Dickens & education in Hard Times Essay Example for Free

Dickens education in Hard Times Essay In Hard times we see two versions of the world of education. The first view is that of Thomas Gradgrinds and his model school. A place where facts are valued and imagination is regarded as unimportant. This is the utilitarian view. The second view is contrasted with the utilitarian view and is that of Mr Slearys circus. This is a place with much knowledge valuing both imagination and education. A place without the wealth of the Gradgrinds but much in humanity. This is the fanciful world. I think Dickens is telling us that there are many different ways of bringing up and educating children. It is about getting the right balance between education and imagination. For example Sissy was brought up by her father and didnt go to school but was quite well educated as she used to read to him, but her father let her use her imagination as she read the wrong books from Gradgrinds point of view. Which were about Fairies and the Hunchback and the Genies. But when she went to Gradgrinds house to live there she was cut off from having an imagination, as so was struggling to learn facts. The reader knows this as Sissy says, I am O so stupid! when really she isnt stupid at all, it is just that she has been forced to be brought up the utilitarian way, which is the wrong way for her, as she is used to having a balance between education and imagination but Gradgrind hasnt allowed it. She became low spirited, but no wiser. This is because she has an emotional memory and so she cant learn the facts because she is being taught with a utilitarian view and so she cant attach a feeling to what she is being taught. This is how Dickens implies that different people learn different ways and at different rates. For Gradgrind it could be argued that it was the right way for him as he was educated by his father the utilitarian way. He became a model pupil and owned a school. The reader knows that he was a model pupil as Dickens tells us five young Gradgrinds were models everyone. And They had been lectured at from their tenderest years. And in Gradgrinds eyes this had worked so He intended every child to be a model. But what Gradgrind doesnt realise is that all children are different and need to be brought up different ways, which is what Dickens is suggesting to the reader.

Accounting Principals :: essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Memo   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In any business no matter how big or small financial statements are crucial if achieving success is the ultimate goal. There are three main types of financial statements, they are: Income statement, balance sheet and statement of owner’s equity. All three of these financial statements can be looked upon to see where changes can be made in a company to ensure better success.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The income statement is important because it presents the revenues and expenses allowing a company to see the net income or net loss. It is prepared by simply subtracting the expenses from the revenues.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The balance sheet however is critical in reporting the assets, liabilities and owner’s equity up until a specified date. When preparing this financial statement a company simply takes all of their assets (cash, accounts payable, supplies, equipment etc.) and adds them together to get a total dollar amount for all assets. A company also takes all liabilities and owner's equity and adds them together as well. This enables the company to get a total dollar amount for all liabilities and owner’s equity just as it can with assets.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The statement of owner’s equity is a simple statement that summarizes the changes in owner’s equity for a specified period of time. It is calculated by the simple formula of: Beginning owner’s equity + additional investments + net income - drawings = ending owner’s equity This financial statement allows the company to see if they are increasing, maintaining, or losing owner’s equity.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  All three of these financial statements have an interrelationship with one another because each statement uses the numbers from the preceding statement. For instance the statement of owner’s equity could not be determined without the having the income statement. The reason for this is because one must know the net income/net loss for determining owner’s equity. Also the balance sheet could not be formulated without having the statement of owner’s equity because it to is needed when determining total liabilities and owner’s equity within the balance sheet.

Is Corruption-Free Society: A Distant Dream?

Once chanakya had said that honey would be kept on your tongue and you would not be allowed to taste; it is impossible. Corruption is the misuse of public power for private profit. It involves those behaviours on the part of government officials, whether politicians or civil servants, where they improperly and unlawfully enrich themselves or those close to them, by the misuse of the public power entrusted to them. Corruption in any where is threat to every here as the saying one rotten apple spoils the barrel. Harshad Mehta, Sukhram, Tehelaka, Telgi cases are the great example of corruption in India.Literacy and corruption are interlinked. Most literates are more corrupted in most of the cases and the most illiterate are the victims of corruption. As in India most of the people are illiterate so they are becoming the easy victims of corruption. Every patriotic Indian realizes that if there is one factor that is keeping India under the spell of perpetual poverty and which makes the li fe of the common citizen miserable, it is corruption. A citizen faces corruption practically at every level and every sector of life.It could be the local rationing department, police, municipal authorities or educational institutions like schools and colleges. In the industry inspector-raj has become a code word for regular bribes collected by the public servants at the cutting edge of administration of the various departments of Central and State governments. Corruption is anti-national, anti-economic development and anti-poor. Nevertheless we have perhaps come to take corruption as a fact and a way of life. This may be partly due to sociological reasons and partly due to a sense of helplessness and defeatism.Corruption is harmful in three different ways: Rajiv Gandhi once observed that out of every rupee meant for the anti- poverty programmes, only 15 paise reached the beneficiary. Out of the 85 paise may be 40 paise can be accounted for as administrative overheads. The leakage o f the remaining 45 paise is definitely due to corruption. Corruption is, therefore, anti-poor. Corruption is also anti-economic development. Political interference, reduced attractiveness of service and declining morale has all combined to whittle away officials’ will to remain honest. The biggest cost is political.Petty corruption is especially endemic at the lower, clerical levels of administration — precisely the point at which the ordinary citizen comes into daily contact with officialdom. People are forced to pay bribes for securing virtually any service connected with the government, even that which is theirs by right and law. People naturally tend to judge the entire structure of government on the basis of direct experiences with the agents of government. It would be difficult to exaggerate the revulsion felt by ordinary Indians toward the ubiquitous and institutionalized venality of public life. Evil social practices also promote corruption.One major social cau se that promotes corruption is the dowry system. Every public servant wants to see that his daughter is married off well and there’s continuous pressure for having a substantial level of dowry. This may be one of the reasons why one comes across cases where even public servants who have otherwise led a clean life become vulnerable to corruption towards the end of their career. Dowry system is definitely one of the social roots of corruption in our country. Equally important is the social pressure in a competitive society for ensuring that children get the best possible education.Right from kindergarten in every educational institution, there is pressure of competition, and education has become commercialised. This has been further accentuated by government policies about affirmative action resulting in a great incentive for self-financing colleges who charge a lot of donation fee and most of it is collected in black. Education pressure and corruption in the education sector i s another social factor contributing to corruption in our system. One of the social roots of corruption in India can be traced to our Indian culture of tolerance. Equally important is another psychological factor.Power is never demonstrated in a society unless it is misused. In certain communities, being as corrupt as possible and amassing as much wealth as possible is seen as a macho demonstration of â€Å"competence†. If this is the attitude, those sectors of society that did not have an opportunity to share the power cake in the past may also rationalize that they must emulate those who had earlier enjoyed misuse of their power and amassed wealth by rampant corruption. Thus, a vicious cycle of corruption is launched where a society tolerates amassing of wealth and does not question how that wealth is accumulated.Is eliminating corruption a myth or reality? If we believe corruption can be eliminated, it can be; if not, it will remain a reality. So is it a distant dream or c an this dream be fulfilled is a billion dollar question. In conclusion, corruption in India exists because of the unsatisfied basic needs of the general population. Corruption in India cannot be eradicated by questioning ethical standards of its population. Removal of corruption can only be achieved by right macro-economic policies and by reducing government control. Honest political leadership is a must as a first step.Opening the economy for the investors around the world can provide the needed capital. Fresh ideas and entrepreneurial spirit has to replace the bureaucratic government control for a wealthier society. Supply of basic commodities has to be higher than the demand for general population not to bribe any government officials. Only skilled entrepreneurs hired by public shareholders can bring the money losing monster public sector to profitability. An efficient tax collection mechanism supported by computerised revenue reporting systems of individual businesses would be a step in the right direction.Qualified political leadership is required to understand and implement such policies. Most importantly, political will of the leaders will be required to take such actions. In Japan and South Korea, former prime ministers and children of presidents have been jailed for corruption. In India, not one senior politician of the many who have been implicated in scandals – and they are numerous – has so far been convicted. The labyrinthine legal system is used to frustrate the course of justice. Three-points can be suggested to check corruption. The first is simplification of rules and procedures.Corruption is like malaria, handled by giving medicine to those affected and simultaneously preventing the breeding of mosquitoes. Many of our rules and procedures breed corruption. Orders have, therefore, to be issued to check and simplify procedures. One example is a ban on post-tender negotiations in government purchases, except with the lowest bidder. Such negotiations are a flexible source of corruption. The second step is empowering the public and bringing in greater transparency. Every office should have a board stating, ‘Don’t pay bribes.If anybody asks for a bribe, you can complain to the CVO, CVC. ’ This way we can educate the public who come to every small office of the GOI and other organisations like banks and public sector undertakings that there is a way out if they do not want to pay bribes. The third step is strong punishment to those who are involves in corruption. Corruption is the greatest hindrance in the development of ever-developing nation. If we want to replace the â€Å"developing† tag from our beloved country by â€Å"developed†, we have to take stringent measures and stand against the parasite of corruption together

Definition and Examples of English Idioms

An idiom is a set expression of two or more words that mean something other than the literal meanings of its individual words. Adjective: idiomatic. Idioms are the  idiosyncrasies of a language, says Christine Ammer. Often defying the rules of logic, they pose great difficulties for non-native speakers (The American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms, 2013). Pronunciation:  ID-ee-um Etymology:  From the Latin, own, personal, private Examples and Observations Every cloud has its silver lining but it is sometimes a little difficult to get it to the mint.(Don Marquis)Fads are the kiss of death. When the fad goes away, you go with it.(Conway Twitty)We may have started by beating about the bush, but we ended by barking up the wrong tree.(P. M. S. Hacker, Human Nature: The Categorial Framework. Wiley, 2011)I worked the graveyard shift with old people, which was really demoralizing because the old people didnt have a chance in hell of ever getting out.(Kate Millett)Some of the places they used for repairs, Bill said, had taken to calling themselves auto restoration facilities and charging an arm and a leg.(Jim Sterba, Frankies Place: A Love Story. Grove, 2003)If we could just agree to disagree and not get all bent out of shape. That was one of the main things we decided in therapy.†(Clyde Edgerton, Raney. Algonquin, 1985)Chloe decided that Skylar was the big cheese. She called the shots and dominated the conversation.(Jeanette Baker, Ches apeake Tide. Mira, 2004)Anytime they came up short on food, they yanked one of the pigs out of the pen, slit its throat, and went on a steady diet of pig meat.(Jimmy Breslin, The Short Sweet Dream of Eduardo Gutierrez. Three Rivers Press, 2002)Mrs. Brofusem is prone to malapropisms and mangled idioms, as when she says she wishes to kill one bird with two stones and teases Mr. Onyimdzi for having a white girl in (rather than up) his sleeve.(Catherine M. Cole, Ghanas Concert Party Theatre. Indiana University Press, 2001)Just the normal filling for you today then? Blossom enquires at her usual breakneck speed, blinking rapidly. Shes got one brown eye and one blue, suiting her quirky style. The balls in your shoe!The saying, of course, is the balls in your court, but Blossom is always getting her idioms mixed up.(Carla Caruso, Cityglitter. Penguin, 2012)​ Functions of Idioms People use idioms to make their language richer and more colorful and to convey subtle shades of meaning or intention. Idioms are used often to replace a literal word or expression, and many times the idiom better describes the full nuance of meaning. Idioms and idiomatic expressions can be more precise than the literal words, often using fewer words but saying more. For example, the expression it runs in the family is shorter and more succinct than saying that a physical or personality trait is fairly common throughout ones extended family and over a number of generations.(Gail Brenner, Websters New World American Idioms Handbook. Websters New World, 2003) Idioms and Culture If natural language had been designed by a logician, idioms would not exist.(Philip Johnson-Laird, 1993)Idioms, in general, are deeply connected to culture. . . . Agar (1991) proposes that biculturalism and bilingualism are two sides of the same coin. Engaged in the intertwined process of culture change, learners have to understand the full meaning of idioms.(Sam Glucksberg, Understanding Figurative Language. Oxford University Press, 2001)​ Shakespeares Idioms Shakespeare is credited with coining more than 2,000 words, infusing thousands more existing ones with electrifying new meanings and forging idioms that would last for centuries. A fools paradise, at one fell swoop, hearts content, in a pickle, send him packing, too much of a good thing, the game is up, good riddance, love is blind, and a sorry sight, to name a few.(David Wolman, Righting the Mother Tongue: From Olde English to Email, the Tangled Story of English Spelling. Harper, 2010) Levels of Transparency Idioms vary in transparency: that is, whether their meaning can be derived from the literal meanings of the individual words. For example, make up [ones] mind is rather transparent in suggesting the meaning reach a decision, while kick the bucket is far from transparent in representing the meaning die. (Douglas Biber et al., Longman Student Grammar of Spoken and Written English. Pearson, 2002)  The thought hit me that this was a pretty pathetic way to kick the bucket--being accidentally poisoned during a photo shoot, of all things--and I started weeping at the idiocy of it all. (Lara St. John) The Idiom Principle The observation that meanings are made in chunks of language that are more or less predictable, though not fixed, sequences of morphemes leads [John] Sinclair [in Corpus Concordance Collocation, 1991] to an articulation of the idiom principle. He states the principle thus: The principle of idiom is that a language user has available to him or her a large number of semi-preconstructed phrases that constitute single choices, even though they might appear to be analysable into segments (Sinclair 1991): 110) The study of fixed phrases has a fairly long tradition...but phrases are normally seen as outside the normal organizing principle of language. Here, Sinclair extends the notion of phraseology to encompass a great deal more of language than it is commonly considered to encompass. At its strongest, we might say that all senses of all words exist in and are identified by the sequences of morphemes in which they typically occur. (Susan Hunston and Gill Francis, Pattern Grammar: A Corpus-Driven Approach to the Lexical Grammar of English. John Benjamins, 2000) Modal Idioms Modal idioms are idiosyncratic verbal formations which consist of more than one word and which have modal meanings that are not predictable from the constituent parts (compare the non-modal idiom kick the bucket). Under this heading we include have got [to], had better/best, would rather/sooner/as soon, and be [to]. (Bas Aarts, Oxford Modern English Grammar. Oxford University Press, 2011) The Lighter Side of Idioms Kirk: If we play our cards right, we may be able to find out when those whales are being released. Spock: How will playing cards help? (Captain James T. Kirk and Spock in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, 1986)