Is The American Meritocracy Necessary An Elite Selection...

How is the American meritocracy able to flourish as an elite selection mechanism when systems that serve the elite and disadvantage the majority non-elite are despised by the great majority of citizens? The answer, a simple one, is blindness. The elite selection mechanism could successfully hide behind the face of a meritocracy. Meritocratic systems are so highly regarded because they preach a value that is universally cherished, that prosperity is achieved by working hard. In the American Dream, the ultimate meritocratic ideal, success is not determined by ones origins but by how hard one works. This dream declares that all people, penniless or wealthy, have the opportunity to achieve upward mobility as long as they put their head down and work hard. The American Dream was created to serve all people. The American meritocracy was not. When considering who the American meritocracy serves, its is imperative to reflect on how it was created. The modern meritocracy began forming in the early twentieth century with the rise of standardized testing. Headed by the Henry Chauncey and James Bryant Conant, a new method of determining social position was growing in the SAT. The SAT would work to dismantle the previous aristocratic structure of inheriting positions at elite institutions and open up opportunities for people to be placed based on their merit, their scholastic aptitude. Chauncey and Conant believed that improving the elite would improve society as a whole because the newShow MoreRelatedStephen P. Robbins Timothy A. Judge (2011) Organizational Behaviour 15th Edition New Jersey: Prentice Hall393164 Words   |  1573 PagesFunction of Emotions 102 †¢ Sources of Emotions and Moods 103 Emotional Labor 108 Affective Events Theory 110 Emotional Intelligence 112 The Case for EI 113 †¢ The Case Against EI 114 †¢ Emotion Regulation 115 OB Applications of Emotions and Moods 115 Selection 116 †¢ Decision Making 116 †¢ Creativity 116 †¢ Motivation 117 †¢ Leadership 117 †¢ Negotiation 117 †¢ Customer Service 118 †¢ Job Attitudes 119 †¢ Deviant Workplace Behaviors 119 †¢ Safety and Injury at Work 119 †¢ How Managers Can Influence Moods 120 SummaryRead MoreOrganisational Theory230255 Words   |  922 Pagesa core module. Typically the audience would be students in Business Schools but could also be students in Departments of Sociology, Schools of Education and so on. The learning needs of these students is for a book that reflects the best of Anglo-American, European and other thinking on organization theory in a manner that shows that different sorts of theory are relevant and can be made interesting for an understanding of the organizational world. . Preface xv Distinctive features Read MoreManagement Course: Mba−10 General Management215330 Words   |  862 Pagescompetitive 6 Feigenbaum−Feigenbaum: The Power of Management Capitol 1. New Management for Business Growth in a Demanding Economy Text  © The McGraw−Hill Companies, 2004 6 THE POWER OF MANAGEMENT CAPITAL leadership and as a necessary condition for the profitability and effectiveness of technology. Today another economic force—the quality of productivity—is being recognized as essential for shoring up the economy, especially when business slows down. From SUVs and computers to

Children and Criminal Intent Free Essays

Case Study #1 James M. Bufford Liberty University Online 11/18/12 This week’s case study was very interesting from a developmental standpoint. It seems to be a rather blanket statement of our legal system to say that children under 7 are not held responsible for crimes and that a 6 year-old cannot form criminal intent. We will write a custom essay sample on Children and Criminal Intent or any similar topic only for you Order Now My personal opinion is that children differ in their maturity levels (some may act older, others younger, developmentally). However, with that opinion, I can see the argument of: Who determines that maturity level? What is that determination based upon? What research has been done to prove this? Therefore, we must refer to what has been proven through the many years of research of biosocial development. According to our text, the prefrontal cortex (sometimes called the frontal cortex or frontal lobe) is said to be the executive of the brain because all the other areas of the cortex are ruled by the planning, prioritizing and reflection in the prefrontal cortex. Still, this area must be developed-or mature-over the years; this development occurs through genetics and early experience (Berger, 2011, pg. 15). In this case, it seems the early experience of growing up around those that were most likely careless and irresponsible with guns, had a major impact on the boys life. Maybe he was taught to shoot in the backyard? All of this could be considered what Vygotsky considered to be â€Å"Social Learning†-which could also lead to the child being curious about guns and observant about how they are to be used, as well as being  "mentored† by his loved ones who were also in prison on gun-related charges (Berger, 2011, pg. 240). Maybe he feared his classmate? This may have led to him taking the gun to school, being afraid of confrontation. The interaction of the amygdala and the hippocampus can cause fear to be either constructive (causing a child to use good judgement); or, in this case, destructive, allowing fear and misplaced anger to take over their emotions and act out on what he’s seen other family members do (shooting a gun) (Berger, 2011, pg. 217). Perseveration, the tendency to persevere in, or stick to, one thought or action for a long time (Berger, 2011, pg. 216), may have also played a role in the child carrying out this action of shooting his classmate. The fact that he was able to remember overnight to take the gun to school and use it the next day. Acknowledging, once again, the childs’ upbringing, maybe he was encouraged to be like his other family members? This could be a natter of gaining extrinsic motivation, which is a drive, or reason to pursue a goal, that arises from the need to have one’s achievements rewarded outside, perhaps by receiving material possessions or another person’s esteem (Berger, 2011, pg. 267). This, as well, is crucial to consider when looking at all the factors that went into the child committing this crime. Who knows how long this lifestyle was embedded into his young, impressionable mind! There were so many variables that contributed to this unfortunate situation. The fact that he ran into the corner after pulling the trigger shows that maybe when he got in trouble at home, he was sent to the corner as a way of punishment. His actions after the crime showed he carried on as a child, not realizing the significance and danger of what just occurred due to his impulsiveness in the moment of anger. REFERENCES Berger, 2011. The Developing Person Through The Life Span. New York, NY. Worth Publishers How to cite Children and Criminal Intent, Essay examples

World War 2 Essays - Presidency Of Franklin D. Roosevelt

World War 2 When war broke out, there was no way the world could possibly know the severity of this guerre. Fortunately one country saw and understood that Germany and its allies would have to be stopped. America's Involvement in World War two not only contributed in the eventual downfall of the insane Adolph Hitler and his Third Reich, but also came at the precise time and moment. Had the United States entered the war any earlier the consequences might have been worse. Over the years it has been an often heated and debated issue on whether the United States could have entered the war sooner and thus have saved many lives. To try to understand this we must look both at the people's and government's point of view. Just after war broke out in Europe, President Roosevelt hurriedly called his cabinet and military advisors together. There it was agreed that the united states stay neutral in these affairs. One of the reasons given was that unless America was directly threatened they had no reason to be involved. This reason was a valid one because it was the American policy to stay neutral in any affairs not having to with them unless American soil was threatened directly. Thus the provisional neutrality act passed the senate by seventy-nine votes to two in 1935. On August 31, Roosevelt signed it into law. In 1936 the law was renewed, and in 1937 a "comprehensive and permanent" neutrality act was passed (Overy 259). The desire to avoid "foreign entanglements" of all kinds had been an American foreign policy for more than a century. A very real "geographical Isolation" permitted the United States to "fill up the empty lands of North America free from the threat of foreign conflict"(Churchill 563). Even if Roosevelt had wanted to do more in this European crisis (which he did not), there was a factor too often ignored by critics of American policy-American military weakness. When asked to evaluate how many troops were available if and when the United States would get involved, the army could only gather a mere one hundred thousand, when the French, Russian and Japanese armies numbered in millions. Its weapons dated from the First World War and were no match compared to the new artillery that Germany and its allies had. "American soldiers were more at home with the horse than with the tank" The air force was just as bad if not worse. In September 1939 the Air Corps had only 800 combat aircraft again compared with Germany's 3600 and Russia's 10,000. American military Aviation (AMA) in 1938 was able to produce only 1,800, 300 less than Germany, and 1,400 less than Japan. Major Eisenhower, who was later Supreme commander of the Allied forces in the second World War, complained that America was left with "only a shell of military establishment" (Chapman 234). As was evident to Roosevelt the United States military was in no way prepared to enter this European crisis. Another aspect that we have to consider is the people's views and thought's regarding the United States going to war. After all let us not forget that the American government is there "for the people and by the people" and therefore the people's view did play a major role in this declaration of Neutrality. In one of Roosevelt's fireside chats he said "We shun political commitments which might entangle us In foreign wars...If we face the choice of profits or peace-this nation must answer, the nation will answer ?we choose peace' ", in which they did. A poll taken in 1939 revealed that ninety-four per cent of the citizens did not want the United States to enter the war. The shock of World War one had still not left, and entering a new war, they felt, would be foolish. In the early stages of the war American Ambassador to London was quoted saying "It's the end of the world, the end of everything" ( Overy 261). As Richard Overy notes in The Road to War, this growing "estrangement" from Europe was not mere selfishness. They were the values expressed by secretary of state, Cordel Hull: "a primary interest in peace with justice, in economic well-being with stability, and conditions of order under the law". These were principles here on which most Americans (ninety-four percent as of 1939) agreed. To promote these principles the United States would have to avoid all "foreign entanglements", or as Overy puts it "any kind of alliance or association outside the Western Hemisphere". Instead the United States

Warm Occlusions - Occluded Fronts - Types of Fronts

Warm Occlusions - Occluded Fronts - Types of Fronts A warm air occlusion or occluded front is less common than a cold occlusion. A warm occlusion occurs as cool air moves rapidly into an area with an existing warm front. The difference from a cold occlusion is that the approaching cool air is not as cold as the retreating cold air in the existing front. In other words, the fast-moving, incoming air is cold, but not as cold as the air mass ahead of it. Precipitation can usually be expected when an occluded front passes through an area. Whats an Occluded Front? Sometimes a cold front will catch up to a warm front and overtake both it and the cooler air out ahead of it. If this happens, an occluded front is born. Occluded fronts get their name from the fact that when the cold air pushes underneath the warm air, it lifts the warm air up from the ground, which makes it hidden, or occluded.   Occluded fronts usually form with mature  low-pressure areas. They act like both warm and cold fronts. The symbol for an occluded front is  a purple line with alternating triangles and semi-circles (also purple)  pointing in the direction the front is moving. Sometimes a cold front will catch up to a warm front and overtake both it and the cooler air out ahead of it. If this happens, an occluded front is born. Occluded fronts get their name from the fact that when the cold air pushes underneath the warm air, it lifts the warm air up from the ground, which makes it hidden, or occluded.   Updated by Tiffany Means

50 Inspiring Writing Prompts to Kick Writers Block

50 Inspiring Writing Prompts to Kick Writers Block Are you stuck for something to write about? Maybe youre scratching your head trying to come up with a fresh idea for a personal essay- a narrative or an extended description. Perhaps youre in the habit of keeping a journal or a blog, but today, for some reason, you cant think of a blessed thing to say. Maybe you need exercise to start a short story or need to do some prewriting for plot or character development for a longer fiction piece. Heres something that may help: a list of 50 brief writing prompts. The items on the list are not full-blown essay topics, just hints, snippets, cues, and clues to prod your memory, kick  writers block, and get you started. 50 Writing Prompts Take a minute or two to look over the list. Then pick one prompt that brings to mind a particular image, experience, or idea. Start writing (or freewriting) and see where it takes you. If after a few minutes you hit a dead end, dont panic. Simply return to the list, pick another prompt,  and try again.  Inspiration can truly come from anywhere. Its just a matter of freeing your mind from distraction and letting your imagination lead you where it may. When you discover something that intrigues or surprises you, thats the idea to develop further.   Everyone else was laughing.On the other side of that doorLate againWhat Ive always wantedA sound Id never heard beforeWhat if...The last time I saw himAt that moment I should have left.Just a brief encounterI knew how it felt to be an outsider.Hidden away in the back of a drawerWhat I should have saidWaking up in a strange roomThere were signs of trouble.Keeping a secretAll I have left is this photo.It wasnt really stealing.A place I pass by every dayNobody can explain what happened next.Staring at my reflectionI should have lied.Then the lights went out.Some might say its a weakness.Not again!Where Id go to hide out from everyoneBut thats not my real name.Her side of the storyNobody believed us.It was time to change schools again.We climbed to the top.The one thing Ill never forgetFollow these rules, and well get along fine.It may not be worth anything.Never againOn the other side of the streetMy father used to tell meWhen nobody was lookingIf I could do it over againOf course it wa s illegal. It wasnt my idea.Everyone was staring at me.It was a stupid thing to say.Hiding under my bedIf I tell you the truthMy secret collectionFootsteps in the darkThe first cut is the deepest.Trouble, big troubleLaughing uncontrollablyIt was just a game to them.

Communication and Culture Issues over disrupted Software management Assignment

Communication and Culture Issues over disrupted Software management - Assignment Example Considering that a single organization cannot afford to undertake the production and distribution of the software globally on its own, the collaboration with other partners to achieve this is inevitable (Andreessen, 2011). It is this collaboration with other business partners that makes the coordination of the business more complex, threatening to affect the software development project negatively. As observed by Lee, Delone and Espinosa, the factors that creates major barriers to the coordination between the software producers and their partners include geographic distance, time separation, cultural differences, language differences and organizational boundaries (Lee, Delone, & Espinosa, 2006). Complexity of Global coordination Businesses rarely understand what makes the global software business successful. Thus even when confronted by such challenges, businesses are not in a position to dissect and clearly identify the appropriate strategies that would see them overcome these chall enges (Gonsalves, 2011). Nevertheless, there are certain strategies that can be applied to overcome such challenges, which include building a common platform, where the business partners should share an initial understanding of the suitable framework that would drive the collaboration between these business partners successful (Rosenberg, 2012). Labor organization is yet another strategy applicable to overcome the challenges of global software business partners’ communication since it entails the allocation of specialized duties to each of the partners, which ensures that they do not duplicate or overstep their operations thus avoiding the confusion that would ensue (Hoffman, 2013). The creation of understanding is yet another vital strategy, which calls upon the software business partners to share the challenge they face in a single platform, which will create a reference point for future operation plans, and thus help in avoiding the same challenges. Educating the team memb ers on the unique challenges facing the global software business and informing them of the strategies applicable to effectively overcome such challenges goes a long way in preparing the teams on how to address future challenges based on the past experiences (Brett, Behfar & Kern, 2006). Technology readiness is yet another strategy applicable, which impresses upon the team members to always prepare to adapt to new technologies that would enhance their collaboration. Increasing the frequency of new software development, coupled with teamwork which enables the teams to work as a co-located entity serves to foster high coordination, and thus enhance speedy goal achievement for the global team (Lee, Delone, & Espinosa, 2006). The advantage created by these strategies is that they foster goal attainment for the global software development and distribution team as if the team was a single co-located entity, working in a seamless collaboration. Nevertheless, the application of such strategi es requires high levels of commitment and efforts by all the team members involved. Ramesh, Cao, Mohan and Xu observe that there is a tendency for software developm

Enviromental Issues of Global Warming Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Enviromental Issues of Global Warming - Essay Example Nitrous gas, ozone and water vapor. This is called the greenhouse effect where the short wavelength radiations are allowed to pass through the gases but the long wavelength radiations reflected by the earth’s surface are blocked from penetrating by these gases and are reflected back to the earth. This raises the over the surface temperature above the average and this has had major affects on different aspects in the world. Effects of global warming on: Plant life; global warming and climatic change have become the major cause of the change in the functioning and the distribution of plant life. This change has led to the problem of speciation and extinction of plants. The plants thrive under certain conditions which when altered my reverse or terminate the process while their physiological functioning like that of their life cycles is defined. The way the plants synthesize is affected in that there is increased water intake efficiency, increased growth of these plants and also increased capacity to photosynthesize the result of this is the thickening of the plant community structure and functioning. North Gerald R J Schmandt Jclarkson eds. (1995) ni their book, the impacts of global warming, highlighted that, depending on the environment, there are different responses which may result to competition among different species of plants. In addition to this, there may result to a change in the herbivore nutrition due to the variation in the Carbon Nitrogen ratio. The rise in the climate has increase the rate of pests and disease multiplication. The organisms have shifted their range forward to higher elevations. The butterflies, dragons, beetles and moths are now living at higher latitudes and altitudes where survival was previously not possible due to the cold that infested these regions. More so, they arrive earlier in the spring season and take longer than usual to depart. These insects have terrorized the plants found in the world as heir multiplication a nd survival has been favored. The changes in the climatic conditions for example the temperature shifting may cause the phenology of the plants to change like the flowering of the plants. J.T Houghton.L.G.MJ FilhoD.J GriggsK. Maskell. (1997) observed that the flowering annual plants have been seen to flower earlier than the perennials while the insect pollinated plants flowering before those which are pollinated by wind and this will have an ecological effect. The change in the climatic conditions has had a tendency of altering the species composition in certain regions. While other place species fail to thrive under these changed conditions, other s may find it favorable and start developing in these regions. The result is an inevitable relative abundance in the composition of species. On animals: The animals have suffered an adverse effect due to global warming. Most of these effects are like those of the plants but the animals may face a worse deal as the extinction of some plant s may also cause the animals to cease in existence. The major effects of this problem is that the climatic change may change the composition and distribution of the animal species, a variety of stresses including the destruction of food sources like for polar bears and the polar ice melting plus the destruction of the glaciers may result to the fish which is its food to lack, thus leading to the polar bear extinction. The other result of stress is that the animals may be forced to migrate to other regions. This may