Server Deployment Proposal Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Server Deployment Proposal - Essay Example This is because Server 2008 is flexible, secure and has a scalable server management. It gives a consistent user experience including that of mobile workers. It also gives an opportunity to consolidate multiple servers onto fewer physical computers, as well as third party applications (Smyth 105). The two servers in Tucson and Phoenix will be installed with server 2008R. The configuration will include DNS, DHCP, AD DS, Security policy, Backup and recovery and continuity plan. The acquisition of two 64-bit machines should be done since windows server 2008R2 can only run on this platform. To allow smooth migration from window server 2003 to windows server 2008, the applications and hardware must remain operational throughout the migration process. This will enable the organization to maintain computer system uptime during the entire process. It will further enable the IT department to continue meet the requirements of both users and the organization at large. Some of things to be considered during the migration process include what plan exists at present for hardware replacement. What are the current hardware maintenance supports? What opportunities are there for consolidation of server through virtualization? In the deployment of windows server 2008R2, the implementation team will follow Microsoft Operation framework (MOF) that is based on IT infrastructure Library (ITIL) standard in order to ensure that they achieve a successful deployment of windows server 2008R2. There is a need to acquire two new 64-bit server because windows server 2008R2 only runs on 64bit to replace the current domain controllers. The servers, however, should support virtualization. Thus a x64 CPU, AMD-V or (AMD) VT (Intel) hardware extensions, No eXecute (NX)/eXecute Disable (XD), and full BIOS support for hardware virtualization. Although one server (virtualized and running enterprise edition) could suffice for redundancy, two will be ideal (Technet). Active directory Domain

Bentley starts Essay Example for Free

Bentley starts Essay Question 1: Bill visits a local car auction and is immediately attracted to a red car labeled ‘Ferrari 1979’ which he purchases from peter. Peter is not a car expert but he has borrowed a book from the library and identified the car as a 1979 model. Bill also sees a classic Bentley which is owned by James, a qualified car mechanic. James informs Bill that the Bentley is operating perfectly on the way to the auction. Bill wanders off to look at another car and in his absence, the engine of the Bentley starts emitting smelly black smoke. However, by the time Bill returns, the smoke has temporarily cleared and he pays James the full price for the car. Subsequently, Bill discovers that the Ferrari is a fake but he crashes it while showing off to his girlfriend. It is a total write of further. He discovers that the engine in the Bentley is faulty. His mechanic manages to undertake some minor repairs to keep the engine running temporarily but warns Bill that in the long run he will need a new engine. Advice Bill. Question 2: Gethin runs a hotel at a popular seaside resort. He decides to expand his hotel by adding an extension but his accountant warns him that it will only be economical if built in time for the summer season. His contract with Bob, a local builder, contains the following conditions: 1) The extension will be built by 1 April 30 to be payable for each day’s delay thereafter. 2) The extension must be built using local materials as specified in Gethin’s attached list of specifications. 3. The floor must be fitted by a specialist flooring contractor to be nominated by Gethin. On April 30, the extension is still attractive. He is extremely annoyed to find out that the floor had not been fitted by Unique Floor Ltd, the firm he nominated and there are now large cracks in its surface. He is distressed by the whole experience and in fit of anger, dismisses Bob and hires Jack to complete the work. Jack, seizing the opportunity charges Gethin with a double rate for the work. Bob and Jack are now demanding payment form Gethin . Advise Gethin Advice 1: As an initial move, Bill should approach James as soon as possible and inform him about the condition of the Bentley. As a merchandiser, it is James responsibility to address Bill’s query regarding the car and help him resolve the problem. In addition, James also has the obligation to provide a concrete description of the products that he is offering. He has to be honest in his service and he should not lie to customers for the sake of making more money or else he might suffer from consequences after. Even if the mechanic has done temporary repairs on the Bentley, the possibility of acquiring new engine and spending additional cost in the long run makes the situation harder for Bill. It is also not reasonable to say that James has no responsibilities on the car anymore since it is already bought because of the car has been damage even before it is bought. According to the law of consumer rights, the merchandiser has the obligation to sell products that are described correctly including the damages that the products may have. The consumer also has the right to return a product if the consumer discovered any failure right after the product’s purchase (ANL 2009). Applying to Bill’s case, James lied to Bill about the condition of the car prior to purchase so James has right to return the car and ask for reimbursement if ever the car’s engine is not changed. On the other hand, the case of the Ferrari is different. Bill should have informed Peter about the situation earlier so that the issue has been resolved. As a customer, Bill has the right to return the car but since the car has been damaged because of his fault, his right has been void (ANL 2009). It is true that Peter has lied and Bill can still pursue to take legal actions against him. However, the possibility of any reimbursement is low due to Bill’s mistake of damaging the car due to his irresponsible actions. Through a legal process, he can still acquire an amount of money from Peter as a reimbursement but it will not be the same amount that he paid due to the damages on the car that he also has to pay. Advice 2: Gethin can solve by having a negotiation with Jack about the rate of work. Even though Jack is selected to finish the work, it is his ethical responsibility to avoid taking too much advantage of the situation. As a professional, Jack has a duty to render service for the benefit of his and his client’s party. He should price the service based on its regular price and not based on other unreasonable reasons (Thomson Reuters 2009). Through a business negotiation, Gethin should explain the situation to Jack and convince him to agree with his proposed rate. Both of them should present their oown proposal of price and be able to defend it. Gethin should explain that since it is just a completion work, the rate should not be very high. He should also identify the conditions and present it clearly so that any misunderstanding can be avoided. However, if Jack still did not agree, then the best way that Gethin can do is to look for other company that can finish the work and agree with his terms. Since it will be just a completion work, other companies will surely accept the project given that Gethin offers a reasonable rate. Business will still be business and as an entrepreneur, Gethin should know his limitations in terms of offering rates so that he will not end up spending a huge amount of money for the project. On the other hand, Gethin can sue Bob for not complying with the contract. The fact that Bob agreed on the contract gave him an obligation to follow it and be subjected to rules. In any business, contracts are considered as legal documents and are subjected to agreement between two parties. Anyone who disobeys can be sued and will be subjected to penalties depending on the case (Thomson Reuters 2009). Bob, as a contractor, should know about the consequences of not complying with the contract. If Bob is proven to guilty, then he will be liable to pay a certain amount to Gethin to cover the damages that he made and he might also lose his work license. References: Thomson Reuters. 2009. Contract and the Law. Available at http://smallbusiness. findlaw. com/business-forms-contracts/business-forms-contracts-overview-law. html Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL). 2009. Consumer Rights. ThisIsMoney. co. uk. Available at http://www. thisismoney. co. uk/help-and-advice/advice-banks/article. html? in_advicepage_id=130in_article_id=395991in_page_id=90

Decline of Christiany in Europe Essay -- Religion

Introduction The decline of Christianity in Europe did not happen spontaneously. It was a process which took place over many years. Further, it would be impossible to identify any one trigger for the decline. Numerous factors have combined to erode Christianity in Europe. Changing political parties, with varying tolerance towards Christianity, have been a major factor in the decline. In addition, new ideas about the ability and goodness of man to create a good society, without the need for God, served to undermine Christianity. Finally, the failure of the church to respond firmly to the crises of the modern world significantly accelerated its decline. While many of these factors have roots going back as far as the seventeenth century, many came to a head in the twentieth century. Political Parties In the nineteen hundreds, many European countries were being swept by changing political tides. This era saw the rise of socialism for many European countries. Some of these new governments discriminated against Christianity. Education and even some professions were closed to Christians. Some countries were harsher in their anti-Christian policies, and others merely neglected the church.1 The church was in a dangerous position; it was expected to comment on the political situation of Europe, but in grave danger if it did so.2 Furthermore, Christianity was generally seen as contrary to the ideology of these governments. At worse, Christianity was seen as a threat to Marxist ideals. At best, it was seen as silly superstition, an unnecessary crutch.3 While some Marxists respected Christianity and perhaps even learned from it, many felt that religion was primarily a tool of oppression which should be banished in the name of so... ...and Biography, July 18, 2003. http://www.christianitytoday.com/ch/news/2003/jul18.html?start=2 (accessed February 1, 2012). Hindson, Ed, and Ergun Craner, eds. The Popular Encyclopedia of Apologetics. Eugene, OR.: Harvest House Publishers, 2008. Kannampilly, Vijaykumar. "Marxism and Christianity." Social Scientist 3, no. 3 (October, 1974): 57-63. http://www.jstor.org/stable/3516372 (accessed February 1, 2012). Pauck, Wilhelm. "National Socialism and Christianity: Can They Be Reconciled?" The Journal of Religion 20, no. 1 (January, 1940): 15-32. http://www.jstor.org/stable/1198646 (accessed February 1, 2012). Tolson, Jay. "European, Not Christian." U.S. News and World Report 138, no. 20 (May 30, 2005): 52-53. http://search.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.liberty.edu:2048/login.aspx?direct=true&db=mth&AN=17115426&site=ehost-live&scope=site (accessed February 1, 2012).

Saint Anselm

Saint Anselm is a well known religious, philosophical, and theological figure in Canterbury, England and a significant contributor in the Catholic Church. He had a strong faith in the Holy Scriptures in relation to truth which then became his basis of his work and life. In addition, he stressed the existence of God through reason. For him, it is important to see beyond things and concepts with deep obscurity through enlightenment and wisdom (Southern, 1962). Despite the criticisms he received, it is undeniable that Saint Anselm is worthy of studying in the fields of theology, psychology, and philosophy. In this research, the life, works, influence, and impact of Saint Anselm’s contributions are discussed in details. Saint Anselm in his early life Saint Anselm (1033–1109), an Italian-born English philosopher and theologian of the medieval times, was born in the city of Aosta, Piedmont near the border between Italy and France and he died in of Canterbury, Kent, England. Saint Anselm’s family was known to be well off and noble. His father, Gundulph, who was a Lombard by birth, was a person having a harsh character and intense temper. Ermenberga is the name of Saint Anselm’s mother. She was virtuous, religious, and prudent. When Saint Anselm has reached fifteen years of age, he decided to join a monastery, but his father was reluctant in supporting his desire in entering a religious life. Due to disappointment, Saint Anselm has developed psychosomatic illness, which he was able to overcome. However, he has lost his interest with his studies for a long time and he also became more carefree in living his life. It was a difficult time for Saint Anselm to bear the challenges he had for his mother died during that time. t became even worse when his father’s violent character became too unpleasant and unbearable. Saint Anselm at Bec After his student life at Burgundy, Saint Anselm left home in 1057. Later, in 1059 he explored France and started to think about joining a religious life in the Benedictine monastery at Bec, Normandy. The reason why he entered the monastery was because he was inspired by the famous countryman and theologian named Lanfranc, a prior o f the Benedictine Abbey of Bec. He then became Lanfranc’s disciple and companion in the monastery and he finally joined in 1060. Years later, he was twenty-seven years old then, he lived in Avranches and then entered the abbey as a novice. He studied about the works of Saint Augustine for ten years. However, he wrote nothing about his early life, ideas and the things he learned for he spent most of his life in praying and meditating. Although he wrote the De Grammatico, in which he discussed questions that were semantical in nature, and investigated regarding the concepts of possibility and necessity, this work did not have much influence (De grammatico, 2007). In 1063, Lanfranc became the abbot of Caen and Anselm the elected prior of Bec. Saint Anselm served as a prior for fifteen years. Lanfranc became an archbishop of Canterbury in 1070 while Saint Anselm became an abbot in 1078, the year when Herluin, the warrior monk who was the founder and first abbot of Bec died. Anselm’s fame was not only because of his association with Lanfranc but because of his care about the monks, his sensitivity to their needs and the things around him, and his intuitive mind. It was the time of Saint Anselm’s leadership when learning was improved in Bec and its high standard for learning was became popular even to foreign students. This achievement has brought Anselm in close contact with ecclesiastical affairs in Europe. His public life brought his way to be recognized by William the Conqueror who favored Anselm’s effort and initiative in serving the people. Lanfranc eventually died and King William consecrated Saint Anselm as the Archbishop of Canterbury in 1093. He was then considered as one of the most influential Christian thinkers during that time. He was the Archbishop until 1109. Conflicts and political issues Anselm continued living a spiritual life since he became the Archbishop of Canterbury but he was involved in a series of disputes with the king and also with his successor regarding investiture, the primacy of spirituality, and papal jurisdiction. Anselm gave absolute obedience to God and he almost despised politics and mediocrity. The king also unlawfully and took the revenues of the see until he died. In addition, Anselm was not able to recognize Wibert who was supported by Rufus. They were both the anti-pope which Anselm has fought against them. It resulted to a conflict and other issues that made Anselm to exile in 1097. After a year, Anselm decided to resolve the quarrel with the King so went to Rome to seek counseling from his spiritual father. However, it was not easy for him to leave for the king almost did not give him permission to leave. Saint Anselm’s later life Anselm received praise from the Urban at the Siege of Capua and from Count Roger I of Sicily’s troops of Saracen. However, however, Urban did not fully involve in the dispute between Anselm and King William. A great council at Bari asked Anselm to defend the doctrine of the procession of the Holy Ghost against the representatives of the Greek Church. When Henry I became the king in 1100, Anselm returned to England but in 1103 he exiled for the second time due to his refusal to compromise of both king and archbishop in the Concordat of London. Around 1107, Pope Paschal defended about the Double Procession of the Holy Spirit and explained to the king that Anselm’s positions have been modified which resulted to a victory of the Catholic Church over spiritual jurisdiction. However, King Henry remained in control when it comes to the appointment of bishops and abbots. The last two years of Anselm’s life was spent in serving as the Archbishop in England until he died on the 21st day of April in 1109. King Alexander VI canonized Anselm in 1494 (Scholasticism, 2004). He was considered the Doctor of the Church in 1720 (Saint Anselm, 2004). Saint Anselm in the late 11th century Saint Anselm’s life motto is about searching for the meaning and understanding by believing or turning into faith. His main undertaking was to seek reason in order to be enlightened about the content of belief (Southern, 1962, pp. 1-13). He is famous with his ontological proof about God’s existence, which is based on the belief that whatever the mind can conceive can be achieved or realized in reality. Anselm’s first work alludes to unbelievers with the Cur Deus Homo. This lead him to compose his memorable phrase, credo ut intelligam, which is translated in English as â€Å"I believe in order that I may understand† This was included at the end of the opening prayer of his Proslogion in which he discussed his argument regarding the existence of God. Anselm’s work on the Cur Deus Homo in England in 1094 was the time when the societies of France, England, Burgundy, and Normandy, were having an exhilarating event that was related to the First Crusade (Asiedu, 2001). Saint Anselm’s credo presents a statement of belief suggesting that understanding requires someone to believe. Anselm’s opposite belief with Aquinas is the result of the different worlds they were exposed to. Augustine had a rich experience with other religious traditions and he lived most part of his life in participating. On the other hand, Anselm lived his life by trying to maintain everything that is good and keeping his spiritual life. The peace and solemnity at the monastery provided Anselm much time in constructing his intellectual edifice with symmetry and balance. He did not have much knowledge or formal schooling about other religions and religious traditions. His writing about the unbelievers must have been the outcome of his notion that pagans who do not believe in a supreme being like God in the Holy trinity whom he believes in or, perhaps, some non-Christians existed in the Western society before the end of the eleventh century. Anselm’s reference to the pagans and even the Jews proves that he was knowledgeable that they could object Christian teachings such that they might defend the Law in the Old Testament and that they may negatively respond to Jesus’ preaching in the Gospels (Asiedu, 2001). Although Anselm's ontological argument regarding the existence of God has influenced Descartes and Hegel, Saint Thomas Aquinas rejected it (Misner, 2000). The term â€Å"ontological proof† was first applied by and Emmanuel Kant in his arguments between the seventeenth and the eighteenth century. Anselm demonstrated the existence of God with his popular credo that anything which can be conceived can be achieved and it can exist in reality (Delio, 2003). On the contrary, Aquinas believes that it is possible that some people not capable of understanding some concepts or ideas. Rather, cognition occurs or one understands since an individual serves an instrumental role in the act of cognition. He contends that in order for an individual to understand, it should be first encountered or perceived by the senses to become known or exist in the mind (Dougherty, 2006). Saint Anselm as founder of scholasticism Saint Anselm is considered as the â€Å"Father of Scholasticism† for he emphasized reasoning, argumentation, clear-mindedness, openness, and terseness with humility. He was not after judging those who cannot understand but he emphasized that there is no such thing as impossible to understand. As an example, Anselm developed technical vocabulary of expressions for his theological and philosophical thoughts (Hopkins, 1976). Scholasticism, which focuses on faith and reason, is a philosophy and theology of Christianity in the Western countries in the Middle-Ages. Reason was used to deepen the Christian believers’ understanding and to give rationalization to faith (Scholasticism, 2004; Dougherty, 2006). Philosophers who influenced Saint Anselm Aside from Lanfranc who inspired Anselm’s way of thinking Saint, other earlier Christian philosophers who influenced Anselm’s thoughts were Augustine, Aristotle, and Boethius. Saint Anselm was influenced Saint Augustine who argues that truth exists. Although Anselm articulated the need for redemption in an exclusive way, it was Augustine who first drew a strict correlation between Incarnation and redemption (Delio, 2003). Saint Augustine also contends about the rule of truth in a proposition which makes it true. Boethius worked on puzzling relationship between Creation and Incarnation and believed about Christ having been human regardless of the history of Adam and his sin (Delio, 2003). Like Saint Augustine, Saint Anselm believes about the issue that the world has existed and it forever exists. However, Anselm mentioned about Aristotle only once (Wilks, 1994). In fact, his little knowledge about Aristotle was based on the works of Boethius. Saint Anselm believes that the mystery of the Holy Trinity was not about being the product of cognitive speculation but it is actually about praise and worship in order to strengthen Christians’ faith. There are some modifications about the claims of Augustine in Anselm’s exploration of the doctrine of the Trinity as Monologion or one God in three different persons (Fortin, 2006). Saint Anselm’s contributions Saint Anselm has also contributed to pedagogical studies. The first children’s literature was basically intended for instruction. In the Middle-Ages, Saint Anselm, together with Saint Aldhelm, Aelfric, and Venerable Bede wrote school textbooks in Latin. Some of these texts were eventually used in English and American schools (Children's Literature, 2004). Anselm’s paradoxes on mercy are also significant concepts for policy makers to consider. The first paradox focuses on justice from a normative point of view in relation to the various strands of retribution, a noncomparative justice that centers on a particular person whose punishment does not depend on others. This implies that a strategy for mercy must be based on the public's commitment to various strands of retribution. The second paradox poses a dilemma in which mercy is subject to discretion from a comparative point of view where fairness and equality should be attained even in a diverse community. It suggests that a strategy for mercy must adopt equal application of the law for individuals (Misner, 2000). To be in existence means being within God’s love. The creations and God’s salvation are mentally distinguished from each other but they cannot be separated. Salvation is of God’s unconditional and unlimited love for his Creatures. Anselm believes that salvation from within the context may be limited in but God’s justice is an extension of His enduring love, forgiveness, and caring. God's mercy and justice are determined to restore beauty and harmony to His creation fro God is ultimately good. Even Christ teaches his followers to never stop forgiving others and asking for forgiveness because these are necessary in eradicating the burden of guilt or other hurt feelings that could serve as barriers to happiness. In effect, some laws give pardon to those who plead guilty and sorry for their sins or crimes with the promise to become better individuals. There are instances that people will be attracted in doing crimes if they know they will be forgiven but there are other means to overcome this problem. Constructive punishment can be more effective in reducing crime rates because criminals would realize their wrongdoings, pay for them in a positive way and they will learn how to improve their life and function effectively in the society instead of continuously committing crimes after they are forgiven. Saint Anselm’s impact on other philosophers Many of the Eastern thinkers viewed Incarnation based on the cosmic point of view while Incarnation was seen to impact on juridical and moral aspects as Christology was developed in the West. The later was influenced by the satisfaction theory of Anselm which was supported by saint Thomas Aquinas (Delio, 2003). This theory emphasizes suffering and death of Jesus as a means of salvation. Aquinas argued that reason could possibly lead a person to great spiritual truths and could help him to understand those truths that he accepted on faith (Scholasticism, 2004). God wants the people to realize that death, pain, suffering, and sacrifice in a better perspective. Because He loves His Creations, He wants the people to promote and bring peace to each other to prevent internal and external conflicts within organizations or families. Saint Bonaventure and John Duns Scotus were influenced by Anselm. They both provided a dynamic, inclusive, and broad understanding about Incarnation. Bonaventure and Scotus recognized Anselm's satisfaction theory in relation to the primacy of Christ. As a result, Anselm was able to attain a level of theological achievement. They were able to effectively articulate and understand profoundly the concept of Incarnation, which serve as the underpinning framework God’s love as the reason for His Creations. Scotus provided an explicit explanation regarding the primacy of Christ while Bonaventure described a primacy of the mystery of the fullness of Christ (Delio, 2003). Bonaventure views Creation and Incarnation as significant factors in the primacy of Christ although in the absence of specific doctrine. It is through Bonaventure that made Catholics and other Christians that Christ is the cente of the universe. Bonaventure opted for the traditional solution of Anselm. In Breviloquium (1255) Bonaventure adopted Anselmian’s position in Incarnation and perfection. People were intended to recognize that the noble perfection of the universe in which he emphasizes not only satisfaction but also Incarnation as part of the cosmic fulfillment. As Bonaventure wrote: â€Å"It is in the Word that we discover the perfection of that greatness of heart which brings all reality to its consummation and completion, since the figure of the circle attests to the perfection of bodies both in the macrocosm and in the microcosm†¦ Indeed, God is simply the first. And the last among the works of the world is man. Therefore, when God became man, the works of God were brought to perfection. † (Bonaventure, 1989, pp. 73-74. ). Richard Southern affirms Anselm’s concepts about Christ’s death. First, it is considered a divine appeasement instead of condemning an innocent person for to pay for other’s sins. Christ’s death was not a mishap but a significant event that strengthened His relationship with God, just like restoring the harmony of creation. Second, Southern appreciates the moral validations of this event for it brought liberation from sins and reconciliation for improved relationship between God and the people. Third, it reflects the real and various human experiences for salvation through Christ. Salvation and biblical symbols are deemed important to be integrated and appropriated through the kinds of Christian practices (Cahill, 2007). Salvation was made possible when God the Father offered Jesus to save the sinners who ask for forgiveness, repent, and do penance. This is the most significant means of demonstrating God's love for humanity. In response to God’s love, Jesus calls His followers to love their neighbors by being generous, charitable, kind, forgiving, understanding, empathetic, honest, and just at all times and in all places. This classical salvation theory is emphasized in Saint Anselm’s theory of satisfaction (Haight, 1994). God’s act of love or Jesus' redemption can be best interpreted in modern day activities which were seen in Jesus’ public ministry. If only people would live in accordance to His teachings and examples, promote and practice love, live each day like it is Christmas, and keep a spiritual life, the world will be peaceful and people would learn to care not only to humankind but also to other Creations and the environment. Anselm stressed the role of our mind in making things possible. It is, indeed, true that we can achieve whatever we can think of if we start acting on it and doing the right steps toward the attainment of our goals. Conclusion Saint Anselm’s family background did not anticipate his career but it was his powerful thinking that brought him to a religious life. He did not have a perfect life during his youth and he also experienced challenges. However, he did not allow the negative experiences to ruin his life. Instead, his pursuit in entering a monastery came true when he left and traveled across places. His life and work were influenced mainly by Lanfranc, Aristtole, and Boethius. Although Anselm’s concepts about intelligence and knowing were rejected by Saint Thomas Aquinas, they agree about the satisfaction theory and about the primacy of Christ as the center of the universe. Anselm is famous about the importance of belief in understanding things that has not been conceived. He wanted the people, especially the unbelievers or those he wanted to convert to Christianity to understand the content of their belief by having faith and finding reason to avoid uncertainties. Anselm’s first initiative was to enable the believers to search for reasons in the Christian belief before they are able to profess their faith to their prospect converts or unbelievers. Contemporary thinkers like Bonaventure and Scotus also supported Anselm’s Christology. They have contributed to the centrality of Christ and made it clearer for modern readers to understand about Incarnation and redemption through good reasoning and faith. They also emphasized the mystery of the fullness of Christ. The acceptance of Saint Anselm’s teachings marks the Church’s official teaching regarding the correlation between the sin and salvation and the Incarnation and redemption. Anselm’s work is not only significant in the religious and spiritual life of Christian but also in improving decisions in the social and political contexts. Placing Christ as the center of people’s life and recognizing the love of God for His Creatures are likely to produce positive results. Anselm’s contributions are important for they favor human life in promoting good in the intellectual, emotional, personal, and spiritual aspects of a person.

Coyote Blue Chapter 12~13

CHAPTER 12 Cruelly Turn the Steel-Belted Radials of Desire Crow Country – 1973 In the six years since his vision quest Samson had endured almost daily interpretations of the vision by Pokey Medicine Wing. Again and again Samson insisted that it wasn't important, and again and again Pokey forced the boy to recall his experience on the mountain in detail. It was Pokey's responsibility as a self-proclaimed medicine man to bring meaning to the symbols in the vision. Over the years, as Pokey read new meanings, he tried to change his and Samson's lives to fit the message of the medicine dream. â€Å"Maybe Old Man Coyote was trying to tell us that we should turn our dreams into money,† Pokey said. With this interpretation, Pokey dragged Samson into a series of entrepreneurial ventures that ultimately served no purpose except to confirm to the people of Crow Country that Pokey had finally gone full-bore batshit. The first foray into the world of business was a worm ranch. Pokey presented the idea to Samson with the same blind faith with which he told Old Man Coyote stories, and Samson, like so many before him, was captivated with the idea of turning religion into money. Pokey's eyes were lit up with liquor and firelight as he spoke. â€Å"They are building that dam up on the Bighorn River. They tell us that we will prosper from all the people who will come to the reservation to fish and water-ski on the new lake. That's what they told us when they put the Custer Monument here, but whites opened stores and took all the money. This time we will get our share. We'll grow worms and sell them for fishing.† They had no lumber to build the worm beds, so Pokey and Samson went to the Rosebud Mountains and cut lodgepole pines, which they brought down by the pickup load. Through a whole summer they hauled and built until the Hunts Alones' five acres was nearly covered with empty worm beds. Pokey, convinced that their success depended on getting a jump on other prospective worm ranchers, instructed Samson to tell everyone who asked that they were building corrals to hold tiny horses that they were raising for the Little People that lived in the mountains. â€Å"It's easier to keep a secret if people think you're crazy,† Pokey said. With the beds finished, they were faced with the problem of filling them. â€Å"Worms like cow shit,† Pokey said. â€Å"We can get that for free.† Indeed, had Pokey asked any of the ranchers in the area, they would have let him haul away all the manure he needed, but because most of the ranchers were white and Pokey did not trust them, he decided, instead, that he and Samson would steal the cow pies in the dead of night. So it began: sunset, Samson and Pokey driving the old pickup into a pasture, Pokey driving slowly along while Samson followed on foot with a shovel, scooping piles into the bed of the truck, then the two of them stealing away with their reeking load to dump it in the worm beds, then out again. â€Å"The Crow have always been the best horse thieves, Samson,† Pokey said. â€Å"Old Man Coyote would be proud of the trick we have played on the ranchers.† Pokey's enthusiasm mystified Samson, who couldn't muster the same self-satisfaction at stealing something that nobody wanted. Nevertheless, after a month of pasture raids the beds were full and they drove to the bait store in Hardin to buy their breeding stock: night crawlers and red worms, five hundred each. Pokey burnt sage and sweet grass and prayed over the beds and they released the worms into the beds of manure. Then they waited. â€Å"We shouldn't disturb them until spring,† Pokey said, but many nights Samson spotted him sneaking out to one of the beds with a trowel, turning over a patch, then skulking away. One night Samson was sneaking out with his own trowel when he saw Pokey on his knees with his face pressed to a bed. He stood up when he sensed the boy behind him. â€Å"You know what I was doing?† Pokey asked. â€Å"No,† Samson said, hiding his trowel behind his back. â€Å"I was listening to the sound of money.† â€Å"You have shit on your ear, Pokey.† From that time forward they were both more careful about their nocturnal progress checks, but neither found worm one. They waited through the cold Montana winter, sure that come spring they would be waist deep in worms and money. Never mind the fact that Yellowtail Dam wouldn't be completed for two more years. After the thaw they marched to the beds together, shovels in hand, to turn over their squirming horn of plenty, but shovel after shovel turned up empty. Into the third bed they began to panic and were wildly slinging shit in the air when Harlan pulled up. â€Å"Digging for horses?† he asked. â€Å"Worms,† Pokey shouted, lifting the veil of secrecy with a single word. â€Å"Where did you get the manure?† â€Å"Around,† Pokey said. â€Å"Around where?† â€Å"The ranches on the res.† Harlan began to laugh and Samson was afraid for a moment that Pokey would brain him with the shovel. â€Å"You were trying to grow worms?† â€Å"Old Man Coyote told us to,† Samson said defensively. â€Å"We let go a thousand worms in here to breed so we could sell 'em to fishermen.† â€Å"I guess Old Man Coyote didn't tell you that cattle ranchers put a wormer in their cattle feed, huh?† â€Å"Wormer?† Pokey said. â€Å"That manure was poison to your worms. They were probably dead ten minutes after you put them in there.† Samson and Pokey looked at each other forlornly, the boy's lower lip swelling with disappointment, the man's temples throbbing with pain. Some people believe that hard work is its own reward and a job well done is a tribute to a man's character; fortunately, none of those people were around or they would have been ducking shovel blows. Pokey and Samson decided to get drunk. Harlan stayed on to coach the boy through his first hangover and run interference with Grandma, who would have skinned the two men had she known they were giving liquor to a twelve-year-old. It was the end of summer, a summer spent in sulking and speculating, before Pokey brought home the goats. He'd obtained the pair, a male and a female, from a dubious source in a Hardin bar by winning a bet that had something to do with a pineapple, a throwing knife, and a waitress named Debbie. Samson had difficulty putting the story together from Pokey's drunken ravings, but he gathered that because Debbie had survived, and the pineapple had not, Pokey had two goats on his hands. â€Å"We could breed 'em and sell 'em for meat,† Pokey said. â€Å"But I got a better idea. Them lawyers and doctors are flying into Montana from the city and paying a thousand bucks a head to shoot bighorn sheep. I say we go to the airport in Billings and wait for one of them to get off a plane, then tell 'em they can come to the res and shoot one for two – three hundred. I can be the faithful Indian guide and lead them all over hell and back, and you can take the goats up into the mountains and tie them up where they can shoot 'em.† Despite Samson's objections that even a city lawyer might know the difference between a bighorn sheep and a nanny goat, Pokey insisted that come morning they would be on the road to riches. Come morning, however, when Samson went outside to look at the goats he found them lying on their backs, legs shot stiff to the sky with rigor mortis, dead as stones. In his excitement Pokey had tied the goats next to a patch of hemlock, and the goats, perhaps sensing what was planned for them, munched their last meal and joined the ranks of Socrates. Not all of Pokey's quests for spiritual capitalism were complete failures. He and Samson made a little money with the ;authentic; Indian fry-bread taco stand they set up outside of the Custer Battlefield National Monument, until the health department objected to the presence of marmot and raccoon meat in their all-beef tacos. And they did make forty dollars selling eagle feathers to tourists (actually the feathers of two buzzards that had dined on tainted goat carcass), which they used to buy marijuana seeds that produced a respectable crop of grape-sized casaba melons. (Harlan referred to this as the magic beans incident.) And finally, while Samson was busy with school and basketball and a developing obsession with girls, Pokey turned to prostitution and made five bucks from the owner of the Hardin 7-Eleven who paid the shaman to take his sandwich sign and go stand somewhere else. Samson was fifteen by the time Pokey decided that perhaps they were not meant to turn their dreams into money. Once again he sat the boy down in the kitchen to recount the vision. â€Å"Pokey, I don't even remember much of the vision, and besides, how important could it be? I was only nine.† Samson's friend Billy Two Irons was waiting outside to drive them to a  «forty-nine » party at the Yellowtail Dam and Samson was not in the mood to be cross-examined about an event that he was trying desperately to leave behind, along with the rest of the trappings of childhood. â€Å"Do you know why the Crow never fought the white man?† Pokey asked gravely. â€Å"Oh, fuck, Pokey, not now. I've got to get going.† â€Å"Do you know why?† â€Å"No. Why?† â€Å"Because of the vision of a nine-year-old boy. That's why.† As much as Samson wanted to leave, he had spent too many years listening to the Cheyenne and Lakota call his people cowards to walk out now. â€Å"What boy?† he asked. â€Å"Our last great chief, Plenty Coups. When he was nine he went on his first fast, just like you. He cut pieces from his skin and suffered greatly. Finally, his vision came, and he saw the buffalo gone and then he saw the white man's cattle covering the plains. He saw white men everywhere, but he saw none of our people. The medicine chiefs heard his vision and said that it was a message. The Lakota and the Cheyenne had fought the white men and lost their lands. The vision meant that if we fought the white men we would lose our land and be wiped out. Our chiefs decided not to fight and the Crow survived. We are here because of the vision of a nine-year-old boy.† â€Å"That's great, Pokey,† Samson said, having gained nothing useful from the story. He was not going to quell any ridicule from non-Crows by telling them that his people had changed their way of life over a mystical vision. It was hard enough trying to live down the reputation of his crazy uncle as it was. â€Å"I have to go now.† He grabbed the drum that Pokey had made him and took off through the living room, high-stepping over his eight younger cousins, who were sprawled on the floor watching cartoons on televsion. â€Å"‘Bye, Grandma,† he tossed over his shoulder to his grandmother, who sat in a tattered easy chair among the kids, adding the final touches to a beaded belt she was making for him. In front of the Hunts Alone house a tall, acne-speckled Billy Two Irons was pouring a jug of water into the radiator of a twenty-year-old Ford Fairlane. Most of the water was draining out of the bottom of the engine onto the ground at his feet. â€Å"That thing going to make it up to Yellowtail?† Samson called. â€Å"No problem, bro,† Billy said without looking up. â€Å"I got twenty milk jugs of water in the backseat for the trip up. Coming home's downhill most of the way.† â€Å"You fix the exhaust leak?† â€Å"Yep, tomato can and a hose clamp. Works fine as long as you keep the window down.† â€Å"How about the brakes?† Samson was staring over Billy's shoulder into the greasy cavern of the engine compartment. Billy capped the radiator and slammed the hood before he answered. â€Å"You let it coast down to about ten miles an hour and throw it in reverse it'll stop on a dime.† â€Å"Then let's do it.† Samson jumped into the car. Billy threw the empty milk jug into the backseat, climbed in, and began cranking the engine. Samson looked back to the house and saw Pokey coming out the front door waving at them. â€Å"Hit it, man,† Samson said. â€Å"Let's go.† The car finally fired up just as Pokey reached the window. He shouted to be heard over the din of the damaged muffler. â€Å"You boys watch out for Enos, now.† â€Å"We will, Pokey,† Samson said as they pulled away. Then he turned to Billy Two Irons. â€Å"Is Anus working nights again?† Anus was the name they used for Enos Windtree, a fat, meanspirited half-breed BIA cop who liked nothing better than to terrorize kids partying at some remote spot on the res. Once, at a forty-nine party near Lodge Grass, Samson and Billy and nearly twenty others were drinking and singing with the drums when Samson heard a distinct, sickening series of mechanical clicks right by his ear: the sound of a twelve-gauge shell being jacked into a riot gun. When he turned to the noise Enos hit him in the chest with the butt of the gun, knocking him to the ground. Then Enos shot the lights and windshields out of two cars before sending everyone on their way. When Samson told the story, people just said he was just lucky Enos hadn't hit him in the face, or shot somebody. There were rumors that it had happened before. And people were dying on the Lakota r eservation at Pine Ridge, killed by the tribal police in what amounted to a civil war. â€Å"Enos works whenever he can find someone to fuck with,† Billy said. â€Å"I'd like to hang that fat fuck's scalp from my lodgepole.† â€Å"Oooooo, brave warrior, heap big pissed off,† Samson chided in pidgin – speaking Tonto, they called it. â€Å"You telling me you wouldn't want to see Anus's head through a rifle scope?† â€Å"Yeah, if I thought I could get away with it. But a rifle would be too quick.† For an hour and a half, between stops to add water to the radiator, they theorized on the best way to do away with Enos Windtree. When they finally arrived at the party it had been decided that Enos should have his entire body abraded with a belt sander and a two-inch hole saw slowly driven through his skull with a drill press. (Samson and Billy had just finished with their first year of shop class and were still fascinated by the macabre potential of every power tool they had used; this fascination, of course, was fed by their shop teacher, a seven-fingered white man who described in detail every accident that had mangled, mutilated, or murdered some careless shop student since the turn of the century. The teacher had been so successful in instilling respect for the tools in the boys that Billy Two Irons had taken to skipping two classes after shop to mellow out and would have had a nervous breakdown had Samson not finished building his friend's birdhouse for him.) Billy pulled the Fairlane slowly onto the dam and up to a dozen cars that were parked haphazardly on the three-hundred-foot structure. He threw the car into reverse and gunned the engine until the transmission screamed in protest and the car stopped in a jerking, squealing mechanical seizure. Samson was out of the car in an instant and a warm wind coming off the newly formed reservoir washed over him with the scent of sage. Twenty people were gathered at the rail of the dam, beating drums and singing a song of heartbreak and betrayal in Crow. Samson scanned the faces in the moonlight, recognizing and dismissing each until he spotted Ellen Black Feather, and smiled. She was wearing jeans and a T-shirt. Her long hair was blowing in a black comet tail behind her, her shirt was wrapped tight around her in the wind, and Samson noticed, to his delight, that she was braless. She saw Samson and returned his smile. It was perfect. Just as he had envisioned it on a dozen nights while he lay in the dark with his cousins sleeping around him. They would sing and drink for a while, maybe smoke a joint if somebody had one, then he and Ellen would finish the evening in the backseat of the Fairlane. He walked to Ellen and sat beside her on the rail of the dam, oblivious to the three-hundred-foot drop behind him. As he started to beat his drum and sing he looked back to the car to see Billy adding water to the radiator. It suddenly occurred to him that if he were going to enjoy the favors of Ellen Black Feather in the back of Billy's car, it would be a good idea to move the twenty jugs of water first. He excused himself with a pat on her knee and returned to the car. â€Å"Billy, help me get these jugs into the trunk.† â€Å"They're all empty, don't worry about them.† â€Å"I'm going to need the space. Just open the trunk, okay?† Billy handed him the car keys. â€Å"Hunts Alone, you are a hopeless horndog.† Samson grinned, then took the keys and ran around to the back of the car. He was loading his first armload of jugs into the trunk when he heard a car pass by and the singing abruptly stopped. Samson looked up to see the green tribal police car stopping in the middle of the partiers, some thirty yards away. â€Å"Fuck. It's Anus,† Billy said. â€Å"Let's get out of here.† â€Å"No, not yet.† Samson eased the trunk lid down and joined Billy at the front of the car. They watched Enos Windtree climb out of the car and reach back in for his nightstick. The partiers stood stock-still, as if they were standing near a rattlesnake that would strike at the first movement, but their eyes were darting around looking for possible lanes of escape. All except for Ernest Bulltail, the biggest and meanest of the group, who met Enos's gaze straight on. â€Å"This is an illegal gathering,† Enos rasped as he swaggered up to Ernest. â€Å"You all know it, and I know it. The fine is two hundred dollars, payable right now. Cough it up.† Enos punctuated his demand by driving the end of his nightstick into Ernest's solar plexus, doubling the big man over. Ernest made an effort to straighten up and Enos hit him across the face with the nightstick. One of the other men stepped forward but froze when Enos dropped his hand to the Magnum strapped to his hip. â€Å"Now for my fine,† Enos said. â€Å"Fuck you, Anus!† someone screamed, and Samson's heart sank as he realized that it was Ellen. Enos turned from Ernest and started for the girl. â€Å"I know how you're going to pay up,† Enos said to Ellen with a leer. Samson knew he had to do something, but he wasn't sure what. Billy was tugging on his sleeve, trying to get him to go, but he was fixated on Enos and Ellen. Why hadn't they brought a weapon? He moved to the back of the car and opened the trunk. â€Å"What are you doing?† Billy whispered. â€Å"Looking for a weapon.† â€Å"I don't have a gun in the car.† â€Å"This,† Samson said, holding up a tire iron. â€Å"Against a three fifty-seven? Are you nuts?† Billy grabbed the tire iron and wrenched it out of Samson's hand. Samson was almost in tears now with frustration. He looked back up the dam to see Enos, his gun at Ellen's head, putting his free hand under her shirt. Samson pushed Billy aside, then reached into the trunk and pulled out the spare tire. He began creeping up the dam, cradling the heavy spare in his arms. The others watched him, eyes wide with fear. Ten yards away from Enos he started running, the tire held out in front of him. â€Å"Enos!† Samson shouted. The fat policeman pulled away from Ellen and was bringing up his gun to fire when the tire hit him in the chest and drove him back over the railing. Samson followed, tumbling halfway over the rail before someone caught the back of his shirt and tugged him back. He didn't turn to see who it was, he just stared over the railing at the dam wall that disappeared into the darkness two hundred feet below. The others joined him at the rail and several minutes passed before the stunned silence was broken by Billy Two Irons. â€Å"I just had that spare fixed,† he said. Part 2 The Call to Action CHAPTER 13 Forget What You Know Crow Country – 1973 Of all the people who had seen Enos go over the side of the dam, only Billy Two Irons seemed to have avoided a state of stunned silence. While the others were still staring over the edge into the darkness, Billy was already formulating a plan to save his friend. â€Å"Samson, come here.† Samson looked back at Billy. He was beginning to shiver with unused adrenaline; a look of dreamy confusion had come over him. Billy put his arm around Samson's shoulders and led him away from the railing. â€Å"Look, Samson, you're going to have to run.† A moment passed and Samson did not answer until Billy jostled him. â€Å"Run?† â€Å"You have to get off the res and not come back for a long time, maybe never. Everyone here is going to think that they're going to keep this a secret, but when the cops start kicking ass, your name is going to come out. You've got to go, man.† â€Å"Where will I go?† â€Å"I don't know, but you have to. Now go get in the car. I'm going to try and raise some money.† Grateful that someone was thinking for him, and because he didn't know what else to do, Samson followed Billy's instructions. He sat in the car and watched his friend going from person to person on the dam collecting money. He closed his eyes and tried to think, but found that there was a movie running on the back of his eyelids: a slow-motion loop of a fat cop with a spare tire in his face going backward over a rail. He snapped his eyes open and stared, unblinking, until they filled with tears. A few minutes later Billy threw a handful of bills on the front seat and climbed in the car. â€Å"I told them you were going to hide out in the mountains and I was getting money for supplies. You should be able to get a long way before the cops figure out that you're not on the res. There's about a hundred bucks here.† Billy started the car and drove off the dam toward Fort Smith. â€Å"Where are we going?† Samson asked. â€Å"First we have to stop and fill up these jugs with water. I'll take you to Sheridan and you can catch a bus there. I don't trust this car to go any further. If we break down in the middle of nowhere you're fucked.† Samson was amazed at his friend's ability to think and act so quickly. Left to himself he knew he would still be staring over the dam wondering what had happened. Instead he was on his way to Wyoming. â€Å"I should go home and tell Grandma that I'm going.† â€Å"You can't. I'll tell them tomorrow. And once you're gone you can't call or write either. That's how the cops will find you.† â€Å"How do you know that?† â€Å"That's how they caught my brother,† Billy said. â€Å"He wrote a letter from New Mexico. The FBI had him in two days after that.† â€Å"But†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Look, Samson, you killed a cop. I know you didn't mean to, but that won't matter. If they catch you they'll shoot you before you get a chance to tell what happened.† â€Å"But everyone saw.† â€Å"Everyone there was Crow, Samson. They won't believe a bunch of fucking Indians.† â€Å"But Enos was Crow – part Crow, anyway.† â€Å"He was an apple, only red on the outside.† Samson started to protest again but Billy shushed him. â€Å"Start thinking about where you're going to go.† â€Å"Where do you think I should go?† â€Å"I don't know. You just need to disappear. Don't tell me where you're going when you figure it out, either. I don't want to know. You could try and pass for white. With those light eyes you might pull it off. Change your name, dye your hair.† â€Å"I don't know how to be white.† â€Å"How hard can it be?† Billy said. Samson wanted to talk to someone besides Billy Two Irons, someone who didn't make as much sense: Pokey. He realized that for all his craziness, all his ravings, all his drinking and ritual mumbo jumbo, Pokey was the person he most trusted in the world. But Billy was right: going home would be a mistake. Instead he tried to imagine what Pokey would say about escaping into the white world. Well, first, Samson thought, he would never admit that there was a white world. According to Pokey there was only the world of the Crow – of family and clans and medicine and balance and Old Man Coyote. The white man was simply a disease that had put the Crow world out of balance. Samson tried to look into the future to see where he would go, what he would do, but any plans he had ever made – and there hadn't been many – were no longer valid, and the future was a thick, white fog that would allow him to see only as far as the bus station in Sheridan, Wyoming. He felt a panic rising in his chest like a scream, then it came to him: this was just a different type of Coyote Blue. He was trying to look into the future too far and it was ruining his balance. He needed to focus on right now, and eventually he would learn what he needed to know when the future got to him. What did Pokey always say? â€Å"If you are going to learn, you need to forget what you know.† â€Å"Don't use all your money for the bus ticket,† Billy said. â€Å"Once you get out of the area you can hitchhike.† â€Å"Did you learn all this when your brother got in trouble?† â€Å"Yeah, he writes me letters from prison about what he did wrong.† â€Å"He put a bomb in a BIA office. How many letters can that take?† â€Å"Not that. What he did wrong to get caught.† â€Å"Oh,† Samson said. Two hours later Samson was climbing on a bus headed for Elko, Nevada, carrying with him everything he owned: twenty-three dollars, a pocketknife, and a small buckskin bundle. He took a window seat in the back of the bus and stared out over the dark countryside, really seeing nothing, as he tried to imagine where he would end up. His fear of getting away was almost greater than his fear of being caught. At least if he were caught his fate would be in someone else's hands. After an hour or so on the road Samson sensed that the bus was slowing down. He looked around for a reaction from the other passengers, but except for an old lady in the front who was engrossed in a romance novel, they were all asleep. The driver downshifted and Samson felt the big diesel at his back roar as the bus pulled into the passing lane. Out his window he saw the back of a long, powder-blue car. As the bus moved up Samson watched the big car glide below him, seeming to go on forever. He saw the back of the driver's head, then his face. It was the fat salesman from his vision. Samson twisted in his seat, trying to get a better look as they passed. The salesman seemed to see him through the blackout windows of the bus and raised a bottle of Coke as if toasting Samson. â€Å"Did you see that?† Samson cried to the old lady. â€Å"Did you see that car?† The old lady turned to him and shook her head, and a cowboy in the next seat groaned. â€Å"Did you see who was in that car?† Samson asked the bus driver, who snickered and shook his head. The cowboy in the next seat was awake now and he pushed his hat from over his eyes. â€Å"Well, son, now that you got me wetting myself in suspense, who was in the car?† â€Å"It was the salesman,† Samson said. The cowboy stared at him for a second in angry disbelief, then pushed his hat back over his eyes and slid back down in his seat. â€Å"I hate fucking Mexicans,† he said.

Danka for Thank You, Bitteschön for Youre Welcome

Danka for Thank You, Bitteschà ¶n for You're Welcome Courtesy is important no matter what country youre visiting. In Germany, however, there is greater emphasis on formalities and speaking to people in die Hà ¶flichkeitsform:  addressing acquaintances, colleagues, and people you dont know with Sie as opposed to du/ you, which is reserved more for family and close friends.The same goes when expressing thank you and youre welcome in German. There is a more formal way and a less formal way of stating these expressions. Below you will find a list divided as such, however many expressions are fine in both situations since just simply stating thank you and youre welcome is polite in and of itself. The most important thing to keep in mind is to use Sie/Ihnen and du as appropriate. (Please note that the translations are not always literal, but rather an English equivalent.) More Formal Ways of Saying Thank You: Most common: Dankeschà ¶n, Danke sehr Other ways: Schà ¶nen Dank (Many thanks)Besten Dank (Best of thanks)Haben Sie vielen Dank! (Many thanks)Ich bin Ihnen sehr dankbar (Im very grateful/thankful to you)Ich danke Ihnen (I thank you)Herzlichen Dank (Heartfelt thanks)Ein herzliches Dankeschà ¶n (My/Our heartfelt thanks)Danke vielmals (Many thanks), Ich danke Ihnen vielmals Vielen Dank (Many thanks) Less Formal Ways of Saying Thank You DankeVielen Dank (Many thanks)Danke vielmals (Many thanks)Tausend Dank (Thanks a million) More Formal Ways of Saying Youre Welcome Bitteschà ¶n Bitte sehrGern geschehen (It was my pleasure)Mit Vergnà ¼gen (With pleasure) Less Formal Ways of Saying Youre Welcome Bitte Gern geschehen (It was my pleasure)Gern (shortened form of Gern geschehen)Nichts zu danken (Dont mention it.)Schon gut (Thats fine. No problem)Kein Problem (No problem) You may need some other words for polite conversation, including understanding how to say please in German.

How To Give Advice in Spanish

How To Give Advice in Spanish There are at least four ways you can offer advice in Spanish, depending partly on how direct you wish to be. Statements of advice can be in the form of a command, in the form of telling a person what he or she is obligated to do, as a statement of advice followed by the subjunctive mood, and as a n impersonal statement followed by the subjunctive mood. All four methods have parallels in English. Giving Advice Using Commands Commands may go beyond the point of being advisory, depending on the context, tone of voice and whether your command is direct or indirect. In context, commands (also known as  the imperative mood) such as these can be understood as either advice or a demand: Habla tà º a la policà ­a, y diles que tu vecina est loca. (Talk to the police and tell them your neighbor is crazy.)Compre el producto, no el proveedor. (Buy the product, not the provider.)No salgas ahora. (Dont leave now.) The future tense can substitute for the imperative in making directing commands, as it can in English. But such commands are extremely forceful and thus would not usually be understood as advisory.  ¡Comers todo el almuerzo! (You will eat all of your lunch!) ¡Saldr ahora mismo! (You will leave right now!) Giving Advice by Expressing Obligation Like direct commands, whether statements of obligation (such as You should do this in English) are understood as advice - or potentially as rude - depends on context, including the tone of voice. The common ways of expressing obligation are the uses of tener que infinitive and deber infinitive. When giving advice, you can soften the tone by using a conditional form of deber: Deberà ­as estudiar un poco acerca de las opciones. (You ought to study a little bit about the choices.)No deberà ­as escoger productos lcteos que son altos en grasas. (You shouldnt choose dairy products that are high in fat.)Deberà ­an ustedes ser ms positivos. (You should be more positive.) Using Verbs of Advice With the Subjunctive Because giving advice is often a way of expressing a wish or a desire - or certainly of referring to an event that may or may not occur - the subjunctive mood is used after the verb of advice. Common verbs of advice and possible translations include: aconsejar: to advisesugerir: to suggestproponer: to propose, to put forward (an idea) These verbs should not be confused with verbs such as notificar and informar, which can be translated as advise, but only in the sense of to inform. Some examples: Te aconsejo que me olvides. (I suggest that you forget me.)Te aconsejo que te cases en tu propio paà ­s. (I advise you to get married in your own country.)Sugiero que se pueda desactivar el foro. (I suggest that you deactivate the forum.)Le sugerimos que visite nuestro sitio regularmente. (We suggest that you visit our site regularly.)Sugiero que te comuniques con el centro meteorolà ³gico de tu ciudad. (I suggest you communicate with your citys weather center.)Te propongo que escribas un articulo con lo que sabes de este seà ±or. (I suggest you write an article based on what you know about this gentleman.)Te proponemos que dediques 3 minutitos a contestar este cuestionario. (We ask you to spend just three short minutes answering this questionnaire.) Using Impersonal Statements as Advice An even less direct way of giving advice is to use impersonal statements, typically followed by the subjunctive. Examples of impersonal statements used in advice include es importante (it is important) and es necesario (it is necessary); like verbs of advice, they are followed by a verb in the subjunctive mood. And as in the fourth example below, you can make statements of how you would react as a way of advising. Es importante que participes en clase. (It is important that you participate in class.)Creemos que es necesario que tenga un coche fiable. (We believe it is important that you have a reliable car.)Serà ­a provechoso si pudià ©ramos examinar ese problema. (It would be helpful if we could examine that problem.)Me gustarà ­a si me escribes de vez en cuando. (It would please me if you write to me once in a while.) Key Takeaways The most direct way of giving advice is to use the imperative mood or the future tense, although such ways of giving advice can come across as too forceful to be considered advice.Verbs of advice are typically followed by que and a verb in the subjunctive mood.Impersonal statements followed by a verb in the subjunctive mood can be used to give advice indirectly.

$2500 Essay Contest Scholarship! I Can Save The Earth!

$2500 Essay Contest Scholarship! I Can Save The Earth! $2500 Essay Contest Scholarship! I Can Save The Earth! We are thrilled to announce another essay contest scholarship with an amazing prize of $2500 in scholarship funds. This time around the topic is environmentalism and what students can do to save the earth! Have you done something to protect the natural environment in your community? Do you have a brilliant idea to counteract the human effects on the environment? If so, fire up your word processor and get to work! Keep reading to Learn more! Eligibility If you are a student in a college or university, attend a tech school or certificate program, or are a high school student in the US or a related territory, you are welcome to participate! Requirements We want you to have a fair shake at winning this money, so make sure your essay meets the following requirements: 1000 to 1500 Words Long Written in English Don’t Use Real Names! Send us Your Full Name And a Valid Email Address on a Separate Page Keep it Clean! No Offensive or Harassing Content. Be sure to send it in my 12/31/17. We’ll let everyone know who won on 01/31/18. Email your essay to @gmail.com What Does it Take to Win? Don’t start typing just yet. First, take a look at our judging criteria. Your essay must be impeccable! Use your spell checker, and be sure you get rid of any grammar or punctuation error. Next, stick to the topic at hand. Relevance is important. We’re looking for ideas that are original, and that can be put to work! Practical solutions are best! Finally, educate us! Provide examples and tips on ways that each of us can protect the environment. Disclaimer: Once you submit your essay, it becomes our property and will be protected by copyright laws. You may not publish your essay, copy it, or provide it to others without our express written permission.

Workplace Issues Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Workplace Issues - Assignment Example However, whether such belongingness affects the reputation of the nursing profession positively or negatively really depends upon the performance of a union as different unions vary in their response, activities, and proceedings. One disadvantage is that many nurses tend to make negative use of the protection that comes with association with these unions. They are lazy and yet cannot be fired. The day-shift and night-shift nurses are involved in a constant blame game where they hold each other responsible for the faults and mistakes. Another disadvantage for nurses is that they have to depend upon the union for everything. While an independent nurse may switch days with a coworker, the one associated with a union has to get the holidays preapproved from the union which may be an inconvenient process. Taking everything into consideration, the overall effect of association with a collective bargaining association on the nursing practice is generally more negative than positive particul arly because it comes in between the patient and the nurse, and has the ability to erode the status and freedom of a

The value of an education Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

The value of an education - Essay Example One of the most well-known facts about society’s advancement is the fact that from an archaeological perspective, we have banded together to increase our chances of survival. At its root, this suggests that we band together to work together and to learn from one another. Learning from a person is what modern education is today. Society can only progress forward due in part to education and without it, it is a wasteful experience. Education progresses people beyond their limits, allowing for improvements that would not be otherwise possible. It becomes more concrete when perceived from the lens outside of what is commonly understood and held. The implications of a good education can become a persuasive argument for socioeconomic development. One can identify trends within any society to see that education is a tool for success when building a middle class and to some extent, solidifying the community. However, education is a complex issue that holds different keys and locks, al l of which cannot be answered through a singular answer. The importance of an education is valued through what it can grant, provided that individuals help to support their educators but are often hindered by aspects like geography, familial dynamics, and income; which should be overcome if one looks to improve society. Economic development can bring about change in its purest and simplest form. At its core, it can be said that an education has a key role in improving the quality of life and well-being. This is an important aspect of society.

Coping with Change at the Workplace Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Coping with Change at the Workplace - Essay Example Some of the different kinds of changes that characterize most professional organizations are changes in systems, processes, and people. Resistance is a natural by-product of change and it is important to understand the various causes of resistance so as to be able to cope with it and overcome it effectively. The actual process of managing change can be divided into three phases: unfreezing change, and refreezing. First, one needs to accept the need for change and also have a desire to bring about the change. In the second phase, the actual implementation of the change can take place. In the final phase, review and reinforcement of the change takes place.Any business is characterized by change. In the course of a professional career, an individual is likely to encounter change very often. In some instances, individuals may also be called upon to predict the occurrence of change and initiate steps to deal with it. Individuals who are change-oriented are likely to gain professional succ ess and a competitive edge over their competitors. Thus a person's success at the workplace is often tied to his or her readiness to act as an agent of change.This report begins by detailing out the various kinds of change that an individual is likely to face in an organization. Resistance is an inevitable aspect of change and therefore the next section of the report highlights the reasons behind resistance to change and the steps that can be taken to overcome it. Having detailed out the types of change and the barriers to change, the next section of the report logically deals with out how change can be dealt with systematically and effectively. Understanding the Kinds of Change Change in any organization is generally triggered by certain key business drivers. So, to start with, it is important to understand the different kinds of change that one is likely to face in an organization. Some of the kinds of changes that an individual is likely to encounter are: Changes in systems Changes in processes Changes in people These different kinds of change have been detailed out below along with examples of each kind. Change in systems: This kind of change generally signals a modification in technology or products. It includes "enhancements to an existing product or the development of completely new systems" (Bal 115). A change in systems is generally made in an attempt to ensure that the "right kind of technology, systems, and machinery are in place to meet the needs of customers" (Ibid). Change in processes: This kind of change entails the way in which an organization operates to meet the needs of its customers. Here the various processes involved in getting products or services to customers are critically examined and changes are initiated to add value to every step of the process. Internal processes are aligned with the needs of customers so that there is a dramatic improvement in the overall efficiency of the organization. Process changes include both people and technology so that products are delivered more effectively and efficiently to customers. Change in people: Change in people can refer to any number of things. It may refer to a change in the management of a company as may happen in the case of mergers and acquisitions. It can also refer to providing "technical training to ensure changes in systems can be managed by operators" (Bal 115). People are the driving forces that dictate the success of an organization. While systems and processes may provide "incremental change" (Bal 116), a motivated and efficient workforce can bring about "sustained improvement" (Ibid). While processes and technologies may become obsolete after a period of

Operations Management - Discussion Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Operations Management - Discussion Paper - Essay Example The question of survival of the fittest has made the business organizations to increasingly take resort to the above strategy (Lawler and Worley, 2006, p.154-155). The paper endeavors to further divulge on the issue of gaining a new workforce at the cost of the existing people in a much detailed fashion. Maintenance of Stable Workforce within Organizations in Respect of Changing Markets The fact of changing market conditions impose challenges over the business organizations in regards to maintaining a stable workforce. It is found that to overcome the stress of external changes in the technological and competitive business sphere business organizations have shifted their endeavor to work for the development of the existing people to recruiting readymade skillful and productive workers from outside. Though it is held that retiring workers increases the turnover cost of the concerns yet it helps the concerns to strategize the development process of staffs to meet market demands. In ord er to compete with the technological and business development of its competitors the business concerns need to take in effective manpower that can be trained quite faster to help the organization counter market challenges. The policy of taking in new recruits and retiring the existing people in regards to market changes and opportunities is referred to as ‘travel light’ and was employed by Kodak when film technology shifted from chemical to digital. Chemical engineers were replaced by digital photography engineers (Lawler and Worley, 2006, p.154-156). Workforce Stability in Organizations based on Financial Position of the Concern It is observed that taking resort to the above discussed ‘travel light’ human resources policy endangers the business organization in regards to increasing the cost of human resources of the concern. The organization needs to both render immediate financial benefits to the retiring employees and also to invest quite enough to recru it and train the new workforce. Further the new workers need to be properly streamlined into the business process which requires enough time leading loss of productivity and thereby rise in business costs. Administrative costs also get highly tuned to such both in relation to rendering advertisements for recruiting and also in terms of generation of insurance, uniform and other costs for the new individuals. Again the new employees on failing to use the machineries in the right manner lead to increase in the cost of erosion of such. The time required for the new employees to be trained properly requires existing employees to perform the overtime work for which they are required to be rightly paid. This increases the cost of operations for the firm (Indicator Protocols Set: EC, 2006, p.7). Organizational Productivity in terms of Skills and Competition and Workforce Stability Organizations round the world in order to better compete with their competitors are found to take resort of ne wer and productive workforce based on new skill sets. However such practice of the business conc

Museum vsit Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Museum vsit - Essay Example The layout of the art is diamond in shape. A wall colored in red was visible in the middle of the exhibits. This was the starting point of the exhibit. It contained clear descriptions of the art. The red color symbolized the blood shed during the violence in the communist era. It also illuminates the art work and made it easy for the visitors to see and read the descriptions inscribed on the art.The posters are placed in white frame and hanged up the wall and strategically place to see and understand their significance once the visitors read the descriptions. They are also grouped which makes it easier for the visitors to understand the art work easily. The exhibits are directly lit, softly to enhance the artwork and make it more visible to the public. The exhibits have a combination of warm colors, grey, red and white walls. The grey color is the background of the poster while the red and white are on the wall an element which is simple in nature but aesthetically beautiful to look at. The room where the posters are displayed also have an ambiance that allows one to have a good focus on the posters. The artists and the museum staff arranged the exhibit in such a way that one will read, connect with art work and go back in history to get a clearer picture of the message passed in your mind. The posters had labels on them and some had descriptions on type of art work displayed in the museum. The descriptions told of the history behind the poster and they were didactic in nature. They derived their inspiration from the social injustice in the past as that was the theme of the rebranded. These exhibits were not only pleasing to art lovers but the message behind it is what inspires me as an art enthusiast. Despite few missing descriptions the art could almost be generalized as it was easy to understand especially due to the grouping

Software Engineering Design Workshop Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Software Engineering Design Workshop - Essay Example Almost all newspapers across the world have some form of crossword for their readers. Actually some readers, especially the elderly and the scholarly people buy a newspaper only to solve the crossword and challenge themselves everyday. This said one must remember that the mobile technology has given the people a power to be online all the time and communicate as and when required. Hence, it is quite definite that the mobile technology has made lot of difference in people’s life. From taking important decisions to addressing their day to day requirements, the mobile phone has given the people to be in touch 24x7. Thus it is quite imperative that their pastime need to be made available on the move. There are only a few people who still carry the newspaper along them. The mobile gadget is all that they require. But that does not mean that the games will not be available to them. Guardian has already incorporated their popular crossword games online. This means that many people can now just go online and play the game whenever they want. But it is not actually the mobile technology. One must have 24x7 accesses to their favorite games and pastimes. The idea of this paper is to deal with the design and implementation aspect of a mobile crossword puzzle which will be available to the people on the move. But first and foremost we have to understand that the normal crossword puzzles that are published by Guardian are of two types. One comes in a normal image format and the other is a dataset which can be decoded to meet the requirements of the mobile gaming platform. However, there are other aspects that must be taken into consideration. The first and foremost is the screen of the mobile phone. It is usually not large enough to accommodate the entire crossword with its grid and clues. Also the game should be downloadable and must be in sync with the latest one. Another aspect is that the advertisements must be removed in order to keep it simple

Museum vsit Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Museum vsit - Essay Example The layout of the art is diamond in shape. A wall colored in red was visible in the middle of the exhibits. This was the starting point of the exhibit. It contained clear descriptions of the art. The red color symbolized the blood shed during the violence in the communist era. It also illuminates the art work and made it easy for the visitors to see and read the descriptions inscribed on the art.The posters are placed in white frame and hanged up the wall and strategically place to see and understand their significance once the visitors read the descriptions. They are also grouped which makes it easier for the visitors to understand the art work easily. The exhibits are directly lit, softly to enhance the artwork and make it more visible to the public. The exhibits have a combination of warm colors, grey, red and white walls. The grey color is the background of the poster while the red and white are on the wall an element which is simple in nature but aesthetically beautiful to look at. The room where the posters are displayed also have an ambiance that allows one to have a good focus on the posters. The artists and the museum staff arranged the exhibit in such a way that one will read, connect with art work and go back in history to get a clearer picture of the message passed in your mind. The posters had labels on them and some had descriptions on type of art work displayed in the museum. The descriptions told of the history behind the poster and they were didactic in nature. They derived their inspiration from the social injustice in the past as that was the theme of the rebranded. These exhibits were not only pleasing to art lovers but the message behind it is what inspires me as an art enthusiast. Despite few missing descriptions the art could almost be generalized as it was easy to understand especially due to the grouping

Before the night falls. Comparison of the book and film Essay

Before the night falls. Comparison of the book and film - Essay Example Julian Schnabel made a movie based on this memoir. The movie with the same name as the book, like the book, recounts Arenas’ life. It details his birth in rural Cuba, his youth and his growth as a writer. It shows how he struggled to get published his works considered counterrevolutionary by the Cuban government, his imprisonment and his eventual release from Cuba. It shows him migrating to the U.S. achieving some recognition and success there, before dying of AIDS. Schnabel inevitably has not been able to put the whole content of the book into the movie. However the essence and most of the themes of the book have been incorporated into the movie. Adapted films may be able to bring a book to life. However it is not possible to make a movie from a book with as much detail or depth as a book. In Schnabel’s case adaptation of Before Night Falls, became even more difficult because the book was not only the story of the life of one man but the book also portrayed political history that was quite complicated in nature. A faithful and total adaptation of the memoir would need more than six hours of viewing. Schnabel while missing out on many portions of the book however remains faithful to some of the important actual events in the life of Arenas. Schnabel handles the movie with a light touch with none of the weighty sequences found in the book. He does no go into the details of the brutality and torment Arenas experiences in prison. The descri ption of life in the Cuban prison had made the book unique. Arena’s sexual explorations portrayed in the book are portrayed quite timidly in the film. Schnabel does explore the pleasure, freedom and promiscuity of beach culture, but he does this only peripherally. In the book, according to Arenas he has had about 5000 sexual partners by the age of 25. However in the film, he is shown as having no more than what he can

Ecofeminism in the 21st Century Essay Example for Free

Ecofeminism in the 21st Century Essay Ecofeminism in the Twenty-First Century. by Susan Buckingham Introduction Since ecofeminism was developed as a concept in the 1970s (1), there have been, arguably, major policy shifts in the fields of gender (in)equality and environmental sustainability. Thus a consideration of the achievements of, and work outstanding for, ecological feminism is warranted. In this paper, I will assess the changing policy landscape to explore the extent to which this has structurally altered gender inequalities and societies treatment of the environment, and the imbrication of these wo processes. In order to do so, I will look at the rising profile of gender mainstreaming at the international, European Union (2) and European national level; the application of the feminism debate to environmental concerns; and the shifting of the radical edge of ecofeminism, to explore future possible trajectories (see, for example, Plumwood 2003; Seager 2003). To some extent, I will suggest that the transformation of policy and development rhetoric to include gender, as distinct from womens issues (itself, arguably, a post-feminist dilution of womens equality), masks fundamental attachment to business-as-usual, where social roles, pay differentials, political representation and environmental degradation remain little changed. However, there is, I argue, sufficient evidence to identify the influence of ecofeminist thinking on major policy initiatives concerning the relationship between women, men and environment at a variety of scales. The central question of this paper, then, is whether ecofeminism (as a distinct discourse, or as an amalgam of feminism and environmentalism constructed in different times and places in different ways) has hanged the way in which Western society articulates the relationship between men, women and the environment. This, of course, is a problematic and speculative exercise and will follow from an analysis of how discourse and practice themselves have changed. This paper will consider key changes to gender equality as it is linked to environmental sustainability, and explore how womens/feminists interests have helped to shape the environmental debate in the past decade. I will try to unpick dominant discourses which, on the one hand, are beginning to naturalize (some ould say neutralize) environmental concerns (where the terms sustainable development and environmental sustainability are common currency but poorly understood to the point of being anodyne), but on the other hand are marginalizing feminism, to examine the impact of this on ecofeminism. Finally, I will explore the territory of ecofeminisms leading/radical edge to speculate on where this may take both conceptual understanding and policy in the future. First, however, to put this discussion into context, I will briefly review ecofeminist arguments to illustrate their ange, before focusing on the constructivist approach, which has had the most traction in gender/environment debates in the last two decades. Ecofeminist approaches It is tempting to use a retrospective to try to impose some sort of order on past intellectual activity, and what I am attempting to do first in this article is to explore whether there is an intellectual trajectory, through a not necessarily coherent body of thinking and writing on gender and environment in the late twentieth century. In teasing out the possible relationship between womens position, gender anage the environment, ecofeminist writers in the 1970s and 1980s explored the relative importance of essentialism and social construction in these relationships. The social constructivist analyses (which tended to dominate French and British writing; see, for example, Mellor 1992) drew from the Marxist and social feminist literature to show how womens position in society (as, for example, carers of children and other vulnerable family members, domestic workers, and low paid/status workers) derived from prevailing social and economic structures, which exposed them to a particular set of environmental incivilities. The specifically ecofeminist argument here proposed that, since the same social and economic structures also produced wide-scale environmental damage, then women could, in some sense, share this experience and were therefore better placed to argue on natures behalf. The essentialist argument that underpinned some of the North American and Australian analyses proposed that women had a particular relationship with nature by virtue of their biology (predominantly as actual or potential child bearers) and that this proximity to nature qualified them to speak more eloquently on natures behalf see, for example, Spretnak 1989; Daly 1978). Different authors drew on each position to different degrees, and much of the critique of ecofeminism (well articulated in Biehl 1991) over the past 20 years has focused on the problems perceived with essentialism, and on the validity of a shared experience between the human and non-human. Dennis Smith (2001), in discussing the role of gender in peace and conflict, has argued that essentialism is often used as a tool to mobilize a group around a perceived characteristic which sets it apart, and, certainly, cultural ecofeminism (prioritizing essentialist arguments) did so. Its strength was to demonstrate the possibility of a way of thinking and being which reversed the normal hierarchy in which men stood at the peak; however, little academic feminist environmental thinking is currently framed in this way.

Strategies To Improve Parental Involvement Education Essay

Strategies To Improve Parental Involvement Education Essay Introduction Parental involvement in students education has become a greater challenge in recent years and has posed a problem for educators in Jamaica. Parents have competing priorities which oftentimes reduce the quantity and quality of time available for their involvement with childrens education. Now more than ever, mothers constitute a large part of the workforce which does not allow for quality time to be spent with children. Many children are living in low-income single female headed households without the basic necessities such as proper food, clothing and shelter. In spite of the Ministry of Education implementations of parenting seminars and workshops to help parents with the job of parenting, not much has change. This paper seeks to discuss and find strategies to improve parental involvement. In an article published in the Daily Gleaner dated May 26, 2008, Sylvester Anderson the president of the National Parents Teachers Association of Jamaica stressed that there is a great need for better parental involvement in students educational development. He stated that things had been improving but, there was still a long way to go as attendance at PTA meetings was pretty low with attendance rate of about 20 to 30 per cent, which is not good enough for a partnership. In addition, most parents show up for the first meeting of the school year, but the rate dwindled to a severe low for the remainder of the school term, while others do not even bother to visit the schools or collect their childrens academic report. Consequently, parents are reminded that their job does not end with just sending their children to school, but they need to be involved in every part of the childs growth. However, as childrens first educator, parents have the responsibility to ensure that they participate in their childrens school life in order for children to reach according to Vygotsky, their zone of proximal development (cited in Berk, 2006, p. 260). In Jamaica, especially in the inner-city community, the high fertility rate resulting from teenage pregnancies has shown a marked difference between adolescent parenting versus adult parenting, as teenaged parents lack the resources and maturity to care for their children adequately. However the problem of poor parental involvement is not only seen in adolescent parents but adult parents too. This is oftentimes manifested in the interest shown in the activities at school. Many parents have lost interest or have little or no time to be involved in school activities which has affected their childrens performance. Some however, are illiterate, lack training or skill and have not completed secondary education hence their inability to secure jobs to care for their children or assist them in their school activities. Despite being unemployed, some parents still do not go to meetings unless refreshment is provided or they can gain tangible rewards. This shows that parents places very little value on their childrens educational experience. In addition, some mothers are oftentimes busy caring for younger children which resulted in their absence from all activities that takes place at their childrens school. In many of the homes fathers are absent leaving the responsibility of parenting on the mothers. Some are involved in gangs and show little inclination to participate in school activities although they are unemployed. Many parents do not seem to have their childrens education as priority but instead are more interested in partying, fun and fashion than in the education of their children. This is evident in the small number of children registered at birth or fully immunize in spite of the service for the latter being free (taken from the school admission record for 2008-2011). As a result, these children are at a risk of not developing to their fullest potential. For example, there are some children who can perform well academically but display disruptive behaviours, while there are others who are socially competent but are academically challenged. Through the many parenting seminars which are poorly attended, parents are informed that researchers of parental involvement in schools have stated definitively that parental involvement has direct and lasting impact on childrens learning and academic achievement (Wishon, Crabtree Jones, 1997). However this has not changed the action of many parents to become involved in school activities. From all appearances it seems that many parents of lower socio- economic status are unaware of the impact they have on their childrens performance when they are involved. Nevertheless, parents are their childrens first and most important teachers. As they guide their childrens behaviour, they teach and prepare them for school. Parents must realize that they need to have a connection with the school environment in order for their children to succeed and for the school to be a success. The school must also realize that this is a two way process and they need to work with parents and parents with the school in order for children to succeed. Lyons, Robbins, Smith (cited in Wishon, Crabtree Jones, 1998) stated that when parents provide supervision and support for their children they are more likely to succeed as teachers have high expectations of their children. Parental involvement in school activities also guarantee that teachers treat parents with respect and show interest in their children. Parental Involvement In an article written by The National Centre for Parents, Parental involvement is defined as the participation of parents in every facet of childrens education and development from birth to adulthood, recognizing that parents are the primary influence in childrens lives (retrieved July 3, 2009, http:www.ctpta.org/parenting/parent involvement.htm). Parents in this context can be referred to as childrens closest caregivers or members of their extended families. In their definition of parental involvement Hoover-Dempsey Sandler (2005) refer to two types of parental involvement activities oftentimes used by parents. One type is home-based involvement which includes activities that takes place between the child and parent outside the school setting. This entails helping child with homework, revising for test, monitoring of childs progress, providing enrichment activities pertinent to school success and corresponding with childs teacher on a regular basis. The other type is school-base in volvement which includes activities wherein parents focus on their individual child in the school setting. These activities include parent-teacher conference, in-class observation of child, informal discussions with teacher, attending school events and volunteering to assist on class field trips. Barriers to parental involvement Although there are many benefits to parental involvement there are also some barriers. Some are attributed to parenting styles which have both positive and negative impact in the school and wider society. In assessing the different parenting styles and their impact on children Berk (2006) posits that authoritative parents are warm but firm, attentive and sensitive to their childrens needs, while the authoritarian parents appear cold and rejecting and frequently degrade their children by mocking and putting them down. On the other hand the permissive parents are overindulgent, inattentive and have little control over their childrens lives which is similar to the uninvolved parents who have little involvement in their childrens lives, are emotionally detached and oftentimes depress. As a result of the above parenting styles it is indicative that the permissive and uninvolved parent would not be involved in their childrens school activities. The former Minister of Education, Andrew Holness, in an article entitled Government to set up support group for parents, states that poor parenting is manifesting itself in children who are not socially well adjusted and who leave the private domain of the home and misbehave at school and in public. He further stated that the first strategy to solve this problem is education, so that parents can be introspective about their behaviour and reform achieved. Parents on the other hand have many problems that have prevented them from being involved in school. Some of the barriers to parental involvement are; parents being too busy, frustrated, too tired, having other siblings to care for, economically deprived, disinterested or too burdened by their own problems. Parents also fear being involved, not fully understanding what they can do and how valuable their contribution is to their childrens academic achievement. Parents also fear that they do not have the ability to help their children. Eldridge (2001) confirms this in a statement by parents that they believe that their assistance is not needed by the schools or teacher (p. 66). Some teachers do not help the situation either as they think parents have nothing to contribute. Becher (1984) opines that teachers fear that parents will take over their teaching responsibilities and be too critical of them. In addition, some teachers are also uncomfortable talking about issues in front of parents as they do not trust them. In order to alleviate parents fear, teachers must create an environment in which parents are perceived as partners in the educational process and not as adversaries. Epstein (1995) opines that single parents have been identified as another barrier to parental involvement. This is as a result of single parents being poorer, less educated, and younger than is the case of two parents in two-parent homes. Despite their status parents play an important role in the life of their children even if they are single, uneducated or economically deprived. Benefits of Parental Involvement ? need fi find out who seh dis Parental involvement benefits children, parents, teachers and the school. Research has shown the positive impact that even the smallest efforts on the part of parents can have on childrens learning. Education should be viewed as a shared responsibility and as a method of improving its outcome the school should reach out to the family. Furthermore, when children view their parents as a part of their educational journey, they feel motivated to achieve and feel justified in sharing achievement. As a result, when parents are closely involved with their childrens pre-school programme, there is no doubt that children tend to bloom. According to Pena (2000) increase communication, increase volunteerism, better school support and better attitudes are just a few ways that parental involvement benefit parents, children and school. Additionally, when parents take an active interest in their childrens education, cognitive and physical development is enhanced; the child develops greater problem-solving skills and a significant increase occurs in the childs receptive and expressive language skills (Wishon et al, 1998, p.124). Several studies ( Berk, 2006; Wishon et al, 1998) concur that parental involvement in school benefits children as they demonstrate greater responsiveness to both school and home environments and achieve academic success and wellbeing. Additionally, students benefit by getting higher grades, better attendance, and getting more homework done which builds their self-esteem. Parents also benefit when they participate in their childrens education in many ways. They learn a great deal about child care from their early child care and education programmes as they learn their homes benefit tremendously as they become more intellectually stimulating. This is as a result of parents adopting activities and ways of interacting that they encountered at the schools their children attends. Parents can also develop more positive attitudes towards themselves including greater feelings of self-confidence, self-worth and competence if the programme embraces and works with them. As parents become involved with schools in parents related activities they develop a better understanding of child development which expands their understanding of the home as a place for learning. As a result of this parents are better able and more willing to help their children at home. One of the most significant benefits to parents partnering with schools is that teachers develop a greater understanding of parents, their challenges and their cultural heritage. However, parents sometimes can be difficult to deal with and as a result they put a strain on the parent-teacher relationship. This often become a barrier and hinders the parent-teacher relationship. Evidence of this is seen when they ignore all attempts at communication by not reading letters sent home or answering calls from school. Despite this Pena (2000) recommends that teachers do not give up as it is the challenging parents who most need the teachers attention and resources. Therefore, with a better understanding of a familys situation, teachers are more likely to be more supportive of the parents and less likely to be judgmental of them. According to Epstein (1995) children whose parents are involved in their education are more motivated to learn. Motivated students tend to be more involved in class, more concerned about homework and more successful academically. In addition, childrens success in school will be dependent on the level of involvement of parents in the process. Schools need to keep parents involved so they will better understand the importance of their role in the educational process. For parents who are illiterate, invite them in and explain work child is presently doing, so they can ensure that child is assisted at home. She further asserts that parents are valuable resources in the classroom, if schools assist with the continuing education of parents, they will increase and enhance their resources. The school can also provide on the job training for parents who work as volunteers in the classroom. The school should established proper communication with parents frequently and not only when child is giving trouble. A high level of parent involvement is critical to a childs educational success so, schools must involve parents as early as possible. When schools facilitate better parenting, parents will develop better awareness as to the importance of school. This will help them to pass on and enhance positive values and attitudes in their children. Another beneficiary of parental involvement is the school, as there is improve morale among teachers, higher ratings of teachers by parents and more support from families. Wishon et al (1998) agreed that when parents become involved with the school they develop a better understanding of the goals set for both the school and students and the plans for achieving those goals. Strategies for improving parental involvement Epstein (1995) posits that schools should promote and support parenting skills and make communication more meaningful and regular between the home and school. Parents should be welcomed as volunteers, and their advice sought, since they know their children better than anyone else. The school can also help parents to understand the educational process and their role in supporting students achievement. Parents should help with decision making as they are full partners in their childrens education, and have many ideas that can be shared with the school. She further states that schools should provide grade level opportunities for parents to learn about parenting and child-rearing. This can be done through workshops, use of video tapes and phone voice messages. Parents can also be provided with suggestions on how to improve home conditions that support their childrens learning. The school can also help by; providing training or educational courses for parents that will help them to get jobs, direct parents to support programmes for health, nutrition and other services, assist parents in establishing home environments to support children as students, teach parents activities that build self-esteem and competence in their children, encourage parents to give children responsibility, so children can take responsibility for their learning, host grade-level parenting workshops to discuss childrens progress, conduct home visits as this is an effective strategy for involving parents especially in the inner-city where parents hide from the sch ool. In addition, the school can initiate community meetings to help families understand schools and to help schools understand families, teach parents about child development and what to expect from children at different ages, teach parents behavior modification strategies so they can discipline their children without force, help parents to develop ways they can stimulate their childrens intellectual and emotional growth, while parents are waiting to collect their children show videos about how children learn and how to work with children with special needs, help parents educate their children by ensuring that parents understand concepts being taught, offer parents opportunities to familiarize themselves with classroom materials and discuss grade-level curriculum. Parents can also be provided with upcoming topics to be taught, so they can prepare their children for that learning or activity. Conclusion In conclusion, it is evident that, parental involvement is important to the school, parents and the child. There can also be definite improvement in childrens academic performance if parents are involved in the process. Despite the obstacles, the parents and school should ensure that they each do their part in promoting parental involvement. It is also important that the school take the initiative in developing a positive relationship with parents. The key to removing the barriers to effective parent involvement is the teacher who can achieve this before school begins and foster it throughout the school year. Parental involvement can benefit the school to a great extent which will in effect benefit the students academic performance.