Isoftstone the Globalization of a Chinese IT sourcing and Services Powerhouse

Background information iSoftstone began business in 2001as Beijing iSoftstone technologies Limited. The main pioneer was Tianwen Liu. He owned the company and was known as the core founder. Later in 2005, the company changed its organization and took up the name iSofstone Holdings limited. It had three major branches and was registered in the Cayman Islands. One of its branches was Consulting and Solutions.Advertising We will write a custom case study sample on Isoftstone: the Globalization of a Chinese IT sourcing and Services Powerhouse specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More This branch mainly dealt with high end consulting and providing the clients with business reengineering services. The IT services branch provided IT infrastructure services to its clients in China. Lastly, the Business Process Outsourcing Branch provided services such as backend business processing and Call Centre services. These services mainly targeted the US an d European clients. The company became fully operational in 2009. Its various branches were estimated to have earned approximately $134.4 million in total. The Consulting and Solutions branch earned a total of $44.5 million while Business Process Outsourcing earned $3.8 million. During that very year, the IT branch earned a total of $86.1 million. Liu saw an opportunity in the rising demand of IT services in China and the rising interest in offshoring of developing software to China. He had a clear insight as to how exactly he would establish and differentiate ISS. His initial idea had two sides to it when he sought to establish ISS as a leader in the domestic IT services market. Firstly, he knew there was a strong business foundation base upon which to build a global business enterprise. Secondly, an establishment of ISS would attract many US, European and Japanese clients who sought to enter the Chinese market. His main target was the telecommunication, technology, financial servi ces and energy companies. He wanted his company to service customers with IT services that would be initiated through consulting and solution design assignments. This would result in software development projects and business process outsourcing. He hired personnel with proven track records in one or more of the company sectors and with time he managed to acquire small outsourcing companies that allowed his company to build a good basis for human capital and global IT services expertise. Between 2001 and 2010, the company experienced a rapid growth rate and success as a global enterprise.Advertising Looking for case study on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More His growth in human personnel took place through a two-fold approach to acquiring human capital. First, he actively pursued acquiring domain competencies where the targeted market fit with the ISS market strategy. His previous work relationships with ass ociates that worked in these organizations soon saw them become senior executives within ISS. Secondly, Liu recruited his workers from the Chinese higher education engineering programs. He also partnered locally to establish curricular offerings that would align to the needs of his IT Company. ISS also went ahead and founded a joint venture with Carnegie Mellon University in the US. The main purpose of this venture was to provide training to engineering consultants and junior management. The top third of the graduates were hired by ISS each year. ISS mainly offered three services: consulting and solutions, IT services and business process outsourcing. The successful implementation of these services ensured that customers went back for other ISS services such as software application development and maintenance. They also offer outsourced and development in areas that involve specific areas such as software and hardware devices that contain software applications and systems. iSoftston e Business Model A business model is used to describe how an organization creates, delivers and captures the economic, social or other forms of value (Armstrong, 2006). The collective business model is whereby a business is composed of a large number of businesses or professionals in the same profession. They in turn pool resources and exchange information that is mutually beneficial. iSoftStone has done this by merging with other business enterprises such as Microsoft, IBM, etc. in order to attract international customers. ISSS’S competitive advantages One of its competitive advantages is providing good quality services to its people and hiring qualified personnel with good success records. In addition, the company has a deep and geographically balanced client mix and service capabilities. Another strong asset of the company is its strong domain knowledge and client relationships in target industry verticals (Nag, Hambrick Chen, 2007).Advertising We will write a custom case study sample on Isoftstone: the Globalization of a Chinese IT sourcing and Services Powerhouse specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The company offers end-to-end service offerings and a scalable China –based delivery system that is within the global market reach. Systems of development and management of human capital have been put in place. The company has managed to partner with various other companies such as SunGard in order to offer IT services to clients in the finance and insurance industries in China and across the Asia Pacific region. SunGard is a well-known IT solutions company in the financial and insurance industry. The company currently serves over 25, 000 clients in 70 different countries. SWOT analysis of challenges faced and how to counter them One of the main challenges that the company is facing is how to manage its growth. However, they have turned this challenge into a great opportunity for them. A SWOT ana lysis will be used to analyze the company’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. A SWOT analysis can be defined as a planning method that is used to analyze the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats within a particular company. The objective of the business venture and the external and internal factors that favor the attainment of this objective are critically analyzed using this method. The strengths in this case are those factors that give the organization a higher competitive advantage over other businesses. iSoftstone has a higher competitive advantage over other organizations due to the partnerships it has managed to acquire in order to improve its business. For instance, it has partnered with organizations such as Microsoft, IBM, UBS and PetroChina. This put it in a position whereby it was able to get additional client work and product vendor representation. The more these relationships matured, the more the client work increased. In addition, th e company has managed to recruit experts that have a good track record of success. Instead of hiring MBA graduates as most organizations did, Liu preferred to hire senior engineers who had information knowledge technology that would develop a solution set for any client. MBA graduates on the other hand only possessed good analytical skills.Advertising Looking for case study on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More China is believed to have an appealing business environment. As compared to India, this is also a leading country in IT outsourcing, China has less English speaking people and a weaker labor force. However, it is geared at improving this situation by introducing English as a language in most school curriculums. This will serve as a great advantage to the country especially since it is also geared toward hard sciences and technology. This will increase its labor force and the IT outsourcing industry will in turn serve a wider English-based clientele. The government promotes the new growth of industries that will replace manufacturing. China can easily use the outsourcing industry to leverage. Since it is people intensive and is an emerging industry, it can be used by China to achieve its goal of sustained self-reliance and an upwards economic growth. China boasts of good infrastructure as compared to its competitor, India, and can therefore utilize this as an asset. In order to ensur e copyright protection, China has adopted strong copyright laws that protect against intellectual copyright infringement. Cultural ties have worked to China’s advantage especially when serving countries in the Asian region. Such countries include Japan which is the world’s second largest economy. It still remains un-penetrated and therefore China remains its primary service provider. Weaknesses are those factors that place the company at a disadvantage over its competitors. iSofstone realized that they needed to penetrate into the Japan and Korea markets. In order to make up for this weakness, Mr. Juro Nakauchi, a former cooperate advisor for iSoftstone was recruited back into the company. His role was to become chairman of the Japan and Korea business group where he would focus on strategic business development and management. This recruitment however presents a certain risk to the company. Competitor companies recognize the value of Mr. Juro and are putting forth eff orts to woo him into their companies. His loyalty may change due to competitive salary packages. In order to counter this risk and minimize the loss that may be incurred should Mr. Juro’s loyalties shift the company needs to build confidence in their entire team such that the relationship value that resides in him will be transferred to the iSoftStone company. Another significant area of weakness is the duplication of efforts, missed opportunities and other inefficiencies caused by a lack of a standardized process that governs the integration of newly acquired business units. In order to effectively counter this risk, the company can benchmark other companies that have successfully executed the growth by acquisition model. The company could then model their approach to match their business and market. Opportunities are those factors that are known to improve the company’s performance in the long run (Moore, 1995). China and India are believed to be the largest markets of outsourcing in the current recession. Companies that seek to outsource to China could be at an advantageous position. This is because China has adequate resources and a higher level of development. iSoftStone, which is a leading IT outsourcing company should take advantage of this opportunity by expanding their customer base to the Western region. This will enable them to build a good reputation which will facilitate negotiation processes. Offshore suppliers prefer to keep a diverse client base because they can handle various tasks and as such, a certain size is helpful to offer a variety of solutions. Size builds up a good reputation and plays an important role in attracting international customers. The increasing number of companies that are looking to China so as to find outsourcing companies that are dependable could provide a good opportunity for iSoftStone. Lastly threats are those elements that could potentially cause trouble for the company. An unfavorable global economy and difficult times make the outsourcing of IT a difficult task. Globalization has called for a need to adjust management models and business strategies. China and India stand at the forefront of the global outsourcing movement. India has a labor force that poses a great threat to China’s outsourcing industry (Duncan, 2010). They have a larger scale and richer international experience in the industry as compared to China. Security threats such as cyber-attacks pose a great threat especially to companies that are looking to gain ground in IT outsourcing in China. Businesses are forced to ensure that security policies are specific and access control systems are up to date. This is done to ensure that there is constant security monitoring especially when working internationally with China. Companies are therefore looking for quality by investing in good governance models that provide good practices for knowledge transfer. A collaboration of the Chinese companies and the governme nt are working hard to ensure that offshoring IT work to China doesn’t necessarily mean a reduction in cost. In order to attract major players worldwide, the Chinese IT industry needs to consolidate. This is due to market fragmentation which is a major threat that is facing IT outsourcing companies. The Chinese IT industry is divided into smaller units and this is not enough to appeal to the international clients. Therefore, what needs to be done is that the companies need to merge and form a single unit that will prove to be solid and reliable. iSofStone has seen this as a major threat and has since tried to merge with other companies in order to increase its size and presence (Intechno China, 2009).. Restrictive government regulations prove to pose a great limitation to China’s IT outsourcing companies. The security of intellectual property of clients calls for a transformation in the organization and structure of China’s software industry. Software copyright piracy needs to be eliminated and this can be facilitated through government efforts. Software copyright piracy is a great threat to China’s IT outsourcing industry. Statistics show that in 2007, most firms were using copyrighted software. As a result, the government ordered that municipal authorities purchase computers that were already pre-installed with licensed software. References Armstrong. M. A. (2006). Handbook of Human Resource Management Practice. Kogan Page, London. Duncan, E. (2010). Outsourcing hubs: China, India, Eastern Europe. Web. Intechno China. (2009). Three Engines for the Growing of Outsourcing Enterprises in Size and Strength the Promotion of Delivery. Web. Moore, M, H. (1995). Creating Public Value: Strategic Management in Government, Cambridge: Harvard University Press. Nag, R, Hambrick, D. C, Chen, M.J. (2007). What is strategic management, really? Inductive derivation of a consensus definition of the field. Strategic Management Journal. This case study on Isoftstone: the Globalization of a Chinese IT sourcing and Services Powerhouse was written and submitted by user Jabari Gonzalez to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Seti Essays - Search For Extraterrestrial Intelligence, Astronomy

Seti Essays - Search For Extraterrestrial Intelligence, Astronomy Seti Bertrand Russell wrote, There are two possibilities. Maybe we are alone. Maybe we are not. Both are equally frightening (Jakosky 1). The question of life in the universe is one that leaves many in a state of bewilderment. It becomes even more interesting when it leads to another question that of intelligent life in the universe. Finding other intelligent civilizations among the interstellar space would greatly affect every aspect of our existence. Conversely, not finding such a civilization would force us to examine the purpose of our own existence. To help answer the question, astronomers and scientists set up a program in search for extraterrestrial intelligence. This program, or SETI, was set up to verify, by observation that extraterrestrial life does exist. SETI tries to prove this by picking up and analyzing radio signals by means of satellites and advanced computers (Heidmann 116). The history of the SETI program is quite interesting. It started back in 1959 with the help of two famous Cornell University physicists, Guiseppi Cocconi and Phil Morrison. Both claimed that it would be possible to communicate with other potential extraterrestrial life in space by the use of techniques used in radio astronomy (Heidmann 112). Together, they voiced their belief that if other alien astronomers elsewhere in the universe possessed radio telescopes, that it would be possible to converse between the two (Heidmann 112-113). A young astronomer by the name of Francis Drake agreed with the theories of Cocconi and Morrison. He proposed building a radio receiver in order to listen for waves of sound being transmitted through space. It wasnt until the spring of 1960 that Drake began his first project of SETI, Ozma. In this project, he was the first to conduct a search for signals transmitted from other solar systems. For two tedious months, Drake pointed an eighty-five foot antenna in the direction of two starts the same age as our sun, Tau Ceti and Epsil. A single 100Hz-channel receiver scanned nearly 400kHz of bandwidth, for a repeated series of patterned pulses that would indicate an intelligent message (Heidmann 113-144). Unfortunately, the only sound that came from the speaker was static. Though no intelligent life was found and project Ozma proved to be nothing but a disappointment, it actually spurred the interest of others who created a feasible scientific objective (Project Ozma). In the 1960s the Soviet Union dominated much of the SETI program. However in the 1970s NASAs Ames Research center, located in California began to take over. After nearly a decade of study and preliminary research, the NASA headquarters fully funded and adopted the SETI program. However, five years later Congress ruled the program a foolish unnecessary scientific endeavor that wasted valuable funding. Congress then decided to not allow NASA to support SETI and terminated the funding (History of SETI). Despite the obstacle, the SETI program was reborn, forming the SETI Institute. Its first privately funded project, Project Phoenix, is the worlds most sensitive and comprehensive search for extraterrestrial intelligence that listens to radio signals being transmitted our way. The project focuses on Northern Stars by scanning only those that are sun-like and are more capable of supporting life (Heidmann 146). The Phoenix Project is only one of the many projects run for the search of extraterrestrial intelligence, but is one of the most important. Another highly significant project in the search for other life would be the project run by the Columbus Optical SETI Observatory, or COSETI. This project was formed to promote the optical search for extraterrestrial intelligence. In other words, it seeks to detect pulsed and continuous wave laser beacon signals in the visible and infrared spectrums. Until 1998 however, little, or nothing was ever said to indicate that there might possibly be a sensible optical approach to SETI. Many researchers believe that extraterrestrials, if they exist, are so sophisticated that they would use lasers for their communications rather than radio waves. It is said that by the year 2005 that most SETI activities will be of the optical kind and that the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) could also be retrofitted for COSETI. (The Optical). One of the more recent projects that we are faced with today is the [emailprotected] Home Project. This

The Complete List of Community Service Scholarships

The Complete List of Community Service Scholarships SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips Did you know that your extracurricular activities can earn you money for college? In particular, there are a lot of scholarships available to students who have chosen to spend their free time helping out others in their communities through volunteer work. Read on for the most complete lists of volunteer scholarships available. We've divided the scholarships by type so you can tell easily if you qualify. Why Community Service Scholarships? If you're the type of person who spends your free time helping others, you probably already know about some of the benefits of this type of work: you get to make a positive impact in your community while getting life experience that will help you develop as a person. But you may not have been aware that there's another potential benefit: community service is also a great way to earn some extra cash for college. Many universities and organizations value individuals who they think will make a difference in the world, and offering scholarships to students who have dedicated their time to improving the lives of others is one way that they can contribute to those changes. How to Find Community Service Scholarships There are a lot of different kinds of community service scholarships, and they come from a lot of different sources, including charities, the government, religious groups, and universities themselves. Some of the scholarships offered will help fund tuition costs, while others will help you pay for charitable projects that you want to organize, or give you the opportunity to do more volunteer work. Though you may not have seen many of these scholarships advertised, there are hundreds of them out there. If you don’t see something on the list below that pertains to you, do an internet search for what you're interested in or specific to the type of work that you have done. Other good resources are the college and financial aid counselors at your high school, who may know of local and national opportunities, as well as scholarships related to volunteer programs at your school. Additionally, ask the organizations where you volunteer if there are any scholarships available. Quite frequently, churches, religious groups, hospitals, and other community clubs and organizations provide awards to help out students with the cost of education. How to Apply for Community Service Scholarships Each of the scholarships listed below has its own application procedure and eligibility requirements. Start looking into the scholarships you're interested in well in advance so that you don’t miss any deadlines. You can also increase your chances of being eligible for more scholarships if you start to plan early. You'll see that many of the scholarships below have very specific eligibility criteria. If you're looking to get involved in a community service project and don’t have anything particular in mind, try choosing something that will make you eligible for one (or more) of these awards. Also keep in mind that the community service work you do can qualify you for several different scholarships. Be sure to apply to all scholarships that you're eligible for, and don’t be intimidated by the wording of the scholarship requirements – it’s always worth a shot to get college money! Key tip: Apply early, and apply often! Not all of these scholarships are limited to high school seniors and college students. If you start applying in 9th grade (or even earlier), you'll have a head start on building up your scholarship fund. List of Community Service Scholarships by Category The following scholarships are grouped according to type of community service or other special requirements. You'll notice that many of these scholarships are available to students who have done any type of community service, as long as you can show significant involvement. Some of these scholarships should fit into more than one category (such as a social activism scholarship that also requires a high GPA). In these cases, I’ve put them in what I consider to be the most restricting group. The categories are: General volunteer scholarships Leadership Financial need Strong academics Specific field of study Environmental focus Special circumstances Special affiliation Certain location or college Minority Social activism Scroll down to the category you most qualify for, or just browse through all the scholarships available! General Volunteer Scholarships The scholarships in this list are for students who have dedicated several hours to volunteer work. There are no particular restrictions about the kind of work you can have done for these awards, but you should be able to show long-term commitment and how you've made an impact. Americorps Vista This service program- with a scholarship awarded at the end- is for students aged 17 and older. You must be willing to commit to 10-11 months of service at a nonprofit organization or government agency. You will receive a living stipend while you are serving. Scholarship awards given at the end of service are $5,815. AXA Achievement Scholarship This scholarship is for ambitious and determined high school seniors who show respect for themselves, their families, and their communities. Students will have the opportunity to win awards of $2,500, $10,000, or $25,000. Bonner Scholars Program This scholarship is for college students with demonstrated financial need who are willing to perform 10 hours of community service per week during the school year and 280 total hours in the summer. The program meets the full documented financial need of each student. Students must be attending a school with a Bonner Scholars program and will apply through their campus. Great Value Colleges Community Service Scholarship Great Value Colleges awards $1,500 to students who have enhanced their educations through community service. LULAC National Scholarship Fund General Awards This award is for entering freshmen who display motivation, sincerity, and community involvement. Multiple awards between $250 and $1,000 are given. Prudential Spirit of Community Awards These awards are for students in grades 5–12 who have participated in community service in the past 12 months. National Honorees receive a $5,000 award, a medallion, a trophy, and a $5,000 grant to a charity of choice. State Honorees receive an award of $1,000, a medallion, and a paid trip to Washington, D.C. Local Honorees receive a Certificate of Achievement. Leadership Scholarships These scholarships are for students who have shown strong leadership skills – the ability to direct and inspire others – along with a dedication to community service. Alliant Energy Community Service Scholarship This essay contest awards $1,000 to 25 students age 24 or under who have leadership roles in community service activities whose families are Alliant customers (Alliant's service area is Iowa and Wisconsin). Comcast Leaders and Achievers Scholarship Program This award is for high school seniors who are nominated by their principals or guidance counselors for having shown a dedication to community service and leadership. There are over a thousand awards of $1,000. Elks National Foundation Most Valuable Student Competition US citizens who have shown leadership, scholarship, and financial need can apply. There are2 awards of $50,000, 2 awards of $40,000, 2 awards of $30,000, 14 awards of $20,000, and 480 awards of $4,000. GE-Reagan Foundation Scholarship This award is for students who show leadership, drive, and good citizenship. There are around 20 awards of $10,000, which are renewable each year of college for up to $40,000. State Farm Good Neighbor Scholarship These scholarships are for high school seniors with a GPA between 2.5 and 3.2 and who are leaders and volunteers in their communities. There are fifty awards of $5,000 each. Financial Need Scholarships These scholarships are aimed at students who have dedicated their time to serving their communities and who also can demonstrate financial need. Horatio Alger Association Scholarship Program High school students who have shown integrity, financial need, academic achievement, and community service may apply for this award. You will need a 2.0 GPA. A family income less than $55K is required. National scholarships of $25,000 are given every year, and smaller state scholarships are available as well. Imagine America High School Scholarship This award is for high school graduates who intend to enroll at a career college. They must have a high school GPA of at least 2.5, be able to demonstrate financial need, and have demonstrated community service during their senior year. Awards are $1,000. Ronald McDonald House Charities US Scholarships Students under 21 who can show financial need and who have academic achievement, leadership, and community service experience are eligible for these awards. Most scholarships are administered through local Ronald McDonald House Charities (like these through RMHC Central Indiana); look for the local office near you. Scholarship amounts vary. Strong Academics Scholarships These scholarships are for students who have managed to balance schoolwork with volunteer work. They are aimed at students who have achieved top grades and test scores. Coca-Cola Scholars Program Scholarship Graduating high school students with who demonstrate academic achievement and who have shown a commitment to improving their communities are eligible for this award.150 awards of $20,000 are given every year. You can also check out our complete guide to winning a Coca Cola Scholarship. Wendy’s High School Heisman Award This award is for rising high school seniors who excel in academics, athletics, and community service. You must have 3.0 GPA. The number of awards and amount varies from $1,000-$10,000. Field of Study Scholarships These scholarships are for students who are planning on pursuing certain degrees while in college. Davidson Fellowships This award is for students under the age of 19 who have done significant work in math, science, technology, music, literature, or philosophy, or another field that will benefit society. There are 20 total awards in amounts of $10,000, $25,000, and $50,000. Dr. Alma S. Adams Scholarships These scholarships are for college students pursuing degrees in public health, communications, social work, education, liberal arts, or a related field. They should have GPA of 2.0+ and demonstrate financial need. Student must provide evidence of community activities including activism, outreach, or peer counseling in tobacco prevention or control. James Beard Foundation Scholarship This is for students who are interested in a culinary career. Applicants should have strong academic record, leadership, and community service.Award amounts vary. James M. and Virginia M. Smyth Scholarship This scholarship is for students with a GPA of 3.0+ who demonstrate financial need and are pursuing a degree in arts and sciences, human services, music, or ministry. Students must have shown a commitment to community service. There is a preference for applicants from Missouri, Mississippi, Georgia, Illinois, Oklahoma, Texas, and Tennessee. 12 – 15 awards of $2,000 are given every year, and they are renewable for up to four years. Mary A. Mades Volunteer Scholarship Award This scholarship is awarded by Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston to a student pursuing a degree in healthcare who has spent at least 125 hours volunteering at Beth Israel over the past 2 years. National Strength and Conditioning Association High School Scholarship This scholarship is for high school seniors with a GPA over 3.0 looking to enter a strength and conditioning field who have a track record of community service and are members of the NSCA. There are multiple $1,500 awards available. Tylenol Future Care Scholarship This award is for college or graduate students studying healthcare, who have high GPAs and can show community involvement. Awards range from $500-$10,000. Check out our complete guide on how to win a Tylenol scholarship. Washington Hospital Service League Volunteer Scholarship This award is for high school seniors and college students in the Washington Hospital District who are pursuing a healthcare-related degree, with a GPA of at least 2.5, and who have volunteered for at least 100 hours in healthcare. The award is $1,000 and is renewable for all 4 years of college. Young Women in Public Affairs Award Women aged 16-19 who are pursuing careers in government, public policy, and community organizations, and who are involved in community service, should apply for this scholarship. Ten international scholarships of $4,000 and up to 32 scholarships of $1,000 are awarded each year. Environmental Focus Scholarships These scholarships are for students who have dedicated their time to helping the environment. Brower Youth Awards This scholarship is for students who have shown leadership in environmental activism. Six awards of $3,000 are given every year, plus a professional film crew will make a short film about the winners’ work. The winner will also receive a week-long trip to California to participate in media engagements and environmental conferences. Gloria Barron Prize for Young Heroes This scholarship is for students aged 8 - 18 who have made a significant positive difference to people or the environment. There are 25 awards of $5,000. Special Characteristics and Circumstances Scholarships These scholarships are for students who have faced certain challenges or who have special characteristics. LEAGUE Foundation Scholarship LGBT high school seniors with a GPA of 3.0 and above who are involved in community service can apply for this scholarship. Live Out Loud Scholarships This scholarship is for high school seniors who identify as LGBTQ from the tri-state area (New York, New Jersey, or Connecticut). You must demonstrate leadership, a strong academic record, and community service. Awards of up to $10,000 are given every year. National Federations of the Blind Scholarship Legally blind college students from US and Puerto Rico may apply. The winner is chosen based on academic excellence, community service, and leadership. Awards are between $3,000 and $12,000. Up to 30 awards are given each year. PFLAG (Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays) Scholarships This scholarship is for high school seniors or college students in New Mexico who are LGBT or a straight ally. Students must show integrity and participation in community activities. Awards are $1,000. Yes, I Can Council for Exceptional Children Award Students between 3 and 21 years old with a disability can be nominated by a teacher, parent, other nominee, or even a self-nomination! The student must be involved in various activities including volunteer work. Special Affiliations Scholarships These scholarships are for students who are associated with certain groups. Americorps National Civilian Community Corps This scholarship is for U.S. citizens between 18 and 24 who are willing to serve on Americorps campuses in Denver, Sacramento, Baltimore, Vinton (IA) or Vicksburg (MS). Winners must commit to 10 months of service in the region. The scholarship awarded at the close of service isfor $5,815. Burger King Scholars Program These awards are for Burger King employees or relatives of employees who show good citizenship and commitment to the community. Eagle Scout Scholarship The National Eagle Scout Association offers two kinds of awards for Eagle Scouts: academic awards and merit awards. Academic scholarships are offered in amounts up to $50,000, and merit scholarships are offered up to $5,000. Academic scholarship applicants must be in their senior year of high school. Merit scholarship applicants must be high school seniors or college students not past their junior year of study. Jesse Brown Scholarship Students aged 21 and under who have done at least 100 hours of community service to serve veterans at a VA medical center can apply for these awards. There is one top scholarship of $20,000, and additional scholarships of $15,000, $10,000, $7,500, and $5,000. National Honor Society Scholarship Program These awards are for high school students who are members of NHS. Any senior member of a chapter may apply. Awards come in a variety of amounts depending on how far the student advances in the scholarship competition and range from about $3,000-$22,000. Navin Narayan College Scholarship This award is for high school seniors who have served at least 2 years as a Red Cross volunteer. There is a one-time award of $1,000. Siemens Foundation Scholarship This $4,000 award is for high school juniors who are children of full-time Siemens employees and who have an excellent academic record and have made significant contributions to the community. Certain Location or College Scholarships These volunteer awards are only available to students who are from a certain location or are planning on attending college in certain areas. Albert Shanker UFT College Scholarship Fund This award is available toNew York City public high school seniors with good academic standing and who can show leadership in the community. Students must also be eligible for Pell Grants and have a family income below a certain threshold. The award is for $5,000. Boettcher Foundation Scholarship This scholarship is for academically gifted Colorado high school students. Applicants must alsohave community service and leadership experience. The award is for full tuition, fees, and a $2,800 annual living expenses stipend for attending one of the Scholarship-approved colleges within Colorado (list on website). Financial Services Center of New York Scholarship Program This scholarship is for seniors from New York City and the surrounding counties who have shown academic achievement, leadership, and who have performed at least 50 hours of community service per school year. There are several awards ranging from $2,000-$7,500 given. Ford Scholars Program High school seniors or community college students enrolling in a bachelor’s degree in Oregon or California, who are residents of Oregon or Siskiyou County, California, can apply for this award. Students should show financial need, good character, have a GPA of 3.0 or higher, and show concern for others through volunteer projects. Up to 120 awards between $1,000 and $25,000 are granted every year; award amounts are based on need and cover up to 90% of costs not covered by other sources. Garrett J. Goodchild Achievement Award This scholarship is for high school seniors from Eastlake High School or Redmond High School who plan to attend one of the 10 independent colleges of Washington. Students must have a minimum GPA of 3.0 and have demonstrated leadership and community service. Awards are of $2,500. They are renewable up to 4 years for a total of $10,000 as long as a 3.0 GPA is maintained. Green Mountain College’s Make a Difference Scholarship This award at Green Mountain College in Poultney, Vermont, is for a student who has made a significant positive difference in the community or the lives of others. The award covers tuition, room and board for four years. You must ask a teacher or mentor to nominate you. Montezuma Lodge Scholarship These scholarships are for first year college students from Santa Fe, who have good GPAs and have shown leadership in the community. At least 3 awards of approximately $2,000 each are given every year. Newman Civic Fellows Award This scholarship is for college students who have shown leadership skills and involvement in solving community problems. You must attend a Campus Compact member institution and be nominated by a college/university chancellor or president. The award amount varies. New York Times College Scholarship Program This award is for New York City high school seniors who have shown a commitment to education and community service. The award is up to $15,000 per year, renewable for three years. Recipients also receive mentoring and a summer internship at the New York Times. Stanley O. McNaughton Community Service Award These awards are for college juniors and seniors attending one of the Independent Colleges of Washington. You must demonstrate a history of dedicated volunteer service throughout high school and college and have financial need. There are three awards of $2,500. Thurgood Marshall College Scholarship Fund This fund offers a number of scholarshipsfor high school seniors or college students enrolled at one of 47 historically black public colleges. The number and amount of awards varies. Tyler/Grandmaison MELMAC Scholarship This award is for high school seniors from any high school in Maine. You must be nominated by your principal for facing obstacles in pursuit of higher education, having financial need, being a solid citizen of your school, and showing a commitment to making a difference in the community. Minority Group Scholarships These scholarships are for students who have affiliations with certain minority groups or a particularethnicity. Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute Scholar-Intern Program These scholarships are for Latinx students with strong academics who have a history of performing public service and charitable activities in the community. Students must have financial need and strong writing skills. Students will also receive an internship placement. Award amount varies. Columbus Citizens Foundation College Scholarship Program High school seniors of Italian descent (at least 25%) with household incomes less than $25,000 per person in the household can apply for this scholarship. You should also have a GPA of 3.0 or higher, and have shown commitment to community service. The award amount varies. Hispanic Heritage Youth Awards These awards are for Hispanic rising seniors with GPAs of at least 3.5 and above who have shown commitment to community service. Japanese American Citizens League Scholarships These scholarships are for high school students and college students who are JACL members (you do not need to be of Japanese/Japanese heritage to be member - anyone can join). You will have to submit a personal statement, your academic record, letters of recommendation, details about your community service, and details about your work experience. There are separate awards for entering Freshmen, and current undergraduate students. The award amounts vary. RHMC/HACER National Scholarship This scholarship is for Hispanic high school seniors (at least one parent of Hispanic/Latino heritage) who show academic achievement, financial need, and community involvement. There are a small number of large national awards ($25,000 per year) and some additional local awards of at least $1,000. Ron Brown Scholarships These scholarships are for African American high school seniors who have financial need, academic excellence, leadership, and community service experience. The awards are $10,000/year, and are renewable for up to 4 years (for a total of $40,000). Whitney M. Young, Jr. Memorial Scholarship These awards are given to minority New York City residents who are high school graduates, and have strong academic achievement, leadership skills, and commitment to community service. The program awards scholarships between $1,500 and $5,000. Worldstudio AIGA Scholarships This award is for minority and economically disadvantaged students who are studying art and design, and also have shown a commitment to community service. Basic scholarships are in the amount of $2,000-$3,000. There are also two additional awards of up to $5,000 and honorable mention prizes of $500. Social Activism Scholarships These scholarships are aimed at students who have been working hard to bring about changes in society. Davis-Putter Scholarship This scholarship is for college students who are actively involved in fighting for social justice or civil rights. Multiple awards up to $10,000 are given every year. Margaret McNamara Education Grants This scholarship is for women from developing countries who are pursuing study in the U.S. or Canada. Note that awardees must be at least 25 years of age. Grant awards are for up to $15,000. Princeton Prize in Race Relations This $1,000-prize is awarded to students in grades 9–12 who have been involved in community service in the past 12 months and have encouraged positive race relations. Students will also be invited to attend a symposium at Princeton. Stephen J. Brady Stop Hunger Scholarship This scholarship is for students aged 5–25 who have shown on-going commitment to an unpaid volunteer activity in the past year that involves fighting hunger. Additional consideration is given if you have been fighting childhood hunger. Winners will receive an award of $5,000 for their education plus a $5,000 grant in their name to a hunger-related charity of their choice. What's Next? Looking for tips on how to win top scholarships? Check out our guides to the Walmart Scholarship, National Merit Scholarship, Tylenol Scholarship, and standardized test scholarships. If you're concerned about paying for college, here's a complete guide to figuring out how much college will cost for you. Getting into college requires a strong application, including SAT/ACT scores. How high of an SAT score or ACT score do you need to get into your top colleges? Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points or your ACT score by 4 points?We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now:

Meaning of a single word Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Meaning of a single word - Essay Example Looking deep into the roots of a word can tell us about other words it was derived from, and a little know how of how foreign languages have influenced English. And finally the usage of a word tells us about how it should be used in a sentence. Many times people know the correct meaning of a word but they are confused about how to use it and they end up not using it at all. The correct usage while keeping in mind the sentence structure, subject verb agreement, and the placement of prepositions is essential in using any word in a sentence or a paragraph. All of these aspects are discussed below so that the meaning of the given word is clear and no difficulty is faced in its usage in any context. A lantern is a transparent protective covering, usually portable and used for carrying or holding a light. It is used to protect the light from wind and weather. It often has translucent openings so that the light could pass clearly. Lanterns emit out light in an expanded way and they also have handles in their framework. The top room of a lighthouse which contains a lamp or any other source of light can also be referred to as a lantern as it gives out light and illuminates the structure and the area. Similarly, the top most structure of a building which is either open or windowed from all sides to admit light or ventilate the entire interior building. It is always good to know a few synonyms of the words we are using in a text, because synonyms help in building the vocabulary. They also lighten up the text and urge the reader to read more. Every word has several synonyms in the least as they can have more than one meaning. The word lantern has many synonyms as well but they are all referred more or less to a source of light. One of the synonyms of lantern is beacon. A beacon is a light which is used as a signal or a guide. One of the meanings

Strategic management of healthcare organization Research Paper

Strategic management of healthcare organization - Research Paper Example Health insurance is a hindrance to management of diabetes, normally with dire consequences. Diabetes management costs can be as much as two hundred dollars a month. Adults who are uninsured are less likely to receive care needed for disease management than those with insurance. Meanwhile, those having health insurance have hardships obtaining needed care when there is inadequate coverage. Common place events, most often, lead to adults losing health insurance. These are divorce and change or loss of ones job. Health insurance depends on the applicant’s employment and family status, state of residence, health status, income, and age. Any change in these factors often can and will lead to automatic disruption or change in health coverage. On average, two and a half million Americans lose insurance cover every month (Karen et al 88). It is difficult to regain ones health insurance once revoked (Karen et al 89). Adults suffering from the debilitating disease who apply for health insurance individually are more often than not denied. Many of the victims can not access qualification for Medicare or Medicaid. When there is the availability of new coverage, most of the diabetes patients find the coverage to be inadequate or unaffordable. Adequacy, affordability, and access barriers are redundant and create layers upon layers of hardships which the diabetics cannot overcome. According to studies, when an individual loses health coverage during a period of sickness, it becomes more difficult for them to regain it as compared to healthy people (Karen et al 90). They thus go for long spells of no insurance, which worsens their situation. Policy makers need to act toward making health insurance adequate, affordable, and available. Presence of options regarding health insurance is not a guarantee for health security. More often than not, policy makers attempt to paper over cracks in the health insurance system via the creation of safety net protections, which

Homework and Paper Activities Essay Example for Free

Homework and Paper Activities Essay As a teacher, I will implement a strict rule regarding homework and other paperwork. Home works are strictly to be done at home and should be immediately passed as soon as the student arrives in the classroom, The purpose of this is to avoid cheating among the students and to encourage them more to do things all by themselves. However, students are allowed to discuss the task among themselves during breaks. This is to promote learning by free discussion of ideas and thoughts. Paper activities such as laboratory works should only be passed during the designated class hours. Papers that are to be done by pairs may be similar but they should not be a total replicate of each other. Lastly, any late submission of the papers will automatically be subjected to deduction to teach the students to pass on time and obey rules. As my general protocol, the class will start 5 minutes after the designated time. This is to allow students to sign the attendance sheet and prepare the things needed for the class which I will post on the board. I will also implement an energizer activity to introduce the topic to class and to get the class’ attention for the topic. A lecture with interactive discussion will follow after that and an evaluation activity such as a quiz will be done to assess the students learning. Any activities during the class such as going to restroom or clinic should be subjected for my permission. I will only allow 10 minutes for restroom activities to avoid cutting classes of students. If the next class is to be conducted to another classroom, I will dismiss the class 5 minutes before the time to allow them to prepare for the next class. Students are required to pick up any litter found in the floor. Desks are also to be organized and the group assigned for the day should erase the board upon my permission. After all the things are done, a single file will be formed before going to another classroom to keep the students organized. Rules, consequences and rewards are very important in managing the classroom. These three things along with the set of teaching strategies are helpful in maintaining balance and preserving harmony between the teacher and the students. If the rules, consequences and rewards are well planned, established and informed to the students, then any misunderstanding or conflicts will be avoided (Laslett and Smith 1984). Below are my established rules, consequences and rewards which I based from Kohlberg’s stages of moral development.

The National Market for Cellular Phone Service Essay -- Business Econo

Figures Unreadable The National Market for Cellular Phone Service The national cellular market is undoubtedly one of the nation’s most expansive markets. In 2003, wireless revenues totaled to over $100 Billion; nearly one percent of the United States GDP. Since wireless has emerged, the typical buyer has expanded from the average middle/upper-class adult to teenagers, elderly, and business consumers. 20% of American teenagers own cell phones, explaining why Virgin Mobile was founded to specifically target young consumers1. There is certainly a large market for business consumers, as many carriers advertise business solutions even in retail outlets. Altogether, it’s estimated that 50% of Americans own cell phones, yielding a consumer base of approximately 147 Million customers2. Although there are over 300 registered national wireless firms, there are only a select few that compete in the entire national market3. The industry’s largest corporation is Verizon Wireless with a 2003 annual revenue of $22.5 Billion and a base of 40.4 Million customers. Sprint PCS, T-Mobile, and Nextel also have growing nationwide networks. Many competitors, although well known, only have coverage areas in sections of the United States. Alltel, for example, only offers service in the south and midwest. Until recently, Cingular had coverage areas in only the southeast and western parts of the United States. Its recent merge with AT&T wireless, though, will expanded its network to what some speculate will become the largest nationwide network. Since we are considering the market for national cellular service, we will consider only the ones with complete nationwide service: Verizon Wireless, Sprint PCS, T- 1 Brome 2 Brian and Tyson .. ...escoop.com/>. Burden, Eric. Personal interview. 6 Dec. 2004. Cingular. . Leslie Cauley, and Paul Davidson. â€Å"Cingular, AT&T deal gets an OK from Justice.† USA Today Oct. 2004: Money, Pg. 03b. Marshall Brian and Jeff Tyson. â€Å"How Cell Phones Work.† Article. . Nextel. . T-Mobile. . Taylor, John B. Economics. Boston: Houghton, 2004 RadioShack. . Sprint PCS. . Verizon Wireless. . â€Å"What is the difference between analog and digital cell phones?† Article. . Wireless Advisor. . Yahoo Finance. .

Overcrowding in America’s Prisons Essay

Abstract America’s prison system has become extremely overcrowded and managing it has become a job of staggering proportions. In 2001, there were 1.4 million men and women incarcerated in state and federal correctional institutions. This overcrowding has increased the cost to operate prisons at alarming rates. Due to a high recidivism rate, many experts believe that lack of rehabilitation has played a great role in this increase. One of the major reasons that prisons have become overcrowded is that crime control strategies and legislative changes have favored longer sentences. These approaches have taken several forms that, when combined, have incarcerated people for longer periods of time with less possibility for early release. Many factors such as new offenses, mandatory sentences, lengthening terms, and habitual offender laws, have added to prison overcrowding. Although an exact cost can not be associated with overcrowding, we can look at present costs incurred in prison and anticipate their increase as the system takes on more and more inmates. When looking at the cost of overcrowding, we not only have to look at the cost to taxpayers per inmate but also construction cost needed to build the new prisons to relieve the overcrowding. The operating cost for a prison over its life span cost about fifteen to twenty times the original construction cost. Overcrowding causes serious depravation in the quality of life for everyone in a correctional institution. Overcrowding may cause a number of problems such as emotional stress, increase in disciplinary infractions, and some physical health problems. Overcrowding also causes litigation forcing the federal and state prisons to build new facilities to relieve overcrowding. Rehabilitation has been around for many years and throughout those years the chance to study models good and bad have given us much research to work with in knowing which rehabilitation models work and which do not. Rehabilitation programs should change or modify the offender or help them to modify themselves, as well as changing or modifying life circumstances and social  opportunities. Some types of rehabilitation programs in use are mental health and counseling programs, educational programs, and substance abuse programs. The results of many studies are statistically aggregated and assessed as one sample an their findings showed that effective programs reduced the reentry rate by approximately 36.4 percent in 1998. Generally 25 to 35 percent of the experimental treatment programs studied achieved favorable results. With statistics like these, I feel we can reduce the number of repeat offenders through the use of effective rehabilitation programs. Overcrowding in America’s Prisons Can rehabilitation help lower the growing numbers of repeat offenders? With overcrowding, managing America’s prisons has become a job of staggering proportions. As of December 31, 2001. Over 1.4 million men and women were incarcerated in state and federal correctional institutions. Operating cost of U.S. prisons rose 224 percent between 1980 and 1994. The Federal Bureau of Prisons estimates that operating costs could grow $4.7 billion by 2006. Many factors have led tot this increase such as mandatory sentencing and recidivism of offenders. Many in the field believe that lack of rehabilitation training geared toward marketable skills, along with no treatment of substance abuse, have played a great role in this increase. One of the major reasons that prisons have become overcrowded is crime control strategies and legislative changes have favored longer sentences. These approaches have taken several forms that, when combined, have incarcerated more people for longer periods of time with less possibility for early release. There was a 22 percent increase in arrests from 1986 to 1997. Overcrowding has also created a problem with understaffing in the â€Å"job rich 1990’s†. However, as the crime rate increases and people become more frightened, the politician’s answer with â€Å"tougher sentencing legislation† and not rehabilitation. The desire to reform convicted offenders has a long history in policy and practice in the American correctional system. As early as the eighteenth century to the present, politicians, correctional professionals, religious leaders, scholars and prison inmates themselves have participated in an ongoing reform movement and experiments all designed to rehabilitate lawbreakers, towards being law-abiding, self supporting individuals. What I will look at in this paper is the overcrowding in today’s prison and some of the causes and costs of this overcrowding. I will define rehabilitation and what is has meant throughout history while exploring what options are available in today’s prisons and the effectiveness of those options. In conclusion, I will show that if we refocus the system on rehabilitation and not merely the warehousing of criminals; we could reduce the number of repeat offenders and relieve some of the overcrowding in America’s prisons. Overcrowding in the American prison system is a growing problem that we must tackle. The growth rate of the prison population since midyear 2002 was 3.8 percent that is 7.6 percent annually. The tremendous increase in the prison population has resulted in continuous overcrowding the last two decades. Neither prison construction not the availability of bed space to accommodate the growing prison population has kept pace. As state above, changes in sentencing legislation and crime control have played a major role in prison overcrowding. This is obvious because of the number of commitments to prison has grown disproportionately greater than increases in population, the number of crimes and the number of arrests or the number of convictions. To better understand how these changes have played such a major role in overcrowding we must look at changes that have occurred in most states. One change is the creation of many new offenses that can result in prison terms or the revocation of probation or parole, sending offenders from the community back to prison. Some examples would be the newly created laws against stalking, as well as laws that make it a felony to intentionally transmit Aids. There have also been new rulings regarding penalties that now make prison terms mandatory for some offenses not previously associated with incarceration, such as DWI or DUI and certain drug convictions. Judges can no longer use discretion in deciding which punishment the offender should receive. A finding of guilty mean that incarceration for a set term is automatic. These same laws prohibit probation for certain offenders. An example is in California, legislation has restricted or eliminated the possibility of probation for arson, specific sex offenses, not limited to child molestation and residential burglary. Most states have lengthened prison terms associated with some convictions, particularly if certain weapons (aggravated crimes), or types of victims (children, elderly, handicapped) were involved, or if certain quantitative amounts of drugs were present. These â€Å"special circumstances† are said to enhance the seriousness of the crime. We have also seen many laws directed toward repeat offenders, with the passage of the habitual felon laws in which life sentences are possible for offenders convicted for a third time of a similar felony. Previously, only the maximum sentence allowed for that particular felony was permitted. The life sentence is a cumulative punishment for what the courts have called a â€Å"criminal career†. Many modifications and alterations were made for other sentences as well. For example, felons may be given sentences of life in prison without parole. Previously, all prisoners, after a designated time, became eligible for parole, regardless of whether or not they were actually granted the release. Many modifications of existing parole eligibility requirement force offenders to serve more time before becoming eligible for parole. Alterations to the â€Å"good time† statues have occurred letting prisoners accumulate less time for good behavior and thus taking longer to acquire credits toward parole eligibility or discharge of the sentence. Although exact cost associated with overcrowding cannot be determined, we can look at present expenses incurred by prison and anticipate the increases as  the system takes on more and more inmates. Currently, taxpayers spend between $30,000 to $50,000 per inmate per year to maintain the state and federal correctional systems. That includes the operating costs and the cost of new construction. Depending on the level of security and the geographic region of the United States, it can cost anywhere from $30,000 to $130,000 to build each new bed space. The cost range was around $56,000 in 1992. Four out of five capital outlay dollars in construction, however, go for building expenses other than the housing area itself. Construction costs are only the down payment of a prison’s total cost to society. The Federal Bureau of Prisons explains the operating cost for a prison over its practical life span at about fifteen to twenty times the original construction cost. Cost per inmate per day varies from state to state, and within each state from prison unit to prison unit. The units with greater security or larger amounts of medical and psychiatric treatment services will, of course, be more expensive to build and operate. Personnel is the major operating expense, usually accounting for an average of 75 percent of an agency’s total operating budget. The results of overcrowding are serious deprivation in the quality of life for everyone in a correctional institution. Even though we have build hundreds of new prisons and expanded facilities in the last ten years, the average amount of space per inmate has decreased over 10 percent. Stretching resources beyond their capacity is something the courts watch carefully when monitoring prison conditions. Overcrowding may be measured in shortages of basic necessities, such as space, sheets, hot water, clothing and food. Vocational, educational, and recreational programs may become seriously overloaded. Medical services and supplies may be insufficient, thereby posing health risks. Throughout the total system, high inmate to staff ratios lead to poor supervision and scheduling difficulties, which result in less inmate activity and greater safety risks for both the employee and the prisoner. The nature of a crowded environment itself may have serious effect on the health and well being of inmates. Noise and the lack of privacy associated with crowding may contribute to emotional stress and the development of mental health problems. Studies have shown that crowding may increase the number of disciplinary infractions per inmate. Inmates in densely populated units may suffer from higher blood pressure. It has also been concluded that, as density of the population increases, so does the rate of mortality in inmates over the age of forty-five (Paulus 1988). Common conditions such as the spreading of colds, sexually transmitted diseases, and other infectious diseases are increased in overcrowded areas. Many studies have claimed the rate of psychiatric commitments and suicides reveal increases for inmate in crowded living areas. Research has also linked higher subsequent rates of criminal behavior to inmates from institutions that were overcrowded. Increases in violence, particularly staff and inmate assaults, are associated with overcrowded conditions as well. It is argued that living too close together heightens tempers and aggression, leading most likely to confrontations. The nation’s courts are sentencing and admitting more offenders in America’s prisons than the facilities can hold. The Government Accounting Office reported for fiscal year 1992-1993, twenty-five state correctional systems requested funds for eighty-five new facilities that would add over fifty-six thousand new prison beds. Texas alone asked for $600 million to finance the construction of twenty-five thousand new beds. The American Correctional Association guidelines call for a standard cell area of sixty square feet for inmates spending no more than ten hours per day in their cell. In many prisons, inmates are double bunked in cells designed for one or sleep on mattresses in unheated prison gyms or on the floors of dayrooms, halls or basements. Some are housed in tents, other sleep in the same bunk different times of the day. Many taxpayers do not consider overcrowding a problem because they believe that discomfort should be a part of the punishment. Research has only recently begun to explore the effects of crowding beyond those on individual inmates, groups of inmates and the programs and services they receive. Information is still needed on the effect crowding has on the  staff, on the management strategies, on budgeting and government responses, on facility and equipment durability, and on the cost of operations under various strategies to reduce overcrowding. In 1996, nearly half (48.4 percent) of the respondents surveyed by the Survey Research Program (College of Criminal Justice, Sam Houston State University) thought that the most important goal of prison should be rehabilitation, while only 14.6 percent saw punishment as the most important goal of prison. One third thought that crime prevention/deterrence was the most important goal of prisons. Throughout most of American history correctional policy makers have positioned rehabilitation among the most important correctional goals. Treatment has appeared in many forms and clearly many ideas have proven ultimately to be unfounded. The earliest institutional treatment models, for example, place heavy reliance on the qualities of institutional life combined with spiritual contemplation as a source of individual reformation. The earliest penal facilities were founded under a Quaker influence supported either solitary confinement or a congregate model that imposed total silence upon its prisoners. It was assumed that in both systems would be isolated from the evil influences and subject to strong discipline. The outcome they believed would be a responsible citizen who had seen the error of their ways. More realistically, the practice of solitary confinement produced many instances of mental illness before its use was abandoned. Historians have referred to this period as a time in which harshness was too quickly assumed to be discipline, an abusive discipline that did more to breaks spirits rather than reform them. A more positive approach was introduced shortly after the Civil War and put into practice in 1876 at the Elmira Reformatory for youthful offenders in New York. That program used ideas that we recognize today a related to operant conditioning. Borrowing from earlier Australian reforms, know as the â€Å"mark†, system reformers planned a model in which inmates could earn transfers to less secure prisons and ultimately their release through good behavior and work performance. The reformatory system is known for the  contemporary introduction of the indeterminate sentence and post-release supervision or parole. This afforded the correctional professionals the opportunity to predicate a release decision based upon an inmate’s satisfactory rehabilitation. The Elmira Reformatory, and other built shortly after in other states, can be recognized for their educational and other programs designed to facilitate change instead of passively waiting for inmates to see the need for c hange. More intensive efforts appeared from 1900 to 1920, when progressive reformers seized upon the new clinical approaches offered by social and psychological sciences. The social wisdom of the day encouraged public education and the belief that social ills, including crime, could be prevented. Science, particularly social, medical and psychological sciences, also asserted that causes could be identified, diagnosed, and ultimately treated. The field of criminology during those years was characterized by the work of the positivists, researchers who found the roots of crime to be in biological traits and psychological ills, rather than in the rational choices made by offenders. The criminals, in other words, were ill. These progressive reformers sought to first diagnose the cause of crime and then treat them. They envisioned prisons like hospitals and diagnostic centers. Perhaps the greatest impact the progressive reformers had was in the development of a less adversarial and more rehabilitative ideology. While more treatment staff was later added, prisons did not become hospitals; maybe because public investment in treatment was never sufficiently achieved. Nevertheless, the goals of individualized treatment, classification, and community corrections, and substitution of humane, reform oriented programs of punishment dominated correctional policy throughout the first half of the twentieth century as rehabilitation enjoyed unchallenged status until mid-century as the correctional priority. Rehabilitation was also helped by two presidential crime commissions and resulting legislation that provided state and federal seed money for many new crime prevention and treatment initiatives. These promotions, however, were short lived. Conservatives were lamenting a high crime rate and asserting that deterrence and incapacitation, the â€Å"get tough† approaches to  crime, were more effective. In the mid 1970’s a review of the treatment evaluation literature by Robert Martinson (1974) concluded that rehabilitation had achieved â€Å"no appreciable effect on recidivism†. The Martinson report was indeed supportive of the subsequent swing to a far more conservative crime agenda. Over the next twenty years there was a move away from indeterminate sentencing toward determinate or presumptive sentencing models or guidelines. A drop in available money for new demonstration programs and cuts in many existing correctional treatment budgets only added to the conserva tive appeal. American prisons became frightfully overcrowded growing by 168 percent from 1980 to 1991 largely on the political promises to â€Å"get tough† on crime. However, correction agencies did not totally give up on rehabilitation. A growing drug problem required new strategies for dealing with drug and alcohol addictions. Treatment research and evaluation efforts continued and began to show more favorable results. While current use of treatment and rehabilitation technology is not what it should be in actual practice, most rehabilitation scholars conclude that a good deal has been learned over the past decades about specific strategies that work. Rehabilitation is synonymous with interventions or treatment. Sometimes rehabilitation might more accurately be called â€Å"habilitation†. â€Å"Habilitation†, in this sense refers to the offender whose behavior is the result of not having received the skills or personal qualities needed to live a life free from crime. The Palmer Model (1992) is a rehabilitation program model, which has shown favorable results. Whether speaking of rehabilitation, habilitation, intervention services, or treatment we are referring to distinct, correctional programs that a) change or modify the offender or help them modify themselves or b) change or modify life circumstances and improve social opportunities. Such methods should utilize, develop or redirect the powers and mechanisms of the individual’s mind and body in order to enhance the ability to cope and grow. Palmer excludes from his definition any correctional options that try to reduce, physically traumatize, disorganize or devastate the mind or body by means such as dismemberment or electroshock techniques. He includes measures that try to  affect the individual’s future behavior, attitudes toward self, and interactions with other by focusing on such factors and conditions as the individual’s adjustment techniques, interest, skills, personal limitations and/or life circumstances. Often correctional options are put forward as measures toward reducing future crime, while most options offer no real plan to change targeted criminal behavior. Halfway houses by themselves do not constitute treatment unless there is a treatment program in place. The distinction between treatment, control and custody may be a confusing one for policy makers and others, because one seldom hears of new correctional options put forward without some promise, to either solve the crime problem, or reform the offenders. Boot camps, for example, have been touted as short-term treatment programs for first time offenders, particularly drug offenders. But the military regimen has little basis in any treatment model, and often no interventions are specifically targeted to the drug problem. In the same fashion, intermediate sanctions such as intensive probation, house arrests, and electronic monitoring serve a custody and control function rather than one of treatment. There are many types of correctional rehabilitation programs. Rehabilitation may occur in mental health and substance abuse, educational or vocational programs. Some might also include spiritual programs, although there is very little research devoted to religious programs used for rehabilitation. Mental health programs comprise a wide array of strategies. In rare cases, an institution may provide in-depth psychotherapy for seriously troubled inmates. Such approaches would deal with internalized conflicts, anxieties, phobias, depression, uncontrollable anger, neurosis and other serious mental health problems. Many factors such as early abuse, trauma, abandonment or dysfunctional family like could cause these problems. Strategies known as â€Å"here and now† treatment models are however far more common approaches to treating or counseling prison inmates. As the names suggests â€Å"here and now† programs assist clients in dealing with  current issues in their lives, such as how poor attitudes might influence work performance. â€Å"Here and now† strategies include behavioral programs, social learning approaches and cognitive therapies. The â€Å"here and now† approach is preferred for a number of reasons. One is cost; much less the in-depth psychotherapy and does not require the use of highly skilled clinicians. Correctional personnel holding a bachelor’s or a master’s degree can be trained to use Reality Therapy and behavioral approaches. Also â€Å"here and now† strategies are more apt to deal with observable behavior that with the more abstract, subconscious processes that are the subject of psychoanalysis. Finally, â€Å"here and now† strategies work well in-group settings. In fact, most treatment approaches in the corrections area are group-counseling programs, necessitated by the large prison population and the limited resources. This is not necessarily a disadvantage, because group treatments offer more than just money savings. Group cohesiveness and peer influence can be vehicles for change in themselves. One other thing is group approaches afford an opportunity for social interaction that cannot take place in individual counseling situations. Education and competence of prison inmates speaks strongly of the need for prison educational programs. In 1984 a staggering forty-two percent of the incarcerated adult population functioned below a sixth grade academic level. Over half of the inmate population appears to lack basic reading skills. Many would qualify for special educational programs, especially those for the learning disabled. Even with these tragic statistics and the fact that academic and vocational education has long been identified as an important goal of correctional agencies and correctional professional organizations, the status of educational programs in American prisons is not a commendable one. Adult populations are largely under-served and program effectiveness is questionable. The most common programs in today’s prison are those that address academic deficiencies. Adult basic literacy programs or Adult Basic Education programs for example promote literacy and address the basic academic  deficiencies. Such programs can be self-paced and require the use of programmed materials rather than classroom instruction, thus are cost efficient by using outside volunteers and other inmates to facilitate instruction. General Education Diploma (GED) classes are available in most adult correctional settings. Participation in these programs for adults is usually voluntary and part time. Both the GED and the basic education programs are sometimes criticized for their failure to stress important like skills and competencies. GED for example is said to be a test-driven model used to certify rather than to educate. This criticism extends to other areas of prison education. Vocational education programs are faulted for their failure to teach inmates marketable job skills; those that would prepare inmates to enter the work force. Many of today’s fields have become much more technical in recent years, and the correctional agencies cannot afford to keep up. These advances and the machinery needed to train inmates in their applications is cost prohibited. Women’s programs are also criticized for emphasizing traditional women’s jobs, which usually equate to lower pay. Many of the women prisoners are single mothers with a real need for higher paying non-traditional jobs. Finally, careers that require licenses or apprenticeships are not well suited to prison, because prison terms are often too short to meet a typical apprenticeship period. By 1978, the federal prison system was operating thirty-three drug treatment units. Although many programs today have been severely limited by budget cuts, attempts have been made to involve not only those inmates under court order to receive treatment but also those who volunteer for treatment. Still, only eleven percent of federal inmates are involved in drug abuse programs. A survey of 277 prison facilities in 1991 determined that about one-third of all inmates participated in some type of drug treatment program. Most had been involved in-group counseling; others were in self-help programs, and some received in-patient services. In prison most common program formats are group therapy, self-help, and drug education programs. Education programs can be offered in short segments, and  reach large audiences for a lower cost. But these programs have been criticized for using scare tactics or for not acknowledging the realities that make drug use attractive to those with troubled lives. Drug education is most effective on a very young population who has not yet used drugs, and this profile does not describe most incarcerated offenders. One of the biggest criticisms of prison treatment programs is that they offer fewer services for shorter periods of time than those of outside programs. Outside programs are more likely to involve family and to provide follow up referral as well as components for instance as job counseling, education, and vocational training. When paroled, continued drug use many result in re-incarceration. In 1990 drug related parole violations in California accounted for thirty-two percent of returns to prison. Several studies have linked substance abuse treatment while incarcerated with later success on parole. Unfortunately many programs do not follow up on their participants to evaluate their success. Four programs that have had a relatively low rate of recidivism were reviewed in 1989. The shared characteristics included offering a wide range of activities, teaching practical life skills, using nontraditional correctional employees who were realistic about the program goals, and formal and informal follow up with participants after release. Spending more time in treatment also appeared to be related to lower arrest rates and successful completion of parole. Recent correctional history shows us that treatment endeavors can be toppled quickly by those who question their effectiveness. When these doubts are voiced in the context of an unfavorable political climate, the results can be devastating. Yet one favorable outcome of the discouraging setbacks to correctional rehabilitation has been approximately two decades of research designed to check the accuracy of the unfavorable reviews. Clearly the most valuable contribution to our knowledge in this area comes from the advent of meta-analyses, in which the results of many studies are statistically aggregated and assessed as one sample. Across these studies, findings typically show that effective programs reduced recidivism rates by  approximately twenty percent. Generally, 25 to 35 percent of the experimental treatment programs studied achieved positive results. The meta-analyses, along with several extensive reviews of the literature, also identify the treatments most likely to succeed. These include behavioral, cognitive behavioral, life skills, family intervention and some multi-modal approaches. The meta-analyses also show us that the treatment modality is only one of the factors that differentiate a successful intervention from an unsuccessful one. Programmatic characteristics also have an impact. These characteristics include: 1. Whether the program is well matched to its clients. 2. Dosage, or how much of an intervention is received. 3. Therapeutic integrity. 4. Administrative management style. 5. Provision of a relapse prevention component. 6. Whether the program was designed according to theoretical model. In an unfavorable, punishment-focused political climate, the relative success of rehabilitation appears to go unnoticed. Politicians quell the public’s fear of crime with promises of yet stricter incarceration policies, more police officers, and occasional digressions into the latest correctional fad. Sadly, the singular focus on punishment is not purely representative of public sentiment. While it is true that the public favors â€Å"get tough† policies, support for rehabilitation is also strong. A series of surveys conducted on the past decade show that indeed the public is punishment oriented, but, the surveys also clearly show the public experts treatment-oriented programs to accompany incarceration. In other words, â€Å"Get tough on crime† does not mean â€Å"to warehouse† or to ignore treatment and  education. As we continue in this new millennium we must make some important choices about what we want our prison system to be. It is clear to me that we can no longer sit back and continue to let our prisons mainly be â€Å"warehouses† for keeping those individuals whose problems we choose not to recognize or treat. The reduction in the recidivism rate by twenty percent when effective programs are used is reason enough for the American public to demand that rehabilitation become more of a focused priority to prison officials as well as politicians and also a priority with the politicians. We are incarcerating large numbers of people who actually have a disease, since most experts consider substance abuse a disease and not criminal behavior. Until we concentrate on curing the problems of society that cause most of these criminals to adopt behavior that they are being punished for, we will continue to see a rise in the numbers incarcerated. I believe rehabilitation can lower the number of repeat offenders if we are willing to redirect the focus of our prisons. It will not be easy and it will not be cheap; but it will be worth it for the good of society as a whole. Rehabilitation of criminals can be greatly improved, and the successful measurement documented by implementing a very old but successful scientific theory of â€Å"cause and effect†. Work Cited Begun, Abbey M. B.A. ed., Jacobs, M.A. ed., Quiram, Jacquelyn F. B.A. ed. Prisons and Jails a Deterrent to Crime? Information Plus 1999 ed. Davis, Bertha. Instead of Prison. New York, London, Toronto, Sydney, Franklin Watts publishing 1986. Lacayo, Richard, â€Å"Law and Order, Crime rates are down across the U.S.-Some dramatically. Is this a blip or a Trend? With so many factors in play, it may be a bit of both. 15 January, 1996 Volume 147, No. 3 (http://www.time.com/time/mag/†¦e/1996/dom/960115/cover.html) McShane, Marilyn. D. ed., Williams III, Frank P. ed. Encyclopedia of American Prisons. New York and London, Garland Publishing,Inc., 1996 Menninger, Karl. The Crime of Punishment. New York, Viking Press, 1968 Oliver, Marilyn Tower. Prisons, Today’s Debate. New Jersey, Enslow Publishing, 1997 United States. Federal Bureau of Prisons. Inmate Programs and Services. (http://www,bop.gov) United States. Prison Statistics. Bureau of Justice Statistics Prison Statistics (http://www/ojp.usdoj-gov/bjs/prison.htm)

How to Make Rotel Dip

How to Make Rotel Dip Rotel dip is my favorite dip to make for the football games on Saturday! It’s something easy and delicious that everyone likes. When I was younger I used to make my mom make if just because. So finally one day she made me learn how to make it so I could make it myself. Rotel dip is a fun food that you can serve as an appetizer or entree. With less than 30 minutes of preparation time, Rotel dip is easy to make, and it's ideal for parties, a child's sleep over or for a movie-night snack. You can learn how to make Rotel dip in just a few steps.First you have to gather your ingredients, make sure you have all the utensils you will need, then prepare your food. I. Gathering your ingredients. A. 1 can of Rotel dip. 1. you can choose different flavors of rotel as in mild or hot B. 8 ounces of velveeta cheese C. some kind of meat. 1. it could be deer meat or hamburger meet, whichever you prefer. D. 1 bag of tortilla chips II. Make sure you have all the untensil y ou will need A. first you will need a large skillet 1. this is to cook your meat in. B. you will need a spatula to flip your meat to get it to cook. C.You will then need a drainer to drain all the grease from your meat. D. Next you will need a knife to cut your cheese into small squares. E. Most important thing you will need is a crockpot where you will cook all the ingredients together and you will use a large spoon to stir it periodically. III. Finally you will get to prepare your food A. Turn the crockpot on medium heat. 1. Slice the Velveeta cheese into cubes and add them to the heated crockpot. B. Turn the stove on medium-heat 1. add the ground beef to the skillet and us the spatula to flip and stir the ground beef. 2.Cook the meat until brown and drain the grease. C. Add the can of Rotel sauce and the meat to the crockpot and stir. 1. cover the crockpot for about 3 mins. D. Check to see if the cheese is melted and stir again. E. Place the tortilla chips on a plate and pour the rotel dip over the chips and serve. Now you have a great way of making an easy chip dip for any occasion. I would suggest cooking it about 2 hours before time to serve it for best results on making sure the cheese is nice and melted and everything is combined evenly. I hope you enjoy what I consider the best rotel dip around.

Hall Surname Meaning and Origin

Hall Surname Meaning and Origin The Hall surname has several possible derivations, including geographic, descriptive, and occupational: A place name derived from various words for hall or spacious house, usually used to signify someone who lived in or worked in a large hall or manor house. From  the Middle English hall,  Old English heall, Middle High German halle and  Old Norse holl.From the Norse hale and Anglo-Saxon haele, meaning hero.Possibly an old Norse word for boulder, slope, thus meaning someone who lived on a slope.Possibly from the Norwegian hallr, meaning flint. Hall is the 30th most popular surname in the United States and the 20th most common in England. Surname Origin:  English, Scottish, Irish, German, Scandinavian Alternate Surname Spellings:  HALLE, HAALL, HAUL, HAULL, HAWL, HOLL Famous People With the Last Name HALL Lloyd Augustus Hall - Chemist and inventorDonald Hall - poetCharles Martin Hall - inventor of the aluminum manufacturing processJoyce Hall - founder of Hallmark CardsG. Stanley Hall - American psychologist;  established the concept of child psychology and founded Clark University.Arsenio Hall -  American actor, comedian, and first black late-night talk show host Genealogy Resources for the HALL Surname 100 Most Common U.S. Surnames Their MeaningsSmith, Johnson, Williams, Jones, Brown... Are you one of the millions of Americans sporting one of these top 100 common last names from the 2000 census? Common English Surnames Their MeaningsExplore the meanings and origins of the 100 most common English surnames. The Hall DNA ProjectOver 170 Hall descendants have donated their DNA toward the goal of learning more about Hall ancestors worldwide. The Hall Genealogy WebsiteThis site collects genealogy information related to HALL descendants worldwide, although the major focus is on Halls from the island of Great Britain. FamilySearch - HALL GenealogyFind records, queries, and lineage-linked family trees posted for the Hall surname and its variations. HALL Surname Family Mailing ListsRootsWeb hosts several free mailing lists for researchers of the Hall surname. DistantCousin.com - HALL Genealogy Family HistoryFree databases and genealogy links for the last name Hall. References: Surname Meanings Origins Cottle, Basil. Penguin Dictionary of Surnames. Baltimore, MD: Penguin Books, 1967.Menk, Lars. A Dictionary of German Jewish Surnames. Avotaynu, 2005.Beider, Alexander. A Dictionary of Jewish Surnames from Galicia. Avotaynu, 2004.Hanks, Patrick and Flavia Hodges. A Dictionary of Surnames. Oxford University Press, 1989.Hanks, Patrick. Dictionary of American Family Names. Oxford University Press, 2003.Smith, Elsdon C. American Surnames. Genealogical Publishing Company, 1997.

Erre Moscia - Dispelling Linguistic Myths and Legends

Erre Moscia - Dispelling Linguistic Myths and Legends ​ The bulk of our linguistic competency is learned at an early age- normally before we even show signs of having acquired this ability. We listen to pronunciations, intonations and cadences, and use it all to fashion our own way of speaking. As adults, we can watch this process taking place in young children learning to talk. What we dont usually observe is that we begin to form opinions about another person based solely upon the way he or she speaks. Accents define us in more ways than we care to admit. Usually these preconceptions remain subconscious, only revealed, for example, when we believe someone with a heavier accent less intelligent than ourselves. Other times, the notions are much closer to the surface.One such highly debated presumption of Italian phonology centers on the misunderstood letter r which is typically pronounced as an alveolar trill in the front of the mouth. However, in some parts of Italy, notably Piedmont and other parts of the northwest near the French borde r, r is produced as a uvular sound in the back of the mouth. This is known as erre moscia or soft r and many Italians have crowned this unfortunate pronunciation wrong, going so far as to say that all those who speak with erre moscia are either snobby or have a speech impediment. Before making such assumptions about erre moscia, we must understand a few simple facts about its background. The History of R The letter r has a distinct history in many languages. In the phonetic table of consonants it hides under the label liquid or approximant, which are just fancy terms for letters halfway between consonants and vowels. In English, it is one of the last sounds to be developed, possibly because children arent always certain what people are doing to produce the sound. Researcher and linguist Carol Espy-Wilson used an MRI to scan the vocal tract of Americans saying the letter r. In order to produce r, we must constrict our throats and lips, position our tongue and engage the vocal cords, all of which requires a lot of well-timed effort. She discovered that different speakers use different tongue positions, yet exhibit no change in the sound itself. When a person does produce a sound differing from normal r, that person is said to exhibit signs of rhotacism (rotacismo in Italian). Rhotacism, coined from the Greek letter rho for r, is an excessive use or peculiar pronunciation of r. Why Piedmont? The phrase no man is an island relates just as well to human languages as to human emotions. Despite the efforts of many language purists to prevent influences from other languages entering their own, there is no such thing as an isolated linguistic environment. Wherever two or more languages exist side-by-side, there is the possibility of language contact, which is the borrowing and intermingling of words, accents and grammatical structures. The northwest region of Italy, because of its shared border with France, is in a prime position for infusion and mixing with French. Many of Italys dialects evolved similarly, each changing differently depending on the language with which it came into contact. As a result, they became almost mutually incomprehensible. Once any alteration has taken place, it remains within the language and is passed from generation to generation. Linguist Peter W. Jusczyk has conducted research in the field of language acquisition. It is his theory that our capacity to perceive speech directly affects how we learn our native tongue. In his book The Discovery of Spoken Language Jusczyk examines a number of studies which demonstrate that from approximately six to eight months of age, infants can distinguish subtle differences in every language. By eight to ten months, they are already losing their universal ability to detect delicate phonetic differences in order to become specialists in their own language. By the time production begins, they are accustomed to certain sounds and will reproduce them in their own speech. It follows that if a child only hears erre moscia, that is how he will pronounce the letter r. While erre moscia occurs in other regions of Italy, those instances are considered deviations whereas in t he northwest region erre moscia is perfectly normal. It is no secret that r- at least in the beginning- is a very difficult sound to produce. It is one of the last sounds children learn to say correctly, and has proven a rather difficult hurdle for people trying to learn a foreign language who claim they cannot roll their rs. However, it is doubtful that people who speak with erre moscia have adopted that sound due to an inability to pronounce another kind of r. Speech therapists who work with children to correct a variety of impediments (not just for the letter r) say that they have never witnessed a case where a child substitutes a uvular r for another one. The idea doesnt make much sense because erre moscia is still a version of the letter (albeit not the popular one) and still requires complicated positioning of the tongue. More likely, a child will substitute the semivowel w sound which is close to the letter r and easier to pronounce, making them sound like Elmer Fudd when he shouted Dat waskily wabbit! As for a snobbish affectation, there are certainly examples of wealthy, prominent Italians who speak with this accent. Actors who wish to depict an aristocrat from the 1800s are said to adopt erre moscia. There are even more recent examples of wealthy Italians who speak with erre moscia, such as the recently deceased Gianni Agnelli, industrialist and principle shareholder of Fiat. But it should not be ignored that Agnelli was from Turin, the capital city of the Piedmont region where erre moscia is part of the regional dialect. Certainly the phenomenon of erre moscia in Italian speech is not the consequence of any one variable but rather a combination. Some people may choose to use erre moscia in an effort to seem more refined, though considering the stigma attached, it would seem to defeat the purpose. It doesnt appear to be a speech impediment because erre moscia is not any easier to produce than the normal Italian r. More likely it is the result of language contact with French and adoption as part of the native dialect. However there are still many questions surrounding this unusual sound and the debate will continue among speakers of Italian, both native and foreign.About the Author: Britten Milliman is a native of Rockland County, New York, whose interest in foreign languages began at age three, when her cousin introduced her to Spanish. Her interest in linguistics and languages from around the globe runs deep but Italian and the people who speak it hold a special place in her heart.

Some questions about the Art Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Some questions about the Art - Assignment Example The protagonists in this film are left to rely on their minds in solving the situation. The movie is all about relationship, which comes out as the prominent theme. Relationship between Jeff and Lisa is featured. Marriage theme is also featured whereby by the newly wedded couple shift to a new apartment. On approaching a film, we can consider such perspectives like themes, which explain what the movie is all about. Character traits of the casts are also analyzed to identify their roles within the film. Feminist perspective has been used to explain the Rear Window in a criticism on whether women in the movie have their points of view validated since they are explained as being used as objects of the male (Modleski and Tania 34). This movie has still maintained its ability to create fear and tension in an audience despite that it is close to sixty years old. When Thorwald attacks Lisa in his house, the audience is caught with fear and much tension as they watch the reactions of Jeff. Sigmund Freud was the father of psychoanalysis. He was a physiologist, psychologist, and influential thinker. All psychoanalytical concepts in the Rear Window are based on his work. Such concepts like; ego, repression, the stages of psychosexual development and family romance among others are borrowed for the works of Sigmund