Mobile Collaboration Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 22

Mobile Collaboration - Essay Example   In the past years, the existing research focus is on the changing and evolving of wireless mobile computing technologies for human to machine and human to human collaborations. This collaborations has led to many IT leaders giving much attention to the extension of collaboration from desktop computers to mobile phones (Cisco, 2013). To increase the implementation of amalgamated communications, IDG Enterprise Survey indicate more than 67% of IT leaders are preparering to invest in the competences of communication. In other words, types of mobile collaborations have increased, ranging from helping children in reading to business to increase or better firm’s performance. Despite the advantages retrieved from mobile collaboration, there many challenges which are faced in the implementation stage. However, Cisco Mobile Collaboration Management Services offers solutions to such challenges especially to the IT leaders. According to Cisco (2013), if at all IT organizations would need to manage, secure and spread the collaboration knowledge on mobile devices as well as streamline mobile collaboration management, the best way is to adopt cloud-based mobile device and application. To streamline mobile collaboration management, the cloud-based mobile enables flexibility to scale, rapid deployment and increases support for new devices (Cisco, 2013). The model also offers hasty registration and WI-FI, Email, VPN for all company devices. Conversely, with the cloud model, IT organizations can alleviate security and acquiescence risks by locating and wiping out data for stolen or lost devices, and also enforces and administers passwords, encryption as well as loc k down security policies OTA. Nonetheless, in the education sector, mobile collaboration is also playing an important role.

STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 6000 words

STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT - Essay Example Tutor Signature: Date: Table of Contents Introduction 4 Theoretical Background 5 Advantages and Disadvantages of E-commerce 6 E-business strategies 8 Implementation Challenges 12 Conclusion 13 References 15 Introduction With the evolution of technology and introduction of the Internet, there is great change in the business environment. Every organization whether it is large or small scale, is trying to adopt and incorporate in business models based on technology into their system. This adoption of web based technology in the business lead to the emergence of E-commerce. In the current business scenario, e-commerce playing a crucial role and changed the way business is conducted around the globe. E-commerce is forcing the companies to find the new ways of expanding their market in which they compete (Plant 2000). To compete and sustain in the new markets, it become more crucial for the organization to not only attract the customers, but also to retain by tailoring the products and ser vices according to their needs and demand. Apart from redefining the products and services, organizations are also forced to restructure their business processes in order to deliver the products and services more effectively and efficiently (Reynolds 2004). ... In this report two business models has been used- McCarthy’s four marketing mix model and Porter’s five forces model to identify the strategies for organizations which want to enter in the field of e-commerce. The overall goal of this study is provide significant insights onto the challenges and advantages of e-commerce and business strategies. Theoretical Background (a) McCarthy’s Four Marketing Mix Model As per the McCarthy, a firm defines its marketing strategies after identifying the target market for its products or services. On the basis of the target market, organization then develops a marketing mix is a combination of product, price, promotion, and place designed according to the target market with the aim of enhancing the sales (Blythe 2009). The unique marketing mix allows the organization to sustain and compete more effectively, thus ensures the profitability and sustainability. For example, by offering different products with an attractive sales prom otion and effective logistics, a firm can increase its sales and revenues. This concept is also applicable on the e-commerce, and organizations working in this field are required to develop strategies for their target market by taking the unique nature of online marketing into the consideration (Napier et al 2006). (b) Porter’s Five Competitive Forces Model This five competitive forces model of Porter’s says that every organization develop its business strategies with the aim of gaining competitive advantage over its competitors. Organization can develop its strategies by focusing on five primary forces: (a) threat of new entrants, (b) rivalry among existing firms within an industry, (c) the Strategic management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 3 Strategic management - Essay Example (p. 96) They are pivotal in generating competitive advantage because they reinforce an organization’s functions such as marketing, production or research and development. For instance, in the marketing department, the strategy would work by featuring real-life customers in direct-response print and television advertisements that would steer them towards the company website. In the application of a functional management strategy, the functions as well as the roles assigned will be able to manage corporate level strategies and their activities in such a way that they optimize their functional performance resulting to positive results that contribute to the overall company performance. Ray maintained that there are two kinds of competitive management strategies: the offensive and defensive strategies. The first is concerned with the strategy that usually takes place in an established competitor’s market location, while the latter takes place in the organization’s own current market position as a defense against possible attacks by a rival. (p. 13) However, the case is, the goal is the same: to secure market share, acquire new customers, maintain current ones and cultivate customer loyalty. In the case of this company, a combination of these two strategies would be used, although with more emphasis on the offensive strategy, considering the fact that most of its products claim less than 3 percent of the market, with only one product dominating 40 percent in its own market location. In terms of offensive strategy, the competitive advantage that drives the attraction of new customers is fuelled by innovation and customer value. Currently, the focus of t he organization on innovation has been reaping rewards already. According to Pieper, corporate strategy is the setting of a company’s long-term goals, major policies and plans, and the

Inequality in British Schools Essay Example for Free

Inequality in British Schools Essay The educational system is one of the most influential institutions in society as it provides young people with a vast amount of knowledge, attitudes and skills. These are acquired formally through set lessons or informally through the ‘hidden curriculum’ which provides the unofficial and unplanned consequences of school experience. Social Inequality is one of the major preoccupations of sociology. The relationship between inequality and education has been studied for many years. Although it seems obvious that educational success is simply down to an individual’s capabilities and motivation, sociological research shows that the inequalities in social class, gender and race and ethnicity have had a huge influence in the differential achievement within British schooling. The development of the educational system in Britain was first put in place to secure equal educational opportunities for all young people, however despite these efforts, sociological evidence states that not all children with the same ability achieve the same success. Some sociologists, such as Charles Murray have contended with the idea that genetic intellectual potential determines an individual’s performance in school. This idea is rejected by the conflict theorist’s as they believe social class to be one of the main factors that determine whether a child is successful at school or not, as there are major differences between the levels of achievement of those that are part of the working social class and those apart of the middle class. (Macionis. J, Plummer.K, 2008) One of the main explanations for this is material deprivation. Working class families are financially in a worse position than those of the middle class and therefore are not able to make the most of their educational opportunities. As they are living in poorer housing conditions they may not have the space at home to be able to complete their schoolwork with full concentration. The lack of financial funds means that many families will not be able to provide their children with the necessities needed to fully develop within education, for example a household computer, sports equipment, or even money for school trips. It may be financially difficult for parents on a low income to support their children in higher education as well. Although student grants have been put in place, many children avoid higher education as they worry about the debt or travel costs. It also more likely for those from a working class  background to be managing education with a part time job, such as paper rounds or shop work, this can cause conflict between the amount of time available for work and the amount of time spent on studying. (Browne. K, 2005) Research suggests that it is not only factors outside of the school that can effect achievement; there are also factors inside the school that have an impact on a child’s educational experiences. Teachers have been known to take into account things such as a child’s standard of behaviour, dress, speech and their social class and background and this reflects how teachers treat particular individuals within the classroom. Teachers are often part of the middle class and the children that share the same values and standards are likely to be seen as ‘brighter’ than those with working class values. The working class have a different focus on their values, attitudes and their lifestyle in soc iety. This often works as a barrier to the success of the working class. The blame for underachievement is often focused in the direction of the family and community. These material and cultural conditions put working class children at a disadvantage when it comes to achievement in schools. Many of these factors, which have no relation to biological potential, have contributed to the educational class divide in Britain. Sociologist Robert.K.Merton was credited for the term ‘self-fulfilling prophecy’ which focuses on a teacher’s attitude towards a pupil, for example if a pupil is labelled as bright and is encouraged and praised by the teacher, the child will feel self-confident and will strive for success. On the other hand if the teacher labels a pupil as ‘un co-operative’ or from a ‘poor’ background, this can cause low self-esteem and the pupil will be likely to fail to achieve much success. The Neo Marxist’s perspective on class stratification in Britain claims that schools create a ‘false class consciousness’ so it seems that they promote equal opportunities for all, but they really reproduce a capitalist division of labour, preparing young people for class-determined careers in the labour market. Willis (1977) accepts the Marxist’s view on education being closely linked to the needs of the capitalist’s system; however he does not agree with the idea of there being a direct link between education and the economy. (Macionis. J, Plummer.K, 2008) His study found that â€Å"poorer children often grow up in environments where people see little hope of upward social mobility and rebel against the system rather than trying to  conform with in. In such an environment adults often discourage rather than encourage success at school.† (Macionis. J, Plummer.K, 2008) Social class is not the only inequality in Britain’s schooling. So ciologists have also found a link between gender and academic success. Until the late 1980’s there was high concern about the underachievement of girls. Societies had been structured to consider schooling more important for males than for females. Although the gap in gender inequality has narrowed in Britain, many women still study traditionally feminine subjects, such as literature whilst men are more likely to study subjects that are seen to be more masculine like engineering. (Macionis. J, Plummer.K, 2008) Sue Sharpe in a 1976 survey called ‘just like a girl’ discovered that the priorities of young girls were ‘love, marriage, husbands, children and then jobs and careers, more or less in that order’. When she repeated her research in 1994, she found that the order had changed to ‘having a job, career and being able to support themselves before having a family.’ (Browne. K, 2005) Weiner (1995) has argued that teachers have more forcefully challenged stereotypes since the 1980’s and sexist images have been removed from learning materials, which could be the reason for the changes in girl’s attitudes towards their own education. The increase in incentives for girls to gain qu alifications has been due to a number of reasons, one of them being the women’s movement that managed to achieve a great deal of success in challenging traditional stereotypes for women’s roles in society. Many women now look past traditional roles, such as housewives and mothers and are motivated to gain independence and to do well in their careers. Women on average work hard during their time at school and are more motivated to do well. They put more effort into their presentation as they give up more time to do their school work. (Browne. K, 2005) It is clear that there have been major changes in the gender perception of girls in Britain’s schools and the inequalities between males and females has become less and less. Although certain traditional gender perceptions exist through subject choice, females now have more equal opportunities to gain knowledge within the classroom and achieve success. However in modern day society the tables have now turned and there has been a sudden ‘moral panic’ over the underachievement of boys. (Weiner, Arnot and David 1997) Swann (1992) found that boys dominated class discussion by often acting inappropriately and interrupting, whereas girls  are known to have a more laid back attitude within the classroom and are praised for their abilities to listen and co-operate, which leads to the teacher having a more positive view to girls within the class, helping to produce the ‘self-fulfilling prophecy’ of girls greater achievement levels. (Holborn.M and Langley.P, 2002) Mitsos and Browne accept that boys are under-achieving and suggest that it is because men are culturally encouraged to appear macho and tough in society and these types of behaviours take place within the classroom and distract from learning. They also believe that the decline in manual work may result in the working class boys losing motivation as it is getting harder and harder to find jobs. Although these reasons seem valid, sociologists believe that more research has to be done within this area. (Holborn.M and Langley.P, 2002) More recent studies on education and gender have come away from the simple ‘differential achievement’ and now take into account a lot more processes within schools. The active role of the pupil is seen to create gender relationships and the way in which children form ideas on identities is seen to have a bigger impact. We have discussed social class and gender inequalities within Britain’s schools; however we are still to look into ethni city and race and the effects this has on differential achievement within schools. Many children from ethnic minority backgrounds tend to not do as well as other members of the population when it comes to education. Similar to the working class issues as majority of ethnic minority groups are part of the working class they face a series of disadvantages in social conditions, such as poor housing conditions and higher rates of unemployment within their home, which can cause a disadvantage in the chances of success. (Macionis. J, Plummer.K, 2008) Ethnic minorities are also at a disadvantage in school as they often suffer from isolation or racism from other pupils or are even discriminated against from teachers. Although, all schools in Britain are now legally obliged to have an anti-racist policy and teachers are now trained in equality legislation, research in secondary schools has shown conflict between white teachers and African Caribbean pupils. Stereotypes of African Caribbean young males have caused teachers to have more positive expectations of other ethnic mi nority groups, more than others. This explains the high level of black exclusions from schools and also explains why most permanent exclusions are down to disobedience of some sort, for  example pupils refusing to conform to school rules or being verbally abusive to teachers. The Labelling of certain pupils can cause them to comply with what is expected of them, for example disruptive behaviour and therefore leads to major effects on achievement. Phoenix (2001) conducted numerous studies identifying racism in schools; some suggest teachers discriminate against black and South Asian students, treating them in stereotypical ways. (Holborn.M and Langley.P, 2002) Racism can cause ethnic minorities to feel in some ways rejected from society and therefore racism within schools can cause young people to feel rejected from school as well, which can lead to prevention of achievement as individuals are not able to work to their full potential as they are not happy and comfortable in the school environment. Not all sociologists agree with the inequalities of ethnic minorities in schools. Taylor (1981) argues that the emphasis on faults in the education system should be treated with some degree of caution. Teachers do not necessarily behave in ways that reflect negative stereotypes of ethnic minority groups according to Taylor and that many teachers consider ethnic equality within schools to be of a high level of importance. (Holborn.M and Langley.P, 2002) There is enough evidence to link differential achievement with inequalities within Britain’s schools. Social class and ethnic inequalities effect the education and success of some pupils to some extent. Although, there have been developments and improvements on equality in society as a whole including educational institutions, there is still a long way to go before all individuals can be provided with equal opportunities of success. There are still clear class divisions within Britain’s schools as the working class are constantly at a disadvantage which prevents them from achieving to their full potential. Ethnic minority groups have very similar issues that need to be addressed in order for equal opportunities to evolve. However, there have been drastic changes in gender equality in schools and females and males are now being treated equally within the classroom. These changes have occurred within the whole of society as traditional gender stereotypes have been broken. These changes have had positive results as females now strive to achieve success. Referencing Browne, K., 2005. An introduction to sociology. 3rd ed. Cambridge: Polity Press Holborn, M., Langley, P., 2002. Sociology Themes and Perspectives. Fulham: Collins Macionis, J.J., Plummer, K., 2008. Sociology. 4th ed. Essex: Pearson Moore, S., Aiken, D., Chapman, S., 2006. Sociology A2. 2nd ed. Fulham: Collins Girls and Education (online) Available at: http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/girls_education.htm Assessed on 07/06/2012

The purpose of cash budgets

The purpose of cash budgets Cash budget is an inflow and outflow of cash estimate prepared by management in a business for a specific period of time. It helps management in credit control and determines whether there is available fund for extending operations. The purpose of undertaking this report is to forecast a cash flow for the six months ending 30th June 2011, setting up healthy credit control system, and identifying the factors to be considered when planning to invest any forecasted surplus cash for Enron limited which currently faced financial difficulties in certain months of the year ending 31st December 2010. THE CASH BUDGET Cash budget is an estimation of a companys cash inflow and outflow, it is an accounting device used in monitoring and managing a business operating activities of immediate short term cash flow, a forecast of a businesss estimated cash receipts and payment over a period of time usually months and years. All budgets are related to the cash budget which is a forecast of the cash receipts and payments for the period, the importance of preparing a cash forecast cannot be over stressed for the availability of adequate cash resources is vital to successful business operation. Workers must be paid in cash, taxation liabilities must be settled in cash, suppliers may withhold materials unless paid promptly and so on. In most cases a monthly cash budget will be found adequate as settlements between debtors and creditors are conventionally made at the end of each calendar month (Joseph Baggott, 1973). PURPOSE OF CASH BUDGET In recent financial world, it is required by most business organisation to prepare cash budget prior to making expenditure related to any planned development or acquaintance of new assets. The cash budget determines firms ability settling its liabilities and expenses. secondly it helps in evading possible cash shortages and idle cash, thirdly it assist management in making decision in regards to its cash reserve for furthering its activities, fourthly it assist the management in achieving the objectives of the business in a specific period of time and lastly it enables the actual financial operation to be measured against the forecast of the business. LITERATURE REVIEW According to Garrison, Noreen and brewer 2006, most companies encounter problems when preparing their budget due to an increase in inflation rate, exchange rates of foreign currency, governmental policies and the economy situation while McCain 1999 states that most budgets are only provided for finances not the people and that finance alone is not enough in achieving improvements of company performance. Budget provides immediate control over the environment assists to master the financial phase of job and department and helps decipher problems prior to their occurrence (Ali Osman Gurbus, 2010). In light of the differences highlighted above, the company should try to provide room for any future inconveniences, human resource management and estimate future receipts and expenditure so as to be able to tackle problems before their occurrence. BUDGET COMMITTEE The budget committee consists of high level executives in charge of various functions (i.e. sales, production and purchasing). In financial procedure the functional head obtain an approval by presenting their budget to the committee, if the level of budget doesnt contain a reasonable performance, the functional head will required further changes in order to obtain an approval. The budget committee appoints a budget officer known as the accountant, whose take actions and coordinates the individual budgets of a company. (Colin Drury, 2000) The figure 1 chart below indicate the organization chart of a budget committee Figure 1 MASTER BUDGET This budget can be analyzed into operational budget and financial budget, it culminates and are summarized in a companys budgeted cash flow statement, budgeted profit and loss account and budgeted balance sheet statement of a business, it show the financial performance of a company and helps the manager to plan and achieve further for the future. The budgets are approved by the authority manager of a responsibility centre to carry out plans and then passed down through the company to the appropriate centres. (Willie Seal, Ray H. Garrison, Eric W. Noreen, 2006). Figure 2 below indicates the major parts of a master budget including the operating and the financial budget. Figure 2 PURPOSE OF MASTER BUDGET The master budget is used to integrate and coordinate the functional areas within a companys operating activities, provide a method of evaluating and controlling subsequently aspects of budget, and it serve as a communicative device in which the staff contribute effort to the overall goals within an organization process being inform of policies and plans, also helps motivates its employees to perform in line with the objectives. Master budget helps promote continuous performance of the companys business in planning process to supports the management to consider choices that reduce costs and improve value of customer. STAGES IN THE BUDGETING PROCESS The budget created and approved by the management move through set of procedure. In preparation of a budgeting process, the procedures in creating the budget differs from one organization to another and should be presented to the budget committee before it is finally agreed. Some important stages in the budgeting process are as follows: I. Communicating details of budget policy and guidelines : A long term planning process is the starting point in the preparation of a companys annual budget, the manager are responsible for preparing and communication of budget policy affected by the long term plans and provide important guidelines to the top manager to meet their objective. II. Determining the factors that restrict output: Company performance is restricted through limiting factors such as raw materials, labour and machine hour. The principal machine capacity of production restricts performance when the sales demand excess the available capacity and can be determined by the top management. III. Preparation of the sales budget: In many organizations the sale volumes and mix determine the level of operations that restricts a companys output, a sale forecast of a business has to be created before the sale budget can be prepared. IV. Initial preparation of budgets: The budgets are originated by the lower level of management and are coordinated by the higher level of management. The managers are responsible and participates in the preparation of meeting the performance of a companys budget and providing the top management for determining the content of budgets V. Negotiation of budgets: Once a budget has been prepared by the manager, it should be submitted to the superior to obtain an approval and acceptance. The budget should be agreed and negotiated by parties, the manager and the superior. This process is essential in the budgeting process as it determines whether or not a companys budget has effective tools of management. VI. Coordination of budgets: The budget is likely to be reviewed belonging to another which indicate and modify if the budget are out of balance, the chief accountant identify such disagreement and inform them to the managers attention and modifying such changes that should be made. During this revision process the manager ensure the budgeted profit and loss account, budgeted balance sheet statement and the cash budget are prepared to prove acceptance. VII. Final acceptance of the budget: After all the budgeted profit and loss account, budgeted balance sheet statement and the cash budget have been accepted , they are then summarized into the master budget to approve and then passed down through the company to the suitable responsibility centres. VIII. Budget review : The budgeting process does not stop until it have been agreed and on a regular basis there should be a comparison between the actual results and the budgeted results, which should be sent to the management for investigation of possible differences in reason. If the reasons of differences are within the areas of control of management, corrective measure should be taken and to ensure such inefficiencies not to occur in the future. FACTORS TO CONSIDER IN INVESTING FORECASTED CASH SURPLUS BUDGET In Appendix 1 Enron Ltd cash budget indicates that sales are lower in January till March and increased in April upward to June. The cash surplus occurs in January, February and March which it is the excess of cash receipts over payment, but the cash deficits occurs from April to June which indicate available funds cash payments exceed the cash receipts. Therefore an investment in cash surplus can be on a short term basis in risk free securities and bank deposits which can easily be transformed into cash to settle off debts. Such investment chosen are relied on involved risk, size of existing amount, offered yield and consequences for early withdrawal. Since the company has been having financial difficulties in the previous year ending 31st December 2010 for a period of short time, it might be obscurity in obtaining long term sources of investment CREDIT CONTROL SYSTEM Management of cash flow is an essential part of accounting procedure in business in which management should take notice of when planning budget. Good credit control system must be set by an organization in order to ensure prompt payment from customers so as to be able to meet short term obligations and avoid the risk of being bankrupt. The following are the steps in which firms should undertake in order to achieve an effective credit control system. I. Set up a detailed credit control system: It allows company to identify the invoices that has been raised, paid and sent to customers. Each individual customer have a separate file with details indicating their contact name, business name and address, contact number and postal address. II. Credit check customers: Enron limited should approach customers bank or counterpart suppliers for reference to check on potential debtor credit worthiness before trading. III. Decide on payment terms: Enron limited should clearly display their payment terms on their invoice and ensure that customers are aware company credit policy. IV. Post invoices promptly: The Firm should send out invoices to respective customer on same date goods dispatched and make sure it is delivered to the right person and address. V. Deciding on reminder procedure: The Company should flag all their invoices that are due and send customers statement of account to each customer through e-mail or post to serve as reminders. Telephone calls should also be used to chase payments. VI. Make a Stop list for late-paying debtors: This is a list which the firm should prepare and send to appropriate employee in order to stop goods being supplied to owing customers. Debtors should also be aware of the list. VII. Organizing a sufficient overdraft: The Company should have available funds to cover their cash flows and consider paying up percentage of invoices in return for commission ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF USING OVERDRAFT FINANCE As it is clearly stated above, Enron Limited experienced cash shortfall in certain months of the year from its past operations indicating that it needs to outsource income in order to continue its operation. Bank overdraft is one of the method in which a company use to overcome its deficits in terms of any cash shortage arousal. An overdrawn is said to be when the company withdraws more than what it has in its bank account. It has some advantages and disadvantages .The main advantages of using bank overdraft is its flexibility in financing daily business activities and interest are only be paid on the overdrawn amount while its disadvantages are, interest rates are higher than loans and bank can request for repayment from company at any point in time leaving the company with no contingency funds if regularly overdrawn. LIMITATION OF CASH BUDGET Cash budget if appropriately prepared and implemented is very helpful to the business, but there are number of limitation associated to it that must be taken into account. First and foremost is uncertainty, budgeting involves extensive amount of forecasting the future which is not easy to have near correct estimate of companys cash receipts and expenditure, it might lead to undesirable condition e.g. losing customers in terms strict payment policy if there is no flexibility in applying the cash budget by the finance manager. Also employees who do not agree in some part of the budget will feel not liable for any inconveniences which may arise in the future, and last but not the least is expensive as it require substantial amount of money, time and effort. INTERPRETATION AND RECOMMENDATION In light of the study performed above Enron Limited had cash surpluses from January to March while experienced cash shortages from April to June (Appendix 1). All sales made by the company are on credit and payments are received in the second month following the month of sale. The financial consultants recommend Enron limited to introduce cash discount sales in order to encourage cash sale and set a good credit control system in order to have prompt payment from debtors and avoid the risk of bad debt. Cash budget should be prepared by the company in order to anticipate future receipts and payments but flexibility should be attached to it where necessary in order to avoid losing customers. Enron limited cash surpluses should be invested in short term basis in order to regain cash easily when needed while its cash deficit should be conquered by bank overdraft in so as to be able to continue its operation as interest rate is only charged on the overdrawn amount.

Evolution and Education :: Science Teaching Argumentative Essays

Evolution and Education Whenever various debates have taken place in parts of the country regarding whether evolution should be taught in schools, I have always observed the situation with a degree of incredulousness; neither the parochial education I received in elementary and middle school nor the public education I received for high school ever attempted to dissuade us from learning about evolution, and while none of my classes ever taught evolution with as much depth as Ernst Mayr attempted to convey in What Evolution Is, both systems taught it as a fact – one that we took for granted. The debate on the use of the word "evolution" in the Georgia school system initially appeared to me to be a manifestation of more anti-evolution tendencies, although Superintendent Kathy Cox has not commented on the theory of evolution itself; "the unfortunate truth," stated Cox as her rationale, "is that 'evolution' has become a controversial buzzword that could prevent some from reading the proposed biology curriculum" (Gross A10). Whatever her own beliefs on the subject are, however, the elimin ation of the term "evolution" may provide cool comfort to the theory's detractors, but its overall effect is merely to hamper the student's understanding of what evolution entails. In place of "evolution," Georgia's proposed replacement is "biological changes over time"; it hopes to convey the meaning behind the word without using the word itself (Gross A10). Mayr's own definition seems to be rather similar when he states, "Evolution is change in the properties of populations of organisms over time," but a word expresses more than what a clipped dictionary definition can allow (Mayr 8). When "evolution" is used in daily parlance in a non-biological context, adaption is often an unspoken yet important component of it. If one speaks of "evolving as a person" or "evolving in his role as team captain," there is a sense that one is moving from a less-adapted state to becoming better suited for whatever it is one does. It implies that there is a development of certain qualities to be better suited for the environment an individual may find him- or herself in, not simply "changes over time" for the sake of change; while there is indeed a degree of randomness in how a species may evolve (or come to destruction, as the well-adapted dinosaurs did when a meteor struck and indelibly altered the environment), for the most part the changes are not entirely due to chance.

The Many Meanings of Stephen Cranes The Bride Comes to Yellow Sky Essa

The Many Meanings of The Bride Comes to Yellow Sky Stephen Crane's "The Bride Comes to Yellow Sky" is a tale about a town sheriff, Jack Potter, who is returning home from a trip where he has married. Jack returns shamefully with his new wife of little worldly experience. The town of Yellow Sky knows Jack as the fearless Marshal who is never afraid to stare down the barrel of a gun. Jack's return to Yellow Sky happens to be at a time when the town drunk, Scratchy Wilson, is looking for a gunfight. However, the townspeople and Scratchy are disappointed to find him married, unarmed, and unwilling to fight. Before Jack arrived the townspeople were hoping for his arrival to cool off the situation. As one bartender said, "'I wish Jack Potter was back from San Anton', he shot Wilson up once--in the leg--and he would sail in and pull out the kinks in this thing'" (215). This quote and Jack's shamefulness are what leads people into discussions of this story. Jack Potter's marriage was kept secret from any of his friends and family, so his new wife was something unknown to anyone. For this and other reasons, Jack is afraid to return to Yellow Sky a married man. As critic Eric Solomon once put it: "He is condemned in his own eyes for betraying two traditions: he has tarnished the person of Marshal, a figure fearsome and independent, and he has tampered with the custom of partnership--he has not consulted his male friends" (136). Marshal Jack Potter no longer feels the thrill of being Marshal Jack Potter because of his new engagement. Jack is afraid he will lose his reputation that the people of Yellow Sky revere him for. Stephen Crane sets the story well because he allows the reader to understand the tw... ...d to be seen as by the people of Yellow Sky was as an ordinary man. Instead of being a heroic figure comparable to John Wayne, Jack Potter is now comparable to the a kind of man one would categorize as ordinary. Crane's fabulous depiction of the rise and fall of small town marshal is one of beauty. Jack Potter is seen in Yellow Sky as a person that one dreams of being, a wild-west hero that one idolizes. Soon, Crane reduces Jack Potter to the same level of the reader, and maybe below because he is now seen as a fallen hero. Works Cited Beer, Thomas. Stephen Crane: A Study in American Letters. 1923. Reprint. New York; Octagon Books, 1972, pg.248. Modern Fiction Studies, Stephen Crane Number V, No.3 (Autumn: 1959): 195-291. Solomon, Eric. Stephen Crane in England: A Portrait of the Artist. Columbus: Ohio State University Press, 1964, pg.136.

The Book: Boofheads

Essay on Boofheads by Mo Johnson. The book Boofheads is a story based on prejudice. Prejudice is here in every day society. This book was written by Mo Johnson for teenagers that have the same problem. The problem is sexism. The prejudice in the book is sexism and how it can affect people in such ways that they have to give up one of the most important things in life. With the three seventeen year old boys Ed, Steve and Tom sexism is a big problem. In the book Boofheads by Mo Johnson sexism is a problem between young boys and girls. The ‘girl’ saying about girls being smart and boys being dumb. This was a clear demonstration of prejudice in Boofheads. In chapter three the three best-friends Ed, Steve and Tom were all in English class. Their teacher had asked Tom a question about the book ‘Pride and Prejudice’ which the class had been given to read for homework. One of the girls in the class named Amy Jones had spoke up before Tom could start to answer his question. Amy then answered the question correctly and turned to Tom and Steven to comment on how ‘dumb’ they were. Her arguments aim was to prove that girls were clearly smarter than boys and that they were not able to produce a â€Å"single word of half decent English,† Amy had commented. This example explains why this passage from the book has the prejudice of sexism. Boofheads by Mo Johnson has a main story line on three teenage boys pretending to be a 36 year old lady in order to have a column in a teenage girl’s magazine. The three boys Ed, Steve and Tom have had the opportunity to prove themselves right to all the sexist girls in their school. They are going to become a fake lady so that they can answer teenage girls’ problems in Tom’s mother’s magazine. Each month they get an email from Toms mum with problems from girls around the state. They come up with solutions to the problem and send an email back to Toms mum with the answers. They only do this to prove that boys can produce a ‘single word of half decent English’. The girls in the boys’ school are adamant that the boys are dumb and these three boys want to prove that they are not. In Boofheads the seventeen year old boy named Tom has a mother that is a fussy magazine editor. One of the best in the country. She has a messy office and never relies on Tom’s advice. Tom is always giving his mother advice on the look of the magazine, contrasting colours and some fashion ideas. He is usually right as his mother gets the same criticism from her boss. She never even realises that Tom gave the same advice to her rior to her changes. She does not believe that a male has any brain for a magazine and they need to stick to the things that men are supposed to do. Tom could be right on the spelling of a word and she would still not believe him. This shows that women of an older age are still sexist to males when it comes to how smart they really are. In conclusion the book Boofheads by Mo Johnson was a book about sexism. It was mainly based on sexism on males by females. This is why Boofheads is a book about prejudice.