Gullivers Travels1 essays

Gullivers Travels1 essays At first Gullivers travels comes off as a fantasy/adventure, but in actuality its a satirical commentary on society in Johnathan Swift. It starts off with Gulliver talking about himself. Later he gets shipwrecked and ends up in Lilliput, where the people are 6 inches tall. At first they think Gulliver is an enemy, but then realize he is no threat. He is taken to the palace and housed in a cursed temple. Gulliver is amazed at how silly the governments rules are, for example to gain entry to the court the candidates must petition to the emperor. After the emperor gets 5 or 6 petitions he sets up a competition in which the candidates must do the Dance on the Rope, whoever jumps the highest without falling gets the job. The Lilliputians employ Gulliver to help in their war against Blefuscudians, but he refuses and that is the beginning of his downfall. He then gets transported to Brobdingnag, where the people are 60 ft. tall. At first they think Gulliver is an animal of some sort, but when they realize he can communicate they house him with a farmer. This place is very different than Lilliput, the king is appalled when Gulliver tells him about England, and asks why the people are so vicious and mean. However Gulliver feels like a freak there, and one day while he was out with the king and queen, an eagle swoops down and carries him off to drop him in the sea. Some sailors then rescue him. But yet again there is a shipwreck, and he finds himself in a world inhabited by Houyhnhnms, a creature that looks like a horse, yet has an amazing intellect. The Houyhnhnms are amazed that Gulliver is intelligent and take him in. Later Gulliver realizes why they are amazed; the only humans in Swifts writing style reflects what he thinks of the characters or actions, without telling the reader outright. Also keep in mind that this is a social c ...

How to Write a Strong Recommendation Letter for Your Students Scholarship

How to Write a Strong Recommendation Letter for Your Student's Scholarship SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips There are numerous scholarships out there for students entering college, and each has its own special set of guidelines. A recommendation letter for scholarship from teachers, counselors, and other important people in a student's life can serve as powerful testaments to a student's past and future achievements. As an English teacher and college counselor, I put a lot of time into crafting personalized letters of recommendation for students applying to scholarships. In this article, I discuss what exactly should go into an effective scholarship recommendation letter, along with the importance of tailoring your letter to the scholarship at hand. So how exactly should recommenders frame their letters to best help their students win a scholarship? And what purpose do reference letters serve as scholarship committees sift through applications? // Purpose of Recommendation Letters in Scholarship Applications A letter of recommendation for scholarship can accomplish a number of things within a student's scholarship application. First, they can act as strong endorsements of a student, praising her academic and personal qualities and expressing confidence in her future success. The best letters allow a student to transcend her resume and come alive, so to speak, as a multi-dimensional person to a scholarship committee. They also show that she has people in her life motivated to speak on her behalf. While illuminating a student's impressive qualities (her compassion, energy, or leadership skills, for instance), a recommendation letter provides further evidence that the student is qualified to receive the scholarship. Most scholarships are awarded for students with specific commitments or goals. They might be awarded to students pursuing engineering, math, science, computer science, or literary studies. Recommendations should be customized to each scholarship. They can attest that a student is both eligible for and deserves the scholarship based on her merit and/or need. For those scholarships geared toward students that have financial need, a recommendation letter may discuss a student's ability to succeed despite limited resources. A recommendation letter for scholarship can complement and add to the story a student tells in her application about who she is and why she deserves it. In order to do this successfully and accurately, you, as the recommender, should first gather essential information and brainstorm ideas before beginning to write. Want to build the best possible college application, with the strongest recommendations? We can help. PrepScholar Admissions is the world's best admissions consulting service. We combine world-class admissions counselors with our data-driven, proprietary admissions strategies. We've overseen thousands of students get into their top choice schools, from state colleges to the Ivy League. We know what kinds of students colleges want to admit. We want to get you admitted to your dream schools. Learn more about PrepScholar Admissions to maximize your chance of getting in. Even before the chicken and the egg came the brainstorming stage. Before Writing YourScholarship Recommendation Letter... Since letters of recommendation carry such weight, first you should ask yourself if you can write a genuine and meaningful letter of support for the student. If you feel you don't know her well or have little to share on her behalf, then your letter could come off as lukewarm or uninformed, both of which would add little, or could even hurt, her chances. Assuming you're motivated to recommend the student, you should make sure to find out exactly what the scholarship is for. Is it looking to award students who have overcome significant challenges? Is it helping girls who want to study computer science? Minority students entering technology fields? High academic achievers that contribute to their communities? By being aware of the guidelines and expectations of the scholarship, you can make sure to validate your student's qualifications to receive it. If it's a scholarship for future engineers, talk about your student's fascination with physics. If it has to do with community involvement, talk about her volunteer work at the Boys and Girls Club. Your recommendee should provide you with information about the scholarship, along with her resume, "brag sheet," and any other relevant information. If you still have unanswered questions, it could help your letter writing to sit down with the student and talk about her high school experiences and post-secondary goals. Once you have a clear sense of the scholarship and themes within the student's application, you can think about the story you want to tell in your recommendation letter for scholarship. Think about the student's outstanding strengths, along with significant experiences that have shaped her or obstacles she's overcome. // Finally, consider what anecdotes or observations you can share to demonstrate those strengths. If she's applying to a computer science scholarship, you can highlight her year-long project designing an app to track water use and promote conservation. If she's applying for a literary scholarship, talk about her publications in the town's local magazine. All of these components are important to include in the scholarship recommendation letter. Read on to learn more about key content in recommendation letters for scholarships. Include meaningful stories to support your recommendation. WhatAre the Main Parts of a Recommendation Letter? Each recommendation letter you write will be personalized to the specific student you're writing about, but many of these letters follow a similar template. Here's everything that you should include in your recommendation letter: A salutation An introduction that explains your relationship to the student The body of the letter where you explain the reason(s) for why you believe the student deserves the scholarship A summary where you reiterate your main points Your contact information and signature What to Include in Your Recommendation Letter Once you've brainstormed a list of the student's strengths, meaningful anecdotes, and qualifications to win the scholarship, you can start to draft your letter. Introduction As with recommendations for college, you should begin by stating who you're recommending, how you know her and in what contexts, and what makes you qualified to give your assessment. If you've known the student in different contexts, like as both her teacher and club advisor or coach, then you should say so. This further shows that you know her well and have seen how she interacts and performs in different roles and environments. It's my great pleasure to recommend Janet for the X Scholarship, who I got to know as her 11th grade AP Calculus teacher. Throughout the three years I've known Brian as his baseball coach and 11th grade English teacher, he's impressed me with his intense focus and commitment. // Body of the Letter: Why the Student Deserves the Scholarship Once your introduction incorporates these elements - a strong statement of support and an explanation of who you are and how you know the student - then you can move into your assessment. You should highlight the student's primary strengths, again, making sure to tailor your evaluation to the specific scholarship. If the scholarship is focusing on academic achievement, then a statement of high ranking from an established teacher could go a long way. Stating that the student is one of the top three you've taught in twenty years or the best student in her class suggests that she's an outstanding applicant who will likely continue to excel in college. Since most scholarships are awarded for students going into certain fields, you should speak about your vision of the student at college. If the scholarship is awarded to someone going into mechanical engineering, then you can corroborate the student's academic and professional goals and paint a picture of what you see her accomplishing in the field. Talk about her aptitude for the subject, involvement in Robotics Club, and excitement to study with renowned engineer Professor Smith at college. Ultimately, you want to make the student stand out as a motivated individual that the scholarship donors would want to invest in. You may emphasize her unique commitment, talent, drive, and passion, and show them how her contributions in high school predict her continued pursuits in college. Show them that she deserves the scholarship and that you have no doubt she will put it to good use. Your Contact Information In the end of your letter, you can give your contact information and invite the scholarship committee to get in touch with any further questions. If you've provided a complete, glowing picture of the student, then they should have all the information they need. On the other hand, your letter may fall short if it includes some of the following elements. Neither your coffee nor your recommendation letter should be lukewarm. What Not to Include in Your Scholarship Recommendation Letter It's unlikely that any recommendation letter will be explicitly bad. If you didn't get along with a student for some reason, then presumably she wouldn't ask you to recommend her. Even if she mysteriously did, you'd most likely decline or suggest someone who would be a better choice for recommender. However, recommendation letters can still end up being mediocre and not very helpful compared to others that rave about a student. Lukewarm Praise Letters that come off as lukewarm stand in stark contrast to enthusiastic ones. To avoid this, make sure to be intentional with your word choice and to avoid cliches. Talking about how a student is hard-working and a good student might not stack up well beside descriptors like diligent, insightful, intellectually curious, or compassionate, to name a few. Try not to use vague or overused adjectives that sound generic and lack impact. Additionally, a mediocre ranking like "above average" doesn't do much to help a student, especially if the scholarship is looking for exceptional academic merit. You also want to avoid covering every grade, club, or activity associated with the student, as this lacks focus. It wouldn't zero in on the specific qualifications the scholarship committee is looking for, and thus wouldn't help prove that the student deserves their time and money. Non-Descriptive Reasons Why the Student Deserves the Scholarship You also want to avoid simply listing adjectives in your recommendation without having the stories to back them up. Just as a picture is worth a thousand words, a story about your student is more memorable and telling than using an adjective with no example. In addition to calling Roger a caring, sensitive, and proactive leader, talk about how he developed a week of programming at school to raise awareness of mental health issues. Simply put, avoid abstract language if you can't support it with real examples. Generic Writing Finally, to reiterate the point, the least effective recommendation letter is one not tailored to the scholarship itself. While you may use the same letter of recommendation for more than one college a student is applying to, you should make sure to customize your letter for scholarships. They tend to be both competitive and specific. Therefore a student needs a strong, customized letter that talks about why she's the perfect person to win that money. Sample Recommendation Letter for a Scholarship Now that you know all the partsyour letter should include, here's an sample scholarship recommendation letter so you can see how it looks all tied together. Notice how, in this letter, the writer clearly explains how he knows the student, gives specific examples of why the student is exceptional,discusses how the scholarship would benefit the student, and overall presents a strong and passionate case as to why this student deserves the scholarship. Dear Scholarship Selection Committee, I'm thrilled torecommend Nathan Daniels for the Aspiring Entrepreneur Scholarship. I taught Nathan's Introductory Economics and AP Macroeconomics classes, and I also am the advisor for the high school Business Club, which Nathan is Vice President of. I've known Nathan for three years, and I've seen him use intelligence, business savvy, hard work, and people skills to accomplish more than almost any high school student I know.I highly recommend him for this scholarship. I first met Nathan when he was a sophomore in my Introductory Economics class. Right away he stood out by being able to quickly grasp economic concepts and engage in thoughtful discussion. He's very skilled at being able to apply even abstract business and economics concepts to real world examples and understand how they impact everyday life. In both classes I have taught him in, Nathan has been an active participant and one of the highest-scoring students in the class, but he always takes time to help his classmates. By the time he was in my AP Economics class, I could put him in a group with students struggling to understand certain concepts and trust him to competently answer any questions they had while I was working with other groups. Despite being an excellent student and considerate peer, Nathan's most impressive achievement is the business he started on his own and continues to run. At the end of his sophomore year, Nathan came to me with a business plan he had for a tutoring business he wanted to run. It was extremely detailed, well thought-out, and based on solid business principles, so I recommended giving it a shot. I've seen numerous students come up with great ideas but not follow through, so I didn't expect much of it. However, Nathan not only got his business up and running, he has managed to keep it going and even expand it so that he now has three tutors working under him. He has shown incredible drive and business skills, and I truly believe this is only the beginning for him. Nathan has discussed with me how he would use this scholarship to help expand his current tutoring business as well as begin a new business to help college students resell their textbooks. I've looked over the plan for this new business, and it appears as well planned as his first. I have no doubt Nathan has both the motivation and the business sense to continue growing as an entrepreneur. I believe Nathan would be an extremely deserving recipient of this award and that you can be certain he'd make the most of it, the way he has made the most of all opportunities he has had. Sincerely, Terrance IvesSocial Science and BusinessTeacher Key Takeaways: Recommendation Letter for Scholarship To review, let's go over the key points to remember when writing your letters of recommendation for scholarships. When writing a letter of recommendation for scholarship, remember to Tailor your letter to the specific scholarship and its guidelines and expectations. Customize your letter to each individual student. Speak enthusiastically about a student's merit and why the scholarship committee should invest in her academic and professional future. In other words, emphasize your confidence in her future success. Highlight the student's primary strengths, particularly as they relate to the scholarship. Don't feel like you have to cover everything on a student's resume. Give stories, examples, and observations to back up your praise. In a phrase, "show, don't tell." Be intentional with your phrasing and flow of ideas. Choose words that are powerful and have impact, while avoiding generic language and cliches. Whether your student is applying to a scholarship for academic achievement, financial need, or a specific field of study, her application can receive a serious boost from a strong, thoughtful, and supportive recommendation letter. While her mission is to win the scholarship, yours can be to present the scholarship committee with an exceptional letter of recommendation about a student they won't soon forget. What's Next? Are you also writing letters of recommendation for colleges? Check out our full guide for teachers on how to write reference letters and help your students get accepted. Along with understanding the key content that should go into a recommendation letter, it's helpful to read these examples of great and bad references.Here you can read 4 great teacher recommendation letters, plus 3 examples of bad teacher recs. Are you a counselor writing a letter of recommendation?Check out our guide that includes three excellent examples of counselor letters of recto give you some ideas. Want to improve your SAT score by160 points or your ACT score by 4 points?We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now:

Differentiated Instruction Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Differentiated Instruction - Essay Example This ensures that all students who are placed in an education system can be provided with training materials in ways that are considerate of the different situations of the environment. Through this way, there is no single student who can fail to acquire ideas because of the limitations posed by their environment, gender, ability or disability, language spoken, personal interests as well as the socioeconomic issues surrounding the area. In education, there are different methods of teaching that are implemented and which can be implemented to ensure that all the people who seek education get the ideal kind without restriction (Etscheidt, 2006). This kind of education, which factors in the requirements of all students in terms of their ability and improvising the environment to make it bearable for learner, is known as differentiated instruction and it takes place in different forms. Differentiated instruction does not characterize the area of acquisition of knowledge only but also the environment of acquisition, modes of assessment of ideas, the amount of support that is given to different students as well as manipulating the contents in the study. Differentiated education is a method of instruction whose main purpose is to ensure easy accommodation different students in program, which has students who have different styles of learning and varying instruction preferences. This kind of instruction involves teaching one subject to different students in varying ways to make sure that the differences are represented by the people. In order to understand differentiated instruction, a person can consider the elaborating the different methods of differentiation which lead to improvement of the situation of individual learner when they are exposed to classes. There are four main ways through which teachers accommodate students with different education needs to ensure that they do not only get the ideas but also are able to apply them in their day to day life after they are subjected them. The four areas that are addressed by the differentiated instruction include the factors of environment of learning, the mode of assessment, the support accorded to learners as well as the modification of the content of learning (Landrum & McDuffie, 2010). In passing of ideas, there are students that are generally slow to learn while others are quick to grasp and use ideas, which are passed by a teacher to them. Those with slow learning abilities require more support from their teachers than those that are quick learners and can get ideas by their own. There are students who can get ideas by their exposure to books on their own without necessarily getting the teachers to help them in elaborating the content of the book. These students can be taught in very easy ways because the amount of time the teacher accords them is minimal so that they do not have to spend a lot of time and energy to teach. These students are able to get and apply ideas that are contained in different books without necessarily getting much assistance from their teachers. This means that exposure to book books can be the only tasking support that a teacher can engage in to facilitate the learning of such a student. On the other hand, there are those students

Employer Policies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Employer Policies - Essay Example Based on ethical basis, an employer should provide retirement plans for the employees. An example is the 401 (k) plan or the IRA plan that is most suitable for small businesses (Steingold, 2015, p. 118). An employer, however, should not promise an employee a specific income level after retirement. Instead, an employee earns his or her contribution to the plan. Based on good managerial skills, an employer should consider all the administrative requirements. That complies with the ERISA that requires employers to have plan administrators. Participating employees must have a copy of the summary plan description, summary annual report and survivor coverage data. An employer must not fail to file Form 5500 with the IRS, annually (Steingold, 2015, p. 122). A key employer policy in the field of technology management is the Affordable Health Care Act. The Act has diverse legal, ethical and managerial dimensions. It is beneficial to women through because it provides insurance options for women covering preventive services at affordable costs. It is suitable for young adults through its coverage provided to them up to when they are 26 years of age. There are several benefits from the various annual wellness visits provided under the Act. In addition, there are preventive services offered for seniors who have Medicare. Front-line supervisor or manager benefits from provisions of the Act that places accountability to insurance companies for any increase in premium by

Baseball Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Baseball - Essay Example Everyone wants to get out there and pitch that perfect curveball, or hit the first home run of the game. The air is rich with the scent of hotdogs as the vendors go to work feeding the masses. Young barmen and women do their best to satisfy thousands of thirsts filling endless plastic glasses with ice-cold beer. For some, a freshly baked pretzel is the way to go, plenty of salt and mustard, and a soda to wash it down. The wonderful mixture of odours in the air adds to the atmosphere and anticipation before the game. There's nothing quite like it. The stands are full of activity as everybody swarms to their seats. Not long until game time now. A hundred little boys hold on tightly to daddy's hand still not sure quite what to expect at their first ball game. They can feel the excitement building all around them and it is a new sensation. Although they may not know it they are beginning to understand the love of the game. Once full the ballpark is a magnificent picture of color and excitement. Music blares from the powerful sound system and adds to the already breathtaking atmosphere. Many fans are dressed in the shirts of their favorite teams. Others proudly wear their team's jacket, some just stick to the cap. The signs and banners are everywhere around the stadium held up high for all to see. Some of them simply display the name of a team; others send messages to the players wishing them luck in the game ahead. As the players make their way onto the park the stadium erupts with noise as so many thousands cheer, whoop and whistle for their favorite team and player. The sound is almost deafening but at the same time truly awesome. Everyone is on their feet knowing that all that stands between them and the first pitch of the game is a unifying rendition of the national anthem. Hands on hearts, the song brings everyone within the stadium together as it does every time. Even opposing fans are best of friends at this moment, proud to be American. The game starts and the crowd begins to settle down and enjoy the spectacle. The tension builds as several pitches fizz past the bat and smack into the heavily padded glove of the catcher. It's not long until the batter makes the first satisfying contact and the wonderful sound of bat on ball reverberates around the park. It is the sound that the fans love to hear, and to see the ball fly over the fence just makes it even better. Devout fans are pleased to be able to mark a home run on their scorecards, scorecards which they will no doubt show their children in years to come. The excitement of the final few innings is almost unmatched by any other game. Even after hours of play the crowd are once again on their feet yelling words of encouragement and willing their team to finish the job. Then it is over. The winner is decided and it is time to go home. As the stands gradually empty there is a feeling of satisfaction around the ballpark, even from among the supporters of the losing team. They have had their dose of the game, and nothing can take that away. Empty now, the ballpark stands and waits. It has done its job once again, providing a home away from home for the baseball fan. For now it rests, but soon its gates will open once again and the people will come. Baseball, what a

Poverty Elimination by NGOs

Poverty Elimination by NGOs Assessing NGOs performance in poverty reduction is a difficult task. However, it is worth learning from other observations conducted on NGO performance in alleviating poverty NGOs have increased the scale on the type of roles they play. In this contemporary time, NGOs are tremendously working, and helping government, institutions, and the rural poor in the fight against poverty in Sub-Saharan African, which was their traditional role during the World Wars. Although NGOs are appraised for their tremendous work, other scholars have opined that they do not see their essence due to the fact that many have fallen below expectations. In this Chapter, however, researchers task is to review the literature of other scholarly works as it relate to NGOs roles in poverty alleviation. Desai (2005) has mentioned that NGOs have an important role to play in supporting women, men and households, community groups, civil society groups and expected that they can meet the welfare. She accounted some role and functions for NGOs, such as counseling and support service, awareness raising and advocacy, legal aid and microfinance. These services help the people to achieve their ability, skill and knowledge, and take control over their own lives and finally become empowered and self-reliance. I agree with the author, because if a project like microfinance is enforced, the living standard of people will be improved. This evidence will be seen in the next chapter. Strom quits (2002) has also noted three major functions for NGOs such as (service delivery (e.g. relief, welfare, basic skills); educational provision (e.g. basic skills and often critical analysis of social environments); and public policy advocacy as this is the case with NGOs in Sub-Saharan Africa. Baccaro (2001), in his writing depicted how particular NGOs with a definite mission statements can promote the organization and empowerment of the poor, particularly poor women, through a combination of micro-credit, awareness-raising, training for group members which is capacity building and other social services, with an aim to reduce poverty among societies. NGOs general aim is to alleviate poverty through activities that promote capacity building and self-reliance. Langran (2002) has mentioned that NGOs through capacity building help to sustain community development assist government in the provision of basic social amenities. NGOs are often created in order to expand the capacities of people and government there by breaching the gap of poverty (Korten 1990). NGOs are praised for promoting community self-reliance and empowerment through supporting community-based groups and relying on participatory processes (Korten 1990; Clark 1991; Friedmann 1992; Fowler 1993; Edwards and Hulme 1994; Salamon 1994).In Sub-Saharan Africa for instance where survival for daily bread is a major hurdle, NGOs have been seen as liberators of human suffering the evidence is in Sierra Leone were sixty percent of citizens survival dependent upon donors. Sustainable development, on the other hand, has emerged over the past few decades as an important paradigm for poverty alleviation. As Bradshaw and Winn (2000) have noted, sustainability is rooted largely in an environmental approach, particularly in the industrialized countries. But, the goal of sustainable development is to find a balance between three pillars social, economic and environmental of communities (Sneddon 2000). Hibbard and Tang (2004) in their study in Vietnam have noted the importance of NGOs roles in sustainable community development. One of the roles was that NGOs balance the social, economic and environmental factors in promoting sustainable development. Another important role of NGO that they discovered was decentralization of the central government which helps the local communities to acquire more power in order to make their own decisions. As in the case of Sierra Leone where civil society groups and other NGOs like MERLIN, Caritas and CRS, have succeeded in winning bills for decentralization in the Health ministry. But, sometimes the local communities lack specialists to do professional work and resources that are important for the particular projects. In this situation, NGO assists local staff with drafting sustainable development plans that are functional under the umbrella of a central government policy. Finally, they concluded that poverty alleviation is process-oriented, and it requires extensive community participation and relies on network to share resources, knowledge and expertise. From the literatures, it could be summarized that NGOs play an important function in fighting poverty via promoting sustainable community development. Sustainable community development emphasizes on a balance between environmental concerns and development objectives, while simultaneously enhancing local social relationships. Sustainable communities meet the economic needs of their residents, enhance and protect the environment, and promote more human local societies (Bridger and Luloff 1997). Through the functions of providing microfinance, initiating capacity building and self -reliance, peace building projects, relief services during emergencies, NGOs could bridge the gap of poverty in Sub-Saharan African. Below are the reviews of NGOs roles, functions and strategies they used to fight poverty. 2.1- NGOs MICROFINANCE ROLE A STRATEGY FOR POVERTY ALLEVIATION Microfinance is another important sector that NGOs have fully ultilised in reaching out to the poor. Their roles in this sector, has immensely contributed to alleviating poverty among the poor. The purpose of using microfinance to alleviate poverty is as a result of what role microfinance can play and what impact it created on the beneficiaries. Microfinance has a very important role to play in development according to proponents of microfinance. In the 1990s, scholars have increasingly referred to microfinance as an effective means of poverty reduction (Rekha 1995; Cerven and Ghazanfar 1999; Pankhurst and Johnston 1999). The microfinance has long existed in Africa, but saw it decline when government established banking institutions took over Oxaal and Baden (1997). The World Bank found, in 1998, that the poorest 48% of Bangladeshi families with access to microcredit from Grameen Bank rose above the poverty line. In Peoples Republic of China (PRC), for instance, microfinance programs have helped lift 150 million people out of poverty since 1990 (UNHDR, 2005). Similarly in, in Ghana, Sierra Leone, Nigeria, Liberia, MkNelly and Dunford (1998) Mansaray (1998-99), found that microcredit beneficiaries increased their income by $36, compared with $18 for nonclients. Clients of microfinance generally shifted from irregular, low-paid daily jobs to more secured employment in India (Simanowitz, 2003) and Bangladesh (Zaman, 2000). Otero (1999, p.10) illustrates the various ways in which microfinance, at its core combats poverty. She states that microfinance creates access to productive capital for the poor, which together with human capital, addressed through education and training, and social capital, achieved through local organization building, enables people to move out of poverty (1999). By providing material capital to a poor person, their sense of dignity is strengthened and this can help to empower the person to participate in the economy and society (Otero, 1999). The aim of microfinance according to Otero (1999) is not just about providing capital to the poor to combat poverty on an individual level, it also has a role at an institutional level. It seeks to create institutions that deliver financial services to the poor, who are continuously ignored by the formal banking sector. Mayoux (2000) and Cheston and Khan (2002) have pointed out the importance of microfinance in empowerment, particularly women empowerment. Microfinance is defined as efforts to improve the access to loans and to saving services for poor people (Shreiner2001). UNCDF (2001) states that studies have shown that microfinance plays key roles in development. It is currently being promoted as a key development strategy for promoting poverty eradication and economic empowerment. It has the potential to effectively address material poverty, the physical deprivation of goods and services and the income to attain them by granting financial services to households who are not supported by the formal banking sector (Sheraton 2004). Microcredit programs provide small loans and savings opportunities to those who have traditionally been excluded from commercial financial services. As a development inclusion strategy, adopted by NGOs through the provision of funds to both locally established groups and government and private institutions, microfinance programs emphasize womens economic contribution as a way to increase overall financial efficiency within national economies. This is because in Sub-Saharan Africa, as whole women are said to be bread winners and care takers of their families. It should be noted that women are always at mercy regarding social misshapes .According to Cheston and Khan (2002), one of the most popular forms of economic empowerment for women is microfinance, which provides credit for poor women who are usually excluded from formal credit institutions. This issue of gender discrimination in the microfinance sector have been researched and debated by donor agencies, NGOs, feminists, and activists (Johnson and Rogaly 1997; Razavi 1997; Kabeer 1999; Mayoux 2001; Mahmud 2003). However, underneath these shared concerns lie three fundamentally different approaches to microfinance: financial sustainability, feminist empowerment, and poverty alleviation. All three microfinance approaches have different goals coupled with varied perspectives on how to incorporate gender into microfinance policy and programs (Mayoux 2000). The microfinance empowers women by putting capital in their hands and allowing them to earn an independent income and contribute financially to their households and communities. This economic empowerment is expected to generate increased self-esteem, respect, and other forms of empowerment for women beneficiaries. Some evidence show that microfinance would empower women in some domains such as increased participation in decision making, more equitable status of women in the family and community, increased political power and rights, and increased self-esteem (Cheston and Kuhn 2002). Well-being as an output of microfinance not only covers the economic indicators, but also other indicators such as community education, environment, recreation and accessibility to social services. It is related to the quality of life (Asnarulkhadi 2002). In order to gain economic sustainability, NGOs through microfinance help the communities to reduce poverty, create jobs, and promote income generation. In the developing countries, sustainability is linked more closely to issues of poverty and the gross inequalities of power and resources (Hamnett and Hassan 2003). This is due to the fact that in the Third World countries like sub-Saharan Africa, the ecological system, climate, sometimes conflicts with the socio-economic needs of local people who depend on a local ecosystem for their survival (Nygren 2000). In contrast, in the developed countries, as Bradshaw and Winn (2000) have noted, more priority is given on environmental aspect of sustainable development. Despite the importance attached to microfinance as an effective tool for poverty alleviation, yet it cannot be over ruled that this sector do have many problems. This has even led some scholars to doubt it usefulness, there by suggesting that NGOs still need to do more to reach out to the poor. Littlefield, Murduch and Hashemi (2003), Simanowitz and Brody (2004) and the IMF (2005) have commented on the critical role of microfinance in achieving the Millennium Development Goals. Simanowitz and Brody (2004, p.1) state, Microfinance is a key strategy in reaching the MDGs and in building global financial systems that meet the needs of the most poor people. Littlefield, Murduch and Hashemi (2003) state microfinance is a critical contextual factor with strong impact on the achievements of the MDGsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦microfinance is unique among development interventions: it can deliver social benefits on an ongoing, permanent basis and on a large scale. Referring to various case studies, they show how microfinance has played a role in eradicating poverty, promoting education, improving health and empowering women (2003). However, other scholars are not enthusiastic about the role of microfinance in development because of it lapses, and it is important to realize that microfinance is not a all done strategy when it comes to fighting poverty. Hulme and Mosley (1996), while acknowledging the role microfinance can have in helping to reduce poverty, concluded from their research on microfinance that most contemporary schemes are less effective than they might be (1996, p.134). They state that microfinance is not a total solution for poverty-alleviation and that in some cases the poorest people have been made worse-off by microfinance. Wright (2000,p.6) states that much of the skepticism of MFIs stems from the argument that microfinance projects fail to reach the poorest, generally have a limited effect on incomeà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦drive women into greater dependence on their husbands and fail to provide additional services desperately needed by the poor. In addition, Wright says that many development practitioners not only find microfinance inadequate, but that it actually diverts funding from more pressing or important interventions such as health and education (2000, p.6). As argued by Navajas et al (2000), there is a danger that microfinance may siphon funds from other projects that might help the poor more. They state that governments and donors should know whether the poor gain more from microfinance, than from more health care or food aid for example. Therefore, there is a need for all involved in microfinance and development to ascertain what exactly has been the impact of microfinance in combating poverty. Considerable debate remains about the effectiveness of microfinance as a tool for directly reducing poverty, and about the characteristics of the people it benefits (Chowdhury, Mosley and Simanowitz, 2004). Sinha (1998) argues that it is notoriously difficult to measure the impact of microfinance programmes on poverty. 2.2. NGOs CAPACITY BUILDING ROLE A STRATEGY FOR POVERTY ALLEVIATION Capacity building is another NGOs strategy and role that helps to bridge a gap between the haves and have not in society. Capacity building is an approach to development that builds independence. It can be: A means to an end, where the purpose is for others to take on programs. Is a process, where the capacity building strategies are routinely incorporated as an important element of effective practice (NSW Health 2001). Langran (2002) has defined capacity building as the ability of one group (NGOs) to strengthen the development abilities of another group (local communities) through education, skill training and organizational support. Capacity building is a strategy used to develop not a set of pre-determined activities. There is no single way to the build capacity of an individual or groups of individuals. Although experience tells us that there is a need to work across the key action areas, practitioners approach each situation separately to identify pre-existing capacities and develop strategies particular to a program or organization, in its time and place. Before beginning to build capacity within programs, practitioners need to identify pre-existing capacities such as skills, structures, partnerships and resources. Frankish (2003) has counted a number of dimensions for community capacity including financial capacity (resources, opportunities and knowledge), human resources (skills, motivations, confidence, and relational abilities and trust) and social resources (networks, participation structures, shared trust and bonding). UNDP (1997-2009) has introduced capacity building as the process by which individuals, groups, and organizations increase their abilities to first, perform core functions, solve problems, define and achieve objectives; and second, understand and deal with their development needs in a broad context and in a sustainable manner. NGOs, through the provision of education, skills and knowledge, develop the capacity of community towards achieving sustainable development. In fact, NGOs act as a capacity builder to help the communities to develop the resources, building awareness, motivating to participation in project and finally improving the quality of communitys lives. Inger Ulleberg (2009) has supported the view that NGOs play important role through the provision of skills for the rural poor. He has maintained that through capacity building, NGOs have been able to reach the poor, and has contributed to the development of the beneficiaries through skills training, the given of technical advice, exchange of experiences, research and policy advice which is key to todays development. Through the case study of Afghanistan NGOs, it suggested that these areas of interest have yielded fruit for the intended beneficiaries. The activities have usually strengthened the skills of individuals, as it was intended but have not always succeeded in improving the effectiveness of the ministries and other organizations where those individuals are working. This according to Kpaka (2007) considered it as a failure on the part of the implementers because of improper allocation of stratetigies and argues that they failed because of poor planning and poor implementation strategy. 2.3.NGOs ROLES OF SELF-RELIANCE AND SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT A STRATEGY FOR POVERTY ALLEVIATION Self-reliance is another strategy that affects sustainable community development. Effective community development sits on the foundation of self-reliance. The concept of self-reliance is strategically situated within the essence of community development and is related to other concepts like mutual-help, self-help, participation of the indigenous people and rural progress. Self-reliance encourages the necessity for people to use local initiatives, their abilities and their own possessions to improve their condition. Fonchingong and Fonjong (2002) have pointed out that self-reliance is increasingly being adopted as modus operandi for community development. Therefore, to attain self-reliance, NGOs and community groups must discover their own potential and look for ways to innovatively develop such discovered potential to use as sources of wealth for the development of the community (Ife and Tesoriero 2006). Motivating and mobilizing people to be self-reliant and to participate in development activities become an important objective of the NGOs. According to Kelly (1992), self-reliance means that the people rely on their own resources and are independent of funds sourced outside the community. Self-reliant strategy relies on the willingness and ability of the local people to depend on their own available resources and technology which they can control and manage. A self-reliant strategy requires the optional use of all available human, natural and technological resources (Agere 1982). Although dependence on the state maybe desirable in the short term, it should not be a long term objective, because the aim of the community development must ultimately be self-reliance. Mansaray (1982) has maintained that reliance on external resources will lead to the loss of autonomy and independence of the community, therefore communities should be bound to carry out autonomous programmes. This according to him, autonomous communities can flourish only in the absence of such external dependency. According to Korten (1990), the second strategy of the NGOs focuses on developing the capacities of the people to better meet their own needs through self-reliant local action. In the second generation strategy, Korten (1990) mentioned that the local inertia is the heart of problem in a village or community. There is a potential energy in a community but remains inactive because of the inertia of tradition, isolation and lack of education. But this unwillingness on the part of the local beneficiaries can be broken through the intervention of an outside change agent, who supposedly are to be NGOs, whose role is to who help the community realize its potentials through education, organization, consciousness raising, small loans and the introduction of simple new technologies. It is the stress on local self-reliance, with the intent that benefits will be sustained by community self-help action beyond the period of NGO assistance (Korten 1990). Therefore, NGOs, through the strategy of self-reliance, has facilitated sustainable development of the community through its participation in the community actives, project sponsorship, monitoring and evaluation processes. 2.4. NGOS PEACE BUILDING ROLE A STRATEGY FOR POVERTY FOR POVERTY ALLEVIATION NGOs roles are extended to peace building in Africa. The crucial role played by NGOs in the restoration of peace in war affected zones, is one seen as important. Many African countries have witnessed war and are still going through the trauma of war. Countries like Sierra Leone, Liberia, Angola, Somalia and many are witnesses of NGOs intervention in peace building. From the evidence of the current conflict in Afghanistan, Richard Barajas, Rachel Howard, Andrew Miner Jeff Sartin, Karina Silver (2000), have maintained that NGOs can play peace building roles. The presence of NGOs in Afghanistan according to them have led to the restoration of fair peace as their propagation of the human rights law, and their involvement in the disarmament, demobilization and reintegration programmes, is fostering cooperation among the warlords. I am in total agreement with them. The role of Peace Wing in Sierra Leone, for instance, justify the effectiveness of peace building NGOs through their organizat ional strategies which was able to bring the rebels out of the bush and negotiating between the government and war factions to negotiate a peace talk rather using guns and bullets to cease war. 2.5. NGOs HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE/RELIEF SERVICES ROLES FOR POVERTY ALLEVIATION The provision of food and non-food items during emergency periods and war time and other disasters periods, often see NGOs functions as important one. The provision of these items is short run but very significance in alleviating poverty. According to Kpaka (2007), humanitarian assistance is a fastest means to fight poverty and ensure sustainability in todays society. During emergency period, governments are unable to settle their displaced and refugee population, because of inadequacies of resources. As a result of the shortcoming of the government, the issue of NGOs influx into a country becomes unquestionable Kpaka (2007). Conflict and other disasters that occurred in society always left a strong poverty bench mark. During these conflicting periods, lives, properties, and physical infrastructures, diseases, and other hazardous issues are left as strong legacy in our society. To remedy these legacies, Humanitarian NGOs have different strategies to implement their relief programmes. Generally, the roles of NGOs are still debatable as many sees their roles as positive and others sees these roles as not proper. It has been noted that, NGO contributions in poverty reduction are limited. Edwards Hulme (1995:6) stated that it is difficult to find general evidence that NGOs are close to the poor. There is growing evidence that in terms of poverty reduction, NGOs do not perform as effectively as had been usually assumed by many agencies. More specific evidence is provided by Riddell and Robinson (1995) who conducted a case study on sixteen NGOs undertaken in four countries in Asia and Africa. They found that while NGO projects reach the poor people, they tend not to reach down to the very poorest. NGO projects also tend to be small scale. The total numbers assisted are also small. Furthermore, it is also rare for NGO projects to be financially self sufficient. Finally, although NGOs execute a number of very imaginative projects, many of them appear to be unwilling to innovate in certain areas or activities. Therefore, because of these limitations, the roles of NGOs in alleviating poverty cannot be exaggerated. 2.6. CONCLUTION The literature established the important roles played by of NGOs in the fight against poverty through micro-finance, capacity building, self-reliance, peace building, sustainable community development, and empowerment especially womens empowerment all aiming at poverty alleviation. NGOs through the micro-finance help members of community to access jobs, income-generation and improve economic situation there by alleviating poverty from the poor. And then they would become empowered economically. NGOs developed the capacities of community such as skills, abilities, knowledge, assets and motivates the community to participate in the project to improve the quality of their lives. NGOs act as capacity builders that help the community to achieve the empowerment particularly individual empowerment. Since the philosophy of community development is independent from any outside agents, thus the community must rely on their own resources. NGOs do assist the community to discover their potentials and also mobilize community to be self-reliant. Therefore, the final outcome of community development is the independence of the community from external agents in formulating its agenda and managing its affairs. This process involves capacity building, where people get involved in human capital training, transferring of authority from donor to recipient and receive supports from stakeholders (World Bank group 1999). When people become fully empowered, they are able to contribute toward sustainable development (Lyons et al. 2001). Therefore, NGOs through some programs and functions, such as microfinance, capacity building and self-reliance help community to be empowered, and finally contribute towards sustainable community development. However, though many dont see a need for NGOs in the fight against poverty alleviation in Sub-Saharan Africa, I strongly believed that presence in black Africa is importance. Their strategies and approaches they use to fight this disease is one that should not be neglected. Having looked into all the literature NGOs, in the next chapter, researcher will be discussing the strategies adopted by some NGOs in the fight against poverty.

Aristotle On Ridicule :: essays research papers

In book Four, Chapter Eight of the Ethics, Aristotle applies his philosophical ideals to the concept of humor and good company. He establishes categories and kinds of humor or wit, and sets limits for the behavior that a gentleman and a wise man will accept. At one point, however, he makes the admission that it’s hard to define when ridicule is appropriate. Because people react to ridicule in different ways, according to their temperament.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  This paper will examine the second paragraph of Book Four, Chapter Eight, to determine what it is about â€Å"ridicule† that causes Aristotle to break away from his usual method of analysis to consider other ways of looking at the problem. Specifically, the question of why Aristotle says that propriety in ridicule â€Å"eludes definition† will be considered. The problem is that Aristotle defines ridicule in a later part of the same paragraph, in a way that seems not to admit any acceptable forms.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  When looking at good and bad company, Aristotle considers it entirely in terms of â€Å"entertaining conversation,† such as humor, wit, or ridicule. He argues that â€Å"adaptability† in the way we talk to people is desirable, since there is a time and a place for everything. The paragraph begins with indirect definitions of two extremes of humor, the buffoon and the humorless person. A buffoon would rather be a fool and hurt people’s feelings than â€Å"fail to raise a laugh†. A man who never cracks a joke is also falling short of the appropriate behavior, which is the gentleman’s ability to give and take gentle humor in a conversation. A â€Å"wit† is someone â€Å"whose pleasantries do not go too far,† and is always ready with a witty remark or a pleasant joke:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  ...as to the middle state in dealing with the humorous,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  particularly characteristic of that is social tact or   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  address, which may be defined as the gift of saying just   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  the right things for a gentleman to say and of getting   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  others to say such things to him. This seems to be the meaning of â€Å"good or bad company,† where a person gives and takes pleasure in conversation with others, according to the situation and the subject.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Aristotle defines ridicule, he says that it is a form of â€Å"abuse or slander, and slander in certain circumstances is prohibited by law†. How can there be any propriety in a form of abuse or slander? Aristotle seems to avoid the contradiction, going on to say that the proper gentleman will regulate his own behavior.