How the Dominican Republic Changed My American Middle Class Life :: Personal Narrative Culture Essays

How the Dominican Republic Changed My American Middle Class Life I am a product of American society. Born and raised in Racine, Wisconsin, I grew up in a middle class suburban neighborhood. Christian morals and values have been bestowed upon me since the day I was brought into this world. I was taught to love and respect others. I would have liked to think that I was the result of a well-rounded educational system. After all, I studied world history. I was also exposed to the horrors of third-world countries by watching the commercials on television crying out for money to help those children with bellies bloated of air and disease eating their bodies? And of course, I will never forget the tragedies of oppressed nations so eloquently represented in the daily editions of the Journal Times. Every morning I sat in my kitchen, scanning the daily paper over a cup of coffee contemplating my daily routine. Should I take the Nissan or the Toyota to school today? Jeans or khakis? Bagel or cereal? All of the essential elements of an average American’s schedule that clutter my brain with decisions seemed to overwhelm me early in the morning. On a usual morning, I would choose the Nissan, a gas-guzzling beast that had become the recent fad among American consumers. I would stroll into school wearing my Gap jeans and J-Crew tee shirt, conscious of the casual look I chose to sport. I would start my day mingling amongst my friends, all remarkably similarly dressed and groomed. We would discuss the all of the pressing social issues: if Joey and Pacy broke up on Dawson’s Creek, where we could buy the latest New Balance shoes, and most importantly, who would have the party on Friday night. Throughout my years in high school, I also became an amazingly cultured individual. Six black people attended my school and I was a friend to all of them. Anthea’s parents were even from Africa. I also familiarized myself with Indian culture as Pikul Patel was a classmate of mine since grade school and I talked to him too.

Michigan Department of Natural Resources and Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) :: Exploratory Essays

Michigan Department of Natural Resources and Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) The controversial topic I decided to choose was Michigan’s plans on preventing the spread of CWD (Chronic Wasting Disease) in the white-tailed deer and elk herds. Many areas throughout the United States have broken out with this deadly disease, like Colorado, Nebraska, New Mexico, South Dakota, Wisconsin, Montana, and even the province of Saskatchewan. The problem with CWD originated from Saskatchewan, where captive deer became infected with this disease that affects the nervous system. This disease is very similar to that of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy or more commonly referred to as â€Å"Mad Cow Disease†. The disease was spread through international transportation of deer from one farm to the next. CWD spreads very fast and rapidly. It attacks the nervous system making the deer lose an excessive amount of weight, hair, and all vision becomes blurry leaving the deer disoriented. As of right now, Michigan has tested negative in all counties for the Upper and Lowe r Peninsula. So this leads to many controversial issues about baiting deer for hunting season. Sense, saliva can spread the disease, the DNR is trying to stop hunters from baiting deer to prevent this from spreading. Some hunters rely on hunting over bait bile’s, to attract deer to their hunting areas. Michigan has limitations on the amount of bait you can spread at one time. We are only allowed to spread a five-gallon bucket over a 6-foot area. But the DNR has already made plans to make baiting illegal when any state such as Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, or the Canadian province of Ontario, have been infected with CWD [1]. All baiting of deer will be illegal and there will be no more baiting allowed ever. So I feel that the state is doing the right thing to prevent CWD from spreading into the state. Another concern the DNR has is people traveling to other states to hunt and bringing back the animal. The DNR wants to limit the amount of carcasses brought into the state. Michigan Department of Natural Resources officials reminded Michigan hunters headed out-of-state to hunt deer and elk this fall to take common-sense precautions to avoid accidentally bringing Chronic Wasting Disease back to Michigan [2]. The deer can have the disease and also carry it in the feces, urine, saliva, brain, spinal cord, and the meat. So once you have killed the animal, you should take it to a sanitary landfill, or buried deep where no animal can get to it and become infected.

Performance Metrics Case State: All State Insurance

Allstate Insurance Company intertwines business goals with performance metrics. Goal setting is an ongoing part of striving to become successful and happy in life. When an individual achieves a goal, another one is set to accomplish next. Goals are personal and professional and the latter determines the longitude and latitude of a chosen career path. Organizations set goals for all levels of the company, from business units to individual contributors. The successful attainment of these goals determines if it is profitable year over year. Using the model for goal setting, evaluate Allstate’s goal setting process to determine whether or not Allstate has an effective goal-setting program. The goal-setting model has 4 aspects used to motivate employees. They include direct focus on high priorities, regulate effort, increase persistence, and create strategies and programs to achieve goals (Hellriegel, D. & Slocum, J. 2011). Allstate has a very effective goal setting program in place. One part of their program is to correlate manager’s pay to company’s goals. They use an online employee survey and feedback tool as the measurement. This practice touches on all four parts of the goal setting model. It forces the managers to maintain focus on the company’s diversity goals, while encouraging them to identify areas of opportunities and potential solutions. Allstate also has programs to support professional and career path development to provide individuals with the necessary knowledge and ability to achieve performance goals in each position. Discuss the competitive advantage Allstate has from the development of the Diversity Index. The index sets Allstate apart from its competitor’s at the most important level, the human level. Allstate uses it to ensure diversity inside the organization so they can understand and respect the diversity of their clients. The company’s vision states differences are a competitive edge (Hellriegel, D. & Slocum, J. 2011). An organization must be a reflection of the communities it serves. A global market requires organizations to have a diverse staff and understanding of multiple cultures. Allstate’s diversity index provides such an advantage over companies who have yet to embrace cultural differences. Recommend the types of high-performance reward system Allstate should use to motivate its employees to reach its diversity goals. The company should use profit-sharing and culture and reward systems to motivate its employees to reach its diversity goals. Profit-sharing reinforces the team based performance rewards. This type of rewards displays the company’s recognition of each individual contribution to the bottom line. The culture and reward system is based on the employee’s culture. It recognizes the diversity at the employee level. It is based on cultural values to motivate performance (Hellriegel, D. & Slocum, J. 2011). This makes the reward specific to the culture and recognizes diversity inside the organization. If you were an Allstate employees, discuss whether or not you would be motivated by the Diversity Index and QLMS. Provide a detailed explanation. The Quarterly Leadership Measurement System (QLMS) and Diversity Index would motivate me. It is taken twice a year and analyzed to identify issues and make appropriate changes in processes and performance. One reason it is motivating is a percentage of the merit pay is determined by the results. Another factor is the behavior specific questions asked to all employees in the index. The focus on the results and frequency of the surveys prove it’s a high company priority. It can be perceived that noncompliance would have a negative impact on employment and advancement opportunities. It encourages consistent behavior that coincides with the diversity goals of the organization. Ultimately, diversity is part of the American culture. The citizens of this country are from all over the world. There is a global consumer base here in this society. Allstate is a leader in business because they are socially responsible. Allstate requires its employees to maintain a work environment which embraces diversity. This business strategy will maintain their competitive advantage in the market.

World War 2

Briana Rogers Mr. Carter Freshman Seminar H8 October 3, 2012 First Benedict Home Game Where I’m from we don’t have a football team or a marching band, which means there’s really no excitement for getting ready for the first game. The sports my high school was always prepared for was lacrosse and basketball. Knowing that I was finally coming to a school with a football team made me even more excited to in college.Though, I had heard the rumors about the team never winning games it didn’t bring me down because I knew for sure that no matter what I was going to enjoy every moment of the game. Walking to the stadium with friends put me into that mood knowing that the night was going to be very eventful, whether we were to win or lose the game. Personally I was just ready to hear the band, cheer my team on, and have a blast.I wanted to support BC to the point I had the school colors and had my face painted. After so many years of always going with someone to th eir football and not my own school, this was finally the time for me to live it up. I stayed until half time to hear the band. I can honestly say that for it to be my first college football game I enjoyed myself with the group of people I was and would do it again, plus with our football team to win the game

The Awakening Deconstruction

When understanding a work of literature, most readers would take the work at its face value, not looking Into other possible meanings, while a deconstructionist would take apart a text and find many other possible meanings. In The Awakening, Kate Chopin tells the story of Edna Pointillist, who feels that society is constricting and that she needs to be free of the norms set by society. She decides to leave her responsibilities and pursue a life of freedom, which she at first thinks is exactly what she wants. She abandons her life as a housewife and mother to follow a path that leads to her own destruction.By freeing herself from what she thought was an unhappy life, Edna finds herself more dejected, which leads her to her death. She thinks the only way to be truly free from the oppressiveness of society would be to die, which would release her of all her worries. The point Chopin was trying to convey in The Awakening is that society is oppressive and forces women to stay in their pla ce otherwise their reputation would be in Jeopardy. The idea falls apart in that no one ever tries to stop Edna from her process of â€Å"awakening. Not one person forces her to do her housework or take care of her children. It Is merely suggested that she does so. Even though Edna receives warnings and scolding from her husband to be a better mother and to take better care of the family, she ignores them, and L ©once thinks there is something mentally wrong with her (86). When Dean's father comes to visit her, he scolds L ©once for being too lenient and not asserting his authority instead of realizing that Edna was asserting her own independence (107). The idea of an oppressive society disintegrates through this example.Edna believes that society Is constricting her, when there Isn't anyone who Is limiting her actions. L ©once, on finding out that Edna has moved into a smaller house, only disapproves because he fears his reputation would be injured because he believes others would think he is having financial difficulties (137). This shows that L ©once isn't particularly worried about Dean's reputation, only what she could be doing to his reputation. Therefore, Edna isn't necessarily being burdened by the norms of society; she is already partially free to express herself.Doctor Mandated, on speaking with L ©once concerning Dean's â€Å"condition†, asks If Edna has been associating with â€Å"pseudo-Intellectual women†, which L ©once reports that she hasn't (99). Mademoiselle Raise could be considered an intellectual woman, being that she often gives Edna advice, whom is also Dean's confidant. Mademoiselle Raise also warns Edna by telling her â€Å"The bird that would soar above the level plain of tradition and prejudice must have strong wings. It is a sad spectacle to see the weaklings bruised, exhausted, fluttering back to earth† (122).So, even the woman whom Edna turns to for guidance tells her she must be strong to break t hrough societies clutches, or she will fall, which foreshadows Dean's death. Chopping concept is void because Edna continues to challenge authority. Throughout the story, Dean's friends and relatives worry for her reputation, though she seems to not care about it. The society that Chopin displays deeply considers the role of women and how it forces women to conform, otherwise jeopardizing their reputation.This Idea crumbles when Edna throws a house party her father's health, praising him for â€Å"the daughter whom he invented† (129). Dean's reputation has obviously not been affected by her actions because of the many people who showed up to her party. They didn't seem to Judge her for inviting Robin either. When Ad ©eel visits Edna, she tells her that she worries for the impulsive and reckless nature of her actions, but the two seem to still be close friends despite her actions (141). Her reputation is not affected by her so-called â€Å"impulsive and reckless nature†.Also, earlier in her process of â€Å"awakening†, L ©once scolds Edna for being out on a Tuesday, which is Dean's reception day, and not leaving an excuse for her absence (77). Edna finds that while she was out, there had been many callers, proving that her reputation is not affected. L ©once is only worried about his own reputation throughout the novel. Ad ©eel tells Edna to â€Å"think of the children† after she gives birth to a child, warning Edna that her endeavors could also hurt the reputations of her children (164).It seems that Dean's reputation is not significant in the views of others, therefore diminishing Chopping notion that not conforming to society standards can ruin a woman's reputation. Although, Chopin intended the work to say that Edna is constricted by society standards and feels that she can free herself by not conforming, Edna feels that society is oppressive and that she can't do things on her own without becoming independent and freeing herself of the responsibilities set for her.In actuality, the work said that society isn't as oppressive as Edna makes it seem, through her constant dismissal of its nature. Throughout the story, not one person tries to stop Edna in pursuing her ideas of freedom and independence. Though some people warn her of the consequences of her actions, they do not demand her to stop. This shows that society is not totally oppressive, even though Edna may believe so.

Timid President-Futile War Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Timid President-Futile War - Essay Example The wars are considered futile because of the many expectations the Bush administration intended to achieve that did not come to pass, the reason why President Obama decided to withdraw the U.S troops from Iraq after almost a decade of occupation. President George Bush’s decision to attack Iraq was based on unfounded beliefs in the presence of weapons of mass destruction (WMD). The Saddam Hussein administration granted the UN and the Americans permission to inspect their weapons artillery to ascertain if they were indeed developing weapons of WMD and even though nothing was found, Bush and his administration believed Iraq did not reveal everything and that formed the basis of American’s invasion of Iraq and the subsequent execution of Saddam Hussein. George Bush’s decision to convince congress to allow America attack Iraq was based on fear that terrorists were likely to attack America again and not necessarily because of WMD that were never found after they subdu ed Iraq. Another factor that led to American invasion of Iraq was interest in the Middle East oil resulting from the fear of uncertainty in the future of American energy security. For this, he saw Saddam Hussein as a major impediment to the benefit they would receive from Middle East oil. They had prevailed upon the United Nations to put economic sanctions on Iraq with the food-for-oil arrangement but this did not deter Iraq, so he believed the best way to achieve their objective was by deposing Saddam Hussein from power. It was therefore an embarrassment to the bush administration when the WMD were never found and nothing could justify the military expenditure on the war (McClellan & McClellan, 2008). President Bush’s fear just before and after the invasion of Iraq began showed up immediately. The United Nations, led by Kofi Annan, opposed the war and proposed a peaceful way of resolving the American suspicion but the administration disobeyed because their fears. It is this very fear that led to interference in the war by civilian commanders based in Washington, which left soldiers on the ground very indisposed. There was also the misconception by the administration that Iraqi soldiers could provide reinforcement and military support. Some Iraqi soldiers did not support the war and posed a great risk to Americans as they ganged up with insurgents to cause trouble to the American troops. In fact, many American soldiers died and had injuries more than the administration had anticipated. As a result of fear, the Bush administration overlooked the process of reconstruction; they did not foresee the magnitude of destruction that resulted from this war. The destruction was so vast that it needed the participation of European bloc, the UN and other international bodies to help in the reconstruction exercise. Although the three segments were interested in participating in the reconstruction, American stubbornness in its interest to lead the reconstruction exer cise after causing destruction made them develop cold feet and some eventually withdrawn. President Bush then made it appear like no country or organization was willing to participate in the restoration exercise. Toward the end of the Bush administration, there was panic both in Washington and Baghdad when it became apparent that there was a political and military vacuum in Iraq. The Iraqi government apparatus collapsed and the institutions that provided basic services like water and electricity could no longer coordinate because staff could not come to work. The Bush administration in its panic started doing things in haste to fill in the vacuum.

Ethics In Disability Sports Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Ethics In Disability Sports - Essay Example Disability sport can be defined as recreational, competitive, and Paralympics sport for individuals with disabilities or a body of knowledge that guides philosophy and practices. The relationship among disability, sport, and knowledge is multifaceted. Such concepts are created by social groups and reflect the affordances and constraints of specific times and cultures.Disabilities have been conceptualized as limitations in physical, mental, or sensory functional ability and activity that prevent or compromise equitable participation in able-bodied sport. Disability sport has been associated mainly with disability sport organizations (DSOs) or the International Paralympics Committee (IPC). However, people with disabilities can now choose to participate in a wide variety of sport contexts (Sherrill & Williams 1996). Thus, the meaning of disability sport has been widened to include any combination of sport and disability. DePauw defined disability sport as a term that gives equal weight to concepts of disability and sport (1986).4. Theories and Conceptualizations of Sport DisabilitySome of the studies and researchers have defined theories of sports disability that might fit into a disability sport conceptual framework.5. Sport Performance TheorySport performance theory includes all of the inconstant, excluding classification, that facilitate explaining or foreseeing phenomenon such as attaining an individual best, winning and losing, managing injury, burnout, stress, anxiety.