Family Tradition

Elizabeth Ashleigh Petersen Mrs. Perniciaro English 1101 MW March 15, 2010 Family Tradition I always know it is Thanksgiving morning when I awake to the smell of the turkey roasting in the oven and the cinnamon apple spice tea brewing on the stove. The rest of the morning is spent helpingmy mom and grandmother cooking in our large open kitchen. Every year for as long as I can remember, my grandmother uses my Nana’s recipies when cooking the thick butter garlic mashed potatoes, homemade sweet red cranberry sauce, and the rich creamy dark gravy. On the other hand, my mom and I always cook the french green beans, sausage and bread stuffing, and also our homemade pumpkin pie together. While the women spend most of the early afternoon in the kitchen getting things ready, the men normally gather in the living room and watch sports or play a board game on the coffee table. It is a rule in our house that no man is allowed in the kitchen while we are cooking unless he is coming to help with dishes; otherwise the men eat all the food as it is being prepared. Thanksgiving is a day where my entire family can get together and enjoy excellentfood as well as each other’s company. My father who lives in the beautiful Birmingham, Alabama drives down every year the day before Thanksgiving and stays with us throughout the weekend. He always brings the finest fresh sweet tea and homemade peach cobbler you can find in Alabama which are essential to our Thanksgiving meal. However, my maternal grandparents drive down from Memphis, Tennessee and bring along with them a small present for each of the kids; which include my two brothers, Johnathan and Harrison, and my sister Alise. Even though this is a day for my family to spend time together, we have always welcomed anyone without a place to go or family to be with to spend it with us as well. Some of the past years we have had neighbors join us and also friends of the children. As I’ve already stated, this day is very important and special to me and every member of my family. Although we each lead our own chaoticand busy lives, we will always make time for each other especially for holidays. Thanksgiving in our home promotes a sense of togetherness and thankfulness, while also incorporating homemade food. We have specific recipies and certain important family traditions that have been passed down from one generation to the next and so on. Even though we do some of the same things each Thanksgiving, I cannot help but feel excitement for every year thereafter.

The Ultimate SAT Spanish Subject Test Study Guide

The Ultimate SAT Spanish Subject Test Study Guide SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips Applying to highly selective schools often means submitting SAT Subject Test scores along with your regular SAT or ACT scores. Si espaà ±ol es pan comido para usted, then taking the SAT Spanish Subject Test is a great way to fulfill part of the subject test requirement. Read this guide to learn more about what’s on the SAT Spanish Subject Test and whether or not you should take it. We’ll go over format, test content, where to find good practice material, and tips to help you when studying and taking the test. Table of Contents What’s the Test Format? When Can You Take It? Should You Take the SAT Subject Test in Spanish? Choosing the Right SAT Subject Test: Spanish or Spanish with Listening? What Does the Test Cover? Part A: Vocabulary and Structure Part B: Paragraph Completion Part C: Reading Comprehension SAT Spanish with Listening Question Styles Where to Find SAT Spanish Practice Tests 4 SAT Spanish Study Tips Test-Day Tips En Conclusià ³n What’s Next? Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points or more? We've put our best advice into a single guide. These are the 5 strategies you MUST be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download this free SAT guide now: What’s the Test Format? There are two different SAT Spanish tests you can choose from. The regular SAT Spanish Subject Test is like most other standardized tests- you’ll be asked multiple choice questions about what you read in the test booklet. The Spanish with Listening Subject Test is a little different because the test starts by asking you to answer around 30 multiple choice questions based on listening to recordings (followed by ~55 questions you’ll answer based on what you read). SAT Spanish SAT Spanish with Listening What’s it out of? 200-800 points 200-800 points How long is it? 60 minutes for reading questions 60 minutes total (20 min for listening questions, 40 minutes for reading questions) How many questions is it? 85 Around 85 (around 30 listening questions, 55 reading questions) For both of these tests, you’ll need to answer about 85 multiple choice questions (each with four possible answer choices). Each correct answer is worth one point, each skipped or unanswered question is worth 0 points, and each incorrect answer is worth negative 0.25 points (to discourage random guessing). When you take the Spanish with Listening Subject Test, you’ll need to bring along an approved CD-player to use for the listening questions. Return to the table of contents. Robert Leverington/Flickr When Can You Take the SAT Subject Test in Spanish? The regular SAT Spanish Subject Test is offered in August, October, December, May, and June. The Spanish with Listening Subject Test is only offered in November*. Here’s a snapshot of what the SAT II Spanish test dates look like for the school year 2019-2020: SAT Spanish SAT Spanish with Listening August 24, 2019 âÅ"” October 5, 2019 âÅ"” November 2, 2019 âÅ"” December 7, 2019 âÅ"” May 2, 2020 âÅ"” June 6, 2020 âÅ"” In future years the dates may shift around a little, but the SAT Spanish Subject Test will always be offered in these months around the same dates. You can find the most up-to-date information about SAT Subject Test dates here. *SAT Language tests with listening will be offered in November up through November 2020; after that, they will only be offered in May (starting May 2021). Return to the table of contents. Should You Take the SAT Spanish Subject Test? The College Board recommends that you should only take the SAT Spanish Subject Test if you’ve studied 3-4 years of high school Spanish (or two years, if you’re an advanced student). To be blunt, SAT Language Subject Tests are extremely difficult to do well on for non-native speakers because your performance is being compared to that of native speakers who take the test. The curve isn’t quite as bad on Spanish as it is for some of the other language tests, but in general, there are only three cases in which you should think about taking a SAT Subject Test in Spanish. Case 1: Spanish Is Your Strongest Subject Some highly selective colleges require or recommend students to submit at least two SAT Subject Test scores along with their applications. If application requirements are why you’re taking an SAT Subject Test, Spanish should only be your choice if it’ll be one of your best scores. To know if you'll be able to do well on the SAT Spanish Subject Test, we've put together this table with what it takes to get a good score on the SAT Spanish Subject Test (excerpted from our article on what’s a good Subject Test score). 70th+ %ile score 80th+ %ile score 90th+ %ile score Spanish 730-740 760 790-800 Spanish with Listening 750-760 770 790 If you’re going to be able to hit a higher percentile score on the SAT Spanish Subject Test than you will with any other Subject Test, then you should take it. Otherwise, it's better to send colleges an excellent score in another area than to send them a mediocre Spanish SAT II score. Case 2: You’re Not Taking Spanish but Want to Show Fluency If you’re not taking AP or IB Spanish B and want to show you have a high level of fluency and ability in Spanish, then it makes sense to take the SAT Spanish Subject Test. Students who might fall into this category include native Spanish speakers or students who’ve taken a lot of Spanish outside of their high school and want to demonstrate their abilities. In fact, if you have a lot of experience and familiarity with spoken Spanish, the College Board particularly recommends taking the Spanish with Listening Subject Test to showcase your listening skills. Case 3: You Want to Place Into the Correct Level of Spanish Colleges often use standardized test scores to place you in the right level foreign language classes. If you’re not planning on taking the Spanish AP or IB test, then taking the SAT Subject Test in Spanish is a good substitute. Most colleges also have some kind of free placement exam, so if you don’t want to spend the time and money on a SAT Subject Test, you don’t have to. One bonus of taking the SAT Spanish Subject Test, though, is that all the questions are multiple choice- you won’t have to write any essays or even do any free-response questions. If you’re only taking the test to place into the correct level of Spanish and will be submitting other, likely higher, SAT II scores with your college applications, you should wait until you’re as far along in your Spanish classes as possible to take the Spanish SAT. You’ll need to double check with the colleges you’re applying to, but as a rule, if you’re only taking SAT II Spanish to place into the right level Spanish class, you should hold off on taking it until May or June of senior year. Return to the table of contents. Disappointed with your scores? Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points? We've written a guide about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now: Choosing the Right SAT Subject Test: Spanish or Spanish With Listening? We briefly went over the big difference between the two tests when discussing their formats, but that might not be enough information for you to decide which test to take. The difference between the two tests boils down to how comfortable you are with understanding spoken Spanish. On the informational page about the Spanish with Listening Subject Test, College Board states that â€Å"many colleges indicate the Spanish with Listening test gives them a fuller picture of your ability and may be more useful for placement purposes.† So if you can excel on Spanish with Listening, you should absolutely take that over the regular Spanish Subject Test (kind of like how you should take the Math 2C Subject Test over Math 1C). But if you’re not confident your Spanish listening comprehension skills are at a high enough level or are worried that anxiety about the listening section will negatively affect your score, you should take the regular SAT Spanish Subject Test. 40% of the questions on the Spanish with Listening Subject Test involve listening to spoken Spanish and answering questions on it. The three tasks you’ll be asked to perform are: Explaining a picture ("Pictures"). You’ll have to identify either what’s presented in a photograph or the most likely thing someone in the photograph would say. Continuing a conversation ("Rejoinders"). You’ll have to choose the answer that would be the best next line in a short conversation. Demonstrating listening comprehension ("Selections"). You’ll need to answer questions that demonstrate you’ve understood what was said in a longer spoken selection. Keep in mind that both exams test you on your knowledge of vocabulary and structure, paragraph completions, and reading comprehension. It’s just that answering questions based on written material makes up 100% of the SAT Spanish Subject Test, but only about 60% of the SAT Spanish with Listening Subject Test. For Rejoinders questions, if one person in the recording asks  ¿Dà ³nde est el baà ±o?, you'll need to choose an answer that makes sense in context. Return to the table of contents. What Does the Test Cover? The SAT Spanish Subject Test is designed to cover skills and topics that are taught in most high school Spanish classes. Specifically, the following three areas are heavily emphasized: Vocabulary (in the context of a sentence as well as throughout the test) Parts of speech (nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, etc.) Idiomatic expressions The test itself is divided up into three sections, each with roughly equal numbers of questions. Part A: Vocabulary and Structure Part B: Paragraph Completion Part C: Reading Comprehension In the next three sections of this guide, I’ll go over what’s on each of the three parts of the test. All sample questions come from the SAT Subject Test Student Guide 2016-2017. Return to the table of contents. Part A: Vocabulary and Structure The first part of the SAT Spanish Subject Test is the Vocabulary and Structure section (33% of the test). This section is made up of fill-in-the-blank questions which test your knowledge of both what word or phrase is correct grammatically and what makes sense in the context of the sentence. Here’s an example of a vocabulary and structure question you might see on the SAT II Spanish Test: Directions: This part consists of a number of incomplete statements, each having four suggested completions. Select the most appropriate completion and fill in the corresponding circle on the answer sheet. Si en el Brasil, hablarà ­amos portuguà ©s y no espaà ±ol. (A) vivamos(B) vivimos(C) vivà ­amos(D) vivià ©ramos Answer: D Return to thetable of contents. Part B: Paragraph Completion The next section on the Spanish SAT Subject Test is the Paragraph Completion section (33%). This section is very similar to the vocabulary and structure section, but instead of testing grammar and usage with isolated sentences, you’ll be given longer paragraphs and asked to complete them with the appropriate vocabulary or phrase choice. Here’s a sample paragraph and a paragraph completion question about it: Directions: In each of the following paragraphs, there are numbered blanks indicating that words or phrases have been omitted. For each numbered blank, four completions are provided. First, read through the entire paragraph. Then, for each numbered blank, choose the completion that is most appropriate given the context of the entire paragraph and fill in the corresponding circle on the answer sheet. La mquina ms infernal de hacer dinero se llama â€Å"Pedroso,† un osito electrà ³nico que (4) ha derramado sobre sus fabricantes beneficios superiores a los 100 millones de dà ³lares en el (5) aà ±o. La (6) de Pedroso es que habla. Claro, no hay ningà ºn misterio en la cinta sin fin y el grabador (7) en el interior del osito. Pero lo (8) novedoso es que (9) hablar su boca se mueve en sincronà ­a con las palabras y sus ojos pestaà ±ean. El juguete (10) vende a precios que oscilan entre 60 y 80 dà ³lares. (4): (A) todavà ­a(B) nunca(C) ya(D) tampoco Answer: C Return to the table of contents. Part C: Reading Comprehension The last third of the SAT Spanish Subject Test is Part C, the Reading Comprehension section. The questions in this section are based on short selections from: prose fiction historical works newspaper and magazine articles advertisements, flyers, and letters You'll be tested on your understanding of the passage or image with questions that ask you about: main and supporting ideas themes style tone spatial and temporal settings of the selection (where and when do the events described in the passage take place?) Below, you can try out a sample Reading Comprehension question based on an advertisement. Directions: Read the following texts carefully for comprehension. Each text is followed by a number of questions or incomplete statements. Select the answer or completion that is best according to the text and fill in the corresponding circle on the answer sheet.  ¿Quà © caracterà ­stica se destaca ms de la compaà ±Ãƒ ­a anunciada? (A) Su precio(B) Su cortesà ­a(C) Su rapidez(D) Su amplitud Answer: D Return to the table of contents. SAT Spanish With Listening Question Styles If you choose to take the SAT Spanish with Listening Subject Test, you’ll encounter three additional types of questions, all listening-based. For Pictures questions, you’ll be shown a printed picture in your test booklet and asked to listen to four sentences. The recording will specify whether the sentences are meant to illustrate what you see in the picture or be an example of what someone in the picture might say. The full sentences you listen to for the Pictures questions are not written out in your test booklet, just the answer choices (A), (B), (C), or (D). For an example of a Pictures question, try the first or second question in this set of official practice questions. The next type of Listening question is called "Rejoinders." You’ll hear either several short conversations or parts of conversations and then be asked to listen to four possible choices for how the conversation could continue. Again, only (A), (B), (C), or (D) will be in your test booklet, not the full text of the choices. To see an example of a Rejoinders question, try question #3, 4, or 5 in this set of official practice questions. The last type of Listening question, Selections, asks you to demonstrate you’ve listened to and understood a longer listening selection (around 10-25 seconds). For an example of this type of question, try any of the last four questions in this set of official practice questions. Return to the table of contents. Where to Find SAT Spanish Practice Tests The best source of realistic SAT Spanish Subject Test practice materials is the College Board, the maker of the test. If you want to practice with a full-length official SAT Spanish practice test, you’ll have to buy The Official Guide for ALL SAT Subject Tests, 2nd Edition, which costs around $18 and includes an audio CD for the Spanish with Listening practice test. Both of the SAT Subject Tests in Spanish ask you questions based on what you read, so you can use the reading section of the practice test you’re not taking for extra practice questions. If you’re taking the†¦ Take the†¦ Get extra practice questions from the†¦ Spanish Subject Test Spanish Subject Test practice test Spanish with Listening Subject Test practice test Spanish with Listening Subject Test Spanish with Listening Subject Test practice test Spanish Subject Test practice test The best free resource for official SAT Spanish practice is the College Board website, which allows you to answer 33 practice questions online and view your results (with answer explanations). Here's a breakdown of how many types of each question the College Board website has for the SAT Spanish Subject Test: Section Type Number of Questions Vocabulary and Structure 5 Paragraph Completion 15 (across two different paragraphs) Reading Comprehension 13 (across three different passages/ads) If you’re taking the Spanish with Listening Subject Test, you can also try out nine official online listening practice questions for free. If your browser supports Adobe Flash Player, you can actually listen to the questions, rather than just reading the written-out script, which is great practice! Here's a breakdown of the number of Spanish with Listening questions College Board has up online (spoiler alert: there are only nine questions total): Section Type Number of Questions Pictures 2 Rejoinders 3 Selections 4 Other Practice Resources The free SAT Subject Tests Student Guide PDF is useful if you want to print out the questions and take them on paper for more realistic practice, but it only includes some (not all) of the free online practice questions linked to in the previous section. If you want more practice tests, you can supplement your studying with non-official practice materials. The best of these seems to be Barron’s SAT Subject Test: Spanish, which includes ten full-length practice tests as well as review materials for specific topics. Return to Table of Contents 4 SAT Spanish Study Tips Now that you're fully equipped with information about what the test covers, what the question formats are, and what practice materials are out there, it's time to jump into studying. We've come up with four fundamental tips to help you as you prep for the SAT Spanish Subject Test. #1: Listen and Watch Spanish-Language Media A great way to get comfortable with colloquial Spanish is to listen to Spanish-language music and watch telenovelas or other Spanish-language media. This is one time where watching TV is a valid studying technique! Get on your online streaming service of choice and search for Spanish-language music and film/TV. Make sure to turn off English subtitles if you’re watching something in Spanish, or that will defeat the purpose. If you're looking for specific movie suggestions, Spanish teacher Carla Staffaroni suggests watching Diarios de motocicleta, La misma luna, Valentà ­n, and La historia oficial. #2: Memorize Irregular Verbs One thing the SAT Language Subject Tests love to test you on is irregular verbs, particularly ones that are commonly used. Study them and learn them well so you’re not unpleasantly surprised on test day. Here's a list of the top 25 most common irregular verbs: Spanish verb English meaning ser to be haber to have estar to be tener to have hacer to do, to make poder can, to be able decir to say, to tell ir to go ver to see dar to give saber to know querer to want, to love llegar to arrive, to reach, to come (to) poner to put, to place, to set parecer to seem creer to believe seguir to follow, to continue encontrar to find, to encounter venir to come pensar to think salir to leave, to go out volver to return, to go back conocer to know (people or places) sentir to feel, to regret contar to count, to tell We have an article specifically about ser for every tense, as a good starting place. For more irregular verbs, search online for "common irregular Spanish verbs." #3: Memorize the Question Formats Just knowing Spanish won’t be enough to ace this test if you are caught off guard by the ways you’re tested on your knowledge. Familiarize yourself ahead of time with the different question formats that will be on the test to avoid getting surprised on test day. To recap, those formats for the regular SAT Spanish Subject Test are: fill-in-the-blank vocab questions, paragraph completion questions, and reading comprehension questions. In addition to those three question formats, the Spanish with Listening test also has Picture, Rejoinder, and Selection questions. #4: Take Realistic Practice Tests Even if you’re completely fluent in Spanish, you should take at least one realistic practice test to familiarize yourself with the layout of the test. To get the most realistic practice-test experience, you’ll need to make sure you take the test in one sitting, stick to the 60-minute time limit, and don’t re-listen to audio recordings you’ll only get a chance to hear once on the real test. If you take a realistic practice test and ace it, then congratulations! You don’t need to spend extra time studying. If you take it and don’t do as well as you expected, that’s still helpful, because the questions you got wrong will tell you where you need to focus your studying. Part of making sure your practice test is realistic if you’re taking the Spanish with Listening Subject Test is using an approved CD player, preferably the one you’ll be using on test day. Yes, it’s easier to just pop the CD into your computer’s disc drive, but that won’t give you the most realistic testing experience. Make sure you have and practice with a CD player that: has headphones is handheld (no boomboxes or computers) is battery operated (no power cords permitted) can’t record or duplicate Return to the table of contents. You also cannot take a realistic practice test using your car's CD player. Test-Day Tips All of the usual test-taking tips apply to the Spanish Subject Test: get lots of sleep, bring a snack, get there early, and so forth. However, we’ve also compiled four tips below that are particularly helpful for taking the Spanish SAT II. #1: Only Guess Between Two Answers As with all SAT Subject Tests with questions with four answer choices, the Spanish and Spanish with Listening tests take off a third of a point for every wrong answer. Unless you can narrow your choices down to two possible correct answers, it’s too much of a risk to guess. You’re better off skipping the question, which leads right into the next test-day tip. #2: Skip Hard Questions Save time by skipping over harder questions and coming back to them later. Each question is worth the same amount of points, and there’s no rule that says you have to go through the test in order. It's much better to skip and come back to a difficult question than it is to burn five of your precious test-taking minutes staring it down. Unfortunately, if you want to get a good score on the SAT Spanish Subject Test, you're going to have to answer almost every question correctly. But it's better for your score to answer 81/85 questions correctly and leave four blank than it is to answer 85/85 and get four questions wrong. The next two tips are for the Spanish with Listening Subject Test only. #3: Don’t Forget Your CD Player! There is nothing worse than getting to a testing center and realizing you’ve forgotten some essential test-taking tool, whether it's your lucky number two pencil or your graphing calculator for SAT Math. All this is to say that if you're taking the SAT Spanish with Listening Subject Test, make sure you bring your College Board-approved CD player with you to the test. You might want to pack it (along with headphones and extra working batteries) the night before, just to be safe. Before test day, you’ll also want to check to make sure the CD player is working well and put in fresh batteries (no need to be changing your batteries out during the test). Similarly, make sure that the backup batteries you bring with you are functional. College Board even suggests bringing a backup CD player if possible, although that seems a little over the top. Still, you should do whatever will make you feel the most confident that you won’t encounter technical difficulties during the test. #4: Stay Calm During Listening Because it requires not just reading, but listening, some students can get very anxious about the listening section of the test, particularly since it’s the first 20 minutes of the test. You can do things ahead of time that will lessen this anxiety, like making sure you practice with the same CD player you’ll be using on the test so you can get familiar with it in the test-taking environment. We also have some great tips on decreasing test-taking anxiety in general here. Ultimately, though, even if you finish the listening section and feel like you’ve completely failed it, try not to let it faze you too much. You need to put your game face on and concentrate on hitting the next 55-ish written questions out of the park! Postpone your self-doubt and worrying for 40 minutes until you put down the pencil at the end of the test. Return to the table of contents. En Conclusià ³n The SAT Spanish Subject Test is 85 multiple choice questions taken over the course of 60 minutes. If you’re fluent in Spanish or know that your strongest SAT Subject Test Score will be in Spanish, you should take the SAT Spanish Subject Test. Consider taking the Spanish with Listening Subject Test if you have a good understanding of spoken Spanish, as it will give colleges a better idea of your Spanish abilities. Use the College Board website for free practice questions, or buy The Official Guide for ALL SAT Subject Tests, 2nd Edition for a complete official practice test. Try the Barron’s SAT Spanish Subject Test book for more non-official practice tests. You can also prepare for the SAT Spanish Subject Test by listening to Spanish-language music, watching Spanish-language TV and films, and memorizing common irregular verbs. On test day, remember to skip hard questions and come back to them later and only guessing if you can narrow it down to two choices. If you’re taking Spanish with Listening, don’t forget your CD player and try not to sweat the listening section after you’ve finished it.  ¡Feliz estudios! What’s Next? Want more in-depth information about the difficulty of the test before you make any decisions? Read our analysis of how hard the SAT Spanish Subject Test is here. Still trying to decide if it makes sense to take the SAT Spanish Subject Test? Take a look at our discussion of which SAT Subject Tests you should take. Not sure if you need to take an SAT Subject Test for the colleges you're applying to? Use our complete list of colleges that require SAT subject tests to figure out the answer! Need a little extra help prepping for your Subject Tests? We have the industry's leading SAT Subject Test prep programs (for all non-language Subject Tests). Built by Harvard grads and SAT Subject Test full or 99th %ile scorers, the program learns your strengths and weaknesses through advanced statistics, then customizes your prep program to you so that you get the most effective prep possible. Learn more about our Subject Test products below:

First peoples in Canada Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

First peoples in Canada - Research Paper Example The Residential School System The residential school system systematically undermined the culture of the Aboriginals and insinuated that it was not worth adopting or following at all costs. Aboriginal children were forcefully separated from their families for lengthy periods of time. During this separation, the children were given strict rules not to talk in their own language and do anything that is related to their culture. Breaking of these rules would lead to sever punishments (Hanson, 2013). It is a common knowledge that culture is passed down generations by the process of parents-children value transfers. By separating children from their parents for long durations of time, it was impossible for the Aboriginal culture to be passed down. The federal government and churches were aware of this because this was the chief objective of this school system – no wonder this system has been referred as a form of cultural genocide. In deed when the Prime minister Stephen Harper iss ued an official apology in regard to residential school system, he said that the system was based on a wrong assumption that â€Å"Aboriginal cultures and spiritual beliefs were inferior and unequal† (Hanson, 2013, p. 1). It is therefore clear that the system was dehumanizing and directly insinuated that the Aboriginal culture was not worth following being inferior. The conditions in the school system were abusive and logically the system did not qualify to use the term ‘school’ in its title. Residential school staff has been accused of great abuses to which students were subjected to. The abuses alleged were physical, sexual, emotional and psychological (Hanson, 2013). According to Miller, the residential school system offered a net negative experience for students – students were said to look back with pain after passing through the system. Children spent a lot of time at the schools and never obtained the emotional support needed by children from their parents. Food was not enough for them and the clothes they were given were shabby and not warm enough especially for the winter seasons (Miller, 2012). This must have been psychologically disturbing to the children taking into consideration their tender ages – 16 years and below. The fact that they were constantly told their culture was inferior and they should never speak their native language must equally have been disturbing (Truth and Reconciliation Commission, 2013). Former students of this system have been pressing through litigation for compensation for suffering they were subjected to under this system. As an indication that students were abused under this system, the federal government has been undertaking measure to show its remorse. One such step is â€Å"the $1.9-billion compensation package for the survivors of abuse at Aboriginal residential schools† (Miller, 2012, p. 1). Students in the system were abused and their dignity was not upheld – accordi ng to Hanson (2013), many of them died due to the conditions and punishments. The experiences that students underwent in this system were dehumanizing. This system did not educate students as was expected being a school but instead just wasted their time. This system up to the 1950s operated on a

How relevant is Machiavelli's Prince for today's political leaders Essay

How relevant is Machiavelli's Prince for today's political leaders - Essay Example The book can be used as a manual for the politicians who yearn to win and stay in power as in his literature, Machiavelli guides a prince on the manner to act towards his enemies and applying both force and fraud in the course of war2. Regardless of the perceptions people have concerning politics, the book goes straight to the reality of how things work in what Machiavelli considers as effectual truth. It demonstrates that allies who exist in politics at home and across boarders are never really friends. Among the principles that are championed by Machiavelli is that leaders are always supposed to cover up their real intentions, make sure they cannot be predicted, and regularly act in a manner that is against mercy, faith, humanity and religion, so that they may be able to preserve the state, making ,Machiavelli’s name synonymous with the tyrants who are cunning. When the dismal perception of Machiavelli in regard to humanity is understood, it becomes easy to appreciate the ethical universe that he operates in as he begins his discussion that touches of virtues that a prince should have by discarding them immediately. According to him, virtues do not have utility and are simply products of a person’s imagination. In Machiavelli’s terms, truth is a factor of the effect or outcome associated with a specific action from the dictator’s perspective but not any intrinsic or rigid standard of value and obvious liberty or freedom is not among them. This creates the definition of the term effectual truth and Machiavelli defines himself as a relativist who adjusts to the situation why favoring dictatorship. This is the same kind of discourse that has been associated with the liberals as well as democrats; it has also been seen and heard in the self-proclaimed conservatives as well as the republicans. The introduction of a new approach in relation to the traditional political science by

Public Relations Communication Theories Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Public Relations Communication Theories - Essay Example According to general public or business group, communication refers to the transferring the information from one source to another source. In other words, in the general public context the communication and information are used interchangeably. Communication is considered as the small part of the big picture, which includes organizing, planning, controlling and managing ( Dainton & Zelley, 2005, p. 2). Contrariwise, the views of scholars are different regarding the concept and perception of communication. Marianne Dainton & Elaine D. Zelley, in their book on â€Å"Applying Communication Theory for Professional Life† (2005, p 2-3) described that scholars believe that the communication is believed to be the process instead of information. The kind of process, which is elaborated in the book, is referred to as the one in which people interact with each other to create the meanings and then develop the sustainability of the messages, which may lead them to organize and manage the meanings of the messages. In other words, the communication process begins with the creation and ends with the management of the meanings of messages. The concept of communication theory seems to be highly emphasized on information transmission. Claude Shanon, gave the theory of communication. His theory of communication discussed message transmission instead of information transmission (1948, pp. 379-423,623-656). Shanon used the term message instead of information. The reason to use the message as the key term to describe the communication was that he wanted to elaborate the concept of knowledge communication. Therefore, the Shanon’s theory of communication is also believed to be the theory of message. The message also includes the signs and symbols as the way to communicate. Most of the times the message and information are used interchangeably for the purpose of communications; they are similar but not identical. According to Rafael Capurro’s work on â€Å"Angelet ice, A Message Theory† (2003), the similarities that exist between message and information are as follows. Sender Dependent A message is believed to be sender dependent. The sender dependency refers to the asymmetric structure of communication, which may still require the receiver to ask for more information. For example, the sender may only send the indication to communicate through message and once the communication started, the receiver may need to ask for information to have detail knowledge for communication. Message/ Information Brings Something New This may refer to the similarity between the message and the information. The message and information are supposed to bring something new to the receiver. The receiver expects the communication may bring something relevant and new. Therefore, message and information both strike the mind of the receiver, if they are understandable. Coded/ Transmitted The message and information both are transmitted through coded forms. For exa mple in the cellular systems the message is coded in accordance with the transmission systems used. Therefore, the coded system for communication purpose exists for both message and information transmission. Expression A message and information are believed to be utterance that gives receiver selection through the mechanism, by which the message or information is released, but information may most of the time lack expression and communicate with

New Garments Business Plan Essay Example for Free

New Garments Business Plan Essay Though agriculture has always been the one of the most anticipated sectors in budgets, discussions, lectures and books but in true sense garments industry in Bangladesh is the most essential sector in terms of employment of comparatively less educated people. Employing almost 4.2 million people of whom 80% are women and thus contributing to empowerment of rural women. Let alone employment even if we consider foreign currency inflow this has been one of the most potential source. RMG covers around 80% of the total foreign exchange earnings of Bangladesh. According to a survey it contributes around 8 billion dollars which is around 13% of GDP. Starting in 1970s earning from it has increased by 8 times which is around 16.5% per annum. SWOT analysis Weakness: 1. Limited financial investment, 2. Insufficient infrastructural facility, 3. Less educated work-force 4. Negative impression on foreign buyers due to both political and unrest within the industry among the labor 5. Lack of legal enforcement 6. Lack of brand awareness 7. Poverty Threats: 1. High level of inflation 2. China, Pakistan and India. 3. Increasing competition 4. Capital investment availability, 5. Political instability 6. Corruption 7. Workplace unrest Strengths: 1. Labor intensive industry and labor cost is cheaper in Bangladesh compared to most countries 2. Plenty of labor available 3. Quality products 4. Competitive pricing Opportunities 1. Becoming a major hub 2. Tax reduction/govt. incentives 3. Planned Infrastructural development should improve supply chain a lot Company: Elegance Our company will be a garment company. Estimations are done based on square textile ltd and a small company named triangle fashion wear in Dhaka. Vision Provide quality clothing for every class of people and become one of the leading names in garments sector in the country and abroad as well. Mission Capture and satisfy the needs of customers through cost leadership and quality assurance and thus expand gradually. Introduction: Our company in the initial stage will go for sewing shirts only assuming monthly demand of 4000 shirts. As we will only produce ordered volume so the assumed demand is also our total production in units. We will take orders from other garments. As we will do the sewing only we won’t be having any inventory cost other than the raw materials. Reason behind being the designing and the cutting in these scenarios are normally done by the garment giving the order and we will complete the sewing and the collars. Buttons will be done afterwards elsewhere. For the electrical arrangements such as getting the business line for industrial purpose and placing meters the cost is assumed as 40000 and for wearing, stabilizers for machines sockets and other expenditure 40000 more is added with the initial cost. We will have 22 machines for which a 1000-1200 square feet space will be require. For hiring the place advance with 1st months’ rent is assumed as 115000. Loan of 200,000(27.54%of initial investment) will be taken at a rate of 15% which is close to 30% of the total investment amount. (Basic bank) (Small scale enterprise: The enterprise will be termed as small if in today’s market condition the replacement cost of plant, machinery and other components excluding land and building amounts to tk 15 million or less-Policy strategies for small and medium enterprises development in Bangladesh) Inventory: The raw materials should include, needles, pastes used in collars and threads. Ordering volume will be our production so there will be no additional inventory cost Machines: Taking the demand into account we will start with 22 machines of which 18 are single needle plain machines 2 over locks and two three needle machines. Ratios of plain machine to over locks and three needle is 10:2 Single needle is for basic sewing, three needle takes 1/3 time compared to single needle for obvious reasons but are very expensive, and over locks are sewing machines with blades that cuts the additional threads after sewing. Changes in demand and consequences: According to the owner of the triangle fashion wear in the winter time the demand for shirts decrease by 20-25%.duration of this shortage in demand is around 2 months. During this period there are obvious lay-offs so there is decrease in demand, in salaries and ultimately decrease in COGS and sales as well. Sales and COGS: Sales growth for our company is taken as 17%, based on the average of 5 years growth in sales of square textiles which is close to 20% and of triangle fashion wear which is close to 15%. As for COGS, for our company the growth assumed is 10%.for square text. Average growth in cogs is less than 15. NWC is assumed as 15% of sale for our company for each of five years. For square text. It is close to 18%. Salvage value For the over locks and single needle SV is assumed at an average of 5500tk after 5 years for each of the machines and for the 3 needle machine it is 8000 tk each Depreciation and tax: As for depreciation we deducted salvage value from total machine cost and deducted the amount by 10 which is the total lifetime for the machines. We used straight line depreciation for the other years. Corporate tax rate is assumed as 35% of the EBT amount. Calculating WACC: Market return of 10% is taken from the stock Bangladesh web site on 12th April, US risk free rate is taken for the measurement which is close to 3% and beta of 1.26 is taken from the stock Bangladesh website as well for the textile industries. Calculating CAPEX: Capital expenditure is calculated by summing up all the fixed assets for the 1st year which is close to 7% of the total sales for the same year. For the rest of years the growth rate is assumed as same as the sales which is 15%. After that we deducted fixed asset amount of the previous year from the amount of current year. 4P analysis: Product: As we said earlier our only product will be shirts. Pricing: Rate for sewing shirts in the market now is close to 90tk per shirt, we will start with 85tk to capture the market in the first place and then will focus on maintaining the quality. As we will only sew shirts so the calculated cost for each shirt will also be our production cost/unit.it is calculated as 49.5 by dividing COGS by demand. Promotion Promotion: We will do it by ourselves as the owner of the business so we won’t be having any additional cost for advertising and there will be experienced supervisors too, to initiate promotion. Place/Location and delivery: We will choose a place close to the companies we are expecting to get orders from. For the delivery of raw products to us and delivery of the sewed shirts to the companies ordering, companies themselves will be responsible.so again there will be no additional transportation cost for our company.

Coping With The Effects Of Rural Poverty Sociology Essay

Coping With The Effects Of Rural Poverty Sociology Essay Transformations in agriculture, natural resource management, exploited tourism, and absentee ranch ownership have changed the face of many rural communities. Several of these changes and other factors have led many rural communities to experience serious declines in their economies during the past decades. These changes have been exacerbated by recent economic hardships further depleting the economy and resources of rural communities. Thus, the precursors and consequences of poverty for families in these communities deserve attention. While Wilson (1987) brought the demographic changes related to urban poverty to light, larger explanations of rural poverty have been less of a research focus. Families living in rural communities are sometimes expected to be buffered by the effects of poverty by maintaining strong family and community connections. However, many of the changes related to family structures and community involvement that often lead to negative outcomes have also become ch aracteristics of rural living (MacTavish Salamon, 2003). In studying rural families in poverty, I propose two theoretical perspectives, symbolic interaction theory and social exchange theory that can help guide research and illuminate some of the issues related to families in poverty in such communities. Symbolic Interaction Theory Symbols are used by humans, according to their contexts, to describe the meaning behind physical objects and occurrences. Socialization is considered the propellant of symbols in society. Individuals comprehend situations through symbols and perceived roles of self and others. Human behaviors actualize through the process of perceiving symbols and roles (White Kline, 2002; Blumer, 1967; Mead). Thus, symbolic interaction theory emphasizes how people perceive themselves within and outside the family environment. Several assumptions are captured in this theory, including that people live in a symbolic world, people learn about selves through interactions with others, individuals have minds and can analyze the self, and people learn their roles within society from the society (White Kline, 2002). Thus, images and symbols are found throughout the ecological system, including how the individual perceives, family interactions, and community interactions found within a rural community. Sym bols about rural living are also carried throughout the broader macro system and expectations of the larger society. Symbolic interaction sheds light on rural families coping in poverty on two important fronts. First, understanding the symbols, meaning, and interactions related to poor families in the community can bring awareness to communities and hopefully allow for more social mobility among their residents. Second, understanding the symbols, meanings, and interactions within the family can help families sense of cohesion and ability to cope (Kaplan Hennon, 1990; Turner). Stigmatized symbols related to poverty are often made explicit as a person conducts their daily life. For example, using food stamps at the grocery store especially in a small community is in full view. A family in poverty cannot hide this in private life; there is typically not a front about this (Goffman, 1963). Poor youth in schools will confront meanings about the clothes they wear (name brand or not) and what it means to stand in line for a free or reduced lunch. Students from families who may be struggling to make ends meet may need to stay in after school programs which may also hold a negative connotation with other school youth (McLoyd et al. 2009; Pogash, 2008). These negative connections to symbols may follow families and youth throughout a lifetime in rural communities. For example, a parent may have a poor interaction with the youths school, not knowing how to navigate its systems. The school may then come to expect a childs poor actions and soon a youth may experience t his in the grocery store and throughout the community. These interactions may then be tied to a family name. This addresses one of the several mechanisms through which stratification in a community is maintained by legitimatizing certain stereotypes (source). These are beliefs that are widely accepted and taken for granted, for instance the meaning behind a family name. Furthermore, there may be symbolic people in the community who maintain power and perhaps perpetuate poverty within a community (Bourdieu, 1986). A person may be in charge of a manufacturing company and the workers must buy all manufactured owned products by shopping at the manufacturing grocery store. Then everything goes back into the system where a small group of people or one family retains power. For example, plantation owners gave low wage jobs to keep poor in their place and limited their education which equaled low literacy rates for workers. Thus, people in poverty cannot move upward. This has often also hap pen through racism in the US. Thus, it would be important to understand who has the symbolic power in a community and it may be important to trace this back further than expected in order to clearly understand the history of a region and how certain families have maintained power or even remained poor (Duncan, 1996). A lack of distrust of certain families can occur and arbitrary power can be carried over into the state of contemporary communities. Hence, people forget to see the political nature of their problems and poverty gets seen as a personal problem as highlighted through Mills (1956) concept on the sociological imagination. Finally, the researcher may meet with families to understand how symbols within their one family unit are carried out. This has been used as a helpful therapy tool for families in conflict. Many poor families experience extreme stress related to a lack of resources and so understanding the role strain within families and different meanings attributed to certain actions would also be important for families in poverty (Kaplan Hennon, 1990; Turner; Seccombe, 2006). Thus, regarding research questions, the researcher may pose several inquiries related to the symbolic power in the community and the symbolism related to being poor in the community. The researcher would ask about the certain families that have power in the community. What does it mean to live in a certain area of town? What actions are socially approved in the community? When do you feel like your family is not receiving social approval? How is social status distributed in the community? Also, family members would be asked how they view their specific situation within their family. What burdens do they experience because of their role in the family? What is the meaning behind certain conflicts in their family? Social Exchange Theory Social exchange theory can help researchers consider why families stay in their communities when there may be other alternatives out of poverty if they moved. Social exchange theory describes the characteristics and motivations for humans social behaviors by a system of perceived rewards and costs. Social exchange theory arose out of utilitarian ideas, emphasizing how people are motivated to act in relationships by maximizing their perceived rewards and minimizing their perceived costs. A reward is anything perceived as a benefit to an individual, family, or relational unit; costs are anything perceived as a reward forgone. Social exchange theory asserts that people rationally calculate while assessing decisions based on the profit ratio of costs and rewards (White Kline, 2002). Theorist such as Homans (1961) believed in generalized rewards that most people would adhere to he suggested social approval as the main generalized reward and motivator for humans. Other theorists have pro posed generalized rewards such as love, personal attraction, instrumental services, respect, and power (Blau, 1964), status, services, goods, information, and money (Foa Foa, 1980), autonomy, predictability, security, agreement, and equality of resources (Nye, 1979). Thus, a researcher would assume that a family would rationally calculate about why they decide to stay in a rural environment in poverty when there may be other alternatives. The researcher would want to understand how families situations may apply to the described rewards or costs above. The other alternatives for families must also be understood. The value and meaning of living in a rural community must be elucidated; thus, ideas related to symbolic interaction would also be employed to enhance understanding. On one hand, families choice to live in a rural environment may have higher benefits compared to the costs of living in an urban environment. We must understand what the costs mean to families. The benefits and costs may relate to rural living sentiments (Elder Conger, 2000). Rural families may view a huge cost associated with moving and starting over in a new community. A benefit for staying would be familiarity, perhaps a connection to the land, and social supports in the c ommunity (Elder Conger, 2000). However, a cost of living in the rural environment may be unsteady work and lack of job opportunities. We might also want to consider why poor young adults would choose to stay in the rural community versus leaving the rural community. The researcher would want to understand the costs and benefits of things associated with leaving and going. What are the social stigmas associated with staying or leaving? What job opportunities, educational attainment, marriage choices, and lifestyle choices exist relative to leaving or staying? We would also want to clearly understand the comparison levels of alternatives for the families in poverty. If they see limited job opportunities in new areas, the comparison level is low and they will not be motivated to move. This may be the case for young adults as well, if they view the comparison level of alternatives as low they will likely stay where they are. However, if the comparison level of alternatives is high, the y will likely move and change their situation (White Kline, 2002). Homans (1961) also thought people gravitate toward social equals as people can gain more social approval this way, what he labeled the cost of inferiority. This may help explain why certain parts of a town remain more poverty stricken as people with similar social and human capital gravitate toward one another. It might also be important to understand how this has worked out in community life in a rural environment. The researchers may also want to understand these choices at a larger macro level. In this view, parents, schools, and government make investments in the human and social capital of families and children (Haveman Wolfe, 1994; Strauss). Thus, the researcher may meet with community leaders to understand how they are investing in poor families and youth to understand their cost to benefit ratio. Do they see investments in the social mobility of families as reaping long term benefits that outweigh the social problems related to poverty? Regarding specific research questions, we would want to ask specifically what the advantages of staying in the rural community are. What are the costs of leaving and what are the costs of staying? We would want to clearly understand the meaning of the costs and rewards through in depth qualitative interviews. What does rural living mean to them? These would be similar questions also relevant to the symbolic interaction questions. What symbols are associated with moving and how does this lead to views related to costs or rewards? Why do families live in certain areas of the community? What are the cost and benefits to community leaders of helping poor families with social mobility? Related to the two theoretical perspectives, the types of data the researcher collects would also be important. Associated to symbolic interaction we would want to do in depth observations in the community trying to understand the different symbols related to statuses and families in the community. This would require observations at several institutions; the researchers would meet with people from all different power statuses within the community. We would hopefully gain access to the private life of several families where perhaps less filtering is done (Goffman, 1963). We may ask many clarifying questions related to the symbols and reflect on our own biases about these symbols. We would want to look for places within the community and related to different families where these symbols matched or had discrepancies. Related to social exchange theory, we would likely gain the most information from the in-depth interviews with families and young adults understanding the exact costs and b enefits these families associate with their lives. Our work with symbolic interaction theory would most likely enhance our understanding of the benefits and rewards related to these families as they reflect on why they stay or go. Data should also be collected on community leaders regarding their views of the costs and benefits related to assisting poor families in their community. Limitations The suggested theories may lead the researcher to many interesting questions and data collection efforts, however, the suggested theories also pose several limitations. Social exchange theory for instance is a bit behaviorist, implying all human interaction is a response to a benefit/cost ratio. Researchers must account for the symbols related to rewards and costs as rewards may be unseen and not understood by others. A closed system of understanding rewards may be found in several communities (Acock). Clearly defining rewards and costs would be an important first step before asserting research entirely from a social exchange theorists view point. Clearly, this is an area where symbolic interaction could enhance social exchange theory. Furthermore, asserting that humans always act rationally may be an overstatement. Social exchange theory may also not account for individuals of younger ages who have not fully developed their ability to calculate rationally. Social exchange theory also asserts that individuals are motivated by their own self-interests, some theorists have allowed for people to act in the best interest of their families but clearly understanding the mechanisms of how an individuals desires transform into the familys self-interest may pose a hardship in research (White Kline, 2002). Understanding these explicit processes is an area for future research. Additionally, decisions based on the profit/cost ratio may be made sub-consciously and bringing this subconscious information into the forefront of research may also pose challenges. However, it is important to examine the cost and rewards associated with why people choose to stay in or leave rural communities as these reasons are critical for the econ omic vitality and in understanding how to encourage others to move or stay within their community. Understanding these motivations for young adults and youth who will be the face of rural communities in the future is especially important. Understanding the exchanges for families in poverty is also important to ascertain mechanisms that may help their social mobility. Symbolic interaction may also pose limitations in this study. Symbolic interaction does not deal very well with how people handle emotions (White Kline, 2002). When looking at coping in poverty, emotions certainly play a large role in how families deal with their situation. Furthermore, this type of research is hard to generalize to other communities or cultures as the symbols used are likely only highly relevant to the community being researched. Symbolic interaction also emphasizes the importance of meaning to individuals how the individual views others, is viewed by others, and behaves related to meaning. As this research is specifically studying families, it may be hard to keep the unit of analysis as a family group. Symbolic interaction tends to view the family as a collection of individuals. This may or may not pose issues with the research depending on the unit of analysis of interest.