Racism and Sexism in Toni Morrisons Sula Essay -- Toni Morrison Sula

Racism and Sexism in Toni Morrison's Sula Racism and sexism are both themes that are developed throughout the novel Sula, by Toni Morrison. The book is based around the black community of "The Bottom," which itself was established on a racist act. Later the characters in this town become racist as well. This internalized racism that develops may well be a survival tactic developed by the people over years, which still exists even at the end of the novel. The two main characters of this novel are Nel Wright and Sula Peace. They are both female characters and are often disadvantaged due to their gender. Nel and Sula are depicted as complete opposites that come together to almost complete one another through their once balanced friendship. Nel is shown to be a good character because she plays a socially acceptable role as a woman, submissive wife and mother, while Sula conforms to no social stereotypes and lets almost nothing hold her back, thus she is viewed as evil by the people in her community. Both women are judged b y how well they fit into the preconceived social conventions and stereotypes that exist in "the Bottom." The social conventions that are set up in this book play out in a small black community in Ohio called "the Bottom." The community itself formed when a white slave owner tricked his naà ¯ve black slave into accepting hilly mountainous land that would be hard to farm and very troublesome instead of the actual bottom (fertile valley) land that he was promised. The slave was told "when God looks down, it's the bottom. That's why we call it so. It's the bottom of heaven-best land there is" (4), and on the basis of this lie a community was formed. Its almost as if the towns misfortune is passed down ... ... what happened as a turn in life and does not feel like she is the cause of Chicken Little's death. She mourns his death and then moves on. Sula has a feminist spirit and refuses to melt into the typical mold of a woman. She "discovered years before that [she was] neither white nor male, and that all freedom and triumph was forbidden to [her]" (52). Because of this she decides to lead her life on her own terms. Sula encounters both racism and sexism and is placed in a situation in which she has no release for her wild spirit. She cannot live out in the world with the freedoms of a man, but doesn't want to live as a stereotypically sheltered woman either. In attempting to break these boundaries she is hated by the town and viewed as an "evil" person by the community in which she lives. Works Cited: Morrison, Toni. Sula. Plume. New York: 1973.

Introduction to Banking Essay

1) Outline three ways in which the behavior of the financial system could affect the level of aggregate demand in the economy. The creation of liquid assets, the expansion of banking and money and the changes in people’s financial wealth are three ways by which the financial system could affect the level of aggregate demand in the economy. For a real economy to expand, liquidity of assets is a requirement and the availability of liquid assets increases the aggregate demand in the economy as consumers have easy access to cash when needed as liquid assets are assets that can be easily converted into cash. The expansion of banking and money also affects the level of aggregate demand in a positive way. The availability of proper banking systems which include financial intermediation increases the aggregate demand in the economy as people would be encouraged to spend and invest. Depending on the economy’s situation, changes in people’s financial wealth can have either a positive or negative on aggregate demand. Suppose the economy was experiencing a boom, the level of income and expenditure would be high and people would tend to spend more as a result of an increase in the aggregate demand. However, if the economy was going through a recession, the opposite would occur leading to a decline in spending thus a decrease in aggregate demand. 2) Suppose that prices in the US stock market suffer a major collapse. What effect would you expect this to have upon the rest of the US economy and the economies of other developed countries? As a reflection to what has happened in January 2001 when the FTSE-100 index of stock prices fell by 50%, the US economy, economies of other countries and people within the US were greatly affected by this fall in prices. Possible effects would include central bank’s around the world lowering interest rates, aggregate demand would decline, saving would increase since people would become very reluctant to invest in stocks, people committed to paying pensions would find that their investments would no longer support  their payments. 3) Why does a company’s share price matter in a takeover battle? If you were the financial director of the predator firm, what would you want to happen to your firm’s share price? Might you be able to influence it in any way? In general, the share price determines how much needs to be paid for a takeover to take place. The share price matters because it reflects a unit of ownership in a company which works as an advantage in the case of a takeover battle if it was low. As a financial director of the predator firm, I would want to increase the share price as much as possible to protect the firm and to stimulate competition. I would try to influence the price though marketing and through focusing on the potential market share. 4) Why might financial systems fail to allocate resources to their most desirable use? Financial systems might fail to allocate resources to their most desirable use due to different reasons which include: lack of resources available in the economy, shortage of funds circulating in the financial system, the cost of investment might be high, the interest rates might be high and many different competitors working within the same sectors hinders the proper allocation of resources to their most desirable use.

Effectiveness of Dibels

Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS) Validity and its Relationship with Reading Comprehension Introduction to Research Reading fluency is considered an integral component of the reading process and it has a big presence in the classroom. Its importance became evident since the National Reading Panel (2000) pronounced fluency instruction and assessment an essential and was thus incorporated into the reading First guidelines of No Child Left Behind in 2002 (Shelton, Altwerger, &Jordan, 2009).Reading fluency has been defined in many ways; an outcome of decoding and comprehension, a contributor to both decoding and comprehension, the ability to recognize words rapidly and accurately, the connections readers make between the natural phrasing when speaking and the phrasal segmentation when orally reading, among others (Abadiano &Turner, 2005).Nevertheless, Roehrig, Petscher, Nettles, Hudson and Torgesen (2008) state that perhaps fluency is best defined as having three main components, word recognition accuracy, automaticity, and prosody. Reading with accuracy is the student’s ability to read with few or no errors. Reading with automaticity is the students’ ability to recognize words quickly with little effort; quantifying the students’ reading rate. Prosody is the students’ ability to read with expression such as suing intonation, stress patterns, and phrasing.Due to No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Reading First program, which requires that validated standardized reading fluency assessments be used to progress monitor and identify any readers that might not be making sufficient progress to be at grade level, the Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS) is one of the few empirically validated assessments to progress monitor fluency (Roehring et al, 2008). The purpose of this literature review is to explore the validity of DIBELS and its relationship with reading comprehension.Students who demonstrate prer eading skill deficits often fall even further behind in later elementary years. Alternately, students who master essential reading skills in primary grades are able to maintain progress in later educational years. According to Goffreda, James, and Pedersen (2009) this is known as the Matthew Effect, in which the â€Å"rich get richer, while the poor get poorer†. They furthermore state that not only does illiteracy imit school success throughout the life span but that it is also associated with social problems such as school dropout, incarceration, and homelessness (Gofreda, James, & Pederson, 2009). It is this realization, along with the National Reading Panel’s recommendations, that led to the focus on early identification and precursors, such as DIBELS, in order to identify early literacy interventions. The National Institute for Literacy recommended DIBELS as a scientifically researched based assessment and thus DIBELS was adopted in many states (Shelton, Altwerger, & Jordan, 2009).Furthermore, early literacy individual growth and development indicators (EL-IGDIs) are also being put in place for pre-kindergarten children in some states (McCormick & Haack, 2011). Geofrada, James, and Pederson (2009) state that first grade has been identified as a particular critical period since the probability (88 percent) of poor readers remain so until fourth grade or higher grades. They found DIBELS indicators scores were predictive of district and state standardized exams.Gonzales, Vannest, and Reid (2008) conducted a study to discriminate the usefulness of first grade DIBELS to populations other than the general population, more specifically to students identified or at risk for emotional and behavior disorders. The researchers in this study found that DIBELS are efficient and effective for identification of at-risk students for populations other than general education students. In concurrence with these studies, Scheffel, Lefly, and Houser (2012) found t hat DIBELS is an effective tool in identifying English Language Learners (ELLs) who may be at risk for underachieving in reading.Combined, these studies affirm the validity of DIBELS for all students, including ELLs and students identified as having emotional and behavior disorders. However, In a more complex study, Yesil-Dagli (2009) found that on average, ELL students who are eligible for free or reduced price lunch compared to those not eligible for free or reduced lunch, Hispanic ELL students compared to White ELL students, and male ELL students compared to female ELL students, read fewer words at the beginning of first grade and demonstrate a slower growth rate.This directly impacts their fluency rate in DIBELS. Paleologos and Brabham (2011) found that DIBELS Oral Reading Fluency (DORF) is effective for predicting the performance of high-income students in overall reading standardized tests but not low-income students. According to their research, high-income students demonstra te higher abilities in reading fluency, vocabulary, and reading comprehension in comparison to low-income students although both groups had achieved â€Å"benchmark† proficient scores in DIBELS.Furthermore, Shelton, Altwerger, and Jardon (2009) analyzed the relationship between DIBELS (DORF) and authentic reading and found that students employ different reading approaches when reading for a DIBELS test and when reading for authentic literature. That is, when students read a passage in a DIBELS test, they do so in a quick manner to achieve a high rate, but when reading authentic literature the reader slows down to read for comprehension.They found that readers in their study read almost half as many words when reading literature than they did as they read for fluency assessments (Shelton, Altwerger, & Jardon, 2009). This in turn does not reflect the true reading rate when testing for DIBELS. To conclude their study, the authors of this study state that their data showed no con nection between DORF scores and student’s comprehension when reading authentic literature. There have been both strong positive and strong negative research studies regarding the validity of DIBELS and its relationship with reading comprehension.Furthermore, a study conducted by Martin and Shapiro (2011) found that teacher’s judgments, although having strong correlations to student performance, was consistently and significantly overestimated when compared to students actual DIBELS performance. Not only that, but another study conducted by Hoffman, Jenkins, and Dunlap (2009) found that educators were not clear about how DIBELS data should inform and guide their instruction or were not even sure that DIBELS aligned with state-mandated testing.Future research is needed in this area. Nevertheless, in states that have DIBELS in place as an assessment to comply with the No Child Left Behind stipulations, DIBELS is present for teachers and their students. It is important the n, that teachers recognize the vast variables in research regarding the validity and relationship to reading comprehension, and as with any assessment, not use DIBELS as the sole criterion when determining student achievement.It should be kept in mind that fluency is only a part of the reading process. However, due to the fact that DIBELS is in place in many states, perhaps an area of concern that arises in the literature is how DIBELS data-drives instruction. That is, how do schools use DIBELS data to drive instruction? This is especially important since this literature review discussed the study by Hoffman, Jenkins, and Dunlap (2009) who found that teachers are not clear as to how DIBELS data should guide their instruction.If this writer were to draft a tentative research design pertaining to this literature review, the research question would be: In terms of qualitative data, how do teachers in Crane School District#13 and Yuma District #1 use their DIBELS data to drive teacher i nstruction? The purpose of the research would be to find effective ways schools use DIBELS data to drive teacher instruction. The data would be collected through interviews, questionnaires and observations methods.This type of analysis in known as qualitative study however, quantitative data will also be used when analyzing and reporting information from the surveys and questionnaires. This is also known as a multiple or mixed method. According to the learning in introduction to research, the best studies include both qualitative and quantitative data. The participants in the study would be administrators, coaches, and teachers. The responses they give will provide triangulation to the study, that is, validate that all participants know exactly how the data is driving the instruction taking place in the classroom.The exact amount of participants is not known since the study is not being conducted yet and forms have not been signed. However, it would be random sampling at each school to ensure that survey results can be statistically representative of the schools. The instrumentation that would be used for the study would be DIBELS data, surveys, and questionnaires. Observations would also be used to triangulate the information from the surveys and questionnaires. The research time line would be approximately two to three months.One month to gather participants and administer the questionnaires and surveys, another month to observe the actual data driven instruction in the classroom, and another month to analyze the data. The survey would include the following tentative questions: 1. What steps are taken to analyze DIBELS data? 2. Once the data is analyzed, how are the results used to drive teacher’s instruction for students classified as â€Å"at-risk†? 3. Once the data is analyzed, how are the results used to drive teacher’s instruction for students classified as â€Å"some-risk†? 4.Once the data is analyzed, how are the results us ed to drive teacher’s instruction for students classified as â€Å"low risk†? References Abadiano, H. R. (2005). Reading fluency: The road to developing efficient and effective readers. The New England Reading Association Journal, 41(1), 50-56. Goffreda C. T, Diperna J. C. , & Pedersen, J. A. (2009). Preventive screening of early readers: Predictive validity of the dynamic indicators of basic early literacy skills (DIBELS). Psychology in the Schools, 46(6), 539-552. doi: 10. 1002/pits. 20396 Gonzales, J.E. , Vannest K. J. , & Reid, R. (2008). Early classification of reading performance in children identified or at risk for emotional and behavioral disorders: A discriminant analysis using the dynamic indicators of basic early literacy skills (DIBELS). Journal of At-Risk Issues, 14(1), 33-40. Hoffman A. R. , Jenkins J. E. , & Dunlap S. K. (2009). Using DIBELS: A survey of purposes and practices. Reading Psychology, 30, 1-16. Martin S. D. , & Shapiro E. S. (2011). Examini ng the accuracy of teachers’ judgments of DIBELS performance.Psychology in the Schools, 48(4), 343-356. McCormick, C. E. , & Haack R. (2011). Early literacy individual growth and development indicators (EL-IGDIS) as predictors of reading skills in kindergarten through second grade. International Journal of Psychology: A Biopsychosocial Approach / Tarptautinis psichologijos zurnalas: Biopsichosocialinis poziuris, 7, 29-40. National Reading Panel. (2000). Teaching children to read, an evidence-based assessmnet of the scientific research literature on reading and its implications for reading instruction.Washington, DC: National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. Paleologos T. M. , & Brabham E. G. (2011). The effectiveness of DIBELS oral reading fluency for predicting reading comprehension of high-and-low income students. Reading Psychology, 32, 54-74. Roehrig A. D. , Petscher, Y. , Nettles S. M. , Hudson, R. , & Torgesen J. K. (2008). Accuracy of the DIBELS oral re ading fluency measure for predicting third grade reading comprehension outcomes. Journal of School Psychology, 46, 343-366. Scheffel, D. , Lefly D. , & Houser, J. (2012).The predictive utility of DIBELS reading assessment of reading comprehension among third grade English language learners and English speaking children. Reading Improvement, 49(3), 75-95. Shelton, N. R. , Altwerger, B. , & Jordan, N. (2009). Does DIBELS put reading first? Literacy Research and Instruction, 49(2), 137-148. Yesil-Dagli, U. (2009). Predicting ELL students’ beginning first grade English oral reading fluency from initial kindergarten vocabulary, letter naming, and phonological awareness skills. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 26, 15-29.

Argumentative Synthesis

In Mr. Siemiesz’s chapter he explained about the National Security Consequences of U. S Oil Dependence and how it could be fixed and changed for the best interest of the country; Mr. Siemiesz outlined specific points or steps the country could take to make those changes he outlined in the chapter. â€Å"Those major energy suppliers from Russia to Iraq to Venezuela have been increasingly able and willing to use their resources to pressure their strategic and political objectives.That these country’s are consuming less oil less then all of the other countries especially the United States. The Fact is that the U. S. makes up to 4. 6% of the world’s population but uses 25% of the world’s oil. So the challenge of this is over the next several years the U. S. needs to slow down and stop consuming a lot of Oil and hopefully find new ways to find energy†. In Mr. Franco’s chapter â€Å"205 ways to save the Earth† explains several ways to save t he planet; the author of the chapter Thomas L. Friedman speaks in his article about the word â€Å"Green† and how that term is used, he continued in the article to say that people need to find ways to improve the environment and recommended that it is in the best interest of the world to preserve the world he goes into ways for example like citizens of the world should being recycling and to help beautify the planet.Mr. Franco’s chapter concludes that the countries of the world have to learn better ways to improve the environment for everyone. The basic proposition behind the science of climate change is so firmly rooted in the laws of physics that no reasonable person can dispute it. All other things being equal, adding carbon dioxide (CO2) to the atmosphere—by, for example, burning millions of tons of oil, coal and natural gas—will make it warm up. That, as the Nobel Prize–winning chemist Svante Arrhenius first explained in 1896, is because CO2 i s relatively transparent to visible light from the sun, which heats the planet during the day.But it is relatively opaque to infrared, which the earth tries to reradiate back into space at night. If the planet were a featureless, monochromatic billiard ball without mountains, oceans, vegetation and polar ice caps, a steadily rising concentration of CO2 would mean a steadily warming earth†. The earth’s temperature can go up and destroy the polar ice caps and kills a lot of fish and raise the water and flood states. Crops are going to dry out so we can’t eat anything.People are taking advantage of it and destroying our planet. â€Å"The Greenhouse Effect is also comparing to global warming that it is a process by which thermal radiation from a planetary surface is absorbed by atmospheric greenhouse gases and is re-radiated in all directions. Since part of this re-radiation is back towards the surface, energy is transferred to the surface and the lower atmosphereâ € . As a result, the temperature there is higher than it would be if direct heating by solar radiation were the only warming mechanism.Global warming of the Earth's surface and lower atmosphere is believed to be the result of a strengthening of the greenhouse effect mostly due to human-produced increases in atmospheric greenhouse gases by which thermal radiation from a planetary surface is absorbed by atmospheric greenhouse gases and is re-radiated in all directions. Since part of this re-radiation is back towards the surface, energy is transferred to the surface and the lower atmosphere. In Mr. Anderson’s chapter explains to the reader how Oil is critical to the U. S. Economy and how their aren’t any viable alternatives that the author believes will set the United States on the path to energy independence; The Author Price continued to say that â€Å"politicians and environmentalist misled Americans about the realities of energy which lead to legislation that hurt s America in the global marketplace† Price believes that they truly don’t understand what is going on when it comes to the environment and he continued saying that is why the United States is so dependable on foreign oil.Mr. Anderson’s chapter concludes with the following â€Å"price admits American imports of crude are high but sees no feasible alternative. The demand for energy in America is simply great and oil is simply to important for the economy†.

Confucius Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Confucius - Essay Example However, he seemed to have not achieved that because of the corruption that governed the lives of the rulers at the time. He would travel for some years out of his home town of Lu in search of the perfect ‘gentleman’, his ideal man who embodies a cultivated moral character. He failed miserably in this aspect, because he could not find anybody who came close to the gentleman. In contrast, however, the ‘small man’, a man who is not morally cultivated and who is greedy and corrupt, he found everywhere, and inasmuch as this was disheartening to him, he continued in search of his ideal man, by way of education. The moral values that Confucius espoused he was able to spread by educating young minds. He placed such a high premium on the value of education, and this is perhaps the most important contribution that Confucius made to our society, aside from showing them how society should be governed and is required for this to be achieved. He left a legacy of how to lead a moral life, and he showed, by example, how through hard work one can lead a morally cultivated life by following the steps that he prescribed in his book The Analects. Book One opens with words from the Master himself, Confucius, saying something about cultivation of virtue and acquisition of knowledge, and how the pursuit of these would give a person satisfaction and fulfillment. Book One is not arranged in any coherent order, but rather is a compilation of words by Confucius and by his prominent disciples. One of the most important things discussed here is the integration of filial love and how this translates into outer relationships. Confucius contends that if a gentleman has respect and love for his parents and brothers, it is difficult for him to defy his superiors and be involved in a rebellion. He refers to the Way as the guiding principle by which all men must live. There must be alignment between filial piety and brotherly obedience. He further prescribes how a

International Marketing Mix Tutbury Crystal Analysis and Essay

International Marketing Mix Tutbury Crystal Analysis and Recommendations - Essay Example A family owned business that churns out the highest quality of cut glass and allied products that come under the lifestyle category, Tutbury is a name to reckon with. It has a rich heritage in customer management. Given its history and the prestige attached with owning pieces produced by this company, it would be a tough job to market this effectively in a region where little would be known about this exclusive brand without appropriate customer management. In this regard, it is imperative to loosely define international marketing before moving on. International marketing is that sphere of activities that is aimed at introducing a product in a country or group of countries with the aim of creating sales and some amount of awareness regarding the brand. (Bennett et al, 2002) Therefore, for a lifestyle product like crystal, what better than a country where lifestyle solutions are becoming a rage and the norm of the day - India. This Asian country is fast moving away from its traditional colonial bearings to discover style and charm in urban living. The new generation in India does not mind doling out that extra amount of cash to spend on good lifestyle products that will make a statement about their homes, lives and times. Welcome to the new Indian - Sassy, stylish and very, very choosy. (Fernandes, 2000) About Tutbury's: Born and marketed during the 1920s to the 1960s, Tutbury's was named Thomas, Webb and Corbett to start with until it was known by its present name in 1984, owing to the spot of it factory which was in a 15th century village named Tutbury. 2006 saw a strategic move on Tutbury's part where its factory chose to be based at Stroke - on - Trent, instead of Tutbury's. The branding of Tutubry's has been largely based on norms that revolve around exclusivity and a certain amount of mystery with the nitty gritties of the company. The basic finding that this paper will work on is that Tutbury's has capitalised on the lifestyles of a certain section of people so as to form a brand identity of its won. In case of the consumer base enjoyed by the company, there is a sharp segmentation in terms of the target group. The basic target group of the company includes people in the upper income group starting from the age of 30 and above. Further, the people who have retired and are in the age group of 50 and above, serve as a major source of profitability. Another important source of income for the product is the Internet. Therefore, the important element in the application of the entry point strategy for Tutbury's is to recognise the age and income groups that predominantly define the demographics in India, before going on to carry out segmentation and reach suitability in terms of the marketing mix. In this case, the entry point strategy may be used as a preliminary process that will help develop the marketing mix. This entry point strategy has been defined throughout the paper in the various elements of the marketing mix so as to find a suitable base for segmentation and subsequent bran d positioning. Entry Point Strategy The first element when entering a new market is the risk factor. For Tutbury's there has been a strategic management of

Strategic Analysis of the Continental Airlines Case Study

Strategic Analysis of the Continental Airlines - Case Study Example This also means strengthening the airline's alliances and enhancing efficiency through the elimination of non-value adding processes in the value chain. Fund the future, on the other hand, encompasses the company's quest in ensuring its future growth by the reduction of interest expense, improving fleet plan, and developing hub real estate (Continental Airlines Company Profile 2008). The third component of the Go Forward Plan emphasizes the importance of customer satisfaction in CAL's success. Thus, in intends to position itself as a top player in terms of four DOT measurements namely, "on-time arrivals, baggage handling, complaints, and involuntary denied boardings" (Continental Airlines Company Profile 2008). This also means continue to project a responsible company image and improving its core product. Lastly, working together looks at CAL's relationship with its employees. Recognizing the importance of its staff in the realization of its strategic goals, the company's management spearheads in creating a fun environment to work, offer fair remuneration, and treat staff with dignity and respect. CAL is organized according to the different functional areas in the business organization. ... All of these business units are led by senior vice presidents who oversee operations and provide the much needed guidance and leadership. Recognizing the international operation of the CAL, it also opted to divide its operation according to geographic location. Thus, it also assigned vice presidents who take charge in the Newark, Houston, Cleveland, Asia Pacific, and Europe hubs. In order to facilitate efficiency in decision making, the headquarter assigns a certain level of autonomy to the leaders in these regions yet CAL can still be referred to as a highly centralized business organization noting the dependence of its satellite offices to the main office (Continental Airlines Company Profile 2008). Organizational Culture With the Go Forward Plan as its blueprint for success, CAL communicates its culture of excellence through its commitment in taking care of its financial health, future growth, employee relations, and customer satisfaction. These are the core values that the company utilizes in order to become successful in its operation. In addition, CAL also highlights its culture of environmentalism, community service, and diversity. The company promotes its corporate social responsibility through programs which enhances sustainable development through its carbon offset program, use of electric powered rather than fossil fueled ground equipment, and designing more environmental friendly infrastructure to support its operation. Though it limits its donation on in kind basis, CAL is seen to contribute to the community service. Lastly, the company honors diversity noting that individual differences in workforce should be honored. Management Style and Philosophy The management style and philosophy applied by