Explain the Importance of Carbon Taxes for the Airline Industry

Explain the Importance of carbon taxes for the airline industry. Can Ryanair and British Airways respond in the same way? What is â€Å"Carbon Tax†? In the past, polluting was free. Generating pollution has a cost, which is a cost on earth natural environment, our economy and earth way of life. A Carbon Tax changes this. Instead of being able to pollute for free, polluters must pay for a price for every tone of carbon pollution is created. How does â€Å"Carbon Tax† affect the flight industry? Industry must factor in the cost of carbon pollution in the business, just as flight companies factor in flight building and labor cost.Carbon tax has a great deal of importance in the airline industry. In 2008 the EU passed legislation to include aviation in the ETS. This means that from January 2012, overall CO 2 emissions of the aviation industry have been capped: Operators emitting more than their allocated amount of CO 2 will need to reduce emissions or – more likely à ¢â‚¬â€œ procure extra allowances. Therefore all operators flying to and from the EU will have to surrender one allowance for every tone of CO 2 emitted on a flight to and from (and within) Europe. The challenges of the ETS for airlines go beyond the immediate legal obligations.The costs for emission allowances will effectively introduce an additional commodity price risk into an operator's business strategy. Costs per passenger will increase but whether these costs can be passed through to customers depends upon the competitive position of the company compared with other operators. Increased ticket prices may reduce air travel and bring the substitution effect – Some passengers will choose not to fly as a result of increased fares and may divert to alternative modes of transportation. How does British Airways response to Carbon Tax?British Airways, the first airline to start a carbon offset scheme back in 2005, has gone live with an upgraded, user-friendly scheme that will en able passengers to offset the emissions from their flight in a one-click process at the time of booking online. British Airways suggests that airline passengers should pay carbon tax to combat climate change. By looking at the responses and speeches from management team of British Airways, the company was putting out the â€Å"green† message, and to engage with customers on the environmental issue. Carbon tax also drove British Airways to find new ways to reduce carbon pollution.For instance, 60 flights to the United States from British Airways will experiment with using Global positioning system (GPS) to track more direct routes and smooth take-offs and landings to avoid wasting fuel. Quicker landings also avoid keeping flight in holding patterns, which has unwanted pollution effects. As aviation companies grapple with high jet fuel prices, the search for alternatives to petroleum will keep British Airways focused on alternative sources of energy in order to remain competiti ve. How does Ryanair response to Carbon Tax? Ryanair has a â€Å"no frills† business strategy, with low cost, high efficiency and low price strategy.Rayanair opposed the scheme when carbon tax was levied in 2012. The former head of communications, Stephen McNamara claimed that the continuation of this eco-loony tax would damage traffic, tourism, European competitiveness and job opportunities. And Rayanair believes that they are already the greenest in the industry. The price response to the ETS has been for airlines to add surcharges to the cost of flights. Within the Europe, the company has announced a surcharge of 25p per passenger per one-way flight. In theory the ETS should be less burdensome on efficient operators such as Ryanair.However, the ETS will always represent an additional cost to airlines, and this is likely to be the reason for the opposition of Rayanair to the scheme. Conclusion A carbon tax will spur an airline to be more energy efficient. Efficiency is the foundation of Ryanair’s business strategy. Ryanair already hammer costs at every turn, get as much as they can out of their staff and equipment and provide nothing they don’t have to for passengers as they’re paying for the trip alone and not the experiences. Ryanair has plenty of plans up their sleeve to get even more from their ‘assets’ and tackle reduced emissions.The likes of removing one or two more toilets from each plane to make way for extra seats, widening the doors on planes to allow passengers to disembark in twos to shortening the turn-around time at airports. There are also talks of having a standing area on flights. These are just some of the increased efficiencies that Ryanair use as a response to a cap on emissions. British Airways and Ryanair are targeted to different market segments. The target market of British Airways is more like loyalty customer who would care about brand image.In the totally opposite way for Ryanair, their tar get market is more like price- sensitivity. However British Airways offer the international airlines, and the price of the carbon tax affected by the airway distance, as one of the biggest international airline company, who conscious of their brand image embraced the costs they felt are necessary for the environment. To make sure the company would have a position in the market, the ways that British Airways responses to carbon tax are more likely in long-term strategies, instead of dealing with the price competition.

Plc Scada Panel

Octopi: Extra at actual to your account Extra at Actual Services: We have not included any site services in our present scope. Any service required at site will be charged (@ RSI. 7000/- man-day. In Iambi & Out of Iambi @ RSI 15,000/- man-day )Travel & Lodging for such visit will be to your account. Service tax will be charged @ 12. 36 % shall be levied. Any change in service tax will be to your account. Warranty: The offered equipment in the scope of supply of this contract shall be under warranty for a period of 12 months from date of dispatch.Validity: Delivery: 20 days from the date mentioned, unless extended by us in writing 3-4 weeks from date of receipt of techno commercial clear POP. Industry Scada Industry Web Studio is a powerful, integrated collection of automation tools that includes all the building blocks required to develop modern Human Machine Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition System (SCADA) applications Interfaces that run (HIM),and native on environment. A si mple drag-and-drop, point-and-click development environment lets you mimic the most complex behavior of your live processes. Industry Web Studio is the ideal E-Automation solution in the industry FEATURES Includes over 250 communication drivers Supports OPAC (Build-in OPAC server & client) Supports various PC Control Packages Uses real-time graphical interface to develop industrial automation, instrumentation, and embedded systems Publishes real-time dynamic and animated graphic screens, trends, alarms, reports, and recipes to standard browsers Allows data exchange between wireless and mobile devices Supports multi-dimensional interface in the Web Thin Client environment Create stand-alone and Web applications from he same development environment applications running on Windows NT, 2000, XP, CE, CE .NET, VISTA or on the Web Integrates seamlessly with Windows desktop applications (such as Microsoft Word and Excel); interfaces with other third-party packages such as Java, C, C++, and Visual Basic applications from a common Web Browser (such as Microsoft Internet Explorer or Netscape) through the Internet/leant and exchange data with a server using a TCP/IP protocol Provides online configuration, debugging, and remote application management capabilities Provides extensive placement support tools such as codes, Database Spy, and Logging Contains a powerful, flexible tags database with Boolean, Real, String, and Array tags, classes, message register, error codes, event and indirect pointers Provides regulation Advanced math library has more than 100 standard functions Programming is via flexible and easy-to-use scripting language Provides multi-level security for applications, including use over Intranets and Internet.Conforms to industry standards such as Microsoft DNA, OPAC, DE, ODBC, XML, and Active Provides automatic language translation at runtime Allows internationalization using Unicode the tools to configure applications in conformance with the FDA 21 CRY p art 11 Industry Web Studio compliance with US FDA 21 CUFF part 11 Regulation-For food and Beverage Industry Web Studio (IIS) provides application, tools, features and functionality intended to help regulated industries achieve and maintain compliance with 21 CUFF. IIS has sophisticated security features which complemented

Amity Centre for eLearning Essay

Mr. Sreenivas (55) working as manager in Alfa Chemicals, a large scale industrial establishment engaged in the production of Phosphate and Sulphur. He has 30 years of experience in Alfa Chemicals. He has an excellent track record as Manager Human Resources within the organization. Many times he got ‘best  employer award’ to performance excellence. His area of expertise in recruitment and selection process, and performance appraisal has been widely acknowledged. The Information Technology division of Alfa Chemicals industry once faced acute shortage of manpower. Mr. Raj, Manager IT division put forward an immediate requirement of 10 employees in the IT division, to HR department, starting from junior level to senior level. As and when Mr. Sreenivas got the letter from Mr. Raj, in his department, he started processing of it. To get it done, he approached many sources. He had gone through the data bank of company and considered 100 resumes for recruitment from it. He also informed the employees and employers of the organization, in their respective departmental notice board, showing the immediate requirement of 10 employees to facilitate the internal recruitment procedures. From the employees and employers of Alfa Chemicals he got around 150 applications with resumes. In addition to that in order to give an opportunity to candidates’ external to the organization he floated an advertisement in several daily news papers viz., Times of India, Sakal, and Indian Express. From external sources he got around 350 applications. Almost 600 candidates, including internal and external applicants, applied for 10 vacant posts. To ensure the reliability and dependability of the process, Sreenivas made his personal scrutiny at all levels, in the recruitment and selection process. Since the entire department function as a team in HR, all the members trust each other and extended their valuable contribution in the recruitment and selection. The department conducted a preliminary interview in order to made first  screening process and filter the number of applicants. After the first screening process the HR department reduced the number of applicant list from 600 to 500 applicants. He conducted a written test and group discussion and there by further reduces the number of applicants to 300. These 300 candidates then exposed to one hour psychometric test and out of which 50 candidates selected for the final interview. From the final interview, 10 candidates finally selected. The entire process of recruitment and selection took almost 3 months. The selected candidates list then forwarded to the top management for the final approval. HR department informed the candidates that the appointment letters will be sent to those who are selected for the post. Sreenivas approached several time to the top management about to get final approval of list of candidates for the IT department. Sreenivas informed the IT department also that the delay in the final list announcement as the top  management take some more time. He waited almost 4 weeks. But, no reply at all. Mr. Raj, the IT manager every day enquired about the latest information about the final list of the candidates and tentative date of induction. Sreenivas faced the difficulty to make any comment on the subject as there was no information from the top management. HR department had to answer many phone calls from out side and inside the organization, as recruitment involved candidates from inside and outside. The employers and employees of the industry, whose relatives got into the final selection process, became regular visitors of the HR department, asking for the finalist. Sreenivas called a meeting of HR team members and once again made a close verification of the entire process. But he couldn’t find any fault in any of the recruitment and selection process. As the time went on he became more suspicious about the delay in the announcement of the result. When the problem becomes so crucial Sreenivas got direction from the top management to meet Mr. Kartik, General Manager, one of the top officials in the organization. Mr.Kartik asked the entire process of recruitment and selection that made on IT professionals. Sreenivas furnished the entire details of the process in a precise report. Mr. Kartik read the entire  report and soon after made a direct comment that the recruitment and selection process that for IT professionals need to be cancelled as he observed some discrepancies in the process made by his department. He further directed Sreenivas that the vacancies have to be filled through contract basis and no permanent vacancies to be made in these positions, for one year. Further he informed Sreenivas that another recruitment process to be done from external candidates applied and no internal application to be entertained. Sreenivas couldn’t agree with the Mr. Kiran comment on his department’s inefficiency in the recruitment and selection process. For a while he thought about quitting the organization, as he faced a baseless allegation from the top management. Till date there is no black mark in his functional dissemination. On many occasion he helped the industry to find out best possible solutions in order to tackle the many manpower crisis. Sreenivas became so depressed and felt quiet unhappy about the decision taken by the management. Mr. Sreenivas called an urgent meeting of his subordinates and communicated the management decision and directives. He shared with the team members that the management had greater dissatisfaction on the recruitment and selection process done by the department. He enquired that any one made any mistake in the  process. All members denied the probability of any mistake. As there were clear norms and regulations related to each step and there was no dual command, they found no possibility of creeping errors in the selection process. In the meeting he informed his subordinates that the management freezes the appointment process for IT professionals and asked for external recruitment on contract basis. It was shocking news to members. They asked several questions to get a proper clarification from Sreenivas. As Mr. Sreenivas himself unaware of the reasons behind management decision, he informed his subordinate his inability to give a proper reply in this regard. Sreenivas also informed this matter to Mr. Raj. During the evening hours, in the same day, Sreenivas got a call from Mr. George, one of his senior-level Managers, with whom he had friendly and informal relationship. Mr. George asked Srinivas to come to his cabin. As per the call Mr.  Sreenivas met George in his cabin. George enquired about his family and many unofficial matters in the informal interaction. Half an hour later, Mr. George enquired about the recruitment and selection process of IT professionals. He shared with George all those things happened with top management. Leaving aside the informal interaction, George initiated formal discussion with Sreenivas. He told Sreenivas that the selected list of IT professionals consisted two names, Mr. Avdesh and Mr. Praveen, they are the relatives of two trade union leaders of the organization. The management felt that being the relatives of two trade union leaders, in the long run, they could be a threat to organization. It may create an image that the trade unions still have a control over the decision making process in organization. Further, the hold of trade union may expand if this selection process materializes. Mr. Geroge informed Sreenivas that management didn’t have any doubt about the dependability and exactness of the recruitment processes that HR departmentr did. George further informed Sreenivas that as per the intimation from top management he called Mr. Sreenivas and briefed about the undercurrents of this episode. The entire news was shocking to Mr. Sreenivas. He didn’t know that the management decision had this much of undercurrents. After hearing entire story Sreenivas become so silent and returned to his cabin. While sitting inside his cabin, he made a silent comment that, â€Å"what a useless effort. Questions 1. What are the undercurrents of selection process in Alfa Chemicals? 2. How management decision justifies management effort in the maintenance of harmonious industrial relation? 3. Do you believe that as HR Manager, Mr. Sreenivas failed to gather direct and indirect information about the candidates? 4. How ‘cancellation of appointment’ decision that affect the moral of organizational members? 5. How you interpret the dilemma of HR managers have to face in such kind of situations. 6. What would be your decision if you have to face such situation? 7. Do you believe that trade unions have ‘quota’ in appointments? 8. How the decision affect the reduction of wastages and improvement of resources. 9. Is the decision reflecting management fear towards trade union or inability to develop a congenial industrial relationship within the organization? 10. How you interpret the silence of Mr. Sreenivas?

Dying to be Thin Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Dying to be Thin - Assignment Example old Erin, who starved herself, under the illusion that she was fat and ugly, even when she was way below her normal weight and at the verge of death due to malnutrition. In Chapter 6, Jennifer Schmid, who is a victim of another form of anorexia, is unable to balance diet and workout. She eats well but burns a lot more, while exercising, than what she is capable of consuming. And in Chapter 7, we see Anne Chavarro, who suffers from Bulimia, taking to purging to keep up with her binge eating habits. What surprised me the most, was the fact that these eating disorders possessed the power to make human beings capable of withstanding all emotional and physical hardships or of resorting to extremely unpleasant methods like purging or of even putting themselves through starvation which is the worst a human body could suffer, just to be extremely thin. The victims seemed only too pleased about having a disease which left them a subject of admiration, even if it came with a death warrant. Towards the end of Chapter 2, Dr. Joan Jacobs Brumberg, talks about cases of anorexia recorded in history, of women who lived hundreds of years ago. She opines that the common theme in those instances is that those women were using the appetite to express different things, depending upon their historical situation. In Chapter 1, we learn about how Katey Tracey starved herself in a desperate attempt to be accepted by her teacher as the best dancer in her group. Eleena Melamed, another ballet dancer, talks out in Chapter 5, about what led her to anorexia. Her story matches more or less with that of Katey Tracey. It could be said that they were expressing their need to be accepted and admired. Erin, who felt lonely and insecure when her mother had to stay away for a year, took to starvation, to become thin and look glamorous, in order to attract the attention of those around her. She also admits to have been sexually harassed, which added to her feeling of insecurity. Here, she is

Media Literacy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Media Literacy - Essay Example The article under study is a news article taken from the Daily Star February 12, 2007 issue which is entitled â€Å"The Jet Seat that Spots Terrorists.† There are different points that can be considered essential in the analysis of the article such as the motive of the writer, the credibility of the story and the target audience from whom a reaction and empathy is expected. One of the main points that can be considered evident in the story is the importance given to the effects of the issue related to terrorism. In the title, the word â€Å"terrorists† can obviously be viewed and catch attention. Due to the use of the issue against terrorism, the article can be perceived to present propaganda on the capability of the technology being introduced and presented which is either related to the jet seat feature, the airline company or the cooperation of the airline industry in the fight for terrorism. The latter reason being related to the fact that airlines are commonly the main tool of the terrorists in posing threat to the safety of the population. Another feature of the story is the attractive description of the capabilities of the technology being applied. This can catch the interest and attention of the population since high level technology with prototype features can almost be considered as a fiction and fantasy turned reality for the members of the public. If an ordinary citizen or even a person with a high level of interest in technology would read the news, the first reaction would probably be an expression of excitement due to the continuous development of technology and even a sense of satisfaction since safety can be improved if a need for air travel is undertaken. The features of the said technology is stressed including the sensitivity to movement and sound with less limitation in terms of sensitivity in capturing possible hints of terrorism and other crimes. The exploration of the importance

Personal statement of UC application Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Of UC application - Personal Statement Example Although I still consider myself a young person, I have been fortunate enough to have had the opportunity to spend an entire summer interning for my father’s real estate firm in mainland China; performing the job responsibilities of an accountant. While in China, I was able to learn the rudimentary elements of basic business accounting while at the same time becoming accustomed to the Chinese laws that governed its implementation. There is no doubt that I have a great deal of further knowledge to be gained in this field by pursuing a major in accounting; furthermore, I am intrigued by the ways in which the lessons I learn from my education will be amenable to better performing accounting with relation to Chinese firms or American firms. Likewise, what intrigued me about this particular line of work was the precision that it involved. As opposed to many career choices I could make, accounting provides me with the rare opportunity to leverage my superior skills and intuition with mathematics alongside my interest in the law and how it governs financial regulation and actions within a firm or organization. Additionally, while working during my internship I noticed that I had the unique ability to concentrate and focus in a way that allowed me to handle complex levels of information. Additionally, once back within the United States, I began to work in my father’s Tea Shop managing the accounts and keeping the books for the business. Although this is the epitome of a small business and not nearly as complex as the skills that I will learn with relation to the degree I am pursuing, this experience has also taught me the overall importance of precision and certainty when dealing with the financial aspects of management as they relate to accounting. Although I have been fortunate to have a father that has entrusted me with such important tasks, I would very much like to grow beyond this and master the skills

Homeland security Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Homeland security - Assignment Example Secondly, since the department is faced with the challenge of shrinking resources, taking an all-hazards approach will help address this problem. Although critics of the all-hazards approach have pointed to resource availability as a major restraining factor, a closer analysis reveals the opposite. This is because a single comprehensive program for responding to all types of disasters will be developed as opposed to having separate capabilities for the different disasters (Canada, 2003). Such a unified approach will help eliminate bureaucracy, and ensure that all relevant bodies across all the states work in harmony. This is well captured in the DHS’s 2012 strategic plan where it is recommended that an integrated approach to disaster management should be adopted. This can be effectively achieved through sharing of information with federal, state and local partners, including the private sector as well as international partners. Finally, the DHS is capable of handling all types of disasters if relevant local and regional structures are put in place. Through this, it will be easy to identify and deal with threats of all kinds in good time. Since homeland security is more than terrorism, the DHS must enhance its capacities and deal with all forms of hazards. As noted in the article by Christopher Bellavita (2008), homeland security goes beyond terrorism. This requires bringing all stakeholders on

Is Everything an Argument Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Is Everything an Argument - Essay Example Several types of argument exist based on the nature and type of the argument. In response to the different social issues, the argument may be classified as forensic, deliberative or ceremonial. Arguments trying to verify or elaborate on the issues of the past are viewed as forensic audit of the past and it involved the explanation of events in the past that may influence and alter the present situations. The presentation of idea will facilitate the development of understanding of the situation while also developing an argument on the idea (Casey, 2012). Forensic arguments are common while explaining issues that occurred in the past such as the women's liberation struggles. In addition, the forensic argument is vital in the creation of chronology of events. The article by Benedict Carey touches on issues that pertains to the effect of gay parenting on the child development and deals with major issues that affect the development of understanding and control of the children. The argumen t by the author is based deliberation. The study of effect of gay marriage on child development is a debatable issue in the society. The author addresses the issues by deliberating within the ideal and the coming situation and addressing the issues via elaboration studies conducted. In the community, several issues need to be deliberated upon in order to develop the necessary conclusion. Deliberation arguments are based on the findings of the research and develop several understanding of the situation. According to article by Carey, the major issues affecting the cognitive development of the children are in the nature of the family set up. According to him, same sex marriage brings creates a non-conducive environment for the children leading to sociological problems in later life (Casey, 2012). The deliberation is supported by several other findings which are stipulated by Casey. In the analysis of the essay, it is evident that the author is relying on the creation of an argument to dispel personal opinion as well as the development of new ideas about the whole situation. In defining the argument several factors are established creating an atmosphere of deliberation as the reader studies the article. Such deliberations are present in other articles with the main objective of passing the information across and creating a perceived conclusion on the document. However, several other arguments exist in writing that are employed or the sole purpose of explanation without offering any guidance or opportunity to address the issues. Such writings are present but will always take the view of the author and can be viewed in the manner of presentation taken by the author.

Mechanical Engineering- Mechanical Project Essay

Mechanical Engineering- Mechanical Project - Essay Example Other than strength and stiffness of materials, other properties like electrical conductivity could become essential when making material selection. The desired function of the intended structure remains the leading elements providing a guideline of material properties. When desired material properties cannot be achieved within any natural material, engineers must construct materials meeting the required structural properties. This includes combining different materials to produce a unique material having the desired chemical and physical properties. This combination of material could be attributed to the development of reinforcement technology utilised in changing properties of materials to meet structural requirements. In metallic materials, the combination of different materials, creating alloys continues to be utilised in enhancing strength of metallic elements. Steel, for example, remains a common utilised material for many engineering structures. The constituents of steel inclu de iron and carbon at different ratios, depending on the desired material strength. Iron remains a material prone to rusting and combination with carbon reduces the rusting property, attributed to iron. Composites could be described as materials made from a combination of materials having different physical and chemical properties, to produce a material with unique properties. The individual properties of the constituent materials become dissolved and the developed material exhibits independent properties (Waterman 2007). Different composites exist within the engineering industry,

Qatar Science and Technology Park Outline Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Qatar Science and Technology Park - Outline Example It has recently amended the investment law to draw greater foreign investment into non-energy areas of the economy, including the financial sector, petrochemicals and tourism, and to target foreign acquisition opportunities that could assist this diversification strategy. In early 2010, the new investment law was implemented, opening up a range of new sectors to majority foreign participation. Investment in small and medium-sized enterprises is particularly encouraged. Part of the Qatar’s policy for the next 3 years, the government is expected to maintain high levels of capital spending on education, health and transport. Growth will benefit from high levels of investment in the hydrocarbons sector, but will be dampened by imports needed to develop Qatar’s energy facilities and upgrade its infrastructure. The transition of the country from a carbon economy to a knowledge economy (Qatar Foundation, 2011) has been permanently promoted and encouraged by Qatar Foundation, an organization founded in 1995 by the Ruler of Qatar (HH Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani), with the purpose to unlock the human capital (Qatar Foundation, 2011), combine the country’s natural resources with the ability to use them at their best by creating knowledgeable and progressive people. For this purpose and in order to follow its vision and mission, Qatar Foundation gives a special attention to the Education and Science & Research areas. It is a purpose to encourage knowledge and study to materialize into new ideas, creating development, growth and recognition. Qatar Science and Technology Park is part of this Science & Research ambitious plan. Located in Qatar Foundation’s Education City, it is operational since 2004 and it is meant to be a world hub for applied research, innovation and entrepreneurship (Qatar Science and Technology Park,

The role of the media within the British political system Essay

The role of the media within the British political system - Essay Example There is a relationship between mass media and society as there is the view that the media are part of democracy since they are themselves a 'free' institution. The media assist the working of a democratic system through facilitating free speech and unrestricted public debate. However, some who believe that the media are anti-democratic argues this with their power to manipulate the way people think about politics. With these two notions in mind, I think that this demonstrates the overall power of the mass media, since they can either set people's minds against the political system or help to generate popular support for it. The mass media refers to all those forms of communication where large numbers of people are exposed to an identical message. The mass media provide the ideas and images, which help most people to understand the world they live in and their place in that world. (Coxall 2003, 1-22). Along with politicians, the public, parties and other organizations, the media play a crucial role in structuring and widening political debate in Britain so that issues such as environment, law and order, or the state of the public services receive attention and are addressed by the government. Television programmes have to compete with each other in order to gain more viewers and readers. They therefore have to make their programmes more attractive to the viewer so there is usually a tendency to make the news more attractive by treating it as entertainment rather than serious news. This may explain why some newspapers are bought more than others because the popular papers provide the public with what they want to read. In terms of a free market, these papers will thrive, while unpopular and unread papers will struggle, with perhaps valid information regarding... Television programs have to compete with each other in order to gain more viewers and readers. They, therefore, have to make their programs more attractive to the viewer so there is usually a tendency to make the news more attractive by treating it as entertainment rather than serious news. This may explain why some newspapers are bought more than others because the popular papers provide the public with what they want to read. In terms of a free market, these papers will thrive, while unpopular and unread papers will struggle, with perhaps valid information regarding communities going unread. Newspapers can be helpful, 'Children achieve more success in early reading skills if they have experience with books and other print media and were read to as preschoolers.' (Comstock, 1991). In England, we value the freedom of the press. The press is the one place where most people go to get educated on issues facing their community, city and most of all their country. Everyone knows that the media plays a major role in people's lives; however, their role of gatekeeper is not completely understood. The press decides which issues to report and how to report them. In order to improve the society and country we live in, I think that the media should present their unbiased findings to allow people to make up their own minds. However, this is not the case. The media often shows it bias. Their widespread exposure enables them to communicate their ideas to the public, regardless of the public's responsiveness.

High school Essay Example for Free

High school Essay * Literacy is a human right, a tool of personal empowerment and a means for social and human development. Educational opportunities depend on literacy. Literacy is at the heart of basic education for all, and essential for eradicating poverty, reducing child mortality, curbing population growth, achieving gender equality and ensuring sustainable development, peace and democracy. (Why Is Literacy Important? UNESCO, 2010) * The notion of basic literacy is used for the initial learning of reading and writing which adults who have never been to school need to go through. The term functional literacy is kept for the level of reading and writing which adults are thought to need in modern complex society. Use of the term underlines the idea that although people may have basic levels of literacy, they need a different level to operate in their day-to-day lives. (David Barton, Literacy: An Introduction to the Ecology of Written Language, 2nd ed. WileyBlackwell, 2006) * To acquire literacy is more than to psychologically and mechanically dominate reading and writing techniques. It is to dominate those techniques in terms of consciousness; to understand what one reads and to write what one understands: it is to communicate graphically. Acquiring literacy does not involve memorizing sentences, words or syllableslifeless objects unconnected to an existential universebut rather an attitude of creation and re-creation, a self-transformation producing a stance of intervention in ones context. (Paulo Freire, Education for Critical Consciousness. Sheed Ward, 1974) * There is hardly an oral culture or a predominantly oral culture left in  the world today that is not somehow aware of the vast complex of powers forever inaccessible without literacy. (Walter J. Ong, Orality and Literacy: The Technologizing of the Word. Methuen, 1982) * We expect the contradictory and the impossible. . . . We expect to be inspired by mediocre appeals for excellence, to be made literate by illiterate appeals for literacy. (Daniel J. Boorstin, The Image: A Guide to Pseudo-Events in America, 1961) * Women and Literacy In the history of women, there is probably no matter, apart from contraception, more important than literacy. With the advent of the Industrial Revolution, access to power required knowledge of the world. This could not be gained without reading and writing, skills that were granted to men long before they were to women. Deprived of them, women were condemned to stay home with the livestock, or, if they were lucky, with the servants. (Alternatively, they may have been the servants. ) Compared with men, they led mediocre lives. In thinking about wisdom, it helps to read about wisdomabout Solomon or Socrates or whomever. Likewise, goodness and happiness and love. To decide whether you have them, or want to make the sacrifices necessary to get them, it is useful to read about them. Without such introspection, women seemed stupid; therefore, they were considered unfit for education; therefore, they weren’t given an education; therefore they seemed stupid. (Joan Acocella, Turning the Page. Review of The Woman Reader by Belinda Jack [Yale University Press, 2012]. The New Yorker, October 15, 2012) * From the website of California Literacy, Inc. The literacy rate in the US has many educators in search of answers about this problem that has plagued our country for decades. Instead of decreasing, the numbers of literacy has steadily increased over the years. This raises a lot of questions about our education system, how it is ran, and why there is such a problem with illiterate people in our country. 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Icon Lower Case 6. literacy definition and examples of literacy * Advertise on About. com * Our Story * News Events * SiteMap * All Topics * Reprints * Help * Write for About * Careers at About * User Agreement * Ethics Policy * Patent Info. * Privacy Policy * Your Ad Choices  ©2013 About. com. All rights reserved. The Greatest Literacy Challenges Facing Contemporary High School Teachers: Implications for Secondary Teacher Preparation Mary B. Campbell Saint Xavier University Margaret M. Kmiecik Saint Xavier University Secondary teachers face significant challenges in their efforts to increase the literacy levels of adolescents. Encouraging teachers to speak out about these challenges and to recommend initiatives that may improve literacy practices for adolescents is vital for future reform efforts. This study examines the questions: What are the greatest literacy challenges facing high school content area teachers? and What will help to diminish these challenges? The data collection questionnaire was distributed to teachers in eight high schools throughout the greater Chicago area. A discussion of the findings suggests compelling directions for secondary teachers and teacher educators. 2 Reading Horizons, 2004, 4, (1) WHILE SEVERAL REFORMS in higher education teacher preparation have made a difference in more teachers being highly prepared and qualified (Smylie, Bay, Tozer, 1999), preparing teachers to meet the literacy demands of secondary students still remains inadequate. Improving literacy learning in our nations high schools needs serious elevation as an educational priority at all levels. The 2002 NAEP (National Association for Educational Progress) Report indicates that 36 percent of students in grade 12 performed at a proficient level, indicating that only a little over one-third of our nations high school seniors can understand challenging material (Feller, 2003). This was a decline in performance from 1998 when the NAEP reported the percentage of seniors who performed at the proficient level as 40 percent (U. S. Department of Education, 1999). Additionally the 1998 report states that no more than 6 percent of the adolescents performed at the advanced level which demonstrates students ability to analyze and extend the meaning of the materials they read. The NAEP data further show more than one-third of the students did not demonstrate competence at a basic level of literacy. The International Reading Association has taken a substantial leadership role in elevating attention to middle school and secondary literacy issues by establishing the Commission on Adolescent Literacy in 1997 (Rycik Irvin, 2001). The work of this Commission resulted in the published document, Adolescent Literacy: A Position Statement (Moore, Bean, Birdyshaw, Rycik, 1999), which recommends principles for teachers to consider when supporting the literacy growth of secondary students. Still much more comprehensive work needs to be done as challenges still persist and teachers, administrators, and staff developers have asked for more examples of practices that might renew and revitalize their efforts for middle and high school students (Rycik Irvin, 2001, p.4). Teaching has greatly increased in range and complexity over the last decade. Teachers now find themselves in highly pressured environments (Pincas, 2002). Faced with the reality of overcrowded classrooms, high stakes testing, and standards-based environments, using instructional practices that move students to higher levels of thinking through more authentic forms of learning are lost. Additional factors Secondary Teaclher Literacy Clhallenges 3  that compound the situation are high student mobility, absenteeism, minimal student engagement, misbehavior, missing homework, cultural and linguistic diversity, special needs, and increasing numbers of students from poverty and single parent households (Alvermann, Hinchman, Moore, Phelps, Waff, 1998). Regardless of the number or degree of challenges, teachers still remain accountable for fostering literacy growth among all students. Efforts to improve literacy learning for secondary students must take seriously the realities and challenges persistent in todays high schools. Reform theorists who suggest improvement can be made through a series of workshops, enhanced technology, sanctions and the like, (Smylie, Bay, Tozer, 1999, p. 59) are naive at best. A new paradigm requires comprehensive and systemic change. It also requires a serious re-orientation towards broad organizational, political, and economic presuppositions on which definition and acquisition of change must be based. Moreover, it involves a commitment to putting teachers at the forefront of the reform process. Valencia and Wixson (2000) argue that it is time for the voices of teachers to be heard. Without empowered professional voices, we lose the potential for constructing serious reform. Emerging Directions If students are to achieve high literacy standards, evidence strongly suggests that what teachers know and can do is one of the more important factors influencing student achievement. (Darling-Hammond, 1999, p. 228). Research also makes it clear that if teachers are to negotiate the demands of new standards and new students, they must have access to a deeper base of knowledge and expertise than most teacher preparation programs now provide (Darling-Hammond, 1999, p.229). While several studies have looked at reform in teacher preparation programs, Schwartz (1996) concluded that reform changes in teacher preparation have resulted in little more than adjusting on the margins (p. 3). Particularly troubling, in secondary teacher preparation, is the limited attention given to the challenges existing in schools in which future teachers must help students to achieve literacy, and the problems 4 Reading Horizons, 2004, 4, (1) of schooling in a broader social context. Moreover, in many states, secondary teacher preparation programs include a requirement of a content area reading course, whereas in other states there is no equivalent requirement. This has remained literally unchanged for years, even as secondary students continue to struggle with reading and writing throughout the high school curriculum. The wide-spread standards movement has made some impact in requiring newly certified teachers to demonstrate competency on specific literacy knowledge and performance indicators. However, the depth of what is needed to teach content area literacy in secondary schools requires more than one course, and/or a few standards. Connecting Two Distinct Communities Education can no longer be seen as an exclusive function, and the traditional structures cannot remain isolated from social change. Faculties in colleges and universities and the practicing teachers in secondary schools have no choice but to adjust to new paradigms. While it is now more common to find partnerships and institutional collaborations between university faculty and secondary teachers, many of these need redefinition. In many partnerships, practicing teachers have related there has not been a high level of reciprocity, as the universities are too dominant (Campbell, 2002, p. 22). Each entity must put into the equation improvement strategies that are meaningful to their respective organizations; that is, they need to identify areas where they truly need help from one another. Then institutionally and programmatically, they need to find ways to work together to make those intended improvements a reality (Howey Zimpher, 1999, p. 299). High school teachers and teacher educators alike are looking to move beyond  yet another good idea to realize reconceptualization and transformation for secondary literacy education. This means engaging high school teachers in the process of secondary teacher preparation, determining what factors pose the greatest challenges to literacy development and using this knowledge as a cornerstone for improving Secondary Teaclher Literacy Clhallenges literacy practices in schools. Failure to confront these challenges effectively will undoubtedly compromise the ability of teachers to serve as effective agents of change. Purpose The purpose of this study was to identify the problems secondary teachers face that impede literacy learning in the classrooms and to yield information that may inform the preparation of future secondary teachers. Two broad questions emerged to guide this study: o What are the greatest literacy challenges facing high school content area teachers? e What will help to diminish these challenges for current and/or future high school teachers? The Study ParticipatingS chools and Teachers The schools that participated in this study included eight high schools, seven public and one private. The researchers purposely selected the schools to ensure ethnic diversity as well as urban and suburban representation. Six of the high schools represented grades 10-12 and two included grades 9-12. The school principals granted permission to graduate students enrolled in a Masters Degree Program in Reading to place the High School Literacy Survey in the school mailboxes of the teachers. A total of 450 questionnaires, including a cover letter and a stamped return envelope, were distributed to 9-12 teachers. Two hunared and two questionnaires were returned, realizing a return rate of 45 percent. There were no follow-up attempts to obtain a higher return rate. Most respondents (71 percent) had advanced degrees beyond the B. A. or B. S. : among these were 68 percent with a M. A. and 3 percent with a Ph. D. Teachers from 18 different subject area fields responded to the survey. English (18 percent), mathematics (16 percent), and science (15 percent) teachers comprised the majority of participants. The remaining teachers represented the following subjects; art (3 percent), 5. 6 ReadingHorizons, 2004, 45, (1) business (4 percent), technology (4 percent), drivers education (1 percent), foreign language (6 percent), history (7 percent), library (1 percent), music (1 percent), physical education (3 percent), reading (1 percent), radio/television (1 percent), social studies (8 percent), special education (3 percent), theology (3 percent), and vocational education (4 percent). Teachers with more than 10 years of experience accounted for 63 percent of the sample, while 37 percent had 10 years or less. Teachers working in suburban areas surrounding the greater Chicago area comprised the majority (67 percent) of the sample population, with the remaining 33 percent coming from urban schools. Forty-four percent described their schools as predominately diverse ( 50 percent), 32 percent considerably diverse (30-50 percent minority), 17 percent somewhat diverse (10-30 percent minority) and 7 percent primarily white (less than 10 percent minority). The Questionnaire We collected the data from a survey instrument, High School. Literacy Survey, designed and constructed by us. The questionnaire requested two types of information: * objective, relating to educational degrees, content field of study, years of teaching experience, diversity of school population * subjective, relating to opinions and values in teaching and learning The subjective portion of the survey was comprised of two broad questions. The first question asked teachers to identify 5 of the 20 factors that posed the greatest challenges in helping their students to attain literacy in their subject field. Respondents wrote the numeral 1 next to the statement representing their greatest challenge, the numeral 2 next to the statement representing their next greatest challenge, and so forth through the numeral 5. (See Appendix) The twenty statements, defined as challenges, were derived from the literature on content area reading. An extensive review of the literature Secondary Teaclher Literacy Clhallenges 7 resulted in identifying twenty challenges, however, these may not represent all possible factors and they may not represent factors that teachers would have included if they were to construct the questionnaire. A space was provided for teachers entitled other for their convenience in identifying additional factors that pose as challenges. Since no specific theory was identified to serve as a foundation for the selection of factors, they represent an eclectic representation. Additionally, the factors were not defined on the questionnaire, indicating that a singular definition cannot be assumed and that the factors may represent multiple meanings in the field. The second question invited the teachers to respond openly to the question, What do you believe will help to diminish these challenges for current and/or future high school teachers? Findings Percentages were used to report the data on the high school teachers perceptions about the factors that challenge them most in helping their students to achieve literacy in their subject area. Table 1. Percentage Responses of Factors that Represent the Greatest Literacy Challenges Factors Percent 1 2 3 4 5 Total Assessment of student learning 2 1 1 2 2 8 Classroom environment 1 2 1 2 6 Classsize 4 4 6 8 5 27 Cultural and language diversity 1 1 2 among students Curriculum 1 2_ 1A _3 7. 8 Reading Horizons, 2004, 45, (1) Factors Percent 1 2 3 4 5 Total Helping students to construct. meaning from text Helping students interpret graphics in text Helping students to learn and use critical thinking skills Helping students to locate and organize information Helping students to understand concepts and vocabulary Homework issues Integrating technology for teaching and learning Selecting materials for teaching and learning Organizing and managing the classroom for learning State/district/school standards for students Struggling readers Student motivation/interest/attitudes 3 6 6 7 7 1 1 3 2 16 8 12 11 12 1 5 5 4 3 8 3 6 11 12 5 8 10 6 7 1 5 2 1 3 1 4 1 2 2 3 1 1 1 1 2 9 9 8 8 8. 33 17 17 8 7 1 5 5 5 3 19 29 7 59 18 40 36 12 5 8 6 42 82 Students with special needs Secondary Teacher Literacy Chiallenges Factors Percent 1 2 3 4 5 Total Students who lack study skills 11 13 13 13 7 57 Writing skills of students 2 8 5 7 8 30 (A ranking scale, with 1 meaning greatest challenge, 2 next greatest challenge, and so forth) The top five challenges as reported in Table 1 were: * student motivation, interests, and attitudes (33 percent) o helping students to learn and use critical thinking skills (16 percent) o students who lack study skills (11 percent) o struggling readers (9 percent). o helping students to understand concepts and vocabulary (8 percent). The least perceived challenges were cultural and language diversity among students (2 percent) and selecting materials for teaching and learning (5 percent). Examining the data of the largest responding groups of content area teachers, English, mathematics, and science, yielded similar findings. All three of these groups identified the same top two challenges as did the total group. The English, mathematics, and science teachers third, fourth and fifth rankings were: * English (3) homework issues (4) students who lack study skills. (5) writing skills of students o Mathematics (3) students who lack study skills 9 iO Reading Horizons, 2004, 45, (1) (4) homework issues (5) helping students to locate and organize information e Science: (3) students who lack study skills (4) helping students to understand concepts and vocabulary (5) helping students to construct meaning from text The teachers were also asked to respond to the following openended question, What do you believe will help to diminish these challenges for current and/or future high school teachers? Seventyseven percent of the teachers wrote responses to this question. The resppnses were grouped by similar topics from which themes emerged. Table 2 reports the percentages of the most frequently occurring responses to the open-ended question. Table 2. Themes and Percentages of Responses for Confronting the Greatest Challenges Most Frequent Responses by Theme Percent Better basic skills instruction in elementary schools 64 More parent responsibility and support 58 Mandatory inclusion of critical 39 thinking questions on all assessments Study skills classes for incoming students 33 I Iimprove teacher preparation/more methods for 28 secondary teachers. Greater respect and support from society 20 Practical/useful staff development 11 Secondary TeachterLiteracy Challenges 11 Most Frequent Responses by Theme Percent Teacher task forces making policy decisions 9 instead of politicians and administrators Complete restructuring of the current traditional 7 education model A center at each high school for struggling readers The most common responses cited by the majority of teachers to confront the greatest challenges (Table 2) were better basic skills instruction in elementary schools (64 percent) and more parent responsibility and support (58 percent). Sample responses given by less than 50 percent of the teachers were mandatory inclusion of critical thinking questions on all assessments (39 percent), study skills classes for incoming students (33 percent), and improvement of teacher preparation with more methods for secondary teachers (28 percent). Discussion The results of this study provide insight for the continuing efforts to improve the literacy levels of secondary students. They are, however, neither exclusive nor exhaustive. They are offered with no claim for the universality or total generalizability, but they are offered as a common ground for thinking. Student Motivation andA ttitudes High school teachers identified student motivation to read, write, and do other literacy-related activities as their greatest challenge. The teachers written comments on questionnaires indicated that much of the class-assigned reading is often boring and not relevant to the students own interests and experiences. They also stated that the students who will not read are as much at a disadvantage as those who cannot. Student 12 Reading Horizons, 2004, 45, (1) motivation was ranked the greatest challenge of all for the participating teachers. The dilemma of identifying and implementing strategies to motivate adolescents is not new to literacy practice. The data from this study confirm what the research (Alexander Filler, 1976; Au Asam, 1996; Benware Deci, 1984; Collins-Block, 1992; Guthrie Alao, 1997; Schraw, Brunning, Svoboda, 1995) has documented over time: that student motivation, interests, and attitudes are indeed authentic challenges. Teaching adolescents to become active, motivated, and selfregulated learners is a continuing issue in secondary schools. It is during the adolescent years when reading motivation and attitudes appear to worsen, especially for poor readers (McKenna, Kear, Ellsworth, 1995). Serious attempts to advance literacy skills require interventions that address motivation and attitudes as much as interventions that assure cognitive changes in the learners (Verhoevan Snow, 2001). This generally does not happen. Motivational constructs are usually not given significant vigilance in relation to student cognition and thinking, and at best, are given only passing and superficial attention. A further problem is that standard reading texts and uniform curricula make life somewhat easier for teachers and administrators, but they make it very difficult for students to get involved with the material at the level that is right for them, and therefore to find intrinsic rewards in learning. In the classroom, the teacher is the key element in motivating students to learn. The responsibility is great and the ramifications even greater, yet many responding high school teachers stated they were not adequately prepared in their teacher preparation programs with the knowledge, skills, and instructional strategies to ignite the spirit of their students. These teachers indicated they want more ideas, support, and freedom within the school curriculum to take the lead, and more ways to experience first-hand, in-field, motivational issues in their teacher preparation programs. Critical Thinking Skills. Teaching critical thinking skills was the second greatest challenge for teachers. Large numbers of teachers indicated they feel underSecondary Teachter Literacy Clhallenges 13 prepared in pedagogical methods to help studenis conceptualize problems and solutions. Assisting adolescents to become proficient with these skills is a prodigious challenge for secondary teachers. The capacity for abstraction, for discovering patterns and meanings, generalizing, evaluating, and theorizing is the very essence of critical thinking and exploration. For most students in the United States and throughout the world, formal education entails just the opposite kind of learning. Rather than construct meaning for themselves, meanings are imposed upon them. Frequently, students often accumulate a large number of facts along the way, yet these facts are not central to their education; they will live their adult lives in a world in which most facts learned years before (even including some historical ones) will have changed or have been reinterpreted. Whatever data they need will be available to them at the touch of a computer key. If students are to learn critical thinking skills, teachers must teach them and engage their students in genuine problem solving discussion. Generally these skills are best, and likely only taught and assessed, through extended discourse. This is difficult to do in crowded classes where it is near to impossible to carry out extended discussions. The commitment to teaching these skills in all content areas means gaining support from the public. It also means that teachers must gain the knowledge and skills to do so through teacher preparation programs and inservice education, taking into account the real-life situations and parameters in todays classrooms. Study Skills Students who lack study skills ranked as the third greatest challenge to teachers. The importance of study skills has been documented over time in the professional literature (Flood Lapp, 1995). What is known is that many people of all ages have difficulty reading and learning, largely because they are not using appropriate techniques or good learning habits. Often, the adolescents who are dropping out of schools are doing so because they believe they carnot learn. For the majority of these students, they lack suitable reading and study techniques, which 14 Reading Horizons, 2004, 45(1) impede their growth in learning and contribute to their negative beliefs about themselves and school. Although most secondary teachers have a thorough understanding qf their subject, many responding teachers in this study indicated they lack the knowledge of instructional/study strategies by which to help students internalize the concepts. Research shows that with an organized system of study, students can increase their comprehension of subject matter up to 50 percent (Annis, 1983). As nations seek to assist adolescents in gaining higher levels of literacy, the knowledge and skills that teachers need to teach their students effective study habits and strategies may likely become central to the curriculum in secondary teacher preparation programs and in the curriculum of secondary schools. Struggling Readers Struggling readers ranked as the fourth greatest challenge to the high school teachers. Teachers responded that these students can be found hiding out in content classrooms. They frequently are passive and disengaged. , Many have found coping strategies to help (them get by, but they do not significantly improve their literacy skills or their knowledge in the content areas. I Although comprehension of text material is difficult and sometimes impossible for struggling readers, there are research-based strategies that have proven to be successful when used with struggling readers. One such strategy is instructional scaffolding, an effective strategy that gives students a better chance to be successful than if left on their own (Vacca, 2002). Pedagogy, which includes instructional techniques for diverse learners, is glossed over in many teacher preparation programs for secondary teachers. However, it is as important in the preparation of high school teachers as is cognitive knowledge (Darling-Hammond, 2000). If high school teachers are to make substantial contributions to all adolescents, it will require more knowledge of relevant instructional methodologies. Darling-Hammond (2000) found that teacher subject-matter knowledge was related to student achievement only up to a certain point. Secondary Teacher Literacy Challenges 15 Marzano (2003) asserts that the importance of the relationship between pedagogical knowledge and student achievement has been consistently reported in the research literature. Furthermore, in a study conducted by Ferguson and Womack (1993), they found that the number of courses teachers took in instructional techniques accounted for four times the variance in teacher performance and student achievement than did subject-matter knowledge. Teachers stated that more information about how to assist the struggling readers in their classrooms is sorely needed in preservice teacher education programs. Additionally they need to know that the strategies and support to assist these learners are realistic for todays classrooms. Key Concepts and Vocabulary Helping students to understand concepts and vocabulary ranked as the fifth greatest challenge. Every subject area has its own vocabulary and modes of argument, and its language is the common denominator for learning subject matter knowledge. Vacca and Vacca (2002) agree: they state, Vocabulary must be taught well enough to remove potential barriers to students understanding of texts as well as to promote a longterm acquisition of the language of a content area (p. 160-161). Teachers want more knowledge about ways to teach vocabulary and concepts to adolescents, strategies that will provide adolescents with a deeper and richer entry into the content area of study, and strategies that will work in the classrooms of today. Intriguing Findings It is a noteworthy finding that the cultural and language diversity among students in the classrooms was not identified among the greatest challenges. The majority of teachers in this study were from diverse schools, and yet only two percent ranked this to be a challenge. Equally notable was the fact that state, district, and school standards, writing skills, and integrating technology were not identified among the greatest challenges. 16 Reading Horizons, 2004, 45, (1). Of all the findings, the most revealing was that provided by the drivers education teachers: whereas every other content-area group of teachers, albeit art, music, business, foreign language, etc. , ranked student motivation as the greatest challenge, they did not. This is not surprising as it supports the findings of this study as well as long standing research in the field, as cited in Marzano, 2003. The hypothesis being that when motivated, students strive to learn.

Analysis of Judicial Diversity

Analysis of Judicial Diversity As much as genetic diversity is praised to be a key factor determining an individuals performance and survival; the much is judicial diversity regarded in acutely deeming efficiency of judiciary. Such is the stance of Lady Hale who was the first women to be appointed as a Lord of appeal in Ordinary in 2004 and had witnessed the court replacing itself without reaching a more diverse collegium. She is a staunch supporter of diversification in Judiciary and hence displayed her stance very effectively in the case of Radmacher Vs Granatino, where she proved that a male dominated judicial collegium would not help reach justice at certain instances where they dont have the correct expertise and lack ability to understand a womens psych and emotions. Her stance gets further cemented by the book feminist judgements which significantly prove how a case can change if approached from a women diverse vision. In recent years, to reach such diversity the courts have slowly started to expose out of the grip of former appointment procedures that placed Lord chancellor and the Queen with total autonomy over judicial appointments, resultantly the courts started to appear all men and white. Hence, in last decades there have been a visible change in making a diverse judiciary more than just a dream. Lord Irvine contributed in formalizing this intention of having a diverse judiciary by making a committee to check the appointments. However, he later submitted the matter in hands of Sir Leonard peach who showed his satisfaction with the appointment methodology and subsequently the matter was subsided. Later on, in April 2003 his proposal of JAC lead him to be dismissed, forestalling his service in way of a diverse Judiciary. The importance of such judiciary is slowly being realized by the situation and by the Judges on the apex of Judiciary. The old mechanism of appointments that totally rested in hands of the Queen and Lord chancellor increasingly became prone to objections over its transparency and credibility of appointed people as such system contained elements exploitable for  Ã‚   bias. As centuries, have passed and the role of monarchy in UK has merely reduced to just a symbolic post, similarly the Judiciary is increasingly inquisitive about the appointments and so is the general public. Diversity in judiciary can enable a country to represent more than just a fraction of its populace rather than just appearing to be holding a certain fraction, as professed by its quite homogenous panel of judges. Certainly, its evident that a diverse judiciary, equal in ethnic representations and in gender representation can lead to a very different decision than what it could be as there are certain issues where a upper hand in terms of ability to judge a certain situation can lead to justice and also in building of precedents that can improve the general level of legal development. Moreover, a diverse judiciary can up the moral of public and make them more confident in the legal system and a diverse panel of judges can also eliminate appellants fear of potential bias. This would also represent the actual structure of society in modern world where women have proved their abilities in every aspect of life and in different professions and hence a diverse judiciary ca n eliminate the impression that judiciary is not coping up with the society and its needs where women go under different types of contracts. As a current presumption in domestic contract cases remain that husband and wife cant legally intend a contract; even that presumption is getting reduced over time as in modern world women are getting more autonomy and there is more a concept of relations catering different types of considerations from both parties. As matter of fact, there have been no female Lord Chancellors and none from ethnic minorities. The judicial representation from minorities in courts is minimal while the majority of the apex of justice system belongs to judges who are graduates of Cambridge and Oxford who neither had the restraints of commoner they deal with and neither had experience of their typical life backgrounds and ideologies. This proves to be a hurdle in effectively interpreting and enacting the law to citizen fairly and efficiently. It could also be diffic ult for the judges as they may not be able to relate to some of the situations put before them. Thus the judiciary direly needs to level with the modern world and presence of more women and ethnic minorities in judiciary can up the confidence of certain appellants in various cases, especially domestic cases and the taboo cases of rape, violence, discrimination or harassment which often dont get reported. Moreover, it can also enable people to aspire to be judges and not think of judicial posts as a profession exclusive for the cult. People from other than purely law background i.e. non-barristers can also prove to improve that confidence and the variety of profession at apex of Judiciary will improve the quality of decisions and Stare-Decisis as there would be technocrats and experts of different professions present to enable that. Therefore, there have been gradual improvement in the appointment process as its now not totally in hands of the Queen or Lord chancellor but the JAC is giving the recommendation for appointments. However, its still a compromise as initially the constitutional reform act 2005 made JAC responsible for appointing magistrates up to the supreme court members. The later agreement between JAC and Lord Chancellor retained the recruitment and selection powers. The statistics show that women percentage in Judiciary is gradually increasing but the process is very slow. Number of women in Court of appeal increased by one women, while stayed same in High court even after two new appointments; and in circuit judges by sixteen women. The overall increase in April 2014-15 is by 0.7 percent in courts and 0.8 percent in Tribunals. In the regard of gradual and clumsy increases Lord Sumptions words can be cited. He said rushing for equal representation of women at the top of legal profession can inflic t appalling consequences on the quality of British Justice. Concludingly we can say that the British Justice system is keen to reach the gender equality in legal profession as well as on its apex but is doing so gradually in order to not open a gate to incompetent judges in the system that can inflict harm to overall judicial system.

Critical And Reflective Thinking In Schools Education Essay

Critical And Reflective Thinking In Schools Education Essay The literatures review the literature of current main approaches to teaching philosophy in schools, particularly in the United Kingdom. Dictionaries correctly, inspiringly, but unhelpfully define philosophy as love of wisdom, but a better definition would be reflective and critical inquiryà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.A training in critical and reflective thought, a training in handling ideas, is of the essence in this new and demanding environment. Philosophy thus provides both the individual development and enrichment, and a bright set of apt intellectual tools for meeting the worlds challenges Grayling 2008: viii Over the past ten years there has been a growing interest in developing approaches to help pupils develop their reflective and critical skills in order to help them cope with the challenges of modern life. In the UK primary schools keen on developing these skill have employed three distinct approaches i) Thinking Skills ii) Inquiry based Philosophy and less commonly iii) Academic Philosophy. This chapter begins with an outline of the context to the interest in creative and critical thinking and then continues with a review and evaluation of the literature of the three approaches. 2.1.2 Context There has been an increasing interest in developing thinking skills which stem from the changing opinions of the skills needed in modern society (Rose 1997; Abbot and Ryan, 2000). One of the stated values and purposes of the National Curriculum in England and Wales is that à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ education must enable us to respond positively to the opportunities and challenges of the rapidly changing world in which we live and work. In particular, we need to be prepared to engage as individuals, parents, workers and citizens with economic, social and cultural change, including the continued globalisation of the economy and society, with new work and leisure patterns and with the rapid expansion of communication technologies. Increasingly, countries in Europe, have reduced the requirements to teach a body of knowledge and have promoted the use of transferrable skills such as critical and creative thinking and problem solving to develop deep learning and life skills relevant for the 21st Century (MacBeath 1999; Scottish Executive Department 2000). Abbot Ryan (2000) and Powney Lowden (date) contend the need for this change of emphasis in education is also recognised by employers who wish to have flexible and adaptable workers who have an open mind to change and a commitment to lifelong learning However, the aim to improve critical and creative thinking without specialised programmes may be limited according to recent study findings. The Study of Interactive Learning (SPRINT) project (Hargreaves Moyles 2002) showed that teachers increased the ratio of their questions to statements. However, pupil responses were rarely extended and dialogue remained dominated and controlled by the teacher. Hargreaves and Moyles expressed reservations about the limited demand for extended thinking in the National Literacy Strategy in England and other areas of the curriculum. Black and Wiliam (1998) concluded that challenging pupils to think independently and explore understanding through thoughtful reflective dialogue were central requirements for raising standards, but he adds a note of caution: there is no quick fix with promises of rapid rewards. Watkins (2001) analysed 66 studies and concluded that an emphasis on learning and thinking processes improved learning performances, while an e mphasis on performance targets could depress learning performance. 2.1.3 Thinking Skills. The QCA (2004) places great emphasis on thinking skills (e.g. synthesising, analysing, evaluating and justifying) and attitudes (e.g. open-mindedness and respect for all) and concepts (e.g. God goodness) in Religious Education. Lake and Needham (1995) publish a popular text-book, Top Ten Thinking Tactics and is designed to develop the capabilities of 8-10 year olds with ten cognitive strategies. Feurerstein et als (1980) Instrumental Enrichment Programme (IEP) provides decontextualised paper and pencil exercises that develop in complexity through 14 instruments. The Somerset Thinking Skills course (Blagg and others., 1988) consists of eight cognitive processes drawn from Feuersteins IEP and has the ambition of developing positive beliefs about learning to learn, strengthening problem solving ideas, communication and self-esteem De Bonos (1987) Cognitive Research Trust (CoRT) Thinking programme aims to improve thinking skills in a series of carefully structured lessons. Research into Thinking Skills show that nearly all the thinking skills programmes and practices studied were found to make a positive difference in the achievement levels of participating students. Such studies have included Adey Shayer, 1994; Sternberg Bhana, 1996; McGuinness, 1999; Triceky 2000; Wilson, 2000. Cotton (2002) reviewed fifty-six studies and found all to varying degrees reported benefits to the pupils. Studies which looked at achievement over time found that thinking skills instruction hastened the learning gains of participants, and those with true or quasi-experimental designs generally found that experimental students outperformed control groups significantly While the research for Thinking Skills programmes produce improved results, Tickey and Topping (2004) note that few studies have entailed short or long-term follow-up. McGuinness (1999) warns that such benefits produced by these programmes may only be short-term, while Adey Shayer, 1994 optimistically suggest that perhaps there may be sleeper gains that could come into effect, long after the project has ended. However, Bonnet (date) is suspicious of the thinking skills approach which he characterises as an instrumentalist approach to empowering pupils, by the transmission of core skills. He questions whether the identified skills outlined in the programmes actually exist as discrete competencies and abilities. He is not convinced that they can be taught; separate from the world as specific skills which can then be applied to real problems. For him this creates a false separation between thinker and the world, and may even encourage us to see the environment as a resource at the service of humankind. Haynes (2002) is also critical of the thinking skills movement, regarding it as too mechanistic and favours the communities of philosophy inquiry approach If we are concerned to develop our thinking, we need to move beyond an overly structured, narrow and rigid tradition of logical thinking and argument. This is particularly the case when that type of thinking takes us always in the direction of closure, polarisation and the irreconcilable, and away from solution, decision or ambiguity and suspended judgement. Our habitual ways of thinking must allow us to live, in the full sense of the word, with rapid change and uncertainty, with unprecedented adjustments in time and motion as well as with the ordinariness of everyday life, with highly intelligent technology and with the enormous power of information management. (Haynes 2002: 40) The community of philosophic inquiry may offer a way out of instrumentalism as it still offers critical thinking as it claims to offer the virtues of offer a more philosophic approach to problem solving (Delghausen: 2004). 2.1.4 Community of philosophical inquiry The idea of community is a central theme in current educational practice and appears in a wide range of approaches. Community of learners (Rogoff, Matusovn White, 1996), classroom community (Bridges 1995), Community of practice (Wenger 1998) are examples of this. The idea of a community of philosophical inquiry began with the work of Pierce (date). Pierce, a scientist and philosopher had the goal of bringing scientific rigour and logic to philosophy. Pierce (date), a pragmatist rejected the dominance of Cartesianism in modern philosophy, whereby the lone mind can reflect on the world and uncover truth by the process of reasoning. The philosopher/scientist assertedà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.to make single individuals absolute judges of truth is most pernicious (Pierce: 229) In sciences in which men come to agreement when a theory has been broached, it is considered to be on probation until this agreement is reached. After it is reached, the question of certainty becomes an idles one, because there is no one left who doubts it. We individually cannot reasonably hope to attain the ultimate philosophy which we pursue; we can only seek it, therefore, for the community of philosophers. Hence, if disciplined and candid minds carefully examine a theory and refuse to accept it, and ought to create doubts in the mind of the author of the theory himself (Pierce: 229 date page no) The community of philosophic inquiry involves a group of people joining to form a jury to judge ideas and hypothesis. Murphy (1990) explains that when the group involved in the inquiry reaches a consensus, one can speak of knowledge, truth and reality, but these concepts will be grounded in the community of inquirers, not in the individual consciousness. Pierce believed the model of production of knowledge will be refined over time by the community of inquiry and would eventually lead us to the real, that is rock-bottom reality. A popular form of community of philosophical inquiry in Germany and the Netherlands, and to a much lesser extent, England is the Socratic Method which is based on the work of Leonard Nelson (date) and Gustav Heckmann. (1981) Nelson believed the Socratic Method promoted the forcing of minds to freedom. Only persistent pressure to speak ones mind, to meet every counter-question, and to state the reasons for every assertion transforms the power of that allure into an irresible compulsion (date: page). The aim of the inquiry is to press the pupils to clearly express their thoughts, to use logic and to offer their views for critique by others. The teachers role is to use probing questions to draw out the ideas of the pupils and then to finish with a group vote to reach a majority view. A community of inquiry approach, Philosophy for Children (P4C) was pioneered in America by Mathew Lipman in the 1960s at Montclaire State University in New Jersey and was further refined by Gareth Matthews at the University of Massachusetts. Lipman (2003) used Pierces idea of a community of inquiry as the central methodology for philosophy lessons with children, and he also shared Pierces pragmatism in his approach. In addition, he drew on theories of John Dewey (1916), a pragmatist philosopher, who believed in the need of educating pupils to play an active role in democracy. For Dewey (employing the theories of Vygotskys socio-constructivist perspective), the importance of drawing on pupils interests and using real-life contexts were key in devising a pedagogy for citizenship. Lipman was disappointed with his students during the political unrest of 1968 that spread too many universities in America. He believed his students were unable to engage critically to the events that had begu n in Paris in that year. Lipman (2003) believed the younger generation needed to acquire deeper thinking skills for them to democratically resolve the many problems emerging in society. Lipman felt that schools should begin a structured approach to develop the necessary skills for democracy and proposed teaching philosophy to pupils as young as six or seven years old. He devised a teaching programme, Philosophy for Children which contained lessons and stories to start philosophical inquiry. The programme aims to develop pupils creative, caring and collaborative skills (Lipman 2003). Typically philosophy sessions (usually called inquiries) begin with a stimulus which could be a short story, poem, object or music and pupils are encouraged to think of philosophical questions. An early pioneer in the UK, Karin Murris developed picture books as she found Lipmans stories dated (Murris and Haynes 2000). A vote is taken on the most favoured question and the inquiry is chaired by a facilitat or whose purpose is to encourage a skilful and democratic debate. Jones (2008), a P4C trainer notes the aim of the inquiry is not to reach a consensus but rather to allow pupils the experience of collaborative dialogue and to deepen their thinking skills. Disagreements are treated as valuable opportunities to learn to respect different points of view. The P4C approach to philosophy does not require a formal qualification in the subject and can be taught to teachers in a few days. It has attracted a dedicated and enthusiastic following worldwide. It has spread across the world to such locations as Australia, China, South Korea, Mexico, Norway and South Africa. P4C continues to grow in popularity over the past two decades and particularly since the governments Excellence and Enjoyment (2006) paper whereby schools are encouraged to develop more creativity and innovation in teaching and learning approaches. Sutcliff (2006)states that in England and Wales that approximately 2000 primary schools offer P4C, together with 200 secondary schools (ICPIC: 2006) . Catherine McCall maintains that 10,000 children are involved in P4C lessons in Scotland, (http://sophia.eu.org). Teaching philosophy to children is promoted in the UK by the Society for the Advancement of Philosophical Enquiry and Reflection in Education (SAPHRE), which advocates intellectually rigorous communal dialogic inquiry into central, common and contestable concepts. A flagship school for the UK is Galleons Primary School, London which promotes a video that enthusiastically contends the use of P4C has been the most significant factor in helping the school achieve an outstanding OFSTED report. The video repeatedly reminds us that the outstanding OFSTED grade has been achieved despite the fact the intake draws on those who live in social housing. The inspectors note:quote Sternberg and Bhana (1996) studied twenty evaluation studies of P4C and expressed reservations over the many positive benefits cited. They argued that most of the evaluations lacked a firm control group. They write: issues of subject drop-out, class selection durability, transfer, subject population, and experimenter bias were generally not addressed. Statistical analysis was often reported in only the most minimal detail: in some cases, significance levels were presented with no descriptive or inferential statistics (Sternberg and Bhana: 1996 64) However, despite their reservations they were favourably disposed toward the data reported. They acknowledged the improved gains on verbal tests of critical thinking skills and believed that P4C and similar programmes were more stimulating and motivating than most thinking skills programmes. Fisher (1999) argues that it is problematic to evaluate P4C because it has a wide variety of objectives and therefore is unsuitable to be fairly judged by most evaluative instruments. Barron and Sternberg, (1987) support this view, noting that Lipman constantly changed the criteria he used to evaluate P4C which included, the ability of students to provide examples to support their views, to be able articulate a challenge to a peer, to ask probing questions, to use their own experience to justify a view and the ability to look for connections. Lacewing (2007) distinguishes P4C from academic philosophy by highlighting the role of product. He claims that each P4C inquiry begins anew and the product is very provisional and has the tendency to result in a reinvention of the wheel, Whilst academic philosophy incorporates the philosophical skills of P4C, it has the advantage of drawing upon a wide range of philosophers to deepen or broaden the inquiry. I agree with Lacewing and with Rorty (date) who notes, access to knowledge of key philosophers and philosophical movement, allows the philosopher to be aware of all the moves and arguments. The influence of Deweys self-discovery methods is strong in the inquiry approach, and whilst the practice of exploring thinking by first-hand experience is vital, the movement, I believe underplays the roll of enriching thinking by tapping into the ideas of present and past philosophers. Wilson (cited in Murris 2007a) differentiates P4C by stressing the abstraction and the higher-order thinking and reasoning of the latter. Academic philosophy is underpinned by abstract philosophising about general principles. P4C is marked, he upholds, by philosophizing about concrete examples. Wilson (date) argues that P4C suffers from educational ideology. That is, it assumes that philosophy is merely questioning, reasoning and inquiry. Yet not all reasoning, questioning and inquiry are philosophic. 2 .1.5 Academic Philosophy I shall use the term academic philosophy as the study of critical and reflective thinking taught with reference to philosophers, philosophical vocabulary and key ideas. According to mmmmm(date) pupils learn the skills of creative and critical thinking but are also able be able to link their ideas to the broader tradition the subject. The UK Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) and Eurydice at the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) hold records of the curriculum syllabuses offered in 20 economically developed countries. The countries are: Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Hungry, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Korea, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the USA and Wales (www.inca.org.uk). None of these countries offers philosophy as a national subject for the primary and lower-secondary age-range. In Brazil, however philosophy is a compulsory subject in most secondary and in some primary schools. In 2004 in Norway White Paper has suggested introducing philosophy as a statutory subject. The subject is being tested in primary and secondary schools. In countries where the subject is taught, it usually offered as an optional subject for the post-compulsory age group. Enrolment rates for this course are usually a few the total student population (Hand Winstanley 2008). For instance in the U.K. there is only one public examination board offering Advance Level General Certificate of Education in philosophy. In 2007, only 3,001 students finished the course, with a further 2,009 in the same year completing a critical thinking course (which has a large philosophy module). .With so few pupils studying academic philosophy in secondary schools, it is unsurprising there is a limited amount of literature of teaching academic philosophy in primaries. However there are some materials for those wishing to develop academic philosophy for the 7-11 age group: The few teachers who train in philosophy have specialised at the upper-end of secondary schools and therefore they have not had an opportunity to influence or share good practice in the primary sector. The popularity of P4C and Thinking Skills is due to the fact that teachers can receive some initial brief training (typically 1-3 days) and can begin lessons immediately. Few teachers in primary schools would have a degree in the subject and in England there is no national organisation dedicated to teaching academic philosophy to this age group. However, in England a small group of pioneers (based around the Philosophy Shop company) who are enthusiastic about academic (or as they call it practical) philosophy and regard P4C as a dilution of the discipline. Worley (2008) is an enthusiastic promoter of practical philosophy, which he regards as real philosophy and for him; the second-best choice is P4C. He is the director of a commercial website The Philosophy Shop and offers training courses in teaching philosophy for those with a background in the subject. Unlike P4C training which is intended for trained teachers, Worleys courses are aimed at philosophers who wish to be employed as peripatetic teachers in schools. He makes the distinction between inquiry (which he regards as the concern of P4C) and practical philosophy which should only be taught by educators qualified in the discipline. He acknowledges the work of Lipmans and uses many of his ideas to promote inquiries but he feels it is important to introduce pupils to canonical philosophers and some of the key questions posed by the subject, . His claims that his work with children (currently he teaches in 13 primary schools) shows that they can develop a range of philosophical skills and competencies. These include: conceptual analysis; abstract thinking, generality, complex reasoning, non-empirical reasoning, an understanding of the history of philosophy and the ability to revaluate (2008). I believe the work of Worley and his colleagues offer a fruitful avenue of inquiry to develop philosophy. I agree with Worley that it important to have good subject knowledge of philosophy to teach it effectively. Indeed, a teacher should be knowledgeable about any subject he or she teachers, and I do not feel an exception should be made with philosophy. I also agree with him that philosophy should developed in the spirit of Socrates be concerned with helping us to live the good life by exploring ones values. Philosophy lessons should focus on issues to help pupils that children can apply to their daily lives and to get them thinking about their role as future citizens. However, the drawback of teaching academic philosophy, the history of the famous dead may end up being a dry subject. However, I believe Worleys (2008) instincts are correct in his acknowledgment of the strengths of Lipmans philosophical inquiry approach. Despite the limitations of inquiry methods, the strength is the varied and stimulating teaching methods that have been developed over the past forty years. Since they have been designed for the non-specialist, care has been placed into developing a pedagogical approach that works with pupils. Thus the use of their materials and courses with gives advice on useful information such as introductory games, suitable literature and other starting points, developing pupils responses, assessment and leading an inquiry. SAPHERE run a website that provides teachers with ideas and an opportunity for teachers to network, and to share good practice with one another. I agree with Worley that the next key ingredient is a teacher who loves the subj ect of philosophy and who can relate the responses of children to the wider thoughts of the tradition. This avoids the reinvention of the wheel and allows those pupils drawn to the subject to consult philosophical texts to deepen their understanding. Worelys practical philosophy, the inquiry approach and aspects of thinking skills have much to offer. I support their goal of producing more responsible and caring citizens who are able to take an active part in (as AC Grayling puts it) meeting the worlds challenges (2008). However, I believe this cannot be achieved by better thinking alone, but instead we need to develop a critical awareness of the largely hidden role that power has to play in the generation of knowledge or truth claims. The philosophies of Jacques Derrida and Michel Foucault have done much to bring to our attention the way power, disguised as truth or common sense restricts our capacity to think or express innovative thoughts. Chapter 3 contains an account of the theories of Foucault and Derrida This variant of philosophy would keep the core skills of the above programmes, namely reflective, reflexive critical thinking but would include a consideration of the politics of knowledge. ,. Bonnet, M 1995 Teaching Thinking Skills and the Sanctity of Content, Journal of Philosophy of Education, 29 (3): 295-309 DFEE 2006 Excellence and Enjoyment De Bono, E (1987) CoRT Thinking Programme: Blagg, N., Ballinger, M. Gardner R. (1988) Somerset thinking skills course (Oxford, Basil Blackwell) Delgehausen, I., 2004 Experiences with Socratic Dialogue in primary schools in Enquiring Minds Socratic Dialogue in Education ed. Rene Saran and Barbara Neisser UK: Trenham Books Dewey J (1916) Democracy and Education. An introduction to the Philosophy of Education (1966 edn) New York: Free Press. Feuerstein R., Rand, Y., Hoffman, M., Miller, M. (1980) Instrumental enrichment: An intervention programme for cognitive modifiability (Baltimore, MD, University Park Press) Jones, H (2008) Philosophy for Children Learning Teaching Update Optimus Professional Publishing Ltd: London Hand, M., Winstanley 2008 Philosophy in Schools London: Continuum Haynes, J., Children as Philosophers Learning Through Enquiry and Dialogue in the Primary Classroom London: RoutledgeFalmer Heckmann 1981 Socratic Dialoge (In inquiring minds 5) Lake, M., Needham, M.,(1995) Top Ten thinking tactics (Birmingham, Questions Publishing Company) Law, Stephen (2006) The War for Childrens Minds London: Routledge Lipman, M (2003) Thinking in Education, Cambridge University Press Millet S, (2006) Coming in from the margins: teaching philosophy in Australian schools. Paper presented at the Philosophy in Schools: Developing a Community of Inquiry, Conference, Singapore, April 2006 (refs in Phil in schools: 162) Murris, K. and Haynes J., (2000), Storywise: Thinking Through Stories, Dialogue Work Nelson, L.,

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Tom Nowakowski 12/20/13 HI-216 Dr. Pursell Final Exam 1) The Koran has many different things to say regarding the religions being practiced circa 600 AD in the Middle East. Prior to Islam, Saudi Arabia had a lot of people who practiced paganism. When Islam arrived, there was absolutely zero tolerance of pagans and paganism. Things were different regarding Christianity and Judaism. Islam tolerates Christianity and Judaism as they’re Abrahamic religions. The Koran does not have an issue with Christians or Jews practicing their own religious ideas or beliefs. The Koran also instructs Muslims to treat them respectfully and that there should be no forced religious conversions carried out. The Koran also believes that Christians and Jews are people of the book, or people who received scriptures before the Koran was written. The Koran views people of the book, or those who have an Abrahamic religion, as close or related to them. In fact, Islam and the Koran even view Jesus as a prophet and give respect to the Virgin Mary as well. Christ ians and Jews are viewed as misguided but must still be respected. The arrival of Islam drastically transformed the Middle East and its culture. Prior to Islam, women did not have the right to acquire an inheritance, initiate a divorce, and slavery was frequent as well. Muhammad wanted to improve the wellbeing of women and believed they should have more rights. Eventually, Muslim women also were allowed to inherit wealth too. Islam taught that both sexes were equal. Islam also forever changed the way many Middle Eastern countries governed. Many Middle Eastern governments are influenced by Islam or are even officially Islamic countries themselves. This influenced the types of laws that are passed and legi... ...oint where Egypt recognizes Israel and peace treaties between the two have been put into place. Egypt has even become a crucial strategic partner to Israel. Nevertheless, some are skeptical of this Egyptian-Israeli peace and question its effectives. That said, the two are on technically good terms and have diplomatic and economic ties with each other. It’s safe to assume that if such good terms continue in the future, then Israel and Egypt will not have another conflict with each other again. This is obviously important to Israel from defense standpoint too. 6) As of this point, it’s difficult to say for certain whether or not the Middle East will be democratic. Undoubtedly, challenges remain ahead for it to achieve democracy, or at least any reasonable semblance of it. The great hope and narrative that everyone had with the Arab Spring was that