Morality in Copying CD’s Essay Example for Free

Morality in Copying CD’s Essay Morality is an issue that will forever encompass debates from thousands of sectors around the world. There are no definite set of rules of what is moral and what is not; as such, it will infinitely be hard to define. Judging someone’s morality is going to be difficult given this lack of definitive structure of the subject itself. This paper will be discussing piracy (which is what copying cd’s may lead to) in the context of morality. As difficult as the task may sound, this paper shall try to be as objective as it can be given the infinite boundary of the context. Piracy Piracy has been the thorn on the side of the music industry since the early 1990’s. Piracy is not even hard to do, given that one must simply stick a CD to a computer then transfer its entire contents to another and from there, numerous other copies can be made. The cycle does not and will not stop because most people prefer things for free. College students who must be the most frequent computer users will not be averse to copying CDs and distributing it to others. They sure enjoy their music and they normally are under strict budget due to their educational financial needs. The music industry is not the only field that piracy has wrecked. Almost anything that is being distributed on a CD or uploaded online has been endangered by piracy. Software is easily pirated, the newest Microsoft products are easily found on bootleg shops, finding its way easily in the third world black market. Aside from software, there are videogames and movies that can easily be copied and sold for much less than the producer originally retailed it, all illegally, of course. With piracy, the artists, software developers, producers, actors, programmers suffer as they are not paid the royalties they deserve for working hard on their respective projects but the consumers win, as they get the media they want/need for free or at a considerably lower price. The Utilitarian Approach According to Velasquez, et al. (1989), â€Å"utilitarianism is a moral principle that holds that the morally right course of action in any situation is the one that produces the greatest balance of benefits over harms for everyone affected.† The utilitarian approach can certainly be used by those who copy the CD’s and distribute it to a wider span of users. When a person purchases a CD and uploads its entire content online on a file sharing site, his reasoning is that, such upload can share the music to a wider variety of people. These people can get it for free thanks to that one person who uploaded it for sharing out of the goodness of his heart. When a person buys a CD, he has paid for rights to use the content of that music. No matter how he abuses the content of that CD by repeated usage is something he is entitled to do. However, copying the entire contents of the CD and giving the copy to another person is another story as herein, he has breached some legal boundaries of his usage. Morality may be a subject that is infinite but legality has very strict confines and stepping beyond its boundaries is punishable by a hefty sum, long hours of community service or jail time. The utilitarian reasoning is not a defense against illegal acts and as such, one cannot escape punishment by reiterating that he committed piracy for the benefit of the world, out of the goodness of his heart. In addition, the utilitarian approach does not consider the minority who will be affected by such act. For instance, the loss of income to those people who have labored to bring the media out on the market is not something utilitarianism will consider. Deontological Ethics According to the Encyclopedia Britannica (n.d.), â€Å"in deontological ethics an action is considered morally good because of some characteristic of the action itself, not because the product of the action is good.† Given this definition, copying CDs onto another computer, given today’s anti-piracy campaign, is not going to be considered moral even though the intentions maybe good and the act may be easy to do. Music, movie, software, videogame industries have lost billions of dollars because of piracy, they are trying to fight it as best they can and as such, there are piracy warnings/threats on almost every media distributed. Doing it anyway will certainly question one’s morality over it. To circumvent this, one does not usually copy CD’s. He goes to websites where he can share files. However, in the UK, such file sharing can now be considered illegal (Solanki 2010). Such is the campaign against piracy that in the US, every digital media sold in the market is protected by DRM, a software that limits the number of devices the content can be played in to typically, 5 machines (Grossman 2007). Exceeding this limit can raise questions on one’s morality via Deontological Ethics. Conclusion Copying the contents of a CD is piracy. Piracy nowadays is a criminal offense that is punishable by law. One can hardly find anything moral over something that is illegal. Even though piracy may be the most tolerated crime in the world, it will be best for the person to stay on the conservative side and not commit it, for his personal welfare. References: Encyclopedia Britannica. (n.d.) Deontological ethics. Retrieved 19 July 2010 from http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/158162/deontological-ethics Grossman, L. (2007). The Battle Over Music Piracy. Time.   Retrieved 19 July 2010 from http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1625209,00.html Solanki, M. (2010). File sharing becomes illegal as Government pushes through Digital Economy Bill. SeekBroadband. Retrieved 19 July 2010 from http://seekbroadband.com/focus/2010/04/09/internet-technology-news/file-sharing-becomes-illegal-as-government-pushes-through-digital-economy-bill/ Velasquez, M. et al. (1989). Calculating Consequences: The Utilitarian Approach to Ethics. Issues in Ethics V2 N1. Retrieved 19 July 2010 from http://www.scu.edu/ethics/practicing/decision/calculating.html

The poems nothings changed Essay Example for Free

The poems nothings changed Essay In stanza three the main focal point is on the inn. Afrika sees the inn as if it is showing off, Brash with glass this could mean that it is being rubbed in; the fact he cant have anything that extravagant. He also gives the impression that it wants to be noticed, name flaring like flag, he uses personification to show how much it stands out, he also uses alliteration to make it catchy and so we will remember it. It could also be using the flag reference to compare it to their nation, and that it is being represented by what the government want other people to see, not what is actually going on. He is giving the inn a personality, it squats this is contradicting the previous statements, with the use of personification it is almost as if the inn is embarrassed about having these features. The inn is upper-class, In the grass and the weeds, incipient Port Jackson trees it is also out of place, as the port Jackson trees are expensive and imported, how ever district six is made up of weeds. The inn also only lets white people in, whites only inn although this was illegal after apartheid had ended, he uses a pun here as in only whites allowed in, and it is a whites only, inn. In the beginning of verse four he says no sign says it is: but we know where we belong this makes the reader empathise with him, at this point there is know apartheid but he still know that the can not mix. When he looks in on the restaurant there is a contrast with the rest of district six, crushed ice white glasses, linen falls, the single rose there are many luxuries here, it is almost snobbism , while every where else has to just get by. This again makes you feel sympathetic towards him. In verse five the working mans cafi has a huge contrast to the restaurant, working mans cafi sells bunny chows bunny chow is a cheap African food, this is totally unlike the haute cuisine in the white restaurant, which is an upmarket food. He also has no plate to eat on, eat it at a plastic table top he does not have linen falls or a rose; there is a definite contrast between them. I think that there is a difference in between because the white have more money and privileges than the blacks; also if the blacks did have an inn like that they would not be able to afford it. The writer is trying to put across the point that it is unfair that they should have more than them, just because they are white. In the final verse he feels small, boy again he feels insignificant, and he knows he can not change anything. He feels the need to use violence to get his point across Hands burn for a stone, a bomb this could insinuate that he want to be able to be heard. He wants to break the glass, shiver down the glass the glass could be thought to be a barrier between blacks and whites, and he wants to break it down as if he were breaking down the wall of apartheid. The use of glass for the wall of apartheid could mean that it is fragile. The last line is nothings changed which is the first line, this could be interpreted as a circle, and that apartheid will never end.

Definition Of Test Types Of Test Education Essay

Definition Of Test Types Of Test Education Essay This chapter provides an overview of the theories related to the study concerning with items test analysis. To be more specific, the review of related literature discusses about: definition of test, types of test, achievement test, summative test, English test of Tes Kendali Mutu, aspects in developing a test, validity in language testing, content validity, the school based curriculum, items test analysis, difficulty level, discrimination power, distractor function, and theoretical framework. Definition of Test A test supposed to be able to measure learning outcome which distinguish the every single students ability between students already mastered and not yet the learning material. Therefore, testing is one of the powerful tools to measure students abilities as well as enhance their attitudes towards learning. This notion is supported by Hughes (2003) stated that a test is a tool to measure language proficiency of students. Brown (2004:3) stated that a test is a method of measuring a persons ability knowledge, or performance in a given domain. In the same line, Anthony J Nitko (1983:6) defined test is systematic procedure for observing and describing one or more characteristics of person with the aid of either a numerical of category system. Based on Cronbach in Azwar (2005) defined a test is a systematic procedure for observing a persons behavior and describing it with the aid of a numerical scale or category system. In short, a test as an instrument of evaluation is a systematic procedure of description, collection and interpretation in order to measure the test takers achievement ability, knowledge, and performance what they have been learned in learning process and to get a value judgment. The purpose of a test is able to give the valid information on the students abilities and knowledge. Hence, the successfulness of the teaching and learning can be seen in the tests results. Types of Test A test can be classified based on the types of information they provide. Based on Wilmar Tinambunan in his book with the entitled Evaluation of Students Achievement (1998: 7-9), the four types of test are placement test, formative test, diagnostic test, and summative test. The language tests have different kinds of purposes. Baily (1998) hold that there are eight kinds of language assessment. They are aptitude test, language dominance test, proficiency test, admission test, placement test, diagnostic test, progress test, and achievement test. Based on different classification of several types of tests described from any experts of language testing depending on variable purposes in testing if related to this study that the types of tests that will be reviewed and used is achievement test and summative test. Achievement Test Achievement test are directly related to language courses, their purposes being to establish how successful individual students, groups of students, or the courses themselves have been achieving objectives. In the book of Dictionary of Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics that written by Jack C. Richard (1992:3), he said that an achievement test is a test which measures how much of a language someone has learned with reference to particular course of study or program of instruction. In the same line, Brown (2004) defined an achievement test is to see how far students achieve materials addressed in a curriculum within a particular time frame. It means that an achievement test is to measuring students achievement learning outcome which is administered at the end of course of study. The scope of test content must that represents the course they are concerned. Summative Test Summative test is an achievement test administrated at the end of a course or unit of instruction. Brown (2004) mentioned that final exam in a course is example of summative test. Summative test is intended to show the standard that the students have now reached in relation to other students at the same stage. Thus summative test is conducted to find out overall learning outcome after set of learning units program already done. Summative test is commonly designed based on subject matter that had been already taught for one semester. Consequences of a test that emphasize the overall learning outcomes is its substance of scope involve all of material have been delivered. The result of summative test is to determine successful in learning and teaching, whether or not the students are able to follow the higher level of next instruction program, and students progress. In the final, the level of success rate is stated with a score or value which written in the form of report card. English test of Tes Kendali Mutu Tes Kendali Mutu is a name of appliance evaluates administered at SMKN 26 Jakarta after teaching and learning process for measuring how far purpose of students learning and teachers teaching achievement reached. As in final semester examination, according to Regulation Minister of National Education No. 20/2007, it is carried out to measure students competency achievement at the end of the semester. It can be said that Tes Kendali Mutu is administrated at each final in learning and teaching process in the period one semester and its scope includes all the indicators that represent all the basic competence at that semester. All groups of subject are tested in order to evaluate learning outcome including an English subject. The format of English test of Tes Kendali Mutu of first grade school year 2011/2012 at SMKN 26 Jakarta is written test with objective multiple choice items. Total number English items test of Tes Kendali Mutu is 50 items test which including listening and reading sk ill. Listening skill consists of 15 items test number and reading skill consists of 35 items test number. In reading skill, there are three reading section which consists of first section was 15 incomplete short dialogue items; second section was 5 items error recognition; and third section was 15 questions of reading comprehension which divided into different 5 of reading texts. Aspects in Developing a Test In order to know criteria of a good test for measuring students ability has been reached in learning process, a test as an instrument of evaluation has to meet requirements the validity, reliability, and practicality. As stated by Brown (2004), there are three important aspects should reflect in a test, namely validity, reliability, and practicality. Gronlund (1998) pointed out that validity is the extent to which inferences made from assessment results are appropriate, meaningful and useful in terms of the purpose of the assessment. Validity has to do with the information that the uses in class, it has to be appropriate for the students level, the purpose of the class, and if the meaning of the materials used in class are for the students. In term of achievement test, it can be valid if it is accurate, authentic or valid has been able to measure students learning outcomes achieved, after they achieved the learning process in a certain period. Reliability is consistent and dependable . A test is called reliable if the same test is given to the same students on two different occasions and its tests should yield similar results. Practicality means an effective test. A test should be efficient and easy to be implemented. Since the focus of analysis was merely on one aspect of language test, it did not require to be observed as in the other aspects as reliability and practicality Validity in Language Testing Validity is the most important characteristic of a test or assessment technique because it measures what it purports to measure. Without good validity, all else is lost. In the J.B. Heatons book, Writing English Language Test (1998:153), Heaton said that the validity of a test is the extent to which it measures what it is supposed to measure and nothing else. For example, if the teacher wants to measure the speaking skills, the test that is developed must be able to measure the ability to speak, not writing skills. Further, as insisted by Gronlund in Brown (2004: 22) the extent to which inferences made from assessment result are appropriate, meaningful, and useful in terms of the purpose of the assessment. There is no final absolute to measure the validity of a test established but several different kinds of evidence may be invoked in support. Arikunto (2006:65) mentioned two types of validity. They are empirical validity and logical validity. Empirical validity is as same as quantit ative analysis. It consists of concurrent validity and predictive validity whereas the logical validity consists of content validity and construct validity. However, the writer only focused its investigating on content validation because this study dealt with logical validity that is a way of reviewing in rational by using descriptive analysis method and thus got involved with qualitative inquiries. Beside, because of the limitation in time and the other aspects in validity need the expert judges. Content Validity A test has content validity that relates the evidence to the content of the test. The content is related to the goal of what has been taught. Fulcher Davidson (2007) defined content validity as any attempt to show that the content of the test is a representative sample from the domain that is to be tested. In the same line, Hughes (2003) said that a test is said to have content validity if its content constitutes a representative sample of language skills and structures, etc. with which meant to be concerned. For example, a grammar tests, it must be made up of items relating to the knowledge or control of grammar. In relation to tests content validity in this study, tests content should be tested in accordance with the target competencies which reflected on Standar Kompetensi-Kompetensi Dasar in view of the school based curriculum to be achieved. These Standar Kompetensi-Kompetensi Dasar broken down into skills or behaviors that can be measured called indicator. In short, content validity is arranged based on the content in subject that evaluated. Because those subjects are taught written in curriculum, it can be often called curricular validity. According to John A. Upshur (1996:63), content-related evidence of validity is assessed logically by carefully and systematically examining whether the method and content of the assessment procedure are representative of the kinds of language skill. It means that evidence of content-related validity requires the panel discussion as primary method to determine whether a test has content validity or not. In the panel discussion, the expert judges who considered having knowledgeable to do with the subjects tested. They asked to make judgments about the appropriateness of each item and overall coverage of the domain. The School Based Curriculum As cited in the National Education Standards (SNP) section 1 (15), School Based Curriculum is operational curriculum that developed and implemented by each educational unit. The developing of curriculum conducted by each educational unit has to follow based on the standard competence and the basic competence which is designed by Badan Standar Nasional Pendidikan (BSNP). It means that each educational unit is given the authorities in developing their curriculum. Its curriculum is designed as a reference in using the materials, teaching and learning techniques. Based on Regulation Minister of National Education no. 41/2007, The standard competence means minimum competency qualification for student which show mastery of knowledge, behavior, and skill of student which expected to be achieved in each level and/or each semester of certain subject whereas the basic competence means as a number of abilities that should be mastered by students in certain subject as a reference in developing i ndicator of competency. Based on the school based curriculum, the standard competences and the basic competences of English in Vocational High School is divided into three different level which are level novice, level elementary, and level intermediate. In relation to this study, there is one Standard Competence and eight Basic Competences of English in Vocational High School for Level Novice. The Standard Competence is Berkomunikasi dengan Bahasa Inggris setara Level Novice. Then, the eight Basic Competences of English in Vocational High School for Level Novice are 1.1 Memahami ungkapan-ungkapan dasar pada interaksi sosial untuk kepentingan kehidupan; 1.2 Menyebutkan benda-benda, orang, ciri-ciri, waktu, hari, bulan, dan tahun; 1.3 Mendeskripsikan benda-benda, orang, ciri-ciri, waktu, hari, bulan, dan tahun; 1.4 Menghasilkan tuturan sederhana yang cukup untuk fungsi-fungsi dasar; 1.5 Menjelaskan secara sederhana kegiatan yang sedang terjadi; 1.6 Memahami memo dan menu sederhana, jadwal perjalanan kendaraan umum, dan rambu-rambu lalu lintas; 1.7 Memahami kata-kata dan istilah asing serta kalimat sederhana berdasarkan rumus; and 1.8 Menuliskan undangan sederhana. The English subject itself put in the adaptive group that provides students the ability in the English communication in the context of material related to the majors need either spoken or written. Also, English subject also directs students to be able in speaking in daily communication based on global requirement and developing communication at higher level. As stated in the curriculum that English subject aim for the learners to master basic knowledge and skills to support the achievement of English language competency skills program and apply skills and mastery of English language skills to communicate both verbally and written at the intermediate level. Items Test Analysis The activity aims at increasing quality of a test called item test analysis. Nitko (1996:308) stated that item analysis refers to the process of collecting, summarizing, and using information about individual test items especially information about pupils response to items. Item test analysis is used to identify quality of the test whether it is good, low or not good. As stated by Anastasi and Urbina (1997:184), the main aim of item analysis of the teacher made test is to identify its deficiencies. In conducting item test analysis, two methods are able to be used, namely qualitative and quantitative analysis. As stated by Suyata (2009:16), items test can be analyzed by quantitative or empirical and qualitative or theoretical. Item test analysis in terms of qualitative covers the content of a test while difficulty level, discrimination power and distractors function involved quantitative analysis. In the same line, Purwanto (1992) said that by making analysis, it can be known the impo rtant things of every single item obtained, the extent to which difficulty level, whether item has discrimination power, and whether all alternative answer (options) attract the answer. The more explanation about difficulty level, discrimination power, and distractors function are as below: Difficulty Level Aiken (1994: 66) said that Difficulty Level is the opportunity correct answer a question at a certain skill level. It is usually expressed in the form of an index which has proportion range 0,00 1,00. If the item test has 0,00 of Difficulty Level Index, it means that no students who answer correctly. While if the item test has 1,00 of Difficulty Level Index, it means that student can answer correctly. In short, the higher of Difficulty Level Index, the easier of item test is understood and vice versa. Based on Crocker Algina (1986) in calculating the item difficulty, divide the number of people answering the item correctly by the total number of people answering item. The proportion for the item is usually denoted as P and is called item difficulty. Arikunto (2006:207) explained that a good test is about not too easy or too difficult. The easy test is not able to stimulate students learning. Contrary, the difficult test is able to make students desperate because of out of their rea ch. As cited by Departemen Pendidikan Nasional, Direktorat Jendral Manajemen Pendidikan Dasar dan Menengah, Direktorat Pembinaan Sekolah Menengah Atas (2008) in Panduan Analisis Butir Soal, The prediction information about the easy item test is as follow: The distractor function doesnt work well, Most students answer those item tests correctly; it means most students have understood the content in question. The prediction information about the difficult item test is as follow: Item tests maybe have mistake a key answer, Item tests have two or more the correct answers, The content in question hasnt been taught yet or hasnt finished in its learning so that the minimum competency student have doesnt achieved yet, Unsuitable measured content using format given in the item test, Statement or item sentence is too complex and long. Discrimination Power Discrimination Power refers to measurement of the extent of the ability of items of achievement test to distinguish between students high answers and students low answers based on criteria. This notion is supported by Arikunto (2006:211), Discrimination Power is items ability to distinguish between students who are good and low capable. The proportion range of Discrimination Power Index is from -1,00 to +1,00. The higher of Discrimination Power Index, the more capable the item test distinguish between students who had already understood and hadnt already understood the content. An item test has negative Discrimination Power Index ( As cited by Departemen Pendidikan Nasional, Direktorat Jendral Manajemen Pendidikan Dasar dan Menengah, Direktorat Pembinaan Sekolah Menengah Atas (2008) in Panduan Analisis Butir Soal, The prediction information about disability item test to distinguish lower and upper student group is as follow: Inappropriate key answer of item Item tests have two or more the correct answers Unclear of measured competency The distractor function doesnt work well, The content in question is too difficult, so many students are guessing. Distractors Function Distractor function is meant to know work or not the answer of item. Arikunto (2006:220) stated a distractor function works well if it at least selected 5% by test taker. This analysis is only used to analyze multiple choice item tests. Theoretical Framework In order to answer the research questions of this study, English items test analysis of Tes Kendali Mutu of first grade school year 2011/2012 at SMKN 26 Jakarta is reviewed in terms of: (1) the relevance of English items tests content to the school based curriculum for level novice of Vocational High School; (2) validity; (3) difficulty level; (4) discrimination power; and (5) the distractor function. In relation to tests content validity in this study, qualitative analysis is used by analyzing items test in reference to the aspects of test validity. Measuring the validity of a test, the English items test of Tes Kendali Mutu must contain proper sample of relevant material in learning. The relevant material in learning can be found in the syllabus and curriculum for level novice of Vocational High School which is School-based Curriculum (KTSP). In order to answer whether English test of Tes Kendali Mutu has content validity, the writer needs Standar Kompetensi and Kompetensi Dasar in the school based curriculum to compare and match its items with the relevant syllabus and curriculum. Furthermore, in order to support in answering the research question of this study, quantitative was conducted by using classical items test analysis through multiple choice test involving Difficulty Level, Discrimination Power, Distractor Function, and Validity. They are also considered to fulfill requirement criteria of quality a good test.

Perspective on Group Project for Mont Blanc Essay example -- group pro

The Genesis of "Reading Mont Blanc" The project entitled "Reading Mont Blanc" began as a faint wisp of an idea while my group and I were browsing the hypertext in search of other topics. Happening upon the wonderful maps and illustrations of Wordsworth's travels through France and Switzerland, one member remarked that perhaps we could make use of these in some manner. Then, as the various images of Mont Blanc passed before our eyes -- some picturesque and others clearly sublime -- we wondered if these could not somehow frame an exploration of how nature was conceived and presented by the various travel writers, 'grand tourists', and (of course) poets of the Romantic era. Our decision to focus on a single natural phenomenon, namely Mont Blanc, allowed us a certain amount of 'experimental control' in assessing the potential disparities in perception between our three 'subject groups.' It is of course only in retrospect that one can reduce an epiphany to such rigid, lifeless terms. Initially we considered designing a poster whereon the pyramidal contours of Mont Blanc could serve as a sort of hierarchical frame in which to organize the various impressions according to their sublime or transcendent qualities. I believe we expected Shelley's "Mont Blanc" to rise to the top. Had any of one of us been particularly adept with scissors and coloured paper, our presentation might have taken this rather more delimiting turn. As it was, we decided to acquaint ourselves with the literature and artistic renderings of Mont Blanc before determining the format of our project. A book of aerial photography of the Alps convinced us that in order to convey the colossal grandeur of Mont Blanc to a group of people who had likely never seen it befor... ...ce moments in which to engage Mont Blanc (as text) on a personal level. I was pleased to read in the responses we received that students were indeed reminded by our presentation of their own experiences with the sublime in nature. Music has the potential I think, more so than literature, to raise that which lies buried in the mind and to forge imaginative connections between distant conceptual poles. Ultimately I think we learned that Mont Blanc cannot mean one thing; its impact on the beholder cannot be distilled into generic emotive states. Although themes of wonder and awe recur in many of the descriptions of Mont Blanc, such fleeting reactions are but shadowy apprehensions of the potential evocative force of this vista. It is through the mediation of the beholder's own imaginative faculties that s/he vivifies nature or, rather, apprehends its vivifying power.

Essays --

"I think there’s something about American violence that to me is very touching†¦In full force it’s very ugly, but there’s also something very moving about it, because it has to do with humiliation. There’s some hidden, deeply rooted thing in the Anglo-male American that has to do with inferiority, that has to do with not being a man, and always, continually having to act out some idea of manhood that is invariably violent. This sense of failure runs very deep." (Hall, 94) The shaving of Dodge’s head is not the only violent action of the play. Halie kicks the husks when seeing it, and later, Shelly throws the cup and saucer when being ignored. Nevertheless, the male characters of the play seem more violent than the female characters. It seems like the "real" violence starts when Halie leaves their home, and ends when she has come back. (Tucker, 135) Bradley symbolically rapes Shelly and when the secret of the murder of the incestious child is revealed, it is clear that the violence lies within the male. The quote above gives an idea of how Sam Shepard views the male violence. He believes that male violence is caused by the male himself, not by any female. Furthermore, he is of the opinion that it derives from a lack and also the desire for power. Men use violence not just to suppress the lack they feel inside of them, but also to make the female obey. (Hall, 94) 3.3 Family Roles Generally speaking, the head of the family of most families is the father, since he is the one who takes care of them. However, in BC a head of the family cannot be easily detected. At first, when Halie stands on the top of the stairs, she is in a higher position. She is in control of her husband and tells him what to do, not only because he is the weaker... ... incestious son, is the one with the "family album. [†¦] She’ll set you straight on the heritage†¦" (112), she cannot add new members to the family without the law of the father. Dodge shows that the law of the father of the family is obedient, and displays his control by forcing Halie to deliver her child on her own without any help. It hurt so bad, it almost killed her. Since the baby survived, he goes even further and kills it. (124; Hall, 100) In spite of his weakness, Dodge tries to control his family from the sofa. He can do so, because he is the only one who knows where the child is buried, which is the ultimate power one can have in the family. (Opipari, 135) In BC one family member can be in control of another, yet at the same time one is being controlled by another family member. In this family, there is no clear head of the family, no leader. (Opipari, 134)

The sain case :: essays research papers

SAIN V. CEDAR RAPIDS COMMUNITY SCHOOL DISTRICT: PROVIDING SPECIAL PROTECTION FOR STUDENT-ATHLETES? The scholarly article I chose was of great interest to me for several reasons. The case is an educational malpractice case in which a student-athlete said he was provided false information by his high school consolor and lost his basketball scholarship as a result. I was a student athlete in high school and sports are still a big part of my life. On top of that I am considering teaching and coaching after I graduate, making this a very relevant topic to me. In the next several paragraphs I am going to summarize the article and cases that it mentions, then I will try and decide what the authors intent was with writing this piece. It has been said for years that any case of educational malpractice was doomed from the start. Because of this, it was a huge surprise when the Iowa Supreme Court denied the defendant, Cedar Rapids Community School District’s motion for summary judgement. This was a case where a student sued for negligent misrepresentation by a school guidance counselor. One reason why the court may have denied the motion was because it was trying to protect a category of people who were considered especially vulnerable, the student-athlete. Bruce Sain who was the plaintiff in the case attended Jefferson High School, which was in the defendants school district. He played basketball for the school and was very good at it, so good that he planned on getting a scholarship to finance his college education. In order to be eligible to play sports in college you must meet certain course requirements be the NCAA, which Sain was working on doing. In his senior year he still needed three English credits to satisfy the NCAA requirements and since he went to a school that brock their year down into trimesters, he thought this would be no problem. He completed his first English course and enrolled into his second, but for some reason or another he disliked the class, so he went to his school counselor to see what he could do. The counselor told him to enroll into a class called technical Communications, which the counselor assured him would be approved by the NCAA clearinghouse. But the school did not include that particular course on the list of classes that was sent to the clearinghouse. The next and final trimester Sain completed his third English credit and accepted a five year scholarship to Northern Illinois University.

The Role of Activist Agences in Shaping the course of Women’s History

There is no doubt that activists and activist agencies have played a role in shaping the history of women, and a large amount of the historiography of women's history has given excessive attention to the role of activists. Popular history tends to take a Rankeian view of events, focussing instead on the role of the individual, rather than the deeper underlying social, political and economic causes of history. The traditional Liberal view of the struggle to obtain the franchise is that the suffragettes, via their militant tactics and under the leadership of the Pankhursts ensured that women were granted the vote, and that this solved all the injustices between the sexes. This simplistic view of events however ignores the wider changes that were taking place in the economy and society, as well as placing a larger emphasis on certain activists, rather than looking at the broader picture. The militant activities of the suffragettes were never sufficient enough to frighten the government or the wider public into extending the franchise to women, their acts of violence towards property were often small scale and petty. It also ignores the role of the suffragists led by Millicent Fawcett, who were far more significant in obtaining the vote for women, for they were the ones who reasoned rather than fought with men and showed that women could deal with political matters. Activists continued to use similar tactics in the 1970s to demand changes in the law, such as free nursery places (as removed from local councils responsibilities under the 1980 Education Act) and better maternity benefits. The real changes came about however, not due to the prominent high profile activists, but to the grass roots campaign where women won seats on town and city councils. Historians can often look for the big story to write about, sometimes however the big story is made up of lots of little ones. Women's position in the economy changed prior to the war as well. Industrialisation brought about the end of small scale family run workshops and there has been a transition to large workshops. The sexual division of labour in mills and factories was seen as a natural occurrence and women did not object to being paid less and exploited more than male workers. Trade unions did not favour equal roles in industry for women out of the fear that it would take men's jobs from them. The benefits in industry that women gained during WWI were temporary, and as soon as men returned from the war women were forced back out of their jobs. One view of the effects of WWI is that giving the vote to women was a reward for their hard work during the war, in the munitions and armaments factories. At the same period as activists had allegedly gained a better position for women via the vote, laws such as the Restoration of Pre-war Practices Act (1919) which enacted the agreements between the government and trade unions that women's war work was only temporary. Various activist agencies organised resistance to this, however they proved futile. The changing role of women economically in the latter part of the c20 was not due to activists but due to the wider structural changes the war effected on the country by World War 2. Following the Second World War the changing nature of commerce in the UK made it uneconomical to prevent women from working and by 1947 there were more women workers than in 1939 (Bruley). The deindustrialisation of the UK between 1979-1990 saw a large increase in the numbers of women in employment. Margaret Thatcher's economic reforms created huge unemployment, although when employment levels started to recede, women were back into employment quicker than men. This was due to skilled secondary industry jobs being replaced with low skilled tertiary jobs which could get away with paying women less and reducing employees rights due to the reforms Thatcher introduced. In 1990 60% of low paid full time workers were women and Carole Buswell found that in the same year large proportions of women were earning less than the EU recommended minimum wage in tertiary industries, even in jobs such as banking and insurance 40% of the workers fitted this category. This is because even in well paid jobs, such as banking and insuarance, women were restricted from progressing high up the career ladder by having to take maternity leave to bring up children, if they were even considered for promotion in the first place as many of these companies were strongly male dominated. The Women's self image has changed a great deal since the beginning of the c20, when women saw themselves primarily as mothers and wives, though in working class environments this attitude persisted for a lot longer than in wealthier and better educated social groups. Sue Sharpe found in her 1976 book â€Å"Just like a girl† that working class girls in Ealing in the 70's still expected to marry a husband who would take care of them financially and that they would be responsible for childrearing. Women's level of deference has decreased greatly from the beginning of the century when they were almost voiceless, to the present day where girls have become at least as vocal as men, if not more. Deep running social trends such as this cannot be changed over night by activists and this lack of change in the working classes could be interpreted as evidence that women's liberation movements have largely been for and by the white middle classes Many women in the 1970s though who had started to redefine their own roles started to live in new ways, such as communally with other women. A large amount of feminist activists adopted Marxist ideology and blamed the oppression of women on the capitalist exploitation of women as a labour force as well as for the unpaid labour they do domestically. In the 1980s, with its ethos of the individual, women started to appear slowly in positions of power, however their high profile was due to their unusualness. However many women were shocked and against this attitude and the 80s saw many women reject the materialist society and take up campaigns against issues like nuclear disarmament such as the women at Greenham Common. Activists continued to play a role through the 70's and 80s although as in previous times they were often the central figureheads of larger movements based on mass upheavals. As the UK became an increasingly egalitarian society into the 1960s due to the increasing levels of education and the secularisation of society, women started to realise that the restrictions on career options were chiefly the traditional roles of women and a lack of education. Large amounts of feminists were students and so they had the opportunities to study the past and see the oppression that women had faced and also how little women appeared in history. The Crowther Report (1959) released middle class grammar school girls from the â€Å"domestic† curriculum, opening the door to many more job opportunities. However women were still restricted in the workplace by having to be responsible for rearing children as well as attempting to have a career. Viola Klien argued in â€Å"Women's two roles† (1956) that modern societies were unable to afford to not have women working, this capitalised on fears that the UK would fall economically behind the USSR where nearly all women worked. Although activists led the women's liberation movement and campaigned against articles such as Miss World and unequal pay, mainly the reforms came from elsewhere. Equal pay was finally made a reality when the Fawcett Society (a group of feminists) took the government to the EU court to enforce the Equal Value Amendment. How much has changed for women in the last 100 years is debateable. Certainly there have been many legal improvements and women are no longer the second class citizens they were at the beginning of the century. However according to some feminists, women are still oppressed by society as whole, being expected to take care of children and do housework as well as to have a job. Opponents to this argue that women are the natural carers of children and that there are no real obstacles in the way for women to have both a job and family if the women works hard enough and balances her time. This group of opponents is not exclusively male. Both Thatcher and Queen Victoria were against women's rights, Thatcher's attitude being that â€Å"well I made it so why can't they? † and latter believing in the traditional division of the sexes based upon religion and tradition. Men still continue to run the top jobs, with Angela Coyle finding in 1988 that at the very top of companies women made up only 5%. Until 1997 the maximum proportion of women MPs had been approximately 10%. This number was only increased in the 1997 election when Tony Blair supported positive discrimination by adopting an â€Å"Emily's List† policy. This meant that in safe seats women be put forward as candidates, the result was >100 women MPs, however this policy was later declared illegal. As women are still expected to take care of children, maternity leave and career breaks for the bringing up of children harm their promotion prospects, resulting in a â€Å"glass ceiling† that often needs the sacrifice of family life in order to break through. Although women appeared to become visible in the media, this is often because the ones who did make it to the top were so unusual that they were worthy of media interest. Solutions to the problem are hard, some feminists argue that the only way the position of women will change is if men think differently too, however this is idealistic to say the least. Bruley reaches the conclusion that women are still disadvantaged because although women now have the franchise and careers, they still have to bear the brunt of childbearing, caring and networking.