The First Continental Congress Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

The First Continental Congress - Research Paper Example Each colony sent representatives to the Congress except Georgia which did not want to jeopardize the aid of British troops which were needed in that colony to help fend off Indian attacks. These representatives were not of one mind, however. The historically significant meeting of 54 men which included George Washington, John Adams and Patrick Henry were divided in purpose. Some delegates such as John Adam’s cousin Samuel Adams favored democratizing the colonies though were not yet suggesting forming their own country, at least not publically. Others insisted resolving the issues with Britain were the only sensible way and the meeting’s only intention. The convening of the First Continental Congress was meant to unite the colonies and gain the attention of the Mother Country and in that, its goal was accomplished. The colonists had considered themselves British citizens for the approximately century and a half they had been in America and likely would have continued thi s loyalty to country if the British Parliament and King George III had not restricted trade, increased taxation and permitted Colonies seats in House of Commons. Britain and France were engaged in costly battles both in Europe and America. Desperate to raise funds to pay back debts caused by continued military endeavors, Britain passed the Sugar Act on April 5, 1774 which not only levied a tax on American sugar but prohibited the importation of rum and French wine. The Stamp Act followed the next year requiring stamps to be purchased to sell many common products such as newspapers and playing cards. Stamps are still required today on liquor and cigarettes. Britain justified the tax claiming it was to pay for the protection provided its soldiers to protect citizens from Indian raids, a reason that did fell on deaf ears. Since 1770 the majority of colonists had been against British soldiers occupying America. On March 5th of that year tensions between soldiers and citizens reached its peak when soldiers fired shots into a taunting mob throwing ice-balls and sharp oyster shells at them. The event is popularly known as the Boston Massacre, an incident that might have escalated into all-out war at that time if not for John Adams. He successfully defended the British soldiers against a backdrop of a mob-mentality existing in Boston and spreading through Massachusetts along with the other colonies. (â€Å"American Revolution,† (2012). Following the Boston Massacre, Parliament abolished the Townshend tax which ended the taxes on just about everything except tea which led to another historical event. In December, 1773, colonists disguised as Indians boarded several English ships anchored in Boston Harbor. They tossed 342containers of tea into the sea to protest the tax and British occupation. George Washington, a member of the Virginia House, was concerned this overreaction to a three pence tax would cause the British, known for their ruthless tactics, to retali ate. Samuel Adams, leader of the Sons of Liberty, was â€Å"convinced that the tea duty had to be stopped at all costs and that their symbolic action had aroused America from its slumber.† (Chorlton, 2011 p. 34). Unlike Washington, they were happy because it forced American colonists to take sides. In May of 1774, Parliament passed the Massachusetts Government Act which nullified the Colony’s Charter and made town meetings illegal. The Administration of Justice Act soon followed. It allowed for British

Zero tolerance policies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Zero tolerance policies - Essay Example Zero tolerance policies are not effective as they cause more harm than good to an institution and the student offender at hand. Despite the conflicting arguments on the zero tolerance policies, it has been widely used as a means of controlling school disruption and chaotic instances. Punishments given to all offences are severe disregard of the intensity of the incidents. The zero tolerance policies has its limitations in that it fails to address the underlying causes of the incidence therefore making it ineffective in countering crimes effectively. Recently, most schools in the America and Europe have embraced this policies which has led to most students being suspended or even expelled from their respective schools. A number of concerns and questions have aroused due to a research on this policies. Among the questions include, â€Å"Do zero tolerance policies in schools reduce incidents of bad behavior? and What are the societal consequences of suspension and expulsion of students who violate these policies? Juà ¡rez, pp. 415-416)†. Little evidence is available to credit school safety and improve b ehavior in students subjected to this policies. Research on the effectiveness of expulsions and suspensions as an educational intervention, and other ethical concerns has generated data that shows the negative effects of the zero tolerance policies. This data has led to a change in punishments adopted in different schools which matches the offences committed and preventive measures of bullying and improvement in class management. Research done on finding of alternative ways of punishment will help schools in developing more effective and intrusive methods of school discipline. In September 17, 1999, a fight broke between students of rival gangs in a football game at Decatur High School in Decatur. In October 1, 1999 the School Board expelled the seven students, all black from the school for two years. This move provoked reaction

The Performance Measurement In Business Logistics Commerce Essay

The Performance Measurement In Business Logistics Commerce Essay Performance measurement can be defined as the process of quantifying effectiveness and the efficiency of an action (Neely, Mills, Platts, Gregory, Richards, 1994). Given the lack of any universally definition for performance in the organizational literature, it should not be surprising that extant literature offers many ideas about the dimension that ought to be incorporated into a conceptualization of logistics performance. One of the best examples is the framework where physical distribution effectiveness is defined as the extent to which distribution programmes satisfy customers [Rhea Shrock, International Journal of Logistics Management, 5, p. 3. supply chain management encompasses the logistics management which plans, implements, and controls the efficient, effective forward and reverse flow and storage of goods, services and related information between the point of origin and the point of consumption in order to meet customers requirements(Anonymous 2002). Performance measurement in the logistics functions, like starts at the individual metric level. Because of the great abundance of metrics already in existence there is forceful need for a method with which to evaluate the existing metrics. Quantitative and Qualitative measures are the two basic categories of Logistics indicators. Qualitative measures include such as product quality, customer satisfaction etc. and quantitative measures include such as order-to-delivery lead time, cycle time, flexibility, resource utilization, delivery performance, etc. Non-financial and financial are two broad categories of Quantitative metrics of supply chain performance. In fact, in the late 1880s return on investment (as a financial measure) was the main emphasis. (Schermerhorn et al.,, 2000). However as the second progressed during 1980s, the world market changed and overseas competitors began to take market share from the domestic and national companies who were unable to provide higher-quality products with lower costs and more diversity. National companies shifted their strategic focus from cost production to quality, flexibility and short lead time, as non-financial measures to gain the competitive edge in the market (Stewart, 1995). Business logistics performance metrics could also be classified as Operational Day to day technical representation developed schedule adherence avoiding complaints defect free delivery Inventory carrying cost(Levy (1997); Lee Billington (1992) Information carrying cost (Steward (1995) Tactical purchasing order efficiency Cycle time procedures booking Cash flow, Quality assurance flexibility transportation cost Capacity Strategic Rate of return on Investment Total cash flow time lead time comparison Quality level and quality assurance cost saving supplier pricing measuring against market(Gunasekaran et al. (2004) query time The critical elements that form the basis of logistics management are time, distance and money. Some utilization, productivity and effectiveness metrics used in the logistics management are: Dimension Metric Example Utilization Actual input/norm input Area of warehouse occupied/ total area Productivity Actual output/actual input Ton-miles delivered/cost incurred No of orders processed/ no of hours of labor Effectiveness Actual output/norm output No of shipment on-time/no of shipment sent Utilization measures: They are used to track the use of input resources in process. In logistics, input could be characterized as financial, physical assets or inventory. Utilization metrics include the following: Spending measures Purchase price variance Distribution cost as percentage of sales Variance of transportation cost from budget Non financial resources measures Usage ratios Amortized costs Inventory measures Static metrics (capture level of inventory expressed in physical, financial or other terms) Flow metrics (capture speed of inventory as it flows through the system over a period of time) productivity measures Partial productivity measures (SFP-single factor productivity ratios ) Total factor productivity measurement Financial productivity measurement (ROI-return on investment )( (Frameworx, 2005) Effectiveness metrics Order fill rates( order filled /orders requested Line item fill rates( total line items not filled / shipped in time per period Damage rates (line items damaged per order) Order cycle time (elapsed time between receiving request and delivering order) Delivery or transit time (elapsed time between readying order for shipment and delivery order)( DfT, 2004) On-time ( orders shipped on time or orders received by customer on time ) Perfect deliveries (orders received by customers with no logistics service fullness) Importance of performance Measurement The importance of measurement is everywhere as you get what you inspect, not what you expect. Hence, the importance of performance measurement cannot be denied. Therefore, to evaluate work done and to direct the activities metrics are required ((Melnyk et al. 2004). . Pressures (globalization, severe competition, and changing customers needs) are significantly driving force in the present era requiring the organizations to re-focus on utilizing of people and resources based on organizational objectives. A performance measurement system is needed to evaluate the resource utilization so that the organizations can strategically manage and properly control. It has been pointed out that in order to take action for ensuring desired results a performance measurement system is essential tool of controlling process. (Schermerhorn and Chappell, 2000) Measuring performance is necessary, because of the following reasons (which vary from organization to organization) are 🙠 Parker (2000) Success identification Measuring whether they are fulfilling the customer requirements; Help them understand their processes: Problems bottlenecks waste, etc. Identification Making sure that decisions are based on fact, not on supposition, emotion or intuition; and Disclose improvement planned, actually happened. Case Example To fully utilize the performance measurement system of logistics a firm has to implement latest technological infrastructure so efficient logistics operations could work flawlessly. Here we examine the case of Transcom Inc. that is a known to be the one of the leading edge a distributor of seals and bearings in Burnsville, Minn. it has successfully enhanced its performance measurements in its supply chain operations through implementing and incorporating latest technological measurement tools in its supply chain operations. Transcom was able to find numerous ways to speed up the order-to-ship process and reduce costs through this strategy that is through effectively measuring the performance of the logistics operation with the help of appropriate technology. Analysis of performance data resulted in improved inventory control, increased product turns, increased shipment volumes and reduced line-item labor costs. Implementation of technological performance measurement tools increased the not only efficiencies of Logistics such as efficiencies in our distribution center but also created efficiencies purchasing, inventory control and customer-service departments. (Dennis Bollinger 2006) Conclusion: The a firms approach in establishing logistics measurements system does not matters a lot as the real value come when the information is acted upon to align the effectiveness and efficiency of the logistics process performance to value the customers. The role 3PL can have in your success is dependent on when you start measuring your logistics performance (james S. Keebler and David A. Durtsche 2007). One of the logistics challenges is that organizations have to be more responsive, with high levels of flexibility in delivery. The emphasis should be on processes and performance rather than on functions and profit. The competitive battleground will be in the fields of quality, productivity, speed and innovation. Progress towards performance excellence will be aided greatly by relevant and integrated measurement frameworks and models (Christopher (1994).

People Are Sheep :: miscellaneous

People Are Sheep Every person everywhere in the United States is consumed by what the media tells them: what to do, what to wear, where to go to shop. People will swear up and down that they want to have their own identity, and they will even go to great lengths to attain it, yet, inevitably, they all fall into a â€Å"clique† with millions of others. Nobody wants to be a follower, but in terms of youth culture, nobody can really be a true leader. Nobody, that is, except the media. The American people, young and old alike, line up like sheep and follow the media shepherd wherever it leads. After a pathetic plea from my 13-year-old brother, I reluctantly agreed to take him and a few of his buddies to the mall to shop for basketball shoes. Although taking a slew of opinionated, loud-mouthed, smart-aleck teenagers shopping was not high on my priority list, spending time with my little brother was. So off to the mall we went. On the way the increasingly louder arguments over which shoes were the best made me want to drive my car straight into a tree. The one topic that kept rolling media presuaded tounges was that of the many different shoes they had seen on television. That’s when it hit me, my brother and his buddies were being led to slaughter --the mall-- by the media shepherd. As we pulled into the parking space at the mall, I barely had time to put the car in park before my crazed passengers, a pack of teenaged hooligans, barreled out of the car and raced for the door. By the time I caught up to my mob of shoe shoppers they were already in a shoe store, each with a different shoe in hand. My little brother had already strapped a pair of hideous shoes to his feet and was bouncing around the store acting like he was Kobe Bryant. I asked him if he liked the way the shoes looked, or even if they were at least comfortable, and his reply was, â€Å"who cares? Kobe Bryant wears them so they’re awesome!†. I gave the shoes a closer inspection, because if they were good enough for Kobe Bryant, they were good enough for my little brother. At least in my little brothers mind. When I peered at the price tag my knees got weak, and I nearly fell over.

Health Write Up Alcohol Essay

Alcohol is one of the most abused drugs in America. It is easily accessible, cheap, and perfectly legal to buy and consume. The way alcohol works is that it enters your bloodstream and moves into the biological membranes in your body. Up to 20% of alcohol consumed is absorbed through your stomach lining and 75% is absorbed in your upper intestine directly into the blood stream. Absorption rate is increased if you mix with carbonation, it is decreased with food, and if you drink higher concentration of alcohol (ie 80 proof or higher) absorption is also slower. The amount of alcohol absorbed along with factors of weight, body fat, sex, and in some cases race all depends on your blood alcohol concentration (or BAC). This is the ratio of alcohol absorbed to the rate of your metabolism. Alcohol is only metabolized through the liver, and cannot be speed up with the use of exercise, drinking coffee, eating certain food, or taking a cold shower. Alcohol has a generally negative impact on health. Chronic use of alcohol will have the user develop sever cirrhosis (scarring of the liver), higher blood pressure, various cancers, and major cognitive impairments, memory loss, including dementia. The constant abuse of alcohol or alcohol dependence will cause people to live shorter lives and they will have withdrawal symptoms when they don’t have a drink for periods of a time. However, there is help very readily available for those who are seeking a change in their drinking habits with many programs of all types.

Motivating Middle School Boys Essay

Abstract Middle school is a time of physical, emotional and social change for boys. When students hit middle school, academics tend to take a back seat to all of the new activity in their lives. For boys, middle school is increasingly difficult. In addition to the physical and emotional changes, the academic curriculum becomes more challenging and rigid. This does not align with a typical boy’s learning style. Many boys in middle school are struggling through hard times at home. Situations may include challenges such as little to no parental support, poverty, and malnutrition. With all of the possible circumstances disrupting their home lives, it is hard for these boys to concentrate on how to solve an equation in math class. Teachers need to motivate boys by providing relevant, hands-on curriculum. Three ways that teachers can do this is by including family members in the classroom, using friendly competition in the form of games and contests, and by relating mathematical lessons and material to real-life situations and interests that the boys might have. Introduction By seventh grade, most students have had years of poor attendance, little parental support, and many other issues related to poverty. They simply do not see the importance of mathematics in everyday life and how math can lead to better things for them. Males, in particular, want to continue the lifestyle they were raised in; showing little to no effort when it comes to the math classroom. This paper discusses three reasons why mathematics teachers should incorporate meaningful motivation strategies as a tool to motivate middle school males in the mathematics classroom. Including Family in the Classroom. One way that teachers can help to motivate boys in the middle school classroom is to include their families in the classroom. The relationship between family and school influences the academic achievement of middle school students. These family relationships and parental involvement mold students’ educational development drastically. Murdock and Miller (2003) refer to family as a major influence in how middle school boys deal with learning, peers, and motivation. They state â€Å"families play the most important role in students’ lives as they transition from elementary school to middle school†. The absence of a parent can play a very important role in the success of a student, so when the student sees that there is a connection between the classroom and their family, they are motivated to succeed. Middle school math teachers should try their best to create a sense of family cohesion and teamwork in the classroom. Teachers can do this by always making sure parents are aware of what is happening in the classroom, keeping the lines of communication open, and even incorporating projects that might need the student to work with a member of their family to complete it. Haim Ginott’s theory of congruent communication states that teachers should always use communication that is harmonious with students’ feelings about situations (Charles, 2008). This can be applied to idea of including families in the classroom because teachers need to keep the lines of communication open not only with their students, but with their students’ families. By taking the time to talk to students about situations arising in the classroom, it will be easy for teachers to communicate with parents about similar situations and the lack of motivation within the classroom. When students know that their families are involved in their academics, they are more inclined to succeed in the classroom. Introduce Competition Next, a second way that teachers can help to motivate middle school boys while in the classroom is to include the use of different games and contests. Most boys respond well to competition with their peers. They will force one another to greater speeds, improved accuracy and higher achievement in the name of winning. Boys thrive on competition, so any type of game or activity that allows them to go against a peer in a competitive manner will motivate them to perform. In the following quote, Conti explains why he believes that competitions in the math classroom can spark an interest in math for boys. â€Å"Mathematics competitions are probably the extracurricular academic programs with the widest participation. The most immediate value of these math contests is obvious – they pique students’ interest in mathematics and encourage them to value intellectual pursuits. Boys love games, and many will turn just about any activity into a contest, or in other words, something to get good at. Math contests thus inspire them to become good at mathematics just like sports encourage physical fitness. Eventually, students put aside the games. By then, hopefully an interest in the underlying activity has developed† (Conti, 2001). Teachers should create competitions by having students race against one another to solve math problems or turning a test review into a basketball game, allowing students to shoot a basket for every correct answer. The teacher could also place students in groups and award points based on certain behaviors and completed tasks. A prize would be awarded to the group with the highest score at the end of the week. Jacob Kounin would agree with this point based on his theory of lesson momentum and withitness. Kounin believes that classroom teachers should be able to do a multitude of things at one time, including presenting motivating and engaging lessons, managing the class, and being aware of the classroom surroundings (Charles, 2008). He states that good teachers keep students from getting bored or otherwise frustrated with lessons. By including competition in the form of games and contests in the classroom, the teacher is able to keep the boys motivated with a lesson while still controlling the needs of the class. When boys know they have a chance to show off their skills by winning something, they will immediately become engaged and motivated to participate. Provide Connections to Real-Life Therefore, a third way that middle school math teachers can motivate boys within the classroom is to connect the material to real-life applications. Students, particularly those who come from backgrounds that undervalue education, will benefit from this strategy. Stein (1993) expressed his belief in real-world connections revolving around math lessons by stating â€Å"Because students often feel that mathematics is the subject least relevant to their daily lives, it is an important arena in which teachers can attempt to incorporate students’ funds of knowledge in the context of culturally relevant mathematics instruction†. For middle school boys, school itself is often the least important factor in their lives. Teachers can tap into their focus by relating topics to important interests in their lives. One way for teachers to do that is to use democratic teaching; a theory of Rudolf Dreikurs. Democratic teaching occurs in a classroom in which the teacher and students work together to make decisions about how the class will function (Charles, 2008). This applies to the idea of connecting math with real-world situations. Students want to know how what they are learning will benefit them in their future lives. By brainstorming different topics and careers that the students are interested in, the teacher can then develop lessons that explain how those interests or careers are affected by mathematics. Teachers should show boys how math affects their everyday lives in areas such as: household maintenance, calculating car mileage, budgeting, making larger purchases (cars and houses), or solving problems that are important to them. Connecting math to future careers can also help to motivate boys in math class. Many unmotivated boys do not realize the importance of math for success in college or the role that math plays in careers that are not overtly math-oriented. Stein also claimed that by using problems that interest and excite the students’ curiosity, students are keen to develop important problem-solving strategies. These strategies can be applied in everyday situations, not just in the mathematics classroom. Conclusion The use of meaningful and male-related motivational strategies in middle school mathematics classrooms are a great way to motivate and help boys succeed. Most boys are very intelligent when it comes to numbers and math, however it may seem â€Å"too cool† to get good grades and to apply yourself. Middle school is where students generally begin to find themselves, and a determined teacher can help to motivate students to choose the right path. A teacher’s responsibility is to make sure they have done everything in their power to help their students succeed. This means reaching out to parents, changing lessons to fit the needs of the unmotivated students in the classroom, and changing your classroom management strategies to help engage and excite the students. With little to no parental support or guidance for many boys in the classroom, a male math teacher may be exactly what these boys need. But will these same strategies work with a female math teacher? References: Charles, C. M. (2008). Twentieth-Century Pioneers in Classroom Discipline. Building Classroom Discipline (Ninth Edition). Boston: Pearson. Conti, R. , Collins, M. A. , & Picariello, M. L. (2001). The impact of competition on intrinsic motivation and creativity: Considering gender, gender segregation  and gender role orientation. Personality and Individual Differences, 31(8), 1273- 1289 Grossman, H. (2004). Classroom behavior management for diverse and inclusive schools. (3rd edition). Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield. Murdock, T. , Miller, A. (2003). Teachers as Sources of Middle School Students’ Motivational Identity: Variable-Centered and Person-Centered Analytic Approaches. The Elementary School Journal, 103(4), 383-399. Stein, S. L. (1993). Young’s vision. The Mathematics Teacher, 86, 330-333.

JUDICIAL REVIEW essays

JUDICIAL REVIEW essays : uncategorized : Pros and Cons of Judicial Review Pros and Cons of Judicial Review Judicial Review is the power given to Supreme court justices in which a judge has the power to reason whether a law is unconstitutional or not. Chief Justice John Ma Click Here to Search COSHE's Database Again Judicial Review is the power given to Supreme court justices in which a judge has the power to reason whether a law is unconstitutional or not. Chief Justice John Marshall initiated the Supreme Courts right to translate the Constitution in 1803 following the case of Marbury Vs. Madison, in which he declared the Supreme Court as the sole interpreters of Constitutional law. This is one of the sole purposes of the Supreme Court of the United States. Many Historical thinkers would find some difficulty in imagining a government set up to limit the power of itself,but others would argue that this form of government best works for the people, and not against them. The treatment of the Constitution by the Supreme Court as a "living" document that is able to be translated differently over time for the good of the people has as many skeptics as it does supporters. But, if we do not allow the Supreme Court to translate the Constitution who then, should the people chose to do such an important job. If we were to look back at the ideas and thoughts of some of the greatest political thinkers of our time, we would find that individuals such as Plato, Niccolo Machiavelli, and John Locke, would share extremely different views as to whether or not Judicial review, and the Supreme Court as a whole, would be successful in their ideal government situations. One of the earliest political philosophers Plato, would find our present day governmental setup of the Supreme Court to be the ideal group to deal with the United States situation. Plato felt that government should be run by enlightened ...