New Product Questionnaire Essay Example for Free

New Product Questionnaire Essay The main definition of bonsai as an outlet for both art and horticulture is quite wide. There are many myths which are associated with bonsai. These not only provide confusion for budding enthusiasts, but gives the pastime a bad name for anyone not majorly experienced in the area. A bonsai is not a genetically dwarfed plant and is not kept small by cruelty in any way. In fact, given an adequate supply of water, air, light and nutrients, a properly maintained bonsai should outlive a full size tree of the same species. The techniques of Bonsai are no more cruel than that of any other horticultural endeavour. It is also common belief that bonsai are only a few centimetres tall. This is untrue, although bonsai are small in comparison to their huge life-sized brothers, most are over 25 centimetres tall and up to 1 metre in height. To the Japanese, there is a link to many of the ideals that their society is based on. Zen Buddhism where the pastime originated, man, nature, elements and change all are intertwined into this unique method of meditation and expression. To our world now, bonsai is viewed as a hobby that allows a greater understanding and being with nature and also a way to enhance our gardens. Bonsai can be developed from seeds or cuttings, from young trees or from naturally occurring stunted trees transplanted into containers. Most bonsai range in height from 5 centimetres (2 in) to 1 metre (3. 33 ft). Bonsai are kept small and trained by pruning branches and roots, by periodic repotting, by pinching off new growth, and by wiring the branches and trunk so that they grow into the desired shape. The bonsai with its container and soil, physically independent of the earth since its roots are not planted in it, is a separate entity, complete in itself, yet part of nature. This is what is meant by the expression heaven and earth in one container. A bonsai tree should always be positioned off-center in its container, for not only is asymmetry vital to the visual effect, but the center point is symbolically where heaven and earth meet, and nothing should occupy this place. Another aesthetic principle is the triangular pattern necessary for visual balance and for expression of the relationship shared by a universal principle (life-giving energy or deity), the artist and the tree itself. Tradition holds that three basic virtues are necessary to create a bonsai: shin-zen-bi standing for truth, goodness and beauty. Given proper care, bonsai can live for hundreds of years, with prized specimens being passed from generation to generation, admired for their age, and revered as a reminder of those who have cared for them over the centuries. Although these bonsai are extremely beautiful meticulously cared for over the years and containing such a wealth of knowledge, age is not essential. It is more important that the tree produce the artistic effect desired, that it be in proper proportion to the appropriate container, and that it be in good health. Bonsai are ordinary trees or plants, not special hybrid dwarfs. Small leafed varieties are most suitable, but essentially any plant can be used, regardless of the size it grows to in the wild. In Japan, varieties of pine, azalea, camellia, bamboo and plum are most often used. The artist never duplicates nature but rather expresses a personal aesthetic philosophy by manipulating it. The bonsai may suggest many things, but in all cases must look natural and never show the intervention of human hands (with the exception of Chinese bonsai which in many cases depicts images of dragons and other influential symbols of the culture at the time of origination). Grown in special containers, bonsai are primarily kept outdoors (with the exception of some plants suited, trained and grown indoors), although they are often displayed on special occasions in the tokonoma, the alcove in the traditional Japanese rooms designed for the display of artistic objects or on a polished stand.

Divorce Laws in the United States Essay examples -- Family Law

â€Å"Divorce is a decree by a court that a valid marriage no longer exists. It leaves both parties free to remarry. The court will award custody, divide property, and order spousal and child support† (The American Bar Association 71). â€Å"†¦till death do us part† is almost always heard at wedding ceremonies. But all too often does this phrase not hold up to its true meaning. Between 1960 and 1999 the divorce rate in the United States tripled (Porterfield vii). Out of all first time marriages, 41% end in divorce (Divorce Rate). According to the Centers for Disease control and Prevention, for every 1,000 people, 6.8 get married and 3.4 of those marriages will end in divorce (Marriage and Divorce). The Family Legal Guide from The American Bar Association confirms that of the couples who marry before the age of forty-five, one-half of them will get divorced (71). These numbers do not seem to be decreasing. They only seem to be increasing as time goes on. It is agreed by many that if two people can no longer find it in themselves to be passionate towards one another and they no longer desire the others company that they should end their marriage. However, the growing number of divorces is proving that, pe rhaps getting a divorce in the United States is too easy. The evidence proves that divorce laws should be made stricter throughout the United States. Every divorce is different; no two divorces are the same. Some involve children. Some are just a couple. Some have step children or half children. Some include hostile situations. Some are peaceful. Some are for a valid reason. Some are simply because the couple doesn’t feel like being together anymore. Some are mutual. Some are not. So why is every divorce so quickly done and so easily ob... ...2. â€Å"Marriage and Divorce.† Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 5 Oct. 2010. Web. 26 Feb. 2012. Porterfield, Kay Marie. Straight Talk about Divorce. New York: Facts on File, 1999. Print. Portnoy, Ph.D. Sanford. â€Å"A Lawyer’s Primer Part 1- The Effects of Divorce on Adults.† Ed. Ron Brown. The Psychology of Divorce. 1(2006): 1-7. Print. Russo, Francine. â€Å"Can The Government Prevent Divorce?† The Atlantic. Oct. 1997. Web. 1 Apr. 2012. Shapiro v. Thompson. 2 Library of Congress Cataloging-in- Publication Data. U.S. Supreme Court. 21 Apr. 1969. Print. Tavernise, Sabrina, and Robert Gebeloff. â€Å"Once Rare in Rural American, Divorce is Changaing the Face of Its Families.† www.Nytimes.com. The New York Times. 23 Mar. 2011. Web. 27 Feb. 2012. The American Bar Association. Family Legal Guide. 3rd ed. New York: Random House, 2004. 71-88. Print.

Educational Orientation for African Americans Essay

â€Å"Reality depends on one’s perception of the world. Thus, although there is one school, each student perceives his or her experiences in that school differently. Reality exists in that individual perception† (Marcus, Gross, & Seefeldt, 1991, p. 364). Ensuring social justice and opportunities of achievement for all students, especially historically underrepresented groups, has been my mission in life for many years. Concerned with issues like equal opportunity and treatment for all students, regardless of students’ social class, ethnicity, or family structure, I have always attempted to be cognizant of students’ perspectives. As a counselor in a school that is predominantly white with a few African American students I would like to research intervention strategies that would make those African American students in my school be more successful. There are many factors associated with school failure, especially in African American males. The purpose of this research is to identify those factors and develop interventions strategies to apply to combat the school failure of those students. Examining their culture and of the causes of this phenomena and understanding how they experience school was critical in identifying the issues and influences on their educations. Students’ failures to learn and succeed do not occur out of thin air. More specifically, African American boys’ failures to achieve do not occur out of thin air. A review of literature on Black male achievement shows that not only do they lag behind their White counterparts in America, but also in Britain and Canada (Graham & Robinson, 2004; Smith, Schneider, & Ruck, 2005). Attention must be given to examining policies, practices, attitudes, and experiences that create such failure in schools (Christle, Jolivette, & Nelson, 2005; Kagan, 1990; Nieto, 1999). Educators have many responsibilities. One of those responsibilities is to examine the reasons for the failure of students. Marian Wright Edelman (1992) sums up the purpose of education and echoes my belief of the responsibility of educators: â€Å"Education is for improving the lives of others and for leaving your community and world better than you found it† (pp. 9-10). The decision to study African American males in middle school arises from personal interest in equity and social justice issues. Tied to that is my experience in middle schools where I have been witness to struggling students, particularly African American males from low socioeconomic neighborhoods, who have demonstrated a lack of success in school. One cannot help but wonder why being Black and male puts students at risk for school failure (Davis, 2003; Noguera, 2003). For these reasons, my research is focused on a group of African American who are not successful in school; those who are struggling academically, demonstrating inappropriate behavior at school, and not putting forth effort to meet their academic potential. The research will seek to identify the influences, or the lack thereof, impacting these students’ success. When factoring in other issues that potentially result from a lack of educational attainment, such as involvement in illegal activity and incarceration of African American students, it is easy to see that we cannot afford to gamble on whether or not these students will make it on their own. Alarming statistics create a sense of urgency and responsibility for educators in reaching African American students in particular. Predictions based on steady incarceration rates reveal that 32% of African American males will likely serve time in state or federal prisons during the course of their lifetimes (U. S. Department of Justice, 2002). We are living in a country where twice as many African Americans live below the poverty line than Caucasians and where 40% of jail inmates are African American (U. S. Department of Commerce, 2002; U. S. Department of Justice, 2002). African Americans have held the lead in the percentage of people unemployed for three years consecutively (U. S. Department of Labor, 2003). Such statistics, when coupled with economic consequences of failing to adequately educate all students, paint a bleak picture for a large segment of our population. Gibbs (1988) goes so far as to say that African American males are an â€Å"endangered species. † She uses a dictionary definition to define this term as â€Å"a class of individuals having common attributes and designated by a common name [which is] in danger or peril of probable harm or loss† (p. 1). It is critical that struggling African American students are identified early to help avoid the dismal scenarios. The implications of failing to identify and assist struggling students at the earliest point possible not only have an immediate effect on students but also carry long-term consequences for students, communities, and the nation (Gibbs, 1988; Lee, 2002; President’s Committee, 1997). The educational and societal implications of not reaching this group of students are worthy of great concern. The lack of both academic progress and motivation to learn are symptoms of a larger problem. Without getting to the root causes for the underachievement of African American males, another year goes by and they fall further behind their academically excelling peers, lowering their chances of passing their grades or scoring at proficiency on the required yearly standardized tests. On a larger scale, this â€Å"silent catastrophe,† as a member of the London Parliament refers to the underachievement of Black male students, lays the foundation for impediments to quality of life, earned income, and other obstacles in these individuals’ lives, as well as implications for the greater society (Graham & Robinson, 2004, p. 654). behaviors children exhibit and failing to see the real problems. Conversations may take place between the teacher and the student or the student and an administrator on a superficial level inquiring as to why they are misbehaving or failing, but the deliberate search for the root causes is often set aside to deal with the immediate problem of behavior or unwillingness to learn. Students who are not succeeding academically often become â€Å"casualties of the educational systems that cannot see them because their problems remain invisible† (Nieto, 2004, p. 17). Classroom interventions, parent contacts, disciplinary consequences, counseling, and tutoring are a few of the strategies educators have implemented to improve student learning and chances of success. However, with some students it does not appear that we have scratched the surface of the underlying issues. Without getting to the root causes for the underachievement of African American males, another year goes by and they fall further behind their academically excelling peers, lowering their chances of passing their grades or scoring at proficiency on the required yearly standardized tests. On a larger scale, this â€Å"silent catastrophe,† as a member of the London Parliament refers to the underachievement of Black male students, lays the foundation for impediments to quality of life, earned income, and other obstacles in these individuals’ lives, as well as implications for the greater society (Graham & Robinson, 2004, p. 654). Irvine and Irvine (1994) suggested there are two perspectives that sum up the critical factor analysis on African American students’ failure in school. The first they call the achievement problematic, which suggests that Black students’ school failure is related to their cultural beliefs, perceptions and values about education. The second, cultural problematic, suggests that indifference to African American student culture is responsible for African American student school failure. The cultural vs. structural argument with regard to minority education is a common theme within sociology of education research. Empirical studies often highlight one or the other as contributing the under-achievement of African American. An examination of the various cultural and structural theories will put this debate into context.

Conflict Management - 2100 Words

ORGANIZATIONAL CONFLICT MANAGEMENT 1. ABSTRACT Organizational conflict is a state of discord caused by the actual or perceived opposition of needs, values and interests between people working together. Conflict takes many forms in organizations; there is the inevitable clash between formal authority and power and those individuals and groups affected. There are disputes over how revenues should be divided, how the work should be done and how long and hard people should work. There are jurisdictional disagreements among individuals, departments, and between unions and management. Various issues relating to organizational conflict, techniques, systems and practices for conflict resolution will also be discussed in this paper. Keywords:†¦show more content†¦Characteristic differences – culture, race, values, gender, personal preferences, age, perception, social status, etc. 5. REASONS FOR ORGANIZATIONAL CONFLICT The people are aware of the factors that generate organizational conflicts such as scarcity, obstruction and incompatible interests or goals. Resource scarcity, monetary, job, prestige or power, encourages the obstruction of behaviour and organizational conflict arises. Organizational Conflict can also be broken out when one party avoids the goal achievement of the other one. Reiterating these ideas, declares that organizational conflict is clearly associated with power and can emerge when goal achievement of an organization is avoided. The reasons that justify conflict in organizations: 1. As departments grow, people lose contact with other departments, or yet, members of a department start to think differently from other areas. 2. The increase of emphasis in the financial measures as a tool for motivation for managers and the establishment of different profit centres inside an integrated business system end up creating many conflicts. 3. The increasing rise of emphasis in functional specialization, politics of promotion and recruiting reinforce the isolation of departments, generating conflicts. 4. Today there is more room for workers to show criticism among each other, while this freedom of speech can be beneficial for society as a whole, in organizational context can be transformed intoShow MoreRelatedConflict Management1178 Words   |  5 PagesConflict is a fact of life - for individuals, organizations, and societies. The costs of conflict are well-documented - high turnover, grievances and lawsuits, absentee ism, divorce, dysfunctional families, prejudice, fear. What many people dont realize is that well-managed conflict can actually be a force for positive change. Conflict is â€Å"an expressed struggle between at least two interdependent parties who perceive incompatible goals, scarce resources, and interference from others in achievingRead MoreConflict Between Conflict And Conflict Management845 Words   |  4 Pagesâ€Å"People are afraid of conflict because they do not have essential skills to manage it well.† This is true because according to O’Grady and Malloch (2016), conflict is reflection of an insufficient knowledge of the dynamics of conflict and a lack of capability in its management. In the case of Nancy, perhaps she needs to undergo specialty training or classes about conflict management in order to improve their unit’s dynamic or interaction. 2. â€Å"If you engage with conflict too early, there is a chanceRead MoreThe Conflict And Conflict Management Strategies908 Words   |  4 PagesRobbins and Judge define conflict as a process that begins when one party perceives another party has or is about to negatively affect something that is cared about. There is a variety of conflicts that individuals will encounter within their lives. Knowing and understating the conflict cycle and understanding conflict management strategies will help individuals solve conflict in a reasonable manner (Robbins Judge, 2014). Discussing Contentious Issues/ Bringing Conflict into the Open When managersRead MoreConflict Of Conflict Management Styles1690 Words   |  7 Pages Many people do their best to avoid conflict at all costs, but it is an occurrence that everyone must deal with from time to time. Understandable, the avoidance of conflict is glamorous, however learning how to handle the conflicts can make them seem less bothersome. Learning how to manage conflict is a key factor in becoming a manager and the execution of that learning can be very different from manager to manager. Shanker (2013) describes conflict management styles as an equation involving theRead MoreConflict Management1469 Words   |  6 PagesConflict Management Conflict Management Yamil Little Strayer University BUS520 Dr. Anthony Hughes 02/27/11 Conflict Management Introduction In today’s ever-changing business environment organizations encounter varying levels of intrapersonal, interpersonal, intragroup, and intergroup conflicts. Intrapersonal conflict is a battle within oneself, which usually involves a life goal and/or change. Interpersonal conflict is when two or more people have opposing perspectivesRead MoreConflict Between Conflict And Conflict Management1772 Words   |  8 Pagesopinion there will also be a chance for some form of conflict to arise. To resolve and manage conflict, any organization or persons’ must try to understand the causes, theories, approaches and strategies of conflict management. Resolving conflict requires a great deal of attention and thorough understanding in seeking resolution. In this review, conflict management will be explored in general from different perspectives in light of how conflict effects teams or groups, workplace relationships andRead MoreConflict Between Conflict And Conflict Managemen t1313 Words   |  6 PagesConflict and conflict management both play pivotal roles in all relationships, whether they are between friends, family, lovers, or coworkers. However, while most relationships have an abundance of conflict, the amount of properly implemented conflict management in all relationships is relatively low. This is especially surprising when you consider the sheer amount of research and counseling directed at managing conflict in constructive ways. Though the aforementioned services and research are ofRead MoreConflict Management5778 Words   |  24 PagesUnderstanding Conflict and Conflict Management http://www.foundationcoalition.org/teams Definition A team is a small group of people with complementary skills who are committed to a common purpose, performance goals, and approach for which they hold themselves mutually accountable.1 Although student teams may not satisfy all the requirements of the definition, the degree to which they do often determines their effectiveness. Rationale Students do not come to school with all the social skillsRead MoreConflict Between Conflict Management And Resolution883 Words   |  4 Pagesnegative association with conflict. Reflects poorly on the supervisor when there is conflict but in reality it’s only negative when the supervisor or employee, depending on the situation does not address the conflict. Unresolved conflicts can negatively impact not only the employees involved but also the company. Unresolved conflicts result in negative impacts not only to the individual but also the company. Focus on the problem, not the person. Sometimes the conflict will be reoccurring or unresolvableRead MoreConflict Management Styles1081 Words   |  5 PagesConflict Management Styles Myron Harris 09/30/2012 CJA/444 Allen Cole Conflict Management Styles Conflict usually occurs when individuals within a group or organization has differences in opinions. When individuals are in a disagreement about something like policies and procedures or even the overall direction of which an organization or company is heading it can become very frustrating. As we all know conflict the process of conflict usually begins when an individual or party has perceived