Understanding Development Theory And Practice In Third World Politics Essay

Understanding Development Theory And Practice In Third World Politics Essay This book is a good synthesis and critique on the theory of development after Second World War. It takes historical perspective on analyzing development theory and its practice and tries to find the context-specific result of those development theories and policies in the third world. In doing so, Rapley has tried to be unaffected by any ideological orthodoxy but his left-alignment is clearly visible. John Rapley, who is a political scientist involved in the Department of Government, University of West Indies (Mora), has successfully captured the essence of development theories being applied in the third world after World War II, in this book. The book is lucidly written, well organized, and easy to understand. It includes elaborate endnotes, good index, and thoroughly assembled and categorized bibliography in accordance with their dominant theoretical fervor. The analytical approach of the book has been to follow historical comparison of mainstream development theory and practice, with related criticisms on them. For doing this he has measured the dominant debate between left critics and mainstream theorists from the perspective of dominant paradigms. He has presented the ebb and flow of neo-classical theory, and has done counter-criticism on neo-Marxists and developmental state theories. Though his arguments are balanced and analytical, people with capitalist mentality may find his argument on reemergence of neo-classical ideology immature and left-centered, while those with leftist gloss will find his insights illuminating and worthy. Nevertheless, his analysis of this wide area of development history is worthy read to students, practitioners and scholars. The book is organized into nine chapters. The first chapter, The Progress of Development, is an introduction to the argument presented in the book. The chapter two summarizes the dominant theoretical trend of immediate post-war period namely rise of Keynesianism and emergence of third world, followed by modernist, dependency and state centered theories. Rapley meticulously presents the influence of Keynesian thought on post war period of state centered development. Birth of third world and development economics as a separate sub-discipline were influenced by recognition of third world as a separate entity which demands different development policy design as opposed to the IBRD policy measures adopted for reconstructing Europe and other countries of First and Second World. Then, the book describes development economists of structuralist school who designed import substitution industrialization for the third world. This school of thought believed that international trade favours indus trialized North at the expense of developing South. But, soon the problems of structuralist schools were to be found in development world. Chapter 3 reflects on the performance of state-led development. The performance of state-led development in third world showed dismal performance. Import substitution industries were proved bad performer, license system of government increased corruption and bad governance, semi-public institutions increased the debt burden of state, and many SOEs were going bankrupt. All this led to poor export performance, inefficiency, underemployment, and poor agricultural performance. Although the central planning of statist model proved successful to increase output it couldnt ensure quality and efficiency in its performance which led to overall unproductive utilization of available means thus causing systemic failure. All these policy failures and theoretical disenchantment of state-led development model led to the clear decline of state socialism by 1980s enforcing many countries of Latin America and Africa to follow the conditionalities of their creditors with whom they have had large debt overdue. But, exception to these problems were the East Asian economies, who were able to overcome these problems by appropriately combining the effort of state with the efficiency of market competition and thus were able to catch up with the pace of international market competition. In chapter 4 and 5, basically talks about the neoclassical response to the failure of state-oriented development model of earlier period and its recommendation for reform. The neoclassical proponents reviewed the failure of import substitution and state-supported industrial policies by saying that there would be losers along with gainersà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ this was not necessarily bad (p. 83) and earlier development model did wrong by helping out the losers who were the main cause of inefficiency. They now advocated for promoting winners by focusing on creating environment for export industries, smaller firms, and export crop farmers. Policies for creating such environment were recommended under the framework of Washington Consensus which included: fiscal austerity, privatization of state owned enterprises (SOEs), trade liberalization, currency devaluation, and abolition of marketing boards, financial and labour market deregulation, and export promotion. Defined under an umbrella term of Structural Adjustment Program (SAP), these neo-classical prescriptions were openly supported and promoted by Bretton Woods Institutions which consequently were reflected in almost all of the third world countries where these institutions were working. Moreover, after some experience of reform initiatives and collapse of socialist economy led to the addition of accountability and transparency in governments operations as required variables for neoclassical development model thus both political and economic reform became elements of its reform agenda. The subsequent critique on the performance of neo-classical SAP framework is elaborately explained in chapter 5. Here, Rapley depicts the limitations of structural adjustment and emphasizes on how its application became successful by not due to its internal theoretical strength but due to seemingly no counter-force due to the fall of left because of long stagnation of socialism during early 1980s, historical exhaustion of dependency theory with no clear output, and loss of the Marxist self-confidence. Rapley writes: some evidence suggests that there is no reason to assume that less government leads to faster growthà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦. if there is any relationship between the two, it may even be that in the aggregate, more government leads to more growth (p.119). His evaluation of the case of privatization, domestic market liberalization, retrenchment, financial and labour market deregulation demonstrates that there are flaws on the theoretical assumptions and practicalities of structural adjustment program. Its assumption of human beings as rational and self-interested actors is not supported. Many sociologist and anthropologists view human action as a part of collective action and some views like Jean Francois Bayart content that à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ just as we cannot expect other peoples to behave the way we do, we cannot apply the same principles to judge their behavior. Similarly, differences between first and third world discredited the apparently same principle of development propounded by structural adjustment program; flaws were seen in new political economy ideology of neo-classical writers. Moreover, the neoclassical logic of accepting the material inequality has been criticized by leftists on moral grounds, even if assuming material inequality to be morally neutral leftist theorists would still condemn it for its economic drawbacks (p.116) to poorer ones. Rapley has given emphasis on the birth of possible challenge to neoclassical theory. He clearly seems to be on the side of the left but is cautious enough to predict that the new paradigm wont be too much influenced by classical left or postmodernist hangover. In chapter 6, he asks for the new paradigm of development to be able to work with market and capitalism, while simultaneously opting for greater role for the state than allowed by structural adjustment program. The neo-institutionalist idea that market does not emerge spontaneously and that different cultural background require the creation of different types of institutions led to the reemergence of the need of state involvement in creating and developing economic institutions. The highly interventionist states of East Asia had selectively protected some strategic industries through tariffs and quota at the same time helped them grow through export subsidies and subsidized credit. They promoted firms towards new forms of produ ction and compelled them to increase their competitiveness. These successful policy measures of East Asian countries have been influential theoretical strands for the reemergence of the developmental state paradigm. Ultimately, in chapter 7 Rapley has returned to the Sub Saharan Africa to show that there are many challenges to follow state-supported development as seen in its successful version of East Asian case. The reasons allotted in the book are internal limitations of Africa (especially the weakness of African state) and international obstacles brought forwarded by international balance of power. His reasons for the seemingly low applicability of Asian developmental model in Africa are more political rather than economic. Some causal factors leading to the crisis of state in Africa like: authoritarianism in the third world, state capacity, concentration of power, class politics, etc. proves for Rapley that Africa is against the tide. Furthermore, he also sees obstacle in international systems to follow the strict state-led growth as enjoyed by East Asian countries in 60s through 80s. Rapley argues, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ it is not only Africa that the emerging practice of development is running i n a direction contrary to that of the theory. The crisis of the state which sees fiscal constraints forcing public authorities to renounce many of their functions, is international in its scope (p.176). Meanwhile retrenchment of state during SAP implementation led to the development of many non-state actors like NGOs, private sector and other groups working as a state within state leading to the weakening of state functions. The chapter 8, entitled as The end of development or a new beginning? is focused on the idea of post-development thought. This thought challenges us to rethink the entire way we conceive development, and to consider the possibility of a paradigm shift (p.177). Presently the world is facing contested political order where there is resurgence of populist movements against globalization to restore control over space/country; while another strand which is closer to postmodern idea is shifting the focus from national to global level through some works like: UN MDGs or WTOs Doha Development Agenda negotiations. Rapley admits: A discipline that emerged in the early post-World War II periodà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ development studies always took for granted the existence of national economies and nation states. Much has changed since. Accordingly, those who take an interest in development are being challenged to conceive new strategies of development. Post-development challenged us to rethink development altogether. (p.200). The recent trend of giving focus on people after the publication of Development As Freedom written by Prof. Amartya Sen has shifted attention of Bretton Woods institutions and other scholars to the fact that development that doesnt improve the lives of the poor people will only provoke resistance and crisis (p.200). Rapley wraps-up the eighth chapter by arguing that the intellectual resistance from post-development ideas and political campaigns of anti-globalization forces has put the agenda of development in the centre stage which is awaiting for good implementation. Finally, in chapter 9 Rapley concludes main arguments presented in the book and also poses some relevant questions demanding serious consideration for leading the future of development. Some of his questions are thought provoking: can development models be universalized? What roles will environmental issues play in development theory? Is there a population time bomb, and how will it affect the third world? What will the new balance between state and society be? At last he has wrapped up his argument by discussing on all these questions in brief. Reviewing the whole book one can easily find that this book is highly comprehensive piece on development theory and practice spending fairly little space or pages. It is praiseworthy to say that this updated volume includes issues of latest debate of 21st century development studies. But, still it has some loopholes. While criticizing on the neoliberal ideas, he has overlooked at its overall performance in countries like India, China, and other high performer countries of 1990s and early 2000s. Similarly, his analysis of third world with high emphasis on African and Latin American countries has ignored poor blocks of South Asian countries and thus has left a large area of development experiment of these years untouched. The number of poor population in South Asian region doesnt justify writers neglect of the region as appropriate. Unlike previous editions of this book, the reviewed third edition has added more to the analysis of future of development. Its analysis of the latest thought of development, viz. post-development, is convincing enough to indicate on the future of development by working together with the questions raised in the concluding chapter. Reading this, readers can guess thatà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.. Notwithstanding these criticisms, Rapleys work is able to present a comprehensive and succinct treatise on the history of development thoughts and practice in third world. His way of presenting the mainstream argument along with the main criticism propounded by left and others on each of these development theories is interesting and useful. This book is can be recommended as a must read for upper level undergraduate students, useful guide for graduate level students, and a common discourse with new insights for the scholars. Readers will not regret about their time and money spent for the book after completing the last sentence.

Is Second Life Ready for Business? Essay

1. How can Second Life provide value to businesses that use it? Second Life can be a birthing ground for new industries and transform business, commerce, marketingand learning the same way that the Web did in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. It alsocan facilitate internal communications and to position themselves at the forefront of the digital landscapein order to recruit tech-savvy employees. Second Life is a low-cost business tool and also a new marketingtool.Companies can use Second Life as a business tool for online conferencing, online collaboration, knowledge management and prototyping. Also companies can test new products using Second Life’s 3 -Drendering programs, experiment with new marketing and advertising campaigns to see how people react,receive feedback on real-world products or services. 2. What kinds of businesses are most likely to benefit from apresence on Second Life? Why? Retail businesses that are already used to doing business online may have an easier time of establishing aviable presence on Second Life. They are used to advertising and marketing to customers online and havethe systems built for taking orders, accepting payments, and shipping products. Other companies, likeIBM, that have established online collaboration systems and online knowledge management systems willprobably have an easier time using Second Life as another outlet for these activities. 3. Considering what you have learned about Second Life, howcould you, as an individual, create a modest start-up businesson the Grid? What goods would you sell? Why would this be agood choice of product? What, in simple terms, would yourbusiness plan be? Why would it work? There are several ways to start up business in an online virtual server. Second Life as of now harbored fewto many online companies that does business online as a form of advertising or even setting up their virtual business inside the server by buying up â€Å"lands† in the so called â€Å"Grid† world. Of course, to do that,you have to buy the virtual â€Å"land† to start up the virtual business by subscribing to the premium [pic]  membership on the website. By subscribing, several beneï ¬ ts can be enjoy including owning a house and rights to own a land. The current subscription cost according to the game website – secondlife.com – isUSD$72 for an annual  subscription, USD$22.50 for a quarter subscription or USD$9.95 for monthlysubscription. Personally and hypothetically, the initial cost for me to setup an online business on the â€Å"lands of the Grid† would be a monthly subscription of USD$9.95 as uncertainty in conveying the business over a decade plus old virtual server especially these past two years have been radically risky withmushrooms of similar online servers like gaiaonline.com and social networking sites like facebook that hasbeen rampaging in this fast-paced information system industry. Also, there are questions about itscurrent popularity against the other fast information changing platforms and how it cope with the current market segment. A typical online business would be an online auction/selling business. Speciï ¬ cally, i would set up a small business that deals with money changing/transfers between users and other onlinegames that offers on line services to its users. For example; an online game offers â€Å"cash –  shop† items that  is only available when you bought it online usually using credit/debit cards, often through sites like pay-pal. What i am offering here in my business is variety of online payments especially in terms of ForeignCurrency exchanges through local banks and also a much more user-friendly interaction between me andthe customers due to the live chatting system and in-game atmosphere in Second Life. A simpleexplanation why this might be a good choice is that, Second Life offers a casual sims like platform thatdoes not stress up their users like those of a massively multiplayer online role playing game (MMORPG) that needs hours and hours of â€Å"training† to achieve a better standi ngs in the game. Another good point isthat online gamers that plays particular games tend to hang out in the same channel or platform towhich, the simple Second Life w hich has quite low speciï ¬ cations  offers a range of 3D avatars to theplayers. This is especially true when the online game that they are playing having their routine servermaintenance which usually comes up once per week. During these one to several hours of maintenance,they could log on to Second Life and have chat with their online gaming friends from another game. Thus,simultaneously advertising my business over to them during these times. In summary, an online  basedbusiness would be a good addition to set up in Second Life. Though prone to risk and currently, the powerof substitutes are increasing like facebook and other networking sites, the opportunity to set up a smallbusiness within Second Life is still feasible due to the nature of online gaming and rapid increase ingaming communities.Considering what I have learned about Second Life, I, as an individual, will first start up my business byfiguring what products are mostly used in Second Life. The product that will sell in Second life will befurniture. This will be a good choice because customers or people in second life will need furniture fortheir new homes and offices. My business plan will be to invest in other products and services and wait tillmy investment grows before cashing out. [pic][pic] 4. Visit eBay on the Web and see what Second Life items youcan find listed for auction. How would you rate the activitysurrounding these items? Are you surprised by what you see?Why or why not? Obviously the information for this question will fluctuate. As of this writing, eBay offered 211 items. Theyincluded how-to manuals for making money on Second Life, a guide to selling land, and businessopportunities on the site. One item in particular was a vending machine business package available for$4.99. The individual offering the item was an eBay Power Seller with 6,483 feedback postings. He wasobviously an established eBay seller. Other items for sale include a Gym Workout package for $4.99 and amacro that makes navigating the skies of Second Life easier. It sold for $12.99. Answers to the last threequestions will vary by student. The point is to have them realize how advanced and pervasive sites likeSecond Life have become. 5. What obstacles does Second Life have toovercome  in order to become a mainstreambusiness tool? Does it face fewer or more obstaclesto become a mainstream educational tool? To what do you attribute the difference? Second Life needs to overcome the idea and perception that it’s â€Å"just another game site.† Other obstacles include ease-of-use, interoperability between pre-established business systems and Second L ife’s  proprietary system. It needs to create ways to import and export data between  its system and externalbusiness systems —don’t require data to be re  -input into either system. Second Life faces more obstaclesin trying to become a mainstream educational tool. Educators are inherently opposed to online, distanceeducation because it supposedly lacks the face-to-face communication between teachers and students.However, as more education is carried online, Second Life has all the tools in place to make it easy toconduct classes, especially its online collaboration tools.

Charles Darwin, The Most Influential Nineteenth Century...

In the 19th century, scientific research progressed rapidly outside the world of industry and technology (McKay 744). British scientist, Charles Darwin, was the most influential nineteenth-century evolutionary thinker. Darwin spent his early career, amassing enormous amounts of biological and geological data from his voyage to South America (Fiero 3). In 1859, he published his classic work, The Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, where he summarizes his theory of evolution with the thought of struggle for survival, or natural selection. Furthermore, natural selection is the idea of groups of species surviving through generations by adapting to changes in the environment and using certain characteristics as an advantage. In addition, natural selection challenged traditional ideas about nature and world order, and it was also taken steps further by many thinkers. English philosopher, Herbert Spencer, saw the human race driven forward to ever-greater specialization and prog ress by a brutal economic struggle that determined the â€Å"survival of the fittest† (McKay 745). The notion of a body of thought drawn from the ideas of Charles Darwin that applied the theory of biological evolution to human affairs and saw the human race as driven by an un-ending economic struggle that would determine the survival of the fittest defines Social Darwinism (McKay 745). As European and American upper class sought to extend political and economic power, Social Darwinism proved toShow MoreRelatedFieldwork in Various Anthropological Schools of Thought Essay1167 Words   |  5 Pagesof human societies (History World International, 2001). Many theories to explain cultural variations among humans have emerged. As a result, numerous anthropological schools of thought have been established based on these theories since the nineteenth century. These schools of thought encompass the dominant beliefs about culture during a time period and are constantly changing as new knowledge is acquired. As schools of thought develop, ethnographic methods have changed and developed as well. FieldworkRead MoreHerbert Spencer Essay13142 Words   |  53 Pages1857, he extended the idea of evolutionary progress to human society as well as to the animal and physical worlds. All nature moves from the simple to the complex. This fundamental law is seen in the evolution of human society as it is seen in the geological transformation of the earth and in the origin and development of plant and animal species. Natural selection, as described by Charles Darwin in the Origin of Species, published in 1859, completed Spencers evolutionary system by providing the mechanismRead MoreThe History of Psychology2719 Words   |  11 Pagesand logos, which mean mind and study, respectively. Psychological thought was most influenced by three very well known ancient philosophers, Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle. Socrates maxim was know thyself, which was an idea that accentuated the importance of personal reflection and self-examination. He believed the unexamined life is not worth living (Nevid 4). This idea of self-assessment is one of the most enduring in the history of psychology. Plato, one of Socrates students, had learnedRead MoreGutenberg Invented The First Movable Printing Press2053 Words   |  9 PagesGutenberg Johannes Gutenberg invented the first movable-printing press in the fifteenth century. The printing press affected Europe’s political, cultural, economic, and social development in the centuries that followed. According to Reader, â€Å"The eighteenth century saw a rapid expansion in the publication of books, periodicals, and pamphlets, which allowed wide dissemination of these new ideas, and with that, the early stages of public opinion† (24). The availability of paper and spreading of booksRead MoreCompare Beccaria and Lombroso Essay2327 Words   |  10 PagesCompare 2 Key Thinkers and Their Competing Ideologies. Criminology is a study of crime, criminals and criminal justice. Ideas about criminal justice and crime arose in the 18th century during the enlightenment, but criminology as we know it today developed in the late 19th century. Criminology has been shaped by many different academic disciplines and has many different approaches. It explores the implications of criminal laws; how they emerge and work, then how they are violated and what happensRead MoreOne Significant Change That Has Occurred in the World Between 1900 and 2005. Explain the Impact This Change Has Made on Our Lives and Why It Is an Important Change.163893 Words   |  656 PagesCataloging-in-Publication Data Essays on twentieth century history / edited by Michael Peter Adas for the American Historical Association. p. cm.—(Critical perspectives on the past) Includes bibliographical references. ISBN 978-1-4399-0269-1 (cloth : alk. paper)—ISBN 978-1-4399-0270-7 (paper : alk. paper)—ISBN 978-1-4399-0271-4 (electronic) 1. History, Modern—20th century. 2. Twentieth century. 3. Social history—20th century. 4. World politics—20th century. I. Adas, Michael, 1943– II. American HistoricalRead MoreOrganisational Theory230255 Words   |  922 Pages. Organization Theory Challenges and Perspectives John McAuley, Joanne Duberley and Phil Johnson . This book is, to my knowledge, the most comprehensive and reliable guide to organisational theory currently available. What is needed is a text that will give a good idea of the breadth and complexity of this important subject, and this is precisely what McAuley, Duberley and Johnson have provided. They have done some sterling service in bringing together the very diverse strands of work

Becoming a World-Class Engineering Student Free Essay Example, 2000 words

I have to admit that STEM coursework is a challenge. Albeit I find most of the topics about STEM to be interesting, not all of them are easy to understand. At present, my self-confidence about STEM is not that high because I am still having challenges with some of the subjects related to it. A world-class engineering or computer science student is confident about her knowledge in science, technology, and math but not overconfident that would make him or her lax on his or her study. To become confident about STEM, I will work on the subjects that I have challenges. I believe that overcoming them will spawn a renewed confidence in me about my STEM coursework. I am not reluctant to seek help with friends. I have to admit however that I limit the people I ask help to people that I am comfortable with. Sometimes, I feel shy to ask help from people that I am not close to because they may think I am a bother or not paying attention to my class. A world-class student in engineering an d computer science, however, is not embarrassed to ask help when it is needed. He or she is always on the lookout to understand and master the lessons relating to the course and will not hesitate to ask if he or she does not understand it. Sometimes, these lessons are not even related to the class but the student still asks questions to understand a particular concept. I believe that I must go out of my comfort zone when asking help from peers for lessons that I am not sure of. I must not limit the people that I ask help from my friends but must also include those who are well versed in the subject that includes professors and higher class. I believe that I have no problem with a change that would enable me to grow and improve. I embrace change realizing that it is the only thing that is constant in this world. World-class students also embrace change and are not threatened by it. In fact, they are the agent of change because they constantly seek ways to improve and change how things are done. We will write a custom essay sample on Becoming a World-Class Engineering Student or any topic specifically for you Only $17.96 $11.86/pageorder now

Analysis Of James Baldwin s Sonny s Blues - 1578 Words

James Baldwin’s short story â€Å"Sonny’s Blues† was a great tale of the struggles shared between two brothers in Harlem in 1957. This story is about two African American brothers who, unfortunately, grew apart as the aged. The plot shows the struggles the two brothers faced as they grew up in Harlem, and in return, the two drastically different paths they perused. James Baldwin was an African American who grew up in Harlem in the 1930s and 40s. Baldwin was the oldest of nine children, and grew up in a very poor family, having a very bad relationship with his stepfather. Baldwin followed in his stepfather’s footsteps in becoming a preacher, but as he was studying to do so, he realized that his true calling was to become a writer. Baldwin†¦show more content†¦The narrator says that he â€Å"couldn’t believe it: but what I mean by that is I couldn’t find any room for it anywhere inside me. I had kept it outside me for a long ti me. I hadn’t wanted to know† (Baldwin600). The narrator and Sonny haven’t spoken much since the death of their mother. The narrator wanted Sonny to stay in school and finish, and Sonny wanted to drop out and join the army or the navy, and then chase his dream of being a jazz piano player. Sonny agreed to stay in school at first, but after a while, he stopped going and eventually ran away and joined the army. After not hearing from Sonny in years, the narrator heard from him out of nowhere when he was deployed in Greece. Both Sonny and the narrator were living in New York years after the war was over. They would meet sometimes, but it would always result in a fight, and eventually the narrator and Sonny stopped speaking. Before their mother died, she told the narrator to look after his brother. She said â€Å"it ain’t only the bad ones, nor yet the dumb ones that gets sucked under† (Baldwin607). So when Sonny got arrested for heroin, the narrat or felt some guilt and that it was sort of his fault, but at the same time, he felt that he wanted nothing to do with him and his troubles. The narators confusion on the matter was put to a rest when he ran into one of Sonny’s friends right after the arrest, and his friend made it clear that as soon as Sonny got out he would goShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of James Baldwin s Sonny s Blues 916 Words   |  4 PagesJames Baldwin’s story â€Å"Sonny’s Blues† tells the tale of two African-American brothers trying to survive in 1950s America. Both struggle with darkness in their lives, from drugs to bottling up emotions. The following sources were found Literature Research Center’s website. Each of the four sources will be evaluated for the quality of their information, as well as their usefulness on the topic of darkness in â€Å" â€Å"Sonny’s Blues†. Flibbert, Joseph. Sonny s Blues: Overview. Reference Guide to ShortRead MoreAnalysis Of James Baldwin s Sonny s Blues 933 Words   |  4 Pagesstory. Blues is a genre of music that is often used to express a sad mood. The contradictory lives of the two brothers contribute to the theme of being safe and take risks. In this story, James Baldwin writes about two brothers who were raised together. As time passed, they separated from one another and lived completely different lives. â€Å"Sonny’s Blues† by James Baldwin addresses the themes of finding comfort in music, dangers of addiction and the suffering of two brothers. First, Baldwin uses theRead MoreAnalysis Of James Baldwin s Sonny s Blues Essay2104 Words   |  9 PagesSeveral dialectics are at play in James Baldwin’s short story â€Å"Sonny’s Blues† including a dialectic between the narrator and his beloved brother Sonny involving their opposing responses to the sense of oppression and limitation that arises from living in Harlem. This dialectic and its resolution closely parallel Baldwin’s masterful use of Blues, Jazz, and Gospel music. We follow the narrator and his brother Sonny as they traverse the complexities of their individual and interconnected Harlem livesRead MoreAnalysis Of Sonny s Blue By James Baldwin Essay1004 Words   |  5 Pagesâ€Å"Sonny’s Blue† by James Baldwin is a story about two brothers who grew up in poverty. One brother went on to become a teacher, while the other pursued his dreams to become a musician and finds himself in prison due to drug use. The story begins with the narrator finding out about Sonny’s arrest. It’s easy to see his shock and almost disbelief. It takes the narrator a while to write to Sonny, but eventually he does, and they regain communication with one another after over a year of silence. Sonny is releasedRead MoreAnalysis Of James Baldwin s Sonny s Blues 1366 Words   |  6 Pagesand dark ultimately guides Sonny and the narrator in their journey to overcome their internal struggles. In the short story Sonny’s Blues, James Baldwin uses darkness and light to show struggles and, transformation as both brothers teeter between the different shades of the blues, using music as a way to bring them both to redemption. Often times, when light is used in stories, readers can very easily relate the idea to happiness and following the right path. Baldwin uses light to illustrate whatRead MoreAnalysis Of James Baldwin s Sonny s Blues 995 Words   |  4 PagesJames Baldwin presents an emotional journey through Harlem in the 1950’s with his short story, â€Å"Sonny’s Blues.† From the beginning, the story is in medias res when the unnamed narrator is informed of bad news concerning his younger, troubled brother, Sonny. Throughout the story there is an ocean of emotions witnessed between these two brothers as they battle hardships from their past and present time. The setting plays an important role in â€Å"Sonny’s Blues† to an extent where it is practically a characterRead MoreAnalysis Of James Baldwin s Sonny s Blues Essay1154 Words   |  5 Pagesntroduction: James Baldwin, author of Sonny s Blues, once said, I grew up with music...much more than with any other language. In a way, the music I grew up with saved my life (Session 3 Inquiry: Rudolfo Anaya and James Baldwin, 2015).   Blues becomes Sonny s drug and his addiction to it his salvation.       Even though the adults refrain from lamenting their sufferings directly to the children and telling them about the darkness, the child-narrator still intimates its marks in their facesRead MoreAnalysis Of `` Sonny s Blue `` By James Baldwin1474 Words   |  6 Pages Music can be the lead to freedom from darkness. The story â€Å"Sonny’s Blue† by James Baldwin takes places in Harlem around the 1950’s. The story is about two brothers. One of the brothers is the narrator of the story whose name is unknown. The narrator tells the story of the struggles in Harlem but mainly the struggles of his brother with drugs, and his passion for jazz music. Through out the story the narrator avoids giving a sense of his own struggles with himself. However, in the end the readerRead MoreAnalysis Of James Baldwin s Sonny Blues 1753 Words   |  8 Pagesiniquity, gloom, or without light. In the short novel Sonny Blues by James Baldwin, the word â€Å"darkness† ap peared frequently throughout the reading. I think the significance of darkness of this particular situation of this book that Baldwin is trying to present is fear and suffering. It shows how the characters are in the state of panic and fear, of the situation they are in and all the sufferings they have to go through. Connecting the Baldwin to the novel, Harlem; where the story takes place isRead MoreAnalysis Of James Baldwin s Sonny s Blues 1292 Words   |  6 Pages James Baldwin was raised in poverty in Harlem where, at the age of fourteen, he became a preacher in the Fireside Pentecostal Church. After high school he decided to become a writer and with the help of the black American expatriate writer Richard Wright, won a grant that enabled him to move to Paris, where he lived most of his remaining years. He wrote a variety of novels mostly about the intellectual trials of black men in a white, racist society and homosexual themes. James Baldwin wrote â€Å"Sonny’s

The Information And Communication Revolution Education Essay Free Essays

string(88) " a mismatch between methods used to mensurate effects and the type of larning promoted\." Introduction One the many challenges confronting developing states today are fixing their societies and authoritiess for globalisation and the information and communicating revolution. Policy shapers, concern executives, NGO activists, faculty members, and ordinary citizens are progressively concerned with the demand to do their societies competitory in the emergent information economic system. Globalization and technological alteration is a procedure that has accelerated in tandem over the past 15 old ages and has created a new planetary economic system powered by engineering, fuelled by information and driven by cognition. We will write a custom essay sample on The Information And Communication Revolution Education Essay or any similar topic only for you Order Now The outgrowth of this new planetary economic system has serious deductions for the nature and intent of educational establishments. As the half life of information continues to go and entree to information continues to turn more rapid, schools can non stay mere locales for the transmittal of a prescribed set of information from instructor to pupil over a fixed period of clip. Rather, schools must advance acquisition, in an illustration the acquisition of cognition and accomplishments that make possible uninterrupted acquisition over the life-time. Concerns over educational relevancy and quality coexist with the jussive mood of spread outing educational chances to those made most vulnerable by globalisation as an illustration, developing states in general, low-income groups, misss and adult females, and low-skilled workers in peculiar. Information and communicating engineerings which include wireless and telecasting, every bit good as newer digital engineerings such as computing machines and the Internet, have been touted as potentially powerful enabling tools for educational alteration and reform. When used suitably, different ICT are said to assist spread out entree to instruction, beef up the relevancy of instruction to the progressively digital workplace, and raise educational quality by, among others, assisting do instruction and larning into an engaging, active procedure connected to existent life. However, the experience of presenting different ICT in the schoolroom and other educational scenes all over the universe over the past several decennaries suggests that the full realisation of the possible educational benefits of ICT is non automatic. The effectual integrating of ICT into the educational system is a complex, multifaceted procedure that involves non merely engineering but so, given adequate initial capital, acquiring the engineering is the easiest portion but besides course of study and teaching method, institutional preparedness, instructor competences, and long-run funding, among others. Contentss ICT base for information and communicating engineerings and are defined, for the intents of this primer, as a diverse set of technological tools and resources used to pass on, and to make, circulate, shop, and manage information. These engineerings include computing machines, the Internet, airing engineerings, wireless, telecasting and telephone. In recent old ages at that place has been a land crestless wave of involvement in how computing machines and the Internet can best be harnessed to better the efficiency and effectivity of instruction at all degrees and in both formal and non-formal scenes. But ICT are more than merely these engineerings, but older engineerings such as the telephone, wireless and telecasting, although now given less attending, have a longer and richer history as instructional tools. For case, wireless and telecasting have for over 40 old ages been used for unfastened and distance acquisition, although print remains the cheapest, most accessible and hence most dominant bringing mechanism in both developed and developing states. The usage of computing machines and the Internet is still in its babyhood in developing states, if these are used at all, due to limited substructure and the attendant high costs of entree. Technology alterations quickly – and so make the particular tools available for instruction. As new engineerings are introduced, it is critical that their cost and impact in assorted educational state of affairss is exhaustively examined. While grounds shows that it is the existent application of the ICT tool that is the most of import determiner of its effectivity for educational intents, the pick of tools is rather big, and each tool has its ain advantages and disadvantages. Policy shapers and giver groups are frequently bombarded with information and surveies from sellers on the suitableness of their peculiar merchandises or services. As a consequence, there is a great demand for independent research on the rightness of specific ICT tools to assist run into educational ends. Radio and Television have been supplying educational scheduling in some states for many old ages. Many related new engineerings, including orbiter broadcast medium and multi-channel acquisition, have the possible to greatly increase entree to instruction. Today, the Internet is non widely available in most underdeveloped states, but new Internet engineerings and nomadic Internet Centre ‘s clasp promise for linking instructors, scholars, and communities. Furthermore, instruction has mostly contributed to an addition in developing cognition, supplying an enabling environment for invention and in edifice human capital required for a possible hereafter cognition economic system. Global reforms in instruction and disputing ICT demands have made a singular displacement in the construction of the enabling ICT environment and the use of ICT engineerings in instruction. Such engineerings have become the cardinal driver of the digital web in an epoch of technology-driven instruction. More schools and communities now have entree to ICT resources to fall in the planetary economic system with knowledge workers who have twenty-first century accomplishments and are inspired by life-long acquisition. ICT have great possible for cognition airing, effectual acquisition and the development of more efficient instruction services. Much attempt has been made towards the promotion of instruction and multi-literacies. However, it is by and large believed t hat ICT can authorise instructors and scholars, doing important parts to larning and accomplishment. Current research on the impacts of ICT on pupil accomplishment outputs few conclusive statements, pro or con, about the usage of ICTs in instruction. Surveies have shown that even in the most advanced schools in industrialised states, ICT are by and large non considered cardinal to the instruction and acquisition procedure. Furthermore, there appears to be a mismatch between methods used to mensurate effects and the type of larning promoted. You read "The Information And Communication Revolution Education Essay" in category "Essay examples" Standardized testing, for illustration, tends to mensurate the consequences of traditional instruction patterns, instead than new cognition and accomplishments related to the usage of ICT. It is clear that more research needs to be conducted to understand the complex links between ICT, acquisition, and accomplishment. Many of the issues and challenges associated with ICT in instruction enterprises are known by policy shapers, donor staff, and pedagogues. However, informations on the nature and complexness of these issues remains limited because of the deficiency of good monitoring and rating tools and procedures. Where rating informations is available much of the work is seen to endure from of import prejudices. Another job in this country is the deficiency of a common set of indexs for ICT in instruction. And, where information has been collected, it is frequently quantitative informations related to substructure, for illustration, figure of computing machines, instead than informations that can assist policy shapers gauge the impact of ICT intercessions on pupil acquisition. If ICT are to go effectual and built-in tools in instruction, and if answerability is to be demonstrated to givers and stakeholders, monitoring and rating must be a priority country of focal point. It is clear that there are equity issues related to the utilizations of ICT in instruction. There is a existent danger that uses of ICT can farther marginalise groups already excluded or on the border of educational patterns and inventions. On the other manus, with supportive policies and careful planning and monitoring, ICTs hold out the promise of easing greater inclusion of such groups. While there is much research on the impact of ICTs and marginalized groups in industrialised states, there has been limited research into these issues in developing states. There seems to be small inquiring, nevertheless, that ICTs by and large give penchant to schools and scholars in urban countries and in countries where bing substructure is the best. Research related to equity and ICT to day of the month has focused chiefly on entree to peculiar engineerings. Much less attending has been given to how specific types and utilizations of ICTs are related to equity issues. Besides than that, about the true costs of ICT in instruction, there have been few strict costs surveies, peculiarly in developing states. Given current budgetary and resource restraints, a widespread investing in ICT in instruction is likely non possible in most underdeveloped states. It is, hence, critically of import to better understand the costs and benefits associated with ICT types and utilizations in assorted educational state of affairss in order to efficaciously aim scarce resources. There is some grounds, for case, that computing machines may be most cost-efficient when placed in common countries such as libraries and teacher-training institutes. One of the most cost effectual utilizations of ICT in instruction may be their function in bettering organisational and systemic efficiencies, including battling corruptness. Distance instruction is frequently cited as a cost economy investing. Indeed, economic sciences of graduated table are accomplishable in distance instruction , although such plans typically require big up-front investings. Some of these costs may be shifted from the populace sector to the single users, but this in itself raises important equity and entree issues. Again, a thorough scrutiny of the true costs and benefits of distance instruction is required. Financing mechanisms for ICT in instruction enterprises are rather varied. Due to the high up-front costs and big recurrent costs, states and communities typically employ a great assortment of funding and cost recovery mechanisms. Public private partnerships and user fees are of import constituents of funding ICTs in instruction in many states, although more research is needed to find the impact and effectivity of these mechanisms. Even the usage of ICT in the schoolroom or in distance instruction does non decrease the function of the instructor ; neither does it automatically change learning patterns. Experience has shown that a assortment of support and enabling mechanisms must be implemented to optimise instructor usage of ICT. While traditional instructor leading accomplishments and patterns are still of import, instructors must besides hold entree to relevant, seasonably, and ongoing professional development. They must hold the clip and resources to research this new cognition base and develop new accomplishments. Support of school decision makers and, in some instances, the community, is critical if ICTs are to be used efficaciously. In add-on, instructors must hold equal entree to working computing machines or other engineerings and sufficient proficient support. Accessing information is the chief usage of ICTs in instruction. While ICT, and the Internet in peculiar, supply entree to a universe of educat ional resources, those resources are seldom in a format that makes them easy accessible and relevant to most instructors and scholars in developing states. Simply importing educational content through ICT is fraught with troubles, every bit good as inquiries of relevancy to local demands. Experience shows that unless electronic educational resources are straight related to the course of study, and to the appraisal methods used to measure educational results, ICT intercessions may non hold positive educational impacts. Furthermore, ICT can be of import drivers for educational reform. They can assist in anti-corruption attempts, assistance in decentalisation, and play a cardinal function in informations aggregation and analysis. Still, there are many policy inquiries around the usage of ICTs in instruction, non the least of which revolves around which portion of the authorities is responsible for such policies. Some of the cardinal policy inquiries revolve around entree, equity, finance, and best patterns in scaling-up. As a comparatively new field, there is no standard depository for bing ICTs in education-related national policies. And, it is clear that successful policy preparation requires audience with a diverse group of stakeholders, many of which may be outside of the traditional educational system. Inventions in engineering and new merchandises are introduced in the planetary market place at a much faster gait than most educational systems are able to utilize them efficaciously. This issue o f timing is an of import one as pedagogues and policymakers operate with an oculus to longer term educational ends. The advantages and disadvantages of ICT in instruction include a scope of elements such as – †¢ Giving to teacher opportunity to be after short, timed, tightly focussed activities. †¢ Planning activities across a figure of Sessionss to let sufficient clip for all students to take parts. †¢ Up to day of the month and existent universe engineering†¦ prepares the kids for the modern universe! †¢ Helps pupils research subjects they are analyzing utilizing a broad scope of beginnings other than merely book from their school library, †¢ Aids the students to acquire an penetration into engineerings that they may subsequently trust on in future life. †¢ Using word paperss it gives the students a opportunity to show their work in a manner that suits them. †¢ Word and printing paperss available for show work intents. There is besides a high advantage of ICT equipment helping students with larning troubles. By snaping on the word instance study the undermentioned nexus will take you to a instance survey on podcasts and the advantages of working with kids that have larning troubles and besides shown on the secondary instruction page. The undermentioned disadvantages give a list of aims that staff and facilitators may be required to cover with should jobs happen throughout utilizing the ICT equipment. †¢ Cost †¢ Training †¢ Distractions †¢ Reliability †¢ Damage †¢ Safety †¢ Choping †¢ Resources ( or deficiency of ) As you can see I have already listed disadvantages of ICT in instruction and all seem dearly-won. The initial equipment even though would be an investing and acquisition assistance is expensive. After the initial cost there is the fact of developing the staff/ facilitators to utilize the equipment right as bad use can do wrong learning to students. Besides coming under cost is damage, as, if the equipment gets amendss so the harm fix fees are required to acquire the equipment back up and running. Distractions such as the cyberspace, computing machine games and electronic mail are besides a large disadvantage. Then we come onto safety and hacking that is discussed on the safety page. Decision In decisions, the modern coevals schoolchildren are turning up in an environment where information and communicating engineerings are embracing about all country of their lives. It is the duty of authorities to fix pupils with the accomplishments and cognition they will necessitate to take control of their digital hereafters. Therefore, it is of topmost importance for instructors to incorporate ICT into the course of study. This essay will discourse the great benefits ICT have on kid acquisition and besides explore the current way in which instructors can incorporate ICTs into the schoolroom. Using ICTs in instruction develops the needful skills a kid needs to utilize computing machines and other engineerings. However, ICT provide a instruction scheme that engages the scholar. ICT can make an exciting manner to show information to pupils and due to the fact that ICTs engages the scholar it allows the pupil to larn more. Another great positive of utilizing ICTs in primary schooling is that it addresses the fact that each pupil has different larning abilities. ICT allows pupils to stand out in their country of A‘intelligence, for illustration a kid who has spacial intelligence but has trouble in written look can demo their acquisition procedure through sound and images. The usage of ICT is besides good to a kid ‘s acquisition because it covers the four cardinal learning countries which are active battle, group, interaction and connexion with the existent universe. As I mentioned earlier ICTs prosecute the scholar, nevertheless, they can besides affect extended g roup work and interaction with both pupils and ICT equipment. ICTs play a cardinal usage in society ; hence, they give kids a existent universe connexion. This besides gives pupils aim in scholar because they are utilizing engineerings that they will necessitate to. How to cite The Information And Communication Revolution Education Essay, Essay examples

Grade school book report free essay sample

Tom Sawyer The young protagonist of the novel. Living with his aunt St. Petersburg, Missouri, Tom has a penchant for adventure and showing off. Constantly getting into mischief, he plays hooky from school and would rather go swimming than tend to his Sunday school lessons. Blessed with an active imagination, Tom dreams to be a noble robber such as Robin Hood or a pirate. Hungry for attention, Tom is obsessed with appearing noble and obtaining the envy of his peers. However, Tom is extremely clever and possesses an incredible insight on human nature. Throughout the novel, Tom must learn to listen to his conscience and become accountable for his actions. Huckleberry Finn The towns social pariah. Son of an abusive and drunkard father who left town, Huck has failed to have been raised with any parental guidance or authority figures. Because he can smoke a pipe and never has to attend church or school, he is the envy of every schoolboy and the nightmare of every mother in town. Huck and Tom often have adventures and both believe in various superstitions. Although disregarded by the sociables, Huck possesses a kind spirit and consideration for others. Aunt Polly Toms somewhat elderly aunt and guardian. Religious, simple-mannered, and kind-hearted, Aunt Polly is respected among the citizens of St. Petersburg. Responsible for Toms discipline and upbringing, Aunt Polly is constantly torn between expressing her exasperation and showing her lover for Tom. Every time he causes trouble, another hair on her head turns gray; she often wishes Tom would behave properly like his brother, Sid. Sid Sawyer Toms younger half-brother. Always trying to tattle on Tom, Sid keeps a close on eye his brothers wrongdoings. A goody-two-shoes, he is a punctual and studious pupil. Mary Toms older cousin who resides with Aunt Polly. Mary is depicted as a sweet and good-hearted young lady who sees the good qualities in Toms character. Religious and pious, Mary was an exceptional student  ¬ the opposite of Tom. Becky Thatcher The daughter of Judge Thatcher. Becky is Toms age and has recently moved into town. Prim and proper, Becky is the opposite of Tom: she has never been in trouble and is used to obeying her mothers words. With blonde hair and dressy frocks, she quickly wins Toms affection and attention. Injun Joe The antagonist of the novel. Guilty of several murders, Injun Joe possess a violent temperament is set on seeking revenge on those who have treated him harshly in the past. He attempts to frame Muff Potter for one of his own crimes and is pursued by the village authorities. Muff Potter The town drunk who is framed for the murder of Dr. Robinson. Although his kind nature and drunken state make him harmless, Potter is persecuted by the entire town that believes that he is a murderer. Mr. Jones/Old Welshman The old Welshman who lives with his two strong sons in the vicinity of Widow Douglass house. With Hucks help, the Welshman is able to come to the widows aide. Widow Douglas A rich, upper-class widow. With a kind spirit and a devotion to the Christian faith, the widow Douglas is known for her open hospitality and good nature. She also appears as a major character in Twains The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Dr. Robinson The young doctor, guilty of grave robbing, whose murder instigates the chaotic happenings in St. Petersburg. Joe Harper Toms bosom friend. One of Toms gang of pirates, Joe accompanies Tom on some of his adventures. Mrs. Harper Joes mother Amy Lawrence Tom Sawyers former girlfriend, whom he occasionally flirts with and was previously engaged to. Minor Characters: Judge Thatcher Beckys father. A proud and well-respected man of justice, whose family has recently moved into town. Mrs. Thatcher Beckys mother, wife of the Judge. Alfred Temple A well-dressed boy whom Tom thinks is snobby. Alfred also vies for Becky Thatchers attention. Mr. Dobbins The schoolmaster. Hated by all the children, Mr. Dobbins is depicted as a stern and pathetic man who uses lashings as a method of discipline. Mr. Walter The Sunday School Superintendent who issues Bibles to the top students. Mr. Sprague The long-winded minister. Ben Rogers A young boy who is Toms friend. Setting The Adventures of Tom Sawyer is set in the town of St. Petersburg, Missouri, some time around the middle of the nineteenth century Biography of the Author Born on November 30, 1835, in Florida, Missouri, Samuel L. Clemens wrote under the pen name Mark Twain and went on to pen several novels, including two major classics of American literature, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. He was also a riverboat pilot, journalist, lecturer, entrepreneur and inventor. Twain died in Redding, Connecticut on April 21, 1910, having survived his children Langdon, Susan and Jean as well as his wife, Olivia. In his lifetime, he became a distinguished member of the literati, and was honored by Yale, the University of Missouri, and Oxford with literary degrees. Conflict Man vs. man Tom and Huck perceive their biggest struggle to be between themselves and Injun Joe, whose gold they want and whom they believe is out to kill them. Conflict also exists between Tom and his imaginative world and the expectations and rules of adult society. Moral of the Story Moral and Social Maturity When the novel opens, Tom is engaged in and often the organizer of childhood pranks and make-believe games. As the novel progresses, these initially consequence-free childish games take on more and more gravity. Tom leads himself, Joe Harper, Huck, and, in the cave, Becky Thatcher into increasingly dangerous situations. He also finds himself in tight spots in which he must put his concern for others above his concern for himself, such as when he takes Becky’s punishment and when he testifies at Injun Joe’s trial. As Tom begins to take initiative to help others instead of himself, he shows his increasing maturity, competence, and moral integrity. Tom’s adventures to Jackson’s Island and McDougal’s Cave take him away from society. These symbolic removals help to prepare him to return to the village with a new, more adult outlook on his relationship to the community. Though early on Tom looks up to Huck as much older and wiser, by the end of the novel, Tom’s maturity has surpassed Huck’s. Tom’s personal growth is evident in his insistence, in the face of Huck’s desire to flee all social constraints, that Huck stay with the Widow Douglas and become civilized. Point of View Third Person (Omniscient) the narrator does not participate in the action of the story as one of the characters, but lets us know exactly how the characters feel. As a narrator, Twain cannot only see what his characters are seeing and thinking, but he is able to channel their personalities.