Wednesday, September 4, 2019
My Teaching Philosophy Statement Essay -- Philosophy on Education Teac
My Teaching Philosophy Statement There are many teachers, with many different teaching styles. There are teachers who are strict and do not allow for any disruptions in the classroom. Then we have teachers who do not even really care what is going on in the classroom. The way that these teachers, and so many more, teach is a result of their personal philosophies on education. Before you can decide how you want to run your classroom, you need to remember that not all students learn in the same way. Some learn by doing things on their own, while others learn better in groups. Some students learn with rote memorization and others learn from doing. Every classroom has students of every kind. So, when you are thinking about classroom management, you always have to think of what is best for the students and not just for you. Just like you have to think about the students, you have to think about what you are teaching and what the best way to go about teaching it is. If you are an English teacher, you would not want the students to write papers as a group and likewise, if you are a science teacher students should not have to do experiments on their own. Education is very important for a person to succeed in life. The purpose of education is to prepare a student for life and to discover themselves. As a teacher, I hope to help students not only learn what is required but I hope to make them want to discover more on their own. I want them to want to learn. As for the students, I only expect them to put forth their best efforts and try. Not everyone likes everything and I would not expect someone to. As for the way that I want to teach, I want to use a combination of pragmatism and idealism. Students shou... ...t to me, but I feel that the way that I will teach best suits me and best suits the interests of my future students. I want to be the best teacher that I can be and this is the way that I will do this. By being open and democratic. I plan on teaching science and I feel that it is one of the most important subjects that a student will have during his or her high school career. Science is the foundation for everything that we know. Without it, we would live the lifestyles that we do today. As for my future, I hope to become a teacher that is respected and liked. I want to learn from my mistakes and continue to grow and learn. Right now, I do not see myself as going on to receive a masters or anything, but that could always change. The future is hard to decide on but I do know that I want to be a teacher and make a difference in at least one persons life.
Tuesday, September 3, 2019
Masculinity in Oliver Stones Nixon :: Film Movie American History President Essays
Masculinity in Oliver Stone's Nixon I. Introduction When President Nixon was leaving the White House, Henry Kissinger comforted him by saying, "History will treat you kindly," to which Nixon replied, "That depends on who writes the history" (Hamburg xiv). [1] Watching Oliver Stoneââ¬â¢s Nixon (1995) and the directorââ¬â¢s earlier film JFK (1991), it is difficult to have kind thoughts about Richard Nixon. Stoneââ¬â¢s investment in the figure of the president manifests itself in two ways: first, in the directorââ¬â¢s fixation on Nixon as a symbol of the corrupt political landscape after President John Kennedyââ¬â¢s assassination, and, second, his fixation on Nixon as a symbol of a failed patriarch or an ineffective father figure who led the country into further turmoil. Stone has argued that he hoped to elicit sympathy for Nixon, but I will show that the directorââ¬â¢s emphasis on Nixon as an epic tragedy, especially in conjunction with the Beast thesis, does not allow for sympathy or understanding of the man or his politics. [2] My analysis primarily focuses on Stoneââ¬â¢s film Nixon, but it is noteworthy to mention JFK, since both films were embroiled in heated debates regarding historical authenticity and artistic license. In JFK, Stone pieces together several conspiracy theories as to who was responsible for President Kennedyââ¬â¢s assassination from ââ¬Å"realâ⬠primary texts, news footage, ear and eye witnesses, and the Zapruder film, among others. In Nixon, Stone uses similar techniques to posit equally troubling theses: the first that Nixon, while Vice President, was involved in a plot to assassinate Fidel Castro, and, second, that Nixon was directly or inadvertently responsible for the deaths of John and Robert Kennedy. Stone elects to create scenes and embellish information but defends his mixing of fact and speculation: ââ¬Å"Of course, thereââ¬â¢s license and speculation, but they are based on reasonable assumptions which weââ¬â¢ve discussed with highly reliable techn ical advisers who lived through the history weââ¬â¢re recounting in the filmâ⬠(Monsel 206). [3] Regardless of historical inaccuracies, it is valuable to analyze how Stone constructs Nixonââ¬â¢s personae, as well as the epic thesis of the ââ¬Å"Beastâ⬠in American politics, because, through both, Stone deconstructs the American ideology of the ideal man, as well as the ââ¬Å"American dreamâ⬠of success. II. American Capitalist Ideology and Marketing of Nixon and JFK. [4] The marketable nature of Stoneââ¬â¢s controversy is elaborated in the ideologies he chooses to emphasize and the ââ¬Å"whitewashingâ⬠of particular historical facts that are shown in Nixon.
Monday, September 2, 2019
The fed under alan greenspan Essay -- essays research papers
Bankers prior to the establishment of the Federal Reserve would establish lines of credit with larger banks. In the event of a run, the smaller bank would draw on the line of credit. In times of panic, large numbers of depositors would demand to withdraw their money, and only the largest Wall Street banks, with millions of dollars in reserve, could guard against this. In the early twentieth century, people were running to withdraw all their cash from their accounts, this may seem dramatic, almost theatrical to people today. Nevertheless, to people living in an economically unstable society, they were an expected occurrence. The banks were independent rivals, the amount of currency in circulation was fixed, and there was no element of trust between the depositor and the bank. However, in an attempt to avoid bank runs, they were storing their money for the inevitable, which meant they did not lend any money out, bringing the economy to a standstill. The credit system of the country ha d ceased to operate, and thousands of firms went into bankruptcy. Something had to be done that would provide for a flexible amount of currency as well as provide cohesion between banks across the United States. A large regulated bank, like the Federal Reserve, could make this happen which was to establish banks as a united force working for the people instead of independent agencies working against each other. By providing a flexible amount of currency, banks did not have to hoard their money in fear of a bank run, so there was no competitive edge to see who could keep the most currency on hand and a more expansionary economy was possible. President Wilson passed the Federal Reserve Act into law December twenty-third, nineteen thirteen, which created the Federal Reserve System and converted central banking into a government monopoly. All nationally chartered banks were required to maintain reserves with a regional Federal Reserve Bank. The regional reserve banks would be managed not for profit and in the "public interest," by political appointees. The Act divided the country into twelve districts, each district with its own banking "center." The banks within each district were then divided up with respect to size, so that small banks, medium banks, and large banks all have the same voting power. An appointed board of governors would oversee all bank operatio... ...coming out of a recession in the beginning of the twenty first century, the Fed had heavily dropped the interest rate to counter the increase in unemployment and jump-start the economy to meet its goal of a steady rate of economic growth. As the economy reacted to the low interest rate in expanding, the Federal Reserve has begun to raise interest rates accordingly. The Federal Reserve should continue to monitor the growth of the economy and not be shy in continuing to raise interest rates to prevent an over zealous economy. With a constant increase in the interest rates, The United States economy is slowing down by not investing as much, as well the consumer market is slowing down for the expected rise in interest rates. The economy has had its difficulties, and the Federal Reserve has done the best it could to handle it. The Fed has to understand that there is no one causes to a problem, and not handling the problem correctly may lead to an even bigger problem. As time progresse s, the Federal Reserve should acknowledge that controlling the economy is a learning experience, and what was used in the past to solve a recession is nothing more than a good place to start in the future.
Sunday, September 1, 2019
Information technology and college experience Essay
Technology is continually changing the way the world is going. Education is not an exemption. Today, it is helping shape the way students are procuring information, and the way teachers are getting the information which they share. In fact, many students, teachers, and schools now perceive that it is unimaginable to go back to the stage when there is no internet, electronic mail, or word processing. This shows that the partnership between education and technology should be further nurtured. Meanwhile, there are issues that need to be addressed. This research shows how all of these are happening, and how they are affecting college experience. THE PROBLEM AND ITS SETTINGS The paper will focus on the way technology has changed in the past ten years. In the process, it will also involve how technology is still changing the way in which education is being changed today by new innovations. There will be discussions on learning with technology, specifically through the use of online learning methods and distance education instruction. The research will focus on the college environment. The population for the research will likewise be college students. On the process, teachers will also be involved in the research to qualify or disqualify conclusions throughout the research. Overall, the goal of the research is to identify how technological changes in college education have impacted the experiences of the students studying in college. Sub-problems The following sub-problems will be posed in the research. The sub-problems are: 1. to compare college education today and ten years ago to determine the specific innovations that were introduced during the ten-year period; 3. to identify the positive and negative effects of the changes and the innovations; 4. to know how the changes affected the college experience of students; and 5. to recognize the needs of the students and the technological framework that is working in the education industry. Hypothesis This research hypothesizes that technology is a powerful tool. By its power, a great deal of innovations has been contributed to many industries. Thus, it can also be said that it has impacted and affected the education industry especially in the college level positively. Statement of delimitations The research will focus on college students who are taking courses in the traditional classroom setting. However, no limitations will be set pertaining to any determinants such as age, gender, location, or religion. There will also be no limitations as to the courses that they are taking. Students who are attending online courses while attending traditional classroom setting will also be allowed to join. There will also be points when teachers will also be tapped to provide information on several research sub-topics. This will give the paper a diverse yet focused population for its research. Definition of terms In the course of the study, several terms and jargons will come up. Most of these words are referring to terms used in technology and education. The following words are most likely to appear throughout the study. They are defined here for reference and clarity.
Saturday, August 31, 2019
Krysztof Kieslowski
IntroductionKrysztof Kieslowskiââ¬Ës genius germinated as a truly original and thought provoking film director was deeply influenced by the presence of Communism in Poland,. Later to join the ranks of the worldââ¬â¢s greatest filmmakers, Krysztof was quoted as saying asking questions about our existence was more important than being concerned with political reality ; ââ¬Å" why get up from bed ?!â⬠ââ¬â If one was not at all concerned about the metaphysics of things. In this context his fascination towards the parameters of memory and complexities of survival developed and was later manifested in his works.The land of his birth, Poland, was the background for many of his movies. He shifted his focus from documentary reality as a filmmaker working in his country. The gaze of his camera shifted from documenting reality to the probing the inner life of human beings, deeply affected by their reality in different ways.à The oeuvre of Kieslowski straddled over many conce rns. Two of his recurring themes were the persistence of memory and survival amidst the harsh realities of life. Death and violence was a feature of life in communist Poland.Every vestige of idealism was stripped away in the wake of mind numbing regimentation and the murder of freedom and humanity ââ¬â almost reducing people to bare survival level.à On a spiritual level the characters in Kieslowskiââ¬â¢s works seem to agonizingly grope their way forward out of this darkness.Each in their own way resolve a dilemma of existence, to find reunion, stark truth, even death, happiness and yet the films never work their way to some artificial conclusion ââ¬â ambiguous as life is, in fact. An examination of the directorââ¬â¢s projects will throw up evidence of these recurring themes. Yet, the films are never completely pessimistic, even if some might go deep into the dark side of human nature or seem to be concerned with erotic obsession. Thus in one hand it magnified memory or the reconstruction of memory and on the other hand he juxtaposed the manifestation and complexities of survival.However, the director was himself a very warm person who simply felt that depicting fictionalized reality was simply a better, if oblique, way to show reality. One tends to get an impression from the whole body of work that a lot is being said in the films but very subtly. Of course, helping Kieslowski was his immensely talented cast who seem to draw every shade of feeling out in films as diverse as No End and The Double life of Veronique. à On the face of it nothing very much seems to be happening in these films.à It is all subtle emotional underplay and a strongly controlled interplay of human conflicts and deeply moving responses. (Dollard, 89-92)Two of his films are representative of the aforementioned themes: Three Colors: Blue and Decalogue 2Three Colors: Blue (1993)ââ¬ËBlueââ¬â¢ is a work of such intensity that one is eternally grateful that Juliette Binoche plays Julie Vignon De Courcy, the protagonist of the film with such a fine texture of emotions.Blue is the Polish directorââ¬â¢s penetrating and highly involving work on loss and freedom and is also the dominant hue of his film. It is also part of a trilogy, Red, White and Blue the director made.A bluish candy wrapper in a small girlââ¬â¢s hand, reflects, sunlight through a carââ¬â¢s window; the next shot cuts to a leaking pipe, hinting at the imminent accident involving the car. Julie Vignon is the only survivor in the accident, which kills her daughter and husband. Fortunately for viewers, the car crash is heard not seen. The rest of the incident is shown in fragments and slivers of shattered glass. This reflects the state of the injured Julie in hospital.Extremely painfully she recollects the incident in fragments. The fragments hint at her life so far. She is the wife of a well known musician. The husband has been lately rumored to have run out of original ideas for composition ââ¬â his scores are said to have been penned by his wife. Julie seems to fighting these memories off almost as if they cause great suffering. She seems to find it difficult to survive.Through these initial terse cuts , Kieslowski draws us wide eyed into a private world of pain and suffering mad acute by lingering memory à this is a devastated world , and very subtle action depicts this . Dialogue would be utterly contrived in this situation. A typical approach would be to take the path of resolution of this pain shown in quick recovery. True to his commitment, the director does not make it so easy. In the hospital, Julie attempts suicide by an overdose of pills but does not really go all the way ââ¬â she survives.à Here there is a further ââ¬Ëhardeningââ¬â¢ of the situation. (Lamb, 243-245)After her release from hospital, Julie wants to kill herself off psychologically by withdrawing from the world. Her grief in fact, is so intense that she can ne ither cry nor even feel. à Yet, her body language reveals that she is still in great pain. Her mouth quivers as she watches her familyââ¬â¢s funeral on television and her daughterââ¬â¢s casket. She visibly goes limp as she approaches her husbandââ¬â¢s study. This is depicted with an economy which truly emphasizes the slow build up of grief.à She withdraws herself completely from the world around her and shifts from the familyââ¬â¢s country estate to an apartment, in her maiden name. She wipes out all traces of the past, even of her family except a few slivers of glass. Reflections in glass are a persistent device used in the film ââ¬â meant to convey the distance Julie is creating for herself and her memories.But the distance Julie wants to create cannot really stave off her past, try as she might; her reaction is to further withdraw into an enigmatic silence. At this point, her husbandââ¬â¢s business partner, Olivier, searches her out and offers to complete her husbandââ¬â¢s unfinished symphony as a tribute to his memory. Here is the working out of a cathartic device. The audience would find it relieving to have Julie come out of the prison of grief and re attach to the world.The resolution of the filmââ¬â¢s mesmerizing tone of grief is toward a brighter shade. Blue is the color of grief but Julietââ¬â¢s slow emergence back into personal peace helps to overcome this. Olivierââ¬â¢s role is cathartic meant to bring a closure. Towards the end of the film, she decides to collaborate on finishing her husbandââ¬â¢s symphony and gives off the familyââ¬â¢s country estate to her husbandââ¬â¢s mistress. (Fletcher, 188)Losing everything can be freedom too.DECALOGUE 2Decalogue was a series of ten I hour films, each based on one of the Ten Commandments. The work was however, no rendering of the Biblical story but a reframing of the commandments to contemporary Poland. Each sin attributed to a particular moral lapse in each of t he ten films. These films offered Kieslowski the convenience of working with some of his favorite themes and some new ones.à They obliquely refer to Kieslowskiââ¬â¢s religious concerns but in a way totally in synch with the directorââ¬â¢s typically understated and subtle style. They are tightly made and form a work of considerable cinematic importance.The central theme of Decalogue 2 is of the purest moral dilemma. Dorotaââ¬â¢s husband is seriously ill and in hospital. What she needs to know from the doctor is whether he will survive or not. She is pregnant by some one else and if her husband survives, she will abort the child .If he dies, she will keep the child.The doctor denies any knowledge of her husbandââ¬â¢s prognosis saying he doesnââ¬â¢t clearly know how to answer her.à The doctorââ¬â¢s story is then told in flashback and we find that his family has been killed in a World War 2 bombing raid.à His tragic loss in the past and his memory of it makes him conscious of another life at stake. Here we have a clear glimpse of the directorââ¬â¢s humanity and his strong convictions as a person even when working or dealing with a lot of abstraction in his films. The doctorââ¬â¢s dilemma is;à à should he tell her the husband will be well thus making Dorota abort the child? In the end the doctorââ¬Ës brilliant answer will help to save two lives (Dorotaââ¬â¢s and the childââ¬â¢s).The film is embellished like the others in this collection with the many small details that help build up the situation in a one hour film ââ¬â details that keep audiences involved in the story unfolding. The film reveals that the doctor lives in the same apartment block as Dorota, walks to work. There are scenes involving Dorotaââ¬â¢s smoking which obviously increases the danger to her.The theme of survival is cleverly shown in scenes where a bee tries to draw itself out of a bottle on a table in the husbandââ¬â¢s hospital bed, makin g the connections to the issue of the fragility of life and strong survival instincts at work both within the film and in living beings. Human beings seem to be longing for contact or withdrawing in their own private world. Meaning is ambiguous in these films: there are the sub themes to consider ââ¬â violence, chance, fate, and destiny.à Dream sequences are an extension of memory giving us a glimpse of the depth of anguish or obsession which different in the human beings. (Kar, 145)Rather, as his other creation like The Double Life of Và ©ronique, the films take on a life of their own with individuals in a society, in a state, in a family. More is happening to these characters than the films makes apparent. The director does not observe from the wings but probes deep in to what makes human conflict, what goes on in their minds. Thus the aspects of memory and complexities of survival become evident again and again.ConclusionThroughout the latter part of his career, Kieslowsk i reveals a streak of pessimistic humanism. The works show a fascination for the inner life of human beings and a spiritual quest for the meaning of existence, with carefully structured camera compositions and an almost sparse narrative. The deeper truths lie beneath the surface of reality and the unraveling of it is as unpredictable as life ââ¬â the creator does not contrive situations to fit his view. However, he remained loyal towards his belief of greater truth regarding memory and complexities of survival. (King, 126)Works Cited:Dollard, John; Krysztof Kieslowski looks into Tomorrow. (New Haven and London: Yale University Press. 2006) pp 89-92Fletcher, R; Art: Beliefs and Knowledge; Believing and Knowing. (Mangalore: Howard & Price. 2006) pp 188Kar, P; History of Cinema & Market Applications (Kolkata: Dasgupta & Chatterjee 2005) pp 145King, H; Art Today (Dunedin: HBT & Brooks Ltd. 2005) pp 126Lamb, Davis; Cult to Culture; (Wellington: National Book Trust. 2004) pp 243-245
Friday, August 30, 2019
The Thing in the Forest
Containing all the well-known signs of a fairy tale from the beginning, The Thing in the Forest is expected to include the fantasy aspect of a fairy tale. Unlike most fairy tales however, The Think in the Forest quickly turns into a very real occurrence that happened to children all over that particular region during that particular time period. Once the girls come within earshot, and then sight of ââ¬Å"The Thingâ⬠, it takes on many figurative meanings. These meanings include everything from the war and all it entitled, to the girls leaving their innocence and becoming affected by the war.The story includes two little girls as the main characters, yet Primrose, the one who later in life becomes a story teller, is assumed to be the narrator throughout the story. Primrose is ââ¬Å"Plump and blond and curlyâ⬠¦ [She] had bitten nails, a velvet collar on her dressy green coat. â⬠(353). Interestingly, the narrator (Primrose), who is made slightly greedy from her experienc es during the war, goes into grave detail of her clothing. The ââ¬Å"dressyâ⬠clothing holds no real value, and is only added into the story because it holds some sort of personal value to the narrator.Also, describing Primrose as ââ¬Å"plumpâ⬠is about the nicest way to describe and overweight child. It becomes evident from the first description of Primrose that she is favored by the narrator. Penny is different than Primrose in almost every way. ââ¬Å"Penny was thin and dark and taller, possibly older than Primroseâ⬠¦Penny had a bloodless transparent paleness, a touch of blue in her fine lips. â⬠(353). Even though Penny becomes a much more established person compared to Primrose later in life, how Penny is described isnââ¬â¢t nearly as positive as the description of Primrose.With the well detailed description of what Primrose was wearing, it would be expected that what Penny was wearing would be told. These details are never brought to light. This missing information proves that the narrator has a much stronger attachment to Primrose than Penny. The two girls are completely different in terms of personality traits, still they do have some things in common. They both lost their fathers. ââ¬Å" Pennyââ¬â¢s farther, â⬠¦died in a sheet of flame in the East Indian Docksâ⬠¦Primroseââ¬â¢s fartherâ⬠¦was killed, very late in the war, on a crowded troop carrier sunk in the Far Eastâ⬠(358).While both their fathers were killed, the ways in which they were killed are just another example of how different Penny and Primrose are. With one being killed by fire and one being killed by water, the natural forces could not be any more dissimilar. ââ¬Å"The Thingâ⬠is also something that they both have in common. They both hear it. They both smell it. They both see it. ââ¬Å"A sound and a smell fabricated of many disparate sounds and smells. A crunching, a crackling, a crushing, a heavy thumpingâ⬠(356).The sounds hea rd by the little girls is the very essence of war. The sound of troops and machinery crushing everything in their way. These sounds are the very sounds that they were sent away from. ââ¬Å"Its faceâ⬠¦appeared like a rubbery or fleshy mask over a shapeless sprouting bulb of a head. Its expression was neither wrath nor greed but pure misery. â⬠(357). This is the face of war. The rubbery gas masks worn by troops. For almost all, war is pure misery. Not just for the militaryââ¬â¢s fighting, but for everyone. The girls were sent away to preserve their innocence.Once they ran into the woods, they ran from their innocence and became aware of the war around them. After seeing ââ¬Å"The Thingâ⬠, the girls become separated and live very different lives. Just as they started out as completely different people, they continue to live as completely different people. The war did impact them both in similar ways, ââ¬Å"They both never married. â⬠(358). Both Penny and Primr ose choose careers that were influence by the war, but both the careers fit their personalities. Even without the war, they would have probably both chosen careers along the same guidelines.The fact they neither of them married is something that the war probably changed. War has the power to give people something in common who would otherwise have nothing in common. ââ¬Å"The Thingâ⬠is everything evil about the war from the understanding of two little girls. They didnââ¬â¢t know exactly what this evilness was, but they did know that it was evil. The story also completes a circle. Starting with a story and ending with the story starting again. How the war influence these girls continues to be passed on through Primrose, the story teller. The Thing in the Forest Containing all the well-known signs of a fairy tale from the beginning, The Thing in the Forest is expected to include the fantasy aspect of a fairy tale. Unlike most fairy tales however, The Think in the Forest quickly turns into a very real occurrence that happened to children all over that particular region during that particular time period. Once the girls come within earshot, and then sight of ââ¬Å"The Thingâ⬠, it takes on many figurative meanings. These meanings include everything from the war and all it entitled, to the girls leaving their innocence and becoming affected by the war.The story includes two little girls as the main characters, yet Primrose, the one who later in life becomes a story teller, is assumed to be the narrator throughout the story. Primrose is ââ¬Å"Plump and blond and curlyâ⬠¦ [She] had bitten nails, a velvet collar on her dressy green coat. â⬠(353). Interestingly, the narrator (Primrose), who is made slightly greedy from her experienc es during the war, goes into grave detail of her clothing. The ââ¬Å"dressyâ⬠clothing holds no real value, and is only added into the story because it holds some sort of personal value to the narrator.Also, describing Primrose as ââ¬Å"plumpâ⬠is about the nicest way to describe and overweight child. It becomes evident from the first description of Primrose that she is favored by the narrator. Penny is different than Primrose in almost every way. ââ¬Å"Penny was thin and dark and taller, possibly older than Primroseâ⬠¦Penny had a bloodless transparent paleness, a touch of blue in her fine lips. â⬠(353). Even though Penny becomes a much more established person compared to Primrose later in life, how Penny is described isnââ¬â¢t nearly as positive as the description of Primrose.With the well detailed description of what Primrose was wearing, it would be expected that what Penny was wearing would be told. These details are never brought to light. This missing information proves that the narrator has a much stronger attachment to Primrose than Penny. The two girls are completely different in terms of personality traits, still they do have some things in common. They both lost their fathers. ââ¬Å" Pennyââ¬â¢s farther, â⬠¦died in a sheet of flame in the East Indian Docksâ⬠¦Primroseââ¬â¢s fartherâ⬠¦was killed, very late in the war, on a crowded troop carrier sunk in the Far Eastâ⬠(358).While both their fathers were killed, the ways in which they were killed are just another example of how different Penny and Primrose are. With one being killed by fire and one being killed by water, the natural forces could not be any more dissimilar. ââ¬Å"The Thingâ⬠is also something that they both have in common. They both hear it. They both smell it. They both see it. ââ¬Å"A sound and a smell fabricated of many disparate sounds and smells. A crunching, a crackling, a crushing, a heavy thumpingâ⬠(356).The sounds hea rd by the little girls is the very essence of war. The sound of troops and machinery crushing everything in their way. These sounds are the very sounds that they were sent away from. ââ¬Å"Its faceâ⬠¦appeared like a rubbery or fleshy mask over a shapeless sprouting bulb of a head. Its expression was neither wrath nor greed but pure misery. â⬠(357). This is the face of war. The rubbery gas masks worn by troops. For almost all, war is pure misery. Not just for the militaryââ¬â¢s fighting, but for everyone. The girls were sent away to preserve their innocence.Once they ran into the woods, they ran from their innocence and became aware of the war around them. After seeing ââ¬Å"The Thingâ⬠, the girls become separated and live very different lives. Just as they started out as completely different people, they continue to live as completely different people. The war did impact them both in similar ways, ââ¬Å"They both never married. â⬠(358). Both Penny and Primr ose choose careers that were influence by the war, but both the careers fit their personalities. Even without the war, they would have probably both chosen careers along the same guidelines.The fact they neither of them married is something that the war probably changed. War has the power to give people something in common who would otherwise have nothing in common. ââ¬Å"The Thingâ⬠is everything evil about the war from the understanding of two little girls. They didnââ¬â¢t know exactly what this evilness was, but they did know that it was evil. The story also completes a circle. Starting with a story and ending with the story starting again. How the war influence these girls continues to be passed on through Primrose, the story teller.
Thursday, August 29, 2019
Management in Libraries Essay
Economic threat to the libraries by escalation of books and journals, fewer resources, constant growth changes in technology and user high expectation have shown that management is the critical factor that determines efficiency and effectiveness of all types of libraries. Thus managers are expected to play different functions in order to be effective and efficient. In this assignment different functions and roles played by managers in different libraries are discussed showing how they improve efficiency and effectiveness and different laws of library management are discussed. DEFINITION OF TERMS Management Effectiveness defined by Bateman, T is ââ¬Å"doing things rightâ⬠. This means that the manager has the responsibility for selecting the right goals and appropriate means to achieving it. Efficiency is measuring the cost of attaining a given goal, concerned about how resources such as money, time, equipment, personnel obtain given goals. Thus a manager needs to be effective and efficient in order to achieve the goals of the library. MAIN DISCUSSION Library management comprise more than just making changes, it involves managing ongoing operations in the optimal fashion for your institution in the context of its goals, other departmentââ¬â¢s activities and patrons needs. Thus we realize that different libraries may require managerial different managerial skills in order to perform their duties effectively. Managers help in giving direction to the library showing where it is going. Library management involves planning, organizing, leading and controlling. Planning is about systematical making decisions about the library goals. In planning the manager defines the objectives the objectives of the library, stating the purpose of its existence, defining the user community and their information needs. This is important as it facilitates efficiency. It helps in understanding the library stakeholders. A public library is an omnibus organization. It carters for everyone in the community thus the need for every user must be known and fulfilled. A public library serves a diverse community of adults, children and teens thus a manager has to plan on resources to be acquired. A manager can plan on different resources that can be acquired ranging from entertainment, fiction, nonfiction for general research, children story books because there are no specific users, the resources must benefit everyone in the society. A manager also organize and coordinate human, financial , physical, informational and other resources needed to achieve library goals. The manager establishes the activity authority relationship of the library. The activities necessary to achieve the objectives are then grouped into working divisions, departments and grouped together. In an academic library a manager can group together activities like accession and cataloguing The manager has to establish standards for performance; this will make sure that the library is performing in such a way as to arrive at its destination. According to Griffin ââ¬Å"controlling helps to ensure effective and efficiency needed for successful managementâ⬠As a leader the manager is responsible for staffing which is concerned with allocating prospective employees to fulfill the jobs created by organizing process. It involves the process of reviewing the credentials of the candidates of the jobs and trying to match the job demand with the application s abilities keeping each employee qualified. It also involves the development and implementation of a system for appraising performance and providing feedback for performance improvement. In a special library where the main target is a specific audience, for example ZIMRA library its serves the ZIMRA staff and mainly the manager have to recruit someone who posses research skills because mainly it deals with research for its company. The manager is responsible for choosing the right candidate, who knows how to research, even on the internet where there is information overload the candidate must be able to extract relevant information using the right search engine, mainly in a special library every one depend on the information provided by the librarian. The manager is also responsible for keeping the librarian qualified for the job by providing ongoing training since the librarianship profession is dynamic thus this will improve effectiveness and efficiency of libraries. A manager also gives s direction that will help the library in achieving its goals. Directing builds a climate, provides leadership and arranges the opportunity for motivation this is further explained by Rachelââ¬â¢s laws of library management, it says save time of your staff. This means that the staff must be given support they need for them to achieve goals effectively and efficiently this include providing training for them where it is needed. Each boss must plan and oversee the wok of each of his or her subordinates. In an academic library there are different services offered for example cataloguing and accession section can be directed by one manager then the E- resource section can be under another manager e- journals purchased, subscriptions etc. This will ease the load as one manager is focusing on a specific service thus he spend more time trying to improve the services and working with his subordinates and improves efficiency in the library. As a manager attempts to perform the managerial job effectively and efficiently there is a need to ââ¬Ëwear different hatsââ¬â¢ in interaction with employees. Managers interacts with others besides subordinates they work with other peer level managers in some other departments and outside contacts (suppliers and clients). Thus a manager is building contacts through which to gather information. Rachel agrees with this in the laws of management which says library resources are for use. A library manager is expected to connect resources with the user achieving the library goals. Through the liaison role a manager is able to network with other libraries. Academic libraries can practice resource sharing if there are shortages of material in specific departments the two libraries can share the available resources to both libraries and this will give the patrons a wide variety of information thus fulfilling their needs, this will improve efficiency. The manager is exposed to new ideas or methods that may improve the work unit operations. The manager initiates activities that will allow and encourage the work unit to use the idea most advantageously. Rachelââ¬â¢s law of management says that a library is a growing organism. A manager needs to open to change and help the library evolve to meet the needs of patrons. We can look at public library, the introduction of automation the staff may resist change having fear of losing their jobs thus a manager is responsible for encouraging and motivating the staff showing them the advantages of automating the library services and how it can reduce their workload, providing training for them thus the duties are performed effectively and efficiently satisfying the needs of different patrons. An effective manager is an active leader who creates a positive work environment in which the organization and its employees have the opportunity and incentive to achieve high performance (â⬠¦Ã¢â¬ ¦Ã¢â¬ ¦.. ) In order to perform duties effectively and efficiently Rachel says that ââ¬Å"every task its doerâ⬠. The manager encourages ownership and responsibility to each staff member. Every staff member his/ her work, the manager must know peopleââ¬â¢s skills and strength and staff can then be deployed according to their abilities then the duties can be done perfectly improving effectiveness and efficiency in a library. Even though the staff is divided according to their abilities it is the duty of a manager to create a spirit oneness and togetherness amongst the subordinates. They should work as a team to achieve the library goals; Bavakuty M (2000) agrees that libraries can become effective and efficient by ââ¬Å"strong top management support, a system approach and strategic planning, a customer focus, an emphasis on employee team work, empowerment training, the use of measurement and analysis technique and commitment to continuous improvementâ⬠. The manager seeks and receives wide variety of special information to develop through the understanding of the library and the environment, emerges as the nerve centre about the library. The manager monitors internal and external events, ideas, trends and analysis. The manager then uses the information to detect changes, problems and opportunities and to construct decision making scenario. The manager as the disseminator transmits information from other employees to other members of the library. The manager can bring external information received into the organization and facilitate internal flow of information. Thus we realize that management is the heart of any type of library and facilitate efficiency and effectiveness. BIBLIOGRAPHY Bavakutty, M (2000). Management of libraries In the 21st Century. Ess Ess Publication. India. Griffin, R. (1987). Management 2nd editition. Maffin Co Mohant, T. C. (2008). Research Methodology in Library Science. alpha Publishers India. Plunket, R. (1983). Introduction to Management. Kent Publication. United States of Amenrica.
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