Issues in eDUCATION Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Issues in eDUCATION - Essay Example In order to provide a good quality education to students, teachers should develop new teaching and learning strategies that could increase the students’ motivation in learning. By doing so, school teachers will be able to convert the students’ negative learning attitude into a positive attitude and behaviour. (Schweinle et al., 2006) For the purpose of this study, the researcher will discuss the factors that could increase the students’ misbehaviour inside the classroom including: (1) the size of the classroom; (2) differences in learning capabilities of each student within an inclusive classroom; (3) Medical or Genetic Factors; (4) school teachers’ inability to develop an outstanding classroom environment that could increase the students’ curiosity in learning; and (5) other factors: boredom in class or frustration in learning. Knowing these factors will enable the readers to have a better idea on how to control the students’ misbehaviour in class. As part of controlling the students’ misbehaviour, the researcher will first examine the difference between disciplinary actions using the managerial and educational activity prior to concluding which among the two methods are more effective in managing a class. Among the five possible factors that could increase the student’s misbehaviour inside the classroom including: (1) classroom size; (2) differences in learning capabilities of each student within an inclusive classroom; (3) medical or genetic factors; (4) school teachers’ failure to develop an outstanding classroom environment that could increase the students’ curiosity in learning; and (5) other factors that could cause boredom in class or frustration in learning; the most important factor that school teachers should artistically learn to control within an inclusive classroom is the medical and genetic factors. This is primarily because other factors could

ELL Instructor Interview Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

ELL Instructor Interview - Essay Example In order for students to implement these strategies, it is crucial that they get exposed to real-life scenarios in which they can be able to compare and contrast their acquired skills set. For instance, increasing their proficiency would mean sitting down them individually or in small groups and explaining the concepts to them through real-life methodology. Collaborating is undoubtedly essential in order to thrive in any profession as the thoughts of ideas, knowledge, and practices are exchanged. Trimis, E (2009) Through my personal experience, I have felt that English should be taught in the simplest manner by implementing methodologies that are acquired in school initiates from giving students real life example. In order for students to implement these strategies, it is crucial that they get exposed to real-life scenarios in which they can be able to compare and contrast their acquired skills set. Collaborating is undoubtedly essential in order to thrive in any profession as the thoughts of ideas, knowledge, and practices are exchanged. Quite often, students struggle to socialize in a pre-dominant learning environment. Parents and teachers should play a symbiotic role and support while ensuring that everyone is in sync with the progress. Furthermore, collaboration is a key for the success of students, parents and teachers. The main proposition is to ensure that a learning environment offers multiple platforms, bridges the gap between teachers, parents and students and secure and confidentiality is of the highest quality. Parents can give feedback or allow children to ask questions. Underachievement can consist of many factors such as not being challenged enough, lack of motivation or interest. Students maybe bright but may not feel challenged enough. Ideally, every teacher wants their students to be independent thinkers for various reasons. First and foremost, independent thinking is needed to harness the society and express innovation. Secondly,

What Are the Qualities That an Ideal Person Should Cultivate, Possess Essay Example for Free

What Are the Qualities That an Ideal Person Should Cultivate, Possess Essay 1. Introduction In this paper, I will discuss what qualities should be cultivated, possessed, and practiced for an ideal person according to Confucius. Although Confucius regards humanness, wisdom, and courage as the basic threefold towards being a junzi (superior man/ideal person, ), there has been an ongoing disagreement among scholars regarding the qualities that are needed to become an ideal person or a junzi. I shall accomplish my purpose by first providing a basic background of information on the topic, then identifying two conflicting interpretations of the qualities that are required by Hosung Ahn and Ha Poong Kim, adding my own critical response, and lastly offering my resolution using Antonio S. Cua’s interpretation on the topic. I will use Confucian Analects (1895) by James Legge as my primary source, along with â€Å"Junzi as a Tragic Person: A Self Psychological Interpretation of the Analects† (Ahn, 2008), â€Å"Confucius’s Aesthetic Concept of Noble Man: Beyond Moralism† (Ha, 2006), and â€Å"Virtues of Junzi† (Cua, 2007) as my secondary sources. 2. Background Information According to Chinese tradition, Confucius is one of the most outstanding thinker, political figure, educator, philosopher, and the founder of the Ru (? ) School of Chinese thought. Our textbook â€Å"The Eastern Paths to Philosophic Self-Enlightenment: An introduction to Eastern Philosophies† (2002) written by Professor Phan points out that Confucius’s thoughts are preserved in the Lunyu ( ) or the Analects, which is one of the Four Books. It is worth noting that the Analects was not written by Master Kong Zi (Confucius, ) himself, but complied by his close disciples when they recollected his â€Å"sayings† after Confucius’s death. Defined by Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Confucius’s teachings create the foundation on most of subsequent Chinese speculation on the education and comportment of the junzi ( ), and how such an individual should live his life, interact with others, and the types of society and government in which he should participate. On one hand, in 14:20, the Master said, â€Å"The way of the superior man is threefold, but I am not equal to it. Virtuous, he is free from anxieties; wise, he is free from perplexities; bold; he is free from fear. † While on the other hand, scholars have attempted to interpret the qualities of junzi differently. In the next section, I shall examine the conflicting interpretations of Ahn and Kim. 3. First Interpretation by Hosung Ahn A. Background on Confucianism and Psychological Connotations of Junzi In Ahn’s article, he provides historical background information on Confucianism being the most efficient ideological means of medieval and modern authoritarian governments in China and Korea (Ahn, 2008). Yet, Ahn argues that in the course of quoting Weber (1968), Confucianism and Daoism could not be introduced into modern capitalism due to their â€Å"thisworldliness. † Ahn depicts Confucianism as one of the major hindrances in the road toward modernization and industrialization and considers Confucius as a stubborn and conservative moralist whose ethical codes were oppressive. By introducing Heinz Kohut, an Austrian-born American psychoanalyst, Ahn compares Kohutian psychoanalysis such as self-psychology with Confucianism’s ideal person in the Analects. Ahn provides the basic background information in the purpose of identifying Confucianism as being neither sophisticated nor systematized; yet, Ahn suggests that the Analects could be interpreted as a pre-psychoanalytic self-psychology owing to the abundant self psychological insights in the Analects. Ahn then defines junzi as â€Å"a prince literally and a gentleman ordinarily,† and that in Confucianism, â€Å"a junzi is a noble person who attempts to actualize Confucian cardinal virtues in concrete human relationships at any cost. A junzi has often been considered a conformist or a conservative† (Ahn, 2008). Furthermore, Ahn states that Confucianism being established as an ethical and political orthodoxy in Korea was a rigid and authoritarian formalistic, and of which courtesy, rituals, and humanity were the fundamental standards of being a junzi (see Shun 2002). B. Ahn’s Thesis In this article, Ahn (2008) specifically points out that â€Å"a junzi is a tragic person in the Kohutian sense. Like a tragic person, a junzi follows his or her ideals with values deeply anchored in oneself even at the expense of one’s death. † Ahn thinks the most important standards of being a junzi are courtesy and rituals; he states that, â€Å"Confucius himself severely criticizes the externalized beauty and grandeur without the internalized quality of character† (Ahn, 2008). Most importantly, Ahn addresses that the core characteristic of the Kohutian tragic person is almost identically expressed in the Analects: humanity (ren, ? ), which is the ultimate virtue of Confucianism and that a junzi would rather die than giving up his or her ideals and values; which Ahn refers to as strikingly similar to Kohut’s definition of a tragic person. In terms of Ahn’s arguments for supporting his claim, he brings out the topic of xiaoren (small man, ) and defines it as â€Å"those whose ideals and values are superficially situated on the psyche as compared to junzi in the Analects† (Ahn, 2008). Ahn then identifies the difference between a xiaoren and a junzi employing Confucius’s saying, â€Å"The gentleman (junzi) is conversant with righteousness; the small man (xiaoren) is conversant with profit† (Analects, 4. 16). Ahn points out that because a xiaoren focus on what is beneficial to him or her only, he or she cannot but be vulnerable to the external vicissitudes. Similarly, according to Kohut, a xiaoren would â€Å"quickly and opportunistically adjust his or her convictions under the influence of external pressures† (cited in Ahn, 2008); whereas a junzi is determined to â€Å"adhere to the good (Way) until death† (Analects, 8. 13). Ahn then considers this determination as courage, and he quotes Kohut (1985) that â€Å"The culminate peace (in his death) achieved by the hero is†¦the ultimate ascendancy of a firm and life-affirming self† (p. 27). Ahn further proves that Confucius has expressed the same idea through: â€Å"If a man in the morning hears the right way, he may die in the evening without regret† (Analects, 4. 8). Thus, Hosung Ahn summarizes that a junzi, according to Confucius, is a person who searches for â€Å"the achievement of a psychological synthesis at all costs† (Ahn, 2008). In other words, Hosung Ahn interprets that Confucius thinks the quality an ideal person should cultivate, possess, and practice is the spirit of achieving a psychological synthesis or preserving his or her ideals and values at all costs. 4. Second Interpretation by Ha Poong Kim A. Background on Aesthetic Concept of a Noble Man In Kim’s article, he provides historical background information of the Analects being narrowly and moralistically interpreted. Kim points out that Confucius’s remarks such as from â€Å"the Book of Songs and Music† are commonly given an ethical meaning owing to the tradition of Confucius’s key term ren (humanness, ? ) as being an ethical term. Through offering a historical basis as a foundation, Kim attempts to broaden Confucius’s humanistic interpretation of ren as humanness or the human spirit. In details, Kim (2006) addresses that â€Å"while the word ren only rarely occurs in the pre-Confucian literature, it is used in works such as the Songs and the (Book of) History, essentially as a synonym of ren. † To demonstrate that Confucius’s teaching ren for the first time as the supreme principle of human existence and that Confucius is the discoverer of the human spirit in Chinese civilization, Kim introduces and explains other meanings and definitions of ren used in other Confucius or Mencius materials. Also, Ha Poong Kim offers the background information of â€Å"one-dimensional image of the Confucian junzi as a rigid moralist, a man whose distinguishing mark is just a fastidious observance of li (rites, ? )† (Kim, 2006). With all the background information and explanation provided by Kim, he expresses the fact that some of Confucius’s sayings in the Analects are purely aesthetic and any attempt to moralistically interpret them distorts their meanings. B. Kim’s Thesis Kim (2006) agrees with the normativity of Confucius’s concept of ren, yet he argues that the ground of its normativity is fundamentally aesthetic. In supporting his claim, Kim applies Confucius’s teaching: â€Å"Recognize beauty in abiding in ren. If one chooses not to stay in ren, how can one be considered to have attained wisdom? † (Analects, 4:1) Kim interprets this saying as Confucius stressing the recognition of the beauty of ren as a necessary condition of human wisdom, which is equivalent to the awareness of the human spirit. Kim defines this recognition as an aesthetic awareness. Then, through applying Confucius’s saying: â€Å"To become a junzi Ru (noble scholar, ), not a xiaoren Ru (common scholar, )† (Analects, 6:11); Kim points out the difference between a junzi and a xiaoren ultimately comes from the noble man’s awareness of the beauty of ren, which the small man (xiaoren) lacks. Kim explains that since a junzi has this aesthetic sensibility of humanness, he naturally desires, loves, and delights in ren and every manifestation of it. For the purpose of backing up Kim’s claim, he states Confucius believes that by studying the Songs, one would be best awakened, which then explains why Confucius repeatedly urges his pupils to study the Songs. Kim argues that Confucius’s teaching is to help the students become a junzi, who is a lover of ren, through arousing humanness that is obtained through the study of music. In this particular main argument, Kim (2006) summarizes that â€Å"for Confucius’s spiritual awakening, specifically the aesthetic awakening to ren, is the presupposition of the education of junzi. Without this wakening, the learner or scholar will remain a xiaoren Ru, no matter how well versed he may be in ritual subjects, and regardless of how blameless he may be in his ethical conduct. † Next, Kim offers another important argument that during Confucius’s years of wandering from state to state in search of a good ruler, he rarely parted with his lute. Sima Qian, an Ancient Chinese historian, revealed that once, surrounded by two hostile armies, Confucius and his disciples ran out of provisions in the wilderness between the states of Chen and Cai. With some of his disciples falling ill and being unable to get up, Confucius calmly continued singing songs and plucking his lute. Kim regards Confucius’s act as a man capable of forgetting everything else while enjoying music. Thus, in Kim’s point of view, what fundamentally separates Confucius’s junzi from the rest of humanity is the junzi’s aesthetic sensibility to ren. In other words, Kim believes that according to Confucius, the quality a junzi should cultivate, possess, and practice is the aesthetic awareness. Nevertheless, Kim mentions that through stressing the junzi as an aesthetic man, he is not denying a junzi’s many-sidedness. 5. Critique I agree with Hosung Ahn’s claim regarding junzi as a noble person who attempts to actualize Confucian cardinal virtues, and that courtesy, rituals, humanness, and courage are important criterions of becoming a junzi. Moreover, I agree with Ahn’s claim that a junzi would follow his or her ideals and values deeply anchored in oneself even at the expensed of death. However, I strongly disagree with Ahn’s opinion of Confucius’s teaching or his classification of a junzi as a tragic person. In my point of view, Ahn has made an inaccurate interpretation of one Confucius’s saying from the Analects. In 4:8, Confucius teaches that â€Å"If a man in the morning hear(s) the right way, he may die in the evening without regret. † Ahn interprets this saying as Confucius’s advocating of a junzi who must search for â€Å"achievements of a psychological synthesis at all costs† (Ahn, 2008), and this remarkably resembles a tragic person. As the exercise we conducted in our philosophy class on textual hermeneutics of the Confucian Dao in the Analects, this Confucius’s saying represents the importance of the Dao (way, ? ); which according to Confucius, with the experience of hearing the Dao, one could die without regrets afterwards. Thus, this person or this junzi would be a happy person since he contains the very important factor â€Å"Dao†, and that he is absolutely not a tragic person as Hosung Ahn considers as. In terms of Ha Poong Kim’s interpretation of a junzi, I agree with Kim regarding the fact that Confucius repeatedly urges his disciples to study the Songs and Music because it would indeed help his pupils awaken and broaden their minds, enjoy the six arts, and commit to the Dao. I also agree with Kim that a junzi is many-sidedness. What I do not agree with Kim is his differentiation of a junzi and a xiaoren through aesthetic awareness. As I mentioned above, Kim (2006) summarizes in this particular main argument that â€Å"†¦without this wakening, the learning or scholar will remain a xiaoren Ru, no matter how well versed he may be in ritual subjects, and no matter how blameless he may be in his ethical conduct. † In my opinion, apart from pointing out Confucius advocates his pupils to study the Songs and Music, Kim has not given sufficient evidence to support this claim. He has not shown any Confucius’s teaching that could demonstrate the fundamental difference between a xiaoren’s and a junzi’s aesthetic awareness, but rather Kim provides claims simply from his own exploration of Confucius’s thoughts. To further prove that Kim’s interpretation is inaccurate, there are numerous examples of junzi lacking of musical talents and xiaoren being extremely talented in aesthetic. In my opinion, Confucius does believe that music could change one’s mind, adjust one’s mood, smooth one’s qi (energy) and etc. , but Confucius certainly does not identify a junzi from a xiaoren based on aesthetics. 6. Resolution: Interdependent and Dependent Virtues of Junzi According to Antonio S. Cua, junzi is a paradigmatic individual who sets the tone and quality of the life of ordinary moral agents, and a junzi is a person who embodies ren (humanness, ? ), yi (righteousness, ? ), li (rites, ?). In addition, unlike Ahn or Kim, Cua recognizes that except the basic, interdependent, and cardinal virtues of ren, yi, and li, a junzi also involves particular dependent virtues such as filiality (xiao, ? ), magnanimity (kuan, ? ), trustworthiness (xin, ? ), and courage (yong, ? ). Cua regards these as dependent virtues in the sense that their ethical significance depends on connection with the basic, interdependent, and cardinal virtues; and Antonio S. Cua further stresses that dependent virtues are not subordinate or logical derivatives of the basic virtues. In 14:30, the Master said, â€Å"The way of the superior man is threefold, but I am not equal to it. Virtuous, he is free from anxieties; wise, he is free from perplexities; bold, he is free from fear. † As we interpreted in class that according to Confucius, to become a junzi, one must be morally good, intellectually wise, and psychologically brave. In my point of view, I highly agree with Cua’s claim and I think although Confucius identifies humanness, wisdom, and courage as the superior man’s three core virtues, interdependent virtues and dependent virtues work together to form the junzi. To clarify, Antonio S. Cua borrows Xunzi’s distinction, a Chinese Confucian philosopher who lived during the Warring States Period and contributed to one of the Hundred Schools of Thought, the cardinal virtues ren, yi, and li are generic terms, and dependent virtues such as xiao, kuan, xin, yong are specified terms. In other words, â€Å"specified terms are terms that specify the concrete significance of the cardinal virtues in particular contexts of discourse† (Cua, 2007). To demonstrate further, in the Analects, we could find fragments of Confucius’s remarks that mention both cardinal virtues and dependent virtues in the same contexts. For example, â€Å"There were four things which the Master taught: letters (wen, ? ), ethics (xing, ? ), devotion of soul (zhong, ? ), and truthfulness (xin, ? ). † Confucius, The Analects, 7. 25 And in 14:28 we could find Confucius’s teaching of ren, zhi (wisdom, ? ), and yong (courage, ? ); in 3:19 li and zhong; in 13:4 li, yi, and xin and so on. For heuristic purposes, Cua regards dependent virtues as two different groups: supportive and constitutive virtues. Cua explains that the distinction between are that the former are â€Å"genial or helpful, though not necessary, to the development of the cardinal virtues such as ren, yi, and li;† whereas the latter, are those that are â€Å"both supportive and constitutive of the quality of the cardinal virtues actualized† (Cua, 2007). Also, depending on the character and temperament, a constitutive and supportive virtue varies, that is, what is merely a constitutive attribute in one person may be a supportive merit for another. Thus, Cua believes that Confucius’s idea of the junzi is flexible or adaptable, and I highly agree with him. To sum up, in my point of view, according to Confucius, what qualities a junzi should cultivate, possess, and practice is the unity of virtues that consists of ren, yi, and li as the basic cardinal virtues, and combining with other qualities such as xiao, yong, zhong, xin, kuan, etc. Depending on each different person and situation, the mapping of the virtues of junzi is in the distinction between basic, cardinal, interdependent and dependent, supportive and constitutive virtues, which may be referred to â€Å"the way of the superior man is unityfold. † 7. Conclusion On this paper, I provided background information of the topic; I discussed and dissected two interpretations made by Hosung Ahn and Ha Poong Kim. In response to Ahn’s and Kim’s argument, I have made a personal critique that a junzi is not a tragic person and that a junzi is not required to possess aesthetic awareness. I then offered my resolution along with employing Antonio S. Cua’s interpretation of this topic. In short, by presenting a map of junzi’s virtues that consists of both interdependent and dependent virtues; it reveals that the Confucius’s conception of junzi is a unity of virtues with flexibility. Works Cited Ahn, Hosung. Junzi as a Tragic Person: A Self Psychological Interpretation of the Analects. Pastoral Psychology, 57. 1/2 (2008): 101. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 1 Apr. 2012. Confucius (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy). Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Metaphysics Research Lab, CSLI, Stanford University, 3 July 2002. Web. 1 May 2012. Cua, Antonio. Virtues of Junzi. Journal of Chinese Philosophy, 34 (2007): 125. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 28 Mar. 2012 Kim, Ha Poong. Confuciuss Aesthetic Concept of Noble Man: Beyond Moralism. Asian Philosophy, 16. 2 (2006): 111. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 28 Mar. 2012 Kohut, H (1985). Self psychology and the science of man. In Humanities and self psychology: Reflections on a new psychoanalytic approach (pp. 73-94). New York: Norton. Legge, James. Confucian Analects. In Vol. I of Chinese Classics. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1895. Print. Phan, Cha? nh Co? ng. The Eastern paths to philosophic self-enlightenment: an introduction to Eastern philosophies. Dubuque, Iowa: Kendall/Hunt Pub. Co. , 2002. Print. Shun, K. -L. (2002). Ren ? and li ? in the Analects. In B. W. Van Norden (Ed. ), Confucius and the Analects: New essays (pp.53-72). New York: Oxford University Press. Weber, M. (1968). The religion of China (H. Gerth, Trans. ). New York: Free Press. [ 2 ]. The numbering of the book/chapter of a passage from the Analects follows James Legge’s in his translation of the text (1895). [ 3 ]. The cited phrase comes from The religion of China by Weber, M. [ 4 ]. Ren ? and li ? in the Analect. Confucius and the Analects written by K. Shun, as cited in Hosung Ahn’s article.

Country PESTEL Analysis: Iran

Country PESTEL Analysis: Iran Despite political and economic ups and downs and uncertainties IRAN remains one of the Middle East top countries when it comes to the growth potential. With largest young population IRAN is considered one of the best export markets in the region. POLITICAL: Unique factor is that it is religious and Islamic. The political system of Islamic republic is based on 1979 constitution. Accordingly it is duty of Islamic government to furnish all citizens with equal and appropriate opportunities. The white revolution which is a step taken with a view to strengthening the foundation of the despotic regime and to maintain the economic links. The tax environment for foreign businesses is highly risky. The corporate tax rate has been lowered to a flat 25% from the previous maximum of about 60. The fiscal year starts on March 21 and ends on March 20 of other year. TYPES OF TAX Income tax Islamic taxes Real estate taxes Capital gain tax Indirect taxes ECONOMICAL FACTORS: Inflation rate for IRAN is 13.50% for year 2010 while in 2009 it was 25.60%. It is transition economy with large public sector and estimated 50% of economy centrally planned. A unique feature is the large size of religious foundations whose combined budget makes up more than 30% of central government. Unemployment rate is 11.80%. According to official estimates some 3.5 million working age Iranians are currently unemployed. The jobless rate is high among women and youth of Islamic republic. GDP- real growth rate is 1.50%. GDP per capita is $ 4732. It is 18th largest economy purchasing power parity. Irans non-oil exports, excluding gas condensates to the Gulf Cooperation Council [GCC] were valued at $2.281 billion during the first 9 months of the current Iranian calendar year (March-December, 2010), showing 25 percent over the same period last year. The economic growth prospect for IRAN in 2011 is 3.2%. Prospects for both developing and high income economies of Middle East and North Africa should improve through 2011. Oil prices are expected to remain broadly stable over the forecast period, at around $75 a barrel.  Strong global activity is allowing crude oil to return positive growth. Oil prices are expected to remain stable over forecast period at $75 per barrel. GDP growth for developing oil exporters should reach 3.1 and 3.7 percent, respectively, in 2010 and 2011. Basic statistics and population Physical areas: Area of the country 164 800 000 ha Cultivable area 51 000 000 ha Annual crops 12 106 644 ha Permanent crops 1 686 619 ha Population: Total population 60 050 000 inhabitants Population density 36.4 inhab./km ² Rural population 38.3 % Water supply coverage: Urban population 95 % Rural population 86 % EXPORTS in IRAN   Below are the top 10 U.S. exports to Iran during the first 5 months of 2010. Soybeans à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ $50.3 million, up 3.2% from 2009 (54.7% of total) Chemical wood pulp à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ $11.4 million, up 87.7% (12.4%) Other acrylic polymers à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ $4.5 million, down 21.1% (4.9%) Other blood fractions à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ $3.6 million, down 38.4% (3.9%) Bovine semen à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ $3.4 million, up 90.9% (3.7%) Multiple vitamins à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ $2 million, down 33.3% (2.2%) Patient monitoring systems à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ $1.5 million, up 93.5% (1.7%) Other vitamins including natural concentrates à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ $1.49 million, up from nil in 2009 (1.6%) Insulin and its salts à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ $1.4 million, up from nil (1.5%) Heparin and its salts à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ $1.1 million, down 81.3% (1.2%). Mostly agricultural and medical items, the top U.S. exports above represent 87.9% of all American shipments to Iran. IMPORTS in IRAN U.S. imports from Iran amounted to $29.6 million during the first 5 months of 2010, up 3.2% from 2009. Hand-hooked carpets  of wool or fine animal hair à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ U.S.$16.9 million, up 8.2% (61.7% of total) Berry juice à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ $4 million, up 10,757% (13.5%) Shelled pistachios à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ $1.3 million, up 148.8% (4.4%) Ancient antiques à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ 1.2 million, down 72.9% (4.1%) Untufted or unflocked man-made fiber carpets à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ $805,000 up 520.8% (2.7%) Hand-knotted textile carpets à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ $612,000 down 67.4% (2.1%) Hand-woven wool carpets à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ $402,000 down 11.2% (1.4%) Fresh or dried figs à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ $300,000 up 418% (1%) Hand-inserted pile carpets of wool or fine animal hair à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ $274,000 up 1,543% (0.9%) Saffron à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ $270,000 up 69.4% (0.9%). The above products represent 92.7% of all Iranian imports into the United States so far in 2010. Iranian carpets remain among the most popular imported items from Iran. SOCIAL FACTORS Government and people are not working together. Chances are much that Taliban is able to strengthen the base.   The nuclear laboratory that is functional here is also a cause of big tension. Obama administration is making the other countries of the world to also bring their attention towards Iran and come out with the ways in which it could be subjected to rebuilding its view towards Iran.   In Iran, the family is the basis of the social structure.   The concept of family is more private than in many other cultures. Female relatives must be protected from outside influences and are taken care of at all times. It is inappropriate to ask questions about an Iranians wife or other female relatives.   Loyalty to the family comes before other social relationship, even business. Iranians see themselves as having two distinct identities: zaher (public) and batin (private).   When they are in public, they must conform to accepted modes of behaviour. It is only within their homes among their inner circle that they feel free to be themselves. Family members are always part of the inner circle.   The inner circle forms the basis of a persons social and business network. Friendship is very important and extends into business. The people from the inner circle can be relied upon to: offer advice, help find a job, or cut through bureaucracy. HEALTH AND WELFARE Health conditions have been improved after World War 2. Many of the disease such as small pox, cholera have been wiped out. Public hospitals are there which provides treatment to the poor. All health services are supervised by ministry of health, Treatment and medical education. TECHNOLOGICAL FACTORS Nanotechnology in fields helping to make best quality products at lower cost. IT companies collaborating to access the market. Inventions and innovation rate. Mechanization trend in the country. Irans apparently clandestine efforts to build a nuclear weapons program are a major foreign policy challenge for the Obama administration. ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS Vehicles emissions, refinery operations, industrial effluents which contribute to por air quality. Most cars here use leaded gas and lack emission control equipment. Buses and cars running on natural gas are planned to replace the existing public transportation fleet in nature. Iran is suffering from overgrazing and deforestation. Wet land and bodies of fresh water are being destroyed as industries are increasing. It contends that the international rush to develop oil and gas reserves in the Caspian Sea presents that region with a new set of environmental threats. To evaluate the prevalence of overweight and obesity among Iranian adolescents and their relationship with modifiable environmental factors. POTENTIAL SOURCES USING PORTER IRAN first nuclear power which has born after many years. Russia is helping IRAN for launching nuclear power. Iran is already an irritant and potential source of crisis in Turkish-American relations. Ankara has significant economic ties and energy contracts with Tehran. The total trade volume between the two countries is $10 billion and expected to double in the next three years given Turkeys growing need for natural gas and willingness to lessen its dependence on Russia. With continued Israeli threats to attack Irans nuclear program Iran has a right to defend its skies against attackers. Iran has signed an arms deal with the Russian Roso boron export arms group to buy 250 Su-30 MKM warplanes and 20 Il-78 MKI aerial tankers. THREATS The US is dispatching Patriot defensive missiles to four countries Qatar, united Arab,  Bahrain  and  Kuwait   and keeping two ships in the Gulf capable of shooting down Iranian missiles. ANALYSIS IRAN is one of the few major economies that have kept positive growth despite 2009 global financial crisis and international sanctions relating to nuclear power. Distortion resulting from combination of price control and subsidies particularly on food and energy continues to weigh down the economy. There is wide spread corruption relating to private growth. High oil prices this year have enabled IRAN to amass US$100 billion in foreign exchange reserves. But there is still double digit unemployment and inflation in economy. GDP growth for developing oil exporters reached 3.1 and 3.7 percent, respectively, in 2010 and 2011. BIBLOGRAPHY http://www.payvand.com/news/10/jan/1220.html http://www.indexmundi.com/iran/gdp_real_growth_rate.html http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/07/01/world/main6639202.shtml http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:DemoIR.JPG http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Iraneco.PNG http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iran http://analysis.newsvine.com/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Islamic_Republic_of_Iran

Essay --

Everyone in the world can access the internet now. People can use different devices to access the internet now. Whether you are in China, Europe, Africa, or the United States, you have access to the internet in some way. I will be talking about the use of internet access around the world. Also, areas that do not have internet access or have low amount of access to the internet. I will also talk about bandwidths that are in some areas and what they are using being used for. The paper will start with a little history of how the internet first started and how it continues to develop. Next, will be the use of internet in the U.S. The way internet has been accessible in homes. Then, will be the use of broadband in the United States and other areas. After that, is the use of internet access in rural areas. Finally, Will be the use of access to the internet using devices. 2. BACKGROUND AND SIGNIFICANCE The first internet started about 50 years ago in the United States. It started out as a government weapon for researchers to use to share data and communicate with each other. During the 1950s, the Soviet Union lunched the first satellite that was made by man into orbit. The satellite was called Sputnik. The only thing it did was traveling around the earth sending radio transmissions. After that, American scientist decided to focus more on technology and science to further advance their technology. Different corporations decided to use their government funded money and place it in scientific research and development. Even the federal government used their own money to create NASA and ARPA (Advanced Research Project Agency) so that they can have a place to create more technology. During the 1960s, there was a computer scientist called J.... ...ation in those areas is low. The rural area lacks broadband more than urban areas because there are less people in rural areas. The number of people that lives without broadband is about 19 million, but there are 14.5 million people that live in rural areas, according to the FCC. Even if there is not much broadband service in those areas, rural and urban areas are slowly obtaining the service. Another reason why rural and urban areas lack broadband service is because of the cost to get the service in those areas. The cost will increase depending on how far the area. Companies knows that it will cost them large amounts of money to put broadband in rural areas even if there is a high demand for it. The lack of broadband service in certain areas can also affect the growth of the economy when someone is trying to find out how the economy has improved in the past years.

JUNE :: essays research papers

To Pay or Not to Pay   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  June Stephenson’s passage is about how men commit the most crime in America and women are still expected to pay their unfair share for male pursuit. June suggests that since men outnumber women ninety-four to six men should pay one hundred dollars more in their IRS returns. The author carries a chauvinist tone through out the passage and really gets carried away when she starts blaming all men because we are all â€Å"brothers†. I strongly disagree! We can not start pointing fingers and say men commit most of the crime, so men have to pay more taxes. I especially disagree with the statement that we all share the blame for crime, because we are all brothers. How can she expect that us as men take responsibility for actions of other men?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The first reason I disagree is because why should men pay more tax than women, it is like saying if more Latino or black men are in prison Latino and black men should pay more taxes. Does a commuter that uses the freeway five or more times a week pay more tax than a person who does not commute to work and uses the freeway five time in a year? Does a taxpayer with five children pay more school tax than a taxpayer with no kids? We as taxpayers get taxed according to our income not on how much we use tax money.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Another reason I strongly disagree with June’s passage is when she says; â€Å"Your brothers are murders, stock market manipulators, gang rapists, robbers, arsonists, litters, polluters, and child abusers.† What? Women do not commit any of these crimes. The author thinks that just being a male one has to share the blame for crimes because it is our â€Å"brothers†. That is the most illogical and ridiculous thing, I have ever read in my life. Does June share the blame for those women who are in prison because it is her â€Å"sisters†. Finally I disagree about how men do not take responsibly for their contribution to the violence in this country. June says, â€Å"This Country cannot count on its men to rectify its violent nature.† Maybe not all men take responsibly for their contribution to violence but not all men are criminals, there are many men who work hard to rectify violence. Imagine how violence would be if all men did nothing to rectify violence it would be a total chaos.

Health Society Essay

1. What would be an argument in support of sin taxes on fast-food meals?Considering that fast-food meals are usually less expensive than healthier options and provide food quickly for underpaid and overworked Americans, how might sin taxes unintentionally reproduce class difference? A good argument on the issue of taxing fast food is that it could help the health of our society. Most people tend to buy fast food because of time or just not wanting to cook and because most of the healthier food is more difficult to gain financially. Taxing this type of food may help in some way in reducing the high percentage of people who prefer junk food over healthier, however, not only people who do not have the ability financially to buy food buy food healthier fast, most people are poor or rich, at least once in their life bought fast food. So I think that on one hand the rise of fast food taxes may help, but may also have little effect. So, I think there is no argument that safe enough for this problem. besides, I think if implemented taxes on fast food are placed I think not much difference between social classes because most people can buy fast food without being too rich, I do not think there is a difference but it can be seen as people who often eat fast food very often buy more healthy food, because if taxes are raised on fast food may have almost the same price as the food healthier and that will think twice when people buy food choices. 2. How could the social construction of illness help us understand hypochondria? The social construction of illness can help us to understand hypochondria by telling us what is this disease about and why it is developed. First, it may help us by telling us what are the causes of this disease and the main factors that influence in order to develop this kind of disease. Also it may help us by telling us if there is any social beliefs about this disease and how it may be seen by people. Then, social construction will help us to understand this disease by making experiments, polls, and surveys in order to develop a diagnose or create a treatment. This will also help us to understand how to live and deal with this kind of disease and to know the reactions and other kind of factors and effects to consider. Finally medical  knowledge about illness and disease is given to us to understand it correctly to manage a severe disease like hypochondria. I believe that social construction of illness can help us in many ways to understand all kinds of diseases and Social constructionism also provides an important interpretation to medicine’s largely deterministic information about disease and illness, and it can help us to make the right decisions.