Apple, IT and. The Specter of Sweatshop Labor Essay

Apple INC               Apple Company has been in business for more than 40 years designing, manufacturing and market mobile communication and media devices and portable digital music players (Hitchcock, 2011). Apple markets a number of software and a number of networking solutions. Apple is the definition of new and advanced technology. They deal with a range products from music player; IPad, mobile devices; IPhone computers; Mac, television and business and personal software. Their products are distinctive and mostly preferred by an enormous number of customers. Their market base extends globally. Apple products are unique and are identified with their brand name and a picture of an apple fruit. Apple offers support for their products that operate on their internally designed software. Their products are well equipped with modern technology and designed to meet clients’ expectations and needs.               In the modern world, technology dictates our day to day lives. A few decades ago, mobile phones were owned by specific few and mostly used for business. Today mobile phones are used for both personal and business activities. Phones are a sense of direction, communication and a friend to humanity. Apple products have a distinctive nature and a stratified class not owned by many.               IPhone, a product of Apple, is a phone preferred by many abroad and locally. The nature of the phone is designed to operate and meets people daily needs. iPhone is beautifully made mobile device that combines a number of functions. iPhone functions as a communication platform, a digital music player and for internet communication. iPhone features range from communication platform, the internet net work platform, and entertainment. iPhone has a multi-touch user interface, web browsing, PC based email platform and is integrated with other window based computers. iPhone serves as an entertainment platform, integrated with iTunes libraries where one can download music, video clips, software and other application. The phone has different versions with various and advanced technology ranging from iPhone 1 to the recent Apple design iPhone 5 the latest version of iPhone. Apple offers support when it comes to iPhone with their online accessories compatible with thepho ne. The phone is a remarkable piece and appealing to the eye.               Another distinctive product of Apple is the iPad. IPad is a product characterized by entertainment and internet communication. Some of the features of iPad include; music player, a platform for downloading music, video clips and software, web browsing and an email platform. Just like iPhone, iPad is also compatible with window based computers and also Mac range of computers; products of Apple. Ipad has touch user interface and ability to download music, photos, and video clips. Ipad enables people to connect with their applications in more friendly way. The device is both used for running personal errands and business activities. The friendliness of the device enables people of all age ease in using the device. Children prefer ipad since its compatibility with different variety of games, online and offline. Ipad has different versions with their latest fourth-generation iPad mini.                Apple products have distinctive nature of the ‘I’ before their products is their original trademark and other features not found in many related technological devices, a beautiful structure friendly to humanity with their portability feature and remarkable service constituted with support system by the Company.                  The two key external factors affecting Apple Company are increasing completion from companies offering mobile, computer, tablets and television devices and international legal disputes. For many years, Apple has been the leading innovator when it comes to technological devices followed closely with their leading competitors. Microsoft has been the leading competitor of Apple for many years and set up their devices accordingly. Microsoft, the designers of widows based platforms, are the biggest rivals Apple when it comes to computers and tablets applications. Microsoft latest design of Windows 8 is increasingly threatening Apple domination of tablets application. Windows 8 comes with a designed app store a feature which was only evident in Apple line of tablets. This real completion for Apple and might turn out to be a catastrophe for Apple company. Widows’ app store offer varieties that are bad for business for Apple INC.                  Windows phones were also a big competition for Apple Company but recently Google has set up and surpassed widows. Google Android operating systems and Android line of phones are now the main competitors for Apple iPhone and operating systems. The market base for Android products is threatening Apple market base for iPhones and operating systems. Google recent development, of purchasing Motorola, is a big problem for Apple because of Google huge manufacturer of mobile devices. Another development of Google threatening Apple is their new design of home theater systems of Televisions partnering with Sony and Samsung Companies.               The second critical external factor affecting Apple Company is continued international legal disputes around the world. Apple being the leading innovators for their line of products makes them be the hunted and not the hunters. One of their going international legal disputes is the ongoing co-wireless licensing patent lawsuit. Co-wireless licensing patent an ally of Microsoft is suing Apple for wireless patents. If the lawsuit were to go through, this would be a huge blow for Apple since most of their products operate on a wireless network.                Apple is also facing another international legal dispute following claims that Apple purchased iPad trademark illegally. With their distinctive feature of their products starting with an ‘i’, this lawsuit could turn out to be a catastrophe for the company disrupting the flow of Apple tablet market share. These legal disputes are bad for business for the Apple Company and if they were to go through it could mark the end of the leading innovators Apple INC.                  Stakeholders in an organization include customers, employees, the entire community, suppliers and the business partners. Customers and the community are the key stakeholders in the success of an organization. Satisfied customers and the whole community lead to real business. Primary stakeholders affect an organization mostly financially. Primary stakeholders include shareholders, employees, and suppliers.                Primary stakeholders contribute to an organization’s environmental risks that impact negatively on financial performance of an organization. For example, the lawsuit affecting Apple INC, are environmental risks facing the company as a result of the Company’s management decisions and employees contributions.                Managing risks are also caused by executives of the company whole and poorly having in my mind that stakeholders are on their side contributing to financial problems. Management of an organization are the building blocks of a company and how they operate or run business affect the firm directly and reflect on the finances of the Company. Apple Company operates under a strict management and a no-nonsense leader.                  Inadequate participation of employees may contribute to poor financial performances. Pressure from the employees is evident on how a firm performs (Henriques and Sadorsky, 2007). Steve Jobs exact pressure on his employees and many consider him a tough leader; as Apple continues to record profits in their financial reports.                Another factor that affects financial performance of an organization is the structure and working of an organization. Apples leadership under Steve Jobs who was very strict when it comes to the Company’s performance and does not take any incompetence from the employees lightly. Apple Company has a well-structured supply chain management that coordinates its suppliers, the operations of the organization and the customers. This coordination by Apple and its business partners ensures smooth operations in the Company eliminating possibility of registering loses.                Labor practices are a controversial corporate social responsibility concern associated with Apple. Apple has been accused of overworking its’ employees following recent speculations from two supplier shops in China known as Foxconn and Inventec. Media recorded that; workers in these Companies are forced to work long hours and are underpaid. In addition, they are forced to live on the premises of these Companies where they have to pay rent and other expenses from the little they earn from the Company. This has raised debates over Chinese labor regulations and whether it is entirely Apple’s fault of Foxconn fault. Apple continues to defend their reputation by claims that they uphold acceptable working standards (Ericka, 2008). References Morphy, Ericka (January 31, 2008), â€Å"Apple, IT and. The Specter of Sweatshop Labor,† Mac New World Christina Hitchcock, (Oct,11,2011). â€Å"Apple, Inc. Mission Statement, Business Description, and (n.d.).† Retrieved from http://christinaahitchcock.com/?p=102Brayden King (Mar, 4, 2013).â€Å"Managing the Reputational and Market Risks of Social Activism† Retrieved from http://insight.kellogg.northwestern.edu/article/managing_the_reputational_and_market_risks_of_social_activism/Peter, muller. (Apr 8, 2012). â€Å"External Factors. affecting AppleInc† Retrieved fromwww.youtube.com/watch?v=2sOdHonN8jQ Source document

Impact of Market Revolution on American Workers

It is a matter of fact that American workers were strongly influenced by the market revolution in America. Market revolution took place before the Civil War and this time is considered to be uprising for America. For example, market revolution caused improvements and enhancements in transportation system, and development of new technologies. Furthermore, due to market revolution agricultural products significantly increased and the number of textile factories grew up. The life of American society was changed as market revolution caused political, economic and technological changes. Nevertheless, not all the changes are positive. For example, American workers became less independent and more structured, but more women were provided with opportunities to earn wages meaning that gender roles were changes. Speaking in detail, American workers were provided with new farming equipment and advancements. Furthermore, new staple crops were introduced. In transportation sphere new methods appeared: steamboats, railroads and canals. American workers were allowed in such a way to move faster from place to place. American workers obtained new employment opportunities due to establishment of new textile factories. With time machines made the work easier and faster. As it is mentioned above, market revolution created new job opportunities for women. For example, women became more economically independent and they were the first workers at the textile factories. Moreover, their payments were descent. It was hard for them to struggle for descent payments and it was market revolution that helped them to achieve the desired outcome. Summing up the market revolution greatly affected the life and work of American people. They were provided with new employment opportunities, expanded suffrage, new technologies and equipments, etc. Market revolution showed people that life should and must be changed for better. References Rise and Impact of Market Economy. Retrieved September 5, 2007, from http://balrog.sdsu.edu/~putman/410a/marketpres%2010am.htm                  

How does the media affect policing? Essay

The media displays a negative and positive image when it comes to police officers. Society sees both sides from the media reflecting how they view police in their own communities. In our communities we also see police getting shot or often finding themselves in a bad situation. The police are here to protect us and to serve the communities to the best of their abilities. The negative images we see and hear are police that are corrupt or brutally beating harmless suspects. The positive images would be that they have saved an innocent life in a hostage situation. The media portrays the police in many different ways. We need to realize that the police are on our side and that they are human just like everyone else. The television shows that we see on television today are both helpful and harmful to the profession. For example, â€Å"Cops† is based on real life situations and we actually see what they go through on a daily basis. This profession is very dangerous and you have to be prepared for whatever comes your way. This show is helpful because it gives society an inside look at police officers in action. The show â€Å"NYPD Blue† portrays corrupt cops and is therefore harmful to how society sees police officers. The show that I feel impacts policing is â€Å"CSI.† It impacts policing because it shows that it’s just not one person that solves a crime; it takes a team to solve a crime. It often times takes patience and a different point of view to solve long tedious crimes. This is one of my favorite shows because there are so many technological advances today that help the police do their jobs to the best of their ability. In the future technology is going to play a key role in all aspects of law enforcement.

A Journal opinion article Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 4

A Journal opinion article - Essay Example Levin acknowledged in the article that the practice of buybacks or companies buying its own stocks is unhealthy and proposed that the general public should be notified beforehand for greater transparency. But as it is, buybacks are still practiced and if one thinks that this helps America’s economic recovery, it does not. The pracitce of corporate America of buying back its stocks will not help to recover but in fact will threaten its economy. It seems that we have not learned our lesson after all as we are again back at manipulating balance sheets to have a perception of value. Corporate America is again practicing the same principle of financial manipulation that precipitated the mortgage criss that brought us the â€Å"Financial Crisis† that took America to recover and this recovery is even questionable today. Buying stocks back is just a convenient way of unloading those excessive cash in the guise of avoiding dilution and increasing stock value. To finally recover from the crisis that we are in, values in terms of productivity has to be created. Coupled with healthy spending that will translate to a robust domestic consumption which will have a ripple effect of encouraging more production. In other words, for us to recover, plants has to be erected, new technology has to be developed, companies has to hire employees or engage in any economic activity that will create â€Å"real value† and not just buyback stocks to increase it value. Buying back stocks does not do this although it will convey the perception that a company is performing well. To explain this further, it will serve us well to cite an example to better understand how stock buybacks create a perceive performance without creating any real value. Let us assume a company buys back a million shares at $ 5 per share with a $10,000,000 cash. Profit is at $1,000,000. Observe how return on assets, return on shares and price earning ratio improve without any increase in profit. Bef ore Buyback After Buying Back Cash $ 10,000,000 $ 5,000,000 Assets 30,000,000 20,000,000 Profit 1,000,000 1,000,000 Outstanding shares 10,000,000 9,000,000 Return on Assets 3.33 % 5.00 % Return per share $ 10 $ 11.11 The above illustrates how a company increases its perceived value without an increased productivity. It just unload the cash of $10,000,000 by buying back a million shares at $10 per share. The cash diminished to $20,000,000 ($30,000,000 cash minus $10,000,000 buyback) increasing the return on assets to 5 % (1,000,000/20,000,000). Above all, the price-earnings ratio (P/E), the ratio which is often used as a measure of value of the company also increased without creating any â€Å"real value† (lower ratio is better). Where before the P/E ratio is 50 ($5/$10), it decreases to 45 ($5/$11.11) by simply unloading its cash by buying back its stocks. This is what Levin is discussing in the article â€Å"Secret Buybacks Are Unfair to Shareholdersâ€Å". Companies are c reating perceived value with the increase in return on assets, improved price earning ratio and higher return on share without creating anything. Companies only intend to give higher dividends to its stockholders which

Pursuit of happiness Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Pursuit of happiness - Essay Example According Jon Krakauer, McCandless was a member of well-off family, belonging to the upper middle class who could not have possibly lacked in material provision (Krakauer, 12). However, he chose to leave this life of comfort, ventured into the wilderness and severed ties with his family immediately after his graduation, only to be discovered dead in 1992 (Krakauer, 7). Henry David Thoreau also sought to separate from the world of abundance and provision, and learnt to live a simple life and a life of self-sufficiency for a period of two years to search for essence of life (Thoreau, 2). Therefore, the actions of these two individuals serves to show that the pursuit for happiness is characterized by separation from material provision, so that an individual can learn the essence of life outside of the comfort that is created by materiality. The materiality concept causes people to lose touch with the essence of life, rather becoming more engrossed in the accumulation of the material wea lth, while failing to celebrate life itself. The tranquility of mind is a basic necessity for achieving true happiness (Pursuit-of-happiness.org, n.p.). The tranquility of mind on the other hand is achievable in a state of solitude. Solitude as a core element of self-awareness and realization is an important component in the pursuit for happiness. The actions of the three outsiders serves to show that solitude is the fundamental step towards deep reflection of life, capable of developing the meaning of life, in a manner that social life cannot be able to do. This is because; social relationships come with responsibilities which hinders free existence and the exploration of leisure (Thoreau, 77). Therefore, it is only by managing to stay away from social relationships that an individual can manage to dream fully, experience unlimited leisure and freedom. The same case is identifiable in the lives of both

Women in Hunting and Gathering Period Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Women in Hunting and Gathering Period - Essay Example Thus while the men are engaged in productive labor, the women are engaged in unproductive household work that does not command the same amount of respect. Traditionally, the role of an individual in society has been defined and characterized by the person’s contribution to home and society in monetary terms. Being tied down by the responsibility of childbearing, women in traditional, patriarchal societies have been viewed as an inferior race. Women have been confined to homes due to their traditional roles of cooking, cleaning and child rearing. However, a study of Paleolithic and Neolithic times has proved that this was not always the case. In the hunting and gathering societies, it has been noticed that women had a greater role in gathering food around their homes. Wermuth et al have defined womens economic power as being shaped by womens level of control over surplus and the relative importance of what they produce. They have also quoted womens economic control as being influenced by importance of womens labor, organization of labor and the gender ratio in the population. Wermuth et al have also referred to hunting and gathering societies as small bands of loosely associated families with low surplus and low inequality. Men have little power over women in these societies. Mutual cooperation is necessary for survival, and the division of labor between men and women is functionally and materially based. Despite their hunting role, men often interact closely with women and even with small children. Draper, Professor of Anthropology at Harvard observes that in the hunting and gathering society, women are more independent and powerful. They are not considered as subordinate to men and generally both the genders enjoy an equal status. As women in such societies contribute to gathering food for the families’ subsistence, they have greater control over the food (produce in this case) and enjoy an equal

The ten most significant developments for the United States from 1945 Essay

The ten most significant developments for the United States from 1945 to the present - Essay Example On August 14, 1945, President Harry Truman announced that the war had ended. It was V-J day1. Truman, in addressing the crowds said "We face the greatest taskand it's going to take the help of all of you to do it." Celebrations across the country took place and people celebrated the sheer joy of knowing there was no more war. What they did not realize was that there were new tensions to be dealt with in our own country. We as a nation sat and wondered about the impact of atomic bombs in our world. Indeed President Truman, in his diary pondered "I hope for some form of peacebut I fear machines are ahead of mortals".While riding in an automobile procession in Dallas on Nov. 22, 1963, he was shot to death by an assassin firing from an upper floor of a building. The alleged assassin, Lee Harvey Oswald, was killed two days later in the Dallas city jail by Jack Ruby, owner of a strip-tease club. At 46 years of age, Kennedy became the fourth president to be assassinated and the eighth to di e in office.On the early morning of June 17, 1972, five men were arrested for breaking into the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate, an office-hotel-apartment complex in Washington, D.C. In their possession were burglary tools, cameras and film, and three pen-size tear gas guns. At the scene of the crime, and in rooms the men rented at the Watergate, sophisticated electronic bugging equipment was found. President Nixon attempted to use his presidential powers to quash the investigation into the incident. He attempted to avoid subpoenas ordering him to turn over tapes of the incident. The Supreme Court ordered that it was illegal for the President to use his presidential powers to thwart an investigation 5. Mid 1980's - America Becomes Aware of AIDS3 "The dominant feature of this first period was silence, for the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) was unknown and transmission was not accompanied by signs or symptoms salient enough to be noticed. While rare, sporadic case reports of AIDS and sero-archaeological studies have documented human infections with HIV prior to 1970, available data suggest that the current pandemic started in the mid- to late 1970s. By 1980, HIV had spread to at least five continents (North America, South America, Europe, Africa and Australia). During this period of silence, spread was unchecked by awareness or any preventive action and approximately 100,000-300,000 persons may have been infected." 6. Black Monday- the Stock Market Crash of 1987 The stock market crash of 1987 was the largest one day stock market crash in history. The Dow lost 22.6% of its value or $500 billion dollars on October 19th 1987. 7. 1992 - Riots in Los Angeles due to the Rodney King beating. Rodney King became a reluctant symbol of police brutality a decade ago when amateur photographer George Holliday provided evidence that was hard to ignore. The videotape Holliday shot showed several white Los Angeles police officers using their batons to beat King, who had led them on a car chase after they tried to stop him for speeding, was broadcast around the world. 8. Y2K - 1999 Y2K bug was a clicking time bomb for all major computer applications. The computer and system application companies came out with year 2000 compliant operating systems and system software. IT companies around the world spent billions of dollars to go through their entire application source code to look

Technology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 6

Technology - Essay Example Technology has assisted them long and hard to further their belief in this phenomenon. The proponents of technology have supported it because they find no reason in disapproving the advantages that come along with it in different fields of life. Technology has allowed people to relax more today than ever before.This is the reason why the advocates of technology are always in favor of it. Technology has resolved nearly all the issues plaguing the human society and has been the savior on more than a single occasion to be remarked as the messiah of the modern day society. People have felt more inclined to cope up with the different technological facets today than ever before as their trust and confidence has increased manifolds. This trust and confidence has increased because they have seen the advantages and benefits that technology has offered them over the years. They have found out that technology assists them whenever they seem to be in a problem. Plus it is proactively driven to bring rewards for them which is also something that positively motivates them about technology. The ones who receive these benefits in turn tell others about how good the technological manifestations have been. This is the reason why technology is taken on by people in a sudden manner and then there seems to be no looking back on this tangent at all. If seen correctly, this is one of the major pluses behind the concept of technology adoption (Swart, 2012). Technology has overtaken the human emblem by a fair count. It has made people realize where they can find a substit ute for their own selves. At times, technology has even taken the sheen off the human intellect. This is an alarming aspect because human beings are superior than any other entity in this world yet technology has come out strong to make them redundant on certain occasions (Jensen, 2005). The role of human beings cannot be denied under any case whatsoever. It must be

The Roles of Computer Science Corporation in Homeland Security Assignment

The Roles of Computer Science Corporation in Homeland Security - Assignment Example In response to the letter, you wrote in regard to the private sector roles in Homeland security. I vindicate the following issues in reference to the above stated Company. Computer Science Corporation is a private firm that provides information technology (IT) services as well as professional services. Its headquarters are located in Virginia. The role of the Corporation to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has solely been on the provision of information regarding threats to cyber infrastructure. The advancement of the likely threats as well as the trends of emerging cyber threats to the country have in many occasions been availed by the company with the sole purpose of combating these threats. In addition, the corporation is also in partnership with other companies in various ISACs where they share information acquired through various sources. However, the company has faced numerous challenges. The quality of information received has been one of the major blows. Besides that, there have been legal constraints that have hampered sharing information since in case the information shared is flawed the corporation is likely to be used. In addition, the shareholders are skeptical in investing in incentives infrastructure that is not geared towards profit making. The DHS in collaborative effort should help in protecting companies in legal constraints that are related to situations where information availed is realized to be a flawed content. This will motivate various private entities in availing information without hesitation.

Labs 1,2,3,4,5,6,7 Lab Report Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Labs 1,2,3,4,5,6,7 - Lab Report Example Label the Force Gravity (=mg), the Nor-mal Force (FN), and the Friction Force (Ff), but don’t use any specific numbers. What makes this a state of equilibrium? The cups are in a state of equilibrium just before it starts to slide. This is because the mg of each cup is made negligible by each normal force. Movement of the cups is being restricted by frictional force which acts on the cups. Only when an external force will be applied opposite to that of the frictional force will the cups begin to slide. If the co-efficient of friction is high then more force will be required since the opposing force also increases. However if the co-efficient of friction is low then the force required would also be low since lesser frictional force will be acting on the object. Lab 2 taught me the different forces that work on an object which is in state of motion of at rest. It gave me sound knowledge as to what forces are responsible for maintaining equilibrium of any body. Concepts about momentum of bodies and how mass has an effect on acceleration pr retardation became much clearer since we experience all of this in our day to day lives and getting to know about each thing from a scientific point of view made it fun. Each of the above observations explains the law of inertia. In the first observation since the water was still at one place at first and the bowl is accelerated, the water tries to stay behind while the bowl moves forwards immediately and the water spills back. However when I walk at steady speed nothing happens since no external force is there and the water tends to be at one place. When I walk straight the water tends to be in the forwards direction but since I turn rightly abruptly, the water spills since its motion was in the front and the sudden change in direction caused spilling. Inertia is also seen when I walk with the water bowl and the

Subject Specialism Reflection Essay Example for Free

Subject Specialism Reflection Essay I have a degree in Computer Networking and Communication. Since then I have been continually developing my subject knowledge via various mediums. I have been teaching my subject specialism for a number of years, and in that time I have gained tremendous amount of knowledge that has helped me to deliver more confidently to make the teaching and learning experience more enjoyable for me as a tutor and for the learners. The first point to mention here is the teaching observations they have helped me to plan and deliver my sessions according to the national standards. This has enabled me to demonstrate my knowledge of the subject area. I also attended one day course on Usability and accessibility on 7th February 2007 at The McDonald St Paul Hotel. The part that interested more was to learn and understand about the various challenges disable people face when using websites. Details of course in appendix. †¢ Disability Discrimination Act and legal obligations †¢ Overview of disabilities and assistive technologies †¢ Overview of standards and guidelines †¢ How to incorporate accessibility into an organisation †¢ Benefits of accessible websites This led me to investigate this issues further. The following website was quite useful: http://www.tiresias.org/ , it provides lots of guidance on how ICT can be made accessible for specialist use. I need to learn more regarding latest software and advance courses. I also need to deliver to more advance level of learners. An opportunity has arisen for me to develop my skills to do this. I shall be attending an advanced Excel course in a couple of weeks time organised Crown Enterprise and Training. I feel that in some areas of ICT I already have the requisite skills so it is important that I deliver higher end IT courses which would be more in line with my level of knowledge and skills. Otherwise my experience will only be of teaching at lower level of IT courses and very little experience of teaching higher level and that will not help my long term plans of teaching higher-level courses. I was actually a member of the British Computer Society, http://www.bcs.org/ , for a period of time, though this is no longer the case I do however continue to access their website regularly to update my knowledge on the latest developments in the computer industry as it relates particularly to using technology for learning and for professional development. I have developed myself academically and professionally through the first year of the PGCE course. I need to build on this foundation in the second year and extend both my pedagogic and professional skills. One of the key components that should help to do this would be the ICT module taught on the course. From the content of the module I look forward to learning how to design a web page. This should enhance my capacity in delivering my specialist subject area of IT by exploring the idea of using a web page to deliver part of my course/courses. I shall explore various websites for developing web pages and undertake any training that might become available. I also intend to develop my knowledge about learning to use Apple Mac in the first instance and then hopefully to apply this knowledge in order to teach Graphic Design. This is quite a challenging target and I would need to tap into all the available resources to achieve this. I need to identify some interactive websites and online learning materials that would allow me to enhance my professional and pedagogical capacities further. The important lesson for me to learn is as suggested by Hughes and Kennewell (2007, p.100) is to approach ICT so that â€Å" what becomes increasingly important is not so much what you know about a topic, but your willingness to learn new skills, to be open to advice and not to hide your ignorance of relevant knowledge. Regular reading of educational, professional and hobby literature in ICT will be important throughout your teaching careers, as well as attending local, regional and national conferences.† References British Computer Society, 2008. Professional Development. [online] (updated 5 May 2008) Available at: http://www.bcs.org/ [accessed 6 May 2008] Hughes Tiresias, 2008- Making ICT accessible for blind and partially sighted. [online](updated 10 May 2008) Available at: http://www.tiresias.org/ [accessed 11 May 2008]

Urban Planning and 19th Century Essay Example for Free

Urban Planning and 19th Century Essay For many within the modern movement, the marriage between town and country represented the means of achieving an ideal form of settlement. Discuss the 19th century origins of this concept and how it was interpreted in different ways by modernist architects and urbanists in the 20th century. If architecture could change a person’s wellbeing; an architectural movement could create an ideal society. The modernists were not original in seeking an urban utopia. Architects of the 1800s had designed their ideal settlements to improve workers lives through the built environment. Modernism implies historical discontinuity, a rejecting of history and tradition, yet these 19th century projects, unknowingly, influenced the urban proposals of the ‘International style’. Through this century of proposals from 1830-1940s, lies a recurring theme of ‘utopia’; a rational, clean city with massive green areas, where both the convenience of the town and beauty of the countryside unite. The beginning of the convergence between ‘town’ and ‘countryside’ is due to the socialist thinkers of the 19th century, with their belief that one’s environment affects one’s character. The concept of architecture changing a person was explored dramatically by the socialist and radical thinker, Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832). The totalitarian design of his ‘Panoptikon’ was to â€Å"grind rogues honest†. It was built as a cylindrical prison and could be applied to schools and hospitals. The principle behind this machine-like institute was that the incarcerated would believe they are under constant surveillance, thus minimising chances of misbehaviour. This perceived scrutiny would allow the inhabitants to become better citizens. Due to rapid industrialisation in the 19th century, larger city populations exploded, and squalor was rampant. Many of the old cities had seen their populations double. Around 1800 about one fifth of Britain’s population lived in the countryside, but by 1851 half the population of the country was housed in London. This lead to uncontrolled housing developments, where the private sector responded to the population boom by building poor quality, high density housing for workers. The thinkers of the 19th century, like the modernists of the 1930s believed a planned urban form could solve these social problems. In its earliest form, the marriage between town and country is subtle; placing of private gardens or greenbelts, yet this soon grows into an entire ‘Garden City’ movement. Like Bentham, industrialist Robert Owen (1771-1858) believed that a person’s morale was affected by their surroundings. However, he believed less in the social engineering of Bentham and more on socialism, striving for better conditions for the working class. His mill at New Lanark, Scotland, was to become â€Å"the most important experiment for the happiness of the human race that has yet been instituted in any part of the world.† Owen’s humane regime was a stark contrast to the slums present in cities. At his mill, he built communal buildings and gardens for leisure and exercise, a â€Å"complete ideological systems for small communities†, where the workers children were also educated. This new high standard of living encouraged workers’ productivity. His New Lanark model encouraged him to build this environment of mutual co-operation at a larger scale. Owen devised a ‘Plan for an Ideal Village’, an area with specific size and population, of between 500 to 1500. This plan was similar to structures of towns found in ancient Greece; there was a geometric layout and a focus on agriculture to become self-sufficient. This theory became a development called ‘New Harmony’, which was to be situated in the US, with an estimate population for five thousand designed as a quadrangle with sides of thousand feet. The design was never realised. Owen was called a ‘Utopian socialist’ by the revolutionary communist Karl Marx, and Owen shared this title with Charles Fourier (1772-1837). Fourier believed that co-operation was key to have a successful community, and to achieve this phalanxes’ should be established. This ‘phalanstery’ would â€Å"1) Discover and organize a system of industry; (2) Guarantee to every individual the equivalent of their natural rights; and (3) Associate the interests of rich and poor.† These ‘natural rights’ included the ‘gathering of natural products’ and fishing, and these communal hotel-like settlements facilitated this with laid-out gardens and grounds for exercise. Jean-Baptiste Godin (1817-1888) modelled his iron foundry at Guise on the Oise on one of Fourier’s ‘phalanxes’, with prevalent communal values. The residential buildings at the foundry were ‘familistiere’. The merge of buildings and landscape was similar to the ideal Palladian relationship between the inside space and the exterior. Living standards of workers vastly improved, and by combining industry and nature the ‘familistiere’ provided its inhabitants with â€Å"les à ©quivalents de la richesse â€Å"(the equivalent of wealth). Figure 2-E.Howards Three Magnets Though Owen, Fourier and Godin believed in the ‘ideal settlement’, all projects were too small a scale to eliminate urban hardship. The Public Health Act of 1875 was the first legal action to resolve the appalling living conditions and preventing the spread of cholera in cities. The expanding sprawl of the city had pushed the countryside further away from workers in city centres. In 1898, Ebenezer Howard (1850-1928) wrote the â€Å"Garden Cities of Tomorrow†, which was the first realistic sign of a marriage between town and country to form an urban utopia. His â€Å"Three Magnets† diagram, showed the pull of the idyllic fresh air and low rent of the countryside, merged with the opportunities and convenience of the city into one ‘Garden City’. This utopian settlement noted the economic independence of the factory towns of Owen; each city would have its own industries and farms as to be self-sufficient. The settlements would have an optimum 32,000 inhabitants on 2,000 hectacres. It had a circular periphery enclosing a population of 30,000, the remaining would live on the agriculture belt which was ran only electrified industry. Six principal streets ran to the centre, where the main public offices were surrounded by four one-acre parks. In all, this ‘Garden City’ seemed â€Å"to blend, by rational means, the various demands of an expanding capitalist society and the nostalgia for communities on a human scale.† Howard believed these garden cities could be built on the peripheries of a central city and be connected by rail; he was opposed to the idea of these being identified as ‘garden suburbs’. After the success of the â€Å"Garden Cities of Tomorrow†, Howard founded the ‘Garden City Association’ in 1899. His first project was for a town 80 miles from London called Letchworth, with architects Barry Parker (1867 – 1947) and Raymond Unwin (1863 – 1940). In 1904, the town was realised. Unwin and Parker were associated with the ‘Arts and Craft movement’ of J.Ruskin and W.Morris, which opposed machine-like design and opted for picturesque ornament rooted in tradition. Letchworth was a family orientated settlement, where â€Å"the monotony of street fronts was broken by the turning of houses on their lots so each could command the sunniest and pleasantest view.† With an amicable architecture, a high-quality street system, it had ample space with â€Å"twelve houses to the acre.† The basic model by Howard had a centre of parkland and a lacked a commercial centre of a city. This design was developed by Unwin, who saw the ‘Garden City’ as a proposal for satellite towns of major cities. He based his first design on the city of London, and with Parker developed Hampstead Garden Suburb (1905), later to be followed by Welwyn (1920). Howard’s model inspired builders in Sweden, the US and Australia, where the layout of the capital Canberra was influenced by this ‘Garden City’ movement. It is in post-World War I that we see the 19th century ideas of Howard influence on European city planners. In mainland Europe socialist reform through housing was taking place. With a shortage of living space in the liberal city of Amsterdam, and the election of the SDAP (Socialist Democratic Worker’s Party), the State took control of all municipal building. The Woningwet Housing Act (1902) had been a result of â€Å"investigations into the living conditions of workers, the first hygienic regulations, and the interventions of scientific and philanthropic associations†. The most notable developments in Amsterdam are apartments built for two socialist housing societies, Eigen Haard and De Daagard. They were both designed by Michel de Klerk (1884-1923), who had studied under H.P. Berlage (1856 – 1934), and who was influenced by Bruno Taut (1880-1936). De Klerk is seen as a link between the Traditionalists and the Modernists and had been interested by Unwin’s model. He was a member of the ‘Amsterdam school’, a team who built a garden suburb project in Rotterdam. He became one of the leading Dutch architects in the Expressionism movement â€Å"which reached for a romantic, soulful symbolization of reality†.

Definitions of Multiprocessors in Computing

Definitions of Multiprocessors in Computing A multiprocessor can be defined as the computer which uses two or more processing units under the integrated control. Multi-processing is also defined as the way of using two or more than two CPUs within a single computer. As we all know that there are processors inside the computers, the multi processors, as the name indicates, have the ability to support more than one processor at a same time. Usually in multi-processing the processors are organized in the parallel form and hence a large number of the executions can be brought at the same time i.e. multi-processing helps in executing the same instructions a number of time at a particular time. Some other related definition of the multi processors are that multi-processing is the sharing of the execution process by the interconnection of more than one microprocessor using tightly or loosely couples technology. Usually multi-processing tasks carries two simultaneous steps. One is the performing the task of editing and the other is th e handling the data processing. A multi-processor device comprising, over a single semiconductor chip a plurality of processors including a first group of processors and a second group of processors; a first bus to which the first group of processors is coupled; a second bus to which the second group of processors is coupled; a first external bus interface to which the first bus is coupled; and a second external bus interface to which the second bus is coupled. The term multiprocessing is also used to refer to a computer that has many independent processing elements. The processing elements are almost full computers in their own right. The main difference is that they have been freed from the encumbrance of communication with peripherals. MULTIPROCESSORS IN THE TERMS OF ARCHITECTURE The processors are usually made up of the small and medium scale ICs which usually contains a less or large number of the transistors. The multi processors involves a computer architecture Most common multiprocessor systems today use an SMP architecture. In the case of multi-core processors, the SMP architecture applies to the cores, treating them as separate processors. SMP systems allow any processor to work on any task no matter where the data for that task are located in memory; with proper operating system support, SMP systems can easily move tasks between processors to balance the workload efficiently. Benefits Increased processing power Scale resource use to application requirements Additional operating system responsibilities All processors remain busy Even distribution of processes throughout the system All processors work on consistent copies of shared data Execution of related processes synchronized Mutual exclusion enforced Multiprocessing is a type of processing in which two or more processors work together to process more than one program simultaneously. Multi processor systems have more than one processor thats why known as multi processor systems. In multiprocessor system there is one master processor and other are the Slave. If one processor fails then master can assign the task to other slave processor. But if Master will be fail than entire system will fail. Central part of Multiprocessor is the Master. All of them share the hard disk and Memory and other memory devices. Examples of multiprocessors 1. Quad-Processor Pentium Pro SMP, bus interconnection. 4 x 200 MHz Intel Pentium Pro processors. 8 + 8 Kb L1 cache per processor. 512 Kb L2 cache per processor. Snoopy cache coherence. Compaq, HP, IBM, NetPower. Windows NT, Solaris, Linux, etc. 2. SGI Origin 2000 NUMA, hypercube interconnection. Up to 128 (64 x 2) MIPS R 10000 processors. 32 + 32 Kb L1 cache per processor. 4 Mb L2 cache per processor. Distributed directory-based cache coherence. Automatic page migration/replication. SGI IRIX with Pthreads Classifications of multiprocessor architecture Nature of data path Interconnection scheme How processors share resources Message-Passing Architectures Separate address space for each processor. Processors communicate via message passing. B) Shared-Memory Architectures Single address space shared by all processors. Processors communicate by memory read/write. SMP or NUMA. Cache coherence is important issue. 1. Classifying Sequential and Parallel Architectures(DATA PATH) Stream: sequence of bytes Data stream Instruction stream Flynns classifications: MISD multiprocessing: MISD multiprocessing offers mainly the advantage of redundancy, since multiple processing units perform the same tasks on the same data, reducing the chances of incorrect results if one of the units fails. MISD architectures may involve comparisons between processing units to detect failures. Apart from the redundant and fail-safe character of this type of multiprocessing, it has few advantages, and it is very expensive. It does not improve performance. It can be implemented in a way that is transparent to software. It is used inarray processorsand is implemented in fault tolerant machines. MIMD multiprocessing: MIMD multiprocessing architecture is suitable for a wide variety of tasks in which completely independent and parallel execution of instructions touching different sets of data can be put to productive use. For this reason, and because it is easy to implement, MIMD predominates in multiprocessing. Processing is divided into multiplethreads, each with its own hardware processor state, within a single software-defined process or within multiple processes. Insofar as a system has multiple threads awaiting dispatch (either system or user threads), this architecture makes good use of hardware resources. MIMD does raise issues of deadlock and resource contention, however, since threads may collide in their access to resources in an unpredictable way that is difficult to manage efficiently. MIMD requires special coding in the operating system of a computer but does not require application changes unless the programs themselves use multiple threads (MIMD is transparent to single-threaded programs under most operating systems, if the programs do not voluntarily relinquish control to the OS). Both system and user software may need to use software constructs such assemaphores(also called locksorgates) to prevent one thread from interfering with another if they should happen to cross paths in referencing the same data. This gating or locking process increases code complexity, lowers performance, and greatly increases the amount of testing required, although not usually enough to negate the advantages of multiprocessing. Similar conflicts can arise at the hardware level between processors (cache contention and corruption, for example), and must usually be resolved in hardware, or with a combination of software and hardware (e.g.,cache-clear instructions). SISD multiprocessing: In asingle instruction stream, single data streamcomputer one processor sequentially processes instructions, each instruction processes one data item. SIMD multiprocessing: In asingle instruction stream, multiple data streamcomputer one processor handles a stream of instructions, each one of which can perform calculations in parallel on multiple data locations. SIMD multiprocessing is well suited toparallel or vector processing, in which a very large set of data can be divided into parts that are individually subjected to identical but independent operations. A single instruction stream directs the operation of multiple processing units to perform the same manipulations simultaneously on potentially large amounts of data. For certain types of computing applications, this type of architecture can produce enormous increases in performance, in terms of the elapsed time required to complete a given task. However, a drawback to this architecture is that a large part of the system falls idle when programs or system tasks are executed that cannot be divided into units that can be processed in parallel. 2. Interconnection scheme Describes how the systems components, such as processors and memory modules, are connected Consists of nodes (components or switches) and links (connections) Parameters used to evaluate interconnection schemes Node degree Bisection width Network diameter Cost of the interconnection scheme Shared bus Single communication path between all nodes Contention can build up for shared bus Fast for small multiprocessors Form supernodes by connecting several components with a shared bus; use a more scalable interconnection scheme to connect supernodes Dual-processor Intel Pentium Shared bus multiprocessor organization. Crossbar-switch matrix Separate path from every processor to every memory module (or from every to every other node when nodes consist of both processors and memory modules) High fault tolerance, performance and cost Sun UltraSPARC-III Crossbar-s witch matrix multiprocessor organization. Hypercube n -dimensional hypercube has 2 nodes in which each node is n connected to n neighbor nodes Faster, more fault tolerant, but more expensive than a 2-D mesh network n CUBE (up to 8192 processors) Multistage network Switch nodes act as hubs routing messages between nodes Cheaper, less fault tolerant, worse performance compared to a crossbar-switch matrix IBM POWER4 COUPLING of PROCESSORS Tightly coupled systems Processors share most resources including memory Communicate over shared buses using shared physical memory Tasks and/or processors communicate in a highly synchronized fashion Communicates through a common shared memory Shared memory system Loosely coupled systems Processors do not share most resources Most communication through explicit messages or shared virtual memory (although not shared physical memory) Tasks or processors do not communicate in a synchronized fashion Communicates by message passing packets Overhead for data exchange is high Distributed memory system Comparison between them Loosely coupled systems: more flexible, fault tolerant, scalable Tightly coupled systems: more efficient, less burden to operating system programmers Multiprocessor Operating System Organizations Classify systems based on how processors share operating system responsibilities Types: Master/slave Separate kernels Symmetrical organization 1) Master/slave organization Master processor executes the operating system Slaves execute only user processors Hardware asymmetry Low fault tolerance Good for computationally intensive jobs 2) Separate kernels organization Each processor executes its own operating system Some globally shared operating system data Loosely coupled Catastrophic failure unlikely, but failure of one processor results in termination of processes on that processor Little contention over resources Example: Tandem system 3) Symmetrical organization Operating system manages a pool of identical processors High amount of resource sharing Need for mutual exclusion Highest degree of fault tolerance of any organization Some contention for resources Example: BBN Butterfly Memory Access Architectures Can classify multiprocessors based on how processors share memory Goal: Fast memory access from all processors to all memory Contention in large systems makes this impractical 1) Uniform memory access (UMA) multiprocessor All processors share all memory Access to any memory page is nearly the same for all processors and all memory modules (disregarding cache hits) Typically uses shared bus or crossbar-switch matrix Also called symmetric multiprocessing (SMP) Small multiprocessors (typically two to eight processors) 2) Nonuniform memory access (NUMA) multiprocessor Each node contains a few processors and a portion of system memory, which is local to that node Access to local memory faster than access to global memory (rest of memory) More scalable than UMA (fewer bus collisions) 3) Cache-only memory architecture (COMA) multiprocessor Physically interconnected as a NUMA is Local memory vs. global memory Main memory is viewed as a cache and called an attraction memory (AM) Allows system to migrate data to node that most often accesses it at granularity of a memory line (more efficient than a memory page) Reduces the number of cache misses serviced remotely Overhead Duplicated data items Complex protocol to ensure all updates are received at all processors 4) No-remote-memory-access (NORMA) multiprocessor Does not share physical memory Some implement the illusion of shared physical memory shared virtual memory (SVM) Loosely coupled Communication through explicit messages Distributed systems Not networked system Features of the multiprocessors Many multiprocessors share one address space They conceptually share memory. Sometimes it is often implemented just like a multicomputer In it the communication is implicit. It reads and writes access to the shared memories. Usually the multi processors are characterized by the complex behaviour. The MPU handles high-level tasks, including axis profile generation, host/controller communication, user-program execution, and safety event handling. Advanced real time algorithm and special filter execution Digital encoder input up to 20 million counts per second Analog Sin-Cos encoder input and interpolation up to a multiplication factor of 65,536 Fast, high-rate Position Event Generator (PEG) to trigger external devices Fast position registration (Mark) to capture position on input event High resolution analog or PWM command generation to the drive High Speed Synchronous Interface channel (HSSI) to manage fast communication with remote axes or I/O expansion modules Advantages of Multiprocessor Systems Some advantages of multiprocessor system are as follows: Reduced Cost: Multiple processors share the same resources. Separate power supply or mother board for each chip is not required. This reduces the cost. Increased Reliability: The reliability of system is also increased. The failure of one processor does not affect the other processors though it will slow down the machine. Several mechanisms are required to achieve increased reliability. If a processor fails, a job running on that processor also fails. The system must be able to reschedule the failed job or to alert the user that the job was not successfully completed. More work: As we increase the number of processors then it means that more work can be done in less time. Id more than one processor cooperates on a task then they will take less time to complete it. If we divide functions among several processors, then if one processor fails then it will not affect the system or we can say it will not halt the system, but it will effect on the work speed. Suppose I have five processors and one of them fails due to some reasons then each of the remaining four processors will share the work of failed processor. So it means that system will not fail but definitely failed processor will effect on its speed. If you pay attention on the matter of which save much money among multi-processor systems and multiple single-processor systems then you will know that multiprocessor systems save moremoneythan multiple single-processor systems because they can share power supplies, memory and peripherals. Increased Throughput: An increase in the number of processes completes the work in less time. It is important to note that doubling the number of processors does not halve the time to complete a job. It is due to the overhead in communication between processors and contention for shared resources etc. Reference BOOKS Referred: Morris Mano, Computer System Architecture, Prentice Hall, 2007

Health or Wealth :: essays papers

Health or Wealth Market forces, in my belief, have always shaped the relationship between humans and their environment, and I have found it a daunting task to consider the history of such a long and complicated relationship. In all truth, market forces can be considered as anything that drives our means of consumption and our economy as a whole, and from this point of view, they can be seen as existing in some way since the dawn of time. So, instead of starting at the beginning, I will instead focus on the relationship between humans and nature from the start of what I see as the beginning of the end. The capitalist economy’s history, when viewed in light of mans entire existence, has been rather short and in that span of time, it has managed to catapult much of the world into a very new and destructive relationship with the Earths natural resources. While the changes that capitalism has brought about have been slow to evolve, it is a system that has deeply altered much more than the marketplace and which has forever changed the world. In this paper, I intend to demonstrate how the core concepts of the capitalist economy have lead the world into ecological disaster. There are many structures on which capitalism is built and a few of the most core principles are the ones that are most destructive. The tenets of individualism, efficiency, profit maximization and consumerism can be found at the heart of many of the most damaging practices of today’s world. Since they are main pillars of the capitalist marketplace, they are very pervasive and have become widespread, standard practices and ways of thinking. Individualism it is a new development in our social structure and one that has left a very deep impression. While capitalism did not spring up overnight, the period of it’s development is not relevant to this analysis, so I shall consider capitalism from some hypothetical starting point. Up until this starting point, the community was the central unit of sociological structure. Families and communities were tightly knit and gave support to one another. This type of lifestyle provided an accurate sense about how one person’s actions affect everything around them and the relationship that humans had with their environment reflected this awareness.

Personal Narrative: My Crush :: essays research papers

It’s been a long time since I last wrote a letter for Douglas. He was really a special crush. My crush when I first set foot in Mindanao, from high school through early college years. For treasuring him that long, it was inevitable for a special place in my heart to be created for him. I remembered putting initials of letter â€Å"D† to some of my things just to show how much I claim him to be part of my life already. I remember how ecstatic I am every time I see him come home, we were neighbors before. And as I always say, our house were very close—only a row of plants separating both, its impossible we won’t get closer too. He was the most handsome man in my world and my exclusive crush for four years. But of course, when I went to college there were other handsome men (and they were really gorgeous) so Douglas no longer held an elite spot. It was shared but he was still the original crush and counting. That’s about another eight years. Now I am i n late 20’s and the special spot hidden somewhere in my heart started crying out months ago. And for all the busyness I have, it’s only now I am able to listen well to its weeping. Its crying because it knows it has to go and give up the spot to that special place in my heart where God is tidying and preparing for what we fondly call â€Å"God’s will†. See, God made something happen that now forces me to eradicate the spot. Douglas got married last 2005 to a girl from Manila. God allowed it to happen even if He knows that Douglas would surely cry if he knew how much I have treasured him in my heart for more than a decade! I can’t help but think of â€Å"shit† when I think of how much I wasted this special spot, special place in my heart crap. I wince every time I accidentally think of the fact that he is married without even acknowledging just an hour of my decade long devotion. I can’t help but think of how much less that girl deserv es Douglas because I was the one waiting and that girl was not even looking out their window to check if Douglas has come home from campus every weekend.

Sharks :: essays research papers

Sharks "It’s tail swayed slowly from side to side, pushing the hunters body through the murky water. All signs of motion were non-existant, except for the rhythmic movement of the water over the five gill slits on either side of it’s head. Slowly gaining speed, the shady figures unmoving eyes fixed on it’s target, a lost harbor seal pup. As the distance between the predator and it’s prey grew closer, the jaws of the massive fish drew forward, exposing nearly eight rows of razor sharp teeth. Strings of it’s previous meal hung in rows from between it’s teeth. Sensing danger, the harbor seal frantically tried to find a place to seek refuge, but it was too late. The jaws of the shark closed around the seal with an astounding 14,000 pounds of pressure, cutting the seal in half. The Great White shark claims another victim.1" Any one who’s seen the famous movie series "Jaws" may look at the Great White Shark in a similar manner. Perhaps it’s the way that Hollywood uses a mix of fact and fiction in the series. This may have frightened many people into hating the Great White for it’s ferocity. It might have also been the size of the shark in the movie that’s kept thousands of people off the beaches and out of the water. Better yet, it could have been the overall storyline: A Great White shark with an eating disorder and a taste for human flesh. Perhaps that’s what is keeping vacationers from grabbing their trousers and snorkels. Over all, there have been 1026 attacks on humans by sharks in the last ten years. Only 294 of these attacks have been linked to Great White sharks. That’s roughly the number of people who drown each year in swimming accidents. Of these 294 attacks, less than eighteen percent were fatal. Out of the eighteen fatal incidents more than seventy percent was contributed to loss of blood. This means that the shark didn’t kill the victim. The shark bit the victim and then released them (also known as the taste test). The shark samples the victim by nibbling on an appendage or two often resulting in a severed artery or other major blood vessel. Therefore, the Great White should be considered a mantaster not a maneater. This intrigued scientists considering the size of the sharks brain. The Great Whites brain is about one half the size of a dogs. Over seventy percent of the brain is used for tracking prey. The other thirty percent is used for body functions. Studies show that the sharks main purpose is to eat.

Boston Beer HBS Case

Disadvantages of an PIP The company will face underwriting costs associated with the PIP. A failed PIP could be costly both in financial assets and in firm reputation. Complying with regulatory reporting standards will create additional costs that are not present in a private company. Incorporating the company may have negative tax implications for the current owners. Current shareholders who do not exit during the PIP will face severe dilution. Management control will decrease because of fiduciary duties to shareholders. This could conflict with the company's product quality processes and result in a shift toward a short-term earnings focus.Conclusion Although their contract brewing model reduces expected capital expenditures, their labor and marketing intensive sales strategy will require substantial spending to expand into new markets. To meet projected growth, external funds will be needed. Raising these funds entirely from debt would create an unacceptable level of debt for a st ill growing company; thus equity funding is the preferred option. The company has reached a maturity point where equity can more easily and cheaply raised in public capital markets rather than through venture or private equity firms.Additionally, publicity room the PIP will help with brand recognition in new markets. Given the recent success of competitor Ipso and Boston Beer's profit margin and growth potential, the risk of a failed PIP is minimal, and most current shareholders intend to sell shares in the PIP reducing dilution concerns. Boston Beer should proceed with the PIP. Question 3-5 (Exhibit 3)– – 1995 Pro Formal Net Sales: All pro formal sales rely upon the assumption that net sales as of September 30, 1 995 represent 75% of expected year-end revenue.Because the firm's PIP will most likely have a more positive impact on Q sales than his estimate projects, if anything, the prices generated by our models are underestimated, not overestimated. Cost of Debt: BBC explains in its prospectus intent to extinguish outstanding debt carrying interest rates upwards of 1 1 . 5%. Based upon the firm's low target leverage of 5%, low degree of operating leverage, and favorable credit history and financial outlook, the model assumes a cost of debt in line with AAA corporate debt at 7. 2%. This estimate seems reasonable and sensitivity analysis shows a 1% decrease in the forecasted share price requires at least a 2. % increase in the cost of debt. Risk Free Rate: The six-month and 30-year treasury rates given imply a fairly flat yield curve. Due to the relatively short forecast period and the short-term risk characteristics of this industry, the model uses the six- month rate as the risk free rate in calculating the cost of equity. 995 Net Working Capital Requirement: In order to calculate the change in NC over 1 996, the model assumes sass's year-end NC is composed of the existing September 30, 1 995 balance plus Of fourth quarter net sales due to the f irm's rationalization strategy. CAP: Historical analysis shows an average 3. 3% capital intensity ratio. Based on a likely decrease in efficiency due to rapid expansion, the model forecasts a 3% capital intensity ratio–this includes restricted investments (Exhibit 1).Depreciation: Depreciation was not included in the calculation of free cash flows because net CAP was used. 1995 Value of Debt: Boston Beer's debt is private, so the market value will be very similar to, if not exactly the same as, its book value. – –Question The underwriting prospectus for the PIP suggests a share price of $12. 50 per hare, which is the starting point for analyzing the different scenarios. In order to determine the scenario that was most realistic, we attempted to rule out the ones that were not and a summary of our analysis is found in Exhibit 4. 1) First we analyzed the information asymmetry in the PIP. The offering presents information about almost 1. 5 million shares offered in the PIP from current stockholders. It is unlikely that management are willing to offer shares at $12. 50 if the fair market value really is $29 per share, thus weakening the belief in the second scenario. 2) Analysts' expectations and comparable metrics. Analysts are generally very positive in regards to the Craft Brewing Segment, expecting continued growth in 1995.A conservative market share estimate of 5% of the total domestic beer market by 2000 compared to only 1. 4% in 1994. In addition, both Pet?s Brewing Company and Redbook Ale Brewery have recently completed successful Pip's resulting in growing share prices. These factors both build up expectations for Bib's upcoming PIP and are likely to be incorporated in Bib's PIP price. This might mean that BBC will be trading at a slight expectation premium above what the fair value of the company is, thus strengthening the reliability of the first scenario with a stock price of $12. 3. In addition, by comparing PIE ratios of Pet's Br ewing Company, 1 00, and Redbook Ale Brewery, 36, with BBC for the three different scenarios weakens the third scenario because of an implied PIE ratio of 17. 9, which is below both of the two comparable companies. The first scenario giving an implied P/E ratio of 41. 9 and the second scenario showing an implied PIE ratio of 99. 9 are tooth around the two competitors' PIE ratios, strengthening the plausibility of these scenarios when looking at the P/E ratio isolated. 3) We also used industry growth trends to compare the expected sales of BBC in 2000, considering a constant market share, to the 2000 sales forecasted in each scenario. The results allowed us to rule out the third scenario because the sales forecasted in 2000 are less than half of what we would expect with conservative assumptions of the craft industry growth. The other two scenarios were fairly close to the expected revenues in 2000. 4) The second scenario was ruled out when analyzing the growth trends of BBC in recen t years.BBC has already undergone rapid growth and we expect that high growth phase to taper Off sooner rather than later. Ten more years Of high growth is unreasonable and unrealistic. Lastly, the second scenario can be ruled out again when looking at revenues projected for 2006. If the craft brewing industry grew to ten percent of the total domestic beer market by 2006, which is an aggressive assumption, then BBC would have to double its current percentage of market share in the craft industry. We also find that assumption fairly unreasonable due to the competitive nature of the craft industry now and into the future.

Speech Outline on Organic Food

Choosing Organic By: Kayla Ray Informative Speech SC105: T Th 3:30 Mrs. Becker March 4, 2013 General Purpose: To inform Specific Purpose: I want my audience to understand the importance of purchasing and consuming organic food. Thesis: Choosing to purchase and consume organic food is a smart and healthy choice for you and your family. Formal Outline of Speech Introduction I. â€Å"The way we eat has changed more in the last 50 years than in the previous 10,000. † Food activist, Michael Pollan, makes this statement as the introduction to a documentary titled Food Inc. which discusses the way food is being produced today in America. A. Now, there are many choices that can be made when trying to eat healthy. 1. Eating the recommended amount of calories, eating many fruits and vegetables, getting a sandwich from subway instead of getting a hamburger from McDonalds, or drinking water instead of soda. 2. These can all be good decisions, but is it beneficial if it is not organic? Of course it can be, but is it as beneficial? II. Eating organic food can do things for your body that non organic food cannot do. A. After watching the documentary, Food Inc. I was shocked to find out how our food is being produced and handled in America. 1. Is the process of how our food is made something we need to recognize? 2. Is it better for our food to be brought up naturally by hard working farmers rather than being abused, pumped up with hormones and filled with many other chemicals? 3. The answer to these questions should potentially be yes. B. Non organic food is not only less beneficial to eat, but has the potential to harm our families. III. [Thesis] Choosing to purchase and consume organic food is a smart and healthy choice for you and your family.IV. [Preview] I’m now going to inform you of how the importance of purchasing and consuming organic food relates to each and every one of us and can improve our quality of life. (Transition) First, let’s establish exactly what organic means. Body I. Organic food is different than other food in many ways. A. According to the first nationally certified organic grocer in the U. S. , Whole Foods Market, â€Å"Organic agriculture is a production method that emphasizes the use of renewable resources and the conservation of soil and water to enhance environmental quality. 1. When growing organic produce food is rotated in such a way to keep soil rich in nutrients and optimal for supporting many years of growth and supplying optimal amounts of micronutrients and minerals. 2. When raising organic livestock the animals eat food that's free of antibiotics, growth hormones, drugs, chemicals and pesticides. They also tend to be free-range which means all year long, the livestock are allowed outside and have the option of going inside if they wish. This allows animals to get exercise and fresh air, and live a more natural existenceB. In an article titled, What’s So Great About Organic Food, Jeffre y Kluger states, Organic foods of all kinds currently represent only about 3% of the total American market, according to the most recent numbers from the U. S. Department of Agriculture, but it's a sector we all should be supporting more. 1. And it’s projected that the numbers will just continue to increase simply because people are becoming more aware of the dangers and effects non-organic food can have on you and your family. Transition) Now, we all know how important fruits and veggies are in your diet, but how healthy can they be if they are filled with chemicals? II. Well, Organic food doesn’t contain chemicals. A. Whole Foods Market describes agricultural management practices as farming that promotes healthy eco-systems and prohibits the use of genetically engineered seeds or crops, sewage sludge, long-lasting pesticides, herbicides or fungicides. B. Some of the most popular fruits and vegetables contain the highest amount of pesticides. . There are no seasons in the American supermarket, says Michael Pollan, now there are tomatoes all year round, grown halfway around the world, picked when it was green, and ripened with ethylene gas. Although it looks like a tomato, it's kind of a notional tomato. I mean, it's the idea of a tomato. a. For example, we can take a look at these red grapefruit where one is organic and the other is not. b. We can see that the organic fruit is actually red, whereas the non-organic is discolored.This is the case because the grapefruit on the left was naturally ripened and the grapefruit on the right was most likely gassed with many chemicals in order to ripen. 2. According to Whatsonmyfood. org, 88 million pounds of pesticides are applied each and every year in the U. S. That’s nearly 3 pounds per person! a. Also, they state that an average American child gets five or more servings of pesticide residues in their food and water every day! i. If I could help it I wouldn’t want my kids even being aroun d that and I definitely wouldn’t want them to be ingesting it. Transition) Now, let’s take a look at livestock because another important part of our diet is beef and poultry. III. Organic animals are raised in a way that is natural. A. Whole Foods Market describes livestock management as practices that promote healthy, humanely treated animals by providing organically-grown feed, fresh air and outdoor access while using no antibiotics or added growth hormones. B. There are obvious differences in organic and non-organic chicken. 1. Such as the organic yolks being a much brighter yellow signifying that the chicken is eating greens and bugs instead of being corn fed. . This also leads to significantly higher nutrients that are present in the yolk. 2. To add to that, we can look at the picture of the two whole chickens. Which one would you choose? a. Notice the extreme size of the one on the left due to growth hormones and corn feed. b. Then notice the thick layer of yello wish fat covering the skin†¦. GROSS! C. But the biggest issue is what we find is in our beef. Many diseases are found in non-organic beef simply because cows are not evolved to digest corn. As Michael Pollan states in an interview on www. pbs. rg, as soon as you introduce corn, the animal is liable to get sick. You start giving them antibiotics, because as soon as you give them corn, you've disturbed their digestion, and they're apt to get sick, so you then have to give them drugs. That's how you get in this whole cycle of drugs and meat. 1. In the documentary, Food Inc. , they tell a story about a boy named Kevin. a. According to Kevin’s story, published on www. foodborneillness. org, Kevin had eaten three hamburgers in the week prior to his illness and died twelve days later from E. oli O157:H7. He was only 2 years, 8 months and 1 day old. b. Also stated in the article written by Kevin’s mom, Barbara Kowalcyk, each year in the United States, thousands of America ns suffer and die from preventable foodborne illness just like Kevin. 2. If we look to my images, we can easily see how much more lean and healthy the organic meat looks compared to the non-organic. a. Grass fed beef contains less total fat and calories, 2-6 times more heart healthy omega 3 fatty acids, and more antioxidant vitamins. i. All for the betterment of your health! Transition) These differences in organic and non-organic foods are affecting us greatly in every one of our lives and should definitely be considered. Conclusion I. As I have explain to you here today, choosing organic is a smart and healthy way to greatly benefit you and your family. A. Organic produce and livestock naturally have more nutrients and even though it all many cost a little extra it will make you healthier in the long run and prevent you from becoming sick. 1. This will even out the cost and actually possibly save you money! II. The demand for organic food is growing more and more every day.When yo u buy organic you are voting for a better food system in America. A. As Troy Roush, Vice President of the American Corn Growers Association, puts it, â€Å"People have got to start demanding good, wholesome food of us, and we'll deliver. † Bibliography Food, Inc. Dir. Robert Kenner. Perf. Michael Pollan, Troy Roush. Documentary, 2008. Film. â€Å"Frontline Modern Meat Interview: Michael Pollan. † PBS. PBS, n. d. Web. 09 Mar. 2013. . Kluger, Jeffrey. â€Å"What's So Great About Organic Food?. † Time 176. 9 (2010): 30-40.Academic Search Complete. Web. 9 Mar. 2013. Kowalcyk, Barbara. â€Å"Kevin's Story. † Kevin's Story. Center for Foodborne Lllness Research and Prevention, 2008. Web. 09 Mar. 2013. ;http://www. foodborneillness. org/leadership/140- kevins-story. html;. â€Å"Organic Food What Does â€Å"Organic† Mean? † Organic Food | Whole Foods Market. Whole Foods Market, 2013. Web. 09 Mar. 2013. ;http://www. wholefoodsmarket. com/about-our- products/organic-food;. â€Å"Pesticides: A Public Problem. † What’s On My Food? Pesticide Action Network North America, 2010. Web. 09 Mar. 2013. ;http://www. whatsonmyfood. org/index. jsp;.

Educational Aspiration of Primary School Child Essay

The topic Educational aspirations of rural India deals with studying the aspirations of the rural children and trying to focus on the various factors that affect the aspirations of the children in some way or the other. Five of us had gone to five different states in India with the aim of studying the aspirations of the rural children of that region and then trying to find out the factors that really contribute towards them. The reason for selecting this particular topic was that we were given a choice of our own to explore any field we want. We were all interested in knowing more about the rural youths and their aspirations. To try to know what is the difference between the kids from a rural India and since we some of us had lived and had our education in rural India we wanted to go back and explore the changes that have come in the society if any. Our curiousness towards the education system and to know where the future of India sees itself made us choose this topic. Initially we all were thinking individually on the topic but once we knew about our similar interest, we tried coming up with a topic in the field that excites us all and finally we chose this topic. Also one more reason for choosing this topic was that few of us were going to really backward states and some of us were going to the states with the best educational services. So in a way we were getting the opportunity to study across states and come up with our findings of the reasons of particular aspirations in particular regions and how these are affected in different societies. The topic in our view holds quite an importance in today’s time as learning about the primary kids of the rural India gives us a glimpse into what the future might hold in for them and also for the nation. Since children of today are the future of tomorrow so knowing their aspirations, factors affecting them can certainly help in making changes that can lead the society and the nation towards a better future. The five of us had gone to five different states namely Bihar, Odisha, Haryana, Kerala and Uttarakhand. The comparative study in the later part of the report talks about the status of primary education across these states along with the factors affecting them. 2. OBJECTIVES * To develop an understanding of the educational aspirations of the primary level children in rural India. * Trying to understand the various factors that play an important role in affecting the aspirations of the primary level children. * To do the comparative analysis across 5 different states under a common platform and identify common issues and problems. 3. STATUS OF PRIMARY EDUCATION IN INDIA Education is important not only for the growth of an individual but also for the nation as a whole. Primary education has been the foundation on which the development of every individual as well as the nation depends. But making primary education available to everyone has been a major issue and along with this making quality primary education available has all been more problematic for the state. But in the past few years, India has shown tremendous growth in the literacy levels and achievements in providing successfully education to all at the primary level. Various govt. schemes are being implemented in different states that have resulted in providing assistance as well as incentives to the children to come to school and study. Right of children to free and compulsory education bill was passed in 2008. Special schemes for the underprivileged sections of the society are being implemented. 3. 1 Govt. schemes Different govt. schemes are being implemented in various states across India at the primary level. Some of them are: * Mid Day Meal Scheme (MDMS): MDMS is a scheme that was launched as a Centrally Sponsored Scheme in 1995. This programme ensures provision of cooked mid day meal to children studying at elementary level at govt. , local body or govt. aided schools. * Cycle distribution: Another scheme in Bihar where a cycle is distributed to the children†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. * Scholarships for EWS: †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. * SSA: Sarva Siksha Abhiyan meaning education for all is another one of the many govt. schemes that aims at providing education to all. This program aims to universalize elementary education by community ownership of the school system. This program also provides an opportunity for improving human capabilities to all children. * Education Guarantee Scheme: This is one of the components of SSA aimed at providing education to the children. 3. 2 Literacy level The literacy level has been on a rise in India with the latest census report stating the literacy rate of our country to be 68% in 2007. This is a substantial increase from 12% at the time of independence and is commendable since the population is also growing at an abrupt pace. Among the Indian states Kerala holds the highest literacy level where Bihar is the lowest. This also accounted for an interesting study as these were the 2 of 5 states being covered. The adult literacy rate was 66% in 2007 whereas the youth literacy rate was 82% in 2001. 4. METHOD OF STUDY * Structured and unstructured interviews: One of the techniques used by us for getting information was structured and unstructured interviews. Many a times, going with questionnaires in our hands raised doubts in the minds of the people, so to avoid that we started with informal chats and then went on with the topic. * Questionnaires: Questionnaires were a means of getting information especially from the primary teachers and the village level authorities. Household interviews were also conducted based on the questionnaires. * Emoticon analysis: For the children of primary level it is many a time difficult to ask questions and get the answers. Also they identify more easily with the visual aids rather than talking, so for a part of our questions to the primary children, we had a set of emoticons for them and they had to choose the answer based on the emoticons. These emoticons basically expressed their feelings and moods at different points of time. * FGDs: FGDs were conducted among teachers so that we can come to know their view points on the current education system and the factors affecting the level of primary education. * Observations: Also observing was one of our main methods of studying about the village and also what the kids do in the school during their breaks and the classes. 5. CHALLENGES FACED There were many challenges faced by us during the work we were carrying out on the theme paper. Many a times the teachers were suspicious as to why we are doing this work and why do we want to know about them and the education there from the kids? Initially most of our time went in explaining our field work objectives and our reasons to be there. Getting information from the kids was one major challenging task as most of them were very shy and it really took great effort to get things out of them and that too correct information. Also a major challenge faced was that many lower caste families who didn’t send their children to primary schools showed no interest in talking on this topic to us. It was hard for us to convince them to talk to us. Language was one more challenge that was faced especially in Odisha. Few of the people in Uttarakhand too, especially women talked in the local Jaunsar language that made things difficult to interpret. 6. STATEWISE DATA All of us had gone to different states viz. Bihar, Odisha, Haryana, Kerala and Uttarakhand. Following is a brief description of the villages that we had gone to along with some of the information about our villages and the level of primary education there, along with the factors affecting them in our respective villages. The comparative analysis across states shows the factors affecting the aspirations of the primary level children and how they differ in different societies. 6. 1 BIHAR Literacy rate of Bihar: 47. 53% Literacy rate of Samastipur: 45. 76% Male: 57. 83%. Female: 32. 69% Educational programmes going in Bihar: 1). Sarva Siksha Abhiyan (SSA) 2). National programme for Education of Girls at Primary Level (NPEGEL) 3). Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya (KGBV) 4). School Sanitation and Hygiene Education Programme (SSHE) Literacy rate of Muhammadpur Kowari village: 42% Population of Muhammadpur Kowari village: 11,500 Income sources: Agriculture Laborer Business Rickshaw pulling Government and private service. Income level: Annual income ranged from Rs. 20,000 – 1, 50,000 per annum of the respondents. Education Infrastructure: 1) Anganwadis- 11 in no. 2) Government School- 5 in no. Primary-4 Middle- 1 High– Nil 3) Private School- 1 ( upto class 8) 4) LSC runned by AKRSP-22 Village had eleven Anganwadi centres which would impart learning to toddlers and preschoolers. There were five government primary schools out of which one was upgraded to the middle school. In addition to this there was one private school in village upto class 8th. For higher studies students had to go to Tajpur for class eighth upwards. Apart from this there were private schools at Pusa Road and Tajpur where students of better off families used to study. Muslim families preferred Madarasa education for their children in adjoining village Shahpur Baghauni. One can also find coaching centres mushrooming in and around the village where unemployed college graduates were taking classes and also private tuitions. We came to know that this mushrooming was due to ‘Haushla Afjaaayi Sceme’ of state government who would reward students promoted from class ninth to tenth and those who passed tenth board examination with first division marks. Parent would supplement government school education with private tuitions (Rs.50-100 per student) and coaching for class eighth upwards. But this was not the case for poor who had higher dropout rates. Regarding this the role of AKRSP is worthwhile to mention that it ran Learning and Support Centre (LSC) in minority and dalit tolas which imparted free education at nominal fee of Rs. 10 per child per month for two hours in the morning at 22 centres. It was not considered as substitute for schools rather a complement to emphasize role and awareness regarding education. It attracted students from muslim community and dalits who could not afford high cost otherwise. Here education was more fun rather than drudgery unlike government schools. 6. 1. 1 Factors affecting primary education: a). Parents- Parents attitude and perception regarding the education determines the education and aspiration of children. This attitude and perception in turn is decided by the education of the parents, environment they live in, earnings, some past experiences and interest in child development. Muhammadpur Kowari village had 58% muslim population and 42% hindus of lower castes and their education level and income was very low. Mostly worked as farmers, laborers, and rickshaw pullers and migrated to other states and cities as land holding was less while family size was quite large. So they had a pressure to earn from the very beginning and hardly anyone was matriculate except few. Given the constraints they could not afford good education or think big and were reluctant as many had daughters to marry. Though fathers were not so optimistic regarding education of the child but mothers were very conscious and enthusiastic. Mostly the reply came they don’t want their children to suffer hardships as they had and education was the way to end misery by getting better jobs and lifestyle. Migrant workers that returned on Chhath and BakrId had exposure to outside world and emphasized the need of education and it was evident in their family. However there existed a disparity between spending on education of male and female child in financially sound or medium families whereas there was slight or no difference in poor families as both sexes went to same school and no access to tuitions or coachings or private school. The difference was owing to notion that male child would support family while girls are a liability. b). Teachers- Their qualification, training, apathy, absenteeism or engagement in other works( e. g. election duty, vaccination drives etc. ) proves to be a deciding factor in shaping the minds and thus aspirations of the children. The differentiation on basis of caste, religion or gender has very deleterious effect emotionally and psychologically. Such children develop low self esteem, unwantedness and develop bitterness. In this village when the teachers were interviewed regarding this topic they agreed the lack of staff s (4 teachers were for a middle school upto 8th standard) and hampering of studies due to other official works. Also, the teachers arrived late for the duty and could be seen chatting on the verandah and had no concerns what was going inside the classroom. The lack of trained teachers was felt as para teachers appointed to take classes were not qualified enough to take classes off higher standards. In 2 schools it was found that more than 1 class was going on in a single classroom and in 1 school had 2 rooms only so the classes were conducted under a thatched roof. It was common in many schools the student of class 6 had less learning what would have been otherwise obvious for class 4 reasons being the quality of teaching in government school. An incident was there when a teacher was asked in an informal conversation about aforesaid e. g. he told parents would come and quarrel that my child knows less than the ‘Y’ child and create nuisance so they had to pass all. As a result of this child would fare badly in high classes. Moreover the mismanagement of funds in midday meal scheme was brought in a notice in panchayat meeting. In another example when an Anganwadi staff was asked about the afternoon meal offered at anganwadi she told that out of Rs. 10,000 allocated Rs. 6000 would be shared among officer issuing the fund and the rest would serve the purpose naturally the quality will decline. c). Students- When the students were interviewed along with emoticons it was a real fun for them. However it was tried best to interview them post school so in front of teachers they would hesitate and could not express freely. Female students were interviewed in school only because of the conservative nature of the households and they used to come from far places. In schools as well as at LSCs the performance of girls was better than that of boys. The students had interest and had better result in mathematics but had poor performance in language paper. According to the survey it s because of 2 reasons- teaching was boring and teacher was usually absent, secondly many students had been taught in urdu at home and thus had difficulty in writing in hindi. When boys were asked about being absent from school they gave following reasons- going to relatives house ( as it was a festival time), helping father in fields( sowing time for tobacco and cauliflower), no teaching in school as many teachers were either absent or had taken leave after the election duty. Also, there were boys who came to school but did not attend classes as their peers were playing. However girls had a different reason as some of them had to look after their younger brother or sister while her mother went to work in fields while some of them accompanied their parents to pusa road market to sell vegetables. But surprisingly the attendance, interest and performance of the students were better at LSC because it incorporated rhymes, playthings, drawing and games period and more dynamic teachers. LSC had meeting with parents once a month, emphasized on curricular activities as well. It had organized ‘Bal Sabha’ (parent’s day) on 19th November which was a new experience for kids and more fun. d). School infrastructure- The debilitated conditions of government schools with leaky roofs, lack of drinking water and toilets is a discouraging factor for girl child enrollment and also absenteeism. Lack of teaching aids, text books, sports articles makes teaching learning process a monotonous act so a child tries different ways to escape school. Also, bullying by other boys or fear of corporeal punishment by teachers is a major cause of dropouts and absenteeism in these schools. All these were common in the village and absenteeism was more in rainy season as school had lessrooms or was leaky. One can imagine the scene of two classes commencing in a single room and learning of child in this environment. Moreover if there were any marriages around it was a practice to stay Baraat in the school so unofficially it was a kin of holiday. e). Economic condition of family- This factor was found to be the most important factor along with parent’s attitude and perception during the village stay. Now here are 4 cases- firstly the family was poor and wanted the child to continue study, secondly they wanted child to earn or assist in fields or do other works for livelihood, thirdly family was well off and could afford education and fourthly they wanted them to look after agriculture as land holding and agricultural income was more so they felt there is no need to study. It has been discussed in detail in parents section. f). Societal culture – It describes how the society affects parents and children thinking and feeling about education and what they aspire to become in future. At Muhammadpur Kowari the villagers were involved in agriculture and labor works mainly and were either illiterate or had very less formal education so they were less informed. They viewed education as a way to overcome poverty by seeking jobs such as teaching, police, army, government service etc. So any successful example of anyone getting such jobs was looked with respect and younger generation wanted to emulate his success. On the other hand many of the views that every educated man does not gets the government job so there is no use to study and wanted their child to engage in works. Another kind of thought that emerged was to seek benefit of schemes by enrolling child to school or to engage naughty children for few hours or the meal served in the afternoon at school. Many dalits had bitter experience of discrimination in the past and viewed education and ‘aspirations’ as privilege of upper class and caste and it would make no difference to their conditions. Muslims send their children to madarsa for education and by 14 years of age they dropped out to learn some tailoring or masonry works to earn bread and butter. Very few muslim households send their children to school and those belonging to Sheikhs and business class had tutors for their children. Home tutors were available for girl child because of parda system they were not going outside the village to study and after 8th standard they dropped out. However it was a matter of surprise that these girls when interviewed were happier and had no desire to study further and it had developed in their society as upper limit of girl education.. One more observation was that muslim family had no issues in sending their girl child to LSCs run by AKRSP because it was nearby or in their locality and mostly the female teachers were in that centres. Hence concern for security and parda system was guiding the aspirations. 6. 2 ODISHA Village:Badampada Block:Kaptipada District:Mayurbhanj State: Odisha 6. 2. 1 Village:Badampada: -The village Badampada is 60 kms from Baripada, the district head quarter of Mayurbhanj. It is around 8 km away from block head quarter, kaptipada. The place I visited is coming under tribal belt of Mayurbhanj. The Similipal reserve forest is near to our village. since the area is surrounded by the dense forest, people are more involved into NTFP collection from the jungle. Since the forest cover is depleting day by day, more people are diverted towards agriculture. Besides agriculture, some people depend on livestock. A very few people are salaried and a small fraction of the villagers are businessmen. The literacy rate of Orissa is 63. 08% (2001 census), while the literacy rate of the district is 52. 43%. The literacy rate of the district is not par with the state, because the tribe constitute 57. 67% of the total population of the state. Since there was very less tribal family in our village, literacy rate of the village is more than that of district i. e 60%. The various schemes are implemented by the state govt to attract the children to the school. The children in the primary school are provided Mid Day meal . The students are also text books, free of cost through District Primary Education Programme (DPEP). To improve the female literacy rate, the state Govt is providing school uniform to girls in the primary school. TheState govt. declared Rs 500 cr for Sarva Siksha Abhijan scheme . There is a primary school in the village, badampada which caters to the need of nearby villages like vaisnab sahi,Dhumkheta ,sisodia etc. Among them Vaisnab Sahi is the tribal dominated village. 6. 2. 2 Factors Affecting aspiration of the Children of Primary School * Parents- School students in the village are enthusiastic about education; however, parents are not very supportive. Most parents seem to think education as a meaningless practice without any real benefit. Most people in the village are from the working class, they force their children to help them in their work. I found major difference between Odiya and tribal families. While parents of Odiya family are very much enthusiastic to send their children to school, the case is opposite is in tribal families. * Teachers-The teachers play a vital role in the primary education. The teachers in the village show very little interest towards the education . I came to know, some teachers are involved in parallel business during school time. They do not work for the entire duration of their duty period and go home early. Another trick used by teachers is periodic presence by teachers (at a particular time one teacher remains present, while may be the remaining one is absent) . I am reliably informed that the school Head master was caught while stealing eggs which were provide for Mid day meal . * School Infrastructure- There is two class rooms and one office room in the primary school. So multiple classes are going on in one class room. The situation inside the class room is very much chaotic. It is very difficult on the part of the teacher to handle the multiple classes at a time. I have observed number children moving outside the classroom during school time. The teacher student ratio is 38 in the school. The school children are not getting books at the right time. No audio visual aid is provided to the school. * Economic status – The parents of the well off family send their children to English Medium School at Kaptipada. Due to poor economic status of the tribal household, they can’t afford the other facilities to their children during festival period; there is high absenteeism in the school in case of tribal students. Since they are not provided with any amusement in their home, they attend the fair without going to school. Some children help their household working in others firm to meet the day to day household consumption. * Societal Culture- Children imbibes from the society, surrounding them. Since, the parents are not much aware about the benefit of the education; they don’t motivate their children to attend the school. They are in favour of instant income. Children leave school in early age to earn money in tribal family. 6. 3 HARYANA Village : Gundiani Block : Mustafabad Tehsil : Jaghadhari District : Yamuna Nagar 6. 3. 1 Village: Gundiani: – A small village of population 494, located about 4 km away from a small town called Mustafabad, connected via road and rail routes. According to my fieldwork stay , village seems to be prosperous and it was supported by government data of BPL family number which was eight only out of total 68 households. Major income generating source of villagers is agriculture and apparently few villagers do have some business and services options as well which they have chosen over agriculture, even there are some instances of villagers going abroad for earning livelihood. Hence as the sources of income was varied so the income level was also have a varied range of about one lakh to 60 lakh per annum. Infrastructures related to education available in village boundaries were a government primary school, however within a 3 km radius of village one government higher secondary school, three private schools were located and school buses of 3-4 prominent private schools of which one include Delhi Public School, ply to the village for picking students. Literacy rate of Haryana is 67. 91 % ( 2006 data ), and that of the Yamuna nagar district is 72. 20 % ( 2006 data ) while that of village Gundiani was found to be 68. 81% ( 2010 data collected by Kamal & Sandeep). Well irrespective of all these infrastructure the literacy level of village was on not a brighter side as compared to overall state literacy level and on the lower side as compared to that of district. This can be attributed to the previous generation literacy as the thinking of previous generation was that they need to do agriculture only, so there is no need of education for that, hence this thinking pulled down the overall literacy level to lower side. 6. 3. 2 Factors affecting aspiration of primary school children: * Parents: They play the most important role as home is the building stone of the child’s life and in the home the family i. e parents play a vital role in aspiring the child for education. Educational qualification of parents is a major factor which shapes the thinking of parents towards education and future of their child. In village Gundiani, although the literacy level was low but still parents were conscious enough about education of their child. But they were not aware of future aspects and where to get this information. Parents just see other children from the village and their society and hence understand the importance of education and hence inspire high for the children. * Teachers: At primary level teachers influence the most the future of a child as they mold the mind of a child and hence inspire the actions of child towards life and education as well. In village Gundiani, in government primary school there were only two teachers and they were taking enough pain to work towards better future of students. They used to educated students regarding what they have to face in future if they don’t study well and always used to give examples of various other people from their village only so that children can easily relate them and can learn easily the importance of education. While in the private schools in nearby areas it was not so as the teachers employed by majority of schools were not well qualified, they were there to just teach from text books and were helping the children to understand the importance of education. But still the parents tend to send their child to a private school, the main reason behind this was that admitting your child to private school was seen as a status symbol in the village, and even few poor people used to send their child just to develop their status. Hence we can say that the teachers play a vital role developing the aspirations of a child at primary level. * School Infrastructure: This is one of the vital components affecting the aspiration of children and their perception towards education. In the village Gundiani the government school was having two class rooms and one room for mid day meal scheme meal preparation. There were six standards in the school but there were only two class rooms in each of which three consecutive standards were taught by teachers side by side. While in case of nearby private schools each standard was taught in different class room and enough teachers were available but the qualification of teachers was questionable to some extent. In the class rooms teaching aid were available in case of government schools while in some of the few private schools they were thinking of incorporating it. * Economic Status: Economic status of family matters a lot in case of the education provided to the child and hence in direct proportion affects the inspirations of the child as well parents towards education. As the family income largely determines the chances of a child getting education and its quality depending upon the schools to which children are sent. Apart from the school the outside school education and facilities provided by parents according to their economic status like availing school bus so that child can go to far off better school and also time wastage in traveling can be minimized, availing private tuitions, better text books. Also better economic status of parents give a high confidence level to the child and in turn all the above factors highly influence the inspirations of child as well that of parents towards education of their child. * Societal culture: This section basically include the society and culture the village which highly affect the thinking of parents, teachers and in the end that of child. In society parents see the other children and then compare their child with others and hence try that their child also progress up to some benchmark set by them. Also availability of few role models in the village like few villagers have migrated to other big cities due to jobs and a few migrated foreign which proved to be role models for the parents of other children and hence they also wanted their child to prosper in life and get up to those positions. For this the parents were clearly aware that their child needs to be sent to school. Hence the societal cultures of the village influence significantly the inspiration of the parents in in turn that of the child. 6. 4 KERALA It is possible to say that the state of Kerala has a unique position in the education map of India with a literacy rate of 90. 92%. This rate is the highest in India according to 2001 census. Out of which literacy rate of men and women accounts to 94. 2% and 87. 86% respectively. Kerala became the first state in India to declare full literacy in one district called Ernakulam (1990). With the support of central government, government of Kerala launched a number of programmes in education sector. One of such programmes is â€Å"Akshara Keralam† introduced in 1991. It was aimed at bringing maximum number of illiterates to schools and other study centres. Apart from all these NGO interventions on education are also there in rural and backward areas of Kerala. In April1991 Kerala was declared as fully literate state by NLM (As per the norms of NLM, a literacy rate above 90 % shall be treated as complete literacy). Kerala topped the Education Development Index (EDI) among 21 major states in India in year 2006-2007. A report by NLM in 2007 states that Mizoram surpassed Kerala in literacy rate. SSA is also running well in Kerala. CDS, Trivandrum is monitoring the activities of SSA in Kerala. Kerala has made major achievements in school enrolment at the primary level and in preventing drop outs. Education providers in Kerala include both government and private parties. The percentage of private aided schools is considerably high. Government schools constitute 33% of total schools in Kerala. Education in these schools is completely free. Government aided private schools and fully private owned schools accounts to 45% and 22% respectively. Number of primary schools in Kerala is 6712(2551-govt, 4003-aided private, 158-unaided private) Education accounts for more than one third of the total revenue expenditure of the state. The per capita expenditure on education is the second highest among states in India. 6. 4. 1 Idukki District Profile Idukki is the high range district of Kerala. It is famous for its Mountainous Hills and Spices. This district occupies 13% of the area of Kerala. It can be said that for Keralites Idukki, means power generation also. About 66% of the state’s power needs come from the Hydroelectric Power Projects in Idukki. 88. 58% of the district population is literate. Male literacy rate (92%) is much higher compared to female literacy rate (85%). 6. 4. 2 Karunapuram Village Profile Karunapuram village comes under Udumbanchola taluka of Idukki and Nedumkandam block. It has a population of 26033 according to 2001 census. The major source of income is agriculture and allied activities. The literacy rate of this village is 87%. 40 Anganwadis are there. 6. 4. 3 Factors affecting the educational aspirations and their role in Karunapuram * Parents: -.