Arieanne Evans-Hill Essays (266 words) - Mali Empire, Songhai Empire

Arieanne Evans-Hill November 27, 2017 History of Art 01 Dr. Jones West African Manuscript Questions Importance of manuscripts to the community. How does this change with Africa's place in European history? Manuscripts in Timbuktu provide a new understanding of West African history. Conserving the manuscripts is very important to the culture because conserving history and reiterating what happened in the past is how the culture survives in the world. African history is built on oral tradition, historians believe that it's not credible but it is a source, nonetheless. Timbuktu translates into something relating to books. The manuscripts also rendered as tools to teach Islamic practices and knowledge in the community. The information in West Africa's manuscripts is a great source of common knowledge which will always be good for teaching. The existence of a manuscript is a legay within itself because even after an entire original culture is long gone, written history keeps the memory alive forever (if preserved correctly) and provides a credible way of learning about it through words. With Timbuktu having manuscripts and basically having a long history and established culture before European imperialism, it negates the fact that Europeans "made" Africans better when they captured them and put them into slavery. West African and Chinese manuscripts can be compared in two ways: both are essential to their respective cultures when educating people about the ways of the ancestors or in China's case, about Buddhist gods and their relationships as well as learning about and keeping West African and Chinese cultural history alive to this day.

How to Start a Homeschool Co-Op

How to Start a Homeschool Co-Op A homeschool co-op is a group of homeschooling families who meet on a regular basis to provide educational and social activities for their children. Some co-ops focus on elective and enrichment classes while others offer core classes such as history, math, and science. In most cases, the parents of the students are directly involved in the co-op, planning, organizing, and teaching the courses offered. Why Start a Homeschool Co-Op There are many reasons that a homeschool co-op  Ã¢â‚¬â€œ large or small  Ã¢â‚¬â€œ can be a beneficial endeavor for parents and students alike. Some classes simply work better with a group. It can be hard to find a  chemistry lab partner at home, and unless you’re doing a one-man play,  drama needs a group of kids. Sure, you may have siblings or a parent who can help out, but for activities such as science labs, it can be beneficial for students to work with their peers. In  a co-op setting, kids learn how to work with a group of students. They can practice vital skills such as delegating tasks, doing their part to make the group activity a success, and resolving conflicts when disagreements arise. A co-op provides accountability. You know those classes that tend to fall by the wayside? Starting a small co-op is an excellent way to prevent that by adding a layer of accountability. You may find that you have good intentions, are continually pushing aside enrichment classes such as art and nature study. When youre meeting with a few other families, youre more likely to follow through on the classes. It’s much easier to stay the course when other people are counting on you. A co-op is a great solution for teaching difficult subjects or skill-based electives.  A co-op can prove to be the perfect way to tackle subjects like  high school level math and science courses or electives for which you lack the knowledge or skill set. Maybe one parent can teach math in exchange for another sharing her talent for art or music. If you know a parent with a unique skill, such as photography or fluency in a foreign language, they may be willing to offer group classes for a fee.  Ã‚   A co-op can make the subject  more fun for the students. In addition to the prospect of greater accountability, a co-op can make a  boring or difficult subject more fun for the students. While the class may still be dull or complicated, the prospect of tackling it with a few friends can at least make the class more palatable. The students might even find the course fun with an instructor and one or two students who display enthusiasm for it, or who have a good grasp on the topic and can explain it in easy-to-understand terms.   Homeschool co-ops can help kids learn to take direction from someone other than a parent. Kids benefit from having instructors other than their parents. Another teacher  may have a different teaching style,  way of interacting with children, or expectations for classroom behavior and due dates. It’s useful for students to learn  to interact with other instructors so that it’s not such a culture shock when they go to college or into the workforce or even when they find themselves in classroom settings within the community. How to Start a Homeschool Co-Op If you’ve decided that a small  homeschool co-op would be beneficial for your family, it’s relatively straightforward to start one. While you needn’t worry about the complex  guidelines that a  larger, more formal co-op would require,  a small, informal gathering of friends still calls for some ground rules. Find a meeting place (or establish an agreed-upon rotation). If your co-op is going to be only two or three families, you’ll likely agree to gather in your homes. You may also be able to use a room or two at a   library, community center, or church. Wherever you meet, be considerate. Offer to help clean up afterward.  Arrive on time.Start on time. It’s easy to get caught up in socializing for the students and their parents.Leave promptly after the class is over. The  host family may have school to complete or appointments on their calendar.Ask if there is anything you can bring or do to simplify hosting. Set a schedule and guidelines. Small groups can disintegrate quickly if one or two people have to miss the class. Set a schedule at the beginning of the year, taking holidays and any known date conflicts  into consideration. Once all the parents have agreed to the calendar, stick to it. Make arrangements for students who have to miss class to make up the work. If youre completing a DVD course, perhaps students can borrow the DVD set and complete the assignment on their own. For other classes, you may consider making copies of materials or having another student take notes for those who are absent. Be sure to build a few flex days into your calendar for the inevitable disruptions such as inclement weather or times when multiple students are sick or unable to attend class. You will also want to determine how long and how often each class will meet and set start and end dates. For example, will this be a year-long or single semester co-op? Will you meet one hour twice a week or two hours once a week? Determine roles. If the course needs a facilitator or instructor, determine who will fill that role. Sometimes these roles fall into place naturally, but make sure that all the parents involved are okay with the tasks that fall to them so that no one feels unfairly burdened. Choose materials. Decide what materials you’ll need for your co-op.  Will you be using a particular curriculum? If you are piecing together your  own course, make sure everyone knows who is responsible for what. For example, if youre teaching an  art co-op, one parent may already own the curriculum that youll be using, so each student would just need to purchase their own supplies based on a materials list provided by the  instructor.For a DVD course, one parent may already own the DVD set required, and each student would need only to purchase their own workbooks. If you’re buying materials to be shared by the group,  such as a DVD set or a microscope, you  will probably want to split the cost of the purchase. Discuss what you’ll do with the non-consumable materials after the course is over. One family may want to buy out the other family’s share to save something  (such as a microscope) for younger siblings, or you may wish to resell  non-consumables and split the proceeds between the families.   Identify age-ranges. Decide what age students your co-op will include and set guidelines for older and younger siblings. If youre teaching a high school chemistry course, it will be distracting for parents and younger siblings to be chatting in the corner. So decide from the beginning if younger siblings will need to stay at home or if there is another room where they could play under the supervision of a couple of parents. You may also want to consider ability-level rather than age. For example, a wide range of ages could learn a foreign language together depending on what level of reading and writing are involved. However you choose to structure it, a small homeschool co-op with a few families is an excellent means of providing  the accountability and group atmosphere that you may be missing in your homeschool.

Management accounting system Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Management accounting system - Essay Example A cost management system for Skytop would provide information to make life easier for all involved.Cost accounting system will assign costs (costing) to specific products (meals, room per night, gaming machine round, etc.) and services (cleaning, room service, meal preparation, etc.) and other cost objects as identified by management. This in-turn will satisfy the financial reporting requirements then management decision-making essentials. For example the General Manager gets to know the actual cost of a room to make the pricing decision; the HR Manager is informed of the actual cost of each staff (salary, benefits, etc.) for HR related decisions; the Marketing Manager would be able to find out actual profit (revenue from the campaign minus the actual cost of the campaign) generated by a specific marketing campaign; the respected owners will be informed of the actual cost of keeping a hotel and would be able to make related decisions. Operational control system on the other hand will provide accurate and timely feedback concerning performance; the activities that should be performed and evaluation of those activities (controlling). Furthermore it concentrates on finding scope for improvement and aids in the planning process. In other words helps planning realistic budgets (uses information from cost accounting system as well) and accordingly enables performance control. For instant all managers will be able to compare budgeted costs to actual costs, understand the difference and thereby use the information to find means of improvement e.g. cost cutting, hire new staff, changing the menu policy, etc. The owners too can conduct performance evaluations of the management, measure actual return on investment and assess hotel’s growth in financial and non-financial terms. b) Type of information required For efficient function of the system the management will be required to gather variety of information both fina ncial and non-financial. The sources of this information could be from both internal (within the company) and external sources (external environment for comparison purposes). The internal information from within the company which are financial such as cash flows, labor charges, material costs etc Also non-financial information such as time records (labor hours, meal preparation time), stock levels, quality measures, customer feedback ratings, etc. The external information from the environment would typically include global competition, growth of the hotel industry, advances in information technology, advances in the food preparation, customer orientations, new product development, total quality management, time as a competitive element, and efficiency. Depending on the budgetary control system and the reporting system that is used these information would be required regularly on daily, weekly, monthly and even yearly basis. c) Key cost drivers A cost driver is an activity or factor that originates costs. Activity based costing which is considered to be the most realistic and accurate method of costing requires identification of cost drivers. Thus, ‘Number of rooms’ night’ and ‘number of stays’ is two of the key cost drivers that are widely used in the hotel industry (Pavlatos & Paggios,

Conspicuous consumption Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Conspicuous consumption - Research Paper Example Tastes and preferences were the principal determinants for the purchase of lavish goods. Exceptionally luxurious products that maintained good quality where desired more. Income did not have a bearing on the decision to purchase luxurious goods, as many people were not fascinated by the price of goods. The Chinese middle class engage in conspicuous consumption so that they can maintain a high standing in the society. They are more westernized and stylish thus seeking to be more exceptional than the other Chinese. Recently, China has witnessed a steady annual growth rate of 10%. This rise has propelled China to an economic powerhouse in less than three decades. Because of China’s rise, approximately 500 million people were raised above the poverty line (Frith, 2010). The middle class did not only resort to unfeasible high-end lifestyles but also changed from a saving to a spending culture. Conspicuous consumption is more pronounced in China because it has a relatively high number of young millionaires. Chinese millionaires lie at the age of 39 years being younger than their international peers are. These millionaires consume luxury goods in order to maintain their professional relationships and high social ranks (Dorothea, M2011). Chinese people are known for bragging in society through ownership of luxurious commodities. They greatly value success, wealth, and social status through displaying expensive watches, jewelry and cars to gain respect from the commoners. Chinese ‘little emperors’ are also an important factor contributing to conspicuous consumption of luxurious goods in China. These young consumers are a result of the one child policy that was adopted in the 1970’s. Those born during that period are without siblings therefore being the focus of attention of parents (Dorothea, M2011). They were brought up as spoilt children who got what they wanted, when they wanted it. It is for this

Prejudice Definition Essay Example for Free

Prejudice Definition Essay During the process of communication the vast majority of people judge cultural values in their own image and likeness. Their ethnic and cultural values serve as a criterion for judgment. Really, it is slightly confusing but the main reason for watching the foreign programming is to let the viewer ‘feel’ ethnocentrism. Some things or even an overwhelming majority of what you will see in the foreign film of program will feel a bit ‘off’ or even downright ‘wrong’ for an average American. This feeling occurs due to ethnocentrism. The paper examines how such an attitude can have influence on an individual’s behavior and response from another culture, how society wide ethnocentrism can affect relationships and understandings of other societies, and how it can have an adverse impact on business practices for multinational corporations. Japanese version of the foreign film â€Å"Shall We Dance† will be used as an illustration for some aspects of the paper. Ethnocentrism is a psychological reaction, which occurs when a representative of one culture perceives, sees, values and tries to understand other cultures and their behaviors through prism of his own culture. The person considers the elements of his own culture (standards, roles, values, etc) as natural and â€Å"right†, while the elements of other cultures and nations are considered to be unnatural and â€Å"wrong†. The customs and traditions of his own culture are considered to be â€Å"universal† and â€Å"right† as well. The film â€Å"Shall We Dance† by Masayuki Suo tells us the story of Shohei Sugiyama, who falls in love but not in other woman (being married), but in the art of dancing. When we watch the film, we feel the differences between Japanese and American cultures. Japanese culture seems to be very odd, alien and strange, as the world of dance socials and private lessons is considered ‘shameful’ and ‘improper’ for a Japanese person. The film gets insight into Japanese customs and traditions, explaining that in Japan married couples are more reserved in relation to each other and rarely express their emotions in public (e.g. never say ‘I love you’, or hold hands, etc.). The American nation, on contrary, is more emotional and more ‘open’, therefore we feel really odd while watching the movie. The ethnocentrism that occurs in result of watching the foreign programming evidently has an impact on our behavior. Probably, to a certain extent we are unable to understand the behavior of other cultures in a manner different from that one dictated by our own cultural environment. So, how such an attitude can have influence on a person’s behavior and response from another culture and how society wide ethnocentrism can affect relationships and understandings of other societies? As with any social-psychological phenomenon, ethnocentrism cannot be examined as entirely positive or entirely negative. Although ethnocentrism often put obstacles in the way of intergroup (intercultural) communication, it supports positive ethnical identity and keeps the integrity and specificity peculiar to a certain culture. At the same time, ethnocentrism is inevitable part of our live being a logical consequence of socialization and familiarization with another culture and understandings of other societies. The person’s response predominantly occurs in the form of comparison – a peaceful nonidentity. Yet, ethnocentrism can have an adverse impact on business practices for multinational corporations, because it often impedes effective intergroup (interethnic and international) communication (Allport 1954). Interethnic comparison can be expressed in the form of contraposition or setting off (e.g. the people deny intercultural differences; proclaim their culture to be superior; sometimes people perceive cultural differences as something that imposes a threat to their existence and try to withstand them, often resulting in conflicts between different cultures, etc) that, in its turn, implies at least preconception and prejudice in relation to other cultures and has an adverse impact on business practices for multinational corporations. References Allport, G. W. (1954). The Nature of Prejudice. Garden City, NY: Doubleday

Factors for Political Participation

Factors for Political Participation The term political participation has a very broad meaning. It is not only related to Right to Vote but simultaneously relates to participation in: decision making process, political activism, political consciousness. Women in socialist democratic countries have higher proportion of representation in their federal parliament than women in Canada because In Canada there is less population as compare to socialist democratic countries. Moreover, females are least interested in parliament. In democratic Female politicians are more likely to concentrate on problems that matter more to women such as daycare, gender equality, reproductive rights, elderly care and childrens welfare.Women turnout during Indias 2014 parliamentary general elections was 65.63%, compared to 67.09% turnout for men. India ranks 20th from the bottom in terms of representation of women in Parliament. Not only has these women politicians taken an interest in various policy issues. But it also had been shown that they a lso govern differently. In Sweden 45 per cent seats are occupied by women in parliament. So far as the administration is concerned, there are only 592 women IAS officers out of 4,671 officers(Puja mondal). The demand for special concessions and privileges along with the reservation of posts and other civic institutions are a few steps towards women empowerment in India Assemblies and parliament. Lyn Kathleen shows that American female politician have very different leadership styles from men. In her study Not only do women politicians take an interest in different policy issues, but it has also been shown that they also govern differently. Since the modern notion of human rights originated in a western women in Islamic countries in particular, find themselves in a quandary when they initiate, or participate in, a discussion on human rights whether in the west or in Muslim societies. Indian women have a distinction to become UNO Secretary (Vijay laxmi Pandit), Prime Minister (Indira Gandhi), Chief Minister (Sucheta Kriplani, Jayalalitha, Uma Bharati, Mayawati and Vasundhara Raje) and even President (Pratibha Patil). Furthermore, the limited empowerment that we have seen has been nurtured within the socio-economic-political empowerment process of people, including women, through the Panchayat system (Bagchi 2002) Structural: Structural barriers include the level of socio-economic development in a society and the percentage of women in professional and managerial activities. There is a direct link between the social and economic status of women in society and their participation in political institutions and elected bodies. Socio-economic obstacles include poverty and unemployment, lack of adequate financial resources, illiteracy and limited access to education, choice of professions and the dual burden of family and a full-time job. Women take on a disproportionate share of household tasks which makes a political career almost impossible. Moreover, household tasks, taking care of the children and elderly are not always considered as actual work. Institutional structures: Because of their multi-level hierarchy and complex decision-making help to preserve barriers in such a way that proposals regarding any aspects of gender equality often do not reach the top decision-making level. In Slovakia, the electoral system is based on proportional representation on candidates lists, which means that women have (theoretically) a better chance to be elected. The position of women on the candidates lists is then crucial for their eligibility: the higher a woman is seeded on the list, the bigger chance she has to be elected. In the 2002 elections, the share of female candidates seeded in the top half of candidates lists was 20.9% and the share in the top quarter was 17.9 %.( Alexandra 2002). Many women and men do not think that introducing quotas is a good idea. Men argue that it would be humiliating for women to introduce a quota system because our clever women can succeed themselves, and it would be against the basic human rights and equality of all. Women are skeptical mainly because of the experience with quotas from the socialist past, and because they believe that the society is not yet prepared to accept quotas. Education: Education is the best way to understand the inequality. With the help of education they have better job opportunity and serve better their community. Because women have less access to education than men, their professional advancement and chance to enter institutions involved in corporate politics at an operative level are reduced. Some societies and parents see their role in giving a full quality education to women as a privilege that can be withdrawn. The impact of illiteracy on the exercising of ones political rights has been the main method to reduce it. Women do not enter nontraditional occupations; instead women enter nurturing or tertiary occupations which inhibit political life and the growth of self confidence. There is a mindset on the part of many men and women that a role in politics is unsuitable for a woman. Poverty: Poverty is also one of the major hindrances for women to be involved in politics, namely, the disproportionate effect of poverty on women. Because of womens care giving responsibilities they often work part-time, which has a lifelong effect on womens income and women who do work full-time still earn less than men Whereas men who enter into politics tend to come from law and business and earning better. In addition, many women are discouraged by a lack of resources to finance their electoral campaign or undertake serious initiatives. Often poverty also prevents women from taking the time for political involvement. Christy Clark BC MLA(2001) asked by several Journalists to explain how she could do her job properly as provincial minister of education while simultaneously raising a new born child Type of democracy is also important. References: http://www.yourarticlelibrary.com https://www.equalvoice.ca Bashevkin, Sylvia (2009), Introduction, in Bashevkin, Sylvia, Women, Power, Politics: The Hidden Story of Canadas Unfinished Democracy, Oxford University Press, p. 15, Bagchi, A.K.(2000), sangskriti, samaj,o Arthanity (in Bengali: culture, society, and economics), Calcutta. United Nations Childrens Fund, The State of the Worlds Children 2004: Girls education and development, UNICEF, New York, 2003.

Bias in Epidemiological Research

Epidemiology is the study of the factors associated with different types of diseases for example, how often does the disease occur, how is the disease transmitted, ways in which the disease can be prevented. There are two main types of epidemiology: descriptive epidemiology and analytical epidemiology. Descriptive epidemiology is concerned with the frequency and distribution of risk factors in a population and it makes it possible for one to assess the way the disease has spread. Analytical epidemiology aims to study the causes and risks involved with the disease and the preventive measures.This is according to Pinchinat, S, & Ponton Sanchez (2006) Observation epidemiological studies In this case the epidemiologist does not carry out any actual experiment or in other words does not take part in any active role in the research. The epidemiologist simply makes observations on what is happening based on an already existing situation without administering any treatments for example if on e wanted to compare the exposure of PCBs exposure to occurrence of cancer over a 20 year period, he would not be required to give any form of treatment only to observe the available case available according to epidemiology home page.Experimental epidemiological studies In contrast to observational studies here the epidemiologist will be required to do the actual experiments or play an active role by administering the treatment to subjects and then observing the effects of the treatment. For example an epidemiologist can perform a clinical trial of a new drug on willing subjects and then observe the changes in subjects based on epidemiology home page. There are different types of biases associated with epidemiological research.According to Eric’s Notebook, bias arises when an estimated value deviates from the original or true value. The case studies given in the assignment are going to provide a basis for the discussion of various types of biases and the effects of the biases on the measures of association. Based on CES-Research-bias & confounding, different types of biases will be discussed. Case 1 This case might show both selection and measurement biases.Selection because the epidemiologist might select the children non-randomly in which case the results could be overestimated or underestimated in that if he over picked children who are not exposed to the chemical then his or her result will be underestimated and vice versa. The results will show a bias in measurement if the epidemiologist measures the outcome inaccurately in which case the results will either be over or underestimated. Case 2 This case could show measurement and analytical biases. Analytical bias is evidenced when patients give false information for example about having less sexual partners.This would lead to over or underestimation of the results. Measurement bias would occur if the epidemiologist collected the wrong data from the studies. This also would lead to over or underestima tion of the results. Case 3 This case will show two kinds of biases; measurement bias because the epidemiologist may collect inaccurate data and analytical bias because of not following up the outcome. All this would lead to either under or overestimation of data. Case 4 Measurement and analytical biases could occur in this case.Incase of analytical bias the results could remain unchanged or underestimated and in case of measurement bias it could either be under or overestimated. Word count: 551 References Aschengran, A, & Seage, G. R, (2008). Essentials of epidemiology in public health, (2nd Ed. ). Sudbury, MA: Jones and Bartlett. CEM-Research- Bias & confounding is a site that provides essential information on research bias on epidemiology. file:///c:/biasconfound. html Checkoway, H, Pearce, N, Kriebel, D. (2004) Research methods in occupational epidemiology.Epidemiology Home Page is a website that gives an introduction to epidemiology File:///c:/epi1. html. Ibrahim, A. M. (2001) Eric Notebook: Selection Bias. Department of veterans’ affairs, epidemiologic research, and information center at Durham, NC. http://eric. unc. edu/notebooks/issue8/eric_notebook_8. pdf Pinchinat, S, & Ponton-Sanchez, A, (2006): Analytic and descriptive epidemiology. Biostatem SARL. File:///c:/epidemiology. htm Study Types in Epidemiology http://www. nwcphp. org/training/courses-exercise/courses/study-types-in-epi