ShantanuT01/DACTYL-Pretraining huggingface dataset:
The assigned article dwells upon the major reasons for the failures of educational reforms. It is stressed that resistance to change and sabotage are not common in the contemporary educational system (Spillane and Callahan 408). Educators are often quite willing to follow the standards and guidelines developed, but they often fail to interpret the changes properly, which leads to failure. The authors identify several major areas associated with inadequate interpretation and ineffective implementation. First, it is stated that local policymakers tend to focus on the form rather than the functions of reforms. This finding is consistent with arguments highlighted in one of the class readings. Trujillo claims that educators have been found to concentrate on the form rather than other aspects such as major ideas behind the reform, possible implications, and benefits for the stakeholders (220). The assigned article also sheds light on another peculiarity of reform implementation. It is found that policymakers and practitioners often concentrate on the measures, materials, and ideas that are similar to the ones already existing. In simple terms, educators pay the most of their attention to the things that require minimal or no changes. Tyack and Tobin also stress that implementers of educational reforms focus on things they know well and are accustomed to (478). Real changes do not occur in the vast majority of cases due to educators’ unintentional focus on existing aspects. All three articles include arguments concerning the comprehensiveness of reforms. The authors stress that reforms are often too narrow as they mainly touch a limited number of groups and only some aspects of people’s lives. For instance, political, social, and cultural aspects of reforms are often neglected (Tyack and Tobin 477). Spillane and Callahan claim that closer collaboration among state and local policymakers is essential for the effective implementation of educational reforms (420). It is also stressed that reforms should not be confined to the practice of policymakers and educators (Trujillo 227). It is stressed that educators are often overwhelmed with tasks, and can have little time to invest in the development of effective ways to implement changes. Moreover, the turnover in the educational sphere hurts the implementation of reforms as people change and new people often lack the necessary, knowledge, skills, and training. All the articles include a call for closer collaboration among stakeholders. It is stressed that educators, policymakers, as well as parents and the community should be involved in the discourse. It is vital to make all these stakeholders understand the benefits of the reform and
Imagine you would like to undertake gender comparisons in leadership ability. Identify and describe a number of biases that might influence your research. During the present decades, women have proved themselves and have gallantly taken up the challenges given by society, by rising high up the hierarchical ladder and competing with their male counterparts. As per our traditional critics, men are still considered as born leaders and are looked up for possessing many such unique traits which apparently women are lacking. Even after putting so much effort to be at par with the men, women have to face severe competition while they put an effort to prove themselves as efficient leaders. In this context distinguished writer, Sandra Bem has given an excellent instance. To point out the ongoing discrimination that females generally suffer in professional spheres, Bem has made an excellent comparison by citing the way women’s power is being stagnated and the manner in which people with short heights are under-estimated in society. Her remarkable quotation needs special attention here, “It isn’t short biology that’s the problem; its short biology being forced to function in a tall-centered social structure” (Bem, 1993). Finally, with this unique comparison, she has well illustrated the fact that how similarly this same motive plays a crucial role while discriminating between genders and determining the leadership capabilities of both genders. Thus it is rightly analyzed by Harsh K. Luthar that, “…women are often unfairly evaluated on dimensions such as performance and leadership ability because people hold sex with stereotypical beliefs and attitudes” (Luthar, 1996). Identify and describe some of the cognitive biases that would encourage people to believe that women are more talkative than men. Loads of anti-feminists possess some distinctive points to encourage the cognitive biases that women are considered more talkative than men. Many such factors can provide justification for their unique thought process. Few are enlisted below. One such significant reason which has always been specified by the critics is that women are more prone to gossip and chit-chat. According to them, this is one such way by which they are known to get entertained. As they consider women to have lesser intelligence compared to men, their mode of getting entertained is also through such non-contributing ways. Many consider that the size of a woman’s brain is smaller than that of a man. Sandra Bem has mentioned in her notable writing that, “Paul Broca argued against higher education for women by claiming that their brains were too small” (Bem, 1993). Another major point which they often try to stress is that women should not be given much higher education. So this also signifies that being lesser-educated they may tend to get more talkative being unaware of social ethics and etiquettes. They even say that higher education may also hamper the reproductive organs of females. Ben has referred to the same in her book when she specified, “Edward Clarke argued against higher education by claiming that it would divert women’s limited
The Legal Aid Act was established in 1978 so that access to justice for the disadvantaged, poor or excluded Australian citizens would be enhanced in a cost-effective way (Bernard, Snipes and Gerould, 29). The Legal Aid Act established a Legal Aid Commission (LAC) that ensured that the citizens who did not have the capacity or means to hire and engage private legal practitioners were able to access the Australian justice system (Kubrin, Stucky and Krohn, 18). This fact would help the citizens to enjoy relatively equal and just outcomes of criminal, civil, family and administrative law matters. This Act was also important in that the access to justice and equality would conform to the legitimacy of the Australian justice system. This aspect would therefore help in avoiding social fragmentation between those who would not afford private legal consultations and those who would. The Legal Aid Act [1] of 1978 contained thirteen parts. The parts included preliminary definitions, establishment and functions of the Legal Aid Commission, its committee and provisions of legal assistance by the commission, reconsideration and review of decisions, finances of the commission, administrative provisions relating to the Legal Aid Commission, committees and reviews. It also included consultative committees; miscellaneous liabilities of the commission and finally, the transitional and the savings part respectively (Ilana and Bard, 17). Annotations 1.Denniss, R. Fear, J. and Millane, E. (2012). “Justice for All.” Giving Australians greater access to legal systems, Institute paper 8(1), 3-8. Print. According to the article, every individual needs to get fair treatment in the courts. It is therefore necessary that he procures the representation of a lawyer in any given court case. Lawyers can be expensive depending on the seriousness of the case that needs to be resolved and the ability and capacity of the person seeking representation to pay for legal services. The legal system operates by the rule of law that applies to all citizens. The high cost of legal representation has fundamental implications on the rights of disadvantaged citizens. Since 1973, the legal aid system of Australia has been providing legal assistance and advice to the disadvantaged citizens who would otherwise not afford the access to justice. The legal aid system has however been “underfunded” since the withdrawal of the Commonwealth [2] funding. The present funding does not meet the level of needs of the Australian disadvantaged community. The legal aid commissions both at the state and territorial levels use complex forms of mechanisms for rationing and administering legal assistance so that the most appropriate and deserving cases qualify. In reality, the limitation and rationing of legal assistance shows that only the most poor and rich citizens have a high probability of legal representation. Many Australian citizens belong to the vast
Every day we make choices about what we consume, some good and bad choices. Sometimes we consider how our choices affect the environment, but sadly sometimes, we do not. In this study, I have decided to explore if tap water is better and safer for people and the environment than bottled one. I choose this topic because I have seen a video by “Behind the News,” which shows how much plastic is now in the ocean and how it is damaging our planet (Behind the News, 2016). Firstly, I am going to research various opinions on the matter from a number of sources. Further, I will look at the impact of bottled water on people and the environment. After considering all of the above, I will draw my own conclusion. In terms of environmental impact, bottled water clearly has a number of negative impacts. The study by Villanueva et al. (2021) found that if every resident of the Spanish capital switched to bottled water, it could lead to the extinction of 1.43 species of animals annually and would cost the environment 3,500 times more than if the entire city drank tap water instead (Villanueva et al., 2021). Moreover, concerns related to the health effects of drinking tap water seem to be overestimated. Brodwin and Woodward (2019) refer to several experimental studies conducted in the U.S. that often bottled water is far from being better in quality. In fact, “almost half of the bottled water is derived from the tap, though it may be further processed or tested” (Brodwin & Woodward, 2019). The disgust for tap water was most likely artificially caused by the manufacturers of bottled drinks (Hawkins, 2017). Therefore, drinking tap water is an environmentally friendly choice not associated with health-related consequences. However, some people rightfully argue that the quality of tap water in some areas and regions can differ significantly and, thus, can potentially be harmful. For example, in Mexico, the allowed limit of arsenic in tap water is 2.5 times higher than the
Managers and leaders fall under leadership and management categories within an organization; therefore, the two must go hand in hand. However, leadership and management are not the same. Therefore, a manager and a leader have different roles within an organization. As a leader involves people in the running of a firm through empowering and directing them to do activities in the right way, managers, on the other hand, are concerned with doing things right irrespective of other key aspects like the dreams, vision, and future of both employees and the company. Managers act as supervisors. According to Warren Bennis, “Managers do things right but leaders do the right things” (Leadership is not the same as Management, 2011). A further illustration of the differences shows that a leader acts as a guider while managers manage tasks. In this aspect, leaders can inspire employees, thus motivating them to work towards achieving the strategic goals and objectives of the company, as well as assisting them overcome their weaknesses. Managers control people and systems, with less one-on-one engagement with workers. Again, leaders never accept situations the way they are; they are risk-takers and have innovative minds to meet challenges in order to get the best out of any strategy (What is the Difference Between Management and Leadership?, n.d.). With little time to challenges the way things are in an organization, managers often accept the way a system operates. In HRM, managers are involved in planning, organizing, staffing, monitoring, developing, and assessing business operations (Hickman, 1990). As the overall in management, managers have to be problem solvers, decision makers, and cheerleaders. The mentioned roles and responsibilities require that a manager have to possess varied skills, from technical, human to conceptual skills, in order to handle different situations within the management. A leader has the responsibility to direct, coach, support, and delegate tasks to employees. In delegating tasks, leaders give employees opportunities to increase their skill base, as well as carry out fairness in rating of employees in order to win their commitments unconditionally. Leaders believe in collective responsibility as away of accomplishing goals and objectives of an organization (Gilley, 2005). Since leaders have to be accountable to almost all final decisions and their impacts, they have to ensure that everyone comprehends clearly their duties. Clearly, it is the role of a leader to inform and educate his/her followers on what they should do. Given that the entire concepts involved in leadership entail negotiation and guidance, a good leader have to be non-political in assigning and explaining the roles and responsibilities of the subordinates, as the move makes the process objective. After delegating activities and coaching employees, leaders should be confident that the staff would be capable of meeting their targets, and even be ready to give advice to those who come back during the process. In role clarification, leaders have to ensure that job descriptions do not have overlap of responsibilities ( Leadership & management , 2
In nowadays’ era of postmodernism with its materialism, affluence, and consumerism, the position of the church seems to be marginalized in the Western countries as people more likely tend to be agnostics and atheists. Such a situation recalls the book of Esther that depicts Jews who were forced to live outside their homes in isolation. This paper aims at examining the advice of Esther with regard to the modern and future role of the church, taking into account a theological and social context. Esther as Advice for Exiles The concept of exile refers to living outside the home without permission to return. In terms of the Bible, the exilic images are beneficial to understand people who were in exile as well as the role of faith on their way to salvation. To interpret the book of Esther and apply it to the modern church, it seems essential to provide its brief overview. King Ahasuerus (Xerxes I) was looking for a new wife, and Esther, a young Jewish girl who has hidden her origin, participated in the contest and became the queen of Persia (Bellmann, 2017). A person named Haman asked the King to introduce a law that would exterminate the Jewish population of the country. However, Esther opened her identity to her husband who urged her to protect her people. When she proved that Haman attempted to initiate a massacre surreptitiously, the King issued another decree that was directly opposite to the previous one. The Jews were instructed to “to destroy, kill, and annihilate all the forces of any people or province hostile to them, including women and children, and to plunder their possessions” (Esther 8:11, NIV). The date was also indicated – the same on which the massacre of the Jews was appointed. The decree also protected the right of Jews to live according to their laws, prescribed compulsory assistance to the avengers, and instituted a new holiday called Purim. Those areas or cities with a Jewish population that would decline from the execution of the decree were subject to merciless devastation with fire and sword. This story shows that Esther was a symbol of God’s presence in foreign lands when many Jews started doubting that He still leads and protects them in the course of their assimilation to the Assyrian culture. Theological and Social Context The story of Esther with her contribution to freeing Jews has social and theological backgrounds with regard to exile. From the theological point, this excerpt shows how Jews forced to live in foreign lands managed to preserve their cultural and religious identity. At the same time, the social construct focuses on the fact that they were given few opportunities to publicly practice their traditions. Esther incarnates the ability of the Jewish people to thrive in extremely difficult conditions. There is a slimily between her story and Jews as both were separated from home and had no control over their fate. People isolated from Israel had to survive and preserve their national identity. Probably, the most important advice of Esther is associated with wise behavior, which is expressed in compromise and serving the people (Beach, 2015)
Urbanism is a term that originates from the more general word urban which is used to describe an area that is characterized by high population settlements and numerous manmade features such as buildings that are closely packed together. Urban area is therefore a term that is used to describe towns and cities that have sizable population settlements and building structures that are close together regardless of their sizes, indeed there is no single definition of an urban area (Salama 4). Urbanization is also a closely related term that is used to describe the process of rapid growth of urban centers due to heightened rural-urban migration of peoples as a result of globalization (Salama 5). In this paper our focus would be on urbanism as used in architectural context, the features of an urban centre and discussion of urban cities in general. More specifically urbanism is used to mean the architectural development of an urban town as well as its unique architectural characteristics that incorporates building designs, landscaping, scenery and all other architectural features of an urban centre (Salama 12). In general urbanism is a very wide concept that is used to describe an urban centre architectural system in its totality beyond the mere building structures and includes a city’s infrastructure system, economy, geography, social-cultural norms and politics. The ideology behind urbanism in the broad sense involves description of three important functions of any city which includes diversity, environmental protection and preservation of culture (Salama 14). Ideally urban planning according to urbanism involves use of zoning system to segregate the three key areas of an urban centre; commercial, industrial and residential areas (Love 7). Currently new trends in urbanism include two recently developed concepts; New urbanism and landscaping urbanism. New urbanism is a concept that has been advanced in early 1970s to replace the shortcomings of urbanism that has led to highly concentrated commercial centers and automobile dependence due to segregation of residential areas (Love 9). New urbanism in its most simplistic definition refers to satellite urban centers that are self sustainable since they have all the elements of an urban centre within half a mile. Landscaping urbanism on the other hand is still an emerging concept that is being advanced by some of the leading architec
Any attempt by the government to transform the social welfare policy of a nation is referred to as welfare reform. There are myriads of reasons why a government may desire to undertake a social welfare reform program. For instance, there are several poor households who continually depend on the assistance from the government. However, a well planned social welfare program has a higher potential of reducing overdependence on government. Hence, social welfare reform improves the self-sufficiency level of citizens who are relatively low income earners (Hacker, 2004). Some critics argue that the social welfare programs that were formed during the Great Depression era did not meet the expected goals and objectives of welfare assistance. It is imperative to mention that most of those social welfare reforms were formed hurriedly without proper structures and policy frameworks. In addition, the original social welfare reform programs were not as dynamic as expected. In spite of the fact times were changing and ushering new challenges, the old programs were not flexible enough to be compatible with the emerging needs. This paper explores the social welfare reforms in the United States since the era of the Great Depression. The Welfare Reform Act that was passed sometimes in 1996 aimed at creating an end to social welfare programs in the United States. Proponents of act argued that the social welfare structure had existed in the country for extremely long time and as such, such programs were no longer necessary (Besharov & Germanis, 2000). Even though the old welfare structure was to be done away with, a similar welfare system was to be enacted. Hence, the much needed change was to be facilitated by the Welfare Reform Act. The Welfare-to-Work proposal was one of the proposed changes under the new Act. In addition, individuals who used to benefit from the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) package were then expected to work twenty hours within a period of seven days. Moreover, in order to meet this requirement, twelve authorized activities were listed down by the same reform statute. It is believed that this reform initiative assisted poor families greatly because they ended up being self-reliant and not fully depending on government handouts. The impacts of the newly enacted and implemented reforms were realized in a record period of three years (Hacker, 2004). Most Americans were eventually capable of sustaining themselves compared to the initially created social welfare programs during the era of Great Depression. Although the social welfare reform discussed above was a watershed in the social wellbeing of poor Americans, other alternatives were equally introduced in order to boost the viability of the on-going initiatives. For example, the Congress passed the 2003 welfare reform agenda. As a matter of fact, the welfare reform act that was adopted in 1996 was the main building block of the 2003