Boarding School free essay sample

I bet you are wondering, â€Å"What did this girl do to deserve being shipped off to boarding school?† or â€Å"Why did she leave in the middle of her high school career?† Well, you should know that I did not get shipped off to boarding school. Much to my parents’ dismay I chose to move halfway across the country to Indiana. Back at my old high school (Chaparral), I was a good student involved in a few extracurricular activities, but I felt as though I achieved nothing. It had just become a daily routine. Then, the summer after my freshman year I decided to go to Culver Summer Camp for six weeks. When I came back to Chaparral for my sophomore year, I realized that I could not strive in the public school environment as well as if I went to Culver, a smaller private boarding school. Transferring to Culver Girls Academy gave me great possibilities that I would not have had if I had stayed at Chaparral. We will write a custom essay sample on Boarding School or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Culver had the opportunity to offer me a close knit atmosphere. The fact that my teachers at Culver are willing to be on email or be reachable if I ever have a question has helped me learn a lot more. I am a visual and auditory learner; therefore, having one-on-one study or help sessions have helped me understand the main concepts of the classes that I take. For example, my American Government class consisted of only nine people. Even though I am not that interested in government and politics; the class fostered an encouraging learning environment that increased my interest in government. Culver offered me the chance to learn about the independence and responsibility that it takes to live on your own. My first experience living in a dorm was fantastic. I loved the atmosphere of my friends living down the hall from me. However, I had to learn how to manage my time wisely and do my homework instead of goofing off with the girls in my dorm. I learned that even though you may not be stu dying, you have to be responsible when it come to wasting people’s time. All of lessons and chances that Culver has given me have only made me more prepared for college. I am more prepared for college. The reason you received two transcripts is because I had a chance to broaden my horizons by stepping away my comfort zone and I took a risk. Culver has made me more outgoing, studious, independent, and responsible.

Parvanas Journey Essay Example

Parvanas Journey Essay Example Parvanas Journey Paper Parvanas Journey Paper Parvana’s Journey Book Report Don’t you just hate school uniforms? Well, imagine living in a country where all women had to follow a very strict dress code. The system consisted of covering your face and body so that you were not seen; this covering was called a burqa. The Taliban were a militia that took control of the small, landlocked country called Afghanistan. They enforced very severe conducts upon women and girls, including not allowing them to work, attend school, or even go outside. The paperback ‘Parvana’s Journey’ by Deborah Ellis deals with these issues. Most of this book is set in the afghan wilderness, where there is no food in sight, except for the occasional animal or stream that may trickle by. Mine fields also littler no man’s land. A land mine is a bomb planted in the ground, which explodes if stepped on. The main characters in this tale consist of Parvana, Asif, Leila and Hassan. Parvana is a young girl, at the age of thirteen years. She never gives up hope and is courageous. She steals eggs from a man’s chickens for food, even though she knows that it is wrong. She grabs a baby boy and names him Hassan, even though he is not her responsibility and she could barely take care of herself. Asif is a young boy about ten years old. Toward Parvana, he is stubborn and annoying. He does not listen to Parvana, and criticizes many things she does. For example, while changing baby Hassan’s diaper; he remarks that she is doing it wrong because he was being fussy. Then, silently and patiently, he takes Hassan and does it the right way. This is what makes him stubborn, because he thinks he knows everything, even though sometimes he does not. Parvana also stumbles upon a young girl named Leila, who is eight years old. Leila is very smart and helpful. She sticks with Parvana and provides her with assistance. The conflict in this story is man versus nature because they’re living and wandering throughout the Afghanistan wilderness. They need shelter, food and water. Discovering items to suit their needs is not easy at times. Parvana’s mother, her sister Nooria and Maryam, and her brother Ali were supposed to go to Mazar-e-Sharif before the Taliban took control of the city. Parvana and her father go on a journey to find them. Even after her father dies, she does not hope. She encounters days, sometimes even a week or two without food or water. She takes a baby boy under her wing because his mother had perished in the bombings of the village they inhabited. Soon after she meets Hassan, the baby boy, Parvana reaches a cave where she meets Asif. They had a typical sibling relationship, even though they were not genetically related. The three children struggled to find food and take care of each other. Then they reach Green Valley were they meet Leila. In comparison to the wilderness, Green Valley is a paradise. There was food everyday and a canyon close by. However, all good things end. Green Valley was bombed and the four children returned to wander unknown territory. Hassan, along with the rest, suffer from dehydration and malnutrition. Then they come to a Red Crescent station an internal refugee camp. Red Crescent is the Muslim equivalent to Red Cross. There, Hassan stays in a nursery until he is once again well. When planes drop parcels of food over the camp, people broke out into fights. Leila spotted many more peppered in the mine fields. She’d say that the land mines ‘liked her’ because she’d never gotten hurt before. Despite the past, this time she got hurt. Leila died because of the explosion of one of the bombs. An outraged woman came to Parvana’s side. Amazingly, Parvana knew this woman. It was her mother, whom lived on the other side of the camp. This is where the story ends. I enjoyed reading Parvana’s Journey’. I found it entertaining, a book I did not wish to lie down. Where would she get food? Will she continue her journey without her father? Will she abandon Hassan, Asif and Leila because they are not her responsibility? Finally, will she ever find her family? These questions popped up in my head while reading this novel. Respectfully, my uncertainties were acknowledged throughout the novel. From previous readings, I know that the Taliban were a very horrible group. Other novels were much more graphic. For instance, ‘The Kite Runner’ by Khaled Hosseini. ‘Parvana’s Journey’ deals with the social conditions of Afghanistan. In my opinion, this book is for mature children. Themes in this novel include death and hope. Younger children may not understand this novel the way it needs to be understood. They may also interpret the events in this book in a juvenile fashion. Therefore, it would be a waste of curriculum time. I could not empathize with Parvana at many times during her tale. Much of what she experienced in Afghanistan would not be experienced in a first-world country like Canada. From this novel, I learned to never give up hope even in the darkest hours of your life because there is always a shed of light at the end of the tunnel. In conclusion, ‘Parvana’s Journey’ is a very insightful and interesting novel.

Racial Discrimination and Health Problems Essay

Racial Discrimination and Health Problems - Essay Example How much of this stands true for racism specific stress has also been the subject focus of many studies. Researchers found an association between perceived racism and ambulatory blood pressure in African American college students. Also in the workplace, stressful racism places African Americans in a high probability group for the development of higher blood pressures. This clearly shows that racism can hasten the onset of hypertension even in younger age group and possible conclusion that can be drawn is that in an aging population the superimposed ill effects of stress induced by racism may be even greater. Similarly, women with higher stress scores who were subjected to high levels of internalized racism were at a higher risk of developing metabolic disorders such as obesity and diabetes due to altered hormone secretion. Studies have also attempted to assess objectively, mental and psychological implications of racism specific stress. Further research necessary to reach a conclusion linking the association of stress per se resulting from experiencing racial discrimination per se leading to changes in the health status of people who are getting older is carried out as seen below. Various measured variables are compared with a control group in the same age group without any exposure to racial prejudice taking into account confounding factors such as lifestyle habits, the presence of other risk factors such as smoking, environmental factors and preexisting or propensity for other age-related diseases because of heredity.

Business Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Business Law - Essay Example When you buy a pair of shoes, you're paying money to own the product, plain and simple. But under UCITA, what you'd be paying for when you purchase software wouldn't be the program itself, merely a license to use it. That's a subtle difference, but a significant one. Differences in selling a product and licensing the product depend on the product itself. McAllister cites additional examples of the license screen when purchasing software online: â€Å"You're told to read them, and then click ‘I Agree,’ before you're allowed to complete the installation.† While not all consumers read this â€Å"fine print† page, McAllister advises everyone should â€Å"because the way the software industry would have it, those screens of text are legally binding contracts.† Many of the provisions in the Uniform Computer Information Transactions Act were first proposed as a modification to Article 2 of the Uniform Commercial Code. Why did the drafters decide to propose it as a separate and distinct uniform act? Because of the growing online commerce actions, the â€Å"powers that be† in the U.S. government felt there needed to be a more clear-cut law for such commercial acts. The wording of Article 2, Congress felt, was not sufficient to cover the needs of the buyer and seller. Furthermore, amending Article 2 (originally intended to be Article 2B) was viewed as ineffective for such growing electronic businesses. Therefore, the onset of the UCITA gave both sides of the transaction a clear picture of what is legally expected.

Intellectual Property in Canadian Manufacturing Industry Essay

Intellectual Property in Canadian Manufacturing Industry - Essay Example The empirical literature is also limited to some extent. This is the reason that our understanding of IP is below satisfactory level. The patents of IP institution are considered as protectors of intellectual property as Canada has a history of intellectual property institution. In the year 1867, Canada was created as federation and its very first patent act starts from the year 1869. Right after its beginning the Patent Act used to revise several times in the last century. Recently there were major amendments took place. Canada has also abandoned its first to invent patent system for first to file system on 1st October 1989. The requirements related to disclose patents to public are modified. The duration is also modified among other amendments of patent act provisions. There is a very little information available regarding impact of Canadian patent system on Canada’s economy because there are changes made to the legislation in the year 1989 and how does it affected the econo my of Canada; this information is yet to be revealed or explored. In the international trade and investment policy the IPR issue has captured the attention. The attention can be clearly identified where the inclusion of negotiations on TRIPs within multilateral trade policy were taking place. The implicit policy assumes the differences in IPRs worldwide and these differences affect the investment flows and international trade. Intellectual property is available in different forms like patents, trademarks, copyright etc and it is considered as a firm’s property. The exploitation of this IP can be enhanced via global marketing strategies. IP can be traded by... This essay tries to establish, how the regime of intellectual property protection can stimulate the creative ideas as well as knowledge in Canada, along with ensuring the access to the innovations in an economical or affordable way. IP rights or IPRs are considered as important source in providing help to creators and innovators so that the innovators could get a pay back in exchange of their creativities. IP provides market exclusivity to innovators so that they can get benefits for their innovative ideas. IP is also involved in providing protection to intellectual property as protection is an important aspect because Canadians get the benefits of the knowledge and creativity. The optimal level of IP protection can make the contributions to the knowledge base economy of Canada. Most of the companies in Canada have a high opinion of the effectiveness and efficiency of IP protection, 66.9% of manufacturing firms in Canada use at least one of many IPRs. Organization use IP protection feel efficient work environment as compared with firms who have no idea about IP protection system, also the firm using IP protection innovated the ideas more frequently than the firms who did not and the latter use these instruments more than non-innovators. The proportion of firms that use IPRs is increasing with firm size. Firms operating in the low-tech other sector are at lowest level of IPR users. There must be an encouragement for small and medium sized firms for the usage of IP protection;

Theory of Competitive Advantage Value Chain Analysis

Theory of Competitive Advantage Value Chain Analysis The initial theory regarding relative advantages was related to comparative advantages of regions or nations. It included land, location, labor, natural resources and local population size. But it is not true always as rise of some the most advanced industrial nations have proved that the above factors have less influence in their course of development. For example, Japan had disadvantage regarding availability of raw materials, abundant space and even access to other lands. But still the Japanese companies have prospered and rose to be among the best in the world. Again Japan also has disadvantage in terms of population size available. But that could not stop Japan from being a leader in business. Also economic hardship can really fuel growth in a nation. It has been seen both in case if both Japan and Germany. Both these nations were under severe economic trouble after World War II, but still they grew to be industry major countries in the world. The reason for such behavior of nations or organizations in particular can be understood from The theory of competitive advantage which says that there are other critical factors that determine the industry leadership. As per Michael Porter, the renowned Harvard business school professor sustainable industrial growth is hardly dependent on the above inherited factors. But it depends on groups of interconnected firms, suppliers, related industries, and institutions that arise in certain locations and termed them as clusters. These clusters are geographic concentrations of interconnected companies, specialized suppliers, service providers, and associated institutions in a particular field. They grow on locations where enough resources and competences amass and reach a critical threshold, giving it a key position in a given economic branch of activity, with a decisive sustainable competitive advantage over others places, or even a world supremacy in that field. Porter says clusters can influence competition in three ways: They can increase the productivity of the companies in the cluster. They can drive innovation in the field. They can stimulate new businesses in the field. The competitive advantage of any industry or organization is determined by five forces of Porter. These five forces help the managers to focus on competitive forces that prevail in the industry and the possible threats to their organizations. Diagrammatic view of Porters five forces These are: Existing competitive rivalry among organizations in industry: The more that companies compete against one another for customers, ex- by lowering the prices of their products or by increasing advertising the lower is the level of industry profits. So this is a threat to the companies. Hence in order to sustain the companies may come up with new strategies and innovations in their technologies as well as business processes. Thus competition fuels growth in the industry as well as leads to innovations. Threat of new market entrants: The easier it is for companies to enter the industry, because for ex- barriers to entry, such as brand loyalty are low, more the likely it is for industry prices and hence the industry profits to be low. In the wake of such a situation the companies might go for further innovations or even differentiations in their products or businesses. Thus it helps in the evolution process of the companies. Bargaining power of buyers: It depends on the size of the customers. The bargaining powers of the customers come if they are large in size. So they can bargain to drive down the price of that output. As a result the industry producers might encounter low profits. So the bargaining power of buyers also decides the competitive advantage of the industry. Power of suppliers: The suppliers also have important role in deciding the competitive advantage of firms. If there are only few large suppliers of an important input, then suppliers can drive up the price of that input and expensive inputs result in lower profits for profits for companies in an industry. Threat of substitute products (including technology change): Often the output of one industry is a substitute for the output of another industry. Ex- plastic may be substitute for steel in some industry. When this type of substitutes exists in the industry companies cannot demand very high prices for it or customers will switch to the substitute and this constraint keeps their profits low. Again the above all factors lead the managers to take decisions in four business level strategies to gain competitive advantage. These are: Low cost strategy: It is the strategy where the company focuses all its energies to lower its costs in all the departments. As a result it can sell its products in lower costs than its rivals. Here though the companies are selling the products at low prices but since the production costs are low the company still makes profits. Ex- BIC competes Gillette with this strategy in razor blade industry. Focused low cost strategy: In such a strategy managers focus to serve only a segment of overall market and tries to be lowest cost organization in that segment. Differentiation strategy: It is the strategy where organizations products can be distinguished from the products of other organizations on factors like product design, quality, service, or after sales service. Here the process of differentiation may be unique and expensive. Coca cola, PepsiCo, PG practice such strategies. Focused differentiation strategy: it is the strategy that tries to serve only one segment of the overall market and aims to be the most differentiated organization serving that segment. For ex, BMW focuses on this strategy. The theory of competitive advantage can be also easily extended to the position of various nations. Here four factors have taken into consideration to nalayze the competitive position of the nations. Germany and Japan are most apt examples of such a competitive advantage. These are discussed as follows: Four factors for competitive advantage: The strategy, structure and rivalry of firms: As there is high competition among the firms, this competitive environment leads the firms to work harder for increase in productivity and innovation. The Japanese companies are cooperative at certain levels but they are also fiercely competitive. Thus it is the strategy and structure and rivalry of the firms that gives rise to excellence to the firms in terms of efficiency. Demand conditions: If the firms face challenging and demanding customers then they constantly face pressure to improve their competiveness by innovative products, high quality etc. Related supporting industry: A company prospers when supporting companies are located in the same area. Presence of supporting companies in the vicinity gives the firm added advantage in terms of gaining technological support and expertise. Factor conditions: Specialized factors of production are skilled labor, capital and infrastructure. Non-key factors or general use factors, such as unskilled labor and raw materials, can be obtained by any company and, hence, do not generate sustained competitive advantage. However, specialized factors involve heavy, sustained investment. They are more difficult to duplicate. This creates a competitive advantage, because if other firms cannot easily duplicate these factors, they are valuable. VALUE CHAIN Value Chain is a model that helps to analyze specific activities through which firms can create value and competitive advantage. A value chain is a chain of activities for a firm operating in a specific industry. The business unit is the appropriate level for construction of a value chain, not the divisional level or corporate level. Products pass through all activities of the chain in order, and at each activity the product gains some value. The chain of activities gives the products more added value than the sum of the independent activitys value. It is important not to mix the concept of the value chain with the costs occurring throughout the activities. A diamond cutter, as a profession, can be used to illustrate the difference of cost and the value chain. The cutting activity may have a low cost, but the activity adds much of the value to the end product, since a rough diamond is significantly less valuable than a cut diamond.Value Chain framework model Value Chain Model of Porter THE ACTIVITIES OF THE VALUE CHAIN Primary activities (line functions) Inbound Logistics. Includes receiving, storing, inventory control, transportation planning. Operations. Includes machining, packaging, assembly, equipment maintenance, testing and all other value-creating activities that transform the inputs into the final product. Outbound Logistics. The activities required to get the finished product at the customers: warehousing, order fulfillment, transportation, distribution management. Marketing and Sales. The activities associated with getting buyers to purchase the product, including: channel selection, advertising, promotion, selling, pricing, retail management, etc. Service. The activities that maintain and enhance the products value, including: customer support, repair services, installation, training, spare parts management, upgrading, etc. Support activities (Staff functions, overhead) Procurement. Procurement of raw materials, servicing, spare parts, buildings, machines, etc. Technology Development. Includes technology development to support the value chain activities. Such as: Research and Development, Process automation, design, redesign. Human Resource Management. The activities associated with recruiting, development (education), retention and compensation of employees and managers. Firm Infrastructure. Includes general management, planning management, legal, finance, accounting, public affairs, quality management, etc. A COST ADVANTAGE BASED ON THE VALUE CHAIN A firm may create a cost advantage: by reducing the cost of individual value chain activities, or by reconfiguring the value chain. Note that a cost advantage can be created by reducing the costs of the primary activities, but also by reducing the costs of the support activities. Recently there have been many companies that achieved a cost advantage by the clever use of Information Technology. Once the value chain has been defined, a cost analysis can be performed by assigning costs to the value chain activities. Porter identified 10 cost drivers related to value chain activities: Economies of scale. Learning. Capacity utilization. Linkages among activities. Interrelationships among business units. Degree of vertical integration. Timing of market entry. Firms policy of cost or differentiation. Geographic location. Institutional factors (regulation, union activity, taxes, etc.). A firm develops a cost advantage by controlling these drivers better than its competitors do. A cost advantage also can be pursued by Reconfiguring the value chain. Reconfiguration means structural changes such as: a new production process, new distribution channels, or a different sales approach. DIFFERENTIATION AND VALUE CHAIN A differentiation advantage can arise from any part of the value chain. For example, procurement of inputs that are unique and not widely available to competitors can create differentiation, as can distribution channels that offer high service levels. Differentiation stems from uniqueness. A differentiation advantage may be achieved either by changing individual value chain activities to increase uniqueness in the final product or by reconfiguring the value chain. Porter identified several drivers of uniqueness: Policies and decisions Linkages among activities Timing Location Interrelationships Learning Integration Scale (e.g. better service as a result of large scale) Institutional factors Many of these also serve as cost drivers. Differentiation often results in greater costs, resulting in tradeoffs between cost and differentiation. There are several ways in which a firm can reconfigure its value chain in order to create uniqueness. It can forward integrate in order to perform functions that once were performed by its customers. It can backward integrate in order to have more control over its inputs. It may implement new process technologies or utilize new distribution channels. Ultimately, the firm may need to be creative in order to develop a novel value chain configuration that increases product differentiation. TECHNOLOGY AND VALUE CHAIN Because technology is employed to some degree in every value creating activity, changes in technology can impact competitive advantage by incrementally changing the activities themselves or by making possible new configurations of the value chain. Various technologies are used in both primary value activities and support activities: Inbound Logistics Technologies Transportation Material handling Material storage Communications Testing Information systems Operations Technologies Process Materials Machine tools Material handling Packaging Maintenance Testing Building design operation Information systems Outbound Logistics Technologies Transportation Material handling Packaging Communications Information systems Marketing Sales Technologies Media Audio/video Communications Information systems Service Technologies Testing Communications Information systems Note that many of these technologies are used across the value chain. For example, information systems are seen in every activity. Similar technologies are used in support activities. In addition, technologies related to training, computer-aided design, and software development frequently are employed in support activities. To the extent that these technologies affect cost drivers or uniqueness, they can lead to a competitive advantage. LINKAGES BETWEEN VALUE CHAIN ACTIVITIES Value chain activities are not isolated from one another. Rather, one value chain activity often affects the cost or performance of other ones. Linkages may exist between primary activities and also between primary and support activities. Consider the case in which the design of a product is changed in order to reduce manufacturing costs. Suppose that inadvertently the new product design results in increased service costs; the cost reduction could be less than anticipated and even worse, there could be a net cost increase. Sometimes however, the firm may be able to reduce cost in one activity and consequently enjoy a cost reduction in another, such as when a design change simultaneously reduces manufacturing costs and improves reliability so that the service costs also are reduced. Through such improvements the firm has the potential to develop a competitive advantage. ANALYZING BUSINESS UNIT INTERRELATIONSHIPS Interrelationships among business units form the basis for a horizontal strategy. Such business unit interrelationships can be identified by a value chain analysis. Tangible interrelationships offer direct opportunities to create a synergy among business units. For example, if multiple business units require a particular raw material, the procurement of that material can be shared among the business units. This sharing of the procurement activity can result in cost reduction. Such interrelationships may exist simultaneously in multiple value chain activities. Unfortunately, attempts to achieve synergy from the interrelationships among different business units often fall short of expectations due to unanticipated drawbacks. The cost of coordination, the cost of reduced flexibility, and organizational practicalities should be analyzed when devising a strategy to reap the benefits of the synergies. OUTSOURCING VALUE CHAIN ACTIVITIES A firm may specialize in one or more value chain activities and outsource the rest. The extent to which a firm performs upstream and downstream activities is described by its degree of vertical integration. A thorough value chain analysis can illuminate the business system to facilitate outsourcing decisions. To decide which activities to outsource, managers must understand the firms strengths and weaknesses in each activity, both in terms of cost and ability to differentiate. Managers may consider the following when selecting activities to outsource: Whether the activity can be performed cheaper or better by suppliers. Whether the activity is one of the firms core competencies from which stems a cost advantage or product differentiation? The risk of performing the activity in-house. If the activity relies on fast-changing technology or the product is sold in a rapidly-changing market, it may be advantageous to outsource the activity in order to maintain flexibility and avoid the risk of investing in specialized assets. Whether the outsourcing of an activity can result in business process improvements such as reduced lead time, higher flexibility, reduced inventory, etc. Thus we can see that every aspect of an organization can be rightly explained in light of value chain analysis to judge the competitive position of the organization. Normally, the Value Chain of a company is connected to other Value Chains and is part of a larger Value Chain. Hence, developing a competitive advantage depends on how efficiently we can analyze and manage the entire Value Chain.

Essay examples --

The word â€Å"challenging behavior† can evoke feelings of frustration, anger, hostility or sense of helplessness in any parent, teacher or caregiver of a young child with behavioral challenges. Education.com (2006 - 2012) defines this term: as behavior that may impede with a child’s ability to learn, develop or play in a manner that is socially acceptable. They further define challenging behavior as behavior that could be potentially harmful to the child or others. This type of behavior in a young child, predisposes that child to social problems and academic failure (Klass, Guskin, and Thomas, 1995; Ritchie and Pohl, 1995). Marion (2011) defines challenging behavior as a stimulus that a child reacts poorly to, that in turn challenges the child’s parents or teachers to guide them in a positive manner. Current research indicates that children who have significant challenging behavior will have problems in school. They have issues with social skills, emotiona l control and language development. These insufficiencies contribute to the lack of skills to succeed in basic academic tasks such as reading (Coi, 1996). Traits that are often attributed to children who exhibit these traits are hyperactivity, inattentiveness and disruptive. Teachers are twice as likely to overlook them, ask them fewer questions and be low in positive responsiveness (Webster-Stratton & Herbert, 1994; Shonkoff and Phillips, 2000). Children with behavioral challenges face far greater difficulties with social and emotional development. Other children will tease and ridicule them, or reject them entirely. These experiences bruise a child’s self-esteem and confidence, they are left feeling depressed and isolated. Once a child accepts rejection, they fight or ... ...s, to difficulties in conflict resolution to academic success. Parents play a pivotal role in teaching their young children how to appropriately behave or react to a certain stimuli. Positive adult-child interactions such as respect, providing an environment that is not rushed, using calm tones and accepting differences go a long way in changing or guiding a child’s behavior (Marion, 2011). For some children how to react to a certain situation in a positive manner is innate. However, other children need to be taught the skills to productively and successfully navigate conflicts that might arise. This can be achieved through a Direct Model Plan, a PBIS or a Behavior Matrix (Carter & Pool, 2012) The goal of challenging behaviors is to prevent those behaviors from rising, by providing children with the skills to navigate successfully through difficult situations.