Christian Places of Worship

————————————————- â€Å"Christian places of worship should be plain and simple? † Discuss. Ollie Gardner This debate is a very strong subject for certain people and religion. For example the Catholics think that it is right to show their appreciation of god by designing their places of worship with big stained glass windows, huge organs and a big bold altar etc. However the Protestants started out rebelling against the Catholics saying that you should not have to show your appreciation with money and gold but with commitment and feeling should be enough. No religion is right or wrong. Looking at the Protestant way of thinking about it that places of worship should be plain and simple. I can see many reasons why people do believe in this thought. One reason could be because they think that god does not have to be â€Å"bribed† or given these big expensive gifts to appreciate his followers and the people. That merely showing your commitment to him and well being should be enough to gain your love or that you already have his love. God in my point of view is not someone to judge someone by his or her wealth but by his or her actions. Meaning that wherever you worship in a church, at home in your bedroom, on the street in an alleyway with beer cans on the floor is good enough to show your respect and thanks. He does not think of you anymore by showing him and giving him gifts with great wealth. You might be quite poor and cannot afford to do anything quite so big and bold and might just want to do your own prayer at home or anywhere of your choice, which is still fine. On the other hand I can see why you would want to show your appreciation via: gifts, big services and god plated lecterns etc. It’s like on Valentines Day when you give you loved ones a present, card or gift of some point. I know the feeling of walking in to the Bath Abbey and being blown away by the remarkableness and memorising stain glassed windows that fill the room with colour. You do in some way feel that sense of astonishment and holiness as you witness something like the Bath Abbey. I can also see the commitment to god by giving him gifts of great wealth and big glamorous services. It shows hat if they have been lucky enough to be very wealthy or maybe not that much but to give what they can does show a certain amount of strong commitment. In conclusion either decision is fine, and god will not think of you any differently. In my point of view I would go with Protestant way of belief just because I think that god loves you whoever you are and we can show are own love to him, not by fancy lecterns and pulpits and a big choir but just by however way we feel like. Could be at home or anywhere tha t is most comfortable to you.

Franzosenbusch Heritage Project Essay

Literature plays an important role in enlightening individuals regarding the situation of their society. These written works substantially help an individual to know more about his or her history. This function of literary works is very essential because knowing an individual’s history will serve as a basis for him or her to understand the present and plans things for the future. In relation to this, literary works is also a form of expression. This is an outlet or a channel for authors to voice out their opinion about things and even reveals their own personal feelings. In doing so, these authors are given the opportunity to make a commentary about the society during the particular time that they lived and even analyzed past events and make their predictions about the future. Nevertheless, the most vital contribution that these literary works has is the way which they could inform the readers of different things and events that happened, are happening, and will likely to happen. In relation to these, there are indeed notable authors that have tremendously contributed in enlightening the general public about important subjects and pressing issues that are taking place in the society. More so, it is indeed very admirable especially for some authors who were able to capture the concerns during their time but was able to write it in a way that transcends the boundary of time. These kinds of literary pieces can be regarded as something that is still applicable during the present time because the issues that they tackled, as well as the lessons obtained from it, are still very helpful in addressing the problems of today. Being the case, it can be said that American poets and authors have played an important role in contributing to the society. It is the main objective of this paper to discuss the importance of authors and poets specifically during the mid-1800s. In doing so, the succeeding paragraphs will elaborate on the life and works of Laura Ingalls Wilder, an example of a notable author that indeed tremendously contributed to the development of literature during her time. Moreover, the paper will also analyze the way she was able to share something to her readers that they might have not known without her works. It will highlight the most dominant information or lesson that she has imparted and how these affected the lives of other people. Moreover, an analysis will also be done regarding her importance during her lifetime and the present time, as well as how her works will be perceived in the near future. The United States of America during the Mid-1800s During the mid-1800s, the United States of America experienced numerous challenges especially with the geographic expansion of the country. The United States during this time was expanding especially with the inclusion of Texas and the other territories that were obtained because of the war that they had with Mexico. Because of these, many settlers rushed through the west in order to escape the conflict that was taking place. Furthermore, slavery was still a continuing source of controversy that attributed to the domestic division of the country. The annexation of Texas and other territories because of the war with Mexico is largely attributed to a neatly expressed vision that even sounded like a religious mission. The main driving force of the Americans in expanding their territory is due to the Manifest Destiny. This is a belief of the Americans that they are destined and divinely ordained by God to expand their territories in North America. However, not all people agreed or supported this mission that the people from United States believed that they have. This disagreement had been most observable with the citizens of the territories that they annexed, as well as other people that were disadvantageously affected by the conflict in the acquisition of these territories. Nevertheless, the most controversial issue that the Americans have to deal with was slavery. African Americans experienced discrimination and inhumane treatment during this time; they were regarded as mere commodities or objects that were used for production. This was quite observable through the Fugitive Slave Act. The United States Congress passed this law in 1850 which stipulated that runaway slaves should be returned to their masters. This was regarded as the most controversial act that was implemented by the American government during that time. As such, it further heightened the division against the Northern and Southern states of the country. In connection to this, some Americans also perceived this act as a way that could further strengthen the power of the slaveholding south. It is important that the situation during the mid-1800s is given due consideration because this can serve as a guide in order to understand the frame of thinking of the people during this time. In relation to this, this will also aid in determining whether the American authors were able to give due attention to the pressing issues at that specific period. Moreover, this will be used as a basis on how they were able to help address the situation through the written works that they have done. Contribution of American Authors in the Mid-1800s The American authors have played an important part in emphasizing the problems of the American society during the mid-1800s. It is because of their written works that they were able to open the eyes of most of the American citizens, as well as other people in the world. This could be exemplified by the famous work of Harriet Beecher Stowe entitled â€Å"Uncle Tom’s Cabin. † This novel was able to give due emphasis to the situation of the African American slaves especially in the southern part of the United States. Stowe was able to provide vivid images of the inequality and inhumane treatments that the African American slaves experienced through the way that she narrated the events and of her story and the feelings of the characters that she created. This novel was deeply affecting as it moves its readers to realize the ill-fated lives of these slaves. It is through Stowe’s novel that she paved the way for other people to feel a sense of empathy by putting themselves in the place of these slaves. In connection to these, Laura Ingalls Wilder is also among the most notable writers that contributed to the awareness of the public regarding the male unrest and female patience of pioneers in the mid-1800s. She also focused on the peculiar American spirit and sense of independence that Americans have during that time. One of the unique characteristics of this author is the fact that she was able to make her stories known to young people because she specializes in making children books. She also used her childhood experiences in order to make her stories mirror the real situation of the society during her younger days. By doing so, she was able to influence and touch the lives of other people especially in fostering good values to children. The Life of Laura Ingalls Wilder To be able to clearly understand the motivation of Laura Ingalls Wilder that aided her in making remarkable literary pieces, it is essential that the story of her life is given due consideration. Laura Ingalls Wilder was born on February 7, 1867 in Wisconsin. She was the second of the five children of Charles Philip Ingalls and Caroline Lake. During her growing years, she and her family constantly moved throughout the mid-west. Wilder was a bright child but she was not given the chance to receive quality education because of the isolated places that their family usually went to. She also had to deal with their financial problems wherein sometimes she had to stop school in order to earn money. Nevertheless, they eventually stayed in De Smet, Dakota Territory. This is where she attended school on a regular basis and she even worked as a seamstress and teacher. Afterwards, she married a homesteader by the name of Almanzo James Wilder. She had two children with him, the popular novelist, journalist and political theorist Rose Wilder Lane and a son who died immediately after birth. Laura Ingalls Wilder was able to live the real life of American pioneers because they had to survive by using only the small amount of resources that they earned together with their knowledge and experience. Because of this, they learned how to grow and hunt for foods, as well as build their house and other tools that they need. Laura Ingalls Wilder experienced how it is to grow up in the frontier during the late 1800s. This life experience that she had motivated her to write a historical fiction series for children called the â€Å"Little House. † The series of books that she created were published during the 1930’s. Her written works were able to boost her popularity as she was regarded as a renowned writer during her time; and even up to the present time, her books are still popular and never got out of print. Wilder has an exceptional writing skills that captures the interests of both children and adults. Throughout the years, this author has been able to narrate important and interesting subjects that dealt with her experiences as a frontier girl. Some of the situations that she described involve â€Å"wonderful and heartbreaking times, the poverty and the plenty, the western trails and homesteading issues, and the simple ways of life of an ordinary family who showed great love and tenacity during their years together in the American prairie. † Even though the books that Wilder wrote are considered as fictional, she was able to give true accounts of what it was like to live and survive on the frontier during that period in America. The stories that she created were also characterized by its appeal to all ages, as her books are applicable to all people who want a simple story about a loving family as well as those that are interested by the pioneer times. Written Works of Laura Ingalls Wilder Knowing the basic and important information about the life of Laura Ingalls Wilder is not enough. It is also necessary that the some of the books that she wrote are analyzed in order to clearly see how she depicted her experiences as a frontier girl and the pioneer life that she lived. In doing so, a book that she wrote entitled â€Å"Little House on the Prairie† will be analyzed. The story unfolded with the decision of Pa Ingalls to sell their house in the Big Woods of Wisconsin and move to the Indian Territory that is near Independence, Kansas. Pa Ingalls decision was influenced by the stories that he heard about the land there, which would be opened to settlement by homesteaders. Wilder narrated the way they adopted to their new environment. Pa Ingalls was responsible in building their house wherein he made the roof and floor, as well as dig the well with his own bare hands. The other members of the family also learned to grow and hunt for their own food. On the latter part of the book, the family acquired a terrible disease, which were referred to as â€Å"Fever ‘n’ Ague† that is commonly known today as malaria. The family was able to recover through the help of their neighbor who took care of them. During the spring, the family started planting, which marked the beginnings of their small farm. However, at the last part of the book, the family was informed that they have to leave the land because settling there is illegal. Pa Ingalls decided to leave the land before the Army forces them to do so. The story that Laura Ingalls Wilder narrated in this children book is actually a reflection of the real life experiences that she had during her younger years. In this story, it is seen how the family risked their usual life in the Big Woods of Wisconsin in order to look for better opportunities in the Indian Territory. The process of establishing a new life in this new land aided the family to use their resourcefulness by building their own house. In relation to this, they also learned how to sustain their everyday needs through their own efforts. However, like in most situations when the family was already gaining grounds with their new environment, things started to go against them especially when the family got sick because of malaria. In connection to this, when they are already beginning to build their small farm another unfortunate event happened. They found out that they were illegal settlers in that land and they have to vacate the area or be forced to do so. The fate of the characters in this children book is not fictitious because it reflects the real situation of the American people during the mid-1800s, the same time as Wilder’s childhood days. The unfortunate situation that has befallen the family at the end of the story highlights the fate of people who are living in the frontiers especially during the time when territorial conflict and border disputes are very observable. The territorial expansion of the United States brought about this conflict in some areas of the country that adversely affected the people. Their situation is similar to that of the Ingalls family whose dream of starting their own farm was shattered. The discussions above clearly show that the American authors of the mid-1800s are important and Laura Ingalls Wilder is an evident proof of it. Wilder’s children books paved the way for the general public, especially the young ones, to be enlightened with the pioneer life of an American family as well as the hardships that is involved in being a frontier girl. Being the case, American authors like Laura Ingalls Wilder indeed, played an important role in informing the people about the status of the society. It is through her literary pieces like these that paved the way for people to realize and become aware of the social issues and concerns that plagued the society during that particular period. BIBLIOGRAPHY Miller, John E. Becoming Laura Ingalls Wilder. Missouri: University of Missouri, 1998. â€Å"What was America Like in the Mid-1880s? † Franzosenbusch Heritage Project, (2003). Database on-line. Available from, http://www. franzosenbuschheritageproject. org /Histories/US_Background /America%20in%20the%20mid-1800%27s. htm. Wilder, Laura Ingalls. Little House on the Prairie New York: HarperCollins Publishers Inc. , 1963.

Kill the Media

The formation of personal identity in present-day society can be seen as awkward and challenging. Many teenagers gravitate towards the media for direction on how to stay up-to-date and fresh on trends while going through a tumultuous puberty stage. The dominant influence of accepted media affects every individual’s sense of self. Lauren Moak, author of â€Å"Is This What You Really Want? † attempts to explain the effect media portrayal has on a younger audience’s stance on beauty and self-esteem. She states, â€Å"The media sends the same message on every commercial, billboard, and television show out there. If you do not have the perfect shape, clear complexion†¦well, you’re not â€Å"beautiful†. † (Moak). Moak verifies that the mainstream media crafts images that youthful individuals struggle to become. Every day many girls strive to fit the mold the media has created. Girls fixate over thin frames, tan skin, and unattainable facial features. What many fail to realize is that most, if not all, images are airbrushed or photo-shopped to transform the average face of a model to an unrealistic being. Moak further elucidates her point by saying, â€Å"The media says that if we all fail at achieving this â€Å"ideal† body image, we must try harder no matter what the costs. †(Moak). Attempting to assemble an identity in a media-saturated world is nearly impossible. Everything one does is inspiration from the media and what society deems as â€Å"right†. Self-individuality cannot coexist with popular media. Personal identity, as well as gender identity suffers from the media. Many images from popular media exhibit cliched, constricting, and naive perceptions on various issues, most commonly being gender. David Sedaris, author of â€Å"I Like Guys†, explains his self-awareness of his own sexuality and the portrayal of homosexuals by the media and close people around him. Early into his essay, he describes, â€Å"It was my hope to win a contest, cash in the prizes, and use the money to visit a psychiatrist who might cure me of having homosexual thoughts. † (Sedaris). By Sedaris wanting to instantly be cured from homosexual thoughts, it shows that homosexuality is not acceptable in his society. He also explains viewing homosexual men on television and looking down upon them. This is parallel to the gender identity issues in present-day society because the media is yet again forcing their viewpoints onto others and limiting individual’s perception of people. This, in turn, leads to new stereotypes and discrimination against sexes. One should not feel ashamed, but instead entitled to one’s own views and standpoints on issues. Sedaris expresses the immediate shame he felt after an encounter with another boy. He states, â€Å"My jealousy stemmed from the belief that he had been cured. One fistful of my flesh and he had lost all symptoms of the disease†¦why couldn’t I do the same? † (Sedaris). The media’s continuous backlash to painful topics causes gender identity issues to prevail. Judith Ortiz Cofer, author of â€Å"The Myth Of The Latin Woman: I Just Met a Girl Named Maria† attempts to explain the effect media portrayal has on a younger audience’s stance on beauty and self-esteem. She states, â€Å"The media sends the same message on every commercial, billboard, and television show out there. If you do not have the perfect shape, clear complexion†¦well, you’re not â€Å"beautiful†. (Cofer). Moak verifies that the mainstream media crafts images that youthful individuals struggle to become. Every day many girls strive to fit the mold the media has created. Girls fixate over thin frames, tan skin, and unattainable facial features. What many fail to realize is that most, if not all, images are airbrushed or photo- shopped to transform the average face of a model to an unrealistic being. Moak further elucidates her point by saying, â€Å"The media says that if we all fail at achieving this â€Å"ideal† body image, we must try harder no matter what the costs. (Cofer). Attempting to assemble an identity in a media-saturated world is nearly impossible. Everything one does is inspiration from the media and what society deems as â€Å"right†. Self-individuality cannot coexist with popular media. The formation of personal identity in present-day society can be seen as awkward and challenging. Many teenagers gravitate towards the media for direction on how to stay up-to-date and fresh on trends while going through a tumultuous puberty stage. The dominant influence of accepted media affects every individual’s sense of self.

Affirmative Action Debate and Economics

Yuching Lin ECON 395 The Affirmative Action Debate Affirmative Action has recently become the center of a major public debate in the United States, which has led to the emergence of numerous studies on its efficiency, costs, and benefits. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ended wage and employment discrimination based on gender and race, significantly decreasing the gap between minorities and non-minorities. Minorities made major progress from the 1960s up through the early 1970s due to Affirmative Action (Jones, Jr. 1985). However, for the past few decades, the progress that minorities have made in terms of income, employment and education has largely stagnated. California, Michigan, Nebraska, and Washington State have recently banned racial advantage in employment and college admissions, and Proposition 209 of California has disallowed the preferential treatment of minorities, with opponents of Affirmative Action lobbying for more widespread b ans on similar policies while supporters argue fiercely against the removal of Affirmative Action policies.As can be seen, Affirmative Action’s status in the United States now is very dynamic due to shifting court decisions and policy plans. Additionally, returns to education have been increasing in recent decades, and as a result, income inequality has also increased – the growing demand for highly skilled workers (workers with high levels of post-secondary education) and the stagnancy of American education (with the added fact that high quality colleges have become even higher quality and even more selective while lower tier colleges have decreased in quality) has led to ever-increasing wages for the highly skilled.This â€Å"Skill Biased Technological Change† has led to a widening income gap between the rich and the poor. Naturally, this considerably affects black and Hispanic minorities, who are more likely than non-minorities to be part of the working class or below the poverty line, which raises the stakes in the debate on Affirmative Action. Today, both sides on the debate can bolster their arguments with evidence provided by economic and social research on the policies. But there are additional questions to be answered – is Affirmative Action justified on moral grounds? Can we balance economic efficiency with equity?Is Affirmative Action the best policy for addressing racial inequalities? Do policies that increase diversity result in positive externalities such as reduced prejudice and indirect benefits beyond education and career success? One will discover that, after thorough analysis of research concerning Affirmative Action, it is still difficult to form a definitive conclusion on the results of the policies. Nevertheless, there is much to learn from the research that has been conducted as of present, and one can now better steer research in a direction that will uncover the real benefits and shortcomings of Affirmative Action.To begin with, the debate on the efficiency of Affirmative Action policies is still very much unsettled. Opponents claim that they actually result in several negative effects on the minorities the policies are intended to benefit, arguing that minority students admitted into overly competitive programs are more likely to drop out than mismatched non-minority students due to the increased competition, which would actually worsen the income gap since black income has been shown to decrease even more than white income after dropping out of college (Loury, 1995).A proposed â€Å"stigma hypothesis† suggests that â€Å"preferential treatment perpetuates the impression of inferiority† while simultaneously lowering incentives for high academic effort from minorities (Murray, 1994). And yet another underperformance hypothesis by Steele (1990) suggests that blacks’ academic performance suffers when they are aware that normal standards are lowered in order to accomm odate them.However, there exists no research with strong, conclusive results that support these claims – in contrast, the â€Å"race difference in graduation rates is no larger at the most selective institutions,† and blacks have been shown to benefit from the increased admission to selective universities (Holzer and Neumark, 2000). A study by Cortes (2010) on the Texas Top 10% Plan claims that the banning of Affirmative Action actually increases college dropout rates for minorities and finds that the mismatch hypothesis is inaccurate.Because quantifying the economic benefits of Affirmative Action is exceedingly complicated, comparing the total costs and benefits of the policy becomes exceptionally difficult for policy-makers. Holzer and Neumark (2000) note that university admissions policies are not necessarily economically efficient to begin with, which further complicates matters since researchers do not have a definitive point of efficiency to which they can compar e the results of Affirmative Action.Administrative costs and externalities must also be factored into the models, when economists have not yet even managed to create a viable model for the effects of Affirmative Action policies. For example, minority students in medical school are less likely to reach as high a level of expertise as non-minorities, but they are more likely to treat minority patients, generating a positive externality (Holzer and Neumark, 2000). Another point made in the debate on Affirmative Action is that diversity may improve the educational quality of a university.Many educators believe that diversity in colleges is inherently beneficial – students can learn from other students whose experiences and backgrounds give them a whole different set of views and capabilities. Several studies have actually correlated increased diversity in student bodies with improvements in issues such as racial prejudice and bias, although results vary depending on study design, extent and type of diversity, and the issue of interest (Bowman, 2010).Even so, other researchers are likely to reject such evidence since variables such as attitudes, inter-racial relations, and even school quality (as a result of increased diversity) are difficult to define and accurately quantify (Holzer and Neumark, 2000). Research has often demonstrated very unclear results, usually only weakly suggesting a few conclusions while also providing sometimes conflicting conclusions; one study on the effects of diverse student bodies found that there was no effect on post-college earnings, an increase in satisfaction with college experiences, and a decrease in community service (Hinrichs, 2011).Interestingly, a recent study in college admissions based on merit, race, and legacy suggests that the removal of race-preferential treatment may actually decrease the ability of the student body since colleges may be inclined to increase legacy-based admissions due to the current economic cl imate (Li and Weisman, 2011). However, they do also propose that there is a possibility that colleges would need to eliminate all preferences barring merit in order to produce the most-able student body.Overall, it is generally agreed that more accurate methods for measuring school quality and the quality of school inputs are necessary if more conclusive results on education differentials’ effects on unobserved skills, attitudes, and racial income inequality are to be found. While it is without a doubt that Affirmative Action increases admission and employment rates for minorities, there is much speculation as to whether it is the most effective policy. Researchers are not confident yet of how different variables interact to affect income, employment rates, and other indicators of success.As a result, one will often find seemingly conflicting data as exemplified by Card and Krueger’s (1992) findings that â€Å"5-20% of the post 1960 black gains were due to improved sc hool quality† while Smith and Welch (1989) claimed that 20-25% of black gains were a result of improved school quantity, which they asserted should be the focus of educational policies. Moreover, it is well known that employers often discriminate based on race, whether purposefully or unconsciously, and that this significantly impacts labor market outcomes.Affirmative Action can only do so much to address employment discrimination – in some models, the issue of negative racial stereotypes can be exacerbated by the application of such policies (Holzer and Neumark, 2000). In addition, some suggest targeting education inequalities in primary and secondary education as opposed to implementing race-preferential treatment in post-secondary education as a more efficient and equitable policy, although efforts such as NCLB have only slightly improved primary and secondary education inequalities.The primary and secondary education quality in the United States is in dire need of i mprovement already; high school graduation rates have stagnated, and school quality is falling behind when compared to the educational systems of other developed countries. There also exist other complicated variables that need to be addressed in order to close the income gaps between minorities and non-minorities such as the inheritance of learning abilities/behavior, ghetto culture, and the underclass (Jencks, 1993). As one can expect, research concerning controversial issues often suffers from researcher bias.Economic research typically entails numerous variables and methods in order to reach conclusions, and more often than not, results are varied and ambiguous, especially in this particular branch concerning Affirmative Action. It is a simple matter to selectively exclude certain results in order to make it appear as if a research study conclusively supports or rejects Affirmative Action as a beneficial policy, should one wish to do so. Literature searches can quickly turn up v ery obviously biased articles with weak evidence and unreasonable claims.Furthermore, past research has indicated that the types of models used in studies can have a significant impact on the results, further obfuscating the conclusions on the effectiveness of the policies. In fact, as of present, research on the policies has resulted in mostly ambiguous conclusions, although it is of my opinion that studies in general very slightly lean toward suggesting that Affirmative Action is beneficial as a whole – research studies that conclusively reject Affirmative Action as a viable policy are few and far between, and it is even difficult to find studies that demonstrate significant negative effects.In order to obtain more accurate data, researchers would optimally be able to create experimental studies with control and treatment groups, but this is very unlikely to occur due to the unethical properties of such studies. Clearly, it has become even more imperative that researchers i mprove models on the efficiency of Affirmative Action policies in order to obtain more reliable data to demonstrate with greater confidence the effects of the policy. Of course, these topics only cover the economic justifications for Affirmative Action, which is clearly also a matter of social justice.There is an endless cycle of philosophy-based debates on the policy – should we as a society aim for equity or efficiency? If we are willing to sacrifice some efficiency for equity, how much is optimal? There is also the question of whether society has a responsibility to â€Å"[remedy] the present effects of past discrimination,† which begins another entire debate about the responsibility of people today for wrongs committed by ancestors (Jones Jr. , 1985).Some also believe that Affirmative Action devalues the achievements of minorities since credit may be given to race-preferential treatment instead of to the individuals who accomplish those feats; this can lead to furt her racial prejudice and bias, possibly encouraging the continuation of racial discrimination in job employment. There are also suggestions that perhaps policies ought to focus on helping the part of the minority population with low socioeconomic status so as to avoid situations in which wealthy black students may be given preferential treatment over more qualified white students living below the poverty line.The debate over Affirmative Action for women is also just as controversial, for women also suffer from income inequality, but they still receive the same advantages that their male siblings receive. Therefore, one can argue that women are not put at a disadvantage early on in life and that they should not require preferential treatment in admissions or employment. In fact, women who benefit from Affirmative Action are much less likely than racial minorities to be lower-qualified and less-skilled, suggesting that implementing a preferential treatment policy may be inequitable in this case.Even more abstract of an argument is the claim that men and women will never reach perfect equality since they inherently desire different careers and hold differing aspirations for lifetime achievements. As can be seen, there is literally a myriad of issues that factor into the debate on Affirmative Action. The field of research concerning the topic is beset by the typical problems plaguing education and economics research – education quality and educational inputs to schools are difficult to measure, as are the effects on income, employment rates, job characteristics, etc. The lack of experimental data lends no help.The effects of nationally implemented legislation are difficult to track and quantify because of differences over time and across states (Altonji and Blank, 1999). Compiling data at a national level is also vastly time-consuming and challenging. Though neither side has conclusive evidence that supports their argument, studies that reveal tentative con clusions on the effects of Affirmative Action policies are emerging, and models are slowly approaching real-world utility. As research continues, hopefully the accumulation of data and models will allow researchers to uncover the true effects of Affirmative Action.References Altonji, Joseph G. and Rebecca M. Blank. 1999. â€Å"Race and Gender in the Labor Market. † In Handbook of Labor Economics, edited by Orley Ashenfelter and David E. Card, 3143- 3259. San Diego: Elsevier B. V. Bowman, Nicholas A. 2010. â€Å"College Diversity Experiences and Cognitive Development: A Meta Analysis. † Review of Educational Research 80(1):4-33. Card, David and Alan B. Krueger. 1992. â€Å"School quality and black-white relative earnings: a direct assessment. † Quarterly Journal of Economics 107:151-200. Cortes, Kalena E. 2010. â€Å"Do Bans on Affirmative Action Hurt Minority Students?Evidence from the Texas Top 10% Plan. † Economics of Education Review 29(6):1110-1124. D ong, Li and Dennis L. Weisman. â€Å"Why Preferences in College Admissions May Yield a More- Able Student Body. † Economics of Education Review 30(4):724-728. Hinrichs, Peter. 2011. â€Å"The Effects of Attending a Diverse College. † Economics of Education Review 30(2):332-241. Holzer, Harry and David Neumark. 2000. â€Å"Assessing Affirmative Action,† Journal of Economic Literature 38:483-568. Jencks, C. 1993. Rethinking Social Policy: Race, Poverty, and the Underclass. New York: HarperPerennial. Jones Jr. , James E. 1985. The Genesis and Present Status of Affirmative Action in Employment: Economic, Legal, and Political Realities. † Iowa Law Review 70:901-923. Loury, Linda D. and David Garman. 1995. â€Å"College Selectivity and Earnings. † Journal of Labor Economics 13:289-208. Murray, Charles. 1994. â€Å"Affirmative Racism,† In Debating Affirmative Action: Race, Gender, Ethnicity, and the Politics of Inclusion, edited by Nicolaus Mills. 1 91-208. New York: Delta. Steele, Shelby. 1990. The Content of Our Character. New York: St. Martin’s Press. Smith, James P. and Finish Welch. 1989. â€Å"Black Economic Progress after Myrdal. † Journal of Economic Literature 27:519-564.

What do the photos we take say about us Research Paper

What do the photos we take say about us - Research Paper Example Publication of Prince Harry’s nude photos irrefutably constitutes privacy violation, as can be discerned from the definition of private facts under privacy law. Private facts are information snippets about an individual’s personal life, which have not been previously disclosed to mainstream public and do not bear any justifiable public concern. Publication or disclosure of these private facts is also deemed offensive to reasonable persons in society (Nordhaus, 1999). Clearly, the Prince’s naked photos meet all these criteria. First, intimate photographs of Prince Harry are not ordinarily available to the public. Secondly, the photos are not of any legitimate concern to the public, since the information does not bear any relevance to critical societal matters. Most importantly, any reasonable person would consider the naked photographs offensive. This is because nudity often typifies indecency, which goes against the conventional principles of morality, especially in conservative environments. In addition to the high level of offensiveness and lack of newsworthiness in Prince Harry’s personal photos, diverse media outlets that published the photos did not acquire consent from the subject. This is a vital element when publishing private photographs. The act of publication, therefore, constituted unlawful use of private photographs and was decidedly unfair (Berkman Center for Internet and Society, 2008). Failure to obtain consent also points to the fact that, the respective media outlets solely focused on sensationalizing the photographs and gaining popularity ratings (Jobson, 2012), as opposed to portraying the Prince as a dignified public figure. The publication was, in consequence, morally wrong and disregarded journalistic ethics of responsible and unprejudiced reporting. The unreasonable nature of the act is aggravated even further, by the fact that the subject was photographed in a private

Barriers to growth for potential high growth organizations Essay

Barriers to growth for potential high growth organizations - Essay Example Recklies (2001) enlists several indicators of growth in an organization that include a substantial increase in revenue, subsidiaries, employees, and the organization’s assets. He further adds that growth should be gauged in terms of sustainability, improved value of shares held in the organization, and profitability. There are several barriers and drivers to growth of organizations alike. The following discussion focuses on some of the major growth drivers and the main barriers to growth in relation to high growth enterprises. Drivers to Growth To begin with, drivers to growth are those factors that enhance rapid growth in organizations. They may include the following: Proper Financing A high growth organization is boosted a lot by good finances. This can be in terms of availability, sufficiency, and the rate of interest; otherwise referred to as the costs of financing. When there are cheaper sources of financing that are available to the organization, the organization is able to invest in ventures easily and with speed to be able to take advantage of any opportunity that brings more return to the organization. ... For instance, the government may decide to restrict importation of commodities related to a particular industry to help growth in that industry. The result is that a first growing organization in that industry will have a favorable environment of expansion in terms of capacity because of the ready market for its product and reduced completion from substitute products. This will in turn add onto its revenue, which can then also be ploughed back to certain agreed proportions despite increasing the value of shares held by its owners. A Larger Unexploited Market Segment or Market Share A larger market indicates a larger proportion of potential customers to the organization. In cases where the organization still has some sort of a large catchment area of customers that have the potential of being the company’s buyers, growth is favored than in a closed market where every consumer has already identified with a brand. The motivation of reaching to the untapped market is massive and, therefore, leads to growth because as the organization reaches out to more and more consumers, and there is an additional turnover or growth in sales that ensures that revenue is boosted. Arrival of new customers in a totally new segment adds onto the profits eventually; hence, it provokes a rapid growth to the organization. Good Information Management Structure Information flow is very essential to any organization. An organization with an effective and efficient management system for information flow; therefore, it is likely to grow at a faster rate (Stalk et al 1992). This is because organizations are likely to have complex structures at every level that also involves

Evaluate if Youngs is a good investment. In this answer you need to Essay

Evaluate if Youngs is a good investment. In this answer you need to consider any qualitative factors that might affect your recommendation - Essay Example The competitive advantage will make the company to reward its shareholders very well for decades thus making it a good investment. The good reputation has provided the company with a real opportunity to expand in the future hence a good investment. Such conditions make Youngs to have higher future financial performance hence being able to provide the highest financial rewards to the investors or shareholders. Secondly, Youngs has an increasing profitability and liquidity. The current ratio of Youngs shows an upward trend and the trend is likely to continue into the future, this indicates an increase in its ability to meet short-term obligations. On the other hand, its profitability ratios show an upward trend. The net profit ratio of the company increased in 2014 sop is return on assets. This implies an increase in the company’s efficiency. The company is therefore very profitable nd the trend is likely to continue into the unforeseeable future. Even though the company has an increasing use of debts, it has sufficient liquidity to meet its interest payments. Its cash flow in terms of interest payment is, therefore, limited hence the company is able to keep such costs to a minimum. The lower interest payments leave more cash at the disposal of the company which they can use as financial rewards to the investors in terms of dividends. In addition, the surplus cash can be reinvested into the company to generate or create value for the shareholders of the company. In either way, the investors stand to benefit. Thirdly, the company has a very simple business model. It sells high quality ladies and gents clothing. It is therefore very easy to monitor the performance of the stock of the company. The ever increasing demand for designer and fashionable clothing acts as a driver for future growth and this makes the company to be a good investment because it has a bright future in the fashion