Philippine History Essay

I admire what Jose Rizal did in helping and gaining the liberty and freedom of our country. What he did was heroic because he fought for freedom in a silent but powerful way. He did not form and train soldiers and use swords and guns in fighting for democracy. He did the very effective tactic in inspiring and educating his fellow Filipino. His writings were very powerful that had opened the eyes of millions of Filipinos in that time. It serves as their encouragement during their very disappointing situation. Jose Rizal awakened the Filipino’s hopes and dreams to have freedom and peace for every while living under the abusive and corrupt Spaniards. He expressed his love to the people through his inspiring novels, essays, articles and poems rather than a force of aggression. Rizal’s great love and sensitivity to the needs of the people especially to the misfortune ones was overwhelming as evidence by his sincere services to the people as doctor, engineer, teacher, artist, farmer, and the like. His impressive intelligence made a great impact to all and that’s what makes him the Philippine Hero.This is just some of Rizal’s traits that prove his heroic deeds to our country. His honoring deeds has to be followed and live by everybody. His example is exceptional and worthy to be called a Hero. I am convince that such act may seem unattainable but it starts with doing the right thing in some little ways may a big difference and impact to the society. Being a teacher was one of Rizal’s profession and if all teachers would have the same passion as of Rizal, surely a small town, city and country would also produce great students and/or citizens of our country. The Philippine revolution led by Andres Bonifacio was fueled by the writings of Jose Rizal, the Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo, which made a more lasting impression. This is one of the best arguments of those who believe that Rizal is rightfully the national hero. Rizal was truly an inspiration to many Filipinos during the Spanish period. According to the historian Rafael Palma, Rizal was more deserving of the national hero title. Rizal was even thought to have suggested that Antonio Luna lead the revolutionary  forces since Luna has studied military science which was a brilliant idea to lessen casualties against the powerhouse Spanish militia. Rizal believed that only an army that was well prepared and had enough arms would ensure victory .

Online Education vs. Traditional Education

While most believe online education is easy as the student is just sitting in front of the computer, attending class online is more challenging than attending class in a classroom because requires time management skills and requires self-discipline. Attending college online requires the college student to have excellent time management skills. The majority of online students have responsibilities other than attending school. Usually this is why the decision to attend school online is made. The online student must be able to balance school, work, and a family. Attending school at a traditional school is not as flexible as the time schedule is set in place and the student must arrange their schedule around school, work, and family. Online education allows more flexibility in the online class schedule. However, proper management must be maintained in order to balance all of the responsibilities and be successful in all areas. â€Å"Not only do students need to monitor their progress in an ongoing fashion and adjust their strategies for learning based on their progress, they also need to maintain a time management schedule in order to complete online learning activities in the allotted timeframes. (Orellana, Hudgins, & Simonson, 2009, p. 470). The online student must be able to continue to work full-time and take care of family. All of these things must be done including attending school. Adding online education to the list of responsibility may assist the online student becomes well organized. An online student can possibly check-in the onl ine classroom during lunchtime while at work. Homework assignments can be done during â€Å"homework hour† at home with the children. In order to be successful attending school online, the online college student must practice self-discipline. In a traditional classroom, the student the instructor holds the student accountable for all assignments and participation in class. While the same applies for the online college student, accountability is the student. There will not be a â€Å"reminder† from the instructor on a daily basis whether the student is participating in the discussion group or if the student has completed an assignment. Online learning can be more convenient, effective and rewarding than traditional classes, but convenience doesn't mean it's easier,† says Gwen Hillesheim, interim chief academic officer and provost of Colorado Technical University, a leading provider of education for career-motivated students. â€Å"Successful online students need to be proactive in their studies and take responsibility for their own learning. It takes self-discipline and time management to do your best. But when the student is engaged, the learning can be significant and the experience fulfilling. ARA, (2010, November 3, Creston News Advertiser). Online students must comply with the University participation requirements in order to succeed. Self-discipline is required as it is solely up to the student to log in each day and participate in class. Unlike traditional classrooms where the schedule is set and students are reminded by staff daily to participate; the University notifies online students that do not make the required participation requirements after they have failed to do so. Most individuals that opt to attend school online are returning to school to complete a college degree. Usually this option is chosen due to work schedule as well as time with the family. Online education is not for everyone as it takes great discipline and maturity in order to be a successful online student. â€Å"At the same time, online education is not for everyone — you have to have a certain level of maturity and self-motivation, since you have to juggle coursework with job and family responsibilities. It demands a great deal of individualized work and you have to manage your schedule to meet class requirements rather than attend at a specific time of the week. â€Å"Michele Smolik, Director of Instructional Technology at Columbia College. Traditional students usually are not full-time employees. A person attending a University on campus is usually either taking one class or a full-time student working a part-time job. Online education allows an individual to maintain a full-time job however in order to qualify as a full-time student two classes are taken at a time. Traditional students attending class on campus have the advantage of accessing the instructor during class instruction if a question should arise. Online students must communicate with instructors via email or by utilizing the message board located on the student portal. This type of learning is not the right choice for everyone as some need individual instruction. Some argue that online students are â€Å"teaching† themselves, as there is no verbal instruction from an instructor. At most online universities instruction is given weekly during the discussion group forum by the instructor. The online student must make it a responsibility to participate in weekly discussion forums as well as keep up with weekly readings. Students that delay themselves in participating in the discussion group usually maintain a low grade. All of this is vital in order to be a successful online student. Assignments for class are usually due weekly and due at the end of the week. Students must submit the assignment via the class portal. It is imperative that the student have the correct software in order to submit the assignment as it is the student’s responsibility that the assignment is submitted on time with no exceptions. This is not an issue for traditional students as instructors are able to accept assignments in person from students. Essays and other assignments can be submitted by hard copy, which eliminates the concern of computer complications or the non-compatibility of software with the University. Online education has been debated throughout the years of its brief existence however most will agree that it is much more challenging than traditional education. Attending school is challenging whether in a traditional classroom setting or attending school online as responsibility is the main factor. However, as an online student it is imperative to be organized, responsible, and maintain strict discipline in order to be a successful online student. These factors make attending school online much more difficult as it is magnified much more.

Comparing Financial Systems Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

Comparing Financial Systems - Essay Example Economic globalization is the utopia towards which the world is moving. Yet, it is deemed to be practically impossible due to the different financial systems that exist in different countries. While some countries have a severely competitive market, others have a bank based economic system. Bank based system poses to secure ‘and mobilize savings, allocating capital, overseeing the investment decisions of corporate managers and also providing risk management vehicles.1’ Whereas, the market system is more competitive in a dual way. Different companies in the market are competing with each other and also the companies compete with the banks, which are still considered to be the conventional mode of getting savings earned by people. Yet, in the countries like U.K and U.S.A, people do risk to invest in the share markets and other companies which often help them earn more money than bank interest. Many analysts across the world have suggested that the market based financial sy stem is more lucrative than the bank based system, but the risk factor involved is also very high as compared to the bank based system, which has minimal risk factor. Now a study on the different financial systems of the world is bound to raise crucial questions which will be chronologically answered in the report. Chapter 1 Broad Classification of the Financial Systems – Bank Versus Market The development of any country is based on the reforms introduced and to introduce any reform, a stable financial system is very necessary. Structural reforms are mostly based on the financial system of a country. Most developing nations which have a centralized economy lack a full fledged financial system which is a big disadvantage for them. Financial system has a vast positive impact of financial development on economic growth and development 2. The financial structure among countries can be either bank based or market based or underdeveloped. The underdeveloped economies have both unde rdeveloped banks and market values. But flourishing financial systems can fall into either bank based financial system or market based one. It is popularly assumed that bank based financial systems are less flourishing compared to the market based ones but Japan stands as the biggest flourishing example of bank based financial system. Countries with a stronger economy and monetary strength have better developed financial systems. The countries which have a higher income always tend to get inclined towards the market based financial system because in these countries the stock market has higher efficiency and are relatively more active compared to the banks. The countries which have low corruption and protect shareholder’s rights are more inclined to the banks as they are looking for security more than earning 3. The bank based concentrates on the different roles of the banks such as getting information about the firm, the board of directors and trying their best to improve the allocation of funds as well as corporate governance. It also

Analyse the political regime of Russia and its level of democracy by Essay

Analyse the political regime of Russia and its level of democracy by using the Varieties of democracy - Essay Example They have executed these principles through several formal institutional measures and informal procedures and practices. Based on the seven verities principles, this essay will intellectualize and empirically analyze this variety within the established democracy of Russia. Electoral Democracy is the foundation on which most of the other conceptions build; the electoral principle of democracy identified with the elite, competition and contestation. Minimal Schumpeterian or realist democracy is the idea that democracy is attained through tough competition among leader groups, which contest for approval from the electorates. Elections and parties form the core part of the procedural account of the process. In most cases, it involves an active media, civil liberties, an independent judiciary and a written constitution among others (Joshi, 2012). The populace within the country determine the individuals that govern them, or have the ability and right to vote. However, on numerous occasions, such democracies are only so by name; real political opposition may be lacking Currently, the electoral democracy of Russia is facing limited success. The judicial system is highly influenced by the elite and rich in society. The electoral process has lost potential and as a result, the elections have damaged party organizations, which is the biggest problem to attaining electoral democracy. Recent studies have proved that the ability of parties to engage the public on critical issues is faced with limited success. Recent evidence indicates that under the current structure, proximity to elections decelerates the party-building progress. Most coalitions amongst parties do not agree on economic, political and cultural issues salient to the electorate. In addition, with this election system as in the earlier systems, voters are confronted with an entirely revised political

Branding Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Branding - Essay Example The TBI magazine is sold by the vendors who are homeless in UK (Big Issue, 2013d). Brand Audit A brand audit is conducted to examine the current strategic position of the company, identify the areas which are of additional value and suggest recommendations to improve the brand image of the company. A brand audit is conducted periodically by the management of the company to assess the market position of the company and that of its competitors. The study will conduct a brand audit of the TBI magazine to understand its current market position and suggest ways to strengthen its brand image further. Brand Score Card Firstly, The Brand Score Card would be conducted to measure the performance of TBI. The four major dimensions of the scorecard would be functional performance, convenience of access of the products, brand personality and pricing of the product (Pfoertsch and Kotler, 2006). Functional Performance TBI is the only street entertainment magazine in UK; it provides employment opport unities, financial assistance and housing facilities to the homeless people of UK. Apart from being a magazine seller, TBI also acts a charitable organization accepting donations from individual for providing facilities for the homeless people. Currently, the TBI magazine provides employment opportunities to more than 2000 homeless people of UK. ... TBI is solely dependent on charitable donations made by individuals, other charitable organizations, corporations, government etc. Since, the operations of TBI are solely based on the donations the company does not have the opportunity to expand its activities further. Being a social organization TBI does not lay special emphasis on the logo, brand ambassador, packaging and promotional activities. The organization is supported extensively by various other charitable organizations, government etc for funding purposes. For example GISDA has decided to collaborate with TBI to help the homeless people especially aged between 16 to 25 years old (Big Issue, 2013a). Pricing Value Component The magazine is bought at a price of 75 pence by the vendors and sold for ?1.50 making a profit of 50 percent per issue. It is one of the least expensive entertainment magazines of UK (O2, 2010). The minimum value of donating money to TBI is ?10 which is deducted through SMS facility of the donor. Quantit ative &Qualitative Brand Elements Profitability TBI is a social enterprise which aims at providing monetary and non monetary benefits to the homeless people of UK and the main objective of the organization is not to yield profits. The organization runs most of its operation through donations. As per the annual report of TBI in the year 2012 the organization received voluntary donations and statutory grants of ?1273475 (Big Issue, 2013b). The organization incurred an expenditure of ?112008; the received donation was spent providing financial, housing, legal and health benefits to the homeless people (Big Issue, 2013b). A certain proportion of the money is spent on the up gradation of the

Construction Management 'Contract Law' Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Construction Management 'Contract Law' - Essay Example However, it might also be noted that most of the issues in the building industry has already been faced by many and need not be learnt by us or that there is no need to foresee the problems and produce a document catering to all the nuances of the business. It is better and easier and many times more accurate to adopt and alter the existing standard construction agreements for our own benefit, if needed. RIBA 2005 is the new set of documents that is available for construction companies and builder to make up contracts with every one of the sub contractors. Construction contracts are more in line with the expectations of the construction industry. Most of the standard forms cater to the complete requirement of the project. This also specifies the forms that get used during the process to ensure that the work is reported back to the main contractor in right earnest. Most of the contract agreements not just specify the terms of the agreement legally, but also specify other formats that become day-to-day reporting formats and for metrics of the project and its progress. There are formats that are looked at as 'one with the contractor's design'. The contractors' design and the execution would go together in the case of the project. This will ensure that there is a single point contract for the owner and the responsibility of execution rests with the contractor for both. This may not be comfortable in our current case since there could be changes in the design and the concepts which the owner might like to modify as the construction progresses. The basic idea of the contract is to ensure that the requirements of 'the Employer' or the client are met in full form. In order to ensure that this happens, the contract would always start with an Employer's requirements or Contractors proposals. This will have all the requirements of the employer or the owner listed in detail and specifies the base purpose of the requirement as well. This will not look at the design specifications or any other material that might be a part of the construction in it. This will only detail the requirements and the complete specifications for the project. This could be the cost of the project or the budget allocation from the client; this should also list the constraints within which the contractor is supposed to work. The limitations could be in terms of time, money, land and in any of the other parameters. The contractor needs to necessarily work within these constraints and meet the requirements that have been raised by the employer. These requirem ents will form the basis of the contractor's proposals. Based on the requirements document that is given by the employer or the owner, the contractor provides his contractors' proposal. This proposal in our case will be with the architect. Based on the requirements from the employer, the contractor would prepare the proposal so that it should meet the requirements espoused by the employer. However, if the contractors' proposal were to raise any issues or contradictions or clarifications, the same can be further clarified with the contractor and his exact commitment as to the execution of the contract can be laid out. This could lead to an increase in the price or might lead to an extension of time. However, this would

Employee Relations in Human Resources Management Case Study

Employee Relations in Human Resources Management - Case Study Example The C.E.O. has a surprise for you, but it turns out that you do not like it. You decide to leave the room and your subordinate boo you. Being booed by your subordinate creates a hostile work environment. The nature of the surprise- an explicit dance on the pole – is wrong. The C.E.O. later follows you and instead of apologizing he makes the situation worse, first, he thinks you are unreasonable. He also says that if you were more social with him, you two could go amazing places. In other words, the C.E.O. discriminates against you for not being social with him. He goes ahead and massages you at the back. You are aggrieved by this even more and decide to complain to the C.EO. He does not listen to you and decide to fire you. The controlling law WLAD (Washington law against discrimination) will apply because the company is based in Washington. The law provides that managers and supervisors are personally liable for committing the discriminating act. The C.E.O. is your boss and therefore personally liable to for discriminating you. The WLAD will apply because of possible discrimination based on gender and sexual harassment. The CEO will be personally liable because the surprise aggrieved you and resulted to boo from the subordinates. The human resource employee in Washington may file a charge with Washington human right commission in this case. The commission will commence a lawsuit on behalf of the aggrieved employee. The employee may utilize the prosecution and investigational powers to file a discrimination charge. The lawsuit may seek compensatory damages injunctive relief and attorneys’ fees.

The Key Agent of Socialization Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

The Key Agent of Socialization - Assignment Example Therefore, as a young adult, they taught me to be free and to view everyone as equal and friendly. The inter-gender interaction was not frowned upon, and we could play with our neighbors freely. In addition, I learned to respect my elders but not to be mistreated just because I am a kid, therefore, I should do as told. I could question some aspects of life that my parents took upon themselves to explain why some things had to be done without questioning. The story is different with my grandfather; aged eighty-seven. During his time as a young parent, all parents were more like dictators. They shared the same parenting skills, and could command everything to be done without questioning. The children during their time were not allowed to question their parents; hence, they followed everything to the latter without raising an eyebrow. When it comes to inter-gender interaction, boys were only allowed to play with boys and so were girls. They only interacted with each other after they were deemed to have matured, as young adults. This was quite a contrast to how I was raised during a period considered as the ‘digital

Why is the subject of migration in this period c.300-1087 so Essay

Why is the subject of migration in this period c.300-1087 so controversial - Essay Example ontinued to be the common language of England (non-Danelaw) until after the Norman Conquest of 1066 when, under the influence of the Anglo-Norman language spoken by the Norman ruling class, it changed into Middle English roughly between 1150-1500. (Stenton, 54) But the central paradox of the Anglo- Saxon migration stays firm within the unavailability of substantial evidences. Till date there are considerable debates as to the extent of Anglo-Saxon migration from the fourth to the sixth centuries. This because we are unable to finds enough evidences regarding this migration and whatever is available proves to be unworthy as a sustainable source to prove within the academic consensus. As a result no single model of Anglo- Saxon migration can be taken into account academically. The initial interpretation of the Anglo- Saxon migration during the fourth to the sixth centuries suggested that the Anglo-Saxon tribes arrived in Britain in large numbers and settled down instantly. This process was instigated by mass genocide and effective displacement of the local communities of the ‘Britons’ (as depicted in Latin Texts) from the eastern and southern parts of the island. It is also believed that a minority of the Romano-British fled to Brittany and Galicia in northern Spain. Probably during the early sixth-century or late fifth century monk Gildas narrated the defeat of the British in the hand of the English and stated that this defeat was the result of a punishment from God in his writing De Excidio Britanniae. (Gildas, 77) A similar narrative appeared in Bede’s Historia Ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum, written in the early eighth century, which drew heavily on Gildas. This era of cataclysm was focussed by later Anglo-Saxon and British (Welsh) documents on the basic differences between the English and the Welsh. But many historians doubt the story - believing many or most Britons survived - but evidence to back up their account has always been hard to find. This is

Northern Ireland and the Ulster League Essay Example for Free

Northern Ireland and the Ulster League Essay This paper will deal with the well known battle in Ulster between Catholics and Protestants, specifically in the pre-independence document known as the Ulster league and Covenant, a document that sought to maintain allegiance to the English state and ultimately, after southern independence, to create the 6 county statelet in the North that would be dominated by Protestants and their vehicle, the Orange Order. During World War I, and up until the recognition of the independence of the 26 counties in 1921, Ireland was in turmoil. The older, 19th century parliamentary politics had broken down, and a more militant movement deriving from the secret Irish republican Brotherhood (Townshend, 2006, 3-7ff) had emerged under the charismatic leadership of Michael Collins and the â€Å"President† of the Provisional Republic, Eamonn de Valera. Given this growing militancy, the Ulster League, realizing that the 6 counties of the northeast were the only place in Ireland where Protestants can create a state where they can be the majority, drew up this famous document, a document that drew the battle lines between the two communities that rages to this day (Townshend, 2006, 36-37). â€Å". . . that home rule would be disastrous to the material well being of Ulster as well as the whole of Ireland. . â€Å" This pointed phrase speaks to the financial dominance of Protestants in the industrialized six counties, as well as â€Å"our civil and religious freedom. † The Ulster Orangemen believed that a Catholic Ireland would launch a new Inquisition to eliminate Protestants, and ally the strategic island with enemies of the British Empire. The basic view is that the Protestant ascendency did not hold Catholics to be as civilized or as educated (in the sense of â€Å"intelligent†) as the British, the Protestants (Townshend, 2006, 33ff). This is class Orangism: Protestantism means individual rights and liberties, as well as Catholic economics, Catholicism means oppression and national subservience to Rome and its allies (Townshend, 2006, 77-80). For the Orange Order, loyalty to the English Crown did several things: it protected their economic ascendency, Protestantism, their traditions as Englishmen, and their connection to a wealthy Empire and civilization that contrasted poorly to the poverty stricken agrarianism of the south. IN other words, a militant Irish Catholic movement, a nationalist movement, could disrupt the economy of the north, tightly connected to England and the Empire, and, given their numerical superiority and greater fertility, could overwhelm and outvote the Protestants, taking their wealth and privileges. This is the main issue of the Covenant. IN reference to the IRB and its militancy, eventually to become the IRA, the Ulster Protestants hold that they are â€Å". . . defending for ourselves and our children our cherished position of equal citizenship in the United Kingdom and in using all means which may be found necessary to defeat the present conspiracy to set up a Home Rule parliament in Ireland. . . † This statement says several things. First, that the British state needs to realize that Protestants are not going to become part of a Catholic, agrarian and united Ireland, and that they are willing to fight in order to opt out of such ain institution. Second, they recognize that the old Irish parliamentary nationalism is over, and now, a new militancy has emerged, forcing Protestants to use whatever means they deem necessary, a clumsy way of disguising the fact that they are arming against any kind of nationalist movement (Townshend, 2006, 33-4; 54-8). Given this early date, 1912, the idea of partition is not explicitly raised, what is being dealt with here is a â€Å"Home Rule† parliament for the whole of Ireland. But it is the stand of the Orangemen that will eventually lead to partition and civil war in 1921 as a compromise with Ulster Protestants. â€Å"And in the event of such a parliament being forced upon us we further solemnly and mutually pledge to refuse to recognize its authority. . . † The very fact of the proposed existence of such a parliament is, to the Orangemen, undemocratic. This is because first, it is granted solely by the force of arms of the IRB and its allies, and second, that the tiny minority of Protestants in the country could not hope to find representation in such a parliament. Hence, again, by holding that Protestants will refuse to recognize such an institution, the Orangemen and their allies are threatening civil war over the question of Home Rule. One needs to keep in mind several issues in dealing with this document. First, that it is primary and centrally about the nature of economics: the Protestants in Ulster were by far the most wealthy element in Irish society. Second, that this wealth, as well as political loyalties conditioned by religion, created a strong sense of corporate identity among Ulster Protestants, finding its institutional expression in the Orange Order and eventually, the 6 county statelet. Third, that the Protestants in Ulster were not living there alone, they lived cheek by jowl with a large and increasingly militant Catholic minority. The basic idea here is that in th event of a militant takeover, the Protestants would be dealing with urban warfare on a black by block basis with only a small population to draw on for defense. The union with the Empire, in other words, was a military and economic guarantee of the physical safety of the Ulster Protestants and Protests elsewhere in urban Ireland. It was not helping matters that the Irish movement developing into a military revolution was also moving towards a form of national-socialism. Such movements as that of James Connolly and papers such as the Irish Worker or Irish Freedom were backing a nationalism as well as a socialist rebellion (Towhshend, 2006, 157-160; 48). Hence, the Ulster Protestants were dealing with a hydra with three heads: Catholicism, nationalism and socialism, the three evils. In conclusion, this document was basically a defense of the privileges of the Ulster protestant community. While this community did have a Protestant working class, the grave threat to this privileged way of life can be summarized as â€Å"popery,† or the enslaving of the freedom loving Protestants to Romish ideology, socialism, or the destruction of Protestant financial supremacy, and nationalism, the destruction of Protestant political supremacy. Hence, it is not much of a stretch to hold that this document came into existence to defend a tiny oligarchy in urban Belfast against the overwhelming majority of Irish citizens of Catholic background, for many centuries second class citizens in their own country. Townshend, Charles. Easter 1916: The Irish Rebellion. Ivan R. Dee, 2006.

E-commerce travel industry

E-commerce travel industry Introduction According to Keith Blois, (2003), in recent years, increasing numbers of businesses have been using the Internet in their marketing efforts. The Internet is unique because it is both a market and a medium. This means that it can efficiently assume a multi-channel role by serving as a computer-mediated market in which buyers and sellers access each other, and as a medium to conduct and execute business functions such as marketing, sales, and distribution. Many e-commerce principles were pioneered by the travel industry. These include the first business-to-business electronic information exchange and industry-wide electronic marketplace. This environment provided unprecedented opportunity for operations research (OR) modeling. Travel companies continue to derive billions of dollars annually from these and derivative models. The availability of reliable, low-cost communications via the Internet is not only providing new modeling challenges within the travel industry, but it is also providing similar opportunities in other industries [1]. Tourism industry is one of the most competitive industries within the economic environment. Within industrys boundaries actors have more or less recently and with significantly different patterns of action undertaken efforts to achieve an integration of the internet platform and its applications. In this section, we explore the effects of electronic commerce and its potential for competitive advantage f or airline industry by using Michael Porters seminar work on industry analysis as a framework.  § Website Comparison www.travel companiesocity.com: The moment I visit the Travel city site -the first page gives me the impression that my country, Sultanate of Oman is not there in listed? And I dont like it that my country is not listed here. Moving in to the website with this sad feeling in mind that my country is not listed we go ahead to log in to one of the global sites as they say, the nearest country, and the company wants to say too many things in one go to the customers and this is something that is difficult to digest for the first time visitors. The first-timer is very confused to be able to relate to all the features in the website. Though the regional flavor and link through the local site helps it is difficult to do a very high level of localization of the content to cater to all the segments of the market www.southwest.com The look and feel of this website is a lot cleaner than other travel companies website for instance in Travel city. The most important feature that this website it that most of the commonly used menus are neatly tucked inside the main menus and just on the movement of the mouse they unfold in to the options. This is a very good feature that helps maintain the clean looks and still does not compromise on the functionality www.Adrenalin.com This Polaris group company that is selling the HR software is using the website more for servicing functionalities The overall framework: Generating demand Ordering Fulfillment Processing payments Service and support Security Community Regardless of which business model travel companies adopt, to be successful, travel companies need to understand how the Web and e-commerce affects their business [2]. Travel companies need to develop an overall strategy covering: strategic management, IT infrastructure, design, content, e-commerce systems, marketing and customer service. Travel companies also need to be creative and entrepreneurial. As every entrepreneur knows however, you will only be truly successful if you provide genuine value to your customers and solve a problem for them. As it is evident from the above list that its easy to navigate through the website by following the links. Its user friendly and the home page of the airlines gives a glance of the services provided by them and the beautiful destinations and the activities which can be performed. It also gives the information about the hotels and resorts in each destination. All the document or equipments requirement for all the situations is also mentioned i n the website e.g. when traveling with pet, traveling with children, baggage rules etc. Over all it gives every possible information to the passengers they might need to make their travel plan and during their stay at various destinations. Sources of Competitive Advantage Travel companies do conform to those which Porter describes: Cost Leadership, Differentiation and Focus. The proposition is that travel companies that can successfully work in one of these areas will be able to establish and sustain a competitive advantage.  § Cost Leadership Travel companies can generate significant cost savings by sending tickets, newsletters, quotes, and other documents via Internet, rather than by post or facsimile. Travel companies can use Web site to publish in a cost-effective way public domain documents such as annual reports, product brochures, positions vacant, contact details and other important Travel companies information. Travel companies can save on the cost of running â€Å"bricks and mortar† outlets and can reach global markets without having to develop a physical global distribution network. Most importantly, Travel companies can save on customer service costs by enabling customers to serve themselves. One of the American Travel companies CEO said that the Web site is playing a major role in mitigating the rise in unit costs affected by high fuel prices. Its 10 times cheaper to deliver to customers through the online service than through a travel companys agent and costs 5 times less than using travel companiess own reservation staff. The booking cost per passenger online is well under $1, and is scaling down even further. He said Internet use by passengers was helping the carrier keep fares at low discount levels [4]. Massive investment in both business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-customer (B2C) information systems is expected to translate into important cost savings in procurement, sales, billing and other support activities. The travel companiess fully automatic ordering system, for example, should reduce order processing costs by 90%. [5].  § Differentiation E-ticketing the issue of a booking code at the conclusion online transition that replaces the traditional travel companies ticket. E-ticketing seems to be a win-win solution for the travel companies business. It offers the travel companies the chance to make considerable savings in both trade terms as well as in invoicing and internal accountancy procedures. Moreover, it helps to fight the downward profit spiral that has affected the industry for years. Secondly, it is very attractive to customers, who may benefit from a service offer both technologically advanced and of high intrinsic value.  § Focus The travel industry gives us a perfect example of successful Focus strategies that is the so-called â€Å"Integrated Operators† of the travel business. FedEx, the integrated cargo carrier, was the pioneer. Having developed a very efficient and fully computerized system for tracking individual parcels anywhere on its network it took the next logical step. In 1994, through its website, it allowed its customers to book and pay for its services without restriction via the Internet [6]. The e-Commerce infrastructure developed by travel companies allows collection and central storage of sales and marketing data. Travel companies use this data to drive decision support tools for planning and marketing.  § The Business Theories and concepts: The old pillars and new meanings The Laudon and Traver framework 2005 is very elaborate explaining the different pillars that have contributed to the development of the E-Commerce framework. This framework at the very top of the list has E-Commerce application that can be used for the development of businesses in the future. These applications may seem at the outset like out of a science fiction book but are indeed realities. The disintermediation and Reintermediation: The travel agents for example it was believed that will lose their jobs when more people are interested on online business but interestingly the use of these web-enabled features have only increased the use and conveniences of these businesses. For example two of the three websites that have been taken up for analysis by our group are Travel websites. These are supposed to wipe out the businesses of the intermediary called the travel agent but interestingly, these have added to the convenience of the travel agent hence creating a new intermediary. The Grover V and J Teng (2001) model of the infomediaries and information flow model gives a more clear idea about the various channels that carry information between the buyers/sellers and the infomediaries. The Themes: Hence the themes that came up to us were the B2C models and we were interested in looking specifically at the travel related websites. There was one website travel that we could not get an approval for but the group was happy to consider the business model of B2C B2C: The group was of a very uniform opinion that the websites have to be B2B only since some of the data that was spoken about were like $ 250 billion revenue in 2005 from B2B as against 6.3 trillion in B2C. Although the difference is huge the group came to a strong consensus that the gap will be bridged and it will be worth pursuing with all the hopes for new business models in the future happening in the B2C segment rather than the B2C segment. The death of the Physical travel agent or the focus on creation of new intermediaries Considering the new intermediaries that are being evolved because of the e-business it is was discussed if the websites will wipe away the travel agent. But the discussion pointed in the direction of all websites have been playing a supportive roles in the B2C front and the travel agent themselves are using these websites to help customers and give them a better service. The Adrenalin.com website that sells software has been using the site to reach out to the resellers as well. In a business where there is a very high connectivity on the internet, this is a unique feature that this company is using it build customer loyalty as well as expand the channel of distribution.  § The criteria for evaluating the websites: Adrenalin South West Travelocity Site Design 6 8 6 Navigation 6 8 6 Customer Interface 9 7 7 Business Model 8 7 6 Criteria Explanation Navigation Is it easy for visitors to find their way around the site? Does the site comply with three click rule? Consistency Are design elements, especially look and feel, consistent from page to page? Will the website and contents appear the same on all visitors screens? Performance How long does it take for the page to appear? Doest site comply with the 12-second rule? With the 4-second rule? Appearance Is the site aesthetically pleasing? Does the sites look and feel express the companys desired image? Is the site easy to read, easy to navigate and easy to understand? Quality Assurance Do the site calculators, navigation links, visitors registration process, search tool etc. wok properly? Are all the dead links fixed promptly? Is the site available for the full service 24 hours a day, 7 days a week? Interactivity Does site encourage the visitor to play an active role in learning about the businesss products or services? Are all appropriate contact details available on the Website so that visitors can submit feedback and ask questions? Security Is the customer information protected? Does the customer feel safe in actions such as submitting credit card information? Scalability Does the site design provide a seamless path for enhancements or upgrades in the future? Will site growth and increased usage protect the initial investment in the site construction? The Criteria for assessment were selected after deliberations on how the customer will view the details of the site. The criteria customer interface was included to assess how the company was recording the details of the customer traffic and recording them in to usable database. In the case of Southwest it was very clear that the website is a place for building the loyalty programs of the airlines. The Adrenalin website is a good place with its feature of blog, for all troubleshooting and technical whitepapers How Web Site Visitors Evaluate â€Å"Content† Criteria (and related â€Å"subcriteria†) Explanation Relevance (applicable, related, clear) Concerned with issues such as relevancy, clearness and â€Å"goodness† of the information Timeliness (current, continuously updated) Concerned with the currency of the information Reliability (believable, accurate, consistent) Concerned with the degree of accuracy, dependability and consistency of information Scope (sufficient, complete, covers a wide range, detailed) Evaluates the extent of information, range of information and levels of details provided by the web site. Perceived usefulness (informative, valuable, instrumental) Visitors assessment of the likelihood that the information will enhance their purchasing decision How Web Site Visitors Evaluate â€Å"Web Site Design† Criteria (and related â€Å"subcriteria†) Explanation Access (responsive, load quickly) Refers to the speed of access and the availability of the website at all times. Usability (simple layout, easy to use, well organized, visually attractive, fun, clear design) Concerned with the extent to which the website is visually appealing, consistent, fun and easy to use. Navigation Evaluates the links to needed information. Interactivity (customized product, search engine, ability to create a list of items, change the list of items and find related items) Evaluates the search engine and personal features (e.g. shopping cart) of the website. Recommendation: Website should be more informative. It should be easy to navigate through various pages even for the new online users. Since the Travel Agency is providing lot of services and products for its customers so must have â€Å"Search† function should have drop down menu so that even the customer who are not aware about all products and services of the Travel Agency can get information about it. May be it will help the Travel Agency to have more customers as sometime customers are not aware about all the products offered by the Travel Agency. As it is clear from the financial report of Travel Agency which is available on website that the latest report is not available i.e. for third quarter. So it should be taken care that the website is updated regularly.

Thinking And Decision Making :: Critical Thinking Decision Making

Thinking and Decision Making Paper Introduction Thinking "is an internal mental process that uses information as input, integrates that information into previous learned material and the result may be knowledge or may be nothing". (Goodpastor et al 2007) Creative thinking, logical thinking, and persuasive thinking are three types of thinking. Each of these types of thinking affects the critical thinking process in various ways. Creative Thinking Creative thinking involves creating something new or original. It involves the skills of flexibility, originality, fluency, elaboration, brainstorming, modification, imagery, associative thinking, attribute listing, metaphorical thinking, and forced relationships. The aim of creative thinking is to stimulate curiosity and promote divergence. When an individual learns to expand their way of thinking to incorporate metaphorical ideas, they will spark the creative thinking process. Creative thinking enables us to open our imagination to new ideas. We can all think creatively. In fact, much of our thinking is in some way connected to creativity; constantly there are variations in the processes of our unfolding thoughts. Even when we appear to be thinking in a groove or thinking in circles, if we carefully reflect on the patterns of our thought, we will probably discover that they do not repeat exactly; and even when we are intentionally repeating a pattern, such as memorized lines, the lines do not always march into memory with the regularity of a metronome; often they come haltingly, in pieces, or in tidal waves of changing patterns, even though when we go to speak our thoughts, we might enunciate them smoothly. (Kirby, 2006)

Kilgore Trout as Kurt Vonneguts Alter Ego :: Biography Biographies Essays

Kilgore Trout as Kurt Vonnegut's Alter Ego In 1922, two residents of Indianapolis, Indiana had a son who would later become one of the premiere writers in 20th century American literature. Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. was born to Edith and Kurt Sr. on November 11, 1922. He graduated from Shortridge High School in 1940, attended Cornell University for a year, then joined the army. He fought in World War II and was captured by the Germans in 1944. As a Prisoner of War, he lived through the firebombing of Dresden, an event which inspired his acclaimed novel, Slaughterhouse-Five. After he returned from Europe in April of 1945, he married Jane Marie Cox and spent several years studying at the University of Chicago and working as a reporter for the Chicago City News Bureau. In 1947, he went to work at General Electric Corporation as a research laboratory publicist. He worked there for 3 years until he left to become a full time writer in 1950. In the past 47 years, he has become one of the most acclaimed writers of our time. Kurt Vonnegut's first novel was entitled Player Piano and was published in 1952. Since then, he has written over a dozen other novels, collections of short stories, a collection of essays and interviews, and a play, Happy Birthday Wanda June. He spent 1965 in residence at the University of Iowa Writer's Workshop and taught writing at Harvard in 1970. He also was awarded a M.A. degree from the University of Chicago. Vonnegut currently appears on the Barnes and Noble Booksellers bag and is featured on a Visa commercial in which he buys a copy of one of his own books. If one looks through Vonnegut's works, one will find many occurrences of reoccurring characters, settings, and themes. Perhaps one of the most frequently occurring characters is Kilgore Trout, an obscure science-fiction writer with a small but

How Can We Be Sure That What We Are Taught About Jesus Is True And Not :: essays research papers

There are several ways in which we can be assured that what we are taught about Jesus is true and not just made up. These are called our faith sources. These sources, like the Bible and other sources of information about Jesus have accounts of Jesus’ life. The most important part of these faith sources is the Christian Scriptures. Although the Christian Scriptures are one of the most valuable tools we have to learn about Jesus there are also the Gospels, and also other non-biblical, and non-Christian accounts of Jesus’ life that we can consider when trying to answer the question How can we be sure that what we are taught about Jesus is true and not just made up? The Christian Scriptures is the entire Christian Bible. It is composed of both the Hebrew Scriptures and the Christian Testament. The Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament) is composed of several books all containing stories about Jesus, and the Christian Testament (New Testament) which contains the stories of Jesus and the earliest Christian Communities. Although these stories cannot confidently prove to us that they are true there are several distinct similarities, which are contained in nearly all of the books. These similarities are so frequent that their constant occurrence seems more than coincidence. Although these similarities occur often in the books of the Hebrew Scriptures, there are four short books included in the Christian Testament, which we must rely on to understand Jesus’ ministry and life. The Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John are the origin of nearly everything the Christian Church teaches about Jesus. The Gospels, in turn, serve as the scale or test of truth and authenticity of everything the church teaches about Jesus. It is said that the Gospels are the link between Jesus of Nazareth and the people of every age throughout history who have claimed to be his followers. Although the Gospels teach us about Jesus’ life they may not provide concrete evidence that what they speak of is true there are several other sources. Several non-biblical and non-Christian sources are available to help bear out the fact that Jesus actually did exist as a historical person. These sources are of an array of backgrounds: Josephus, a Jewish historian; Tacitus, a Roman writer; Pliny the Younger, a Roman writer; and Suetonius, also a Roman writer, all spoke of Jesus of Nazareth in their records.

Patient-Centered Care and Comminication in Critical Care Essay

Introduction Communication is a key component in nursing care. As nurses we must communicate with our patient’s, patients’ families, and a wide variety of healthcare team members. Communication can be vital to patient’s lives, informative to physicians, and calming or educational to families. The communication method, or theme, that a nurse uses as part of her care can positively, or negatively, affect every aspect of patient care. Communication plays a huge role in the way I care for patients and their families. Without positive, supportive communication I would have a very difficult time building a trusting relationship with my patients. My nursing career goal is to one day become a critical care nurse. I chose this article to further educate myself about affective communication and how I can apply this knowledge in a critical care setting. As a nurse working in the Intensive Care Unit, communication has a critical role in patient-centered care. The objective of this study was to perform a qualitative analysis of nurses’ communication behaviors to develop interventions that will improve patient-centered communication in the critical care setting. The theoretical model of patient-centered care contains five domains. The five domains include: the biopsychosocial perspective; the patient-as-person; sharing power and responsibility; the therapeutic alliance; and the clinician-as-person domain. During the course of this study communication interactions between nurses’, patients, and patients families were analyzed and placed into one of the five domains. Interviews with the nursing staff were also analyzed to identify specific themes in nurses’ roles and their preferences for communicating with patients and families. The data collected for this study contained a combination of interviews, direct observations within the ICU, family conferences, and informal conversations that took place between a patient’s family member and healthcare providers. Summary Analysis of the collected data found that the majority of nurses’ involved in  the study communicated most often in the biopsychosocial, patient-as-person, and clinician-as-person domains. The biopsychosocial domain focuses mainly on information exchange. A majority of the nursing communication interactions observed were in this domain. Communication between the nurse, the patient, and the patients family were often related to life-sustaining interventions, however, the implications as to why these interventions were necessary was never directly addressed. Many communication behaviors also fell into the patient-as-person domain. Within this domain the nurse seeks to understand a patient’s personality outside of their illness. Non-verbal communication behaviors were frequently noted in this domain. The clinician-as-person domain involves interactions between the nurse and other clinicians, most often a physician, and recognizing one’s own emotional response to a particular patient and the situation. In the two remaining domains, it was noted that the participating nurses’ generally refrained from communication in these areas. Sharing power and responsibility includes the active involvement of a patient, or family member in treatment decisions and forming an agreement about the plan of care. The therapeutic alliance domain includes a clinician that is involved with learning the patient’s desires and then working together alongside the patient to agree on a plan of care. A majority of the nurses’ interviewed agreed upon the importance of these two domains, they felt that it was not a part of their nursing role. Instead they regarded that the shared power and therapeutic alliance domains should be fulfilled by a physician. Once the communication behaviors were analyzed and placed into one of the patient-centered care domains, further evaluations were done to understand any reasoning as to why nurses chose to communicate more in certain domains and less in others. During the evaluation of nurses’ roles in communication two themes were discovered. These themes tended to guide nursing communication behaviors based on their perspective of a nurse’s role within the patient-centered care domains. In the first theme nurses’ felt their role was to act as translator between the physicians, the patients, and the patients’ families. As a translator, nurses’ are able to clarify the overall plan of care for patients and the patient’s family members that may have been missed or misunderstood. It was also recognized that nurses’ sometimes acted as only one-way translators. This involved reporting patient information to the  physician only. The nurses’ felt it was not their role to translate any critical health changes, or any misunderstandings that a patient, or a patient’s family member may have about critical life procedures. Nurses’ felt that it was the physicians’ role to fulfill those duties. The second theme involved topics that nurses were willing to discuss wit h patients and the patient’s family, as well as topics they refused to discuss with them. The said verses not said theme tends to overlap with the translator theme. Once again, nurses’ did not feel that communicating bad news to a patient or the patient’s family was not their role but the physician’s role instead. Within this theme nurses’ often rarely shared their opinions to patients or the family when it differed from that of the physician. At other times nurses’ often conferred, or shared their opinions with other healthcare providers for any corroboration before they spoke with a patient or the patient’s family. During the nurses’ interviews, physicians were often referred to as the primary decision makers in patient care and that their role was to support and carry out the consequences of those decisions. Application As healthcare providers try to accomplish more in less time these days, the relationship between patients and patient’s families suffer. Miscommunication, false understandings and failed patient relationships can all lead to poor outcomes. Patient-centered care involves treating patients as partners, involving them in decision making, and helping them feel a sense of responsibility in managing their care all while respecting their individual values and concerns. Nurses are usually the first healthcare providers to develop a trusting relationship with a patient and a patient’s family. Nurses’ are quick to discover a patient’s personality, beliefs and values, as well as their family dynamics. Interdisciplinary communication between physicians and nurses needs to be improved. By emphasizing shared decision making and interpersonal communication between nurses and physicians patient outcomes will improve. Two ways that nurses’ can enhance interdisciplin ary communication is by maintaining the use of the SBAR communication tool. This ensures that messages are organized and clear for the physician. Secondly, the nurse and physician should discuss the plan of care together before speaking with the patient or the patient’s family. The  nurse may have more insight into the background, values, and wishes of the patient that may affect the plan of care. This intervention directly targets the said verses not said theme and involves the nurse in the shared decision domain. As a nurse on a critical care unit, it would be extremely beneficial to learn and explore what specifically the nurse role is in regards to communication and information that can be shared. Is the nurse able to participate in the shared power and responsibility or the therapeutic alliance domains, or is it truly defined as the role of a physician? As a nurse on the critical care unit, I would seek clarification as to what my role is in regards to communicating with the patient and the patient’s family. I would also maintain the use of SBAR as part of my communication techniques and work on developing a trusting relationship with a wide variety of physicians. Effective communication is an important aspect of all nurse-patient interactions. It wasn’t until recent that nursing communication and its effect on patient-centered care began to be studied. Nursing communication interactions between the patient and the patient’s family highly contributes to patient-centered care and outcomes. By continuing to study nursing communication behaviors and interactions, interventions to improve patient-centered care can further be determined and implemented into practice. References BIBLIOGRAPHY Slatore, C., Hansen, L., Ganzini, L., Press, N., Osborne, M., Chesnutt, M., & Mularski, R. (2012). COMMUNICATION BY NURSES IN THE INTENSIVE CARE UNIT: QUALITATIVE ANALYSIS OF DOMAINS OF PATIENT-CENTERED CARE. American Journal Of Critical Care, 21(6), 410-418.

Last Sacrifice Chapter Fifteen

I DIDN'T LIKE TO SEE Victor Dashkov proven right. But, oh, was he ever. With Lissa's proclamation, the room that had been holding its breath suddenly exploded. I wondered if there had ever been a peaceful Council session in Moroi history or if I just kept coincidentally tuning into controversial ones. What followed today reminded me a lot of the day the dhampir age decree had passed. Shouting, arguments, people out of their chairs †¦ Guardians who normally lined the walls and watched were out among the people, looks of concern on their faces as they prepared for any disputes that might go beyond words. As quickly as Lissa had been at the center of everything, the room seemed to forget her. She sat back down, and Christian found her hand again. She squeezed it tightly, so much so I wondered if she was cutting off his circulation. She stared straight ahead, still reeling. Her mind wasn't focused on all the chaos, but everything her eyes and ears perceived came through to me. Really, the only attention my friends received was when Daniella came over and scolded Adrian for nominating outside his family. He shrugged it off in his usual way, and she huffed off, realizing–like many of us–that there was really no point in trying to reason with Adrian. You'd think that in a room where everyone was scrambling to push their own family's advantage, every single person would therefore be arguing that Lissa's nomination was invalid. That wasn't the case, however–particularly because not everyone in the room was royal. Just as I'd noted earlier, Moroi from all over had come to witness the events that would determine their future. And a number of them were watching this Dragomir girl with interest, this princess from a dying line who could allegedly work miracles. They weren't ravenously chanting her name, but many were in the thick of the arguments, saying she had every right to step up for her family. Part of me also suspected that some of her â€Å"common' supporters simply liked the idea of thwarting the royal agenda. The young couple that had been harassed by Lady Badica weren't the only ones there who'd been pushed around by their â€Å"betters.' Most surprisingly, there were some royals speaking up for Lissa too. They might be loyal to their own families, but not all of them were heartless, selfish connivers. Many had a sense of right and wrong–and if Lissa had the law on her side, then she was in the right. Plus, lots of royals simply liked and respected her. Ariana was one person who advocated for Lissa's nomination, despite the competition it created. Ariana knew the law well and undoubtedly realized the loophole that allowed Lissa to run would fail when election time came. Still, Ariana stood her ground, which endeared her to me even more. When the real voting did come, I hoped Ariana would win the crown. She was intelligent and fair–exactly what the Moroi needed. Of course, Ariana wasn't the only one who knew the law. Others picked up on the loophole and argued the nomination of a candidate that no one could vote for was pointless. Normally, I would have agreed. On and on the debate raged while my friends sat quietly in the hurricane's eye. At long last, the matter was settled the way most decisions should be: through voting. With Lissa still denied her Council seat, that left eleven members to determine her future. Six of them approved her candidacy, making it official. She could run. I suspected some of those who voted for her didn't truly want her running, but their respect for the law prevailed. Many Moroi didn't care what the Council said. They made it clear they considered this matter far from over, proving what Victor had said: this was going to rage on for a while, getting worse if she actually passed the tests and made it to the voting stages. For now, the crowd dispersed, seeming relieved–not only because they wanted to escape the yelling but also because they wanted to spread this sensational news. Lissa continued saying little as she and our friends left. Walking past the gawkers, she remained a model of regality and calmness, like she'd already been declared queen. But when she finally escaped it all and was back in her room with the others, all those locked-up, frozen feelings exploded. â€Å"What the hell were you guys thinking?' she yelled. â€Å"What have you done to me?' Along with Adrian, Christian, and Eddie, the rest of the conspirators had shown up: Tasha, Abe, and my mom. All of them were so completely stunned by this reaction from sweet Lissa that none of them could reply now. Lissa took advantage of their silence. â€Å"You set me up! You've put me in the middle of a political nightmare! Do you think I want this? Do you really think I want to be queen?' Abe recovered first, naturally. â€Å"You won't be queen,' he said, voice uncharacteristically soothing. â€Å"The people arguing about the other part of the law are right: no one can actually vote for you. You need family for that.' â€Å"Then what's the point?' she exclaimed. She was furious. She had every right to be. But that outrage, that anger †¦ it was fueled by something worse than this situation alone. Spirit was coming to claim its price and making her even more upset than she would have been. â€Å"The point,' said Tasha, â€Å"is everything crazy you just saw in the Council room. For every argument, for every time someone drags out the law books again, we have more time to save Rose and find out who killed Tatiana.' â€Å"Whoever did it must have an interest in the throne,' explained Christian. He rested a hand on Lissa's shoulder, and she jerked away. â€Å"Either for themselves or someone they know. The longer we delay their plans, the more time we have to find out who it is.' Lissa raked her hands through her long hair in frustration. I tried to pull that coil of fury from her, taking it into myself. I succeeded a little, enough that she dropped her hands to her side. But she was still pissed off. â€Å"How am I supposed to look for the murderer when I'm tied up doing all those stupid tests?' she demanded. â€Å"You won't be looking,' said Abe. â€Å"We will.' Her eyes widened. â€Å"That was never part of the plan! I'm not going to jump through royal hoops when Rose needs me. I want to help her!' It was almost comical. Almost. Neither Lissa nor I could handle â€Å"sitting around' when we thought the other needed our help. We wanted to be out there, actively doing what we could to fix the situation. â€Å"You are helping her,' said Christian. His hand twitched, but he didn't try to touch her again. â€Å"It's in a different way than you expected, but in the end, it's going to help her.' The same argument everyone kept using on me. It also made her just as angry as it had made me, and I desperately tugged at the wave of instability spirit kept sending through her. Lissa peered around the room, looking accusingly at each face. â€Å"Who in the world thought of this idea?' More uncomfortable silence followed. â€Å"Rose did,' said Adrian at last. Lissa spun around and glared at him. â€Å"She did not! She wouldn't do this to me!' â€Å"She did,' he said. â€Å"I talked to her in a dream. It was her idea, and †¦ it was a good one.' I didn't really like how that seemed to come as a surprise to him. â€Å"Besides, you kind of put her in a bad situation too. She kept going on about how much the town she's in sucks.' â€Å"Okay,' snapped Lissa, ignoring the part about my plight. â€Å"Supposing that's true, that Rose passes this â€Å"brilliant' idea on to you, then why didn't anyone bother to tell me? Didn't you think a little warning might help?' Again, it was just like me complaining about how my jailbreak had been kept a secret from me. â€Å"Not really,' said Adrian. â€Å"We figured you'd react exactly like this and have time to plan a refusal. We kind of gambled that if you were caught on the spot, you'd accept.' â€Å"That was kind of risky,' she said. â€Å"But it worked,' came Tasha's blunt response. â€Å"We knew you'd come through for us.' She winked. â€Å"And for what it's worth, I think you'd make a great queen.' Lissa gave her a sharp look, and I made one more attempt to drag away some of the darkness. I concentrated on those churning emotions, imagining them in me instead of her. I didn't pull it all but managed enough to take the fight out of her. Rage suddenly flared in me, blinding me momentarily, but I was able to push it off to a corner of my mind. She suddenly felt exhausted. I kind of did too. â€Å"The first test is tomorrow,' she said quietly. â€Å"If I fail it, I'm out. The plan falls apart.' Christian made another attempt to put his arm around her, and this time, she let him. â€Å"You won't.' Lissa didn't say anything else, and I could see the relief on everyone's faces. No one believed for a second she liked this, but they seemed to think she wasn't going to withdraw her nomination, which was as much as they could hope for. My mother and Eddie had said nothing this entire time. As was common for guardians, they'd kept to the background, remaining shadows while Moroi business was conducted. With the initial storm passing over, my mother stepped forward. She nodded toward Eddie. â€Å"One of us is going to try to stay near you at all times.' â€Å"Why?' asked Lissa, startled. â€Å"Because we know there's someone out there who isn't afraid to kill to get what they want,' said Tasha. She nodded toward Eddie and my mom. â€Å"These two and Mikhail are really the only guardians we can trust.' â€Å"Are you sure?' Abe gave Tasha a sly look. â€Å"I'm surprised you didn't get your special guardian â€Å"friend' on board.' â€Å"What special friend?' demanded Christian, instantly picking up on the insinuation. Tasha, to my astonishment, flushed. â€Å"Just a guy I know.' â€Å"Who follows you with puppy-dog eyes,' continued Abe. â€Å"What's his name? Evan?' â€Å"Ethan,' she corrected. My mother, looking exasperated by such ridiculous talk, promptly put an end to it– which was just as well since Christian looked like he had a few things to say. â€Å"Leave her alone,' she warned Abe. â€Å"We don't have time for it. Ethan's a good guy, but the fewer people who know about this, the better. Since Mikhail has a permanent post, Eddie and I will do security.' I agreed with all of what she'd just said, but it struck me that to get my mother on board, someone–probably Abe–had filled her in on all the illicit activity that had occurred recently. He was either really convincing or she loved me a lot. Grudgingly, I suspected both were true. When Moroi were at Court, their guardians didn't need to accompany them everywhere, meaning my mom would most likely be free of her assignment while Lord Szelsky stayed here. Eddie didn't have an assignment yet, which also gave him flexibility. Lissa started to say something else when a sharp jolt in my own reality snapped me away from her. â€Å"Sorry,' said Sydney. Her slamming on the brakes was what had brought me back. â€Å"That jerk cut me off.' It wasn't Sydney's fault, but I felt irritated at the interruption and wanted to yell at her. With a deep breath, I reminded myself that I was simply feeling spirit's side effects and that I couldn't allow it to make me act irrationally. It would fade, like always, yet some part of me knew I couldn't keep taking that darkness from Lissa forever. I wouldn't always be able to control it. Now that I was back to myself, I looked out the windows, taking in our new surroundings. We weren't in the mountains anymore. We'd reached an urban area, and while the traffic was hardly heavy (seeing as it was still the middle of the human night), there were definitely more cars on the road than we'd seen in a while. â€Å"Where are we?' I asked. â€Å"Outskirts of Lexington,' Sydney said. She pulled over to a nearby gas station, both to refill and so we could plug Donovan's address into her GPS. His place was about five miles away. â€Å"Not a great part of town, from what I hear,' Dimitri said. â€Å"Donovan runs a tattoo parlor that's only open at night. A couple of other Strigoi work with him. They get partiers, drunk kids †¦ the kind of people that can easily disappear. The kind Strigoi love.' â€Å"Seems like the police would eventually notice that every time someone went for a tattoo, they disappeared,' I pointed out. Dimitri gave a harsh laugh. â€Å"Well, the â€Å"funny' thing is that they don't kill everyone who comes in. They actually give tattoos to some of them and let them go. They smuggle drugs through the place too.' I regarded him curiously, as Sydney slipped back into the car. â€Å"You sure know a lot.' â€Å"I made it my business to know a lot, and Strigoi have to keep a roof over their heads too. I actually met Donovan once and got most of this straight from the source. I just didn't know where exactly he worked out of until now.' â€Å"Okay, so, we've got the info on him. What do we do with it?' â€Å"Lure him out. Send in a â€Å"customer' with a message from me needing to meet him. I'm not the kind of person he can ignore–well, that he used to not–never mind. Once he's out, we get him to a place we choose.' I nodded. â€Å"I can do that.' â€Å"No,' said Dimitri. â€Å"You can't.' â€Å"Why not?' I asked, wondering if he thought it was too dangerous for me. â€Å"Because they'll know you're a dhampir the instant they see you. They'll probably smell it first. No Strigoi would have a dhampir working for him–only humans.' There was an uncomfortable silence in the car. â€Å"No!' said Sydney. â€Å"I am not doing that!' Dimitri shook his head. â€Å"I don't like it either, but we don't have a lot of options. If he thinks you work for me, he won't hurt you.' â€Å"Yeah? And what happens if he doesn't believe me?' she demanded. â€Å"I don't think he can take the chance. He'll probably go with you to check things out, with the idea that if you're lying, they'll just kill you then.' This didn't seem to make her feel any better. She groaned. â€Å"You can't send her in,' I said. â€Å"They'll know she's an Alchemist. One of those wouldn't work for Strigoi either.' Surprisingly, Dimitri hadn't considered that. We grew quiet again, and it was Sydney who unexpectedly came up with a solution. â€Å"When I was inside the gas station,' she said slowly, â€Å"they had, like, one rack of makeup. We could probably cover most of my tattoo up with powder.' And we did. The only compact the station sold wasn't a great match for her skin tone, but we caked enough of it on to obscure the golden lily on her cheek. Brushing her hair forward helped a little. Satisfied we'd done all we could, we headed off to Donovan's. It was indeed in a rundown part of town. A few blocks away from the tattoo parlor, we spotted what looked like a nightclub, but otherwise, the neighborhood appeared deserted. I wasn't fooled, though. This was no place you'd want to walk around alone at night. It screamed â€Å"mugging.' Or worse. We checked out the area until Dimitri found a spot he felt good about. It was a back alley two buildings away from the parlor. A gnarled wired fence stood on one side while a low brick building flanked the other. Dimitri instructed Sydney on how to lead the Strigoi to us. She took it all in, nodding along, but I could see the fear in her eyes. â€Å"You want to look awed,' he told her. â€Å"Humans who serve Strigoi worship them– they're eager to please. Since they're around Strigoi so much, they aren't as startled or terrified. Still a little afraid, of course, but not as much as you look now.' She swallowed. â€Å"I can't really help it.' I felt bad for her. She strongly believed all vampires were evil, and we were sending her into a nest of the worst kind, putting her at great risk. I knew also that she'd only ever seen one live Strigoi, and despite Dimitri's coaching, seeing more could completely shell shock her. If she froze in front of Donovan, everything could fall apart. On impulse, I gave her a hug. To my surprise, she didn't resist. â€Å"You can do this,' I said. â€Å"You're strong–and they're too afraid of Dimitri. Okay?' After a few deep breaths, Sydney nodded. We gave her a few more encouraging words, and then she turned the corner of the building, heading toward the street, and disappeared from our sight. I glanced at Dimitri. â€Å"We may have just sent her to her death.' His face was grim. â€Å"I know–but we can't do anything now. You'd better get into position.' With his help, I managed to make it onto the roof of the low building. There was nothing intimate in the way he hoisted me up, but I couldn't help but have the same electric feeling all contact with him caused or note how easily we worked together. Once I was securely positioned, Dimitri headed for the opposite side of the building Sydney had gone around. He lurked just around the corner, and then there was nothing to do but wait. It was agonizing–and not just because we were on the verge of a fight. I kept thinking about Sydney, what we'd asked her to do. My job was to protect the innocent from evil–not thrust them into the middle of it. What if our plan failed? Several minutes passed, and I finally heard footsteps and muttered voices at the same time a familiar wave of nausea moved through me. We'd pulled the Strigoi out. Three of them walked around the building's corner, Sydney in the lead. They came to a halt, and I spotted Donovan. He was the tallest–a former Moroi–with dark hair and a beard that reminded me of Abe's. Dimitri had given me his description so I wouldn't (hopefully) kill him. Donovan's henchmen hovered behind him, all of them alert and on guard. I tensed, my stake gripped tightly in my right hand. â€Å"Belikov?' demanded Donovan, voice harsh. â€Å"Where are you?' â€Å"I'm here,' came Dimitri's response–in that cold, terrible Strigoi voice. He appeared from around the building's opposite corner, keeping to the shadows. Donovan relaxed slightly, recognizing Dimitri–but even in darkness, Dimitri's true appearance materialized. Donovan went rigid–suddenly seeing a threat, even if it was one that confused him and defied what he knew. At the exact same moment, one of his guys jerked his head around. â€Å"Dhampirs!' he exclaimed. It wasn't Dimitri's features that tipped him off. It was our scent, and I breathed a silent prayer of thanks that it had taken them this long to notice. Then, I leapt off the roof. It wasn't an easy distance to jump–but not one that would kill me. Plus, my fall was broken by a Strigoi. I landed on one of Donovan's guys, knocking him to the ground. I aimed my stake at his heart, but his reflexes were quick. With my lighter weight, I was easy to shove off. I'd expected it and managed to keep my footing. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Sydney dropping low and hurrying off out of here, per our instructions. We wanted her away from the crossfire and had told her to go to the car, readying herself to take off if things went bad. Of course, with Strigoi, things were always bad. Donovan and his other guy had both gone for Dimitri, assessing him as the greater threat. My opponent, judging from his fanged smile, didn't seem to regard me as a threat at all. He lunged toward me, and I dodged away, but not before snaking out a kick that took him in the knee. My hit didn't seem to hurt him, but it did ruin his balance. I made another strike at staking and was thrown off again, hitting the ground hard. My bare legs scraped against the rough cement, tearing skin. Because my jeans had grown too dirty and torn, I'd been forced to wear a pair of shorts from the backpack Sydney had brought me. I ignored the pain, shooting right back up with speed the Strigoi didn't expect. My stake found his heart. The hit wasn't as hard as I would have liked, but it was enough to throw him off, then allowing me to drive the stake in further and finish him. Not even waiting to see him fall, I jerked my stake out and turned toward the othe rs. I hadn't hesitated once in the battle I'd just fought, but now, I paused at what I saw. Dimitri's face. It was †¦ terrifying. Ferocious. He'd had a similar look when he'd defended me at my arrest–that badass warrior god expression that said he could take on hell itself. The way he looked now †¦ well, it took that fierceness to a whole new level. This was personal, I realized. Fighting these Strigoi wasn't just about finding Sonya and helping Lissa. This was about redemption, an attempt to destroy his past by destroying the evil directly in his path. I moved to join him, just as he staked the second henchman. There was power in that strike, much more power than Dimitri needed as he shoved the Strigoi against the brick wall and pierced his heart. It was impossible, but I could imagine that stake going straight through the body and into the wall. Dimitri put more attention and effort into that kill than he should have. He should have responded like I had and immediately turned to the next threat, once the Strigoi was dead. Instead, Dimitri was so fixated on his victim that he didn't notice Donovan taking advantage of the situation. Fortunately for Dimitri, I had his back. I slammed my body into Donovan's, shoving him away from Dimitri. As I did, I saw Dimitri pull out his stake and then slam the body against the wall again. Meanwhile, I'd successfully drawn Donovan's attention and was now having a difficult time eluding him without killing him. â€Å"Dimitri!' I yelled. â€Å"Come help me. I need you!' I couldn't see what Dimitri was doing, but a few seconds later, he was by my side. With what almost sounded like a roar, he leapt at Donovan, stake out, and knocked the Strigoi to the ground. I breathed a sigh of relief and moved in to help with the restraint. Then, I saw Dimitri line up his stake with Donovan's heart. â€Å"No!' I dropped to the ground, trying to both hold Donovan and push away Dimitri's arm. â€Å"We need him! Don't kill him!' From the look on Dimitri's face, it was unclear if he even heard me. There was death in his eyes. He wanted to kill Donovan. The desire had suddenly taken precedence. Still trying to hold Donovan with one arm, I smacked Dimitri in the face with my other hand–going for the side I hadn't punched the other night. I don't think he felt the pain in his adrenaline rage, but the hit got his attention. â€Å"Don't kill him!' I repeated. The command made it through to Dimitri. Our struggle, unfortunately, gave Donovan maneuvering room. He started to break free of us, but then, as one, Dimitri and I threw ourselves into holding Donovan. I was reminded of the time I'd questioned Strigoi in Russia. It had taken a whole group of dhampirs to restrain one Strigoi, but Dimitri seemed to have unnatural strength. â€Å"When we were interrogating, we used to–‘ My words were interrupted when Dimitri decided to utilize his own method of interrogation. He gripped Donovan by the shoulders and shook him hard, causing the Strigoi to keep hitting his head against the cement. â€Å"Where is Sonya Karp?' roared Dimitri. â€Å"I don't–‘ began Donovan. But Dimitri had no patience for Strigoi evasion. â€Å"Where is she? I know you know her!' â€Å"I–‘ â€Å"Where is she?' I saw something on Donovan's face that I'd never seen in a Strigoi before: fear. I'd thought it was an emotion they simply didn't possess. Or, if they did, it was only in the battles they fought with one another. They wouldn't waste time with fear around lowly dhampirs. But oh, Donovan was scared of Dimitri. And to be honest, I was too. Those red-ringed eyes were wide–wide, desperate, and terrified. When Donovan blurted out his next words, something told me they were true. His fear wasn't giving him a chance to lie. He was too shocked and unprepared by all of this. â€Å"Paris,' he gasped out. â€Å"She's in Paris!' â€Å"Christ,' I exclaimed. â€Å"We cannot road trip to Paris.' Donovan shook his head (in as much as he could with Dimitri shaking him in return). â€Å"It's a small town–an hour away. There's this tiny lake. Hardly anyone on it. Blue house.' Vague directions. We needed more. â€Å"Do you have an addr–‘ Dimitri apparently didn't share my need for more information. Before I could finish speaking, his stake was out–and in Donovan's heart. The Strigoi made a horrible, blood-curdling scream that faded as death took him. I winced. How long until someone heard all this and called the police? Dimitri pulled his stake out–and then stabbed Donovan again. And again. I stared in disbelief and horror, frozen for a few moments. Then, I grabbed Dimitri's arm and began shaking him, though I felt like I would have had more effect shaking the building behind me. â€Å"He's dead, Dimitri! He's dead! Stop this. Please.' Dimitri's face still wore that terrible, terrible expression–rage, now marked with a bit of desperation. Desperation that told him if he could only obliterate Donovan, then maybe he could obliterate everything else bad in his life. I didn't know what to do. We had to get out of here. We had to get Sydney to disintegrate the bodies. Time was ticking, and I just kept repeating myself. â€Å"He's dead! Let it go. Please. He's dead.' Then, somewhere, somehow, I broke through to Dimitri. His motions slowed and finally stopped. The hand holding the stake dropping weakly to his side as he stared at what was left of Donovan–which wasn't pretty. The rage on Dimitri's face completely gave way to desperation †¦ and then that gave way to despair. I tugged gently on his arm. â€Å"It's over. You've done enough.' â€Å"It's never enough, Roza,' he whispered. The grief in his voice killed me. â€Å"It'll never be enough.' â€Å"It is for now,' I said. I pulled him to me. Unresisting, he let go of his stake and buried his face against my shoulder. I dropped my stake as well and embraced him, drawing him closer. He wrapped his arms around me in return, seeking the contact of another living being, the contact I'd long known he needed. â€Å"You're the only one.' He clung more tightly to me. â€Å"The only one who understands. The only one who saw how I was. I could never explain it to anyone †¦ you're the only one. The only one I can tell this to †¦' I closed my eyes for a moment, overpowered by what he was saying. He might have sworn allegiance to Lissa, but that didn't mean he'd fully revealed his heart to her. For so long, he and I had been in perfect sync, always understanding each other. That was still the case, no matter if we were together, no matter if I was with Adrian. Dimitri had always kept his heart and feelings guarded until meeting me. I thought he'd locked them back up, but apparently, he still trusted me enough to reveal what was killing him inside. I opened my eyes and met his dark, earnest gaze. â€Å"It's okay,' I said. â€Å"It's okay now. I'm here. I'll always be here for you.' â€Å"I dream about them, you know. All the innocents I killed.' His eyes drifted back to Donovan's body. â€Å"I keep thinking †¦ maybe if I destroy enough Strigoi, the nightmares will go away. That I'll be certain I'm not one of them.' I touched his chin, turning his face back toward mine and away from Donovan. â€Å"No. You have to destroy Strigoi because they're evil. Because that's what we do. If you want the nightmares to go away, you have to live. That's the only way. We could have died just now. We didn't. Maybe we'll die tomorrow. I don't know. What matters is that we're alive now.' I was rambling at this point. I had never seen Dimitri so low, not since his restoration. He'd claimed being Strigoi had killed so many of his emotions. It hadn't. They were there, I realized. Everything he had been was still inside, only coming out in bursts–like this moment of rage and despair. Or when he'd defended me from the arresting guardians. The old Dimitri wasn't gone. He was just locked away, and I didn't know how to let him out. This wasn't what I did. He was always the one with words of wisdom and insight. Not me. Still, he was listening now. I had his attention. What could I say? What could get through to him? â€Å"Remember what you said earlier?' I asked. â€Å"Back in Rubysville? Living is in the details. You've got to appreciate the details. That's the only way to defeat what the Strigoi did to you. The only way to bring back who you really are. You said it yourself: you escaped with me to feel the world again. Its beauty.' Dimitri started to turn toward Donovan again, but I wouldn't let him. â€Å"There's nothing beautiful here. Only death.' â€Å"That's only true if you let them make it true,' I said desperately, still feeling the press of time. â€Å"Find one thing. One thing that's beautiful. Anything. Anything that shows you're not one of them.' His eyes were back on me, studying my face silently. Panic raced through me. It wasn't working. I couldn't do this. We were going to have to get out of here, regardless of whatever state he was in. I knew he'd leave, too. If I'd learned anything, it was that Dimitri's warrior instincts were still working. If I said danger was coming, he would respond instantly, no matter the self-torment he felt. I didn't want that, though. I didn't want him to leave in despair. I wanted him to leave here one step closer to being the man I knew he could be. I wanted him to have one less nightmare. It was beyond my abilities, though. I was no therapist. I was about to tell him we had to get out there, about to make his soldier reflexes kick in, when he suddenly spoke. His voice was barely a whisper. â€Å"Your hair.' â€Å"What?' For a second, I wondered if it was on fire or something. I touched a stray lock. No, nothing wrong except that it was a mess. I'd bound it up for battle to prevent the Strigoi from using it as a handhold, like Angeline had. Much of it had come undone in the struggle, though. â€Å"Your hair,' repeated Dimitri. His eyes were wide, almost awestruck. â€Å"Your hair is beautiful.' I didn't think so, not in its current state. Of course, considering we were in a dark alley filled with bodies, the choices were kind of limited. â€Å"You see? You're not one of them. Strigoi don't see beauty. Only death. You found something beautiful. One thing that's beautiful.' Hesitantly, nervously, he ran his fingers along the strands I'd touched earlier. â€Å"But is it enough?' â€Å"It is for now.' I pressed a kiss to his forehead and helped him stand. â€Å"It is for now.'

Educational Coaches Essay

Educational or instructional coaches – also called â€Å"master teachers† – in elementary and secondary education are facilitators who train other teachers to improve instructional practices and generate higher levels of student achievement (Buly et al, 2004). Specifically, they are trained to serve as support for schools and districts experiencing â€Å"market failure;† i. e. , that have large numbers of students unable to meet state and federal achievement standards (Buly et al, 2004). This document is written as an outline to provide qualitative and quantitative evidence (in economic and real terms) that justifies educational managers (elementary, middle and high school principals, superintendents and school board members) utilizing educational/instructional coaches to achieve the following goals: (1) improving aggregate output through schools’ and districts’ overall level of student achievement on state- and/or federally-mandated testing, and (2) improving micro-level behavior through resource allocation, individual classroom management, implementation of learning strategies and instruction of subject matter. The following is a summary of the main points of this document: †¢ Discussion of what educational/instructional coaches are and their estimated microeconomic impact on students’ and teachers’ performances †¢ Discussion of district and schools’ economic costs and factors including fiscal policy, funding sources, overall output and the impact of budgetary decisions such as hiring educational/instructional coaches †¢ An econometric case study: regression analysis of schools in Duval County Public Schools in Jacksonville, Florida that utilize educational/instructional coaches Definition The field of education, unlike some markets, is not perfectly competitive. Individual buyers (students) and sellers (teachers) do have the ability to significantly influence the cost and quality of education. Consequently, educators continuously strive to make the educational marketplace more efficient and productive; i. e. , they search for methods and tools that improve the process of and environment for learning and address the diverse and changing needs of teachers and students. Unfortunately, the field of education is constrained by limits, and the equitable and efficient distribution of income (state and federal funding) and other resources (teachers) remains an issue that managers (educational administrators such as superintendents, school board members and principals) must address annually. In 1989, an educational organization called the National Center on Education and the Economy (NCEE) developed America’s Choice, a school design model based on high quality instructional materials, technical support and professional development for teachers (NCEE, 2009). Educational/instructional coaches are a central component of America’s Choice (NCEE, 2009). The goal of this paper is to determine whether or not educational managers are making the most fiscally responsible decision when hiring educational/instructional coaches to meet district- and school-based needs. While educational/instructional coaches are an often-used solution in some school districts, managers have other alternatives available to provide support to teachers and students in the classroom. These options utilize different methods of resource allocation. One alternative to â€Å"classroom coaching† is making capital improvements. An example of a capital improvement is upgrading a district’s and/or school’s technological infrastructure. This would involve purchasing computers and/or networks with more memory and larger capacities for data storage and manipulation, increasing the value and useful life of a district’s or school’s technological infrastructure. This could also involve purchasing software such as web-based educational tools for both students and teachers to use. Another option is additional training for teachers through in-service workshops (training provided during the school day) or additional education courses (college and/or university level). A third alternative is realignment of the student-teacher ratio based on aggregate demand; i. e. , the total demand (number of students) for goods (teachers/classes) and services (instruction) in the educational market (classroom). A fourth alternative is awarding financial bonuses to teachers with high or greatly improved student achievement rates. Educational/Instructional Coaches: Their Economic Costs and Factors When evaluating the benefits of using educational/instructional coaches, educational managers must ask themselves, â€Å"What are the accounting and opportunity costs of this decision? † In other words, managers need to determine expenses like salary, benefits, health insurance for the educational/instructional coaches; they also must construct the benefits of other educational options. According to payscale. com, a global, online compensation database, the average salary for K-12 public school teachers in the United States is $42,000 annually for a nine-month school year (Payscale, Inc. , 2009). Educational coaches are often at the top tier for teachers’ salaries and make on average $52,000 each year (Payscale, Inc. , 2009). Thus, the opportunity cost of hiring an educational coach at a school is, on average, $52,000 annually. An educational manager have an additional $52,000 (plus the cost of insurance and benefits) within his/her budget to invest in computer hardware, software, training for existing teachers, or actually hiring a new teacher (thereby reducing the teacher/student ratio). If a school principal hired more than one educational coach – many schools have one for every major academic discipline – the costs would be even greater. Across a school district, the aggregate costs would be much larger. For example, Duval County Public Schools is a school district in Jacksonville, Florida, has 160 schools, and uses America’s Choice, employing educational coaches at all 160 schools (Duval County Public Schools, 2009). At the very least, Duval County Public Schools’ accounting cost for hiring 160 educational coaches would be (on average) approximately 8. 32 million dollars annually, not including benefits and insurance. While educational managers must consider costs, they must also contend with economic factors. There are a wide range of economic factors that affect educational managers’ ability to hire educational coaches. Some of the most important are federal and state government policies, school district management, taxation, and student achievement levels. Before educational managers can make hiring decisions, school districts must meet state and federal approval through accreditation (Duval County Public Schools, 2009). Accreditation is the process by which â€Å"an official body gives authority to something when recognized standards are met† (Lindberg, Ed. , 2004, p. 8). The governing body for public schools in the southern part of the United States is the Southern Association for Colleges and Schools (SACS). In October 2008, SACS awarded Duval County Public Schools full accreditation, which indicates the district complied with meeting state and federal standards for student achievement (Duval County Public Schools, 2009). Schools must be accredited to hire new staff. Thus, the accreditation process was necessary before educational managers could hire educational coaches. Another factor affecting the hiring process is district management. Before principals can finalize hiring any new educators, including educational coaches, the new hires must be approved by the school board (Duval County Public Schools, 2009). The school board is â€Å"a local authority responsible for the provision and maintenance of schools† (Lindberg, Ed. , 2004, p. 1220). In Duval County Public Schools, for example, the school board must vote on whether or not they approve principals hiring educational coaches. Another factor affecting the hiring of educational coaches is funding. Funding for school districts is a fiscal policy issue and comes from a combination of local, state and federal sources (Howell & Miller, 1997). Local funding is generally financed by property taxes (Howell & Miller, 1997). State financing is generally through sales taxation (Howell & Miller, 1997). Both local and state taxation are affected by state policy decisions and voting decisions of the population (Howell & Miller, 1997). For example, a governor may issue a proposition to reduce property taxes across a state. If the population votes to accept the tax reduction, the funds available to make hiring decisions are reduced. While federal monies are financed through national income tax, these come to schools and schools districts via an assortment of federally mandated programs, often for at-risk student populations (U. S. Department of Education, 2007). For example, No Child Left Behind (NCLB) is the most recent federal education legislation. Enacted in 2001, NCLB is an initiative of former U. S. President George W. Bush and it authorizes the distribution of educational grants for low-income students, textbooks, professional development for educators and more (U. S. Department of Education, 2007). Often a school’s student population determines how much and if that school can receive federal funding (U. S. Department of Education, 2007) Thus, government policy decisions at the local, state and federal levels affect educational managers’ decisions to hire educational coaches. A final factor that determines whether or not educational managers hire educational coaches is actual student achievement. If a school has a significant number of students not meeting state and federal achievement standards, educational managers seek solutions through options like educational coaches. For example, in Duval County Public Schools, William M. Raines High School has a student population characterized by low-incomes and low test scores (Duval County Public Schools, 2009). The school district also contains Stanton High School, rated