Global GDP, Death Rate, and Life Expectancy Research Paper

Global GDP, Death Rate, and Life Expectancy - Research Paper Example First, as per capita GDP increases, the life expectancy also increases for that country. Second, as per capita GDP increases the death rate would decrease for that country. The data was gathered from the US Central Intelligence Agency Factbook available online. Information was gathered from 220 countries that listed their per capita GDP, death rate, and life expectancy. Every attempt was made to use the most current data available, and all of the data was from 2007-2008. No data used was older than the data from 2007. The per capita GDP was the 2007 rate, and the death rate and life expectancy were based on 2008 estimates. From this list of 220 countries, a group of 30 countries were selected for analyzing by the following method: The countries were sorted in ascending order according to the per capita GDP. The highest and the lowest countries were eliminated. The countries were selected by choosing every seventh country from the list, resulting in a final list of 30 countries. Standard deviation was calculated using the n-1 method using the Excel spreadsheet. The per capita GDP had a high of $79,400 in Luxembourg and a low of $300 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, for a range of $79,100. The mean per capita GDP was $7600, with a standard deviation of $17,635. Though the United States was not on the list used for evaluation, it is included as a reference point at $45,800. The Death Rate The Death Rate is measured in deaths per 1000 population. It ranged from a low of 3.53 in the Gaza Strip to a high of 22.33 in Lesotho for a range of 18.8. The median death rate was 7.49, and a standard deviation of 4.11. The median death rate is marginally less than the US's 8.27. Life expectancy is listed in years and ranged from a low of 40.17 years in Lesotho to a high of 79.36 years in Austria. The life expectancy range was 39.19 years and a median life expectancy of 73 years with a standard deviation of 9.91 years. The global median life expectancy is below the US's life expectancy of 78.14 years. Tables 1, 2, and 3 are the comprehensive lists of the data used for this research that has been ordered by per capita GDP, death rate, and life expectancy. The Data: Initial Examination For an initial examination of the data, it is helpful to view the information on a histogram. This gives a visual indication of the range of the data as well as the distribution across the range. Figures 1, 2, and 3 are the histograms that represent the per capita GDP, death rate, and life expectancy respectfully. Table 1: Data sorted by per capita GDP Country Per Capita GDP Rank Per Cap GDP Death Rate per 1000 pop Rank Death Rate Life Expect Life Exp Rank Luxembourg $79,400 1 8.43 18 79.18 3 Ireland $46,600 2 7.77 15 78.07 5 Austria $39,300 3 9.91 21 79.36 1 Germany $34,100 4 10.8 24 79.1 4 Faroe Islands $31,000 5 8.67 19 79.29 2 Bahamas, The $28,000 6 9.22 20 65.72 24 Czech Republic $24,500 7 10.69 23 76.62 8 Oman $19,000 8 3.68 3 73.91 12 Latvia $17,700 9 13.63 28 71.88 18 Poland $16,200 10 9.99 22 75.41 10 Botswana $14,300 11 14.02 29 50.16 29 Mexico $12,400 12 4.78 7 75.84 9 Cuba $11,000 13 7.19 14 77.27 6 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines $9,800 14 5.96 10 74.34 11 Thailand $8,000 15 7.17 13 72.83 17 Ecuador $7,200 16 4.21 6 76.81 7 American Samoa $5,800 17 4.13 5 73.47 14 Tonga $5,100 18 5.12 8 70.44 20 Maldives $4,600

Formats of Income Statement and Balance Sheet Essay Example for Free

Formats of Income Statement and Balance Sheet Essay Income statement: In the case of sole proprietary and partnership concerns there are no prescribed forms of the income statement and balance sheet. Their preparation is also desirable but not compulsory. However, they are generally prepared. In the case of trading concern, a trading account and in the case of a manufacturing concern, a manufacturing account and a trading account can also be prepared. In such a case, the account heading is mentioned as follows: Manufacturing/trading and profit and loss account. In the case of joint stock companies preparation of the profit and loss account and balance sheet every year is compulsory. There is no prescribed form (except in the case of banking and insurance companies) of the income statement or profit and loss account. The account is titled as Profit and loss account The results of manufacturing and trading activities may; however, be shown separately in the account. The profit and loss account is usually prepared in a T shape. In the case of joint stock company, the manufacturing, trading and profit and loss account is prepared in the above format except with three modifications: I.The heading given is only Profit and loss account for taxation in the profit and loss account; II.The net profit is shown after making provisions for taxation in the profit and loss account; III.Figures, for the previous period, if any, have also to be given. Profit and loss appropriation account: In the case of joint stock companies, a profit and loss appropriation account is also prepared. It explains as to how the profit earned during the period has been distributed. Balance sheet: There is no prescribed form of balance sheet for a sole proprietary or a partnership concern. However, the assets and liabilities may be shown in any of the following orders: I.Liquidity order II.Permanency Order In case the concern adopts liquidity order, the assets which are more readily convertible into cash are taken into account initially and those which are not so readily convertible are taken into account subsequently. Similarly those liabilities which are payable first are taken into account initially and those payable later on are taken into account subsequently and so on. In the case of permanency order, the reverse order is followed. As per the law applicable to some governments, every balance sheet of a company shall give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the company as at the end of the financial year. Similarly, every profit and loss account of a company shall give a true and fair view of the profit or loss account of the company for the financial year.

Segmentation Targeting and Positioning Analysis Theory

Segmentation Targeting and Positioning Analysis Theory Kotler (1994, p. 93) has pointed out that the strategic marketing planning process flows from a mission mission and vision statement to the selection of target markets, and the formulation of specific marketing mix and positioning objective for each product or service the organization will offer. Proceeds to segment the market, select the appropriate market target, and develop the offers value positioning. The formula segmentation, targeting, positioning (STP) is the essence of strategic marketing Restrepo (2010, p1). Source: Segmentation, Targeting, and Positioning (2010)http://www.consumerpsychologist.com/images/cb/STP.png http://www.consumerpsychologist.com/cb_Segmentation.html Today, India is one of the worlds fastest growing economies. With having a wide geographical area of about 15,200Km and a coast line of 7,500 Km over a billion people .According to Financial times (2004) the GDP growth rate was less than 1% in 1991, however by 2003 the figure grew by 8.5%. Button et al (1999) argues that because of the growth of Indias IT industry, the number of travelers has grown rapidly. Due to which Indias Travel and Tourism generated $38.8 billion in 2004 and it is expected to raise $ 90.4 billion by 2014. According to the centre for Asia pacific Aviation (2005), Indian airlines have ordered a total of 490 aircraft over the last few months. Which in turn it is expected a growth of 164% compared to a world average of only 2.7% Connell Williams (2006, p.358). Connell Williams (2006) states that Indias domestic air travel has grown rapidly due to the growing wealth of Indias population. At the beginning of 2005, there were only four domestic airline services Indian airlines, Air Sahara and Jet airways and Air Deccan which was the low cost carrier. Company background Air Deccan: Air Deccan (2009), Indias first low fare and fastest growing airline was formed in 2003 with the vision to empower every Indian to fly by providing the lowest airfares and connectivity to unconnected towns and cities. Deccan is a business unit of Deccan Aviation, Indias largest private helicopter charter company, which pioneered helicopter tourism in India. In 1997, a group of old army buddies led by Capt. Gopi decided to pool in their vast experience and knowledge of aviation and geography to launch Indias first Private sector helicopter charter company. Deccan Aviation was started in 1997 with one helicopter, it now has a fleet of 10 helicopters and 2 fixed wing aircraft deployed across eight bases at Bangalore, Mumbai, Delhi, Ranchi, Hyderabad, Surat, Katra and Colombo (Sri Lanka). Deccan Aviation provides helicopter charter services for a range of aviation activities like helicopter tourism, aerial coverage of sports events, heli- skiing and rappelling, aerial reconnaissance and photography, and also undertakes logistic support for off shore oil explorations, geophysical mineral survey, power line survey, emergency medical evacuation, V.I.P. movement, film production etc. The result was Deccan, Indias first low cost, no frill airline, which was launched on the strength of a simple dream. A dream inspired by just one statement. I want every Indian to fly at least once in his/ her lifetime. (Captain Gopinath, CEO, 1995) The first flight was launched on 23rd August 2003 from Bangalore to Hubli. Since then forward innovation and cost efficiency has been the main reason of our business philosophy and strategy. The business model is robust, scalable and aligned to the dreams of nation building by making air travel a mass commodity. We pride ourselves on our out of the box strategies which have created several firsts in Indian aviation and also made air travel affordable, available and easily accessible to the common man of India. Source: Destinations of Air Deccan (2009) Growth Story: India government is considering the growth of aviation sector especially of the private sector in aircraft manufacturing, operating and upgrading airports and by providing enhanced ground services. According to ICFDC (2004) The Indian aviation sector has four types of operators domestic airlines, operating within India and select International destinations, International airlines, chartered air operators and air cargo service providers, whose services include air transportation of cargo and mail. According to the Director General of civil aviation (2006), when Air Deccan began its operation in August 2003, with a single aircraft from Bangalore to Hubli, Air Deccan has seen a phenomenal growth. Air Deccan now has an Aprx 266 flight which runs on a daily basis. As of March 2006, Air Deccans market share is at 19%, making it the third-largest airline in the country. Currently, the carrier employees apprx 2,600 employees. As of Nov 30 2005, Air Deccan had flown apprx 2.7 million passengers.( Air Deccan,2009) Vision and Mission: According to Air Deccan (2009), Captain Gopinaths vision has helped the lives of Indias masses where they realized through Air Deccan, which is a pioneering low-cost business model. The airline has played a significant role in making the common mans dream to fly which has come true. However, the airline plans to fly a large number of destinations in India by connecting millions of people (Captain Gopinath, CEO, 2004). Basic Idea behind the modeling approach: STRENGTHS à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Leader in LCC market à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Highest load efficiency à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Flies to destinations in the hinterland WEAKNESS à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Focuses on South Indian market à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Image plagued by frequent breakdowns and near misses à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Very limited advertising à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Reached at the threshold of cost efficiency OPPORTUNITIES à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Extensive network to capitalize Air Cargo business à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Plenty of scope for expansion of operations à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Strengthen its position in Chartered flight segment à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ could start Contractual Employment THREAT à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ High attrition rate à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ the threat of new entrants into Low Price Segment especially Indigo, Go Air, Spice jet and Jetlite. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ High risk perception. As mentioned in Air Deccan (2009) Air Deccan has plenty of scope for expansion of operations; also it has been in operation since last 5 years, so kingfisher with the merger could get the opportunity to fly internationally and Air Deccan with facing constant threats from the ever emerging low cost carriers, higher attrition rate and requirement for capital had no other better option than to accept the offer of getting merged with Kingfisher. Marketing Strategies: Segmentation: High aircraft utilization was the first of Air Deccans strategies as it would directly result in high revenue generation. The success of the Air Deccan is by its well planned operational routes. The Air Deccan operates from six bases, which are located in the metropolitan cities of Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Kolkata, Bangalore and Hyderabad. Further these bases are connected to other regional locations through regional routes. The main strategy of Air Deccan is to pursue unexplored routes which would result -high yield and high load factor (Sampler, 2006). Positioning: The main success behind Air Deccan is because of its unique pricing model. In the pricing model seats which were booked well in advance had lower fares, whereas the seats booked closer to the travel date had higher fare. However, this helped the airline to maximize its revenues from ticket sales as well as maintain high seat occupancy. By commenting on additional revenues, Captain Gopinath (CEO, 2005) states that With an average passenger spending INR 75 for a quick meal or beverage, Air Deccan could have easily generated additional revenue worth INR 202.5 million from 2.7 passengers that had flown on the airline till November 2005. Targeting: Air Deccan (2009) has achieved tremendous growth due to their marketing and promotion strategies. The airline utilized its marketing and promotional programs effectively to highlight the competitive advantage with the result of its low fares. The target segment which is for the customers who are cost-conscious, Air Deccan choose cartoonist R K Laxmans famous mascot The common man as its brand ambassador. The airline advertisement is generally through media like print, radio, and bill boards. The airline has entered into various sales which have provided Deccan with additional advertising slots on television, newspapers and radio. Word Count: 1,335. Referencing: Anonymous. (2010). Segmentation, Targeting, and positioning .Available: http://www.consumerpsychologist.com/cb_Segmentation.html. Last accessed 11/12/2010. Annonymous. (2009). Deccan simply fly. Available: http://www.deccanair.com/aboutus.html. Last accessed 12/12/2010. Annonymous. (2010). Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation. Available: http://www.centreforaviation.com/. Last accessed 12/12/2010. Button, K.J., Lall, S., Stough, R., Trice, M., 1999. High-technology employment and hub airports. Journal of Air Transport Management 5, 53-59 Financial Times, 2004. From Indias forgotten  ¬Ã‚ elds, a call for economic reform to lift the poor. Kingfisher-Deccan Merger. 12 Dec. 2010 http://www.antiessays.com/free-essays/47835.html Kotler, P. (1994), Marketing Management: Analysis, planning, implementation, and Control, 8th edition, Prentice Hall, Inc., Englewood Cliff, New Jersey. OConnell.F.J, Williams.G.. (2006). Transformation of Indias Domestic Airlines: A case study of Indian Airlines, Jet Airways, Air Sahara and Air Deccan. Journal of Air Transport Management. 12 (1), 358-374. Restrepo.A.J.. (2010). SEGMENTATION TARGETING POSITIONING.Available: http://pdfcast.org/pdf/segmentation-targeting-positioning. Last accessed 11/12/2010. Sampler.L.J. (2006). Air Deccan. Available: http://web.mit.edu/cisr/working%20papers/cisrwp365.pdf. Last accessed 11/12/2010. Marketing ethics and social responsibility an opportunity for competitive advantage or a constraint on marketing decisions? Discuss citing appropriate examples. Introduction: Carrigan Attalla (2001, p.560) states that Marketing ethics and social responsibility are inherently controversial, and years of research continue to present conflicts and challenges for marketers on the value of a socially responsible approach to marketing activities. According to Laczniak Murphy (1993) since few years there are certain controversy revolving around marketing ethics and social responsibility, researchers and scholars are continuing to work on it. Smith Quelch (1996) states that most of the company would like to think that being a good company will attract customers with their products, while it has seen that by the unethical behavior customer would reject their offer/products. The basic idea behind focusing marketing is by its products and services with the environment, where customers play a very important part by representing (Vaaland et al, 2007).As mentioned by Vaaland et al (2007, p.929): Marketing is the process of planning and executing conception, pricing, promotion and distribution of goods, ideas and services to create exchanges that satisfy individual and organizational goals. According to Singhapakdi et al (1995), Social responsibility is been given so much importance because, E.g., some public companies undergo social responsibility which might limit profits and disagreement of the social responsibility. However, he also argues that, the international researchers have not identified in detail to which marketers across the countries assume that ethics and social responsibility are important for their organization for their growth. And also argues that, first managers should be aware of the ethics and social responsibility to have the organization grow before their behavior become more ethical and reflects greater social responsibility. Social responsibility in marketing: As Laczniak Murphy (1993, p.5) states that, both ethics and social responsibility have to make a positive impact towards the success of an organization, due to which customers make ethical judgments that are likely to influence their purchases. As he has told that: Customers over time will normally recognize the organizations that attempt to be responsive to various ethical and social factors in the marketplace. The ethics era: Hunt and Vitell ( 2006, p.3) pointed out that An individual perceives a situation as having ethical content, the next step is the perception of various possible alternatives or actions that might be taken to resolve the ethical problem. http://www.emeraldinsight.com/content_images/fig/2160040303002.png As Hoddow (2001) states that even though, the researchers are working on this field ETHICS since 30-40 years its still not possible to have achieved the answer of what exactly is the social responsibility of marketing. According to BBC (2001) there have been lot arguments which have been made by governments and organizations with regarding to the ethical issues. E.g., Companies like Oxfam and Medecin sans Frontieres on allowing cheaper access for consumers of drugs like AZT. Globally, there are many organizations and institutes which are established to do research and promote ethical business behaviour like for E.g., European Business Ethics network, Hong Kong Ethics Development Centre. There has been given a lot of importance to the field of marketing as it has grown rapidly and developing a strong ethical profile, academically and professionally, marketers are finding it difficult to ignore the gap of ethics of what the society is expecting and what marketing professionals are delivering (Carrigan Attalla, 2001). Ethical Consumer Behaviour: According to Hunt and Vitell (1992) it has been seen that a lot of attention is given to marketing ethics in the current years, irrespective of that it is been unsuccessful to see the buyer side of the exchange process. However, it is a fact that the customers are more informed, more educated and are aware of their consumer rights and product requirements in most of the western society. However, a study conducted by Boulstridge and Carrigan (2000) examined customers response to ethical or unethical behaviour, where they found out that the most customers did not have more information weather a company did or did not behaved ethically. E.g., Nestle and Exxon. Even though many people believed that social responsibility is not important while considering in their purchasing behaviour, even with knowledge about unethical activity, some customers still bought goods from the company. The main reason why consumers bought these products is because of price, value, and quality and brand familiarity rather than societal ones. Ulrich and Sarasin (1995) say that, one thing is clear, dont do any research. Dont ask the public any questions on this subject. The answers are never reliable. In instances where the head says one thing and the heart another. Studies are useless if not misleading (Carrigan and Attala, 2001, p.566). Performance framework: Friedman (1962, p.133) argues that few trends could so thoroughly undermine the very foundations of our free society as the acceptance by corporate officials of a social responsibility other than to make as much money for their stockholders as possible. The framework by Carroll (1995) gives us the idea and the present condition of what corporate social responsibility theory and their role within the corporate social performance framework. http://labspace.open.ac.uk/file.php/4778/!via/oucontent/course/132/pyramid.gif Figure 2: Source: Carroll (1995, p.49). The pyramid of corporate social responsibility. According to Windsor (2001), Carrolls four dimensional pyramid of responsibility structures the crude notion of various corporate social responsibilities into a construction of pyramid. And the pyramid consists of economic responsibilities which are the foundation and philanthropy is the apex. The construction of the pyramid is such that the other responsibilities will not be achieved in the absence of economic performance. Economic and legal responsibilities are socially required, ethical responsibilities are socially accepted and philanthropy is socially desired. Socially Responsible firms: When asked to identify the socially responsible firms, many would point out on Marks and Spencer, because as Jobber (2010, p.182) mentioned that MS aims to go carbon neutral, send no waste to landfill, extend sustainable sourcing, help improve the lives of people in its supply chain and help customers and employees live a healthier lifestyle. According to Carrigan Attalla (2001) companies like JCB, Nissan and Co-operative bank followed ethical behaviour to an extent and when one trying to think of being a good citizen one respondent said: There really arent that many .I am sure they are all unethical to some degree. (Anonymous, 2008). Companies like Microsoft, is well known as philanthropy. Bill gates, fights for many of the worlds diseases with his foundation with Melinda Gates. The foundation has given $ 20.1 billion since its first set up (Jobber, 2010).There are few well known companies which they have been registered as a poor social responsibility for many reasons, E.g, LOreal for their animal testing, NatWest due to their financial investment with animal research centres and Shell and BP for their poor environmental pollution and poor employee relations (Carrigan Attalla (2001). As mentioned by Carrigan Attalla (2001, p.569) the attitudes of many consumers would include when you buy petrol, you do not think of those companies that are or not ethical, it does not even cross your mind. I would only fill up elsewhere if it caused no inconvenience to me. However, the behaviour of the ethics needs to be changed or it has to be convincing to the people in order to make them buy or have believe in the products. As we have discussed above about few companies and have seen the reaction of customers buying behaviour as the just buy the products because of their convince and or are for the brand name. All these show us that the customers are passive ethical shoppers other than the active consumer shoppers (Carrigan Attalla (2001). Conclusion: It has been seen from the study whether the customers care about the marketing ethics and social responsibility which would influence them on their buying behaviour. It has also seen that researchers have studied the consumers buying behaviour and they have to say that the many of them give very less attention to ethical considerations when it comes to their buying or decision making behaviour. Carrigan Attalla (2001) states that the link between the social responsibility and marketing ethics and consumer purchase remains unproven but also one should not conclude with the development of ethical marketing policy and social responsibility. Word Count: 1,376.

The Inklings by Humphrey Carpenter Essay -- Lewis Tolkien Charles Will

The Inklings by Humphrey Carpenter C.S. Lewis heard the bells of one of the colleges strike noon as he hurried purposefully along the narrow cobblestone streets of Oxford. He disliked giving the tutorials required of his position of Tutor in English Language and Literature at Magdalen College and usually kept the sessions to the minimum required time. However, this tutorial had given rise to a particularly enjoyable debate, and he never liked to cut off a good hydebate, although he now wished he had. He was late. Lewis hastily acknowledged the barkeep as he ducked into the Eagle and Child, or Bird and Baby as the pub was better known, and hurried towards the sound of his friends’ laughter coming from the back room and to join in the conversation he had been looking forward to all morning. The group was a usual fixture in the pub on Tuesday mornings, and he was swiftly served his drink as ordering was no longer necessary. As he settled back into his chair, listening to the conversation, he surveyed this group of men, collectively known as the Inklings, which had come to mean so much to him over the years. Present today were Lewis’s brother Warnie Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, Charles Williams, and Hugo Dyson. Lewis briefly wondered what the rest of the members (Nevill Coghill, Owen Barfield, R.E. Havard, and Adam Fox) were doing as he began to reminisce. The impact this literary group had on the world, with books like The Screwtape Letters, The Lord of the Rings trilogy, and War in Heaven written by brilliant Inklings as evidence, is tremendous. At the same time, no one was more influenced by the Inklings than Lewis himself. Each of the Inklings might have known one or two others before the formation of the group, thr... ...endship, centered around Lewis, which rose above the diversity. The group rose and began to gather hats and coats to ready themselves for the crisp spring afternoon. It had been a good Inklings and had produced some rather stimulating conversation. It occasionally reached such a fevered pitch that some other patrons of the Bird and Baby, not the regulars who regarded the Inklings as somewhat of a fixture, to raise an eyebrow. Lewis once remarked they â€Å"probably think we’re talking bawdy when in fact we’re very likely talking theology† (185). As this diverse group of friends separated to go back to their jobs at various colleges, Lewis smiled to himself. He was already looking forward to Thursday. Work Cited Carpenter, Humphrey. The Inklings: C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, Charles Williams, and their friends. Eugene, OR: Wipf and Stock Publishers, 1979.

Benefits of the University Model

In Stephen Joel Tractenberg article, † Education Is Not a Luxury† (p. 211-216) states his argument that our current school calendar does a disservice to both students and teachers. Tractenberg conveys that even though this last century has seen an incredible renovation in our society, there is an agrarian calendar that dominates our education that was complimentary in times of agrarian society when school was only an option part time for most Americans. Our educating the youth is not considered a necessity and in our society today and time of luxury and we take this extra (crucial) time for granted, but we maintain a calendar that reflects up to ten thousand years ago. Tractenberg also states that we will never take school seriously if we operate an ancient agrarian calendar. I agree with the Tractenberg and his promotion of the university model calendar to replace the agrarian calendar. Replacing the agrarian calendar means a fulltime student, will take school more seriously. It will define school as a job and will prepare students for college. With the agrarian calendar removed from the system students can have more time to thoroughly learn everything that is meant to teach to the students and have more time to talk to teachers during office hours. Stephen has a friend who disagrees with sex education â€Å"One of the problems, he said, was that the schools were doing things that they should not be doing teaching sex and drugs and driver’s education, as he put it. These things, he pointed out, should be the business of Maan. 2 the family† Sexual education is very important to learn in school and prepares students for the adult world, and is something that is not taught by all families to the students. I had learned things in sex education that my conservative family had not taught me or ever will. Some schools may not have the time to teach this subject without compromising time for other subjects. He states that we should lengthen the school year to have more time subjects that are academic and afterschool help for students who need it by proposing the extension of time â€Å"I’ve been suggesting, by lengthening the school year, say, to eleven months, and the school day from 9 to 5, or a full shift, whatever the starting and quitting times may be. This, I think, would have a number of benefits. † He goes on and says that teacher are permitted more prep time and students get explore extra-curricular activities in their favor. I agree with his strategy and I believe it makes efficient use of time and students will be able learn everything thoroughly and a 9-5 schedule will make school a first priority. I believe with this new schedule students will be better prepared for college. The type of schedule he proposes gets students ready for the endeavors of college because it is in fact a university model. He goes on by saying, â€Å"What I am proposing may look very much like the university model. That’s exactly what it is. Universities, like schools, are driven by their double missions of learning and service. But universities are also driven by the compelling need to be efficient† He goes on about the cost of an idle school building and how it can be utilized after school hours and I believe it’s a convincing idea. He also supports his University model by saying. â€Å"applying the university model to schools would help to create what university administrators like me spend a lot of time and effort doing—promoting an atmosphere of learning† I agree with his conclusion and he further strengthens this by admitting that school boys and girls do not feel like school is their real occupation. This is true for many high school students, they don’t see the potential in their education and don’t realize how unprepared they are for college with a short schedule. I remember my first full load of college I almost flunked every class because I was almost spoiled with high school schedule I was still adjusted to. Introducing the university model to students not yet in university will greatly prepare them and they go into universities with confidence in their success as new student because they have become accustomed to this schedule. Tractenberg explains further reasoning as to why longer hours will be beneficial to students and teachers and goes into the expanded offerings the much needed extra time can bring. He further goes on by supporting his augment by saying, â€Å"It is dismaying to me that many students come to us without any training in foreign languages, or that only a couple of languages, typically Spanish and French, were offered to them; they were offered no classics, no Russian, no Arabic, no Asian languages. I could say the same about other subjects, including art istory, advanced math, and so on. The result, in any case, is a deficit. † This is a matter of concern and putting the extra time into expanded offerings can help learn these subject thoroughly and not just a brief overview of the subject. In order to learn these subjects thoroughly, time outside of school will be needed with our agrarian schedules. The extra time will also allow student to ask teachers for outside help and in my college classes I found emailing my teachers to be a very useful tool and it has made me a better student. He further goes on and supports the occupation of teaching and conveys to us that creating a full time schedule will create future teachers. He promotes this idea by questioning the readers by asking, â€Å"Are our teachers better at their professions because they work at other jobs during the summer—often menial jobs with trivial pay and befits? Would our youngsters be better off learning from teachers who devote their full effort to teaching rather than scrabbling for a living? † This means the teachers get the chance of full time job and the pay they deserve. I notice when I do very well in a class without much effort, it is because I have a passionate teacher who loves her/his job. Tractenberg concludes his augment by saying, â€Å"education is not a luxury for subsistence farmers but a box full of tools for a lifetime, an endless series of points of departure, and a full-time joy†. With the evolution of our society changing so should our schedules. We are no longer the agrarian society we once were and Tractenberg gives an efficient university model we can use to match the present time needs of students. School is not a luxury , it is a necessity we can afford that prepares us for the future.

Books are dead Essay

It could be said that books are dead which leads to the question, ‘What are people doing instead? ‘ People are buying and using modern technology indeed of reading books because books are tedious. Would you rather read through a whole chapter in a book just to find an answer to a question, or type in key words into a search engine on a computer and the information be found instantly? Other technologies such as; video, internet and DVD, have superseded them. The more advanced technology appeals to a wider audience and society is not pressurised into enjoying it from an early age if they do not want to, as in the case of books. Books are seen as primitive and dated because they have less to offer the next generation in the form of enjoyment. Furthermore, books are not fashionable in the twenty-first century. This is because popularity within the community is directly proportional to whether the individual has the newest technology or not. The most popular individual has the most recent technological development, such as the latest mobile telephone, and the not so popular individual is left behind, still reading books. Technology is a way to ‘show off’ and ‘showing off’ is a way of making new friends and keeping the existing ones. In addition, we would not have moved forward in time without new technology. For example, in the future, we will be able to travel into space and back, which we would not be able achieve using books. Of course, the maths and science would have originated from books but you would need technology to apply it. There is not point in publishing books anymore because no one has the time to sit down and read them. This is because they are boring and it is too much effort. You also have to be in the right mood to read a book, whereas you do not need to be with technology since there are so many alternatives. Books are a waste of paper and ink, and are we not trying to save the environment? Moreover, books are made by technology, for example, the printing press is made up of machines. So why not use technology in other ways that will be appreciated more? On the other hand, books have survived every new technological development, unlike the video recorder being superseded by the DVD recorder, within a few decades. Books have, and will stand the test of time because one can escape into a story in a book and enjoy it without the need for anyone else. Disappearing into a book is an escapist fantasy because you can interpret it in so many different ways. It also makes a nice change from the more advanced technology the world has to offer.