Desegregation, Busing, and Schools Essay -- Argumentative Persuasive T

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The issue of desegregation has been a very controversial issue since it was first legally introduced by the Supreme Court in 1954 with Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, KS. Favoring or not favoring desegregation has not been the issue; almost everyone says they are for it on the surface. The controversy arises when it comes to how to implement desegregation. Immediately following the Brown decision, which advocated school assignment regardless of race, many school districts adopted a geographic school assignment policy. This plan, especially in the 1950's, did very little to do away with segregated schools even though it was a race-neutral policy for integration. From that rocky beginning to desegregation, to the current battles over how best to implement desegregation through mandatory (or voluntary) busing of minorities and whites, this issue has been in the forefront of discussions about race and education. This paper will attempt to give a brief hist ory of desegregation in the United States, followed by a discussion of the current events which surround this issue (with balance given to the viewpoints of both sides), and then offer advice on solutions which most benefit everyone involved.       Brown v. Board of the Education in 1954 was a landmark decision in the education arena. The decision maintained that schools that separated students by the color of their skin could no longer be maintained. The court saw this as necessary, since in their mind schools for black students would always be inferior. This inferiority would not be caused by lack of resources, although that usually was a contributing factor to the poor quality of the school, physically and performance-wise. As the Supreme Court saw it, s... ...yllis A. and Dalmas A. Taylor, eds. Eliminating Racism. New York: Plenum Press, 1988. Bankston III, Carl and Stephen J. Caldas. "Majority African American schools and social injustice: the influence of de facto segregation on academic achievement." Social Forces, Dec. 1996, v75 n2 pp535-556. Bobo, Lawrence. "Whites' Opposition to Busing: Symbolic Racism or Realistic Group Conflict?" Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 1983, v45 n6 pp. 1196-1210. Hacker, Andrew. Two Nations. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1992. Katz, Phyllis A. and Dalmas A. Taylor, eds. Eliminating Racism. New York: Plenum Press, 1988. Massey, Douglas A. and Nancy A. Denton. American Apartheid. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1993. Rivkin, Steven G. "Residential Segregation and School Integration." Sociology of Education, Oct. 1994, v67 pp. 279-292.    Desegregation, Busing, and Schools Essay -- Argumentative Persuasive T   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The issue of desegregation has been a very controversial issue since it was first legally introduced by the Supreme Court in 1954 with Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, KS. Favoring or not favoring desegregation has not been the issue; almost everyone says they are for it on the surface. The controversy arises when it comes to how to implement desegregation. Immediately following the Brown decision, which advocated school assignment regardless of race, many school districts adopted a geographic school assignment policy. This plan, especially in the 1950's, did very little to do away with segregated schools even though it was a race-neutral policy for integration. From that rocky beginning to desegregation, to the current battles over how best to implement desegregation through mandatory (or voluntary) busing of minorities and whites, this issue has been in the forefront of discussions about race and education. This paper will attempt to give a brief hist ory of desegregation in the United States, followed by a discussion of the current events which surround this issue (with balance given to the viewpoints of both sides), and then offer advice on solutions which most benefit everyone involved.       Brown v. Board of the Education in 1954 was a landmark decision in the education arena. The decision maintained that schools that separated students by the color of their skin could no longer be maintained. The court saw this as necessary, since in their mind schools for black students would always be inferior. This inferiority would not be caused by lack of resources, although that usually was a contributing factor to the poor quality of the school, physically and performance-wise. As the Supreme Court saw it, s... ...yllis A. and Dalmas A. Taylor, eds. Eliminating Racism. New York: Plenum Press, 1988. Bankston III, Carl and Stephen J. Caldas. "Majority African American schools and social injustice: the influence of de facto segregation on academic achievement." Social Forces, Dec. 1996, v75 n2 pp535-556. Bobo, Lawrence. "Whites' Opposition to Busing: Symbolic Racism or Realistic Group Conflict?" Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 1983, v45 n6 pp. 1196-1210. Hacker, Andrew. Two Nations. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1992. Katz, Phyllis A. and Dalmas A. Taylor, eds. Eliminating Racism. New York: Plenum Press, 1988. Massey, Douglas A. and Nancy A. Denton. American Apartheid. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1993. Rivkin, Steven G. "Residential Segregation and School Integration." Sociology of Education, Oct. 1994, v67 pp. 279-292.   

Island of the Sequined Love Nun Chapter 27~28

27 Girl Talk Sepie washed the pilot's hair in a bowl with pounded coconut and brackish water. She had been taking care of the unconscious white man for two days and it was starting to get tedious. She was mispel of the bachelors' house, and washing and ministering to a sick and stinky white man was not in her job description. This was women's work. There are legends in the islands, and some of the old men swear they are true, that the women who service the bachelors' houses, the mispels, were taken to the secret island of Maluuk, known only to the high navigators, where they were trained in the art of pleasuring a man. After months of training, a mispel was required to pass a test before she was allowed to return to her home island to take over the duty of tending to the sexual needs of the men of the bachelors' house. The test? She was sent into the ocean with a ripe brown coconut clutched between her thighs, and there she floated, in heavy surf, for the entire circuit of the tides. Should the coconut pop loose or the mispel touch it with her hands, she failed the test (although there was some leeway in the event of shark attack). It is said that the inner thighs of the mispels of old were as strong as net cable. The second part of the test required the girl to find a delicate dragonfly orchid with a straight stem, and while her teachers looked on, she would lower herself over the flower until it disappeared inside of her, then rise again after a few minutes, leaving the stem unbent and the petals unbruised. The mispel held a position of honor, respected and revered among the is-landers. She was n ot required to do housekeeping, cooking, or weaving, and while the other women toiled in taro fields from the time they could walk, a mispel was allowed to nap in the shade, conserving her energy for her nocturnal duties. A mispel often ended her tour of duty by marrying a man of high status. No stigma followed her into married life, and she would be sought out to the end of her days by the other women for advice on handling men. Sepie, however, had not been chosen because of any special skill, nor had she passed through any vigorous concubinal boot camp. Sepie had been marked for mispel from the moment of her menses, when she emerged from the women's house with her lavalava tied a bit too high and showing a bit too much cappuccino thigh, her skin rubbed with copra until she glistened all over, and her breasts shining like polished wooden tea cups. She had painted her lips with the juice of crushed berries and peppered her long black hair with scores of sweet jasmine blossoms. She giggled coquettishly in the presence of all the men, danced dangerously close to the taboo of speaking to them in public, risked beatings by refusing to fall to her knees when her male cousins passed, and went about her chores with a wiggly energy that had caused more than one of the distracted village boys to fall out of a breadfruit tree during harvest. (She broke ankles as well as hearts.) Sepie was all titter and tease, a lazy g irl who excelled at leisure, a natural at invoking and denying desire, a wet dream deferred. At fifteen she took up residence in the bachelors' house and had lived there for four years. When Malink and the men brought the flyer and the man in the dress to her, she knew she was in for some trouble. â€Å"Take care of them,† Malink said. â€Å"Feed them. Help to make them strong.† Sepie kept her head bowed while Malink spoke, but when he finished she took his hand and led him into the bachelors' house, gesturing to the other men to lay the flyer and his friend on the ground outside. The men smiled among themselves, thinking that old Malink was going inside to receive a special favor from the mispel. What, in fact, he was receiving was an ass chewing. â€Å"Why don't you take them to your house, Malink? I don't want them here.† â€Å"It's a secret. If my wife and daughters find out they are here, then everyone will know.† â€Å"I'm the only one who can keep a secret in the bachelors' house. Take them to old Sarapul's house. No one goes there.† â€Å"He wants to eat them.† Malink couldn't remember ever having to argue with a woman and he wasn't at all prepared for it. â€Å"You're chief. Tell him not to. I will not cook for them. If I feed them, they will shit. I'm not going to clean it up.† â€Å"Sepie, what will you do when you marry and have children? You will have to do these things then. I am asking you as your chief to do these things.† â€Å"No,† Sepie said. Malink sighed. â€Å"I am asking you to do these things because these men have been sent to us by Vincent.† Sepie didn't know what to say. She had heard the Sky Priestess chastise Malink in front of the people, but she had been more concerned with losing coffee and sugar for a month than with the actual offense. â€Å"You will tell the men to cook for them?† â€Å"Yes.† â€Å"And they will carry them to the beach and wash them if they shit?† â€Å"I will tell them. Please, Sepie.† No man had ever said â€Å"please† to her before, let alone the chief. It was not a courtesy that women deserved. For the first time she realized how desperate Malink really was. â€Å"And you will tell Abo to wash his dick when it is his turn.† â€Å"What does that have to do with this?† â€Å"He is stinky.† â€Å"I will tell him.† â€Å"And you will tell Favo to quit making me put beads in his ass.† â€Å"Favo does that?† â€Å"He said he learned it from the Japanese.† â€Å"Really? Favo?† â€Å"Yes.† â€Å"But he's old, and he has a wife and many grandchildren.† â€Å"He says it makes his spear stronger.† â€Å"He does? I mean, does it work?† Malink had momentarily forgotten why he was here. â€Å"I don't like it. It is evil and unclean.† â€Å"You're talking about my old friend Favo, right? He's the one you're talking about?† â€Å"I told him only bachelors were suppose to stay here, but he says his wife doesn't understand him. His hands are like the skin of a shark.† â€Å"What kind of beads?† â€Å"Tell him,† Sepie said. â€Å"Okay,† Malink said in English. Then to himself he said: â€Å"Old Favo.† He shook his head as he walked out of the bachelors' house. â€Å"Beads.† Sepie watched him go, wishing that she had asked for more favors. Outside the men were grinning when Malink stepped into the moonlight. He hitched up his loincloth and averted his eyes from theirs. â€Å"Take them inside. You must cook and clean for them. Don't let the woman do it. It is too important for her.† As the men carried Tuck and Kimi into the bachelors' house, Favo ambled up to Malink. â€Å"How was it?† Malink looked at his old friend and noticed for the first time that Favo wore a long string of ivory beads around his neck. â€Å"I have to go home now,† Malink said. Sepie was, once again, swabbing up the wooden floor where the pilot had urinated on himself, when she heard the other one speak for the first time. The men had propped the Filipino up in the corner, where he had sat drinking the coconut milk and fish broth that she had been pouring into the pilot, but except for a few grunts when he made his way outside to urinate, the man in the dress had been quiet for two days. Sepie had learned to ignore him. He didn't smell as bad as the pilot, and she sort of liked his flowered dress. She'd said a prayer to Vincent for a dress just like it. â€Å"Where is Roberto?† the Filipino said. Sepie jumped. It didn't surprise her so much that he had spoken, but that he had spoken in her language. Although the words were clipped, the way someone from Iffallik or Satawan might speak. â€Å"He's right here,† she said. â€Å"Your friend stinks. You should take him outside and wash him in the sea.† â€Å"That's not Roberto. That's Tucker. Roberto is shorter.† Kimi crawled over to Tuck and laid his hand on the flyer's forehead. â€Å"He has bad fever. You have medicine?† â€Å"Aspirin,† Sepie said. Malink had given her a bottle of the tablets to crush into the flyer's broth, but after he gagged on the first dose she had stopped giving it to him. â€Å"He is more sick than aspirin. He needs a doctor. You have a doctor?† â€Å"We have the Sorcerer. He does our medicine. He was a doctor before the Sky Priestess came.† Kimi looked at her. â€Å"What island is this?† â€Å"Alualu.† â€Å"Ha! We have to get doctor for Tucker. He owes me five hundred dollars.† Sepie's eyes went wide. No wonder he wears such a fine dress. Five hundred dollars! She said, â€Å"The chief says I have to be secret about this man. Everyone knows he is here. The boys get drunk and talk. But I can't get the doctor.† â€Å"Why are you taking care of him? You are just a girl.† â€Å"I am not just a girl. I am mispel.† Kimi scoffed. â€Å"There are no mispels anymore.† Sepie threw down the rag she was using to wipe the floor. â€Å"What do you know? You are a man in a dress, and I don't believe you have five hundred dollars.† â€Å"It was a nice dress before the typhoon,† Kimi said. â€Å"Wash-and-wear. No dry cleaning.† Sepie nodded as if she knew what he was talking about. â€Å"It is a very pretty dress. I like it.† â€Å"You do?† Kimi picked at the crushed pleats around his legs. â€Å"It's just an old thing I picked up in Manila. It was on sale. You really like it?† Sepie didn't understand. Among her people, if you admired someone's else possession, manners bound them to give it to you. How could this silly man speak her language and still not know her customs. And he wasn't even looking at her that way all men looked at her. â€Å"What island do you come from?† â€Å"Satawan,† Kimi said. â€Å"I am a navigator.† Sepie scoffed. â€Å"There are no more navigators.† Just then the doorway darkened and they looked up to see Abo, the fierce one, entering the bachelors' house. He was lean and heavily muscled and he wore a permanent scowl on his face. The sides of his head were shaved and tattooed with images of hammerhead sharks. He wore his hair tied into a warrior's topknot that had gone out of fashion a hundred years ago. â€Å"Has the pilot awakened?† he growled. Sepie looked down and smiled coyly. Abo was the one boy in the bachelors' house who didn't seem to accept the communal nature of her position. He was always jealous, enraged, or brooding, but he brought her many presents, sometimes even copies of People that he stole from the men's drinking circle. Sepie thought she might marry him someday. â€Å"He is too sick for this,† Kimi said. â€Å"We need to take him to the doctor.† â€Å"Malink says he must stay here until he is well.† â€Å"He is dying.† Kimi said. Abo looked at Sepie for confirmation. â€Å"Well, he smells dead,† she said. The sooner they sent the pilot to the Sorcerer, the sooner she could get back to spending her days swimming and preening. â€Å"Malink will be angry if he dies,† she added for good measure. Abo nodded. â€Å"I will tell him.† He pointed to Kimi. â€Å"You come with me.† Kimi got up to leave, then turned back to Sepie when he reached the doorway. â€Å"If Roberto comes, tell him I'll be right back.† Sepie shrugged. â€Å"Who is Roberto?† â€Å"He's a fruit bat. From Guam. You can tell by his accent.† â€Å"Oh, him. I think Sarapul ate him,† Sepie said casually.† Kimi turned and ran screaming into the village. Malink looked up from his breakfast, a banana leaf full of fish and rice, to see Abo coming down the coral path toward his house. Malink's wife and daughters shuffled to the cookhouse at the sight of the fierce one. â€Å"Good morning, Chief,† Abo said. â€Å"Food?† Malink answered, gesturing with his breakfast. Abo had already eaten, but it would have been rude not to accept. â€Å"Yes.† Malink's wife poked her head out of the cookhouse and saw the chief nod. In a second she was giving her own breakfast to Abo, who neither thanked her or acknowledged her presence. â€Å"The pilot is sick,† Abo said. â€Å"Very bad fever. Sepie and the girl-man say that he will die soon without the Sorcerer's help.† Malink suddenly lost his appetite. He set his breakfast on the ground and one of his daughters appeared out of nowhere to take it to the cookhouse, where the women shared what was left. â€Å"And what do you think?† Malink asked. â€Å"I think he is dying. He smells of sickness. Like when Tamu was bitten by the shark and his leg turned black.† Malink rubbed his temples. How to handle this? The Sky Priestess was angry with him for even dreaming of the pilot. What would happen if he suddenly showed up with him? â€Å"What about the girl-man?† â€Å"He is not sick, but he has gone crazy. He runs around the village looking for Sarapul.† Malink nodded. â€Å"Catch him and tie him up. Make a litter and take the pilot to the betel nut trees by the runway. Leave him there.† â€Å"Leave him there?† â€Å"Yes, quickly. And bring the litter back with you. Make it look as if he walked to the runway. Send a boy to me when it is done. Go now.† Abo put down his food and ran off down the path. Malink went into his house and pulled the ammo box out of the rafters. Inside, next to the portable phone, he found the Zippo that Vincent had given him. He clicked it open, lit it, and sat it on the floor while it burned. â€Å"Vincent,† he said, â€Å"It's your friend Malink here. Please tell the Sky Priestess that this is not my fault. Tell her that you have sent the pilot. Please tell her for your friend Malink so she will not be angry. Amen.† His prayer finished, Malink snapped the lighter shut, put it away, then took the portable phone and went outside to wait for the boy to tell him everything was in place. 28 Choose Your Own Nightmare Tucker Case rolled through a fever dream where he was tossed in great elastic waves of bat-winged demons – crushed, smothered, bitten, and scratched – and there, amid the chaos, a pink fabric softener sheet passed by the corner of his eye, confirming that he had been stuffed into a dryer in the laundromat of Hell. He tumbled toward the pink, ascended out of the clawing mass, and awoke gasping, with no idea where he was. The pink was a dress on a heart-faced woman who said, â€Å"Good morning, Mr. Case. Welcome back to the world.† A man's voice: â€Å"After your message and the typhoon, we thought for sure you'd been lost at sea.† He was a white blur with a head, then a lab coat wrapped around a tall, smiling middle-aged man, gray and balding, a stethoscope around his neck. The doctor had his arm around the heart-faced woman. She too was smiling, with the aspect of an angel, the vessel of human kindness. Together they looked as if they had walked off of fifties television. The man said, â€Å"I'm Dr. Sebastian Curtis, Mr. Case. This is my wife, Beth.† Tuck tried to speak, but emitted only a rasping squeak. The woman lifted a plastic cup of water to his lips and he drank. He eyed the IV bag running into his arm. â€Å"Glucose and antibiotics,† the doctor said. â€Å"You've got some badly infected wounds. The islanders found you washed up on the reef.† Tucker did a quick inventory of his limbs by feel, then looked at them lest he had lost a leg that was still giving off phantom feel ing. He raised his head to look at his crotch, which was sending pulses of pain up through his abdomen. The woman gently pushed him down. â€Å"You're going to be fine. They found you in time, but you're going to need more rest. ‘Bastian can give you something for the pain if you need it.† She smiled beatifically at her husband, who patted Tuck's arm. â€Å"Don't be embarrassed, Mr. Case. Beth is a surgical nurse. I'm afraid the catheter will have to stay in for a few days.† â€Å"There was another guy with me,† Tuck said. â€Å"A Filipino. He was piloting the boat.† The doctor and his wife shot each other a glance and the â€Å"Ozzie and Harriet† calm shattered into panic, but only for a second, then they were back to their reassuring cooing. Tuck wasn't even sure he had seen the break. â€Å"I'm sorry, but the islanders didn't find anyone else. He must have been lost in the storm.† â€Å"But the tree. He was hung in the tree†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Beth Curtis put her finger gently on his lips. â€Å"I'm sorry you lost your friend, Mr. Case, but you need to get some rest. I'll bring you something to eat in a little while and we'll see if you can hold down some solid food.† She pulled her hand away and put her arm around her husband's waist as he pushed a syringe of fluid into Tuck's IV tube. â€Å"We'll check on you shortly,† the doctor said. Tucker watched them walk away and noticed that for all her â€Å"Little House on the Prairie† purity, Beth Curtis had a nice shape under that calico. Then he felt a little sleazy, as if he'd been caught horning on a friend's mom. Like the time, drunk and full of himself, he'd hit on Mary Jean Dobbins. To hell with solid food. Gin – in large quantities over a tall column of ice – that's the rub. Tonic to chase away the blues of bad dreams and men lost at sea. Tuck looked around the room. It was a small hospital ward. Only four beds, but amazingly clean considering where it was. And there was some pretty serious-looking equipment against the walls: technical stuff on casters, stuff you might use in complicated surgery or to set the timing on a Toyota. He was sure Jake Skye would know what it was. He thought about the Learjet, then felt himself starting to doze. Sleep came with the face of a cannibal, leg-jerk dreams, and finally settled in on the oiled breasts of a brown girl brushing against his face and smelling of coconut and flowers. There was a scratch and scuttle on the tin roof, followed by the bark of a fruit bat. Tuck didn't hear it. The pig thief had been caught and Jefferson Pardee had to find a new lead story. He sat at his desk pouring over the notes he'd written on a yellow legal pad, hoping that something would jump out at him. In fact, there wasn't a lot of jumping material there. The notes read: â€Å"They caught the pig thief. Now what?† You could run down the leads, pound the pavement, check all your facts with two sources, then structure your meticulously gathered information into the inverted pyramid form and what you got was: The pig's owner had gotten drunk and beat up his wife, so she sold his pig to someone on the outer islands and bought a used stun gun from an ensign with the Navy Cat team. The next time her husband got rough, a group of Japanese tourists found him by the side of the road, sizzling in the dirt like a strip of frying bacon. Mistaking him for a street performer, the tourists clapped joyously, took pictures of each other standing beside the electrocuted man, and gave his wife five dollars. The whole intrigue had been exposed when police found the pig-stealing wife in front of the Continental Hotel charging tourists a dollar apiece to watch her zap her husband's twitching supine body. The stun gun was confiscated, no charges were pressed, and the wife beater was pronounced unharmed by a Peace Co rps volunteer, although he did need to be reminded several times of his name, where he lived, and how many children he had. The mystery was solved and the Truk Star had no lead story. Jefferson Pardee was miserable. He was actually going to have to go out and find a story or, as he had done so many time before, make one up. The Micro Spirit was in port. Maybe he'd go down to the dock and see if he could stir up some news out of the crew. He slid his press card into the band of his Australian bush hat and waddled out the door and down the dusty street to the pier where rock-hard, rope-muscled islanders were loading fifty-five-gallon drums into cargo nets and hoisting them into the holds of the Micro Spirit. The Micro Spirit and the Micro Trader were sister ships: small freighters that cruised the Micronesian crescent carrying cargo and passengers to the outer islands. There were no cabins other than those of the captain and crew. Passengers traveled and slept on the deck. Pardee waved to the first mate, a heavily tattooed Tongan who stood at the rail chewing betel nut and spitting gooey red comets over the side. â€Å"Ahoy!† Pardee called. â€Å"Permission to come aboard.† The mate shook his head. â€Å"Not until we finish loading this jet fuel. I'll come down. How you doing, Scoop?† Pardee had convinced the crew of the Micro Spirit to call him â€Å"Scoop† one drunken night in the Yumi Bar. He watched the mate vault over the railing at the bow and monkey down a mooring line to the dock with no more effort than if he was walking down stairs. Watching him made Pardee sad that he was a fat man. The mate strolled up to Pardee and pumped his hand. â€Å"Good to see you.† â€Å"Likewise,† Pardee said. â€Å"Where you guys in from?† â€Å"We bring chiefs in from Wolei for a conference. Pick up some tuna and copra. Same, same.† Pardee looked back at the sailors loading the barrels. â€Å"Did you say jet fuel? I thought the Mobil tankers handled all the fuel for Continental.† Continental was the only major airline that flew Micronesia. â€Å"Mobil tankers won't go to Alualu. No lagoon, no harbor. We going to Ulithi, then take this fuel special order to the doctor on Alualu.† Pardee took a moment to digest the information. â€Å"I thought the Micro Trader did Yap and Palau States. What are you going all the way over there for?† â€Å"Like I say, special order. Moen has jet fuel, we here in Moen, doctor wants jet fuel soon, so we go. I like it. I never been Alualu and I know a girl on Ulithi.† Pardee couldn't help but smile. This was a story in itself. Not a big one, but when the Trader or the Spirit changed schedules it made the paper. But there was more of a story somewhere in those barrels of jet fuel, in the ru-mor of armed guards, and in the two pilots that had passed through Truk on the way to No One's Island. The question for Pardee was: Did he want to track it down? Could he track it down? â€Å"When do you sail?† he asked the mate. â€Å"Tomorrow morning. We get drunk together tonight Yumi Bar. My boys carry you home if you want. Hey?† The mate laughed. Pardee felt sick. That was what they knew him for, a fat, drunken white man who they could carry home and then tell stories about. â€Å"I can't drink tonight. I'm sailing with you in the morning. I've got to get ready.† The mate removed the betel nut cud from his cheek and tossed it into the sea, where tiny yellow fish rose to nip at it. He eyed Pardee suspiciously. â€Å"You going to leave Truk?† â€Å"It's not that big a deal. I've gone off-island before for a story.† â€Å"Not in ten years I sail the Spirit.† â€Å"Do you have room for another passenger or not?† â€Å"We always have room. You know you have to sleep on deck?† Pardee was beginning to get irritated. He needed a beer. â€Å"I've done this before.† The mate shook his head as if clearing his ears of water and laughed. â€Å"Okay, we sail six in morning. Be on dock at five.† â€Å"When do you come back this way?† â€Å"A month. You can fly from Yap if you don't want to come back with us.† â€Å"A month?† He'd have to get someone to run the paper while he was gone. Or maybe not. Would anyone even notice he was gone? Pardee said, â€Å"I'll see you in the morning. Don't get too drunk.† â€Å"You too,† the mate said. Pardee made his way down the dock, feeling every bit of his two hundred and sixty pounds. By the time he made it back to the street, he was soaked with sweat and yearning for a dark air-conditioned bar. He shook off the craving and headed for the Catholic high school to ask the nuns if they had any bright students who might keep the paper running in his absence. He was going to do it, dammit. He'd be on the dock at five if he had to stay up all night drinking to do it.

Hansson Private Label

Vent Consulting Expansion and Risk at Hansson Private Label, Inc. Evaluating Investment in the Goliath Facility HBS#4021 Vent Consulting takes pleasure in presenting our Hanson Private Label’s (HPL) capital expansion executive summary. We carefully reviewed all applicable case materials and believe we have quantified your primary risks, benefits, and most attractive course of action. 1) HPL has performed exceptionally well since inception in 1992. Financial statements show that operating revenues have increased from $503. 4M in 2003 to $680. 7M in 2007.During this time, gross operating profit increased by $24. 3M. This illustrates that the company is not sacrificing profits for top level growth. Capital replenishment matches or exceeds depreciation. Net income increased during the same time span by $9. 6M. The revenue gross margin has averaged 7. 8% growth and the gross margins have averaged 18. 6% over the last five years, while net income has averaged 5. 3%. Dividends have b een paid to stockholders. Cash flow from operations has increased steadily. The cash from investing has fluctuated from a low of $5. M in 2006 to a high of $7. 8M in 2003, indicating an overall conservative strategy of controlled expansion. HPL used more cash in financing in 2006 and 2007 than in previous years, which may contribute to future growth. To reinforce the company’s financial performance: †¢Total assets have grown over the years to a high of $380. 8M in 2007 †¢Long-term debt is at a five year low at $54. 8M †¢Net working capital is at a five year high of $102. 5M All four plants under HPL are operating at 90% capacity and a focus on conservative efficiency has led to strong financial performance.Comparatively speaking, HPL’s 9. 26% EBITDA ratio is stronger than industry competition, another indicator of strong earnings and management. 2) Vent Consulting’s analytical summary is provided in Appendix 1. Note the calculated NPV of $4,971 an d IRR of 11. 1% at tab NPV-BASLINE. Given an accepted discount rate of 9. 38%, both the positive NPV and the positive 1. 7% IRR spread on this investing type project initially indicate a rewarding proposal. Additionally, the calculated profitability index of 1. 11 suggests the project should be pursued.Note that the discounted payback period is just under 7 years, 4 years beyond the contractual commitment under consideration with HPL’s largest retail customer. 3) Sensitivity analysis reveals interesting factors, however. Note in the additional tabs: †¢Ramping up capacity utilization to 85% in 3 years instead of the projected 5 years yields a full 2% IRR increase. †¢If aggressive marketing can capture secondary demand from competitors and increase capacity utilization from 85% to 95% in years 4 through 10, IRR is increased to 14. 8%. †¢The project is very sensitive to unit selling price.If expected annual growth in sales price rises from 2% to just 3. 5%, IRR ri ses a full 6. 7% to 17. 8%. †¢The project is also very sensitive to commodity costs. A small . 5% increase in expected inflation from 1. 0% to 1. 5% annual raw material costs reduce baseline IRR calculations to 9. 5%, making the project unattractive compared to the 9. 38% discount rate. †¢Improved capital planning yields expected improved project returns. The last tab illustrates a potential improvement of 2. 5% IRR. Given this information, Vent Consulting has identified 3 courses of action (COA): 1) Accept the capital expansion proposal as written by Mr.Gates 2) Accept the retailer ‘s 3–year contract, but reduce capital risk by reducing the scale of expansion, improving the use of working capital and sub-contracting production shortfalls to other producers. 3) Maintain status quo and reject the retailer contract Despite the positive NPV, Vent Consulting recommends rejection of COA 1 due to the following uncontained risk factors: †¢Required capital expans ion and associated financing does not match the proposed customer contract, adding uncontrolled capacity utilization risk.This risk is compounded by a lack of customer diversification. †¢Difficult-to-predict sales price and raw material cost variables also add significant uncovered risk. Vent Consulting also recommends rejection of COA 3. This course of action would propagate HPL’s growing â€Å"cash cow† business model, and sacrifice an ideal opportunity to improve company performance and steal market share in cooperation with one of the largest industry retailers. We strongly recommend COA 2, which apitalizes on market opportunity while minimizing the significant risk of the original proposal. Specifically: †¢Reduce capital expansion to 40% of proposed project. †¢Improve capital management †¢Dedicate primary capacity to key/primary retail customer(s) †¢Sub-contract production shortfalls to other producers for lessor retailers/customers Vent C onsulting is eager to provide additional recommendations on how this is would be best accomplished — for a fee — once we’ve completed another few Themes.

Operations, Logistics and Supply Chain Management Essay

1) Select a technology from 1850 to the present. Describe how it has affected productivity A technology that comes to mind is server virtualization. We use them every day in the government as we work toward going green, lower cost, increasing productivity. Since the migration to the virtual servers we were able to cut paper files by  ¾. We use a digital contract file now instead of a 6 pile folder with hundreds of page. Another reason the army has choosing to go this way is so it can spread the cost of maintenance and repair across several customers with shared servers. This results in a lower price per base. Then there is the Virtual conference, which saves millions of dollar. Now you’re asking how this affect productivity does well with virtual contract files any base has access to them with save on efficiencies, be abilities to collaborate with like minds to gain more knowledge, also to form comradely. 2)Identify the transformation that takes place in a restaurant. In a restaurant you are buying a meal but also the environment and the service. In many cases the value of inputs is measured in financial terms, which is say that organizations aim to make a profit like the Hard Rock Cafà ©. To increase efficiency managers are always seeking ways of producing more with the same level of inputs or producing the same amount with fewer inputs. Some ways to improve the productivity in the service-sector are changing working practices, investing in new technology like the ERP, motivating and inspiring staff more effectively and changing the way items are produced (Heizer & Render, 2005). With the use of ERP restaurants  wastage should be reduced at all stages of the production process. It includes Just in Time production in which items are produced to order rather than in advance (Heizer & Render, 2005). Lean production also includes a technique known as kaizen which aims to use the knowledge of employees to find ways of continuously improving the way things are done (Heizer & Render, 2005). Manages are continually reviewing what they provide better. Given ongoing changes in the competitive environment with new competitors, new demands and new technologies adding value is a dynamic process. Managers need to be looking constantly at the business environment to identify changes that could be of value to them or could possibly harm them. Interestingly any change will have different effects on different organizations. (3) The computer – especially the PC – is believed to be responsible for much of the increased productivity in the 1990s. What do think will be the â€Å"next big thing† to have a major impact on national and global productivity? The â€Å"next big thing† that will have a major impact on the national and global productivity is the advancements in wireless technology. In today’s time there are millions of mobile professionals worldwide due to the major strides that the wireless community has taken. Organizations use wireless technologies to solve every day problems and create an advantage over their companion. Using wireless technologies help them work more productively, by having better customer satisfaction, which means an increase of sales. Organization is finding that wireless has provided more flexibility to configure an office and can improve both the productivity and the moral in the work place. New standards based technologies offer improved methods to authenticate and better secure devices, helping to ensure that only authorized users can gain access to these networks. Which, I see firsthand every day working in a government agency our black berries have CAC reads sled which read our cre dentials before we can view emails. The widespread reliance on networking in business as well as the growth of the internet and online services is strong testimonies to the benefits of data and resources (Wireless Technology). Wireless solutions have advances these benefits by allowing users to access shared information, emails, and different  applications without the constraints of the wired connection. Wireless technologies have also allowed network managers to set up or add to the networks without installing or removing wires. A wireless solution offers productivity, convenience and overall cost saving then the traditional wired networks (Wireless Technology). (4) What is the role of the World Trade Organization (WTO)? Do you see it as primarily good or bad for the U.S? The role of the World Trade Organization (WTO) is to oversee trade agreements including a wide range of goods and services trade and supervises all government practices that are directly related to trade, such as tariffs, subsidies, government procurement, and trade-related intellectual property rights (wto.org, 2011). Here are some reasons why the WTO isn’t good for the USA. The WTO acts as the legislature, the executive and the judiciary in matters of world trade. The WTO allows countries to sue each other. This has been primarily used by the wealthy countries to push around the smaller, less developed nations. Under the WTO, the monolithic corporations who benefit the most from free trade can easily push around the smallest and least developed nations. Under the globalized system of free trade we are all living under, all wealth is slowly but surely being transferred into the hands of the very wealthy while the rest of us are left standing around trying to figure out how th e game was rigged. The WTO forces the United States to open its doors to unsafe products. Under the WTO, labor has become a global commodity (Globalism Destroys) (5) Identify one discipline and one technology that you think will contribute in a major way to the future development of OM and describe why they will contribute According to the course text, Operations Management (OM) is described as the set of activities that creates value in the form of goods and services by transforming inputs into outputs. (Heizer & Render, 2005) OM is also a discipline that has applications in several industries including services and manufacturing. The discipline and technology I believe that will  contribute in a major way to the future development of OM is Supply-Chain Management and advances in process technologies. Advances in these areas will ease transactions between businesses thereby facilitating sustaining engineering and improvement for Operations and Management. One way is by using Radio Frequency Identification Device (RFID) as â€Å"wireless systems that allow a device to read information contained in a wireless device or â€Å"tag† from a distance without making a physical contact or requiring a line of sight between the two(GAO,2005). RFID provides a method to transmit and receive data from one point to another.† RFID is an automatic identification method relying on storing and remotely retrieving data using devices called RFID tags or transponders. Reference Heizer, J., & Render, B. (2005). Operations Management. In J. Heizer, & B. Render, Operations Management (pp. 212-213). Upper Saddle River: Pearson Prentice Hall. wto.org. (2012, Nov 25). Retrieved 25 November 20121, from World Trade Organization: http://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/whatis_e/inbrief_e/inbr00_e Globalism Destroys America: 10 Reasons Why The World Trade Organization Is Bad For The United States Economy, Posted By admin On September 7, 2010 @ 3:09 am In Money Watch | Comments Disabled OM ForumThe Best Things in Life Were Free:On the Technology of Transactions,( 2012, Nov 25), Paul Zipkin (paul.zipkin@duke.edu) GAO, 2005, (2012, Nov 25). http://www.gaorfid.com/ Wireless Technology rev 3, (2012 Nov 28). h20331.www2.hp.com/Hpsub/downloads/Wireless_Technology.pdf

Filipino writers Essay

Region Literary Types Prominent Author Bicol Literature -extraordinary vitalityof richness in depicting historical events, specific persons and social conditions in Bicol Region. – characterized by clarity and grace of expression evident in song and dance. – friction writing in Bicol has not flourished. Handiog (epic) – First important work in Bicol. Liturgical Play (play) – combination of miming and punning with religious to cover up doubled edge statements against Spaniards. Comedia – as a social and political critique enhanced by his creation of an ineffectual character quite like tragic hero. Anti Cristo (drama) – technical artistry gained appreciative comments from drama critics at University of the Philippines. Maria Lilia F. Realubit Mariano Perfecto Sabas Armenta Justiniano Nuyda Asisclo Jimenez – Known for his gift of mimicry and comic version of life. Manuel Fuentabella – noted for his lyricism and sensitivity. Angelo De Castro – writes with perceptivity and fatalism. Valerio Zuniga – projects human feelings clearly in his work. Mariano Goyena del Prado – writes with poetic awareness and dramatic choice of words. Ilocano Literature – best illustrates the literature of the region in various stages Dallang – Ilokano Literature Lam-ang and Namongan – earliest known poem, mention of Christian baptism and marriage and names of other characters shows strong evidence of hispanization. Translation of Cardinal Bellarmine’s Catechism – first book printed in Iloko, earliest source of information about Pedro Bukaneg. Passion and Panagbiag – religious work Moro Moro and Zarzuela (Comedia) – first presented by Isabelo Uray Narigat No Paguimbagan/ Improvement Despite Obstacles 1911 (novel) Nasamitken Narucbos nga Sabong daguiti Dardarepdep it Agbaniaga/ Sweet and Fresh Flower of a travellers Dream1921 Mining Wenno Ayat it Cararua/ Mining or Spiritual Love 1941 Banawag – weekly magazine Maingel it Kabambantayan (The hero of Wilderness) – life of Ilokano pioneers who seeks greener pastures in Cagayan Puris it Barukong (Thorn in the Breast) – studies between the fued between the Iloko and other regional groups. Dagiti Mariing Iti Parbangon (Who are awakened at Down) – deals with fisherman because poetry seeks employment in government. Nasudi nga Agnanayon (Forever Pure) and Ta Dida Ammo it Aramidda – are the social study of Sapanish era. Ramut iti Ganggannaet (Roots in Foreign Soil) – about Filipino Identity The Other Women Marcelino A. Foronda Jr. – gives substantial account of Ilocano literature Fray Francisco Lopez Pedro Bukaneg – father of Iloko Literature. Leona Florentino – National poetess of the Philippines. Isabelo de los Reyes – folklone studies and religious and political article. Facundo Madriaga Marcos E. Milton Marcelo Pena Crisologo Former President Ferdinand Marcos – reffered it as the bible of Northern Philippines. Arsenio T. Ramels Contante Casabars Marcelino Foronda Jr. Marcelino Foronda Jr. Virgilio R. Samonte Sugbuanon Literature provides information and insights into the character and culture of the largest linguistic sector in the Philippines. Abundant and varied. According to Saturio Villarino, it is characterized by adaptions from Spanish and English poetry. Inspired by vernacular translations of foreign novels. Ang Suga (The Lamp) – bitter consequences of Filipinos sensitivity towards the Spanish Occupation. Lalawa (Image) – collection of didactic short stories portraying to society problem character. Dili Diay Yawan-on (Not truly evil) and Fausto Dugenio’s Sayaw (The Dance of Life) Syudad sa Sugbu (V Ramos St., Cebu City) And Temistocles Adlawan’s Ang Gindak-on sa Dagat (The Breadth on the Sea) – most significant stories during the last 30 years Miawas ang Taub (The Tide Overflowed) – longest Sugbuanon novel, composed of 80 up to 90 characters. Ang Palad ni Pepe (Pepe’s Fortune) – phenomenally successful novel serialize in Bisaya Ang Anak ni Pepe (Pepe’s Child) – sequel to Pepe’s Fortune Adlaw sa Panudya (Day of Reckoning) – master piece of Tiburcio Baguio with Francisco Candia Balitaw – comic representation of love Drama Balitaw – developed from balitaw, which story line with spoken dialogue is woven around at least two balitaw sequences. Duplo – debate in verse with only two characters. Balagtasan sa Balitaw – incorporation of duplo and balitaw, courtship plot became frame work. Kolilisi – private type of drama performed by neighbors to divert bereaved family. Bagamundo – related type of folk play where a vagabond stranger arrives at the gate of kolilisi. Pamalaye – private performance, old Sugbuanon ritual formalizing an engage to marry. The Quarell between the East and the West Bachelors – story from Marawi City Nicolas Rafols Vicente Rama Domingo Estabaya – outstanding among the school writers Dionisio Gabriels Dalan V. Rama Natario Bacalso- outstanding novalist duing this time Flaviano Boquecosa – outstanding novalist duing this time Tiburcio Baguio Radiomoda Mamitua Saber

A Way To Tackle Poverty In Indonesia Economics Essay

A Way To Tackle Poverty In Indonesia Economics Essay Some indicators can be used to measure the development of a country. One of them is the rate of the poverty. Not only how this measurement be used in a developed country but also in a developing country. In other hand, many policies to reduce poverty have been made by the government or the multinational organization such as World Bank or United Nation. The big question is why it is that important to overcome poverty. Then the next question would be whether the policies have significant impact to decrease the rate of poverty. If the answer is ‘not’, are there any other solutions to help people who are still in the poverty lines? Therefore, this paper will provide descriptive issues about the recent condition of poverty and how social entrepreneurship can becomes the solution to tackle the poverty in developing countries specifically Indonesia. Keyword: Social Entrepreneurship, Poverty SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP PARADIGM: A WAY TO TACKLE POVERTY IN INDONESIA By: Huda Jamilah Poverty at Glance United Nation (1998) defines poverty as violation of human dignity. Usually, the poor does not have sufficient basic capacity to participate effectively in society. In addition, poverty is pronounced deprivation in well-being (World Bank, 2000). Poverty is the deprivation of food, shelter, money and clothing that occurs when people cannot satisfy their basic needs. We can say someone who earns under $2 a day is face absolute or extreme poverty. The proportion of the developing world’s population living in extreme economic poverty fell from 28 percent in 1990 to 21 percent in 2001. Most of this improvement has occurred in East and South Asia. In East Asia the World Bank reported that â€Å"The poverty headcount rate at the $2-a-day level is estimated to have fallen to about 27 percent [in 2007], down from 29.5 percent in 2006 and 69 percent in 1990.† In Sub-Saharan Africa extreme poverty went up from 41 percent in 1981 to 46 percent in 2001, which com bined with growing population increased the number of people living in extreme poverty from 231 million to 318 million   [ 1 ]   . Poverty can be understood simply as a lack of money, or more broadly in terms of barriers to everyday life. But the truth is poverty rate cannot be decreased until zero condition so that policymakers always have poverty on their development agenda for some reasons. Many studies show some aspects that have caused poverty. Specially, economic factor is the main cause of poverty. Chen and Ravallion (2001) revealed that from 150-country level data, the change in mean income can affect poverty rate. It indicates that at least 80% of people earn less than $10 a day   [ 2 ]   . The total wealth of the top 8.3 million people around the world, rose 8.2 percent to $30.8 trillion in 2004, giving them control of nearly a quarter of the world’s financial assets. In other words, about 0.13% of the world’s population controlled 25% of the worldâ⠂¬â„¢s financial assets in 2004 (World Bank, 2008). In Indonesia, although the rate of poverty decrease to 12,49% this year, the sum of pauper still 20 until million people. Besides, they should face the high rate of inflation year to year. There are several majors causes poverty in Indonesia. Low rate of minimum wage, unemployment, difficult to access information, and lack of entrepreneur.

E-learning goes Semantic Web Dissertation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 8750 words

E-learning goes Semantic Web - Dissertation Example e-Learning was also able to cope with and meet the challenge of interactive learning where students are made to interact with other students to collaborate and join discussions that would enrich the understanding of the students, as they relate it to the understanding of other students. The advent of Semantic Web, wherein, logical pathways will be created between information in order to create knowledge, will advance the educational system or learning system substantially within the discipline of teaching. Within the Semantic Web relating information with other information can easily be done to present a practical depiction of the information for easier absorption by the student, since students will be able to see a practical and reasonable logical interrelation of information as they learn. Semantic Web is ever advancing as new technology is invented to meet the processing power demands of Semantic Web. The very foundation of Semantic Web is already being implemented in the form of the Resource Description Framework to provide semantic-web application to relate pages to one another. Considering the matu