Biography of Amiri Baraka

Amiri Baraka (born Everett Leroy Jones; October 7, 1934–January 9, 2014) was an award-winning playwright, poet, critic, educator, and activist. He played an influential role in the Black Arts Movement and served as poet laureate of his native New Jersey. His career spanned decades, though his legacy is not without controversy. Fast Facts: Amiri Baraka Occupation: Writer, playwright, poet, activistAlso Known As: Leroi Jones, Imamu Amear BarakaBorn: October 7, 1934 in Newark, New JerseyDied: January 9, 2014 in Newark, New JerseyParents: Colt Leverette Jones and Anna Lois Russ JonesEducation: Rutgers University, Howard UniversityKey Publications: Dutchman, Blues People: Negro Music in White America, The Autobiography of LeRoi Jones/Amiri BarakaSpouse(s): Hettie Jones, Amina BarakaChildren: Ras Baraka, Kellie Jones, Lisa Jones, Shani Baraka, Amiri Baraka Jr., Obalaji Baraka, Ahi Baraka, Maria Jones, Dominique DiPrimaNotable Quote: â€Å"Art is whatever makes you proud to be human. Early Years Amiri Baraka was born in Newark, New Jersey to postal supervisor Colt Leverette Jones and social worker Anna Lois Jones. Growing up, Baraka played the drums, piano, and trumpet, and enjoyed poetry and jazz. He especially admired the musician Miles Davis. Baraka attended Barringer High School and won a scholarship to Rutgers University in 1951. A year later, he transferred to the historically black Howard University, where he studied subjects like philosophy and religion. At Howard, he began using the name LeRoi James but would later revert to his birth name, Jones. Expelled before graduating from Howard, Jones signed up for the US Air Force, which dishonorably discharged him after three years when communist writings were found in his possession. Although he became a sergeant in the Air Force, Baraka found military service troubling. He called the experience â€Å"racist, degrading, and intellectually paralyzing.† But his time in the Air Force ultimately deepened his interest in poetry. He worked at the base library while stationed in Puerto Rico, which allowed him to devote himself to reading. He took a particular liking to the works of the Beat poets and began writing his own poetry. After his discharge from the Air Force, he lived in Manhattan, taking classes at Columbia University and The New School for Social Research. He also became involved in Greenwich Village’s art scene and got to know poets such as Allen Ginsberg, Frank O’Hara, Gilbert Sorrentino, and Charles Olson. Marriage and Poetry As his interest in poetry deepened, Baraka met Hettie Cohen, a white Jewish woman who shared his passion for writing. The interracial couple married in 1958 against the wishes of Cohens Parents, who cried at the news of the union. Together, the couple started Totem Press, which featured the writings of beat poets like Allen Ginsberg; they also launched Yugen literary magazine. Baraka edited and wrote criticism for the literary journal Kulchur as well. While married to Cohen, with whom he had two daughters, Baraka began a romantic relationship with another woman writer, Diane di Prima. They edited a magazine called The Floating Bear and started the New York Poets Theater, along with others, in 1961. That year, Baraka’s first poetry book, Preface to a Twenty Volume Suicide Note, debuted. During this period, the writer became increasingly political. A trip to Cuba in 1960 led him to believe that he should use his art to fight oppression, so Baraka began to embrace black nationalism and support Cuban president Fidel Castro’s regime. In addition, his complicated personal life took a turn when he and Diane di Prima had a daughter, Dominique, in 1962.  The next year saw the release of Baraka’s book Blues People: Negro Music in White America. In 1965, Baraka and Cohen divorced. A New Identity Using the name LeRoi Jones, Baraka wrote the play Dutchman, which premiered in 1964. The play chronicles a violent encounter between a white woman and a black man on the New York subway. It won the Obie Award for Best American Play and was later adapted for film. The 1965 assassination of Malcolm X led Baraka to leave the mostly white Beat scene and move to the predominantly black neighborhood of Harlem. There, he opened the Black Arts Repertory Theatre/School, which became a haven for black artists such as Sun Ra and Sonia Sanchez, and led other black artists to open similar venues. The rise of black-run art venues led to a movement known as the Black Arts Movement. He also criticized the Civil Rights Movement for embracing nonviolence and suggested in works such as his 1965 poem â€Å"Black Art that violence was necessary to create a black world. Inspired by Malcolm’s death, he also penned the work A Poem for Black Hearts in 1965 and the novel The System of Dante’s Hell the same year. In 1967, he released the short-story collection Tales. Blackness and the use of violence to achieve liberation both factor into these works. Baraka’s newfound militancy played a role in his divorce from his white wife, according to her memoir How I Became Hettie Jones. Baraka himself admitted as much in his 1980 Village Voice essay, â€Å"Confessions of a Former Anti-Semite. (He denied choosing the title for the essay.) He wrote, â€Å"As a Black man married to a white woman, I began to feel estranged from her †¦ How could someone be married to the enemy? Barakas second wife, Sylvia Robinson, later known as Amina Baraka, was a black woman. They had a Yoruba marriage ceremony in 1967, the year Baraka published the poetry collection Black Magic. A year earlier, he published Home: Social Essays. With Amina, Baraka returned to his native Newark, where they opened a theater and residence for artists called the Spirit House. He also headed to Los Angeles to meet with scholar and activist Ron Karenga (or Maulana Karenga), founder of the Kwanzaa holiday, which aims to reconnect black Americans to their African heritage. Instead of using the name LeRoi Jones, the poet took the name Imamu Amear Baraka. Imamu is a title meaning spiritual leader in Swahili, Amear means prince, and Baraka essentially means a divine blessing.† He ultimately went by Amiri Baraka. In 1968, Baraka co-edited Black Fire: An Anthology of Afro-American Writing and his play Home on the Range was staged to benefit the Black Panther party. He also chaired the Committee for Unified Newark, founded and chaired  the Congress of African People, and was a chief organizer of the National Black Political Convention. By the 1970s, Baraka began to champion the liberation of â€Å"third-world† peoples across the globe rather than black nationalism. He embraced a Marxist-Leninist philosophy and became a lecturer in 1979 in the Africana studies department of the State University of New York, Stony Brook, where he later became a professor. He was also a visiting professor at Columbia University and Rutgers University and taught at the New School, San Francisco State, University of Buffalo, and George Washington University. In 1984, Baraka’s memoir, The Autobiography of LeRoi Jones/Amiri Baraka, was published. He went on to win the American Book Award in 1989 and the Langston Hughes Award. In 1998, he landed a role in the feature film Bulworth, starring  Warren Beatty. Later Years In 2002, Baraka received another honor when he became New Jersey’s poet laureate. But an anti-Semitism scandal ultimately drove him from the role. The controversy stemmed from a poem he wrote after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks called â€Å"Somebody Blew Up America?† In the poem, Baraka suggested that Israel had advanced warning of the attacks on the World Trade Center. The poem includes the lines: Who know why Five Israelis was filming the explosionAnd cracking they sides at the notion†¦Who knew the World Trade Center was gonna get bombedWho told 4000 Israeli workers at the Twin TowersTo stay home that day Baraka said that the poem wasn’t anti-Semitic because it referenced Israel rather than Jews as a whole. The Anti-Defamation League argued that Baraka’s words were indeed anti-Semitic. The poet served as New Jersey’s poet laureate at the time, and then-Gov. Jim McGreevey attempted to oust him from the role. McGreevey (who would later resign as governor for unrelated reasons) couldn’t legally force Baraka to step down, so the state senate passed legislation to abolish the post altogether. When the law took effect on July 2, 2003, Baraka was no longer poet laureate. Death On Jan. 9, 2014, Amiri Baraka died at Beth Israel Medical Center in Newark, where he had been a patient since December. Upon his death, Baraka had written more than 50 books in a wide range  of genres. His funeral took place Jan. 18 at Newark Symphony Hall. Sources Amiri Baraka 1934-2014. Poetry Foundation.Fox, Margalit. Amiri Baraka, Polarizing Poet and Playwright, Dies at 79. New York Times, 9 January, 2014. Amiri Baraka. Poets.org.

Reconstruction of the South After the Civil Rights Movement

After the Civil War, the nation sought to reconstruct the South, both socially and economically, so it could be readmitted into the Union. This meant giving the newly emancipated African Americans the civil rights and liberties that they deserved as United States citizens. Through events like the Civil Rights Movement, the nation was exposed to new ideologies and opinions of various groups who aimed to grant African Americans those rights and liberties. However, the methods in which the different groups took were not always the same—some brought the nation together, while others pulled it apart. In America, Malcolm X’s Nation of Islam and Martin Luther King’s Southern Christian Leadership Conference both sought to defeat racism of whites towards blacks, empower African Americans, and promote solidarity. However, Malcolm X and King had different methods of getting their points across; King chose the more nonviolent route, while Malcolm X chose the forceful route where the use of violence was allowed. Malcolm X was also the advocate for creating a separate black community, often using the phrase â€Å"Separation, not segregation.† Throughout the course of the book, Malcolm X is portrayed as a man who shifted in his own understanding, as well as his interpretation of how African Americans and whites existed in America. In the early years, Malcolm X was seen as a force pulling America apart. However, just prior to his death, Malcolm X started to see that the entire white raceShow MoreRelatedReconstruction During The Civil War Essay1676 Words   |  7 PagesReconstruction The United States went through many changes after the Civil War and during the Reconstruction period of 1866-1877. 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The civil war was one of the big three events along with the Revolution and World War Two

Family violence/abuse is not the answer Free Essays

We are told that violence is not the answer, yet our country goes to war when we have problems†¦ It is the way people and families are, the answer to everything. I have chosen to explore the theme family violence/abuse is not the answer. This theme is shown in the short story â€Å"boy† by Bruce Stewart, â€Å"In the rubbish bin† by Apirana Taylor, a true story by Michelle Manning â€Å"its ok† and Harry potter by J. We will write a custom essay sample on Family violence/abuse is not the answer or any similar topic only for you Order Now K Rowling At the beginning of Boy, boy who is Maori he feels like he doesn’t belong in his culture â€Å"im not a Maori† he gets bullied at school and comes home crying. His Dad comes home and sees Boy crying he says to Boy â€Å"Stop being a baby or I’ll give you something to cry about â€Å"This shows that the Boys dad is full of violence and threats. â€Å"Stormed into the bedroom AGAIN and started hitting me with his razor strap†. By this saying in the story with the word â€Å"Again† means this isn’t the first time or the last time Boy will see of that razor strap. At the end of the story boy finds his true place where he belongs from his mother’s death. He is in the hands of his mother’s family and I think that’s the last time Boy would have seen of that razor strap. The short story â€Å"in the rubbish bin â€Å"it portrays the theme that violence/ Abuse is not the answer. More the mental side than the physical side. We see this in the character phillipa. Phillipa who gets mentally abused by her mum. Her poor upbringing causes phillipa to take a smelly trip to a rubbish tin. Imagine how many kids in New Zealand are exactly like her we have over 1,600 gaming machines and over 100 gaming tables and that’s at Auckland sky tower alone. There are cases were we have parents leaving kids in cars on hot days just because the mum or dad want to go have a try on the machines and the tables it needs to stop . Why don’t the parents stop and think before they do, they should be thinking of their kid’s future and saving up on item’s that they will have wanted when they don’t have the money. Maybe the government needs a wakeup call and instead of having the casino open 24 hours a day, seven days a week make it less so we don’t have more cases of them on the news of kids in hot cars and forgotten about. In the rubbish bin and boy have similar backgrounds just with a twist, Boys mother takes one hundred percent care of her child and Ruth shows no appreciation towards Phillipa. The dads in the story are both abusive Boys dad towards boy and Phillipas dad towards Ruth. The short story â€Å"its ok† also identifies the theme â€Å"family violence is not the answer†matt has shown that he thinks that violence is the answer â€Å"sharp hard slaps† , He was hitting her face† ,He was hurting her to much now â€Å" shows that Matt is very abusive and he won’t stop anytime soon. Matt has his wife begging him to stop â€Å"she was begging now â€Å"stop it! Stop it! † How to cite Family violence/abuse is not the answer, Essays

Unreliable Narrator free essay sample

Johnny Lai 07659563 Narrator is the person (perspective) which is chosen by the author to tell the story (literary work, movie, play, verbal account, etc. ) to the readers (audiences). Traditionally, the narrator is supposed to be reliable, since he/she/it is the only connection between the readers and the fiction world. But occasionally, authors would use unreliable narrator to be the perspective of their story. The concept of the unreliable narrator (as opposed to author) became more important with the rise of the 18th Century. Until the late 1800s, literary criticism as an academic exercise dealt solely with poetry (including epic poems like the Iliad and Paradise Lost, and poetic drama like Shakespeare). Most poems did not have a narrator distinct from the author. But novels, with their immersive fictional worlds, created a problem, especially when the narrators views differed significantly from that of the author. (Wikipedia) Unreliable narrator is usually adopted when the author try to create suspense to the readers, make them more critical suspicious and avoiding passive reading. We will write a custom essay sample on Unreliable Narrator or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page To let them think in different perspectives and reconstruct the truth through their own cognitive thinking. It involves a more interactive process then the traditional reliable narrator, the readers just need to sit tight and receive everything from the narrator. Unreliable narrators can be classified into two main categories, those cannot be fully trusted because they do not understand what they are narrating (Robert Walton) or those who are simply lying to the readers to suit their needs or justify their faults (Victor Frankenstein). In Frankenstein, Mary Shelley used unreliable narrators to tell the story, to make the readers question the truth told by different narrators and created a huge room of imagination to them. There are two narrator in Frankenstein were considered as unreliable, Robert Walton, an Arctic seafarer whose narrated his part with the letters for his sister in the beginning and the end of the story; Victor Frankenstein, a talented scientist created a monster whose narrated most portion of the story. Robert Walton, who captained a North Pole bound ship, was a very good friend of Victor Frankenstein. Saying a good would be too neutral, the relationship between them would be more accurately to be admiration. For my own part, I begin to love him as a brother; and his constant and deep grief fills me with sympathy and compassion. He must have been a noble creature in his better days, being even now in wreck so attractive and amiable. (Shelly, Frankenstein) that was the description of Robert Waltons opinion towards Victor Frankenstein; we can see how obsessed Walton was. Considering the bias of Robert Walton, his narration became unreliable. He trusted everything Victor said without any judgment. His determination was unreliable, and therefore, he became a reliable narrator. Actually, Robert Waltons situation of unreliable narration was very much similar to the movie The Sixth sense. In The Sixth sense, Cole Sear, a troubled boy who claimed to see ghosts who dont know theyre dead, seek for help of a child psychiatrist, Dr. Malcolm Crowe. Because of this, he was called a freak in school. Crowe, at first thought he was seeing things, but after spending a lot of time with Cole, he discovered Cole may be seeing dead people after all. At the end, Cole discovered that Dr. Malcolm Crowe was actually a ghost, who didnt realize his own death. Comparing Robert Walton with Cole Sear, they are both defiantly unreliable narrators. But they were not intended to trick the readers/audiences; they were both misled by others. In Frankenstein; In The Sixth sense the person who misled Cole Sear was his psychiatrist, Dr. Malcolm Crowe. They both trusted the misleader with their heart, but turning to be unreliable narrators following their wrong judgment. In contrast, Cole Sear would be a better unreliable narrator then Robert Walton. It was because Cole Sear was misled by someone who misled himself (Dr. Malcolm Crowe thought he was still alive), compare to Robert Walton was misled by someone who may intentionally misled him (Victor Frankenstein may lie to cover/justify his faults/crime). But no matter what, they were still unreliable narrator. After analyzing the innocent unreliable narrator, lets look at the narrator who may possibly intentionally mislead the readers by lying. Victor Frankenstein could be considered as the main narrator of the whole story.

Agriculture and Technology free essay sample

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings 1) Summary of Character Traits a) School smart (Maya is smart. When she moves to San Francisco from Stamps, Arkansas, she is skipped a grade. b) Caring sister (she always talks of her devotion to Baily) c) Determined (she wants to get a Job with the streetcar company and she keeps bugging them until they finally give her a Job) d) Proud (she lives with the Junkyard kids instead of going back to her fathers; she slaps Dolores for calling her mother a whore) 2) Appearance a) African American, tall, skinny, small and squinty eyes, big feet, large ap between her front teeth, black hair 3) What The Character Wants a) Maya wants, ultimately, for her family to be happy. She wants the segregation of blacks to end (she is disgusted when young white girls call her grandmother by her first name). 4) How the Character Changes a) After being raped, Maya stops talking as much b) After spending time living in the Junkyard, Maya learns tolerance, which will help her through out her life. We will write a custom essay sample on Agriculture and Technology or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page She matures from a young girl to a mother, as well. c) Becomes more mature once she gets her Job with the street ars 5) Key Statements About the Character a) Ritie, dont worry Ocause you aint pretty. Plenty of pretty women I seen digging ditches or worse. You smart. I swear to God, I rather you have a good mind than a cute behind. (p. 56) b) In those moments I decided that although Baily loved me he couldnt help. 0 1 knew that because I loved him so much I could never hurt him (p. 73) 6) Key Actions a) Father comes to Stamps and takes them to their mother b) Moves back to Stamps, then to SF c) Drives home from Mexico d) Slaps Dolores br  e) Stays with the Junkyard people f) Gets pregnant 7) What Others Think Of the Character a) When they are younger, Baily really looks out for Maya. As they grow up, and after she spends time with her father, they drift apart. b) Her grandmother loves Maya very much, and knows that she is a very smart girl with a lot of potential. c) Her mother seems to care much more about her than her father did. Thesis Statement: Maya Angelou faces many hardships, yet manages to overcome them all, in her autobiography, l Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. brMaya Angelou faces many hardships, yet manages to overcome them all, in her autobiography, l Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. Maya is a strong willed, often stubborn, outgoing, somewhat outspoken, and rather intelligent girl. She becomes very tolerant due to some of her experiences. She also matures faster mentally than many other girls her age because of her situation and experiences. From the time she was young and through adolescence, Maya considered herself ugly. She was a tall, somewhat lanky African American. She was skinny, and felt that her eyes were too small and squinty. She was also ashamed of her large feet. r Throughout the story, Maya is discouraged by the segregation of the blacks. For a long time she is denied the Job that she wishes to have because of the color of her skin. Also, she wants her family to be together and to be happy. She is separated from her parents at a young age and lives with her grandmother and uncle for most of her childhood. When she is with her parents, she tends to feel secondary. There is always something a touch more important that she and her brother Baily. autobiography, l Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. When the book begins, Angelou is a young child, a mere three years old. As she grows up, though somewhat sheltered by her grandmothers position as a general store owner, her eyes are opened to the current ways of the South. Blacks are lesser people that whites, and that was the way it was for her. On several occasions she watched in horror as young girls called her grandmother by her first name, when they should have been respectful and at lease used Miss. Once breaking the segregation barrier for herself, she gets a Job with the Streetcar Company. Having a Job, and the responsibility that comes with it, she mentally matures faster than the other children her age. While living with her mother he first time, Maya is molested by her mothers boyfriend. After this, she becomes almost completely silent. She avoids talking as much as possible, which is a contrast to her previous behavior. Maya spends time living with other children in a Junkyard after her father asks her to leave. He asks her to leave because she and his girlfriend, Dolores, get into a fght and Dolores hurts Maya. After spending time with those children, she learns tolerance and matures more. Also, after becoming pregnant and realizing that she is responsible for another human life, she matures even more and becomes more responsible. brMaya and her brother Baily were very close during their childhood and most of their adolescence. Baily was always proud of Maya for her intelligence, even though at times she wished she could have forfeited it for good looks. Baily expresses his pride by saying, [Maya], dont worry Ocause you aint pretty. Plenty of pretty women I mind than cute behind. (p. 56) After being raped, Maya wishes to protect her brother. She doesnt want anything to happen to him because, according to her, she isnt as good of a person as she should be. Through out her life

Free Essays on Bearing The Burdens

From the first day we got this assignment, thoughts of how to start this and what I would say ran through my head nonstop. The only problem was that none of my thoughts were running together. This is so complicated how can a person feel so strongly about both sides of this topic. I want to say yes that my parents help me with my decisions by setting expectations for me. Yet I want to say no they are a hinder because they push and push and push and it seems like no matter how hard I try it’ll never be good enough for them. I guess in my prospective my parents expectations mean a lot to me but still cause a burden on my decisions. I’m one of those people who hate when other people are disappointed in me, especially my parents. So naturally when I do something wrong my parents give me the guilt trip and I feel they are disappointed in me, making my life miserable for at least 3 days. That makes me so mad, I feel like crap and I don’t want to do anything! Maybe them making me feel bad is their way of keeping me out of trouble. If I didn’t have them always pushing me and keeping me in line, I wouldn’t be where I am today. Granted I am still quite confused about my life but I’m also still young. Living is all about making choices, both good and bad. I’m also one of those people that when someone does something to upset me I get even, or want to rebel! So when I’ve had enough of my parents pushing and nagging, I either get mad, want to sleep forever, or just cry nonstop. I hate not being able to make my own decisions. When I do and they are wrong I feel like I’m stupid and a failure. I wish I wasn’t treated like I was five. It’s so hard to make everyone happy. I guess the only way for me to make a choice on where I stand with this is to say that I love my family and friends, I want to be treated with respect but let it also be known that I am still young. I’m only human and I’m going to make mistakes but that’... Free Essays on Bearing The Burdens Free Essays on Bearing The Burdens From the first day we got this assignment, thoughts of how to start this and what I would say ran through my head nonstop. The only problem was that none of my thoughts were running together. This is so complicated how can a person feel so strongly about both sides of this topic. I want to say yes that my parents help me with my decisions by setting expectations for me. Yet I want to say no they are a hinder because they push and push and push and it seems like no matter how hard I try it’ll never be good enough for them. I guess in my prospective my parents expectations mean a lot to me but still cause a burden on my decisions. I’m one of those people who hate when other people are disappointed in me, especially my parents. So naturally when I do something wrong my parents give me the guilt trip and I feel they are disappointed in me, making my life miserable for at least 3 days. That makes me so mad, I feel like crap and I don’t want to do anything! Maybe them making me feel bad is their way of keeping me out of trouble. If I didn’t have them always pushing me and keeping me in line, I wouldn’t be where I am today. Granted I am still quite confused about my life but I’m also still young. Living is all about making choices, both good and bad. I’m also one of those people that when someone does something to upset me I get even, or want to rebel! So when I’ve had enough of my parents pushing and nagging, I either get mad, want to sleep forever, or just cry nonstop. I hate not being able to make my own decisions. When I do and they are wrong I feel like I’m stupid and a failure. I wish I wasn’t treated like I was five. It’s so hard to make everyone happy. I guess the only way for me to make a choice on where I stand with this is to say that I love my family and friends, I want to be treated with respect but let it also be known that I am still young. I’m only human and I’m going to make mistakes but that’...

Nutrition in the Early School System Research Paper

Nutrition in the Early School System - Research Paper Example An understanding of these food classes enables learners to determine the role of each category in the body, for example, carbohydrates provide energy while proteins build body muscles. Fruits, on the other hand, help the body to fight and prevent diseases (Prelip, Kinsler, Thai, Erausquin, & Slusser, 2012). Students will also have identified the effects of over or under consumption of each food to their bodies. The children will have determined the amount of food that they can consume from each class to avoid the undesired effects of unplanned consumption. Children will spread the awareness to their parents and friends from other schools after the lesson. This will create national awareness, which will improve health in the society. The outcome of the second objective is that children will identify the diseases that arise from poor nutrition, for example, obesity, hypertension, dyslipidemia, and diabetes among others. Children contract obesity more than the other diseases; therefore, the lesson will focus on this ailment. Students will understand the negative psychological and physical effects of having an overweight body, and the foods that lead to the ailment. Students will be able to determine the measures to undertake to avoid suffering from the diseases. The learners will also identify the actions to take in case they contact the disease. Students will identify various ways of exercising their bodies by the end of the lesson. The knowledge of the techniques will enable students to recognize the significance of exercise, for example, reducing weight, strengthening muscles, decreasing depression, and preventing diseases (Avery, Johnson, Cousins, & Hamilton, 2013). Teaching Plan Subject: Healthy nutrition... This report approves that students should understand and explain various food classes, which include fruits and vegetables, carbohydrates, proteins, and fats. An understanding of these food classes enables learners to determine the role of each category in the body, for example, carbohydrates provide energy while proteins build body muscles. Fruits, on the other hand, help the body to fight and prevent diseases. Community resources are the materials that can help students to understand the health, and they are available in the society. The resources include journals and health magazines that are available in community libraries. Students can read these materials and learn new ways of living healthy lives. Students may also attend health conferences conducted by humanitarian organizations such as the Red Cross Society. The conferences usually involve presentations of diseases and techniques of preventing the ailments. Learners practice what they learn from the projects to avoid the ai lments. This essay makes a conclusion that the increase in obesity and overweight among children has given rise to the need for nutrition awareness in the society. Teaching is the best technique to create awareness because it takes place in schools where the major stakeholders are parents, teachers, children, and the government. The objectives of teaching healthy nutrition in a class include teaching food categories, malnutrition diseases, and the need for exercise. An instructor may use books, presentations, and games as techniques to help students understand the topic. Community resources such as health magazines and nutrition conferences, which are conducted by various institutions, also help in achieving the objectives.

Vincent Van Gogh Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Vincent Van Gogh - Research Paper Example The paper "Vincent Van Gogh" explores the art and life of Vincent Van Gogh. Van was born in 1853 in Groot-Zundert in Southern Netherlands, which was a predominantly catholic; he grew up with a striking attraction of painting and beauty. He was the son of Theodorus Gogh, a minister at the Dutch reformed church. He took his grandfather's name Vincent, whose work as an artist had been largely sculptor. As a young boy, he was a serious, thoughtful and silent, this astonished many children who grew together. Notably, art and religion were two greatest occupations in his lineage and some scholars have linked his artistic work in the family background and early exposure to the artistic world. He attended school at Zundert village from 1860s where a single catholic teacher taught more than 200 pupils. This was quite normal during this time when education was at its early stage if development in the Netherlands. Together with his sister, he moved to a boarding school in 1861 at Zevenbergen th at was about 20 miles away from his home. During his stay in school, he remained distress to be relocated away from the family members, and he began drawing and painting. In 1866, he joined a new middle school called Willem College in Tilburg. Perhaps this was the most influential turning point that influenced his career choice. During his studies, he encountered Constantine Huysmans, who was an artist, and he developed a conviction in the art. In addition, the teacher was instrumental in encapsulating.

Adam Smith During the Scottish Enlightenment Research Paper

Adam Smith During the Scottish Enlightenment - Research Paper Example On graduating, he successfully delivered a number of public lectures at Edinburgh. Those lectures led him eventually to cooperation with David Hume during the period of Scottish Enlightenment. Sharing both rationalist and humanist outlook of the European Enlightenment of the same epoch, the key thinkers and doers of Scottish Enlightenment maintained the fundamental importance of the reason combined with a rejection of all the authorities that cannot be vindicated by reason. They clang to an optimistic belief in the ability of a man to make changes for the better in both nature and social life, being guided solely by the reason. It was this very feature that added the Scottish Enlightenment the peculiar flavor that has distinguished it from its counterpart from over the Continent. Furthermore, Scottish Enlightenment was characterized by an extremely thorough empiricism and practically where the main virtues were held to be a practical benefit, improvement, and virtue itself of both societies a whole and an individual. By the middle of the 18th century, Scots had become hardly the most literate nation of Europe. Its level of literacy was estimated as high as 75%. Yet it was not many of them who were making Enlightenment. The whole culture of that time Scotland was oriented to books so spirited discussions were held at such places of intellectual gatherings as The Select Society and The Poker Club. Those places, in fact, were crucibles from which lots of ideas distinguishing Scottish Enlightenment developed. When teaching moral philosophy at Glasgow Smith received a chair, and during within this period of time, he published his work The Theory of Moral Sentiments. Later he received a tutoring position allowing him to travel over Europe where he used to meet other prominent intellectuals of the Enlightenment epoch.  

Evaluating The Effectiveness Of Customer Service Policies Tourism Essay

Evaluating The Effectiveness Of Customer Service Policies Tourism Essay The London Marriott Hotel Grosvenor Square is a 5 star hotel that is located in the Central London near to the Oxford Street and Park Lane. It is one of the classic hotels in England. The hotel has 236 luxurious bedrooms and 45 Club Level bedrooms with many facilities like Club Lounge, Wi-Fi Internet access, versatile meeting and event space, Maze  Restaurant, Maze Grill, Complimentary, fitness centre, 24-hour room service. (MARRIOTT, 2010) The hotel is located in Central London which has many tourist spots and centre of attractions around the locality. Some of the tourist spots nearby the hotel are: The London Eye, Buckingham Palace, Theatre district, Madame Tussaud, Covent Garden, Big Ben and the Palace of Westminster, Oxford Street/Bond Street shopping, The Tate Modern, The British Museum, Big Bus London Tours, The Tower of London. These tourist spots are within walk able distance from this hotel which attracts more of tourists. This saves them a lot of money from spending on transportation. Thus, tourists choose this hotel for their stay so that they have much more time to explore these tourist spots. As mentioned above Central London is not only a tourist spot but also a place full of Information Technology corridor and some of the main industrys head quarters are located here as well. The business customers and corporate choose this hotel because it saves a lot of time and money. Marriott also provides good banqueting and boardroom facilities that are used to organise meetings and the banquets are also put to good use. The hotel provides lots of facilities and services to the corporate such as group check in, bill to the company etc. which provides good hospitality. The hotel also includes The Maze, which is a restaurant created by the world famous celebrity Chef Gordon Ramsay. Its one of the famous French and Asian blend restaurants in London. Thus this is one of the key reasons that there are many celebrities who choose to dine in this restaurant often. Few family customers also visit this restaurant during the weekends to experience one of the fine dining restaurants in London. Due to its locality, Marriott attracts worldwide celebrities who come to London for world premiers. The hotel is also frequented by sports personalities who have their after win celebrations. CUSTOMER CARE POLICIES: Marriott has many customer care policies which they are very keen on following to attract people from all corners. Marriott has a very unique method of marketing and also takes utmost care in making the customers stay a pleasure hence increasing the chances for them to come back. In this Marriott, the personal information of the residents is stored in the database. This database is securely stored to prevent non-breaching. This database is shared by all the Marriott across the world. This enables them to send a greeting card or a gift for their customer on the occasion of birthdays and anniversaries no matter where they are in the world. Because of the inter relationships between the chains, this is achievable. According to surveys this method has been really beneficial in bringing back the customers, hence ensuring excellent customer care. When it comes to corporate/business customers, Marriott follows mutual profit dealing. Marriott often maintains a relationship with regular customers from corporate companies. For a certain number of customers, Marriott provides discounts and additional services if the company for which the customer works has a tie up with Marriott. Under the package, even banqueting and board rooms can be provided for free based on the particular organisation. This includes accommodation in reduced price. The company ensures that the connection with the hotel is beneficial by using the services and hence increase the times of usage of the hotel. In the other hand, the hotel confirms a constant flow of customers. This can be considered as a profitable circle and hence its unique way of standing out from the crowd. As mentioned before, Gordon Ramsays restaurant, The Maze, always has the capacity to attract people. People who want to taste the authentic French cuisine blended with Asian from the kitchen of a world famous chef always makes The Maze the centre of attraction. Due to the world premier of movies in theatres nearby, Marriott has seen an array of celebrities. And celebrities always attract crowd because of which Marriott increases its growth. Marriott ensures special attention, security and privacy for high profile people who need them the most. Privacy for these people is even provided in restaurants by providing special separate seating arrangements and hence keeping them away from the watchful eyes. These qualities make Marriot one of the most desired places to stay for the celebrities and hence ensuring a perfect service for different type of customers. IMPORTANCE OF ESTABLISHING EFFECTIVE CUSTOMER CARE: A customer is an individual or group of individuals to whom you supply one or more products or services. (Smith, 2004:6). Customer care involves putting systems in place to maximise your customers satisfaction with your business. It should be a prime consideration for every business   your sales and profitability depends on keeping your customers happy. (Business Link, 2010). The success of any business is hugely depended upon providing effective customer care. Customer care is all about customer satisfaction. If an organisation can make an experience as a memorable moment, then there will be more return customers. Establishing effective customer care gives the organisation a high return and also the profit. Loyal customers are the one who are to be given extra care as they are worthy. In this competitive world, the competition in the market is also very high. Customers are demanding for good service, good response to the complaints, and are demanding for extra bit of attention. Thus it is necessary for the organisation to prove a point to the customer that they really care for their customers. The expectations of the customers have been constantly rising. To meet these expectations, the organisation must consistently analyse the level of service. If the requirement is not fulfilled by the organisation, then it will become a hurdle for the progression of the sector. Guests who are not satisfied will spread the news which will also create many obstacles to the business. Effective customer care is important in order to get repeated guests and also the guest tends to refer their friends also. This improves the sales and also the profit of the organisation. The reputation and the image of the organisation are improved if the customer care is good. This in turn brings more shares in the market. Especially the internal customers i.e. the employees get more of job satisfaction by caring the customers. The main goal of establishing effective customer care is satisfying or delighting the customers. It also helps to exchange more information, maintain a good relationship, trust and also to decrease the workloads and costs. In hospitality industry, customers are the king. Effective customer care will benefit the customers in many ways. It is one of the important parts of marketing mix. Quality in service will give more loyal guests. It also ensures that the services and products delivered to the customers will be of good quality. Thus, establishing effective customer care in hospitality industry is very much important for improving the growth of the organisation. EVALUATING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF CUSTOMER SERVICE POLICIES: The evaluation of the effectiveness of customer service policies is an important factor to increase the growth of any organisation. The evaluation shows how the policy implemented influences the organisation. Even though most policies are practically followed only after careful considerations, there are always chances for misleading factors which might give more cons then pros for the policy. A simple example can be the usage of man power for the different sections of a hotel. Using more people for work which takes more time to be done can be a simple and effective solution. An effective customer service strategy has to be followed with considerable modifications based on the customer and their needs. Each customer is unique, so are their needs. In a customer service based roles, the colleagues will develop the capacity to differentiate the types of customers. If the situation permits, more importance can be given to customers with a higher value and who are more prone to be a regular customer. This just ensures that the specific customer goes through a different level of service hence providing equal service to all the customers. Excellent customer service is achieved when the customer is provided with what he/she wants even before they use it. The needs of the customer and how these needs are to be met with are meant to be determined. Exceeding the customers expectation always frames a name for the organisation. These needs are to be met with great care and also with consideration for other factors like cost and profit. Creating a name in the market is one challenge and maintaining it for years is a more challenging feat. The colleagues should have a good knowledge about the service the hotel can provide and also the capacity with which it has to be provided. Training for the employees should be focused and taken care of. The organisation must meet the needs of the employees and respect their decisions and ideas must be considered. Quality control is often achieved not by intensive supervision, but by building a sense of pride and the ability to work as a team. A proven method to increase the customer service skills of the employees is by sheer encouragement. This can be in any forms, as in increasing the bonus, the status in the organisation or even organising a special event. In a nut shell, happy employees provide excellent service, thus making the customers happy and make them come back again. This increases the profit and also the bonus for the employees, which makes them happy. This cycle is very crucial for any customer based organisation to stand out from the crowd.

Fear of Nuclear Weapons in Modern Society :: Nuclear Weapons Essays

"The time will come when mankind will curse the name of Los Alamos and Hiroshima (Hawkins 1983 260-261)." When nuclear weapons were first discovered back in the 1940's, no one knew the force they were going to have on the world. Many lives were taken when the United States of America dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. These lives could have been saved if the communication between the United States and Japan were better. Those bombs should never have been dropped. Even the scientists, who were part of the Manhattan Project thought this. Ever since the start of nuclear exploration people have feared the out comes that came from nuclear development. Albert Einstein, a German born theoretical physicist, who was living in Germany at the time Hitler came into power. Albert Einstein, Edward Teller, Leo Szilard and the rest of his team members wrote a letter in August 1939 to the United States to warn them that Germany was researching and developing nuclear weapons. The scientists were afraid that once Germany finished building the bomb, they would use it on the United States. The United States during the 1930?s was interest in making a weapon that was so powerful that it would be feared by the world. The United States government establishes a top secret plan called the Manhattan Project to develop the atomic bomb. The Manhattan project was the first quest for nuclear weapons. The Manhattan Project took place in they United States, during World War II and its purpose was to create a bomb by splitting atoms apart. This project was a success and created one of the most destructive bombs ever used by mankind, the atomic bomb. The presid ent at the time, Harry S. Truman, had to face the factors that were involved in making the decision to drop the bomb. By July 16, 1945 the United States government had tested the bomb in New Mexico. The United States Wanting to bring the war to an end with Japan decided to do what was to be one of the most deadly bombing in human history. Then on August 6, 1945 under the authorization of President Harry S, Truman the United States dropped the first atomic bomb on the Japanese. The bomb hit the city of Hiroshima were it caused great destruction to the city and surrounding area. It has been reported that many civilians were killed and injured during the bomb attack.

My Super Mother Essay

For me heroes really exist in reality. And for me my super hero is my mother. My mother actually is an ordinary woman. But for me she can do extra ordinary things. She is always there in times that I feel very hopeless, that’s why I really love her. She brought me up with a strong faith and a power to face the toughest challenges in life. She is willing to help everyone’s problems or misery without anything in return. That’s why I’m so very proud of her. For me she’s the best mother in the whole world. She’s talented, pretty and very hardworking. My mother is the one who taught me how to write, read, and how to explore things in life. She provided me and my siblings the best educational opportunities that there could be. She has always pushed me to study very hard so that I can achieve my life’s goal. My mother is also the one who influenced me to have a decision in my life. My mother’s perseverance has encouraged me to live the life of an authentic person. I and my family felt so blessed to have a mother like her. She is so very protective, supportive and very caring unlike to my father. Read more:Â  Person I admire most essay Even though she is always stressed doing the household chores she has always time to help us in our assignments, projects and all the things that we need her help. That s why I and my siblings really love her she’s our living hero. For me having my mother is the luckiest thing that I had. Even though there is many times that we are having an argument. But it’s not that really serious, because my mom is very understanding. She can understand my own feelings and she’s not very strict unlike to my father. She loves cooking foods on her own, and making her own recipes. She loves spending her time cleaning the house as always, reading books and teaching my little sister her lessons. If my mom was a food I can tell that she’s the most special one. She’s one of a kind and for me she’s the most unique and delicious food that I’ve ever tasted. And if my mom was a student, she is the most talented and the brightest of all the students in class. That’s why I’m so very proud of her. And if my mom was a warrior, she is the bravest and the strongest person that I’ve ever seen. But the truth is my mom was a simple human living in this world. But for me she is the hero and the reason why I and my family keep living. I’m very thankful to God that he had given me my mother. Because the person who influences my life the most is my mother Even though sometimes she had our breakfast overcooked, we love eating the foods that she made. And even though she commits mistakes, the number of the mistakes that she did was nothing compare to the number of the times she help us to avoid to do mistakes. I admire my mother because she is a strong woman to have the courage to face our family difficulties in our everyday life, and also she always had a big heart in caring for others. My mother has sacrificed so much just to raise us. She’s not just a mother but for us she is a hero. A hero that is always there to help us in times that we feel so burdened and in times that we need her she is also always there to guide us through the right path. Pretty, supportive, protective, cheerful, brilliant, industrious, talented, understanding, amazing and unique these are just words how to describe my mother. But for me no words can tell how wonderful my mother is. That’s why I’m very happy and contented to have a mother like her.

Rocky Soccer Academy Essays

Rocky Soccer Academy Essays Rocky Soccer Academy Paper Rocky Soccer Academy Paper Case Study: #3 Rocky Soccer Academy Case Assessment Worksheet Using Case Study #3, Complete the Worksheet Provided. Use this document as your format. Answer each section within the document retaining the questions to indicate your sections. I. Evaluate Henning’s options for growing Rocky’s customer base, including: A. What are Henning’s objectives? What resources does he have? Henning’s first objective is to have a larger facility built more suited for soccer training. The awareness for his program is close to 100 percent in Fort Collins but limited in surrounding cities. His second objective is to increase awareness of his program in surrounding cities. His third objective is to gain more customers in surrounding areas and try to retain his current customers who leave the program at the age of fourteen and fifteen. His current resources are the 600 kids he trains every year. His second resource is the quality of coaches he has on his staff. His coaches are experienced soccer players who are playing professionally over seas and playing at the collegiate level. B. What elements of consumer behavior might influence his decision? Henning would be influenced in his decision by a personal need. Perreault Jr, Cannon, and McCarthy state that personal needs are concerned with an individual’s need for personal satisfaction. Examples include accomplishment, fun, freedom, and relaxation ¬- as well as a desire to make the world a better place (117). Henning obviously enjoys working with young people. His passion was so strong that it forced him to resign from his employment at the meat packing plant to teach soccer full time. With his coaching some of his customers have gone on to win national championships in the Fort Collins area. To see his customers find success on the soccer field must give him a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment. He may want to bring this excitement to the surrounding areas, which would lead to full fill a social need. â€Å"Social needs are concerned with love, friendship, status, and esteem-things that involve a person’s interaction with others† (Perreault Jr, Cannon, and McCarthy 117). With his customers winning tournaments and finding success with his coaching they can share it with friends and family displaying the benefits of his coaching. Henning having success in Fort Collins would give him the confidence to enter new markets in the surrounding areas. C. What are the pros and cons of each option? The first option is to try to increase retention by developing programs targeted at kids over 14. His pros would be that he already has resources in place. The company image has a very good reputation as well. Henning’s soccer training business is one of the few companies providing soccer training. The con would be loss of interest in soccer. Soccer in America is the least popular sport in America. Baseball, football, and basketball are more wildly popular with teenagers. The second option is to develop a marketing strategy that would encourage his current customers to buy more. The pro in getting current customers to buy more would be customer retention and more revenue stream without entering into other markets. Henning could focus more attention on his current customers. The con would be missed opportunities in other markets. The third option is to try and grow the business by entering new markets and acquiring new customers in the age range of 6 to 9 years old. The pro in this option would be if customers that reach the age of fourteen and fifteen lose interest and stop receiving soccer training, he would have younger kids to fall back on in new markets. He would also have his facility and resources in place. The con would be Henning having to increase his staff to manage new customers. The fourth option is to serve more kids from Loveland, Longmont, and Greeley. The pro in option four is those cities are closer to Fort Collins and the populations combined number 140,000. There are some competitive soccer teams and very little soccer training, which means there is a need for soccer training. The cons would be the 25 mile distance from Fort Collins and the possibility that the population is not as passionate about soccer. D. Rank the options from strongest to weakest and explain why. Option 4 is to serve more kids from Loveland, Longmont, and Greeley. It is the strongest because Henning is already serving a few kids from those areas. The population combined is higher than Fort Collins. Soccer training is limited in the area. He would have more opportunities to advertise his business at soccer events in the local area. Option 2 is to develop a marketing strategy that would encourage his current customers to buy more. It is the second most attractive in that he already has a strong customer base. Product development in this area could retain customers and attract new customers. Option 1 is to retain kids that reach the age of 14 or 15 years. It is a weaker option because it focuses too much on the older kids and Henning will have to compete with other sports. To keep the older kids interested in soccer would require the sports popularity to increase, but that is difficult because in America basketball, baseball, and football are the most popular. Option 4 is to grow the business by entering new markets and acquiring new customers that range in age 6 to 9 years old. This option is the least attractive because 6 to 9 year olds would have to train under a different program, which would change the whole product. II. Select the two options you consider the most likely to be successful, defend your choice and develop marketing strategy for the two options. The first option I selected was option 4. Rocky soccer academy is well established in Fort Collins and has a great reputation in the community. Many of its customers from Fort Collins compete locally and all over the nation. Some have gone on to win national titles. Great coaching from Henning and his staff has produced positive results. All of these factors I felt were strengths. In the surrounding areas of Loveland, Longmont, And Greeley there is very little soccer training in the areas. With very little soccer training in the area, a good opportunity presented itself. The populations combined are 140,000. The population in Fort Collins is 110,000 and about 600 kids in that population acquire soccer training. From the surrounding areas Henning could possibly gain close to 600 more kids. If Henning were to gain more customers from the surrounding areas, it would justify building a larger facility. I chose to have the facility in Fort Collins. By having the facility located in Fort Collins this could turn away potential customers, making the location a weakness. To make acquiring Rocky soccer academy services more attractive, Henning could offer a one week trial free of charge and a 20 percent discount for 6 months. During the free trial period Henning can show with his coaching staff what differentiates his company from other alternatives. This would be the opportunity to sell Rocky soccer academies services, which should result in more customers. The second option I chose was option 2. Henning’s target market is current customers. I decided that he should offer a physical conditioning program that is tailored for soccer players to go along with soccer training. The added equipment needed to run this new program would justify building a larger facility. The larger facility will be built in Fort Collins. His reputation and his coaching staff are all strengths. A weakness I saw was the current customers may not see much of a point in conditioning. To alleviate some of those concerns a special promotion is needed. The first two weeks of the program would be free, giving customers an opportunity to see if they improved on the field. For those who choose to take part in the conditioning program a price increased will occur and they will have special privileges like use of a hot tub.

Talking Writing, Music and Editing with Tom Flood

Talking Writing, Music and Editing with Tom Flood Talking Writing, Music and Editing with Tom Flood Tom Flood helped us refine Reedsy from our earliest days. Now we want to share his amazing story. From songwriting to novels and finally manuscript editing, Tom has honed his knowledge of the writing craft over the years, and contributes today to our (aspirationally) literary blog.In one of our most in-depth interviews so far, what started as a conversation about Tom’s agency Flood Manuscripts moved on to cover his work as an editor, a writer, and an independent musician.Tom analyses the oft-invoked parallel between book and music publishing and what the future holds for both these industries. He also shares his own experience as a writer - he made this great observation about identifying oneself as a writer:â€Å"When people ask, ‘What do you do?’ and I answer, ‘Writer, editor, musician,’ the next question is invariably ‘Oh, what do you play?’ Writing is both less and more mysterious. Nearly everyone writes, so it engenders the second q uestion ‘What do you write?’ way less often. The more revealing ‘How do you write like that?’ comes rarely. People think skill in musicianship comes with practice and dexterity, but skill in creative writing? Like art, they believe it’s a gift. The reality is they’re the same.†His tripartite career gives Tom a unique lens through which to see what’s happening right now in the new world of publishing. His advice to writers is both practical / motivating - persevere, keep going - and informed by years of experience editing self-published authors.Hi Tom, you have an impressive portfolio and experience in writing, editing and proofreading. Which one came first in your career? In other words, what made you become an editor?Thanks, Ricardo. I came to editing via writing. I have always been a songwriter but in the 80s, buoyed by a boom of new Australian fiction engendered by the infrastructure built by the short-lived, ground-breaking Le ft government of the 70s, I began to try my pen at short stories, got one published in a short-lived journal, and finding that slow going, switched to the big picture of the novel. The success of that move (three national awards) led to connections in the world of publishing and I began occasional award judging, assessment through our major residential writers’ centre, and some editing for publishers throughout the 90s, also being commissioned to write a theatre piece and a feature film. That all petered out as I moved back towards music performance and had a stab at academia.In 2003, with a string of part-time jobs, and looking to find new income streams, I began working through the net for a few large assessment/appraisal services in other states, a relatively new industry, reading and advising across a wide range of prose writing. A year later my artist partner suggested I start my own to fund living through a PhD, and a writing client created the first Flood Manuscripts w ebsite. Within a year it was full-time assessment and clients began to ask if I would mentor them, act as agent, ghostwriter and all manner of services I had no intention of taking up. Dumping the doctorate to ride the growing self-pub wave with Flood Manuscripts, the next step was mentoring, structural editing and copy editing, and finally proofreading, as Aussie writers began to become impatient with the trade publishers and adept at dealing with the digital, their needs evolving. I keep the service personal, despite many suggestions to expand into an agency, because I like to be at the coalface.You have also both won and been a judge to major writing awards in Australia, how did that start, and what do these awards represent for you as an author? (Is that just a nice acknowledgement of your craft or something you’re genuinely proud of?)Awards! Without them Flood Manuscripts wouldn’t exist. Despite both parents writing pretty successfully (my mother, Dorothy Hewett, was a well-known poet and playwright), neither had published with a mainstream press. I made my name in fiction by winning our premier manuscript award, the prize including publication by Allen Unwin, and that novel then took out more awards, including our oldest and best known fiction prize, the Miles Franklin Award. Everything else I have been lucky enough to be involved with has stemmed from those awards. Flood Manuscripts’ clients have since taken out even more awards, mostly international, and yes, I’m very proud to be a small part of that.We are in London, and most of our audience is in the US. But you live in Australia, so can you tell us how the publishing landscape looks like over there? How â€Å"big† are ebooks and self-publishing?I think we’re trailing a decade behind USA in some aspects, particularly genre, as we are a small market and still retain a certain English literariness in our publishing landscape, largely fed by our tertiary educat ion system. That said, we were and still are ahead in acceptance of manuscript assessment /appraisal as an essential part of that landscape. Once convinced, Australians do have a fast technology take-up and self-pub is really developing into a snowball.Has the â€Å"digital revolution† truly changed your career, or do you feel you continue working with authors more or less like you did before?Flood Manuscripts is a child of the digital ‘revolution’. 98% of my work is sourced, contracted, paid and completed via the net. That has grown from about 70% over a decade. I’m receiving around one paper manuscript a year. I prefer to read and edit digitally for work, although I still like to read paper for pleasure. I like the ancient craft of bookbinding. It will be a shame if we lose that art form to the economics of the trade.Songwriting, though, has not changed for me. The pen is still mighty, the pencil mightier, and scraps of waste paper litter the study on ev ery surface. With the novel, I began handwriting it in ‘85, moved to a borrowed typewriter, then a borrowed word processor, and finally finished the last drafts on a redundant computer with bootlegged software (WordStar) from my partner’s work place. I was over 30, on the dole, and on the rebound from an art pop band in Sydney. I don’t think I actually got on the net until 2003.This is a traditional question in our interviews: does working directly with an author (indie or hybrid) make it easier or harder for you? Does the absence of a traditional publishing structure change the way you communicate with the author?Except in the early days before Flood Manuscripts, I’ve almost always worked directly with authors. I don’t court the trade publishers because there are so few here and they don’t outsource much anyway. How it continues to change is in the speed, volume and creativity of new digital ventures and what they offer to litworkers. As an assessor, keeping up with even a small part of that change is a challenge.You are also a musician, singer and songwriter in the acoustic trio Blues Angels. The music industry and the publishing one are often compared, many people proclaiming that what happened in music will happen to books. What’s your opinion on that?Conventional wisdom has had the popular music evolution in four phases: 1) sign with a big label; 2) music publishers make big money from big musicians and use some of those profits to develop new talent; 3) big musicians realise they’re leaving money on the table and set up their own labels (self-publishing), resulting in music publishers dwindling and new musicians having no corporate sponsorship; 4) digi-platforms like iTunes do the same as Amazon/KDP/Kindle and new musicians go direct to consumers (less 30%), but there is new pressure to discount or give away material for free; and we can now add phase 5) big musicians realise how much money they are leaving on the distributors’ table and abandon digital platforms (Taylor Swift/Spotify, Radiohead /iTunes). New musicians have no sponsor, make no money from Spotify and can’t sell on iTunes without a massive marketing spend.The book trade significantly differs to music in that it doesn’t have a regular large performance aspect, although writers are often performers at festivals, schools, readings, etc., and libraries aren’t really a power in the same way in the music trade, although ideas like Self-E and the digital library may significantly endanger lending rights payments in the pursuit of ‘going viral’. It’s not a matter of ‘will happen’; it already has, at least to level 4. Writing, like music, has gone digital and that digital product is being given away in the millions to create traction towards a fame of sorts and is being streamed, not quite like Spotify et al, through Kindle Owners Lending Library, but podcasting and YouTube are pushing text more into performance re audiobooks, book trailers, and even as the music industry has been digitally driven back towards the single as its principal product, so Kindle Shorts, blogging, social media publishing and other developments continue to drive fiction back towards the heyday of shorter forms. Will this be a boon to poetry? It should be, but I haven’t seen a Shorts- or YouTube-based boom in verse, though it’s early days yet. I do see bundling going on in either form by both indies and trade, both live and product-based, and I expect we’ll see even more specific-subject social media appearing, like mootis, a Twitter for legals, and new models for crowdfunding, like Patreon.This is the big picture, but as with BluesAngels, who don’t operate in the world of popular music, we do our gigs and small festivals, make our recordings and sell our music at those live gigs, then rinse and repeat. Sure, we’ve put it up digit ally on iTunes and Spotify, but we don’t expect to compete with the pop forms; we don’t have that kind of money. So far we’ve made eight cents from streaming. Indie authors can and do still exist at this same level. I have a long term client with Flood Manuscripts who self-pubbed a hardback verse novel, offset printed, and took it on the road to sell – door to door! He’s sold 15,000 over a number of years, making him a best seller in Australian poetry, and funded an audio CD, but he doesn’t register on Bookscan, nor have the poetry awards or Amazon ever heard of him.A hard question now: do you prefer being an author, and editor or a musician? Where do you feel you have more creative freedom?The last one was hard. Creative freedom might just be a curse to some. Many artists prefer a given structure within which to work, although I’m not one of them. Some like to push the boundaries of form, others to innovate within those boundaries, a nd others prefer to capitalise on proven market structures. Creative freedom is not a term I think about or relate to, perhaps because I have it? Perhaps not: like writers’ block, I don’t think you can pin down what it is. As to author, editor, musician, all three can be personally satisfying.Some say that certain media are better than others to express a particular message. Do you think music allows you to express some things that you cannot in writing, and vice-versa?As an aural form based on sound, not words, and not limited by language, only taste, music is probably capable of appealing more indefinably to the emotions, but I’m a songster, so for me it’s a vehicle to carry fewer words more urgently to the audience, kinda like poetry, but it can and does operate differently. Unlike writing, there are also visible tools, and people do appreciate visible, live craft. When people ask, ‘What do you do?’ and I answer, ‘Writer, editor, mus ician,’ the next question is invariably ‘Oh, what do you play?’ Writing is both less and more mysterious. Nearly everyone writes, so it engenders the second question ‘What do you write?’ way less often. The more revealing ‘How do you write like that?’ comes rarely. People think skill in musicianship comes with practice and dexterity, but skill in creative writing? Like art, they believe it’s a gift. The reality is they’re the same.Finally, if you had one word of advice for authors (mainstream, indie, hybrid) in 2015, what would it be?I’m a novelist! Even tweets give us more than one word, but when it comes to publishing, I shuffle between ‘Persevere’ and ‘Quit’, but ‘Time Management’ may be two words worth contemplating. Things are both worse and better for authors than at any time in the history of printing, but the history of authors is millennia older. What we’re seein g today is the very rapid furthering of the democratisation of publishing. Making money is a relatively new notion in that history. What is an author? A writer: or a writer who is published? With the rise of self-pub, ‘is published’ is changing to ‘has published’, from passive to active, but an author is simply an originator. So my advice to authors, as always, is mundane; if you enjoy writing, keep learning by reading and doing, and you will be constantly challenged to go further. It is principally a vocation. If you want to become a publisher, you’re back to square one – an ingà ©nue - set out to learn your new set of jobs thoroughly, and keep learning and doing.Thanks a lot for your time, Tom, and for sharing these fantastic insights with us.Thanks, Ricardo, for this opportunity, and thanks to the Reedsy crew for authoring this quality new service.Follow Flood Manuscripts and Reedsy on Facebook!What do you think about Tom’s story? A re we right in drawing parallels between the book and music industries? What fundamental differences do you see, and what’s the future going to look like? Leave us your thoughts, along with any question for Tom, in the comments below.

Films Of The Mid-Seventies Era Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Films Of The Mid-Seventies Era - Essay Example In the film, the character of Bobby Dupea is the archetype of numerous heroes from that period. Bobby is stuck in two worlds. He is a man who cannot fit into the American society and is making efforts to find a place which he truly belongs to. One of the outstanding features of the 1970s films was the character’s struggle to deal with the problem of alienation that was prevalent in America at that time. This emerged from the sixties when there was the rejection of both the working class and leisure class values. The film portrays how an individual is trying so hard to deal with the alienation problem without being a counter-culture hippie. The post-sixties era mostly exhibited the theme of alienation - a theme that defined the mid-seventies era. However, the films of the 1990s and 1980s era extremely reflected the alienation theme with the so bloody and violent action genre. The heroes in these movies are violent, anti-social and alienated. They generally have no societal respect. The first scenes of â€Å"Five Easy Pieces† show the main character Bobby as a typical oil mine worker. Bobby puts a lot of energy in his work to get his money. He spends his leisure time drinking beer, playing cards, watching television and bowling. He stays with his girlfriend, a beautiful waitress named Rayette Dipesto. At the beginning of the film, Bobby is reflected as a happy person, but further progress of the movie reveals a man dissatisfied with his life. Rayette clingy mature annoys Bobby so much. He loathes country music and dislikes the way his girlfriend lives her life through Tammy Wynette songs. Rayette seems to play songs for every occasion of her life. When they go out with their friends Stoney and Elton, Bobby could not enjoy the bowling. He is angry and highly competitive at Rayette’s inexperience in the game. At some point, he later cheats on his girlfriend with a woman named Sally Struthers.

German Autobahnen Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

German Autobahnen - Assignment Example The present research has identified that Atobahn are officially named as Bundesautobahn in Germany because of the reason these are build as well as maintained by federal authorities present within the country. When we talk about German Autobahn, we may see that there is no specification of speed limit for cars and other vehicles. However, the advisory speed limit is about 130 kilometers/ hr. it is also important to understand that a hard limit is also imposed on some transports. For example 60 km per hour for those buses those carry standing travelers as well as trailers that pull motorcycles. On the other hand, passengers or travelers cars and buses have hard limit of 80 km per hour. Moreover, trailers that are used to pull passenger cars have limit 100km per hour. Last but not the least, when we talk about road safety of these autobahns found in Germany, we may conclude that the situations are quite better here as compared to highways and motorways found in other European countries . The chances of any crash and accidents are fewer as compared to those present in USA.

SWOT Analysis of Coca Cola and Pepsi Term Paper

SWOT Analysis of Coca Cola and Pepsi - Term Paper Example This paper seeks to compare and contrast the elements of business adapted by the two soft drinks giants, including PEST and SWOT analyses (Elsbach, 2006). Additionally, the paper analyzes the business culture, performance, and other organizational elements of the two giant organizations. Coca Cola and Pepsi share a similar history: an insignificant business from a simple idea that grows to a multi-billion dollar company after a century. Currently, Coca Cola sales in more than 160 countries to over 6 billion people speaking more than eighty different languages. Similarly, Pepsi is a recognized brand in the whole world, operating in numerous countries and actively competing with Coca Cola for market share. Both organization use mass-marketing strategies, focusing on the entire market rather than particular segments. Moreover, both companies offer similar product line to the same industry, thus propagating stiff competition. Both companies are very innovative as far as product packaging is concerned. Coca Cola introduced the airtight bottle concept, a major revolution of in the packaging and bottling industry. Similarly, Pepsi followed suit and introduced different sizes of returnable bottles (Fernando, 2006). The concept of non-returnable bottles, frosted bottles, and cans is attributable to both the giants. SWOT Analysis of Coca Cola and Pepsi Strengths Both Pepsi and Coke have long history of the world culture for quite some time. The products from the two companies represent over-romanticism and fun, an image that majority of people take deeply at heart. In addition, the brands are well recognized throughout the world, a major strong point. This enables them to operate on the global market while maintaining a local approach. Independent business people with authority to sell and distribute Coke and Pepsi products operate and own majority of the local bottling companies. Indeed, Pepsi and Coke have among the largest distribution networks in the world, which is among the strengths of the two companies (Fernando, 2006). Weaknesses Similar to any other businesses, Coke and Pepsi have their own weaknesses. For instance, the cola drinks from the two companies have experienced a significant saturation and subsequent decline in the past few years. This is attributable to the increasing awareness on the contents of the drinks. Nowadays, consumers are more attracted to healthy drinks than carbonated soft drinks, as addiction to cola drinks has an adverse effect on the human body (Czinkota, Ronkainen, and Moffett, 2009). Opportunities One of the factors affecting the competitive positions of Pepsi and Coke is brand recognition. About 94% of the world populations are aware of the two brands. Despite the saturation in North America, the two brands have enormous potential to expand and operate in non-North American market. For instance, per head consumption of Coke in India is only six bottles per head compared to 700 bottles in the United States. The refore, the two companies have potential for expansion (Oppong, 2011). Threats Being the industry leaders, the two companies face significant threats from emerging companies in the industry. Moreover, the companies are facing serious threats of substitute. Consumers are more attracted to healthier drinks, including coffee, tea, milk, hot chocolate, and milk. Nonetheless, the two giants control over 40% of the

Diverse Families Essay Example for Free

Diverse Families Essay The modern society is marked with many challenges, which are transforming the traditional social way of life. For instance, the traditional two parent family seems to be losing the originality and substance which was associated with it in the past. This is evidenced by the increasingly high rate of divorce which has resulted to high number of single parented and remarried families. Clearly the challenge in this matter is encountered in appreciating that a two parent family is full of challenges which when left unattended can result into far reaching effects. Many people therefore find solution to these challenges in single parent and remarried families. This fact is underscored by sociologist Paul Bohannan who defines divorcees as people who have failed in their marriage but would also do not like to settle in a bad marriage (Gladding, 2002). This paper is written with an interest of discussing how single and remarried families differ from traditional Two-parent families as well as discussing their challenges and strength. How Single parent and Remarried families are treated differently from traditional two parent families. Single parent and remarried families are treated as failures of their original two parent family in the modern society. This is because the society still holds the sanctity and originality of a two parent family at esteem and as a command from their supreme being (Gladding, 2002). They therefore believe that any deviation from this command is a betrayal of their religion’s requirement and has a well defined punishment documented in their holy doctrines. Further to this, many religions hold that all men and women must marry and stay in their marriages irrespective of the challenges they meet. Single parent and remarried families are therefore depicted as non official and against the requirements of the Supreme Being (Harris, Abernethy, Smenta, 2000). Still to be noted here is the perception that single parents and remarried parents are sexually immoral. In the modern society, sexual immorality is still perceived to be more pronounced and associated with women than men. This compounded by the fact the number of unmarried single parents are women. To avoid being branded a feminist, I find it necessary to mention here that the considerable number of unmarried single parented men in the society cannot be ignored in this discussion. This perception is overstressed by the fact that human beings reproduce through sexuality which is believed by many members of our society to be legitimate only when it occurs during marriage and with only one partner in life time (Harris, Abernethy, Smenta, 2000). Based on this discussion, it is apparent that having children outside the wed lock or divorcing as well as remarrying another partner and having other children is treated as a form of sexual immorality which in the broad and normal sense of the word is not acceptable in the society. Strengths and special challenges associated with culturally diverse families Single parent families face a number of challenges in the society. Top on the list of these challenges is financial problems. Available statistical research results shows that single parent families have financial problems, which are more severe than in the case of two parent families (Gladding, 2002). As a matter of fact, the financial contribution of one parent cannot be compared to the contribution of two parents. This fact becomes worse if the family was rendered single parented by divorce. This is because the family might have been used to a given standard of living which changes all of a sudden due to lack of financial support from the other partner. As a result, a period of stress and depression follows before the divorced person adapts to the new ways of living. This challenge becomes more serious if the parent undergoing this traumatizing experience has the custody of the children. Remarried families have for long faced the challenge of neglect. This is evidenced in cases where one of the parents had children. It therefore follows that each of the parents has to appreciate each other as well as loving the children. It is believed that the biggest gift an individual can give to his or her partner is by loving the kids (Harris, Abernethy, Smenta, 2000). This undoubtedly shows that you where not only looking for a spouse but you were willing to join a family. However, available studies shows that in many a time, people find it hard to love kids whom they have not fathered or mothered. The desire to have a spouse can overcome the importance of loving the kinds and hence it can amount into another form of conflict of interest (Gladding, 2002). This problem is compounded by the possibility of getting in the present marriage what was lacking in the previous marriage or life. The effect of neglect is also evidenced in cases where the grand parents or either of the parents fails to recognize the step children and therefore they deny them their right of inheritance. One of the major strengths associated with the single parent and the remarried families is that they are put in a position to enjoy there life as well as to enhance the goodness of their children (Gladding, 2002). Some family relationships are marked with many challenges which can have negative far reaching effects and therefore detaching from a non satisfying marriage gives an individual an opportunity to restructure his or her life as well as the life of the children. Although it is argued that divorcees are marriage fails. It is also important to appreciate that they are people who are not willing to stick into a bad marriage. In conclusion therefore, single parent and remarried people are perceived negatively in the society as compared to the two parent family but this kind of family can be a solution to other problems which otherwise could be more hurting to the parent and the kinds at large. References Gladding, S. (2002). Family Therapy: History, Theory, and Practice. Michigan: Merrill. Harris, A. , Abernethy, A. , Smenta, J. (2000). Adolescent-Parent Interactions in Middle-Class African American Families: Longitudinal Change and Contextual Variations. Journal of Family Psychology, 14 (3), 458-474.

Modernist Design Styles in Architecture: Frank Lloyd Wright

Modernist Design Styles in Architecture: Frank Lloyd Wright Modernism appeared in the 20th century. Modernism is simple and with no decoration design style. Although this style was appear early 20th century and have different designers or architect have many spread. But still have too little modern architecture build in early 20th century. After World War II, they become many company and agency. And make this style be the top. Here have some architect is more famous. Walter Gropius, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Le Corbusier and Frank Lloyd Wright. Frank Lloyd Wright is one of the famous architect in early 20th century. He is a American Institute of Architects, interior designer, Writer and Educators. His design project is over thousand and finish about five hundred. And he believes that design should achieve harmony between humans and the environment. And it become Organic architecture. For example, Fallingwater is the famous on the world. This design can prove his idea. Also this design is one of the best architect on the American. More than 70 years of his career at Architects. He design different architecture. It including Office, Church, Skyscrapers, Hotel and Museum. Also he design some furniture and stained glass. In his life he write over 20 book and article. And he is the famous speakers. In 1991, American Institute of Architects call Wright â€Å"The best Architect†. He designed different architecture. And his design was famous. For example, Robie House, Imerial Hotel, Fallingwater, Taliesin West, The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, Price Tower and Jonson Wax Headquarters. Also his idea was affected many designer. Someone said how Wright work change American architecture, but someone said â€Å"How didnt Frank Lloyd Wright change architecture in America I think is really the way to say it because it is hard to imagine what American architecture would be like or even probably world architecture without Frank Lloyd Wright. About the Organic architecture, he has a famous works. It called Fallingwater. Fallingwater build in 1934-1937. In 1991, members of the American institute of Architects named the house the â€Å" best all-time work of American architecture† and in 2007 , it was ranked twenty-ninth on the list of Amercian’s Favorite Architecture according to the AIA. About the design, the shape of the building look natural, casual, stretch. Also The main room of the building with an outdoor terrace, platforms and roads, intertwined, also obtained with the surrounding natural landscape with the effect of fusion. About the material, White concrete and stone let this design look merge in the environment. And this design is very special. Because the platform is above the waterfall, this design in that time is intensely. And this design was influence many architect. Also it cause the new design style. About the Taliesin West design, he thinks it has been linked with the desert. So he use loca l stone and concrete. Also the natural lighting is the main role. Because he believes the natural lighting can let inside the building connect to the outside. His idea has affected some architect. For example Neville Gruzman, Kendrick Bangs Kellogg, Alvar Aalto, Nari Gandhi and Bruce Goff. All of them have build Organic architecture. Such as Neville Gruzman. Hills House and Gruzman House is the famous organic architecture. Also Hills House is the work is thought of as a two 20th century houses: â€Å"Fallingwater† and â€Å"Farnsworth House†. And Gruzman House is use materials such as dark stained timbers and natural brick. His architect is conform Wright method. About Bruce Goff, he said that his hero is Wright and Sullivan. Then he started to contact the original design. Bavinger House is significant example of organic architecture. The house has no interior wall; instead there are a series of platforms at different height, with curtains that can be drawn for privacy. The design use many natural night, make the inside area connect to the outside. Kendrick Bangs Kellogg is an innovator of organic architecture. In 1955, he met Wright and the brief meeting provided an inspiration. His design is not fit neatly into the same with Wright, Bruce Goff or other organic architects. His building are studies of layered, segmented and unfolding space. And he design Onion house. It is a landmark of organic architecture. The design use employs translucent arching roof panels. Since with no outside walls, the division between interior and exterior consists of screen or stained glass. But someone maybe doesn’t know what organic architect is. So Wright explains that, it is term meant from nature, organic architecture was indeed a natural architecture. And now we finally understand what organic architect is. And he think good building is not one that hurts the landscape, but one which makes the landscape more beautiful than it was before the building was built. So he wants clean lines and simplicity. And disliked intricate detail and fussiness of the architectural styles. In addition to organic architect, Wright steel has affected other architect. For example John S. Van Bergen. And his style is Prairie style homes. About the Prairie style. In 1909, Wright developed what known as the Prairie Style. Typical Prairie style home is distinguished by horizontal lines on the exterior, emphasized by a low-pitched hipped roof. But Wright use different color, and let the ceiling heights and hallway widths to alternately compress and expand the sense of space. His design went beyond the building to the finest details of the interior space, include furniture, art glass and other interior design. And the famous prairie style architect is Robie House. It was designed in 1908. Frank Lloyd Wright’s designs of home and building have inspired generations of architects, including most of what is called â€Å"modern architecture.† His influence is international—many other countries have considered Frank Lloyd Wright’s designs as a major template of their contemporary styles. More than 30 states in the United States possess Frank Lloyd Wright structures and most architectural critics agree with that every state in the country has buildings that reflect Wright’s style. Nowadays, when human want to develop something else, and they will destroy the natural. So they must remember that Wright has said the human beings and nature can conexist. And it is important, even he is gone, but his architectural theory still affected other designer. But someone think he was arrogant man. Because he want to let his own considerable on his clients. For example, Fallingwater. The design is special and innovative. But despite there may be dangers he still carry out his out his design. I think his behavior is correct. Because if one’s creativity is easily affected by the others, then that one is not a qualified designer. Plagiarism: 24% http://encyclopedia.jrank.org/articles/pages/6404/Wright-Frank-Lloyd.html http://freshome.com/2012/09/03/10-great-architectural-lessons-from-frank-lloyd-wright/ http://translate.google.com.hk/translate?hl=zh-TWsl=enu=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Lloyd_Wrightprev=/search%3Fq%3Dfrank%2Blloyd%2Bwright%2Binfluences%2Bon%2Barchitecture%26sa%3DN%26biw%3D1367%26bih%3D840 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruce_Goff http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neville_Gruzman http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kendrick_Bangs_Kellogg http://www.distinctbuild.ca/neville_gruzman_architect.php Can teachers promote democracy in the classroom? Can teachers promote democracy in the classroom? Democracy is a highly desirable but contested concept in education, argues Paul R. Carr.  [1]  However, little is known about how current and future educators perceive, experience and relate to democracy, which could have a significant impact on how students learn about, and become involved in civic engagement and democracy.  [2]   Study at a university in northeast Ohio This study was aimed at exploring the perspectives, experiences and perceptions of current and future educators who are students at a university in northeast Ohio. This study focused on two themes; attitudes towards democracy and attitudes towards democracy and education. With regards to the first theme, when asked to define democracy, respondents, most frequently, referred to a form of government, often alluding to elections and voting. Many answers contained similar combinations of words about it being a government by the people and for the people or a government in which the people hold the power rather than government officials. Voting seems to be the central focus for the majority of respondents. With regards to the second theme, a large number of respondents did not make a direct connection between education and democracy. Part of the reason for this is perhaps the discomfort some respondents exhibited vis-à  -vis politics. Most respondents admitted to not having a truly democratic educational experience during their high school years. Of particular note is that most of the students viewed democracy in education as being uniquely or primarily associated with elections. A number of reasons were provided to explain why the respondents educational experiences were not considered democratic, including the curriculum and minority issues; such issues were ignored by the school. In a democracy, the majority rules, yet the minority groups would not be ignored. One prevalent comment postulated that; The students do not govern the classroom; the teacher is the dictator. The students do not vote for the teacher; the teacher is appointed. Given that in a democracy the people hold the p ower, the students are correct in saying that the school that they attended was not democratic. Racial discrimination was highlighted by a student, who contributed that There is no fairness in the classroom; the teachers expect African-Americans to do poorly; they dont challenge us in advanced courses. In a proper functioning democracy, all the students would be given equal opportunities. When asked about whether their high school experience had an impact on their thinking about democracy, a small minority indicated in the affirmative, whereas most of the respondents were less positive. Many more respondents, however, echoed the sentiment that their high school had avoided the subject or even, more drastically, failed them in not preparing them to deal with such issues. As a middle-ground response to the question about a democratic experience in high school, a number of respondents highlighted that this consisted of a single class on government or politics. When asked about whether teachers should strive to inculcate a sense of democracy in students, the vast majority of respondents agreed strongly. Yet students are not to be indoctrinated by a set of values which the teacher decides to be the best; they are to be left free to abide with and live their life in line with any values that they choose. Some of the respondents stated that teaching about politics is not the teachers job, but the government should take care of that. Furthermore, there were some who stated that politics was not part of their area of study, thus there was no need to study about democracy.  [3]  The fact that there are students at university level whom are not interested in democracy is quite worrying, especially when this reality is tied to the fact that they do not put pressure on the governments and the school administrations to practice democratic practices in the classrooms. In this case, the teachers would find themselves in a dilemma; should they or sh ould not they work towards democratic practices in the classroom? Democratic Classrooms and Discipline Harvey Craft  [4]  commented that classroom management often includes a large dose of suppressive techniques intended to simply control. In recent years a movement has emerged to teach democracy in schools by being democratic. Dozens of books, organizations, and incentives have grown from the new emphasis on democratic schools. Democratic schools emphasize the development of mutual respect and trust between students and teachers. The process of transforming a school to a democratic school requires special training for staff members. Teachers will learn some management skills that reflect democracy and mutual respect. There is list of management techniques for teachers that promote democracy and give students an idea of what democracy is all about. According to Craft, the teacher should explain that rules must encourage free and honest exchanges in an orderly manner. The teacher should engage students in discussions about the value of mutual trust and respect, and discussions about rights, responsibilities, and privileges. Another discussion that students should be allowed to participate in is that regarding the limitations of freedoms, particularly freedom of speech, and discussions about moral behaviour. The teacher should allow students to participate in the development of rules and consequences. The students are to be given the opportunity to develop their bill of rights, in this way it would be clear both for the students and for the teachers what their rights and obligations are. The teacher should plan regular lessons about character development. The students are to be prepared how to behav e and act in a democratic society. Craft continued to argue that students should have the right to call for discussions whenever an issue that affects the whole class crops up. They should also have the right to vote on matters that affect them. The teacher should set goals for the class that reflect the development of responsibility. Moreover, students are to be given opportunities to practice responsibility. An example might be to allow students to sharpen pencils without asking permission, provided they can properly determine a time that does not interrupt or distract others.  [5]   Circle time a democratic classroom setting A democratic classroom setting is that when the class is set up in the form of a circle. In this way, people get to talk democratically about problems with equal respect for everybody. When circle time takes place, students and the teacher are to be seated on the same level so as to represent their equality. Sometimes there needs to be a spare chair / space so people can move into the space and meet people who they have not met before. Often circle time starts with something quiet like talk but later there can be games so you can move round and meet new people. Wherever possible, the teacher adheres to the same rules as the students so as to express the equality between the two; teacher and students. In the initial stages a special object will be passed around, only the person holding the object will speak, the others would listen. Everyone gets a chance to speak, yet no one has to if they do not want to. Usually the teacher will ask for a volunteer to start a new topic. Children will be encouraged to talk clearly and speak to the circle as a whole and not just toward the teacher. Any criticism passed is to be constructive criticism.  [6]   Free schools Some believe that democracy in the education system means that the child would have a free choice whether to attend any lessons at all. If he decides to attend, he should have the choice to choose which lessons he will attend to. According to this school of thought, neither the parents, nor society, not even the government should have a say on the education of children. They are to be left completely free to make up their own mind. Following on from this it would be reasonable to expect that a child would have some say over the curriculum, the day-to-day running of the school and even the appointment of teachers. Both students and teachers would have the right to call a meeting when they feel that there is the need of one. Some would argue that this idea is in favour of anarchy within the educational field. The critics of this school believe that this idea is the perfect formula for chaos and disaster. The people who believe in this radical idea refer to some schools which adhered to this practice. The Albany Free School in New York, USA, the Booroobin Sudbury School in Queensland, Australia, the Sudbury Valley School in Massachusetts, USA, and Summerhill in Norfolk, England. There are some differences between these free schools, such as the degree to which students have a say over economic decisions. But all these schools have one thing in common without which they probably could not function; the spirit of community. When living in a community, children learn to respect others.  [7]   Case study of a Free School The Albany Free School has been functioning for the past 32 years. This school does not follow a curriculum and there are not any compulsory classes. Classroom sessions that do take place are usually informal and last as long as the interest holds. There are not any tests or grades either. This school states that learning happens best when it happens for its own sake. A childs innate desire to learn is a far more powerful motivating force than any external reward or threat. As regarding behaviour, the teachers do not monitor over the pupils but the students learn to manage themselves. During the meetings, both the students and the teachers have an equal vote, thus they share the responsibilities for the decisions taken. One issue which is discussed during these meetings is the school policy within various areas. Each day unfolds organically according to peoples moods and interests, to the season and the weather, and to local and even world events. They reserve the right to make plans quite spontaneously. This does not mean that there are not plenty of ongoing, focused activities and projects. On any given day students might be found writing poetry and short stories, creating books, magazines and works of art, rehearsing and performing plays, or learning French or algebra. There are daily languages and maths classes for students who choose to tackle their basic skills in a more orderly and directed way. There are also classes in areas like history and science depending on student interest. As one would expect, the word competition does not exist in this school. Children with mental health problems who attend this school do not take drugs to solve their problem. The system which the school uses to function renders the drugs unnecessary.  [8]  These types of schools have received a lot of criticism. Critics believe that these schools are to radical and so not the way that democracy should be practised. Conclusion Through a systematic review of what democracy means, combined with how schools can become engaged in democratic practices, students will enhance, not only their academic, but also their socio-cultural and political experience, thus enriching themselves and the society in which they reside.  [9]