly distributed, and no traces of economic justice even exist. People living in poverty need some kind of hope, some sign that their government has not forgotten them. The truth is, there are plenty of people who do care, and there are many efforts to help. The discrepancies are simply too big to go unnoticed, and a change is inevitable. As for right now, the trend continues. The rich get super-richer, the poor get poorer Works Cited Zinn, Howard. Declarations of Independence. New York: HaperCollins, 1990. Raymond W. Baker: A 150-to-1 Ratio Is Far Too Lopsided for Comfort, 1999/02/05, Intl. Herald Tribune, pg.6. Mohammed Dore: Poverty, Global Inequality and the Foundations of Redistribution Policy, 1996 <http://spartan.ac.brocku.ca/~dore/poverty/> "Forbes 400 Richest in America." Forbes.com. 2000 <http://www.forbes.com/400richest/> U.S. Department of Labor. "U.S. Employment Standards Admin.". <www.dol.gov/esa/public/minwage.> U.S. Bureau of the Census "Poverty". 26 September 2000 <http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/poverty.html> Henwood, Doug. "Boom for Whom?." Left Business Observer #93 Feb. 2000: 2 Economic Injustice Essay -- essays research papers fc Economic Justice Between Classes We live in a country today misrepresented by its own peoples' perception. The consensus that we live in the greatest nation in the world is not so much a feeling of nationalism as it is a forgone conclusion in the minds of millions of Americans. What a great many of these millions do not realize is that they are the victims of a government set up by our founding fathers to uphold a class system based on a very unproportional distribution of wealth. As the old saying goes, you need money to make money, and this is never more true than it is in the United States, the land where the rich stay rich and the poor stay poor. Howard Zinn asks, "What is economic justice?" There is no clear answer, except to say economic justice simply does not exist. Founding Fathers Promise Equality One might ask when all this came about. The nation started under the greatest of pretexts. A nation of democracy, equality, and freedom. But freedom from what? Taxation without representation? Or maybe just taxation. The argument has been made that our country was started by land and slave owning men who did not want to pay their taxes. But the truth is the nation was started by a group of very wealthy men, who did not intend for "all men are created equal" to apply to the distribution of wealth. True, times were very different then. But many ideas and laws from the late 18th century that have no place in the 21st century still apply in situations today. Look no further than the recent election. An old system of choosing the nations leader by electors, created in fairness to southern slave-owners who counted each of their "possesions" as two-fifths of a person, is preventing the nation from electing the majority's choice as president. The debacle that is now being called "Indecision 2000" should be a wake up call to Americans living under laws past in another age for a much different nation. No one denies that poverty is a problem in the United States, and even more so globally. Lack of sufficent food, decent education, proper housing, and sufficent medical coverage are all very apparent. The constitution guarantees life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, while these basic necessities of life are being denied to millions of families in the United States. The Laissez - Faire Approach Some are actually a... ...nly distributed, and no traces of economic justice even exist. People living in poverty need some kind of hope, some sign that their government has not forgotten them. The truth is, there are plenty of people who do care, and there are many efforts to help. The discrepancies are simply too big to go unnoticed, and a change is inevitable. As for right now, the trend continues. The rich get super-richer, the poor get poorer Works Cited Zinn, Howard. Declarations of Independence. New York: HaperCollins, 1990. Raymond W. Baker: A 150-to-1 Ratio Is Far Too Lopsided for Comfort, 1999/02/05, Intl. Herald Tribune, pg.6. Mohammed Dore: Poverty, Global Inequality and the Foundations of Redistribution Policy, 1996 <http://spartan.ac.brocku.ca/~dore/poverty/> "Forbes 400 Richest in America." Forbes.com. 2000 <http://www.forbes.com/400richest/> U.S. Department of Labor. "U.S. Employment Standards Admin.". <www.dol.gov/esa/public/minwage.> U.S. Bureau of the Census "Poverty". 26 September 2000 <http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/poverty.html> Henwood, Doug. "Boom for Whom?." Left Business Observer #93 Feb. 2000: 2

King Lear :: essays research papers

King Lear is widely regarded as Shakespeare's crowning artistic achievement. The scenes in which a mad Lear rages naked on a stormy heath against his deceitful daughters and nature itself are considered by many scholars to be the finest example of tragic lyricism in the English language. Shakespeare took his main plot line of an aged monarch abused by his children from a folk tale that appeared first in written form in the 12th century and was based on spoken stories that originated much further into the Middle Ages. In several written versions of "Lear," the king does not go mad, his "good" daughter does not die, and the tale has a happy ending. This is not the case with Shakespeare's Lear, a tragedy of such consuming force that audiences and readers are left to wonder whether there is any meaning to the physical and moral carnage with which King Lear concludes. Like the noble Kent, seeing a mad, pathetic Lear with the murdered Cordelia in his arms, the profound brutality of the tale compels us to wonder, "Is this the promised end?" (V.iii.264). That very question stands at the divide between traditional critics of King Lear who find a heroic pattern in the story and modern readers who see no redeeming or purgative dimension to the play at all, the message being the bare futility of the human condition with Lear as Everyman. As in Macbeth terror reaches its utmost height, in King Lear the sense of compassion is exhausted. The principal characters here are not those who act, but those who suffer. We have not in this, as in most tragedies, the picture of a calamity in which the sudden blows of fate seem still to honor the head which they strike, and where the loss is always accompanied by some flattering consolation in the memory of the former possession; but a fall from the highest elevation into the deepest abyss of misery, where humanity is stripped of all external and internal advantages, and given up a prey to naked helplessness. The threefold dignity of a king, an old man, and a father, is dishonored by the cruel ingratitude of his unnatural daughters; the old king, who out of a foolish tenderness has given away everything, is driven out into the world a homeless beggar; the childish imbecility to which he was fast advancing changes into the wildest insanity, and when he is rescued from the destitution to which he was abandoned, it is too late.

Destiny as a Fictive Device in Cats Cradle, Mother Night, and Jailbird

The literary genius of Kurt Vonnegut is evidenced by his ability to weave a story from the most mundane of characters and circumstances into an intricate web of possibilities for his stories by using literary tools such as cause and effect, congruence and destiny. Here we will examine Vonnegut's use of one of these literary tools, destiny as a fictive device, which serves to propel the three following books: Cat's Cradle, Mother Night, and Jailbird. Kurt Vonnegut is a master of fictive devices because he uses them to construct an intricate web of possibilities for his stories to proceed on. Destiny, as the dictionary tells us, is "a predetermined course of events often held to be a resistless power or agency," and in these three novels, Kurt Vonnegut implies that destiny is just the way things are bound to be. Some of the many forms of destiny used by Vonnegut to guide his characters and to shove his stories into the right direction include: destiny for people who don't believe in destiny; such as religious persons, anti-destiny; the idea of what might have been, and predestination; the idea that what happens to you is already decided. In Jailbird, Vonnegut uses a particularly obscure main character named Walter F. Starbuck. Walter F. Starbuck was a normal, law-abiding citizen in his fifties, with a wife and a son who didn't like him, but, by using destiny as a fictive device, Kurt Vonnegut creates an amazing story filled with adventure, love, and betrayal. In the novel Mother Night Vonnegut lays out the life of his main character, Howard W Campbell, Jr., from when he was ... ... "And, inwardly, I sarooned, which is to say that I aquiesed to the seeming demands of my vin-dit."(p137 Cat's Cradle). A vin-dit is "...a Bokononist word meaning a sudden, very personal shove in the direction of Bokononism,..."(p53 Cat's Cradle). By making the character of John believe in destiny, anything that happens, which sounds like destiny, the character will react to. This gives the author more to write about. Kurt Vonnegut is a great author of American literature because of how he uses literary tools to write his exciting stories. Destiny used as a fictive device is the easiest tool Kurt Vonnegut uses to fertilise the lives of his characters, but it is also the most effective. If more teachers taught about how destiny is used as a fictive device, then we would all benefit, as writers and readers.

Explain How the Procedures of the Work Setting Protect

Explain how the procedures of the work setting protect both children and young people and practitioners. Not only do Gap Club’s procedures protect the children who attend the club but they also protect the staff too. An example of this would be the policies and procedures relating to the receipt, storage and administration of medicine. All staff at Gap know that this should be strictly adhered to as the aim of the policy is to protect us and the children against medication errors.The dose and frequency of a child’s medication should be very clearly stated and must always be followed exactly, this is because there is considerable risk of harming a child if they are given medication that has not been prescribed to them or if the medication they do need is given to them at the wrong time or in the wrong amount. If a member of staff were to issue a child with incorrect medicine then they could well face losing their job or end up entering a lawsuit, especially if a child be comes seriously ill. Not only do Gap Club’s procedures protect the children who attend the club but they also protect the staff too. Associated essay: Procedures For Infection ControlAn example of this would be the policies and procedures relating to the receipt, storage and administration of medicine. All staff at Gap know that this should be strictly adhered to as the aim of the policy is to protect us and the children against medication errors. The dose and frequency of a child’s medication should be very clearly stated and must always be followed exactly, this is because there is considerable risk of harming a child if they are given medication that has not been prescribed to them or if the medication they do need is given to them at the wrong time or in the wrong amount.If a member of staff were to issue a child with incorrect medicine then they could well face losing their job or end up entering a lawsuit, especially if a child becomes seriously ill. Not only do Gap Club’s procedures protect the children who attend the club but they also protect the staff too. An example of this would be the po licies and procedures relating to the receipt, storage and administration of medicine. All staff at Gap know that this should be strictly adhered to s the aim of the policy is to protect us and the children against medication errors. The dose and frequency of a child’s medication should be very clearly stated and must always be followed exactly, this is because there is considerable risk of harming a child if they are given medication that has not been prescribed to them or if the medication they do need is given to them at the wrong time or in the wrong amount.If a member of staff were to issue a child with incorrect medicine then they could well face losing their job or end up entering a lawsuit, especially if a child becomes seriously ill. Not only do Gap Club’s procedures protect the children who attend the club but they also protect the staff too. An example of this would be the policies and procedures relating to the receipt, storage and administration of medicin e. All staff at Gap know that this should be strictly adhered to as the aim of the policy is to protect us and the children against medication errors.The dose and frequency of a child’s medication should be very clearly stated and must always be followed exactly, this is because there is considerable risk of harming a child if they are given medication that has not been prescribed to them or if the medication they do need is given to them at the wrong time or in the wrong amount. If a member of staff were to issue a child with incorrect medicine then they could well face losing their job or end up entering a lawsuit, especially if a child becomes seriously ill.

Favorite Holiday

Favorite holidays As an immigrant, Christmas is not my traditional holiday. I celebrated Christmas for the first time when I was in India. It was my first and last Christmas with my Indian friends. I collected money from friends and we held a little party at my house. Our Christmas party was very different than an American Christmas party. We didn’t decorate the Christmas tree and also there was no snow. I didn’t get different kinds of food for my friends because at the end I left with very little money. We didn’t tell our parents about celebrating Christmas and we made our gifts at home.For example, I made a card and one of my friends made a sewed a hankie. After the celebration we started to clean up and during clean up time we were telling jokes and laughing. It was the best Christmas of my life. Christmas has always been my favorite holiday because Christmas comes with snow, decorations and different varieties of food. First, Christmas is not complete without snow and cold. I love the combination of snow, cold and wind. Every single morning is like a surprise for me because I do not know what the weather will be like.When I glance around, I see snow everywhere just like a white blanket. I usually don’t go outside in the snow, but I adore watching snow from my window. It is also the best time for snow ball fights and for going snow sledding. When I go outside, I see people with heavy jackets and coats roaming around gives me cozy and warm feelings. Sitting on the couch, drinking coffee, and watching snow during Christmas time gives me feelings which are not comparable to any other feelings. Second of all, decorations on Christmas are usual and are very important parts of Christmas.Christmas time decorations are typically put up in stores in early December and people start to white wash their houses for this big occasion. Going to stores in Christmas time, everything looks very colorful to me. I usually see the Christmas decoration s in three colors like red, white and green. A week before Christmas day, people decorate their houses and front yards with lights, wreath, and plastic snowman. During Christmas time I love to go on walks because the decorations of the streets and houses everywhere make the holidays very pleasant for me. Looking at ecorated houses and streets in the night during walk fills my heart with happiness and joy. The sensation which comes to my spirit by looking at the decorations can’t be compared to anything else and makes me love Christmas. Third of all, the best part of the Christmas is the school break. Spending time at home without any worry of school is the greatest thing about Christmas. Every student in high school/college waits for Christmas desperately because teachers don’t give homework. Instead of doing assignments, I get to stay home and relax all day long.Going to school all year and working on school work doesn’t give me enough time to spend with my fam ily. On Christmas break, I help my mom with chores and go to work with my dad. Last year on Christmas I went to India. I didn’t get to stay long but it was memorable trip. Christmas allows me to go on vacation and gives me time to spend with my family. I don’t celebrate Christmas because of my religion, but Christmas is my favorite holidays. During Christmas I love the mixture of fantastic weather, the beautiful decorations and the awesome school break.