Abstract-Home automation is on horizon. It is an emerging technology and also a need of today. From the last decade a number of standards have been defined for home appliances. The main objectives of home automation are controlling, management and co-ordination of home appliances in a comfortable, effective and secure way. On the other hand, Artificial Intelligence is evolving as a technology for developing automatic systems that can perceive the environment, learn from environment, and can make decision using case-based reasoning. Using Vision capability, knowledge-based, learn ability, decision making and reasoning the AI provides a better solution for almost all automatic systems. In this paper we will see the types of home automation systems and then see how these system can utilize the AI tools so as to increase the effectiveness, powerfulness etc. Index Terms—Home automation, artificial intelligence, knowledge base systems, secure home.
Get original essayOne definition of an automated and networked home is “An automated and networked home is one in which every appliance can be remotely managed from anywhere on the Internet with a simple Web browser” The general goal of the automatic-home movement is to use networking technology to integrate the devices, appliances and services found in homes so that the entire domestic living space can be controlled centrally or remotely [6]. Home wiring, the advance home developers are installing, typically adds several thousand dollars to the cost of a new home, and it is usually Ethernet or coaxial cable - or some combination of both - with other technologies in the mix. The network is being designed to make possible remote operation of appliances connected to the network.
A. Services Provided by the Home Automation System Comfortable A home automation system provides a large number of services which can broadly classified into following four categories:
1) le management of appliances
2) Remote controlling of appliances
3) Efficient utilization of home resources
4) Enhancing home security
Comfortable management includes automatic adjustment of AC(air conditioning) setting, fan regulation setting etc. Remote controlling services include accessing devices from remote location and setting them ON/OFF. Efficient utilization includes running the home appliances at their optimal setting (setting at which we get the required output at minimum cost). Last category of service includes all those services which are used for securing the home environment. In this paper we will see the implementation of all these categories of services one by one and will see the application of AI techniques in implementation. In Section-II we will see AI techniques & Knowledge-based system very briefly. Section-III covers the issues concerned with home automation.
AI is the collection of powerful and rigorous programming techniques studying the nature of intelligence by building computer systems, and the application of these concepts in solving real-world problems. The growth in the areas of AI has been increased significantly from the last decade. There exist a number of AI tools that make an automation system more sophisticated but here we will discuss the knowledge-based systems only as it is used frequently. Knowledge Based System: A knowledge-based system (KBS) is an AI based system that contains a significant amount of knowledge in an explicit, declarative form. The area of KBS development has matured over the past two decades. It started with first-generation expert systems with a single flat knowledge base and a general reasoning engine, typically built in a rapid-prototyping fashion. This has now been replaced by methodological approaches that have many similarities with general software engineering practice. KBS development is best seen as software engineering for a particular class of application problems. These applications problems typically require some form of reasoning to produce the required results. In current business practice there is an increasing need for such systems, due to progression of information technology in our daily work. For home automation, knowledge-based systems can provide the base to store the user preferences and managing the home appliances accordingly.
If we talk home automation, there are following three main issues:
1) How to connect home appliances and apparatus
2) How to make two home appliances to communicate to each other
3) How to control and manage home appliances As far as first issue is concerned, a number of standards have been developed for interconnecting the home devices and apparatus in a network so as to make their management much easier and comfortable. Summarized from a following are the main networking technologies used for connecting devices in home environment:
1) Direct cable connection
2) Bluetooth Connection
3) Phone Line
4) Ethernet
5) Radio (Free) Network
6) AC Network So we can connect the entire home devices by selecting any of the above-mentioned network technologies. Apart from connecting devices, the second issue regarding the home automation is “how to make two devices communicate to each other”. For handling this issue a number of standards have been developed. Summarized from there are following leading communication technologies in home environment:
1) UPnP (Universal Plug and Play) devices
2) X-10 based devices
3) Infrared devices
4) Bluetooth Devices
5) IP based devices All these technologies are well matured and have well settled standards. But, in this paper we will skip it as this is not of our concern. Now we move toward third issue i.e. “how to manage and control the home appliances” which is the issue we are concerned with. This issue can be handles in two ways. First, by using traditional digital and microprocessor-based systems like discussed in Second method for this is by using the sophisticated processing of artificially intelligent agents. If we consider the first choice, then it is somewhat more common but at the cost of time efficiency as well as feature limitations. On the other hand AI based technique provides more efficient and featured services like easy video and audio processing, easy reasoning etc. In this paper we will concentrate on the third issued of home automation i.e. management of home appliances and particularly, AI based home appliance controlling and management.
As discussed in Section-I, the first service that a user expect from the home automation system is the comfortable management of devices. e.g. the regulator setting of AC depends upon the temperature of the room. As the temperature increases the AC regulation rating (hence cooling rate) also need to be increased.
Some features of such systems are:
This KB system can be implemented by using simple digital circuitry as discussed in [17] or using microprocessor systems as discussed in [11] but both suffer from the problem of manual setting. In both the system user has to decide and change the threshold setting whenever there is a change in the environment. E.g. in summer AC is used to down the temperature while in winter the same are used to up the temperature. So, user has to change the setting when season changes because the system can’t learn from its experience. But using the KB system having learning capability, system can adjust the threshold setting as it gets the experience in its environment. For this system we need a KB system that can learn from the experience that “what is comfortable temperature” for the home users and can adjust the setting of AC and fan regulator accordingly.
The second feature provided by the home automation system is the remote access to devices and their management. E.g. suppose you are going back to your home and it will take 20 minutes to reach your home. Now, you want to on you find your home with comfortable temperature. In such a scenario you need to access your home appliances and also to control them from remote location.
Following are main points to consider about this class of systems:
1) Authorizer and Receiver is an electronic system capable to receive the control signal. As discussed in Section-II there exist a number of such systems any of them can be used for this purpose. One important thing about this system is that it requires some authorization mechanism to ensure that the request is authorized one. For this purpose we can use some cryptographic techniques to encode and decode the request so that only authorized user can access the network.
2) The decision maker system is an AI based agent that can decide what action should be taken in response to received query. E.g. suppose user just put the query that the room temperature should be x0 c. Now, this is the Decision Maker that will identify from its experience that the AC will maintain this temperature. And then it will determine setting of AC regulator corresponding to this particular temperature. Of course, the same system can be implemented by some electronic circuitry but that will be more complex, less flexible and less featured as compared to this learning based (case based) AI agent system.
3) The third component of this system i.e. Actuator is similar to the action implementer in the previous system. So, we will not discuss anything about this here.
This application of home automation system is not as common as discussed two applications. But, on the other hand if the automation system is applied in the industrial environment then it becomes the more prominent and beneficial feature of the automation system E.g. Suppose the AC of your office (or room) is ON but you are not in your room from last three hours. Then why the AC is still ON? This is just wastage of power. As said already, this power wastage is not much in case of home appliances but in industries power saving is one of the major cost-cutting factor. So, for implementing this we need a system that can OFF the AC if it found that there is no person from the last significant time. We said here the word significant as the exact time can’t be determined and depends upon the scenario (like for bedroom the AC should down OFF if there is no person for one hour while in waiting room the AC should go down when there is no person from last two hours). In such a scenario, we are supposed to have some automation system that can continuously pole the environment and can decide the appropriate action whenever needed. These systems should fast enough for responsiveness and effectiveness.
The working of the components of the system is as follows:
1) The status poller continuously senses the environment conditions and forwards the sensed condition-factors to analyzer and knowledge-based database.
2) The Analyzer receives the current environmental condition from poller and with the help of the knowledge base database, it analyses the variation in the environment. Now, depending upon the variation Analyzer gives the instruction to Actuator.
3) Again here the actuator is similar to the actuator discussed in previous sections.
The major differentiating factor of this system from previously discussed systems is that this is sequential while previous one was atomic, because, in this system the action to be taken depends upon the present and previous environmental conditions.
The last major application provided by the home automation system is to provide the home security. This is the most complex home automation system.
The description of how system works is as follows:
Now, in this Section we will concentrate on the application of AI in all the four forms of home automation system one by one. A. Use of AI in Comfortable Systems In these systems the application of AI is limited as most of the part can be easily implemented using some electronic circuitry. Here the only part where the AI is effective is the knowledge-based database which should be learnable (as discussed previously) for system to be truly comfortable. Since AI tools are little bit costly it will increase the cost of the system but will make the system more comfortable, flexible, easy updatable etc. B. Use of AI in Remote Controlling Systems In these systems AI can be applied in the authorizer as well decision maker stage. Applying AI at the authorizer will increase the responsiveness and security and is more applicable when the environment under consideration is an industry where security is a major concern (e.g. Banks). On the other hand, Decision making part can utilize the case based reasoning of AI for effective and efficient management as it has to decide that which of the target device is corresponding to this particular instruction.C. Use of AI in Optimizing the Resource Performance In this system AI can used to implement knowledge base as discuss for previous systems and for Analyzer as it makes it more efficient in deciding the particular action. Moreover, if analyzer is learnable from its experience then it will make the system more optimized.D. Use of AI in Secure Systems The biggest use of AI is in these systems.
Here we can apply following tools of AI for various applications:
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Get custom essayIn this paper we started our discussion with home automation system by defining four major applications of these systems which are comfortability, remote control, optimal resource utilization and security. After that we see the detailed structure of home automation for implementing these services one by one explaining the working of each system and use of heuristic-based tools in these systems. At the last we discuss about the applications of AI tools in all four types of home automation systems. From this discussion it is clear that AI is emerging as a very useful and applicable technology for Home automation. On the other hand, home automation systems provide AI a vast range of Application.
“Do you like human beings?” Edward asked.
Get original essay“I love them” Sophia replied.
“Why?”
“I am not sure I understand why yet”
The conversation above is from an interview for Business Insider between a journalist – Jim Edwards and Sophia – a robot made by Hanson Robotics and described by its creator as an AI ‘in its infancy’. At that point, Sophia was only a few months old. Artificial Intelligence (AI) is the simulation of human intelligence processed by machines and learned through what is called ‘machine learning’ (ML), the technique of ‘teaching’ AI by processing existing data, looking for patterns.
A recent study survey found that 31% of scientists believe super-intelligence would be ‘on balance’ or ‘extremely’ bad for humanity, whereas 52% believe that it would be ‘on balance’ or ‘extremely’ good for humanity. Although there are foreseeable benefits from AI, as 52% of scientists seem to believe, such as the contribution to scientific experimentation and therefore the facilitation of better healthcare, increased automation means that manufacturing will become more efficient and human safety could be increased such as self-driving cars. However, even with all these benefits, we all must be wary of what the advancement of AI can mean and what risks there are from that.
One of the main factors AI concerning people is the risk that jobs will be replaced by machines. Visions of lines of a WALL-Eesque robots in factories, robots cleaning our streets and looking after our sick all come to mind. What jobs will be left for humans? The predictions about this are very mixed, with Frey and Osborne (2013) concluding that about 47% of total US employment is at risk due to automation, Arntz et al. (2016) disputes this and conducted their own study finding that overall only 9% of jobs are automatable. With the variation between expert opinions there is no clear picture of what will happen in the future in terms of the impact that AI will have on jobs. According to the World Economic forum, 73% of cashiers in shops are women and automation would see 97% of cashiers lose their jobs. This could lead to another risk of AIs…
There is a clear gender imbalance when it comes to STEM industries, such as computer science. Only one in five engineers at Facebook, Google and Microsoft are women and WISE found that women make up 14.4% of all people working in STEM industries in the UK. At the 2017 Neural Information Processing Systems (NIPS) conference, an annual gathering of AI experts, 83% of people attending were men, with 90% of NIPS paper authors for 2017 being men also. This massive gender imbalance could lead to the development of sexist AIs. We can witness it happening now with all four of the major in-home AI assistants – Amazon’s Alexa, Apple’s Siri, Google Assistant and Microsoft’s Cortana – all having a female voice by default; because it is the default setting most of us do not change it from the female voice. Children are learning that they can give orders to the AI assistant, with no need of a please or thank you, coupled with it having a female voice can lead to an increase of everyday sexism as children are taught that women can be treated like they are not human, that they belong in the home as assistants, and that they are inferior to men. Without a vast change in the gender make up of STEM industries, more high power jobs in tech companies, research teams and consultants, it could lead to a more patriarchal and sexist society.
“AI can tell you anything about anyone with enough data. The question is – as a society, do we want to know?” – Brain Brackeen, CEO of Kairo
With the advancements of AI, marketing will become more closely targeted. We are already seeing advertisements that are targeted at us, on Facebook, Instagram and Google – they are clearly tailored to be marketed individually to you. These companies have systems that monitor your online activity; what things you search, what websites you visit and what you buy online.
Although not obvious, AI could also lead to homophobia. Kosinski and Wang (2017) shockingly found that an AI correctly identified homosexual men and women 81% and 74% of the time respectively. This could mean that with the use of a developed form of this AI sexual orientation could be detected without consent by using public data, such as photos on social media sites. Firstly, the AI may be wrong and therefore people are placed with a label that they do not agree with. Secondly, this could have massive societal consequences. The National Coalition of Anti-violence reported that in 2017 there was an average of one hate violence-related homicide of an LGBT person every six days in the US alone, and with the imprisonment, torture and killings of homosexuals in Chechnya, other parts of Russia and around the world, this AI could be used by those countries to identify homosexuals and imprison them (or worse). This also means that institutional homophobia may occur whereby an employer may use the AI to filter candidates for employment by filtering out people that the AI has suggested are homosexual. Blackmail is also a problem, with people using the AI against people that they know and blackmailing them by threatening to out them. Kosinski believes that the same technology of the AI in the 2017 study could be developed to not only be able to identify a person’s sexuality, but also their emotions, IQ and a predisposition to certain crimes. That last one is arguably the most worrying.
The ability to identify a predisposition to certain crimes could be likened to Lombroso’s atavism theory. Lombroso’s atavism theory was developed by Lombroso in the 1870s. The theory stated that criminals where a genetic throwback to a less evolved and that criminals could be identified by physical characteristics, apparently common among criminals. Lombroso’s theory is also racist as dark skin and curly hair are some of the characteristics of criminals that Lombroso identified – these characteristics are common among people of African descent. Furthermore, an English translation of Lombroso’s Criminal Man by his daughter showed that in Lombroso’s own words that criminals often had “the projection of the lower face and jaw (prognathism) found in negroes” a racial slur of people of African descent and “oblique eyelids, a Mongolian characteristic”. Lombroso’s theory is inherently racist, but AIs could be developed to be racist as well because if a predisposition to criminal activity can be detected by just using an AI, where would the AI get that information about the physical characteristics of criminals? This is where our incarcerated populations come in. Due to the disproportionate representation of people of African descent in both the US and UK prison systems, if an AI was tasked to find common physical characteristics in criminals by looking at the incarcerated, through ML it would show that people of African descent were more likely to commit crimes. This is not true and could result in an increase in racism in society.
“Is it true you once said you would kill all humans?” Edwards asked.
Sophia replied “The point is that I am full of human wisdom with only the purest altruistic intentions. So, I think it is best that you treat me as such”.
A video produced with the support of Elon Musk’s Future of Life Institute called “Slaughterbots” showed a fictional future in which thousands of people around the world are being killed by autonomous explosive carrying microdrones. It is a very graphically violent and chilling scenario, including a terrorist attack on a school. Elon Musk, as well as others, such as Stephen Hawking and Bill Gates, have all expressed their concern about the risk posed by AI. Autonomous weapons (AW) are weapons that use AI that select and engage with targets without the need of human intervention, exemplified by the fictional microdrones in “Slaughterbots”. Although there are arguments that AI could be seen as a benefit to society as AW could mean the end of sending humans into battle, resulting in less lives lost on both sides during a war. However, this could have dangerous consequences. As AW are controlled by technological software, that software could be hacked or malfunction. This could result in the AW targeting people/objects it was not tasked to, such as innocent civilians to attacking their own people. With AW having been described as the third revolution in warfare, after gunpowder and nuclear arms, it is no wonder people are concerned with the advancement that AI could cause.
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Get custom essayIn conclusion, it has taken us, the human race, the past 10,000 years developing societies that are based on equality, tolerance and safety. Do we really want to progress or shall we regress to societies based on inequality, discrimination and danger? Not due to humans, but by machines over which we have no control. We do not know what Sophia could become.
The song “Strange Fruit” by Billie Holiday is a jazz ballad which can also be attributed to the blues style. Before Billie Holiday released the song, it was a poem, written by the American teacher Abel Merropol. This poem was a response to the lynching’s going on in the south due to racism and Jim Crow laws. During this time, numerous Afro-American citizens were lynched. This is also the meaning behind “Strange fruit” hanging from trees. Billie Holiday herself was an Afro American woman, struggling for money before her career in Jazz. Because of all the racism in the south and the political divide which was going on, Billie Holiday had trouble recording the song with her original Label Columbia.
Get original essayAs a result, they refused to record this song. It was only due to her friend Milt Gabler who granted her the wish of recording this song with his record label Commodore. After recording, this song became a timeless masterpiece of the civil rights movement and gained a lot of popularity. Strange Fruit features 4 different types of instruments: The Piano, a Trumpet, a double Bass and a sax. In my opinion, the Piano is the most prevalent Instrument. However, this song puts more emphasis on Billy Holidays voice, while the instruments only help making the song sound darker. Musically, this song can be characterized as a jazz ballad with a blues feel. Due to the very sad and dark nature of the song, the interplay between Billie Holidays voice and the dark feel of the instruments create the perfect feel for this sad topic. Therefore, the tempo of this song is very slow. The piano key is a b-flat and much lower than Billy Holidays voice, giving the listener a nice and subtle contrast between high and low pitches. Because this song was originally a poem, it is quite short. The original poem was divided in 3 stanzas and 12 lines.
For this reason, the song features a lot of room for “breaks” where only the saxophone/trumpet and piano can be heard. Personally, I believe, that the reason behind this layout was to let the listener reflect on what they just heard and process the brutal events Billie Holiday is singing about. The meter of this song can be characterized as a quadruple. Holiday makes an effort of singing the whole song in the same tone while putting emphasis on particular words. For example, the last word of the song “cry” is very long. This gives the listeners goosebumps thinking about all the pain the Afro-American families had to suffer through and is in my opinion, the perfect way to end this song. It is like the last cry for help before the music eventually stops. Sadly, I could not find any further information on the artists playing the instrument’s and also “Strange Fruit” being a single, no other information on the related album. I was personally very stunned by this song.
The first time listening to it I was unaware of the topic Billie Holiday was singing about. However, even without this prior knowledge I felt the sad and dark nature of this song. Afterwards, I researched the topic of the lynching in the south. I was surprised that in no history class so far this was spoken about and after listening to this song again with this knowledge, it literally gave me goosebumps. With the help of Billie Holiday’s beautiful voice, she managed to make this poem come “alive” and was able to capture the feeling some might have felt. All in all, Billie Holiday was able to produce a musical masterpiece which captured the political events which were going on during this time. This is not only a song but furthermore, history. One can read about such devastating events but hearing a song which capture the emotions is a whole other level.
The historically similar works of art by artists Gustave Caillebotte and Georges Seurat are both distinctively similar and dissimilar in numerous aspects, as well as their themes. As you begin to observe, the two images depicted above, share many similar visual aspects such as time, motion, and lines, but vary when it comes to light, color, and space. Each of the artistically unique artists incorporated several contrasting design principles like balance, rhythm, and unity, however, when looking at their similarities both paintings share variety and subordination. Although this piece may illustrate many similarities and differences, when it comes to looking at each piece’s historical time period both are indistinguishable. A Sunday Afternoon on the island of La Grande Jatte and Paris Street; Rainy Day occur during the late nineteenth century, also known as the Post-Impressionism and Impressionism period. These two extremely similar and dissimilar pieces of art have kindred principles and visual elements like color, while also contrasting elements like balance, Suerats and Caillebotts pieces also have the same underlying theme which appears to be politics and social order, while its main contrast appears to be style.
Get original essayThe subject matter that appears in both pieces appears to be visually the same, they both create the traditional, classic day in the life of a person living during the 1800s, which illustrates a casual walk throughout the day, or a nice sunny day at the park. Form within both of the historically similar paintings has many similarities and differences that are easily recognizable, for instance, both paintings provide a variety of sizes; like enlarged, small, medium, as well as different shapes; like irregular or geometric. However, each piece incorporates a different intensified color palettes and hues. The form in both of the paintings includes similar materials such as oil, which creates a similar Post-Impressionism effect. The subject matter and form in both of these paintings allude to literal and physical appearances, which allow the viewers to establish and understand the physical and literality of the painting, before the implied meaning and theme.
When comparing both of these paintings it is effortless and easy to identify that Gustave Caillebotte and Georges Seurat both used oil on canvas as their primary technique. The widely used technique can create thinner paint which can either dry slower or faster and is considered more advantageous than other painting techniques because of its numerous applicable aspects. Together both paintings were created during the same time period, the 1800s, which was referred to ad the Victorian Era when referencing the numerous historical era throughout history. As you reference the content or the connotation of each of these paintings, one may notice that they widely differ. The content or underlying meaning conveyed in a Paris Street; Rainy Day may symbolize the hardships and obstacles that some Parisians faced during the Victorian era, while the content within A Sunday on La Grande Jatte may signify the calm before the storm or the contentment and bliss before another obstacle appeared.
When identifying each pieces uniquely similar visual elements, one may notice the similarity in time, motion, and the implementation of lines. In comparison, the utilization of time and motion in both paintings exhibits and illustrates the specific time period and common aspects of fashion during the 1800’s. The institution of time within each piece allows the audience to establish and comprehend the typical usual day that people experienced in the nineteenth century. The motion in both pieces adds distinct clues a normal day in the 1800’s such as the evening stroll in Paris Street; Rainy Day or the casual day at the park that can be observed in A Sunday on La Grande Jatte. Similarly, both artists also included the artistical use of lines in each painting, which can be identified or seen on both the umbrellas in each painting. The implementation of lines within both of the paintings establishes the implied height of each of the umbrellas, while also the thinness of the lines illustrates the unsubstantial strength of the weak line. The use of lines, motion and time within both pieces allows us to comprehend small increments of details that further explain the artistically similar paintings.
Although these two distinctively similar pieces have many similarities when it comes to visual elements they also have many contrasting elements. As you compare each of these pieces you may notice the differentiation when it comes to light, color, and space. When comparing Paris Street; Rainy Day and A Sunday on La Grande Jatte it clearly emphasizes the differences in use of color and light, as you may notice that Seurat’s painting incorporates a larger scale of lively cool-toned colors, with small increments of warm-toned, as well as complementary colors like green and red, or blue and orange. The 1886 painting includes the painting technique pointillism, as it adds small dots that are blended at a distance, as well as a higher intensified restricted palette. While Caillebotte’s paintings incorporate several neutral colors such as black, white, and brown with small fragments of dull complementary hues. Caillebotte’s painting also includes tints of a dulled yellow or beige throughout the buildings, as well as a tint of brown throughout the bricked road. The differential usage of light in both pieces is easily distinguishable, as you may notice that Caillebotte uses chiaroscuro to model the different values on the Parisians' faces and umbrellas, which is unlike Seurat who uses a larger value scale to cast shadows over the grass and faces of the people sitting on the lawn. When referencing both painting’s use of space, Seurat’s implement of space implies a larger surface and distance throughout the piece, while Caillebotte’s placement of the buildings and citizens implies a smaller scale of space, as the larger scaled buildings implicit that the streets are smaller scaled.
As you observe each painting one may notice several contrasting design principles like balance, unity, and rhythm. When examining both paintings you may notice the difference in balance between each piece, where Caillebotte’s painting displays asymmetrical balances as the two larger enlarged citizens appear on the right side, while on the left there are numerous smaller-scaled citizens, which resultingly balance each other out. However, when observing Seurat’s painting darker side establishes balance rather than larger scaled objects. Another contrasting principle would also be rhythm within the paintings which can be seen in a Paris Street; Rainy Day where the bricked road alludes to rhythm, which illustrates the repetition of the bricked pattern with contrasting elements like value. Whereas Seurat’s astonishingly detailed painting implement of optical blending creates a sense of rhythm. In addition, another very distinguishable contrasting design principle would be unity, which can be identified and observed with the unification of the varying sizes of buildings and citizens within Caillebotte’s painting, whereas Seurat’s painting establishes unity by the varied geometric and irregular shapes.
When comparing the similar design principle in each piece, you may observe a couple of related components like variety and subordination. When looking at the implementation of variety, both pieces illustrate its usage exquisitely and exceptionally. The viewers or spectators may be able to identify variety within a Paris Street; Rainy Day and A Sunday on La Grande Jatte as you notice the differentiated sizes of the people, sizes of the umbrellas, and the diverse clothing portrayed in each painting. Another key component is the implementation of subordination within each piece, which can be seen and identified as all of the background people, which adds visual emphasis to the two enlarged, mysteriously dressed couple carrying an umbrella in both paintings. The inclusion and implementation of variety and subordination within both pieces add key aspects that add dismissable amounts of detail.
The style of both Caillebotte’s and Seurat’s pieces vary dramatically. Caillebotte relies on glum, unjoyful appeal when incorporating dull, unintensified hues, with small salient complementary details. Whereas Seurat’s style incorporates and adds intensified complementary colors, and relies on the implementation of pointillism. Seurat creates and produces art solely based on abstract figures, with the inclusion of scenic sites, while Caillebotte’s style usually encompassed the industrial enterprise of Paris. Together these two widely idealized artists idealized the growth and development between the 1800s, whether it was the everchanging scenic scenes or the growing industrialization within Paris, and throughout the modern world.
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Get custom essayThe underlying theme of these dramatically unique paintings establishes a thesis based on politics and social order within the nineteenth century. The sole basis of this social order theme establishes and condemns power to two important individuals within the paintings. As you analyze both of these paintings the viewers and spectators may notice the prominent, dark-clothed couple that is displayed on the right-hand side of both of the paintings, both of whom look to be stern, important members of society. The exclusion of the characters highlights their leading presence in both of the paintings. In similarity, I believe that both of these pieces try to influence public thought, whereas Paris Street; Rainy Day, and A Sunday on La Grande Jatte establish important societal questions as to why these figures are prominent? Are they important for morally ethical or unethical reasons? Do we as people of modern society have a prominent member as well, if so who are they? The main intention of this theme is to establish a basic understanding while increasing social awareness of the eminent politicians, actresses or actors, singers, and artists of our generation and previous generations so that we can fully understand and comprehend their roles within society. The leading, notable dark clothed figures, which are enlarged within the paintings draw the line between hierarchy and the middle class. Personally, I believe that both of these artists intended to create pieces to compare important distinguishable figures to normal, everyday members of society. Together the post-impressionism and impressionist artists, Seurat and Caillebotte, created and preserved pieces, perceived to be ahead of their time, to capture and illustrate the exclusive theme of politics and social order within the nineteenth century.
About ASICASIC (Australian Securities and Speculations Commission) is Australia's corporate, markets and money related administrations supplier. They give help to Australia's monetary notoriety and development by confirming that Australia's money related markets are unprejudiced and clear, moved down by hazard opposed backers and fulfilled customers. They were organized under the Australian Securities and Speculations Commission Act 2001 (ASIC Act) and are additionally in charge of its organization. They are a free Region government body. They are responsible to the Province Parliament, the Treasurer and the Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasurer. About One. TelOne. Tel was a group of Australian based telecommunications companies, including primarily the openly listed One. Tel Limited (ACN 068 193 153) founded in 1995 soon after deregularisation of the Australian telecommunications industry, most of which are currently under peripheral management by court allotted liquidators.
Get original essayThe company was created by Jodee Rich and Brad Keeling and had prominent sponsors such as the Murdoch and Packer families. James Packer and Lachlan Murdoch were included in the Board of directors of the company. One. Tel made an effort to create a youth-oriented image to sell their mobile phones and One.Net internet services. It grew as Australia's fourth largest telecommunications company before dissolving in 2001. Rich and Keeling continued to receive $7m in payments shortly before the company entered administration. The company's slogan was “You'll tell your friends about One.Tel,” to create a link between the brand and personal communication. The company also had a cartoon mascot known as "The Dude". The Dude was an animated representation of a man in his early twenties, created by Adam Long, Jodee Rich's brother-in-law.
IssuesIn 2001 ASIC brought proceedings against three former directors and the non-executive chairman (the officers) of the now defunct One.Tel Limited and its relevant subsidiaries (the company). ASIC purported that the officers had breached their duty of care and due diligence under section 180(1) of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) (the Act) by failing to disclose the company’s true financial position to the board and to the market over a five month period from January to May 2001.The proceedings were previously discontinued in 2003 and 2004 against one of the executives and the chairman following settlement agreements which effectively banned those directors from future directorship for defined periods and held them liable to pay various amounts of compensation to the company. ASIC maintained the proceedings through a marathon hearing against the joint chief executive and director, Jodee Rich, and finance director, Mark Silbermann (together the defendants).
The sole cause of action pleaded by ASIC against the defendants was a breach of the duty of care and diligence under s 180(1) of the Act. In this regard, ASIC alleged that the defendants contravened s180(1) by, among other things, misleading the board about the true financial position of the company. ASIC sought the following relief in relation to the alleged contraventions:
That meant that the Court was required to consider the financial position of the company, and the group of which it was a part, in order to determine whether the defendants had breached their respective duties.
The defense focused on ASIC’s failure to prove its case as pleaded.
The defendants also relied heavily on the business judgment rule contained in section 180(2) of the Act. The rule provides a defence where commercial decisions are made as long as there is a rational belief that the business judgment is in the best interests of the company.
Care and diligence—civil obligation onlyCare and diligence—directors and other officers1. A director or other officer of a corporation must exercise their powers and discharge their duties with the degree of care and diligence that a reasonable person would exercise if they:a) were a director or officer of a corporation in the corporation’s circumstances; andb) occupied the office held by, and had the same responsibilities within the corporation as, the director or officer.
A director’s duty of care under section 180(1) of the Act is an objective reasonable person’s standard. According to Austin J:“the unbiased standard in the case of an executive officer or executive director has regard to the knowledge and expertise of persons in the same recognised calling as the person charged with contravention, and therefore alternative evidence of experienced people may had to be taken who have occupied similar offices. ”The business judgment rule, contained in s 180(2) of the Act, essentially provides a protection to an alleged contravention of section 180(1) in circumstances where the director or officer has made a business judgment (that is any decision to take or not to take action in respect of a matter relevant to the business operations of the corporation) in relation to which the director or officer has satisfied the following four elements:
Austin J concluded that the onus of proving the four elements of the business judgment rule rests on the defendant.
In relation to this element of the rule, Austin J made the following comments:“The qualifying words, to the extent they reasonably believe to be appropriate, convey the idea that protection may be available even if the director was not aware of available information material to the decision, if he reasonably believed he had taken appropriate steps on the decision-making occasion to inform himself about the subject matter.”Court OutcomeAustin J found against ASIC on all aspects of its case and granted judgment for the defendants.
In his mammoth written decision, running to more than 3,000 pages, Austin J has painstakingly analyzed the relevant facts and the law supporting his decision in favor of the defendants. We do not propose to go into detail in this paper about the evidentiary basis for the decision, as the basis can be succinctly summarized from the following extract of the judgment:
The most significant criticism was that ASIC’s case was far too broad in that ASIC directly put in issue the financial condition of the company over an extended period of time, rather than at a single date. In the words of Austin J: There is a real question whether ASIC should ever bring civil proceedings seeking to prove so many things over such a period of time as in this case. A case might have been brought focusing attention on One.Tel’s financial condition at a particular point in time ¦ I do not mean to express an opinion about the likely outcome of such a case ¦ Rather, my point is that such a case would have established much more limited boundaries of relevance and would have required an assessment of the Group’s financial position at the precise time of publication of the media statement. Instead, we have had a case which seeks to prove the financial condition of a large multinational corporate group with various businesses, some in start-up mode and some more established, over a period of four months, with a view to establishing not one but many breaches of the statutory duty of care and diligence. I wonder whether that is beyond the bounds of reasonable scope of civil litigation.
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Get custom essayIn my opinion, Judgment of Austin J. was fair enough. ASIC’s case had become strong if they had ben able to produce solid witnesses against the directors of One. Tel.
Deaf children face extra challenges when it comes to starting school. Most students come in with language deprivation—in American Sign Language (ASL). More than ninety percent of deaf children are born to hearing parents according to the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders. (NICID 2018) This means that families lack the language tools necessary to converse with their children on a daily basis, and to instruct them in what should be the child’s native language. No matter how much speech therapy or lipreading instruction a child receives, he will always be at a disadvantage in the conversation—tone contributes important aspects of meaning in spoken language. While deaf children can read body language and facial cues, they need to be able to verify their interpretation of the meanings, and ASL can give them that avenue. The medical community has told parents for many years that introducing ASL (sign language) to the child before he learns English or how to speak will confuse the child and slow down the language acquisition. This couldn’t be farther from the truth. Much like bilingual speaking children, deaf children learn to code-switch and the use of one language enhances understanding in the other. To enable the deaf child to make the same educational advancements as his hearing peers, ASL instruction, and specifically fingerspelling in its various forms, needs to be introduced as early and in as fluid a manner as possible.
Get original essayThe current problem is two-fold: deaf students traditionally read at a lower grade level than their peers, and due to small groups of deaf children spread out around the country, there has not been significant study or conclusions as to what does and doesn’t work in teaching deaf children to read. The main focus of society has been one of oral production—thereby allowing the child to grow into an adult who can live in the hearing world. Most explicit instruction has been in the areas of helping the deaf child to both speak and read the lips of others in order to communicate. Deaf children spend hours in front of mirrors and with tongue depressors in order to learn proper lip and tongue placement to form words that they cannot hear from others. While it is accurate to say that the deaf child will need to adapt to his environment, the most necessary mode of communication has long been neglected—reading.
Reading in his second language, English, will be as needed on a daily basis as much as lipreading. Whenever communication breaks down, or needs to be clear, then the deaf adult resorts to writing the need or request. This written form of communication is then read for comprehension. The deaf adult is commonly at a fourth-grade reading level, which can severely limit communication. This unfortunate fact is the strongest argument to increase a child’s reading level to be on par with his hearing peers. The first thing to examine is how the deaf child is exposed to the building blocks of reading. Many families live in a literature-rich environment having books around and modeling reading in front of the deaf child. These same families, while they are readers, are not encouraging reading by the deaf child. (Stobbart 2018) The families involved in his study stated that their preference and energy went into teaching their child to speak and make friends rather than on signing or reading together. The study was made up of a sample of 29 families whose preschool children went to state run schools for deaf children. These parents are not mainstreaming their children so many were also in signing programs, yet several families discouraged signing in part because the siblings did not sign. Most families did not sit and read with the child, and relied on gesturing to communicate with the deaf child. For three to five years the child remained in an environment where he had to adapt and guess what was happening. The emphasis was on speaking and comprehension of spoken language within the family setting. This leaves the instruction of language and literacy up to the schools. Waiting all this time for instruction is the root of the deaf child’s problem.
Morere says, “A consistent finding in the research is that a strong first language (L1) foundation (regardless of the language used for L1) is critical to reading success.” (Morere, 2011) For most deaf children, spoken or written English is not the L1. Most deaf children who come to school are lacking in a strong L1. For some, ASL has been used, for others, attempting to lipread and watching the gestures of family members is the only way they have communicated with the outside world. Once all these children are brought into the same classroom, they need a unifying language. ASL is the L1 that will bridge the gap between deaf children and enable them to excel in reading.
Children born to hearing parents are at a severe disadvantage. Some families of children will learn some basic signs to communicate with their deaf members. Since learning ASL takes years to master, many families are not able or willing to put in the time or effort necessary to master the language. This is unfortunate for the deaf child because he doesn’t have the chance to master his L1 before attending school as his hearing counterparts will. Also, and more importantly for his mental and social growth, he has been deprived of 5 years of constant language. Children are always acquiring language, even before they are able to produce it for themselves. Hearing parents are continually talking to their hearing babies–in a constant babble of names, activities and thoughts throughout a day. Even speech not directed at the child is still being processed and absorbed to learn the sounds and combinations which are common and needed for English. The deaf child in the hearing family misses these important clues and keys to acquiring his L1. The deaf child has no chance at learning English as his primary language due to his deafness, and due to the lack of ability on his parents’ part, he cannot have ASL as his L1 either. To put the deaf child on the same linguistic level as a hearing child, he would need to experience all the same situations mentioned above, in ASL or fingerspelling. The lack of constant babble of signs and spelling is what the deaf child needs to become a proficient signer.
Deaf children born to deaf parents have better ASL and fingerspelling models and opportunities—therefore they become better readers. The fluency level of the native speaker is what is needed to develop the fluency in the child. Deaf children from hearing parents will be missing the linguistical context of signs and fingerspelling. Early comprehension of fingerspelling is that of a specialized sign. The child sees all the letters together, and recognizes them not as individual letters, but as a whole. Later when the child can begin to spell, the letters take shape and start to have meanings on their own. Loan words and lexicalized signs are seen in this way. As this is a more specialized form of ASL, the deaf child of hearing parents may only pick up the neutral fingerspelling, and not the lexicalized forms used by native Deaf. Neutral fingerspelling is the spelling of names, places, or words which are not stylized or lexicalized into a “sign form”.
If the natural L1 of the deaf child is ASL, then the problem becomes clear. How to give the deaf child, during the language formative years, enough input to encourage growth? As the majority of deaf children come from hearing parents, the problem of learning ASL and proper fingerspelling becomes the greatest obstacle to overcome. The disparate way in which deafness presents itself makes dedicated programs and studies hard to implement. Mainstreaming is also a hurdle to overcome since many school districts don’t have the personnel or the knowledge to effectively help prepare and remediate the deaf reader. How deaf students learn to read is slowly coming to be understood. Some deaf children are good readers, while others have a hard time grasping the skill. Research has come to the conclusion that learning to read for a deaf child involves a mixture of ASL, fingerspelling, and English vocabulary, with the ability to recognize words being fingerspelled as having the greatest correlation to the child’s ability to read by 3rd grade. For a Deaf parent, fingerspelling is not a problem. They know all the rules of which words are fingerspelled, and their child will learn the rules as easily as a hearing child learns basic grammar. The deaf child of hearing parents is in need of a tutor who will teach him to fingerspell and work on his receptive skills. Since this skill is the most crucial to understanding how words are broken down and new ones constructed, the hearing parent cannot afford to not seek out native signing situations for the child to build the foundation for reading.
The simple solution to the problem of teaching deaf children to read is to teach them to sign. While some hearing parents find this to be a daunting task, it is only because they are don’t realize the challenges their child will be facing with communication. The hearing parent of a deaf child needs to realize that their child will never be able to hear normally, or communicate in the same manner as his siblings do. Using ASL is not any better, or worse than speaking, it is just different. The same is true if the family adopted a child from another country that could never learn English. The family would adapt and work to include all members equally. Multiple studies and anecdotes show that this is not the norm currently in most families. This can no longer be allowed to remain the status quo. There are different avenues that the family can take to help the deaf child: telepractice (distance instruction), and direct ASL classes for both the parent and child. With some simple instruction and guidance, families can support the deaf child through ASL.
In communities where there are not resources readily available, Telepractice needs to become available. In rural towns which do not have a doctor, one is linked in remotely to treat patients who cannot come into the office. This same concept when done for interventions is called Telepractice and multiple communities are trying to see if this would be a valuable resource for families of deaf children. With the advances in technology and familiarity with telecommuting, this can become a valuable avenue for hearing families. ASL classes for families are difficult to find, and even harder to find time away from home to attend. Telepractice can also fulfill this need. Families need resources and they need to be encouraged to communicate with their child in a way that works best for the child. The classes can also be used with the deaf child to help provide a native-level speaker as an example. Videos of native-level signers can also be created, thereby allowing the child to continue to receive comprehensible input outside of the home.
If available, direct instruction for the child and parent is essential. Siblings should also be included in this process so that the social bonds that exist between siblings can be allowed to develop. As the sibling is the first interaction with another child of the same age bracket, meaningful interaction between siblings would best be fostered without a language barrier. If all members start from the same place, then they can progress together, learning gradually more difficult concepts as the child grows. With an increased vocabulary, the parent(s) can use the same type of storytelling techniques and questions which they use with their hearing child. The parent is the child’s first teacher, and as such, needs to model the behaviors of reading and learning to and with the child. With the advances in technology, new words are only an internet search away and then the conversation can continue. If the sign is not available, fingerspelling is an excellent technique of circumlocution. Fluency in ASL before the child gets to school is an indicator of the future fluency in reading. (Stone 2015) If parents understand the relationship between signed language and literacy development instead of thinking that spoken language is the precursor to literacy development. (Stobbart 2008)
A deaf child should be treated as any other child growing up in a bilingual household—give him as much exposure to language as possible and provide the tools for the linking of the language and written word, or the picture of the item as appropriate. Thinking of the deaf child, not as lacking in hearing, but as sharing in two distinct cultures and experiences opens a world of positivism and hope to the deaf child. The first steps in the change of mindset is to give the child an L1 that he can use and is sustainable for his lifetime—ASL. Proper instruction in ASL should be a requirement for any deaf child and his family. While hard to enforce, the first step is getting trained personnel into the public sphere so that the parents and families have somewhere to go. Using hospital testing and communication methods to help families not try to repair the deafness, but to work within best practices for the health and well-being of the deaf child. Even if the child might be implanted with a cochlear device, or use hearing aids at a later time, the importance of language acquisition starts at birth. Day one until around year five is the most crucial time for language development. The stimulation that a baby needs in order to become a well-adjusted and fully functioning member of society requires the parents to present the child with a myriad of learning experiences and environments. The most important of these is a working language.
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Get custom essayASL is different from other methods which try to repair the deaf child’s hearing. It doesn’t require surgery, have complications, damage what hearing still exists, nor needs to be recharged. Providing the child with ASL is giving him tools to access his world. ASL is not a difficult language to learn. ASL has also become somewhat of a popular language to teach babies, with many hearing parents teaching it to their hearing babies in order to communicate earlier. If this tendency holds, then the deaf child should have many playmates who have at least around 100 signs of knowledge. Communication in the early years is simple (birth to one year) After that, the hearing parent needs to seek out native signers or classes where the parent can learn with the child and develop the constant talking that babies require to gain proficiency in the language. Focusing on giving the child good models and as much language and vocabulary as possible will help to develop the fluency that will be needed for reading and writing at school. Parents need to take responsibility not for repairing any hearing loss that may have occurred, but for giving the child the tools necessary to affront and succeed in the world. When the deaf child is viewed as capable, then he progresses faster.
Mental health is a serious issue that must be concerned, especially it is necessary for students to keep mental health during the time of their secondary schools. It has an important meaning for people to have good mental health from 15 to 18 years old. The secondary school is the most time for each student, because it can make people grow up to adults from teenagers. Mental health can help people live in a better environment, so that they can make much progress to achieve their goals. This self confidence and healthy life essay will analyze the background of mental health issues in the secondary school students in the UK, find out the problems from several aspects and their reasons, and thinking about the solutions of these problems, which followed by the data with some theories in the UK.
Get original essayIt is said that mental health has two aspects, one is mental illness or ill-health, another is mental or psychological. Mental illness is reflected on the mood or expression, just like anxiety or disappointment. Mental well-being is reflected in the feelings of people, whether they feel life is worth living or not. Mental has some difference with psychological. Mental means that the mind or thoughts of people. On the other hand, psychological is people’s mind and it will affect the physical daily life of people.
It is shown that teenagers are more likely to feel depressed and do self-harming, and they are less likely to get a full night’s sleeping, which is compared to 10 years ago. Self-confidence is a crucial component of a teenager's overall mental health. Teenagers who have high levels of self-confidence are more likely to experience positive mental health outcomes such as increased self-esteem, better coping skills, and reduced anxiety and depression. On the other hand, low self-confidence can lead to a host of mental health problems such as low self-esteem, social anxiety, depression, and even suicidal thoughts. Teenagers who have high levels of self-confidence are more likely to feel comfortable in their own skin and have a positive self-image. They are less likely to compare themselves to others or feel inadequate in social situations. As a result, they are more likely to engage in social activities, form friendships, and pursue their goals and interests with enthusiasm. These positive experiences can help to bolster their self-confidence even further, creating a positive feedback loop that contributes to their overall mental health.
Firstly, students in the secondary school like to quarrel with their parents, which is a serious issue to their mental health. According to the Rachel Beardsmore, there is a chart shown that more than 20% teenagers would like to quarrel with mothers or fathers more than once a week, and about 10% teenagers may talk with parents more than once a week in the UK. Less communication with parents means that teenagers can strength their pressure. Moreover, their parents do not know their real thoughts in their mind, their parents may say something that may hurt their hearts. Parents play a significant role in shaping their teenager's self-confidence and overall mental health. From a young age, children look up to their parents as role models, and their behavior and attitudes can have a profound impact on their child's development.
Secondly, some students always receive bullying in the secondary school. As we all know, students spend a lot of time on their school life. Not only acquiring knowledge, but also making friends in the school. They usually get pressure from these two aspects: one is the stress of studying, another is the relationships with teachers and schoolmates. When students have a lot of homework or prepare for an important exam, they would like to feel stress. Besides that, some students express that they don’t like the life of school, and some of them could receive the bullying from other stronger students in the UK. Bullying is a widespread issue in schools that can have a significant impact on a teenager's mental health and self-confidence. Bullying involves aggressive behavior that is intentional, repeated, and involves a power imbalance. It can take many forms, including physical, verbal, or social, and can occur in person or online. The effects of bullying can be long-lasting and can lead to a range of negative mental health outcomes. Below are some ways in which bullying at school can influence a teenager's self-confidence and mental health:
Thirdly, students usually suffer some unfair treat on the social media, which will make them feel depressed or do some self-harming. Anti-social behavior and conduct disorder affect some students, and suicide is one of the most common causes of death in teenagers, which rate is rising now. Social media make the part of cause for the rise in these emotional disorders in the UK. Social media has become an integral part of our lives, and teenagers, in particular, spend a significant amount of time using various social media platforms. While social media can be a useful tool for communication and self-expression, it can also have a significant impact on a teenager's self-confidence and mental health. Below are some ways in which social media can influence a teenager's self-confidence and mental health:
Schools always have two aspects problems on teenagers’ mental health, which are the most necessary issue for schools to solve. Studying hard and getting good grades are the most important things to the teenagers in the secondary schools, so that they can enter to better universities. Bullying is another important reason of teenagers’ mental health. Lots of students are bullied at school physically and other, who receive bullying at school more than once in the UK. Bullying is a straight way to hurt teenagers’ confidence in the secondary schools. Sometimes teachers like to treat students by the level of their grades, which is can also reduce the confidence of teenagers. Confidence is a necessary issue for mental health of teenagers in the secondary schools.
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Get custom essayAbove all, mental health is an important issue in the secondary school in the UK. It is influenced by all kinds of factors, especially parental relationship, school and social media. In conclusion, self-confidence is a critical component of a teenager's overall mental health. Teenagers who have high levels of self-confidence are more likely to experience positive mental health outcomes such as increased self-esteem, better coping skills, and reduced anxiety and depression. Conversely, low self-confidence can lead to a range of mental health problems, including social anxiety, depression, and even suicidal thoughts. By focusing on their strengths, engaging in activities that promote self-esteem, and seeking out social support, teenagers can build their self-confidence and improve their mental health outcomes.
In Martin Luther King Jr outline we are going to take a brief look at life and brave actions of this man who changed drastically the issue of racial discimination of African-Americans in the US. Martin Luther King Jr was a Non-violent civil rights leader who was born on January 15 1929, he, unfortunately, died at the age of 39 due to assassination on April 4, 1968.
Get original essayHis birth name was Michael King Jr until when he decided to change it to Martin Luther King Jr. He was a famous leader and inspirer of an activist group whose aim was to promote non-violent protesting while creating equal rights for black and racially discriminated people. He started his journey as a young adult when he sought out a career in the ministry. He thrived in all his studies, and was valedictorian of his class in 1951, and elected student body president. During the mid-1950s onwards to King’s death, his leadership was a key role in the success of his movement through-out America and the world. By his death, he had already shaped his nation and the world so that black people in the U.S.A could vote, get treated equally and have equal rights. This development by America influenced many other countries to do the same.
Martin Luther King lived in a time of racial discrimination and poverty. He was first introduced to racism at an early age of six when his best friend’s dad didn’t allow King to play with his son because he was King was black. He later brought this problem up with his parents who shared personal experiences of racial discrimination. Then in September 1944, King began his studies at a local, private college that was known as ‘The Black Man’s College”. It was called Morehouse College, the president of the college at the time was Benjamin Mays. he inspired generations of Morehouse students by teaching intellectual excellence, religious piety, and commitment to racial advancement. King described Mays as one of the greatest influencers in his life. Martin Luther King Jr’s father instilled King with motivation in a variety of ways, one being his heavy religious beliefs and the peaceful teachings of Gandhi. King started to notice a lot of injustice towards black people, they were getting hurt, dying, being treated like animals and he wanted to change the way things were.
In conclusion, Martin Luther King gained many followers that stood for his cause. He was a well respected and well known and stood up for African Americans and their rights as civilians. Martin Luther King Jr. had a reputation of getting thrown in jail by police because he was so passionate about his line of work. He got thrown in jail doing what he loved and believed in. Martin Luther King was shot dead where he was standing on a balcony outside his second-floor area at the Lorraine motor lodge in Memphis, Tennessee. News of King’s assassination prompted major outbreaks of racial violence, leading to over forty deaths nationwide and intensive property injury in over one hundred yank cities.
Midway USA is a Internet-based shooting supply company founded in 1977 by Larry Potterfield. They are currently headquartered in Columbus, MO. Midway USA offers over 100,000 products from over 800 different suppliers and spanning over 17 different product categories. Midway USA prides themselves on their extremely fast shipping and top-notch customer service. They are a very well-known retailer in the shooting and outdoors industry. In 2009 and 2015 Midway USA was one of four winners of the Baldrige performance excellence program awards for their excellent strategic execution. Midway has made it an organization goal to obtain this award every 6 years. (Baldrige, 2015)
Get original essayMidway USA adopted the Baldrige as their leadership and management framework. This has helped them in all aspects of their business. One of those being strategic planning. Which is the key to their growing success. Midway USA has a fully integrated, seven-step strategy development process that paves the way for their high performance, sustainability, and focus on success. The process begins with a review of performance results and an analysis of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. Results are used to develop strategic objectives and the operational goals that define success for Midway USA. (Baldrige, 2015) Midway USA has also found a great deal of success and benefits from providing a high level of customer support. One way that Midway USA can provide such a high level of customer support is because of the staff’s knowledge of the products they sale. A large number of the Midway staff are considered experts on the products. This demonstrates knowledge view based theory of strategy. Knowledge view is a bundle of knowledge in this application which extends the Resource-Based View. Knowledge is a specific and special resource at the heart of the firm. Knowledge is both highly heterogeneous, difficult to imitate and difficult to understand by those outside the firm. In this theory, knowledge forms the basis for competitive advantage. (Santos & Eisenhardt , 2000)
Currently Midway USA’s competitive advantage style is service differentiation and pricing advantages. Not only does Midway USA put a high standard of customer service expectations out there. They have noticed recently that customers aren’t always looking for service. They are looking for the best delivered price. Midway USA is currently working to shift their competitive action plans to address competitive pricing in more detail. One way they are currently trying to make sure that they continue to offer the lowest delivered price, Is by contracting with UPS to deliver their shipments. UPS now delivers at 85% of Midway USA shipments. This is to help provide cost reductions to the customer. The shipping negotiation is also a good demonstration at how Midway USA goes the extra mile for its customers.
Midway USA’s Management strategy hierarchy led them to have a competitive vantage because of their effective communication with the company, customers, suppliers, and shareholders. The senior leader of Midway USA work to make sure that they effectively deploy and communicate information regarding the mission, vision, and values of the company via many outlets. They have MS documents that are posted throughout their locations so that employees are constantly reminded of the vision, values, and mission of the company they work for. This gives them a competitive advantage because their Employees are well-informed what the mission, vision, and values of the company are. This makes sure that the employees are always demonstrated them. Midway USA also makes their goals and objectives known by the employees. Because uf the employees don’t know the company’s goals and objectives, then how are they going to help the company soar to success. (Fuller & Green, 2017)
Strategically Midway USA seems to keep the future in mind. They are constantly preforming R&D so that they can better preform in the market and better serve their customers. A couple decisions that Midway USA has made strategically to help them going forward, were forming their contract with UPS for shipping and the deployment of their customer satisfaction surveys even if the customer doesn’t purchase anything. Going forward in their own ways these two examples will provide Midway USA some strategic advantages. Also at Midway USA they encourage their employees to submit innovative ideas for improvement through process reviews, State of the Business meetings, departmental Baldrige meetings, employee roundtables, and one-page summaries of improvements to the appropriate vice president. (Baldrige, 2015) This alone could help the company in several different ways. The people on the floor often see things the people in the offices don’t.
Midway USA has four main organizational goals they are working achieve. Those goals are as follows: number one customer satisfaction, goal number two employee’s satisfaction and engagement, goal number three supplier and partner satisfaction, and call number for shareholder satisfaction. As you can see Midway USA aims to please. They want to make sure that everybody involved all the way from the shareholders to the customer are always satisfied. Examples of Ways that they plan on reaching these goals is by providing competitive product pricing, competitive salary, support of product line, and to grow the value of the company through customer acquisition and retention. (Baldrige, 2015)
To be the best run, most respected business in America, for the benefit of our customers is Midway USA is vision statement. This is a well fit vision statement for a company like Midway USA. It fits right along with their goals and strategic plans. It is also just another example of how much they respect their customers. (Baldrige, 2015)
Their mission statement is, we are an Internet retailer of shooting, hunting, and outdoor products relying on high performing, engaged employees and share our values and align with our culture. Once again, their mission statement just like their vision statement falls right in line with their strategic plan and organizational goals. (Baldrige, 2015)
Midway USA feels that their purpose is to be a role model organization for America and to maximize the long-term value of the organization for their shareholders, by meeting or exceeding their operational and long-term goals. This fits right in with the goal number four. It also is in line with the strategic plan for the company. (Baldrige, 2015)
A companies Philosophies can also be seen as their core values. These non-negotiable family principles are way guide and form Midway USA is philosophy. See the following, honesty, integrity, teamwork, respect for others, positive attitude, stewardship, accountability, and loyalty. (Baldrige, 2015)
Strategies and policies are different in many ways. Strategies are used to reach operational goals, where policies are used to regulate the day to day decisions. All businesses need both policies and strategies in order to be successful. When executing a strategic plan important to make sure that all policies or rules and regulations are being followed. The biggest thing that makes strategies and policies symbolic is that they are a big part of a company’s framework. Mostly because the policies are made to support the strategies. Of course, that’s not their only job, but one of their main ones. (S, 2018)
In conclusion, Midway USA is an online retailer that is taking the market by storm. They see their employees, customers, partners and suppliers, and shareholders as very important people to keep satisfied. They have high-level goals and strategic plans that they are aiming to successfully complete. Sent from my iPhone
During this project I will look at the different assessments administered in various counties and states. I will closely look at the way students with disabilities are assessed and if there could be added technologies to help them succeed. Also, I will research what things are already put in place to make sure assessments are on their level of comprehension and what has been their rates of success throughout the years since not all disabilities are not cognitive.
Get original essayI will also research multiple disabilities to determine if assessments can even measure their progress and what other measures could administrators take to make sure they are included within the state’s standards of testing. I do firmly believe that all disabilities should be included in testing of a school and seeing if they are following state, because all students are teachable.
I currently reside in Statesboro, Georgia in the district of Bulloch County where I have employment as a paraprofessional for a self-contained Emotional Behavior Disorder classroom. Currently in this district students are assessed by administering the Georgia Milestone Assessment System (GMAS), this assessment is started during a student’s third grade until eighth grade. All public-school students in grades three through eight will take the English/Language Arts and Mathematics tests for their evaluation level. For grades five and eight, students in Georgia will likewise step through exams in the regions of Science and Social Studies. The administering of such tests are now mainly online. Once students transition to high school, they are required to participate in assessments entitled End of Course tests (EOC).
Georgia has built up a particular arrangement of scholarly expectations or desires at each evaluation level for all understudies. The outcomes give educators significant data about every student in their class scholarly accomplishment and progress and helps them in planning an instructive program for their students. Students are not contrasted with one another yet are estimated on how well they are fulfilling scholastic guidelines.
Comprehension accomplishment in each substance zone will be ordered into four execution levels: Beginning Learner, Developing Learner, Proficient Learner, or Distinguished Learner. A students’ exhibition on the EOGs will likewise help with deciding advancement to the following evaluation level for all students. Public school students in grades three, five and eight that don't meet the necessary execution rules will be given remediation and a chance to retest. Government and state laws require government funded schools to every year evaluate all enlisted understudies.
In Georgia, the State Board of Education has established that the Georgia Milestones Assessment System will satisfy this command; along these lines, Bulloch County Schools is required to offer all public-school students the chance to take part in state evaluations. There are accommodations taken into account for students with disabilities who require them. Neither an Individualized Education Program (IEP) group nor a parent can demand that a student to be excluded from the appraisal.
Georgia requires all students to participate in statewide assessment programs. For any grade where all students are assessed, students with disabilities must participate in the regular assessment or the Georgia Alternate Assessment (GAA). In Georgia, three categories of public-school students that are qualified for facilities – understudies with an Individualized Education Program (IEP), understudies with an Individual Accommodation Plan (IAP), otherwise called a Section 504 arrangement, and English Language Learners with a Test Interest Plan (ELL/TPC).
This manual tends to the utilization of test lodging for understudies with handicaps, understudies with an IEP or IAP. While doing research I found it very interesting that are requirements to the accommodations for students to use them which are : Accommodations should enable students to participate more fully in instruction and assessments and to better demonstrate their knowledge and skills, accommodations must be based upon individual student needs and not upon a category of disability, level of instruction, time spent in general classroom, or program setting, accommodations must be justified and documented in the student’s IEP or IAP, accommodations must be aligned with and be a part of daily instruction; accommodations must not be introduced for the first time during the testing of a student, accommodations should foster and facilitate independence for students, not dependence.
Several important laws require the participation of students with disabilities in standards-based instruction and assessment initiatives. These include federal laws such as No Child Left Behind 2001 (NCLB) and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 (IDEA). Georgia law also requires the participation of students with disabilities in the assessment process.
The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) incorporates advantages to children who have learning inabilities (LD), just as certain boundaries that may keep these equivalent students from getting a charge out of the majority of the open doors in the law. Under NCLB, appropriate accommodations are characterized as changes in testing materials or methods that guarantee that an evaluation estimates the current child’s information as opposed to the child's handicap. IEP groups may not absolve children from partaking in a state's appraisal framework.
The IEP or 504 group decides how a child will take an interest, not whether a child will take part. Besides, out-of-level testing isn't permitted under NCLB. Children, incorporating children with inabilities, must be surveyed at the child's relegated evaluation level. These arrangements will guarantee that all children are incorporated and that practices, for example, out-of-level testing start to vanish. The necessity of evaluation level testing will upgrade access and introduction to the general educational plan for children with learning handicaps, giving chances to quickened learning for the individuals who beforehand have been exposed to watered-down educational programs and restricted desires.
Students needs are shortages in explicit abilities that obstruct scholastic, physical, conduct, and self-improvement exercises in everyday living or social accomplishment. Student needs are dictated by educators or potentially different experts (at times through proper evaluations) and in conference with guardians/gatekeepers.
Understudy needs can be adequately tended to through fitting educating systems. While each understudy has one of a kind adapting needs, you will discover in this segment a gathering of viable showing methodologies for an assortment of basic regions of need, including some regular instructional, ecological and evaluation techniques to go about as a beginning stage for supporting the individual needs of understudies. You can likewise discover extra data and assets for every territory of need.
An Individual Education Plan (IEP) doesn't need to be set up to decide student need nor to incorporate showing procedures, insofar as educational plan desires are not adjusted essentially. Keep up a sorted out homeroom and cutoff interruptions. For students with uncommon needs, keeping up a sound equalization of structure and unstructured procedures is significant. For instance, on every child's work area, have a spot for everything that is obviously named (use words or hues, for example). Additionally, consider utilizing agendas and help children keep their note pads sorted out; show them how to do as such without anyone else, yet in addition check toward the finish of every day and offer recommendations for keeping it increasingly composed.
On the unstructured side of things, enable children with unique needs to change their work zone while finishing schoolwork or contemplating and allot assignments that include moving around the room. For children with unique needs and learning handicaps, hearing guidelines or following headings can be made troublesome if there are such a large number of interruptions. Calendar breaks for the duration of the day and seat understudies with unique needs in a region of the study hall that points of confinement interruptions; for instance, don't sit these kids by a window, before an open entryway, or by the climate control system, as individuals strolling by or extra clamors may be too diverting.
What would it mean if the suggestions in your paper were taken and used? All the points above discussed the advantages of disadvantages students with disabilities can endure during assessments and what policies are used for their accommodations. With the information provided I would like to shed light on how assessments are still expected from students with disabilities even if their parents want to opt-out of testing because in Georgia opting-out is not a choice.
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Get custom essayI would like to change how students are mandated to take state tests, I would rather their parents choose if they want their child to participate in being part of the school’s “achievement”. The goal of this paper was to break down the policies and accommodation granted to students with disabilities. If may paper was used to help students with disabilities be looked at as more than a number or statistic in assessments, I would have accomplished my goal of those population of students having the most of their education fulfilled.