Grading the Grading System :: Free Essays Online

Grading the Grading System My formal, institutional education began in kindergarten while my dad was stationed at Fort Carson, an Army base in Colorado Springs, Colorado. I don’t remember too much from kindergarten, other than the fact that I found it to be very boring. My first report card reflected that my progress was satisfactory in all of my subjects, with the exception of cooperating with my peers where I was categorized as being in "need of improvement". I don’t quite remember why I was evaluated this way, nor do I think that this grade had much impact on my admission to college or the way my parents raised me, but I do find myself wondering what the criteria may have been to achieve a mark of "satisfactory." What was the point of this report card? In retrospect, I perceive this incident to be my earliest introduction to the educational system. My performance in school would be represented by the marks I would receive on my report card. At the end of kindergarten, my dad was relocated to Fort Devens in Massachusetts, and I continued the next twelve years of my education in rural New Hampshire. As I progressed through the school system, report cards started to hold more meaning. They became a symbol of my success as a student and, to a degree, my success as a person. I received straight A’s throughout the first few years and I anxiously looked forward to fourth grade when my outstanding grades would be recognized by having my name in the newspaper under the heading of "high honor roll." Aside from a couple of exceptions, I maintained my desired place on the "high honor roll" list throughout my middle and high school years. Most of my friends felt the same way, and very often, when an assignment was handed back, we would look at the grade on each other’s papers before we would even be concerned with our own. The competition was intense, but unspoken. And the educational system quietly confirmed our strat egy. I had a 4.01 GPA entering my senior year of high school. I was proud of this and determined to keep, if not raise, it. AP classes in our school were weighted on the GPA scale; an A was worth 5 instead of 4. With hard work, I could apply this system to my benefit. That is, until Maureen Grady, my AP Calculus teacher, obstructed my goal of graduating with a perfect GPA.

Discuss the view that Tony Lumpkin is nothing more than a comic country bumpkin

Traditionally the pastoral genre celebrates the virtues of simple, unsophisticated life far from the city or court, in which the population is stereotyped as unintelligent and fatuitous. Tony is characterised as jovial and carefree through language and form. He is uninhibited and is interested in ‘fun going forward’ without being diverted by any sense of commitment, ‘mother, I cannot stay’, which mirrors the unpredictability of nature and country. Through characterisation, Goldsmith uses Tony’s character as a symbol for the simple, idyllic country life where drinking, enjoyment and singing are paramount. Although Goldsmith challenges this stereotype of the rural population through the character of Tony throughout She Stoops to Conquer and subsequently illuminates the theme of opinion vs. reality. Goldsmith’s nominalisation of Tony Lumpkin initially presents his character as stereotypic of a simple country dweller. ‘Lumpkin’ could be a subtle indication of Tony’s figure. Lump’ suggests that Tony is a stout man, which reflects his uninhibited lifestyle lead in the country; relaxing and singing songs in the Three Pigeons, ‘toroddle, toroddle, toroll’. This mirrors Third Century idealised pastoral life in which shepherds and shepherdesses enjoyed a life of blissful ease, thus presenting Tony as an unsophisticated character who lacks the refinement of a man of the town ‘br ed a scholar’. Moreover, Lumpkin is similar to the word ‘bumpkin’ which is a derogatory term for a simple rustic, further implying Tony’s lack of grace. Goldsmith enhances this depiction of Tony’s carefree lifestyle through the setting of the alehouse. ‘Several shabby fellows’ are identified in this setting which reflects the lower social class facet of society which Tony associates with, the adjective ‘shabby’ suggests that this is a relatively impoverished group of local country dwellers who, like Tony, are content with drinking ‘punch’ and smoking ‘tobacco’. The song sung in said alehouse by Tony perpetuates the fact that he lives the unprosperous life of a country bumpkin. The words ‘nonsense’ and ‘learning’ are juxtaposed in the lyrics to show Tony is uninterested in education, and furthermore that he is a lazy and unambitious character; which is how country folk are presented to behave in the pastoral genre. Nonetheless, Goldsmith establishes Tony’s character as much more than this, as he is able to deceive the town folk into believing Hardcastle’s home is ‘an inn. ’ Tony’s deception is also rather profound as he diverts Marlow and Hastings from the ‘long, dark, boggy’ road which they intended to travel. The numerous adjectives listed shows Tony as a rather manipulative character with more intelligence than was first shown, which is an anti-pastoral presentation of Tony considering country folk were thought to be kind and welcoming. Through this Goldsmith challenges the stereotypes of the country, as Tony, a supposed country bumpkin is able to mislead the town folk with supposed ‘excellent understanding’. This farce encompasses the themes of appearances and stereotypes into the plot and undermines the simplicity of Tony’s character. Goldsmith parallels Tony with the servants and doric characters like Diggory, which the country hosts. The poor grammar of Diggory, ‘parfectly unpossible’, shows his low levels of intellect; supposedly as a result of rustic life. Goldsmith uses Tony’s language and dialect to show his similarly plain and simple life in the country. Goldsmith incorporates malapropisms into Tony’s speech which shows his limited intellect. He frequently confuses ‘genius’ with ‘genus’, which creates a humorous irony since the very word he is using incorrectly, he has used to describe himself, shown through the personal pronoun ‘my genus. ’ This creates comedy as well as reflecting to the audience Tony’s simplicity. Furthermore, Goldsmith utilises the word ‘ecod’ in Tony’s speech, which was 18th century jargon used to express mild surprise, meaning ‘oh God. ’ However Tony’s speech often encompasses this word even in situations which are not surprising or exciting, this suggests that Tony’s life in the country is lacking vivacity and therefore he must find excitement in the most sullen situations, which seldom occupy the life of a ‘bumpkin’. However, Tony often provides witty remarks which entertain the audience but also contradict the interpretation that Tony is just a ‘bumpkin. When acting as witness for the theft of Mrs Hardcastle’s ‘bobs’, Tony says ‘I’ll say I saw them taken out with my own eyes’, which is comically ironic since he ‘got them’ himself and therefore actually did see them ‘taken out’. The dramatic irony of the situation relays to the audience the c omedy and wit of Tony’s conversation. Contrarily, Mrs Hardcastle remains ignorant to the whole ruse, contrasting Tony’s aptitude for the situation, which presents him as superior and separate from the ignorance of the other country dwellers. Goldsmith embellishes this subtle superior presentation of Tony through the utilisation of stage directions. At the alehouse Tony is seated ‘a little higher than the rest’, which presents him as having relative authority over the other ‘fellows’. Furthermore, his song creates a harmony within the group and unites the men, which Goldsmith shows through the unanimous ‘hurrah’ said by ‘omnes’; Latin for ‘all’. Both devices present Tony as a figure resembling a shepherd, protective of his flock. Despite the pastoral connotations this presentation of Tony shows him to have relative power and authority, separating him from the other doric characters and thus suggesting he is more than a comic country bumpkin. Alternatively, Vicki Janik describes Tony as â€Å"the most ignorant of the country bumpkins†. Through Mrs Hardcastle, Goldsmith reveals that Tony isn’t well educated, ‘I don’t think a boy wants much learning. ’ Tony’s lack of education and structure in life; indulged by his doting mother, has resulted in his ‘consumptive figure’ and his occasional lack of awareness. Goldsmith highlights Tony’s flawed character through Mrs Hardcastle’s deception of ‘concealing (his) age’ so that he may not claim his inheritance. In fact it is revealed Tony has been of age for ‘three months’, the absurdity of the situation ameliorates the comedy as well as augmenting the stupidity of Tony’s character, since he cannot even track his own age; complimenting Janik’s criticism. Moreover, considering that in Georgian England, most country dwellers were uneducated; Tony is clearly an accurate stereotype of a bumpkin. Tony’s lack of education, ‘the ale-house and the stable are the only schools he’ll ever go to’, also reflect Tony’s limited horizons which means he’s confined to his country life without hope of improvement; this is shown through Goldsmith’s use of ‘only’. Tony’s small scope of existence illuminates the simplicity of his life and that of a bumpkin. However, Goldsmith shows that Tony does have some degree of awareness of his situation, as he asks his mother ‘let me have my fortin’, demonstrating that Tony is not contented with his current finance and wishes to pursue his inheritance. This drama is recurring throughout the play which shows Tony’s determination to become financially independent and ‘be made a fool of no longer’ since currently he is only able to go to ‘the alehouse so often’ because he has ‘a key to every drawer’ of his ‘mother’s bureau’. This suggests that Tony is not merely a country bumpkin since he demonstrates a certain greed more commonly associated with the town with their ‘vanity and affectation’, therefore not all the qualities of his character conform to the stereotype of a country bumpkin. Goldsmith uses a cyclical structure to further highlight how Tony is trapped in his unambitious, mundane life. In the final lines of the play, Goldsmith identifies that Tony is ‘his own man again’, the use of the word ‘again’ reflects the lack of development in Tony’s character, nothing has improved in his country life; which could indicate the stability and continuity of the uncorrupted country or alternatively it could illuminate Tony’s lack of ambition for self-improvement to embellish his simple nature. This presentation of Tony as a simple, undeveloped character reaches a climax at the end of the play as Goldsmith contrasts Tony from the country and Marlow from the town. Through stage directions, ‘joining their hands’, Goldsmith shows that Marlow has been able to overcome his ‘trembling’ when talking to ladies of high society, through his romance with Kate, whereas Tony, as afore mentioned, remains the same suggesting he is a country bumpkin unable to develop due to his indulged rural existence. Nonetheless, Goldsmith presents Tony’s character as having a level of moral complexity through his relationship with his cousin, Constance. Tony refers to Constance as cousin Con, the shortened version of her name acts as endearment and the indication to the familial relationship shows how Tony is caring and ‘a good natured creature at bottom’. Furthermore, Tony helps his cousin retrieve her jewels; which are her ‘fortune’, so she may leave with Hastings. Tony quickly agrees to ‘clap a pair of horses to (their) chaise’, in aid. This generosity demonstrated through the plot to retrieve Constance’s jewels implies that Tony’s character may be more complex than originally believed to be. Similarly, Tony clarifies that he ‘want(s) no nearer relationship’ with his cousin and therefore Tony’s acceptance to ‘assist’ Hastings and his proposal to ‘whip (Constance) off to France’ can be interpreted as a selfish, anti-pastoral act to be rid of Constance. The rural population are seen to be welcoming and sympathetic, rather than narcissistic and under-handed which is how Goldsmith characterises Tony through the nature of this plot, which suggests that Tony is in fact the complete polar opposite of a country bumpkin. Despite the comedic trait of Tony’s character being indisputable, seeing as he is usually at the heart of the farce in this play. Throughout She Stoops to Conquer, Goldsmith clearly opposes the stereotypes of the country folk through the character of Tony Lumpkin. Initially, Tony is seemingly rather plain and peaceful; mimetic of the country, but his character develops throughout the play into a more complicated personality, so much more than a country bumpkin.

Interview Ceo

INTERVIEW 1/- During operating process of NIPPOVINA company for years, have you ever faced with the business ethical dilemma? Yes, a lot. Because launching business means making profit as much as possible while still manage to responsible for those strict environmental and human standards. Therefore, many conflicts occur day by day, making me so frustrated. 2/-In your opinion, how to resolve these issues in a best way? I think there aren’t any best ways to resolve the problem, there is only a better way. We have to scarify unnecessary things to get what you want.So many times when I have to consider carefully a number of factors such as company reputation, customer trust, product quality, new cost†¦ and make the final decision. 3/- For example, Nippovina company signed with the investor works B, produce the items made exclusively for B, request at the highest quality. But there is a small error in the production process cause tiny scratches on the surface but private rel igious mind is made which leads to the shipment is not satisfactory. He recovered but religion measuring?It depends on many factors, such as the value of the order is big or small, client B is long-time essential or new partners, how much the reputation of the company will affect, I may chose to revoke or deliver the cargo. 4 /- Assuming that all of these factors are very large, what would you do? Maybe I will not withdraw. Small scratches will not affect much to the quality of work, on the other hand, our company still operating and maintenance materials. 5 / – The motto of the company is always ready to provide the best materials, professional service technology.So in this case, do you think was the company not able to follow that motto? We are committed to using imported equipment, the best material for all projects, and try to comply with the most rigorous way. However the negligence and carelessness are inevitable, I cannot dismiss a skilled worker with only a scratch. I also fully do compensate the loss of time and money if I do not complete the order within the time limit. So, as mentioned above, after careful consideration, I sometimes have to trade off. FindingsWorrying about the CEO may argue in favor of his own behavior, the interview asked some question in the making assumption way so as to make the CEO answer sincerely. During the research process, the interviewer has investigated and found out the truth about an unqualified consignment. This was told by a manager who blows the whistle. The interview indicates that the CEO concern about the ethical dilemma that he was facing. Although each question is straight forward the problem, the CEO still feel comfortable to answer honestly. Many problems such as stakeholder profit, trust, loyalty are mentioned and discussed below.

Economics Exchange Rates Commentary Essay

NEW YORK (Dow Jones)–The dollar continued its slide Wednesday, touching its lowest level in 12 months against the euro and flagging against the yen as rising equities battered the greenback yet again. The dollar has lost key legs of support over the past two weeks as encouraging global economic data has led investors to assume more risk and buy higher-yielding assets. With the recession receding and financial markets in recovery, investors have become more confident there’s no longer a need to hold their money in a safe-harbor currency like the dollar. Because of the Federal Reserve’s need to stimulate the economy, the dollar’s ultra-low interest rates have made it the lowest-yielding major currency. The cost of borrowing U.S. dollars in the London interbank market continued its slide Wednesday. The key three-month London interbank offered rate marked its lowest level since the British Bankers’ Association first introduced its Libor fixings in 1986. The dollar hit its lowest level against the common currency since September 2008 in New York afternoon trading, with the euro touching a 12-month high at $1.4738. If the euro is able to sustain levels above $1.4720, a key technical level, it could be on a march to $1.50, said Carl Forcheski, vice president for foreign exchange at Societe Generale in New York. The dollar’s losses were broad, sinking to new 13-month lows against the Australian and New Zealand dollars as well as lows for 2009 versus other widely traded counterparts. The U.K. pound also piggy-backed off the euro’s gains to advance on the dollar. The yen had been the so-called â€Å"carry trade† currency of choice, but with U.S. interest rates expected to remain feeble until 2010, analysts anticipate the dollar to continue funding riskier bets. A carry trade involves buying a lower-yielding currency to fund purchases of higher-yielding assets. The dollar was also burdened Wednesday by comments from Japan’s incoming finance minister, Hirohisa Fujii, who said he saw no need to intervene in currency markets to weaken the yen. In the past, the dollar had received support from the belief that Japan would intervene to prevent unwanted appreciation of its currency. â€Å"There’s no change in my thinking† that it’s not the time to consider foreign-exchange intervention, Fujii said at a news conference. Though he wouldn’t rule out intervention in what he termed â€Å"really abnormal situations,† Fujii said â€Å"the idea that the yen should be cheaper for the sake of [Japan’s] exporters is wrong.† Wednesday afternoon in New York, the euro was at $1.4729 from $1.4667 late Tuesday, according to EBS via CQG. The dollar was at Y90.78 from Y91.06. The euro was at Y133.72 from Y133.60. The U.K. pound was at $1.6506 from $1.6495, while the dollar was at CHF1.0306 from CHF1.0340. U.S. economic data released Wednesday, including as-expected August consumer price index and better-than-expected industrial production numbers, pointed to a continuing recovery, leading stocks to rally. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 108 points, lending support to the euro and other high-yielders. The dollar looks likely to continue its broad-based slide through the rest of the year, analysts said. As long as the buck doesn’t fall too far too fast, dollar weakness is expected in a time of loose monetary policy, said Adnan Akant, a currency specialist at money manager Fischer Francis Trees & Watts, a New York unit of BNP Paribas. Right now, the euro and other higher-yielding currencies are reaping the benefits of a global economic turnaround and stock market rallies, but within the next 12 months, the dollar should start benefitting from a recovering U.S. economy, said Wells Fargo analysts. The Canadian dollar ended higher near its strongest levels of the day Wednesday, reflecting another sustained flight into riskier assets like stocks and commodities at the expense of the slumping U.S. dollar. The U.S. dollar was trading at C$1.0666 late afternoon, from C$1.0721 late Tuesday. Strong gains for oil, gold and other commodities as well as rising North American equity markets underpinned the Canadian dollar’s gains, although the currency again failed to mount a serious challenge of its year-to-date high at C$1.0639, achieved in early August. Commentary The article refers to a depreciation of the dollar against major currencies due to â€Å"ultra-low interest rates† and increased risk by investors. The Federal Reserve has been cutting interest rates in an attempt to boost aggregate demand and stimulate the economy. High interest rates in an economy generally encourage investment in that currency as the value of the investment will increase over time. Currently US interest rates set by the Federal Reserve are around 0.25% compared to the European Central Bank’s 1%. Because of this, investors have switched to higher yielding currencies, such as the Euro, and to a lesser extent the Pound, causing a fall in the Dollar’s exchange rate. This is shown in Diagram 1. As the diagram shows, a right shift in the supply of the Dollar leads to a fall in its price relative to the Euro. In addition, the aforementioned cutting of interest rates is an expansionary monetary policy used to manipulate aggregate demand. The trade off of this policy is increased inflation. A high rate of inflation might further decrease investment in Dollar assets as the real value of the investment would decrease over time. During times of economic crisis, investors tend to invest in low risk assets such as generally strong currencies like the dollar. However with signs that the global economy is exiting the recession and in recovery, not only does the demand for safe-harbor currencies like the dollar decrease, but there is an increased demand for high risk investment due to bullish speculation. In addition, some consumers, firms, or foreign central banks might believe that despite the improving economic situation, the Dollar will continue to fall as the article mentions and sell dollar assets. This bearish speculation would further increase the supply of the dollar and perhaps lead to self-fulfilling prophecy. As shown above, the combination of the three factors leads to a sharp fall in the exchange rate. As previously mentioned, this depreciation could cause a self-fulfilling prophecy in which the initial bearish speculation leads to depreciation, which in turn causes more bearish speculation causing the exchange rate to enter a downward spiral. Initially, the Federal Reserve might not intervene but if the depreciation continued, it would be forced to buy back Dollars to counteract the increases in supply. This would slow the depreciation, discouraging people from selling dollars. It might even create bearish speculation as some might assume the dollar market will bottom out and start to appreciate. The depreciation of the Dollar should benefit the US economy by means of an improved current account deficit. Initially, the deficit will worsen as the demand for imports and exports is inelastic in the short run, but eventually the current account balance will improve as US exports become more competitive. US export revenue will increase while expenditure will fall. This improved current account situation will boost AD leading to economic growth. This is shown below in Diagram 3. Diagram 3 However, as the diagram shows, in the long run, there will be the trade off of inflation as AD rises. This might encourage Federal Reserve to strengthen the Dollar to reduce imported cost-push inflation. In addition, the increased demand for US exports will increase the demand for the Dollar causing appreciation. Foreign nations might eventually implement import controls such as tariffs on US goods in order to preserve their own current account balances. Eventually, the Dollar should regain its status as a high-yielding currency ——————————————– [ 1 ]. The value of one currency expressed in term of another [ 2 ]. A period in a business cycle following a recession, during which the GDP rises. [ 3]. Believing that a particular security, a sector, or the overall market is about to rise [ 4 ]. Revenue from the exports of goods and services and income flows is less than the expenditure on the import of goods and services and income flows in a given year

Social venture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Social venture - Essay Example To this end, stand for children (2011) notes that they â€Å"train ordinary people to be effective citizen leaders capable of solving problems facing children, both locally and state-wide, by convincing elected officials and voters to invest in and reform vital children’s programs.† With such an organization that has the ultimate aim of investing in people, it is worth investing every little bit of time and resource in it, analyzing its mode of operation, its strengths and weaknesses and how its future can be brightened. Social Problems and Challenges addressed by Stand for Children Leadership Center Stand for Children Leadership Center can best be described as the official mouthpiece of children. This judgment is given from their mode of operation and their social impact agenda. The primary social impact focus of the organization is to influence policy makers and other stakeholders on children issues to champion courses and legislations that seeks the total well-being of the child. The major reason behind the organization’s quest to take up such social responsibility sterns from the fact that according to the statutes of the United States Constitution, children do not have the right undertake such advocacy responsibilities in voicing out what their needs should be. To this end, the Stand for Children Leadership Center (2011) states that â€Å"Stand for Children Leadership Center exists because children in communities across America have no power to influence our democratic system to meet their fundamental needs.† The organization continues to say that for this reason, it has poised its mission to â€Å"teach everyday people how to join together in an effective grassroots voice in order to win concrete, long-lasting improvements for children, at both state and local levels.† This means that the duties of the organization does not target or deal with children directly but then it speaks on behave of children through people whos e voices are recognized by the democratic dispensation of the law. Strategies used in addressing social problems The core word that can be used to describe the strategy used by Stand for Children Leadership Centre is ‘grassroots action.’ To this end, Stand for Children (2011) states that they â€Å"use the power of grassroots action to help all children get the excellent public education and strong support they need to thrive† Stand for Children (2011). This grassroots action involves helping â€Å"ordinary people become effective citizen leaders who use our democratic process to improve the lives of children† (Stand of Children, 2011). Again, in its grassroots actions, the organisation â€Å"Recruit people with similar values; Identify effective, achievable solutions to problems facing their community's children; Educate decision makers and voters to achieve these solutions† (Stand for Children, 2011). Scrutiny of Stand for Children Leadership Cent er’s Strategies in addressing Social Problems – including Projected Social Impact Stand for Children Leadership Center is one of the most respected non-governmental organizations in the United States. Its activities and operations have generally been rated by Charity Navigator to be standard and competitive. This certainly means that social problem intervention adopted by the organization is appropriate and workable. The major strength of the strategy for addressing its social interventions is the fact that it

Continuing influence of original colonies Essay

Continuing influence of original colonies - Essay Example Some of these elements, including the desire for religious freedom, are reflected in contemporary culture and politics. For instance, Massachusetts Senator John Kerry introduces the â€Å"Workplace Religious Freedom Act† every year, never with the support to pass it. Religious freedom in New England seems to be as pressing a need as it was for the Pilgrims and Puritans in the 17th century. Noticeably, Pilgrim and Puritan laws were not created in order to protect religious diversity, as might be the justification for contemporary legislation. But the spirit of the law as protecting, instead of hindering, one’s freedom to one’s own ideas is the same in both cases. The motivation behind the bill is to protect citizens from restricting workplace religious activities1. It accomplishes this by closing loopholes related to â€Å"reasonable accommodations† to employees’ religious needs. Kerry’s legislation is aimed at enforcing religious freedom in t he workplace throughout the entire country; nevertheless, the value of religious freedom seems only to be a value worth actively pursuing in the region where the New England Colonies developed. ... On a more practical level, New England has always relied on the fishing industry for economic viability, due mainly to the fact that fish is an abundant resource for New England industry and to the fact that fishing was established early in its history. In fact, the Colony of Massachusetts Bay began as a fishing venture motivated primarily by profit. Fish, along with timber and crops, were exported to every corner of the world from New England’s famous port towns. From the point of view of any modern New Englander from Gloucester, New Bedford or Plymouth, which are all steeped in American history, fishing has a central place in the legacy of their hometowns. In an opinion piece about fishing regulations2, the writer sides with small fishing operations that have gone out of business because of â€Å"catch shares.† Catch shares refer to fishery management systems that dedicate a secure privilege to harvest a specific area or percentage of a fishery’s total allowabl e catch to individuals, communities or associations. In doing so, he or she is siding with the traditional New England orientation toward the small business structure that values family. Also, the article emphasizes the cuts being made to organizations designed to protect fishing, which shows just how much New England values (and always has valued) its fishing infrastructure. Briefly alluding to the history of the region and its dependence on fishing for its economic and social livelihood, the author is appealing both logically and emotionally to a sense of connection to the past for a prosperous future. The Middle Colonies, made up of Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, and Delaware, were considerably more diverse in their origin that the New England Colonies. Although some came to the