Childhood Essay -- Gender Roles

The majority of people around the world would classify the age of childhood to be between the ages of zero to eighteen years. One’s childhood is based upon recollections and memories of what happened in one’s past. However, some individuals may recall their childhood, while others may vaguely recall their childhood and others may simply need assistance from a family member or friend to reinforce what happened in those years in order for them to remember. Comprehending our memory is important in making sense of our personal identity. Memory serves as a form of knowledge for us. It can contribute to understanding our childhood as it brings us into contact with past events. Our memory helps us recall events that occurred in the past even though, at times, our perception of the actual facts are somewhat inaccurate. What has been forgotten indicates that it might have been too painful or insignificant to recall. There is a resistance to not remember things that caus e us pain. Therefore memory is selective. In terms of gender roles they are defined by ideologies within society. Being an ethnographer, it can be argued that childhood can be studied and explored by separating male and females from each other. The attached photograph (Appendix A) emphasizes me as a child and illustrates what I enjoyed doing most of my infancy years and what I wanted to become. In terms of children’s popular culture, the study that I am conducting is essentially centered around children’s toys, which can be defined by gender preferences. By doing research my main focus of my methodology is primarily on memory work and, as I am aware, memory is flawed. Gender roles help identify childhood in terms of what society categorizes males vs. femal... ...res depict our identity in our early years. My identity was clearly defined by owning the doll as it made me feel in control, special and loved. Being able to care for something so precious and so small made me feel so important. In closing, childhood can be seen through various terms and implications. Numerous objects such as social variables, nostalgia, adult agendas, popular culture all influence the concept of gender roles and identities. These terms have great impact when defining theory of gender roles, especially when relating it to this photograph. Photographs taken together uncover a layer of meaning. Working with childhood memory is a project of recreating the past and yearning for that idealistic past and trying to fit it into the present day world. Working through our childhood toy memories is our desire to long for the perfect past.

Cost Cutting Essay

Most of us spend more than we need to for a lot of things. If you really can afford luxuries such as gourmet teas or designer clothing and still save for your future, you’re lucky. However, if you’re struggling to meet the financial goals you’ve set on your retirement roadmap, it’s time to look for ways to cut expenses—daily, monthly, and long-term. Start by seeing if you’d benefit from either of these big cost-cutting strategies: †¢If you’re paying high interest on a mortgage and you plan to stay in your home for a few years, consider refinancing.  Be sure to do your home- work to avoid closing costs that might make the move less attractive financially. †¢Reduce your credit card debt. Call the bank and try to negotiate lower finance charges. Then pay down the debt as fast as you can, starting with the high-interest debt. (See AARP’s Tip Sheet, â€Å"Managing Debt. †) It’s easy to spend money without realizing how much it adds up to over a week, a month or a year. So, to make other cuts in your expenses, try reviewing what habits, like eating lunch in a restaurant every day or buying expensive clothes, can add up to in the course of a year. Here are some places to look for cuts. Meals and Entertainment Americans love to eat out, whether it’s a daily break- fast at a pricey coffee shop or fast-food dinners when you feel too tired to cook. Keep track of where you’re eating your meals and what they cost. Bringing your lunch to work and cooking your meals for dinner are good ways to reduce food expenses on a regular basis. Movie fans can save money by renting DVDs, instead of paying admission to the theater and eating that expensive popcorn. Household and Transportation Expenses  Cable television, phone service—including your cell phone— and Internet service can add up to a tidy sum every month. Make sure you have the most economical plans available. If you’re in an area with more than one provider, comparison-shop. Energy costs are climbing and will probably continue to do so. Do an energy review of your home. Plug up drafty windows and doors with weather-stripping, insulate them with blinds or curtains, and then turn down the winter temperature inside by a couple of degrees. Consider solar heating and cooling if it’s feasible where you live. If you have central air, try to use it less. Install ceiling fans in some rooms, so you don’t have to cool the entire house. During the summer months, avoid using the clothes dryer, dishwasher, etc. during peak hours to lower your energy bill. Your biggest transportation expenses probably come from one or more vehicles. Here are some ways to cut back on those costs: †¢Car-pool to work with neighbors or colleagues. †¢Use public transportation. †¢Talk to your insurance company about ways you can lower your rate. On the highway, save money on gas by driving 55 miles per hour instead of faster. Shopping Thoughtful planning, before you shop, is a good way to reduce expensive impulse buying. Whether you’re going to the grocery store, shopping for holiday gifts, or looking for a new pair of shoes or a party outfit, make a list and decide what you can afford to spend ahead of time—and don’t buy something unless you really need it. In the supermarket, read the unit prices: is it cheaper to buy a 16-ounce box of crackers for $3. 0, or 12 ounces for $3. 10? For larger expenses such as a winter coat or a washing machine, check prices at more than one store before you make a decision. You should also check out thrift shops, especially if you know of one in an upscale neighborhood where you might get some good bargains. For Internet purchases, in addition to comparison-shopping on prices, check shipping charges. Some sites make you pay the whole cost; others will offer a deal to entice you to buy from them.

Treatment of us pows by the germans in world war II

One of the significant features of World War II was a great number of prisoners of war (POW‘s) to be kept both by Allies and Axis. The way those prisoners were treated differed greatly dependently on the nation of a prisoner and the country of imprisonment.   This paper discusses the treatment of the American prisoners captured on the European theatre and compares it to the treatment of prisoners from other countries, such as Britain, Poland and Russia.In total Some 95,000 American and 135,000 British and Commonwealth servicemen were incarcerated in prisoners of war (POW) camps in Germany during World War II. The prisoners were held in some fifty German POW camps, of several types. These included the Stalag (Stammlager, permanent camps for noncommissioned officers and enlisted men), Stalag Luft (Luftwaffestammlager, permanent camps for air force personnel), and Oflag (Offizierslager, permanent officers’ camps). American POWs were found in many of the POW camps, but the majority of camps contained only a few Americans. In some camps (Stalags II-B, III-B, IV-B, XVII-B, Luft I, Luft III, and Luft IV), however, the number of American POWs ran into the thousands.The basic international instrument, regulating the POW‘s status at the time was the 1929 the Geneva Convention Relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War, signed by 47 governments. Subject to this convention, no prisoner of war could be forced to disclose to his captor any information other than his identity (i.e., his name and rank, but not his military unit, home town, or address of relatives). Every prisoner of war was entitled to adequate food and medical care and had the right to exchange correspondence and receive parcels. He was required to observe ordinary military discipline and courtesy, but he could attempt to escape at his own risk. Once recaptured, he was not to be punished for his attempt.Officers were to receive pay either according to the pay scale of their own country or to that of their captor, whichever was less; they could not be required to work. Enlisted men might be required to work for pay, but the nature and location of their work were not to expose them to danger, and in no case could they be required to perform work directly related to military operations. Camps were to be open to inspection by authorized representatives of a neutral power.  Germany in general followed the 1929 Geneva Convention in the treatment of American and British servicemen in POW camps, with little difference to be found in treatment with Americans and British. POW‘s were not to be individually confined, and the food served them should have been equal to that served to German troops. The ration was reduced by the end of the war, but this was related to the general situation with food in Germany. Much greater problem for the POW‘s was the warm clothing, often not provided by the Germans, however the prisoners could receive acceptable clothes from th e Red Cross and from their families via the Red Cross.The prisoners were allowed to arrange recreational activities, such as sport games by their own, also some attention was paid to the religious demands of catholic and protestant POW‘s, the largest POW camps had chapels on their territory. The prisoners, involved in work received small payment (5 to 10 marks) for their effort, though the amount of money, which a POW could possess was limited. An important right for the British and American prisoners was a right to send and receive mail, although the delivery of mail was very erratic, and a letter or a parcel required several weeks to transit.American and British prisoners’ worst enemy was usually boredom. One of the most important activities which overcame this enemy was reading. The American and British peoples, through the various agencies which undertook the task of providing POWs with books, made it possible for prisoners to obtain books which were so necessary an d useful. It helped the prisoners to occupy their time and keep their mental capacity. When the American and British POWs left the prisoners of war camps, approximately 1 million books were left behind.One can notice, that the treatment of British and American POW‘s was tolerant enough, except for some cases of spontaneous violence, such as murder of USAF and RAF pilots by the German civilians, angry with their air raids. However, this human attitude was hardly applied to the prisoners from other countries, retained in Germany. Polish, Yugoslavian and especially Russian prisoners received the worst treatment ever imaginable.There were several reasons for it, and the most important of them was the notorious Nazi racial doctrine, which considered the Slaves to be Untermenschen or underhumans, almost equal to Jews. The Soviet Union was also not a party to 1929 Geneva Convention, and so could not count for Red Cross assistance. Finally, Stalin, being suspicious of everyone out of his control, proclaimed all the Russian POW‘s to be traitors and deprived them with any rights or aid.Dealing with Russian prisoners became even more complicated as the amount of captives at the first year of war reached 5 million, creating problems even with simple accommodation. Russian soldiers, captured in the great encirclements, were often left without food for weeks, causing starvation and typhus. Some categories of prisoners, such as Jews or Communist party members were usually shot immediately. The survivors were taken to the concentration camps on the territory of the Soviet Union, Poland and Germany itself.At the later period working with Russian POW‘s became more organized. Germans point now was to use the mass of people in their disposal in the most rational way. Those of the prisoners, who conformed with the racial demands (mostly originating from the Baltic or western regions of Russia) could voluntary join the Wehrmacht. Other volunteers, mostly recent ca ptives, were used as Hiwi Hilfswillige), or helpers in the army units.The fate of the others to be kept in the concentration and death camps, such as Auschwitz, Buchenwald and Dachau. Forced labour of the Russian POW‘s was actively used at the German civil an military enterprises, including aircraft factories and V-2 rockets production.  Another way of exploiting the Untermenschen was to use them for medical and military experiments. For example, 600 Soviet prisoners were gassed in Auschwitz on 3 September 1941 at the first experiment with ZyklonB.  Based on the overstated one can make a conclusion, that treatment of the American and British POW‘s, captured by the Germans was surely   preferable to the treatment of other POW‘s. General observance of international law towards allied prisoners by Germany along Red Cross activity, provided them with huge benefits in comparison with the Slavic, Jewish and other POW‘s.BIBLIOGRAPHYM. R. D. Fott, â€Å"Prison ers of War,† The Oxford Companion to World War II (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1995)The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition.  Ã‚  2001.American Prisoners of War in Germany. Prepared by Military Intelligence Service, War Department 1 Nov 1945W. Wynne Mason, Prisoners of War (Official History of New Zealand in the Second World War 1939–1945) (Wellington, New Zealand: War History Branch, Department of Internal Affairs, 1954)Antony Beevor Stalingrad (Penguin Books, New York, 1999) [1] M. R. D. Fott, â€Å"Prisoners of War,† The Oxford Companion to World War II (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1995), pp. 913–915;[2] The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition.  Ã‚  2001. [3] American Prisoners of War in Germany. Prepared by Military Intelligence Service, War Department 1 Nov 1945[4]W. Wynne Mason, Prisoners of War (Official History of New Zealand in the Second World War 1939–1945) (Wellington, New Zealand: War History Branch, Department of Internal Affairs, 1954), pp. 42–43; [5] Antony Beevor Stalingrad (Penguin Books, New York, 1999), pp.- 15, 60, 166 [6] Antony Beevor. Ibid. p.-59

Kindergarten Essay

Kindergartens were started in the early 19th century in the belief in children’s inherent goodness. The founder emphasized on the importance of stories, nature study, music and play in addition to symbols. He advocated for the use of occupations and gifts among young children. In America, they started in the late 19th century and were mostly found in private institutions. They took half day and were mostly free. The educational goal then was not to impart children with reading and writing skills but it aimed to educate the children as a whole. This goal involved a wide range of activities inclusive of cleaning the children, feeding and clothing them (Saracho & Spodek, 2002). Changes in the curriculum goals and objectives The curriculum goals and objectives of kindergarten have changed significantly over time. Initially, kindergarten was characterised by fun, art, playtime, music, recess, story time, circle time and naptime. However, the current goals of kindergarten are learning and children are always assigned work to do. It is concentrating on learning more than having fun. In today’s curriculum, children are expected to learn science, social studies, writing, reading, math and even a second language. A whole school day is focused on instruction and the child is helped to learn in preparation for first grade. Children are also required to learn faster and cover more contents. By the time the kids are going to first grade, they are expected to have started acquiring reading skills (Saracho & Spodek, 2002). Current academic escalation in Kindergarten as a necessary evolutionary change School stakeholders have mixed feelings regarding the current academic escalation in kindergarten. Some feel that the children have not developed fully to understand all the contents they are made to cover. On the other hand, some are opinionated that the current world has many demands and therefore it is important to impart the necessary skills in children early enough. However, I feel that children should be let to grow and learn skills when their cognitive development can allow them to. This means that the changes are not very necessary since they are more academic oriented rather than fun directed and children are not ready for this. Reference: Saracho, Olivia N. & Spodek, Bernard, (2002), Contemporary perspectives on early childhood curriculum, ISBN 1930608276, 9781930608276, IAP.

Case study on Dobai World company Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Case study on Dobai World company - Essay Example On the other hand there are three companies namely Nakheel, Limitless and Leisure Corporation which are operating in urban development sector. In financial service sector there are Istithmar world and Dubai multi commodities centre (Dubai World, n.d.). DP world is involved in operating marine terminals, whereas Dry Docks and Dubai maritime city are involved in creating maritime and ship-building hub in Dubai. EZW runs several free economic zones across the world. Leisure Corporation is involved in investment and development of various opportunities in leisure and sports industry. All these companies are working under Dubai World Company. Careful investment and pragmatic acquisitions are two major drivers of the business strategy of Dubai World Company. Company’s strategies are developed with the objective of delivering measureable and real results to the stakeholders. Being one of the largest organizations in the world, Dubai World Company always focus on three major factors while making any strategy. These three are corporate objectives, social responsibility and environmental conservation. Each and every company of Dubai World has separate strategies which enable them to succeed in their respective industry. DP world’s strategies are always focused on profitable growth across the world by continuously meeting its commitments towards its customers and people. On the other hand Leisure Corporation is a leading golf company in the world. As a result its strategies are made with the objective of becoming the largest golf company in the world. Company believes in partnership strategy. The company is a lon g term strategic partner of European Tour. The company is also involved in ski resort and marina sector. Dubai World’s business strategies have always included expansion strategy. In 1999, the company first took major expansion strategy to capitalize on the overseas market.

The Basis of Organizational Behavior Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Basis of Organizational Behavior - Essay Example Each of the concepts should be equally emphasized in order to have a complete understand the human resource. However, it should also be noted that one concept in nature of a person can summarize all of the concepts considered and this is motivated behavior. I believe that having managers and decision makers understand the concept of motivated behavior can already grasp the whole idea of organizational behavior. Motivated behavior emphasizes the need for employees to be valued, desire for involvement, perception, and their individual differences. If managers take into account that each employee needs to be motivated, they are also considering how to understand the whole individual in order to install an effective motivation technique. Dell, Inc. has been regarded as the largest manufacturer of personal computers in terms of revenue and unit sales. This business organization has been very successful in the information technology industry which it attributes to its ability to strategically align its human resource to its specific goals and objectives. Dell capitalized on its lean staff and low level of hierarchy which is can be characterized by the systems model of organizational behavior. Like a systems model of organization, facilitator roles are carried out by managers which stresses the importance of the employees. It should be noted that Dell practices employee empowerment in order to communicate its trust and confidence in the workforce. In contrast to the typical assembly line, Dell builds productive and cohesive work teams in the manufacture of its various products. The company also conducts regular training and workshops in order to further the strengths and competencies of its human resource. This effort shows the company’s concern in the growth and development of its employees as well as its way of ensuring that its workforce, which will help the organization further its thrust for profitability.

Culture of Excellence in the Classroom Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Culture of Excellence in the Classroom - Essay Example The key ingredients for success in creating the best culture of excellence in the classroom are the teacher’s experiences, responsibilities, and goals. Certainly many teachers teach the way they were taught.  A teacher’s experience and philosophy are important aspects for successfully providing a culture of excellence in the classroom. For example, if the teacher believes in individualism using Mill’s philosophy, he will encourage students to focus only on themselves, which in turn could result in the development of selfish attitudes.  This will lead to developing a generation which has less effective involvement in their society. On the other hand, if the teacher believes in Bentham’s philosophy, which espouses the approach of the greatest good for the largest number of people, he will encourage students to share what they have learned with their peers.  Ã‚  This enhances the possibility of developing a generation of mutual respect for all peoples.  It is because of these factors, that educators must carefully consider their philosophy of education before they ever enter the classroom. They want to make sure that they foster a learning environment that not only fits their personality, but also is flexible enough to effectively reach all of the students in their classroom. Teacher experience is a vital component in developing a culture of excellence in the classroom because it is through these experiences that students can gain insight and knowledge in a fresh and relevant way. Likewise, there is no doubt that the participation of all stakeholders is important for creating and developing a culture of excellence.  Nevertheless, there is still a tremendous amount of responsibility thrust upon the teacher. For instance, he is charged with the task of implementing institutional rules that society expects its citizenry to uphold. Also, he is responsible to the students because the instructional techniques used in the