Commuincation in Business Culture Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Commuincation in Business Culture - Term Paper Example This essay explains the rules in communicating in a business culture and explains situations when a rule may be violated. When considering communication in business culture it’s clear there are a number of overarching rules one must consider. When considering communication in the business context, it’s first necessary to examine the nature of forms of communication. In these regards, there is the obvious form of face-to-face communication in the specific business environment. Still, there are numerous other forms of communication that do not involve such interaction. For instance, business communication increasingly involves technological mediation, with employees remaining in context with each other through email, telephone, or forms of social media. One of the notable features of these elements of communication is the understanding that in large-part the medium of communication influences the rules for successful communication. In further examining the rules of commun ication within business culture it’s clear there are a number of rules that emerge. One of the primary rules of business communication is avoiding barriers to direct and efficient communication practices. One of the primary barriers to communication is complex-messages. ... Not following this rule can result in decreased efficiency levels, as employees need to work to ensure that they gained the correct meaning of the message. In more serious business contexts, it is even possible for such forms of communication to have disastrous consequences. Still, it’s recognized that there are instances when individuals need to use complex messages in business communication. For instance, in financial climates or areas of high-density business, it’s clear that in properly articulating messages it’s necessary to implement complex linguistic forms of expression. Another major rule of communication in the business culture concerns the importance of not withholding information. While withholding information is slightly more complex a formulation than the rule of not delivering complex messages, it’s equally important. The nature of a functional business environment relies on open and clear communication practices. Indeed, it’s been ar gued that, â€Å"if employees consistently withhold information the issue can become a pervasive one affecting all levels of organizational structure† (Dianne 2010, pg. 111). When employees withhold information this results in decreased efficiency levels and affects the company’s ultimate profitability. Withholding information occurs for a variety of reasons. For instance employees may withhold information as a means of maintaining power through knowledge disparity. In this context of understanding, one considers the notion of ‘knowledge is power’ as a central consideration. Other employees may withhold information from each other simply out of a general dislike or avoidance. In these regards, it’s necessary for

Manage budgets and financial plans Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Manage budgets and financial plans - Essay Example At present it is not unusual to have the budget function report to levels of management on top of the controller. Even though it is still accommodating for the budget director to report to the corporate controller, the approach toward reporting to a higher level is acknowledgment of the necessity to have the budget function commonly based in all operating areas of the business. Budget committee of Swann Communication is composed of representatives from most operating areas. This composition promotes synchronization. If correctly administered, the budget committee can achieve the exceptionally useful role of encompassing and reconciling the numerous diverse interests that make up a modern business. An effective budgeting system assists control. The budgeting system must fit the Swann Communication's operational control needs. The budget is considered as management's quantitative expression of plans for a forthcoming period. Budgets are prepared at different levels of the business. The Master budget is defined as the general financial plan for the period, which suggests the company's goals and objectives (Kemp, and Dunbar, 2003). Master budget of Swann Communication composes operating and financial budgets. The Operating budgets demonstrate the business' planned sales and operating expenses. The Financial budgets mirror financing plans such as borrowing, leasing, and cash management. Budgeting, when done correctly, can serve as a planning and controlling system. Swann Communication's goals and performance objectives are documented in financial terms. Once formulated, these plans are used all through the year. The monthly performance reports compare budgeted results with actual results. Management can inspect the performance reports and take required corrective actions to control operations. The role that successful budgeting plays in the management of Swann Communication is best understood when it is associated to the essentials of management. Numerous existing d efinitions of Swann Communication management can be expressed in terms of five key functions: planning, organizing, staffing, directing, and controlling. Planning and budgeting present a basis for assigning financial resources established on operational plans and objectives. For the reason of the intensifying complexity of business for the reason that of the movement in the direction of decentralization in big endeavors, augmented attention is being given to superior planning and control procedures. The management of Swann Communication must first plan. Plan is carried out by organizing, staffing, and directing operations. To control operations, management must institute proper techniques of observation and reporting to establish how actual results compare to plans. The budgeting is concerned mainly with the planning and controlling functions of management. Looking at how a budget is fabricated in the company will provide several insights into the fundamental aspects of budgeting. Primarily, the controller receives the operating plans of the line managers and other department heads and explains these plans into a comprehensive projection of financial condition and operating results. Final judgment should not be made until the outcome of the plans can be estimated by the CEO in terms of the impact on company resources and profits. Planning is considered to be future-oriented. The plan identifies

Alternative Assessment Essay Example for Free

Alternative Assessment Essay Consequently, assessment has also undergone a massive reform. This has led to a wider range of assessment now than there was twenty-five years ago (Gipps, 1994). Evidence has shown that educational systems have undergone assessment reforms, which are coincident with curriculum reforms (Nitko, 1995). A number of assessment methods have been applied in the Ghanaian educational system since the introduction of schooling in the country (MOE, 1987). The educational reform in Ghana began with the hope that learning was to be more practical and examinations should be based on practical oriented syllabus. What had emerged was that the cost and difficulties involved in assessing students’ practical work and the unreliability of teachers’ assessment had resulted in a return to the status quo, that is pen and paper tests. Currently, Ghanaian teachers tend to monitor students’ understanding through pen-and-paper tests and exercises in class, and move through the syllabus and textbook with little or no attempt to use new instructional strategies if students do not understand the material. The use of pen-and-paper tests has been used almost exclusively by schools to monitor students’ achievement. These tools have also dominated examination for the 1 professional certification of teacher and college admission. These strategies of assessing students have come under severe criticism by many educators (Wolf, 19891). The perception that much of what gets tested is not relevant or has not been taught to students has been a source of concern to many educators and parents. Such concerns have made educators direct their attention to a new approach to testing variously described as â€Å"performance assessment†, â€Å"authentic assessment†, portfolio assessment†, and â€Å"alternative assessment† (Winzer, 1992). The Curriculum and Evaluation Standards for School Mathematics (NCTM, 1989) call for significant change in the way mathematics is taught. In conjunction with this demand for change in mathematics instruction, a change format for assessing students is needed. To document these new expressions of teaching and learning, alternative assessments have emerged as the vehicle by which students and teachers can organise, manage and analyse life inside and outside the school. One of the most exciting and liberating things about the current interest in assessment is the recognition that numerous assessment tools are available to schools, districts, and states that are developing new assessment systems. These tools range from standardized fixed-response tests to alternatives such as performance assessment, exhibitions, portfolios, and observation scales. However, in Ghana, alternative assessment is relatively an unknown concept and only few researches have been conducted in this area. Each type of assessment brings with it different strengths and weaknesses to the problem of fair and equitable assessment. Recognizing the complexity of understanding performance or success for individuals, it is virtually impossible that any single tool will 2 do the job of fairly assessing student performance. Instead, the National Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards, and Student Testing (1996) suggests that an assessment system made up of multiple assessments (including norm-referenced or criterion-referenced assessments, alternative assessments, and classroom assessments) can produce comprehensive, credible, dependable information upon which important decisions can be made about students, schools, districts, or states. Since the influence of testing on curriculum and instruction is now widely acknowledged, educators, policymakers, and others are turning to alternative assessment methods as a tool for educational reform. The movement away from traditional, multiplechoice tests to alternative assessments, variously called authentic assessment or performance assessment, has included a wide variety of strategies such as open-ended questions, exhibits, demonstrations, hands-on execution of experiments, computer simulations, writing in many disciplines, and portfolios of student work over time. These terms and assessment strategies have led the quest for more meaningful assessments which better capture the significant outcomes we want students to achieve and better match the kinds of tasks which they will need to accomplish in order to assure their future success. Billions of dollars are spent each year on education, yet there is widespread dissatisfaction with our educational system among educators, parents, policymakers, and the business community. Efforts to reform and restructure schools have focused attention on the role of assessment in school improvement. 3.  After years of increases in the quantity of formalized testing and the consequences of poor test scores, many educators have begun to strongly criticize the measures used to monitor student performance and evaluate programs. They claim that traditional measures fail to assess significant learning outcomes and thereby undermine curriculum, instruction, and policy decisions. The way in which students are assessed fundamentally affects their learning. Good assessment practice is designed to ensure that, in order to pass the module or programme, students have to demonstrate they have achieved the intended learning outcomes. To test a wide range of intended learning outcomes, diversity of assessment practice between and within different subjects is to be expected and welcomed, requiring and enabling students to demonstrate their capabilities and achievements within each module or programme. The aim of this paper is to provide a guide to the range of alternative assessment tools available, to discuss the potential benefits and difficulties in using the approach and suggest a process for its use. Alternative Assessment Alternative assessment is a generic term referring to the new forms of assessment (Winzer, 1992). It includes a variety of instruments that can be adapted to varying situations. The teacher and the students can collaboratively decide which procedures are to be used for assessment (Huerta Macias 1995). Individual students are also often given the responsibility of selecting specific products of their work on which they will be assessed. It provides the students with the opportunity to reflect on his/her learning 4 experience, pointing out what he/she understands, and the factors that contribute to his/her lack of understanding. The main goal of alternative assessment is to gather evidence about how students are approaching, processing, and completing â€Å"real-life† tasks in a particular domain (Garcia and Pearson, 1994). Alternative assessment may include interviews with students, journal writing by students, developing portfolios of students’ work and writing of reflections. Also, students are encouraged to engage in small co-operative group learning and may be assessed individually and jointly. Alternative assessment, most importantly, provides alternative to traditional assessment in that it; i. ii.does not intrude on regular classroom activities; provides multiple indices that can be used to gauge students progress; and iii. provides information on the strengths and weaknesses of each individual student (Huerta-Macias, 1995; p. 9) One of the major advantages of alternative assessment as a tool for assessing students is that it empowers students to become partners and decision makers in their learning (Smolen et al 1995). Curran (1997) in his study with middle level educators found that alternative assessment is most valuable for students’ involvement in metacognitive learning. Vlaskamp (1995) found that alternative assessment processes engage students to become active in learning. The processes offer them opportunities for reflection and to be thoughtful respondents and judges of their own learning. Lee (1996) 5 found that the real value of alternative assessment is an information source for teachers and a learning tool for the students. Alternative assessment includes a variety of instruments that can be adapted to varying situations. These instruments include the use of checklist of students’ behaviour or product, journals, reading log, videos of role plays, audio tape of discussions, self evaluation, questionnaire, work samples and teacher observation of anecdotal records (Huerta-Macias, 1995, p. 12). According to her, the teacher or instructor and students can collaboratively decide which procedures are to be used for assessment in a given class. Individual students are also given the responsibility of selecting specific products of their work on which they will be assessed. Portfolio Assessment The concept of portfolio assessment comes from the field of fine arts in which portfolios are used to demonstrate the depth and breath of an artist’s talents and capabilities. A portfolio is a systematic, well organised collection of evidence used to monitor the growth of a student’s knowledge, skills and attitudes (Bonnestetter, 1994). It is a purposeful collection of students work that exhibits to the students and others the student’s efforts, progress or achievement in (a) given area(s) (Reckase 1995). This collection according to them should include: ? Student participation in selection of portfolio contents ? The criteria for selection, and evidence of student self-reflection (p. 12) To fulfil the purpose of portfolio assessment as a methodology based on multiple measures and high content validity, the portfolio is to be composed of materials that 6 should be selected jointly by the student and the teacher to reflect the students work over the entire schooling period. activities. To help the students select materials for the portfolio, a set of guidelines should be made available to the students. The guidelines include how the content of the All work are to be taken directly from the classroom portfolio is to be selected and the criteria that would be used to assess the portfolios. The contents of the students’ portfolios are to include the following: i. ii. iii. iv. individual assignments (homework and tests); group assignments; self reflection on each selected student or group work group reflection on group work. The reflections are to indicate evidence of learning mathematics in the school, what they know and can do. They are also to explain what they have understood and the action that contributes to their understanding. They are to identify what they still do not understand and explain the cause of their lack of understanding and what they can do to change the situation. Journal A journal is a daily or weekly record of occurrences, experiences or observations (Berenson and Carter, 1995). Journal writing by students can be used to record the daily and weekly mathematics learning experiences and the attitude of students towards mathematics. The journal can be used to keep track of the students’ progress in  mathematics and to gain insight into the understanding and misunderstanding of the 7 student. The journal can also be used to document the students attitudinal changes during the project. Students are asked to write three sets of journals in each semester (term). The first one is to be written during the first week of the semester (term), the second in the fourth week and the third journal in the last week of the semester (term). At the beginning of the semester(term), the students should be asked to write journals to indicate their previous and current feelings about mathematics. They are also to assess their strengths and weaknesses in mathematics, pointing out the factors that contributed to their failure or success and describe what they need to do. During the fourth week of the semester, the students would be asked again to write journals to identify ideas they understood easily during discussions with the teacher or their colleagues, and then explain why it was easy for them to understand such ideas. They are to identify ideas, which are still difficult for them to understand, and explain why they thnk they are having such difficulties in comprehending these ideas. They are to comment on a homework or class test they did, and explain why they thought they did well or did not do well. They are to identify aspects of their work that needed improvement. They are also to explain what they learned from doing homework or taking a test and state what they would do differently if they are to do the homework or take the test again. During the last week of the semester(term), students are to write another journal. They should be asked to express their feelings of the test, classwork, homework etc, and their feeling about mathematics. They are to state whether there is any improvement in 8 their learning or understanding of mathematics, and identify things, which contribute to their understanding or lack of understanding. Journal writing can be used as means of regularly focusing on course progress and possible modifications. The journals are the first step in placing the responsibility for learning with the students. Research had found that the journal was an important diagnostic tool in three important ways. First, as a writing sample, it provided information about students’ strengths and weaknesses in mathematics. Second, the journals gave an indication of how the students perceived themselves, and finally, the journals revealed students’ perceptions of the mathematics learning process. The journal the students write will help teachers to know early in the course how students perceived themselves as mathematics learners and how they understood the learning process entailed. Whenever their work was seen, evaluations were made which either corroborated their assessment or highlighted their misconceptions. With this information, the students will be helped to become better more efficient learners. When misconceptions are discovered, students will be helped to establish realistic expectations about what mathematics skills they need to achieve their goals. In fact, the first journal they write is an important point of reference when working with individual students and helping them to identify their objectives during the learning process. Research findings show that journal writing provides the opportunities for the students to reflect on the learning process, and to develop new learning skills. These opportunities will help the students to identify differences between their school experiences and those they are encountering at college. 9 Challenges Testing for accountability purpose is essentially large scale testing and for this reason it relies on tests that are relatively cheap, brief, offer broad but shallow coverage, are easy to score and reliable (Gipps, 1994). Alternative assessment by contrast is timeconsuming, tends to provide detailed multi- dimensional information about a particular skill or area; (and because of time factor, depth may be exchanged for breadth), scoring is generally complex and usually involves the classroom teacher Standardisation of the performance is not possible and therefore reliability in the traditional sense is not high (Mehrens, 1992). However, alternative assessment in general, has become the cornerstone of educational reform movement. The arguments for using these forms of assessment to support instructional practice are that; (i) they engage students in tasks that are more comprehensive and consistent with the goals of a discipline or resonant with the desired outcomes of educational process; (ii) they provide detailed evidence about student’s thinking that enables more specific instructional decision making; and (iii) they encourage students to take active role in their own assessment enabling a sharing responsibility for learning (LeMahieu, et.al. 1995, p11) Many educators are of the view that alternative assessment must be held to the same stringent standard of reliability, validity and objectivity as those achieved by standardised norm referenced assessment, if it is to provide credible and legally defensible measure of learning and performance (Linn and Burtin, 1994). 10 Objections to alternative assessment are often voiced in terms of validity, reliability and objectivity. Questions that focus around these issues are: i. ii. iii. Does the instrument measure what it is supposed to measure? Is the instrument consistent in its measurement? Is the instrument unbiased? (Garcia and Pearson, 1994). Alternative assessment represents the best of worlds in that it looks at actual performance on real life tasks, such as writing, self-editing, reading, participation in collaborative work, and doing a demonstration in front of a group. These procedures are in themselves valid (Garcia and Pearson, 1994). As regards reliability of alternative assessment, Huerta Macias (1955), mentions triangulation as a means of ensuring reliability in a qualitative research. In qualitative research, triangulation refers to the combination of methodologies to strengthen a study design. When applied to alternative assessment, triangulation refers to the collection of data/information from three difference sources/perspectives teacher, student, and parent. On the question of objectivity of alternative assessment, research findings show that, standardised tests merely represent agreement among a number of people on scoring procedures, format or content. These individuals are not objective; they just collectively shared the same biases. In this regard, Huerta Marcias (1995) says that standardised test is not more objective than an alternative assessment. Other challenges of alternative assessment have to do with curriculum and instructional practice. Torrance (1993) reviewed the impact alternative assessment has on curricular and instructional practice in the context of the National Assessment in England and Wales. Among the concerns raised were exorbitant demands on teachers, adding up 11 to two to three hours of extra work daily. Teachers also reported dissatisfaction with managing assessment interactions with small groups of students while trying to maintain the focus of all students. Torrance (1993) concluded that teachers treated assessment as a special activity set apart from teaching, and they felt obliged to do this by the instructions they received, a vision at odds with the integrated assessment and instruction offered by alternative assessment advocates. The question of relative practicality of alternative and traditional assessment in terms of time consumption has been raised by many authors (Linn, 1993; Gipps 1994). Research results indicate that alternative assessment is not more time consuming than traditional assessment on the part of the students. Research has shown that students can cope with the time demands of the alternative assessment(Eshun Abledu, 2000). Educational Implications and Recommendations The following educational implications and recommendations are made for improving the academic performance and enhancing positive attitude of students in mathematics: i. Through alternative assessment processes, the teacher is given the opportunity to know from the students’ journals and portfolios the positive and negative points of his teaching process and work out strategies for his subsequent teaching. ii. Alternative assessment processes offer a chance for the development of better student- student and student-teacher relationship. During their group work and discussions of their journals with the teacher a friendly climate is generated which helps them to get to know one another better. 12 iii. With alternative assessment the teacher is given a chance to break the everyday monotonous teaching routine. Activities are organised for the students that create a pleasant and motivating atmosphere in the classroom, which revives the interest of the pupils for the subject. iv. Alternative assessment processes lead to discovery learning and planning. Thus, it is valuable for increasing and maintaining the efficiency of the skills and concepts that the students learn. However, it makes heavy demands on the teacher to plan activities for the students. v. Students who have language problems will be unwilling to communicate in writing with the teacher. Teachers who use alternative assessment processes should rely more on oral interview than the writing of journal. vi. The positive benefits of alternative assessment lie not only in its  implementation but also in the teachers’ ability to extend and enrich the curriculum through the activities he/she arranges for the students. Thorough planning and understanding of the skills students must develop are prerequisite to successful implementation of alternative assessment processes. Teachers must be trained to live up to the task. It is recommended therefore that pre-service teachers be introduced to the alternative assessment processes. In-service and induction courses on alternative assessment can be organised for teachers who are already teaching. This training is worthwhile since teachers will have the means to bring about higher achievement in mathematics and higher attitudinal changes in female pre-service teachers towards mathematics. 13 vii. Teachers need to provide many opportunities for students to explore and reflect on mathematical concepts. Having students talk and write about mathematical concepts and how these ideas are applied in various problems situation can strengthen their understanding and provide valuable information to the teachers. It is therefore recommended that mathematics concepts be presented to students through the alternative assessment processes. This will then enhance the current programme of promoting the interest of girls in Science, Technology and Mathematics Education (STME). viii. To evaluate our programmes and the progress students are making, me must look beyond the current traditional assessment alone, and find better ways of assessing students’ creativity, ability, and sensitivity in mathematics. The point is, continuous assessment ought to provide a more comprehensive view of pupils’ all-round performance. The Ministry of Education (MOE), the Ghana Education Service (GES) and other policy makers on education must adopt alternative assessment to improve female students’ performance and attitudes in mathematics. Conclusion Knowing mathematics is doing mathematics. We need to create situations where students can be active, creative, and responsive to the physical world. I believe that to learn mathematics, students must construct it for themselves. They can only do that by exploring, justifying, representing, discussing, using, describing, investigating, 14  predicting, in short by being active in the world. Alternative assessment is an ideal activity for such processes. Reference Brady, R. (1991). A Close Look at Student Problem Solving and the Teaching of Mathematics: Predicaments and Possibilities. School Social Science and Mathematics. 91(4), 144-150. Eshun B. A and Abledu, G. K. (2001): The Effects of Alternative Assessment on the Attitudes and Achievement in Mathematics of Female Pre-service Teachers. African Journal of Educational Studies. Vol. 1. p. 21-30 Garcia, G. E. Pearson, P. D. (1994). Assessment and Diversity. In L. Darling Hammond (Ed. ) Review of Research Education . 337-391. Huerta – Macias, A. (1995). Alternative Assessment: Responses to Commonly asked Questions. TESOL Journal. 5 (1) : 8-11. Smolen, L. et. al. (1995). Developing Student Self-Assessment strategies. TESOL Journal. Vol. 5(1) 22 27. Gipps, C. V. (1994). Beyond testing: Towards a theory of educational assessment. The Falmer Press, London. Lee, T. W. (1996). Mathematics portfolios. NCTM’s goals and students perceptions. A complex analysis. Abstract International 57 (6). Vlaskamp, D. C. (1995). Encouragement of Student Learning through a Portfolio Process. Dissertation Abstract International. 55(1). Mehren, W. A (1992). Using Performance assessment for accountability Purposes. Educational Measurement: Issues and Practice. 11, (1), 3-9. 15 Linn, R. L. Burton, E. (1994). Performance Based Assessment: Implications of Task Specificity. Educational Measurement: Issues and Practice. 13 (1) 5-8. Torrance, H. (1993). Combining measurement –driven instruction with authentic assessment: Some initial observations. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis,15, 18-90. 16.

Importance of the Fed in the U.S. Economy Essay Example for Free

Importance of the Fed in the U.S. Economy Essay Apart from the investors and the consumers of the United States, the Federal Reserve happens to be the most important player in the United States economy. The central bank of the U. S. , the Federal Reserve (commonly referred to as the Fed) includes a â€Å"a federal government agency, the Board of Governors, in Washington, D. C. , and 12 regional Reserve Banks† in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Dallas, Kansas City, Minneapolis, New York, Philadelphia, Richmond, San Francisco, and St. Louis (â€Å"The Federal Reserve†). This government agency at the heart of the United States economy, controlled through federal information coming from various quarters, determines how investors and consumers would behave in the future. In so doing, the Fed plays a ‘weighty’ hand in the functioning of the U. S. economy. The Federal Reserve is responsible for overseeing the functioning of banks. The Congress, on the other hand, is responsible for overseeing the functioning of the Fed. Dr. Robert Keleher, the Chief Macroeconomist of the Joint Economic Committee, expresses the importance of these facts with an emphasis on the role of the Fed in the U. S. economy: As the Nations Central Bank, the Federal Reserve is granted special privileges and so assumes the responsibilities and characteristics of such a bank. It monopolizes the issuance of paper money, serves as banker for both the government and commercial banks, and acts as lender of last resort. The latter, in turn, calls for bank regulatory responsibilities. Since Federal Reserve operations work to centralize reserves (Federal Reserve notes and deposits form a large portion of bank reserves), they entail responsibility for reserve management and hence monetary policy. Two critically important macroeconomic functions of the Central Bank, therefore, are the maintenance and achievement of price and financial system stability (i. e. , stable monetary policy and the provision of lender-of-last-resort services). †¦The importance of congressional oversight of the Federal Reserve cannot be overemphasized. These functions are important, for example, because they imply that the Federal Reserve controls and hence is responsible for the management of total spending or aggregate demand as well as inflation. In carrying out its monetary policy management (via manipulating reserves), the Federal Reserve influences interest rates—especially short-term rates—as well as foreign exchange rates and other financial market prices. And in times of financial crisis, the Federal Reserves lender-of-last-resort function stabilizes the entire financial system†¦. (â€Å"The Importance,† 1997). The Fed has the power to change the money supply in the United States (â€Å"Monetary Policy†). An increase in money supply tends to lower interest rates, which in turn may increase investment around the nation in addition to consumer spending. A decrease in the supply of money will raise interest rates. Given that raised rates of interest are expected to reduce consumer spending as well as capital investment, thereby reducing demand as well as prices, the Federal Reserve can hope to control inflation by decreasing money supply. The Federal Reserve uses interest rates as a tool to influence economic activity. The funds rate, which is the interest that banks charge each other on overnight loans, happens to be the Federal Reserve’s primary tool of monetary policy, seeing that this rate affects several other interests rates charged to consumers and to businesses (Associated Press, 2006). The interest rate influences money supply and various components of the U. S. economy. Most importantly, it is this tool of monetary policy that helps to determine the financial health of the people of America with respect to the state of the economy. How much money common people and businesses would be able to spend in a given time is, in fact, the responsibility of the Federal Reserve to adjust and readjust through its monetary policy. The amount of spending in the economy is closely related to the standard of living of the Americans. Hence, the Fed’s role of making monetary policy work for the United States is oft understood to be the most crucial one. The second most important role of the Fed is thought to be â€Å"Banking Supervision. † Seeing as a sound and strong financial system is essential to the â€Å"health of the economy and the effectiveness of monetary policy,† the central bank of the United States supervises as well as regulates financial institutions throughout the nation. By so doing, the bank of the banks is in a better position to make sound policy decisions (â€Å"Banking Supervision†). What is more, by ensuring that the investment and commercial banks around the nation are engaging in sound business practices, the Federal Reserve guarantees the investors and consumers of America that their moneys and economic interests would remain well guarded. The third function of the Federal Reserve is connected to the second, which is connected to the first. As â€Å"a bank for banks† the Fed not only supervises the latter, but also provides essential financial services to â€Å"depository institutions,† such as â€Å"banks, credit unions, and savings and loans. † Just as the commercial banks handle transactions among their customers, in addition to the transactions of their customers with the customers of other banks; the Federal Reserve handles transactions among banks. These financial services provided by the central bank include the electronic transfer of funds between banks; the collection of checks at various depository institutions; and the distribution as well as receiving of U. S. dollars and cents among and from the depository institutions, which require freshly minted money on a regular basis (â€Å"Financial Services†). The Fed also is a bank for the United States government. Referred to as the federal government’s â€Å"fiscal agent,† the central bank provides financial services to the government’s Department of Treasury. In addition, the â€Å"bank for the government† sells and redeems government securities, for example, â€Å"Saving Bonds and Treasury Bills† (â€Å"Financial Services†). It is at this point that the third most important function of the Federal Reserve joins with the first. By buying and selling government securities, the Federal Reserve changes the money supply: the selling of government securities decreases the money supply, and the buying of such securities increases the supply of money in the U. S. economy (â€Å"FOMC†). Whether the Federal Reserve must buy or sell government securities at a given time is determined by the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), which is a fundamental â€Å"branch of the Federal Reserves Board† and â€Å"composed of the Board of Governors†¦and five reserve-bank presidents. † The FOMC is also responsible for making decisions about the direction that the interest rate should take. While the investors may only speculate about the pertinent monetary policy decisions of the FOMC, the Americans may continue to enjoy sound sleep at night with the knowledge that the Federal Reserve is a highly responsible agent of the government which has accompanied the economy through periods of very high growth, especially in the most recent decades (â€Å"FOMC†). Given the above facts about the central bank of the United States, it would not be an exaggeration to claim that the Federal Reserve is the banker of each American. While setting the monetary policy and performing its other functions, the Federal Reserve has the best interests of the Americans and the American economy at heart. Whether it is unemployment rate that must be fixed, or the inflation rate that must be adjusted to account for technological improvements; the Fed is in charge of correcting the errors. The changes facing the economy at any time are varied. The Federal Reserve must sift through the information about the economy that it is presented with, analyze the information with an emphasis on the interest of the Americans, and then make sound policy decisions that would impact the future of the economy. During low growth periods, the Federal Reserve is looked up to for massive corrections in the system, generally carried out through appropriate monetary policy decisions. The American public has high expectations attached to the Fed in times of economic hardship. In periods of high growth, on the other hand, the Fed continues to oversee the functioning of the economy to check for the menace of inflation, etc. Thus, this ‘bank of America’ is constantly overseeing the economy and overruling bad choices in the employment of the resources available to the U. S. What is more, the United States economy at present cannot envision a time when it would be no more affiliated with the Fed. Rather, the Federal Reserve is indispensable in the U. S. economic system. References Associated Press. (2006, May 31). Federal Reserve Minutes Show Uncertainty Over Future Interest Rate Hikes. Fox News. Available 20 February 2007, from http://www. foxnews. com/story/0,2933,197674,00. html. Banking Supervision. Fed 101. Available 29 May 2007, from http://www. federalreserveeducation. org/fed101/supervision/. FOMC Federal Open Market Committee. Investopedia. Available 29 May 2007, from http://www. investopedia. com/terms/f/fomc. asp. Financial Services. Fed 101. Available 29 May 2007, from http://www. federalreserveeducation. org/fed101/services/. Monetary Policy. Fed 101. Available 29 May 2007, from http://www. federalreserveeducation. org/fed101/policy/. The Federal Reserve System Online. Available 29 May 2007, from http://www. federalreserveonline. org/. The Importance of the Federal Reserve. (1997, March). Joint Economic Committee Report. Available 29 May 2007, from http://www. house. gov/jec/fed/fed/fed-impt. pdf.

Civil Liberties: Voting Rights and Equal Representation

Civil Liberties: Voting Rights and Equal Representation One of the misconceptions we face in this country is a thorough understanding of civil liberties as they pertain to voting and representation. Many would believe that a country founded on the ideals of a republic would assuredly guarantee the right to vote for all its citizens. However, the ability to vote as we understand it today, was not initially expressed as an affirmative right in the United States Constitution. A central conflict in our nations brief history has been a battle of ideologies between those who would restrain the rights of others in favor of a slim minority versus those who believe that government should reflect the will of the whole of its citizenry. Access to representation remains relevant today because we do not possess a federal right to vote. The constitution has failed to fulfill the democratic premise most believe is a fundamental right. Our history however, has shown us time and time again that we cannot be trusted to apportion civil liberties under the z eitgeist the constitution was written in. In Federalist Paper 84, Hamilton reasons against the provision of the Bill of Rights citing that the constitution is sufficient in providing liberty through the application of checks and balances (Hughes, 2013). In our recent history, however, there has been an increased movement towards the enactment of voting laws aimed specifically, so it would seem, to restrict or curtail the right to vote. This institutional loophole prevents everyone from receiving the benefits afforded by our system of law. States have also established a long history of disenfranchising individuals convicted of felony crimes for the duration of their sentence and in some states for a period thereafter. In a handful of states, voting can only be restored by a petition to the court or governors office. These circumstances point to the need for a constitutional right to suffrage by means of a voting rights amendment or new act altogether. When the Declaration of Independence was signed in 1786, the legal right to vote was a privilege exclusive to white males who owned property. The ramifications of this design would permeate through the nation for the next eighty years. With the passing of the Naturalization Act in 1790, immigrants of Asian descent were prevented from becoming naturalized citizens. In 1848, the treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo declared Mexican nationals living within the territories as United States citizens, while simultaneously imposing voting laws requiring property ownership, English literacy proficiency and other means of discriminatory acts. Following the Civil War and the subsequent abolishment of slavery by the Thirteenth Amendment in 1865, the Southern states sought to perpetuate the economic and social subordination of African Americans through the adoption of the infamous Black Codes (Rossum and Tarr, 2014, p. 50). Congress responded to this overt circumvention through the Civil Rights Act in 18 66 and the Fourteenth Amendment. The Civil Rights Act guaranteed to black citizens the same rights to make and enforce contracts, to inherit, purchase, lease, sell, hold and convey real and personal property and to enjoy the full and equal benefit of all laws and proceedings for the security of person and property, as is enjoyed by white citizens (Rossum and Tarr, 2014 p. 51). The Fourteenth Amendment expanded constitutional authority to prevent further violations from the states, however, it addressed the issue generally, rather than enumerating the rights detailed in the Civil Rights Act. African American men were afforded the right to vote, if only technically speaking, through the passage of the Fifteenth Amendment in 1870 although they would continue to be disenfranchised by electoral rules and laws such as poll taxes, the so-called Grandfather Clause statutes, as well as comprehension and literacy exams that were passed to make the regulations more restrictive. Concurrently, women were deprived of their right to vote until 1920. The United States continued to deny naturalization to ethnic groups as evidenced by the Supreme Courts rulings in (Takao Ozawa v. United States, 1922) and (Bhagat Singh Thind v. United States, 1923). These blemishes on our nations history are important reminders of our failings in administering equality proportionately. Increasingly since 2008, there has been a nationwide surge in laws aimed at suppressing voting through limitations on early voting, purges of voter rolls, and voter identification laws. Such enactments adversely affect the elderly, and minorities such as African American and Latino voters. In (Shelby County v. Holder, 2013), the Supreme Court ruled that the coverage formula in Section 4(b) of the Voting Rights Act (VRA), which was used to determine the states and political subdivisions subject to Section 5 preclearance, was unconstitutional. While the Court did not invalidate the preclearance mechanism in the Voting Rights Act per se, it effectively halted its use by invalidating the formula that determined which places were subject to the preclearance obligation (Shelby County v. Holder, 2013). Following the invalidation of the Voting Rights Act of 1965s (VRAs) preclearance scheme in Shelby County v. Holder,Section 2 proscribes any voting qualification or prerequisite to voting or standard, practice, or procedure . . . which results in a denial or abridgement of the right of any citizen . . . to vote on account of race or color.Congress added the statutes results language in 1982 to clarify that section 2 violations do not require a showing of intentional discrimination they can be proved by showing discriminatory effect alone.Until recently, circuits have been sharply divided on the appropriate disparate impact test to apply to section 2 vote denial claims (110, No, Stat, codified, C, 2016). Per a Wisconsin federal court in 2014, three hundred thousand registered voters in that state lacked the forms of identification that Republican legislators deemed necessary to cast their ballots (Toobin, 2016). In June 2013, Texas passed (SB 14) which required voters to present one of six acceptable forms of identification to vote in person. Prior to this bill, residents could present voter registration certificates or sign an affidavit if they did not have one of the acceptable forms of identification available to them. Advocacy groups sought an injunction against the enforcement and in (Veasy v. Abbott, 2016), the fifth circuit court of appeals ruled against the bill as it would disproportionately burden black and Hispanic voters, thereby violating the federal Voting Rights Acts ban on racial discrimination in elections. There have been several other cases of the kind and it is likely that we will continue to see an increase of these laws and further discussion. An issue that is not surprisingly on the forefront of everyones minds when it comes to voting rights is the disenfranchisement of those convicted of felony crimes. The Supreme Court ruled in (Richardson v. Ramirez, 1974) that the disenfranchisement of convicted persons was constitutional under Section 2 of the Fourteenth Amendment which states except for participation in rebellion, or other crime (Rossum and Tarr, 2014 p. 892). However, when considering that obligations have been or are being met while a sentence in being served, convicted felons should be guaranteed to the right to voice their opinion on laws that may very well affect them in their current conditions. Additionally, the disproportionate incarceration of minorities across the nations is further evidence that there is a systematic failure in our systems of law and the ability to impart justice equality. Thirty-four states strip the voting rights of persons convicted of felonies in the past, irrespective if they served probationary periods or prison time. The inability to vote on key legislation or in elections is an additional loss of benefits to convicted persons, it further marginalizes them and does little to reduce recidivism. Those able to freely engage in society and utilize their voice are more able to adapt and cope with the ramifications of their status such as the difficulty to find employment, the inability to work for the federal government, serve in the armed forces or seek political office. Every one of these examples is a reminder of past mistakes, the inability to vote should not be among them. There have been recent surges towards voting restoration laws and the universal right to vote. In 2015, (HR 1459), the Democracy Restoration Act was re-introduced and subsequently referred to committee. Also, introduced in 2015, the Civil Rights Voting Restoration Act (S 457) and the Baltimore Act (S 1610), call for the restoration of voting privileges for those who have completed their prison terms. The creation of the Presidential Commission on Election Administration seeks to address some of the symptoms of the problems with our elections. But is cannot remedy the issue itself. This push towards access to the ballot reinforces the need for basic voting standards through the building of legislative protections for inclusive participation in our democracy. What is inherently germane to the issue is the need for an act guaranteeing a universal right to vote for all Americans. Only then would we truly have a democracy that is representative of all its people without preclusions thereo f. A country that prides itself on its democratic principles should provide such voting standards, for its rich culture, its people, and its future. References Bush v. Gore. (n.d.). Oyez. Retrieved February 5, 2017, from https://www.oyez.org/cases/2000/00-949 Green, John. [Tinkers Thinkers]. (2014, February 18). The Constitution, the Articles, and Federalism Crash Course US History #8. [Video File]. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/JHu6yTDflL4. Hughes, Keith. (2013, September 13). The Federalist Papers Explained. [Video File]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b9lCkWJ72yE. Hughes, Keith. (2014, October 9). The 19th Amendment Explained: The Constitution for Dummies. [Video File]. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/Qf7wX8yc1ws. Katzenbach v. Morgan. (n.d.). Oyez. Retrieved February 5, 2017, from https://www.oyez.org/cases/1965/847 Minor v. United States. (n.d.). Oyez. Retrieved February 5, 2017, from https://www.oyez.org/cases/1969/189 Rossum, R. A., Tarr, G. A. (9th ed.) (2014). American constitutional law: The bill of rights and subsequent amendments (Volume II).Boulder, Colorado: Westview Press. Shelby County v. Holder. (2013). Retrieved February 11, 2017, from Civil Rights, Retrieved from https://www.civilrights.org/shelby-county-v-holder.html?referrer=https://www.google.com/ Shelby County v. Holder. (n.d.). Oyez. Retrieved February 11, 2017, from https://www.oyez.org/cases/2012/12-96 Toobin, J. (2016, December 12). Jeffrey Toobin. The New Yorker. Retrieved from http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/12/12/the-real-voting-scandal-of-2016 Women in the British War Effort: 1914-1918 Women in the British War Effort: 1914-1918 Assess the extent of the contribution made by women to the British war effort 1914-18. When discussing World War One, one point that is often brought up is the contribution women made to the British war effort. It is clear that many women contributed to the war effort, be it through volunteering or working in factories to produce bombs and shells. Women were called to help through requests printed in newspapers, and hundreds enthusiastically volunteered to care for those who were sick or injured.[1] It is often thought that many women jumped at the opportunity to help their country during the war, either due to their patriotism or because of the many new opportunities that were now opening up to them. It is often thought that the contributions that women made to the war effort eventually led to female suffrage in 1918. Though the right to vote was limited to women over the age of thirty, it was seen as a large step forward towards gender equality at the time by many. However, the question remains: what contributions did women make to the British war effort that led to this? This essay shall explore the many different ways in which women contributed to the war, from manual labour to domestic chores. Regardless of the roles they played, many historians agree that the contributions that women made to the British war effort was vital in ensuring victory. As World War One was the first instance of total war, a joint effort by both men and women on the front lines and back home was needed in order to succeed. It is often interpreted that the situation of women during the war was simple. Gail Braybon explains that it is a common misconception that women took over mens jobs during the war, and because of the work they did they were rewarded with the vote; the reality, however, is more complicated.[2] He states that in order to understand women during this period, one must à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ consider women both as subjects, and as objects of pity, derision, hostility or admiration.[3] Alan G. V. Simmonds agrees with this, stating that historians are presented with many uncertainties when it comes to studying working women during the war.[4] Indeed, exploring this area of history does prov e to have challenges, from inaccurate government figures and the many different experiences that the war brought. Even then, it is agreed by many scholars that the contribution made by women to the British war effort was of high importance for many different reasons. When discussing the role of women during the First World War, many immediately think of those who volunteered to help with the sick and wounded during the war. The Voluntary Aid Detachments, also known as the VAD, was founded in 1909 and were a group of untrained nurses who assisted trained nurses by caring for patients. According to Anne Summers, the VADs have been portrayed as the epitome of enthusiasm, dedication and efficiency[5], and between 1914 and 1919 at least 32,000 women served as military nurses.[6] While the VADs were not permitted to ride to the front lines in order to treat wounded soldiers, many were sent abroad in order to serve at British bases; one of the most well-known was in Calais. Despite this, many VADs remained in Britain. The VADs were seen as highly important during war-time Britain, as they were needed in large numbers and quickly.[7] It is often thought that a vast majority of those who volunteered to be part of the VAD were from middle- or upper-class b ackgrounds, and while this is true, it is important to note that a large flux of working class women joined the VAD towards the end of the war.[8] The contribution that the VADs made towards the British war effort, in the end, was extremely important. It is argued that they were so important that they were often compared to volunteer soldiers,[9] which at the time would have increased patriotism in many. This comparison between soldiers and VADs is extremely important in showing how much these women contributed towards the British war effort; that is, arguably, if the comparison had not been made then it would be safe to assume that the role women played was not of great importance in comparison to the men. Therefore, from this is can be proposed that the contribution that the VADs made to the British war effort was very important. Alongside the VADs, there were other important volunteer groups set up during the war. The Womens Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC), later renamed Queen Marys Auxiliary Corps, were a group of women who were attached to the army that was founded in 1917. It was founded in order to help solve the issue of providing manpower for the army,[10] though it was not taken very serious, especially by men. This was due to how, according to Gould, The idea of women performing military serviceà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ was both disturbing and offensive to many peopleà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.[11] Women were not expected to partake in activities such as this, which is why the WAAC was not taken seriously when it was founded. Even in 1907, when preparations for war were already underway, women were not expected to join the Territorial and Reserves Force, which aimed to train people to defend Britain against invasion.[12] Due to how they were not harshly disciplined and were not expected to fight like men were, it can be disp uted that the WAAC did not necessarily contribute much to the war effort in comparison to the VADs and munitionettes. Other organizations, such as the Womens Royal Air Force (WRAF) and the Womens Land Army (WLA) were set up in 1918 and 1917 respectively in an attempt to get women to do their part. The WLA aimed to get more labour onto the fields in order to produce good harvests during the war and take over from men who had been called to join the army. Around 5,500 women applied by April 1917 and 45,000 women volunteered by the end of the war, only 23,000 women actually worked due to the reluctance for farmers.[13] By volunteering for the WLA, women were able to help with food produce as well as have a sense of patriotism. As food is a necessity, it can therefore be argued that this contribution was important. Without the WLA it is possible that rationing in Britain would have been worse. That being said, as so many women were turned away it can be said that perhaps the need for fa rmers was not as drastic as initially thought. Regardless, this contribution can still be seen as important due to the necessity for food. Another key role that is often discussed alongside the topic of womens contributions to the British war effort is women at work, especially the factory workers who were also known as the munitionettes. According to Angela Woollacott, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ women munition workers received public acclamation for their part in the war effort.[14] Working in munitions factories was extremely dangerous due to the high risks of injury and accidents, and it was because of this that many women involved in these accidents received the Order of the British Empire after the war.[15] While the middle- and upper-classes tended to volunteer as nurses, a vast majority of women who worked in munitions factories were working class women who had to make a living in order to keep their families fed. After the Shell Scandal of 1915, there a greater focus on producing munitions for the war. Due to this, the number of workers who worked in industries classed under munitions increased; for example, in 1914 170,00 0 women worked in the metal industry, though this increased to 594,000 by 1918.[16] Other industries appeared to experience a decrease in workers as women changed occupations to be of more use to the war effort, such as clothing and textiles. Alongside this, many factories turned to making munitions in an attempt to help with the war effort. For example, Woollacott mentions that a tobacco factory began making shells whilst a gramophone factory turned to making shell-fuses.[17] However, working in industry did not come without backlash. It is often thought that women replaced men, and this belief was strong during the war. In The Aberdare Leader, an article about a brawl between two women stated that Women have replaced men in many a walk of life since the out- break of the warà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.[18] This belief that women had replaced the men who had gone off to war was fairly common during this period, and women were often reminded that their jobs were only temporary. Deborah Throm wr ites that the number of women who joined the workforce replacing men is questionable,[19] mainly due to the lack of official figures that support this view. Women were also excluded from certain jobs, such as coal-mining and dock work, meaning that it is impossible for women to have replaced men in the workforce during this period.[20] Regardless, the contribution women made to industry during the war is quite important, especially when one considers the Shell Scandal of 1915. With women working in munitions factories, the possibility of another crisis happening had decreased, and even then they were working in a dangerous environment that saw thousands of injuries and fatalities. Alongside working in factories and volunteering, women were also expected to keep performing their regular domestic duties. This resulted in a double burden, meaning that many married women had to work in order to feed their family as well as care for said family when they were not working. In some cases, it was noted that some women had barely six hours sleep due to her duties at home and at work. [21]It was important that women kept the homefires burning and acted as though everything was normally back home, mainly due to the fear that fathers and sons would not make it back home. During the war married women were expected to leave their jobs in order to look after their family, though not many wanted to or could afford to.[22] Many middle- and upper-class women were in the position where they could afford to leave work, thought the working-class could not. Therefore, regardless of whether they were in employment or not, women were expected to look after the home as though was had not happened. Alongside this, many women did all they could to ensure that they could help those on the front lines. Watson mentions that during the war many women adopted prisoners of war and sent them letters.[23] Homemade goods such as knitted mufflers and socks were also sent to men on the front lines, alongside chocolate and cigarettes, as a form of comfort and a reminder of home.[24] This was quite an important contribution towards the war effort. This is because, by doing this, it was believed that goods from home would increase morality for the men who were fighting on the front lines. Women also tried to persuade men into joining the war through the White Feather Movement. While in some cases this can be seen as cruel, women would bestow men who were not at war with a white feather to show their cowardice. To some this may have encouraged them to enrol before conscription was introduced, though to others who may have received them it would have been unfair, mainly due to in visible disabilities that may have prevented them from enrolling. Nevertheless, the White Feather Movement during the war would not have contributed to much long-term. Womens domestic roles, however, was an extremely important contribution that kept the illusion that everything was normal afloat. Therefore, it can be argued that womens contributions to the home was important for the war effort, even as important as the munition workers and those in employment. The overall contributions that women made to the British war effort were extremely important, both in helping those abroad as well as those back home. Despite the fact that many people were still prejudiced against women working outside of their normal occupations, such as nursing and sewing,[25] it is undeniable that the overall contributions women made to the British war effort was of high importance. Women workers and those who volunteered during the war were, arguably, the most important when it came to contributions, due to the overall impact and contributions that they made. With VADs helping the sick and munition workers making shells and bombs for the army, it is understandable why women were praised considerably during the war despite initial prejudice. Their hard work during the war it why many say that it led to women gaining the right to vote. While this is still somewhere debates amongst historians, it is somewhat clear that their hard work had some role in ensuring wome n suffrage. All women were seen as having an important role at home and abroad during the war, be it volunteering or simply looking after the home. The contributions that women made to the British war effort are important in the sense that it helped women experience a new life, for example working in areas that they may not have worked in before, as well as help the war effort as a whole; to undermine womens contributions is, in a way, to undermine an entire part of the war. Bibliography: Primary Sources: The Aberdare Leader, 29th June 1918, National Library of Wales. Secondary Sources: Beddoe, Deirdre. Back to Home and Duty: Women Between the Wars 1918-1939, London, 1989. Constantine, Stephen, Kirby, Maurice W and Rose, Mary B. The First World War in British History, Great Britain, 1995. Gowdy-Wygant, Cecilia. Cultivating Victory: The Womens Land Army and the Victory Garden, Pittsburgh, 2013. Higonnet, Margaret Randolph, Jenson, Jane, Michel, Sonya and Weitz, Margaret Collins. Behind the Lines: Gender and the Two World Wars, New Haven and London, 1987. Marwick, Arthur. The Deluge, Hampshire, 2006. Simmonds, Alan G.V. Britain and World War One, Oxon, 2012. Summers, Anne. Angels and Citizens, Newbury, 2000. Wall, Richard and Winter, Jay. The Upheaval of War, Cambridge, 1988. Watson, Janet S. K. Khaki Girls, VADs, and Tommys Sisters: Gender and Class in First World War Britain, The International History Review, Vol. 19, No. 1, Feb 1997, pp. 32-51. Woollacott, Angela. On Her Their Lives Depend, California, 1994. [1] Gould, Jenny. Womens Military Service in First World War Britain in Behind the Lines: Gender and the Two World Wars, Higonnet, Margaret Randolph, Jenson, Jane, Michel, Sonya and Weitz, Margaret Collins (eds.), p. 116. [2] Braybon, Gail. Women and the War in The First World War in British History, Constantine, Stephen, Kirby, Maurice W and Rose, Mary B (eds.), p. 141. [3] Braybon, Gail. Women and the War in The First World War in British History, Constantine, Stephen, Kirby, Maurice W and Rose, Mary B (eds.), p. 141. [4] Simmonds, Alan G. V. Britain and World War One, p. 129. [5] Summers, Anne. Angels and Citizens, p. 227. [6] Summers, Anne. Angels and Citizens, p. 231. [7] Summers, Anne. Angels and Citizens, p. 232. [8] Watson, Janet S. K. Khaki Girls, VADs, and Tommys Sisters: Gender and Class in First World War Britain, The International History Review, p. 33. [9] Watson, Janet S. K. Khaki Girls, VADs, and Tommys Sisters: Gender and Class in First World War Britain, The International History Review, p. 34. [10] Gould, Jenny. Womens Military Service in First World War Britain in Behind the Lines: Gender and the Two World Wars, p. 114. [11] Gould, Jenny. Womens Military Service in First World War Britain in Behind the Lines: Gender and the Two World Wars, p. 117. [12] Gould, Jenny. Womens Military Service in First World War Britain in Behind the Lines: Gender and the Two World Wars, p. 115. [13] Gowdy-Wygant, Cecilia. Cultivating Victory: The Womens Land Army and the Victory Garden, p. 40. [14] Woollacott, Angela. On Her Their Lives Depend, p. 8. [15] Woollacott, Angela. On Her Their Lives Depend, p. 8. [16] Woollacott, Angela. On Her Their Lives Depend, p. 25. [17] Woollacott, Angela. On Her Their Lives Depend, p. 28. [18] The Aberdare Leader, 29th June 1918, p. 8. [19] Deborah Throm. Women and Work in Wartime Britain in The Upheaval of War, Wall, Richard and Winter, Jay, p. 308. [20] Braybon, Gail. Women and the War in The First World War in British History, Constantine, Stephen, Kirby, Maurice W and Rose, Mary B (eds.), p. 150. [21] Warwick, Arthur. The Deluge, p. 154. [22] Woollacott, Angela. On Her Their Lives Depend, p. 152. [23] Watson, Janet S. K. Khaki Girls, VADs, and Tommys Sisters: Gender and Class in First World War Britain, The International History Review, p.p. 36-7. [24] Watson, Janet S. K. Khaki Girls, VADs, and Tommys Sisters: Gender and Class in First World War Britain, The International History Review, p. 37. [25] Gould, Jenny. Womens Military Service in First World War Britain in Behind the Lines: Gender and the Two World Wars, p. 118.

A Brief History of Bonn Essay -- Thebaean legionaries, germany

With traces of humans dating back 50,000 years, Bonn is considered to be one of Germany’s oldest cities (History). The city of Bonn â€Å"celebrated its 2000th anniversary in 1989, based on the date of its first written mention by the Roman writer Florus in 11 BC† (History). â€Å"Friedrich Schlegel once called Bonn a â€Å"friendly† town and it has been a friendly town throughout the whole 2000 years if its existence, which dates back to the foundation of the Drusus fort in the year 13 BC (Schleifer).† Around 11 BC, a Roman army placed a unit in what is present day downtown. However, before this occurred, the army moved members of a Germanic tribe, the Ubii, to Bonna which is Latin for Bonn. After many years, the army released the small camp linked to the Ubii-settlement. Around the 1st century AD, the Roman army then took a spot to the north of emerging Bonna in what is now the section of Bonn-Castell to build a military fort called Castra Bonnensis, whi ch means Fort Bonn. This Fort was used through the 5th century AD and continued to stand in the Middle Ages, where the fort was called Bonnburg. The structures were not of much use until the Frankish kings who were in control at this time decided to use them as part of the city wall in the 13th century. Barbarian invaders destroyed much of the original city of Bonna, and when the time came for the barbarians to take over, the troops switched their allegiances to save themselves from certain death. It is from these barbarians that the medieval city of Bonn began to rise (Bonn). â€Å"One well-documented event was the martyrdom of two Thebaean legionaries. The Thebaean Legion was an all-Christian legion, which refused to worship the emperor as a god. As punishment, the Thebaean Legion's commander, Ma... ...rk: Berghahn Books, 2010. Print. "Bonn." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 25 Apr. 2014. Web. 27 Apr. 2014. "Bonn: A Brief History." A Brief History of Bonn. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Apr. 2014. "Bonn Travel Guide." Travel Guide. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Apr. 2014. de Bruyn, Gerd . Post tower : Helmut Jahn, Werner Sobek, Matthias Schuler. Berlin; Boston: Birkhauser Verlag, 1997. Print. "Drachenfels (Siebengebirge)." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 18 Apr. 2014. Web. 28 Apr. 2014. Website Flagge, Ingeborg. Architektur in Bonn nach 1945 : Bauten in der Bundeshauptstadt und ihrer Umgebung. Bonn: Rohrscheid, 1984. Print. Grosser, Dieter. German Unification: The Unexpected Challenge. Oxford: Berg, 1992. Print. "Hans Riegel Bonn = HARIBO - A Traditional Brand with History." Hans Riegel Bonn = HARIBO - A Traditional Brand with History. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Apr. 2014.

Henrik Isbens A Dolls House Essay -- A Dolls House Essays

Independence   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Most of us live a life where we do what we want and when we want without anyone telling us how to live our lives. This wasn’t the case in A Doll’s House by Henrik Ibsen, where he illustrates to us how one woman lives a life through her father and husband. Throughout the play we see how a once childish like woman gains her independence and a life of her own. Ibsen shows us a very realistic play that demonstrates how on the outside Nora and Torvald seem to have it all. While in reality their life together is simply empty until Nora stands up for herself and starts to build her own life.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Nora Helmer was a fragile character that relied on her husband for her own identity. This dependence has kept her from having her own personality in so many different ways. Throughout the story Nora portrays the perfect housewife who stays at home to take care of her family and please her husband. From early childhood Nora has always held the opinions of either her father or Torvald, only hoping to please them. Nora’s upbringing was so easy that she only needed to make a cute noise and someone would come running over to serve her. It’s no wonder that when she got married that Torvald followed the same routine. Ibsen even states that, â€Å"she was merely a doll, a plaything, passed from papa’s hands onto Torvald’s† (1610). I believe that these actions made her look extremely infantile, showing that she had no thoughts of her v... Henrik Isben's A Doll's House Essay -- A Doll's House Essays Independence   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Most of us live a life where we do what we want and when we want without anyone telling us how to live our lives. This wasn’t the case in A Doll’s House by Henrik Ibsen, where he illustrates to us how one woman lives a life through her father and husband. Throughout the play we see how a once childish like woman gains her independence and a life of her own. Ibsen shows us a very realistic play that demonstrates how on the outside Nora and Torvald seem to have it all. While in reality their life together is simply empty until Nora stands up for herself and starts to build her own life.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Nora Helmer was a fragile character that relied on her husband for her own identity. This dependence has kept her from having her own personality in so many different ways. Throughout the story Nora portrays the perfect housewife who stays at home to take care of her family and please her husband. From early childhood Nora has always held the opinions of either her father or Torvald, only hoping to please them. Nora’s upbringing was so easy that she only needed to make a cute noise and someone would come running over to serve her. It’s no wonder that when she got married that Torvald followed the same routine. Ibsen even states that, â€Å"she was merely a doll, a plaything, passed from papa’s hands onto Torvald’s† (1610). I believe that these actions made her look extremely infantile, showing that she had no thoughts of her v...