Tuesday, November 5, 2019

Bette Nesmith Graham, Inventor of Liquid Paper

Bette Nesmith Graham, Inventor of Liquid Paper Bette Nesmith Graham (March 23, 1924–May 12, 1980) was the inventor and businesswoman who made a fortune from her invention Liquid Paper, a product which along with its competitors such as Wite-Out, allowed secretaries to quickly correct typing mistakes. Fast Facts: Bette Nesmith Graham Known For: Invention of the correcting fluid known as Liquid PaperBorn: March 23, 1924 in Dallas TexasParents: Christine Duval and Jesse McMurrayDied: May 12, 1980 in Richardson, TexasEducation: Left San Antonios Alamo Heights School at 17Spouse(s): Warren Nesmith (m. 1941, div. 1946); Robert Graham (m. 1962, div. 1975)Children: Michael Nesmith (b. December 30, 1942) Early Life Bette Claire McMurray was born on March 23, 1924 in Dallas, Texas, the daughter of Christine Duval and Jesse McMurray. Her mother owned a knitting store and taught Bette how to paint; her father worked at an auto parts store. Bette attended the Alamo Heights School in San Antonio, Texas until she was 17, at which point she left school to marry her childhood sweetheart and soldier Warren Nesmith. Nesmith went off to World War II and while he was away, she had their only son, Michael Nesmith (later of The Monkees fame). They divorced in 1946. Divorced and with a small child to support, Bette took several odd jobs, eventually learning shorthand and typing. She found employment in 1951 as an executive secretary for the Texas Bank Trust in Dallas. A technological advancement in typewriters from fabric to carbon ribbons and a more sensitive keypad made errors more common and more difficult to correct: erasers that had worked before now smeared the carbon across the paper. Graham sought a better way to correct typing errors, and she remembered that artists painted over their mistakes on canvas, so why couldnt typists simply paint over their mistakes? The Invention of Liquid Paper Bette Nesmith put some tempera water-based paint, colored to match the stationery she used, into a bottle and took her watercolor brush to the office. She used this to surreptitiously correct her typing mistakes, which her boss never noticed. Soon another secretary saw the new invention and asked for some of the correcting fluid. Graham found a green bottle at home, wrote Mistake Out on a label, and gave it to her friend. Soon, all the secretaries in the building were asking for some, too. The Mistake Out Company She continued to refine her recipe in her kitchen laboratory, which was based on a formula for tempura paint she found at the local library, with assistance from a paint company employee and a chemistry teacher at a local school. In 1956, Bette Nesmith started the Mistake Out Company: her son Michael and his friends filled bottles for her customers. Nevertheless, she made little money despite working nights and weekends to fill orders. Bette Nesmith left her typing job at the bank in 1958 when Mistake Out finally began to succeed: her product was featured in office supply magazines, she had a meeting with IBM, and General Electric placed an order for 500 bottles. Although some stories say she was fired from the bank for signing her name with the Mistake Out Company, her own Gihon Foundation biography reports she simply started working part-time then left as the company succeeded. She became a full-time small business owner, applied for a patent, and changed the name to the Liquid Paper Company. Liquid Papers Success She now had time to devote to selling Liquid Paper, and business boomed. At each step along the way, she expanded the business, moving her production out of her kitchen into her backyard, then into a four-room house. In 1962, she married Robert Graham, a frozen-food salesman who then took an increasingly active role in the organization. By 1967, Liquid Paper had grown into a million-dollar business. In 1968, she moved into her own plant and corporate headquarters in Dallas with automated operations and 19 employees. That year, Bette Nesmith Graham sold one million bottles. In 1975, Liquid Paper moved into a 35,000-square-foot international headquarters building in Dallas. The plant had equipment that could produce 500 bottles a minute. That same year, she divorced Robert Graham. In 1976, the Liquid Paper Corporation turned out 25 million bottles, while the company spent $1 million a year on advertising alone.  She had the lions share of a multi-million dollar industry and Bette, now a wealthy woman, established two charitable foundations, the Gihon Foundation in 1976, to collect paintings and other artworks by women, and the Bette Clair McMurray Foundation to support women in need, in 1978. But when she stepped down as chairperson, her ex-husband Robert Graham took over and she found herself on the losing end of a power struggle. She was barred from making corporate decisions, lost access to the premises, and the company changed her formula so she would lose royalties. Death and Legacy Despite increasing health issues, Bette Graham managed to wrest back control of the company and in 1979, Liquid Paper was sold to Gillette for $47.5 million and Bettes royalty rights were restored. Bette Nesmith Graham believed money to be a tool, not a solution to a problem. Her two foundations supported several ways to help women find new ways to earn a living, especially unwed mothers. That included giving shelter and counseling for battered women and college scholarships for mature women. Graham died on May 12, 1980, six months after selling her company. At the time of her death, Bette Graham was planning a building to house the foundations and the art collection including works by Georgia OKeeffe, Mary Cassatt, Helen Frankenthaler, and many other lesser-known artists. She described herself as a feminist who wants freedom for myself and everybody else. Surviving the Paperless Office   In March 2019, Atlantic staff writer David Graham noted that Wite-Out, a competitor to Liquid Paper that was made specifically so the error wouldnt show up when photocopied, is still doing a fairly robust sales business, despite the near disappearance of paper from the modern office. Grahams readers replied with a slew of (non-sinister) uses when computer-generated printing isnt involved: correcting posters, forms, crossword puzzles or Sudoku, file folder tabs, and calendars. One reader pointed out it was more green to fix a printed page than to print it again. But correction fluid is also being used in a wide variety of emergency and temporary fixes for white clothing and nicks in white walls or appliances or floor tiles or French manicures. Its also employed as a functional fluid in arts and crafts from blacksmithing to jewelry to  modeling kits. Liquid Paper numbers werent available to Graham, but most of those uses could apply to it as well.   Sources Baker Jones, Nancy. Graham, Bette Clair McMurray. The Handbook of Texas. Dallas: The Texas State Historical Association, June 15, 2010.Biographical Sketch of Bette Graham. Gihon Foundation.Chow, Andrew R. Overlooked No More: Bette Nesmith Graham, Who Invented Liquid Paper. The New York Times, July 11, 2018.Graham, David A. Who Still Buys Wite-Out, and Why? The Atlantic, March 19, 2019.  Nesmith, Michael. Infinite Tuesday: An Autobiographical Riff. New York: Crown Archetype, 2017.

Sunday, November 3, 2019

Small & Medium Sized Enterprises in an International Environment Essay - 1

Small & Medium Sized Enterprises in an International Environment - Essay Example With improvement in data and globalization of markets, communication technologies, also other auxiliary happenings, more SMEs to take part dynamically in worldwide markets than ever before (Craig and Douglas, 1996 and Bell, 1995). In numerous countries, such companies are actually the going by force behind an important percentage of future economic prosperity and export growth (Gupta, 1989; Economist, 1993). In common, small enterprises are essential. SMEs comprise over 95 percent of companies supply about 50 percent of the total worth supplemented over the world and, counting on the country, develop 60 percent to 90 percent of all fresh jobs (OECD, 1997, the United Nations, 1993). While they are not historic been affiliated with worldwide enterprise, based on empirical investigations of tendencies in 18 developed countries, the OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) documented that SMEs now account for around a quarter of exports in the majority industrialized countries (OECD, 1997). ... Pioneering international startups are now an important part of the development of nationwide exports in numerous countries (eg, Economist, 1993; Verity, 1994; Luostarinen et al, 1994). In latest years, many tendencies discovered out what to export and other worldwide engagement powerfully viable alternative for SME businesses. Smaller companies are furthermore leveraged by the forces of globalization, encompassing a breakdown of investment and trade barriers, and far-reaching undertakings of big transnational corporations. Increased cross-national competition places force on SMEs to internationalize. This, connected with expanding possibilities for the realization of overseas markets and the opportunity to earnings from a boost in the dimensions and scope of their undertakings, has conceived numerous incentives for little firms to internationalization (Oviatt and McDougall, 1995). Czechoslovak SMEs In the early on 20th century, the Czech Republic was the most industrially evolved par t of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy, vying commercially and technologically the most sophisticated nations in Europe. The new population has a powerful tradition of accomplished craftsmen in the construct of mechanism and other industrialists and entrepreneurs a large know-how in exporting these goods. Revenues were high, and well-developed finances organized to close the economic and financial ties with remainder of Europe. In the interwar years, the significance of the developed part in the finances of Czechoslovakia is certainly growing. Back in 1921, 33.8 percent of the employed populations were occupied in developed occupations. Estimates display

Friday, November 1, 2019

How oil exploitation in Alberta affect local enviorment Essay

How oil exploitation in Alberta affect local enviorment - Essay Example Despite the benefits associated with the exploitation, the process has numerously adverse effects on the environment. To begin with, oil sand exploitation in the area affects the availability of water in the area. The whole process requires large volumes of water for the separation of sand and oil. Therefore, the whole process of extraction brings about a deficiency in water content in Alberta (Alvarez, 2013). The process of exploitation of oil in Alberta is associated with the introduction of harmful gases, as well as metals into the earth’s surface and atmosphere. Naturally occurring carbon dioxide and other harmful emission are exposed to the atmosphere during the exploitation. In addition, the exploitation process leads to the concentration of heavy metals such as nickel, mercury, copper and zinc, among many others in the area (Dusseault, 2002). Admittedly, the exploitation process is associated with deforestation. Normally, trees in the area are cleared before exploitation starts. In addition, the overburden top soil is removed from the area of exploitation so as to increase the accessibility of the oil sand. This whole process has a general effect of soil erosion in the area. The exploitation of oil in Alberta also affects aquatic life. Research revealed that there exist a relationship between deformity of fish embryos and their exposure to oil sands. Therefore, as much as the exploitation process takes root, the aquatic life in the area is exposed to the oil sands, thus affected (Dusseault, 2002). A research done in 2007 showed that wildlife and human beings had generally been affected by the exposure to the oil sands. For example, research done on moose revealed that the organisms had as much as 454 times the acceptable levels of arsenic in their body systems due to the exploitation process. Moreover, there have been great concerns about

Wednesday, October 30, 2019

Compulsive Gambling a Lifetime Long Problem Essay

Compulsive Gambling a Lifetime Long Problem - Essay Example While gambling can be a harmless activity for many people, for others it can be a dangerous activity that has the potential to destroy their lives. Compulsive gambling can lead to many problems for the participants and their families, often leading to high levels of stress, the loss of finances and criminal activity. For pathological gamblers, the relaxing activity of gambling has progressed into a more serious and dangerous pastime. People in this position generally lack the ability to control their gambling habits. They are not able to stop gambling, even if they do not have the finances to support their bets. This is the most severe form of gambling and is considered to be a mental disorder. Current estimates place pathological gambling as being five percent of the gambling population .The terms compulsive and problem gambling are also used, often interchangeably, although sometimes problem gambling is also used to refer to other gambling problems that do not fall under the defini tion of pathological .Gambling is traditionally considered an addition, even though it does not have any of the obvious physical signs that most addictions share. Because of this, it is easier for people to hide their addiction, and this makes intervention difficult . There are many different causes of gambling and research has yet to fully determine how these interact with one another. One study examined three characteristics of individuals that could potentially have an effect on likelihood of gambling, these were personality, perceived luck and attitude towards gambling. The authors found that personality traits had a significant influence on the development of problem gambling. These traits included emotional stability, reasoning, openness to change and social boldness although there were many others . Research suggests that the more gambling activities that a person is involved in, such as slots, card gambling and betting on racetracks, the greater change they have of being inv olved in problem gambling . Research has shown a significant link between gambling and crime. Many problem gamblers lose large amounts of money in their bets, and may turn to crime to try and pay their debts, to maintain the appearance of normality or to continue gambling. However, the direction of this interaction is not clear. Gamblers may be more likely to become criminals, or being criminals may make one more likely to gamble . Law has moved away from banning gambling and towards finding methods of regulating it. This includes giving local authorities the ability to act if a location breaches gambling laws. Authorities have the ability to inspect gambling locations, to review licenses and to enforce conditions . This means that the number of locations that gambling can occur is limited, and prevents a boom of gambling and associated gambling problems. This is particularly important, as research has shown that many aspects of gambling venues themselves are able to facilitate gamb ling and increase the frequency at which it occurs. A study on gambling accessibility showed that two factors were significant drivers of people choosing a particular location to gamble. The first of these was social accessibility, which related to how socially enjoyable the gambling location was. This included the atmosphere as well as the entertainment options that were present at the venue. The second aspect was

Monday, October 28, 2019

Social Media And Its Effects On Society Media Essay

Social Media And Its Effects On Society Media Essay When talking about Social Media most people will probably just frown at you, having absolutely no idea what youre talking about. A remarkable reaction considering that more than a half of these people probably use Social Media themselves. Just simply clicking on a video on Youtube for instance, already makes you part of the huge community that Social media has and you dont even need to be registered! By watching a video, it will get more views which will result in a higher view-rate and therefore, the video will gain more popularity and catch the eyes of more viewers. Having that said I dare bet that every Internet-user is or has been part of the Social Media community. Yes, even you. Because, admit it, have you ever watched a video on YouTube? à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ So I thought. Social Media is however more than just YouTube. The experience goes much further than simply watching movies on the internet and that is exactly what captivates me. How can one kind of Media become so huge in such a short time? How is it possible that both companies and private-individuals use the same medium on different ways? And, more importantly, why is it that Social Media is still expanding instead of fading away like most of the hypes we know? Let it be clear; Social Media is one big, important and yet complicated format which we know little about. Time to dig a little deeper! First Ill start with discussing the definition of Social Media thoroughly. Only when knowing EXACTLY what it is, well be able to understand what makes it so interesting and vital. Secondly, Ill be digging a bit in the history of Social Media. How did this new medium come to be? Did it just appear out of nowhere or did it take a while before it caught the eyes of the public? Third, Im going to investigate who use Social Media and why? Ill split this question in two sub-questions for you; Social Media used by private-individuals and Social Media used by businesses. Knowing what Social Media is, how it came to be and who use it and why, Ill be able to think of the influence Social Media has on our society. Is social media really that important, or do technophobias have nothing to fear? After concluding whether Social Media has a big or small influence on our society, Ill look whether I can confirm this conclusion by looking how much is invested in the world of Social Media. Finally, Ill be speculating about the future of Social Media. Will Social Media become vital for every company, or will it just fade away as hype? Welcome to the complicated yet most interesting world of Social Media. What is Social Media? 1.1 Social media as definition Social media is a group of Internet-based applications that build on the ideological and technological foundations of Web 2.0, which allows the creation and exchange of user-generated content. Kaplan and Michael Heanlin in Users of the world, unite! The challenges and opportunities of social media, business horizons (2010). In other words, social media is a new medium (it was, arguably, introduced in the second half of the 20th century), that allows people to globally interact through the media. It is a collective term for all the internet-applications that enable us to share and discuss information, not only in the form of text, but also through sound and video. But since social media is a collective term, you probably wont take my brief description for granted. You want to know the different forms that social media has and where they are to be found on the web. Take a seat. This may take a while. So, social media knows six different forms; communication, collaboration, multimedia, review and opinions, entertainment and brand monitoring. I will discuss each and every one of them. Communication is currently the biggest form of social media. Three very important aspects of communication are; blogs, micro blogs and social networks. Youve probably heard of them. Blogs are websites, or parts of websites, where people can write articles, columns, reviews, etc. Blogs are usually aimed at a specific subject. Basically, there are two types of blogs; commercial blogs and non-commercial blogs. Commercial blogs are mainly used by companies (doh) for a variety of reasons (for instance; promoting their product or getting to know the customer), but also by people who like to write, professionally, about certain subjects. Non-commercial blogs are mainly used by private-individuals, like you and me. These blogs usually define themselves as blogs written due to boredom. Usually, I said. A couple of known blogs are; WordPress, Bloggers.com and Open-Diary. Micro blogs are basically the same as normal blogs only they are much smaller. Micro blogs contain fewer characters and arent always aimed at a specific subject. Micro blogs are an excellent way for companies to make small announcements. Just like normal blogs, there are two different kinds of users (businesses and private-individuals, remember?) using the micro blogs. Known micro blogs are Twitter, Tumblr and FML (Fuck My Life). Social networks is arguably the most important component of social media (thank you, Facebook!). A social network is a big networking site where people can communicate with each other and share information. In a social network you represent yourself using a profile picture and by writing down a biography. That way, it is easy to locate people with the same interests which can result in an online friendship. The problem that this feature however brings is that the accessibility of social networks can also be seen as an invitation for perverts. Social networks are an easy way for perverts to hide their true identity and gain the trust of good-willed girls. And for that very reason, I dont blame parents for worrying sick when their children are uploading new photos on Facebook or other social networks. Undoubtedly, social networks are something to be careful with. Luckily, social networks, just like any other form of media, mostly support the option to set your private status to friends only, or to restrict certain areas of your Facebook for unwanted visitors. Its a great way to make your photos pervert-free. Communication however doesnt only consist of these three aspects, but also contains location-based social networks, events, information aggregators and online advocacy and fundraising. Location-based social networks are social networks that aim at geography. People can indicate where they are, when they are there and why they are there, which will all be shown on a big map. That way you will be able to see where your friends are and you to notify them about your current location. The events section looks, in one way, very much like the location-based networks. It also relies on a map, only in this case the map indicates where and when events are held, together with more additional information such as who are performing, what kind of an event it is and the ticket fee. Its a great way to stay up-to-date about your favorite artists and to not miss any appealing shows. Social media is used by more than 50% of the American population, and for that very reason it should come to no surprise that there are lots of different sites with reference to social media and they are all very crowded. Amongst the common social media users there are celebrities, publishers and developers writing their thoughts down and making announcements. Social media is a huge center of information and it didnt take long till information aggregators were introduced to the market. Information aggregators are sites with big, huge dashboards that gather information from all social networks. The last part that communication knows is advocacy and fundraising. I believe AF is a rather peculiar element of communication, because its usually integrated in other social media (mostly social networks). The main goal of AF companies is to raise as much money as they can for charity. They do this by advertising on other sites and by striking up partnerships. Especially live broadcasting sites such as BlogTV and Stickam attract AF companies. Where communication specializes in a belonging community, collaboration is recognized for its involvement with other sites; sites that fall under the collaboration category usually gather information from other sources. The six aspects of collaboration are; wikis, social bookmarking, social news, social navigation, content management systems and document managing and editing tools. Wikis are a perfect example of sites gathering information from other sources. Take a look at the end of a Wikipedia page and you are high likely to see a list full or sources. For instance, when looking up social media the most famous wiki; Wikipedia, gives me this; Wikis are generally known for their reliability because they make use of the knowledge management system, meaning that every user can contribute to the site by creating and editing articles. That results in a huge database. Another social database that collaboration knows is social bookmarking. Social bookmarking collects links of all kinds of sites and then categorizes them. Users are able to rate (or as I like to call it; digg) and share the links. That way people can easily find good, reliable sites that fit their interests. Known social bookmark sites are; Stumbleupon, Delicious and Google Reader. Social News looks a bit like social bookmarking; it also works with a rating system. Unlike professional news sites however, people write their own news on social news sites. Readers have the ability to vote on articles; deciding what is important and what isnt. Social news sites are obviously a magnet for information aggregators. For them its like killing two birds with one stone; social news sites contain a lot of information and the community already picks their favorite articles. Known social news sites are Digg, Newvine and Reddit. Social navigation, content management systems and document managing and editing tools are the lesser known social media components of collaboration, which comes quite a bit to my surprise because social navigation and content management systems can actually come in quite handy. Social navigation, for instance, provides information about the public transport, and content management systems is a software-application that simplifies the complicated code-language of the internet for common users like you and me. In the case of social navigation, Im guessing that mobile phones and global positioning systems are preferred by todays customers because these are more frequently used in vehicles. I dont blame Document managing and editing tools for being little popular though. They are online (free) writing tools and also allow users to share their documents with the Interwebs, but why would anyone want to share their articles randomly with these tools on the internet? Most of the articles that are published on the internet are published not through document managing and editing tools but through own websites. The documents are usually written in Word. Multimedia is a term you have probably already heard of. It is generally favored by the youth. Multimedia can be divided in five aspects; photography and art sharing, video sharing, live casting, music and audio sharing and presentation sharing. Its very common for multimedia sites to be used for other kinds of social media. Think of it; multimedia sites are perfect databases to store your pictures and videos because they can easily be linked in your articles thanks to embedded codes. Though the names already give away where the aspects actually function for, I have decided to explain them anyhow. As you probably have already noticed, I like being as thorough as possible. Photography and art sharing are, as the name already says, sites where people can share pictures. They serve as a great way for people to save (and optionally; share) their photos and find other photos. Since (mainly) blogs dont have a lot of space, photography and art sharing sites are very popular places for bloggers to upload their pictures on. They wont be bothered with the limited space problem and wont risk the chance of having the original photo removed so that only a dead link will remain. Video sharing basically have the same principal as PAs only do they specialize in videos except for pictures. Especially Youtube is a very important component of the video sharing aspect. Video sharing is used by both private-individuals and businesses. Private-individuals use video sharing mainly as entertainment, but also as outlet or gateway to show their own talents. Businesses use video sharing for promotion by uploading videos about their brand (mostly funny commercials or trailers). Remarkable is that most live casting users are also pretty popular on video sharing sites such as Youtube. Many famous Youtubers (like Davedays, Shanedawson, Zushoo, Creepjeepers) are featured on Stickam and BlogTV (two of the biggest live casting sites). Apart from their scripted shows they sometimes like to just randomly entertain fans on liveshows. Live casting is also often used as live streaming device for important shows. If people cant attend certain events for any reason, they will be able to follow it live at home. Music and audio sharing is an aspect of collaboration that specializes in sounds. On these sites, users are able to customize their own playlists and check out other playlists. It is a popular concept for radio broadcasts because their audience are most likely music fans and appeal to this market. Presentation sharing is mainly used by companies. Sharing presentations is a great way to take information up in an interactive way. Especially for teachers, presentation sharing can come in handy. Its a great way to reach the modern generation of students and still educational. Despite the fact that most people write reviews and opinions on blogs, there are still a couple of sites fully dedicated to the reviews and opinions category. The RO category has but three aspects; product reviews, business reviews and community question answer. Lets start with the beginning; product reviews are sites where the community can give their opinion on certain products. Its a really nice way for people to know what product to buy and what not. Business reviews are practically the same as product reviews, only they dont contain the opinion about products, but about companies. Is the service any good? Are they reliable? Etc. The problem with business and product reviews however, is that questions HAVE to be business/product related meaning that if you have any other questions, you have nowhere to turn. Thats where the community question and answer comes in. Community QA sites are sites where people can ask whatever they want and the community will answer. Yahoo!Answers is a well-known QA site. As Ive already said, entertainment is very popular with todays generation. The entertainment category consists of; media and entertainment platforms, virtual worlds and game sharing. Media and entertainment platforms is probably the least popular form of social media from all kinds of social media we have, because they play mostly behind the scenes. They are used by older companies who arent yet integrated in the modern society and allow them to digitalize their products/marketing strategies. Virtual Worlds on the other hand are pretty popular and used by a large amount of youngster. Virtual Worlds are basically online games like World of Warcraft, the Sims Online and Second Life. Players are able to create an imaginative character and play in a fictional world, where they can meet other people. But hold on a minute, you might think. If online games are part of the virtual worlds, then why is there another subcategory named shared games? That is, because shared games support browser-based games instead of downloadable programs. Shared games are usually simple flash-games, made by the community, and all playable on one big site. Virtual games, on the other hand, are usually huge, downloadable, professional games and its creators will dedicate themselves towards one game. At last, we have arrived at the last category; brand monitoring. Brand monitoring knows only one form, which is social media measurement. Social media measurement is an indicator that provides information about the internet traffic. Companies use it in order to get a good insight in their costumers; where are they from, how old are they and what are their interests? Its a great way to get to know the customer I think. So, that was chapter 1.1; the definition of social media and honestly, I wonder whether you still know what content managing systems are without looking it back up. Its a whole lot of information, I admit, but necessary information all the same. All I have done now is given you a good idea of what social media is and what we count under social media.

Friday, October 25, 2019

European History - The Spread of Christianity :: European Europe History

The Spread of Christianity The spread of Christianity overtime replaced the old warrior religion changing the way of life, and at the giving it new meaning. With the coming of Christianity a hope for poets also came about. As the conversion of Ireland to Christianity took place a new era known as Ireland's Golden Age began to take over. Christian munks worked hard preserving literature of the ancient world and works of popular culture. Due to the rapid growth of Christianity the Anglo-Saxon's were given a common faith, a common system of morality and right conduct, linking England with Europe. Anglo-Saxon religion was based on ethics. It was the earthly values such as bravery, loyalty, generosity, and friendship that Anglo-Saxon life was based upon. The Anglo-Saxon religion derived from Germany and was very similar to Scandinavian mythology. They had gods for any and everything that all played important roles in everyday life. Symbols like the dragon and the swastika are also a part of the religion that can't be forgotten. In 432 Celtic Ireland was converted to Christianity by Patricius. Patricius, a Romanized Briton became a bishop and gradually started converting people to Christianity. It was when the rest of Europe sank into constant warfare confusion, and ignorance that Ireland experienced a Golden Age. In Ireland Christianity was said to have, "burned and gleamed through the darkness", in the words of Winston Churchill. If it hadn't been for the Irish missionaries that converted the Anglo-Saxon kings and the constant reemergence of Christianity in Britain, even king Alfred might have failed to unify the Anglo-Saxons . The Anglo-Saxons fought hard under Christianity and Alfred to protect their people, their culture, and their church from the Danes. Eventually Christianity took over and the old warrior religion was forgotten. In the Anglo-Saxon world poets could only hope that heroic deeds would be enshrined in the society's memory. Christianity on the other hand brought them new hope. Monasteries were for learning, and preserved Latin, Greek, and popular literature. Day and night the church had the munks copying manuscripts by hand completely silent. If it hadn't been for the coming of Christianity the literature of the ancient world and the literature of popular culture would be nonexistent.

Thursday, October 24, 2019

School Community Leadership

It is the role of every school leader to provide an environment for education and learning to happen inside the classroom. He/she must embrace the responsibility of guiding and imparting the proper amount of skills and programs necessary for growth and sustainability. Seeing this complex and difficult relationship, school community leaders must strive towards achieving the overall goals of educational institutions. In the end, school community leadership is the way a principal or head balances the challenges of the school and community to provide changes for the better by possessing the skills and traits to do so. Looking at the concept, school community leadership can be defined to be a process wherein the principal addresses the issues surrounding both school and the community. â€Å"In a nutshell, school community leadership concentrates on the things a principal should do to develop and nurture culture, climate and vision of the school that is supportive of all stakeholders and helps them succeed† (Wilmore, 2003, p. 12). Looking at the definition, it is first to implore on the community and how it affects the way decisions and programs are made. By doing this, readers can better comprehend the importance of such trait towards growth and sustenance The concept of community is an important definition to tackle when dealing with the idea of school community leadership. One important facet is that the community continues to shape and develop various school issues. Since schools are part and partial components of a community, leaders must create a striking balance towards partnership and harmonization of both experience and practice (Glanz, 2006). By fostering such relationship, educators can devise models and plans to synchronize the goals and objectives of both the community and school towards students. Another important concept to consider is the relevance of leadership towards educational development. It can be argued that there are various leadership styles that can be used and applied towards the achievement of the goal, however due to this; the concept becomes elusive in nature. This can be contended because though there have been numerous improvements in the literature surrounding leadership models, â€Å"contemporary theories of leadership represent authoritative opinion that is not supported by scholarly research† (Spry and Graham, 2006, p. ). Due to this, the challenge of educational leaders is to find the appropriate style suited for both the community and the learning environment of students. There are several important traits a school community leader must possess. These include (1) effective communication, (2) openness to change and improvements, and (3) participation. Communication is vital in the process of harmonization and practices because it enables process es to be effective and efficient. Without communication, there shall be disparities between what is being taught and practiced which could later spell troubles and difficulties. On the other hand, openness to developments is also another trait a leader must posses in this field. Realizing the constant diversity and continuing changes in the environment, educational leaders must be adaptive to these changes so as to foster continued sustenance and growth (Spry and Graham, 2006). By doing this, they can make the overall system dynamic and susceptible towards change. Lastly, participation is another vital process to consider as it provides avenues for improvement and change. This process of partaking with both the community and school can help put into practice the needs of both parties. To conclude, the challenge remains for educational leaders to promote school community leadership. By realizing the importance of such attribute to both students and society and by applying the necessary traits and skills, only then can the process of sustenance and growth can be achieved by both parties.